Source: instagram/ghanacelebrities.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Head Pastor and Founder of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Evangelist Lawrence Tetteh has cautioned his fellow Pastors to be circumspect in delivering Prophecies at 31st Watch Night Services. His comment follows a release by the Police Service on doom prophecies made at the end of year Church services. Speaking on the GTV Breakfast Show, Evangelist Tetteh said this situation is a mistake that needs to be corrected hence the statement is in the right direction. He, therefore, called on men of God to deliver Prophecies accordingly devoid of statements that have the tendency of derailing the peace being enjoyed. He said individual Prophecies should not be made public, because prophecies are not supposed to cause fear and panic among people. "Those about the country can be made known publicly but in humility, wisdom, circumspection and must be from God, Dr. Tetteh posited. Evangelist Tetteh said it is sad that everybody is pinning down on Churches, saying there are bad nuts everywhere which need to be checked. "It is a collective responsibility to achieve a serene and peaceful environment, according to Head Pastor and Founder of Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Evangelist Lawrence Tetteh. Source: Gbcghanaonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Residents of Kendeu, a community in the Wa West District, can now heave a sigh of relief over their daily ordeal with potable water supply, especially during the dry season. Access to potable water for domestic and economic use for the community's 2000 inhabitants had been a big challenge until the Amazing Grace Children's Foundation (AGCF), a not-for-profit organisation based in the USA with an office in Ghana, intervened. The organisation provided the community with a mechanised borehole under its Water for Improved Sanitation and Health (WISH) project with funding from individual donors in the United States. The project, facilitated by the AGCF, costs a little over US$4000.00 and also have plans to provide a permanent solution to the water need of the Kendeu community. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the commissioning of the facility, Mr Clifford Yaw Frimpong, the Director in charge of the WISH project, noted that the facility was to help meet the water, sanitation and hygiene needs of the people, especially in an era of the COVID-19 global health crisis. "It is my conviction that the facility will be of great help to the people, especially school children who have to queue long hours and sometimes return home without water. Now reporting late to school would hopefully be a thing of the past just as their struggle with certain preventable diseases. "It will also save parents from wasting productive hours searching for water instead of focusing on their economic activities," he explained. Mr Frimpong said the organisation chose to construct the facility in the dry season since "around this time of the year, water needs become unbearably critical for humans and livestock in deprived communities, thereby compounding other social challenges." "Around these times, wells, ponds and most water sources get dried up, and this is when we see humans competing with their livestock for survival," he added. Mr Frimpong urged well-meaning Ghanaians to contribute their "widow's mite" to support community development, particularly to the water needs of the deprived communities, as a way of compensating them for their lack of access to other social amenities such as electricity and decent health facilities, among others. "We should not always blame politicians. Sometimes we have to be agents of change in our communities and get things done," he added. The AGCF, in August this year, constructed a mechanised borehole for the Zanko Paani community in the Wa West District after a GNA report exposed the challenges the people went through accessing potable water in the community. Mr Frimpong said the next project would be in support of the Pialoko community in the Pusiga District of the Upper East Region. Meanwhile, Mr Jerry Olo, the Assembly Member of the Kendeu Electoral Area, noted that the water situation faced by Kendeu was very dire as over 2,000 residents of the community hitherto depended on unsustainable means of water supply, making it very difficult for them. He explained that women and children sometimes scrambled for water at the three boreholes in the community and commended the AGCF for the intervention, which, he said, would help alleviate their plight. "I will meet with the community for us to put in measures and systems to manage the facility well because we are the ones to benefit from it", Mr Olo said. He also appealed to the general public to come to their aid as some communities in the electoral area depended on either a single borehole or untreated sources for water. He said the Kao and Gborteng communities are the worst in need. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Africa Centre for Health Policy (ACeHP) says government may not meet its timeline in completing health facilities under the Agenda 111 projects. ACeHPs Executive Director, Ahmed Farhan, in an interview with Accra-based Citi News, revealed that checks across the country indicate no sign of progress at the project sites. The ambitious Agenda 111 project includes 101 district hospitals, six regional hospitals in the newly created regions, two specialised hospitals in the middle and northern belts, and a regional hospital in the Western Region and the renovation of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital. Its objective is to provide quality healthcare delivery at the district level. Government has so far secured a $100 million start-up fund through the Ghana Investment Infrastructure Fund (GIIF) for the commencement of the projects. In August 2021, President Nana Akufo-Addo cut sod in the Ashanti Region to signal the beginning of hospital projects across the country. However, Mr Farhan noted that although the project is well intended for the country, any delays will further worsen the countrys health care delivery system. I doubt if we will be able to meet the set timelines. It will definitely affect the project lifecycle. The 12-month target that has been set, I presume, will not be to be met. Currently, I think they have been faced with certain challenges that will not permit them to kickstart the physical construction of the hospitals, so I think the 12 months they have set will just not be possible. He added that the delay in executing the project could be attributed to financial constraints. What government needs to do is to make the commitment in constructing those hospitals and injecting the seed capital for the works to be done. Most of the contractors we got in touch with do not want to disclose information, but the indication is that they do not have capital available to move to site, and that is what is delaying the start of the project. Source: myjoyonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghanas second-largest opposition party, Ghana Union Movement (GUM), has warned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to withdraw the controversial e-levy bill from parliament if he wants peace and harmony to reign in the country. Founder and Leader of the party, Christian Kwabena Andrews, contends that what the Akufo-Addo-led government should be interested in doing is creating employment rather than taxing the populace. We shouldnt accept this at all, the head pastor of Life Assembly Worship Centre stressed. Give people work to do, employment, instead of taxing those who are poor already...I am entreating Nana Addo and his ministers, for peace and harmony to reign in this very country, he needs to come out and tell Ghanaians that the e-levy matter, he has removed it from Parliament. Osofo Kyiri Abosom, as he is popularly known, was addressing journalists in Accra on Tuesday, December 28 when he made this observation. Bunch of liars He expressed disappointment in the current administration, calling all members a bunch of liars. We are not a type to come out with lies. Now, NPP has lied to us from the beginning of their campaign throughout these four years that they have spent with us and we voted [for] them again because they keep on lying. I call them a bunch of liars. From President to the Vice [President] to Ministers of this very country, they are not treating us fairly at all. He hinted at contesting the 2024 elections to continue his resolve to break the duopoly of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was optimistic about winning the elections given his performance in the last polls, which were his first. The introduction of the Bill, popularly known as e-levy, has been met with chaos in Parliament as members of the two major parties have been engaged in fisticuffs until adjournment of consideration to Tuesday, January 18, 2022. Source: 3news Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The tracks are located on a public beach in Penarth, Wales and are thought to date back over 200 million years. Credit: NHM London/Peter Falkingham Newly discovered imprints on a Welsh beach have been described as dinosaur footprints. The trackway dates from the Triassic, over 200 million years ago, and offers a unique snapshot of a moment in time. In 2020, amateur paleontologist Kerry Rees got in touch with the Natural History Museum's Angela Marmont Centre to report finding what she suspected might be dinosaur footprints on the beach at Penarth in Wales. The images she provided were sent on to Museum paleontologists Dr. Susannah Maidment, Researcher, and Professor Paul Barrett, Merit Researcher. The pair were initially skeptical. Dr. Maidment explains, "We get a lot of enquiries from members of the public for things that could be trackways but many are geological features that can easily be mistaken for them. However, from the photographs, we thought they were a fairly good contender for something that could be tracks and that it would be worth taking a look." After consulting colleagues, it was found that the site had previously been investigated by a French team and a team from Cardiff University, as well as by Cindy Howells, National Museum of Wales, who is a co-author on the new paper. With differing opinions on what the impressions were, the researchers decided to work collaboratively and continue the investigation. Dr. Maidment and Prof. Barrett visited the site to study it and take measurements. Prof. Barrett says, "We believed the impressions we saw at Penarth were consistently spaced to suggest an animal walking. We also saw displacement rims where mud had been pushed up. These structures are characteristic of active movement through the soft ground." Less visible though were toe marks, the tell-tale sign of an animal footprint. Luckily the French team who had previously surveyed the site 10 years ago had images of the prints with less weathering which showed features like toe impressions. This not only provided the team further evidence that the impressions were indeed footprints but also suggested what the identity of the animal making them might have been. The team now think that the impressions are an example of Eosauropus, which is a name not of a dinosaur but a type of track thought to have been made by a very early sauropod or near sauropod-relative, the group of dinosaurs that later included the famous Diplodocus. Dr. Maidment says, "We know early sauropods were living in Britain at the time, as bones of Camelotia, a very early sauropod, have been found in Somerset in rocks dated to the same period. We don't know if this species was the track maker, but it is another clue which suggests something like it could have made these tracks." Dinosaur trackways can provide a wealth of behavioral information to those studying them. They can show movement in herds and provide data on the way an animal may have walked. Prof. Barrett concludes, "These types of tracks are not particularly common worldwide, so we believe this is an interesting addition to our knowledge of Triassic life in the UK. The record of Triassic dinosaurs in this country is fairly small, so anything we can find from the period adds to our picture of what was going on at that time." Most institutions, including the Natural History Museum, don't generally collect footprints as storing them can be difficult with trackways sometimes going on for several hundred meters. These trackways have now been extensively investigated in the field and accurately documented for future study using state-of-the-art 3D imaging techniques. The trail of footsteps, left over 200 million years ago by an early dinosaur, will remain on the shore in Penarth until the tide eventually erodes them away. In the meantime, it is hoped those who see them may be inspired to find out more about natural history. The study, "Late Triassic dinosaur tracks from Penarth, south Wales," is published in the journal Geological Magazine. More information: Peter L. Falkingham et al, Late Triassic dinosaur tracks from Penarth, south Wales, Geological Magazine (2021). Peter L. Falkingham et al, Late Triassic dinosaur tracks from Penarth, south Wales,(2021). DOI: 10.1017/S0016756821001308 This photo released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, shows the launching of Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket in an undisclosed location in Iran. Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth. Credit: Iranian Defense Ministry via AP Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth. The state TV report, as well as others by Iran's semiofficial news agencies, did not say when the launch was conducted nor what devices the carrier brought with it. However, the launch comes amid difficult negotiations in Vienna over Iran's tattered nuclear deal. Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States. The U.S. State Department, Space Force and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ahmad Hosseini, a Defense Ministry spokesman, identified the rocket as a Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket. He said the three devices were sent up 470 kilometers (290 miles). Hosseini was quoted as saying the "performance of the space center and the performance of the satellite carrier was done properly." He described the launch as "initial," suggesting more are on the way. Iran's TV aired footage of the white rocket emblazoned with the words, "Simorgh satellite carrier" and the slogan "We can" shooting into the morning sky from Iran's Imam Khomeini Spaceport. A state TV reporter at a nearby desert site hailed the launch as "another achievement by Iranian scientists." This image taken from video footage aired by Iranian state television shows the launch of a rocket by Iran announced on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth. Credit: Iranian state television via AP However, officials were silent on whether the launched objects had actually reached orbit. Iran's civilian space program has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, including fatal fires and a launchpad rocket explosion that drew the attention of former President Donald Trump. Iranian state media recently offered a list of upcoming planned satellite launches for the Islamic Republic's civilian space program. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard runs its own parallel program that successfully put a satellite into orbit last year. The blast-offs have raised concerns in Washington about whether the technology used to launch satellites could advance Iran's ballistic missile development. The U.S. says that such satellite launches defy a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on Iran to steer clear of any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. This photo released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, shows the launching of Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket in an undisclosed location in Iran. Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth. Credit: Iranian Defense Ministry via AP Iran, which long has said it does not seek nuclear weapons, maintains its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have a military component. Announcing a launch as nuclear negotiators meet in Vienna aligns with Tehran's hard-line posture under President Ebrahim Raisi, a recently elected conservative cleric. New Iranian demands in the nuclear talks have exasperated Western nations and heightened regional tensions as Tehran presses ahead with atomic advancements. Diplomats have repeatedly raised the alarm that time is running out to restore the accord, which collapsed three years ago when Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the deal. Iran has now abandoned all limitations under the agreement, and has ramped up uranium enrichment from under 4% purity to 60%a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels. International inspectors face challenges in monitoring Tehran's advances. This image taken from footage aired by Iranian state television shows a rocket that Iran announced it launched on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth. Credit: Iranian state television via AP This photo released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, shows Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket prior to be launched in an undisclosed location in Iran. Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth. Credit: Iranian Defense Ministry via AP This picture released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, shows Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket prior to be launched in an undisclosed location in Iran. Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth. Credit: Iranian Defense Ministry via AP This photo released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, shows Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket prior to be launched in an undisclosed location in Iran. Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth. Credit: Iranian Defense Ministry via AP Satellite images seen by The Associated Press suggested a launch was imminent earlier this month. The images showed preparations at the spaceport in the desert plains of Iran's rural Semnan province, some 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of Tehran. Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space. But under Raisi, the government appears to have sharpened its focus on space. Iran's Supreme Council of Space has met for the first time in 11 years. Explore further Satellite images, expert suggest Iranian space launch coming 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The publishing of several articles that reveal the vulnerability of farmed fish to the anisakis parasite has prompted the research group in Marine Zoology of the University of Valencia to experimentally assess the infective susceptibility of fish. The results from the ANITEST project, which just ended, show that in the improbable case that the parasite reaches farms, fish are not very susceptible to being infected. Until now, aquaculture was considered a space free of anisakis, as fish are fed feed that does not have the parasite. Recent articles have mentioned sporadic cases of presence of the parasite in farmed fish. In fact, anisakis (Anisakis spp.) is capable of infecting practically any fish. However, the ANITEST projecta method for assessing infectivity for aquaculture free of anisakishas revealed that this parasite has a very limited rate of infection, being almost always broken down by antiparasitic processes that take place when ingesting and digesting the feed. ANITEST was led by the Marine Zoology group of the Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutive Biology (ICBiBE) of the University of Valencia, a study which included the collaboration of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge through the Pleamar program, co-financed by the FEMP. The project focused on assessing the real susceptibility of farmed species when being exposed to the parasite, as well as on developing procedures to learn the infective potential of anisakis. The study highlights that the infective capabilities of anisakis are relatively low, as only 10% of the parasites manage to infect the fish. "The fact that parasites have mobility and an apparently normal appearance has not implied that they were viable, in the same way as immobile and damaged parasites managed to infect the fish," says Alejandro Lopez, researcher of the ICBiBE and one of the people responsible for ANITEST. "This low capacity of infection is decreased further by the fact that, between the limited percentage of parasites that took hold in the fish, there were many encapsulated and live worms that presented noticeable external and internal damage, which would hinder their infective capacity." The team observed that the time that these parasites need to penetrate the digestive system of the fish and take hold in the visceral cavity is very shortsix hours after being ingested. He also observed that anisakis only takes hold in the surface of the viscera and the connective tissue, and never in the muscle of the fish, which is important, as the latter is the part of interest for the consumer." The study reveals the need to develop standardized experimental models of infection, which would make it possible to learn whether anisakis is capable of infecting in different scenarios of ecological, epidemiological and health-related interest. One of the tarantulas Emily Setton studied for insights into spinnerets. Credit: Emily Setton Emily Setton removes the lid from a small, plastic dish on her lab bench. Within the clear, rectangular plate are half-circle wells containing hundreds of round beads about the color and size of couscousthe large kind. Setton, a graduate student in the lab of Integrative Biology Professor Prashant Sharma, is just back from a field trip to desert-like southeastern Colorado, where she stealthily collected these eggs from the grips of the female Texas brown tarantulas guarding them within their burrows in the sand. She needed the embryos for her research into spiders' unique forms and abilities. "I really wanted to understand how spiders make spinnerets, and how their legs may have been modified over time to make them. What's the genetic architecture of the web-weaving appendages?" says Setton. "I am interested in how you make novel structureshow do they evolve and how does nature create novelty at the genetic level?" Setton tried to use the eggs of common house spiders, but they're just too small to apply the research methods she needed. Tarantula eggs, she found, were much better suited to the task. Keeping a few furry spiders around as pets isn't so bad, either. They don't eat much, though taking them for walks is discouraged. The spinneret of a spider is an incredibly unique organ. No other animal possesses one like it. Setton is profoundly curious how this happens. "Spinnerets are one of those inventions of evolution that has allowed a group of animals to become incredibly successful," she says. "They're found all over the world, except in Antarctica, where it's too cold." Sharma's lab studies spiders and their ancestors to ask questions about how their unique forms came about. Does creating the spinneret of the spider involve co-opting genes that already existed for other purposessay, genes involved in respiratory organs or leg developmentor does nature evolve new genes for new functions? "My advisor wants to know why daddy long legs (or harvestmen, which are not spiders) have long legs. I want to know: How do spiders weave webs?" Setton explains. "The answer is, we don't know. We don't know how silk is made or how the spinnerets and the spigots in spinnerets are made, at the genetic level. There is so much we don't know; my inner child wants to know." So Setton has embarked on a mining expedition of sorts, examining the appendages of developing spider embryos over time, looking for which genes get turned on and whenand where in their bodies. She's comparing to other species to see if she can tell just how old or new any particular gene is, and what these genes do in other related species. "Some trends are emerging that indicate spinnerets express a significant number of 'old' genes and a significant number of 'new' genes," she explains, based on her recent research, funded in part by the Emlen, John and Virginia Award Fund for Outstanding Graduate Work in Zoology. The work is hard, and there's virtually no playbook. Few have trod where Setton finds herself today. "I never thought I would work in a lab where tarantula hunting was a thing we did," she says. "I like the troubleshooting. I like the challenge of it, studying a non-model system. It's frustrating sometimes, but it's also very fun because a lot of it is new." Explore further Spiders and scorpions have co-opted leg genes to build their heads A Malayan tiger at Prague zooa tiger from the same endangered subspecies was shot dead at a Florida zoo after biting a worker who had reached into his enclosure. A tiger was shot dead at a Florida zoo after biting a cleaner who had put his arm through the fencing of its enclosure, law enforcement and local media said. The cleaner at the Naples Zoo was "was either petting or feeding" the eight-year-old Malayan male tiger, "both of which are unauthorized and dangerous activities," the Collier County sheriff's office said in a statement on Facebook late Wednesday. "Initial reports indicate that the tiger grabbed the man's arm and pulled it into the enclosure after the man traversed an initial fence barrier and put his arm through the fencing of the tiger enclosure," the statement continued. The first deputy to arrive "kicked the enclosure and tried to get the tiger to release the man's arm from its mouth but the deputy was forced to shoot the animal." The sheriff's statement said that after the shooting the tiger retreated to the back of the enclosure and was not moving. US media later reported, citing zoo officials, that the tiger, named Eko, had been killed. A statement on the zoo's website Thursday said it was closed for an investigation "and to allow our staff to process what has occurred and to begin the painful healing process." It also said grief counsellors were being made available. The cleaner, who was in his 20s, "was seriously injured" and taken to hospital, the sheriff's statement said. Eko had arrived at the Naples Zoo around two years ago, according to its website. The Malayan tiger is classified as critically endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "Red List" of threatened species. The post prompted dozens of comments, some from users calling for zoos to be shut down but many criticizing the cleaner for his actions. "So some idiot may cost a tiger its life? So sad," one typical comment said. Others said there was no other option. "If that was your family member. Being unsafe or not, you would be pretty pissed if the deputy did nothing. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't," wrote one. Explore further Rare white tiger diagnosed with cancer dies at zoo 2021 AFP Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain From the Mars Ingenuity helicopter's first powered flight on another world to the launch of the James Webb telescope that will peer into the earliest epoch of the Universe, 2021 was a huge year for humanity's space endeavors. Beyond the science milestones, billionaires battled to reach the final frontier first, an all-civilian crew went into orbit, and Star Trek's William Shatner waxed profound about what it meant to see the Earth from the cosmos, as space tourism finally came into its own. Here are selected highlights. Red Planet robot duo NASA's Perseverance Rover survived its "seven minutes of terror," a time when the craft relies on its automated systems for descent and landing, to touch down flawlessly on Mars' Jezero Crater in February. Since then, the car-sized robot has been taking photos and drilling for samples for its mission: determining whether the Red Planet might have hosted ancient microbial life forms. A rock sample return mission is planned for sometime in the 2030s. With its state-of-the-art instruments, "Percy," as the helicopter is affectionately known, can also zap Martian rock and chemically analyze the vapor. Percy has a partner along for the ride: Ingenuity, a four-pound (two kilogram) rotorcraft that in April succeeded in the first powered flight on another celestial body, just over a century after the Wright brothers' achieved the same feat here on Earth, and has performed many more since. "Perseverance is sort of the flagship mission, it's doing a long-term detailed investigation of this fascinating area of Mars," Jonathan McDowall, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told AFP. By contrast, "Ingenuity, is one of these cute, small, cheap little technology demos that NASA can do so well," he added. The insights gained from Ingenuity could help scientists develop Dragonfly, a planned thousand-pound drone copter, to search for signs of life on Saturn's moon Titan in the mid-2030s. Private spaceflight takes off An American millionaire became the world's first space tourist in 2001, but it took 20 more years for the promise of private space flight to finally materialize. In July, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson faced off against Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos to be the first non-professional astronaut to complete a suborbital spaceflight. While the British tycoon won that battle by a few days, it was Blue Origin that raced ahead, launching three more flights with paying customers and celebrity guests. Elon Musk's SpaceX entered the fray in September with a three-day orbital mission around the Earth featuring an all-civilian crew on Inspiration 4. "It's really exciting that finally, after so long this stuff is finally happening," said space industry analyst Laura Seward Forczyk, author of the forthcoming book "Becoming Off-Worldly," intended to prepare future space travelers. But it was William Shatner, who played the swashbuckling Captain Kirk on the 1960s TV series "Star Trek," who stole the show with a moving account of his experience. "What you're looking down on is Mother Earth, and it needs protecting," he told reporters. A Russian crew shot the first feature film in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021, and Japanese tourists made their own visit there on a Russian rocket. For a few minutes on December 11, there were a record 19 humans in space when Blue Origin carried out its third crewed mission, the Japanese team were on the ISS along with its normal crew, and Chinese taikonauts were in position on their station. The sight of wealthy elites gallivanting in the cosmos hasn't been to everyone's liking, however, and the nascent space tourism sector triggered a backlash from some who said there were more pressing issues to face, such as climate change, here on Earth. Globalization of space During the Cold War, space was dominated by the United States and the former Soviet Union. Now, in addition to the explosion of the commercial sector, which is sending up satellites at a dizzying pace, China, India and others are increasingly flexing their space flight muscles. China's Tiangong (Palace in the Sky) space stationits first long-term outpostwas launched in April, while its first Mars rover, Zhurong, landed in May, making it the only the second country to achieve such an exploit. "In the past 20 years since China finally decided to go big on space, they've been in catch up mode," said McDowall. "And now they're kind of there, and they're starting to do things that the US hasn't done." The UAE placed a probe into Martian orbit in February, becoming the first Arab nation and fifth overall to reach the planet. Russia meanwhile launched a missile at one of its own satellites, becoming the fourth country to hit a spacecraft from the ground, in a move that reignited concerns about the growing space arms race. Washington slammed Moscow for its "reckless" test, which generated over 1,500 pieces of large orbital debris, dangerous for low Earth orbit missions such as the ISS. Coming soon... The year closed out with the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, a $10 billion marvel that will make use of infrared technology to peer back 13 billion years in time. "It's arguably the most expensive, single scientific platform ever created," said Casey Drier, chief advocate of the Planetary Society. "To push the boundaries of our knowledge about the cosmos, we had to build something capable of accessing that ancient past," he added. It will reach Lagrange Point 2, a space landmark a million miles from Earth, in a matter of weeks, then gradually start up and calibrate its systems, coming online around June. Also next year, the launch of Artemis 1when NASA's giant Space Launch System (SLS) will carry the Orion capsule to the Moon and back, in preparation for America's return with humans later this decade. NASA plans to build lunar habitats and use lessons learned there for forward missions to Mars in the 2030s. Observers are encouraged that the program launched by former president Donald Trump has continued under Joe Bideneven if he hasn't been as vocal in his support. Finally, sometime next fall, NASA's DART probe will smash into an asteroid to kick it off course. The proof-of-concept test is a dry run should humanity ever need to stop a giant space rock from wiping out life on Earth, as seen in Netflix's new hit film "Don't Look Up." Explore further What a blast: The rush of amateur astronauts 2021 AFP State Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, is seeking Assembly sponsorship, and support from Gov. Kathy Hochul, for new legislation Jordan introduced to establish a $10 million state grant program to assist fire departments with the cost of renovating or replacing obsolete firehouses. Fire districts, departments, and companies across New York are crucial for protecting both the lives and property of all New Yorkers, Jordan wrote in a Dec. 1 letter to Hochul, suggesting the governor include the legislation in her state budget proposal, to be released in January. Jordan introduced the legislation, modeled after the states long-standing library construction aid program, on Dec. 1. Jordan said the village of Stillwater firehouse, constructed in 1896, is an example of an outmoded firehouse that potentially could benefit from the grant program. The firefighters there can no longer purchase new, up-to-date firetrucks as they will not fit in the nearly 130-year-old station, Jordan wrote. The legislation did not have an Assembly sponsor as of Dec. 28. Jordan, who represents the 43rd Senate District, which includes parts of Saratoga, Washington and Rensselaer counties and all of Columbia County, outlined her legislative priorities for the new legislative year, which begins Jan. 5, in a prepared statement. She acknowledged that some of her legislative priorities will be a tough sell in the Democratic-controlled Senate. In reality, issues important to me and the vast majority of my constituents will not be considered by the majority, she said. Their priorities are the antithesis of mine. Jordan said her priorities include repealing bail reform legislation that was enacted under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, making it more difficult for inmates to get parole, and resisting any new or increased taxes. Jordan is the main sponsor of legislation to require a unanimous vote of the state Parole Board to release an inmate who has completed the minimum sentence. Currently, only a simple majority of the members present at the meeting is required, according to New Yorkers United for Justice, an advocacy organization. The legislation is part of a package of parole reform legislation that Jordan and other Republicans have introduced. Jordan also introduced legislation to require the makeup of the 15-member Parole Board to include at least one police officer and at least one crime victims advocate. Jordan is hopeful that two bills she introduced that have already passed the Senate will make headway in the Assembly during the second year of the current legislative session. In June, the Senate, by a 62-1 vote, passed legislation, now under consideration in the Assembly Transportation Committee, to honor Marylou Whitney, a longtime Saratoga Springs socialite and philanthropist who died in July 1999 at age 93. For decades, Marylou Whitney was a monumental, highly respected, and genuinely beloved figure in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, the Capital Region, and the horse racing community statewide and nationwide, Jordan said in a news release in June. Jordan and state Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, introduced legislation to name a section of state Route 9P in Saratoga Springs, the road adjacent to Saratoga Race Course and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, as Marylou Whitney Way. The designation between Northway Exit 14 and the intersection with Nelson Avenue would be ceremonial, and would not require a change of names on maps. Among other philanthropic endeavors, Whitney, who often set the fashion tone at Saratoga Race Course, was a founder of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the National Museum of Dance. She hosted a yearly gala to benefit backstretch workers at the track and local organizations, such as Saratoga Hospital. The hospitals intensive care unit is named in honor of Whitney. Jordan also hopes the Assembly will advance legislation she introduced that the Senate passed in June to designate New York as a Purple Heart State, a ceremonial recognition of members of the military who were killed or wounded in action. Sens. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, and James Tedisco, R-Glenville, are among the Senate co-sponsors. Assemblyman Jake Ashby, R-Castleton, and Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, D-Brooklyn, introduced the legislation in the Assembly. Other legislative priorities include: Passing legislation that she introduced to establish a $10 million state grant program to fund police officer voluntary mental health peer support programs; Convincing Hochul to include a peer support program for veterans in the governors upcoming state budget proposal; Passing legislation that she introduced to make stealing a package delivered to a purchasers porch a felony; Passing legislation that she introduced to establish the first-degree and second-degree felony crimes of menacing a police officer. Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Warren County Health Services and the Washington County Public Health Department both reported additional COVID-related deaths on Thursday. Washington County reported that a 72-year-old resident died from COVID on Wednesday. The countys report, issued Thursday morning, stated that the individual had been recently hospitalized and was fully vaccinated. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and the caregivers of our lost community member, Washington County officials said in a news release. The Warren County resident was over the age of 100 and lived at home prior to being hospitalized with the virus. The county stated in a news release that this person was not vaccinated. Warren County officials offered their condolences to the family and loved ones. Also, county officials said the New York State Department of Health notified Warren County this week about the discovery of three cases of the omicron variant from positive test results obtained on Dec. 16. Warren County has now documented cases of both COVID variants, omicron and delta. Health Services Director Ginelle Jones reminded county residents of the high transmission rates associated with the omicron variant in the news release. Please celebrate the new year safely. We know that this more contagious variant is present in our community, and that it is likely resulting in our local and regional increase in infections. Please stay home if you do not feel well, consider using a home rapid test before heading to a gathering and help us safeguard our most vulnerable residents, Jones said. Warren County Warren County Health Services reported 123 new COVID cases and 33 recoveries on Thursday. Of the new cases reported, 62 involved fully vaccinated residents. Health Services is now monitoring 730 active cases, with 717 experiencing mild illness. The county now has 972 residents under mandatory quarantine due to exposure. There was no change reported in the number of hospitalized cases, which remains at 13. Five patients are critically ill and the remainder have moderate illness. Four of the critically ill are unvaccinated. Overall, nine of the 13 who are hospitalized are unvaccinated. Glens Falls Hospital spokesman Ray Agnew reported 27 COVID patients with eight individuals now in the ICU. The seven-day rolling positivity rate in the county continues to increase and stood at 10.2% on Thursday. Washington County The Public Health Department processed 67 new COVID cases on Wednesday, with additional cases not yet processed due to the number of positive test results in the county, according to a news release on Thursday morning. Of the new cases recorded, 15 involved fully vaccinated individuals. The county reported 38 recoveries. According to the report, nine residents are currently hospitalized with COVID. The Public Health Department is now monitoring 255 active cases, with 1,250 persons under monitoring due to exposure. Washington County officials warned the community of the recent surge in winter cases and urged county residents to consider vaccination. According to the #nysvaccinetracker, 37,482 county residents have received the complete vaccine series and 40,078 have now received one dose. The health department has recorded 1,162 breakthrough cases to date, with 10 of those cases resulting in death. The seven-day rolling positivity rate for the county was 10.1% on Thursday. Love 0 Funny 6 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Washington County Public Health Department has reported that a 72-year-old resident died from COVID on Wednesday. The county's report, issued Thursday morning, stated that the individual had been recently hospitalized and was fully vaccinated. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and the caregivers of our lost community member," Washington County officials said in a news release. Love 0 Funny 6 Wow 1 Sad 32 Angry 2 SO WHAT'S NEXT FOR GHISLAINE MAXWELL? She needs to be sentenced, but a date has yet to be set. A family statement the night of the verdict said an appeal had already been started. And she faces another trial, on two counts of perjury that were spun off from her indictment. WHY IS GHISLAINE MAXWELL CHARGED WITH PERJURY? Those counts are based on her answers during 2016 depositions in a since-settled lawsuit brought by accuser Virginia Giuffre. She's accused of lying by saying I dont know what youre talking about in response to a question about whether Epstein had a scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages. She's also accused of lying by saying she didn't recall whether there were sex toys or devices at Epstein's Florida home and by saying she wasn't aware Epstein was having sex with anyone but her. Her lawyers argued those depositions shouldn't be used at the criminal trial because of a court-approved agreement her answers would stay confidential. WHAT WAS GHISLAINE MAXWELL UP TO BEFORE HER ARREST? In a year full of political upsets, head-scratching decisions and momentous changes in the way elections are run , some events still stand out as the highlights of 2021. To me, the biggest story of the year was the red wave of the election. Very few people expected it, said John Froonjian, executive director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University. Overall, Republicans picked up six seats in the Assembly and one in the state Senate, with the most gains in South Jersey, giving the GOP a path out of the New Jersey political wilderness after many years, Froonjian said. In 2022, Democrats will still have a majority, but it will be smaller. They will hold 24 of the 40 seats in the Senate (down from 25 this year), and 46 of the 80 seats in the Assembly (down from 52). The wave swept even powerful state Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland, out of office. Defeating him was truck driver Edward Durr, of Logan Township, Gloucester County, who has run for office before but never gotten a major party nomination or won a race. Since the start of the pandemic, public health authorities have been fastidiously counting the number of people infected with the coronavirus. For both the medical profession and the media, these rising figures have been the principal way of framing the pandemic in the U.S.: 124,000 new cases a day, 802,000 COVID deaths since February 2020. But this information offers an incomplete picture of the crisis, potentially warping the publics understanding in ways that could prolong the pandemic and even add to its toll. Whats missing from the day-to-day conversation is the number of uninfected people and the number of infected people who survive COVID-19. That provides a denominator to put the other figures in context. If there were 124,000 new infections per day, how many people were exposed? If 802,000 people died from COVID, how many were infected but didnt die? Indeed, such information is the most underreported story of the pandemic. But it has long been an important piece of public health information. It advances our understanding of the nature of the disease; it hints at the power of precautions such as masks and vaccines; and it can allay fears and trauma that people are experiencing about the seemingly never-ending nature of the pandemic. The night will also see patchy fog. Well slide into the 40s during the evening and stay there overnight, with lows in the mid-40s. That brings us to New Years Eve, which still looks to be the most comfortable day of the week. A morning shower cannot be ruled out, but most of you will be rain-free. Temperatures will get into the mid-50s again, and a little sunshine will peek out as we close the year. If youre celebrating the night in the region, everywhere from Atlantic City to Bridgeton will be in the 50s up until the time the ball drops. Overnight will only slowly fall into the mid- to upper 40s. Just bring a jacket and youll be comfortable outside. Then we get to New Years weekend, which will be a messy, chaotic one. Two storm systems will pass, one Saturday and one Sunday p.m. to early Monday. It will be a multifaceted storm, with rain, wind and coastal flooding. That said, neither storm will be overly powerful. Expect rain to begin between 5 and 8 a.m. Saturday, ending between 5 and 8 p.m. later in the day. This rain will be associated with a warm front that will struggle to lift northward. The northern side of the front is where you get your rain, and that will be our fate Saturday. Expect an easterly wind when it rains, with temperatures in the 50s for most of it. So the Biden administrations selection of young, liberal judges is good for the administration and the Democratic Party. Is it good for the judiciary? There is or should be a difference between law and politics. The law should not be, to paraphrase Carl von Clausewitzs comment about war, the continuation of politics by other means. Instead, judges should try their best to apply the law to the facts of the cases before them, as objectively as possible. A judges goal should be to dispense justice under the law, not to advance an ideological agenda. Unfortunately, judges on both the right and left have too often treated the law as a vehicle for partisan politics. The judge-picking process might bear some of the blame. It might be better for the judiciary for Biden and all presidents, for that matter to focus relatively little on youth and ideology. This was essentially the Obama administrations approach, partly because it was Obamas own centrist inclination, and partly because, back when the filibuster was in effect, confirming judges who were too far from the center was impossible. Nicole Mehlhaff grew up in the shadow of three volcanoes: Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams, all just over an hours drive from her hometown of Naches, Washington. With a degree in Earth science and a fascination for natural landscapes, Mehlhaff describes her home in geologic terms. We lived in the subduction zone of the Cascade volcanoes, Mehlhaff said. The landscape was defined by lava plateaus and the ancient floods from the glacial Lake Missoula. In college, Mehlhaff studied the natural forces and geologic mechanisms that gave rise to the imposing Cascade Range and its towering volcanoes. She also studied education, learning to convey these Earth-molding concepts to young and curious minds. Mehlhaff started her teaching career in Oregon and, during the summers, headed back to the mountains to work at Mt. Rainier National Park. There, she wrote curriculum, translating the beauty of the park into classroom lessons about tectonic plates, plant life and cloud formations. When Mehlhaff moved to the Midwest in 2010, she found herself with few mountains to climb but with plenty of geology to explore. Where I live in Yankton, South Dakota, we are on the edge of ancient glacial sheets, Mehlhaff said. When the ice ages ended and the ice melted, it left behind the end moraines [debris deposits] we see today. Mehlhaff used her own experiences of volcanoes and river systems to bring Earth science topics to life in her classrooms first in Oregon, then in Nebraska and South Dakota. She encouraged her students to look at the natural world around them and investigate which forces and mechanisms might have caused the features or phenomena they saw. Mehlhaff continued writing curriculum and even helped develop professional development programming for other educators. Today, Mehlhaff teaches physical science at Yankton Middle School. Her sixth-grade students spend their school year studying the structure of an atom, the forces that push and pull within the universe, and the electromagnetic spectrum. To help her students connect with the material, Mehlhaff turned to research that was happening in her students home state of South Dakota. Specifically, she turned to Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead where scientists are studying fundamental particles like neutrinos and dark matter. SURFs team of education specialists developed a curriculum unit to bring the search for dark matter into the classroom. And Mehlhaff was one of the first educators to test it in the classroom. Through the curriculum unit, her students were introduced to the baffling observations in deep space that first convinced researchers that dark matter exists. Mehlhaff dug deeper into SURF science. It was at a SURF professional development program for educators she first heard the pedagogical term phenomena-based learning. To Mehlhaff, the approach was all-too familiar. Once I learned about the concept of phenomena-based learning, I thought Oh, I do that all the time, Mehlhaff said. And with the SURF professional development, Im learning to pick phenomena that are truly meaningful to my students and meaningful for the concept Im teaching. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Valentini heads to Laval, based in Quebec, Canada, after appearing in nine games for the Rush, during which he has recorded three goals and six assists. He is in his second season as a pro and his first in North America after spending the 2020-21 season in Italy with Sterzing/Vipiteno of the AlpsHL, where he had 10 goals and 22 assists over 32 games. This is his first career appearance in the AHL. The observations contained herein are solely those of the authors and do not represent the views of the University of South Dakota. This year the Top Ten Remarkable Decisions are listed in ranked order, with top decision listed first as No. 1, the second most remarkable listed as no. 2, etc. The analysis and compilation of these decision belongs to the authors. In that regard, preparation for this article was assisted and facilitated through by an informal survey circulated among the members of USDLAW, an electronic list serve which serves the legal community in South Dakota. Untimeliness of Decision Overshadows Amendment A ruling #1 William Gladstone stated in his 1868 comments in the House of Commons, Justice delayed is justice denied. Many say that this is what happened in the Amendment A litigation. In THOM & MILLER v. BARNETT et al./ELECTION CONTEST AS TO AMENDMENT A, 2021 S.D. 65, the trial court ruled that the voter-initiated Constitutional Amendment (encompassing recreational marijuana usage) was improper. The proponents of the Amendment appealed, looking to the Supreme Court to correct the wrong asserted to be done by the trial judge. Would the high Court respond? Yes, after a very long while. Eventually, the Supreme Court held, by a vote of 4-1, that the voter-initiated Amendment A was invalid because it violated the single subject requirement in the South Dakota Constitution. Proponents of Amendment A vigorously argue that this decision wrongfully overturns the will of the people. There are rumors that the Justices who voted in favor of this decision may face organized opposition in retention elections. The most remarkable aspect of this decision is not its holding but the delay of close to 7 months between submission of the issues and the Courts ruling. The case was orally argued on April 27, 2021 with the decision being released to the public on November 24, 2021. The wheels of justice ground very slowly on this one, disappointing a broad range of communities -- voters, legislators, governmental entities, and the media. There was a failure by the judicial system to respond in a timely fashion. Tourism reigns supreme #2 Just exactly how much does South Dakota cater to tourism? This question underlies the decision in WILSON v. MAYNARD, 2021 S.D. 37. Homeowners near Deadwood objected to their neighbors usage of their home as an Airbnb based upon restrictive covenants for homes in this development. The restrictive covenants limit the usage to residential purposes. The home in question was rented [out as an Airbnb] nearly every day between June and September [in 2019]. During the 2018 and 2019 Sturgis Motorcycle Rallies, they rented the Property to 12 guests at once; and the Property has housed as many as 20 guests at a time. [The owners charged] $500 for weekday stays, $650 for weekend stays, and up to $1,200 per day during the Sturgis Rally. In a split decision, three justices of the SD Supreme Court determined that the short-term rentals were permissible. In a survey put forward to South Dakota lawyers, this decision was voted to be one of the most remarkable decisions of 2021. One responding lawyer commented that this decision provides, Important legal input into the relationship of AirBnbs in the context of residential development, residential zoning, and residential uses. Other than the Amendment A litigation, this is the case that I have talked about the most at work and at home. We protect our workers #3 ANDERSON v. TRI STATE CONSTRUCTION, 2021 S.D. 50: This decision permits an injured worker to utilize South Dakotas Workers Compensation laws to seek recovery for injury sustained in Wyoming. The employer is a South Dakota corporation with headquarters in South Dakota, but the injury occurred in Wyoming and the injured worker initially filed a work comp claim there, receiving temporary total benefits under Wyoming law. The employee then shifted her claim to South Dakota to request permanent total disability benefits under the more liberal South Dakota law because Wyoming law would only permit benefits for 80 months. Both the South Dakota Department of Labor and the trial court refused to allow the employee to proceed on the basis of a lack of jurisdiction. The South Dakota Supreme Court reversed, holding, South Dakota has a substantial connection to [employee and employers] employment relationship sufficient to provide authority to adjudicate [the employees] claim. This decision is important because it portrays the Courts unwavering desire to protect South Dakota workers in the face of strong resistance by the insurance industry. We really do protect our workers #4 BILLMAN v. CLARKE MACHINE, INC., 2021 S.D. 18: Here, the South Dakota Supreme took a deep dive into the underlying work comp claim and found that this 62-year-old employee was entitled permanent total disability benefits as a result of a work-related injury which necessitated the amputation of a portion of his left leg. Both the South Dakota Department of Labor and the trial court ruled for the work comp insurer, finding that the employee was employable. Kudos to the SD Supreme Court for its unanimous holding that the Department of Labors position was clearly erroneous. Civil disputes dont belong in criminal court #5 STATE v. SUCHOR, 2021 S.D. 2: What was primarily a civil dispute between three builders and a contractor landed in criminal court by way of a grand jury. At a jury trial, the Defendant was found guilty of three counts of grand theft by misappropriation of funds. Taking another deep dive into the facts, the South Dakota Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Defendant was entitled to a Judgment of Acquittal. This decision makes the list because it not only demonstrates the Courts willingness to analyze underlying facts, but it also helps curb the propensity to allow civil parties to utilize South Dakotas criminal justice system for civil disputes. More encroachment on tribal sovereignty #6 In decisions handed down in 1990 and 2004, the South Dakota Supreme Court established the rule of law that a state law enforcement officer is not permitted to intrude upon reservation territory in the pursuit of a suspect and to gather evidence without a search warrant or tribal consent. This rule was significantly altered in STATE v. CUMMINGS, 2021 S.D. 4. In Cummings, the trial court suppressed statements made by Defendant to an investigating officer at Defendants home located on Indian Trust land. The statements related to a burglary which occurred outside of Indian Country. The trial court ruled, under existing precedent, that the investigating officer lacked authority to investigate crimes in Indian Country. The SD Supreme Court took the case on an intermediate appeal and reversed. The Court held that the statements made were in the context of a consensual conversation and, as such, not in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In reaching this holding the Court side-stepped precedent stating, In re-examining [earlier] decisions, we conclude that [they] incorrectly conflated jurisdictional principles associated with tribal sovereignty and individual rights afforded by the Fourth Amendment. Can law enforcement really use excessive force without civil ramification? Yes, by a vote of 3-2. #7 In HAMEN v. HAMLIN CNTY., 2021 S.D. 7, we find a situation where law enforcement personnels utilization of an armored vehicle rendered $18,778.61 worth of damage to a residential trailer. As pointed out in the dissenting opinion, this destructive force was invoked even though no one was barricaded inside with hostages or shooting at law enforcement or even threatening to shoot. Law enforcement did not take incremental steps to clear the trailer, but rather chose to tear [it] apart absent an immediate threat. The trial court permitted an excessive force claim to stand against the Sheriff. The SD Supreme Court granted an intermediate appeal and held that, as a matter of law, that the sheriff was entitled to a dismissal of excessive force claim. This decision is based upon a 3-2 split of the Justices. The two-justice dissenting opinion presents four color photos of the damaged trailer and states, the resulting damage to the trailer was intolerable in its intensity and unnecessary to execute the warrant at issue. Another Excessive Force situation when will it end? #8 Another glimpse of excessive force is found in INTEREST OF N.A., 2021 S.D. 57, where a minor child was adjudicated as a delinquent based upon allegation that she assaulted a police officer. The SD Supreme Court reversed and remanded, finding that the police officer used excessive force in the events which prompted the juvenile to react. The Court stated: [22.] Based upon our de novo review of this constitutional issue, and after considering the totality of the circumstances, we conclude Officer Bassett used excessive force to detain N.A. when he grabbed and pulled a non-threatening, non-fleeing, and non-resisting female teenager to the ground in a dark room, without warning. The Court further held that the trial court did not properly analyze and consider the juveniles claim of self-defense. Note: this decision does not deal with a claim for damages, but simply acknowledges the utilization of excessive force against a minor. State permitted to renege on plea agreement #9 In STATE V. GUZIAK, 2021 S.D. 68, the State agreed to sentence cap of 180-days in jail in exchange for Defendants guilty plea to abuse or cruelty to minor. But at sentencing, the State changed course, arguing that the Defendant, has a history that is egregious and warranting a hefty sentence. The trial court imposed a 12-year penitentiary sentence with 8-years suspended on the child abuse conviction. In a 4-1 ruling, the SD Supreme Court upheld this result, applying the plain error standard of review. The dissents approach (which we believe is more appropriate) asserted that the unique facts of this case present a special category of cases in which prejudice need not be shown under the plain error standard of review. Lock him up and throw away the key? Not so fast Imperfect Self-Defense recognized as Defense #10 The trial court went too far by imposing a sentence of 124 years in STATE v. MITCHELL, 2021 S.D. 46. Defendant, originally charged with 1st Degree Murder, pled guilty to reduced charge of 1st Degree Manslaughter. State recommended sentence of 60 years. Victims family requested sentence of life imprisonment. Trial Court sentenced Defendant to 124 years. The SD Supreme Court reversed and remanded, stating that, in order to accurately assess the nature of [Defendants] conduct, the [trial] court must consider the fact that he was reacting to a threat posed by [the Victims] own assaultive conduct. This opinion discusses, for the first time in South Dakota jurisprudence, the notion of an imperfect self-defense which is described in 36 as follows: Contrasted from a perfect self-defense claim where the defendant is free from fault in bringing about difficulty with his adversary and reasonably believe[d] he needed to respond to an adversarys threat with deadly force, an imperfect self-defense presents manslaughter as a different option for criminal liability, short of murder and without the potential of an outright acquittal. Wayne R. LaFave, Substantive Criminal Law, 15.3(a) (2020). The reason for the imperfection can either be the defendants own fault in bringing on the difficulty or the unreasonableness of [his] honest but erroneous belief[] that he is in danger of serious or fatal injury which he can prevent only by killing the victim. Id. The incident resulting in the victims death was captured on video recording and reviewed by both the trial court and the SD Supreme Court. The Courts opinion described the underlying facts as follows: [1.] After a brief confrontation with Lucas Smith at a local bar, Jameson Mitchell armed himself with a handgun and encountered Smith in a nearby alley. Smith ran toward Mitchell, shouting for Mitchell to shoot him. After taking a few steps back, Mitchell fired at the charging Smith, fatally wounding him. Honorable Mention We recognize that selection of the Top Ten decisions is subjective. The proverbial saying that reasonable minds may differ certainly comes into play. In that regard, we would like to point out that the following decisions were considered as being viable nominations, but ultimately left out of our Top Ten list. These additional decisions might appropriately be awarded the title of Honorable Mention: STATE v. LANGEN, 2021 S.D. 36 (3-2 decision limiting the speedy trial requirement of SDCL 23A-44-5.1, with the authors preferring the analysis of the two-Justice dissent); STATE v. REEVES, 2021 S.D. 64 (establishing a flexible rule of evidence for admission of surveillance video); PATTERSON v. PLOWBOY, LLC, 21 SD 25 (limiting opportunity for appellate review under rule 54(c)); STATE v. KLINETOBE, 2021 S.D. 24 (addressing sentencing standards); MATTER OF IMPLICATED INDIVIDUAL, 2021 S.D. 61 (application of open records laws to search warrants and supporting affidavits). Professor Emeritus Roger Baron, USD School of Law, has served as the unofficial reporter for South Dakota Supreme Court opinions for over a decade, providing weekly summaries of newly-released opinions. He also maintains and operates USDLAW, an electronic list serve which serves the legal community in South Dakota. Lori Goad graduated with honors from USD Law School in 2017 and served as judicial clerk for the Fourth Judicial Circuit upon graduation. She currently works as Assistant Public Defender in Pennington County. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Christmas trees have been part of Dave Phillips life since his older brother grew some for a 4-H project when they were kids. Since then, the Phillips Christmas Trees business near Heyworth, Ill., just kept growing, with thousands of trees ready for people to cut these days. No pre-cut trees here visitors choose, cut and carry the one they want. Phillips, who is also a trucker, opens his McLean County tree farm before Thanksgiving to give military families a chance to get a tree early since many cant be home at Christmas time. ENNIS Firefighters faced sub-freezing temperatures that caused their equipment to ice up Wednesday morning as they battled a fire at a four-unit apartment building in Ennis, Madison County officials said. "Everything was freezing up," including nozzles and breathing equipment, said Joe Brummell, director of Disaster and Emergency Services for Madison County in southwest Montana. The fire was reported at about 5:45 a.m. by a resident of one of the apartments, he said. By the time the fire was out at about 8 a.m., three of the four apartments were a total loss, Brummell said. Three people were displaced, but no one was injured, he said. The Madisonian newspaper captured an image of firefighter Pat Noack with his helmet, beard and his gear covered in ice. The temperature was zero degrees Fahrenheit in Ennis on Wednesday morning, Brummell said, with winds blowing 5-10 mph, causing sub-zero wind chill factors. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it is believed to have started in the attic of one of the apartments, Brummell said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 It was late 2013 when then-Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said he received a call from then-U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid to weigh in on who Bullock should appoint to replace Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, who would soon be named ambassador to China. Bullocks reply to the Nevada Democrat, as reported by the media? I said it was none of your damn business. By law, the Montana governor fills any Senate vacancies by appointing a replacement. Bullock, a Democrat who served two terms as governor, told reporters in May 2014 about the conversation with Reid, who died Dec. 28 after a four-year bout with pancreatic cancer. I said, You know what. Stay out of my decision-making. This is a decision I make and no one else,' Bullock said in a story reported by Charles S. Johnson of the Lee Montana State Bureau. This is one of those decisions that voters have entrusted me with. Bullock told reporters Reid called him in December 2013, before it became public that President Barack Obama would appoint Baucus, who had served six terms in the U.S. Senate, as the U.S. ambassador to China. Baucus accepted the appointment. Bullock appointed John Walsh, his lieutenant governor, to fill Baucus seat. Bullock declined to say who Reid had recommended for the appointment, the Associated Press reported at the time. Reid's press office did not return calls for comment. Republicans claimed the Walsh appointment was all part of a backroom deal orchestrated by the White House, Reid and Bullock. If there was a backroom deal, I certainly was never invited to that back room, Bullock told reporters. Montana Republican Party officials had called for an open process in selecting Baucus' replacement. Bullock said Montana law left it as his decision. Walsh, former adjutant general of the Montana National Guard, withdrew from the senate race in August 2014 because his campaign was distracted by allegations he plagiarized a U.S. Army War College research paper. Then-state Rep. Amanda Curtis, D-Butte, entered the race for the Democrats. She was defeated by Republican Steve Daines, who was serving as the states lone U.S. representative. Daines defeated Bullock, who was termed out of office from running for another four years as governor, in the 2020 U.S. Senate race and was re-elected to a second term. Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A tax adjustment for Montanas regulated utilities will bring savings to customers of Montana Dakota Utilities and NorthWestern Energy. MDU residential electric customers should see a $10.81 reduction for 2022, at least in the portion of their bill concerning taxes and fees. Monthly, the reduction is about 1%. MDUs gas customers will receive a reduction of 0.8% per month, or $7.47 for the year related to taxes. The rate adjustment, which starts Jan. 1, was approved by the Montana Public Service Commission in early December. The PSC announced the reduction Tuesday. NorthWestern Energy residential electric customers will see a $21.12 cut for the coming year on the portion of their bill concerning taxes and fees. The monthly reduction is 1.9%. NorthWesterns residential natural gas customers will see an average reduction of $13.56 for the year, or 1.3% per month for the same reason. Utility taxes and fees pass directly to customers. When those taxes and fees are lower than expected, consumer bills show the difference. Utility prices in general are increasing as rising natural gas prices boost winter home heating bills. In November, the PSC advised utility natural gas customers to expect bill increases as high as 62%. NorthWestern Energy is expecting Montana customers will pay 47% more for heating costs this winter than they did a year ago. Montana Dakota Utilities, in forecasting a 52% increase for natural gas customers in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas, said much of the increased demand for gas is related to U.S. gas sales overseas, while gas drilling nationwide hasnt increased despite better payouts for producers. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Richmond region is vying for $100 million in federal grant funding in an effort to create a hub for the pharmaceuticals industry. A coalition of government, academic, businesses and economic partnerships in the Richmond area hopes to use the funding to help build up the pharmaceutical industry in central Virginia that can provide a national supply of essential medicines that have often been shifted to overseas production in recent years. It has been a problem for a while, but the COVID-19 disruptions to supply chains really highlighted that to the federal government, said Chandra Briggman, the president and CEO of Activation Capital, an organization that helps support technology, biotechnology and entrepreneur businesses in the Richmond area. The coalition was awarded $500,000 earlier this month as one of 60 finalists across the country seeking grants as part of a $1 billion federal economic development package. That initial funding is to help the local coalition plan for the next round, with applications due in March. Finalists now compete for Phase 2, which will award 20 to 30 regional coalitions up to $100 million to implement three to eight projects that support an industry sector. Contractors including medical providers make up about a quarter of employees at the Vacaville prison, but only 37% are vaccinated as required. They make up nearly one in five employees at the prison in Stockton, with 61% vaccinated. That compares to about 80% of permanent employees vaccinated at the two prisons. State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomas Aragon last week expanded on the vaccination order for all paid and unpaid individuals who are regularly assigned to provide health care to inmates or work in prison medical settings or in local jails. They were supposed to be vaccinated by mid-October, and his order now requires them to get booster shots by Feb. 1. Citing the new omicron variant that he said may be two to four times as infectious as the delta variant, Aragon warned that "even a moderate surge in cases and hospitalizations could materially impact Californias health care delivery system within certain regions of the state. The federal court-appointed receiver who controls medical care in California prisons said officials are working to get boosters in all eligible inmates by year's end. Of about 70,000 eligible inmates, nearly three-quarters had received one by mid-December. Seattle Children's also reported a bump in the number of children admitted over the past week. And while they are less seriously ill than those hospitalized over the summer, Dr. John McGuire cautioned that it is early in the omicron wave, and the full effects will become apparent over the next several weeks. New York health authorities have also sounded the alarm. The number of children admitted to the hospital per week in New York City with COVID-19 went from 22 to 109 between Dec. 5 and Dec. 24. Across all of New York state, it went from 70 to 184. Overall, almost 5,000 people in New York were in the hospital with COVID-19. A fourfold increase makes everybody jump with concern, but it's a small percentage," Ko said of the New York City figures. Children have a low risk of being hospitalized, but those who do are unvaccinated." Dr. Al Sacchetti, chief of emergency services at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, New Jersey, likewise said vaccinated children are handling the omicron outbreak extremely well. It makes a big difference in how these kids tolerate the disease, particularly if the childs got some medical issues, he said. Just minutes into 2020, a 28-year-old mother of two was killed, accidentally, as a group celebrated the new year by shooting guns into the air. La-tiyah Hood left behind two sons, 10 siblings and her mother. More than 200 spent cartridge casings were recovered from the backyard where she was shot in the 2500 block of North Avenue. Her tragic death, along with that of 7-year-old Brendon Mackey, killed accidentally by gunfire at a fireworks show in Brandermill on July 4, 2013, have prompted warnings against celebratory gunfire from the regions police departments ahead of every New Years and July 4 holiday since. The men and women of the Richmond Police Department are asking the community to celebrate the New Year safely and responsibly, a news release from the department read. Theyve also taken to social media with several video pleas from community members including a doctor from the Childrens Hospital of Richmond at VCU and clergy encouraging safety this New Years Eve. Dont fire guns in the air. Remember, what goes up will come down, and when a bullet comes down it could be fatal to you or to someone you love. TEACHER TAX BREAKS: House Bill 32 gives some Georgia teachers who agree to work in certain rural and low performing schools as much as $3,000 a year off their state income taxes for five years. The break is limited to 1,000 teachers. Those who don't incur $3,000 in state income tax liability in a year can carry the credits forward for up to three years. However, the state wont pay any remaining amount in cash, as had been proposed in a previous version of the bill. JUDICIAL PAY: House Bill 488 raises pay for chief magistrates, judges in each county who handle evictions, county ordinance violations, bad check cases, warrants and some preliminary hearings. The chief magistrate in the state's least populous counties will make at least $36,288 up from $29,832, with pay rising in steps according to a county's population. At the top step, in the four counties with more than 500,000 people, judges will make at least $133,107, up from $109,426. The bill also provides pay raises for part-time judges and probate judges who also handle magistrate judge duties. (Image: Channel News Asia) The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) have announced a list of relief measures to assist individuals who were affected by the recent severe floods. In a joint statement, LIAM and MTA said that thousands of people have been displaced from their homes due to the catastrophe and may face difficulties in paying their insurance premiums on time. As such, life insurers and family takaful operators have agreed to provide a range of assistance for them, specifically: Extending the timeline by a few extra months for policyholders to pay their premiums and contributions Restructuring the payment modes from annual to monthly basis Extending the grace period (usually 30 days) to a longer timeframe for payment of premiums and contributions Reducing or waiving the interest charges for policy loans and policies under the Automatic Premium Loan option Waiving the printing cost for the replacement of insurance policies, takaful certificates, and medical card Note, however, that these aids will also be subject to the individual terms and conditions from each insurer and takaful operator, so policyholders are encouraged to seek for more details from their agents. The president of LIAM, Loh Guat Lan said that both associations deeply sympathise with all flood victims in this difficult time, especially with their homes damaged and livelihoods disrupted. Our member companies are committed in providing the necessary support to affected families so that they can have the peace of mind to know that their insurance needs are taken care of, she said. The chairman of MTA, Elmie Aman Najas also chimed in with a similar sentiment, commenting that the flood has taken its toll on the family, business, and wellbeing of the victims. The flood have resulted in the evacuation of many victims from flooded areas to safer grounds mainly causing the family to lose contact with their family members, losing business, and some even lost their loved ones in the floods, and it is timely for the industry to play their role and responsibility in helping the victims, he said. Policy and certificate holders who wish to contact their respective insurers or family takaful operators can check this list by LIAM and MTA for the official hotlines and contact details. Aside from LIAM and MTA, the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM), too, has offered aid to affected individuals in the form of a one-off subsidy of up to RM500 for the clean-up of vehicles that were directly affected by the recent floods. (Source: LIAM) 0 0 votes Article Rating SHARE RICHMOND Virginia and Richmond officials on Thursday announced a tentative agreement to transfer ownership of the city's now mostly removed Confederate monuments to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. Included in the transfer would be an enormous statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee that was removed earlier this year, as well as the 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) pedestal that held it. Pedestal removal work at the site is still underway. Under the plan announced by Gov. Ralph Northam and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, the Black History Museum would work with The Valentine museum of Richmond and the local community to determine the memorials' fates. The deal requires the city councils approval, which Stoney said he would seek next month. The arrangement would enable the community to take a deliberate approach in its reckoning with such divisive symbols, Stoney said in a statement. Entrusting the future of these monuments and pedestals to two of our most respected institutions is the right thing to do, Stoney said. Stoney directed the removal of the city's Confederate monuments last summer amid the protest movement that erupted after the police killing of George Floyd. The statues have been in storage since then, at least part of that time at the city's wastewater plant. Not all of the pedestals have been removed. Around the same time the city's statues were removed, Northam announced plans to remove the Lee statue, which was located on state property. But litigation tied up his plans until earlier this year. The statue was removed in September, and work to take down the enormous pedestal began earlier this month. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. " " Wikimedia Commons ( CC By-SA 2.5 Constructed in 1986, the acoustic Wave Organ sculpture was built from bricks, cement, and carved granite and marble from an old cemetery. At water level, the organ amplifies the sounds of the waves coming through its pipes. One of my favorite things about taking visitors on a tour of my hometown is showing them some of San Francisco's lesser known but extra cool treasures. Yes, the Golden Gate Bridge is beautiful, and sure, the "Full House" house is fun to gawk at, but the city's real magic lies in the landmarks and details that usually aren't found in guidebooks. Case in point: the Wave Organ. Constructed in 1986, the Wave Organ pretty much lives up to its name: It's an acoustic sculpture activated by the waves of San Francisco Bay. In collaboration with the city's epic science museum, the Exploratorium, artist Peter Richards developed the concept after receiving a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1980. Partnering with sculptor and master stone mason, George Gonzalez, Richards created the permanent installation after an enthusiastic response to his rudimentary prototype, which debuted in 1981. Advertisement The acoustic sculpture, constructed from bricks, cement, and the carved granite and marble of an old cemetery, among other elements, is designed to amplify the sounds of the waves coming through the jetty. Twenty-five PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and concrete pipes make up the musical instrument itself, each extending into the water at different lengths. When the waves crash into the ends of the pipes, they create deep, melodic music that fluctuates with the motion of the water. The Wave Organ's unique sounds are a result of air moving through the pipes at different frequencies. Since each pipe is a different length and accommodates a different volume of air, the pitch each one produces is also different, creating a harmonious collection of notes. The more air that can move through the pipe, the lower the sound; less air means a higher tone. The Wave Organ isn't just a must-visit spot for the acoustics the attraction also happens to sit in one of the most beautiful sites in the city, close to Crissy Field, overlooking the San Francisco skyline and that famous bridge. And timing is everything when it comes to visiting the Wave Organ: The acoustics are only active during high tide and the music is best heard around high tide, so keep an eye on the Bay before you go. Now That's Interesting Richards was inspired to create the Wave Organ after discovering a series of Australian sound recordings that were the result of a pipe placed in the ocean. Police officer who was jailed for attacking two black people is found dead at his home Declan Jones arriving at Birmingham Magistrates Court where he was given a six-month sentence after being caught on camera assaulting members of the public - Matthew Lofthouse/SWNS Declan Jones arriving at Birmingham Magistrates Court where he was given a six-month sentence after being caught on camera assaulting members of the public - Matthew Lofthouse/SWNS A police officer who was jailed for assaulting two black members of the public while on duty has been found dead at his home. Declan Jones, a former constable with West Midlands Police, was said to have caused a public relations disaster for police with the assaults on consecutive days in April 2020. The first saw Jones knee, punch and pepper-spray a man in the Aston area of Birmingham, before kicking and punching a 15-year-old boy he wrongly accused of possessing drugs in the Newtown area the following day. The 30-year-old was jailed for six months in September for two counts of assault and is reported to have been recently released from prison. He was found suffering a cardiac arrest at an address in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on Tuesday afternoon, but paramedics were unable to save him, West Midlands Ambulance Service said. A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: On December 28, officers were called to an address in Bromsgrove following reports of concern for the welfare of a man in his 30s. Sadly, the man was pronounced dead at around 12.45pm. We dont believe there to be any third-party involvement in the death and a report will be prepared for the coroner. A camera catching the moment a cyclist was dragged onto a car bonnet and repeatedly punched by Declan Jones - SWNS The assault case emerged at a time Black Lives Matter protests were sweeping the globe following the death of George Floyd at the hands of US police in 2020. Sir David Thompson, the chief constable of West Midlands Police, was forced to address the outrage caused by Joness excessive and gratuitous use of force, which was captured on film, following his dismissal as an officer in September. He acknowledged the case involved a significant national concern, namely excessive force by the police on black men and pledged to work to restore the trust of black communities in the West Midlands. District Judge Shamim Qureshi, who found Jones guilty after a week-long trial at Coventry magistrates court, said at a hearing earlier this year: I have to make the comment that the videos, some of which were released on social media, are disastrous for public relations. It is embarrassing. The videos do not show the police in a good light at all. Story continues A spokesman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct said: We have been made aware of the death of a former West Midlands Police officer and our thoughts are with all of those affected at this very difficult time. As such, it would be inappropriate to say anything further at this stage. Watch: Northumbria Police officer sacked for 'offensive' online posts about Black Lives Matter protests COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) A Texas-style abortion ban. A bill outlawing the procedure statewide if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Local ordinances, stays by judges, new lawsuits. After this frenetic year of activity on the issue, it might be difficult to keep track of exactly where Ohio's abortion laws stand as 2021 comes to a close. Here's a look: ARE ANY NEW LAWS IN EFFECT? Yes, one. Abortion opponents in Ohio scored a major victory in April, when a federal appellate court ruled the state could begin to implement a 2018 law prohibiting abortions based on a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. Similar laws remain blocked in other states, but the ruling has emboldened lawmakers to attempt the restriction elsewhere. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine bookended 2021 by signing two new abortion restrictions into law, but neither is currently in effect. A ban on the use of telemedicine for medication abortions, which DeWine signed in January, drew a constitutional challenge by Planned Parenthood, and it's been temporarily blocked by a judge. The governor signed a second abortion bill last week. It imposes criminal penalties on doctors who fail to provide medical care in rare cases when infants are born alive after an abortion attempt. But a court challenge is expected before its effective date of March 23. ARE OTHER EARLIER LAWS ON HOLD? Yes, several. Among them are: a ban on most abortions after a detectable fetal heartbeat (or flutter ) is detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy; a law requiring fetal remains from surgical abortions to be cremated or buried; part of a ban on D&E, or dilation & evacuation, abortions, the most common method used in the second trimester; and certain restrictions on clinic operations that were tucked into Ohio's two-year operating budgets back in 2013 and 2015. WHAT ABOUT OTHER BILLS THAT MADE HEADLINES IN 2021? For now, they remain in the Ohio General Assembly, whose Republican supermajorities are positioned to test some of the most far-reaching abortion restrictions in the nation next year. Among proposals stalled since introduction are: a Texas-style abortion ban that could effectively end all abortions in the state; a so-called trigger ban that would outlaw all Ohio abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court lifts current constitutional protections on the procedure; and a bill requiring doctors to tell women undergoing drug-induced abortions about a medically disputed method for potentially reversing a two-step abortion process. Such hot-button bills tend to lay quietly and then resurface suddenly during the lame-duck period, the few weeks after fall elections have been decided and before the two-year legislative session ends. It's a volatile time because lawmakers have either secured new terms or been booted by voters. In both cases, they needn't be concerned about political consequences. DIDN'T SOME OHIO CITIES IMPOSE LOCAL BANS? Ultimately, only one did. Lebanon, in southwest Ohio, became the first city in the state to outlaw abortion and declare itself a sanctuary city for the unborn in May a largely symbolic gesture, given it has no clinics performing the procedure. Nearby Mason followed suit in October, but the move drew strong pushback. Opponents mobilized to defeat two council members who had supported the ban in November's elections, and the newly constituted council repealed the ban Dec. 13. Similar efforts fizzled in Celina in Mercer County and London in Madison County. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Hospitals and emergency medical services based in Scranton and York will be the first to receive help from federal teams to deal with the latest COVID-19 surge, Gov. Tom Wolfs administration said Wednesday. Three federal strike teams will arrive at the Scranton Regional Hospital and WellSpan York early next week and open about 30 additional acute care hospital beds for 30 days, the Wolf administration said in a statement. On top of that, emergency medical teams will go to York and Scranton, although the exact number of health care workers to be deployed is still being determined, the administration said. Hospitals and nursing homes statewide have been sounding the alarm in recent weeks as largely unvaccinated COVID-19 patients fill hospital beds. That has sent some acute-care facilities over capacity, jammed some emergency rooms and forced nursing homes to stop accepting new residents. Wolf's administration continues to urge Pennsylvanians to get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying vaccinated people are far less likely to be hospitalized if they contract the disease. The administration asked the federal government for help on Dec. 15, seeking health care workers to help at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and ambulance companies in the hardest-hit areas of the state. Pennsylvania is reporting an average of almost 9,000 new, confirmed infections per day over the last two weeks, up 50% since the second half of November. The number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospital care has increased by 80% since last month, at more than 4,500 per day. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man who spent and attempted to spend counterfeit $100 bills has been sentenced to prison. Lawrence Parmelee, 42, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Woodbury County District Court to one count of forgery. Five other counts of forgery were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. District Judge Jeffrey Poulson sentenced Parmelee to five years in prison and ordered the sentence to be served at the same time as a four-year federal prison sentence he's currently serving. Parmelee used the fake money in March and April 2020. The Federal Reserve seal was erased from the bills because of Chinese writing that was placed on the seal. Part of Independence Hall was erased on the back of the bills because Chinese writing was on the side of the building pictured on the bills. Parmelee was sentenced in December in federal court in Sioux City one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to selling meth in the Sioux City area from March 2019 through December 2019. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City woman has been charged on suspicion of tricking a mother into handing over custody of her kids and paying nearly $12,000 by faking a child welfare investigation. Anna Perez-Joaquin went so far as to have fake social workers visit the home and send bogus emails to convince the mother that if she did not relinquish custody of her two children or pay money, she would face criminal charges of assault and kidnapping, according to complaints filed in Woodbury County District Court. Perez-Joaquin, 39, was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Woodbury County Jail on charges of first-degree theft, ongoing criminal conduct and extortion. Bond was set at $25,000 Thursday, and a judge granted the alleged victim a no-contact order against Perez-Joaquin. The scheme began on Aug. 26, when, court documents say, Perez-Joaquin convinced the woman she and her children were the subject of an Iowa Department of Human Services investigation and tricked the mother into granting temporary custody of the kids to her. Perez-Joaquin then used a fake lawyer profile to dupe the mother into paying her $400 a month in child support to care for the children. The mother also gave Perez-Joaquin a child tax credit check she received and a monthly death benefit the children received from the loss of a parent. During the four-month period, Perez-Joaquin accepted at least 16 cash payments and bank transfers totaling approximately $11,874 from the mother. In the meantime, Perez-Joaquin had initiated plans to take the children to Mexico, court documents said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CENTER, Iowa -- A Sioux Center man was arrested Wednesday after police say he drove a vehicle with a 2-year-old child passenger while intoxicated. Alfredo Anibal Martin-Martin, 23, is charged with neglect of a dependent person, a class C felony, as well as operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and interference with official acts, both serious misdemeanors. The Sioux County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that Martin-Martin was arrested at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, after dispatchers received 911 calls concerning a vehicle being driven in an unsafe manner on 400th Street, east of Sioux Center. According to a criminal complaint filed in Sioux County District Court, two concerned citizens reported that a black Ford Mustang was driving across the center line. A third person also flagged down a deputy and reported that they saw the vehicle driving all over the road. The complaint said the deputy found the vehicle south of 400th Street on Kennedy Avenue. At the time, Martin-Martin was attempting to turn around in a driveway, but was having difficulty making the turn. He ended up driving partly into the ditch with one tire over the culvert. As the deputy approached the vehicle, Martin-Martin stepped out holding a small child. The deputy reported observing Martin-Martin with bloodshot and watery eyes. He said Martin-Martin also had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from him, according to the complaint. "I looked into the car and saw that there were Corona beer bottle caps lying on the driver's seat. The driver started to walk away with the child. I had to tell him to come with me and had to hold onto him to guide him towards the patrol car. He pushed against my hands and kept talking about his daughter," the deputy said in the complaint. Martin-Martin initially attempted to use the child to delay the investigation, and refused to release the child, but the statement said deputies were able to safely remove the child from him. Martin-Martin was arrested and taken to the Sioux County Jail. The child was taken into custody by the Iowa Department of Human Services and later released to her mother. At the jail, Martin-Martin consented to standardized field sobriety tests, which he failed, according to the complaint. He agreed to take to a breath test, which revealed his blood alcohol level was at 0.224, nearly three times the legal limit to drive. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. DENVER (AP) An estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening. At least one first responder and six others were injured, though Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle acknowledged there could be more injuries and deaths could be possible due to the intensity of fires that quickly swept across the region as winds gusted up to 105 mph (169 kph). The first fire erupted just before 10:30 a.m. and was attacked pretty quickly and laid down later in the day and is currently being monitored with no structures lost, Pelle said. A second wildfire, reported just after 11 a.m., ballooned and spread rapidly east, Pelle said. The blaze spans 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) and has engulfed parts of the area in smoky, orangish skies and sent residents scrambling to get to safety. The activity of the fires, which are burning unusually late into the winter season, will depend on how the winds behave overnight and could determine when crews are able to go in and begin assessing the damage and searching for any victims. This is the kind of fire we cant fight head on, Pelle said. We actually had deputy sheriffs and firefighters in areas that had to pull out because they just got overrun, he added. Evacuations have been ordered for the city of Louisville, home to about 21,000 people, and Superior, which has another 13,000 residents. The neighboring towns are roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Denver in an area filled with middle and upper-middle class subdivisions surrounded by shopping centers, parks and schools. The area is in between Denver and Boulder, a foothills college town home to the University of Colorado. Residents evacuated fairly calmly and orderly, but the winding streets in the suburban subdivisions quickly became clogged as people tried to get out. It sometimes took cars as long as 45 minutes to advance about a half mile (less than a kilometer). Small fires cropped up here and there in surprising places on the grass in a median or in a dumpster in the middle of a parking lot as wind gusts caused the fire to jump and spread. Shifting winds caused the skies to turn from clear to smoky and then back again as emergency sirens blared nearby. Some of the several blazes in the area Thursday were sparked by downed power lines. Six people who were injured in the fires were being treated at UCHealth Broomfield Hospital, spokesperson Kelli Christensen said. A nearby portion of U.S. Highway 36 also was shut down. Colorados Front Range, where most of the states population lives, had an extremely dry and mild fall, and winter so far has continued to be mostly dry. Denver set a record for most consecutive days without snow before it got a small storm on Dec. 10. It hasnt snowed since, though snow was expected in the region Friday. One video captured by a bystander outside a Superior Costco store showed an apocalyptic scene with winds whipping through barren trees in the parking lot surrounded by gray skies, a hazy sun and small fires scattered across the ground. Leah Angstman and her husband saw similar dark skies while returning to their Louisville home from Denver International Airport after being away for the holidays. As they were sitting on the bus going toward Boulder, Angstman recalled instantly leaving clear blue skies and entering clouds of brown and yellow smoke. The wind rocked the bus so hard that I thought the bus would tip, she wrote in a message to The Associated Press. The visibility was so poor that the bus had to pull over and they waited a half-hour until a regional transit authority van escorted them to a turnaround on the highway. There she saw four separate fires burning in bushes across the freeway, she said. The sky was dark, dark brown, and the dirt was blowing in swirls across the sidewalk like snakes, she said. Angstman later ended up evacuating, getting in a car with her husband and driving northeast without knowing where they would end up. Vignesh Kasinath, an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado in Boulder, evacuated from a neighborhood in Superior with his wife and her parents. Kasinath said the family was overwhelmed because of the sudden evacuation warning and anxious from the chaos while trying to leave. Its only because I am active on Twitter I came to know about this, said Kasinath, who said he did not receive an official evacuation notice from authorities. The fires prompted Gov. Jared Polis to declare a state of a emergency, allowing the state to access disaster emergency funds. The evacuations come as climate change is making weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive, scientists say. A historic drought and heat waves have made wildfires harder to fight in the U.S. West. Ninety percent of Boulder County is in severe or extreme drought, and hasnt seen substantial rainfall since mid-summer. With any snow on the ground, this absolutely would not have happened in the way that it did, said snow hydrologist Keith Musselman, who was at home when the fire broke out not far away. Musselman said this severe fire risk can be expected in September and October following a dry summer, but the lack of any precipitation snow or rain this late in the season is highly unusual. The National Weather Service predicts up to a foot of snow could fall tomorrow in Boulder, and that moisture would bring substantial relief, Musselman said. Associated Press writer Colleen Slevin contributed to this report. Nieberg 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 under-covered issues. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) President Joe Biden warned Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the U.S. could impose new sanctions against Russia if it takes further military action against Ukraine, while Putin responded that such a U.S. move could lead to a complete rupture of ties between the nations. The two leaders spoke frankly for nearly an hour amid growing alarm over Russia's troop buildup near Ukraine, a crisis that has deepened as the Kremlin has stiffened its insistence on border security guarantees and test-fired hypersonic missiles to underscore its demands. Further U.S. sanctions "would be a colossal mistake that would entail grave consequences, said Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, who briefed reporters in Moscow after the Biden-Putin phone conversation. He added that Putin told Biden that Russia would act as the U.S. would if offensive weapons were deployed near American borders. White House officials offered a far more muted post-call readout, suggesting the leaders agreed there are areas where the two sides can make meaningful progress but also differences that might be impossible to resolve. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine and made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine. Putin requested the call, the second between the leaders this month, ahead of scheduled talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials Jan. 9 and 10 in Geneva. The Geneva talks will be followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council on Jan. 12 and negotiations at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna on Jan. 13. White House officials said Thursday's call lasted 50 minutes, ending after midnight in Moscow. Biden told Putin the two powers now face two paths: diplomacy or American deterrence through sanctions, according to a senior administration official. Biden said the route taken, according to the official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, will "depend on Russias actions in the period ahead." Russia has made clear it wants a written commitment that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO and that the alliance's military equipment will not be positioned in former Soviet states, demands that the Biden administration has rejected. Biden told Putin a diplomatic path remains open even as the Russians have moved an estimated 100,000 troops toward Ukraine and Kremlin officials have turned up the volume on their demands for new guarantees from the U.S. and NATO. White House officials said Biden made clear that the U.S. stands ready to exact substantial economic pain through sanctions should Putin decide to take military action in Ukraine. Putin reacted strongly. He "noted that it would be a mistake that our ancestors would see as a grave error. A lot of mistakes have been made over the past 30 years, and we would better avoid more such mistakes in this situation, Ushakov said. Russia's demands are to be discussed during the talks in Geneva, but it remains unclear what, if anything, Biden would be willing to offer Putin in exchange for defusing the crisis. Draft security documents Moscow submitted demand that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. The U.S. and its allies have refused to offer Russia the kind of guarantees on Ukraine that Putin wants, citing NATOs principle that membership is open to any qualifying country. They agreed, however, to hold talks with Russia to discuss its concerns. The security proposal by Moscow has raised the question of whether Putin is making unrealistic demands in the expectation of a Western rejection that would give him a pretext to invade. Steven Pifer, who served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in the Clinton administration, said the Biden administration could engage on some elements of Russia's draft document if Moscow is serious about talks. Meanwhile, key NATO members have made clear there is no appetite for expanding the alliance in the near future. The U.S. and allies could also be receptive to language in the Russians' draft document calling for establishing new consultative mechanisms, such as the NATO-Russia Council and a hotline between NATO and Russia. The draft treatys proposed bar on any NATO military activity in Ukraine, eastern Europe, the Caucasus, or Central Asia is an overreach, but some measures to limit military exercises and activities on a reciprocal basis might be possible, Pifer, who is now a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, wrote in an analysis for the Washington think tank. Biden and Putin, who met in Geneva in June to discuss an array of tensions in the U.S.-Russia relationship, are not expected to take part in the January talks. Last week, Russia test-fired Zircon hypersonic missiles, a move Russian officials said was meant to help make Russias push for security guarantees more convincing." The test was the first time Zircon missiles were launched in a salvo, indicating the completion of tests before the new missile enters service with the Russian navy next year and arms its cruisers, frigates and submarines. U.S. intelligence earlier this month determined that Russian planning was underway for a possible military offensive that could begin as soon as early 2022, but that Putin had yet to determine whether to move forward with it. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines Security and Defense Council, said Thursday his country believes there is no immediate threat of a major Russian invasion. Our experts say that the Russian Federation just physically cant mount a big invasion of our territory, Danilov said. There is a time period needed for preparations. The U.S. military has flown surveillance flights in Ukrainian airspace this week, including a flight Thursday by an Air Force E-8C JSTARS aircraft, according to Chuck Pritchard, a spokesman for U.S. European Command. That plane is equipped to provide intelligence on ground forces. Russia has denied any intention of launching an invasion and, in turn, has accused Ukraine of hatching plans to try to reclaim control of territories held by Moscow-backed rebels by force. Ukraine has rejected the claim. At the same time, Putin has warned that Moscow will have to take adequate military-technical measures if the West continues its aggressive course on the threshold of our home. Last month, Putin voiced concern that NATO could potentially use the Ukrainian territory for the deployment of missiles that would be capable of reaching Moscow in just five minutes and said that Zircon would give Russia a comparable capability. As Biden prepared for the talks with Putin, the administration also sought to highlight its commitment to Ukraine and drive home that Washington is committed to the "principle of nothing about you without you in shaping policy that affects European allies. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Past military incursions by Putin loom large. In 2014, Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and seized the territory from Ukraine. Russia's annexation of Crimea was one of the darker moments for President Barack Obama on the international stage. The U.S.-Russia relationship was badly damaged near the end of President George W. Bush's administration after Russias 2008 invasion of its neighbor Georgia after Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered his troops into the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Biden, who is spending the week in his home state of Delaware, spoke to Putin from his home near Wilmington. The White House distributed a photo of the president speaking to the Russian leader from a desk lined with family photos. Vladimir Isachenkov reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Dasha Litvinova in Moscow, Robert Burns in Washington and Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Four sets of Kentucky House incumbents split equally among Republican and Democratic lawmakers would be placed into the same districts under a redistricting plan unveiled by House GOP leaders Thursday. Under the proposed map, two sets of rural GOP lawmakers on opposite ends of the state would be paired with each other in newly drawn districts. Two pairs of urban Democrats would be placed into the same Louisville districts. Those incumbents would face off in the 2022 spring primary, if the proposal wins legislative approval and the lawmakers decide to seek reelection. The new boundaries for the 100-member chamber also would create two additional districts where the majority of voters would represent ethnic and racial minority populations, House Speaker David Osborne said. The long-awaited remapping plan revealed by Osborne comes days before lawmakers convene next week for the start of their 2022 session. Redistricting looms as the top priority in the opening week. Redistricting plans for congressional and state Senate districts havent yet been revealed. Republicans hold supermajorities in both Kentucky legislative chambers. Top House Democrats responded that the timing of the plans release was an attempt at fake transparency. They said it gives Kentuckians little time to review the new boundaries and to offer input. Noting that the new boundaries will be in place for a decade, House Democratic leaders Joni Jenkins, Derrick Graham and Angie Hatton said in a joint statement, The last thing we should be doing as a legislature is rushing something so important and so long-lasting. The leaders said they will review the map with their Democratic colleagues and discuss whether the GOP proposal meets legal and constitutional guidelines. The Democrats also said they are preparing an alternative redistricting plan. Redistricting bills will be put on a fast track. Legislators are likely to be in session on Saturday, Jan. 8, to wrap up the work and send the new maps to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, Osborne said. Lawmakers also plan to consider legislation in those opening days to extend the filing deadline for candidates, which is now Jan. 7. Under the House plan, the new boundaries would double the number of districts from two to four where the majority of voters would represent ethnic and racial minority populations, Osborne said. Also under the plan, two other districts would have increased minority influence, he said. The new House district map would not divide any precinct in the state, he said. We tried to draw districts as compactly as we possibly could, Osborne said at a news conference. The redistricting plan complies with legal and constitutional requirements, he said. Their supermajority status in the General Assembly puts Republicans in full control of the once-a-decade redistricting process. Their lopsided majorities also created complications due to population losses in many rural counties in eastern and western Kentucky represented by GOP lawmakers. Trying to fit those pieces back together in consideration of that population loss was very difficult and resulted in a lot of change, Osborne said. After months of work preparing the new boundaries, the speaker expected some pushback. I understand that there will be criticisms of it," he said. "Im sure that some of our own members have criticisms of it. If the plan remains intact, two GOP House incumbents from eastern Kentucky Reps. Norma Kirk-McCormick and Bobby McCool would be placed in the same district. The same would apply to two Republican members from western Kentucky Reps. Lynn Bechler and Jim Gooch Jr. On the Democratic side, Reps. Mary Lou Marzian and Josie Raymond would be paired in the same district, as would Reps. McKenzie Cantrell and Lisa Willner. Associated Press writer Piper Hudspeth Blackburn in Frankfort contributed to this report. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SEATTLE (AP) The lead lawyer in the lawsuit that forced Washington state to revamp public school funding has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a small district, saying the state is failing students due to the poor condition of school buildings. Public education is supposed to be the great equalizer in our democracy, reads the complaint filed Tuesday in Wahkiakum County Superior Court. Our state governments failure to amply fund the Wahkiakum School Districts capital needs, however, does the opposite. It makes our public schools a perpetuator of class inequality. The Seattle Times reports attorney Tom Ahearne is representing the Wahkiakum School District, which lies along the Columbia River and has fewer than 500 students. The suit said Washington is violating the state constitution by failing to ensure all students learn in safe and modern school buildings. A decade ago, Ahearn was the winning attorney when the Washington Supreme Court ruled in the landmark McCleary case that the state was failing to uphold its state constitutional duty by amply funding basic education for all students. That case upended many school districts reliance on property taxes, but stopped short of changing the funding system for building construction and improvements. Ahearn says small districts are being hurt because wealthy districts tend to vote in favor of taxing themselves for capital improvements, while poorer ones may not. Funding also correlates to property values. Because real estate in wealthy districts is worth more, its residents pay a lower tax rate than would residents of poorer districts to raise the same amount of money, according to the complaint. In the affluent Mercer Island district, for instance, the complaint says, property owners would pay 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to raise $30 million, whereas the much poorer Wahkiakum district would pay nearly $4 per $1,000 of assessed value. The state gives out grants for building improvements and will match money districts are able to raise according to complicated formulas, according to Ahearne. He noted, however, if voters dont pass a bond, you dont even get out of the gate. In Washington, school bonds must pass by a supermajority, or 60%. Benjamin King, spokesperson with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, said in an email the complaint was served to the Attorney Generals office, whos currently reviewing it. Not having learned many details of the complaint, its too soon for OSPI to comment. Ahearne said he expects the case to go the state Supreme Court and could potentially have a significant statewide impact, especially in small and rural districts. He speculates theres a good chance the court will extend its reasoning in McCleary to capital funding and side with the Wahkiakum district. He acknowledged, though, that the court might also take into account the tremendous amount of money the state has had to come up with because of the McCleary case about $6 billion a year and say I dont know if we want to give them another big bill. Former state Rep. Jim Buck is betting the case will make waves. I think what its going to do is shine a whole lot of attention on the seismic school safety issue that has been dodged for a long time, said Buck, who worked on the issue as a lawmaker and currently volunteers with Clallam County Emergency Management. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BANGKOK (AP) When the young farmhand returned to his village in Myanmar, he found the still smoldering corpses in a circle in a burned-out hut, some with their limbs tied. The Myanmar military had stormed Done Taw at 11 a.m. on Dec. 7, he told the AP, with about 50 soldiers hunting people on foot. The farmhand and other villagers fled to the forest and fields, but 10 were captured and killed, including five teenagers, with one only 14, he said. A photo taken by his friend shows the charred remains of a victim lying face down, holding his head up, suggesting he was burned alive. I am very upset, it is unacceptable, said the 19-year-old, who like others interviewed by the AP asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. The carnage at Done Taw is just one of the most recent signs that the Myanmar military is reverting to a strategy of massacres as a weapon of war, according to an AP investigation based on interviews with 40 witnesses, social media, satellite imagery and data on deaths. The massacres and burnings also signal a return to practices that the military has long used against ethnic minorities such as the Muslim Rohingya, thousands of whom were killed in 2017. The military is now accused of killing at least 35 civilians on Christmas Eve in Mo So village in an eastern region home to the Karenni minority. A witness told the AP that many of the bodies of the men, women and children were burned beyond recognition. But this time, the military is also using the same methods against people and villages of its own Buddhist Bamar ethnic majority. The focus of most of the latest killings has been in the northwest, including in a Bamar heartland where support for the opposition is strong. More than 80 people have died in killings of three or more in the Sagaing region alone since August, according to data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, or AAPP, a group that monitors verified arrests and deaths in Myanmar. These include the deaths of those in Done Taw, five people in Gaung Kwal village on Dec. 12 and nine in Kalay township on Dec. 23, part of a trend that has made Sagaing the deadliest region in Myanmar. The military is also reprising a hallmark tactic of destroying entire villages where there may be support for the opposition. Satellite imagery the AP obtained from Maxar Technologies shows that more than 580 buildings have been burned in the northwestern town of Thantlang alone since September. The violence appears to be a response to the local resistance forces springing up across the country, but the military is wiping out civilians in the process. In Done Taw, for example, the military moved in after a convoy hit a roadside bomb nearby, but the people killed were not part of any resistance, another villager told the AP. They were just normal workers on the betel-leaf plantation, the 48-year-old welder said. They hid because they were afraid. For the investigation, the AP spoke to dozens of witnesses, family members, a military commander who deserted, human rights groups and officials, along with analyzing data on deaths from the AAPP. The AP also reviewed satellite imagery and dozens of images and videos, with experts checking them against known locations and events. The numbers likely fall far short of actual killings because they tend to happen in remote locations, and the military suppresses information on them by curtailing Internet access and checking cell phones. There are similar cases taking place across the country at this point, especially in the northwest of Myanmar, Kyaw Moe Tun, who refused to leave his position as Myanmars United Nations envoy after the military seized power, told the AP. Look at the pattern, look at the way its happened.it is systematic and widespread. The military, known as the Tatmadaw, did not respond to several requests by phone and by email for comment. Three days after the Done Taw attack, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper dismissed reports of the slayings as fake news, accusing unidentified countries of wishing to disintegrate Myanmar by inciting bloodshed. The nature of how brazen this attack was is really indicative of the scale of violence we can expect in the coming months, and particularly next year, said Manny Maung, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. Just in the week of the Done Taw massacre, the military killed 20 more people in Sagaing, the AP analysis shows. And on Dec. 17, soldiers killed nine people, including a child, in Gantgaw township in the neighboring region of Magway, a witness told the AP, confirming AAPP data. Troops brought in by helicopter occupied the village for two days, and those who fled returned to find, identify and cremate rotting bodies, the witness said. The movement of troops suggests that violence in the northwest is likely to pick up. Two military convoys of more than 80 trucks each with troops and supplies from Sagaing have made it to neighboring Chin state, according to an opposition group. And a former military captain told the AP that soldiers in Chin State were resupplied and reinforced in October, and the army is now stockpiling munition, fuel and rations in Sagaing. The captain, who goes by the nom de guerre Zin Yaw, or Seagull, is a 20-year military veteran who deserted in March and now trains opposition forces. He said he continues to receive updates from friends still in the military and has access to defense documents, several of which he shared with the AP as proof of his access. His identity was also verified by an organization of military deserters. What the military worries about most is giving up their power, said Zin Yaw. In the military they have a saying, if you retreat, destroy everything. It means that even if they know they are going to lose, they destroy everything. The Tatmadaw overthrew the enormously popular Aung San Suu Kyi in February, claiming massive fraud in the 2020 democratic election that saw her party win in a landslide. Since then, the military and police have killed more than 1,375 people and arrested more than 11,200, according to the AAPP. One of the earliest mass killings took place on March 14 in the township of Hlaing Tharyar in Yangon, the biggest city in Myanmar, according to a report this month from Human Rights Watch. Witnesses said that security forces fired on protesters with military assault rifles and killed at least 65, including bystanders. As the militarys tactics have turned increasingly brutal, civilians have fought back. Opposition started with a national civil disobedience movement and protests, but has grown increasingly violent with attacks on troops and government facilities. In May, the opposition National Unity Government announced a new military wing, the Peoples Defense Force, and in September declared a defensive war. Loose-knit guerrilla groups calling themselves PDF have since emerged across the country, with varying degrees of allegiance to the NUG. An early example of the military unleashing its battle-tested tactics on majority Buddhist areas came just 23 miles up the river from Done Taw in Kani township. In July, images circulated of massacres in four small villages that Myanmars ambassador to the United Nations called crimes against humanity. Four witnesses told the AP that soldiers killed 43 people in four incidents and discarded their bodies in the jungle. On July 9, soldiers in trucks rolled into Yin village in Kani, launching an attack that would leave 16 dead, according to three witness accounts. The soldiers started shooting and sent people fleeing. Troops surrounded a group in the nearby jungle, said one woman who was captured with her brother. She was set free, but would never see her brother alive again. When she returned with others three days later, they discovered his body on the forest floor, already rotting in the heat and showing signs of torture. We all live in fear, said the woman, who like the other villagers asked to remain anonymous for safety. We are worried that they might come back during the night. One 42-year-old man said a search party of 50 villagers found three separate clusters of bodies. Some appeared to have been dragged to death along rocky ground with ropes or with their own clothes. The bodies had been pillaged for gold. There were some fleshly remains and the odor was so foul, the villager said. We couldnt even get close because of the smell. The village is now terrorized into silence, he said, listening for the next attack with their bags packed and the normal rhythms of life frozen in fear. Another Kani resident told the AP that when soldiers approached his village of Zee Pin Twin on July 26, he fled into the jungle. He returned to find his home broken and blackened by fire. Precious goods were stolen, and important documents, food, and other belongings like wedding photos lay in a smoldering heap. Two days later, villagers with search dogs found 12 bodies, some buried in shallow pits in the jungle. A villager told the AP that they saw bruises and other signs of torture on the corpses, and that one mans hands were tied with military boot laces and his mouth gagged. The descriptions match photographs and videos of burned and brutalized bodies given to the Myanmar Witness monitoring group. When theres image and videos (in) three separate eventsits very hard to deny, said Benjamin Strick, head of investigations for the Britain and Thailand-based group. The AP could not independently verify the grisly images, but they also match incident reports collected by the AAPP. John Quinley, a human rights specialist with Fortify Rights, said the group believes the violence in Kani and in Sagaing is a direct result of PDF operations there. The Myanmar juntas strategy is to try to create an environment of terror and try to silence civilians and also try to drive out the PDF, Quinley said. That strategy may not be working. Resistance has only stiffened, according to the Kani villagers. The whole village plays a role, one man said. Some women make gunpowder; people do not work; all the villagers somehow take part in the revolution. Another described a few shattered survivors in a village unified by hatred of the military. I am not afraid anymore, he said. Instead of dying fleeing, I will use my life for a purpose. Thousands of army desertions have been reported, although usually of lower ranks, said Quinley from Fortify Rights. These atrocities are happening to everyday people, you know, engineers, university students, businesspeople, he said. And so I think theres a growing solidarity movement across religious and ethnic lines. The Tatmadaw has the advantage of airpower and automatic weapons. But the opposition in Sagaing and Chin state relies on knowledge of the terrain and the support of locals, some lightly armed with muzzle-loaded home-made traditional guns. They just modify their skills of fighting to the defensive war and guerrilla warfare, said Aung Myo Min, the NUGs minister for human rights, in an interview from Europe. The armys attacks in Sagaing are thought to be the opening salvo in a campaign to stamp out resistance in Myanmars northwest, called Operation Anawrahta. Anawrahta was an 11th-century Buddhist king who established a Burmese empire, and the name carries a special meaning to the military, said the deserter, Zin Yaw. That means they are going to brutally crush the people, he said. More than 51,000 people are already displaced in seven Sagaing townships, including Kani, and another 30,200 in Chin State, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs. What were seeing in Sagaing is really interesting, because were talking about the Bamar heartland that basically should be the core foundation of this military, said Maung of Human Rights Watch. Its telling how worried the military is of its own people. There are now growing signs that the military is turning its focus on Chin state. Chin fighters claim to have killed dozens of soldiers, according to social media analysis by Myanmar Witness. As fresh soldiers have flowed into Chin state, residents have reported troops putting down protests with live rounds and brutal beatings. A teacher in the town of Mindat said many fled early on, but she was determined not to be forced out. Then the military fired artillery into the town so the houses would shake like an earthquake, she said. Her cousin, a member of the PDF, was killed by a sniper and his body boobytrapped, the teacher said. That evening, villagers tried to move the body from a distance with a stick. The body blew up. We didnt get back a body, she said. Instead we had to collect pieces. She fled to neighboring India in October. A half-days drive west from Mindat lies Matupi, a town with two military camps that is now bereft of its young people, according to a college student who fled with her two teenage brothers in October. She said the military had locked people into houses and set them alight, hid bombs in churches and schools, killed three protest leaders she knew and left bodies in the middle of roads to terrorize people. Yet the resistance has spread, she said. People are scared of the military, but they want democracy and they are fighting for democracy, she said from India, where she now lives. They are screaming for democracy. Thantlang, a town near the Indian border, has also been emptied of its people after four months of heavy fighting, according to the Chin Human Rights Organization. Drone footage shot by the group in October and December and seen by the AP shows fires raging inside buildings and charred churches, collapsed schools and ruined homes. The footage matches fires detected by satellites and interviews with villagers. Rachel, a 23-year-old who had moved home to Thantlang in June to escape the COVID pandemic in Yangon, said residents started hearing explosions and gunfire in the distance. The sounds gradually got closer starting in September. As the shelling hit the town, she and others hid on the ground floor of their local church for four days, she said. She then fled for a nearby village. But she sneaked back into town on Dec. 3 to gather belongings. While she was in her home with three friends, small arms fire and explosions suddenly erupted outside. She felt a hot burn as a bullet tore into her torso. Two of her friends bolted, leaving her alone with a cousin who has trouble walking due to a birth defect. She told him she was going to die and asked him to leave. But he stayed, wrapping her scarf around her stomach to stem the bleeding. The two managed to get to her motorbike, and her cousin held her with one hand as he drove with the other. A local doctor determined that the bullet had hit her cell phone and then gone into the left side of her stomach. I think I would have died there if it had not hit the phone, said Rachel, who asked to be identified by one name only for her safety. The following day she got across the border to Mizoram in India. In an interview with the AP from Mizoram, she said she would return home despite the danger to look after her ailing 70-year-old mother. In the meantime, the farmhand who told the AP about the Done Taw massacre is defiant. He had been passively supporting the PDF before, but is now vowing to avenge the killings of his neighbors. I have just decided to fight until the end for them, he said. I will do whatever I can until I die or until I am arrested. McNeil reported from Beijing; Jain reported from New Delhi. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 HONOLULU (AP) The Navy on Wednesday filed objections to the conclusion by a Hawaii state official that it should be required to remove fuel from tanks it owns near Pearl Harbor. State Department of Health Deputy Director Marian Tsuji now has 30 days to consider the Navy's complaints before making a final decision on the matter. At issue is whether the Navy should be required, as ordered by Gov. David Ige earlier this month, to drain fuel from the tanks. The Navy argued it shouldn't. That prompted two days of hearings presided over by David D. Day, a deputy attorney general. After those hearings, Day on Monday recommended that the governor's order be followed. The governor issued his order after the Navy disclosed that fuel from a World War II-era fuel storage facility at Red Hill had contaminated one of its drinking water wells and sickened hundreds in military housing. Honolulu officials are concerned leaks from the facility may permanently damage an aquifer that sits underneath the tanks, jeopardizing Oahu's broader water supply. The Navy has a legal right to its filing, said David Henkin, a lawyer for Earthjustice, which represented the Sierra Club of Hawaii in the case. But it also has a moral obligation to acknowledge the reality that every day it fights this emergency order, is another day that Oahus principle source of drinking water remains at risk for catastrophic and irreversible contamination, Henkin said in a statement. The Navys filing Wednesday said Day used an overbroad interpretation of the Department of Healths emergency authority to regulate underground fuel storage tanks. The filing argued the current situation with the tanks did not pose an imminent threat to human health and the environment. Further, the Navy said Days findings improperly cited evidence of at least 76 incidents of fuel releases over the last 80 years as evidence that the fuel tank facility poses a constant threat to Oahus water supply. The filing said 30 of those releases were attributed to an early leak detection system with a flawed design that generated false positives. Another 26 leaks were from tanks 1 and 19, which have been permanently decommissioned. The Navys filing also objected to Days description of the Red Hill tanks as being too old, poorly designed, difficult to inspect and too large to prevent future releases. The Navy responded that the November fuel leak that contaminated the Navys drinking water well came from an accidental pipe release caused by human error and not from a tank leak. That release, in other words, does not support the Hearing Officers theory of system risk, the Navy said. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In the weeks leading up to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, a handful of Americans well-known politicians, obscure local bureaucrats stood up to block then-President Donald Trumps unprecedented attempt to overturn a free and fair vote of the American people. In the year since, Trump-aligned Republicans have worked to clear the path for next time. In battleground states and beyond, Republicans are taking hold of the once-overlooked machinery of elections. While the effort is incomplete and uneven, outside experts on democracy and Democrats are sounding alarms, warning that the United States is witnessing a slow-motion insurrection with a better chance of success than Trumps failed power grab last year. They point to a mounting list of evidence: Several candidates who deny Trumps loss are running for offices that could have a key role in the election of the next president in 2024. In Michigan, the Republican Party is restocking members of obscure local boards that could block approval of an election. In Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the GOP-controlled legislatures are backing open-ended reviews of the 2020 election, modeled on a deeply flawed look-back in Arizona. The efforts are poised to fuel disinformation and anger about the 2020 results for years to come. All this comes as the Republican Party has become more aligned behind Trump, who has made denial of the 2020 results a litmus test for his support. Trump has praised the Jan. 6 rioters and backed primaries aimed at purging lawmakers who have crossed him. Sixteen GOP governors have signed laws making it more difficult to vote. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed that two-thirds of Republicans do not believe Democrat Joe Biden was legitimately elected as president. Its not clear that the Republican Party is willing to accept defeat anymore, said Steven Levitsky, a Harvard political scientist and co-author of the book How Democracies Die. The party itself has become an anti-democratic force. Republicans who sound alarms are struggling to be heard by their own party. GOP Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming or Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, members of a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, are often dismissed as party apostates. Some local officials, the people closest to the process and its fragility, are pleading for change. At a recent news conference in Wisconsin, Kathleen Bernier, a GOP state senator and former elections clerk, denounced her partys efforts to seize control of the election process. These made up things that people do to jazz up the base is just despicable and I dont believe any elected legislator should play that game, said Bernier. In Georgia, an election bill signed this year by the GOP governor gave the Republican-controlled General Assembly new powers over the state board of elections, which controls its local counterparts. The law is being used to launch a review of operations in solidly-Democratic Fulton County, home to most of Atlanta, which could lead to a state takeover. The legislature also passed measures allowing local officials to remove Democrats from election boards in six other counties. In Pennsylvania, the GOP-controlled legislature is undertaking a review of the presidential election, subpoenaing voter information that Democrats contend is an unprecedented intrusion into voter privacy. In Michigan, the GOP has focused on the states county boards of canvassers. The little-known committees power was briefly in the spotlight in November of 2020, when Trump urged the two Republican members of the board overseeing Wayne County, home to Democratic-bastion Detroit, to vote to block certification of the election. Michigan officials say that if boards of canvassers dont certify an election they can be sued and compelled to do so. Still, that process could cause chaos and be used as a rallying cry behind election disputes. Theyre laying the groundwork for a slow-motion insurrection, said Mark Brewer, an election lawyer and former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. The most prominent Trump push is in Georgia, where the former president is backing U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who voted against Bidens Electoral College victory on Jan. 6, in a primary race against the Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. He rejected Trumps pleas to find enough votes to declare him the winner. Trump also encouraged former U.S. Sen. David Perdue to challenge Gov. Brian Kemp in the GOP primary. Kemp turned down Trumps entreaties to declare him the victor in the 2020 election. In Nevada, multiple lawsuits seeking to overturn Bidens victory were thrown out by judges. A suit aimed at overturning his congressional loss was filed by Jim Marchant, a former GOP state lawmaker now running to be secretary of state, and it too was dismissed. The current Republican secretary of state, Barbara Cegavske, who is term limited, found there was no significant fraud in the contests. In Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Democratic governors have been a major impediment to the GOPs effort to overhaul elections. Most significantly, they have vetoed new rules that Democrats argue are aimed at making it harder for people of color to vote. Governors have a significant role in U.S. elections: They certify the winners in their states, clearing way for the appointment of Electoral College members. That raises fears that Trump-friendly governors could try to certify him if he were to run in 2024 and be the GOP nominee as the winner of their states electoral votes regardless of the vote count. Additionally, some Republicans argue that state legislatures can name their own electors no matter what the vote tally says. But Democrats have had little success in laying out the stakes in these races. Its difficult for voters to believe the system could be vulnerable, said Daniel Squadron of The States Project, a Democratic group that tries to win state legislatures. The most motivated voters in America today are those who think the 2020 election was stolen, he said. Acknowledging this is afoot requires such a leap from any core American value system that any of us have lived through. This story has been corrected to show that Jim Marchants lawsuit was aimed at overturning his own congressional loss; and to correct the spelling of Raffensperger. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BOSTON (AP) Haseena Niazi had pinned her hopes of getting her fiance out of Afghanistan on a rarely used immigration provision. The 24-year-old Massachusetts resident was almost certain his application for humanitarian parole would get approved by the U.S. government, considering the evidence he provided on the threats from the Taliban he received while working on womens health issues at a hospital near Kabul. But this month, the request was summarily denied, leaving the couple reeling after months of anxiety. He had everything they wanted, said Niazi, a green card holder originally from Afghanistan. It doesnt make any sense why theyd reject it. Its like a bad dream. I still cant believe it. Federal immigration officials have issued denial letters to hundreds of Afghans seeking temporary entry into the country for humanitarian reasons in recent weeks, to the dismay of Afghans and their supporters. By doing so, immigrant advocates say, the Biden administration has failed to honor its promise to help Afghans who were left behind after the U.S. military withdrew from the country in August and the Taliban took control. It was a huge disappointment, said Caitlin Rowe, a Texas attorney who said she recently received five denials, including one for an Afghan police officer who helped train U.S. troops and was beaten by the Taliban. These are vulnerable people who genuinely thought there was hope, and I dont think there was. Since the U.S. withdrawal, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received more than 35,000 applications for humanitarian parole, of which it has denied about 470 and conditionally approved more than 140, Victoria Palmer, an agency spokesperson, said this week. The little-known program, which doesnt provide a path to lawful permanent residence in the country, typically receives fewer than 2,000 requests annually from all nationalities, of which USCIS approves an average of about 500, she said. Palmer also stressed humanitarian parole is generally reserved for extreme emergencies and not intended to replace the refugee admissions process, which is the typical pathway for individuals outside of the United States who have fled their country of origin and are seeking protection. The U.S. government, meanwhile, continues to help vulnerable Afghans, evacuating more than 900 American citizens and residents and another 2,200 Afghans since the military withdrawal. The state department said it expects to help resettle as many as 95,000 people from Afghanistan this fiscal year, a process that includes rigorous background checks and vaccinations. Many of them, however, had been whisked out of Afghanistan before the U.S. left. Now, USCIS is tasked with this new wave of humanitarian parole applications and has ramped up staffing to consider them. The agency said in a statement that requests are reviewed on an individual basis, with consideration given to immediate relatives of Americans and Afghans airlifted out. And while USCIS stressed that parole shouldnt replace refugee processing, immigrant advocates argue that isnt a viable option for Afghans stuck in their country due to a disability or hiding from the Taliban. Even those able to get out of Afghanistan, they say, may be forced to wait years in refugee camps, which isnt something many can afford to do. Mohammad, who asked that his last name not be used out of fear for his familys safety, said his elder brother, who used to work for international organizations, is among them. He has been in hiding since the Taliban came looking for him following the U.S. withdrawal, Mohammad said. On a recent visit to the family home, Taliban members took his younger brother instead and held him more than a week for ransom, he said. Now, Mohammad, a former translator for U.S. troops in Afghanistan who lives in California with a special immigration status, is seeking parole for this brother, too. He hopes a conditional approval letter can get them a spot on one of the U.S. evacuation flights still running out of the country. I can provide him housing. I can provide him everything," he said. Let them come here. Immigrant advocates began filing humanitarian parole applications for Afghans in August in a last-ditch effort to get them on U.S. evacuation flights out of the country before the withdrawal. In some cases, it worked, and word spread among immigration attorneys that parole, while typically used in extreme emergencies, might be a way out, said Kyra Lilien, director of immigration legal services at Jewish Family & Community Services in Californias East Bay. Soon, attorneys began filing thousands of parole applications for Afghans. When the U.S. immigration agency created a website specifically to address these applications, Lilien said she thought it was a sign of hope. By November, however, the agency had posted a list of narrow criteria for Afghan applicants and held a webinar telling attorneys that parole is typically granted only if theres evidence someone faces imminent severe harm." A few weeks later, the denial letters began arriving. Lilien has received more than a dozen but no approvals. Once the U.S. packed up and left, anyone who was left behind has only one choice, and that is to pursue this archaic refugee channel, she said. It is just so angering that it took USCIS so long to be clear about that. Wogai Mohmand, an attorney who helps lead the Afghan-focused Project ANAR, said that the group has filed thousands of applications and that since the U.S. troop withdrawal, has seen only denials. The despair has led some immigration attorneys to give up on filing parole applications altogether. In Massachusetts, the International Institute of New England is holding off filing new applications until it hears on those that are pending after receiving a flurry of denials. Chiara St. Pierre, an attorney for the refugee resettlement agency, said she feels clients like Niazi are facing an unwinnable battle. For Niazis fiance, they had provided copies of written threats sent to the hospital where he works as a medical technician and threatening text messages he said came from Taliban members, she said. It wasnt enough. A redacted copy of the denial letter provided by St. Pierre lists the USCIS criteria released in November but doesnt specify why the agency rejected the application, which had been filed in August. For now, Niazi says her fiance is living and working far from Kabul as they weigh their options. They could potentially wait until Niazi becomes an American citizen so she can try to bring him here on a fiance visa, but that would take years. He cant wait that long. Its a miracle every day that hes alive, Niazi said. Im feeling like every door is closing in on him. Taxin reported from Orange County, California. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) A federal judge has sided with local law enforcement in a case brought by Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrators alleging excessive use of force by police at a protest site in North Dakota in 2016. The Bismarck Tribune reported that temperatures dropped below freezing the night of Nov. 20 as police and protesters faced off on a highway just north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Officers sprayed protesters with water during the incident. Attorneys for the protesters who brought the suit say police fired rubber bullets and exploding munitions indiscriminately into the crowd and also used tear gas. Some of the demonstrators were injured that night. Lawyers for law enforcement, including Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, say officers were outnumbered and were concerned for their lives and safety. They sought to have the protesters legal claims dismissed. U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor issued the order granting their request on Wednesday. Morton County Assistant States Attorney Gabrielle Goter said in a statement that she was pleased with the ruling. An attorney for the plaintiffs did not immediately comment on the case. The lead plaintiff is Vanessa Dundon, a member of the Navajo Nation whose eye was injured the night of the incident. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Bismarck Tribune. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MUTARE, Zimbabwe (AP) African leaders are paying tribute to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu for his fearless campaign that helped end South Africa's brutal apartheid regime and bring democracy to the country. But many of the same leaders have remained silent about the late Nobel Peace Prize winner's support for issues they're uncomfortable with, such as his support for LGBTQ rights, democratic freedoms and environmental issues. Tutu died Sunday at age 90. His casket is to lie in state Thursday and Friday at St. George's Anglican Cathedral in Cape Town, where the public is invited to file past to pay their respects ahead of a requiem Mass and funeral on New Year's Day. A celebration of Tutu's life, featuring the music and dancing that he loved, was held this week at Cape Town City Hall. Memorial services are planned in Johannesburg and other parts of South Africa. Tutu was a true son and icon of Africa. His contribution to the liberation struggle and unwavering position to peace, unity and good governance will forever be cherished, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said without mentioning his support for the LGBTQ people who are threatened with arrest in Tanzania. Africa has lost a monument, said Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye, accused by a U.N. commission in September of human rights violations. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize 25 years after Tutu did, praised his fellow laureate as the embodiment of the struggle for liberation, even though Tutu's foundation early this year warned that the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region amounted to genocide. Revered across the continent for opposing apartheid in South Africa and helping the countrys peaceful transition to majority rule, Tutu went on to tackle some of Africa's most thorny issues and its leaders. He criticized South African President Thabo Mbeki for denying HIV/AIDS and preventing the government from distributing life-saving treatments. He lambasted South Africa's next president, Jacob Zuma, for alleged corruption. He compared a proposed law criminalizing homosexuality in Uganda to apartheid South Africas laws that banned inter-racial sexual relations. Tutu was ahead of his time, Nic Cheeseman, a politics professor and specialist in African politics at the University of Birmingham in Britain, said. Many great people have one great fight in them, then they become blinkered and support the new status quo, Cheeseman said. Tutu continued to see injustice economic, racial and sexual and understood there were more battles to be won. He did not stop with the fall of apartheid. After apartheid ended in South Africa ended in the early 1990a, Tutu urged the international community to punish the military junta of the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha with sanctions after it hanged environmental activist and playwright Ken Saro Wiwa and other activists in 1995. As evidence mounted of the killings of tens of thousands of people and displacement of many in Sudan's Darfur region, Tutu lashed out at African leaders for supporting and protecting then-Sudanese leader Omar al Bashir from an International Criminal Court warrant of arrest for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. He believed in the universality of human rights, Stephen Brown, a professor at the University of Ottawas School of Political Studies, said of Tutu. He held profound convictions no matter how risky or unpopular it could be to advocate what he believed in." Tutu repeatedly clashed with Zimbabwe's former ruler, the late Robert Mugabe, whom he said resembled a caricature of an African dictator. In turn, Mugabe dismissed Tutu for supporting gay rights, calling him an angry, evil and embittered little bishop. Africa's opposition leaders have mourned Tutu's death. A giant has fallen, tweeted Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, a constant target of harassment by Ugandas government. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor, tweeted a Tanzanian opposition party, the Alliance for Change and Transparency, repeating one of Tutus most famous quotes. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Nancy Worley, who served four years as Alabamas secretary of state before later becoming the longtime chair of the state Democratic party until her 2019 ouster during a power struggle, has died at the age of 70. Her death was confirmed by her friend and long-time coworker and political ally Joe Reed. Reed said hospital officials informed him this morning of her passing. We lost a good person, a genuine person. She was a person who loved this state and worked to make it better, Reed said. She was a fighter. She lived what she believed. If Nancy thought you were wrong, she would tell you, he said. Worley was elected secretary of state in 2002. She served one term. A native of New Hope in Madison County, Worley was a teacher before she entered politics. She taught for 26 years at Decatur High School, teaching both English and Latin. Before running for political office, Worley twice served as president of the Alabama Education Association where Reed was the longtime associate executive secretary. Later Reed was vice-chair during Worley's tenure as chair of the Alabama Democratic Party. Worley, who took over as chair of the party in 2013, fought for better pay and benefits for state school teachers and workers, and she worked for free at the cash-strapped party, Reed said. Reed and Worley were on the losing end of a 2019 power struggle for control of the Alabama Democratic Party. Longtime party bosses Worley and Reed were pitted against a reform group that had the support of then-U.S. Sen. Doug Jones and others. The Democratic National Committee ordered the state party to hold new leadership elections and state Rep. Chris England was elected as party chair under new bylaws. Worley maintained the election was illegitimate and filed a lawsuit to try to block England from taking control. England said Wednesday that Worley cared deeply about the Alabama Democratic Party and the people of the state. Nancy Worley was a true public servant and great Democrat with a heart for the people. She will be sorely missed, and we offer our condolences to her friends and family, England said. Worley in 2012 was fined $100 for a misdemeanor violation of improperly soliciting campaign support from state staff during her 2006 campaign. Prosecutors dropped felony charges as part of a plea deal. The charges stemmed from campaign material she sent to her employees in the secretary of states office in 2006 that included a donation envelope and bumper sticker. She won the Democratic primary, but lost the general election to Republican Beth Chapman. Reed said funeral arrangements are pending. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) James B. Tucker, an attorney who prosecuted corrupt Mississippi public officials during a 30-year career with the Justice Department, died Tuesday. He was 82. His death was announced Wednesday by the Butler Snow law firm, where he was a partner in private practice after he left government service. Tucker was retired from the firm. The announcement did not include the cause of death. Tucker earned a law degree from the University of Mississippi in 1966. After a few years of private practice in Mississippi's capital city of Jackson, he moved to Washington in 1971 to become a traveling attorney for the U.S. Justice Department. Tucker returned to Jackson in 1972 as an assistant U.S. attorney for the southern half of Mississippi. For about 20 years, he was chief of the criminal division for the district. Among the high-profile cases Tucker handled were the prosecutions of dozens of Mississippi county supervisors and private contractors in the 1980s during Operation Pretense, a probe of corrupt purchasing practices. Ray Mabus was state auditor in the mid-1980s and worked with federal authorities on Operation Pretense. He told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Tucker was that rarest of public servants he always tried to do the right thing. He went looking for public corruption. He did not duck it, said Mabus, a Democrat who served one term as governor and eight years as Navy secretary after he was auditor. It sort of offended him that people were stealing public money. In 2000, Tucker was appointed to serve as U.S. attorney for southern Mississippi. When Tucker retired from the Justice Department in 2001, then-U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran praised him. I have an enormous amount of respect and appreciation for the way James Tucker has carried out the important responsibilities of his job, said Cochran, a Republican. He was a true professional in every respect. He was completely honest and trustworthy, and he was tenacious in bringing to justice those who violated the laws of the United States. In addition to his work at Butler Snow, Tucker spent more than 20 years as an adjunct professor at Mississippi College School of Law. He was a Judge Advocate Generals Corps officer for the U.S. Naval Reserve and retired as a captain. Tucker was inducted into the University of Mississippi law school hall of fame in 2016. The U.S. attorney's office for southern Mississippi has a staff award named in his honor, the James B. Tucker Award for Superior Prosecutorial Service in Criminal Justice. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WINFIELD, Ala. (AP) Homes and buildings were damaged and trees were blown down as a line of intense thunderstorms rolled across several Southern states, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. In the west Alabama town of Winfield, Wednesday's storms damaged buildings in the downtown area, authorities said. Building walls collapsed and roofs were lying in roads, Winfield Police Chief Brett Burleson told WBRC-TV. Downtown Winfield is a dangerous area," the Marion County Sheriff's Department said in a statement on social media. There are confirmed live power lines down." Police ordered people to stay out of the downtown area as officers and sheriffs deputies worked to assess the damage in the town, located about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Birmingham. If you dont have to come down here, dont," Burleson told WBRC. There are lines down, glass in the road, nails. In northeastern Alabama's Etowah County, an emergency manager reported that a pole barn was destroyed and at least two homes damaged. In south Georgia, a crew from the National Weather Service planned to survey damage in Bainbridge after a likely tornado" swept through the town, the weather service's Tallahassee, Florida, office said. The weather service typically surveys damage before confirming that it was caused by a tornado. The Georgia storm damaged the roof and sign of a convenience store, uprooted a tree and damaged a carport, the town's public safety office said in a statement. The storms prompted tornado watches and warnings Wednesday for parts of several states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, but it wasn't immediately known whether twisters caused the damage in Alabama. The threat of severe weather persisted Thursday, with several strong storms threatening parts of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina as the system moves east. More storms are expected in the region Friday and Saturday, the national Storm Prediction Center said. The Southern storms come as residents in the Pacific Northwest endured bitter cold and unseasonably frigid weather in the waning days of 2021. Emergency shelters were opened in Washington and Oregon as forecasters said the extreme cold from an arctic blast that blew in Sunday could last until the weekend. On Thursday, heavy snow halted travel on a large portion of the main east-west highway across Washington state and snarled traffic in the Seattle and Portland, Oregon, metro areas. Authorities closed about 80 miles (129 kilometers) of Interstate 90 over the Cascade Mountains due to near zero visibility and adverse road conditions. There was no immediate estimate as to when the interstate would reopen. In California, snow brought traffic to a halt on a major highway high in the mountains north of Los Angeles early Thursday as the last in a series of December storms that walloped the state moved through. The section of Interstate 5 was shut down before dawn, the California Highway Patrol said. To the north, residents in higher foothill and mountain communities were digging out, with reports of major tree and power line damage in places including Foresthill and the Nevada City area, both northeast of Sacramento. Thousands of residents remained without power, with warnings that some could be without lights and heat for another week. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DENVER (AP) A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks. The writings are part of the investigation into what led Lyndon James McLeod to carry out the shootings, which took place in less than an hour Monday at several locations around the metro area, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said Wednesday. McLeod, 47, knew most of the people he shot through business or personal relationships, police have said. Four of the people who were shot were attacked at tattoo shops. In addition to those killed, two other people were wounded, including a police officer who shot and killed McLeod after being hit. In the first novel, written under a pen name of Roman McClay, a character named Lyndon stalks a poker party held by a character named Michael Swinyard and gains access to a building near Cheesman Park by posing as a police officer. He then fatally shoots everyone at the party and robs them before fleeing with his dog in a van. In Monday's attack, Michael Swinyard, 67, was fatally shot at a home near Denvers Cheesman Park, police said. In his second novel, which also features a character named Lyndon, McClay names Alicia Cardenas as a victim. The book also mentions the tattoo shop she owned, Sol Tribe. Alicia Cardenas, a 44-year-old tattoo artist, was among his first victims in Monday's rampage. She was killed at her tattoo shop, along with another woman, Alyssa Gunn, 35. A man who was also wounded there is expected to survive, police said. He was identified by friends and customers as Gunns husband, James Maldonado, a piercer there. That shop is less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from a tattoo shop that McLeod was listed as the lease holder for between 2014 and 2016. Cardenas later took it over before moving the shop to its current spot, city records show. McLeod was not licensed to work as a tattoo artist or operate a tattoo business himself in Denver according to city records, a spokesperson for Denvers licensing agency, Eric Escudero, said Wednesday. Cardenas, whose daughter is 12 years old, described herself as a proud Indigenous artist who also painted murals. Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said during a news conference Tuesday that McLeod was on the radar of law enforcement and had been investigated in both 2020 and 2021. He declined to say what McLeod was investigated for but said charges were not filed against him. Matt Clark, commander of the Denver Police Departments Major Crimes Division, said McLeod knew most of the people he targeted but not the last person he shot a clerk in a hotel in Lakewood's Belmar shopping area. However, McLeod had had some dealings with the hotel, Clark said. The hotel clerk, 28-year-old Sarah Steck, died of her injuries Tuesday. Steck graduated this year from Metropolitan State University with a bachelors degree of fine art in communication design. She was known among her co-workers at the hotel for her infectious laugh and love of kittens, art and music, The Denver Post reported. Soon after the shooting at Cardenas' shop, McLeod forced his way into a residence that is also home to a business. City records show it is licensed as a tattoo shop. He pursued the occupants through the building and fired shots, but no one was injured, Clark said. Then he shot and killed Swinyard near Cheesman Park, Clark said. Later, Denver police chased the vehicle believed to have been involved in the shootings, and an officer exchanged gunfire with McLeod, Clark said. McLeod was able to get away, fleeing into Lakewood, after gunfire disabled the officer's cruiser, he said. Just before 6 p.m., the Lakewood Police Department received a report of shots fired at the Lucky 13 tattoo shop. Danny Scofield, 38, was killed there, Lakewood police spokesperson John Romero said. Scofield was a father of three, according to a site raising money for his family. When officers spotted the car suspected of being involved in the shooting at the Belmar shopping area where shops line sidewalks in a modern version of a downtown McLeod opened fire and officers shot back, Romero said. He ran away and allegedly threatened some people in a restaurant with a gun before going to the Hyatt House hotel, where he spoke briefly with Steck, before shooting her, he said. About a minute later, Lakewood police officer Ashley Ferris saw McLeod and ordered him to drop his weapon. She was shot in the abdomen but fired back and killed the gunman. Ferris underwent surgery Monday night and is expected to make a full recovery. I can't overemphasize enough the heroic actions of our Lakewood police agent," Romero said during a news conference Tuesday. "In the face of being shot, in the face of danger, she was able to not only save others from this terrible tragedy but also neutralize the threat. Associated Press writer Mead Gruver contributed to this report. This story has been corrected to change the spelling of Danny Scofield's last name. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Editor's note: Leonard Pitts is on vacation. He will return Jan. 4. Today, we are subbing Robert Koehler. War spews hell in all directions. Just ask the guys at Talon Anvil, a secret U.S. strike cell recently exposed by the New York Times as a unit with a reputation for ignoring the rules of engagement and killing lots and lots of civilians with drone strikes as it plays war with ISIS. Part of the problem, a source told the Times, is that the daily demands of overseeing strike after strike seemed to erode operators perspective and fray their humanity. In other words, participating in the endless U.S. war on terror turned them into . . . terrorists, e.g.: Early one morning, as a Predator drone circled over the Syrian farming town of Karama, the operators focused on a particular building that they decided, with virtually no evidence, was an enemy training center and dropped a 500-pound bomb through the roof. As the smoke cleared, a former officer told the Times, his team stared at their screens in dismay. The infrared cameras showed women and children staggering out of the partly collapsed building, some missing limbs, some dragging the dead. The intelligence analysts began taking screen shots and tallying the casualties. They sent an initial battle damage assessment to Talon Anvil: 23 dead or severely wounded, 30 lightly wounded, very likely civilians. Talon Anvil paused only long enough to acknowledge the message, the former officer said, then pressed on to the next target. Oh, the frayed humanity! Heres what did not occur: the operators looking at what they had just done from the viewpoint of the victims. That would have amounted to more than simply dismay, Doing so is almost incomprehensible. Imagine a bomb suddenly piercing your roof in the middle of the night. Imagine your children suddenly dead, your arm or leg missing . . . Oops. My point here is that war is a collective enterprise. Multiply this incident by the size of the U.S. military budget virtually half the countrys discretionary spending, around a trillion dollars annually, all told. And the money is always there, ready and waiting for the security state to consume. The unending lie is that it keeps us safe. Imagine, once again, women and children staggering out of the partly collapsed building, some missing limbs, some dragging the dead, and savor the safety you now have. William Astore, pondering the defense budgets endless growth despite the collapse of our official Cold War enemy, the Soviet Union, three decades ago, asks: Why, then, does each years (National Defense Authorization Act) rise ever higher into the troposphere, drifting on the wind and poisoning our culture with militarism? Because, to state the obvious, Congress would rather engage in pork-barrel spending than exercise the slightest real oversight when it comes to the national security state. The key words may well be these: poisoning our culture with militarism. When we wage war, we dehumanize then kill a specific segment of humanity. In the process, we fray our own humanity . . . we become less human ourselves, and thus more in sync with the evil we claim to be obliterating This is whats happening to us right now. How is our culture being poisoned? One obvious way is the rate of vet suicides: around 60,000 in the last decade. And of course there is the pretend militarism of lost and armed souls, who have made mass murder a recurring aspect of the daily news flow. Add in hate crimes. Add in the prison-industrial complex: The prison industry in the United States is massive and growing, according to the American Friends Service Committee. Since 1970, the number of incarcerated people in the U.S. has increased by 700 percent, to the point that the U.S. prison population is the largest in the world both per capita and in total numbers. As of 2019, there are an estimated 2.3 million people behind bars and 4.5 million people on probation or parole. The estimated cost of the U.S. mass incarceration system is $182 billion a year, with hundreds of private companies competing for government contracts. Our enemies are everywhere! Theyre in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria. Theyre massing at our southern border. And theyre here at home, packed into ghettos and poverty zones. As we wage war, we dehumanize the world, in the process shattering its complex interconnectedness. This does not make us safer. Even the good war didnt make us safer, though its the trophy cup that defenders of present-day militarism always hold up. Consider this observation by Paul Tritschler on just one of our late-in-the-game World War II bombing campaigns: In March of 1945, he writes, seemingly endless waves of B-29s roared across Tokyo, dropping one million bombs containing 2,000 tons of incendiaries. In under three hours, over 100,000 people lay dead and one million were homeless. The firebombing of 67 cities over the following five months resulted in the further deaths of at least half a million people a deliberate policy of wiping out civilians living in the densely populated poorer districts. With no remorse, U.S. Air Force General Curtis LeMay openly declared, They were scorched and boiled and baked to death. Although it didnt dampen their enthusiasm, bomber crews said that the stench of burning flesh rose high into the air, forcing them to use oxygen masks to keep from vomiting. At the end of that five month period came atomic destruction. This is not about blame. This is not about shame. This is about change. We still have our finger on the nuclear trigger. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. In addition to our traditional advice, every Thursday we feature an assortment of teachers from across the country answering your education questions. Have a question for our teachers? Email askateacher@slate.com or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group. I have an eleventh grader. For the previous two years, seniors applying to colleges have been given a bit of a break with grades and SATs, rightfully acknowledging the chaos and stress they underwent. Many schools skipped requiring SATs entirely, and kids were given some grace with GPA, etc. I think this is a good thing and should continue, since standardized test scores and grades dont give a great picture of someones potential. But, in addition, the current cohort of eleventh graders basically left school right as they were beginning a crucial time to learn study skills, ninth grade, and did not go back in person until late spring last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For my kid, this has had an impact on her academic performance, but the school seems indifferent to this issue. Shes been a good student up until now, but her mid-term grades were abysmal. With a lot of hard work and help from us, she pulled all of them up except math, where she got her first ever grade below a Can F. That wont look great on college applications, and she was crushed. This trimester in math isnt looking much better, even with so much hard work. I guess my question is, will colleges next year, when she is applying, understand that these kids lost so much academic muscle building, and that they need some time to catch up? Her PSATs were also pretty bad, since shes behind in a lot of this stuff. Can she also skip the SATs like last years seniors? We have no idea which schools will still be making them optional next year. It just seems like this cohort is going to fall in between the cracks, with a huge amount of learning loss but no acknowledgement from the high schools or colleges. What can we do as parents to help this kid reach her college goals in this environment? What are colleges expecting? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grade Expectations Dear Grade Expectations, I know this is very stressful for you and especially for your daughter. As a high school teacher, I am familiar with the college application process, but not so much that I can tell you precisely what colleges are expecting right now. (A college counselor probably could!) However, I can tell you that most colleges accept most of the students who apply. While the SAT is an important admission requirement around the country, many institutions are dropping it completelynot just during the pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement As your daughter explores her postsecondary options with guidance from her academic counselor, she should take note of which schools require SAT or ACT scores. She should also categorize colleges as safety schools (where she is guaranteed admission), good fit schools (where applicants like her are often accepted), and reach schools (where it will be difficult for her to get in). When she applies to college next fall, she should have at least one safety school. If shes applying to mostly reach schools, she should explore more good fit options. Advertisement In addition, I would encourage her to consider starting out at a community college and then transferring after a year or two, especially if she continues to struggle in math (or generally) during her senior year. While some people look askance at community colleges, I do not! In fact, many of my former students have reported wonderful experiences at the community college in my city. Not only do they enjoy the cost savings compared to universities, they also appreciate the smaller class sizes. Community colleges often serve as a great place for students to do the academic muscle building you mentioned before entering a university environment. Advertisement Advertisement I recognize that you are frustrated with what feels like an unforgiving environment; youd like the world to slow down and offer todays high schoolers more grace as they re-adjust to school and try to make up for lost time. Im sorry that your daughter is struggling. While you may not be able to change her high school experience, you can extend her the grace she needs by making sure you, as parents, are not putting additional pressure on her as far as college is concerned. You can help her see that there is more than one path to success, that her grades do not define her as a person, and that you are proud of her regardless of her SAT score. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Best of luck to you and your daughter! Heres hoping the New Year brings better luck than the last. Ms. Holbrook (high school teacher, Texas) Slate needs your support right now. Sign up for Slate Plus to keep reading the advice you crave every week. As a working single mom, how do I find the time to help my fifth grader with the daily math and reading he is supposed to do? I get home from work and have approximately two hours with my kids, maybe 2.5 on a rare good day, and that has to encompass cooking dinner, doing dishes, packing lunch for the next day, and getting ready for bed. And some nights there are older sibling activities, so there are less than two hours that we are home. Do I have to move the math practice to the weekend? (Nobody wants to do schoolwork on the weekend.) Do I need to cultivate more independence in my child so he can do it without me, if he is home before me, or possibly while Im cooking dinner? How important is homework at this age? Do kids need a break after the past two years of stress, or should I be pushing this so that when he starts middle school he isnt behind (whatever that means in a post-pandemic world?)? Advertisement Advertisement Homework Help Dear Homework Help, Ive answered several questions about homework here before, and my opinions have not changed. Personally, I believe homework in elementary school serves very little purpose beyond providing an opportunity for students to hone their skills through repetition. Research also suggests that homework in the way the American education system approaches provides mixed results at best. Given the issues homework presents for you and your child, you could start by asking your sons teacher how homework assignments affect his grade or support his mastery of concepts. In many classrooms, homework is encouraged, but its often not required. Getting an understanding for how completing the assignments will impact his grade may provide some context to help you prioritize how your time as a family is spent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If his teacher is a proponent of homework, and not completing the assignments will impact his grades negatively, you could start implementing any one of the great suggestions you make. Allow your son to cultivate some more independencelet him give his homework a shot on his own, before youre home, or while youre cooking dinner. Yes, give him a bit of a break. I also dont actually think its a bad idea to try a bit of math on the weekend. It could be a good time to reinforce the strategies he has learned over the week, since he might focus more easily on a calm day. In my experience some students can benefit from the consistency of doing math daily, even if its just a small amount on the weekend. Hope this helps! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr. Hersey (elementary school teacher, Washington) My wife and I tried to do everything right this year, but we seem to have made all the mistakes we were trying to avoid. My daughter started Kindergarten this year. Weve been renting but wanted to buy a house and really pushed to find a place before the school year started. And we did! Just as the school year was getting ready to begin we found a house in a town we liked and started the process of buying it. We reached out to the towns department of education, and they granted us permission to start our daughter at the school early so she wouldnt need to switch systems. My daughter started school and after about a month or so she was thriving and loving school. Her teacher was giving us glowing remarks and all was well in the world. As youve probably guessedthings fell through with the house and we had to bring her back to the town were currently renting in and now things aredifferent? Advertisement Advertisement It seems like the schools were taking different approaches to the curriculum, so she was behind on some material and ahead on others. Shes getting feedback written on papers about needing to work on handwriting (she does) and just doesnt seem as excited about school anymore. If this isnt bad enoughweve just found a new house and were planning on moving extremely soon and she will now be attending her third new school in the first semester of kindergarten. Everyone keeps telling me kids are resilient, shell be fine but all Im seeing is my kid entering yet another school where shes in a different curriculum being told shes doing things wrong and behind (or maybe its just us who is being told this?) while needing to start over socially. What can I do to ease this third transition for my child? Advertisement Advertisement Third Times Not a Charm Dear TTNaC, At the risk of sounding like everyone else youve spoken to, kids are resilient and shell be fine. It sucks that she isnt as happy at this new school, and it sucks that you have to move herno one likes to move, especially mid-yearbut that isnt deal-breaking. In fact, since she isnt having the best time at this school, maybe a new place will give you a chance to set her up better this time. You can do that in a few ways. The first is to reach out to her school and ask if they can tell you what kids have been working on. At my school, the kindergarten teachers send out regular newsletters that describe what academic skills we have been practicing. Even just getting copies of those would give you a sense of how the curricula compare. (Hopefully, this schools curricula is comparable to at least one of the others shes attended.) If she has some background knowledge in whatever theyre working on, this third transition shouldnt be as challenging for her, as she will feel successful in the classroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can also look for social supports. New kids do well when someone is welcoming to them, and while I cant imagine that the teachers at School #2 werent welcoming, it might help if she can meet some friends. Since its break, and (in most of the country) the weather has been mild, you might be able to set up some playdates in a park somewhere so she could meet someone and have a familiar face at school. You may also be able to tour the new school (depending on their COVID rules) and show her the places shes going to go, or meet the teacher shes going to have. People, adults and children alike, are more comfortable when things are familiar, so creating familiarity with this new situation can help. Advertisement My last tip is to support her at home. Talk about how to make friends at school. There are books like Geraldine or First Day Jitters about going to a new school. Additionally, keeping as many things consistent at home as you can may give her a sense of stability. Whatever your routines were in the old house, as long as they work, try and maintain them. Moving is stressful, and as adults, sometimes we think easing up on routines will ease up on stress, but its actually the opposite! Kids thrive on structure, so if you can keep some of her home-structures in place, the new structures of a new school may feel more manageable for her. Advertisement Ms. Sarnell (early childhood special education teacher, New York) My fifth grade daughter has been involved in girl drama this year. This is a first for her, as in the past she has always been friends with lots of kids and (as far as we know) has never had social issues. This year there seem to be a few things going on. She used to be friends with one child, but the relationship has soured and the girls are both using poor judgement in how they treat each other. Also, there is at least one other girl who tells kids lies in order to create drama. For example, she told my child that one of her closest friends hated her. When she asked her friend, of course it wasnt true. This may be how the other friendship went bad, but there is too much water under the bridge by now. Advertisement Advertisement Generally, I let her navigate this situation and have offered support and advice. The other mom has been texting me whenever she hears that my child has done something wrong, but I do not inform her when her child is the one making poor judgements. She says my child is bullying her child. My child is not a bully, but I do teach her stand up for herself. Should I be telling the girls mother every time her daughter does something to mine? What else can I do to help my daughter? Advertisement Advertisement Tattle Tales Dear Tattle Tales, I suspect that reporting to the other girls mother about everything she has done wrong will lead to no positive outcome. I think your best bet is to minimize your contact with this mother as much as possible and keep interactions as neutral as possible. Ill also add that a childs perception of events is even less reliable than an adults, so its likely that neither you nor this other mother is getting the full or entirely accurate version of events. Advertisement I would suggest that you bring this issue to your childs teacher. I assume that most of the problems are happening or at least originating at school, and teachers, school psychologists, and social workers are adept at mediating these kinds of issues and establishing clear boundaries for students moving forward. Its also helpful to keep in mind that this is an unfortunate but common problem for kids (and many adults), and that the skills required to navigate these problems will prove useful in the coming years. While we would like our kids to avoid dealing with unkindness and cruelty, these are often powerful learning experiences for children, and I would try to frame this experience in these terms for your daughter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It might help a bit to know its common, expected, and unfortunately a part of growing up. Best of luck. Mr. Dicks (fifth grade teacher, Connecticut) More Advice From Slate I have been teaching elementary school for several years, and Im moving to a new school next year where the parents are notoriously. intense. I am all about parents advocating for their kids, and I form strong relationships with families, which helps us all do the best for their student. But, Im very petite and look quite young. Upon meeting me, parents regularly ask me if Im a new teacher, and when I say that Ive actually been teaching for many years, they ask how old I am. I dont feel like I need to reveal my age to them, but Im not sure how to respond to this (very rude and inappropriate) question in a way that still communicates that Im interested in having a positive relationship. My strategy in the past has been to say older than I look! It usually works okay. But recently I met some parents at my new school for a summer class Ill be teaching, and two parents would. not. drop. it. It was extremely awkward. Any advice? A California man was arrested in Iowa last week after he told authorities he was on his way to the White House to do whatever it takes to kill persons in power. Kuachua Brillion Xiong, 25, had an AR-15type rifle, ammunition, and body armor when he was pulled over for driving aggressively on Dec. 21. When he spoke to investigators, Xiong detailed that the evil individuals he intended to kill included President Joe Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former President Barack Obama, and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, according to a criminal complaint that was unsealed Wednesday. Advertisement Xiong told investigators he had a general disapproval for government due to the sex abuse of children, a claim that sounds eerily similar to far-right conspiracy theories. He also told investigators he downloaded TikTok videos on his phone to compile the list of people he wanted to kill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Xiongs GPS was set to the White House and he told investigators he had found a weak spot in the building that would allow him to get inside. And even though he insisted he wasnt suicidal, Xiong also acknowledged he had money in his car for funeral expenses. In an interview with investigators, Xiong said he was the only person remaining who can free the United States of evil and it is necessary for him to kill those in position of power. Xiong told investigators that if released he would not return to California because he plans on dying while fighting evil demons in the White House. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser, is urging parents to vaccinate their children in an effort to prevent avoidable hospitalizations and serious illness. Virtually allnot 100 percent but close to thatof the children who are seriously ill in a hospital from COVID-19 are children whose parents decided they did not want to vaccinate them, and that is avoidable, Fauci said in an interview on NewsNations Morning in America. Fauci said that while some parents may rationalize their decision to not vaccinate their children because the risk to those under 18 is low, it doesnt make much sense when you look at the data. We vaccinate children for a number of childhood diseases, where the mortality of those diseases is far less than the mortality and the morbidity of COVID-19 on children, Fauci said. Although its true that the numbers are very low, parents have to consider that when its your child, its a very high number. While its true that children are far less likely to have to deal with a serious case of COVID-19, that doesnt mean that children do not get seriously ill. And the only people who can prevent that from happening is the childs parent. So if you look at the number of children right now going to the hospital who are in trouble getting seriously ill, you almost have to say its the responsibility of the parent to protect their child, Fauci said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fauci is pleading with parents at a time when data show that the surge in cases fueled by the highly infectious omicron variant is leading to a sharp increase in hospitalizations among children. The seven-day average of daily hospitalizations for children in the week ending on Dec. 27 rose 58 percent from the previous week to 334. That compares with an increase of about 19 percent for all age groups. Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Across the country, fewer than 25 percent of Americans who are under the age of 18 are vaccinated. Among 5- to 11-year-olds, around 14 percent are fully vaccinated, a number that jumps to 53 percent for 12- to 17-year-olds. And that low ratio extends even to areas where there is a high vaccination rate, such as New York City, where 80 percent of adults are vaccinated but only 40 percent of children aged 5 to 17 are fully vaccinated. Earlier this week, the New York State Department of Health said pediatric hospitalizations were up 395 percent since the week ending Dec. 11. None of the children aged 5 to 11 who were admitted to New York City hospitals with COVID-19 starting Dec. 5 were fully vaccinated. A report released by the CDC said that nearly all of the children who became seriously sick with COVID-19 last summer were not fully vaccinated. Despite the rising hospitalizations among children, researchers say there still is no evidence to suggest the omicron variant is somehow more of a threat to children. For now, preliminary data continues to suggest omicron is leading to milder illnesses in children, just like in adults. This year at Future Tense Fiction weve spent a lot of time thinking about how, in many ways, 2021 has felt a lot like 2020. But at the same time, so much has changedhow we work and think, how we commute, how we interact with animals, technology, and our fellow humans. This year we published 11 stories (we took December off!) that touch upon relationships, transportation, right to repair and supply chain shortages, communication, information overload and scarcity, and much, much more. We broadly explored themes like learning futures, with Simon Browns Speaker (where humans learn to communicate with other species and struggle to overcome the assumption of human excellence), Leigh Alexanders The Void (about the struggle with information scarcity in an information-overloaded world) and Shiv Ramdas The Trolley Solution (about a university attempting to automate how it teaches its students), as well as ideas of mobilitya theme were continuing into 2022, so stay tunedwith Linda Nagatas Ride (about a neighborhood thats embraced an algorithm to run all of its traffic and transit patterns). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We began publishing fiction back in 2016 and made it monthly as of January 2018. In that time, we have published stories not just by authors but by journalists and researchers, doctors and policymakers. As of earlier this year our authors have won between them (for various works) 13 Hugo Awards, five Nebulas, four Sturgeons and five John W. Campbell awards. We have featured authors from across the U.S. as well as from Australia, Canada, India, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Mexico, China, and South Africa. Their diverse perspectives and styles have helped us imagine the future from all angles, and their stories have once again reminded us of the power of science fiction to help shape perspectives, expand our sense of empathy, explore the possibilities of tomorrow, and imagine what the future might hold. Advertisement Advertisement We have a lot planned for 2022 that were excited to share with you (to keep up, sign up for our newsletter), but in the meantime take a look at our full list of 2021 stories and their response essays below. Speaker, by Simon Brown If Nonhumans Can Speak, Will Humans Learn to Listen? by Iveta Silova The Void, by Leigh Alexander The Conundrum of Information Scarcity in a Time of Information Overload, by Andrea Thomer The Trolley Solution, by Shiv Ramdas Just How Much of Higher Education Can Be Automated? by Katina Michael Congratulations on Your Loss, by Catherine Lacey Theres No Such Thing as Flawless Facial Recognition Technology, by Nani Jansen Reventlo In the Land of Broken Things, by Josh Bales We Are Living in a Land of Broken Things, by Damon Beres Advertisement The Skeleton Crew, by Janelle Shane The Ghost Work Behind Artificial Intelligence, by Melissa Valentine Collateral Damage , by Justina Ireland Will Members of the Military Ever Be Willing to Fight Alongside Autonomous Robots? by Andrew Liptak Beauty Surge, by Laura Maylene Walter Are You Entitled to Privacy Over Your Pee and Poop? by Rolf Haden The Wait, by Andrea Chapela Who Wins When the State Appropriates Self-Defense Technologies Developed by Communities? by Vivette GarcIa-Deister Furgen, by Andrew Silverman Could a Dog Truly Love a Robot? by Clive D.L. Wynne Ride, by Linda Nagata What if an All-Knowing Algorithm Ran Traffic and Transit? by Henry Grabar Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Ryanair cuts Spain flights in January due to Covid Andalusia, Murcia and Valencia will all have fewer flights in the new year Covid restrictions have had a devastating effect on international travel in the past two years and, with the whole world firmly in the grip of the Omicron variant, budget-airline company Ryanair has decided to cut some of its routes in the new year. More than 80 routes in and out of Spain are being temporarily suspended, with Ryanair blaming Covid travel restrictions for their struggle to fill up seats. These cancelations in and out of Spain come after the airline announced that all of its routes with Morocco were suspended until at least February 2022, due to the strict travel ban imposed by the African country back in November Palma de Mallorca Airport in the Balearic Islands will bear the brunt of the cancellations, with ten routes being cut in January. Menorca and Ibiza will also have fewer flights, three and two cancelations, respectively. The Comunidad Valenciana is also having its services cut drastically with Valencia Airport losing nine routes, Alicante -Elche Airport losing eight and Castellon Airport losing another. A further 20 flights to the Canary Islands airports have also been retracted for the time being. Andalusia hasnt escaped the extensive cuts either, with six routes each scrapped from Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport and Seville Airport. Meanwhile, Ryanairs decision to scrap their Wednesday route between Manchester and Corvera Airport during January will mean that the Region of Murcias only airport will see its traffic reduced even further. Flights and passengers, which were already scarce, at the Murcia International Airport have been decimated during the pandemic, leading to concern about the airports future. Image: Ryanair Kezmarok district court decided on a lawsuit filed a few months ago. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled A lawmaker has been ordered to pay a hefty fine to an infectologist for a video published on Facebook. The Kezmarok district court ordered MP Milan Mazurek, a renegade of the far-right LSNS and co-founder of the Republika party, to pay 20,000 within three days to infectologist Peter Sabaka in damages for badmouthing, the tvnoviny.sk website reported. In the video, Mazurek spoke of Sabaka as the "Covid prophet" and indirectly linked him to the death of a boy from the Jarovnice Roma settlement who was not treated by his pediatrician because his mother was neither vaccinated nor tested. The doctor said that it was unacceptable that a politician would link him with the death of a child that he has nothing to do with. Mazurek was ordered to permanently delete the video and all the comments on it from social media and publish an apology. The decision can still be appealed. Mazurek said he considered the decision unprecedented and accused the judge of abusing his powers. Sabaka sued both Mazurek and the head of the Republika party, MEP Milan Uhrik, for badmouthing and libel. He stated back then that he would use the money for the benefit of Covid-19 patients who "are also suffering as a consequence of lies and disinformation". https://sputniknews.com/20211230/bbc-says-interview-with-epsteins-lawyer-accused-of-sexual-abuse-did-not-meet-editorial-standards-1091920303.html BBC Says Interview With Epsteins Lawyer Accused of Sexual Abuse Did Not 'Meet Editorial Standards' BBC Says Interview With Epsteins Lawyer Accused of Sexual Abuse Did Not 'Meet Editorial Standards' Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges of running a sex trafficking network of minors. Dozens of women have accused him of raping and sexually... 30.12.2021, Sputnik International 2021-12-30T16:45+0000 2021-12-30T16:45+0000 2021-12-30T16:45+0000 bbc society jeffrey epstein impartiality alan dershowitz uk /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107725/23/1077252361_0:0:2726:1534_1920x0_80_0_0_5e9046d39da7383ed10e99e9911ca6b3.jpg The British Broadcasting Corporation has said its interview with Jeffrey Epsteins lawyer Alan Dershowitz "did not meet" its "editorial standards".The outlet came under harsh criticism after it decided to speak with Dershowitz about the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite and accomplice of Epstein who groomed girls and women for the financier. Maxwell has been found guilty on five out of six counts, including the most serious charge sex trafficking of a minor.At issue here is that Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor, has himself been accused of sexual assault by one of Jeffrey Epsteins victims, Virginia Giuffre. She claimed Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to the lawyer and was forced to sleep with him six times, a claim he has vehemently denied. The two went on to sue each other.During the interview, Dershowitz was presented as a "constitutional lawyer" and was able to attack Virginia Giuffre. He commended the court for not calling her as a witness during Maxwells trial "because they ultimately didnt believe she was telling the truth and they didnt believe a jury would believe her and they were right in doing so". The BBC did not mention that the lawyer was accused by Virginia Giuffre of sexual assault or the fact that the two had sued each other.The outlets interview prompted intense criticism from the public.Human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher said she was "shocked" by the BBCs decision to speak to the lawyer. The BBCs spokesperson said that the outlet will look into how the interview was arranged.Dershowitz, who represented former US President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial, is not the only high-profile figure who has been accused by Epsteins victims. Virginia Giuffre has claimed that Queen Elizabeths second son Prince Andrew also slept with her on at least three separate occasions, including when she was a minor. The royal has categorically denied the accusations, saying he has an alibi and that he has never met the woman. However, several people have said they reportedly saw him with the girl at a nightclub and on Jeffrey Epstein's private Island.Epstein himself was found hanged in his prison cell on 10 August 2019, a month after he was arrested. The New York City Medical Examiners Office concluded that his death was a suicide. However, a forensic pathologist hired by his family suggested that evidence pointed to the financier potentially having been strangled.The claim led to speculation that Epstein was killed by his powerful friends, who supposedly feared they may be implicated in his crimes. Among his acquaintances were former US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton (both reportedly travelled on Epsteins private jet where sexual abuse took place), former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates, and actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker. tim It is hardly appropriate for an organization which has a statue of a naked man together with a naked boy emblazoned upon the wall of its Head Office at Bush House in London, and which covered up the notorious paedophile and necrophile Jimmy Savile for decades, to now say it has something called "standards." 0 1 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev bbc, society, jeffrey epstein, impartiality, alan dershowitz, uk https://sputniknews.com/20211230/china-to-keep-working-with-russia-on-vaccines-including-mutual-recognition-ambassador-says-1091898940.html China to Keep Working With Russia on Vaccines, Including Mutual Recognition, Ambassador Says China to Keep Working With Russia on Vaccines, Including Mutual Recognition, Ambassador Says MOSCOW (Sputnik) - China will keep working with Russia on cooperation issues related to COVID-19 vaccines, including mutual recognition of medicines, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an interview with Sputnik. 2021-12-30T00:09+0000 2021-12-30T00:09+0000 2021-12-30T00:09+0000 russia china ambassador vaccine pandemic covid-19 /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/07/08/1083333351_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_8f137779176dc6019a7992a000bebaff.jpg "Vaccines are an important weapon required to finally defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. China is ready to liaise with other countries, including the Russian side, on cooperation issues related to vaccines against the novel coronavirus, including the mutual recognition of essential vaccines by the two countries, to effectively reduce the risk of cross-border epidemic transmission and promote a new order of healthy, safe and orderly movement of people, Zhang said.The ambassador recalled that in November 2020, the third phase of clinical trials of a new recombinant vaccine against coronavirus (Ad5-nCoV) produced by CanSino Biologics was completed in Russia, on the basis of which the vaccine was conditionally allowed for sale in China and is now undergoing the application process for its registration in Russia.In addition, clinical trials of the third phase of a recombinant novel coronavirus vaccine with fusion protein (V-01) have begun in Russia. The Russian Direct Investment Fund has signed agreements with several Chinese manufacturers to produce in China 150 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines annually, Zhang said. https://sputniknews.com/20211228/sputnik-v-developers-to-putin-trials-show-the-russian-vaccine-neutralises-omicron-strain-1091858897.html vot tak Excellent news. 4 1 russia china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 russia, china, ambassador, vaccine, pandemic, covid-19 https://sputniknews.com/20211230/elections-military-escalations-attempted-coups--assassinations-middle-east-north-africa-in-2021-1091906903.html Elections, Military Escalations, Attempted Coups & Assassinations: Middle East, North Africa in 2021 Elections, Military Escalations, Attempted Coups & Assassinations: Middle East, North Africa in 2021 The year 2021 will be remembered for a number of inaugurations that have put new governments in place. Such was the case in Israel that saw the termination of Benjamin Netanyahu's more than decade-long tenure at the helm and in Iran, where a moderate Hassan Rouhani was replaced by the conservative Ebrahim Raisi. 2021-12-30T10:37+0000 2021-12-30T10:37+0000 2021-12-30T11:27+0000 north africa middle east /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/05/10/1082912688_0:0:2569:1446_1920x0_80_0_0_9c48838285ae6445c61c9732a84adbf9.jpg 2021 has been a year in which many nations across the Middle East and North Africa marked the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring uprisings that ousted long-time rulers and established a new world order.But the outgoing year has also been filled with other events, and Sputnik has wrapped them up, summarising the most memorable.January3rd: Iran marks one year since the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was killed by a US military strike at the Baghdad International Airport.Thousands took to the streets of Tehran to commemorate the slain military leader. They chanted anti-US and anti-Israel slogans and vowed to take revenge for the crime that was committed.5th: With varying degrees of enthusiasm, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain announce that they are ending their boycott of Qatar, imposed in 2017, following allegations that Doha has been supporting and funding extremists.The practical meaning of that move was that the Gulf countries and Egypt resumed flights to the gas-rich nation. They have also restored trade relations and re-established diplomatic ties.20th: The United States inaugurates its 46th President, Joe Biden. The new president's views have always been a concern for many Middle Eastern leaders. They have been wary of his intention to resume nuclear talks with Iran, the main challenger of several Sunni states in the region. They have also been on their toes because of Washington's plans to take a tougher approach to regional leaders' alleged human rights abuses.February1st: Kosovo becomes the 7th Muslim-majority nation to recognise Israel, with the two states signing a memorandum of understanding. A month later, the partially recognised European state opened its embassy in Jerusalem, following in the footsteps of the US and Guatemala.9th: The UAE becomes the fifth nation to successfully send a spacecraft to Mars, whose aim is to orbit the Red Planet. The Hope orbiter is also the Arab world's first interplanetary spacecraft - built from scratch in just six years.10th: Hamas holds secret elections, choosing who will take the helm of its political bureau and who will be in charge of the entire organisation.The names of the contenders were held in complete secrecy, but several weeks later it was announced that Yehiya Sinwar, the man who was in charge of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, had remained in his place. Ismail Haniyeh was also unchallenged and continued to occupy his job as the head of the Islamic group's politburo and the man responsible for the organisation's ties with nations.25th: The US military carries out its first airstrike in eastern Syria, near the border with Iraq, under Joe Biden. The US claimed to have targeted Iran-backed Shia militia in retaliation for a rocket attack targeting an American base near Erbil Airport in northern Iraq that killed a US military contractor on 15 February.March23rd: Israel goes to the polls for the fourth time in two years. Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud wins that race gaining 30 of 120 seats in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, but the battle is far from overSoon after the official results are announced, Netanyahu and his challenger, the leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, lock horns in trying to form a coalition and garnner the 61 signatures needed to get to the top position.April3rd: Jordan announces the arrest of nearly 20 people allegedly involved in a coup aimed at overthrowing the current monarch -- King Abdullah II. Several members of the royal family are believed to be involved as well as some elements of the security apparatus, leaders of tribes, and the political establishment. There have also been allegations of foreign involvement.6th: The first round of nuclear talks with Iran kicks off in the Austrian capital, Vienna.Representatives of Iran, Russia, China, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom met to discuss the resumption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that the United States left unilaterally in 2018.11th: Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment site goes through a power failure probably due to a deliberate explosion. Tehran, who has called the incident an act of "nuclear terrorism" immediately pinned the blame on Israel, allegations that Tel Aviv has neither denied nor confirmed.Israeli officials have reiterated on a number of occasions that they will not let Iran become a nuclear power, fearing Tehran will use that ability to attack Israel.They have also vowed to do everything they can to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear independence.30th: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas calls off the presidential and legislative elections that were set to take place later this year.These were supposed to be the first polls in 15 years and the decision to postpone them caused an uproar among Palestinians.Abbas blamed Israel for the situation, saying it prevented him from holding the elections in the eastern part of Jerusalem.For their part, Israeli experts believed the real reason for Abbas' decision was his fear of competition, primarily from rival group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip.30th: 45 Orthodox Jews are killed and 150 others wounded in a stampede on Mount Meron amid the celebration of the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba'Omer.A state probe is still underway to determine what led to the disaster, but eyewitnesses have already pointed the finger at the police for not reacting quickly enough, local authorities for not maintaining the site properly, and the previous government for ignoring the alarming signals.May10th: Israel launches "Operation Guardian of the Walls" in Gaza, in response to a barrage of rockets launched at many Israeli cities by militants from Hamas and other extremist groups.Over the course of 12 days, Israel destroyed more than 1,500 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets, including launch sites, command centres, and weapons depots. But it also partially or fully devastated the Gaza Strip's infrastructure, including police stations, roads, hospitals, schools, and mosques. At least 250 Palestinians were killed, including militants from the radical groups.The hostilities also left 13 Israelis dead, with Hamas firing 4,500 rockets into Israeli territory.28th: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad wins a fourth term, with 95 percent of the vote in his favour. The 55-year-old is set to remain in power for the next seven years.https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrias-president-bashar-al-assad-wins-fourth-term-office-with-951-votes-live-2021-05-27/June1st: The new head of the Israeli spy agency Mossad, David Barnea, takes office. Not much is known about the man, who is taking one of the country's toughest jobs.However, it is known that in his earlier years, he served in the IDF's elite Sayeret Matkal unit, where he was praised for his ability to think outside of the box. Then, he worked as a senior business manager at an Israeli investment bank, and later he joined Mossad, where he rather rapidly climbed the ranks. https://sputniknews.com/20210608/friendly-and-reliable-but-committed-to-israels-security-who-is-israels-new-mossad-chief-1083097116.html12th: Algeria elects a parliament but the polls have an unexpectedly low turnout, with the Hirak, a mass protest movement that ousted Algeria's president in April 2019, boycotting the vote.13th: Israel swears in its new government, ending Netanyahu's more than decade-long tenure at the helm of the country.The new coalition is comprised of eight parties with rather opposing ideologies. All sit together in one government, whose aim is not only to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and multiple security and social challenges, but also to keep Netanyahu at bay.18th: Iran holds presidential elections, with the conservative Ebrahim Raisi, winning the race. A staunch opponent of the West and a believer in Iran's nuclear programme, Raisi causes concerns in the West and in some parts of the Arab world.July15th: Thousands take to the streets in Iran's Khuzestan Province to protest against water shortages in the area, following the worst drought in 50 years.Protesters clash with police forces, with several killed and injured in the process.24th: A famous Palestinian activist, Nizar Binat, dies shortly after being arrested by Palestinian Authority security personnel.The man was known for his criticism of the current Palestinian leadership and its alleged corruption, and this is why his death sparked allegations that he was assassinated by the forces he was constantly criticising. Some have even charged that his death was ordered by President Abbas himself.The assassination led to mass protests in multiple locations across the West Bank, with Abbas' approval ratings dropping dramatically.26th: Tunisia's President Kais Saied dismisses the government and freezes parliament in a move aimed at "fighting the hypocrisy, treachery, and robbery" of the political class. Although thousands took to the streets of the capital in support of that move, some have said that the president launched a coup against the revolution and the Tunisian Constitution.August15th: In Central Asia, the Taliban* takes over Afghanistan amid a chaotic foreign troop pullout, sparking a massive exodus from the war-torn country.September17th: Former Algerian President Adelaide Bouteflika dies at 84, more than two years after he stepped down from his post.Bouteflika governed the country for two decades before his resignation in April 2019 after massive street demonstrations.October1st: Dubai Expo 2020 opens its doors to the general public, a year after it was supposed to be launched. The mega event was delayed due to the outbreak of the pandemic.Some 192 countries are taking part in the exhibition that will last until the end of March, and it is expected to draw 25 million visitors.10th: Iraqis head to the polls to elect their parliament, which, in turn, elects a president and confirms a prime minister.After a long count, it was announced that the political bloc led by Shiite leader Muqtada Al Sadr won the race, gaining 73 of 329 seats in the parliament.November7th: Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa Al Kadhimi survives an assassination attempt as an explosive-laden drone attacked his residence.Nobody claimed responsibility for the assault that also injured several security personnel, but the general consensus was that it was carried out by pro-Iran militias.29th: The Iran nuclear talks resume in Vienna after a five-month hiatus. The world powers met in a bid to save the 2015 deal and make sure that Iran doesn't reach a point of nuclear independence in exchange for lifting their sanctions.The West is now facing tougher Iranian negotiators, who are part of the conservative government of Ebrahim Raisi.December2nd: The United Arab Emirates marks its 50th national day with grand celebrations in Dubai. Later, the nation announces it will no longer adhere to the Friday-Saturday weekend, opting for western customs instead.9th: The US announces its military mission in Iraq is over, although local experts and politicians said soldiers would still remain but they will take more advisory and training roles.12th: Miss Universe contestants descend on Israel to take part in the beauty pageant despite calls by BDS groups to boycott the event. Harnaaz Sandhu, the beauty queen of India, took home the title of Miss Universe 2021.*The Taliban is an organisation under UN sanctions over terrorist activities. https://sputniknews.com/20210103/iran-commemorates-death-anniversary-of-general-qasem-soleimani-1081637360.html https://sputniknews.com/20210202/almost-a-month-after-boycott-on-qatar-was-lifted-future-looks-bright-for-middle-east-says-expert-1081953768.html https://sputniknews.com/20210214/uae-shares-1st-ever-image-of-mars-captured-by-hope-space-probe-1082073987.html https://sputniknews.com/20210227/us-officials-raise-threat-level-for-troops-stationed-in-iraq-after-recent-syria-strikes---report-1082201966.html https://sputniknews.com/20210417/israeli-general-claims-iran-has-been-waiting-for-natanz-attack-for-20-years---report-1082658559.html https://sputniknews.com/20211217/demonstrators-rally-in-tunisia-as-president-announces-referendum-and-future-elections-1091593342.html https://sputniknews.com/20211107/un-mission-in-iraq-condemns-assassination-attempt-against-prime-minister-1090542196.html https://sputniknews.com/20211213/indias-harnaaz-sandhu-becomes-miss-universe-2021---video-1091474758.html north africa Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Elizabeth Blade Elizabeth Blade News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Elizabeth Blade north africa, middle east https://sputniknews.com/20211230/estonia-plans-to-supply-ukraine-with-javelin-anti-tank-missiles-howitzers-1091924173.html Estonia Plans to Supply Ukraine With Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles, Howitzers Estonia Plans to Supply Ukraine With Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles, Howitzers The Estonian Defense Ministry intends to provide Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank missiles and 122 mm howitzers, Peeter Kuimet, the Estonian Ministry of Defence said on Thursday. 2021-12-30T20:39+0000 2021-12-30T20:39+0000 2021-12-30T20:39+0000 military & intelligence ukraine us weapons estonia howitzer javelin anti-tank missiles /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/0e/1091519067_0:158:3079:1890_1920x0_80_0_0_1f82bed5acf26283d529c37d20721e45.jpg According to the official, Estonia has been assisting Ukraine in the training of military medical personnel, artillerymen, and soldiers of special forces since 2014. Kuimet said that since Russia has allegedly been building up its military forces on the border with Ukraine, Estonia plans to significantly increase its support to Kiev.The official explained that before making a final decision, Estonia has to obtain permission from the country of origin of the missiles the United States as well as from the former owners of howitzers Finland and Germany. Thus, the timing of the assistance largely depends on how the negotiations with the allies progresses.Estonia has received Javelin missiles from the United States. The cost of one missile ranges from 75,000 to 130,000 euros ($84,856-$147,084), depending on the terms of contracts and on the specific type of the weapon. Estonia plans to supply Ukraine with several dozens of such missiles. https://sputniknews.com/20211228/excess-military-equipment-kiev-washington-working-on-deal-to-supply-more-us-arms-to-ukraine--1091864512.html Golem The evil vermin really think they are clever, instead of supplying ukraine directly themselves they now wish to do so through one of their Russophobic lapdogs and they think that will distance them from the act. 9 FeEisi How are they going to defend themselves if they give away their whole military? 6 10 ukraine us estonia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 military & intelligence, ukraine, us, weapons, estonia, howitzer, javelin anti-tank missiles https://sputniknews.com/20211230/germany-doesnt-rule-out-new-sanctions-against-nord-stream-2-1091917968.html Germany Doesn't Rule Out New Sanctions Against Nord Stream 2 Germany Doesn't Rule Out New Sanctions Against Nord Stream 2 German Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck has made it clear that he doesn't rule out new sanctions against Nord Stream 2 2021-12-30T13:51+0000 2021-12-30T13:51+0000 2021-12-30T13:51+0000 russia ukraine us sanctions germany military conflict approval gas pipeline project nord stream 2 /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091912983_70:0:3480:1918_1920x0_80_0_0_ed44b0796599116d4bbf4bc7b84ccf0f.jpg German Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck has made it clear that he doesn't rule out new sanctions against Nord Stream 2. He also signalled Berlin's unwillingness to interfere in the process of approving the project."We are a constitutional state, and permits are granted in accordance with the law. Politicians should focus on the political sphere", the minister told the German network ZDF on Thursday.Kiev and several Western countries have been accusing Moscow of planning "an invasion" of Ukraine because Russia deployed troops near its southwestern borders. Moscow rejects the accusations and insists that the West wants to use them as an excuse to deploy NATO military equipment in Russia's backyard.At the same time, the vice chancellor called on Europe to "use its own formats and chances" to conduct a dialogue with Moscow, including via the Normandy format and the Russia-NATO Council.On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that a gathering of the Russia-NATO Council is due on 12 January.Normandy Four Format The so-called Normandy Four format, comprised of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany, was established on 6 June 2014, in order to resolve a military conflict between Kiev and the self-proclaimed republics in the country's eastern region of Donbass.The Donbass standoff erupted in 2014, when Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics that refused to recognise the new government in Kiev, which came to power after what they considered to be a coup.In 2015, the conflicting parties signed a peace deal following talks brokered by the Normandy Four. The agreements have repeatedly been breached, with both sides accusing each other of the violations.Nord Stream 2 Yet to Be Okayed by German RegulatorsAs for Habecks interview, it comes after the German government reportedly urged US congressmen last month not to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, insisting that doing so will "damage transatlantic unity".Washington previously imposed a number of sanctions on the project, arguing that once Nord Stream 2 is operational, Europe will become even more dependent on Russia's energy resources, something that will allegedly help Moscow gain political leverage.Russia has repeatedly warned against politicising what it says is a purely economic project, adding that the way in which the White House has expressed opposition to Nord Stream 2 is an example of unfair competition. The already completed pipeline is awaiting clearance from German and European regulators before Russia can start exporting gas through it, a process that is expected to wrap up by mid-2022. https://sputniknews.com/20210721/ukraine-would-be-at-more-risk--without-us-german-nord-stream-2-deal-senior-us-official-says-1083432378.html vot tak "Germany doesn't rule out its own self-destruction in their service of israeloamerica". 8 md101 Russia could threaten the sanctioning of the old Soviet built pipelines in Ukraine and Poland. In this case it is easy to checkmate the imbeciles in the EU. 8 6 ukraine us germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Oleg Burunov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg Oleg Burunov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Oleg Burunov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg russia, ukraine, us, sanctions, germany, military conflict, approval, gas pipeline, project, nord stream 2 https://sputniknews.com/20211230/gop-pennsylvania-gubernatorial-hopeful-slams-secret-flights-carrying-unaccompanied-minors-to-state-1091922717.html GOP Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Hopeful Slams 'Secret' Flights Carrying Unaccompanied Minors to State GOP Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Hopeful Slams 'Secret' Flights Carrying Unaccompanied Minors to State Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate, ex-congressman Lou Barletta has criticised the state governor for allowing several flights carrying unaccompanied migrant minors to arrive art Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport throughout December in "secret" 2021-12-30T19:53+0000 2021-12-30T19:53+0000 2021-12-30T19:53+0000 pennsylvania migrant minors us migrants /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091922489_0:320:3072:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_70b028dc83c70588002761f2973c72b7.jpg Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate and former Republican congressman Lou Barletta has criticised the governor for allowing several flights carrying unaccompanied migrant minors to arrive at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport throughout December in secret. Barletta claimed that the fact of the arrival of these "ghost flights" only became publicly known due to one of them being "caught" red-handed.Barletta said in an interview with Fox News that he confronted Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, on this matter, but did not get a satisfactory answer. The gubernatorial candidate also wondered if any of the arriving migrants were checked for their vaccinations (not just for COVID-19) and whether their criminal backgrounds were studied.Wolf told Fox News that the flights that Barletta referenced were transit ones and that Pennsylvania was not their destination. He further stressed that the flights were ordered by the Department of Health and Human Services and the state could not intervene in this case.Barletta challenged Wolf's response by arguing that the governor should address any matter, even a federal one, if it impacts the state's population. The Republican vowed that he will act differently if he gets elected in 2022.The scandal comes as the US faces one of the toughest years in terms of the number of migrants arriving at its borders. The Republicans repeatedly blasted the Biden administration for not acting actively enough on the issue and purportedly allowing thousands of migrants into the country. The White House repeatedly downplayed the issue. President Joe Biden said he won't be addressing the problem by closing the borders, but rather will do it by resolving the roots of immigration poverty, consequences of natural disasters, and lack of COVID-19 vaccines in the migrants' home countries. https://sputniknews.com/20211223/record-122000-unaccompanied-migrant-children-arrive-in-us-shelters-in-2021-reports-say-1091758929.html Notta Snowflake Those kids are being trafficked to the Caligula people's twisted upper classes as sex toys or sold as fresh body transplant parts. 0 1 pennsylvania Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg pennsylvania, migrant minors, us, migrants https://sputniknews.com/20211230/hindu-seer-arrested-for-insulting-indias-independence-leader-mahatma-gandhi-1091902582.html Hindu Seer Arrested for Insulting India's Independence Leader Mahatma Gandhi Hindu Seer Arrested for Insulting India's Independence Leader Mahatma Gandhi Police in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh arrested Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj in the early hours of Thursday, days after he insulted Mahatma Gandhi and hailed his assassin Nathuram Godse for killing him. 2021-12-30T07:25+0000 2021-12-30T07:25+0000 2021-12-30T07:25+0000 religion politics politics madhya pradesh india politics religion hinduism religious group chhattisgarh /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/0d/1080150519_0:0:2792:1571_1920x0_80_0_0_3e18ad558f03fcabb9e21880597b3f98.jpg Police in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh arrested Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj in the early hours of Thursday, days after he insulted Mahatma Gandhi and hailed his assassin Nathuram Godse for killing him. Superintendent of Police (SP) Prashant Agrawal for Raipur confirmed the arrest to the media. "Kalicharan Maharaj was staying in a rented accommodation near Bageshwar Dham, 25 km from Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. Raipur Police arrested him at 4 a.m. today. By late evening, the police team will reach Raipur with the accused", he said.Kalicharan has been booked under Section 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and Section 294 (obscene act in any public place) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).Speaking at a "Dharam Sansad" (a religious congregation) in Raipur on 25 December, Kalicharan said: "What has Gandhi done for Hindus? He betrayed the nation. He seeded the dynasty politics in the country and destroyed others". The Hindu leader also hailed Gandhi's killer, Nathuram Godse.Chhattisgarh State Chief Bhupesh Baghel and several Congress Party leaders have since condemned the remarks made by Kalicharan against Mahatma Gandhi.The objectionable remarks during the Raipur event came just days after a religious gathering in Haridwar (in the state of Uttarakhand) made headlines over provocative speeches by some Hindu religious leaders against minority communities. madhya pradesh india chhattisgarh Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Rahul Trivedi https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/05/12/1082926121_0:-1:627:627_100x100_80_0_0_d882e1a63f627c25b7a534fb8b8234d7.jpg Rahul Trivedi https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/05/12/1082926121_0:-1:627:627_100x100_80_0_0_d882e1a63f627c25b7a534fb8b8234d7.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Rahul Trivedi https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/05/12/1082926121_0:-1:627:627_100x100_80_0_0_d882e1a63f627c25b7a534fb8b8234d7.jpg religion, politics, politics, madhya pradesh, india, politics, religion, hinduism, religious group, chhattisgarh, religion, saint, politics, hindus, religious procession, religion and politics, india https://sputniknews.com/20211230/india-mumbai-cancels-holidays-for-police-as-it-sounds-alert-over-terror-threat-1091917615.html India: Mumbai Cancels Holidays for Police as It Sounds Alert Over Terror Threat India: Mumbai Cancels Holidays for Police as It Sounds Alert Over Terror Threat Mumbai Police have cancelled its entire workforce's holidays because of a tip-off about a possible terror attack on Friday. 2021-12-30T14:06+0000 2021-12-30T14:06+0000 2021-12-30T14:06+0000 mumbai punjab bomb blast the 1993 mumbai bombings india /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0b/1a/1091041105_0:156:3087:1892_1920x0_80_0_0_f83f250a7f5cb6f76949788fce9af45f.jpg Mumbai Police have cancelled its entire workforce's holidays because of a tip-off about a possible terror attack on Friday.Intelligence information suggests that "Khalistani elements" a Sikh movement, are likely to carry out terrorist attacks in the city.With a population of about 20 million, half of them living in congested slums, the city is guarded by just a little over 40,000 police officers.The alert comes days after intelligence information indicated pro-Khalistan elements being behind the bomb blast at the Ludhiana court complex last week. One person was killed and four others were injured in the explosion.Indian security forces had comprehensively defeated the terrorist movement for Khalistan in 1993. Still, intelligence reports believe that the movement h as picked up momentum since 2018 with the help of Pakistan-based outfits and some non-resident Indian Sikh groups who continue to propagate the ideology of Khalistan. mumbai punjab Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Rishikesh Kumar https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/04/1080055820_0:0:388:389_100x100_80_0_0_40018ee210946d65d49ffba4f4c008e1.jpg Rishikesh Kumar https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/04/1080055820_0:0:388:389_100x100_80_0_0_40018ee210946d65d49ffba4f4c008e1.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Rishikesh Kumar https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/04/1080055820_0:0:388:389_100x100_80_0_0_40018ee210946d65d49ffba4f4c008e1.jpg mumbai, punjab, bomb blast, the 1993 mumbai bombings, india https://sputniknews.com/20211230/iran-launches-three-new-satellites-into-low-earth-orbit-1091912618.html Iran Launches Three New Satellites Into Low Earth Orbit Iran Launches Three New Satellites Into Low Earth Orbit Tehran has launched a rocket carrying three satellites into space, Iranian Defence Ministry spokesman Ahmad Hosseini has revealed. According to him, a domestically developed Simorgh small orbital space launch rocket was used to send three research satellites to low Earth orbit at an altitude of 470 kilometres. 2021-12-30T10:42+0000 2021-12-30T10:42+0000 2021-12-30T10:42+0000 world iran satellite space /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/105592/75/1055927531_0:0:4256:2395_1920x0_80_0_0_37c241554a83dba07bb7d5e5014c69c0.jpg Tehran has launched a rocket carrying three satellites into space, Iranian Defence Ministry spokesman Ahmad Hosseini has revealed. According to him, a domestically developed Simorgh small orbital space launch rocket was used to send three research satellites to low Earth orbit at an altitude of 470 kilometres.The official did not disclose the names or the nature of the satellites launched. It was also not clear whether they successfully reached their designated altitude and stayed in orbit.The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported earlier in December that Tehran was preparing to launch four different satellites in the near future - Zafar 2, Pars 1, Nahid 1, and Nahid 2. Zafar 2 is an heir to an earlier model called Zafar 1 that was launched two years ago using a Simorgh rocket, but which had failed to stay in orbit.Zafar was designed to capture satellite images of Earth and send them back to Iran. The Nahid are reportedly telecommunications satellites. The Pars 1 satellite is equipped with a high-resolution 15-metre camera to capture images of Iranian lands, forests, and lakes to help the country's agricultural sector as well as to monitor various hazards, such as floods and wildfires.The US has condemned Iran's satellite launches in the past - even when the space cargo was civilian in nature. Right now, Washington is engaged in talks with Tehran in Vienna as the two attempt to restore the Iran nuclear deal a 2015 international accord, which the US abandoned in 2018 slapping the Islamic Republic with sanctions. Tehran responded by ramping up its nuclear programme activities in violation of the nuclear accord. Now, Iran and the US are negotiating their mutual return to compliance with the nuclear deal, but the talks have so far yielded no results. https://sputniknews.com/20210623/fake-news-alert-iran-dismisses-cnn-report-about-possible-failed-satellite-launch-1083223283.html Barros Congratulations, Iran! 10 vot tak Excellent news. 10 6 iran space Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg world, iran, satellite, space https://sputniknews.com/20211230/iranians-hold-pro-government-dey-9-rally-in-tehran-1091908441.html Iranians Hold Pro-Government 'Dey 9' Rally in Tehran Iranians Hold Pro-Government 'Dey 9' Rally in Tehran The original rallies were held in 2009, in response to the Ashura protests by the opposition. 2021-12-30T11:10+0000 2021-12-30T11:10+0000 2021-12-30T11:10+0000 tehran protests iran /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/14/1079933917_0:146:1280:866_1920x0_80_0_0_153c0b66fa7d2cc46c629582d56d1d7c.jpg Sputnik is live from Tehran, as Iranians gather in the capital for a "Dey 9" pro-government rally. The demonstration marks the 12th anniversary of the original protests, which took place after the Iranian presidential election in 2009.After the opposition started mass demonstrations to protest against the outcome of the vote, pro-government forces organised their own counter-protests, naming them after the ninth day of the Iranian month.Dey is the tenth month of the Solar Hijri calendar, used in the Islamic Republic. It begins in mid-December and ends in January.Follow Sputnik's Live Feed to Find Out More! Silverphoenix It depends on your definition of "free world websites" if you mean ziomedias or something , well of course your right good luck bro 5 SonOfDavid NoLastName Yet your so-called free world websites and medias failed to report about thousands of Ethiopians that marched on the streets of Washington DC for weeks demanding that the US government should stop destabilizing their country 4 3 tehran iran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Iranians Hold Pro-Government 'Dey 9' Rally in Tehran Iranians Hold Pro-Government 'Dey 9' Rally in Tehran 2021-12-30T11:10+0000 true PT134M13S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 tehran, protests, iran, https://sputniknews.com/20211230/man-on-a-mission-to-kill-joe-biden-in-order-to-rid-white-house-of-evil-demons-arrested-in-iowa-1091907701.html Man on a Mission to Kill Joe Biden in Order to Rid White House of 'Evil Demons' Arrested in Iowa Man on a Mission to Kill Joe Biden in Order to Rid White House of 'Evil Demons' Arrested in Iowa According to a six-page criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Iowa, the 25-year-old carried a list of targets. He said he disapproved of the current administration 2021-12-30T07:59+0000 2021-12-30T07:59+0000 2021-12-30T07:59+0000 joe biden iowa us threats /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/106467/83/1064678386_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_ae7a0c0cb57055e26274c0f9b431316a.jpg A heavily armed man was detained on his way to the White House, where he wanted to kill several high-profile individuals, including President Joe Biden. Other people on his target list were, White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr Anthony Fauci, former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.Court records show that Kuachua Brillion Xiong, 25, began his trip from Sacramento, California, and was pulled over by police on 21 December for driving aggressively. During a conversation with a police officer he confessed that he was heading to Washington, DC, to "combat evil demons in the White House". He said he worked at a grocery store until he had been called by God. He complained to law enforcement about the alleged "abuse of children" under Joe Biden.Police officers discovered an AR-15 rifle, ammunition, body armour, loaded magazines, and medical kits in his car. Court records show that Xiong believes he is "the only person remaining who can free the United States of evil and it is necessary for him to kill those in positions of power". He said he would do "whatever it takes" to complete his mission and will resume his conquest on the White House if released from custody. He has been charged with making threats. This is not the first time that a man has plotted against the Biden administration. In May, police arrested 39-year-old John Thornton from Las Cruces, New Mexico, who threatened to travel to Washington, DC, to shoot the Democrat, as well as computer company workers and some of his family members. Notta Snowflake The best revenge imaginable against real or presumed tyrants is to wish them long lives being exactly who they are and to mind one's own business. Into all of us are born the seeds for our own destruction: those who offend against the simple principles of guidance through goodwill are simply better at fertilising those seeds than you or me. 1 Meri Brown 7 Start now earning every week more than $5,000 by doing very simple and easy home based job online. Last month i have made $19735 by doing this online job just in my part time for only 2 hrs. a day using my laptop. This job is just awesome and easy to do in part time. Everybody can now get this and start earning more dollars online just by follow instructions here just copy and paste____________ www.cash46.com 0 3 iowa Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev joe biden, iowa, us, threats https://sputniknews.com/20211230/migrant-workers-in-panic-after-night-curfew-imposed-in-delhi-over-rising-covid-cases-1091908729.html Migrant Workers in Panic After Night Curfew Imposed in Delhi Over Rising COVID Cases Migrant Workers in Panic After Night Curfew Imposed in Delhi Over Rising COVID Cases With the Delhi government imposing a night curfew due to rising cases of coronavirus in the city, daily wage workers fear if the COVID-19 situation worsens, an announcement of a complete lockdown may not be far away. 2021-12-30T11:44+0000 2021-12-30T11:44+0000 2021-12-30T11:44+0000 new delhi delhi india corona india coronavirus global covid-19 cases spike to highest level post-lockdown omicron strain /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/14/1082676957_0:161:3067:1886_1920x0_80_0_0_c007fc7bb243203504111d9855b13bd2.jpg With the Delhi government imposing a night curfew due to rising cases of coronavirus in the city, daily wage workers fear if the COVID-19 situation worsens, an announcement of a complete lockdown may not be far away."We can't think of returning to our village this time. It's not easy. We're still facing the brunt of last year, and not getting work regularly", Pawan Chand, a painter who was waiting at Labour Chowk in the South Extension area of Delhi, told Sputnik.Labour Chowks are points in any area in India where labourers gather with their tools every day in the hope of getting some temporary work from a customer.Chand also shared that work in general has not really returned to pre-pandemic levels and it has only begun to pick up over the last few weeks. He now fears that in view of the Delhi government's announcement of various curbs, finding daily work will become a major problem."Now, the government has imposed restrictions on marriage gatherings. This will be a brutal blow for us and all the men whom I hired", Kumar added.Talking to Sputnik, a senior government official denied any possibility of a full lockdown in the city in the current scenario.In the past 24 hours, Delhi has reported 923 fresh COVID-19 cases, and the positivity rate jumped to 1.29 percent. This is the highest daily tally recorded since 30 May 2021. On Wednesday, 73 new Omicron patients were detected, taking the capital's tally of the new variant to 238.Earlier this week, the Delhi government announced a "yellow alert" under which shops in malls and markets will open on an odd-even basis, only 50 percent seating is allowed in restaurants and bars and a night curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. will be in place. Besides this, gyms, theatres, and all educational institutes will remain closed.On Wednesday, Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, State Chief Arvind Kejriwal along with members of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), held a meeting to discuss further restrictions and the vaccination programme.A senior Delhi government official, who attended the meeting, told Sputnik: "At this moment, our priority is to contain the number of cases. Our other team is also constantly updating on hospital beds, oxygen cylinders as of now, we have prepared. So far, no talks of lockdown. We are quite confident that we will manage the situation effectively".Over the past 24 hours, India has reported 13,154 COVID cases, which is a 40 percent increase in cases in a day. So far, six states have resorted to night curfew, and market restrictions have been put in place in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. new delhi delhi india Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Deexa Khanduri https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0c/1e/1081607388_0:0:961:960_100x100_80_0_0_e9e931b8c1e18fb41f3074e2145d7a3a.jpg Deexa Khanduri https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0c/1e/1081607388_0:0:961:960_100x100_80_0_0_e9e931b8c1e18fb41f3074e2145d7a3a.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Deexa Khanduri https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0c/1e/1081607388_0:0:961:960_100x100_80_0_0_e9e931b8c1e18fb41f3074e2145d7a3a.jpg new delhi, delhi, india, corona, india, coronavirus, global covid-19 cases spike to highest level post-lockdown, omicron strain https://sputniknews.com/20211230/no-10-feared-tony-blairs-visit-to-us-amid-clinton-sex-scandal-could-taint-his-image-1091905623.html No 10 Feared Tony Blair's Visit to US Amid Clinton Sex Scandal Could Taint His Image No 10 Feared Tony Blair's Visit to US Amid Clinton Sex Scandal Could Taint His Image The so-called Monicagate scandal involved revelations that the 42nd president of the US had an extramarital affair with a 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. 2021-12-30T07:16+0000 2021-12-30T07:16+0000 2021-12-30T07:16+0000 tony blair bill clinton us monica lewinsky uk /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/103284/74/1032847416_0:0:1917:1079_1920x0_80_0_0_e2ead8769f722f0b6f9d179b66c389f8.jpg British officials feared that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to the United States amid Bill Clinton's sex scandal could damage his reputation, The Guardian has reported, citing documents released by The National Archives. According to the outlet, Downing Street hired US lawyers to assess the gravity of Clinton's case and whether it could have implications on Tony Blair's image.The visit was scheduled for February 1998 right at the height of special prosecutor Kenneth Starr's investigation into Bill Clinton, including his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. After assessing the situation, lawyer John McInespie wrote the following to Mr Blair's chief of staff:Mr McInespie stressed that if Ms Lewinsky's lawyer got her full immunity then "this strategy is highly dangerous to President Clinton".Downing Street dropped plans for UK First Lady Cherie Blair to attend a meeting on the White House intern scheme, but decided to go ahead with the prime minister's visit to the United States.During a joint press conference Tony Blair praised Bill Clinton, describing him as "someone I am proud to call not just a colleague, but a friend".Sir Christopher Meyer, then UK ambassador to the United States, wrote in a cable that "the tension shown by Clinton and his staff before the press conference was matched only by their relief afterwards". Sir Christopher added that officials from the Clinton administration were grateful for Blair's remarks.The so-called Monicagate scandal (also known as Zippergate and Lewinskygate) centered on the revelations that the 42nd president of the United States, who back then was in his late 40s, had an extramarital affair with a 22-year-old White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. Ms Lewinsky claimed that their relationship lasted for two years between 1995 and 1997.Bill Clinton categorically denied the allegation. The president also denied having ever slept with Lewinsky when testifying under oath in a sexual harassment case filed against him by Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee.Yet, a subsequent investigation, which saw Lewinsky turn over her dress stained with Clinton's semen, proved that the president lied. Clinton went on to admit that he had engaged in an "improper physical relationship". He was subsequently impeached on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, but was acquitted. Hess In any civilised nation, Blair would be arrested and tried in court of law for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, the war criminal is visiting his bosses in barbaric Washington. 2 1 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev tony blair, bill clinton, us, monica lewinsky, uk https://sputniknews.com/20211230/over-11200-migrants-tried-to-cross-into-germany-from-belarus-via-poland-in-2021-1091924633.html Over 11,200 Migrants Tried to Cross Into Germany From Belarus Via Poland in 2021 Over 11,200 Migrants Tried to Cross Into Germany From Belarus Via Poland in 2021 German federal police said on Thursday it had stopped 11,213 migrants from crossing into the country illegally from Belarus via neighboring Poland. 2021-12-30T20:53+0000 2021-12-30T20:53+0000 2021-12-30T20:53+0000 belarus poland germany migrants crisis alexandr lukashenko /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091924452_0:78:3367:1971_1920x0_80_0_0_5701d585f6ec73396f114ead7739da1e.jpg "Hence, the German-Polish border remains a flashpoint," the police said in a statement.The number of illegal migrants coming to Germany from Belarus through Poland skyrocketed to 474 in August from 26 recorded between January and July.The number of illegal arrivals with what the German police call "Belarusian connection" surged by 2,049 in September, 5,294 in October and 2,849 in November. Police recorded 521 illegal crossings as of December 29.The European Union accuses Belarus of waving through migrants, most of them from the Middle East and Africa, to get back at it for crippling economic sanctions, a claim denied by President Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus blames EU neighbors for pushing vulnerable people back across the border. Bob Dylan I like how the migrants want nothing to do with belarus and russia. Even poor migrants know to avoid those sh!t holes and head west...smfh 1 1 belarus poland germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 belarus, poland, germany, migrants, crisis, alexandr lukashenko https://sputniknews.com/20211230/pa-president-reportedly-warns-benny-gantz-of-unstoppable-escalation-if-mount-temple-rules-violated-1091919071.html PA President Reportedly Warns Benny Gantz of 'Unstoppable' Escalation If Mount Temple Rules Violated PA President Reportedly Warns Benny Gantz of 'Unstoppable' Escalation If Mount Temple Rules Violated President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, warned Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz that a violence might erupt if the religious status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is changed by Tel Aviv 2021-12-30T16:02+0000 2021-12-30T16:02+0000 2021-12-30T16:02+0000 middle east israel palestinian authority temple mount /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091919022_0:0:2771:1560_1920x0_80_0_0_4a7c62711fb56c67cd13d5b55388d4d5.jpg President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas warned Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz that violence might erupt if the religious status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is changed by Tel Aviv, Israeli Channels 12 and 13 have reported. Abbas reportedly predicted an "unstoppable" escalation if Israel alters the existing rules regarding the site, which is holy to both Jews and Muslims.Neither of the TV channels elaborated on what changes Abbas meant specifically. However, there have been reports lately that Israel has been turning a blind eye to violations of the long-term ban on Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount. The rule was introduced soon after Israel seized Jerusalem from Jordan in the Six-Day War in 1967 as a means of reducing tensions with the Muslim world over the seizure of the holy site.Abbas reportedly issued his warning to Gantz during their bilateral meeting on 29 December at the defence minister's home. During the meeting, the PA leader reportedly said he was committed to ending violence in the West Bank and proposed reducing the IDF presence there. In return, Abbas suggested giving greater freedom to the Palestinian security forces, promising that they would crack down on sources of violence against Israel as well.The meeting between the Palestinian president and Gantz was heavily criticised by Israeli opposition parties as well as some of Gantz's own allies in the governing coalition. Housing Minister Zeev Elkin from the New Hope party lambasted the defence minister for inviting Abbas, who is trying to prosecute Israeli servicemen, Gantz included, at the International Criminal Court.On the other hand, some left-wing parties in Israel's governing coalition backed Gantz's efforts. Leader of the Yesh Atid party Foreign Minister Yair Lapid argued that it was essential for Israel's security to coordinate with the PA. Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, leader of the Meretz party, in turn, praised the defence minister's move, underscoring that "strengthening the ties and striving for a diplomatic solution" should be the top priority for both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. https://sputniknews.com/20211028/hackers-breach-leak-personal-data-of-israeli-defense-ministry-servicemembers-emails-of-benny-gantz-1090265544.html israel temple mount Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg middle east, israel, palestinian authority, temple mount https://sputniknews.com/20211230/prince-andrews-accuser-says-ghislaine-maxwell-more-evil-than-epstein-1091919197.html Prince Andrew's Accuser Says Ghislaine Maxwell 'More Evil' Than Epstein Prince Andrew's Accuser Says Ghislaine Maxwell 'More Evil' Than Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell, the ex-lover of late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted this week of acting as his accomplice in finding and grooming... 30.12.2021, Sputnik International 2021-12-30T17:17+0000 2021-12-30T17:17+0000 2021-12-30T17:17+0000 us ghislaine maxwell prince andrew jeffrey epstein virginia roberts giuffre barack obama bill clinton donald trump peter mandelson /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091919264_0:0:2681:1509_1920x0_80_0_0_60a7f8fcaeb0533466ee90733af06811.jpg The woman who accuses Prince Andrew of rape has said billionaire child-abuser Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell was the worst of the pair.Virginia Giuffre spoke to New York magazine's The Cut on Wednesday after Maxwell was convicted in the New York Federal District Court. The jury found her guilty of five out of six charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy."I have been dreaming of this day for the last 10 years, not knowing that it was going to come," Giuffre said. "Its a bittersweet emotion because I have been fighting for so long."She dubbed Maxwell the "devils right-hand man" for her role in finding and grooming girls like here many of them underage to feed Epstein's perverted sexual appetite.Maxwell used her "womanly abilities to make me feel comfortable," Giuffre said. The deceit hurts even more because I fell naively into her trap. I mean, she is poised. She looks sophisticated. She didnt raise any hairs on the back of my head."Giuffre first met Maxwell at the age of 17 in 2000 when she was working as a spa attendant at future president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. She said the older woman spotted her reading a book on massage therapy a career she wanted to pursue and used that to worm her way into the girl's confidence.The thing about predators is they seek the vulnerable, find out what they want, and promise them a dream. Thats how they work," Giuffre said."Cages and chains come in all different shapes and sizes. I wasnt tied to a radiator or anything, like youve seen in movies. My shackles were Epstein and Ghislaines wealth and the powerful people they knew."The guilty verdicts against Maxwell showed that "no matter how rich or how connected you are, you can still be held accountable," Giuffre said.Epstein's high-profile friends and acquaintances included former presidents Trump, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as former British PM Tony Blair's right-hand man Peter MandelsonThe high-rolling financier was found hanged in his New York jail cell in 2019. The circumstances of his death were been disputed by Epstein's lawyers, with suspicions raised over the failure of guards to place him with a cellmate and check on him every 30 minutes as agreed, and the malfunction of CCTV cameras in front of his cell.Maxwell, now 60, is the daughter of late Czech-British-Israeli newspaper baron Robert Maxwell, who was rumoured to have connections in MI6, the KGB and Mossad. Maxwell died in 1991, also in mysterious circumstances, after falling off his yacht near the Canary islands, not long after he was exposed for stealing hundreds of millions from his employees' pension funds to pug holes in his publishing empire's finances. https://sputniknews.com/20211230/prince-andrew-should-be-quaking-in-his-boots-after-ghislaine-maxwells-guilty-verdict-lawyer-says-1091903207.html tim Note also Mr Tweedie's jumping through hoops to avoid saying the one word we are not allowed to say, he prefers to throw us off guard by saying instead "Czech - British - Israeli." 1 tim Those whose trade is in words should know that you cannot have the "worst" of a pair; the best you can have is one who is worse than the other. 0 2 us Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 James Tweedie https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png James Tweedie https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 James Tweedie https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png us, ghislaine maxwell, prince andrew, jeffrey epstein, virginia roberts giuffre, barack obama, bill clinton, donald trump, peter mandelson https://sputniknews.com/20211230/princess-diana-files-loony-speaker-loopy-ideas-1091901856.html Princess Diana Files: Loony Speaker, Loopy Ideas Princess Diana Files: Loony Speaker, Loopy Ideas The tragic death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997 unleashed a flood of conspiracy theories, with the British government at a loss as to how to deal with them while searching for ideas to properly commemorate the Princess, Prime Minister Tony Blair's files just released to The National Archives in London reveal. 2021-12-30T05:25+0000 2021-12-30T05:25+0000 2021-12-30T05:32+0000 tony blair princess diana death conspiracy theories uk national archives lindsay hoyle uk /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/105694/88/1056948818_0:135:2221:1384_1920x0_80_0_0_bbad97f4ed746484cade313035da7d3c.jpg "Lindsay Hoyle is publicity-mad loony", said a handwritten yellow Post-it note from Sir Robin Butler to John Holmes, principal private secretary to Tony Blair.What made the Head of the Home Civil Service use un-parliamentary language towards a Member of Parliament? Obviously, he did not expect the Right Honourable Lindsay Hoyle, MP for Chorley to become the Speaker of the House of Commons one day.Hoyle was a newcomer to parliament, having been elected in May 1997, three months prior to Princess Diana's death. He took it close to his heart and after a series of allegations in the media about the possible involvement of the British secret services in the tragedy decided to clear the air.Hoyle urged Blair to make a statement on the tragic passing of Princess Diana, "in order to clear up some of the secrecy and controversies surrounding her death"."There has been an enormous amount of speculation on recent television documentaries stating that somehow, British security forces may have been involved in the death of Diana. Making a statement on this matter would answer many of these questions and put an end to these rumours and uncertainty", wrote Hoyle.Hoyle sent a copy to Foreign Secretary Robin Cook whom Hoyle considered as having "some responsibility" for the matter.The table office resolution said "no basis" and the question was not tabled.Hoyle's letter put the government in a bind they had to reply but did not want to put it in writing. The Foreign Office suggested a phone call to Lindsay Hoyle. They said they used the same tactic when handling similar questions from UK and foreign media. Their worry was that a written statement could give the story "a fresh wind and encourage the press to recycle all the conspiracy theories of linkage between the Agencies and the accident, before printing the prime minister's denials".Prime Minister Blair's Chief of Staff Jonathan Powell said the idea of a phone call instead of a written reply was "daft much better to put this in writing clearly and definitely".A Loopy IdeaHoyle had probably earned his reputation within the government as a "publicity-mad loony" by promoting ideas to commemorate the Princess of Wales. Shortly after her tragic death he campaigned for the establishment of a new national children's hospital in her name and also suggested that London's Heathrow Airport be named after Diana. His proposals gained widespread support, with thousands of people urging the government committee on Diana's legacy to scrap the controversial Millennium Dome Experience project and build a children's hospital instead.The committee thought the idea was not a viable one but some of the suggestions made by big business were out of this world. An aptly named "Projet Grand" submitted to the committee envisaged that "a memorial to Princes of Wales should last for a thousand years" and should include:This, the authors of "Projet Grand" said, will become "unquestionably the most exciting tourist centre in the world and should confirm London's position as the most cutting edge city on earth".The project "cannot be criticised and it cannot be misunderstood", the authors concluded.But Tony Blair's Chief of Staff Jonathan Powell had only one word for most of these suggestions loopy. https://sputniknews.com/20211230/princess-di-file-blurred-line-between-the-press-and-the-state-1091887783.html Thomas Turk MURDER, NOT conspiracy theorie, poorly informed Sputmik### writer.! 2 Thomas Turk The death of Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, sent shockwaves around the world. A nation was left in mourning, but soon feelings of suspicion surfaced: was her death all that the Establishment might wish us to believe? Now, after an exhaustive two-year probe, investigative writer and former journalist Noel Botham has dared to reveal what the people of Britain have always believed - that Diana's death was murder. Using his unique contacts in the secretive worlds of intelligence and royalty, the author has uncovered the facts that prove Diana was - as she herself predicted she would be - the victim of a professional hit squad. He presents a clear account of what really happened on that fateful day of 31 August 1997. Why was the killing sanctioned? How was it executed? Was there really another car in the tunnel at the time of the crash? All of these questions and more, including how the truth was covered up by an official whitewash, are #answered. T 2 3 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Nikolai Gorshkov Nikolai Gorshkov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Nikolai Gorshkov tony blair, princess diana, death, conspiracy theories, uk national archives, lindsay hoyle, uk https://sputniknews.com/20211230/satellite-images-reveal-aftermath-of-israeli-airstrike-at-syrias-latakia-port-1091920877.html Satellite Images Reveal 'Aftermath of Israeli Airstrike at Syria's Latakia Port' Satellite Images Reveal 'Aftermath of Israeli Airstrike at Syria's Latakia Port' The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) targeted Syrias port of Latakia with missiles on Tuesday night, according to Syrian media reports. The airstrike did not result in any casualties or significant damage. 2021-12-30T17:36+0000 2021-12-30T17:36+0000 2021-12-30T17:36+0000 middle east airstrike syria israel /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091920996_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_234c961b6659ee664d7d7ec2c15ed47d.jpg Satellite images taken over the port of Latakia in Syria after it was targeted by an Israeli airstrike show the aftermath of the attack, with smoke rising from the destruction.Tuesday's airstrike resulted in several containers catching fire. Some reports suggested that the target of the attack could allegedly have been weapons at the port, but Syrian journalists who arrived at the scene shortly after the attack said there were no signs of weapons or ammunition there. According to them, the burnt containers were filled with food, wheat, and medical supplies.The images, obtained by the Associated Press from Planet Labs PBC, show the port engulfed in dense smoke, apparently from the still smouldering containers.Some users pointed to the damaged areas, suggesting that the attack was highly precise and may have targeted specific containers.The airstrike was reported on Tuesday by Syrian news agency SANA. According to the deputy head of the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria, Oleg Zhuravlev, only minor damage was inflicted.The IDF offered no comments in regard to the attack, saying it does not comment on foreign media reports. The Israeli military rarely comments on such incidents, which occur frequently in Syria as the IDF asserts it targets alleged Iranian-backed militants. USSuxRuskyNuts LMFAO Bob Dylan gave four thumbs up because he's a nothing but a monkey! Hahaha 5 USSuxRuskyNuts Funny how the pictures show that those Israeli missiles didn't even make a crater on the warf! LMAO The Israeli's killed a couple grain and food containers! Now that's pathetic! Just like DoucheBagLiar aka Tigger 5 17 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Daria Bedenko Daria Bedenko News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Daria Bedenko middle east, airstrike, syria, israel https://sputniknews.com/20211230/top-cnn-producer-resigns-amid-allegations-of-misconduct-involving-juvenile-victims-1091916696.html Top CNN Producer Resigns Amid Allegations of 'Misconduct Involving Juvenile Victims' Top CNN Producer Resigns Amid Allegations of 'Misconduct Involving Juvenile Victims' A top CNN producer for Jake Tapper's show "The Lead" has resigned from the network following his arrest over allegations of "misconduct involving juvenile victims". 2021-12-30T13:04+0000 2021-12-30T13:04+0000 2021-12-30T13:29+0000 us sexual scandal cnn /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091916049_0:291:2048:1443_1920x0_80_0_0_f34b7f515193fccd3a688f51d070b7dd.jpg A top CNN producer for Jake Tapper's show "The Lead" has resigned from the network following his arrest on 18 December over allegations of "misconduct involving juvenile victims".The producer, Rick Saleeby, was earlier exposed by Project Veritas journalists over allegedly fantasising about molesting a minor. He is now facing an investigation by Fairfax County, Virginia police. Law enforcement has so far refused to comment on the matter.Saleeby appeared in a Fairfax County court on 28 December. He was confronted there by Project Veritas journalists, but the man made no comments regarding his case.Project Veritas earlier released text exchanges and a voice recording allegedly featuring Saleeby sharing his sexual fantasies about a minor specifically one of the daughters of his fiancee. The journalist group obtained the recording and the messages from a woman, who had purportedly engaged in a sexual relationship with Saleeby for a decade, and verified them the best they could.In one of the text exchanges, the former CNN producer allegedly shared seeing the girl "wearing very closely cut bottoms at the pool" and describing how he could see "the outlines" of her private parts. In the recording, the man, who is presumably Rick Saleeby, shares his fantasies of forcing the daughter of his fiancee to perform an oral sex act on him.Notably, in 2019 Saleeby had a run-in with Project Veritas, unknowingly tipping one of the group's undercover journalists about CNN Politics' supervising producer Steve Brusk being involved in regular sexual misconduct in the workplace with staffers. Project Veritas' piece on Brusk led to his resignation.Saleeby has refused to comment on the accusations against him and CNN has not commented on the producer's resignation from the network, with the exception of confirming it.Row of Sexual Misconduct Scandals at CNNThe resignation of Saleeby is just the latest in a series of sexual misconduct-related scandals at CNN. Last month, the network fired its veteran prime time anchor Chris Cuomo over his involvement in helping his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in his fight against sexual harassment allegations.Also, earlier this month the network fired a former producer for Chris Cuomo, 44-year-old John Griffin, who was charged with several counts of sexual crimes against minors in Vermont. According to an unsealed indictment, Griffin contacted several parents of underage girls trying to convince them to let their children undergo "sexual training" with him.In at least one instance he paid a mother so that she would travel to him in Boston and later convinced her to direct her underage daughter to "engage in unlawful sexual activity", the indictment said.Griffin also allegedly proposed to initiate his "sexual training" via video chat before continuing it in person. The in-person training was also supposed to involve teaching underage girls "to be sexually submissive", "spanking", as well as "c*ck worship", the indictment said.CNN stated that it had no knowledge of Griffin's activities. The network first suspended and then fired the top producer soon after he was charged with crimes against minors. https://sputniknews.com/20211214/cnn-producer-charged-with-sex-crimes-against-minors-1091514487.html Meri Brown 7 Start now earning every week more than $5,000 by doing very simple and easy home based job online. Last month i have made $19735 by doing this online job just in my part time for only 2 hrs. a day using my laptop. This job is just awesome and easy to do in part time. Everybody can now get this and start earning more dollars online just by follow instructions here just copy and paste____________ www.cash46.com 1 1 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg us, sexual scandal, cnn https://sputniknews.com/20211230/ukrainian-businessman-who-rescued-rocket-startup-firefly-to-sell-his-stake-in-firm-on-us-demand-1091921546.html Ukrainian Businessman Who Rescued Rocket Startup 'Firefly' to Sell His Stake in Firm on US' Demand Ukrainian Businessman Who Rescued Rocket Startup 'Firefly' to Sell His Stake in Firm on US' Demand The US government demanded Ukrainian software mogul, Max Polyakov, to sell its entire stake in the space company Firefly Aerospace under the pre-text of national security concerns 2021-12-30T20:10+0000 2021-12-30T20:10+0000 2021-12-30T20:10+0000 us ukraine space /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091921498_0:0:2423:1364_1920x0_80_0_0_a1cea4b7da12ee6707dc2b5fcd6355b9.jpg The US government demanded Ukrainian software mogul Max Polyakov to sell his entire stake in the space company Firefly Aerospace, which manufactures lunar landers and is working on a satellite delivery rocket of its own, under the pretext of national security concerns, Bloomberg has reported citing the businessman's spokespeople. The government also ordered Firefly to halt preparations for its second test launch of their rocket from Vandenberg until the businessman rescinds his ownership, the media outlet reported citing two anonymous sources.Polyakov owns around 50% stake in the company, which he rescued after bankruptcy in 2017 using $200 million from his fortune. He already faced concerns from the US government in terms of his ownership of the company American laws strictly regulate the handling of rocket technologies, namely prohibiting non-US citizens to work with them. This created many hurdles for Firefly when it was fighting for government contracts, leading to Polyakov's decision to step down from the companys board to alleviate Washington's concerns.However, in November, the US Committee on Foreign Investment sent a letter to the businessmen in which it cited national security worries and demanded that Polyakov sell his stake in Firefly, Bloomberg said. The Ukrainian businessman's spokespeople confirmed to the media outlet that he agreed to fulfil the demand, while stressing that his ownership of the company never posed any national security threats to the US.Polyakov originally bought Firefly, an unsuccessful space startup founded in 2014, with the intent of building a private space company, which would develop its own rocket using combined experience in this field of both American and Ukrainian specialists.The company founded a research centre in a Ukrainian city. The businessman envisaged that once it's up and running, Firefly would boost both the US and Ukraine's space capabilities. The space startup even acquired a technology sharing agreement between Ukraine and the US, as well as secured several contracts with NASA, DARPA and the US Air Force.In September 2021, it conducted the first launch of its rocket. While it did not reach the designated orbit, the test run was viewed as a success. Firefly was actively preparing for the second launch when the letter from the US Committee on Foreign Investment arrived. https://sputniknews.com/20210903/video-of-firefly-alpha-rocket-exploding-in-the-air-minutes-after-launch-emerges-online-1083786112.html BillOwens US will not allow anyone to have high tech, except itself. Anyone who has it will either be maligned or bought out. It is sad how ukraine is being robbed by uncle scam. But we saw it coming, at least those of us who know better. 2 1 ukraine space Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg us, ukraine, space https://sputniknews.com/20211230/us-and-uk-backed-al-qaeda-in-syria-dems-heading-for-midterm-defeat-us-protects-ukraine-nazis-1091900199.html US and UK Backed Al-Qaeda in Syria; Dems Heading for Midterm Defeat; US Protects Ukraine Nazis US and UK Backed Al-Qaeda in Syria; Dems Heading for Midterm Defeat; US Protects Ukraine Nazis The lack of accomplishment on either domestic or foreign policy seems to portend significant midterm losses for the Democratic Party. 30.12.2021, Sputnik International 2021-12-30T08:50+0000 2021-12-30T08:50+0000 2021-12-30T08:50+0000 julian assange neo-nazis ukraine syria domestic politics africom nato the critical hour juan guaido /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/1e/1091900079_46:0:1290:700_1920x0_80_0_0_0140fcced38fe8d88870cb9fadd002d6.png US and UK Backed Al-Qaeda in Syria; Dems Heading for Midterm Defeat; US Protects Ukraine Nazis The lack of accomplishment on either domestic or foreign policy seems to portend significant midterm losses for the Democratic Party. Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the NATO crisis on the Russian border. The Kremlin has explained why they made their security demands public. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, We have made our initiative public, as explained by President Putin and the Foreign Ministry because we are aware of the Wests ability to obfuscate any uncomfortable issues for them.Dan Kovalik, writer, author, and lawyer, joins us to discuss Syria. There is ample evidence that the US and UK provided material support for jihadist forces during their "dirty war" against the Syrian people. Also, Israel has increased attacks on Syria under the guise of attacking Iran-linked targets.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Africa. The Ethiopian government was able to turn the tide against TPLF rebel forces using a combination of Turkish and Chinese drones. Also, we discuss the coup in Sudan and the AFRICOM and French connections.Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch and author of "Danger in Society: Against Vaccine Passports, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Jonathan Cook argues that the persecution of Julian Assange is a clear and intentional message to all independent journalists. Cook argues that the message is that they must remain silent to the war crimes of the US empire or face the same fate.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss NATO's Waterloo. Patrick Lawrence has a brilliant article in Consortium News in which he reviews the situation on the Russian border. He argues that Europe is now the western end of Eurasia rather than the eastern shore of the Atlantic. Also, we talk about Ukraine as NATO's equivalent to Waterloo.Ajamu Baraka, 2016 US vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss the Global South. In a move of comedic farce, US puppet Juan Guaido has extended his interim government into 2022. The so-called interim government has been ongoing for two years and has only been used to pilfer money from international financial holdings of the Venezuelan government.Niko House, political activist, independent journalist, and podcaster, joins us to discuss domestic politics. The lack of accomplishment on either domestic or foreign policy seems to portend significant midterm losses for the Democratic Party.Martin Sieff, senior fellow at the American University in Moscow, joins us to discuss Ukraine's infestation with Nazis. Recently, only the US and Ukraine voted against a UN resolution condemning the Nazi ideology. Also, we review the Nazi volunteer battalions of the Ukraine military.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com*Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Garland Nixon https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125302_0:0:239:239_100x100_80_0_0_d5d43c970b0740f228597fbcdb4ffd66.jpg Garland Nixon https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125302_0:0:239:239_100x100_80_0_0_d5d43c970b0740f228597fbcdb4ffd66.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Garland Nixon https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125302_0:0:239:239_100x100_80_0_0_d5d43c970b0740f228597fbcdb4ffd66.jpg julian assange, neo-nazis, ukraine, syria, domestic politics, africom, nato, the critical hour, juan guaido, , radio https://sputniknews.com/20211230/us-sanctions-chinese-institutes-reportedly-working-on-brain-control-weaponry-1091920529.html US Sanctions Chinese Institutes Reportedly Working on 'Brain-Control Weaponry' US Sanctions Chinese Institutes Reportedly Working on 'Brain-Control Weaponry' US Department of Commerce has slapped sanctions on China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences over their research of "biotechnology processes" and "purported brain-control weaponry" for the Chinese military. 2021-12-30T17:23+0000 2021-12-30T17:23+0000 2021-12-30T17:23+0000 human brain us china brain /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/06/0a/1083119344_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_949b393ea2793f06aad2e9a0570e7949.jpg The US Department of Commerce has imposed sanctions on China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences, as well as 11 other research institutes affiliated with the academy over their research of "biotechnology processes" and "purported brain-control weaponry" for the Chinese military. Such weaponry will supposedly be able to render enemy soldiers unable (or unwilling) to fight or outright control them.US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo claimed that Washington fears that Beijing will use the technology against its own citizens, especially ethnic minorities. However, the US views the technology as a threat to itself as well.The listing of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and its affiliates bans them from legally acquiring technologies made in the US, among other things. According to a report by the Financial Times, citing a US official, Beijing was seeking to obtain some of the high-end technologies for itself, including technologies for gene editing and human performance enhancement, as well as brain-machine interfaces.The fact that China is working on "brain-control weaponry" was first hinted at in 2019 in the country's official military newspaper the PLA Daily. Three reports published in the newspaper suggested that the People's Liberation Army and its research institutes were looking in the direction of the "intelligentisation" of warfare. This new form of waging war relies not on military forces' ability to "destroy bodies", but on the ability to "paralyze and control the opponent", specifically via the brain.Apart from methods of controlling weapons remotely using one's brain and waging indirect war, the reports in the PLA newspaper mentioned the need to develop the "human brains defence towards brain-control attacks". The three reports in the Chinese military's newspaper, however, focused on concepts of possible future methods of warfare and did not reveal whether such weaponry was actually being developed back in 2019. Golem They will be sanctioning China for working on teleportation machines next. 8 Dang! That's because the USA wants to be the only game in town!! Aah, neo fascist corporate statism rules USA! Free market liberal democracy nothing but a SHAM in the USA!! 0 2 china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2021 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg human brain, us, china, brain Hanover Shoe Farms has announced that the 2022 book for Papi Rob Hanover is now full and closed. A world champion son of the legendary Somebeachsomewhere, Papi Rob Hanover stands his second season in 2022 after breeding a full book of mares in his first year at stud in 2021. The first foals of Papi Rob Hanover will include siblings to: 2021 Dan Patch Older Pacer of the Year, Allywag Hanover; 2019 Ohio Horse of the Year and jointly fastest two-year-old of all time, Elver Hanover; top 2021 two-year-old Early Action; 2020 Dan Patch Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year, Fire Start Hanover; top 2021 two-year-old Hammerin Hank; 2021 two-year-old sensation Beach Glass; the only pair of brother sub-1:50 two-year-olds, Captain Trevor and Capt Midnight; the recently-retired millionaire Kendall Seelster; 2021 Little Brown Jug winner, Lous Pearlman; world champion Summer Touch; world champion Cattlewash; clear choice for Dan Patch Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year, Niki Hill; and young stallions Heston Blue Chip and Artspeak. Hanover Shoe Farms thanks all breeders who purchased a share in Papi Rob Hanover, along with those who have bred or who are breeding their mares to him. For information on Papi Rob Hanover or any of the other Hanover stallions, please contact Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky at 717.578.7395 or via email at [email protected]. (Hanover Shoe Farms) While live harness racing is set to continue into the new year, the careers of three pacers will end Friday evening (Dec. 31) the final day of their 14-year-old season on a special New Years Eve program at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park. The New Years Eve card takes place at 6:30 p.m. Shiftyn Georgie, Eagle Jolt and Adventure Luck will make their final laps around the legendary capital oval in pari-mutuel action. Mandatory retirement in most jurisdictions, Prince Edward Island included, kicks in for all Standardbreds when they turn 15 years old, as horses automatically age up a year on Jan. 1. One retiring pacer is Adventure Luck, who has rail control in the ninth race. Corey MacPherson will drive the son of Sir Luck for trainer Reece Williams and owner Robert Williams. The free-legged veteran rides a four-race win streak into the event with 12 wins recorded during 2021. Eagle Jolt also will compete in the ninth race, starting from post 3 as he races for the final time for trainer-driver Marc Campbell and owners Marie MacDonald and Natasha Campbell. The son of Village Jolt has won 71 races and over $460,000 in his career. Race eight will be the final pari-mutuel dash for Shiftyn Georgie, who will leave from post 5. Trainer-driver Jaycob Sweet co-owns the Rambaran gelding, who has won 31 times and banked over $115,000, with Brody Ellis, Susan Thompson and Allison Sweet. The feature of the night is the $3,400 Preferred Pace, carded as race 12. The Rev has been installed as the morning line favourite, starting from post 5 for trainer-driver Gilles Barrieau and owners Jeff and Robert Skinner. The 49-time winning pacer was a close second last week to Sock It Away, who is absent from competition this week. Dreamfair Zenfire has rail control in the Preferred class for trainer-driver Campbell, while Screen Test (MacPherson) has post 2 at 7-2 morning line odds. Mc Pat (Adam Merner), Ladylike (David Dowling) and Bugsy Maguire (Jason Hughes) complete the field. The Race Day broadcast will also feature some 2021 highlights on the special New Years Eve program. The pre-game show gets underway at 6 P.M. AST. Catch all the action live at the track or tune into the Race Day broadcast at Redshores.ca. Live streaming is also available at the Red Shores YouTube page and online wagering is available through HPIBet.com. To view Friday's complete entries, click the following link: Friday Entries Red Shores Charlottetown. (Red Shores) SCOTTSBLUFF The Oregon Trail Community Foundation would like to announce March 15 as the new deadline for receive all scholarship applications. Detailed information about each of the twenty scholarships offered through OTCF can be found on the Foundations website: otcf.org. The OTCF would like to introduce their newest scholarship offering: The Sharon M. Hoffman Music Educators Scholarship. Sharon Hoffman (Arthur) was a beloved music teacher in Bayard for 34 years. It is the Hoffman familys wish to honor Sharons memory, and her legacy of music by offering a scholarship in her name to those pursuing a career as a music educator. This scholarship is for high school seniors or college students pursuing a career as a music educator. The scholarship is open to students throughout the Panhandle of Nebraska. One $1,000 scholarship will be awarded annually. European nations have formed another multi-nation partnership to design a new warship class that all partners need. This latest effort is a corvette, called the MMPC (Modular Multirole Patrol Corvette). These will be 3,000- ton ships about 105 meters in length costing $280 million to $340 million each depending on the final design. Currently the partners plan to buy at least thirty MMPCs. So far Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, and Greece have joined to share MMPC design and development costs. About 40 different European firms are involved as suppliers as well as some major ship builders who will handle construction. It is already agreed that the MMPC will exist as one of two sub-types; one a combat version and another optimized for long-range patrol. Each nation can customize the ships they pay for, and this often means using more items made locally or simply something different or just from another supplier. The first MMPC is expected to enter service in 2027. This is much faster than any recent American project but similar to the speed the Chinese have achieved and the United States used to have. This sort of cooperative warship design has been common in Europe since the Cold War, when the U.S. Navy dominated the seas and all European nations found their post-World War II naval needs were now quite different. These joint efforts were one reason the EU (European Union) was formed in 1993 and the EU helped promote these joint ventures. Some of these became permanent, like AirBus, which was a joint effort to compete with American aircraft builders. AirBus was a success as were the many cooperative efforts to build new warships. Some of these cooperative ship designs have been adopted by the United States, the latest one being the FREMM type frigates. Italy recently won the competition to build two FREMMs for the U.S. Navy, with an option for eight more, to replace the failed American LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) design. If the first ten American FREMMs perform well the U.S. Navy will buy more. At least twenty of these will be built in the United States as the 7,200-ton Constellation-class FFG (guided missile frigate), which is optimized for ASW (anti-submarine warfare). The first FFG is to enter service in 2026. Each will cost about $800 million, which is what each of the less capable and reliable LCS vessels ended up costing. That was twice what the LCS was supposed to cost, before all the problems appeared and cost a lot of money to deal with. The new frigate was also a major win for the French-Italian FREMM concept of an easily adaptable basic design able to appeal to many foreign navies with each having slightly different needs. In general, this concept has long been used by European naval shipyards who found that just building ships for their own navy was not enough to make those ships affordable. Export customers were needed and the best way to do that was design ships with adaptability in mind. Britain did it with OPVs (Offshore Patrol Vessels) and Germany with submarines and, to a lesser extent, a surface warship design similar to FREMM. FREMM is a joint French-Italian frigate designed to be flexible in types of weapons, equipment and even size. The ability to easily incorporate a wide variety of equipment and weapon systems meant that from the beginning it was possible to offer General Purpose (multi-mission), ASW or Air Defense versions and anything in between. The most popular of these has been the General Purpose and ASW configurations. This has made it easier to attract export customers and satisfy the needs of the French and Italian navies which were the first customers. So far Italy is in the lead with ten built for the Italian Navy and all but two of the export sales. The first FREMM (Fregate Europeen Multi-Mission) frigate, the Aquitaine was built by France. As a joint France-Italy project, both nations built their own for themselves and the export customers they attracted. The Aquitaine was a 6,000-ton FREMM that was 142 meters (440 feet) long. Top speed is 50 kilometers an hour and range is 11,000 kilometers. The ships are highly automated, with a crew of only 108 sailors. Equipment and weapons vary a bit as each nation prefers to arm the vessels with locally produced stuff. But typical armament is half a dozen Mu-90 torpedoes, eight Otomat Mk2A anti-ship missiles and Aster anti-aircraft missiles. There is one 76mm gun, two 25mm autocannon and two EH101 helicopters. The Italian FREMMs are equipped with towed sonar so they can specialize in anti-submarine operations. France built two FREMM optimized for air defense and this version cost about a billion dollars each and are the only air-defense FREMMs built so far. The first FREMM entered service in 2012 and 47 are currently in service or on order for five nations. Indonesia was the seventh nation to order FREMM. The United States was the sixth nation to purchase FREMM and if all goes well may be the largest user of FREMM, building over twenty of them. Although FREMM was created by a Franco-Italian consortium, Italy made the American sale and will oversee construction of the American FREMMs at an Italian-owned shipyard in the United States. Normally the U.S. Navy does not buy foreign ships or ship designs. In this case the navy wanted something that was a proven design and met the requirements for its Constellation class. FREMM did this best and was selected because it was the quickest way to get past the LCS disaster and fill a gap in fleet capabilities. December 30, 2021: In Congo investigators continue to probe the so-called China deal which was meant to trade Congo minerals for infrastructure projects built by China. The overall deal is worth billions -- published estimates run from $6.8 to $10 billion. China is or wassupposed to build roads, schools and hospitals. A recent report by an NGO (Non-Government Organization) that specializes in tracking money laundering and international financial crime scrutinized one of the China deals subsidiary contracts between a Chinese state-owned engineering firm and the Congolese government. Its only worth a few hundred million dollars. The investigators found evidence that the engineering contract was used to distribute $55 million to senior members of former President Joseph Kabilas government. The bribery plot used several shell companies in Congo and elsewhere that made the operation look legitimate. The shell companies provided fake invoices and other paperwork. One even provided fake telephone justifications for payment. Some of the money flowed through major European and American banks. The investigators believe that originally $65 million was designated for illegal payouts. However, Kabila was no longer president. In the last two years he has lost control of Congos mineral and financial ministries. Kabila also lost control of Congos BGFI Bank DRC which was involved in the scheme. The group distributing the Chinese cash retained control of the last $10 million. But stay tuned. Other China deal side arrangements are also under investigation. (Austin Bay) December 29, 2021: In east-central Congo (Tshopo province) the government declared an end to a four-month long meningitis outbreak. There were 2,662 known cases and 7.7 percent of them (205) were fatal. Without treatment the fatality rate reaches 50 percent. To the east Tshopo borders Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. December 28, 2021: In eastern Congo (Ituri province) the army has been fighting CODECO (Cooperative for the Development of Congo) rebels and ADF Islamic terrorists for most of the last week. There have been nearly 200 casualties, mainly among CODECO and ADF forces. The fighting has displaced thousands of civilians, which makes it easier for the army to use its aerial surveillance, artillery and air strike capability against the rebels. CODECO commits a substantial number of the attacks and atrocities in Ituri, as well as across the border in Uganda. The violence in eastern Congo is mainly in Ituri and neighboring North Kivu province. CODECO is predominantly a Lendu tribal organization, as are many of militias in eastern Congo. ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) is also from Uganda and has more Moslem radicals than rebels. ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) considers the ADF to be ISCAP (ISILs Central African Province). ADF pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2019 and later described itself as ISCAP. The name changes nothing because ADF continues its terrorist operations, primarily in eastern Congo. December 27, 2021: Chinas Huaxin Cement conglomerate has acquired two central African cement producers, Lafarge Zambia ($150 million) and Lafarge Cement Malawi ($10 million). December 25, 2021: In eastern Congo (North Kivu province) a suicide bombing attack in Beni city left at least six dead, including the attacker while 14 others were injured. Police blamed the ADF Islamic terrorists for the attack. December 21, 2021: In eastern Congo (North Kivu province) several hundred demonstrators clashed with police in Goma (the provincial capital). A security spokesman said that protestors had seized three weapons from police, killed two police officers and injured two more. At least two civilians have been killed and six injured. The protestors claim the government has failed to protect them from attacks by armed groups (like the ADF). Yet they are also fed up with the state of siege in North Kivu province. They claim the Congolese military has effectively removed civilian administrators and is acting beyond its authority. In Rwanda the government announced that 302 soldiers have completed the 11 month long Basic Special Operation Forces training course. The class consisted of 18 junior officers (lieutenants) and 18 junior officers (lieutenants) and 284 enlisted personnel. The course focused on special operations tactics, combat engineering operations, airborne operations, hand to hand combat and advanced individual weapons training. Over the last decade the Rwandan government has made an effort to professionalize its army and upgrade its soldiers combat skills. December 20, 2021: The EU (European Union) temporarily suspended its training mission for the Central African Republics (CAR) military forces. The EU objects to the degree of "control exercised by mercenaries from the (Russian) Wagner company over the CAR Armed Forces. The EU is also concerned that Wagner mercenaries working with the FACA may try to hire CAR soldiers. The EUs training director recently claimed that Wagner mercenaries do not respect international humanitarian law. Russia claims that it has only 1,135 unarmed trainers and instructors in the CAR. France, the UN and the EU, however, claim that a substantial number of those instructors are armed Wagner mercenaries. December 19, 2021: In eastern Congo (Ituri and North Kivu provinces) Congo and Uganda claimed their forces have destroyed several ADF rebel bases so far. The joint-Congo-Uganda military operation began November 30. The joint operation has attacked ADF facilities in North Kivu near Beni, the largest city. One strike hit an ADF base in Virunga National Park. Virunga occupies a large portion of North Kivu because the park covers over 7,800 square kilometers. Between December 11 and 15 Congolese and Ugandan soldiers captured 35 ADF terrorists in villages in the Irumu district (Ituri province) and freed 31 hostages. December 16, 2021: In eastern Congo (North Kivu province) the government declared an end to the latest Ebola epidemic. The outbreak began in early October. All told, 11 people were infected and six died. December 13, 2021: President Felix Tshisekedi of Congo revealed that Ugandan and Congolese troops were conducting military operations inside Congo. The Ugandan Army is helping attack the ADF Islamist terror group. The ADF was originally organized in Uganda among Moslem tribes. Tshisekedi also said the Ugandan soldiers will be in Congo for a very short time. The joint operation featured air and artillery strikes on ADF bases in eastern Congo. Uganda blames the ADF for Novembers suicide bombing attacks in Kampala. Four people died in the attacks and several dozen were wounded. In 2019 the ADF began claiming it is now allied with ISIL. The United States imposed visa restrictions on eight individuals identified as illegally trafficking Congolese wildlife and wildlife products. All eight were involved in trafficking in either endangered live wild animals or wildlife products, such as ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horn. This was the result of a long-term investigation that paid off in early November when Congolese police in the capital (Kinshasa) seized $3.5 million worth of ivory, rhino horn and pangolin scales. Congolese action was coordinated with American police operations. On November 3 the U.S. Justice Department arrested two Congolese citizens in Seattle, Washington and charged the men with money-laundering and shipping illegal ivory and white rhino horn to the U.S. The joint action is part of a larger effort by Congo to stop trafficking in wildlife products. That effort really began in late 2015. From 1999 to 2014, Congo seized a total of 7.8 tons of ivory. From 2015 to 2019, Congo seized 20.9 tons. December 11, 2021: The two Red Cross staff members kidnapped in eastern Congo in November have been released. December 10, 2021: In eastern Congo (North Kivu province) ADF gunmen killed 16 people in two small scale attacks on rural villages. Several of the people were killed by ADF Islamic terrorists wielding machetes, An unknown number of villagers were abducted. The attacks occurred as a joint Congolese-Ugandan military operation in the region is targeting the ADF. December 9, 2021: ICC (International Criminal Court) judges confirmed war crimes and crimes against humanity charges against Mahamat Said Abdel Kani. The charges include torture, persecution and enforced disappearance. Said is the former commander of the CARs "Seleka" faction. Means "alliance" in the Sango language. French and Sango are the CARs two official languages. The Seleka coalition predominantly consisted of men from the CAR's minority Muslim tribes (who live in the northern portion of the country). In 2013 Seleka rebels overthrew CAR President Francois Bozize. Seleka took power and proceeded to violently oppress other CAR tribes. Seleka has now fractured into several factions. December 8, 2021: UN peacekeepers in Congo reached a new agreement with the local armed forces that will make it easier to organize joint peacekeeper/army operations against armed militias and groups in eastern Congo. The agreement gives the peacekeepers the operational flexibility to provide the army with artillery and attack helicopter support during joint operations. The UN currently has around 16,000 military and police peacekeepers in Congo. In eastern Congo (North Kivu province) unidentified gunmen opened fire on a UN refugee agency vehicle and wounded three UN staff members. December 3, 2021: A recent report looked at Zambias debts to China. Heres the bottom line. From 2000 to 2010 Chinese financial groups loaned Zambia around $10.3 billion. So far Zambia has only repaid $1.2 billion. Zambia fears it will be another victim of Chinese Debt Trap tactics which involve offers to settle such debts by taking possession of key items, like ports, railroads or mining rights, that China wants to control. December 1, 2021: China is urging Chinese citizens now in eastern Congo (South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri provinces) to immediately move to safer areas in Congo. In the last month at least a dozen Chinese citizens living in these provinces have been attacked or kidnapped. It is believed most Chinese nationals in these areas are involved in businesses dealing in minerals and other manufacturing resources. November 30, 2021: Ugandan military officials confirmed that Uganda has launched several air and artillery attacks as part of its joint military operation with Congolese troops inside Congo. A senior Ugandan officer said that the attacks targeted ADF base camps. President Tshisekedi of Congo was largely responsible for mobilizing Congolese support for these joint operations. This involved allowing Ugandan troops to operate inside Congo. November 28, 2021: In eastern Congo (Ituri province) CODECO militiamen launched another attack on the Ivo displaced peoples (DP) camp in Ituri province. The latest attack left 22 civilians dead. In an attack a week ago, CODECO fighters killed 29 people in Ivo. In early May the Congolese government declared a state of siege in Ituri and North Kivu provinces. Police there got a call of shots fired at a business just before 6 p.m., Lakewood Police spokesman John Romero said during a news conference. One person was pronounced dead at that scene, he said. Lakewood Police found the suspect's car, and as they approached, the driver began shooting and police returned fire, Romero said. The suspect then ran to a nearby shopping area and threatened another business before taking cover at a Hyatt Place hotel, Romero said. There, the suspect allegedly shot a clerk, he said. "That person was taken to the hospital; we do not know the extent of the injuries there or exactly how that person is doing." The suspect then took off again, and when confronted by a Lakewood Police officer, shot and struck the officer, who is undergoing surgery. More gunfire was exchanged between police and the suspect, who was killed, police said. There is no threat to the community, authorities said. *** The-CNN-Wire & 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. A marijuana store operating in Woodland despite the citys ban on cannabis sales is hoping to change the citys mind. 20After4 was served a notice Oct. 25 by Woodlands code enforcement, which ordered the store to stop marijuana sales. The notice said that in addition to violating the citys ban on retail marijuana, the business had been operating without a city business license since it opened in May. Store owner John Stoehr filed an appeal in November. He applied for the business license at the same time. Stoehr said he and his business were given no choice about violating the citys ban after his business had to relocate out of the way of the South Kelso Railroad Crossing Project. I did what the state and city asked me to do, move out of that building and find somewhere else, Stoehr said. The city will hold an appeal hearing at 1 p.m. Jan. 4 where Stoehr will publicly make his case. Woodland city administrator Pete Boyce declined to comment ahead of the appeal hearing. 20After4 had been doing business since 2018 at 302 Hazel Street in Kelso when they were contacted about the railroad crossing in mid-2020. The railroad crossing is a roughly $30 million project in the works by the city of Kelso and Cowlitz County to build a bridge from Hazel Street that will go over South Pacific Avenue. Kelso gave Stoehrs business a $40,800 relocation payment in April in order for the city to negotiate a land purchase deal with the buildings owner. Kelsos community development director Michael Kardas said given the payment and the months of advance notice the city provided about the move, it was a little inaccurate to say 20After4 had been forced out by the project. Once the move was initiated, Stoehr ran into a bureaucratic Catch-22. In Washington, marijuana retail licenses have to stay within their local jurisdiction if they change locations. All of the licenses available for Kelso and Longview had been claimed, which left no local spaces for the business that had previously been in unincorporated Cowlitz County. The state Liquor and Cannabis Board permitted 20After4 to relocate only to Castle Rock, Kalama or Woodland all three of which have local bans on marijuana stores. Stoehr said he picked Woodland because it was the biggest of the three cities and might see spillover business from Clark County. Stoehr said 20After4 had seen good business in the months between opening in Woodland and the notice to close. While he feels he can afford to keep paying the daily fine for violating the citys marijuana ban, Stoehr hopes the City Council will change its mind about the ban in 2022. In 2020, municipalities that permit stores to sell marijuana received a portion of the $15 million share of Washingtons marijuana revenue. The amount received from the fund depends on the local marijuana sales in that area. Woodland cannot close us down. They can only fine us and walk away from a share of the $15 million, Stoehr said. Love 1 Funny 3 Wow 1 Sad 4 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Kelso police are searching for an Army veteran who has not contacted family in more than a year and was last known to be homeless. Tyler Dwayne Reid, 33, was last seen by Vancouver law enforcement in June, reports the Kelso police, but his family hasn't heard from him since November 2020. A missing person report was filed Nov. 24. Police say Reid is 5' 7" and weighs 180 pounds. He has brown hair and eyes, a neck tattoo, as well as tattoos of tribal art on his left arm, a grenade and circle on his chest and skull and cross bones on his left rib cage. Police say Reid has had substance abuse issues and has been known to travel out of state. People with information about him shoud call 360-423-1270 and reference the case 21-3202. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 4 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The omicron COVID-19 variant is limiting treatment options for those infected but not hospitalized, according to health officials. Newly authorized drugs to treat COVID-19 are expected to be effective, but are in short supply. For people at risk of severe illness, treating COVID-19 early on can prevent hospitalization or death, but the therapies, including monoclonal antibodies, are limited in Cowlitz County. Monoclonal antibodies are made in a lab and are given to people through an IV or four injections. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the treatment for emergency use to help people at high risk for serious symptoms. Kirkpatrick Family Care in Longview is the only clinic in Cowlitz County that offers antibody treatment, according to the National Infusion Center Association. Dr. Rich Kirkpatrick, owner, said the clinic has treated about 300 patients with the pharmaceutical company Regenerons monoclonal antibody therapy since September. Its just been really exciting to see people in great danger of dying turned around, he said. In most cases, there is no cost for the antibodies, but most locations bill for the cost of administering the IV. To be eligible for the treatment, patients must have a positive COVID test or have a definite exposure, as well as risk factors and be within 10 days of symptoms, according to the state health department. Last week, the U.S. government paused distribution of the most commonly used monoclonal antibody treatments, including Regenerons, stating they are not effective enough against the omicron variant. Two newer monoclonal antibody treatments appear to work against omicron, but supply is limited right now, said Stefanie Donahue, Cowlitz County Health and Human Services communications manager. Kirkpatrick said he hoped the federal and state governments would release more doses of Regenerons treatment, as the delta variant is still responsible for a good portion of COVID-19 cases. Statewide, 25% of specimens sequenced from Dec. 5 to Dec. 18 were omicron, according to the Department of Healths latest variant report. Since sequencing can take a few weeks, the state also is using another testing marker to identify possible omicron cases. The week of Dec. 13, 46% of cases at reporting labs had the marker, up from about 10% the previous week, according to the report. Two recently approved pills created by Pfizer and Merck are expected to be effective against the omicron variant, but are in limited supply. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the pills to treat mild-to-moderate disease in people at high risk of severe illness. Mercks treatment is restricted to adults when other treatments are inaccessible or not clinically appropriate. Pfizers treatment may not be safe for people taking certain medications, according to the FDA. Last week, Washington received its first allocation, including 1,180 doses of the Pfizer pill paxlovid and 5,460 doses of Mercks molnupirivir, according to the health department. The state hasnt yet distributed the allocation to facilities, and its unclear when the treatments may be available in Cowlitz County, Donahue said. We hope to eventually see this treatment available at multiple locations in Cowlitz County, including pharmacies, she said. Once people are hospitalized for COVID-19, treatments can include antiviral remdesivir and supportive care, Kirkpatrick said. For hospitalized patients who dont need supplemental oxygen, the National Institutes of Health guidelines state remdesivir may be appropriate for patients at high risk of disease progression. The guidelines recommend remdesivir for patients on oxygen, potentially combined with an anti-inflammatory drug depending on how much oxygen they need. Monoclonal antibodies are not authorized for patients who are hospitalized for COVID-19 because they are not effective for treating severe COVID-19, according to the Department of Health. According to its website, PeaceHealth follows the most current guidance on treating patients, including reviewing recommendations from the National Institutes of Health. The organization does not offer options not supported by robust clinical evidence, including ivermectin. Health officials recommend vaccination over taking a chance on treatments that may be limited. Treatment is not a substitute for vaccination, Donahue said. The vaccines are effective at boosting peoples immunity, preventing serious illness, and curbing community spread. Vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A hidden passageway has been discovered beneath Panama through which wind from Earth's middle layer blows. Scientists have discovered a geological secret passage underneath Panama through which wind from the Earth's ''mantle'' is blowing actively. A team of researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US have found a nearly 1500 kilometre (900 mile) long passageway in Central America and the Galapagos Islands in the East Pacific Ocean. The results of the findings have been published in the November edition of journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers have stated that the passage could be a natural crack in the subducting Cocos crust or it could be a place where the crust snapped during subduction. This passage also allows materials to pass from one side of the plate to the other, like dust travelling through an open window. David Bekaert, postdoctoral scholar at WHOI, and lead author of the paper stated that this discovery might explain the secret to the mystery of why Panama has a few active volcanoes. He said, We can compare volcanic systems to the body of a living organism; when the organism bleeds, it's kind of like magma bleeding out of the Earth. He further explained that composition of that magma can be measured just like you can measure a blood type. Winds from Mantle blow inside Earth David also shared that in this study, they had measured an unexpected volcanic gas composition, similar to a human having a rare blood type. In the case of the Earth, we then try to explain where it came from in terms of deep geological processes, said the searcher. According to the findings, the Cocos tectonic plate is going downwards in the west coast of Central America pushing oceanic crust under the continental crust of the North American, Caribbean and Panama tectonic plates. This also leads to a phenomenon called dubbed subduction. The subduction zone also results in the creation of a line of volcanoes called the Central American Volcanic Arc where lava pushes through the boundaries to Panama. Bekaert, in a conversation with LiveScience also stated that some particular places of Central America, known as western Panama have some exotic signatures [of geochemistry] that look similar to the one on Galapagos Islands. Some Elon Musk-style boosterism, similar to what he did for the electric vehicle industry, might be just what space stocks need to stage a 2022 turnaround. Space stocks fizzled this past year despite their futuristic lure. Some Elon Musk-style boosterism, similar to what he did for the electric vehicle industry, might be just what they need to stage a 2022 turnaround. Musk has floated the idea of a SpaceX IPO, and the parallel with EVs would be hard to ignore. Space exploration and electric vehicles both focus on a future that isnt quite here yet, promising massive opportunities as new technologies evolve into viable companies. But while stocks tied to the EV revolution soared this year, space-focused names -- after some initial euphoria -- badly trailed the broad market. High-profile tourist flights by Richard Bransons publicly traded Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc., and by Jeff Bezoss privately held Blue Origin and Elon Musks SpaceX, werent enough to overcome doubts about whether this is a real business or just a divertissement for billionaires. From commercial space launches related to satellites and space tourism, or even more futuristic things like asteroid mining -- a lot of it is a completely unproven industry, and it is not clear how much demand there is, said Jay Jacobs, head of research and strategy at Global X Management Co. Whats more, there arent many pure-play public companies apart from Virgin Galactic, said Jacobs, whose firm manages exchange-traded funds but hasnt started one for space. This leaves the space sector without a clear front-runner or milestones that could help public investors judge progress. It doesnt help that the companies trading on exchanges lack a charismatic cheerleader to focus the markets attention. If Musks Space Exploration Technologies Corp. chooses to go public, that would solve some of those issues all at once. It would be a tent-pole IPO, said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research. It is that single asset that can focus peoples attention and make them understand what is space investing about. It isnt about going to Mars or tourism, but getting hardware to space that is current, updated technology. SpaceX didnt respond to a request for comment. Musk is often credited with leading the automotive industry toward an electric future. It was only after Tesla Inc.s runaway success last year -- both as a company and as a stock -- that other EV names really started garnering attention. Musk could do the same for space stocks, according to Andrew Chanin, chief executive of ProcureAM, which manages a space ETF. Flying Blind When you see a company worth half a trillion dollars entering the markets, that is bound to get attract some attention for other stocks in that market, Chanin said. There is still a public misconception of what space is, how space affects us, and there is this massive educational curve that we still havent seen investors truly grasp. Musk has been stirring the pot in Musk-like fashion, musing about turning carbon dioxide into spacecraft fuel, building massive rockets, going to Mars within a decade and the potential for bankruptcy in almost the same breath. His network of more than 1,700 satellites drew criticism from China this month after two of them had close encounters with the nations space station. Space tourism flights drew an outsized amount of news coverage, even though they just scratch the surface of the industry, Chanin said. The future promises commercial uses that could include applications in military and defense, telecommunications, mining, weather tracking and deep space exploration. For now, though, starry-eyed investors have been stuck in low orbit, and sometimes in a black hole. The Procure Space ETF -- which trades under the ticker UFO -- has gained just 6% for 2021, far behind the 28% jump in the S&P 500 Index. Virgin Galactic tumbled 45% amid multiple delays to the start of commercial launches. Analysts collectively dont expect an annual net profit for the company in the next three years. At satellite launch services provider Astra Space Inc. (down 35%) and space-based data and analytics company Spire Global Inc. (down 66%), analysts estimate their first annual profit will come around 2024. Still, riding the first stages has its advantages, as many early Tesla or Bitcoin investors would vouch. You can think of space stocks in the last two years as kind of the dotcom bubble, said DataTreks Colas. There is an initial burst of enthusiasm, then interest dies off and then a couple years later you realize that maybe a lot of the seeds died but the ones that survived have become systemically important. TikTok become the most popular domain on the internet by 2021 on Tuesday, by replacing Google according to cybersecurity company Cloudflare. TikTok is a video-focused social media site from the Chinese company ByteDance. It was February 17, 2021 when TikTok took first place for one day, write Joao Tome and Sofia Cardita in a blog post for Cloudfare. TikTok got a few more days in March and May too, but after August 10, TikTok took over most of the days. There were a few days that Google was number one, but October and November were mostly TikTok days, including Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Facebook fell back from second place. in 3rd place, followed by Microsoft in 4th place, Apple in 5th place, and Amazon 6th and Netflix on No 7. YouTube, who belongs to Google Parent Alphabet, was eight, Twitter was ninth and Whatsapp Lasth.Instagram gave up the top 10 of this year. Cloudfare added that even though TikTok receives more traffic, Facebook still has more users on social websites around the world. In 2020, TikTok and ByteDance opposed a print campaign by former President Donald Trump's administration to sell their US business over alleged national security threats. A federal judge eventually prevented the White House from banning the TikTok app for US users. Tumblr is at war with Apple over mature content on its app again Tumblr users looking to view adult content on the platform must avoid the iOS app as the company says it hides "sensitive content" so as not to violate Apple's sensitivities. "In order to remain available in the Apple App Store," says Tumblr, "we need to expand the definition of sensitive content and access to it in order to meet its guidelines." Apple are available. The company says it will display the above overlay on blogs "marked as explicit" and when "you see search results or tags for specific words or phrases". However, users will have to guess what has leaked as Tumblr will not "currently" reveal this information. It probably won't be hard to guess what leaked, but the new definition of "sensitive content" goes beyond what some would expect. Tumblr says users "may also notice" that: Images they receive through blog direct messages that they don't follow can't be viewed in the app. Explicitly marked blog likes and reblogs are hidden from notes. The images of the reblogs that appear in the post notes are blurry unless you follow the Tumblr that added the image. Your dashboard (the "Next" and the "Materials For You" tab), search results, and tag results will no longer display content that contains certain words or phrases. Certain words and phrases have been removed from search (sometimes called search suggestions). We have excluded blogs from search results and tags that may contain or create sensitive content. These changes were implemented with the release of Tumblr version 22.1 in the App Store. The company says it won't display this overlay to users of its Android app or mobile website. it merely extends its restrictions on sensitive content to comply with Apple guidelines. Credit: FIO CRACHO, Shutterstock An initial series of test flights with drones has been launched in Poland as part of the EU-funded Uspace4UAM project. The first of these trials is now underway in Rzeszow, a city of close to 200,000 people. The test flights are being carried out by three Uspace4UAM consortium members: Dronehub, the developer of drone-in-a-box systems for automated monitoring and data collection; drone equipment and sensor supplier Honeywell; and drone software technology company Altitude Angel. About 160 flights will be carried out in the Rzeszow area during the first phase, under 3 scenarios of autonomous drones flying for public service missions. The first scenario will involve emergency aerial monitoring of accident sites, the second will take ortho- and photogrammetric photos for public institutions, and the third will replicate the transportation of automated external defibrillators for use in life-threatening situations. "Dronehub demos within Uspace4UAM started in November 2021, and we will end in June 2022. During this time, amongst other objectives, we will check how drones react to different and rapidly changing weather conditions," states test flight project manager Jakub Weglarz of Dronehub in a news item posted on the SESAR Joint Undertaking website. The SESAR Joint Undertakingwhich is funding Uspace4UAMis a partnership between European private and public sector institutions formed to speed up the delivery of smarter, connected, accessible and more sustainable air transport solutions through research and innovation. "Thanks to these 160 flights we plan to carry out, we will be able to adjust both hardware and software to the real city conditions and to the needs of public services," Weglarz goes on to say. "Our conclusions and recommendations will be used to help smooth Urban Air mobility deployment in Europe." Poland one of four European flight test countries Besides Poland, drone flights will also be tested in the Czech Republic, Great Britain and Spain as part of research to safely integrate autonomous drone flights into Europe's air space. "It is a big thing that Poland adds not a small brick, but a whole pillar to the construction of urban air mobility throughout the European Union," comments Dronehub founder and CEO Vadym Melnyk in the same news item. "Based on the results of, inter alia, our flights over Rzeszow, guidelines for drone flights will be developed, as drones in the near future will become a common sight over the European cities. So we feel a great responsibility, but also an honor, that the entire project is starting here in Rzeszow, Poland." Melnyk continues: "As part of the Uspace4UAM project, flight safety requirements will be developed, as well as regulations and standardisations to support the development of drone flights in urban space in the EU. The project aims to show the technologies of autonomous drones that can be used in cities to improve safety and help security services to manage emergency situations." Uspace4UAM (U-space for UAM) ends in December 2022. Explore further Israel a step closer to commercial drones with latest tests More information: Uspace4UAM project web page: Uspace4UAM project web page: www.sesarju.eu/projects/Uspace4UAM New and active COVID-19 cases continued to rise Thursday, a trend seen throughout Texas and nationwide. Brazos County health officials reported 232 new cases of COVID-19 among county residents Thursday. Thats the highest daily total since 318 new cases were reported Oct. 6. The number of active cases in Brazos County rose from 525 to 729 on Thursday, the most since Oct. 18. Health officials said 977 cases of the virus reported by health care systems and testing centers were awaiting confirmation Thursday. Brazos County officials have confirmed 34,392 cases of COVID-19 in the county since the pandemic began in March 2020. Officials with the Brazos County Health District said 33,295 cases were considered recovered as of Thursday; health officials classify all cases older than two weeks as recovered. Twenty-one Brazos County residents were hospitalized Thursday for treatment of symptoms related to the virus, officials said. WASHINGTON At the end of 2021, a year of weird speaking, Americans learned from Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, that student debt is policy violence. Previously, Americans were lectured that silence is violence that not voicing support for this or that supposedly oppressed group is violence against it. The proliferation of new forms of violence raises a question: Are old forms say, a flash mob looting a Louis Vuitton store still violence? Or is this just the vigorous articulation of intersectional consciousness against consumer cultures commodification of everything, including commodities? Normal people, who might want to toss anvils to progressives drowning in their jargon, should modify George Orwells axiom that the great enemy of clear language is insincerity. Today, the enemy of clarity is the scary sincerity of progressives who are inflamed politically about everything. Two percent of Hispanics, according to a national poll cited by Politico, approve of progressives designating them Latinx. In 2021, did Blacks and Indigenous People of Color suddenly start thinking of themselves as BIPOCs? Or did advanced thinkers volunteer to do BIPOCs thinking for them? RICHMOND The visceral pain many Black Virginians felt after the unearthing of a racist photo in Ralph Northams medical school yearbook, and the personal and political crisis into which the scandal plunged the governor, might have easily marked the end of Northams political career. Instead, for a number of reasons, including his own sheer will to remain governor, he says he will leave public office next month a better person, and Virginia a much more open and inclusive state. So goes the latest turn in the winding path of Virginias 73rd governor: a guy from the Eastern Shore who grew up on a farm; the descendant of slave owners who came to fully reject the glorification of the Confederacy; a state senator who once toyed with the idea of joining the Republican Party and who a decade later could be described as one of Virginias most progressive governors. Northam is leaving office on Jan. 15 to return to pediatrics after four years as the nations only doctor-governor, leading the state through a once-in-a-century pandemic. He is closing out his administration with high approval ratings and handing the keys to Republican Glenn Youngkin, who ran on promises to take Virginia in a new direction. In an exit interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Northam seemed pleased with the sum of the parts that made up his unpredictable and at times chaotic four years in office. I know who I am and I know what I believe in. In February of 2019, I knew I could resign or I could try to learn from everything that was going on, do better and help people, Northam said. It was certainly difficult for Virginia, and for me at the time, but thats what I chose. I always think that things work out for the best. *** Whatever Northam knew about himself or the origins of the photo on his page in the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook, the night that it surfaced on social media, Feb. 1, 2019, the image of a person in a KKK robe next to one in blackface raised doubts even among those closest to him. It never occurred to me that that would be something that would be in his past, said state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, one of the Black legislators who agreed to meet with Northam in the days after the photo surfaced. Is this man a racist? And if he was, how did I miss that? After we met, I remember thinking, Youre not a racist, youre just race ignorant. I think I can work with that. I explained to him the history of blackface, and the look on his face, as I was explaining minstrel shows, how blackface was used to demonize Black people ... the look on his face was one of shock. That began the awakening of Ralph Northam. Northam initially apologized for appearing in the photo. The next day, during a news conference at the Executive Mansion, Northam said he is not in the photo, but he admitted to having worn blackface while dressing as Michael Jackson in a 1984 dance contest in San Antonio. A host of Democrats called for his resignation, including Virginias senior Democratic leaders, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News. Northam says now that three things led to his decision to stay in office and resist calls for his resignation from across his party, including from longtime political allies. One was self-confidence; two, conversations with people of color who chose to help me out when they didnt need to; and three, the loyalty of his Cabinet and staff. A rush of departures would have left Northam unable to run the government. As he remained in hiding, grappling with the political fallout, a lot of responsibility shifted to his top officials. (Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring were embroiled in different scandals during the Democrats February firestorm. Two women had accused Fairfax of sexual assault. After urging Northam to resign, Herring admitted he had worn blackface as a teenager while dressing as a rapper for a party at the University of Virginia.) Weve got to have a way forward, Northams finance secretary, Aubrey Layne, told The Times-Dispatch in an unpublished interview on Feb. 5, 2019. Nothings getting done around here. Layne said at the time that he was considering resigning. Instead, he urged Northam to try to get back to running the government even as the governor weighed how to move forward. So began Northams reliance on the restricted-access tunnels that connect the Executive Mansion to other parts of Capitol Square. It was a precarious time, recalled former House Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones, R-Suffolk. He said he worked with Layne and other assembly budget leaders to reassure national bond rating agencies that the ship was going to be steadied. I viewed Aubrey Layne as the anchor of that ship, Jones said. Meanwhile, Northams promised listening tour was hitting false starts. Ultimately, it became a series of mostly private meetings carefully planned by the administration around the state, not a public mea culpa tour. Northam credits these meetings with reframing his agenda into one focused on racial equity, including successful proposals like ending the death penalty in Virginia, which has been disproportionately levied on Black men. In March, Northam signed legislation ending four centuries of capital punishment and making Virginia the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty. The eyes cant see what the brain doesnt know. And so there was a lot regarding racism that Ralph Northam didnt recognize, the governor said. Since this happened, my eyes have been opened much more widely and so Im a better person because of that. Northams trajectory will be chronicled in a book by author and longtime journalist Margaret Edds, whose most recent book, We Face the Dawn, told the story of Virginia civil rights icons Oliver Hill Sr. and Spottswood Robinson, key members of the NAACPs legal team that challenged racial segregation. Northam is cooperating with the book, two people close to him said. The origins of the photo remain inconclusive, but Northam now emphatically denies he is in it. McClellan recalled thinking that regardless of who is in the photo, the fact that it surfaced and became plastered across the state caused significant damage. When he owned that picture, he owned 400 years of trauma that Black people have been suffering across the country and here in Virginia, she said. My thinking at the time was, I cant make you leave. But if youre going to stay, Im going to expect you to help undo the inequity in Virginia. I would say he owed it to us. Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, said he was one of the voices advocating for a reshaped agenda, even as other Black leaders, including local NAACP chapters, derided Northam for hiding from the public for months. He could do this tour and talk to Black folks, but I didnt think thats how his time would be best spent, Bagby said. Lets put some things in place and take action to reverse these 400-plus years of practices that have impacted Black Virginians. Hes the governor for Gods sake. *** Almost exactly nine months after the scandal erupted, Virginia voters handed Democrats near-unilateral control of the state. Whatever goals Northam came into office with, he now owed his political future to Black Virginians who supported him or gave him a chance to make his power work for them. In the former capital of the Confederacy, Virginia became the first state in the South to abolish the death penalty, legalize recreational marijuana and enact major voting reforms that expanded Virginians ability to vote and added protections against discrimination. Virginia also moved to address the disparate rate at which women of color die during childbirth, among other things, making it easier for low-income women of color to access doula services, which studies have shown improve outcomes. Administratively, Northam pushed for a review of the states laws to extract racist laws from the Virginia code, even if they were no longer in effect. That work expanded into a study of current laws that result in racial inequity. Northam expanded his Cabinet to include a chief diversity officer, a job that is now codified in Virginia law and that oversees an office with a small staff. Any future governor will be forced to fill the job and its office, or send a message by creating a vacancy. Northam also led a push to reform his alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute, backing an investigation that eventually found VMI had tolerated a racist and sexist culture. Retired Army Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III resigned as VMIs superintendent in October 2020, writing in his resignation letter that Northams chief of staff had conveyed that the Governor and certain legislative leaders had lost confidence in my leadership. In April, VMI chose Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins as its first Black superintendent. That was hard for him, McClellan said. There are a lot of people that hate him for it. But he didnt hesitate. After a white police officer murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, leading to months of protests in Richmond and around the country against racial injustice, Northam responded by calling a special session on police reform. The state made it easier for police to be removed from the job for misconduct. But Northam faced criticism from some Democrats for not going further to reimagine the role of police in Virginia. Northam and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney also ordered the removal of Confederate statues along Monument Avenue. Following a protracted court fight, workers on Sept. 8 removed the 12-ton, state-owned bronze equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee from the pedestal where it had stood since 1890. Workers also are removing the pedestal, and the city of Richmond will take ownership of the state land on which the statue stood. Northam is also leaving vulnerable key work on marijuana legalization. The legislature has addressed resentencing for people incarcerated for offenses that are now civil penalties. Northams proposal for making sure that people who were impacted by the War on Drugs benefit from the new legal market will be left in the hands of Republicans. Retail sales are currently expected to start in 2024. Bagby said that part of undoing the states inequity was addressing the needs of working-class Virginians. On Jan. 1, Virginias minimum wage will increase to $11 an hour far from the $15 workers advocates here have called for, but higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which hasnt moved since 2009, years before Northam took office. Bagby said Northams outgoing proposed two-year budget, which would reframe tax cuts to benefit working-class people, is a reflection of that ongoing effort. Northam said this month that white-collar workers either benefited or were not hurt financially by the pandemic, while hourly workers bore the brunt of the economic crisis. Not only he has, but weve all grown and doubled down on helping individuals that need help the most, Bagby said. Other pieces of legislation backed by groups advocating for workers remain on the table as Northam and House Democrats cede power. Paid family leave and paid sick leave, for example, remain elusive for working-class Virginians after failed attempts in the legislature. *** March 12, 2020, the last day of Democrats first legislative session in control of both chambers, would have been a celebratory occasion for liberals in Virginia if it hadnt also been the day Northam declared a state of emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the nations only doctor-governor, Northam is leaving behind a state that has fared better than most in rates of infection and death, and that ranks 10th among states in people who are fully vaccinated. Virginia has not deployed its plans for overflow hospital sites, and the state became a model for eviction and renter relief. But as The Times-Dispatch previously reported, the states response wasnt without significant shortcomings, and a look back shows a lack of preparation and swift action left Virginians vulnerable at critical junctures. In the beginning, a lack of coordination with private testing vendors stunted the states ability to test enough Virginians for the virus, which left the state in the dark about its spread and about deadly consequences in nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the state. Throughout 2020, the state faced criticism from the business community over restrictions that it thought changed too suddenly, and without much clarity. Virginians left jobless by businesses that shut down or downsized were left to deal with an unemployment insurance agency that struggled to staff up and that to this day does not offer equitable access to workers whose primary language is not English. The state later stumbled as it began to distribute vaccines at a slower rate than any of its neighbors and almost every other state despite months of planning. That came at the detriment and to the frustration of vulnerable Virginians particularly the elderly. Consistently, people of color had a harder time accessing resources and information to fend off illness or economic struggle. Dr. Norman Oliver, the states health commissioner, says that despite bumps in the road, Virginia fared much better than states to its south, thanks to a governor who understood and was inclined to follow guidance from health experts. I think Governor Northam was much more inclined to understand and follow the public health recommendations than some other governors who did not have that physician and science background, Oliver said. He understood the science. Northam said having the background of a physician and an Army doctor made him more empathetic to the perils of the virus. I have sat at the bedside, more than one would want to, when patients died, he said. Every death, thats someones loved one a mother, father, an uncle, a child, Northam said. (More than 15,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Virginia.) As governor, youre taking care of 8.5 million people. Especially during COVID-19, this job has been like being on call 24/7. Northams personal insight on COVID includes his own case. He announced in September 2020 that he and first lady Pam Northam had tested positive. Northam has said his case cost him his sense of smell. The pandemic highlighted a key early victory of the Northam administration, one delivered through bipartisan outreach when Republicans held power in the legislature: the expansion of the states Medicaid program. Since Virginia expanded eligibility on Jan. 1, 2019, more than 615,000 Virginians have enrolled in the program. Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, had tried with Democrats to expand eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act for six years, but Republicans in the House of Delegates had been a political firewall to block it until they almost lost their majority in the same 2017 elections that brought Northam to power. Hanger worked closely with Del. Jones, then House Appropriations chairman, to expand Medicaid through the budget in a hard-fought special session in 2018. Northams mild personality helped smooth the way, but part of the deal was a work requirement that the new governor later abandoned after Democrats took power, which dismayed his Republican allies. I was certainly disappointed when they walked away from the work requirement, but not surprised, Jones said. To me, that was a breach of faith. Hanger thinks Northams greatest accomplishments were bipartisan, including his management of the pandemic and the states finances, but he was critical of the governor for allowing the assembly to take the state on a sharp leftward turn after Democrats took power in early 2020. When the Democrats got full control, he didnt do a whole lot to restrain them, he said. Northam worked closely with Republican legislators in his first year to win the coveted bid for Amazons East Coast headquarters, a $2.5 billion investment in Arlington County that promises to create at least 25,000 jobs. The winning bid was clinched by an incentive package that committed to investing $1.1 billion in higher education to train talent for Amazon and other high-tech companies. The governor also played a key role in Virginia becoming the only state to be ranked best state for business by CNBC in consecutive rankings the first in 2019, when he had to overcome concerns about the blackface scandal, and the second in 2021, when non-discrimination laws to make the state more inclusive to minorities were the difference in beating neighboring North Carolina for first place. (CNBC did not release rankings in 2020 because of the pandemic.) Without that, we almost certainly would not have repeated in the top spot, said Stephen Moret, president and CEO of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership during Northams term. Moret, who is leaving the job at the end of this month, said he will most remember Northams kindness, shown when the governor was one of the first to call him after his wife, Heather, was diagnosed with cancer last year. It just made the whole thing more bearable, he said. Northams biggest break with Republicans came over gun violence after 12 people died in a mass shooting at Virginia Beachs municipal government center on May 31, 2019, and 9-year-old Markiya Dickson was shot and killed in crossfire during a Memorial Day weekend cookout in a public park in South Richmond. That July, he delivered a fiery speech in a rally at a Black church in Richmonds East End two days before the Republican-controlled General Assembly met in a special session for less than two hours and adjourned without acting on dozens of bills proposed to reduce gun violence. These things do affect you, Northam said in an interview the day of the session, which he contends cost Republicans their legislative majority. I do get emotional. After Democrats took control of the legislature, Northams package of gun control proposals drew an estimated 22,000 protesters to the state Capitol and vicinity in January 2020. The legislature passed and Northam signed a series of gun violence measures. They included bills to require background checks on all gun sales, to restore Virginias restriction on handgun purchases to one a month, and to bar possession of firearms by people subject to protective orders. Northam also sought a ban on assault-style weapons, but the measure failed in the state Senate. *** Bipartisan cooperation was far from Democrats minds heading into the Nov. 2 elections. Democrats appeared poised to remain in power in a state that Joe Biden had won by 10 points in 2020. On Nov. 5, 2019, the night that Democrats took control of the legislature, a jubilant Northam had declared: Virginia is officially blue! Two years later, his party was trounced, losing close races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general as well as control of the House of Delegates. Virginia voters essentially asked Northam to hand over the Executive Mansion to a successor from the opposite party. The governor asserted that the outcome of the election was not a rejection of the Democratic agenda or how his administration handled the pandemic. Instead, he thinks Democrats didnt emphasize their recent accomplishments enough in favor of a messaging strategy heavy on former President Donald Trump that didnt work. Beyond talk of progressive victories, Northam said, Democrats kitchen-table achievements on such things as transportation and education got almost no play. In Hampton Roads, the state funded an expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel and a big investment at the Port of Virginia to jump-start a new offshore wind industry with great economic promise for the region. Northam used his budget amendments in the 2019 veto session to secure $2 billion in improvements to Interstate 81, a vital lifeline for western Virginia. There was also the $3.7 billion deal with CSX Corp. and Amtrak to expand passenger rail service throughout Virginia, but especially between Richmond and Washington. Environmentalists werent happy with Northams refusal to block construction of two proposed natural gas pipelines, but Sarah Francisco, the Southern Environmental Law Centers Virginia director, called him a leader on many environmental issues, such as promoting offshore wind and reducing pollution from power plants. Virginia also expanded funding for government-backed preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, and rolled out a free community college program for low- and middle-income students pursuing degrees in high-demand fields. I think what weve accomplished over the last four years could have been talked about more. Its like, lets get out and promote these things, Northam said. But the election seemed like it got more nationalized, talking a lot about Trump. As the election neared, Northam said, the momentum just wasnt on the Democrats side the last few weeks. Northam declined to directly weigh in on his successor, Glenn Youngkin, or the Republicans proposals, saying its not what governors should do. But he was emphatic on two points. He said that when Youngkin talks about Virginias economy being in the ditch, I dont know what kind of ditch youre talking about. Northam staffers proudly made T-shirts highlighting the states two Top State for Business rankings from CNBC, and the administration recently announced that Virginias November unemployment rate was 3.4%, lower than the national average of 4.2%. Second, Northam noted that the pandemic is still raging, and Youngkin will take office as the omicron variant surges across the country. I dont know what his policies are gonna be. Hes gonna have to make decisions on how to best keep Virginians healthy, Northam said. I dont know how anybody can sit back and not take that seriously. *** Northam describes his ascent to the Executive Mansion as an unexpected series of events for a guy who was generally shy and satisfied with practicing medicine. When asked if Jan. 15 will mark the end of his life in politics, Northam starts by saying that becoming lieutenant governor in 2014, much less becoming governor, almost seemed antithetical to who he was. The day he decided to run for lieutenant governor, Northam had spent most of the day in the lab, reading electroencephalograms scans looking at babies brain waves. He said hed gotten a few calls from party leaders asking him to run, mostly because they wanted someone who was from rural Virginia and also had experience in health care. Growing up on a farm, being a bit shy and always kind of staying to myself ... did I ever think Id be a governor of Virginia? No, Northam said. Our lives take interesting twists and turns. And for me to be sitting here, Im not sure how exactly this happened, he added. So will I ever be on another ballot? I dont think so. But I wont ever say never. When he sat down with The Times-Dispatch on Monday, his office was far from packed: memorabilia still loaded the shelves, the bed for his Labrador retriever, Pearl, still flanked his desk. His immediate plans are to return to practicing medicine, to go back to studying childrens brains. Hes especially keen on epilepsy and disorders affecting the connections between the brain and the rest of the body. The ripples of the blackface scandal will carry on with him into this next stage, too. I like to teach, and I can really bring a lot of what Ive experienced, and what Ive learned, into my teaching moving forward, Northam said. Northam said that might be talking one-on-one with patients and their families, talking to students at a college or university, or going into a boardroom to talk about the importance of embracing diversity. I think I can help in that regard because discussions on race have often fallen on people of color, and I think it probably is a good idea that maybe people that look like me be part of the discussion as well. The Seattle Times reports UW Medicine said Thursday appointments will be limited to only those with symptoms or known exposures. Of UW Medicines 12 community testing sites, nine will soon start limiting appointments. Three will close temporarily. The positivity rate is measuring more than 40% at some South King County testing sites and the high rate is slowing scientists ability to parse out which samples are actually positive. The chair of laboratory medicine and pathology at UW Medicine Dr. Geoff Baird says scientists normally opt for pool testing where they take four or five samples from testing sites, extract a small portion of each and then mix them together in one vial for testing. The problem when the positive test rate gets very high is that all of the pools are positive, meaning they have to go back and examine the individual tests to see which was actually positive. Baird said that significantly decreases capacity. The change will go into effect next Tuesday, and last until scientists have confirmed samples positivity rate has fallen back down to an average of below 10% to 15%. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at the Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. "I was frozen in fear," she told the jury, adding that assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse. Maxwell's lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward. "I was scared," she said, choking back tears. "I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didn't want anybody to know any of this about me." The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epstein's New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers. Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: "The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify." Grand Island City Council in November rejected an ordinance that would have extended hours for the sale of alcohol from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. Interim City Attorney Stacy Nonhof told the council that city administration does not endorse the extension due to the very legitimate concerns of the Grand Island Police Department. GIPD Chief Robert Falldorf reported on current shortages faced by his department, and the burdens placed on officers during the hours when bars close, particularly in the Railside district. Council member Bethany Guzinski supported the ordinance, saying voting against the ordinance is a vote against small businesses. Attorney Mark Porto said approving the ordinance would be beneficial to city, serving as a recruitment tool for young professionals who can find later closing hours in Omaha or Lincoln. Council member Mitch Nickerson said he was not impressed by the argument, wondering what kind of professional wants to be up until 2 a.m. drinking every night. Community agencies also spoke against the ordinance. DENVER (AP) An estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening. At least one first responder and six others were injured, though Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle acknowledged there could be more injuries and deaths could be possible due to the intensity of fires that quickly swept across the region as winds gusted up to 105 mph (169 kph). The first fire erupted just before 10:30 a.m. and was attacked pretty quickly and laid down later in the day and is currently being monitored with no structures lost, Pelle said. A second wildfire, reported just after 11 a.m., ballooned and spread rapidly east, Pelle said. The blaze spans 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) and has engulfed parts of the area in smoky, orangish skies and sent residents scrambling to get to safety. The activity of the fires, which are burning unusually late into the winter season, will depend on how the winds behave overnight and could determine when crews are able to go in and begin assessing the damage and searching for any victims. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A member of the jury that convicted Minnesota police officer Kim Potter of manslaughter in the killing of Daunte Wright says jurors felt she made an honest mistake when she drew her firearm instead of her stun gun, but that she was still responsible for his death. I don't want to speak for all the jurors, but I think we believed she was a good person and even believed she was a good cop, the juror said. "No one felt she was intentional in this. It's ludicrous that some people are assuming we thought she was a racist. That never came up or anything like that. We felt like she was a good person, we felt she made a mistake, and that a mistake does not absolve you from the fact she did commit a crime. GARLAND, Texas (AP) Dallas-area police have charged a 14-year-old with capital murder in a triple killing at a gas station and are warning that the boy is at large, armed and dangerous. Police in Garland are seeking Abel Elias Acosta and said Wednesday that they have evidence showing he was the gunman who left three teens dead and wounded a fourth at the suburban gas station's convenience store Sunday. Acosta is the son of Richard Acosta, 33, who turned himself into police Monday and is also charged with capital murder for allegedly acting as a get-away driver in the shooting, police said in a statement. A juvenile court has issued an order to take the younger Acosta into custody, police said, and authorized them to publicly release his name. Prosecutors will determine whether the teen is charged as a minor or an adult, said Lt. Pedro Barineau. The Associated Press does not typically name juveniles suspected of a crime but is doing so in this case because authorities said he is a threat to public safety. Police released a photo from social media Wednesday of a boy holding a gun who they said is Acosta. YORK Jordan Johnson Peterson, 37, of Rifle, Colo., is accused of running from a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol just east of Henderson, while being in possession of methamphetamine and a concealed knife. Peterson is charged with three felonies, which include possession of a deadly weapon while in the commission of a felony, a Class 3 felony; operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, a Class 4 felony; and possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. According to court documents, the trooper allegedly saw Peterson speeding on Interstate 80 during very early morning hours. A traffic stop was initiated about a mile east of Henderson. During that traffic stop, according to court documents, the trooper said he could smell burned marijuana and Peterson indicated he hadnt smoke marijuana since the morning before. When the trooper asked Peterson to step out of the vehicle, the defendant refused and put the vehicle in gear. The trooper yelled for him to stop, which Peterson did for a brief moment before taking off again. A pursuit began. Peterson did eventually pull off Interstate 80 and stop at the Henderson Fuel Mart. A group of Palestinians at the Mosaic Centre in Jericho continue to work to revive a heritage that their ancestors have known for more than 2, The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Have you ever wondered why Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25? Maybe you have been taught that Jesus was born on that day, but that is wrong. By the way, he wasnt born in the year AD zero. So when was he born? CARBONDALE The Center for Empowerment and Justice will provide free rapid and PCR COVID-19 tests at its building on Friday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The center is at 213 N. Washington St. According to Nathan Colombo, the centers board president, they will be providing both rapid and PCR tests. While the service is free, the center asks that participants bring their insurance cards if they are insured. They also ask that individuals wear their masks, maintain distance and bring their cellphones so a volunteer can help them set up an account to view their results. Colombo said those being tested can expect results within 48-72 hours. A provider with MME Group, LLC out of Chicago will be present with at least 250 Sienna-Clarity rapid COVID-19 tests and an equal number of PCR tests, A release from the center said. The center will not be open for its normal suite of services on this day, Colombo said. Colombo said he hopes the service helps those who are struggling to access testing at this time, as well as those who dont have a car and cant participate in the typical drive-up testing opportunities. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WAYNE COUNTY Authorities have named Ray Tate as the suspect arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a Wayne County deputy near the Illinois/Indiana border. Illinois State Police's Criminal Division Zone 8 announced Wednesday evening they will lead the investigation into Tate's alleged killing of Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Riley. After a manhunt that lasted several hours, Tate was taken in custody and transported to the Clinton County Jail. Authorities say they expect him to be charged with first-degree murder by the Wayne County States Attorney. At about 5 a.m. Wednesday, ISP DCI Zone 8 was requested to assist with a shooting involving an officer. Preliminary reports indicate that Riley was dispatched for a motorist assist call on eastbound Interstate 64 at mile marker 115. A short time later, another responding officer located Riley dead on scene. The deputy's squad car was missing, and then located abandoned a short time later just east of the scene. ISP said it's believed the suspect, Tate, 40, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, carjacked a semitrailer near where Rileys squad car was located. The driver of the semitrailer said he was held against his will and drove Tate to a gas station in St. Peters, Missouri, police said. While in Missouri, a series of carjackings, robberies and shootings occurred, police said. Tate allegedly traveled back into Illinois with a kidnapped victim in another stolen vehicle, ISP said. That stolen vehicle was located at a residence in rural Carlyle. Police say Tate committed a home invasion, and took the homeowner and the kidnapped victim hostage at a residence in rural Clinton County. At 1:42 p.m., ISP S.W.A.T. officers made entry into the residence and took Tate into custody without incident. The homeowner and kidnapped victim were located uninjured. ISP Sgt. Todd Ringle said an autopsy has been completed and nearly 40 police vehicles escorted Riley back home. "Please continue to keep his family in your prayers. We appreciate the volume of people along the route that showed their respect for Deputy Riley," he wrote. ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly released a statement on ISP's behalf, saying he extended my heartfelt condolences all who knew Riley. Once again, the Illinois State Police has safely apprehended an alleged cop killer with exceptional professionalism, patience and persistence standing side by side with all Illinois law enforcement through another dark and difficult moment. Mercifully, this incident was concluded with no further harm to first responders, and this defendant will now face justice, concluded Kelly. Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza released a statement this morning regarding the death of Riley. I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Wayne County Sheriffs Deputy Sean Riley early this morning," Mendoza said in the release. "As the sister of a Chicago Police detective sergeant, any death of a first responder on duty hits close to home. My family and I will be praying for Deputy Rileys family as well as for the rest of the Wayne County Sheriffs Department. As the investigation into Deputy Rileys tragic death continues, I hope that the perpetrator will be caught, and Deputy Rileys family can feel some sense of justice. I ask that all Illinoisans lift up Deputy Rileys family in prayer in the days and weeks ahead. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information should contact the Illinois State Police at 217-524-2500. Katie Kull of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A complaint has been filed with the U.S. Department of Defense against Congressional candidate Esther Joy King, accusing King of violating DOD policies by wearing her military uniform in several campaign ads. King is a Republican candidate for Illinois' 17th Congressional District and a member of the U.S. Army Reserves. Jim Garbett of Moline is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves and Illinois National Guard. He filed the complaint last week with the DOD Office of Inspector General. "I am writing to inform the Department of Defense of a clear violation of its rules governing the conduct of its members engaging in political activity," Garbett wrote in his complaint. "For the past year and a half, King has frequently used her position in the Army Reserve to promote her bid for political office." Garbett notes five campaign ads by King in which she is wearing her uniform, four of which are from the 2020 election cycle when she lost to incumbent U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline. "These actions are clear and consistent violations of Department of Defense policy that prohibits candidates from political office from appearing in uniform when engaging in political activity," Garbett wrote. Garbett cited DOD directive 1344.10, which states a member of the Armed Forces may "not otherwise act in a manner that could reasonably give rise to the inference or appearance of official sponsorship, approval or endorsement." "These actions by King clearly constitute improper attempts to use her position in the Army Reserve to promote her bid for political office, despite being expressly prohibited by Department of Defense rules," he wrote. "I urge the Department of Defense to take action to correct this clear violation of its rules." Garbett, 76, served six years in the military during the Vietnam War era from 1968 to 1974. "You have a right to free speech, but you don't commercialize your uniform," Garbett said Tuesday. "I've known other people in politics who have had to destroy photos and graphics because they were utilizing family members in uniform. I felt it was wrong of (King). "I have a lot of respect for people in the military, but you don't wear your uniform and you don't say 'battle ready' in a commercial. To me, that crossed a line. I feel it's wrong to advertise while in uniform." Garbett said he had not received a response yet to his complaint from the Department of Defense. King said Tuesday she was not aware a complaint had been filed until contacted by a Quad-City Times and Dispatch-Argus reporter. She declined to comment further and referred to a statement issued by Campaign Manager Emily Tuttle on her behalf. "As a member of the military, Esther considers it her duty to hold high standards," Tuttle said. "Throughout the campaign, she has consulted her ethics officer, her Army commander, legal counsel and members of Congress who also serve in the Reserve." King declined to name which members of Congress she consulted. Tuttle said King had "read the entire Department of Defense Directive regarding political activities by non-active duty members of the Armed Forces." Tuttle said section 4.3 of the directive "permits the use of military rank, affiliations, videos and photographs with proper disclaimers." At the 33-second mark of King's "Battle-Ready Leadership" campaign ad on her YouTube channel, King is seen walking into frame wearing her U.S. Army Reserves uniform with an American flag flying in the background. Against a pale blue sky, a disclaimer in white lettering flashes across the top of the screen reading, "Use of military images and information does not imply endorsement by the Department of Defense or of any department of the military." "On every (video) clip mentioned, the disclaimer is displayed," Tuttle said. "This complaint is a desperate political stunt with no merit." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHICAGO Shunning climate-changing fossil fuels is turning out to be more difficult than promised in Illinois. Two weeks after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law billed as the nations most aggressive mandate for clean energy, the Chicago Democrats administration tentatively approved a major new source of heat-trapping pollution. A draft state permit for a new natural gas power plant, planned for a small town south of Springfield, would allow the proposed Lincoln Land Energy Center to emit more carbon dioxide than 800,000 automobiles every year. Combined with CO2 emitted by two other gas plants approved during Republican Gov. Bruce Rauners single term in office, the downstate generator would wipe out climate benefits from closing four of the states coal-fired power plants last year. During 2019, the now-shuttered coal plants emitted 7.8 million tons of carbon dioxide, federal records show. State permits for soon-to-be-operating gas plants near Elwood and Morris and the draft permit for Lincoln Land enable the new gas-burners to release 63% more CO2 into the atmosphere up to 12.7 million tons annually. That certainly appears to be inconsistent with the path Illinois has chosen to move toward carbon-free energy, said James Gignac, senior Midwest energy analyst for the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists. Unlike power plants built during the last century by state-regulated utilities, companies behind the three new gas plants arent required to demonstrate their projects are necessary to meet demand for electricity. Instead, private investors financing the projects are betting natural gas prices will remain low enough for them to profit as dirtier, less-efficient coal and gas plants are retired. Another way the companies can make money is through annual capacity auctions held by the regional grid operator to guarantee enough electricity is available during hot days and other times when the grid is challenged. One of Pritzkers top aides deferred to career state employees when asked why a governor who promotes himself as a clean energy champion would allow a big new source of climate pollution to be built under his watch. IEPA (the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency), not the governor, is authorized to act on permit applications such as this, Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzkers chief spokeswoman, said about the proposed Lincoln Land gas plant. In doing so, the IEPA must follow applicable statutory and regulatory provisions governing that process. At least one other state is considering the impact of climate change now rather than years in the future. In October, the same month Illinois signaled it would approve the Lincoln Land project, New York denied a permit for a new gas-fired unit at an existing power plant, declaring it would be inconsistent with or interfere with a state law demanding carbon-free electricity by 2040. Environmental groups are citing the New York decision in comments urging Illinois to withdraw the Lincoln Land permit. But it appears they are outgunned. Backed by unions for construction workers, gas-plant developers had enough clout in Springfield during the summer to block Pritzkers clean energy initiatives until the governor and his legislative allies stripped out provisions that would have required the facilities to steadily reduce carbon emissions during years leading up to 2045, when they would either need to find a way to eliminate heat-trapping pollution altogether or shut down. In the final version of the Clean Energy Jobs Act, the new gas plants can operate without climate-focused restrictions until the 2045 deadline for carbon-free electricity in Illinois. The law also extends a lifeline to a pair of municipally owned coal plants, including the Prairie State Generating Station southeast of St. Louis, which last year was the nations seventh-largest industrial source of carbon dioxide. J.C. Kibbey is a clean energy advocate at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council who was involved in negotiations that brokered the deal. He lamented having to compromise to protect a handful of fossil fuel interests for a quarter century, but suggested a dramatic increase in wind and solar power demanded by the Illinois law, along with advances in industrial-scale battery storage, will end up erasing competitive advantages enjoyed by new gas plants. Renewables with storage are far more economical than any fossil fuel, Kibbey said. While were scaling that up and bringing prices down, gas will probably fill gaps when the sun isnt shining or wind isnt blowing. What I fear is these developers are pursuing a world where their gas plants run 24/7, and we just cant allow that if we want to avoid catastrophic climate change. In interviews and public comments, companies building or seeking to build gas plants in Illinois contend their projects will help ease the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Some are investing in both. Competitive Power Ventures, a Maryland-based company building the 1,250 megawatt Three Rivers gas plant near Morris, also is developing a 350 megawatt solar array in Livingston County. We build based on what we think the system is going to need and because of that people will pay for it, said Tom Rumsey, the companys senior vice president for external and regulatory affairs. Rumsey ticked off one of the gas lobbys latest talking points: Deadly power outages during a Texas cold snap last winter showed the nation cant rely on just wind and solar power. If you get too far over your skis on renewables and dont pay attention to what you need to manage the system you run into reliability issues, he said. The main problem in Texas, though, was an electrical grid dominated by gas-fired power that hadnt been weatherized, and according to the states largest generator, still isnt. Reliability hasnt been an issue in Illinois as climate-changing pollution from the states industries declined by 30% during the past decade, in part because several coal-fired power plants closed. Another variable involves the states fleet of six nuclear power plants. Planning for the large gas-fired generators began when it appeared Chicago-based Exelon might close some of its nukes, which generally operate around the clock. Since then state lawmakers have approved two rounds of subsidies for Exelon, including $700 million during the next five years provided in the new clean energy law. From a health and climate perspective, continuing to operate the carbon-free plants should help block additional gas-fired generation and stabilize the grid as more wind and solar power comes online. Some analysts think gas plants intended to operate near full capacity will soon become obsolete if the cost of renewable energy and storage continues to fall at its current pace. That could limit Three Rivers and the other Illinois projects to being used only when demand peaks. A new study by Stanford researchers found that a 100% renewable energy grid is feasible by 2050. Moving to wind, water and solar energy, the researchers concluded, would save money, create jobs and cut pollution. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Orangeburg County School District trustees wont reconsider a decision to hold graduation ceremonies for all the districts seniors at South Carolina State University. The board voted 5-4 in December not to reconsider the earlier decision. Afterward, OCSD Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster said no matter where graduations are held, we are going to do our best to make sure graduation is a memorable experience. Voting to not reconsider the matter were Board Chair Ruby Edwards and trustees R.L. "Poppy" Brown, Betty Pelzer, Peggy James-Tyler and Dr. Debra Brunson. Voting to reconsider using S.C. State as the central location for graduations were Dr. William O'Quinn, Dr. Sylvia Bruce-Stephens, Mary Ulmer and Idella Carson. Prior to the vote, trustees shared why they are opposed to holding graduations in S.C. States Smith-Hammond-Middleton Auditorium. Bruce-Stephens said having individuals all in one location is not wise due to the COVID. We talk about we love these children ... and we love to them to death, but we are doing what we want, Bruce-Stephens said. It is the childrens graduation. It not ours. It is their graduation. Bruce-Stephens noted Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School is large enough to perhaps hold its graduation at S.C. State, but she believes the venue is too large for graduating classes of 35 or 40 students. I don't see why we should take their privilege and take it to State, Bruce-Stephens said. I love South Carolina State and I have no problems with it, but we say we love the children. We ran for the children. We say this is what we did, Oh, I am for the children. If that is who we are, then we have to vote like that. Board Secretary Idella Carson said, I received a lot of calls and emails. We know we have a new strain - omicron. I think we need to play it by ear and use some common sense and go back to schools. This is going to be with us for a while. Trustee Mary Ulmer has also heard from a number of parents and students from across the county. When we hear from the students and what they would like to see regarding their graduation, that helps put them in the forefront, Ulmer said. Trustee Betty Pelzer said the matter was voted upon two years ago and it was decided to have graduations in one location. In September 2019, trustees voted 7-1 with one abstention to hold graduations at S.C. State. The board later decided to allow schools to have their own graduations because of COVID. In May or whenever graduation comes around, if COVID is a major issue, you can vote on it then to have it in some other location, Pelzer said. Pelzer said she received about six to eight emails as well, but they were all from one area. We also have to think about the fact that by now those who want to have the vaccination could already have that for some added protection, she said. O'Quinn said having the graduation in one central location needs to be reconsidered. He also noted just because the board voted two years ago for a central location one time is not carved in stone. O'Quinn said he believes schools should have the choice of where to host graduations, especially in light of COVID. We don't know what is going to happen with that, O'Quinn said. The vaccination is important, but I will tell you right now just because you have your vaccinations does not mean you don't get COVID. It does not mean you don't die. O'Quinn said schools should be allowed to choose where to hold graduations not only this year due to COVID, but going forward into the future. It should be a school choice, he said. OQuinn said he received letters from students and parents concerned about graduations. The most heart-wrenching ones were the ones from the students. I had one student say they don't really want to go to a strange place and have their graduation exercises. Their memories are at their home school. They even considered not even going to graduation because they don't want to go to a strange site to have it, he said. This is for the students and their parents. I think we really need to consider having school choice, O'Quinn said. Following the vote, O'Quinn said, I don't think we have done the right thing for the children and their parents tonight. James-Tyler, who voted to have graduations at S.C. State, said she is also for the children. When I ran, I said I was for all the children, but I will tell you this: When I was a board member at Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4, I had two grandsons graduate at the same time. I was only able to see one march in and one march out, she said. James-Tyler said she knew of several grandparents, uncles and aunts who had children graduate from three different schools and were not able to see their children graduate. I am for the children and I am also for those parents that would love to be there, she said. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 3 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A former Orangeburg County School District employee is accused of defrauding the district by overcharging it for classroom cameras during the pandemic. David Cortez Marshall Jr., 30, of Orangeburg, entered a written plea agreement on Dec. 7. It indicates he plans to formally plead guilty to $550,000 in wire fraud next month, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Hell formally plead guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis on Jan. 27 at the Matthew J. Perry Courthouse in Columbia. A federal charging document alleges Marshall created a scheme to defraud the school district of thousands of dollars beginning no later than October 2020 and continuing until at least February 2021. Administrators at the school district caught on to Marshalls scheme and confronted Marshall about it. He confessed and the school district then reported it to the FBI, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brook B. Andrews said Wednesday. A court document claims Marshall was employed as the districts media communications specialist. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic initiated a transition from in-person to online learning, OCSD sought to procure video cameras to facilitate remote teaching, a court document states. It claims Marshall used his official position at OCSD to steer the purchasing of video cameras to corporate alter egos he personally owned and controlled. The corporate alter egos included Flex Technologies LLC, Level 8 Communications LLC and Orangeburg County Purchasing LLC. The court document claims Marshall contacted a video camera vendor, Owl Labs, in his official capacity at the school district to arrange for the purchase of 875 cameras. Marshall then allegedly, through the deceptive use of his corporate alter egos, sold the cameras to OCSD at a markup of over $130,000. Court records allege Marshall assumed a false identity, generated fake invoices and business records, and forged signatures. The court document also claims Marshall sent a falsified S.C. Department of Revenue tax-exempt form to Owl Labs through his deceptive use of his corporate alter egos, but then sent OCSD an invoice demanding payment of approximately $60,000 in state sales tax. Owl cameras are thermos-shaped, robotic video cameras that capture a 360-degree view of a meeting space. The district purchased them to help with virtual learning during the coronavirus pandemic. As part of Marshalls plea agreement, hell be ordered to pay restitution, which will be determined at a later time. Marshall may face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, supervised release of up to three years and a special assessment of $100. His lawyer, Jonathan Harvey of Columbia, told The State newspaper on Wednesday, Marshall is moving forward to resolve this case, and we have no further comment at this time. Efforts to reach Harvey and a spokesperson for the Orangeburg County School District by phone were unsuccessful before press time. Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 3 Sad 2 Angry 8 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Many more renewables are coming. Not everyone agrees where they should go. In an opinion column published Monday in Washington policy newspaper The Hill, conservation advocate Erik Molvar questioned the merits of concentrating renewable energy projects on U.S. public lands. Penned after Democrats Build Back Better Bill reconciliation bill fell short in Congress, the column stresses the sacrifices inherent to large-scale development on undeveloped land including harm to native plants and wildlife and urges the Biden administration to focus instead on incorporating solar panels into the already-developed residential, commercial and industrial areas where most electricity is used. Siting utility-scale energy projects on federally owned land can streamline the permitting process, particularly when such work is a federal priority, Molvar told the Star-Tribune. But hes not sure the ease of that development outweighs the drawbacks. Rather, he fears that it could cause another, equally challenging set of problems down the road. The demand for electricity is large enough that, regardless of whether we choose a utility-scale renewable future or a distributed renewable future, there's going to be a considerable amount of growing pains and scaling up to deal with the magnitude of the energy demand, Molvar said. Molvar, the executive director of Western Watersheds Project, is from Wyoming, where the economy has long expanded and contracted in tandem with the energy sector, and where debates about how best to use public land have persisted for decades. If wed had a great deal more foresight about where, how much and what kind of energy development we allowed in Wyoming, the state would be in a much different place, Molvar said. We would have a lot more sage grouse. We would have a lot more elk and deer and winter range. We would have a lot more pronghorn migration corridors that hadnt been obstructed by oil and gas fields. Molvar believes that many of the remaining undeveloped landscapes, particularly important wildlife habitat and migration corridors, are too valuable to be given over to what he described as a renewable energy boom. Not every major energy project on public lands poses a significant ecological concern, he said. But some do. Molvar hopes the U.S. will approach that next boom differently. When the busts came, Wyoming was left holding the bag, he said. That's what we want to learn from as a nation. If renewables can be built in residential areas, even rural ones, he said, not only would wildlife and recreation remain intact, but extensive new transmission which often gives rise to its own lengthy permitting battles would no longer be required. According to Molvar, Wyoming stands to benefit from the emerging manufacturing needs of the renewable energy sector even without relinquishing a large portion of its public lands. I think that the time is now to start thinking hard about what form renewable energy generation takes in the United States and throughout the world, he said. Wouldn't it be a good idea to cause yourself as few future problems as possible, and have as much foresight as possible; doing it in a way that creates as much benefit not just for the environment, but for the human population as well as you can? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Police ended a roughly four-hour negotiation with two adults peacefully on Wednesday morning, following a chase that ended with the pair crashing their truck and remaining inside the overturned cab. The encounter closed a section of East Yellowstone Highway in north Casper for several hours early on Wednesday. The man and woman, according to police, were taken to Wyoming Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries around 7 a.m. Shortly after noon Wednesday, police said the pair were being interviewed by the Casper Police Department. Evansville Police Chief Mike Thompson said that the unidentified man and woman are facing recommended charges in Evansville of eluding police and property damage, both felonies, as well as reckless driving, driving without a license and entering a highway outside controlled access points. CPD may also file additional charges in the case. Officers were attempting to pull over the adult man and woman for a traffic stop around 2:45 a.m. near East Fifth and South Jefferson streets, after noticing there were no lights on a trailer attached to the truck and noting damage to both the truck and trailer. Both vehicles were reportedly found to be stolen after a check by police. The pair then drove away from the stop, according to a statement from the department later on Wednesday. Casper police followed the flatbed Ford truck for several minutes before crossing into Evansville, where local police took over the pursuit. The pair crossed back into Casper before crashing and overturning in the 2300 block of East Yellowstone, near Whites Mountain Motors. Thompson said that during the roughly 15-minute pursuit, the pair drove the wrong way on I-25 and multiple off-ramps, speeding on the highway and crossing into a ditch at one point to avoid being hit by oncoming traffic. The truck had also driven in grass near Williams Street in Evansville, hitting a parked Nissan van and causing around $8,000 worth of damage. It also crashed into a light pole in Casper. Evansville police had deployed spikes near Western Street to try to stop the truck, but the pair turned before hitting them. The man and woman reportedly stayed in the truck after it turned on its side and fired at least two gunshots from inside when Evansville police tried to approach. Thompson said one of the occupants was seen with a shotgun. The Natrona County Special Response Team was called to the scene, along with officers from both Casper and Evansville, the Natrona County Sheriffs Office and Wyoming Highway Patrol who set up a perimeter on East Yellowstone. An investigation by the Casper Police Department is ongoing. A section of East Yellowstone Highway between North Beverly Street and Hereford Lane remained closed Wednesday until around 12:30 p.m. according to police. Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 3 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic brought the worst surges yet to Wyoming prisons. While strict lockdowns, weekly testing by the Department of Corrections and rigorous quarantine policies kept cases low for many months, the virus began showing up more frequently in prison facilities during the statewide surge in the last few months of 2020. The states two largest facilities, the state penitentiary in Rawlins and the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington (which also processes people entering the prison system and hosts the states hospice program for incarcerated people) bore the brunt of the early outbreaks. The state confirmed its first prison death caused by COVID in February, then two more in March and May. Five people died from COVID in prisons this year, the department has confirmed, in addition to one in December 2020. During the summer, as cases dropped across the state, Wyomings five prison facilities reported very few cases. As vaccines became available, first to those over 65 or with health conditions and later to the rest of the population, prison vaccination rates rose to eventually surpass Wyomings as a whole. By the end of July, 64% of people incarcerated in Wyoming had been fully vaccinated, with another 20% partially inoculated against COVID-19 according to data from the Department of Corrections. Those numbers eventually dropped, according to WDOC data, as people who had been fully vaccinated left prisons and those without their shots arrived. Vaccination is offered to anyone coming into the prison system, department spokesperson Paul Martin says, and any resident can also request a dose while inside. Most facilities must wait until theres enough demand for an entire vial before distributing vaccines to residents. In July, an unknown number of doses was discarded at the Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton after they expired. But despite the availability of vaccines, in-person visitation in state prisons remained limited, and most people were only able to see family and friends over video calls. Staff have also been attending meetings virtually, and until recently court appearances have been held over video. When the delta variant hit Wyoming in the fall, prison populations experienced a spike in cases in large part due to low vaccination rates among employees, consistent with the rest of the state. While estimated staff vaccination rates were tracked for a few months when shots first became available, the department ceased reporting those numbers since most employees who became inoculated got their doses outside of the facilities. WMCI experienced the states largest prison COVID-19 outbreak in October, with one in every three people incarcerated there 237 total testing positive for the virus within a three-week period. In that period, around one in five people across all five prisons was found to be infected. According to the department, roughly half of those infections were in fully vaccinated people. At WMCI during the outbreak, people who had tested positive earlier in the outbreak were moved into the facilitys gym to sleep, while cooking and cleaning for the rest of the population on lockdown. In November, COVID came to the state penitentiary, infecting roughly one in four people there over three weeks. The department confirmed its sixth COVID-related death on Dec. 16. Of the six total COVID deaths, two came from the state penitentiary, two from WMCI, one from the Wyoming Honor Farm and one from the Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp. Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. One of the primary tasks the Wyoming Legislature has to tackle is redrawing the House and Senate districts following the 2020 census. The once-in-a-decade redistricting process, which was meant to be done Dec. 1, is still ongoing. The Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee met on Monday and Tuesday and made substantial progress, but the end is still a couple weeks away. The outstanding issues for the committee are sorting out the Eastern side of the state, particularly around Weston County and whether or not it stays whole, as well as figuring out how the Senate districts will be maneuvered. So far, the committee has been focusing mainly on the House districts. The committee is now solid that Eastern Wyoming will gain another House seat and one will be taken from Southwestern Wyoming, said co-chairman of the committee, Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne. Some lawmakers on the committee are proposing nesting (putting House districts inside Senate districts) for a portion of the regions, while other lawmakers think all regions should be nested. We moved the ball forward a little bit, not a lot, said committee member Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson. Theres also the outstanding issue of what to do with Albany County, home to the University of Wyoming is, one of the only Blue counties in the state. State lawmakers from this county have repeatedly expressed that they want the county to stay whole as a district, instead of splitting parts off with neighboring Laramie and Carbon Counties, which are far more Republican. One possibility, Zwonitzer said, is to split Albany 50-50, giving half to a district that includes part of Laramie and half to a district that includes Carbon. This move would make the likelihood that that regions loses Democratic representation in the Senate much more likely. The rural-urban divide continues to be kind of messy, Zwonitzer said. Its not a fun, easy process. The idea is for the committee to sponsor one bill with one redrawn map, but it is possible that multiple maps get introduced to the Legislature. That said, Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, and Speaker of the House Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, both said theyd much prefer one bill with one map. There has also been extensive discussion of minimizing disruption for sitting lawmakers by attempting to not move their districts around much. Because of the discomfort with lawmakers having a major hand in determining their own districts, other states have tasked independent councils with redistricting. If districts are redrawn, lawmakers have constituency changes, which they dont like because it makes campaigning much more difficult and uncertain, Zwonitzer said. Because its being done by legislators, it has to be a political process. So you have to have a bill that can get 31 votes in the House and 16 votes in the Senate, Yin said. Our goal is to deal with the change that has happened to our state and figure out how to best represent our constituents. The committees next meeting is currently set for Jan. 12. There may be another meeting after that as well, as the start of the session quickly approaches. Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Caribbean Airlines (CAL) passengers flying the domestic route between Trinidad and Tobago should be required to show proof of vaccination before they fly. This is the call of CALs pilots and stewards, who are of the view that their safety is compromised as at present anybody can fly back and forth between the islands without proof of vaccination or negative PCR test. The new year is just one week old, but already the pace of events is enough to make anyone dizzy. Against the background of the relentless Covid-19 pandemic of illness and death, the public has been hit by one price increase after another. Flour and its derivative products, including bread, doubles and some biscuits, milk and beer are among the products subjected to price hikes. Add to that cement, steel, electricals and other construction materials which have been steadily on the rise over the past year, and one gets an idea of the pummelling that consumers are taking. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday increased the risk level for cruise ship travel to its highest level and said it should be avoided, regardless of vaccination status. The agency bumped up the travel risk level for cruise travel from Level 3 to Level 4, indicating the risk for Covid-19 is "very high." The move "reflects increases in cases onboard cruise ships since identification of the Omicron variant," the CDC website says. "Since the identification of the Omicron variant, there has been an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among cruise passengers and crew reported to CDC. Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of cruise ships meeting the COVID-19 case threshold for CDC investigation," the agency said. In addition to including cruise travel in its wider list of travel advisories looking at countries worldwide, the agency has created a color status classification for cruise ships. One man has been arrested in the vandalism of a Tucson synagogue as police continue to investigate a separate incident at a local mosque over the weekend. Tucson police have arrested Dustin Wilkerson, 37, in connection with vandalizing Kol Ami Tucson, 225 N. Country Club Road. Detectives identified Wilkerson as the suspect after reviewing video surveillance, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated criminal damage. Police said Wilkerson was already in jail for assaulting an officer. Meanwhile, the Arizona Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations called for stepped up security following an assault and vandalism incident at the Islamic Center of Tucson, 901 E. First St. Tucson Police Department spokesman Officer Francisco Magos said that on Dec. 25 shortly before 6 a.m. a group of men arriving at the mosque for morning prayer noticed two vehicles with men and women in the parking lot. In one exchange, Melovidov and Myers-Melovidov texted about scanning the boy's head at the hospital. Gees and we've been hitting his head. Please delete our texts now, Myers-Melovidov wrote, according to the affidavit. In requesting $250,000 bond, Assistant Attorney General Sam Vandergaw told the judge he's concerned about how the couple discussed deleting text messages and how ship traffic in St. Paul could make it easy for them to flee on a boat. Judge Gregory Miller granted the bail request and ordered that the couple have no contact with their 8-year-old daughter. The daughter is not a victim but a potential witness, Vandergaw said. According to the affidavit, the couple instructed the girl to lie to investigators about what happened in the home. According to an obituary for the toddler's mother, he has a sister who was 16 when their mother died. She listened to the hearings by phone and declined to comment when the judge asked if she wanted to say something about bail. Melovidov and Myers-Melovidov participated in their arraignments by phone from jail. Melovidov said he works in custodial maintenance. Myers-Melovidov said she doesn't work and receives financial support from her husband and an annual check from an Alaska Native regional corporation. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BRADLEY, Ill. (AP) Authorities were searching Thursday for two people believed to have been involved in the fatal shooting of one police officer and wounding of another at a northern Illinois hotel. The two Bradley police officers were shot late Wednesday while speaking to people in a room at a Comfort Inn along a highway in Kankakee County, the county sheriff's office said. The officers were taken to nearby hospitals, where one died and the other was listed in critical condition and undergoing surgery, said the Bradley Police Department. The county coroner identified the slain officer as Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, 49. Illinois State Police identified the other as Officer Tyler J. Bailey, 27. An arrest warrant was issued for 25-year-old Darius D. Sullivan of Bourbonnais, and the sheriff's office posted a Facebook request for the public's help in finding him, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous. Police also obtained a Kankakee County arrest warrant for Xandria A. Harris, 26 of Bradley, but her role in the shootings wasn't clear. The search for the suspect extended to St. Peters, Missouri, where police believe a man involved in a shooting and carjacking shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday at a QuikTrip convenience store was the same person who killed the deputy. St. Peters police spokeswoman Melissa Doss said in an email that there was evidence at the QuikTrip scene which indicates the suspect was also involved in the series of crimes which occurred in Illinois earlier this morning. She declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation. St. Peters police said the man drove away from the convenience store in a car that was later found near Interstate 70 in nearby O'Fallon, Missouri. The suspect then stole a white pickup truck, police said. Carlyle is 47 miles (76 kilometers) east of St. Louis. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. California created a statewide certification system for officers, in part to prevent police fired in one jurisdiction from getting a job somewhere else. The bill stalled in the legislature last year and struggled to gain support again this year in the face of opposition from police unions. It passed after it was amended to allow for the option of an officer's license being suspended as a lesser punishment and to include other safeguards. This is not an anti-police bill. This is an accountability bill," said Democratic state Assemblywoman Akilah Weber, who carried the legislation in that chamber. "Without any accountability, we lose the integrity of the badge, and the bond with the community is broken. California also required the state attorney general's office to investigate all fatal shootings by police of unarmed civilians, specified when officers have a duty to intervene to prevent or report excessive force, and increased the minimum age to become a police officer from 18 to 21. The state reform bills passed in 2021 are important because they help promote accountability for police, which can shift officer behavior as long as the changes are enforced, said Puneet Cheema, manager of the Justice in Public Safety Project at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Dear Readers: Late last year, the British Veterinary Association council declared that crabs, lobsters, octopuses and squid should be regarded in legislation as having consciousness. Now this legislation is the law of the land. From a CNN story by Katie Hunt: Octopuses, crabs and lobsters are capable of experiencing pain or suffering, according to a review commissioned by the U.K. government, which has added the creatures to a list of sentient beings to be given protection under new animal welfare laws. The report by experts at the London School of Economics looked at 300 scientific studies to evaluate evidence of sentience, and they concluded that cephalopods (such as octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) and decapods (such as crabs, lobsters and crayfish) should be treated as sentient beings. Tulsa-based acting U.S. Attorney Clinton Johnson has been named temporary U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the office announced Wednesday. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Johnson to the post effective Dec. 26. Chief U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III administered the oath of office. I am privileged to serve the people of northeastern Oklahoma and to lead an exceptional team of attorneys and support staff dedicated to ensuring the publics safety, Johnson said in a news release. The U.S. Attorneys Office remains committed to working closely with our local, state, federal and tribal partners in the pursuit of justice in the Northern District of Oklahoma. Johnson previously began a term appointment as acting U.S. attorney on March 1 under the Vacancies Reform Act. That appointment expired on Dec. 25. Under the attorney generals Dec. 26 appointment, Johnson now serves as the U.S. attorney for a term of 120 days or until a presidentially appointed U.S. attorney is in place. The Tulsa County Sheriffs Office is warning residents about a circulating phone scam that uses the names of the law enforcement agencys actual employees. Investigators have been contacted by multiple people this week who say they received a call from someone claiming to be a deputy or supervisor at the department, and sometimes specifically Cpt. Scott Dean or Lt. Jonathan James, according to a news release from the agency. The scammer tells the intended victim that a warrant has been issued for the persons arrest for missing jury duty or because they failed to comply with a court order. The scammer instructs the victim to stay on the phone while they purchase cash cards from local stores to pay hundreds of dollars in fines to pay the bond and avoid immediate arrest. The money would be stolen if the victim then provided the card numbers over the phone. The Sheriffs Office has not yet received reports of anyone falling for the scam, but officials wanted to remind everyone that the agency would never call anyone with warrants to demand payment of fines using cash cards to avoid arrest. A Tulsa man who is accused of shooting a security guard outside a Tulsa nightclub pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday and could face a sentence of 10 years in prison. Jaden Perez, 21, of the Muscogee Nation, was charged in the federal Northern District of Oklahoma with carrying, using, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence in Indian Country. The Aug. 21 shooting injured a security guard at the Rodeo nightclub on 46th Street near Mingo Road. Jaden Perez has been held accountable for his blatant criminal disregard for the safety of nightclub patrons and employees when he shot a security guard outside the nightclub, U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson said in a news release. I am thankful that no one was killed in the incident. The U.S. Attorneys Office and our partners at the Tulsa Police Department and ATF will continue to hold accountable those responsible for gun violence in our community. After serving nearly 50,000 Oklahomans Real ID needs, the Department of Public Safety megacenter in south Tulsa is set to close Jan. 7. The state agency opened an Oklahoma City megacenter in July followed by the Tulsa site on Aug. 16 as tag agents across the state were experiencing nightmare wait times for those needing Real IDs and drivers license tests. DPS employees, some from far outside the Tulsa area, were shuffled to help staff the megacenter located at 7130 S. Lewis Avenue in the Kensington Business Center, according to staff at the Tulsa site. Many who utilized the megacenter, open 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, reported being able to complete the transaction in 30-45 minutes. DPS staff at the Tulsa site reported seeing an increase in visitors to the megacenter since the Oklahoma City site closed Dec. 10. About 54,000 were served at the OKC megacenter, DPS said before Christmas. Tulsas Future, the Tulsa Regional Chamber-led regional economic development partnership, supported the creation of 4,125 jobs and $421 million of capital investment in northeast Oklahoma during 2021, the Chamber said Thursday. Tulsas Future works with the City of Tulsa, Tulsa County, more than 200 private investors, and numerous regional and tribal partners to further economic prosperity in the Tulsa region. Since its inception 16 years ago, Tulsas Future has supported the generation of more than 72,000 jobs and more than $4.2 billion in capital investment. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tulsa County in 2020 awarded the Chamber CARES Act funds to help tell the Tulsa recovery story to a national audience through a dedicated marketing campaign. In 2021, the Chamber pivoted to Tulsas Future: Road to Recovery, a one-year strategic work plan that addressed urgent needs for recovery and attracted new employers and transformative projects to the region, all while paving the way for a new multi-year economic development plan to launch in 2022. The vaccine mandate to which the Governor objects is the one in addition to nine that already apply to all service members intended to protect service members from the virus which has, in less than two years, killed more Americans than have been killed in action in all of the wars the United States has ever fought, Friot wrote in declining the request for an injunction. The court is required to decide this case on the basis of federal law, not common sense. But, either way, the result will be the same. The claims asserted by the Governor and his co-plaintiffs are without merit. In the list of Vietnam's 100 best companies to work for recently announced by Anphabe, Abbott held the leadership in pharmaceutical/medical equipment/healthcare services and stood among the top four, marking the eighth year the global healthcare leader has been honored in the ranking. In order to come up with the list of Top 100 Vietnam Best Places to Work in 2021 published on December 22, Anphabe, a Vietnamese consulting firm providing workforce solutions and career networks, connected with thousands of experts and professionals in the country. The company said it had conducted a survey to measure Employer Brand Attractiveness of the top 595 businesses across 20 industries from May to August 2021. More than 65,000 working professionals nationwide had joined the survey to vote for their prioritized and desired workplaces based on many criteria, which included awareness, interest, enrollment, desire, and prioritized selection components that make up Anphabe's Employer Brand Attractiveness index. The ranking reflects the work environment in the U.S. healthcare company, established in 1888, which has been sustainably building a diverse and innovative workforce for the future with 109,000 employees in over 160 countries now serving around two billion people, or about one-fourth of the world's population. The diversity of our people leads to the innovation that helps us bring life-changing technology to people around the globe, said Mary Moreland, Abbott's executive vice-president, human resources. Among the company's latest innovative products, Amplatzer Piccolo Occluder, a device to treat premature babies and newborns with an opening in their heart, and the FreeStyle Libre system, the worlds first-of-its-kind wearable sensor-based technology used for monitoring glucose levels, have been brought to Vietnam. In honor of innovative efforts to improve lives, Abbott was named by Fast Company as the 2020 World Changing Company of the Year. Fast Company is the world's leading progressive business media brand. 2030 Sustainability Plan targets The company's aspiration to build the workforce for the future is shown through its 2030 Sustainability Plan targets, which focuse on innovating for greater access to life-changing technologies and breaking down barriers to health equity to reach more than three billion people by 2030. In March 2021, the company released 2020 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report, which shares updates on Abbott's workplace representation and culture, along with examples of its partnerships to advance health equity in communities. This report lays out our plans, strategies, and actions to make Abbott the actively inclusive community that we want and need it to be, said President and Chief Executive Officer Robert B. Ford, who was named the firms board chairman on December 10. These plans will help all of our colleagues reach their full potential; and by addressing health inequities, we will help the people we serve live their fullest lives. Our ultimate goal is an organization in which inclusiveness is a natural state, not an initiative. Abbott has been actively shaping the organization by prioritizing diversity and inclusion, advancing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education and internships, and empowering the staff with skills to meet the health needs of tomorrow. This year Abbott has received the Asia Pacific award for Extraordinary Internship Program presented by Frances ChooseMyCompany in the HappyIndexTrainees category. For the purpose of serving In 2021, the company managed to keep its Vietnam operation uninterrupted as the COVID-19 pandemic flared up, while empowering employees to make changes and help build a resilient, diverse, and responsible supply chain. In mid-July at the peak of the fourth wave of infections, the Vietnamese government required an immediate self-contained bubble for business and manufacturing continuity, and companies had 48 hours to comply. With a sense of urgency, Abbott organized a cross-function team collaboration to secure tents, mosquito nets, bedding, and supplies for the camping colleagues in medicine manufacturing and nutrition warehousing. These 200 Abbott people, who are in charge of manufacturing and supply chain management as well as delivery of medicines and nutritional products to expectant moms, children, people with diabetes, and elderly parents, demonstrated 'unwavering commitment' to segregating the working, eating, and sleeping areas. The team retained the bubble for a total of 90 days, having stayed with modest accommodations on the warehouse and manufacturing floors. As the city, Vietnam's biggest, went through lockdowns earlier this year to treat infected people and slow the virus spread, Abbott stayed steadfast and dependable to small milk shop owners, big supermarkets, mom and baby stores, and pharmacies throughout most challenging phases of the Delta strain outbreak and earned their trust as a reliable partner in difficult times. The company also received appreciation from COVID-19 patients and doctors fighting the pandemic who were guaranteed with uninterrupted access to life-saving medicines, nutritional products, tests, and technical service. A medical school principal in Vietnam has publicly refuted allegations that he made sexual advances to a student, claiming they are part of a smear campaign. The accuser, who claimed to have been mentored by Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Tu, rector of Hanoi Medical University (HMU), while working on her graduation thesis at the school, said she entered into an affair with the professor after he promised he would help get her accepted into a doctoral program without a masters degree. In a post circulating on social media, the student said she had been tricked into dating the professor, oblivious to the fact he was married. The post also alleged that she tried to end the affair, but Tu continued to contact her, asking her to bear him a child and threatening her when she turned him down. The woman also claimed to have reported Tu to both HMU and the police, but was ignored by both. Speaking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday, Tu said such allegations are nonsensical, untrue, and part of a smear campaign against him. Prof. Dr. Ta Thanh Van, chair of HMU Council, told Tuoi Tre that he was aware of the accusations. The university has reported the case to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Training and is currently awaiting instructions on how to proceed, Van added. The school has also requested that investigators look into the accusations, which hurt not only Tus reputation but also that of HMU, he added. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Tu was made rector of HMU in November 2021. His tenure is expected to last until 2025. Prior to his promotion, he served as a professor of anesthesiology at HMU since 1995 and spent over 20 years working as an anesthetist at Hanois Viet Duc University Hospital. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Having worked as a doctor in Hungary for the last 11 years, Le Ngoc Hoa Nha sought even more chances of serving her compatriots during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nha works at the hospital of Semmelweis University, which is the oldest medical school in Hungary founded in 1769. A gastroenterologist, she was deployed to work in the hospitals center for treatment of severe COVID-19 patients for 15 months last year, which was the most difficult period of the pandemic in Hungary. Thanks to the deployment, Nha got to know more about the lives of her compatriots and their obstacles while confronting COVID-19. The Vietnamese doctor found an effective initiative to help them. Getting infected twice Like other health workers working in any country in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nha ran into many challenges while working with coronavirus patients from March 2020 to May 2021. She got infected with the virus two times and delayed her marriage at least three times because of several waves of infections that occurred in Hungary last year. When there was not a COVID-19 vaccine available, she did not dare to go home for fear of transmitting the virus to her husband. So the couple lived apart despite both of them living in the same city, Budapest. One of the most heart-breaking experiences Nha encountered, however, was her father-in-laws passing away far from Nhas hospital. His death left Nha shocked as she could not do anything to save him while she was treating many other COVID-19 patients. Living far from her own parents, who reside in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, she loved her father-in-law as much as her own father. To her own surprise, Nha asked for psychological help for her mental health after having to see in person what had happened to her patients and co-workers. I have never experienced the same period in my life before, Nha commented about the terrible situations she faced in those 15 months. She once believed that as an experienced doctor, she would be able to face anything happening in the hospital. But she then realized that was not true. We are praised by people to be heroes in fighting against the pandemic," Nha said. "In my opinion, its the brave people around me that help the most, who are the final guardians at the border of life and death. "I hope they would not have to shed tears and be extremely disappointed daily or even hourly. If people can say 'no' to gatherings, if they dont try to behave in a selfish manner, if they dont ignore rules of restrictions preventing the virus, we would likely not feel so sad." Doctor Le Ngoc Hoa Nha stands on the morning when she got the news of her father-in-laws death. One of her co-workers took the photo without knowing her intense emotion that morning. Photo: Supplied Live-streaming to help the Vietnamese community Before the pandemic, Nha mostly worked with Hungarian patients. She met with many more compatriots during the outbreak and found that they really lacked official information relating to the disease, due partly to a language barrier. It seems to me that some of them are hungry for formal information about the disease, which leaves them confused and concerned so much, recalled Dr. Nha. She arrived at a decision to help them after mulling over a potential solution. Given her busy schedule as a doctor, Nha chose to host live streams to share with them information on COVID-19 and related things. While doing this, Nha tried her best to put herself in their shoes to be able to explain complicated terms in the simplest and clearest way. In spite of doing that for free, I have to prepare so hard, Nha laughed. The biggest challenge for me for the first few days was a lack of Vietnamese vocabulary. Sometimes, its extremely difficult for me to find out an exact word or phrase to express my own thoughts. "Fortunately, many in my audience understand and sympathize with me." In addition to COVID-19, Nha also shares her knowledge of digestion and related problems. Her videos now attract more Vietnamese people who live outside Hungary. She does not care how many subscribers her YouTube channel gains as to her, its still so good to be able to help just one person in need." My intention is to help people understand the stage of their disease and to reach a more balanced relationship with their doctor," Nha said about the reasons pushing her to live-stream. "Thanks to this, they would help the doctor understand more quickly and exactly what their health conditions are. Nha decided to take part in the COVID-19 taskforce of the Association of Vietnamese Scientists and Experts (AVSE Global) recently after finding that she shares many values with the organization. AVSE is a Paris-headquartered organization of Vietnamese scientists and experts. It was founded with the aim of contributing to Vietnams progress. Nha and other AVSE members have contributed to their home countrys fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in various forms. They co-write many papers to provide consultancy to the Vietnamese government to have an effective strategy to deal with the health crisis. They call for help with financial and medical aid for Vietnam during the combat against the virus. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The United Kingdom reported 183,037 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a new record and over 53,000 more than the previous highest figure registered just a day earlier, government statistics showed. The rise, sparked by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus, also coincides with an increase in the number of patients in hospital who have tested positive for coronavirus. Despite the growing number of cases, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will not bring in new restrictions this year in England to limit the spread of Omicron, which now accounts for 90% of all community infections, according to health officials. Johnson said the high number of people who had received COVID booster shots, which now stands at more than 33 million or about 58% of the population aged over 12, meant there was no need for new rules ahead of New Year celebrations. "Enjoy New Year sensibly and cautiously," he said. "We've got cases certainly going up, we've got a lot of cases of Omicron, but on the other hand we can see the data about the relative mildness of Omicron." The data, which included five days of figures for Northern Ireland due to differences in reporting practices over the Christmas holidays, showed the number of cases had risen from Tuesday's previous high of just under 130,000 and were up 41.4% in the last seven days. Hospitalisations have also been rising sharply and according to official figures, there were 10,462 people in hospital in England with COVID-19 on Wednesday, up by 916 from the previous day. Of these, 771 needed to be in mechanical ventilation beds, a figure that has changed little during December. Johnson said he had been told by some doctors that up to 90% of patients with COVID in intensive care had not received their booster vaccines. There were also 57 deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, up from 18 on Tuesday, but well below the numbers being reported earlier this month. Check out the news you should not miss today: Politics -- Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu and Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith co-chaired the 31st annual Vietnam-Laos border meeting held in Hanoi on Wednesday, the Vietnam News Agency reported the same day. Society -- A Wednesday guideline from Hanoi authorities has caused a stir as it requires people entering Vietnam from regions with Omicron cases, including those who have recovered from COVID-19 and have been fully vaccinated, to be sent to centralized quarantine zones despite the Ministry of Health currently allowing fully-vaccinated arrivals to self-quarantine at home. -- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has recently issued a notice requiring the city's health sector and epidemic prevention forces to ensure 100 percent of their personnel on duty during the 2022 New Year holiday for COVID-19 prevention and control. -- Vietnam is expected to have 60,000 cirrhosis patients by 2025, Dr. Tran Tuan Thanh from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said at a scientific conference on strengthening capacity for treatment and prevention of hepatitis B in the southern metropolis on Wednesday. -- Police in the southern province of Dong Nai on Wednesday said they had arrested four suspects to investigate a ring allegedly trafficking five women to Cambodia for prostitution since April this year. Business -- Vietnams export-import turnover hit US$668.5 billion in 2021, up $123 billion compared to the previous year and posting the highest growth ever, the Vietnam News Agency on Wednesday quoted the General Department of Vietnam Customs as revealing at a recent conference to review the sector's performance this year and deploy tasks for 2022. World news -- Malaysia will provide 1.4 billion ringgit ($334.93 million) in cash aid and other forms of relief for those devastated by severe floods this month, Reuters cited Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as saying on Wednesday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnam urgently needs a stronger protection system for women and children, and a zero-tolerance attitude toward violence, a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative said in a statement regarding the fatal beating of an eight-year-old girl in Ho Chi Minh City at the hands of her fathers fiancee. UNICEF today expressed its deep sadness and concern over the recent violent death of a young girl at the hands of someone who she should have been able to trust, to protect her [sic], UNICEF representative to Vietnam Rana Flowers said in the statement released on Wednesday. Flowers was referring to the death of N.T.V.A., an eight-year-old girl who was beaten by her fathers fiancee on December 22 and died from her injuries the following day. The rising accounts of abuse of children, even greater during COVID-19 lockdowns, signal an urgent need for a strengthened approach, she said. In response to the heartbreaking death, Flowers emphasized that a strengthened protection system for women and children is urgently needed in Vietnam. Such a system, the statement read, should not be comprised of volunteers or untrained welfare officers, but instead should consist of qualified professional social workers who can identify, intervene, and respond to the needs of children and women in order to ensure their safety. This system should also include training for law enforcement and legal officials, such as judges, and should be centered on a zero-tolerance attitude toward violence. Zero-tolerance means neighbors or anyone else who witnesses or hears violence immediately notifies authorities, rather than brushes it off, waits for it to progress, or ignores it completely, according to the UNICEF statement It also means that police should be held accountable for taking action against such violence and that health workers and teachers who recognize signs of violence immediately inform authorities. In addition, community-based solutions, including relocating perpetrators, must be taken so that children and women can continue to live safely at home, UNICEF said. Nguyen Vo Quynh Trang, the 26-year-old woman responsible for A.s death, was arrested on December 23, one day after brutally beating the child in an apartment building in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, where she had lived with the child and her father, NK.T.T., 36, since mid-2020. Police detained Trang following a hospital report on the unusual death of the little girl, who had been taken to the hospital in a coma, accompanied by a cardiac arrest and apnea. Doctors who examined A.s body found it covered in wounds and police on the scene were able to determine that Trang had hit A. to death. Police also questioned T.s neighbors, who said they had heard A.s screams while she was being beaten on the afternoon of December 22. They added it was not the first time. Functional forces collected evidence from T.s apartment, amongst which was a long list of daily chores the father and his fiancee had assigned to the girl. Trang will be temporarily detained for two months during the ongoing investigation into her initial charge of torturing others, as prescribed by the Vietnamese Penal Code, police said. Public opinion commented that such a charge is much lighter than the crime the woman had committed. Flowers called on the public to do more to protect those made vulnerable and to raise the awareness among women and children that violence is not acceptable in any form. Reaching out for help to make it stop is essential, the UNICEF representative said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Ministry of Health logged 19,868 additional COVID-19 cases in Vietnam on Thursday, along with 34,102 recoveries and 291 virus-related fatalities. The latest infections, including 20 imported and 19,848 domestic transmissions, were reported in 61 provinces and cities, the ministry said, elaborating that 11,404 patients caught the virus in the community. Ca Mau Province recorded 3,876 of the newest local cases, Hanoi 1,866, Tay Ninh Province 935, Hai Phong City 838, Khanh Hoa Province 788, Ho Chi Minh City 697, Binh Dinh Province 620, Dong Thap Province 590, Lam Dong Province 477, Thua Thien-Hue Province 439, Can Tho City 287, Binh Thuan Province 277, Quang Nam Province 233, Da Nang 185, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province 180, Quang Ninh Province 165, Dong Nai Province 160, Lang Son Province 103, and Duong Province 96. Vietnam had detected 13,873 domestically-acquired infections on Wednesday. The country has found 1,709,042 community transmissions in all its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth virus wave erupted on April 27. A combined 1,333,827 of them have recovered from COVID-19. Ho Chi Minh City has been the biggest hotbed with 502,687 patients, followed by Binh Duong Province with 290,564, Dong Nai Province with 97,540, Tay Ninh Province with 74,333, Hanoi with 44,126, Dong Thap Province with 43,611, Can Tho City with 40,574, Long An Province with 40,297, Tien Giang Province with 33,473, Khanh Hoa Province with 32,206, An Giang Province with 32,165, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province with 26,168, Binh Thuan Province with 25,683, and Da Nang with 11,035. Vietnam registered a mere 1,570 locally-transmitted infections in total in the previous three waves. The health ministry documented 34,102 recovered patients on Thursday, lifting the total count to 1,336,644. The toll has climbed to 32,168 deaths after the ministry confirmed 291 fatalities on the same day, including 53 in Thua Thien-Hue Province, 37 in Ho Chi Minh City, 20 in Binh Duong Province, 16 in An Giang Province, 16 in Can Tho City, 15 in Dong Thap Province, 13 in Hanoi, and the remainder in 18 other provinces and cities. Vietnam has logged 1,714,742 patients since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the country early last year. Health workers have administered more than 149 million vaccine doses, including 1,070,466 shots on Wednesday, since vaccination was rolled out nationwide on March 8. Over 77.5 million of the countrys 98 million people have received at least one dose while more than 67.7 million have been jabbed twice. The number of third doses including additional primary shots for immunocompromised people, boosters, and third jabs of Cubas Abdala vaccine has jumped to 4,047,920. 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. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese police have recently launched an investigation into a gang of seven pickpockets stealing money from a patient at the Ho Chi Minh City Heart Institute in District 10. Nguyen Van Tan, 47, and his six accomplices were apprehended while the ring was attempting to pickpocket a woman at around 5:00 pm on Saturday, according to police in District 10. Upon the arrest, the gang confessed that it had staged a scene to steal a total of VND19 million (US$832) from three other victims. A boxcutter used by ring members to cut victims pockets. According to police, members of the ring would pose as people waiting to submit health declarations to enter the hospital. They would then begin causing commotion while other ring members would use the distraction to cut open victims pockets and steal whatever cash was inside. The money would be handed over to accomplices standing amongst the crowd. Most of the victims were needy patients from various regions across Vietnam, police officers said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! It may be in January but a Christmas special for The Larkins is set to screen on ABC. This screened last week in the UK. The Larkins are preparing for Christmas, but theres been burglaries in the village. Pop and Ma are overjoyed to have Mariette and Charley back for Christmas, but when Charleys parents arrive chaos descends on the farm. Its Christmas and the decorations are going up, but the Larkin family are sad at not having Mariette at home for Christmas. Until Mariette and Charley suddenly return, back for good from France. There has been a spate of burglaries in the village and determined to get to the bottom of things, Pop enlists lifelong underachiever PC Harness. Miss Pilchester is struggling to direct the villages nativity-panto combo, not helped by a disastrous power cut. Will the villagers get their precious stolen knickknacks back? Will the power be back in time for Christmas, and the pantivity go ahead? And can Charleys strict parents be won over by the Larkins? As usual the Larkins rally and entertain the whole village with food, booze and warmth and allow the play to go ahead in their barn. To top it all snow is on the horizon Will it be a Merry Christmas in Larkins Land? Production credits: Writer and Executive Producer Simon Nye. An Objective Fiction, Genial Productions and Objective Media Group Scotland in Assocation with All3Media International. Starring Bradley Walsh, Joanna Scanlan, Sabrina Bartlett, Tok Stephen, Peter Davison and Amelia Bullmore. Saturday 15 January 7.30pm on ABC. 2021 has been a year of Hulk-like returns for uranium-related investments. (GETTY) With descriptors like "enormous growth" and "tremendous impact", Sprott Asset Management's chief executive officer sounds like he's talking about the Incredible Hulk when describing his massive bet on uranium in 2021. The Toronto-based firm's Physical Uranium Trust (U-UN.TO), the only publicly-listed fund in North America that invests in physical uranium, has grown its assets from US$630 million when it launched in late July, to just under US$1.9 billion today. "It has completely exceeded our expectations," John Ciampaglia told Yahoo Finance Canada in an interview. "We're quite bullish on 2022. The uranium market has clearly come back to life after a long slumber." The spot price for the radioactive metal was around US$30 per pound when the fund's units first hit the market. Since then, Sprott has more than doubled its initial 18.1 million pound stockpile, making its biggest buys over the summer and fall to amass a total of 41.3 million pounds. Meanwhile, prices climbed to nearly US$46 in November, before dipping to US$42.75 as of Dec. 20, according to nuclear fuel market research firm UxC. 2021 has been a year of Hulk-like returns for more than just Sprott. Shares of Saskatchewan-based uranium producer Cameco (CCO.TO)(CCJ) have increased 67 per cent year-to-date. The Global X Uranium ETF (URA) and NorthShore Global Uranium Mining ETF (URNM) have also rallied 58 per cent and 81 per cent, respectively, over the same period. Critical mass acceptance More than a decade after the deadly Fukushima disaster cast a shadow on the future of nuclear power, Sprott's CEO sees growing acceptance. Ciampaglia notes governments in the United States, France, and the Netherlands have expressed support for building additional capacity. The European Union is considering nuclear's green status for rules to label climate-friendly investments. In the U.S., Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have made headlines with plans to build a US$1 billion next-generation reactor on the site of a Wyoming coal plant. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, toured a nuclear plant in Illinois. Story continues "When was the last time you saw that? Nuclear has always been a very Republican stance. Not so much on the Democrat side," Ciampaglia said. "The fact that the Biden administration has included nuclear in its infrastructure bill, and the support of the energy secretary, it's clearly messaging that nuclear is part of the [clean energy] solution. I think that's a signal people should be focused on." He also points to the energy crisis unfolding in Europe as evidence that more reliable, zero-emissions power is needed on the continent to support the use of renewables. Germany, in particular, whose government decided to phase out nuclear post-Fukushima, is facing skyrocketing energy prices this winter. On top of that, there's the growing chorus of net-zero pledges from governments and corporations. "[Nuclear is] the only way some countries have a chance of hitting their greenhouse gas emission targets," Ciampaglia said. "I think a lot of governments, and scientists for that matter, are making that acknowledgement public." Gordon Johnson, CEO of New York-based GLJ Research, says uranium went from "a four-letter word" to "being very advantageous" in 2021, as investors increasingly associate nuclear power with clean energy needs. He sees more upside for spot uranium prices in the near term, with utilities looking to lock in long-term supply as funds like Sprott's remove pounds from the open market. He notes nuclear fuel contracts in China are particularly long in the tooth these days. "What the Sprotts of the world are doing is they are trying to force those renewals of contracts by basically sucking up all the spot availability and pushing prices higher," Johnson said in an interview. "Once the contracted prices start to move, which they have, that's when things get very interesting." Ciampaglia concedes his fund has had a "tremendous impact" on the spot market. However, he also notes the cost of uranium is only about four to five per cent of a plant's operating expenses. "So they're not overly price-sensitive," he said. "But you don't run a power plant on a just-in-time inventory model. We think [contract renewals are] a really important factor for the next 12 to 36 months." How to invest in uranium in 2022 Ciampaglia says institutional investors and family wealth offices are asking him if 2021's strong performance is a flash-in-the-pan, as was the case in the early 2000s, when the price of uranium shot up to a record high near US$140. At the time, strong demand signals from China as the country began to attempt to phase out coal, and concerns of "peak oil", were among the factors giving rise to uranium prices. Today, the bullish forecasts are on the supply-side as well. Ciampaglia says 10 years of low uranium prices post-Fukushima have weakened supply, and caused Cameco and Kazatomprom (0ZQ.F), the world's top producer, to shut in production. "All of a sudden, we need to bring that supply back online. Many of these projects have not been touched in 10 years. And the time to bring new mines online at a greenfield level is 10 to 15 years," he said, adding that bringing back Cameco and Kazatomprom's halted production would take one to two years. For Johnson, who initiated coverage on Cameco in August, owning shares of the low-cost uranium producers (Cameco or Kazatomprom) is the best way to invest in uranium next year. He says NexGen Energy (NXE.TO)(NXE) is another option that carries more risk. Matt Manara, partner and portfolio manager at Toronto-based Avenue Investment Management, is taking a cautious view on his firm's position in Cameco, after a strong 2021. "Cameco already trades at a valuation that would suggest uranium is at US$80, and it's not anywhere near there yet," he said. "We've drawn a line under the stock. As soon as it breaks that trend line, we're out of it." Of course, critics of nuclear energy say new capacity is too costly and time-consuming to build in order to meaningfully rival wind and solar in adding clean power to grids. Tom Rand, managing partner at ArcTern Ventures, says the small, modular reactors aimed at solving these issues are decades away from deployment at a scale to meaningfully move the needle on emissions. "If you build a new nuclear plant today, it would cost a boatload more than wind and solar and storage and that kind of thing, and it will take 15 years," he recently told Yahoo Finance Canada's Editor's Edition. "It's something that is simply too big, expensive and cumbersome to solve a problem where what we need are fast, nimble, agile, low-cost energy solutions." Ciampaglia admits large nuclear projects have a reputation for blowing past timelines and budgets. He counters with reliability concerns for renewables as German utilities burn more coal this year than in 2020, due to lower wind speeds and increased demand. "Just look at Germany this year," he said. "Renewables, while they'll continue to get the lion's share of public support, financial support, government subsidization and whatnot, the reality is, they're not as reliable as everybody had hoped they would be." Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. As the world gears up to welcome in 2022, many New Year celebrations are being cancelled or scaled back amid rising infections due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant. So will some of the most iconic celebrations still be going ahead on 31 December? Here's a snapshot from around the world. France The Paris fireworks display and festivities on the Champs-Elysees have been cancelled although there's no curfew for New Year's Eve. Nightclubs across the country are also closed. Australia Sydney's famous firework event at the harbour are still going ahead but there will be fewer spectators than usual. Most viewing areas will be capped by the council and require tickets. Last year, before mass vaccination, spectators were banned, but this time people are being urged to wear masks where they can't properly distance. United States New York's centrepiece New Year celebration in Times Square is going ahead but with much smaller crowds than normal. Everyone who attends will be required to wear a mask, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio's office. UK The prime minister and health secretary have said people should remain cautious on New Year's Eve. Most high-profile mass events have been deemed too risky by organisers. The display around the London Eye has been cancelled as has a party in Trafalgar Square for 6,500 people. Other events scrapped include Edinburgh's famous Hogmanay festivities. People planning to socialise are being urged to take a lateral flow test beforehand. However, the tests are currently in short supply. Nightclubs are closed in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for New Year's Eve but remain open in England. Brazil Rio's fireworks on Copacabana Beach are back on after previously being cancelled, but the concert afterwards will not go ahead. With more than 618,000 COVID-related deaths recorded, Brazil has one of the worst death tolls from the pandemic, but so far only 77 Omicron cases have been confirmed. Story continues Greece There will be no fireworks display over the Acropolis this year. This week the country's health minister announced new restrictions on the hospitality sector, bringing forward measures planned for early January. From Thursday evening, bars, nightclubs and restaurants will close at midnight, with no standing customers and no music, with the exception of New Year's Eve when they can stay open until 2am. Italy Concerts, open-air events and clubs have been shut until 31 January and public events in Italy's squares are also banned on New Year's Eve. There are no restrictions on celebrations at home. Iran and Russia will reportedly sign a 20-year $10 billion defense agreement in January 2022. Under that agreement, Moscow will supply Tehran with 24 Su-35SEs, two advanced S-400 air defense missile systems and a military satellite, Forbes reports. The Super Flankers in question are the same ones Russia built for Egypts air force. However, the threat of U.S. sanctions against Cairo under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) may very well jeopardize that $2 billion deal. For now, a number of Su-35SEs intended for delivery to Egypt remain parked in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East, home to the eponymous Komsomolsk-on Amur Aircraft Plant (KnAAZ). This has fuelled speculation that Russia will sell them to Iran or Algeria (a major Russian arms client) instead. One article estimates that 15 Su-35SEs could be transferred to Iran in early 2022 if a contract is signed. The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) is quite antiquated. Most of its fleet consists of U.S.-built F-14As, F-4s, and F-5s delivered in the 1960s and 1970s during the reign of its last shah. Since then, Theran acquired MiG-29As from Russia and some ex-Iraqi Air Force Dassault Mirage F-1s flown to the country during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Iran hasnt bought any new fighter jets since the early 1990s. Consequently, acquiring two dozen 4.5-generation Su-35SEs which feature thrust-vectoring engines and Tikhomirov NIIP N135 Irbis Passive Electronically Scanned Array (PESA) radar could bolster Irans air power and serve as a stopgap solution for the country as it gradually upgrades its fighter fleet over the next decade. Russian or Chinese-built fighters (or a mixture of both) have long been viewed by experts as the most likely jets Iran would procure in the 2020s or early 2030s. However, Tehran has not seized past opportunities to buy modern Russian jets for internal reasons that have to do with the present power structure in Iran. Shortly after the 2015 nuclear deal, there was speculation that Iran would seize an opportunity to acquire 30 Russian Su-30 jets and 300 T-90 main battle tanks. That didnt happen. Instead of buying 300 T-90s for the Iranian Army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) paramilitary acquired only 24 and transferred them all to Syria to fight on the side of then-embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Under the 2015 nuclear deal, the UN arms embargo on Iran was scheduled to expire in October 2020. In the months leading up to that expiration date, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) speculated that Iran might buy S-400s, Su-30 Flankers, Yak-130 trainers, and T-90 tanks. The embargo expired over a year ago, and there is little to no evidence that Iran is actively seeking any major arms procurements. Military aviation expert Tom Cooper (who has written extensively about the IRIAF) outlined in 2016 how the system of rule in Iran and relations between the IRGC and the regular armed forces would make such major acquisitions highly unlikely. He is also unconvinced today that Iran will acquire those Su-35SEs originally built for Egypt for the same reason. I would first like to hear that the IRGC has granted permission for the IRIAF to get that kind of stuff, and then that Tehran actually has the necessary money - before making any kind of useful conclusions, he wrote on Dec. 30. Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden signed into law the annual defence budget, giving the administration a whopping $778bn to work with next year for its national security and defence needs, Middle East Eye writes. The 2022 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) comes after a year that saw the US military withdraw from Afghanistan after two decades of war, Biden's announcement of an end to offensive support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen, and the end of the combat mission in Iraq, though troops will remain there in support roles. Despite such large changes to the military's posture, the amount of money earmarked for the Pentagon remains as high as ever, with this year's budget increasing five percent from 2021 and also being $25bn more than what Biden originally requested earlier this year. Regarding the Middle East, this year's budget also comes as the Biden administration continues to shift its attention towards China. Still, much of the allocated funds to the region run similar to last year's budget. Fund against IS* Similar to 2021, the 2022 NDAA requests hundreds of millions of dollars for the US's security operations in its Counter-ISIS* Train and Equip Fund (CTEF) - $345m for Iraq and another $177m for Syria. The funds come even after the United States officially announced an end to its combat mission in Iraq earlier this month, although American troops will remain in the country in a supporting role to the Iraqi military. The Islamic State (IS)* group seized large areas of Iraq in a lightning offensive in 2014, before being beaten back by a counter-insurgency campaign supported by a US-led military coalition. Washington has been leading an anti-IS coalition with dozens of other countries since 2014. While IS* presents much less of a threat than it was several years ago, American and Iraqi counterterrorism officials say the group remains capable of launching a cheap, low-tech and largely rural campaign of violence that continues to cost lives. Earlier this month, IS* fighters killed four soldiers of the Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers - the main military force of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) that rules a semi-autonomous region of northern Iraq - and one civilian, and wounded six other people, according to security sources. Israel's gifts Military assistance to Israel has for years been a common sight within US defence budgets, and 2022 is no different. The NDAA includes $108m that would go to Israel for purchasing parts for the Iron Dome short-range anti-missile system, which is co-produced by the US and Israel. Another $62m will go to Israel for the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system, and $30m for the David Sling Weapons System. The budget also includes a $6m grant programme for "cybersecurity research and development". Last year's NDAA included a provision that cemented $3.3bn in annual aid to Israel until 2026. While Washington's military aid to Israel has been met with increased scrutiny from progressive lawmakers, who have been calling for limits and restrictions, it continues to receive widespread bipartisan support in Congress. US funding for Israel's Iron Dome system particularly fell under the spotlight in September and October, when House Democrats moved to remove $1bn in funding for the aerial defence system from a stopgap spending bill. The funds, however, were later approved in a separate bill that passed with an overwhelming majority, 420 votes to nine with two present votes. Report on Saudi strikes in Yemen The NDAA calls on the Biden administration to deliver a report on whether Saudi Arabia has taken part in any offensive air strikes inside Yemen that have resulted in civilian casualties. It also places a prohibition on in-flight refuelling of any non-US aircraft that engaged in the war there. The provisions come amid some opposition in Congress to Biden's stance on the war in Yemen. Earlier this year, the president announced an end to offensive support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen, but maintained it would continue to provide support to defend Saudi Arabia. Many leading members of Congress have called for further, more concrete measures to fully end US support for the Saudi-led coalition, but these efforts have fallen short. Earlier this month, the Senate approved the sale of $650m of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, missile launchers and other weapons to Saudi Arabia. After six years of war, Yemen is frequently described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 20.7 million people - 66 percent of the population, including 11.3 million children - in need of assistance. Morocco and Western Sahara One provision contained within the NDAA states that no funds may be used to support Morocco's military forces during multilateral exercises with the US until the Pentagon determines that Rabat "is committed to seeking a mutually acceptable political solution in Western Sahara". In the waning months of his term in office, US president Donald Trump recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the contested Western Sahara to reward Rabat for normalising relations with Israel. Dozens of US lawmakers have been calling on the Biden administration to reverse that decision, but the president has not made a public commitment to uphold or reverse US recognition. However, according to a report by Axios in May, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Moroccan counterpart that the US would stick with the Trump determination. Western Sahara, a territory in the northwest of Africa stretching over 266,000 square km, was under Spanish occupation until 1975. Since then, the territory mostly fell under de facto Moroccan control. However, the Polisario Front has continued to push for its own proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The conflict, which still flares up periodically, has led to the displacement of more than 100,000 Sahrawis, who mostly live in camps in Algeria. *ISIS - the movement prohibited in the Russian Federation The eighth round of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) revival talks began this week in Austria. The seventh round ended with U.S. and European frustration and warnings that the window to reach a diplomatic, non-military solution to Iran's growing nuclear capabilities was closing, Newsweek writes. Amid reports that the U.S. has considered military strikes on Iran and with continued Israeli threats to do the same, top Iranian military officials have been issuing warnings of their own that enemy action could prompt a bloody and costly regional conflict. Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Khatam al-Anbia headquarters, told reporters on Wednesday that recent and future IRGC drills should stand as a warning to those considering attacking Iran. "We want the enemy not to test our will and power because it will not be able to bear the costs of a massive and all-out confrontation," the commander said, Fars News Agency reports. Last week, Iranian Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri and IRGC commander, Major General Hossein Salami, both said the recent Great Prophet 17 military drill was a direct response to aggressive Israeli rhetoric. Bagheri dismissed reports of imminent Israeli action as "empty threats," while Salami warned: "If the officials of this regime do a damn thing, we will cut off their hands." Bagheri also said this week that Israel's Dimona nuclear facility would be "a prime target" of any Iranian retaliation to a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Israeli forces have reportedly been preparing a range of strike options to halt Iran's nuclear program, which the Israeli government has long considered an existential threat. Defense Minister Benny Gantz said this December he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces to "prepare for the Iranian challenge at the operational level." Israel is continuing strikes against Iranian and allied targets across the border in Syria. Tehran, the IRGC and Iran's network of proxy forcesamong them the Lebanese Hezbollah militiahave been vital in helping President Bashar al-Assad forces re-take much of the war-torn country. Iranian forces and their proxies have established military positions throughout Syria, including along the Israeli border. Syria serves as a key conduit for Iranian money, fighters and arms to reach proxies in Lebanon, and the Palestinian West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Successive Israeli administrations have committed to preventing Tehran from gaining a permanent foothold in Syria and called for U.S. support to do so. Israel also opposes the JCPOA nuclear dealwhich capped Iran's nuclear capabilities for 10 yearsand former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed a powerful influence on former President Donald Trump's 2018 decision to withdraw from the accord. JCPOA signatoriesIran, the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K., Russia, China, and the European Unionare hoping to revive the deal via the ongoing Vienna talks. Russian and Iranian officials told reporters this week that the eighth round began promisingly. Tehran said success remained possible if other negotiators showed "good faith," while Russia's lead envoy praised "indisputable progress." American and European officials expressed frustration after the seventh round of talks ended without a deal. U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley accused Tehran of "trying to build leverage by expanding their nuclear program and hoping to use that leverage to get a better deal." Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has been reviewing U.S. military options in case diplomatic efforts fail, according to a report from The New York Times, as well as considering new sanctions on Tehran. After the seventh round of talks, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters: "The president has made clear that if diplomacy fails, we are prepared to turn to other options." White House press secretary Jen Psaki also hinted at military action. "Based on the outcome of the last round of talks and the ongoing advancements in Iran's nuclear facilities, we are laying the path for...the groundwork for another path entirely," she told a press briefing earlier in December. Spokesperson for Turkey's Justice and Development (AK) Party Omer Celik touched upon the matter of normalization of relations with Armenia. According to Chelik, first of all, Baku should have a positive attitude to this process, Anadolu Agency reported. Regarding the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, Omer Celik stressed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has several principal views on this matter: Azerbaijan's positive attitude to the process, opening of archives, removal of the Armenian Genocide issue from political tribunes and leaving it to historians. "The initiative to normalize relations with Armenia can take place on the condition that Armenia abandons its aggressive and invasive policy against Azerbaijan," the spokesperson noted. A bill on mandatory QR codes for visiting some public places is under consideration by the Ministry of Justice of Armenia. The Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia, spoke about this. According to her, when the final conclusion is received, the Ministry of Health will present it to the public. The Head of Department explained that if the project was approved and eventually adopted, it would not be possible to visit the public food and cultural facilities without the QR vaccination code. "There won't be such a requirement for shopping centers and shops yet," Sputnik Armenia quotes Avanesyan. Azerbaijans Aghdam District Prosecutor's Office received information about a gunshot injury of a resident of Baku, a 28-year-old Anar Rahimli in the Yeddikhirman area of the district liberated from Armenian occupation on December 29, at about 16:00, according to the press service of the General Prosecutors Office. "The preliminary investigation established that Anar Rahimli, an employee of Bakcell MMC [mobile communication operator of the country] was injured as a result of shooting by the Armenian armed forces while performing his official duties in the indicated territory," the statement reads. The Investigation Department of the General Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case under Articles 214.2.3, 29, 120.2.7, 29, 120.2.11, 228.3 and other articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. A senior administration official said they could not speak specifically to why Putin had requested the phone call, but noted that Biden is always prepared to speak directly with his counterparts at times of heightened tensions. "President Biden will make clear that there is a diplomatic path to de-escalating tensions in the region, if President Putin is interested in taking it," the official said. The official added that the U.S. has developed its own detailed list of concerns with Russia's behavior and the security situation in Europe, but that they plan to discuss it with the Russians behind closed doors, rather than in public. "The two presidents will discuss the upcoming dialogues with Russia on a range of security and strategic issues. Those include bilateral talks through the Strategic Stability Dialogue, as well as the NATO-Russia Council, and the OSCE Permanent Council meeting, all of which will take place the week of January 10th," the official said. Foreign Ministers of Russia and Azerbaijan Sergey Lavrov and Jeyhun Bayramov held a telephone conversation today, during which they discussed the situation in the region and the normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said. "The ministers exchanged views on the situation in the region and the implementation of the trilateral statements of the leaders of the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan and Armenia. In addition, the founding meeting of the "3 + 3" format held in Moscow (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Georgia refused to participate in the format - TASS' note) and the meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian public figures were discussed", TASS quotes the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's statement. "It was agreed to work towards the speedy and full implementation of the decisions of the summits, including those concerning the unblocking of economic and transport links in the region and the launch of mechanisms for the delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border", the Russian diplomatic service says. Also, the heads of the foreign ministries of the two countries also discussed the current agenda of Azerbaijani-Russian relations and other issues, the statement says. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says she cannot see Russia returning to the Group of Seven industrialized nations in the foreseeable future. "It is of course very painful that Russia has excluded itself from this circle by annexing Crimea," the Green politician told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) in Berlin. "At the moment, it is not foreseeable when Russia will be able to return to this grouping the current escalation does not make the situation any easier," Baerbock asserted. The G-7 includes the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Germany will take over the rotating chairmanship of the G-7 from Britain on Jan. 1. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hopes to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov soon. She stated this in an interview with DPA. "In this very tense situation, it is important for me to stay in close contact. Therefore, I called my Russian colleague in advance", TASS quoted Baerbock. According to her, there will probably be an opportunity to meet in person soon. Let us remind you that earlier the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov said that the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Annalena Baerbock had accepted an invitation to visit Russia. Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani has commented on the ongoing talks here between Iran and the P4+1 which mainly focuses on lifting of anti-Iran sanctions and believed negotiations are going well. Bagheri Kani said on Monday that reaching an agreement on effective removal of sanctions against Iran is the key to success of the eighth round of talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Almost all representatives of the participant countries had underscored the priority of removing the illegal sanctions against Iran, Bagheri Kani told Iranian reporters, referring to the meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission on Monday evening in the Austrian capital. It was agreed that the removal of sanctions be put on the agenda in experts meetings and the joint meetings between Iran and the P4+1, he added. The Iranian top negotiator also said that the delegations have agreed to consider in the issue of sanctions removal the two main deliberations of Iran, i.e. verification of sanctions removal and assurances for that. He further explained that the Islamic Republic of Iran had announced that for any deal to succeed, the violating party, i.e. the US, should remove sanctions at first and Iran would verify the removal before returning to full compliance with the JCPOA. Oil prices rose on Thursday to extend several consecutive days of gains, buoyed by data showing U.S. fuel demand holding up well despite soaring Omicron coronavirus infections. Brent crude futures rose 24 cents, or 0.3%, to $79.47 a barrel at 0502 GMT, up for a fourth day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 26 cents, or 0.3%, to $76.82 a barrel for a seventh session of gains. Gasoline and distillate inventories also fell, versus analysts' forecasts for builds, indicating demand remains strong despite record COVID-19 cases in the United States. Oil prices also drew support from steps taken by governments to limit the impact of record high COVID-19 cases on economic growth, such as easing testing rules and narrowing who needs to isolate as close contacts of positive cases. OPEC and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, will meet on Jan. 4 to decide whether they will continue increasing output in February. Global oil prices have rebounded by 50% to 60% in 2021 as fuel demand roared back to near pre-pandemic levels while deep production cuts by OPEC+ producers for most of the year erased a supply glut that has been weighing on the market, Reuters reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a telephone conversation with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden late on Thursday evening, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Indeed, Putins phone call with the US president is scheduled for late tomorrow evening," TASS cited him as saying. The White House said earlier that Biden would hold a phone call with Putin on Thursday, "to discuss a range of topics, including upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia." Putin and Biden held a two-hour video call on December 7, focusing on the situation around Ukraine. The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations, cybersecurity issues and the Iran nuclear deal. On Thursday, Foreign Ministers of Russia and Azerbaijan Sergey Lavrov and Jeyhun Bayramov summed up the results of their joint work in 2021. "The heads of the foreign affairs departments summed up the results of joint work in the outgoing year in the context of bilateral relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, as well as the regional and international agenda. The successful progress of the Russian-Azerbaijani strategic partnership in all areas was stated", the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The ministers also discussed other topical issues, including the normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan. Russia and its partners have fulfilled their task of creating Nord Stream 2, now it is for Europeans to decide upon it, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on the autumn-winter heating season on Wednesday. He said this after Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller reported that the second string of the gas pipeline had been filled with technical gas. "These are the issues that our partners in Europe should resolve. Now it is their turn. We and our partners, by the way, European companies, have completed the task of creating this additional route. Nord Stream 2 is ready to go," the President said. "I would like to congratulate Gazprom and your partners in the Nord Stream 2 project on the completion of work on the creation of this large additional pipeline and on the fact that it is ready for operation," Putin said. He stressed that "as soon as they (European partners) make a decision on the start of its operation, large additional volumes of Russian gas will immediately flow to Europe." Putin recalled that this would be about 55 billion cubic meters per year. Putin expressed confidence that the launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will lead to a decrease in gas prices in Europe, including for Ukraine. "This will undoubtedly affect the price on the market, on the spot. All those countries and consumers of these countries that consume Russian gas, will immediately feel it. This also applies to economic participants and households," Putin said after head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, reported on the completion of the filling of the second string of the gas pipeline with technical gas. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will lead security talks in Geneva on Jan. 10, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. "During the talks we will seek firm legal guarantees of Russia's security from the U.S. side, namely that NATO will not move eastwards and that weapons systems threatening Russia will not be deployed near our borders," Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson, told a briefing. Russia is then set to hold talks with NATO in Brussels on Jan. 12, before a broader meeting including Russia, the United States and other European countries on Jan. 13, which Russia's foreign ministry said would take place in Vienna. Top U.S. and Russian officials for Iran have met in Vienna, a Russian envoy said on Wednesday, and delegates on both sides said Moscow and Washington were coordinating in a bid to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to talks on the nuclear pact, wrote on Twitter that he had met twice on Wednesday with the U.S. special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, posting pictures of himself and the U.S. diplomat sitting across from a long table. The State Department, when asked about the meeting, said it does not discuss the details of diplomatic conversations. "Close consultations and coordination between the Russian and the U.S. delegations in the course of the Vienna talks constitute an important prerequisite for progress towards restoration of the JCPOA," he wrote, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. "We maintain intensive and, I believe, useful dialogue in the course of the #ViennaTalks on concrete way and means of restoration of the #JCPOA," Ulyanov tweeted, after what he said was his second meeting with Malley. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova confirmed today the obligation to return the Karabakh Azerbaijanis to their homeland, answering a question from the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza regarding Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement about Yerevan's support for this process and the promise "not to challenge their rights" to live in Khankendi and other cities and villages in mountainous Karabakh areas. Maria Zakharova stressed that the Russian position on the issue of the return of Karabakh Azerbaijanis has not changed since November 9, 2020, when the first trilateral Statement was signed, which determined the stages of the post-war settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. "The answer to your question is contained in the statement of the three leaders dated November 9, 2020. The seventh paragraph, direct quote: 'Internally displaced persons and refugees shall return to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas under the supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.' There is nothing left to say," she said. Thus, the Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated Moscow's commitment to the full implementation of all the signed trilateral agreements, which include, among other things, the return of Azerbaijanis to the territories, where Russian peacekeepers are currently deployed. It is expected that next year this will be the major topic of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace processes. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Moscow had not received notifications from representatives of the "Taliban" movement banned in Russia about the intention to appoint its ambassador in Moscow. Earlier, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid announced plans to send his ambassador to Moscow. "We have not received any notifications from the Afghan side, from the Afghan authorities about the decision to send their ambassador to the Russian Federation," RIA Novosti quotes Zakharova. Zakharova also stressed that currently, negotiations on the recognition of the interim government of Afghanistan were not underway. According to her, the Taliban know Russia's position on this issue. International insurance groups have reaffirmed their appetite in Vietnams landscape, citing favourable demographics, an improved regulatory corridor, and a foreign ownership ratio lift contributing to the markets appeal. Kyobo Life Insurance, South Koreas third-largest insurer, stated that it is negotiating the purchase of shares with Bao Long Insurance and BIDV Metlife as one of its initial moves penetrating Vietnams insurance landscape. Kyobo Group chairman and general director Pyun Jung Bum expressed the groups interest to invest in healthcare and startups to contribute to Vietnams digital transformation on the official visit of Vietnams National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to South Korea in December. Chairman Hue praised the groups decision to invest in Vietnam and stated that the Vietnamese life insurance industry has enormous potential, but the competition is increasingly harsh. The South Korean insurer has been reportedly restarting its initial public offering (IPO) drive despite a lengthy legal fight with key financial backers over the exercising of option rights, according to Ked Global, a digital media platform from South Korea. Earlier last month, the firm said that it would file a review request for its IPO with the Korea Exchange, to go public on the major exchange in the first half of 2022. Meanwhile, the State Securities Commission of Vietnam lifted the foreign ownership ratio of Post and Telecommunications Insurance Corporation (PTI) to 100 per cent in mid-December. This is in line with Vietnams forthcoming revised Law on Insurance Business initiatives. PTI currently boasts three major shareholders namely Vietnam Post Corporation (holding 22.67 per cent), VNDIRECT Securities (18 per cent), and DB Insurance (37 per cent) the South Korea-backed insurer. Vietnam Post Corporation will reportedly sell its capital in PTI to ensure legal compliance. This provides an opportunity for DB Insurance and other investors to enhance their ownership ratio in PTI. Aside from PTI, other firms such as Bao Minh Insurance (BMI) and PVI have plans to raise the room fee to 100 per cent. BMI is a firm on the Ministry of Finances list that needs State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) to dispose of its capital as soon as possible to pay the state budget. It presently holds around 51 per cent of Bao Minhs capital. The non-life insurance industry is dominated by five domestic companies, yet this is still a lucrative target for international investment. Global credit rating agency AM Best asserted the financial strength rating of BMI on December 9 at of B++ and its long-term issuer credit rating at BBB. The ratings reflect BMIs balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile, and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also factor in a neutral impact from the companys majority ownership by SCIC, which is the sovereign wealth fund of Vietnam, the rating agency emphasised. Just before the pandemic emerged, German insurance giant Allianz inked a deal with FPT Group to roll out a digital joint venture in Vietnam a part of its footprint in Asia. FPT, as the strategic technology partner, was set to support Allianz in the fast-growing insurance market in Vietnam to develop innovative digital insurance products and services to meet the protection needs of local customers. However, the deal turned sour due to the pandemic, but the German insurer has still signalled its intention to capture Vietnams market pie. Likewise, Sumitomo Life, Bao Viets second-largest shareholder, simultaneously raised its stake in the local insurer from 17.48 to 22.09 per cent, thus increasing Bao Viets registered capital to about $319.11 million. With Sumitomo Lifes presence, it could be difficult for other foreign partners to acquire the remaining ownership (around more than 3 per cent) since the ratio is rather minor. The last few months of 2021 have witnessed a considerable rise in insurance-related stocks, such as shares of Bao Minh, PTI, Military Insurance, to name a few. There are now seven non-life insurance groups on the stock exchange namely Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation, PTI, Military Insurance Corporation, Bao Minh, Petrolimex Insurance Corporation, PVI Reinsurance JSC, and BIDV Insurance Corporation. Two other stocks are BVH of Bao Viet Group and PVI of PVI JSC, both of which have long been regarded as insurance stocks by many investors but are financial investment stocks in the finance sub-sector. The primary concern is insurance BVH owns all the capital in Bao Viet Insurance Corporation, whereas PVI owns all the capital in PVI Insurance Corporation. Expert Tran Nguyen Dan stated that investors are more interested in insurance equities, particularly those on the list of state divestments. However, investors must evaluate the companys performance and future potential, Dan said. AM Best in November maintained its stable market segment outlook on Vietnams non-life insurance industry, backed by favourable demographics, ongoing digital transformation, and an improving regulatory framework. Accordingly, AM Best expected Vietnams non-life insurance segment to continue expanding, albeit at a modest pace given the challenging economic backdrop over the short term. Health and personal accident insurances are likely to remain the primary growth drivers as the pandemic raises public awareness of health and mortality risks. However, this could be offset by a deceleration in group health insurance as domestic industries and businesses implement cost-cutting measures. Source: VNA If Hanoi authorities prohibit motorbikes by 2025 in the center, when the public transport network is still not capable of satisfying peoples demand, many would have to use private cars. If so, the traffic would be even worse. Hanoi is considering stopping motorbikes in inner districts, from Belt Road No 3, Truong Sa and Hoang Sa Roads and Highway No5 towards the central area of the city, starting from 2025. The information is a surprise to Hanoians. Prior to that, the municipal authorities intended to prohibit motorbikes from 2030. Restricting private vehicles and encouraging people to use public transport (bus, tramcar, urban railway) for travel in the inner city, helps ease traffic congestion and pollution. In reply he long term, Hanoi has had to restrict private vehicles (motorbikes and cars) entering the inner city. However, Hanoi seems to be too hurried in shortening the motorbike ban roadmap. Currently, Hanoians take 14 million trips every day, while public transport can satisfy 10 percent of demand. Tthe motorbike ban, if imposed, create difficulties for travel and earning a living. Buses can carry large amounts of passengers, but with the limited speed (17-25 kilometers per hour), it cant prove its efficiency. Buses can reach every street and corner, but the limitation in speed cannot encourage people to give private vehicles to take bus. An urban railway is believed to be an important means of transport which can change peoples travel habit. However, Hanoi now has only one railway route the Ca Linh Ha Dong which has been put into operation since November. The second route, Nhon-Hanoi Station, is hoped to be ready by 2025. Even with the two urban railway routes and the bus network which can run at ideal speed, it be difficult for Hanoi to prove that there are enough conditions to prohibit motorbikes by 2025. In such conditions, many people will have to shift to use private cars if public transport is insufficient. With car prices from VND300-400 million, owning a car is within the reach of many people. An urban railway is believed to be an important means of transport which can change peoples travel habit. However, Hanoi now has only one railway route the Ca Linh Ha Dong which has been put into operation since November. The second route, Nhon-Hanoi Station, is hoped to be ready by 2025. Meanwhile, one car occupies a road area 5-6 times higher than one motorbike, and the emissions of one car are 2-3 times higher. Hanoi plans to collect tolls from private cars entering the inner city from 2030 to ease traffic jams. Restricting motorbikes To impose a motorbike ban and collect tolls from cars entering inner city, Hanoi authorities need to prove that public transport can satisfy peoples travel demand. If they can, people will voluntarily give up motorbikes and use public transport. Soon after the Cat Linh Ha Dong railway route became operational, many people along the route decided to abandon private vehicles to travel by the railway. This shows that people are willing to travel on public transport if they find it convenient and less costly. To prepare for the private vehicle ban, the municipal authorities need to settle existing problems in transport infrastructure, and create favorable conditions for public transport to develop. As for urban railways, in addition to effectively using exiting routes, the city needs to speed up the construction of other routes. Its expected that eight more urban railways will be built to connect routes. The implementation of the projects will require strong determination of the city, so that the lesson of the Nhon-Hanoi Station and Cat Linh Ha Dong railways wont be repeated (it took 8-10 years to complete the projects). While waiting for more urban railways to be built, Hanois traffic in the next 5-10 years would still depend on buses. In rush hours, buses cannot bring into full play their capacity of carrying large amounts of passengers as they are surrounded by private vehicles. If the situation cannot improve, the more buses there are, the more serious the traffic jams and pollution will be. In order to use buses in the most effective way, the city needs to reserve a transitway for buses on large roads with 6-8 lanes. When buses can promote their capability, they will attract people. Not only reserving transitway for buses, Hanoi also needs to reserve pedestrian-only ways to help people access buses and urban railways. The convenience of buses from their homes to stations is also an important factor. With the current transport infrastructure in Hanoi, it would be risky to rely on buses when prohibiting motorbikes. Analysts believe that even when buses can be exploited in the most effective way and the two urban railways are put into operation, this would still not be enough to completely replace motorbikes. Only when public transport can satisfy 60-70 percent of the travel demand in inner city will Hanoi think of restricting private vehicles. Together with developing public transport, Hanoi also needs to speed up the construction of the key roads connecting both inner and suburban areas, such as elevated Belt Road No 2, Road No 70 and Belt Road No 4, to help ease the traffic load in the inner city. Gia Van Its too early to prohibit motorbikes in Hanoi in 2025: experts A number of experts are against Hanois plan to prohibit motorbikes beginning in 2025, warning that proper conditions will not be ready to implement the plan. Covid-19 posed difficulties to many people in 2021, but not to securities investors. They earned big money as the VN Index climbed to new highs. The number of newly securities accounts is increasing Historic peaks Booming was the word analysts use to describe the Vietnamese stock market in 2021, with sharp rises in the VN Index, liquidity and number of investors. The peak of 1,300 points, 1,400 and 1,500 occurred. A new record was made in the last week of November when the VN Index for the first time hit the threshold of 1,500 points, despite bad news about the appearance of Omicron. In 2020, the Vietnamese market was listed among the top 10 countries with the strongest resilience and recovery during the pandemic. In 2021, the market continues growing in line with the upward trend in the world. However, it also saw sharp decreases in some trading sessions. The latest occurred on December 3, when the index dropped by 39 points to 1,443 points. Prior to that, declines were seen in mid-July and late August, from 40-50 to 73 points each session. In Vietnam, the expectations on the stock market remain relatively high. PYN Elite believes that the bailout for economic recovery worth VND800 trillion for 2022-2024 may push the VN Index to 2,500 points by the end of 2024. Strong liquidity Just two years ago, the trading value of VND10 trillion per session was just a faraway dream. But the dream has become real and the trading value per session was even much higher. On November 20, 2021, for example, VND56.3 trillion, or $2.4 billion worth of shares were traded. More and more trading sessions with trading value of $1-2 billion have been reported recently. The figure of $1 billion (VND23 trillion) is a very high liquidity level if compared with the VND6.2 trillion in 2020 and VND18 trillion in H1 2021. Securities companies reports show that people injected much more money into securities companies in 2021. The liquidity has been increasing sharply as the stock market has become an attractive investment channel for people who have idle money. Also, the fixing of technical problems at HOSE was behind the high liquidity. Prior to that, in April, investors complained that the stock market fell into a bad situation as their orders could not be implemented properly, while electronic boards showed wrong figures. As a result, they had to buy or sell blind. In Vietnam, the expectations on the stock market remain relatively high. PYN Elite believes that the bailout for economic recovery worth VND800 trillion for 2022-2024 may push the VN Index to 2,500 points by the end of 2024. In early July, the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) began using a new trading system provided by FPT, the Vietnamese largest information technology group, which is capable of dealing with 3-5 million orders per day, or triple the old system. New investors For new investors, securities are considered a stable investment channel. The Vietnamese stock markets size has grown and is no longer just a channel for small surfing investors. As many as 1.3 million securities accounts were opened in the first 11 months of the year, which was equal to the total accounts opened in the last three years combined. According to the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD), the number of newly registered securities accounts was 221,314 in November 2021 alone. Experts attributed the soaring number of new securities accounts to low bank deposit rates, the Governments tightened control on corporate bonds and economic recovery in the new normal. The goal of having 10 percent of population investing in securities is no longer a faraway dream. Analysts say that with the current market entry rate, the target of having 5 percent of population investing in securities by 2025 set by the Government may be attainable soon. The total domestic securities accounts have reached 3.8 million. In November alone, nearly 221,000 accounts were opened, the highest figure in the 21-year operation of the Vietnamese stock market. The record high number of new investors and the amount of capital pumped into the market have balanced supply and demand as foreign investors sell more than buy. Individual investors had a net purchase of VND84 trillion in the first 11 months. Businesses with high capitalization value Four listed companies on HOSE have a capitalization value exceeding $10 billion, namely Vingroup, Vietcombank, Vinhomes and Hoa Phat. In June, the HCM City bourse named 20 businesses with market capitalization value of over $1 billion. In late November, the figure was 45. As of November 2021, HOSE had reported total capitalization value of VND5.7 quadrillion, or $245 billion, equal to 91.41 percent of 2020 GDP. The capitalization of the stock market has soared, reaching the $330 billion threshold. In 2021, the capital mobilized through the share market was nearly VND80 trillion, which was four times higher than the year before. Foreign investors Foreign investors sold more than they bought in 2021 with a net sales of VND62 trillion. This was a record high which was four times higher than their net sales in the entire year of 2020. Foreign investors net sales were seen at the beginning of 2020, when Covid-19 broke out. This was also the trend in Asian markets, with the net sale of tens of billions of dollars in South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. In Vietnam, a number of stocks with sharp price increases saw considerable net sales, including Hoa Phat, VP Bank, Vinamilk, Vingroup and VIetinBank. Foreign investors sold more stocks than they bought though the Vietnamese market still has not been upgraded from frontier to emerging status. The number of accounts owned by foreign investors had hit 38,000 as of September 2021. Duy Anh Domestic investors help to create records in Vietnam's securities market The stock market has set records in terms of scores, liquidity and the number of new accounts this year, as investors have seen it a shelter amid complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital transformation is taking place strongly in Vietnam. Tens of thousands of technology businesses have been established in a short time, promising to create new growth engines for the economy. The high-tech factory of Dien Quang Lamp Joint Stock Company in Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Park is the place to mark the strong digital transformation of this senior company. Formed as a manufacturer of traditional electrical equipment, Dien Quang is transforming from an equipment manufacturer to a provider of total solutions in electricity, lighting and information technology. Visiting the exhibition area of technology solutions of Dien Quang, one will be impressed by models of smart homes, smart lighting systems.... Last December, Dien Quang Smart V2 was certified by the Ministry of Information and Communications as one of the top 10 excellent digital products. A Dien Quang representative told VietNamNet: "This is a Make-in-Vietnam product of Dien Quang. We plan to provide it to local customers firstly under the motto, 'Vietnamese people use Vietnamese products'. As a locally manufactured product, the design can be changed according to the needs of customers and investors. The software is also developed by Dien Quang, so it is possible to customize and change up to customers need." Digital transformation is taking place strongly in Vietnam. Performing digital transformation to create many Make-in-Vietnam products to serve customers is the path many Vietnamese businesses are pursuing. The State-owned Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has also promoted the digital transformation process in recent years. Most transactions between EVN and its customers have been digitized and performed on digital platforms, such as QR code, customer care application Epoint, chatbot... Our customers, including pensioners, can stay home and click a computer mouse to get access to electrical services ranging from contract signing to power meter installation, power bill payment and troubleshooting," said EVN's Deputy General Director Vo Quang Lam. Initially, EVN set out the goal of basically completing digital transformation by 2025. At a recent meeting with leaders of the Ministry of Information and Communications, this group decided to shorten the time to 2022. Activate the new growth engine In fact, digital transformation in Vietnam is going on very strongly. It does not only take place at large corporations but even at restaurants and small shops. People have applied "digital tools" to increase sales, to reach more customers at a more reasonable cost. The habit of using cash is also gradually changing, replaced by various forms of electronic payment and online payment. According to a report by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Vietnam, like many other countries, the Covid-19 pandemic has strongly boosted Vietnam's digital economy in general and e-commerce in particular. Schools and offices across the country have turned to online solutions, and online orders grew tenfold during the period of social distancing. Organizations and businesses that rapidly deploy new platforms, applications, and services have shown a better response to the pandemic. They strive to maintain business continuity, while moving to remote work and learning, and even experimenting with new ways to meet customers' needs, said an AmCham representative at the annual Vietnam Business Forum 2020. Most transactions between EVN and its customers have been digitized and performed on digital platforms, such as QR code, customer care application Epoint, chatbot... This is also the driving force for the birth of many Vietnamese technology enterprises. The "fertile land" brought about by digital transformation will be a source of life and development for these young businesses. According to the Ministry of Information and Communications report at the Vietnam Digital Enterprise Development Forum 2020, after one year of implementing the Make-in-Vietnam strategy, more than 13,000 digital technology businesses were born, up 28%. Vietnam had a community of over 58,000 technology businesses. This is a record number when policy makers at first thought the highest number would be only 6,000 businesses a year. Accordingly, the target of 100,000 digital businesses by 2030 can be reached by 2025. These will be the new growth engines for the Vietnamese economy. A recent report of the National Center for Socio-Economic Information and Forecasting said that the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and the digital economy are forecast to develop faster after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, enabling Vietnam to speed up economic restructuring, changing the growth model based on science, technology and innovation. Taking advantage of the rapid development of the industrial revolution 4.0 can create a foundation for Vietnam to accelerate its transformation, from a model of growth based on resources, low-cost labor and capital intensive work to a growth model based on productivity, quality and efficiency. A study by the Vietnam Institute of Economics recommends changing thinking, turning information technology and digital transformation into an important push and foundation to support the recovery process, strengthen resilience capacity and improve growth quality towards efficiency, greenness and sustainability. Luong Bang Tech firms get involved in smart agriculture projects Technology utilization and market development are the keys to development of Vietnams agriculture. Vietnam became the 53rd country in the world achieving the goal of covering basic doses of COVID-19 vaccine for 70 percent of its population, according to covidvax.live, a website that updates the vaccination speed worldwide every day. The website reported that only 63 out of more than 220 countries and territories which have provided data on COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control across the world have achieved this goal. In Asia, Vietnam's vaccination speed and quantity are higher than that of Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, India and Indonesia. Outside of Asia, Vietnam has been lower than the USs vaccine coverage by only two grades, but 40 grades higher than Russia. According to statistics from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, over 146 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 had been administered to people as of December 27, including over 77 million of first shots and nearly 66.5 million of second jabs. Vietnam has counted 2.8 million people getting the third doses so far. According to Russian news agency Sputnik, thanks to its relentless vaccine diplomacy strategy, from a country with a low rate of COVID-19 vaccine vaccination, Vietnam has become one of the countries having the rapidest vaccination speed in the world in a short time. The vaccine diplomacy, an unprecedented diplomatic strategy in Vietnam's history, has been drastically deployed in all activities, helping Vietnam safely adapt to and effectively control the COVID-19 pandemic, the news agency said. Not only successful in ensuring the supply of COVID-19 vaccine, Vietnams vaccine diplomacy strategy also facilitated the transfer of vaccine production technologies of other countries to Vietnam, including Sputnik-V of Russia, Abdala of Cuba, and Covaxin of India, it added./. Source: VNA NEW YORK Under pressure to improve worker rights, Amazon has reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board to allow its employees to freely organize and without retaliation. According to the settlement, made final last Wednesday, the online behemoth Amazon said it would reach out to its warehouse workers former and current via email who were on the job anytime from March 22 to now to notify them of their organizing rights. The settlement outlines that Amazon workers, which number 750,000 in the U.S., have more room to organize within the buildings. For example, Amazon pledged it will not threaten workers with discipline or call the police when they are engaging in union activity in exterior non-work areas during non-work time. According to the terms of the settlement, the labor board will be able to more easily sue Amazon without going through a laborious process of administrative hearings if it found that the online company reneged on its agreement. We will always fervently uphold her legacy and contribution to the Black Press of America and especially her leadership of the North Carolina Black Publishers Association (NCBPA). God bless, Ben Chavis, one of the Wilmington 10 and now NNPA president, said in a statement. The pardons were Thatchs major accomplishment on the national stage, but on the local level, she made the newspaper a reflection of Wilmingtons African American community. She had a knack for organization toward a purpose, Jervay said. Thatch was the president of the North Carolina Black Publishers Association at the time of her death and her energy and foresight made that organization what it is today, said Jervay, who handles media services for the NCBPA. To her family, she was welcoming, even when you found yourself in an unfortunate situation. She was always glad to see you, regardless of where you were in life, Jervay said. She was the first one there to help. She was totally family oriented. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The history of medicine offers ample reasons to avoid smug certitude which, unfortunately, is abundant on social and traditional media. Science is always about likelihood and never about certainty, though word apparently hasnt reached Twitter and TV news. Then there is the flagrantly political demeanor of so many COVID-19 experts. Im not at all prepared to say whether red states or blue states were wiser in their public policies. Too many confounding variables. Ill make one exception, which is to say that the press and others besoiled themselves by relentlessly lionizing ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Today, few Democrats or Republicans quote his tweet from May 5, 2020: Look at the data. Follow the science. Listen to the experts. Be smart. Heres why they shouldnt. Science, like a chainsaw, is an exceedingly powerful and useful tool. But follow the science makes no more sense than follow the chainsaw. The chainsaw doesnt know the safest way to cut a tree, and science let alone some anthropomorphic vision of it cant weigh the tradeoffs between slowing COVID-19 and shutting down schools and cancer surgeries. They also signal a return to practices that the military has long used against ethnic minorities such as the Muslim Rohingya, thousands of whom were killed in 2017. The military is accused of killing at least 35 people on Christmas Eve in the village of Mo So, an ethnic Karenni region. But this time, the military is also using the same methods against people and villages of its own Buddhist Bamar ethnic majority. The focus of most of the latest killings has been in the northwest, including in a Bamar heartland where support for the opposition is strong. More than 80 people have died in killings of three or more in the Sagaing region alone, including those in Done Taw, since August, according to data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, or AAPP, a group that monitors verified arrests and deaths in Myanmar. The military is also reprising a hallmark tactic of destroying entire villages where there may be support for the opposition. Satellite imagery the AP obtained from Maxar Technologies shows that more than 580 buildings have been burned in the northwestern town of Thantlang alone since September. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Russian President Vladimir Putin share a common desire. For the United States to be dismantled like the former Soviet Union. If this occurs, the global economy will be destroyed, and the post-global World War II fight for democracy would be undercut by fascist totalitarianism around the world. It would also be detrimental to the U.S. economy but ignite a global economic catastrophe. A staunch lifelong communist Russia President Vladimir Putin has said many times that the greatest disaster of the 20th Century was the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a result, he's been seeking revenge for what he perceives as the United States' integral part in the demise of the Soviet Union. This was his motivation in his undermining the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton and his clandestine social media support for the election of former President Donald Trump in 2016. Putin was able to engineer the election of Donald Trump in 2016, a dictator wannabe who openly wished to hold power for the rest of his life and ignited a political movement in line with the Russian strategist. The majority of Republican politicians and officeholders are now openly and eagerly justifying and bragging about Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, as if it was America's May Day. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), removed her House committee assignments this past year for her anti-democratic rhetoric, has now begun to push for a "national divorce," i.e., the succession of Republican states from the United States. Greene's call for a national divorce, the end of the United States by allowing "Red States" to succeed from the union, has promoted Ruben Galego (D-AZ) and others to call Greene a "traitor." Anyone actively campaigning to break up the United States is by definition a traitor and should be removed from office. According to a growing list of her fellow members of Congress, if Green was complicit in the plan to halt the electoral count, the business of Congress on January 6, 2022, she should be ejected from Congress but also charged for treason. If a resolution to expel Greene is submitted after the New Year when Congress reconvenes, it will be the second time that the resolution has been introduced. Back in March of 2021m Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California formally introduced a resolution to expel Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress, suggesting that she "advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker, and our government." Rep. Gomez said at the time "I take no joy in introducing this resolution, but any member who cites political violence and threatens our lives must be expelled," "I believe some of my Republican colleagues, and one in particular, wish harm upon this legislative body. I'm not saying this for shock value. It's the conclusion I drew after a member of Congress advocated violence against our peers, the speaker, and our government." Seventy-two Democrats have supported this resolution Gomez introduced at the time, while zero Republicans stepped up to sign on. Rep. Greene, however, hadn't crossed the Civil War Rubicon last year. She was openly calling for the shutdown from the floor of the House of Representatives as recently as 30 days ago. 'This Government Should Be Shutdown!' Marjorie Taylor Greene's Most Viral Moments From 2021 Now Green wants to shut down the U.S. government. In addition, she is openly campaigning and promoting the United State's dissolution. In this case, she is committing a federal offense, a felony, and she faces the possibility of being charged and convicted for treason. The irony, of course, is that this latest bellicose appeal for the destruction of our Republic. Greene is now adding the communist icing to her claims. Throughout the last year, she has accused Democrats everywhere of being communists. Greene labels Democrats as communists by stating that anybody who transfers from a "blue state" to a "red state" should not be remitted to vote in the crucial period. In doing so, she advocates that our nation embrace the Chinese communist political system, which it plans to impose on the tens of millions of people residing in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In a nutshell, unless you are a member of the Republican Party, you do not have the right to vote. Disagreements with the "Republican Party" will not be tolerated. Green and other Republicans want to break up the United States to establish what she and her fellow conspirators describe as a conservative evangelical theocracy that makes their form of Christianity the official state religion. Rep. Green fails to recognize that in many "red states," there are as many Democrats and Independent voters, if not more than there are Republicans. For example, over 4 million of the 8 million votes are cast for Democrats in Florida. In Georgia, her home state, President Biden won in 2020 with almost 2.5 million votes out of the nearly 5 million votes cast. In Texas, the split between Democrats and Republicans is shrinking to the point that the state could go from red to purple to blue in the next ten years. As a result of the demographic shifts in the large population of red states, we can only assume the only way for a red state to remain a red state by the end of this decade will be to only allow Republicans the right to vote. The next step in her proposed plan to restrict Democrats who transplant from a" blue state" to a "red state" is to outlaw the Democrat party a signature feature of being a communist. Which, by the way, is taking place in Putin's Russia and China; Green and her fellow traitors would impose the same brutal shutdowns, imprisonments, and executions now being imposed by Putin, China, and North Korea impose on any political dissent. Green should be removed from Congress, and every Republican in Congress who is discovered to have conspired to halt congressional activity on January 6, 2021, should be charged for the relevant offense by the Department of Justice. Former Trump administration Peter Navarro has admitted in his book and during interviews promoting his book that he and Steve Bannon planned with the help of over 100 members of Congress to stop the official business of Congress to count the electoral votes. He's named others like Rudy Giuliani as being up to their necks in the conspiracy. Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean who was disbarred for his role in the Watergate scandal has rightly asked why the Department of Justice has not yet criminally charged Peter Navarro given his confession about his role in the January 6 insurrection. A similar question has been asked by Harvard Law professor Attorney General Garland's former professor about the indictment of Donald J. Trump. Now another question hangs. Will the Department of Justice allow Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene open sedition, treason to continue? If so, it's time to start shorting the major stock indexes. If Putin's goal to see the United States break up is realized, an economic collapse and financial market meltdown will be impossible to avoid. Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls for a NATIONAL DIVORCE between Red & Blue States HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Lou Barletta, an illegal-immigration hawk and former congressman running for governor, said Wednesday he would take a harder line against the federal government's yearslong practice of bringing unaccompanied minors found by the Border Patrol to various facilities in Pennsylvania and other states. Some Republican governors have protested the practice this year and are looking for ways to block it in their states. In the past decade, the number of unaccompanied children found at the border has jumped dramatically, expanding the need for the federal government to place the children throughout the United States while they pursue their cases in backlogged immigration courts. Barletta, a Republican vying for the partys nomination in a big primary field, said he would stop the practice in cases where the state doesn't know the medical and criminal backgrounds of the minors, who must be 17 or under to be in the resettlement program. It would stop when Im governor of Pennsylvania because I also recognize the danger and the risks of putting people into our schools without having any idea what the background of that person is, Barletta said in an interview. Barletta pointed to a newly unveiled platform by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as something he supports. One aspect is legislation to prohibit state and local agencies from doing business with any private entities that facilitate the resettlement of illegal aliens from the southern border. Another is a regulation that prohibits the licensing of agencies that provide services to unaccompanied migrant children unless the state consents to it. Weeks earlier, DeSantis highlighted reports that the 24-year-old suspect in a stabbing death posed as a teenager at the border in order to cross as an unaccompanied minor. Barletta also said he would refuse to allow the migrant children into Pennsylvania schools, unless they met vaccine requirements that apply to all students. In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services flew migrant children into Wilkes-Barre-Scranton International Airport, the agency said late Tuesday. Its statement followed days of inaccurate reports by local politicians and others about the flights. The department has released little other information about the minors, prompting protests from Barletta about the department's lack of disclosure and silence about it from Gov. Tom Wolf. More flights are scheduled to arrive at the airport Thursday and Friday, Barletta said. Wolf, a Democrat who's constitutionally barred from running for another term, hasn't objected to the flights or the department's practices. In a statement, Wolf's office said immigration questions should be directed to the federal government and suggested that Barletta and others are pulling a political PR stunt. Still, the flights are not unusual. The department's Office of Refugee Resettlement has housed more than 350,000 of the migrant children across the country and in every state in the past seven years, according to its figures. More than 5,800 of them came to Pennsylvania, spanning the presidential administrations of Democrat Barack Obama, Republican Donald Trump and now Democrat Joe Biden. In South Carolina, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster banned foster care and group homes there from taking in migrant children. One of Barletta's complaints that states dont know enough about the migrant children being brought there echo those of DeSantis and Republican officeholders in Tennessee. There, Republican Gov. Bill Lee refused a request by the Biden administration to house migrant children in Tennessee National Guard facilities. Children are typically released to sponsors, usually parents or close relatives, and aided by local charitable organizations. While in the department's custody, the children receive vaccinations under a catch-up schedule for those who are behind and sponsors are given a copy of the childs medical and immunization records compiled during their time in custody, the department said. They are tested and vaccinated for COVID-19, it said. As mayor of Hazleton for more than a decade, Barletta gained national prominence for accusing the federal government of failing to enforce immigration laws. Barletta said his experience on the House Homeland Security Committee taught him that U.S. border authorities dont have the time or resources to thoroughly investigate migrant children's backgrounds. "You literally do not know who that person is or what their background is, or their age, so if they say theyre a minor, we don't really know if theyre a minor, Barletta said. Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/timelywriter. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 JACKSON, Miss. (AP) COVID-19 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes have almost doubled in the past week, an indicator that the state is likely heading into another major surge of virus cases and hospitalizations, a top health official said Wednesday. Were in the midst of a peak of transmission that weve never seen, most likely, this whole pandemic, Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said during a Wednesday news conference. The state health officer said people who test positive or are exposed should take precautions and quarantine for at least five days, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Dont perpetuate the chain of transmission, Dobbs said. This is really a love thy neighbor sort of moment, and love thy family, also. Stay home. There were 63 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes Monday, nearly twice the number of nursing home outbreaks reported in the state last week, state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers wrote Wednesday in a memo to Mississippi hospitals and health care providers. There were 8,344 new COVID-19 cases reported last week, an 80% increase from the week before. Byers said a growing proportion of Mississippi cases are fueled by the omicron variant of the virus. We really are in the fifth wave now of COVID for Mississippi, Byers said during the news conference. Last week, the omicron variant accounted for about 13% of all samples sequenced in the state, up from about 8% in the previous week. Byers said these numbers likely underrepresent the impact of omicron on the state because some samples collected recently are still pending sequencing. The omicron variant is significantly more infectious than the delta variant. A total of 400 people were hospitalized with a confirmed coronavirus infection in Mississippi on Monday, compared with 239 people on Christmas Eve, the Department of Health reported. Jim Craig, senior deputy for the Mississippi Department of Health and director of health protection, the shortage of health care workers continues to be a concern for health officials. Lack of staff prevents hospitals from opening all available beds to treat patients. It is becoming increasingly difficult for our smaller community, county hospitals to transport patients to some of our larger centers. ... It all plays back to the staffing issue," he said. Health officials said Tuesday that 48% of Mississippi residents were fully vaccinated, and 29% had received a booster shot. About 63% of people nationwide are fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins University. With the surge in new virus cases, there has also been a surge in demand for testing. Dobbs said the state is expanding the number of available testing sites, and asked residents to be patient. There is testing available, its just not on-demand like weve had before," he said. ... That convenience might not be quite as big as it has been. But you know, this is a moment of phenomenally increased demand. So itll be a little bit of a challenge. Due to a surge in new confirmed coronavirus cases, the mayor of Mississippi's capital city has ordered the closure of city hall and other offices. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba's new executive order closing offices went into effect Wednesday. Only essential employees will continue to work in person, he said. The order will stay in place until at least next Wednesday. The infectious spread of COVID-19 through both the Delta and Omicron variants has continued and dramatically increased in the City of Jackson, with a corresponding increase in hospitalizations and death rate," the mayor said in a statement. The City of Jackson does not have the luxury of a wait-and-see approach to the continued threat. 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. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. NEW YORK (AP) The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein's palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein's teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse. As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. Afterward, she could be seen pouring herself water as one of her attorneys patted her back. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings faithfully in attendance each day of the trial as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another. No sentencing date was set. The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019. During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epstein's homes a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case. A housekeeper testified he was expected to be "blind, deaf and dumb" about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul. Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries Britain's Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump who flew on Epstein's private jets. Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a "black book" that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading "massages." There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion onetime girlfriend, later employee. But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages. Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth, psychologist Annie Farmer, chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years. They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwell's behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams. They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if she'd had fun and told her: "You are such a good girl." Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epstein's Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as "a pyramid of abuse." Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at the Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. "I was frozen in fear," she told the jury, adding that assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse. Maxwell's lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward. "I was scared," she said, choking back tears. "I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didn't want anybody to know any of this about me." The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epstein's New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers. Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: "The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify." "The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did," one of Maxwell's lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. "But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein." Maxwell's legal team questioned whether the accusers' memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epstein's estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Maxwell's family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where she's been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense. Before Maxwell was taken from the courtroom, Sternheim asked that arrangements be made to give her a coronavirus booster shot, saying infection rates were rising dramatically at the lockup. The recent surge threatened to derail the trial itself as U.S. District Court Judge Alison J. Nathan prodded jurors to work quickly to avoid the potential of a mistrial caused by sickened jurors. The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury. Lawsuits loom, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO Testimony started Wednesday in the trial of a Farley man accused of sexually assaulting a University of Northern Iowa student in 2018 while she was intoxicated. Zachary James Lindauer, 23, is charged with third-degree sexual abuse. Assistant Black Hawk County Attorney Heather Jackson said the woman was too drunk to consent. Lindauer has pleaded not guilty, and defense attorney Nina Forcier said the sexual encounter was consensual. Regret is not rape, Forcier said. She made a poor decision and now she regrets it. ... My client shouldnt be legally responsible for her regret. During testimony, the woman, who was 18 at the time, told jurors she had just moved into her UNI dorm and accepted her new roommates invitation to go out drinking on the night of Aug. 17, 2018. She said she had little prior experience with alcohol. They started with sipping vodka in the roommates parked car and then went to Sharkys on College Hill. The woman testified that she doesnt remember much from that night. She didnt know Lindauer who wasnt a UNI student and was in Cedar Falls to visit friends and they apparently met at Sharkys and danced at the establishment. At some point, he walked her back to her dorm. She told jurors she remembers have having trouble walking and losing her balance, and Jackson said evidence will include video footage showing the woman struggling to walk and being supported by Lindauer. Video also shows them going to the wrong building before finding her dorm. Forcier said the video shows the two walking arm-in-arm. The woman testified she remembers Lindauer being on top of her and not being able to resist. She didnt remember him leaving, and the next memory she had was of her roommate returning home. Later that morning she went to police, and an exam recovered DNA. Lindauer was identified in surveillance video through a Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers post, and he voluntarily talked to UNI police investigators and said the sex was consensual. Following the incident, the woman changed dorm rooms and eventually left UNI and went to another college to complete her studies, according to testimony. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 3 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WATERLOO Two people have been arrested after Waterloo police found a gun during a traffic stop. The passenger, Jordan Michael Buls, 30, of 6112 Blarney Drive, was arrested Dec. 24 for felon in possession of a firearm, carrying weapons and possession of methamphetamine. The driver, Blake Warner Asleson, 35, of 140 S. Roosevelt Road, Evansdale, was arrested for carrying weapons and possession of marijuana. Officers with the Police Departments Violent Crime Apprehension Team stopped a vehicle in the area of Fletcher Avenue and Home Park Boulevard around 1:40 p.m. on Dec. 24 and found a 9 mm Taurus G2C in Buls waistband. They also found syringes loaded with meth, according to court records. A Ruger pistol was found in the vehicles center console, records state. Love 0 Funny 3 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. DEJEAR ENDORSEMENTS: Deidre DeJear, a Democratic candidate for Iowa governor, has rolled out multiple endorsements recently. DeJear is a Des Moines businesswoman and former candidate for Iowa Secretary of State. Dave Loebsack, the former Congressman from eastern Iowa, endorsed DeJear. Our state is at a critical juncture, and Iowa is ready for new leadership. We need someone who has a proven track record of putting in the work to make change for all communities across our great state, Loebsack said in a news release from the DeJear campaign. The work of bringing people together to solve challenges, finding solutions through seeking common ground. Deidre is that person, and Iowa is ready to make her our next governor. I am proud to support her campaign and believe in her vision to move Iowa forward. EMILYs List, a national organization that works to help elect women who support abortion rights, also endorsed DeJear. A local businesswoman and nonprofit leader, DeJear has dedicated her career to supporting small businesses, children, and families in Iowa, EMILYs List president Laphonza Butler said in a news release from the DeJear campaign. We know that as governor, she will continue to work on behalf of Iowans to make their state a more prosperous, more equal place to work and raise a family. DeJear also was endorsed by Democracy for America, a PAC formed by former presidential candidate and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean. From her fierce advocacy for voting rights to her work to improve the quality of education, helping small business owners across the state, Deidre is a grassroots advocate who has dedicated her life to service and who people can count on to turn policies ideas into action, Chris Scott, chief political officer for Democracy for America, said in a news release from the DeJear campaign. Other Democrats running for Iowa governor include Ras Smith, a state legislator from Waterloo, and Kim West, an attorney from Des Moines. The incumbent is Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. SENATE POLL: The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the political arm of U.S. Senate Republicans, touted a new poll that shows Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley ahead of potential Democratic challenger Abby Finkenauer by 14 percentage points. The poll, from Data for Progress, showed Grassley at 53% to Finkenauers 39% in a potential matchup in Iowas 2022 U.S. Senate race. Both candidates first face primary challenges. Grassley, a seven-term incumbent, faces a Republican primary challenge from Jim Carlin, an attorney and state legislator from Sioux City. Finkenauer, a former Congresswoman and state legislator from Cedar Rapids, is in a Democratic primary race with Mike Franken, a veteran from Sioux City, and Glenn Hurst, a physician from Minden. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 "Do you think that we don't like Jesus? We like Jesus," he said. "We are not an enemy of you." DES MOINES -- The Internal Revenue Service is standing by its decision to deny tax-exempt status to a self-described church in Des Moines that allegedly uses a hallucinogenic drug in religious ceremonies. Earlier this year, the Iowaska Church of Healing sued the IRS in U.S. District Court, challenging the federal agencys decision to deny the church status as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. State records indicate the church was formed in Iowa in September 2018, and is run by Admir Dado Kantarevic, along with Billy Benskin and Merzuk Ramic. The churchs official location is Kantarevics home, located at 4114 27th St., Des Moines. The lawsuit makes references to the church having 20 members at one point in time. Kantarevic says the church has never conducted any ceremonies at his home or anywhere else in the state of Iowa. In court filings, the church says that in January 2019, it filed an application with the IRS seeking tax-exempt status and was denied. With the assistance of U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassleys office, the lawsuit alleges, the appeals process at the IRS was expedited and an appeal conference was held in April of this year. A final determination letter denying tax-exempt status was issued in June of this year, stating that the churchs use of the Sacrament of Ayahuasca in its religious practices was illegal, the lawsuit claims. In response to the churchs lawsuit seeking judicial review of its decision, the IRS said in recently filed court papers that the denial was made for multiple reasons, including the findings that the churchs activities are illegal under federal law and violate public policy, and that it is not a church or a convention or association of churches as defined by federal tax regulations. The churchs teachings are built around the use of ayahuasca, which is brewed from the leaves of shrubs and vines found in the Amazon. Elements of those plants have powerful hallucinogenic properties, which the church says can be used to awaken the Third Eye of its followers. The Third Eye is described by the church on its website as an organ that no one speaks about at school or in private and which is secretly protected in the geometric center of your skull. In court filings, the church acknowledges that under the federal Controlled Substances Act, an ingredient of ayahuasca called dimethyltryptamine or DMT, is a Schedule I drug and a hallucinogenic alkaloid, and that there is no statutory exemption allowing for its use in religious ceremonies. The lawsuit states that ayahuasca is consumed in the form of a tea during the churchs religious ceremonies and that its services also involve prayers, smudging and spiritual music. The basis of its doctrine emanates from the Ayahuasca Manifesto, a document that details the role of ayahuasca in the expansion of consciousness, the church says. In February 2019, the church filed a request with the Drug Enforcement Administration, seeking a religious exemption from the Controlled Substance Act. To date, the church alleges, the DEA has delivered no substantive response to the request, despite repeated follow-up inquiries. Court records indicate that in December 2005, Kantarevic, then a personal trainer, was convicted of possession of anabolic steroids and sentenced to one year of probation. He was charged in connection with a federal investigation into the illegal importation of steroids for bodybuilders. As part of Kantarevics guilty plea, he acknowledged that it was his understanding the drugs came from an internationally known bodybuilder and were intended for another competitive bodybuilder who was a top competitor in the 2004 Mr. Universe contest. Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CARLYLE, Ill. (AP) Police have arrested a Kentucky man in connection with the fatal shooting of an eastern Illinois deputy early Wednesday and a carjacking in neighboring Missouri a couple of hours later. An Illinois State Police SWAT team arrested Ray Tate, 40, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on Wednesday afternoon at a home in Carlyle where Tate allegedly committed a home invasion and took the homeowner hostage in addition to the carjacking victim, police said. Tate was charged with murder by the Wayne County States Attorney and lodged in the Clinton County Jail. Neither the carjacking victim nor the home invasion victim was injured, police said. No other suspect was being sought, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The Wayne County, Illinois, Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post that Deputy Sean Riley responded to a motorist assist call on Interstate 64 near Mill Shoals around 5 a.m. Wednesday. A second officer who arrived at the scene found Riley dead. The deputy's squad car was later found abandoned on I-64. The search for the suspect extended to St. Peters, Missouri, where police believe a man involved in a shooting and carjacking shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday at a QuikTrip convenience store was the same person who killed the deputy. St. Peters police spokeswoman Melissa Doss said in an email that there was evidence at the QuikTrip scene which indicates the suspect was also involved in the series of crimes which occurred in Illinois earlier this morning. She declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation. St. Peters police said the man drove away from the convenience store in a car that was later found near Interstate 70 in nearby O'Fallon, Missouri. The suspect then stole a white pickup truck, police said. Carlyle is 47 miles (76 kilometers) east of St. Louis. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 nadisja/Getty Images If youre thinking about bringing your pup (or falcon!) onboard an upcoming flight, youll want to stay up to date on airlines evolving policies for animal companions, and plan carefully to ensure a smooth trip for you and your pet. Our tips: First steps 1. Schedule a preflight vet visit. Before you book a ticket, take your animal to the vet for a checkup and to see if hes a good flight candidate. Some pets struggle with travel because of illness, injury, age or temperament, notes the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Your pet will also likely need a health certification from your vet. Airlines usually require it within 10 days of traveling, along with rabies and vaccination certificates. 2. Review airlines pet policies. Policies can vary considerably, whether they're about weight restrictions, fees or acceptable carrier sizes. Most airlines require pet carriers to fit under the seat in front of you thats a pretty small space. The carrier will be counted as your one carry-on item. On Qatar Airways, you cant bring a cat or dog onboard, but you can bring a falcon. Sites such as BringFido.com and PetFriendlyTravel.com have compiled the major airlines pet policies. 3. Think twice before claiming that your dog (or snake) is an emotional support animal. For years, many passengers said their pets were emotional support animals to avoid paying pet fees on their dogs and cats or to bring unusual animals pigs, peacocks, squirrels, snakes into the cabin during flights. That ended in December 2020, when the U.S. Department of Transportation ruled that only trained dogs that perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability could be classified as service animals. After that ruling, multiple airlines, including Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier and Southwest, announced they would no longer allow emotional support animals on board. To fly with a service animal, fill out this DOT form. 4. Leave a big dog at home. You want to avoid putting your animal in the cargo hold. Among other issues, the strange environment can be stressful, your pet is separated from you (which adds to the stress) and rushed baggage handlers arent always gentle when moving the carrier. Only three major airlines Alaska, American and Hawaiian are still willing to take pets in the cargo hold, and they dont do it on every flight. Its hard to have dedicated staff just for animals, and there are liability issues, explains Erin Ballinger, destinations editor with BringFido.com. If your dog is in the cargo hold, aim for direct flights at a time of day with the most comfortable temperatures (such as early morning or evening flights in summer). Federal regulations prohibit airlines from exposing animals to temperatures below 45 degrees or above 85 degrees Fahrenheit for more than four hours during departure or arrival, or while making connections. 5. Check airlines safety records, particularly if you are considering putting your pet in cargo. Between 2015 and 2020, Alaska Airlines had the lowest pet incident rates including deaths, injuries and loss of any airline, despite transporting far more animals than its competitors. The overall numbers are still relatively small. Of the approximately 2.7 million pets that flew on U.S. airlines during that time period, there were 112 animal deaths reported to the Department of Transportation (airlines are required to report animal-companion incidents that occur in the cargo hold to the DOT). Find out which airlines have the best safety records in this report by Veterinarians.org. 6. Watch for age and breed restrictions. Most airlines refuse to take certain types of dogs onboard, from pit bulls to short-nosed breeds such as bulldogs and pugs, which are more prone to respiratory issues. Certain cat breeds may also be restricted. United wont take Burmese, exotic shorthair, Himalayan or Persian cats, for instance, so check policies carefully. Federal regulations require pets to be at least eight weeks old in order to fly, but airlines may have their own rules. United, for example, requires puppies and kittens to be at least four months old; Delta requires them to be at least 10 weeks old. 7. Expect high cabin fees. Bringing your pet in the cabin will cost you from $95 on Southwest to $125 on American, Delta and Jet Blue for domestic flights (Hawaiian Airlines charges $35 on inter-island flights, $175 for all other flights). Those fees are one way; youll pay the same amount on the return flight. Fees for international airlines and flights may be higher. 8. Understand rabies rules for dogs. If youre reentering the United States from a high-risk country for rabies transmission, make sure your dogs rabies vaccination certificate is current. Airport personnel wont accept expired certificates, and youll have to apply for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dog Import Permit. Dogs vaccinated in the United States by a licensed veterinarian can reenter the country from high-risk locations if they meet these CDC rules: They have a microchip and a valid U.S.-issued rabies vaccination certificate, theyre at least six months old, theyre healthy upon arrival and they arrive at one of 18 approved airports. Before traveling abroad, check with the countrys consulate or embassy about pet regulations. Bringing a pet to Hawaii? Your dog or cat will spend time in quarantine, since Hawaii is a rabies-free state. 9. Book your tickets early. Once you know youre traveling with a pet, make a reservation as soon as possible. Airlines typically limit the number of pet carriers in the cabin (the carrier must fit below the seat in front of you). Spirit, for example, allows a maximum of four carriers per flight, while Southwest permits six, so make sure theres room for your pet before you buy your ticket. (And during the pandemic, it's wise to buy a refundable ticket in case you need to change or cancel your flight.) Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina released a video with a personal plea for the man suspected of killing a 7-year-old boy in a hit-and-run crash before Christmas to turn himself in. Investigators say Sergio Almanza, 27, of Belen had been drinking and was speeding on Central in an illegal off-road vehicle when he hit Pronoy Bhattacharya and his father on Dec. 12. Pronoy died at the scene; his father was injured. The boy and his family had visited the River of Lights at the ABQ BioPark and were walking back to their car across the street. They had been using a crosswalk and had the right of way. Mr. Almanza, my message to you is this: weve reviewed your social media. We know you too have young children. We know you love your young children, and were asking you to do the right thing, Medina said in the video released on Twitter. Your reckless actions caused a young child to lose their life, and the parents would like to see justice, just as you would if someone hurt one of your children. Almanza is charged with homicide by vehicle, tampering with evidence and knowingly leaving the scene of an accident. A warrant was issued for him on Dec. 16, but he had already fled from his home. Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,830 reward for information leading to his arrest. Crime Stoppers can be reached at 843-STOP. SANTA FE SANTA FE Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Wednesday approving Taos Countys request for a disaster declaration following the Dec. 15 snow squall that caused widespread structural damage to homes and businesses and downed trees. The order authorizes up to $750,000 in emergency funds to be made available to the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for resources and services necessary to avoid or minimize economic or physical harm until the situation stabilizes. The funds are for lodging, sheltering, health care, food, any transportation or shipping necessary to protect lives or public property, according to the order, which also authorized use the New Mexico National Guard as needed to provide support to civil authorities. Homeland Security will coordinate requests for assistance and all Cabinet departments and state agencies will provide assistance as required. Applicants for financial assistance will need to show that the costs of any assistance exceeds their available resources, according to the order. The storm did severe damage to at least 10 structures in Taos County and also caused widespread power outages throughout northern New Mexico. Paula Martin-Welsh had a hard life. Her mother died by suicide when Paula was in her early 20s. Then she lost a newborn son. She fell into using drugs, her younger sisters said, but she was funny and caring a kid at heart who made humor shine through whatever she was going through and loved make up and everything shiny. On July 27, at the age of 34, Paula was in an arroyo when a sudden storm swept over the city. At the time officials said callers reported seeing a man and woman getting their belongings and backpacks out of the arroyo near Wyoming and Harper and the woman was overtaken by floodwaters. Paula was carried away in the surge and her body was recovered from the North Diversion Channel washout near Fourth Street and Roy Avenue the following day. Paula was the fourth person to drown in a flash flood in the course of a week. Three men were swept away in an earlier flood. Paula was taken to the Office of the Medical Investigator, which completed an autopsy two days later. A report that lists her name as Paula Welsh said she died by drowning an accident and that methamphetamine use placed her at an increased risk of drowning, and would have increased the likelihood of death in such an incident. In early September, after not hearing from her sister in months, Roberta Martin-Welsh reported her missing. An officer took the report on Sept. 4 noting that Roberta had talked with people her sister hangs out with and they had not seen her and put Paula Martin-Welshs name into the NCIC database. At that point, Paulas body had been at OMI for more than a month. Yet it wasnt until early November, her sisters say, that another family member, her aunt, was told she was there. Now Roberta and her sister Melissa are wondering why it took so long. We literally just found out about the body and everything about her death months after I filed the missing persons report, Roberta said in a phone interview. Which doesnt make any sense. And now the family is trying to get her body out of the facility. The family set up a Go Fund Me in November to raise money to help bury her. They have raised $650 of a $6,000 goal. Rebecca Atkins, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said when a person is reported missing the protocols are as followed but not limited to checking all police databases, local hospitals and homeless shelters to see if there are any leads as to where she could be located or any recent police contact. Its unclear whether anyone from APD talked with anyone at OMI, but Atkins said, APDs Missing Persons Unit has a good working relationship with OMI on unidentified or identified bodies being located. She said typically if the medical investigators have a person identified who they cant find next of kin for they notify police, but at the time of Welshs death she hadnt been reported missing yet. A spokesman for OMI did not answer specific questions about whether OMI staff check with local police to see if a person has been reported missing or how the investigators identified Paulas aunt as her next of kin, rather than her sister. The Office of the Medical Investigator uses various search engines to help locate legal next of kin and uses various methods to notify the legal next of kin, spokesman Mark Rudi wrote in an email. OMI also works with local law enforcement on missing persons reports. As for Roberta, she said shes grateful she got to spend time with her older sister since she was living with her right before her death. She remembers her as a mother figure growing up someone who always made sure they had food and clothing. She was sober for a little bit, we were doing good, but she wanted to go to the park and go do whatever she wanted, she didnt like the rules, and everything else you know, Roberta said. I took her to a park, but I kept her stuff with me. I made sure she ate, took a shower, charged her phone, and did laundry at my house. Click here to see a Go Fund Me page set up by the family. Editors note: the story was updated. In an earlier version, the Go Fund Me was quoted as saying it was raising money in part to pay storage fees, but the Office of the Medical Investigator says it does not charge families storage fees. Remember the Alamo, a Texan friend of mine said about challenges that came his way. A New Mexican acquaintance said the same thing on occasion, but there were two different sentiments at play. The Texan was expressing dedication to purpose and an unshakable belief in the possible. My New Mexican amigo was basically questioning the Texans senseless devotion to ideals in the face of overwhelming odds. They should have surrendered and lived. Their stubbornness got them killed. Typical Texans. I asked him, But werent their actions heroic? Nope, said he. This exchange seems to clearly identify the differences between our states. Texans believe that anything is possible, whereas New Mexicans are leery of anyone who risks life and limb or money on something like an idea. Over the years, Ive been careful about making gross generalizations about people, but, after working for the state for four years trying to get outside investment here, I observed the New Mexican hat dance around would-be investors, some originating from Texas. I must conclude that many New Mexicans suffer from a combination of It wasnt made here, so it cant be good coupled with an advanced case of Texas envy. This may stick in the craw of some hard-core New Mexicans, but I doubt if Ive offended any transplants here with them. Without going all psychological, many of us whove lived elsewhere would admit, albeit quietly, that many New Mexicans are more than a little reluctant to emulate the risk-takers in their neighboring states. There are thousands of the young and college-educated just aching to move us in the direction of a future that depends on risk-taking. Their parents and grandparents, however, dismiss their yearning as youthful exuberance that will blow over when they realize that N.M.s status quo is like a Gordian knot of unwavering devotion to the past and a heaping helping of patronism. Both are obstacles to the future. Why do we need Texans? We can foul things up just fine on our own. No one has actually uttered those very words to me, but I do feel their impact when any big project involving foreign partners is floated. An example is the debate surrounding the sale of PNM to a Spanish company. This has presented a thorny problem for the traditional New Mexican who sees great cultural value in maintaining a strong ethnic imprint on the state and a partnership with a company that shares a common cultural bond. (It) should be a no-brainer, since the company is Spanish, but it is FOREIGN and thats a problem. Not New Mexican equals must be suspect. Heaven forbid it were to become profitable and open the door to other foreign companies to take advantage of us, and we could end up on the radar of other profiteers-in-waiting. That would be like spitting on the miraculous staircase in the Loretto Chapel. Im exaggerating to make a point here, but you get my drift. Were conflicted, and until we decide what we want to be when we grow up, we will continue along the same path and be doomed to Remember the Alamo, but for all the wrong reasons. Email stephan@stephanhelgesen.com Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal Wanted on nearly a dozen arrest warrants, Procopio Montoya Atkinson was about to fill the gas tank of his stolen Ford Escape when Belen police spotted him at a service station Dec. 20 and a high-speed chase ensued through the city. Then Atkinson ran out of gas. And out of luck. With the stolen SUV stalled at a major intersection on NM 47, Atkinson tried to break into a pickup in front of him at a red light. But the female driver, with her 14-year-old daughter inside, refused to open the locked door. So he moved on to a second truck in line at the intersection a restored 1962 red Chevy driven by the womans husband. Atkinson slipped into the unlocked passenger side of the trucks cab, allegedly pointed a 9 mm pistol at the 62-year-old driver and demanded the vehicle, according to federal records unsealed this week. Thats when the unidentified driver, a military veteran, tried to retrieve a .22-caliber Derringer revolver on his Western belt buckle but stopped short after seeing a gun pointed at his head. The driver was exiting his truck when Atkinson allegedly shot him in the lower back and pushed him onto the street. Atkinson tried to drive away, but several police vehicles had arrived to block him in. Officers ran up, smashed the red trucks drivers side window and deployed a Taser to take Atkinson into custody, according to a federal criminal complaint. The motorist who was shot survived. And Atkinson, already an eight-time convicted felon at the age of 23, is now facing federal carjacking and other charges, according to federal arrest and search warrant affidavits. In a post-arrest interview with the FBI, he said he was addicted to fentanyl pills and had not intended for anyone to get hurt. It was yet another incident in which gun violence fueled by drug use erupted in broad daylight on New Mexico streets. It could have turned out a whole lot worse, Belen Police Deputy Chief Jose Natividad told the Journal this week. Its unbelievable with what were seeing in todays age. Are the streets safer now with him in custody? Yes. But for how long, is the real question. Just 25 miles south of Albuquerque, Belen is still considered part of the Albuquerque metropolitan area, Natividad said. And sometimes its easier to hide in these parts of town even though they (the criminals) are operating in Albuquerque. A suspect in two Belen-area robberies of local businesses in early December, Atkinson was also suspected of committing the Nov. 12 armed robbery of a dollar store on Montano Road NW in Albuquerque. The 13th Judicial District Attorneys office reports about 127 more nonproperty crime cases compared to last year in Valencia County. They include domestic violence incidents, crimes against people and homicides, DA Chief Deputy Jessica Martinez said in an email. Natividad said local law enforcement has been dealing with Procopio for quite some time now. The FBI-led Violent Crime and Gang Task Force had been investigating Atkinson for several weeks. And he was named in 11 arrest warrants for probation violations, assault, armed robbery, shooting at an occupied building and being a felon in possession of a firearm, the FBI criminal complaint states. At least one of the incidents occurred in Albuquerque, in addition to Valencia County. Atkinson last summer absconded from a drug treatment program, violating the terms of his five-year probation imposed in January after he pleaded no contest to charges filed in 2019. The charges included aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, criminal damage to property, receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle and aggravated battery, court records show. On Dec. 17, a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force set its sights on capturing Atkinson and set up surveillance at a Valencia County residence. As officers were positioning their vehicles according to an arrest plan, they saw Atkinson walk outside, retrieve a set of binoculars from a vehicle, and briefly monitor their actions. He then left the residence in his vehicle, as Marshals Service task force personnel followed, but then he stopped in the middle of the road, emerged from his vehicle and appeared to be waiting for law enforcement officers to approach, according to an FBI criminal complaint. The USMS task force supervisor directed the team to abort the surveillance because he feared Procopio Montoya Atkinson was armed and preparing to ambush task force personnel, the complaint stated. In the meantime, a Bernalillo County Sheriffs officer on the task force, wearing a vest with task force markings, was parked on the side of the road with the engine running when he saw Atkinson driving toward him. Atkinson then rolled down his window, pulled a gator mask from his neck to cover his mouth and face and raised a black handgun aimed at the officers truck, the complaint states. Fearing he was about to be shot, with no time to position his rifle, the officer stepped on his trucks accelerator and propelled his vehicle through an intersection in an attempt to put distance between himself and Atkinson. Soon after, two other deputy U.S. Marshals traveling in the same vehicle radioed that Atkinson was following them. Ultimately he fled at a high rate of speed and eluded arrest. Fugitive stalls Last week, Natividad became part of the team to capture Atkinson. He said he overheard the Dec. 20 chase on the police radio at his office and jumped into his unmarked police unit to assist. During the pursuit by Belen police, Atkinson allegedly ran stop signs, red lights and at times barreled into opposite lanes of travel as he raced eastbound through Belen. Natividad, with the Belen Police Department since 2007, said for safety reasons he called off the chase by marked units and planned to follow Atkinson in his own unmarked police vehicle. I wanted to hopefully put his mind at ease so he can slow down and this way he doesnt continue to be a danger to everybody else. However we didnt get to that point. Atkinson flipped a U-turn but ran out of gas at the intersection of NM 47 and East River Road. Natividad said his vehicle ended up being among the police units Atkinson rammed in his last-ditch effort to flee in the red Chevy truck. Atkinsons attorney representing him in the state cases declined to comment Wednesday. While being questioned after his arrest Dec. 20, Atkinson recognized a Valencia County sheriffs officer he previously tried to run over in 2019 an incident that led to his charge of aggravated assault on a police officer, the complaint states. Atkinson then apologized to the officer. Atkinson also told an FBI agent he believed his addiction to fentanyl caused him to act in regrettable ways. Atkinson told the agent he had read the Bible and knew right from wrong and that he came from a good family and could not believe the situation he was in. He said he only wanted to escape and contended he shot the military veteran because he feared he would be shot. Atkinson is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center after being charged with state and federal offenses that include carjacking, and assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer. Natividad said police pursuits of violent offenders and carjackings are usually the type of stuff you see on TV, right? But we are living it right here, in front of our own eyes. Editors note: An earlier version of the story included an incorrect cutline on the mugshot of the suspect. The post has been corrected. A Los Lunas man is facing charges out of Washington state after he allegedly abducted a 13-year-old girl and brought her to his home in Valencia County. Lucas Murphy, 35, was charged Dec. 22 with first-degree kidnapping with an aggravating circumstance allegation (sexual motivation), attempted second-degree rape of a child and communication with a minor for immoral purposes via electronic communications, in the Superior Court of Benton County in Washington, according to court documents. Murphy was booked into the Valencia County Detention Center, where he is awaiting extradition. Magistrate Miles Tafoya set a $1 million cash-only bond. The Valencia County Sheriffs Office was contacted Dec. 22 by the Kennewick, Washington, Police Department about the noncustodial abduction of a 13-year-old girl. The teen, who is from Montana, was visiting friends in Kennewick for the holidays. Officers indicated the girl, who had been missing for about 72 hours, and Murphy were in Los Lunas. According to court documents: Murphy picked up the girl in Washington on or about Dec. 18. Washington investigators discovered Murphy had been in contact with the girl through social media for about six months before the abduction, VCSO Lt. Joseph Rowland wrote in a news release. The teenager voluntarily left the state with Murphy to come to New Mexico, Washington law enforcement reported. VCSO detectives, along with agents from the FBI Albuquerque field office, went to Murphys home in the 1300 block of Don Pasqual in Los Lunas on Dec. 22. When officers attempted to make contact at the front door, they heard people inside the home, but they refused to answer. Forced entry was made into the home, where Murphy and the girl were found in a locked room together. Murphy surrendered a short time later. The girl was cleared by medical personnel who found no injuries, and released to her parents once they arrived to New Mexico from Montana. The FBIs crimes against children unit has now opened a federal case in the matter. Detectives have not filed charges after interviewing the woman who fatally shot a man Wednesday night in Northwest Albuquerque. Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman, said detectives are working with the District Attorneys Office on the domestic violence-related homicide case. No charges have been filed, he said. Homicide detectives are in the process of interviewing witnesses and canvassing the area for video and additional witnesses. Gallegos said police responded around 7 p.m. to a domestic dispute at a home in the 2500 block of Los Compadres NW, near Ouray and Ladera. He said officers found a man shot to death at the scene. The person who fired the gun stayed on scene, and detectives are working with the District Attorneys Office, Gallegos said. NEW YORK Drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals contributed to the opioid crisis, a suburban New York jury ruled Thursday in one of few verdicts so far among thousands of lawsuits nationwide over the painkillers. A separate trial will follow to determine what Teva will have to pay in the case, in which New York state and two Long Island counties took on a swath of drug companies. In Thursdays verdict, a Suffolk County jury found the drug company played a role in what is legally termed a public nuisance but had lethal consequences an opioid use epidemic linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. in the past two decades. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and others misled the American people about the true dangers of opioids, James, a Democrat, said in a news release. Today, we took a significant step in righting the wrongs this country has collectively experienced over the last two decades. Israel-based Teva, which makes medications using the powerful opioid fentanyl, said it strongly disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal. The plaintiffs presented no evidence of medically unnecessary prescriptions, suspicious or diverted orders, no evidence of oversupply by Teva and didnt show that Tevas marketing caused harm to New Yorkers, the company said in a statement. It is also arguing for a mistrial, based on various issues. The price of Tevas U.S.-listed stock fell after the verdict was announced, ending down 6.3% at $7.90. Around the country, state and local governments, Native American tribes, unions, school districts and others have sued the drug industry over the painkillers. New Yorks lawsuit, filed in 2019, targeted several opioid producers and distributors, companies that buy medications in bulk and sell them to pharmacies. The suit accused drug companies of breaching their legal duties to profiteer from the plague they knew would be unleashed. The state and counties said that drug manufacturers collaborated to mislead people and downplay the serious risks of opioid addiction, and that drug distributors skirted systems meant to limit orders for painkillers. Teva is known for making generic drugs, but the lawsuit focused on Actiq and Fentora, two brand-name fentanyl drugs approved for some cancer patients. Teva repeatedly promoted them more broadly for other types of pain, in a deceptive and dangerous marketing strategy, the lawsuit said. They try to say theyre selling legal products. The only problem is: Theyre selling them illegally, lawyer Hunter Shkolnik, who represented Nassau County, said at a virtual news conference Thursday. The jury saw that what theyre doing is wrong. Teva said Thursday it continues to focus on increasing access to essential medicines to patients and believes a national settlement of opioid issues is in patients best interest. New York said the conduct of the various opioid companies named in the suit cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in addiction treatment bills and other expenses. Lawyers for the counties suggested the Teva could be held liable for tens of billions of dollars, or more, in damages. The numbers are staggering, what it has cost our communities and what it will continue to cost our communities in emergency services for overdose victims, drug rehabilitation programs and more, Suffolk Countys lawyer, Jayne Conroy, said at the virtual news conference. Teva was the sole manufacturing defendant left in the suit after others settled, most recently Allergan Finance LLC in December. The various settlements have netted New York up to $1.5 billion. The trial started months ago. The jury began deliberating Dec. 14, taking some days off for Christmas. Elsewhere, only a few opioid cases have gone to verdicts to date, with no clear consensus on outcomes. An Oklahoma judge ruled against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson in 2019, but the states supreme court overturned that decision in November. A week earlier, a California judge in ruled in favor of drugmakers including Teva. Then, late last month, a federal jury in Cleveland sided with two Ohio county governments that had claims against pharmacy chains. Some observers thought the California and Oklahoma rulings doomed the idea of using state public nuisance laws to pursue opioid suits, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who is following the litigation nationwide. But now were really seeing that thats not true, at least in some places, Tobias said. He suggested Thursdays ruling could reinvigorate such suits. A trial has been completed but a judge has not yet ruled in a West Virginia case, and a trial is ongoing in Washington state. Thousands of other cases are in the process of heading to trial. There have also been settlements. Some of the biggest industry names such as distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson and drugmakers Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals have reached nationwide settlements with a cumulative value potentially well over $30 billion. Most of the money is being directed to fight the epidemic. But most of those deals have not been finalized, and there has been one very big reversal. In mid-December, a federal judge rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharmas sweeping deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids. ___ This story has been corrected to show that a jury, not a judge, decided the case in Cleveland. Associated Press writer Deepti Hajela contributed to this report. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Authorities say a California man arrested in Iowa had an assault rifle, ammunition and a "hit list" that named President Joe Biden, former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and others. The Des Moines Register reports that police pulled over the man on Interstate 80 on Dec. 21 because he was driving aggressively. Police say the man made concerning comments about Biden during the stop, so he was taken to the Cass County Sheriff's Office for questioning. According to the criminal complaint, he told investigators he left his home in Sacramento on Dec. 18 to drive straight to the White House to kill people in power. The man has been charged with making threats to a former president. SHASTA CO., Calif. -- We're learning more from local health experts about what the FDA emergency use authorization of two anti-viral pills mean for the COVID-19 pandemic. Action News Now spoke with Kathleen Delikowski, Director of Pharmacy at Dignity Health, who explain how the Merck and Pfizer pills work. "The anti-viral stops the replication or copying of the virus it allows your body to naturally start taking care of the infection we have... we have really smart immune systems but they need help to identify and get rid of the virus," Delikowski said. As for who gets it? "Your physician is going to prescribe this to assuming you meet criteria for use, meaning that the risks are less than the benefits. When the benefits far, far outweigh the risks, this is something that can be a tool for us. Right now with all these new pills, specifically from Merck and Pfizer for COVID, while it is fantastic to have an oral option one thing that people need to remember is that the supply is very small," Delikowski said. Delikowski says there is a dispensing facility for these pills coming to Shasta County to serve our entire region. We can expect a shortage for a while though. The White House last week ordered 3 million Merk pills it expects by January's end but says the pills won't be widely available for the month. BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - Public health said it received notification of its first identified COVID-19 omicron variant case in Butte County. The infected patient was a fully vaccinated adult in Chico who had not yet received a booster dose. "It was going to happen eventually, said Chico resident Mario Reyes-Junior. We were going to get exposed. We are gathering with folks and people are vaccinated and unvaccinated." "I mean, I think it was inevitable and it just reminds me how grateful I am for the science behind the vaccines, said Chico resident Juni Baerjee-Stevens "Great, said Chico resident Lorie Duncan. That is just what we need. I was hoping it wouldn't get here but I knew it would." Some people in Chico are not too surprised omicron has reached their community. RELATED: First Omicron variant case detected in Butte County But for Lorie Duncan, it is still concerning. "It is very scary, said Duncan. I feel like it is playing Russian roulette every time you leave your home." Public health said omicron in Butte County is particularly concerning as it spreads more rapidly than other variants and says now is not the time to get rid of things like masks but is the time to get a booster. "Even though omicron spreads more rapidly than delta or other variants it is still the best protection, said the director for Butte County Public Health Danette York. A new study from the FDA shows that at-home rapid antigen tests may be less sensitive to detecting omicron especially if you are not experiencing symptoms. "It is more likely to be effective if you have symptoms, said York. York added though omicron spreads more rapidly, the county does not plan on implementing any sort of local shutdown. For continuing coronavirus coverage, click here. SHASTA COUNTY, Calif.- The first cases of the Omicron variant has been identified in Shasta County, coming from four positive tests on December 16. Shasta County Public Health (SCPH) said they do not know the vaccination status of the cases, and will have to wait until more genetic tests come back from the state to see if there are more Omicron cases in the county. Action News Now spoke with several people from Shasta County, including Lonnie Smallen from Anderson. Like most people that spoke with us, Smallen is not worried about the Omicron variant, and wont let it disrupt his normal routine. Im not saying one shouldnt be careful, its just like the flu, said Smallen. It mutates every year, and weve been living with COVID-19 for what, going on two years now? So, as far as Im concerned, its just like a different color. SCPH Community Education Specialist Anna Vietti is warning that people should continue practicing COVID safety with how contagious Omicron is. Although it may not be as deadly like the delta variant was, it doesnt mean that it wont affect you in a negative way, said Vietti. You know, we still dont know what the long terms effects of COVID are. SCPH recommends people avoid large indoor gatherings, get tested when you feel sick or been around someone who tests positive, and continue wearing masks in public to reduce spread and stay safe. We just want everyone to continue to remain vigilant and follow those layers of protection, not just to protect you but to protect our parents, our grandparents, and people with underlying conditions, said Vietti. Even though it may not seem as deadly, we still want people to remain vigilant. Action News Now spoke with one couple that came to Redding from Southern California, and were shocked to see so many people walking around large retail stores without masks. Im a little bit concerned because it seems that people here are not wearing their masks indoors when it clearly states to wear your masks, said Mary Loya. That kind of bothers me as a registered nurse that nobodys wearing masks up here. So, its kind of scary a little bit because the Omicron can hit anybody it seems, you know a lot of breakthrough vaccinations are getting it. Loya and her husband told Action News Now they have tried to stay as safe as possible, especially because her husband is immunocompromised. SCPH said the best protection against the Omicron variant is still the vaccine and getting your COVID-19 booster shot if eligible. Get ready for a very chilly start to your Thursday forecast. Clear skies overnight have allowed for much cooler temperatures to settle into northern California this morning. Frost is widespread across northern California early today, and we have had patchy areas of dense fog develop early this morning. You'll want to give yourself a few extra minutes to scrape your windshield on your way out the door this morning, and a little extra time to deal with impacted visibility from the fog on your morning commute. We'll have clouds increase through the day, and will end up partly to mostly cloudy across most of our region by this afternoon. Low pressure to our north will track to the southeast over the next 24 hours, and that will create what's called an inside slider. These events are usually accompanied by the potential for mountain snow, and gusty north winds. There will be a slight chance for light showers brushing across northern California late Thursday into very early Friday, but we'll otherwise be staying dry through this weekend. High pressure off the coast, and to our east in Nevada are both acting as sorts of buffer zones to keep most of the wet weather out of our region to end 2021. Temperatures are mostly starting out in the 20's to 30's in the valley and foothills, and teens to 20's in our mountain zones this morning. Winds will be out of the north to 10mph early today, but some of our higher elevations will have the return of south winds for your afternoon and evening. High temperatures are projected to top out in the mid 40's to low 50's in the valley, mid 30's to mid 40's in the foothills, and 30's in our mountain zones today. Light showers will mostly be possible in our mountain zones tonight, and there will be a very slight chance for scattered showers popping up in the valley late Thursday night. The best chance for any showers will be in areas closest to the Oregon border through early Friday. The trend of dry weather and very chilly temperatures will persist through this weekend. Valley areas can expect low temperatures in the 20's to 30's and high temperatures in the mid 40's to lower 50's through this weekend. Foothill areas will have low temperatures in the 20's to 30's and high temperatures in the 30's to mid 40's through this weekend. Mountain areas will have low temperatures in the single digits to 20's and high temperatures in the 30's for the most part through this weekend. Frost will likely be an issue over the next few mornings, and fog will also be possible in the morning hours over the next few days. We'll be partly cloudy to mostly sunny on Friday, then mostly sunny to sunny on Saturday. Clouds will begin to increase on Sunday, and the next wet system is projected to move into northern California on your first Monday of 2022. Snow levels will be higher from the winter storm arriving on Monday, with areas of Shasta County potentially getting snow down to 2000', and snow levels ranging from 3000' to 4500' in the foothills and Sierra. The other big impact from the storm moving in next week will be very strong winds. Some higher peaks of the Sierra will have the potential for wind gusts up to 100mph if the current model track holds for next week. We'll continue to track the latest model data to bring you any updates on weather impacts heading your way through your extended forecast. Lord Murugan and Goddess Valli's love story is one of the most famous in Tamil literature. Valli Thirumanam, Colors Tamil's latest show, recreates this impassioned tale with a contemporary twist. The show is all set to premiere on January 3, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. Valli (played by Actor Nakshathra), an out-of-the-ordinary country belle who leaves no stone unturned for her loved one. Valli is the protagonist of the drama which has an intriguing storyline. Tune in to Colors Tamil on January 3, 2022, Monday, at 8:00 PM every Monday to Saturday to watch Valli fall in love and win over Karthik (essayed by Actor Shyam). Commenting on the launch of their ambitious show, Mr. Rajaraman S, Business Head - Colors Tamil, said, "Colors Tamil is pleased to present Valli Thirumanam, which adheres to our philosophy of unique plotlines and inspiring storylines that have a social impact. It is about a strong woman who is a true personification of women's empowerment. Valli epitomizes the independent women of the present era, who think and act of their own free will. With this show, we hope to promote a woman's sense of self-worth while also showcasing her decision-making roles in the home. We are confident that Colors Tamil will appeal to all audiences alike, with Valli Thirumanam." Set in the beautiful backdrop of Theni, Valli Thirumanam revolves around Valli, a warm-hearted woman moneylender, trying to make her place in the patriarchal world. Surrounded by people attempting to trick and betray her, Valli effuses a unique personality with her no-nonsense attitude and powerful demeanour, while camouflaging her kind and helpful nature beneath. Karthik, on the other hand, is courteous and soft-spoken. He wants his better half to have the same attributes as he does. The plot is around how these two contrasting characters, who are diametrically opposed, come together and form a unique relationship. The fiction show features a larger-than-life star cast with Nakshathra (Valli) and Shyam (Karthik) in the lead roles along with Actor Nalini (Vadivu), Comedian Nanjil Vijayan (Gundurasu), and Actress Gayathri Jayaram (Vasundra) playing supporting characters. "I am happy to direct Valli Thirumanam as the show establishes a powerful facet of a woman," director R Devandhiran stated. Valli, the main character, is brave and doesn't hold back when it comes to expressing her opinions. It was an honour to direct such a talented cast. The scenic locations were an extra bonus. I am grateful to Colors Tamil for allowing me to be a part of this show." Commenting on the occasion, actor Nakshathra said, "I am proud to be part of Colors Tamil. The channel has broken preconceived notions and created unique material, particularly by creating strong female characters for television. I'm even more thrilled to be portraying a strong, independent woman who is willing to speak up for herself. According to me, my role will inspire women to overcome their worries and speak their opinions." Similarly, actor R Shyam commented, "I am thrilled to be a part of Valli Thirumanam since the show's plot is unique, with well-defined portrayals of relatable people." Every character is important, and the show will certainly bring families together for a fun time." Valli Thirumanam, which is expected to premiere on small screens shortly, has also launched a novel outdoor marketing campaign with the tagline "Kaadhal Bommalattam Aarambam- Adakkamaana Raja Alapparai Rani. The channel has innovatively explored OOH as a dynamic medium by creating action movements to represent the protagonist Karthik as a puppet with the strings in the hands of Valli across various sites in Chennai. Additional larger than life cut-outs and audio-based innovations are executed in sites across Madurai district. In addition to OOH Innovations, a popular magazine print magazine is effectively being used as a story-telling medium through Belly Band Innovations. These are sure to pique viewers' interest while also capturing the show's romance and drama themes. The hashtags #ValliThirumanam #ValliVeraMaari #AlapparaRani #AdakkamanaRaja have been used to promote this on the channel's social media accounts. Tune in to Colors Tamil this Monday, January 3rd, 2022 at 8 pm, to watch Valli and Karthiks unconventional story unfold. Colors Tamil is available on all leading cable networks and DTH platforms - Sun Direct (CH NO 128), Tata Sky (CHN NO 1515), Airtel (CHN NO 763), Dish TV (CHN NO 1808), and Videocon D2H (CHN NO 553). Viewers can also tune in to VOOT any time to see Colors Tamil shows at their convenience. India Ahead has forged a new partnership with Delhi Management Association. This agreement will help promote cooperation in educational, skill development, and research activities. It will also establish a framework for Programmes of exchange and collaboration in areas of Management, Business and Commerce, Internship, Work Integrated learning, Dual Education systems, On-the-Job training and Skill Development for mutual benefit. Speaking on the development, Amitabh Bhatnagar Group COO India Ahead said, in pursuit of our agenda of being Audience First we are extremely excited about this tie-up with a prestigious industry association which will allow us to engage with industry stalwarts and understand their issues, agendas and aspirations. This will help create relevant content and engagement opportunities. Dr. Yogesh Misra, President- DMA and Vice President Thomas Assessments stated that this strategic tie-up was an important step in re-imagining DMAs offerings with an infusion of digital-first DNA, making membership appealing and beneficial for management professionals, as well as the corporates. He stated that the DMA 2.0 vision blended with the vision of India Ahead and he saw a lot of synergies in terms of effectively addressing the gaps in employee-employer and various stakeholder expectations in the fast-changing business environment. Honble Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Shri Manish Sisodia met prominent cinema owners and members of Multiplex Association of India (MAI), today morning. In the meeting, delegation requested for Deputy Chief Ministers intervention in reopening of Delhi cinemas. The delegation highlighted the adverse economic situation being faced by the Film and Cinema industry due to COVID induced multiple shut downs since March 2020. Deputy Chief Minister was informed that Governments decision to shut down Cinemas in Delhi while enforcing the yellow alert of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has caused massive uncertainty leading to big film releases, such as JERSEY, being cancelled. The delegation urged the Minister to give cinemas an equal treatment with comparable industries and institutions, as cinemas have already demonstrated an ability to operate safely for the public and employees via usage of enhanced ventilation systems, enhanced hygiene, and other safety protocols. Not a single outbreak of Covid-19 anywhere around the world has been traced to a cinema. The delegation also submitted a research report on Low COVID Transmission Risk in Cinemas, research captures findings at various cinemas across the globe. Delegation highlighted the unique social, cultural and economic value of the Indian film industry, and requested the Deputy Chief Minister to provide the support it so desperately needs to survive this unprecedented period. Cinema delegation was led by Mr Ajay Bijli, Chairman, PVR Limited, he said we fully appreciate the challenges at the Governments end in these tough times, however, instead of closing the cinemas, we would urge the Delhi Government to consider introducing double vaccination requirement to enter cinemas, as is the case in some other states. Alternatively, the seating capacity restriction of 50% can be reintroduced at cinemas Deputy Chief Minister assured the delegation that the matter would be taken up with Delhi Disaster Management Authority Task Force and other Government Officers. This new year, the Ardas of millions worldwide, to watch Gurbani Kirtan from Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, in full HD format, is getting fulfilled. PTC PLAY will now be airing the exclusive Gurbani Telecast from Sri Harmandir Sahib in full HD. Revealing this great news the Managing Director and President - PTC Network, Rabindra Narayan, says, Waheguru has blessed us with another milestone. The exquisite telecast of Gurbani will now be available live in full HD to viewers worldwide. This was a long pending demand of devotees and we are grateful to Waheguru to have blessed us with this service. The Gurbani telecast was started by Narayan and his team on November 1 in 1998. Subsequently it went live and is now also available in 360 degrees VR. Golden Temple is the only place on earth from where daily Live 360 degree Virtual Reality telecast happens. Constantly endeavoring to spread the message of Gurus and their wisdom worldwide, PTC Network has been working tirelessly in bringing new technology and bringing the teachings of Sikhism to everyone worldwide. PTC Play is available on Google play store, Apple app store and Amazon fire stick and offer its audience Latest Punjabi Songs, Punjabi Movies, Punjabi Web Series, Live Award Shows, Reality Shows, Punjabi Virsa, Punjabi Short Films, Kids Special Content and Live News Updates from India and abroad in English and Punjabi language in both Android and iOS. With PTC Networks official app PTC Play, viewers get on-the-go access to LIVE telecast of Gurbani from Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar and Sri Huzoor Sahib, Nanded, besides other Gurudwaras in India. In short, PTC Play is the one-stop solution for everything related to Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat. A California federal judge has ordered that plaintiffs who accuse Alphabet Inc's Google of illegally tracking their internet activity while in "incognito" browsing mode can confront chief executive Sundar Pichai for up to two hours. Users, in a complaint filed in June 2020, accused Google of illegally breaching their privacy by tracking internet activity while Google Chrome browsers were switched to "private" mode. According to a Monday court filing, the plaintiffs claim that Pichai has "unique, personal knowledge" of issues connected to the Chrome browser and privacy concerns. The additional requests, according to Google spokesman Jose Castaneda, are "unwarranted and overreaching." NIAM International Private Limited, New Delhi having a unique brand No Apology which encompasses world-class Safe & Natural products, has given its PR mandate to Vigor Media Worldwide. No Apology has brought to the customers Skin and Hair care products made by using simple, effective formulas that harness the nourishment of natural ingredients. No Apology has given the Public Relations and Communication mandate to Vigor Media Worldwide after seeing their worldwide presence and extensive client portfolio. No Apology has earned its widespread recognition on the back of the purity of elements and effectiveness of the preparations of its products. Rakesh Mehta, CEO said, No Apology is constantly growing its product portfolio and it is focused on deeper market penetration. At this exciting juncture when we have already charted a competitive strategy for our expansion we are delighted to welcome on board Vigor Media Worldwide which possesses all the required zeal and enthusiasm to help us establish a focused communication approach with all of our stakeholders. All No Apology products are handsomely packaged and accessible nationally. Moreover, these FDA approved & Dermatologically tested products comprising of Skin care and Hair care are Non-Irritant, Natural, Toxin/Paraben/Sulfates/Vegan Free & are Safe for men & women. All these products are Made in India in certified units which follow best manufacturing standards to produce quality products. Commenting on winning the PR mandate of No Apology, Ratik Baijal, Co-founder, Vigor Media Worldwide said, "We are truly honoured and delighted to be the strategic communication partner for No Apology. We are committed to deliver well-planned, strategic communications to further strengthen the brands reputation in the country. The contract comes as another acknowledgement of the distinctive PR and communications approach of Vigor Media Worldwide. The mandate of No Apology will be handled by the Delhi-NCR office of Vigor Media Worldwide with the support from its proficient team along with its associates spanning across the country for greater visibility and strong positioning of brand No Apology among targeted segments. The prophets of the Bible are individuals chosen by God to speak for God. Many mentions of prophets are made in the Bible. In fact, a section of the Old Testament is devoted to a collection of books by them. Their names, and quotes, appear all over the New Testament and are the subject of sermons to this day. What they all had in common was a heart for God, an anointing to hear from Him, and the faithfulness to impart his message to others. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). Prophets speak loudly from the pages of the past, their words seem to take on greater meaning over time, are more relevant than ever and provide us with insights into the past and counsel for our present and future. As a fan of American history, I often think of historic figures as similar to the prophets of the Bible, whose lives, experiences, achievements and words take on greater meaning over time and provide us with guidance concerning the great challenges we face today as a nation. In my view, three such American Prophets are former Presidents George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, each of whom presented the American people with prophetic farewell messages that speak loudly today and, if we listen closely, can provide us with guidance and counsel to guide our collective future. Like George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower was a commanding general who led American and Allied forces in a great war for freedom this time overseas on foreign soil. Just as General George Washington led his troops across the Delaware in a surprise attack against Hessian troops during a pivotal battle in the Revolutionary War, General Eisenhower oversaw the D-Day amphibious invasion across the British Channel to liberate France from Nazi Germanya pivotal battle in the Second World War. Also, like Washington, President Eisenhowers prevailing interest was keeping the United States out of another war with rival international powers. After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the United States and the world were now in a nuclear age and Eisenhower knew world war could mean global devastation. Eisenhower also oversaw a post war economic boom and an expansion of another kind an expansion of government, including in the military, intelligence agencies and the buildup of military equipment and materiel, to support a peace through strength foreign policy. The post-World War II era also saw an expansion in the use of experts from academia and the business world who sought to apply sophisticated research models to address but not often resolve public policy concerns. Safe to say, as a Midwesterner from the Kansas Plains and as a military leader with experience dealing with bureaucracies, Eisenhower was a skeptic of big government. President Eisenhower delivered his farewell address during a live, television broadcast on January 17, 1961. Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs-balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage-balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between action of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Eisenhower was concerned about the undue influence wrought by the close relationship between military leaders and war planners, with the private sector contractors that supply the military with equipment, materiel and technology and the members of Congress who approve the expenditures. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. Eisenhower was also skeptical of the potential corrupting influence of government funding adversely impacting the independence of universities, academic researchers, and scientists. He was concerned the federal bureaucracy might join forces with academics to form an intellectual elite that may seek to dominate public policy to the detriment of the people and their elected representatives. The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regardedYet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite. Eisenhowers advice to his peers and successors was to carefully manage these interests while prioritizing the nations democratic institutions and ensuring individual liberty. It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system-ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society. Like Washington, Eisenhower concluded his comments by encouraging Americans to be guided by their faith in the Almighty and govern with humility and a commitment to principle. You and I -- my fellow citizens -- need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nation's great goals. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. The assertion of Chinese aggressiveness and control over people in Hong Kong is increasingly disturbing now that it has imposed a new national security law on the area, giving authorities power to deal with acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with foreign or external forces. Supposedly an action to return stability to Hong Kong, it is in essence an imposition of stricter authoritarianism. The reality is that Beijing does not want Hong Kong to be a model for any Chinese city. Hong Kong, with its valuable deep harbor, became a British colony in 1841 after the first Opium War and remained that except during World War II, until on July 1, 1997, when at a peaceful ceremony the colony was handed to the Peoples Republic of China. Hong Kong became a special administrative region of China. In 1984, the Sino-British joint declaration signed in Beijing stated that the UK would agree to China exercising sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997. It agreed the social and economic system and legal system would remain basically unchanged, and that it would retain its status as a free port, and international trade and financial center. The two nations agreed on a policy of one country, two systems, this was a concept devised by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. The Peoples Republic of China would remain a socialist system, while Hong Kong and Taiwan would continue under the capitalist system. Hong Kong was supposed to retain its legislative, executive, and independent judicial powers system and peoples rights for 50 years. China would control foreign affairs as well as interpretation of Hong Kong basic law. Britain accepted the one country formula. believing that Hong Kong would supposedly enjoy a high degree of autonomy for 50 years, making its own laws with its own legal system. But China has been exercising more control over Hong Kong policy and authorities. It is protests about the basic law and proposed changes in the electoral system that led to street protests, especially with the Umbrella Movement in September-December 2014, which was opposed by police use of tear gas and pepper spray. In summer 2019 large protests occurred with the introduction of a China endorsed legislative proposal that would have allowed extradition to mainland China. On June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square saw large-scale protests calling for more political freedom. Thousands of people occupied the space until military, troops, and tanks moved in and fired on the crowd. Officially the number of killed was given of 200 civilians and some security officials, but more realistic estimates vary up to 10,000. As a memorial, a statue was created by Danish architect Jens Galaschiot in 1997, a 26-foot pillar of human figures in agony and twisted bodies pressed together. Called the Pillar of Shame, it is inscribed, the old cannot kill the young forever. In subsequent years, an annual candlelight vigil commemorating the incident had been allowed, and students in an annual ceremony demonstrated around the statue, until Hong Kong authorities banned this in 2020, citing restrictions due to COVID-19. On December 22, 2021 this statue at the University of Hong Kong was removed as a result of Chinese pressure. The relationship of parties is uncertain. Chinese officials do not directly control Hong Kong as they do in the mainland, but they exert influence through those loyal to China who control political affairs. All political changes need approval of the Chinese National Peoples Congress as well as by the Hong Kong government. Charges of terrorism and sedition or incitement to subversion are being improperly used by China to limit Hong Kong rights. On July 1, 2020, Hong Kong authorities introduced a national security law that was devised by Beijing. It makes any dissent criminal and gives authorities broad power to deal with acts of secession subversion, termism, or collusion with foreign or external forces. It provides for China to establish a security force in HK, and ability to influence the choice of judges who hear national security cases. Hong Kong authorities prevented critical candidates from running in the 2020 legislative elections, which were postponed. Police arrested pro-democracy activists. The educational system has introduced so-called patriotic programs. The increasing controls over Hong Kong are new examples of Chinas aggressive policy in projecting its power in the world. New American policies are necessary to deal with those increasing assertions: Chinas claims to own the waters in the South China Sea, where it is building new islands on existing reefs, and transforming them into military bases; the ambitious Belt and Road initiative plans to build transport and infrastructure projects from homeland to Rotterdam, Africa, and Latin America. China has the worlds largest navy, 355 ships and submarines, compared with the U.S. 296 warships, the UKs 69, and Russias 295, and it is preparing a new aircraft carrier. On Christmas Eve 2021, China launched three warships in one day. Economically, China accounts for almost 20% of the worlds GDP, and its economy is growing at about a 6% level. Ironically, though is interfering politically and legally in Hong Kong, it does not appear to interfere in economic transactions, from which Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs benefit. Will the West respond by providing safe havens for HK residents in their countries, by offering visas for those who want to become Western citizens, imposing sanctions on China, and suspending extradition treaties? Image: PxHere To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Christendom is in dire straits. Historian Tom Holland predicts the unthinkable a Middle East without any Christian communities. Fr. Francesco Patton, a Catholic leader, Custos of the Holy Land and guardian of Christian holy places in Israel, seemed to be predicting the same thing in his article in a recent UK Daily Telegraph article, where he writes Our presence is precarious and our future at risk. He adds that the lives of Christians have been made unbearable by radical local groups with extremist ideologies. Jerusalem clerics and patriarchs piled on their own concern about radical groups trying to purge the region of Christianity. When the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, perhaps the leading Protestant figure of all, vented more spleen about Christianitys survival in the Middle East with a third article inside a week, were bound to conclude that something big must be going down. As head of the Anglican Church, Welby joined the Archbishop of Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum, to write a shared Sunday Times article stamping their imprimatur on a crunch time for Christianity because Christians had become the target of frequent and sustained attacks.... Ha! Jihadists uprooting two millennia of Christianity or so youd think from reading the news. Think again. The targets of all the angst and outrage were Jews. The damn Zios are doing the uprooting. Now that is odd. The other day a news item landed in my mailbox: Israels Christian community is growing, 84% satisfied with life here. In it, I read that Israels Christian community grew by 1.4 percent in 2020 and numbers some 182,000.... Of that number 76.7% of Christians in Israel are Arab. And importantly, 84% of them [are] saying they were satisfied with life in the country.... Arab Christians tend to cluster in Nazareth, Haifa, and Jerusalem; non-Arab Christians are mainly found in greater Tel Aviv. If that is not good enough, the study found that Arab Christian women are among the most educated in Israel. It also reports that a lower proportion of Christians rely on unemployment benefits compared to other Israelis. There could hardly be a more ridiculous image to beat that of clerics wringing their hands over nothing. Christians in Israel are doing famously, thank you. Meanwhile, Gaza and Ramallah are real death traps. Few know that because...well, when did the mainstream media run a story on the torments of Gazas few surviving Christian souls or on Bethlehems long-time Christian majority, which has shrunk to a minority under threat? By order of Hamas, Christmas decor and crucifixes in Gaza are banned. The owner of Gazas only Christian bookstore, Rami Ayyad, was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. Image: Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by Berthold Werner. CC BY-SA 3.0. The decay of Christianity in Gaza and the West Bank is part of a broader pattern in the region. Whats the matter with men of the cloth? Broken compass? Apparently voicing outrage over Christians thriving under Jewish rule while papering over martyred Christians under Muslim rule, will get these Christians to heaven. Curse Israel and Grace will come to you. Love your Muslim persecutors and hate your Jewish protectors. Those words are not ornamental or rhetorical. They are the collective sayings of Archbishop Welby, hectoring Israel while downplaying the beheadings and crucifixions by jihadists as non-lethal sectarian violence. His flock gets the message: love your murderers and hate your friends. And Welby definitely views Israel as the enemy: I have no illusions about this. Historically the right response of Christians to persecution and attack isits the hardest thing we can ever say to people. But Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Its the hardest thing when youre being violently attacked. Its an indescribable challenge but God gives grace so often for us to love our enemies. Hold onto the idea of Welby as the consoler for Christians drowning in blood while we revert to people of another faith. When did a Jew last kill a person for being Christian? Has one Christian been converted to Judaism under pain of death? Yet churchmen aim their missiles where? The Rev. David Kim, head of the World Evangelical Alliance, has also taken aim at the impossible people. Back in 2012, his paper at a Bethlehem conference was not about ISIS. Instead, How to Deal with the Impossible People A Biblical Perspective was delivered against the backdrop of a banner depicting a church, a cross, and a high wall built by Israel to stop Jewish blood from being spilled by the gallon. Kims paper was about how to deal with Jews. Apparently, no one on the platform whispered in Kims ear that under the impossible people Christianity has prospered mightily. So, what is going on? In my expanded essay on a chapter that Professor Ephraim Karsh commissioned for War by other means in Israel Affairs, I attribute this anomaly to a conjunction of a 4th-century doctrine and three 21st century doctrines. Although, actually, the latter three are more blind faith than anythingwhich does not mean that theyre treated less reverently than the Gospels. One is Human Rights, the second is Woke Multiculturalism or Inclusivity, and the thirda twisted belief you couldnt invent if you triedrebirths Jesus to make him a Palestinian. At least we must respect the 4th-century doctrine of St Augustus who postulates that for their murder of Jesus, the Jews were exiled by God to live in sorrow and servitude and to be witness to Christianity as the true religion. With their hostility to Israel, the likes of the World Council of Churches, the Presbyterians of America, World Vision, the Orthodox Churches, and the iconic late Desmond Tutu, have St. Augustine in mind. Get the hell out of Palestine! When you rejected Jesus we replaced you; we are now the Chosen People. Return to your divinely-ordained fate as witness wanderers. Secular anti-Zionists nurse a theology not so far from Augustinian. For them, too, the Jews are meant to be powerless wanderers. Hence Israels rise from Holocaust ashes troubles the secularists. Their problem, however, isnt doctrinal but perceptual. Anti-Zionists cannot come to terms with a military Jew stronger than his persecutors. The stereotype of the Jew of oldthat bearded bookish stateless wanderercould never have evolved into a mean machine. Go back to your inherent character! Clerics harboring the ancient hostility towards a modern dynamic Israel feel compelled to punish the un-chosen people. God never meant you to make the desert bloom and build a mini-Manhattan and win Nobel Prizes by the ton and boast a high-tech economy and have a currency stronger than the Euro. Anti-Israel clerical pores leak not envy but errorthe faith-losing error of dogma. Hence the dogmatic anger towards Israel their protector: the spoilage of the plot, the shattering of the icon. Steve Apfel is an economist and costing specialist, but most of all a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction. His blog, Balaams curse, is followed in at least 15 countries. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Crime dramas on CBS and NBC opened the current TV season with blatant emphasis on Israeli ex-Mossad agents as villains, a trend that began last spring. CBSs FBI: Most Wanted, a relatively new link in the Law and Order production fan belt, began its third season by reveling in the premise of mercenary Israeli ex-Mossad hit men. This years premier episode was part of a trilogy, together with the original FBI series and the newly-introduced FBI: International, all of which constitute CBSs Tuesday night prime time line-up. In this episode, written by David Hodgkins and Elizabeth Rinehart with lead producer Dick Wolf, an armed bearded assassin murders a billionaire and a fifteen-year-old girl in New York City. After he flees into a subway car, the FBI officers wait for him to get out at his stop in order to avoid endangering passengers. When he emerges from the subway, the suspect, realizing that he is being followed by law officers, starts firing at them and then grabs an innocent hostage. Obviously, he has no concern for collateral damage. This dastardly villain is shot and killed, and identified as one Efraim Amit, age 43, who was recruited by Mossad after his service in the Israeli Army, for missions in Africa and Eastern Europe. It is suggested that other ex-Mossad operatives are doing the bidding of a billionaire who has been running a vicious and deadly sex trafficking operation of which super-wealthy, famous and powerful men gladly avail themselves. These for-hire (ex-Mossad?) thugs murder teenage girls, as young as 13 years old, who run afoul of, or are no longer useful to, their ruthless boss. It is suggested that Amit was flying in girls from other countries for the pleasure of American billionaires. He was also paid to kill anyone who might expose the bosss lucrative blackmail operation. All this culminated in the debut episode of FBI: International, where there was no longer any mention of ex-Mossad mercenaries. So what was the point of gratuitouslyand momentarilysingling out the State of Israel as the spawner of renegades who advance horrific sex-trafficking? Last spring, NBCs newest Law and Order incarnation, Organized Crime, dealt with a mobster named Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott) who was importing Fentanyl- laced drugs lethal to teenagers and adults, and also trying to profit off of unauthorized Covid vaccines. It seems that Wheatley caused the death of his own mob boss father as well as the wife of past Law and Order personage, Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). Behind, or sometimes abetting, these and several other murders, including that of a fetching undercover woman cop, is a shadowy figure, Izak Bekher (Ibrahim Renno), Wheatleys bald bodyguard with a beard and an accent, who, we learn, is Israeli and ex-Mossad, and extremely efficient and crafty in his killings. We are quickly told, however, that Bekher got kicked out of Mossad and has gone rogue, being on the wrong side of every war for the last fifteen years. Apparently, he is unsurpassed in ruthlessness, having put a bullet between the eyes of a lead investigator in Manila who tried to arrest him for arms trafficking. He also cold-bloodedly murdered a young wife and mother, a town official in Loudoun County, Virginia (4-15-21) for demanding more money from Wheatley after the latter had bribed her in order to expand his communications capabilities there. (4-15-21) Bekher also made the bomb that killed Stablers wife. But, apparently, Bekher lacks honor even among thieves, or at least to his murderous employer. He asks the police for protection from Wheatley, agreeing to go under cover. But he takes it upon himself to make a show of removing a police bugging device from Wheatleys office, in order to get his boss to trust him again -- Bekher protests -- though the cops have reason to wonder whether Bekher is playing us. Tragically for Bekher, but not for any of his future victims, Wheatley has him killed because he could potentially testify to Wheatleys sons initiation crime of executing an undercover female cop who was pretending to be that sons girlfriend. (5-27-21) The Wheatley-Bekher saga spilled over into the current TV season with a sensational trial in a December cross-over episode with NBCs Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, character Stablers old hunting ground. Indeed, two of the spring episodes were cross-over episodes, as well, thus rendering the ex-Mossad Bekher one of the franchises most exposed and discussed villains. In the December episode (12-9-21) it was all discussion since Bekhers body had not yet been found. On trial for his crimes, Wheatley blames everything on Bekher, claiming that the latter just slipped into the wind after the innocent boss threatened to report Bekher for self-directed murders. Wheatleys defense attorney uses the argument that because an ex-Mossad mercenary would never make sloppy mistakes in purchasing a bomb-related device with an old credit card and then keeping that device in a storage locker, the bomb must have been planted by the police! So, the writers decided to depict Bekher as not such a consummate professional after all? Rounding out a franchise-wide defamation of Israelis (ex and perhaps current), CBSs FBI (12-14-21) provided a clue about an assassin hired by a vicious incarcerated Cartel boss intent on killing the series star agents and their family members. The hired killer has been making murder machines disguised as electric power boxes that automatically shoot selected nearby individuals using facial recognition devices programmed with photographs of the would-be targets. We are told that this is the same kind of devicerecently used in Iran to kill a nuclear scientist. Is there suggestion here of another rogue Israeli exploiting -- for profit -- machinery designed to protect Israel and the rest of the world from Iran? Or did the episode suggest that the United States is targeting Iranians and that the rogue is American? Of course, the ex-Mossad fixation on the part of the franchise probably answers that question. Why all the concerted effort to associate ex-Mossad with mercenary? Why all the relish in suggesting that the State of Israel is a breeding ground for the most vicious and ruthless enablers of American and international crime? To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. The current difficulties in Afghanistan have structural causes that are more serious than cyclical ones such as sanctions. The recent measures taken by the United Nations at the suggestion of the Biden administration may not be enough for a country that has been dependent on foreign aid for decades. Since the Taliban took control of Kabul last August, their regime has reduced the already limited freedoms available to Afghan citizens. On December 26, the Taliban's Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice declared that women could not travel more than 45 miles without being accompanied by a male relative. Along with the restrictions, the state of the economy, which was already very bad despite international aid, has worsened, especially because Washington has frozen nearly $9.5 billion from the Afghan Central Bank and the World Bank has suspended aid. On December 22, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution proposed by the United States to facilitate humanitarian aid in a country where food prices have risen sharply. Two weeks earlier, the World Bank had announced $280 million in humanitarian aid to be disbursed by UNICEF and the World Food Programme to Afghanistan. This collapse is due to more than the sanctions. The causes are fundamental and linked to a social organization and a culture that have made it difficult to truly modernize Afghanistan's structures for decades. In fact, the country has never been able to develop without international aid since the Second World War. These structural and cultural problems have partly made the victory of the Taliban possible. The country's history during the 20th century and its mentality should have made Westerners very cautious. A Pew Research Center poll published on April 30, 2013 revealed that 79 percent of Afghans believed that those who left Islam should be killed in application of sharia, the Islamic law, and that 61 percent of the population believed that all inhabitants should be subject to sharia. These figures show the illusion of building a modern democracy on the Western model, where the rights of religious minorities are recognized. In March 2015, a mob lynched Farkhunda Malikzhada, an Islamic studies graduate, because people were falsely convinced she had burned the Quran. The mob hit her with sticks and stones while shouting anti-American and anti-democracy slogans, and then a car ran over her. When the police tried to evacuate her, she refused on the grounds that a female police officer had to accompany her. An ABC News poll released on December 7, 2005 showed that only 42 percent of residents strongly supported a woman working outside the home, and 38 percent supported a woman working in government. Less than half of the women strongly supported it. This worldview was dominant outside the capital. The photo from 1972 of three women in miniskirts in Kabul is a gross misrepresentation of reality, as explained by the Swiss photographer Laurence Brun, who took it: "They could get acid on their legs." Donald Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, lobbied the then-president with this picture to convince him that Afghanistan could become a modern country again. In reality, few women were not veiled in the capital, and even fewer in the rest of the country. Before the Taliban regime, Commander Massoud's wife did not wear the veil in Kabul, but she wore it when she was in Panjshir province. And although women could vote since 1964, in reality, they were dominated by men. History shows that building a strong Afghan state based on the Western model is impossible. Secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld relied on warlords for ground combat. However, James Dobbins, who served as acting United States ambassador to Afghanistan, has pointed out that Donald Rumsfeld opposed nation-building and the expansion of the international force, unlike secretary of state Colin Powell, whose position finally prevailed. Because Afghanistan is not a nation-state, but a country with multiple ethnic groups and ethnicities split into localities that sometimes matter more than ethnicity, President Hamid Karzai ruled through corruption and nepotism. This system of government has prevented the modernization of the country, despite the $145 billion spent by the USA to build a strong and self-sustaining economy and state. Aid from 60 other countries has been similarly unsuccessful, in part because of a lack of coordination, especially in urban reconstruction. The Afghanistan papers of the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction revealed two years ago the difference between the reality and the public statements of politicians. While officially talking about progress, they privately recognized motivation problems of Afghan security forces, corruption, and misuse of American money by Afghan commanders. Corruption already existed when the Northern Alliance was fighting the Taliban before 2001, when warlords levied illegal taxes. Moreover, the Northern Alliance refined opium into heroin before overthrowing the Taliban. No unity, no Western modernity despite more than 60 years of aid History has shown the difficulties of modernizing Afghanistan. King Amanullah Khan had tried to reform it, to give rights to women, before he had to flee in 1929. Between 1953 and 1963, Washington and Moscow offered economic and military assistance to Afghanistan at the request of Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan. The U.S. provided 30% of the aid to the country between 1950 and 1970, the USSR 50% during this period. Daoud believed that without rapid growth, Afghanistan would become severely politically fragmented. From 1950 to 1970, the USSR invested $638 million (donations and credits) in the country, the United States gave $406 million, and the others gave $148 million. Americans built Kandahar International Airport. In 1970, the businessman Abdul Majid Zabuli denounced in the Afghan press "the anarchy, indiscipline and weakness of the administration." In 1979, after the assassination of the pro-USSR president, Nur Muhammad Taraki, the Red Army invaded the country, but could not rely on the Afghan forces it had equipped. Forty percent of the Afghan soldiers had deserted within a few days after the Marxist coup in 1978 similar to last summer. Between 1992 and 1996, after the defeat of the USSR, the warlords in Kabul were unable to get along with each other, and the capital became a theater of war. Commander Massoud, who had been able to unite them militarily against the Soviets, could not unite them politically. This is how the Taliban defeated them in 1996. The president of the Middle East Forum, Daniel Pipes, points out that unlike Germany or Japan, which were rebuilt after a long war that brought them down, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were short, and these populations did not accept foreign orders, for they were not so badly affected, in contrast to the countries defeated in World War II. Moreover, he notes, "Afghans and Iraqis intensely reject rule by non-Muslims, an attitude embedded in the very nature of Islam, the most political of religions." The first problem is probably the impossibility of understanding Afghanistan with a Western vision. In the same way that trust in a multicultural society is a prominent issue, perhaps the West should have looked first at cultural differences with Afghanistan and not have believed that money would be enough. Image via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Recently, President Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, said: "For the unvaccinated, you're looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm." That unvarnished statement, from the podium of the White House Press Room, was then followed by an update from CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and the chief medical adviser to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci. During the entirety of this government-sponsored "infomercial" on the dangers of COVID-19, not a single mention was made of the importance, availability or efficacy of early treatment for COVID-19. No one on the podium described the importance of a person's Vitamin D level; no review of the need to address underlying comorbidities; no attempt at explaining the many protocols for sequenced, multi-drug interventions; no thought of a monoclonal antibody treatment such as Regeneron; and no mention of the fact that older people are at a much higher risk than the young for an adverse COVID reaction. Instead, the public was once again treated to the familiar and failing policy of prevention through vaccines and their boosters, the unscientific recommendation to mask up, the inconvenient need to maintain social distances, and the commonsense suggestion to improve the ventilation of indoor settings. The policy is always presented as a requirement for all, rather than nuanced for age groups or other conditions. But the government's "infomercial" now has a sequel President Biden is warning the unvaccinated of severe consequences for non-compliance with the government's orders. Among the threats is the possibility of banishment from air travel unless vaccination papers can be presented. During a televised address, he said: "[M]y administration has put [vaccine requirements] in place not to control your life, but to save your life and the lives of others." The welfare of the citizenry has long been a favorite justification for tyrannical government policies. In my view and the view of many other practicing physicians on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic early treatment, not vaccine propaganda, is the best path forward. Several different early treatment protocols are available. The one I use in my own practice most often was developed by Dr. Pierre Kory, M.D., MPH, who is a pulmonary and critical care specialist. He and physicians Paul E. Marik, M.D., FCCM, FCCP; Flavio A. Cadegiani, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D.; Joseph Varon, M.D., FCCP, FCCM; and Jose Iglesias, D.O. assembled the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance. The protocol for early treatment of COVID-19 is highly referenced and easy to use. I have treated hundreds of patients with COVID-19 in all risk categories with great success using variations of the Critical Care Alliance protocol. The early treatment protocol includes medications and supplements in various doses involving ivermectin, fluvoxamine, aspirin, Vitamin D, quercetin, zinc, monoclonal antibodies, and steroids. These are presented in a sequenced multi-drug strategy depending on the patient's age, severity of symptoms, and other factors. I have recently added a consideration in my treatment regime based on a recommendation of Dr. Peter A. McCullough. He favors early use of a nose/throat irrigation strategy to reduce the COVID viral load. This concept is also backed by scientific studies. Here is a recipe I created for my patients based on this concept: Dilute Betadine (povidone-iodine) or hydrogen peroxide to rinse the inside of nasal passages and throat. Use a nasal spray bottle or Neti-pot-type device to insert the mixture into the nose and spit it out of your mouth do not swallow. A 20:1 (water:Betadine) dilution is a good starting point. If this causes nose or throat irritation simply dilute the solution more. Unless sterile water is used, dispose of the leftover liquid and make a new solution each time. This can be done every few hours at the start of symptoms or following a potential exposure. Using this protocol can reduce the onset, severity and duration of Covid symptoms. It appears that the mistrust of the CDC, FDA, NIH even hospitals and physician groups for incessantly pushing a vaccine is growing. To this end, I am hearing of doctors who refuse to see unvaccinated patients, hospitals that slow-walk treatment with unvaccinated patients, and even pediatricians who push COVID vaccinations on kids as young as five. This violation of basic medical ethics is not only disgraceful, but dangerous in the long term. It is becoming increasingly important to look for doctors and other medical professionals who share your philosophy and outlook in achieving your well-being. If this approach upsets the woke establishment's lockstep demand for uniformity and control, so be it. But there is more to this growing distrust of the medical establishment than just COVID-related topics. The American Medical Association recently voted in favor of removing a designation of a baby's sex from birth certificates. The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages pediatricians to ask about gun ownership in the home on the grounds that this will somehow contribute to the patient's good health. It is well past time for Americans to wake up and realize that the institutions that we used to trust without question and the professionals that we held in the highest esteem are not what they used to be. We once again need to take responsibility to do our own research for our personal well-being. And most of all, we need to put our love of liberty, as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has so aptly put it, ahead of our fear of a germ. Image via Max Pixel. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. There are two types of illegal aliens in America: those who overstay their welcome and those who sneak across our Southern border. The ones overstaying their welcome can come from anywhere in the world and, once kicked out, tend to stay out. Those sneaking across the border, a matter of proximity, are heavily Hispanic. The Washington Times caught up with and made known a district court decision from August holding that the law making it a criminal offense to re-enter the country is racist because it has a disparate impact on Hispanics and was enacted in the 1920s with racist goals in mind. Miranda Du is the judge. She got her legal degree from U.C. Berkeley, and Obama appointed her to the federal district court in Nevada. Her rulings have consistently skewed left, and she's steeped in the language of the left. In a case involving Texas women who argued that Nevada's legal prostitution conflicted with the federal government's anti-trafficking laws, Du ruled against them but sympathized with their "lived experience." She also prevented churches from supporting the faithful during the COVID lockdowns. Du outdid herself this past August in her ruling on 8 USC 1326, the federal law holding that illegal aliens who have already been removed once from the U.S. but who sneak back in can be criminally prosecuted. The law, enacted in the 1920s and amended frequently since then, is facially completely neutral. It's manifestly intended to keep the border from turning into a turnstile through which illegal aliens can endlessly return, no matter how many times they've been evicted from America. The Defender Services Office Training Division of the Administration Office of the United States Courts (i.e., a government agency) wrote approvingly about Du's decision, claiming that the statute has nativist roots: The original law criminalizing illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. 1326 grew out of a disturbing time in history marked by the rise of eugenics, the Ku Klux Klan, and deeply nativist sentiments. See, e.g., Webinar: The Racist Origins of Illegal Reentry (and how to Challenge Them in Your Practice) (Oct. 15, 2020), by AFDs Kara Hartzler and Nora Hirozawa, available on the password protected side of fd.org here. In effect, because Hispanics pour illegally into America, stopping them is inherently racist. Image: Gavel and book. Piqsels. Du held that the law is racist in intent and created a disparate impact. Therefore, she held, it violated the defendant's Due Process Rights that he was being charged with repeatedly violating American law by breaking into America. As the Defender Services explained: Mr. Carrillo-Lopez filed a motion to dismiss his indictment, arguing that because the facts and historical evidence presented show that the original illegal reentry law was enacted with a discriminatory purpose and still has a disparate impact, 1326 is presumptively unconstitutional under Arlington Heights. After briefing and hearings, the district court agreed with the defense. In granting the motion to dismiss, the District Court found that Mr. "Carrillo-Lopez has demonstrated that Section 1326 disparately impacts Latinx people and that the statute was motivated, at least in part, by discriminatory intent." The District Court also considered whether the government had shown that 1326 would have been enacted absent discriminatory intent, and concluded that the government failed to so demonstrate. As a result, the Court held that "Section 1326 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth Amendment." You caught, I'm sure, that Du not only writes about "lived experiences," but describes Hispanics as "Latinx," even though they hate that term. Du's so woke. She's also a pure activist. As I noted at the start of this post, while people who overstay their visas are the most common illegal aliens, they're not the ones who break immigration laws repeatedly. That honor belongs to Hispanics. Because they violate the law the most, they are affected by it the most. That does not mean, though, that the law was intended to or does discriminate against them. Think about how Du's reasoning applies to other scenarios. For example, Black-on-Black murder is the single biggest plague in the Black community. And sadly, Blacks commit murder in numbers disproportionate to their overall representation in the population. That means that Blacks are disproportionately likely to be arrested for murder. Under Du's reasoning, our murder laws have a disparate impact and should be ignored. Oh, wait! That's exactly what's been happening for the past 18 months. The result? The murder rate across urban America has dramatically increased, with Blacks disproportionately affected, both as predators and prey. Sometimes a criminal law's disparate impact isn't because of racism; it's because one group say, Hispanics illegally and repeatedly entering America are more likely to commit an act that is reasonably denominated a crime. The case is on appeal in the Ninth Circuit, which Trump was able to make slightly less left but which is majority-leftist. The outcome should be interesting. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. I begin with the obligatory statement that I enthusiastically voted for DJT twice; was a staunch supporter; and remain grateful for his achievements with the economy, foreign policy and his stance against the fake news media. I wish to talk about COVID as it pertains to Trump. To my mind, the unconscionable overreach through lockdowns and coerced injections were immoral, unethical, un-American, and surely criminal. Much ink and breath have been expended arguing the finer points of these matters, with some defending Trump's endorsement of lockdown and fast-tracked injections by pointing out his promotion of therapeutics, warnings against extended lockdowns, and statements that he opposes vaccine mandates. Among the Trump faithful, I suspect that many of us vested unrealistic hope in him and now find it too disappointing to find fault in the absence of any obvious alternative champion. Expressions of disappointment in him are met with everything from reminders that he had the public health bureaucracy, D.C., and the media hysterically determined to hype the pandemic and blame him; that he mustn't alienate the normies if he is to win again next time; and that he had to expedite injections in order to break lockdowns to "he's the best we've got." All these things may be true, and we could have honest disagreements about the nuances and import of each one and many other aspects. Yet there is one aspect that seems to me to be without nuance: the FDA approval of the "vaccines" for children. Given that children are a cohort essentially at zero risk from COVID 19, there is no possible benefit from these injections for them. It is therefore unethical, immoral, and probably criminal for these shots to be administered to this cohort. We are aware of potential negative consequences from these injections such as clotting, heart inflammation, and possible death. We may guess at intermediate and long-term negative effects, but we do not know what, or how severe, they will be. We are therefore exposing children to known and unknown risks for no benefit. Children will be injured, maimed, and killed in the nearly total absence of benefit to them. So far as I can discover, Donald Trump's sole utterance in the face of this has been to state that he doesn't think children need them, and only then upon being asked. If he has said more, I cannot find it, and he has ways of making statements via his website, his proxies, and interviews. He also wants credit for the vaccines, and I believe he deserves it. His weak-sauce response to the deliberate and pointless jeopardizing of the vulnerable and precious is, in my mind, grossly inadequate. I am unmoved by arguments of political expediency or necessity when it comes to this. Failing to object vociferously to knowingly harming children, where they stand to gain nothing, from a product you facilitated, promote, and claim credit for is wrong. And nothing good can come of it. Change my mind. Illustration adapted by author. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Looks like the ignorant, malevolent little Katzenjammer Kidz of Twitter are back at it. This time they've banned a biggie, Dr. Robert W. Malone, the medical doyen whose research on the mRNA vaccine has been critical to the development of the vaccines for COVID. He's the guy who probably knows more about these vaccines than anyone else. His banning offense? Warning about the risks and limits of the mRNA vaccines, based on his bona fide scientific research, which included studies of young athletes who dropped dead of heart failure after taking them, and a suggestion that the vaccines not be given to kids. According to the Daily Caller: Malone contributed to the development of mRNA vaccine technology, performing an experiment as a graduate student at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in which he blended strands of mRNA with fat droplets which, when applied to human cells, caused the cells to start producing proteins, Nature reported. Malone hypothesized that this newfound technology could be used to treat illnesses as a drug. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Malone attracted criticism for allegedly spreading misinformation, both on his Twitter account and in public appearances, about mRNA vaccines used to treat COVID-19. Malones commentary included questions about the safety of the vaccines for children and young adults. Recent posts on his blog suggest a link between athletes dying from heart illnesses and vaccination. Dr Robert Malone the inventor of the mRna vaccines tweeted a video explaining from the data about the harms from the Pfizer vaccine, & the problems with its clinical trials. For this @Twitter suspended his account! This is the level of censorship on twitter! Just Vax propaganda pic.twitter.com/WsCozsbfQT Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) December 30, 2021 Malone noted this on his Substack: We all knew it would happen eventually. Today it did. Over a half million followers gone in a blink of an eye. That means I must have been on the mark, so to speak. Over the target. It also means we lost a critical component in our fight to stop these vaccines being mandated for children and to stop the corruption in our governments, as well as the medical-industrial complex and pharmaceutical industries. So, please spread the word share this on your own twitter feed or whatever social media venue you wish. My Substack sign-up is: ...here. He added an Orwellian meme to his post: "Looks like you have too much to think." First, let's note that Malone is hardly the sort of nut who's been banned on Twitter in the past for spreading so-called dis- and mis-information. He's not a compulsive vaccine skeptic. He invented the COVID vaccine, after all. Second, his banning is part of an ugly pattern of going after those with the medical chops to explain what's happening. For some reason, the corporate interests that control Twitter have had a thing for banning anyone questioning the vaccine and its efficacy. Recall that they slapped a caution note on information gathered and tweeted by the American Heart Association, as if those guys wouldn't know what they were talking about regarding heart risk. They also banned former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, who reports the vax news without fear or favor. He's suing the bastards, as they deserve. They temporarily banned famed epidemiologist and Harvard professor Martin Kulldorf, M.D., whose work has been cited in more than 25,000 medical papers and who was an author the Great Barrington Declaration, signed by over 60,000 doctors and scientists, which questioned various government COVID policies as counterproductive. He has noted that not everyone needs a COVID vaccine, given his recognition of patients with certain vulnerabilities, as well as broad and deep understanding of natural immunity. Bottom line here: He's a medical bigfoot, and if Twitter is right that his research is no good, then a whole lot of other medical research derived from it and cited as sources is wrong, too. Might as well throw out all the medical books, based on the punk censors of Twitter's "wisdom." Pfizer, meanwhile, which is kind of the bellwether for Big Pharma, not only has immunity from lawsuits for vaccine injuries, but also has managed to secure 75 years of secrecy on its medical records and research regarding what its people know about the vaccine. Wonder why. Is this starting to sound like a plot? The punks of Twitter really seem to have a "thing" for silencing anyone who asks questions about various instances of healthy young people dropping dead from heart attacks and related ailments shortly after their COVID vaccines. That's precisely what needs to be examined, as a priority, in fact, given that suppression of this news is a big factor in public distrust of the vaccines. Most people generally can tolerate the vaccines well I know I have, I've been vaxxed thrice but there are those who should hold off based on unacceptable risk, and they should be identified, warned, and exempted from vax mandates. The New York Times, as I wrote about here, actually lost a top editor in the prime of life a day after he took a booster vaccine, something they ought to be upset about and at least asking question about. But instead, all we see are these Twitter morons, who run their Twitter censorship operation by mob rule as well orders from the top, who are systematically suppressing news of the COVID vaccine that the public actually has a right to know about. It's Orwellian, and it smacks of some kind of corporate or Chinese interest in keeping the public ignorant and in the dark. It also won't work. The more they censor, the more interesting these researchers get to many of us. Had many of us even heard of Malone before this happened? Follow him on Substack now. He's obviously got something important and vital to say. Image: Logo, Pixabay, Pixabay License. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. I was stunned watching Ben Domenech yesterday on Fox News in the 7 P.M. hour, where a series of guest hosts have been rotating through. His opening monologue was brave and true, a fearlessly realistic appraisal of China's intentions toward us and of the elites who have sold out (my term, not his) our country. I very rarely recommend readers watch a segment as long as 11+ minutes, but this is must-see TV. Photo credit: YouTube screen grab. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Hypocrisy, thy name is a woke lefty. A New York woke lefty named Brad Lander, representing a relatively affluent area, who proudly campaigned for a citywide position as New York City's comptroller on a platform of far-left measures. ...far-left Lander wants to defund the NYPD. Yup, he'd yank $1 billion out of the police budget even as growing numbers of poor neighborhood residents run for their lives from bullets, stray or otherwise. Surely, he'll stick with that position after the crime surge dribbles into the affluent brownstone nabes he represents, including parts of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Park Slope. Well, it is New York, so, as crime surged in New York, he won in spite of...er, because of this stance. And, wouldn't you know, he's getting his own personal, round-the-clock, publicly financed New York City Police Department security, which includes a cop who will chauffeur him around the city which could mean safer streets for New Yorkers. The Post exclusively reported in April that Lander has been caught speeding in school zones around the Big Apple eight times in the past five years, despite crusading against reckless drivers. Oh. A spokeswoman for Lander argued that his NYPD detail did not amount to an increase in the police budget or headcount because officers already on the force are routinely assigned to protect elected officials. (snip) "There's no contradiction between believing that some of our public safety dollars would be better spent on supportive housing, mental health services, and restorative justice programs and following longstanding NYPD protocol regarding safety for elected officials," Dann said. In other words, "safety for elected officials" in New York City takes priority over safety for ordinary private citizen New Yorkers who must brave dangerous public transportation. Subway crime rate jumps amid 50 percent increase in thefts ...as there aren't enough police to chauffeur them around. Hey, New Yorkers, you voted for him. Photo credit: YouTube screen grab (cropped) via Wikipedia. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. In 2019, President Trump's prospects of winning re-election in 2020 seemed all but guaranteed. An April 28, 2019 Politico headline summed up why: "Dems sweat Trump's economy: We don't really have a robust national message right now." Of course they had no message. Trump's economy had gone gangbusters. In Trump's economy, the poverty rate hit an all-time low. More Americans were employed than ever before. The unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low. This, in addition to the 7 million new jobs created. Middle-class family incomes had also risen more than five times higher than the previous eight years under Obama. Trump had also triumphed over the myriad Democrat party hoaxes aimed at subverting the will of the American people and overturning the 2016 election results: the Trump-Russia collusion hoax and the failed quid pro quo impeachment, for example. Leading up to 2020, the Democrats had already thrown everything plus the kitchen sink at Trump. They were empty-handed. Even as late as November 2019, the Democrats were "increasingly worried that their large and divided presidential field" didn't "have what it [took] to beat President Donald Trump" in 2020. Democrats were desperate for something to campaign on. While they never found a robust national campaign message to campaign on, they did find a message to campaign against: COVID. In the first presidential debate, Joe Biden claimed that Trump had no plan for the COVID response. This was an abject lie. Trump had gone above and beyond to respond to the pandemic. When Trump restricted travel from China, Biden denounced the move as xenophobic. When thenNew York governor Andrew Cuomo requested a Navy hospital ship to treat COVID patients in March 2020, Trump sent the 1,000-bed Comfort to New York City. A month later, Cuomo told Trump it wasn't needed. When Cuomo whined about a shortage of ventilators, Trump ordered General Motors to make ventilators under the Defense Production Act. While Trump bent over backwards to give Democrat governors like Cuomo anything they asked for, Trump also sought to promote effective treatments that the Democrats opposed. When Trump suggested an openness to hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID as an effective treatment to save lives, Biden denounced it, saying, "What in God's name is he doing?" Studies have since proved that hydroxychloraquine, combined with zinc, and taken at an early stage in the disease, increased survival rates by 200 percent. Time and time again throughout 2020, Trump did, while Biden and Democrats lied, criticized, and obstructed. Biden even had the audacity to throw shade at Trump's unprecedented effort to rush vaccines via "Operation Warp Speed." Presidential candidate Biden questioned the safety of the vaccines, suggesting that "their timing and approval" were "distorted by political considerations." Today, Biden attacks and condemns unvaccinated Americans, who raise the same concerns he once did on the campaign trail. Biden's entire campaign was a con job. The Democrat party used their propagandist media to convince their ignorant and irrational base that Trump had no plan to combat COVID, while Biden had a plan that he promised would "shut down the virus." But that promise was always asinine. It was always a con. No president, governor, or elected body could "shut down the virus" any more than any government or person could "shut down influenza." It's as true today as it was two years ago that the pandemic is a state of mind. Effective treatment was and is the only way forward. More than a year after Biden conned Democrats into believing he had a plan, Biden now admits that he lied to the American people. Not only did Biden never have a plan, but he couldn't "shut down the virus" even if he wanted to. Biden said, "There is no federal solution. This gets solved at the state level." While this may appear tantamount to waving the white flag of surrender, it is not. Biden's confession is less an admission of failure and more an attempt to escape blame a predictable tactic of Biden and his regime. Biden doesn't mean he failed; he means that the states have failed. It's another setup to avoid responsibility or accountability, to pass the blame to red states and citizens alike those who have the courage to stand up for freedom and personal choice and against unconstitutional mandates and tyranny. The truth is that Biden conned his way into the White House with his vapid, unrealistic promises of ending the virus. But even if Biden did have the magical ability to end the virus, he wouldn't. What once was a con to defeat Trump in 2020 is presently a con to retain power and control the American people. Biden's and his party's dependence upon the never-ending pandemic to fundamentally transform America is at odds with their stated intention to end the virus. It's a Catch-22. Democrats can't end the pandemic and continue to use the pandemic to their political benefit. Democrats are as desperate to retain power today as they were desperate to reclaim it in 2020. The Democrats still have no robust national message to run on in 2022. The COVID con is all they have. Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. It had to be a hard blow when the New York Times' deputy Asia editor, Carlos Tejada, unexpectedly dropped dead of a heart attack. He had just turned 49. After all, for the Times, guys with his skills are pretty hard to find. I didn't know him, but I used to work as an editor at a big newswire in Singapore myself, and I recognized his name as that of a superb reporter and writer, a guy with little bias, lots of foreign knowledge, and a byline worth reading. According to his New York Times obit, he was also a superb editor, someone who could scruff out stories from the filings of weak reporters. The Times doesn't say so, but since I know about editing in Asia, that likely was editing stories from the filings of non-native speakers of English, as well the filings of U.S.-born freelancers and staff, who might have been good reporters but were wretched writers people who couldn't write ledes (yes, that's the word used in the industry), organize sentences, or sometimes even spell (I can name names at the Times; I knew editors there). Tejada was the guy who could turn these shambles into publishable stories. In addition, he was an old Asia hand, with experience and know-how around the region, including some knowledge of Mandarin. Guys like that are diamonds to big newspapers with expensive foreign operations. Tejada had been poached from the Wall Street Journal in 2016, which meant that the Times had been watching him for a while as he honed his skills at the Journal before moving in to make him a better offer. Next thing they knew, Tejada died suddenly, leaving behind a wife and two small kids, on Dec. 17. After that, other outlets, notably Alex Berenson, a former Timesman himself on his Substack page, published what might have been a pertinent issue: that Tejada had gotten a Moderna booster shot a day earlier, following two Johnson & Johnson vaccine shots. Based on his picture in the Times, a recent one, taken only a few weeks earlier at a November gathering, he looked fit, healthy, and happy. Something sounds funny here. Now, it's possible that the Moderna booster had nothing to do with this. It's possible he had an underlying condition, such as untreated high blood pressure, which triggered an "event." All the same, most people don't drop dead at age 49. But we hear a lot about this around cases of healthy young men, such as athletes, dropping dead of heart issues after their COVID shots. The press hasn't asked many questions about it. The media, including the Times, have busied themselves with promoting the "get vaccinated" line on political grounds as if no other questions need be asked in what may well be an unfolding story. Tejada was the editor who fluffed up the copy of the first COVID stories coming out of China, as Berenson's Substack piece shows. Now Tejada himself may be the latest or last chapter in the question about whether these vaccine solutions to the problem are really safe and whether vaccine mandates are a good idea. The New York Times has lost someone good from its team following a booster shot, which ought to be prompting the people there to ask some questions at this point. Are these boosters in Tejada's case, a mismatched booster, given that his original shot was the Johnson & Johnson a factor in his early death? And apparently, he'd had two of those. The Twitterati, as Berenson notes, have been all over this. We know the readers are asking. It would seem natural that maybe the Times would be interested in knowing whether the booster was what killed him, in order to just make sense of this loss, which hit the paper hard. The Times ought to be writing stories about it, about what its people find. Will it? As Berenson wrote: RIP Carlos Tejada, Dec. 7, 1972 - Dec. 17, 2021. If this does not wake the Times nothing will. Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Setting up a route in Google Maps, especially for long trips, is incredibly useful but many users may not know that it lets you find and add gas stops and other waypoints can be added after travel starts. More directly, whether your trip is long or short, the tool lets users easily add locations along the way. Whether thats to refuel, pick up trip supplies or snacks, lodging, or stop in at a restaurant. Or, for that matter, any other location that might be of interest. Well, thats exactly what this how-to guide is for. So whether you havent yet explored the feature or wondered whether such a feature exists, to begin with, this walkthrough can help you out. Heres how you can add a gas stop to your Google Maps route As with many of our how-to guides, you may want to start by first updating Google Maps. That will help ensure consistency between our guide and your experience. Although there may still be some differences between the app as it appears on your device and in our guide. Our example images show Google Maps with the Dark Mode theme turned on, for instance. Conversely, this guide is meant to work using the mobile app. So youll want to ensure thats where youre following along. Advertisement You can update your app by visiting the Play Store, tapping your profile image, selecting the Manage apps & device option, and then selecting the Update option. Then, follow the prompts to install and check for updates. Once updated, the steps to find and add a gas stop or other location in Google Maps are relatively straightforward, whether youre already on your route or just getting started. If you havent already started traveling along a selected route, Open up Google Maps on your Android device Select the search bar at the top of the page, labeled Search here Enter in a location to visit or travel to. As shown in our sample images below, weve selected the American Museum of Natural History in New York as our destination If the starting location isnt chosen automatically, enter a new one. Or, conversely, you may choose to select one from the list or start from your current location. Also, in this step, select your method of travel using the icon bar just below the entry fields, if the proper one isnt already selected Google Maps will show you an overview of your route. Near the bottom of the page, select the Start button to begin travel. Google Maps will take you back to the primary travel page If youve started travel or once youve arrived back at the primary travel page, swipe up from the bottom. More specifically, swipe up from the card at the bottom of the UI, showcasing how much travel time is left Maps will present you with several options on the card, select the third option from the top. Labeled Search along route Select the Gas station button. Google labeled the button as adding a gas pump-shaped icon, making it easier to spot near the top left-hand side of the UI Google Maps will once again return to the overview screen, showing the current segment of your route. It will also find and overlay gas stations that are near or directly along your Google Maps route. Select a gas station to add to your route Maps will then begin to automatically add the stop to your route. Or, conversely, you may choose to select the add stop button to manually add it. If youd like to select a different station, for instance, if the one youve selected is too busy, select cancel and repeat step 9 Now, Google Maps will lead you to the newly added stop before continuing along the route to your destination This also works for other retail-based stops, hotels, and more In addition to Gas stations, Google Maps can also help you find and add other stops to your route. Namely, it can search for Restaurants, Coffee shops, Grocery Stores, Rest stops, and Hotels. Each of those has a preset icon-laden button to choose from. Placed right alongside the Gas stations button. So, the steps for adding those are nearly identical to those for adding a gas station stop. Youll simply choose one of those options in step 8 above. Advertisement Of course, those also arent the only locations that can be added along a route either. So lets dive into how you might add a different stop. Covid: in Emirates 2,366 cases in 24 hrs, highest in 9 mos Two deaths yesterday. Infections continue to rise (ANSAmed) - DUBAI, 30 DIC - The United Arab Emirates recorded 2,366 cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the highest daily tally in over nine months, and two deaths in the past day, according to the website of The National newspaper. Since the start of the pandemic, the UAE has registered 759,511 cases and 2,162 deaths. Authorities urged citizens to comply with safety measures, as cases in the country have been rising since early December, with Thursday's peak the highest figure since 9 March. Authorities have turned their attention to New Year's celebrations, which will go on despite the increase in infections, but with increased safety protocols. On the evening of December 31, fireworks will be held at 29 locations across Dubai to discourage gatherings and encourage spectators to keep their distance, with face masks mandatory in public. In Abu Dhabi, public venues and hotels will need to limit capacity to 60% and ensure New Year visitors submit a negative PCR test performed within 96 hours, as part of a 10-point safety plan announced by authorities. (ANSAmed). (ANSAmed) - ZAGREB, 30 DIC - In recent days there has been a significant increase in positive cases in Croatia after a month of reassuring numbers and a slowdown in the spread of the coronavirus, but no new restrictive measures are currently being considered. Nearly 6,000 new positive cases were reported in the last 24 hours. On Thursday, the death toll since the start of the pandemic reached 12,493. Croatia has thus far avoided the Omicron variant wave, with just 24 confirmed cases, but experts believe the variant will hit the Balkan country starting in mid-January. "The growth of the infected in recent days is a sign that we will soon see an explosion of Omicron, the scenario that now dominates in Western Europe," Health Minister Vili Beros said Thursday, making yet another appeal for people to get vaccinated. "Given the strong infectivity of this variant, it is almost inevitable that everyone will come into contact with Omicron," he said. Despite the worsening health situation, the government has ruled out any type of lockdown or new restrictions. The country remains among the most open in Europe, but also among those with the lowest vaccination rate on the continent. For New Year's, restrictions have also been relaxed, and bars and restaurants will be able to stay open two hours longer than on other days, until two in the morning. The country's vaccination campaign did not have the desired result, and in November the government made a green pass mandatory for access to all public offices. To date, 66% of the adult population has been vaccinated. (ANSAmed). (ANSA) - ROME, DEC 30 - Italy's Famed 'first female Camorrista', Pupetta Maresca, the subject of a TV serial, has died at the age of 856, her family said Thursday. Maresca, who at the age of 20 in 1955 killed the Camorra boss who had ordered her husband's murder, died in her home at Castellammare di Stabia near Naples, local newspapers Il Mattino and Metropolis reported. The last time she appeared in public was in a Naples courtroom where documents showed she had asked a businessman to hire her son and said she had been financially ruined by Camorristi turned government informants. (ANSA). Boris Johnson has made a mockery of the standards expected of him, Labour has said, amid reports he is set to be cleared again of breaching the ministerial code over the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat. The Financial Times reported that the PMs behaviour will be criticised, with ministerial standards adviser Lord Geidt describing the situation to colleagues as deeply unsatisfactory. But the newspaper said it was understood Mr Johnson would be cleared of breaching the code. It quoted a senior official as saying: Geidt makes clear the situation is a total mess. But at the same time the fundamental conclusion is that the PM did not deceive and did not break the ministerial code. Lord Geidt previously cleared Mr Johnson of breaching the code in relation to the funding of the flat refurbishment but has since re-examined his initial investigation in the wake of a recent Electoral Commission probe, the FT said. The commission fined the Conservatives 17,800 after finding the party had not followed the law over donations from Lord Brownlow to help cover the works at the flat above Number 11. Lord Geidt previously cleared Mr Johnson of breaching the code in relation to the funding of the flat refurbishment (Dominic Lipinski/PA) The watchdogs report raised further questions by discussing evidence that Mr Johnson had sent the Tory peer a WhatsApp message in November 2020 asking him to authorise further, at that stage unspecified, refurbishment works on the residence, to which he agreed. This was despite Mr Johnson having told Lord Geidt he had no knowledge of the payments until immediately prior to media reports in February 2021. The FT reported that Government advisers said Lord Geidt had now seen all the relevant WhatsApp messages, and concluded there was no breach of the code. But the newspaper said the PMs conduct would be criticised. It said that, according to several Whitehall officials with knowledge of Lord Geidts latest investigation, three to four letters had been exchanged with No 10 on the recent revelations, that may be published in the new year. The FT reported that one source said of the inquiry: Theres enough in those letters to raise eyebrows. The Prime Minister has apologised for some of the circumstances around the initial investigation, which Lord Geidt has accepted. Labour claimed Mr Johnson has made a mockery of the standards expected of him. The public deserves to know. It is embarrassing that when the country needs real leadership, Boris Johnson is busy trying to clear up his own personal mess. https://t.co/lf9Eqcrtft Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) December 30, 2021 Deputy leader Angela Rayner said: After the Electoral Commission ruled that the Conservative Party broke the law on declaring donations, the Prime Minister has made a mockery of the standards the public has a right to expect. While the British public is facing a cost of living crisis, Boris Johnson is busy writing to his own adviser about why he did not give him all of the information he needed for his investigation. Lord Geidt should publish all his correspondence with the Prime Minister as a first step towards providing full transparency into how Boris Johnson is explaining away his WhatsApp messages with Tory donors. It is embarrassing that when the country needs real leadership, Boris Johnson is busy trying to clear up his own personal mess. Downing Street and the Electoral Commission declined to comment. The Cabinet Office told the FT: We dont comment on speculation. British citizens have been banned from driving across France to homes in other European Union countries, according to a Channel Tunnel train operator. Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, which runs vehicle-carrying trains between Dover and Calais, said the decision was made by the French government. Non-essential travel from the UK to France has been banned since December 18 in a bid to limit the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, but several exemptions have been in place. URGENT UPDATE FOR BRITISH RESIDENTS IN EU: Following a French Government decision, on 28/12/2021, unless they hold French residency, British citizens are now considered 3rd country citizens and can no longer transit France by road to reach their country of residence in the EU. pic.twitter.com/KGNr3FpWM2 Eurotunnel Le Shuttle (@LeShuttle) December 29, 2021 Eurotunnel Le Shuttle issued an urgent update on Wednesday night which stated: Following a French government decision, on 28/12/2021, unless they hold French residency, British citizens are now considered third country citizens and can no longer transit France by road to reach their country of residence in the EU. The firm added that it is unable to answer individual questions regarding the new requirements. It advised passengers to visit the website of the French embassy in the UK, although its travel information has not been updated since December 20. No announcement about a change in the rules has been made by the French government. The UK withdrew from the European Union on January 31 2020, although a transition period was in place until the end of that year. Lucy Worsley has said she would put women in charge of the worlds money if given the chance. The historian and TV presenter, 48, spoke to Good Housekeeping about how womens lives have changed over the past century as part of the magazines 100th anniversary. She said the chance to make a wider range of choices in life was the greatest change in womens lives. (Good Housekeeping UK/David Venni/PA) People being worried about me working. I mean, that seems so restricting giving up your job when you got married, which women used to have to do. It seems unthinkable. This is what would bother me personally, but what about not having a vote, what about not having birth control? Things have really come on in 100 years, she added. Asked what she would like to see change for women, she said: I would actually put women in charge of the worlds money: I think wed see very different spending priorities, such as less on war, more on education. Worsley also spoke about her upcoming series on BBC Two, Lucy Worsley Investigates. Lucy Worsley (Good Housekeeping UK/David Venni/PA) It covers four different historical events and we see each one through the eyes of someone who was at the heart of it. The stories include a woman who lived through the Black Death, which wiped out her father, husband and brother, and we also see a woman who was accused of witchcraft in the Scottish witch-hunt in the 1590s and ended up being garroted and then burned in Edinburgh. Worsleys love of history began at a young age, and she graduated with a first-class honours degree in ancient and modern history at New College, Oxford, in 1995. She went on to host several historical TV programmes including If Walls Could Talk in 2011, which explored the history of British homes, and American Historys Biggest Fibs in 2019, which looked back at key moments such as the American Revolution and the Cold War. Lucy Worsley with her OBE at Buckingham Palace(Jonathan Brady/PA) Worsley said: (History is) just fun and fascinating and you can be nosy about peoples lives. I think history provides us with hope for the future because you realise that things dont have to be the way they are. Good Housekeeping February 2022 cover (Good Housekeeping UK/David Venni/PA) The February issue of Good Housekeeping will be on sale on December 30, and will feature the full-length interview with Worsley. This year has been a difficult one for all, but for the LGBTQ+ community there have been some major milestones amid the doom and gloom. From Instagrams new pronoun feature to Strictlys first all-male couple, here are some of the uplifting moments of 2021. First all-male couple appear on Strictly Come Dancing John Whaite and Johannes Radebe on Strictly Come Dancing 2021 (PA) In September, John Whaite and Johannes Radebe made history on this years Strictly Come Dancing as the first all-male couple on the show, and the only same-sex couple to reach the final. The Great British Bake Off star and his professional dancing partner were only the second same-sex couple to dance on the show ever, with Nicola Adamss time in the 2020 competition being cut short due to Covid-19. Whaites appearance on the show, which ran for 13 weeks, has been hailed a momentous moment for LGBTQ+ representation. He said: Its been incredible, really incredible. The amount of people who have messaged saying their kids can grow up in a world where two men or two women can dance together is mega. Lewis Hamilton wore a rainbow helmet in incredible act of allyship F1 star Lewis Hamilton was praised for showing an incredible act of allyship by debuting a rainbow-coloured helmet during the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix in November. Hamiltons helmet bore the colours of the Progress Pride flag a banner that includes the traditional rainbow design in addition to a series of coloured chevrons that recognise the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. The 36-year-old spoke out about the poor human rights record of the Gulf state, highlighting the pretty terrifying LGBTQ+ laws and calling on F1 and other sportspeople to do the same. With same-sex relationships illegal in both Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Hamilton wore the specially designed helmet again around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in December. Richard Morris, a British racing driver and co-founder of Racing Pride, told the PA news agency that Hamiltons gesture fills me with hope. Swiss government announced same-sex couples can marry Switzerlands executive body announced that same-sex couples can get married from July 1 next year. The Alpine country is one of the few remaining nations in western Europe where gay and lesbian couples do not already have the right to wed. The referendum, approved by an overwhelming majority on September 26, will put same-sex partners in the nation on an equal legal footing with heterosexual couples, including by allowing them to adopt children together and to sponsor a spouse for citizenship. Switzerland will also recognise the marriages of same-sex couples who wed in other countries instead of continuing to treat the unions as simple civil partnerships. Instagram added a pronouns option to user profiles Instagram allows users to add their pronouns to their profiles (PA) In May the social media site Instagram added a new section on user profiles allowing people to specify their pronouns for the first time. The Facebook-owned platform now allows users to pick up to four pronouns to appear in the bio section of their profile. Actor Emma Corrin, known for playing Princess Diana on Netflixs The Crown, updated their pronouns to she/they following the update. Channel 4s Its A Sin got people talking about HIV/Aids Olly Alexander after winning the New Drama award for Its A Sin at the National Television Awards 2021 (PA) Russell T Daviess five-part series Its A Sin got people talking about HIV/Aids. The writer and producer, known for his work on Queer As Folk and Doctor Who, returned to screens in late January with a drama exploring the lives of a group of gay friends living in London during the 1980s Aids crisis. The series showcased new acting talent including Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander, Lydia West and Omari Douglas and became Channel 4 streaming service All 4s most binged new series ever. The show, praised by viewers as being beautiful and heartbreaking, led to more people than ever before getting tested during HIV Test Week, according to Terrence Higgins Trust. Joe Biden reversed Donald Trumps transgender military ban US President Joe Biden (PA) In January 2021, the newly elected President of the United States, Joe Biden, signed an order reversing a Trump-era Pentagon policy that largely barred transgender individuals from serving in the US military. During his first year in office Donald Trump had caught military leaders by surprise by tweeting that the government would not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the military. Today, I repealed the discriminatory ban on transgender people serving in the military. Its simple: America is safer when everyone qualified to serve can do so openly and with pride. President Biden (@POTUS) January 25, 2021 His policy, which fell short of an all-out ban, was approved in April 2019 barring transgender troops and military recruits from transitioning to another sex. Under President Bidens new policy, no one in the military will be discharged based on their gender identity, and transgender service members can serve in their preferred gender once their transition is complete. Superman came out as bisexual in a new comic Superman came out as bisexual (PA/DC Comics) Superman came out as bisexual in a comic book released by DC Comics in November. The comic saw Jon Kent, the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, become romantically involved with reporter Jay Nakamura. Supermans coming out was the latest example of comic books embracing LGBT-inclusive backgrounds for its heroes. Tim Drake, the latest incarnation of Batmans sidekick Robin, also came out as bisexual this year. And Marvel announced the first gay Captain America, another classic superhero typically associated with traditional ideals of masculinity. A murder investigation has been launched after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Ashburton Park, Croydon, south London. Police officers went to the scene shortly after 7pm on Thursday. They gave first aid to the boy before the ambulance service arrived but he was pronounced dead at 7.36 pm. Detectives in #Croydon have launched a murder investigation after a 15-year-old boy was found with stab injuries. 101 and give CAD 5443/30Dec if you have any information. More here: https://t.co/LDFGeFJg0O Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) December 30, 2021 The victims family have been informed but formal identification has not yet taken place. A post-mortem examination will be held in due course. No arrests have been made and police have asked anyone with information to call them via 101 quoting reference CAD 5443/30Dec. To remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Squirrels stuck in bird feeders and a lizard that travelled thousands of miles in a bra are among the most bizarre rescue operations the RSPCA has tackled this year. The UK animal charity said it responded to around 281,390 incidents in 2021 via its emergency rescue hotline, but revealed that some rescues were stranger than others. In Ashford, Kent a well-fed squirrel was caught red-pawed in August after getting stuck inside a bird feeder. The cheeky squirrel was not injured and even chomped on stray peanuts as rescuer Claire Thomas worked to free him. A squirrel was caught red-pawed after getting stuck inside a bird feeder in Ashford, Kent (RSCPA/PA) Even celebrities had reason to call the hotline this year as Coronation Street star Harry Visinoni had an unwelcome visitor at his home in Hale, Greater Manchester. The actor, who plays Seb Franklin in the soap, called the RSPCA in January after a snake slithered out of his toilet and spent the night hiding in his bathroom. Coronation Street star Harry Visinoni called the RSPCA after a snake slithered out of his toilet (RSPCA/PA) Two days later, an elderly woman had a lucky escape after a swan crash-landed through a double-glazed window of her bathroom in Barton in Fabis, Nottinghamshire. After finding the bloodied bird dazed and confused on her bathroom floor, the woman called the RSPCA, which got the swan into surgery before transferring it to Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Cheshire. A swan crash-landed through a double-glazed window in Barton in Fabis, Nottinghamshire (RSPCA/PA) In February a pair of badgers needed rescuing after getting trapped on a ladder that leads down into Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal in Cwmbran, Wales. RSPCA animal rescuers Sian Burton and David Milborrow worked with fire crews to abseil down the canal wall and grab the badgers, with nets below as precautions in case they fell. In Torfaen, Wales, a pair of badgers needed rescuing after getting trapped on a ladder in a canal (RSPCA/PA) Without doubt, this was the most bizarre and unusual day of my 15 years spent on the frontline for animals, said Ms Burton. A badger in Guildford, Surrey, had to be freed using special power tools after getting stuck in a two-foot compost bin while scavenging for food in November. A badger in Guildford, Surrey, also had to be freed using special power tools after getting stuck in a two-foot compost bin (RSPCA/PA) Meanwhile, a motorist in Plymouth had a surprise in July after discovering a large Tegu lizard manoeuvring under their cars engine. Rescuers patiently waited for two hours until the exotic lizard, which can grow to more than three feet long, was in a position to be removed through a tiny gap under the wheel arch. The Tegu wasnt the only lizard to find itself in an unusual location. Baffled residents in Folkestone Harbour, Kent, spotted an iguana sunbathing on the roof of a terraced house in September. The escaped pet was rescued by RSPCA inspector David Grant, with the help of Kent firefighters, and was safely reunited with its owners. The escaped iguana was rescued by RSPCA with the help of Kent firefighters (RSPCA/PA) That same month, a lingerie-loving lizard travelled more than 4,000 miles in a womans bra from sunny Barbados to Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Lisa Russell spotted the tiny gecko after it fell out of a bra as she unpacked her suitcase after her holiday. I thought it was a tiny dead creature and then when it moved I started screaming I managed to put it safely in a box and then called the RSPCA, she said. A lingerie-loving lizard travelled more than 4,000 miles in a womans bra from sunny Barbados to Rotherham, South Yorkshire (RSPCA/PA) Meanwhile, a rather chunky hedgehog had to be rescued in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in August after falling down an open drain and getting wedged down a tight pipe. Thankfully unharmed, the podgy hedgehog was pulled out using a coat hanger and released back into the undergrowth. In the same month, a stallion who was desperate to visit his female neighbours got into an embarrassing spot, getting stuck halfway over a gate in Rochester, Kent. A stallion who was desperate to visit his female neighbours got stuck halfway over a gate (RSPCA/PA) The horse had to be hoisted back into his paddock with help from Kent Fire & Rescue Service. London has breached a great deal of trust with Europe, the blocs chief negotiator has claimed. European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic told German news website Der Spiegel that problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol a way to maintain a free-flowing land border on the island of Ireland after Brexit meant the UK broke international law in trying to get round the arrangement. But he said he is still confident that a compromise can be found between the two sides, although he admitted it will not be easy. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has taken on responsibility for post-Brexit negotiations (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Mr Sefcovic told Der Spiegel he is pragmatic about Foreign Secretary Liz Truss taking on responsibility for post-Brexit negotiations with the EU, after Brexit minister Lord Frost resigned earlier this month. But he warned that if Ms Truss was to trigger Article 16, a move that would effectively unilaterally suspend the treaty agreed between the UK and the EU, it would throw into jeopardy the foundation of the entire deal reached between the two sides. Ms Truss has said she remains prepared to invoke Article 16 if issues are not resolved. But Mr Sefcovic said: This is a very distracting element in the discussions. You try to achieve something together and bam theres the threat of Article 16 again. It touches on the fundamentals of our relationship. The Northern Ireland Protocol was the most complicated part of the Brexit negotiations, and it is the foundation of the entire deal. Without the protocol, the whole system will collapse. We must prevent that at any cost. He added: London has breached a great deal of trust, which we must first rebuild. But I believe we can find a compromise. The EU and the United Kingdom are strategic partners and they should treat each other as such. All DoorDash employees, even the CEO, will make deliveries. At least one worker is irate DoorDash will require all employees, including its engineers, corporate executives and CEO Tony Xu, to complete deliveries at least once a month after reinstating its WeDash program. And an anonymous social media post revealed at least one of the company's employees isn't happy about it. The WeDash program was created when the company was founded in 2013 as an effort to engage the company in community and philanthropic initiatives. "It's a great program that reflects our values, brings us closer to the product and helps us build empathy for all our audiences," a DoorDash spokesperson told USA TODAY. Employees gain "first-hand knowledge by earning credits" in a three-part training experience to better understand the marketplace. Along with being a dasher, employees are allowed to support merchants or shadow a Customer Experience agent. 'Instant beauty gratification': Ulta Beauty partners with DoorDash for same-day delivery The metaverse: Could it reshape the real estate landscape both virtually and in reality? The program came to a halt when the pandemic started, but officials are excited to get it running again. On Blind, an anonymous social media platform for white-collar professionals, an engineer expressed his frustration with the program's return. "I didn't sign up for this, there was nothing in the offer letter/job description about this," read the post with over 1,700 comments. A look at a few of the comments suggested others sided with the company's value of showing empathy for their delivery driver. Despite the criticism, DoorDash is sticking with its plans to bring back the program. "The sentiment of the employee on Blind is not a reflection of the employees base at large. This is a valued program we've had since the company's inception," said a DoorDash spokesperson. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DoorDash food deliveries will be made by engineers, executives and CEO (Los Angeles Times) The boyfriend of a celebrity business manager found dead in her car last week has been charged in connection with the woman's torture death, authorities said Wednesday. Angela Kukawski, 55, whose star-studded client roster included members of the Kardashian family, was reported missing Dec. 22 from the Sherman Oaks neighborhood where she lived, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The following day, police from Los Angeles and Simi Valley found Kukawski dead in her car, which was parked on Patricia Avenue in Simi Valley, the LAPD said in a news release. Kukawski's boyfriend, 49-year-old Jason Barker, was arrested later that day on suspicion of murder and booked into Van Nuys Jail, where he's being held in lieu of more than $3-million bail, according to inmate records. LAPD News: Homicide Victim Found in Simi Valley pic.twitter.com/7eos9rfZef LAPD PIO (@LAPDPIO) December 29, 2021 Detectives think Barker killed Kukawski inside their residence, put her in her car and drove to Simi Valley, where the vehicle was left. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has charged Barker with one count of premeditated murder and one count of torture, both felonies, according to a criminal complaint provided to The Times. Kukawski died from sharp and blunt force injuries of the head and neck, as well as strangulation, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office. It's alleged a knife and firearm were used during the attack, which the complaint says was undertaken with "intent to cause cruel and extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion and for a sadistic purpose, [to] inflict great bodily injury," as defined in the penal code for torture. Prosecutors in the complaint say the crime took place between Dec. 21 and 22. Variety reported that Kukawski worked at Boulevard Management in Woodland Hills, where she had A-list clients, including Nicki Minaj, Kanye West and Offset. She also worked at some point with the Kardashians and the estate of Tupac Shakur, the publication reported, citing government filings and past associates. On Wednesday, Boulevard said through an employee that the company was not ready to release a statement. Kukawski, Variety reported, was a mother to five children and also known as Angela Castro. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Why think big? Small is so much easier. As we take stock of 2021, the second year of a once-in-a-century pandemic was obviously a time of challenges: Relentless COVID-19, a delayed economic recovery, a whiff of inflation. Did we overcome with grace and grit? Of course not! We aired grievances and called each other names and looked around for somebody to blame. The America of 2021 is a nation of snowflakes and bickerers, easily offended and eager to take strong stands on things that barely matter. Scientists gave the world a remarkable gift this year: vaccines against a novel coronavirus that caused a pandemic, developed in record time. Some 38 million adult American have said: "No thanks, Id rather take my chance with the virus." A group holding a "Back the Blue" demonstration scuffles with counter-protestors outside a police station in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., September 15, 2021. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder) For some vaccine refusers, science defiance is an existential mission, a thing that gives their lives purpose. They amass at protests and quit their jobs in solidarity with the virus, as if aligned with the great freedom fighters of history. At least eight states including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah enacted laws or executive orders prohibiting schools from requiring students or teachers to wear masks. This is what was important in 2021: the freedom to infect. Floods, fires, and tornadoes wrought unprecedented destruction this year, at least some of it likely fueled by global warming. But reducing carbon emissions might entail higher gasoline prices, so Congress has done little-to-nothing to address climate change. Politics over logic. [Click here to get Rick Newmans stories by email.] The nation is dotted with pockets of patriots who swallowed Donald Trumps bait and stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, hoping to stop Joe Bidens rightful election. Whoops. The government fought back and more than 700 of those marauders have now been arrested. Had these amateur anarchists tried to join the Continental Army after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, some would have washed out and others probably would have gotten the boot of the armys commanding general, George Washington. Jan. 6 proved, once again, that rugged individualism is an American marketing conceit and little more. Aaron Mostofsky, son of Kings County Supreme Court Judge Shlomo Mostofsky, sits with a police vest and riot shield after supporters of President Donald Trump occupied the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. Picture taken January 6, 2021. (REUTERS/Mike Theiler) I got a lot of correspondence from Americans of all stripes in 2021, and right-wing Trumpers stood out for their petty spite and meanness. A public case in point: At a NASCAR race in Alabama in October, a bunch of Trumpers began chanting F***Joe Biden, even though Biden wasnt there. Some listeners mistook the chant for Lets Go Brandon, as if Trumpers at a NASCAR race would actually cheer the winning driver, Brandon Brown, when they could demean Biden instead. Lets Go Brandon became a G-rated stand-in mantra for Trumpers most important priority in 2021. Left-wing Bernie Sanders supporters can be nasty too, sending me plenty of "F*** you"s as redistributionists who think the corporatization of America justifies any type of crudeness. Many of those left wingers cite Sanders' ongoing call for a revolution, even though Sanders couldnt persuade Democrats to back his vision of upheaval n the 2020 primary elections. Many analysts worry that America is becoming anti-democratic, plutocratic, and economically uncompetitive. Its also becoming boring, a massive family of Bickersons. No issue is too trivial to argue about. If weve beaten the matter to death, well gleefully beat it to death some more. As social media has taught us: Never let big ideas stand in the way of a good rant or an epic takedown of the other guy. Stick with what you know instead of trying something new. Criticize rather than create. There are socioeconomic explanations for the vaccine wars, the culture wars, the general small-mindedness. Working-class whites feel familiar culture decaying as demographic trends make a minority-majority inevitable. The offshoring of good-paying blue-collar jobs has damaged living standards, with nobody held accountable. Big goals such as a green-energy transformation are likely to produce losers as well as winners. People naturally dig in to protect their turf. To many, tribalism seems safer than accepting change. U.S. President Joe Biden awards the Medal of Honor to Master Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry, in Washington, U.S., December 16, 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein) There will always be overachievers amid the rabble-rousers. Elon Musk gets away with chronic boorishness because he runs groundbreaking companies such as Tesla and SpaceX that literally expanded frontiers this year. Hip-hop crossover artist Lil Nas X has become a delightful, pop-culture anti-troll who capitalizes on the disapprobation of pedants. Woman athletes Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles raised the bar for guts in 2021 by refusing to compete when they felt it might harm their mental health. And if you want real heroes, learn about the three soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor on Dec. 16. America doesnt lack role models. What it currently lacks is strivers who ought to be following those role models and plotting their own way to change the world. Nobody will make a difference by impeding progress, but blocking societal advancements might seem like the natural thing to do if youre afraid of the future. After all, you're better boring than sorry unless you end up being both. Rick Newman is a columnist and author of four books, including "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. You can also send confidential tips. [Click here to get Rick Newmans stories by email.] Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn Apple puts supplier Foxconn's India plant on notice after protests FILE PHOTO: Private security guards stand at the entrance of a closed plant of Foxconn India, near Chennai By Sudarshan Varadhan and Sayantani Ghosh CHENNAI (Reuters) -Apple said it had placed the southern Indian factory of iPhone assembler Foxconn on probation after both companies found that some worker dormitories and dining rooms did not meet required standards. Apple did not explain what probation meant. When it placed the southern India plant of another supplier, Wistron Corp, on probation after unrest last year, it said it would not award that company new business until it addressed the way workers were treated. The latest action follows protests that erupted this month after more than 250 women who work at the Foxconn plant and live in one of the dormitories were treated for food poisoning. More than 150 were hospitalised, Reuters reported. The plant, which is located in the town of Sriperumbudur town near Chennai and employs about 17,000 people, was closed on Dec 18. Apple and Foxconn did not say when they expected it to reopen. A spokesperson for Taiwan's Foxconn said on Wednesday that it was restructuring its local management team, taking immediate steps to improve facilities and added that all employees would continue to be paid while it makes necessary improvements to restart operations. An Apple spokesperson said on Wednesday it had dispatched independent auditors to assess conditions at the dormitories "following recent concerns about food safety and accommodation conditions at Foxconn Sriperumbudur." Apple said it had found that some of the dormitory accommodations and dining rooms, which were not on the factory's premises, did not meet its requirements and that it was working with the supplier to ensure a comprehensive set of corrective actions, adding that it will ensure its strict standards are met before the facility reopens. A senior government official familiar with the matter said Foxconn has been answering queries from the state government on amenities provided to workers. "Once they get clearances from the government, workers will be inducted and the company will resume production," the official said. A second official said the reopening of the Foxconn plant in Chennai could be delayed until Monday. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Foxconn as well as 11 of its contractors including those who provide food and living facilities, were summoned for a meeting with the state government and that officials had asked Foxconn to review services provided to the workers, including power backup at the hostels, food and water. The impact on Apple from the closure of the plant, which makes iPhone 12 models and has started trial production of the iPhone 13, is expected to be minimal, analysts have said. But the factory is strategic in the long term as the U.S. tech giant tries to cut its reliance on its Chinese supply chain amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. (Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh, Sudarshan Varadhan in Chennai, Chandini Monappa in Bengaluru, Dawn Chmielewsk in Los Angeles and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Kenneth Maxwell and Raju Gopalakrishnan) As you wind down the year, cleaning out drawers and emptying wallets of receipts, dont forget to report to the IRS any income you brought in from drug deals, bribes, stolen goods, prostitution or other illegal activity. According to IRS publication 17, the Internal Revenue Service wants taxpayers to include on their forms income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs. Make sure you put that on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity, the IRS wrote. The agency also requests that if you steal property, you must report its fair market value, but only if you dont return it to its rightful owner in the same year. The somewhat obscure provisions went viral this week after a popular finance-meme social media account and daily newsletter author pointed them out. The IRS didnt immediately return an NBC News request for comment. Humorous as they appear on their face, the statutes are law and have been on the books for years. Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone was indicted on tax evasion after prosecutors alleged that his stated income didnt match his lavish lifestyle. All income, from whatever source, is taxable income, unless excluded by an act of Congress, Gary Schroeder, a Maryland-based tax preparer, said. If you receive $500 to kill your neighbors annoying rooster, or find $1 on the street, or embezzle from your employer, thats all taxable income, as well as your paycheck from flipping burgers at McDonald's. In practice, its rare for those who break the law to then turn around and dutifully log their ill-gotten gains for the government to review. But there are exceptions. People who are convicted or expected to be convicted of embezzlement will report the income to avoid getting prosecuted for tax evasion on the proceeds, Stephen Moskowitz, a San Francisco tax attorney, told NBC News. If a person declares and pays taxes on their illegal activities, then they also get to deduct the cost of any restitution as well, he said. Income for activities that may be legal at the state level, such as marijuana production, but illegal at the federal level is also disclosed in this manner, he said. This law exists. Its a revenue raiser, Moskowitz said. Congress requires that you report all of your income whether legitimate or not, said David Cay Johnston, an investigative journalist who specializes in tax code issues. There are people who file tax returns and list as their occupation criminal activities like 'prostitute.' Because tax returns are confidential and the IRS cant share the information unless law enforcement has a case and gets a court order to get access to a taxpayers records, this is less risky than it sounds. In 2020, there were 324 tax fraud convictions, according to the United States Sentencing Commission, down from 595 in 2016, a 45 percent decrease. The tax gap the difference between the taxes that are owed and the taxes that are collected runs in the hundreds of billions of dollars a year, Schroeder said. While a portion of that gap is the unreported profit from illicit drug sales, the gap also includes the folks who skim by not reporting some or all of their income that is paid in currency, he said. In 2019, the IRS added a question to forms asking taxpayers to declare whether they had engaged in cryptocurrency transactions. In 2020, the IRS moved it to the top of Form 1040. Last year, the agency said it seized $3.5 billion in cryptocurrency assets. Jurors completed a sixth day of deliberations without a verdict in the criminal fraud case against former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes on Wednesday, and a docket entry confirming that a sealed 23-minute proceeding took place on Tuesday remained a mystery. Deliberations are scheduled to resume on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, at 8:30 A.M. Pacific Time. Federal District Court Judge Edward Davila didnt reveal why the matter was shielded from public view. Both the governments lawyers and Holmes defense lawyers were present for the proceeding. Legal experts say that without additional information, they cant predict the reason for the secrecy. And though unusual, certain post-trial matters such as personal juror matters, deliberation progress updates, and scheduling conflicts could justify private discussions. It is certainly unusual for the court to seal the proceeding, George Demos, a former Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney and current University of California Davis adjunct law professor, told Yahoo Finance. This may relate to juror issues that the court believes if disclosed could impair the integrity of the deliberations." Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes arrives to attend her fraud trial at federal court in San Jose, California, U.S., December 17, 2021. REUTERS/Peter DaSilva Holmes is defending 11 counts of fraud and conspiracy for allegedly misrepresenting the viability of Theranos blood-testing technology to investors and paying customers. She was indicted, along with Theranos COO and her onetime boyfriend, Sunny Balwani, in 2018 after the Silicon Valley startup imploded under regulatory and legal scrutiny. Balwani also faces criminal fraud and conspiracy charges and is scheduled to stand trial next year. White collar criminal defense attorney Elisha Kobre explained that absent extraordinary circumstances, substantive case issues would generally be dealt with in open court. For that reason, he added, its unlikely that the proceeding concerned such matters. While we cannot know for sure, it may be that one or more of the jurors will need to take a break at some point from deliberations to deal with a personal matter, Kobre said, noting that a medical issue, for example, could warrant a close session. It may also be that one of the jurors is feeling ill or even have symptoms of COVID, though that is less likely given that deliberations have apparently continued today. Michael Weinstein, a white collar criminal defense attorney for Cole Schotz, told Yahoo Finance that any challenge to the courts decision may not outpace the jurys verdict even if an emergent hearing were granted. At the close of deliberations on Wednesday, jurors had spent approximately 48 hours considering Holmes fate. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn Biden Putin FILE - President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, arrive to meet at the 'Villa la Grange', June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. Biden and Putin are scheduled to speak Thursday, Dec. 30, as the Russian leader has stepped up his demands for security guarantees in Eastern Europe. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin are set to discuss the Russian troop buildup near Ukraine on Thursday during their second call in recent weeks amid little progress toward ending the smoldering crisis. The White House indicated that Biden would make clear to Putin that a diplomatic path remains open even as the Russians have moved an estimated 100,000 troops toward Ukraine and Putin has stepped up his demands for security guarantees precluding NATO from expanding to Ukraine. Those demands are to be discussed by senior U.S. and Russian officials during talks on Jan. 10 in Geneva. But Biden will reiterate to Putin that for there to be real progress in the talks they must be conducted in a context of de-escalation rather than escalation, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters before the call. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity. The call was set up on Putins initiative, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday. The goal of the conversation is clear to continue discussing the issues that were on the agenda during the recent conversation via video conference, Peskov told reporters. That Dec. 7 call focused on the Russian troop movements, which have unsettled Ukraine and other European allies, as well as Moscow's demand for security guarantees. Peskov noted that since that call, Moscow has submitted its security proposals to U.S. and European officials and now from our point of view, from the point of view of President Putin, the need has arisen for another telephone conversation, which would preface the upcoming talks. The official said Biden and Putin, who met in Geneva in June to discuss an array of tensions in the U.S.-Russia relationship, were not expected to take part in the January talks. In the Dec. 7 video call, the White House said Biden put Moscow on notice that an invasion of Ukraine would bring sanctions and enormous harm to the Russian economy. Russian officials have dismissed the sanction threats. Moscow and NATO representatives are expected to meet shortly after the upcoming Geneva talks as are Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which includes the United States. The draft security documents Moscow submitted demand that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back its military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. The U.S. and its allies have refused to offer Russia the kind of guarantees on Ukraine that Putin wants, citing NATOs principle that membership is open to any qualifying country. They agreed, however, to hold talks with Russia to discuss its concerns. As Biden prepared for the talks with Putin, the administration also sought to highlight the commitment to Ukraine and drive home that Washington is committed to the principle of nothing about you without you in shaping policy that affects European allies. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken reiterated the United States unwavering support for Ukraines independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity in the face of Russias military buildup on Ukraines borders. Biden and administration officials also plan to consult with European allies after the president speaks with Putin to offer them a readout of the engagement. Putin said earlier this week he would weigh a slew of options if the West fails to meet his push for security guarantees precluding NATOs expansion to Ukraine. In Thursday's call, Biden is expected to stress to Putin that the U.S. is united with its allies but will demonstrate a willingness to engage in principled diplomacy with Russia, the administration official said. In 2014, Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and seized the territory from Ukraine. Russia's annexation of Crimea one of the darker moments for President Barack Obama on the international stage looms large as Biden looks to contain the current crisis. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has made clear in public comments that the administration is ready to discuss Moscows concerns about NATO in talks with Russian officials, but emphasized that Washington won't go behind the backs of European allies in shaping policy that affects them. The two leaders are also expected during Thursday's call to discuss efforts to persuade Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear accord, which was effectively scrapped by the Trump administration. Despite differences on Ukraine and other issues, White House officials have said the Iran nuclear issue is one where they believe the U.S. and Russia can work cooperatively. Biden, who is spending the week in his home state of Delaware, is expected to speak to Putin from his home near Wilmington. ___ Associated Press writer Dasha Litvinova in Moscow contributed to this report. WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 27: President Joe Biden and the White House COVID-19 Response Team participate in a virtual call with the National Governors Association from the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House Complex on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden spoke to governors about their concerns regarding the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus and the need for more COVID-19 tests. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) President Biden and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone Thursday, the second direct conversation between the two leaders in the last three weeks as the Russian leader continues to seek assurances from the West before he draws down troops positioned along his countrys border with Ukraine. The 50-minute phone call, which a senior administration official described as serious and substantive, did not produce any breakthroughs. Rather, it was an opportunity for both leaders, the official said, to set the tone and tenor for the diplomatic engagement to come ahead of scheduled talks next month in Geneva. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that Biden urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine. He made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine. In expressing his support for diplomacy ahead of the Geneva talks, the president reiterated that substantive progress in these dialogues can occur only in an environment of de-escalation rather than escalation, Psaki said. Administration officials have said they did not know why Putin sought to speak to Biden, who warned his Russian counterpart in a Dec. 7 video call not to invade Ukraine. Neither leader will take part directly in the bilateral talks starting Jan. 10 in Geneva. The White House remains hopeful that talks and the threat of stiff economic sanctions from the U.S. and its European allies would be enough to deter Putin from invading. But in the three weeks since his last conversation with Biden, Putin has done little to signal what direction he may choose, keeping the roughly 100,000 Russian troops in place along the Ukraine border but not yet attacking. In the meantime, he has continued to demand security guarantees from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, wary of the alliances efforts to shore up Ukraines defenses. The Kremlin is highly incentivized to create ambiguity about what exactly they are doing, said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, a New York-based global risk assessment firm. According to the administration official who briefed reporters after the call, Biden again made it clear to Putin that the U.S. was consulting closely with NATO allies and that it will be up to Russia to determine whether to resolve the situation diplomatically or risk economic sanctions by attacking Ukraine. Our focus is really on action, and indicators, not on words at this point, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the leaders call. So were going to continue to monitor very closely the movement and build up of Russian forces on the Ukraine border and prepare ourselves for whatever decision ultimately is made by the Russian president. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. T.B., who is seeking asylum, is photographed at his sister's home in the Fresno area. T.B. fled his town in Guerrero, Mexico, after he says he was forced to vote for a gang-backed candidate in a local election. (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times) Years and thousands of miles removed, the nightmares persist of the narco-gang stealing livestock, delivering beatings, threatening lives. T.B. tries to calm his father when the terrors take hold, assuring him that their family is safe. They, along with hundreds of others who fled the southern Mexican town of Coahuayutla to seek asylum in the U.S., settled in Fresno and the surrounding San Joaquin Valley. While other migrants have come here for decades to work the fields, the Coahuayutlans came seeking safety. Still fearful of the cartel's long reach, they asked to be identified by initials, and in interviews, applications for asylum and in immigration court hearings described what sent them north. In 2015, gang members rounded up T.B. and nearly 30 other townspeople at gunpoint and drove them to a polling station to vote. The two candidates running for mayor of Coahuayutla, a mountainous farming municipality in the state of Guerrero, were backed by rival criminal organizations, former residents say. One candidate had more financial support and firepower behind him, and T.B., now 39 and living near Fresno, said he was forced to vote for him. I didnt want to vote for him, T.B. said. "It wasnt of my own volition. It wouldn't be the last time T.B.'s life was threatenedover marking a ballot. The gang began extorting money from him, he said, taking all but 3,000 pesos around $150 of the monthly earnings from his public works job. After three months, he could no longer afford to feed his wife and young daughter and missed a payment. In September 2016, gang members broke through his front door, handcuffed him, covered his head and took him to the woods, where they beat him with the back of a rifle, pulled out his hair and ordered him to vote for another gang-backed candidate or die. Two weeks later, the kidnappers released him to go to work. Instead of going in, he went to a hospital, where he was given pain medication for his injuries. That night, he sneaked home to fetch his family. They walked seven miles to a highway and caught a ride to the neighboring state of Michoacan, where a sister who lives near Fresno wired them money to fly to Tijuana before crossing into the United States. "If I had stayed, maybe I wouldn't be here anymore," T.B. said during an interview in his lawyer's Fresno office. K.V. and her daughter stand in their doorway. They fled their small town in Guerrero, Mexico, after not voting for a gang-backed candidate in a local election last year and are now living in the Fresno area and seeking asylum. (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times) The plight of T.B. and other asylees opens a window into a less discussed side of the immigration debates that have polarized U.S. society and paralyzed policymakers across successive presidential administrations. While thousands of people enter the U.S. each year for largely economic reasons, many others are fleeing the endemic corruption and violence perpetrated by rival drug cartels, and their political enablers, that control vast swaths of Mexico and Central America. As the cartels' wealth and weaponry have grown, and Mexico's federal government has retreated from its failed military-backed cartel crackdown of the 2000s, gangs have infiltrated remote municipalities, intimidated voters, murdered opposing candidates and seized control of town halls. That violence has increased the flow of Mexican migrants pleading for asylum because of political persecution, a status that the U.S. historically has been inconsistent in awarding. Decisions about which immigrants get asylum are fueled by U.S. foreign policy priorities, diplomatic relations and a prejudicial fear of "opening the floodgates" for others to come, said Karen Musalo, a professor at UC Hastings College of the Law who has litigated several landmark asylum cases. "When we talk about rule of law, we talk about the unbiased application of law to the facts," she said. "Those are factors that should not impact what the outcome is." During fiscal year 2020, more than 80% of claims by people from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala were denied, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a nonpartisan data research organization at Syracuse University. People from China and India had 23% and 38% of claims denied, respectively. President Biden has called for a review of asylum regulations to evaluate whether the U.S. aligns with international standards in providing protection for those fleeing domestic and gang violence cases that were categorically denied under the Trump administration. But the border remains closed to the vast majority of asylum seekers under a restrictive pandemic-era policy initiated by Trump and continued by Biden. Cases such as those from Coahuayutla go beyond gang persecution because they involve targeting based on political opinion, said Fresno-based immigration lawyer Nathan Brown, who represents 120 people from Coahuayutla. Most of Brown's clients, like T.B., now work in agriculture, and Brown is optimistic that many of the Coahuayutlans will get asylum. These are such strong cases," Brown said. "The motive is squarely within the asylum statute. When T.B. was kidnapped in 2016, he said in an interview, he could make out the husky outline and hoarse, low voice of the man in charge: Eleazar El Chay Mercado, who would go on to run for mayor in 2018 against Rafael Martinez. Mercado was affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, as well as the Green Party. According to news reports and accounts by a dozen former residents in interviews, asylum petitions and court hearings, Mercado was backed by Los Cuernudos, a local branch of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico's largest and most powerful drug cartels. The state of Guerrero is the epicenter of organized crime in Mexico. Located between Mexico City and the Pacific coast, it has endured some of the countrys worst atrocities, including the disappearance of 43 teachers in training from Ayotzinapa, which captured the world's attention in 2014. In Guerrero, even those who want to be ethical can be forced to forge a truce with the gangs. In areas where territory is disputed, many politicians and police have aligned themselves with one side over another. Kidnappings, attacks and murders of political candidates and their supporters are common throughout the republic. The campaign cycle between September 2020 and June saw 91 politically linked killings, according to a report by Etellekt , a risk analysis firm in Mexico City. L.H. is photographed at work in a nectarine orchard. He and several dozen immigrants who fled their small town in Guerrero, Mexico, after not voting for a gang-backed candidate in a local election last year are now living in the Fresno area and seeking asylum. (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times) Sandra Ley, a political science professor at the Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas in Mexico City, said the phenomenon of organized criminal groups targeting politicians and the election process started around 2006. That December, upon taking office, President Felipe Calderon launched a campaign against drug traffickers that critics said served mainly to gin up splashy headlines over kingpins' arrests, splinter large cartels into smaller, more vicious ones and spawn human rights abuses by government forces. Before the PRI was ousted as Mexico's hegemonic rulers in 2000, gangs didnt pay much attention to elections, and were generally tolerated by bribe-taking politicians as long as the streets didn't overflow with blood. But as elections grew more competitive, and with offices across regions up for grabs, gangs started to buy off candidates of various affiliations. Gaining control over politicians is easier in rural municipalities, Ley said. With cooperative officials or even their own people in key positions, the groups can protect and grow their illegal ventures. The local order is transforming completely, said Ley, co-author of the 2020 book Votes, Drugs, and Violence. The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico . M.V. fled a town in Guerrero, Mexico, after not voting for a gang-backed candidate. (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times) When people flee, the key issue here is that this allows organized crime to have a lot more freedom to control everything. In Mexico, we fought so hard for democracy. This is about how democracy begins falling." In interviews and immigration court declarations, former Coahuayutla residents gave consistent accounts of what happened leading up to the 2018 election. Months ahead, Mercado sent notes to town residents, urging them to vote for him. As the election neared, armed gangsters went door to door, demanding support. One asylum seeker, J.B, 27, said Mercado showed up at his home in the middle of the night with armed guards to ask who he was voting for. Por usted, viejo, J.B. replied, his voice trembling as he lied. You know were with you, sir. During a shootout between the gangs several months after the election, a neighbor warned J.B. that dozens of armed men were going house to house to confront those on a list of people who were suspected of voting against Mercado. J.B. and his wife fled town that day. On their way out, J.B. said, he saw two bodies on the side of the road. Blood flowed onto the highway. Returning to Mexico would be certain death for us, he said. The mafia never forgets. For R.A., 25, the turning point came a few days before the 2018 election when five men brandishing AK-47s and dressed in green camouflage with their faces covered by black bandanas outfits used by Los Cuernudos showed up at her fathers ranch. R.A.s father, who wasn't home at the time, had publicly supported Martinezs candidacy and occasionally participated in campaign events. One gangster said that "if we didn't vote for his candidate El Chay, the whole family would have problems," she said in a declaration for her asylum case. "They threatened my mom that they would kill us. The threat was especially directed to my father: they would return to kill him." Undeterred, the family resolved to vote for Martinez, a distant relative who'd promised to liberate the town from Los Cuernudos grip. On election day, most people voted openly at tables. R.A. and her family voted in private booths. It was common knowledge that Los Cuernudos had staff checking ballots. Anyone who voted in the booths was assumed to have voted against Mercado, she said. In an upset, Martinez won by 300 votes and the town erupted in chaos. Los Cuernudos broke into City Hall, raided homes and established road checkpoints so that vehicles couldnt leave, former residents said. Asylum seekers said the gang targeted people who they knew had voted against Mercado and those who hadnt voted at all. That December, nearly five months after the election, Los Cuernudos fulfilled their threat and killed R.A.s father with a gunshot to the head, then threw his body in a ravine, she said in the asylum declaration and during an immigration court hearing in February 2020 in San Francisco. Two weeks later, Los Cuernudos went after R.A. and her husband. Armed men arrived close to midnight, dragged out the couple and their young son and forced them to kneel on the ground. They said they would spare the familys lives in exchange for their property if they left within two days. R.A. and her extended family fled by bus to the Texas border, where they requested asylum in January 2019. Then came a twist: the family of Mercado, the losing candidate, reported that he had disappeared. His wife, who presumes he is dead, later told the Tijuana newspaper Zeta that, like so many other former Coahuayutla residents, she hoped to obtain asylum in the United States. In California, R.A.'s case remains pending. Brown, her lawyer, said she meets the criteria for asylum: fear of persecution in her home country based on political opinion, one of five protected categories that also include race, religion, nationality and membership in a particular social group. In the months since R.A.'s family and the others began fleeing Coahuayutla, the town and surrounding municipality have continued to empty out. Just a fraction of the region's 13,000 residents remain. In June, another election was held, and despite remaining tensions, Martinez won a second term. R.A. said her mother, who stayed behind, voted for Martinez. Sometimes, her mother told her, gang members stop traffic to rifle through peoples phone messages. So R.A. said her mother calls to update her on town politics only when she leaves the area. R.A. said people in town are indifferent to having Martinez as mayor. After all, it could be worse. But for those still left in Coahuayutla, the fear of violence persists. T.B. holds one of his chickens at his home in the Central Valley. (Tomas Ovalle/For The Times) As T.B. and his family settled near Fresno, Los Cuernudos started extorting his elderly parents. They stole his fathers 15 cows and bull, T.B. said. They asked where T.B. had moved. In 2020, T.B.'s parents fled to the U.S., where they are already green card holders. Then the entire family came down with COVID-19. His parents struggled to recover, particularly his father, who now doesnt remember much of his hometown. Sometimes, though, his father wakes up terrified in the middle of the night, saying Los Cuernudos are following him and begging to be taken to safety. No, Pa," T.B. tells him. Youre here, in the United States." Cecilia Sanchez of The Times' Mexico City bureau contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, pictured in 2007, limited the use of the filibuster in 2013 and urged Democrats to end it altogether a few months before he died Tuesday at 82. (Dennis Cook / Associated Press) Harry Reid, the pugnacious Nevada Democrat and former Senate majority leader who died Tuesday at age 82, never regretted having gone nuclear. In 2013, Reid ended the filibuster the rule that requires 60 votes to prevent a lone senator from speaking at length to block approval for executive branch and judicial nominees other than those for the Supreme Court. It was among his most consequential decisions as majority leader and allowed President Obama to appoint more judges to key posts than in any other two-year stretch in his presidency. It also opened Reid up to criticism that he accelerated the chamber's evolution into a partisan battlefield. As news of Reid's death spread Tuesday, many Democrats praised his decision to deploy the "nuclear option" so called because opponents said ending the filibuster would badly damage the Senate but they acknowledged it may not have gone far enough. That has left Democrats weighing whether to finish what Reid started by nuking the longtime Senate rule for legislation as well as they seek to pass what they say is a crucial voting rights bill. Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who since last year has been signaling openness to ending the filibuster altogether, said in a letter to colleagues last week that the Senate would consider changes to any rules which prevent us from debating and reaching final conclusion on important legislation if Republicans use the rule to block voting rights legislation. Reid "saw what was happening to the Senate, Schumer told MSNBC on Tuesday night. He was a strong advocate of changing the rules in the Senate, which I hope we carry forward in the next few weeks. Such a change is hardly guaranteed: It would require all 48 Democrats and 2 independents to vote to kill the rule, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking a likely tie with the Senate's 50 Republicans. At least two centrist Democrats Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona oppose the move. That doesn't mean Democratic leaders are not willing to try to jettison a rule that has existed in its modern form since 1917. If lawmakers scrap the filibuster, it could result in a seismic shift for the Senate, a chamber that has many members who pride themselves on upholding tradition and building consensus to pass legislation. It would likely mark the formal end to the era of bipartisan deal making. Reid had predicted the filibuster would ultimately be killed off, and in September told his party in an op-ed to "act with the urgency that this moment demands and abolish the filibuster once and for all. The sanctity of the Senate is not the filibuster, he wrote in a guest column for the Las Vegas Sun. The sanctity of the Senate in government as a whole is the power it holds to better the lives of and protect the rights of the American people. We need to get the Senate working again. Democrats are facing a dynamic that's similar to their situation in 2013 with a Democratic president and control of the Senate by a small margin. Their chief nemesis is also the same: Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Reid acted that year because Democrats were deeply frustrated by Republicans' use of the filibuster to stall and torpedo Obama's nominations for key judicial posts. I was around when Sen. McConnell famously was quoted as saying he wanted to make President Obama a one-term president. And to give credit for consistency, thats what hes trying to do here with President Biden, said Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist who spent six years working for Reid in the Senate. The presidents an institutionalist, just like Sen. Reid was but if you look at it objectively, somethings got to give, Manley added. The tables turned on Democrats in 2017, when Republican President Trump took office. McConnell discarded the filibuster for approving Supreme Court justices after refusing for months to consider Obama's last nominee to the high court. Trump ultimately put three justices on the court, and also placed more than 230 judges onto district and appellate courts. Those who support the filibuster say it was intended to give the minority party a voice, particularly on controversial and wide-ranging legislation, and to force the majority to build broad consensus. They have also noted that Democrats will not always be in the majority and may pay a heavy price for eliminating the rule by making it easier for Republicans to pass their own controversial bills and undo signature legislative accomplishments of the last few decades. Opponents of the filibuster say the rule is a relic that gives the minority outsized control of the agenda in Congress, and that Republicans have abused that power. Democrats have pointed out that Republicans began to increasingly use the tactic after losing control of the Senate in 2006, and again at the start of Obama's second term in 2013. Calls on the left to end the legislative filibuster have increased in recent years. Obama, speaking at the funeral of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) in 2020, called the filibuster a Jim Crow relic and said it should be eliminated if necessary to pass voting rights legislation. Biden, who spent 36 years in the Senate before serving two terms as Obama's vice president, has long supported the filibuster, saying getting rid of it would throw the entire Congress into chaos and nothing will get done. But as Democrats have become increasingly concerned this year with Republican-controlled states passing laws restricting voting access, the president's views have evolved. Last week, he told ABC News that he would support a filibuster exception for voting rights legislation. Carving out exceptions, opponents said, would only hasten the filibuster's ultimate demise. It opens Pandoras box, said David Winston, a Republican strategist and pollster. Once you open the door for a particular type of legislation, you potentially open the door for all of it. As Reid wrote in September, he would not consider that such a bad outcome. How could Washington be any more dysfunctional? his former aide Rebecca Kirszner Katz said in an email. Katz is a co-founder of the Battle Born Collective, a group that helps advance progressive policies. Harry Reid was not quite a progressive, but he was a realist," she wrote. "He knew what was fair. And the filibuster aint it. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, invited House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Wednesday to sit for an interview with investigators. "If he has information he wants to share with us, and is willing to voluntarily come in, I'm not taking the invitation off the table," Thompson said in a phone interview with ABC News. Earlier this week, McCarthy, who spoke to then-President Donald Trump during the riot, was asked in a local television interview whether he would cooperate with the committee's investigation. "I don't have anything to add. I have been very public, but I wouldn't hide from anything, other," he said in an interview with KBAK. MORE: Jan. 6 committee seeks interview with Trump ally Rep. Jim Jordan "If Leader McCarthy has nothing to hide, he can voluntarily come before the committee," Thompson told ABC News, adding that he would consider sending McCarthy a formal request to appear. A McCarthy spokesman did not respond to a message seeking comment on Thompson's remarks. The select committee has formally requested interviews with Reps. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. Jordan is of interest to investigators for his conversations with Trump on Jan. 6, while Perry has been linked to unsuccessful efforts to get the Trump Justice Department to investigate claims of election fraud in late 2020. Both have rejected the committee's requests. PHOTO: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 3, 2021. (Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE) The Mississippi Democrat also told ABC News that the panel could formally invite other GOP lawmakers House members or senators to appear before the committee in the coming weeks. McCarthy told at least one colleague that Trump dismissed his request to help stop the riot, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., said in a statement during Trump's second impeachment trial. In an interview with Fox News in April, McCarthy said Trump "didn't see" the riot was unfolding until they spoke. "What he ended the call with saying was telling me he'll put something out to make sure to stop this. And that's what he did. He put a video out later," McCarthy said. MORE: GOP congressman rejects Jan. 6 committee records request While committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has said the committee could subpoena McCarthy or other lawmakers who don't voluntarily cooperate with their inquiry, Thompson expressed reservations about doing so. "If we subpoena them and they choose not to come, I'm not aware of a real vehicle that we can force compliance," Thompson said of lawmakers. A committee aide subsequently told ABC News the committee has not ruled out issuing subpoenas to sitting lawmakers. PHOTO: Crowds gather for the 'Stop the Steal' rally in Washington, Jan. 06, 2021. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images, FILE) Stan Brand, an ethics expert who served as House general counsel under Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neal, said such a move could be a "precedential danger" that future GOP-led committees could similarly attempt. He also argued that lawmakers, unlike other witnesses, could argue that their actions around Jan. 6 were related to legislative activity, and protected under the speech and debate clause of the Constitution. Jan. 6 committee enters new, public phase Ahead of the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Thompson also expanded on the committee's plans for public hearings in the new year. He said the committee would hear from state and local election officials about the 2020 election, to debunk Trump's unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud and the dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits he launched to reverse the results after the presidential race was called. PHOTO: Rep. Bennie Thompson, chair of the select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol, speaks during a hearing held by the committee in Washington, Dec. 1, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images, FILE) "We have to look at that to dispel, or at least put before the public for their consumption, the people tasked with the responsibility of running those elections and whether or not they were legitimate or not," Thompson said. The select committee also plans to explore "the role of right-wing organizations" on Jan. 6, Thompson said, noting that some members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keeper groups have been linked to the Capitol riot. The committee will also publicly explore "whether or not we were prepared from an intelligence gathering position," he said. PHOTO: A pro-Trump mob floods into the Capitol Building after breaking into it on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images, FILE) The panel aims to issue an interim report on its inquiry next summer, ahead of a final report in fall 2022. "Part of what we will show is what went on to stoke the flames that ultimately led to Jan. 6.," Thompson said. "What we will do in our hearings is put the pieces of the puzzle together, so the average man and woman on the street will understand how close we came to losing our democracy." Jan. 6 committee chairman could seek interview with GOP leader Kevin McCarthy originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Marysville, CA (95901) Today Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 48F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 48F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed Cabinet members at the December 30 Cabinet meeting to observe a moment of silence in honor of the fallen troops. Weve had and continue having very serious problems in the external environment. Since May 2021, the fact of the Azerbaijani military invasion in the Sotk-Khoznavar section, its consequences and the November 16 incident are further underscoring our problems in the security environment. I am proposing that now we observe a moment of silence and honor the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our country in 2021 and in the past, PM Pashinyan said. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The 2021 state budgets revenues envisaged 1 trillion 440 billion drams, however the figure was overperformed by 146 billion drams as of December 30. Thus, the revenues for 2021 stand at 1 trillion 586 billion drams, the State Revenue Committee Chairman Rustam Badasyan said at the Cabinet meeting. In terms of returns, Badasyan described the figures as record numbers. We returned 182 billion drams to taxpayers, this is mostly in terms of VAT. We plan to return another 3 billion drams today. Thus, the years figure will stand at 185 billion drams, he said, adding that the figure stood at 140 billion in 2020 and 180 billion in 2019. STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Army of Artsakh is denying the reports from Azerbaijani authorities accusing the Artsakh Defense Army in opening fire in the direction of employees of the Azeri Bakcell company. The Defense Army said these reports are a total lie and disinformation. The media reports circulating in Azerbaijani media claiming that the Defense Army units opened fire on December 29 in the direction of the employees of the Azerbaijani Bakcell company which resulted in one Azerbaijani getting wounded is a total lie and is another disinformation, the Defense Army said. YEREVAN, 30 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 30 December, USD exchange rate up by 1.50 drams to 480.14 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.70 drams to 542.61 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.08 drams to 6.42 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 4.22 drams to 646.17 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price down by 81.98 drams to 27697.58 drams. Silver price up by 3.72 drams to 352.5 drams. Platinum price down by 92.10 drams to 14850.26 drams. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. ARMENPRESS news agency congratulates all its readers, subscribers and all Armenians on the occasion of New Year and Christmas. New Year is the first page of a new book, let's write a new unique story together. May 2022 be a period of great prosperity for you and your families. During the festive days the editorial office will continue to publish the most urgent and important information, but the full staff of the agency will resume work on January 3. HAPPY NEW YEAR AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! According to information published by the "Israel Defense" website on December 28, 2021, Morocco continues the negotiation with IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) for the acquisition of the Barak 8, a surface-to-air defense missile system. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link Launcher unit of the Israeli-made Barak 8 air defense missile system. (Picture source Army Recognition) In November 2021, the Defense Minister of Morocco, Abdellatif Loudiyi was in Israel for an official visit the Israeli defense minister to Rabat, Gantz. During this official trip, Israel and Morocco have signed the memorandum of understanding between the two countries, which formalized the security ties between the two countries and made it easier for them to share intelligence, for the militaries and defense ministries to directly communicate with one another, and for Israel to sell weapons and defensive systems to Morocco. Citing the "The Times of Israel" newspaper website, Israel and Morocco are also expected to allow major arms deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years for the acquisition of military equipment. At the same time, Morocco has already shown his interest to obtain Israeli military equipment as the Barak 8 air defense missile system, and drones from IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries). The Barak 8 is a long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), jointly developed by the company IAI and the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The missile is designed to destroy aerial threats including aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles, and UAVs as well as ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and combat jets. Both maritime and land-based variants of the system exist. The Barak 8 missile has a length of about 4.5 meters, a diameter of 0.225 meters at missile body, and 0.54 meters at the booster stage, a wingspan of 0.94 meters and weighs 275 kg including a 60 kg warhead which detonates at proximity. The missile has maximum speed of Mach 3 with a maximum operational range of 70 km. IAI has also developed new in the Barak family including the versions MRAD, with a single pulse rocket motor for a range of 35 km, LRAD with a dual pulse rocket motor for a range of 70 km, ER with a dual pulse rocket motor and an additional booster for a range of 150 km and enhanced TBM capabilities and the Barak MX that broadens the Barak into a multi-layered air defense system employing unified smart launchers carrying Short, Medium, and Extended-Range interceptors. The launcher unit of the BARAK 8 air defense missile system is mounted on a military truck chassis. The Barak 8 missiles are launched vertically from the TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher) and provide 360 degree coverage. The launch unit consists of 8 ready-to-fire missile containers. All eight missiles can be fired in less than 20 seconds. A Barak battery consists of a command and control system, tracking radar, missile and mobile launcher systems. When coupled with a modern air-defence system and multi-function surveillance track and guidance radars, (such as the MF-STAR AESA on board the Kolkata-class destroyers) Barak 8 enables the capability to simultaneously engage multiple targets during saturation attacks. The writer is a development and communications consultant and the author of Kabul Blogs: My Days in the Life of Afghanistan Most of the development aid coming into Afghanistan has stopped An Afghan woman is wrapped with a blanket as she and her family camp outside the Directorate of Disaster in Herat, Afghanistan. (AP Photo) The temperature in Kabul now is an average of 6 degrees Celsius in the day and minus 1 Celsius at night. As the winter progresses, the temperatures fall as low as minus 16 degrees Celsius. Snow is expected, mostly in the northern and central regions. In my visits to Kabul over a 12-year period, in the 2000s, the genset in my guesthouse, fuelled by diesel, was on several hours a day, summer and winter. It was turned off at night. In the winters, I slept by the light of the coal-fed bokhari (stove) in my room. In the winter of 2014, a snow avalanche knocked out the power lines. There was no power in Kabul for five days. Around 70 per cent of Afghanistans electricity is supplied by its neighbours -- Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. In this backdrop, just imagine what is happening in Afghanistan now. When the Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, the country stopped, literally. Four months later, most systems have broken down or are severely fractured. Banks are functioning at a minimum level and people have little or no access to cash. Supplies of everything are running out. Add to this the Covid-19 pandemic, a full-fledged drought as well as unemployment. The government staff are unwilling to go to work and women in all sectors have been told to stay at home. There is, indeed, a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, in every sense of the term. Saving lives, relieving suffering and maintaining human dignity is a tall order. The central question in most peoples minds is -- Will the relief get to the people who need it? There are no easy or direct answers. Most of the development aid coming into Afghanistan has stopped. Except for the humanitarian aid which comes through the United Nations system and its agencies, internal cooperation donors and international and regional aid organisations. Commercial flights are suspended except for those carrying aid supplies. Most emergency aid from Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan enters by road. Besides the most immediate and pressing humanitarian crisis it is facing, Afghanistan has been in crisis for four decades. Crises resulting from natural disasters were minimal in this period. However, the conflicts during the occupation by the former Soviet forces from 1979-89 and then by the Northern Alliance and the Taliban till 2002, destroyed institutions and systems. Since 2004, with the assistance of the international donor community and Afghanistans immediate neighbours, vital sectors of the economy have revived -- water, energy, agriculture, livestock, and livelihoods for rural areas, especially for women and youth. The Taliban continued with its terror campaign, deliberately disrupting the nations hard-earned gains. In 2020, according to the Asian Development Bank, 47.3 per cent of the population lived below the national poverty line. A 2019 Gallup News report found that 57 per cent of Afghans said they struggled to afford food in the past year; in some regions, two in three struggled to afford food, and 90 per cent of Afghans said it was difficult to get by on their household income. The Afghan economy has been untenable for a while now. About 80 per cent of the former Afghan governments budget came from international development aid, which stopped after the Taliban takeover in August this year. The overseas accounts of the government were frozen to stop the hardline Islamists from accessing them. This led to a collapse in public finances. Many workers stopped getting their salaries, which extended the pressure on the countrys banking system. The Taliban have not got the international recognition they want. But humanitarian aid has been offered by countries who dont recognise the Taliban government. According to Tolo, a media house in Afghanistan, by November Iran, Pakistan, China, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Italy and the United Arab Emirates had opened embassies in Afghanistan. In September this year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a high-level ministerial conference on Afghanistans humanitarian situation. Over 130 countries and organisations met, and countries pledged close to $1.2 billion in assistance and $600 million till the end of December. According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, about $1.6 billion was provided to Afghanistan in 2021. The US has consistently been the largest donor, followed by the European Union, and other EU member countries such as Germany have provided additional funding. Humanitarian aid is being distributed by UN agencies and international aid organisations, and the distribution of the aid is a challenge -- the sporadic violence, the Talibans enforcement of Sharia, the physical challenges of reaching areas snowed in, and aid workers on the ground not being paid due to the collapse of the banking system make it hard to work effectively. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan estimates that 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. Given this reality, what then of the question whether the aid is reaching the people it should? The chances are that some of the aid will not reach the people who need it most. The chances are that some will be siphoned off as systems have broken down. Chances are there will be much loss of life, misery, and deprivation in Afghanistan not only this winter but for a while to come. The chances are that in Afghanistan saving lives, relieving suffering and maintaining human dignity will be a pipe dream for now. The state police had lodged an FIR against the army troopers including 21 Para (Special Forces) commandos The special investigation team of the Nagaland government is likely to start questioning the accused soldiers and record their statements from Thursday after getting a green signal from the army, according to sources. (Representational Image: PTI) Kolkata: The Court of Inquiry team, constituted by the Indian Army to investigate the killings of at least 13 civilians in a botched up military operation in Nagaland earlier this month, visited the site at Oting village in Mon district of the North Eastern state on Wednesday The inquiry team, headed by a Major General rank officer, inspected the site to understand the circumstances in which the incident could have happened, the Eastern Command stated. It said, "The team also took along the witnesses for better understanding of the situation & how events would have unfolded. Subsequently, the team was also present at Tizit Police Station, Mon District between 1330 to 1500 hours on 29 December 2021 to meet the cross section of the society to obtain valuable information pertaining to the incident." The state police had lodged an FIR against the army troopers including 21 Para (Special Forces) commandos. The special investigation team of the Nagaland government is likely to start questioning the accused soldiers and record their statements from Thursday after getting a green signal from the army, according to sources. Earlier, Indian Army had requested twice, through public notices regarding any person having information, to directly share it, either by being present before the Inquiry Team at Tizit Police Station on above mentioned date and time or any input, photo or video related to the incident be shared with them via Phone, SMS or Whatsapp Messenger at +916033924571. The information may also be shared in person to the Inquiry team at Dinjan military station in Assam. As per the Indian Army, the Court of Inquiry is progressing expeditiously and all efforts are being made to conclude it at the earliest. The probe team is headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, includes two Brigadier-rank officers from Army, Navy Army personnel carry out an investigation procedure at the crash site in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, on December 9, 2021 a day after an army helicopter crashed, killing 13 people, including Indian defence chief General Bipin Rawat. (Photo: AFP/File) New Delhi: The tri-services inquiry team formed to probe the December 8 chopper crash in which 14 people including Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife, and 12 others lost their lives, is expected to submit their report to the government by December 31. The probe team is headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh and includes two Brigadier-rank officers from the Army and Navy. "The inquiry report is expected to be submitted to the government by December 31. The detailed report has been prepared on the ground by the officials and thorough analysis of the data received from the black box," government sources told ANI. The sources said the initial investigations into the case suggested that the accident was sudden. The help of the original equipment manufacturers was also sought for the probe in which the country lost its seniormost military officer and longest-serving General. The Indian Air Force said the report was yet to be submitted. Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 12 other military officials were traveling in the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter which crashed minutes before landing the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington killing all passengers and crew on board on December 8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over Rs 17,500 crores on Thursday New Delhi: In poll-bound Uttarakhand, where the opinion polls have predicted that the ruling BJP has an edge over a resurgent Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over Rs 17,500 crores on Thursday. Mr Modi will also address a public rally in Haldwani, in the Kumaon region of the state. While the BJP is yet to officially declare whether or not chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will continue to lead the government if the party retains power, the state unit has been abuzz that Mr Dhami will continue in the top post because of his clean image and administrative skills, as well as due to the age factor. While the BJP is trying to contain a rebellion by some of its sitting MLAs over speculation that they would be denied tickets this time to check anti-incumbency, the main Opposition Congress is battling dissidence. Unemployment, lack of health and educational infrastructure and other infrastructure in the hilly areas, and the migration of the youth are some of the areas of concern for the government, which has in the past few months announced various projects and initiatives and also issued job recruitment drives in government departments to counter the Congress attacks. The PMs address will also try to focus on the new announcements as job opportunities for the people of Uttarakhand. The foundation stones will be laid for 17 projects worth over Rs 14,100 crores, and will cover sectors ranging from cross irrigation, road, housing, health infrastructure, industry, sanitation to drinking water supply, among others. The PM will also inaugurate six projects, including multiple road-widening exercises, a hydropower facility in Pithoragarh and those to improve the sewage network in Nainital. Mr Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Lakhwar multi-purpose project, which was first conceived in 1976 and was stuck before being revived as part of Mr Modis vision to prioritise long-pending projects. The road projects, which the PM will announce, are aimed at improving the connectivity of the Garhwal, Kumaon and Terai regions as well as the connectivity between Uttarakhand and Nepal. The stir by resident doctors in Delhi, who have been protesting over delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling, entered its 13th day on Wednesday : A patient leaves after he could not be attended due to doctors' protest over the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling, at the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi (PTI Photo) New Delhi: Patient care was badly affected at several major hospitals in New Delhi on Wednesday as resident doctors protesting over the delay in NEET PG counselling intensified their agitation even as members of more RDAs joined the stir in the national capital, as well as some other parts of the country. The resident doctors association of the Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital (RGSSH) on Wednesday morning issued a statement that its members were withdrawing services to protest against the alleged police action in a face-off between them and medics on Monday, and demanded expediting of the NEET PG counselling process. Located in East Delhi, RGSSH, under the Delhi government, is one of the key facilities for treatment of Covid-19 in the city. Senior residents and junior residents have boycotted services from today. But we are trying to compensate with consultants so that patient care is not much affected, a senior official of the hospital said, adding that about 900-2,000 patients visit its OPD daily. Members of the RDAs at Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya and Northern Railway Central Hospital, one of the busiest facilities in Delhi, also protested and boycotted services. Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar confirmed that doctors at the NR Central Hospital have joined the protest. Visuals emerged on social media of doctors at the Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya and Northern Railway Central Hospital holding banners with messages like Black day for medical fraternity, Couselling karao, doctors bulao, and chanting slogans such as We want justice. The stir by resident doctors in Delhi, who have been protesting over the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling, entered its 13th day on Wednesday. The president of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), Dr Manish, said: The strike is still on. Due to the stir, patient care has been affected at three facilities run by the Central government at the Safdarjung, RML and Lady Hardinge Hospitals and some Delhi government-run hospitals too. On Tuesday, FORDA had decided to continue the stir as a meeting between their federations delegation and the Union health minister failed to make any headway. The meeting between a FORDA delegation and health minister Mansukh Mandaviya had taken place at Nirman Bhavan, but the doctors body had said the response was not satisfactory. Dr Mandaviya had urged them to call off their strike in the larger public interest. The resident doctors in Delhi on Wednesday morning gathered in the premises of Safdarjung Hospital, where police personnel were deployed to ensure the maintenance of law and order. According to the police, adequate police arrangements have been made at Safdarjung Hospital, where more than 1,000 protesting resident doctors have gathered raising their demands. A senior police officer said the protesting residents were made aware of the yellow alert issued in the national capital on Tuesday in view of the prevailing coronavirus pandemic situation. The police officer said: We urged them (protesting doctors) to follow the Covid protocols, maintain social distancing. We have told them that as per the new DDMA guidelines, such type of gatherings are not allowed, and we urged them to discontinue their protest. The entire nation looks up to doctors and if doctors themselves gather in large numbers, there is more threat of spreading Covid-19, and in that case, who will treat the patients? We are trying all measures to create awareness and convince the protesting doctors to call off their protests, amid the rising cases of Covid-19 and the scare of Omicron, he added. When the protesters questioned the police about rallies allegedly being held elsewhere amid the yellow alert, they responded the law is equal for all, and no such activity will be allowed as per the DDMA guidelines which are being followed strictly. by Thanh Thuy During the Christmas holidays, a group of youth in the Diocese of Hung Hoa completed the first cycle of Christian training. For Fr Peter Pham Thanh Binh, we diligently receive the sacrament of the Eucharist to be ready to help and serve the brothers and sisters who live around us. Hung Hoa (AsiaNews) In Sapa, a parish in the Diocese of Hung Hoa, 28 children received the sacraments of confession and first Eucharist during the Christmas holidays after attending a catechism course that lasted three years. Fr Peter Pham Thanh Binh, vicar of Sapa parish, led the Mass in their honour; vice parish priest Fr Paul Truong inh Vien concelebrated the service. Fr Peter invited parents to build the foundations of faith for their children, encouraging them to always live in union with God through the sacrament of the Eucharist. This joy must be kept forever in your lives and your families," the parish priest said during his homily, addressing the children. To keep this joy forever, you and your families must know how to get rid of anger, jealousy and bad habits, he added. At the same time, we diligently receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist to be ready to help and serve the brothers and sisters who live around us. After the communion prayers, Fr Peter blessed the children and gave them new clothing. The green scarf of the Nganh Au Nhi (worn by children aged 6 to 10) was replaced by the darker green one of the Nganh Thieu Nhi (teens aged 11 to 13). The colour of the scarf symbolises hope and vitality. Sapa parish was founded in 1902 by the Missions Etrangeres de Paris (MEP[*]) and by the then Bishop Paul Loc (Paul-Marie Ramond). Today it has more than 2,100 members, 90 per cent of them ethnic H'mong. About 30 young people and adults are baptised in the parish each year. [*] Foreign Missions of Paris. by Sumon Corraya Saydul Amin is accused of trading drugs. In fact, his persecution began when he revealed his faith. The young man had also been harassed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army earlier this year. Cox's Bazar (AsiaNews) - A Rohingya Christian has been persecuted for his faith in the refugee camp of Cox'z Bazar. 20 year old Saydul Amin, has told AsiaNews that he was beaten with a stick by the authorities who run the facility: "They accused me of being involved in the business of yaba", the local term for drugs . "But they did not get anything from me, they beat me for false accusations," the young man explained. Saydul Amin left Myanmar in 2017 and arrived in Bangladesh to escape ethnic persecution against the Rohingya. Although he has always been a Christian, he has been accused by local Muslims of recently converting. "I have been persecuted since I revealed that I am a Christian," Saydul Amin continued. "I no longer feel safe in the camp". Hundreds of believers do not reveal their true identity for fear of retaliation by the Muslim majority. David Sunir, a leader of the Christian community in Camp 13 in Balukhaly, where Amin lives, said that earlier this year he was also targeted by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army: "We Christians are a minority and we live in fear," he said. Contacted by AsiaNews, the authorities of the camp did not comment on the matter. Cox's Bazar refugee camp is the largest in the world: it is home to more than one million Rohingya refugees, who fled Myanmar between 2017 and 2018 due to persecution by the Burmese military. Christians number around 1,500. In his Christmas message, the Maronite archbishop recalls 11 years of war, sanctions, misery and migration. The commitment of the people to live "with dignity" despite the many problems, austerity and long isolation. Families "poor and cold" like in the manger of Bethlehem remain "firm in the faith". Damascus (AsiaNews) - For 11 years Syrian Christians (and others) have been "a heroic family" that has courageously endured "a war, compounded by sanctions, blockades, migration, misery, death and indifference," writes Msgr Samir Nassar, Maronite Archbishop of Damascus, in his Christmas message to the faithful. The entire community is preparing for the festive season despite the many unresolved problems, noted in the document which was also sent to AsiaNews. Msgr Nassar praises the families who "pursue the effort to live with dignity", despite being more often than not alone "in this struggle against problems and in the face of suffering that seems to have no end". He recalls "the endless exodus of peoples, violence and death" that have characterised Syria's recent history. The families, he adds, have tried to "adapt" to a life of "austerity" that they did not know before, aggravated by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and have continued to struggle, and to generate, giving birth to new nuclei that are signs of hope. They resemble 'a refugee' in the midst of an 'enormous chaos' of 'lack of electricity, fuel, food, medicine and even work' combined with the 'collapse' of the local economy and currency. For too long Syrians, especially the civilian population who had no role or interest in the conflict, have had to suffer unjust collective punishment due to international sanctions and the US-imposed Caesar Act, which are the main causes of the crisis, hunger and poverty added to a decade of war. The common and widespread feeling is that of exiles in their own land, but there is no lack of optimistic and hopeful views of the future. From this point of view, the prospect of a resumption of international tourism after a long period of marginalisation and isolation, net of the global health emergency, can be read. Yesterday, an air raid by the Israeli air force - one of many in the country's recent history - in southern Syria killed a soldier. Previously, Israeli fighter jets had hit the port city of Latakia. In the meantime, international diplomacy is struggling to reach an agreement between the government in Damascus and the many faces of the opposition to establish a peaceful transition that could lead to a new Constitution and general elections. Despite the difficulties, the Syrian family "remains steadfast in the faith" that is the only way "to overcome the difficulties and miseries" it is still facing. "The child [Jesus] who is about to be born," the prelate concluded, "will be filled with the warm welcome he will receive in each of these shattered families, poor and cold as in the manger of Bethlehem". Today's headlines: Japanese expatriates in Taiwan are studying escape routes in the event of a Beijing attack on the island; Omicron alert, Riyadh reimposes social distancing measures at Mecca and Medina; on Christmas Eve, Vietnamese authorities attacked dozens of Montagnard Christians; the Russian Duma introduces a committee for the defence of Christian values. CHINA Thousands of Chinese Internet users today posted messages in honour of ophthalmologist Li Wenliang, two years after he reported - later censored by local and central officials - to have suffered a "mysterious pneumonia" in Wuhan, the source of the Covid-19 pandemic. He was hospitalised on 12 January 2020 because of the infection, which killed him on 7 February. His death caused widespread commotion. TAIWAN - JAPAN Japanese living on the island are studying an escape plan in case of an attack by the Beijing army. Tokyo has pledged to guarantee the safety of all its citizens, while a Japanese bank has set up an emergency network. The workers, some 19,000 in number, are expected to leave Taiwan by ship along the eastern coast. PAKISTAN - INDIA Pakistan has bought a full squadron of 25 Chinese J-10C multi-role fighters in response to India's purchase of Rafale aircraft. There was immediate criticism from the opposition, which claimed that the fighter planes made by Beijing were no match for the French ones. Afnan Ullah Khan said that investments were needed in the construction of the Azm project and in improving the capabilities of the JF-17 aircraft. SAUDI ARABIA With the advance of Omicron, as of today Saudi Arabia is re-introducing social distancing measures in the Great Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. Faithful and pilgrims engaged in Umra will have to follow defined routes in the two places. The obligation to wear masks, a strict protocol for access permits and anti-contagious health regulations are back. SINGAPORE - CHINA Singapore and China yesterday signed 14 new agreements at the 17th joint meeting of the bilateral cooperation council (Jcbc), an annual high-level forum. The memorandums of understanding (MoUs) range from finance, trade and customs information exchange, competition law and governance to urban planning and maritime security. VIETNAM In the days leading up to Christmas, Vietnamese authorities attacked at least 60 Montagnard Christians belonging to the Evangelical Church of Christ in the south-central province of Phu Yen. Officers confiscated a banner dedicated to the festival and beat up Pastor Y Cuon Nie while he was making preparations. Hanoi has long accused the community of wanting to overthrow the government. RUSSIA An inter-party committee will be formed in the Duma "to defend Christian values", according to Interfax. The aim is to unite the efforts of deputies from all groups in legislative work in accordance with the principles of the Russian Orthodox Church and in defence of traditional values, with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill. The group is expected to be led by deputy chairman Petr Tolstoy. KAZAKHSTAN Protests in Kazakhstan by shopkeepers and owners of public establishments against the use of Ashyq, a compulsory application for checking customers' Green Passes, which is also used by the State to check the tax practices of shopkeepers. The latter are starting to receive threatening messages from the tax authorities, because the app's check-ins do not match their tax receipts. by Vladimir Rozanskij NATO responds to Russias military escalation on the border with Ukraine. Kyiv would like a permanent NATO fleet in the area. Expert warns that the Kremlins negative reaction is inevitable; meanwhile, the risk of clashes in the sea, even accidental, increases. Moscow (AsiaNews) Due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine, NATO warships have increased their presence and exercises in the Black Sea, including member states that have no coastline in the sea. In 2021, NATO ships spent 226 days in Black Sea. Ukrainian experts see NATO as the only possible defence against Russian aggression, the Krym.Realii (Crimean Realities) website reports. They believe that a NATO Black Sea fleet is needed to guard the maritime space all year round, based in Constanta (Romania), open to non-NATO members like Ukraine and Georgia. The French Navy deployed the D654 FS Auvergne, a FREMM-class frigate, in the Black Sea a couple of weeks ago, the 31st NATO warship to visit in 2021. Its presence sparked a strong reaction from Russia, whose National Defence Control Centre announced that the Russian Black Sea fleet was tracking the movements of the French ship. The Kremlins reaction to the arrival of new Western ships is now routine, not only because they keep coming, but also because they are staying longer. Andriy Klymenko, director of Ukraines Black Sea Institute for Strategic Studies and editor-in-chief of Black Sea News, the Kremlins reaction should not raise too many concerns. At this point in time, it is understandable. This is an immediate response to the pressure from Russia on Ukraine, a pattern that has been going on for more than seven years now. Four of the last five ships to enter the sea are US; the other is French; they arrived in all probability due to the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. It is very good that both ships and financial resources have been found, because this is not cheap, Klymenko notes. Indeed, there is great concern over possible Russian military actions at the start of the new year, and NATO visits could at least delay these threats. US Arleigh Burke class destroyers each carry more than 90 missiles, and it is clear that the Russian response to their presence is very negative. Russias nervous reaction is based on a clear calculation that an escalation of the conflict, planned or accidental, would be unsustainable for Russian forces. If the Russians managed to hit a NATO ship with anti-missile ships, this would be a direct attack on NATO, and would trigger a defence mechanism by all the countries of the Alliance. Still, Ukrainian analysts fear a possible Russian blitz during the Christmas and New Year holidays; for them the arrival of the French frigate is extremely important. In December, Russia intensified its maritime exercises in the area, hindering civil and commercial navigation. Its ships moved ever closer to the Ukrainian coast, ports and maritime sources of natural gas, but also Georgian waters and the Bosporus. This increases the likelihood of an armed clash even accidental in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Clothing items are sold to Chinese companies. Using forced labour in concentration camps reduces the risks of spreading COVID-19. Faced with the economic crisis, Kim Jong-un orders important revolutionary measures" in agriculture. United Nations slams North Koreas crimes against humanity. Seoul (AsiaNews) - North Korean authorities are forcing prisoners in concentration camps to produce more, this according to the Daily NK, a paper based in Seoul linked to South Koreas Unification Ministry. According to the papers sources, the boost in production in North Korean camps is part of a series of agreements between Kim Jong-uns regime and Chinese companies. The camps are located in Kaechon and Paekto, where North Koreas Social Security Ministry carried out several inspections this month to check production levels. The finished products include clothing, wigs and false eyelashes. Production resumed after the arrival of raw materials from China, previously blocked by COVID-19 restrictions. As soon as the pandemic broke out, North Korea closed its borders, including that with China. Forced labour makes it possible to manufacture export goods in a closed and controlled environment, thus reducing the risk of spreading infections. North Korea is politically and economically dependent on China. In 2019, bilateral trade represented 95.4 per cent of its total foreign trade; in 2007, it was 67.1 per cent. Due to international sanctions against North Koreas nuclear and missile programmes, Beijing has become the Kim regimes only true trading partner. To overcome the current economic crisis, marked by a chronic food shortages, Kim announced important revolutionary measures to promote agricultural development. Kim's order came during the 4th plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party, currently underway. The party has been in power since the end of the Second World War. The international community, with the United Nations in the lead, has repeatedly condemned the exploitation of inmates by the North Korean government, which is tantamount to slavery, a crime against humanity. According to available information, North Korea currently operates five labour camps for political prisoners: four run by the Ministry of State Security, and one by the Ministry of Social Security. There are also 16 re-education facilities. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the number of detainees in the country has grown significantly, the Daily NK reports. Many North Koreans have ended up in the regime's concentration camps for breaking quarantine rules, deemed a threat to the countrys economy. Mostly for labour rights, but also for basic resources such as water. 299 death row inmates executed. Abuses and violations against ethnic and religious minorities, convictions for "propaganda against the regime". Christian detainees granted a 10-day permit to celebrate Christmas with their families. Tehran (AsiaNews) - In 2021 there were more than 2,300 street protests in Iran, most of which were linked to workers' rights such as that of teachers who demanded higher salaries, but there were also demonstrations for basic resources, including water. The data emerged in the annual report published this week by members of the Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana), who also denounce the arrest of more than 1,676 people for "political" activities or battles for rights, together with the execution of almost 300 prisoners on death row. From 1 January to 20 December 2021, unofficial trade unions organised 1,261 demonstrations in various parts of the country, with another 618 demonstrations and pickets outside workplaces. In terms of capital punishment, the executioner struck 299 times, including killing four people who were still minors at the time of the crime and recording a 26% increase in executions compared to the previous year. As of 20 December, Iranian judges had handed down 85 more death sentences. The military opened fire 242 times on civilians, killing 94; some during street protests, others while trying to cross the border to smuggle goods with Iraq or oil to Pakistan. The report also covers human rights violations committed against ethnic and religious minorities, freedom of expression and women's rights, such as attacks on those who refuse to wear the (compulsory) Islamic veil. Another area concerns abuses committed against ethnic minorities (390 cases in 2021) or religious minorities (144 cases, with 57 arrests and police raiding homes and carrying out searches on 60 occasions). With regard to arrests, the study by Hra experts shows a drop of 25% in 2021 compared to the previous year. The most affected were Baha'is with 72% of cases of violations, followed by newly converted Christians with 14%. There were 215 convictions for "propaganda against the regime", for a total of 10,140 months in prison. Criticism of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the army or religious leaders led to imprisonment and flogging: this year at least 16 people received a total of almost a thousand lashes. Finally, according to the report, there were 575 incidents of abuse against prisoners, with 232 cases of denied medical care and 68 of prisoners deprived of the right to a defence and the assistance of a lawyer. On the subject of freedom and rights, it is worth mentioning the decision of the head of the judiciary to grant 10 days' leave to Christian prisoners, to allow them to spend Christmas with their families. Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei has instructed the authorities throughout the country to issue the dispensation, although there are currently no official figures on the number of detainees who have been able to benefit from the measure. Those convicted of crimes against security, organised crime, kidnapping, armed robbery and those sentenced to death are excluded. Khamenei often grants amnesty to prisoners or reduces sentences on Muslim holidays, but it is rare for such measures to affect members of Iran's Christian minority. DOHC At first glance, youll be led to believe this Japanese-spec Duc is a base variant of the Italian manufacturers 998 family, but appearances can be deceiving. According to its VIN (ZDMH200AA2B018179), the machine is actually a 2002 Ducati 998S thats believed to have been damaged under prior ownership, hence the repainted body panels and misleading decals.The specimen which flaunts Termignoni plumbing, Ohlins forks, and an abundance of carbon fiber accessories was imported to the States from South Africa, and its five-digit odometer shows just over 25,000 kilometers (15,600 miles). Recently, Bolognas gem received high-grade Pilot Power 2CT tires from Michelins inventory, while its battery, timing belts, and spark plugs have all been replaced to keep things running smoothly.As for its fundamentals, the 2002 MY 998S carries a fuel-injectedL-twin powerplant with eight desmodromic valves and a displacement of 998cc. This bad boy is connected to the bikes drive chain via a six-speed gearbox, and its capable of generating up to 136 untamed horses at 10,200 spins per minute.When the crank turns at around 8,000 revs, the liquid-cooled engine will go about delivering 74 pound-feet (101 Nm) of twisting force. Upon reaching the rear 17-inch hoop, this whole shebang translates to a blistering top speed of 170 mph (274 kph). The Italian titan weighs a mere 412 pounds (187 kg) before any fluids are added, and its fuel tank can hold as much as 4.5 gallons (17 liters) of gas.Ducatis sporty legend is preparing to change hands on the IMA (Iconic Motorbike Auctions) website, where it will be listed at no reserve until Tuesday, January 4. As such, youve got another five days to surpass the top bid of 8,100 bucks. Now, the history behind this 998S may be a little unusual, but we still think that itll be worth the investment. Measuring 80 x 34.8 x 28.7 cm (31.4 x 13.7 x 11.2 in), the XRC Brawler is really hefty, weighing 20 kg (44 lb). Its design makes it one tough vehicle , featuring custom-designed, anti-throw tracks. There are two channels in which the wheel sits for better stability and a heavy-duty track tensioner that ensures the tension remains even when the shocks are compressed.With a strong, 6 mm (0.2) aluminum alloy chassis, an impact-resistant front bumper, and nose, the Brawler is as tough as a, welltank, being able to destroy everything in its path, as boasted by its manufacturer. The nose cone comes with integrated metal bash plates and reinforcement beams.Xtreme RC is really proud of the high power and torque of the RC tank, making a bold claim that it has a better power-to-weight ratio and off-road capabilities than a Ferrari 458. The vehicle packs two Hobbywing 2,200 kV motors and 12 LiPo cells. Speed-wise, this little beast can go as fast as 56 kph (approximately 35 mph). It comes with 70mm of suspension travel (has six springs and six dampers) and the cab has two integrated light bars.The British manufacturer is now promoting the second version (V2) of its Brawler tank , which looks quite similar to the first one, but it brings some improvements to the table. It comes with stronger trailing arms and shock towers, upgraded electronics in the motor, an extended chassis, and some changes in the track design.The Brawler is FPV (first-person view)-ready, meaning it is ready to accept an FPV camera and transmitter, should the customer opt for this extra option.Right now, the XRC Brawler is the subject of a Kickstarter campaign , and if you hurry up, you can have it for a pledge of approximately $500. On the companys website, the tank is priced at more than $2,000, with pre-orders being 40 percent off. The estimated delivery date on Kickstarter is May 2022. He also scored more points this year than in any of his previous three full seasons, missing the top 10 just three times in races where he also made it to the finish line. Meanwhile, his team narrowly lost out on P5 in the Constructors Standings, falling 13 points behind Alpine. The French outfit only managed to pull clear of AlphaTauri later in the year, boosted by Fernando Alonsos podium finish and Ocon finishing P5 in Qatar.What we have achieved as a team, when we look at all the previous years of AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso, is incredible, said the French driver, as per Autosport So [Im] really proud of these guys, and also hopeful for the next year and what we can achieve. Because they have proved this year that they can perform at very high levels.Even so, Gasly still believes that 2020 was actually his best year, seen as how thats when he had his shocking win at Monza.As an entire season, 22 races, I must say I enjoyed all 22, he added. Coming into a race weekend knowing youre going to be fighting for points, youre going to fight with Ferraris and McLarens, is just a different kind of excitement.As far as the next season is concerned, the AlphaTauri star knows that anything can happen meaning it could be the same, better or worse for his team. However, as fans, if theres less of a gap between the front runners and the midfield, drivers such as Gasly can begin to impose their will more on the outcome of any given race. It should be noted that there's only a single dealer that we could find that's charging that $30,000 markup. Still, many others are charging $10,000, so it won't be too shocking if others are found in the coming days.That dealer is Koons Ford in Falls Church, Virginia. In an email obtained by electrek.co they specifically state, "If you would like to be one of the first 25 orders there will be a $30,000 market adjustment. All other orders will have a $10,000 market adjustment to the MSRP. We will not be honoring any plan pricing at this time."So pretty clearly, if you're in the market for an F-150 Lightning, maybe avoid Koons Ford since many more Ford dealers have committed to honoring MSRP. Then there are all the ones in the middle that are still jacking up prices.Electrek pointed out a cool little tool called the EV Dealer Markup Tracker that is worth having a look at. For those in the market, it provides a lot of data from around the country about what dealers are charging for EVs. Interestingly, there's a dealer about two hours from Falls Church listed with apparently no markup on the new F-150 Lightning Still, there are a lot of markups happening. There are a lot of reasons for that too. The chip shortage isn't helping, demand for EVs is growing too fast for automakers to keep up, and of course, dealerships aren't nicknamed stealerships for no reason. While the glitch doesnt seem to be widespread at this point, the Mountain View-based search giant says the report has been forwarded to the Android Auto team for further investigation.So what exactly is happening, and why arent the phone calls working properly?Someone on Googles forums says the incoming phone calls dont actually show up on the head unit in the car when Android Auto is running. Theres no way to answer them from the head unit, they say, and while the phone rings, Android Auto isnt showing any incoming calls on the screen.The only way to answer a call is to do the whole thing on the phone, after which the audio is routed to the cars speakers through the Bluetooth connection. Oddly enough, the active phone call still doesnt show up on the head unit in the car.While at this point its hard to tell why exactly the phone calls appear to be broken on Android Auto, the report indicates the mobile device used to run the app is a Google Pixel 6.Since its launch earlier this year, the Google Pixel has been providing a mixed experience on Android Auto, with buyers out there complaining of all kinds of problems, from random disconnects to the head unit not detecting the phone at all.Google is yet to offer a Google Pixel update to resolve the Android Auto struggle, but at this point, most of these reports are already under investigation. In other words, the search giant is aware that further polishing is required for the Pixel 6 to properly run Android Auto, but nobody knows exactly when this highly anticipated patch could land for the impacted users. However, way too many drivers take everything Google Maps says for granted, and some eagle-eyed users have recently discovered precisely why this isnt at all a good idea.Professor Crystal Kolden has recently started a long Twitter discussion over how Google Maps sends people in the Lake Tahoe region to alternative routes that are extremely dangerous. According to one report , drivers were instructed by Google Maps to avoid highway closures even on narrow roads through the Tahoe National Forest.And this all happened during a snowstorm, which means driving on poorly maintained roads is a big no-no even for experienced drivers.Google engineer Soren Meyer-Eppler chimed in and explained that its sometimes impossible for Google Maps to deal with road closures and find the right alternative routes.Snow on mountain passes is somewhere in between and incorporates unpredictable weather, he tweeted Even if official sources provide timely data (that's a big if!) it needs a ton of grooming (understanding calendars, data format and mapping their maps/road designations to ours). And you can't afford false positives, especially for mountain passes. Thinking one is closed when it's really not can mean hundreds of km detour. Thus even if we know it snows - does that necessarily mean the pass is closed?Google explained in an official statement for the cited source that its currently making changes that should help drivers choose the better route to reach their destination. Google Maps now displays a winter storm warning in the app, and Google claims its encouraging all drivers to stay alert, especially when dealing with such difficult conditions.Law enforcement recommends everybody to stay home and no longer attempt to sneak past the road closures. In the late '30s, the Japanese Empire was engaged in the Sino-Japanese war against China. It needed aircraft to fight against the Soviet-built Popov I-15 and I-16, the American Curtiss P-40 , and some Fiat biplanes. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) asked for a new plane, and the bid was won by Mitsubishi with the low-wing designed A5M. It was a massive success for those times. In September 1937, a fleet of 12 such fighter planes and 18 Japanese biplane bombers fought against 40 Chinese air squads using Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and Fiat biplanes. As a result, 20 Chinese aircraft were shot down, and not a single Japanese airplane was lost.But IJN needed a carrier-based fighter and, in 1937, it asked for a new warbird. There were 13 specific requirements and, among them, three were the most important: speed, climb rate, and range. Mitsubishi assigned a 30-men team to design an aircraft far superior to anything on the market. A plane that had to have speed, maneuverability, heavy weaponry, and a very long-range. Of the 30, only Horikoshi Jiro (lead designer, 34 years old), Sono Yoshitoshi (structure designer, 27 years old), and Tojo Teruo (calculator, 23 year old) had engineering degrees.The team made over 3,000 sheets of blueprints. Horikoshi focused on the propeller, weight reduction, and aerodynamics. If the A5M used the competitor's powerplant, the 600 hp Kotobuki engine made by Nakajima, Horikoshi wished to use a Mitsubishi engine. Mitsubishi developed the Zuisei engine that offered 875 hp.On its maiden flight, held on April 1st, 1939, the Prototype 12 reached 490 kph (304 mph) at 3,800 m altitude. At first glance, it missed the request by 10 kph (6.2 mph) but, on April 2nd, the engineering team discovered that the plane had a malfunction at the pitot tube. The aircraft actually flew above 500 kph (311 mph). In September 1939, the first prototype was delivered to IJN at Yokosuka Air Base. Two more prototypes were built and sent to the Navy Aviation Bureau.Despite the promising results, IJN requested a new prototype fitted with the Nakajima Sakae-12 radial engine. This powerplant offered 950 hp. Thus, another two prototypes using the competitor's engine were made and flew on December 28th, 1939. Another improvement was the Hamilton-design three-blade propeller with adjustable pitch built under license by Sumitomo, which allowed the Mitsubishi plane to fly even further.The A6M Zero could fly up to 1,600 miles (2,800 km) with the external tanks. Its regular fuel consumption was 100 liters/hour (26.4 U.S. galons per hour). But an experienced pilot could easily manage 80 l/h (21.6 gallons per hour), which allowed them to stay up to 12 hours in the air. As the former IJN pilot Harakada Kaname recalled, "The A6M was heavier than the A5M, but once in the air, the controls were very light, very easy. Overall, I thought the plane was truly wonderful."When Horikoshi Iro designed the airplane, he wanted it to be as fuel-efficient as possible. For that, he needed the A6M to be light and streamlined. So he used a new zinc-aluminum alloy called ESD (Extremely Durable Duraluminum) for the wing spars. He also ordered to drill holes in the aircraft's ribs to reduce weight. Even the pilot's seat backrest had holes in it. On the aerodynamic side, he assembled the panels with flush rivets, which had to be manually installed; and there were about 10,000 of them. Considering that the Japanese factories built over 10,000 Mitsubishi A6M-Zero, that's a lot of rivets!The wings' thickness was dictated by three main elements: the retractable landing gear (first Japanese fighter-plane with that feature), the 20 mm Swiss-Oerlikon FF gun (later renamed Type-99 Mk.1 cannon), and the aluminum fuel tanks. Those were made without a self-sealing rubber to protect them against leaking and enemy fire. Horikoshi noticed from the A5M aircraft that if a plane was lighter and had better maneuverability, it was harder to hit and ditched all the armored protections. Apart from this cannon, the A6M also featured a twin 7.7 mm machine gun with over 600 rounds available.With all these cleverly designed features, the aircraft featured a low wing load of just 128 kg/mp (26.22 lb/sqft) at take-off weight. By comparison, the closest competitor was the Grumman F4F with 132.7 kg/mp (27.18 lb/sqft), while the P-40 had 171.4 kg/mp (35,10 lb/sqft) and the F6F had 182 kg/mp (37.28 lb/sqft).It also dominated the power loading segment. With a low weight of just 2,421 kg (5,538 lbs) at take off, the Zero had a power loading of 2.55 kg/hp (5.62 lbs/hp) for the A6M2 version and 2.49 kg (5.48 lbs/hp) for the A6M5 version. By comparrison, the P40 had 3.72 kg/hp (8,2 lbs/h), the F4F had 2.7 kg/hp (5.95 lbs/ho), and the F6F had 2.8 kg/hp (6.17 lbs/hp), which resulted into a higher climb rate.These advantages of lightweight materials, fuel-efficient engines, and low wing loading compromised two factors: speed and pilots' protection. For example, the aircraft's thickest aluminum panels were on the wing's leading edge, and they were just 1.5 mm thick, but there were areas where the fuselage was just 0.1 mm (0.004"), which is the same as the 80 lbs paper thickness (the regular 8.5x11" paper). No wonder that the manufacturer added retractable steps and handlebars for pilots to climb into the cockpit.Thanks to these remarkable design features, the A6M and its subsequent versions could outmaneuver any Allied aircraft. It fought successfully against the Grumman F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat, Curtiss P39, P40, and even Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes .. But, according to the Zero pilots, they couldn't touch the B-29 Superfortress , which could fly too high and too fast for them. With a maximum speed of 522 kph (325 mph) or 533 kph (331 mph), depending on the version, it couldn't match the American fighter planes.Due to these differences, the Allied air forces developed a new attack strategy by diving from high altitude, performing a fire-and-forget shooting, and then climbing back. That strategy was used on April 18th, 1943, when six P-38 Lightnings performed an attack against the airplane that transported Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet army. Before the Zeros' pilots could react, his plane was on fire. That was a huge morale hit for the Japanese military, and represented a significant turning point in the Pacific War.Despite being the best dogfighter in the Pacific, the Zero was eventually betrayed by its own advantages. The lightweight construction was fragile, and the fuel-efficient engine was not powerful enough. Moreover, the pilots and the Navy Commanders were so delighted by the A6M that they didn't consider ordering a new, more capable aircraft. Incapable of defending against dive-attacks, and on account of proper communications, it suffered many losses during the war.You may find more information about this great Japanese aircraft in the videos below, so grab enough popcorn for the next four hours. Here's a story. I was originally going to get a @MercedesBenzUSA EQS 580. Even had one reserved and ready for pickup. The dealer called to inform me there was a $50k (not a typo) markup on the car. I passed. Infer what you will about the dealer model protecting consumers. https://t.co/XIbzdzB5CX Jon Rettinger (@Jon4Lakers) December 29, 2021 Jon was supposed to pick up his shiny new car from a Mercedes-Benz dealership when he received a call to inform him there was a $50,000 markup on the car he ordered. Even though an EQS is an expensive machine as it is, having a starting price of $119,110 for the model Jon ordered, $50k is an insane markup, accounting for around 40% depending on the trim and the extras. Well forgive Mr. Rettinger for backing out of the deal, and we are sure many of you wouldve done the same.Jon also took to Twitter to express his anger at the dealer system. According to his posting, the system is fundamentally broken, allowing too much power to the dealers. This affects all the traditional car manufacturers that sell their cars through a dealer network. His cut the middleman approach is more than justified, especially as he emailed Mercedes Benz USA with his story and got a funny answer.According to the reply, the pricing is completely up to the dealer and the carmaker is not legally allowed to interfere. You can see how this is flawed, especially in times with extremely limited supply. The email ends with a personal remark that probably got Jon angrier, I certainly believe the car is worth it. It must have been because he followed up with a picture of a Lucid Air car , stating he ordered one instead of the EQS.His choice was easy, based on the fact that new carmakers like Tesla or Lucid do not follow the traditional model of selling cars through dealerships. Instead, both companies sell their cars directly to customers. Mercedes-Benz recently announced they will switch to a hybrid sales model , where they will sell directly to customers while the dealers get compensated for the sales loss. This will only apply in Europe at the moment, though. A family from Pennsylvania just found that out after they heard tiny screams coming from the engine compartment while driving on the highway in their Nissan Rogue . Before telling you they pulled over and called for help, we must first praise Nissan for making such silent cars so that people could hear cat screams while driving down the highway.Anyway, the Bear Creek Township Fire and Rescue Department of Pennsylvania came to the rescue and after a lot of work, they managed to get to the kitten that was the source of the screams. It wasnt easy, as the firefighters spent a good hour and a half of work to get the kitten out of that hazardous situation. It involved dismantling the front of the car too, judging by the photo posted online, but at last, the kitten got free.The story has a happy ending this time, probably because cats make good use of their nine lives and this one is still young. Its a miracle the cars engine didnt turn her into grind meat, as it happens so many times. And its even a greater miracle this happened even while the car moved at highway speed. The best part is after all this adventure, the family that traveled in the Rogue decided to adopt the poor kitten.This story is a good reminder to always check the car for animals before starting the engine after a cold night. You might save the life of a cute little kitten, or even a puppy, as it happened a while back in Alabama But it would help if you had a plane for such a ship to carry. A task which was given to the historic Curtiss Aircraft company. From what we can gather, the folks in charge of the U.S. Navy in the 1920s and 30s did believe airborne dirigible aircraft carriers were the way forward for naval aviation. Following in the footsteps of the iconic Zeppelin of Germany, the Navy commissioned Goodyear.One of the lesser-known provisions of the end of the First World War was a corporate merger between two-thirds of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s Aeronautics Department and one-third of the original German Zeppelin company. In truth, the British first utilized semi-rigid aircraft carriers in combat in the final weeks of the First Great War.These prototype ships were out of service by the early 1920s. It would be three more years before the combined German-American effort created what would become the USS Macon and the USS Akron. These twin ships were over 700 feet (239 m) long and displaced over seven million cubic feet (209,589 m3) of helium gas as they cruised the skies with their eight respective Maybach VL II 12-cylinder piston engines. The two ships were the only ever built under the Akron class airship designation.The aircraft which these airships could carry were of a very particular type. Navy planes with acceptable power to weight ratios, good visibility, and low overall gross weight. One of the most prominent among this select group of aircraft was the Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk. A single-engined biplane built by Curtiss of Hammondsport, New York. Navy records indicate that at least seven examples of this type were built between the late 1920s and early 1930s.The tiny fighter was a mere 20 feet (6.14 m) long and 10.6 feet (3.2 m) tall, positively puny even in its day. It also weighed less than 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg), about the same as a 90s Honda Civic for context. As many as five of these planes, alongside Consolidated Model 14 Husky Juniors, could be carried inside the Akron class airship. Making for a formidable foe for any potential early 30s war.Aircraft would be stored within the hull of the airship. It utilized an intricate trapeze system to lower aircraft into combat and raise them back into the hangar at the mission's end. This required the pilot to carefully control their Sparrowhawks to re-latch their wing-mounted hooks to the mothership's docking mechanism.If you think that sounds like an anxiety attack strong enough to spike your blood pressure, that's because it was. Navy pilots dreaded docking back with their carriers. The possibility of bonking the top of their upper wing with the exposed latching hook was enough to make some people queasy. Only a handful of the most skilled Navy pilots were tasked with this dubious order.Tragically, the only people Akron class airships ever killed were its own crew members. In two separate accidents, no less. The Akron crashed off the coast of New Jersey on April 4th, 1933. Astonishingly, almost none of the crew were wearing floatation devices. 73 of the 76 crew onboard died, some from drowning and others from burns and blunt force trauma. Thankfully, the more sensible crew of the Macon were wearing safety devices when it crashed off the coast of California on February 12th, 1935. Only three of the crew aboard the Macon were lost.At least four Sparrowhawk airframes were also lost with the ship when it crashed. Only serial number 9056 survives. This example resided in the National Museum of Naval Aviation until its transfer to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The plane was recolored in the scheme it would have sported flying in support of the USS Macon in 1974. The "Men on the Flying Trapeze" symbol on the aircraft represents the balancing act the Sparrowhawk's pilots had to endure every time they returned to base.The airships that once housed it may have been fish food for nearly a century. But the legacy of the people who served and died aboard it will stay alive as long as people can marvel at this bizarre aircraft in the flesh. Check back for more from our trip to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center right here on autoevolution. EV Such a car is now only available in China, so I will wait. The reason is simple: as most car buyers, I want to make the most of any money I have to spend. I have none to spare and could not afford to have to replace a ternary battery pack with prices that are close to or over $20,000.The recent explosion of a Tesla Model S in Finland by its owner because of this issue shows it can be a very palpable problem. Blowing up a car just because its battery pack failed is not an option for me, mainly because I prefer to buy used cars. Id only go for a new one if I intended to keep it for more than three years. In any other scenario, I prefer to own something that already took the massive price dive that happens immediately after it leaves the dealers parking lot.At the current development stage of electric cars, the truth is that they are not made to last. The oldest EVs around are becoming junkyard material in less than ten years. I have been writing about them for quite a while, showing that battery packs sold by carmakers cost more than the entire cars. Although that is natural, earlymakers did not anticipate that or just didn't care. Their concerns were to be the first ones to enter this market.Think about it: in a $40,000 electric car, the battery pack already costs half of that value. When this vehicle ages and depreciates, a new battery pack will still cost the same $20,000. Why would anyone pay $20,000 to repair a $20,000 vehicle? It makes no sense, which puts current electric cars as relatively quickly disposable goods. When their warranty expires, they are done. That should not happen with LFP battery packs.The first reason for that is that LFP batteries are much cheaper than ternary cells. They used to be much heavier and had bad behavior in cold-weather regions. The CTP (cell-to-pack) construction method, better insulation, and more sophisticated battery management systems solved most of these issues by improving energy density and heating the battery pack when it is necessary.If an LFP battery pack needed to be replaced, it would cost a lot less than the $20,000 charged by the ones made with ternary cells. However, these battery packs should last for more than 1 million kilometers. BYD promises the Blade Battery has a lifespan of 1.2 million km (745,645.4 mi). CATLs LFP cells would last 2 million km (1.24 million mi).Another advantage LFP cells present over ternary cells is that they can always be recharged to 100%. Tesla actually recommends that Model 3 and Model Y owners of such battery packs do that at least once a week. If you do that with NMC or NCA cells, it will degrade them, compromising the range in the long term. That is also the case for fast charging: LFP cells seem to deal with that much better.The only exception I would make to an electric car with ternary cells would be the Toyota bZ4X . Toyotas warranty of 10 years for a 90% capacity retention is reassuring. Despite that, I prefer batteries without flammable electrolytes, even if they are heavier. It also worries me what will happen after the warranty expires. Thinking about that, this may be Toyotas strategy to retain old battery packs and recycle them: when they drop below 90% of capacity, the Japanese automaker replaces them to get more raw materials.With such properties, LFP cells are the ones I would choose over any current option. Solid-state batteries may change that, but they are still a set of promises. If they manage to accomplish all of them, electric cars will be in much better shape than they are now.Regarding the battery swapping capability I mentioned at the beginning of this text, it would be a safeguard against defective or aging battery packs. NIO even sells its cars without the battery pack for a better price. You can either buy it later or use BaaS (battery as a service), which allows you to use the same battery pack for months or to swap it at special stations when you make road trips. I would not swap a battery pack I paid for.I like the idea that the automaker bears the costs of defects, issues, and charging capacity losses. Until we have a battery pack that can cope safely with all demands electric cars have such as fast charging and lasting as much as the rest of the vehicle battery swapping is the best way not to end up with outdated technology or a bricked car.A while ago, I proposed the discussion about whether or not we were electrifying personal transportation in the right way . My choices here reflect what I think would be a reasonable and safe option for customers in general and me in particular. Hopefully, new battery technology will soon make me think otherwise. For the time being, I would not do this any other way. Because on display at this official annex of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is a plane that caused more profound amazement and abject horror all at the same time than any other in history. An aircraft that genuinely changed the course of history. Not that it needs any introduction, say hello to Enola Gay. The most controversial single plane in the history of aviation, bar none. On the outside, Enola Gay is a perfectly normal Boeing B-29 Superfortress Strategic Bomber. Don't be fooled, friend. There's a heck of a lot more to the story than that.Firstly, Enola Gay was not just any Superfortress . It was one of only 65 ever built to the Army Air Force's "Silverplate" designation. These modified bombers were upgraded over standard B-29s to carry nuclear ordinance as its primary mission. Enola Gay was manufactured under license by Glenn. L Martin company, the eventual second half of Lockheed Martin . It rolled off the assembly lie in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 18th, 1945.Some of its modifications included new pneumatic bomb bay doors and clever British release mechanisms to keep nuclear bombs in place until ready to drop them on target. Allied forces thought that the British Avro Lancaster could be suited for the role of nuclear payload delivery if production on the Superfortress ran into problems.Ultimately, Enola Gay was selected personally by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Commander of the 509th Composite Group, on May 9th, 1945, while it still hadn't touched its landing gears down on the factory floor. He then assigned it to the 383rd Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, 509th Composite Group. After a brief pitstop at Wendover Field in Utah, Enola Gay made the voyage to the Pacific Theater. Landing first in Guam for checks to ensure the bomb bay was ready for its mission.Meanwhile, the weapon Enola Gay was meant to carry was nearly ready for deployment. The "Little Boy" Uranium Bomb contained a little over 140 (60kg) pounds of radioactive material on board out of almost 10,000 (4,400 kg) pounds of other material. In truth, it only needed a fraction of that to undergo nuclear fission for the bomb to have its intended effect. That being the utter demoralization of the Japanese homeland.Just before the mission began, Colonel Tibbets christened his Superfortress. Naming it after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. At 8:15 p.m. on August 5th, 1945, Enola Gay's Crew released the bomb from its bay doors. Fifty-three seconds later, tens of thousands were vaporized by humanity's violent entry into the Atomic Age. Some 75,000 people died as a direct result of Little Boy's explosion and subsequent radioactive fallout. A great thump hit the aircraft as the shockwave shot across the landscape in all directions.Otherwise, the crew was totally unharmed. Enola Gay would then serve as a spotter plane for the second Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki. A site chosen after the crew of the Enola confirmed less than ideal cloud conditions at the primary target of Kokura. After the war, it was decided by the United States Army Air Force that the Enola Gay must be preserved. Its title was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution in 1946 and removed from USAAF inventory.The airframe was stored at several airbases in the continental US until August 10th, 1960. Nearly 15 years to the day after its historic mission. The airframe was disassembled and stored at the official Smithsonian archival facility in Suitland-Silver Hill, Maryland. Enola Gay remained in this state until a former B-52 Stratofortress pilot named Walter J Boyne assumed the position of director of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. The new director made its complete restoration a top priority. Over 300,000 hours of labor stood between Boyne and his goal.The museum initially planned to display Enola Gay's fuselage as a part of the 50th anniversary of the Hiroshima mission in the summer of 1995. Accusations came from a range of reasons and backgrounds. From the exhibit being insensitive to the hundreds of thousands of civilians who died in the attacks and their loved ones, to that it focused too much on the human loss side and not nearly enough on the scientific achievements achieved with the American nuclear program.The exhibit went on public on the 28th of June, 1995. Three people were arrested for throwing human blood and human ashes onto Enola Gay's aluminum skin. The unfinished project was returned to its restoration hangar, where The fuselage and wings were reunited for the first time in decades on April 10th 2003. Just in time for the opening of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, where it sits today.With all this in mind, maybe it's a bit easier to understand why you can't help but get somewhat misty-eyed when you see Enola Gay in the flesh. The museum's series of catwalks give you access to peek right into the cockpit of the Silverplate B-29. It's so easy in one's mind's eye to envision the look of horror, awe, and astonishment as they looked upon destruction on a scale never before seen in the history of mankind.It's an experience that alone merits a trip to Chantilly to see the plane for yourself. But be warned, be respectful when around Enola Gay. That means no obnoxious selfies with it in the background. This plane means so much to so many people. So you may as well put some respect on the name. Many many thanks to the PR team and floor staff at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for allowing us to bring you the full story of the most polarizing singular aircraft in human history. HP Some people like to travel around in their tiny mobile homes, others prefer to go for motorhomes or camper vans, but those who love the sea above all choose yachts. Some might argue that permanent living on board a vessel while at sea is even more challenging than the first two options, mostly because of the more difficult access to vital supplies. But, with the help of modern technology and excellent organizing skills, even a sailing yacht can become the perfect home.Sophie and Ryan proved it and continue to show how living on a yacht can be the most awesome adventure. Shes French, hes American, and they met in Sweden, where they both worked. Typical for a modern-day romance, they quickly decided to explore the world together. In 2018, they departed from Sweden on board a 40-foot (12 meters) sailing yacht called the Polar Seal.The vessel was a Beneteau Oceanis 40 model, known for its sleek silhouette and top-level capabilities. The brand has built award-winning racing models, and the Oceanis 40-footer became a classic, also sporting interiors created by the world-famous Nauta Design. Powered by a 40Yanmar diesel engine, it can hit a top speed of 7.5 knots (8.6 mph/13.8 kph) and carries up to 53 gallons (200 liters) of fuel.Of course, the couple had to also invest in preparing this ocean-worthy sailboat for extensive cruising. They went from not even knowing how to sail to now generating the power and water that they need on board, the couple told Forbes . With enough food supplies, the two can basically live off-grid for months at a time, and theyve already covered more than 15,000 nautical miles (17,200 miles/27.7 km) in three years.Ryan and Sophie share their adventures and technical tips for living on board a sailing yacht on their social media platforms, proving that anyone can go from a boring life to living in total freedom. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited the home of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Tuesday for his first official meeting in Israel since 2010. Why it matters: This was the second meeting between Abbas and Gantz in four months, and is part of a broader effort by Israel's new government and the Palestinian Authority to reset relations. Flashback: During former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure, there was almost no contact between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Abbas met with Netanyahu and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Jerusalem in 2010. He also greeted Netanyahu briefly at the funeral of former Israeli president and prime minister Shimon Peres in 2016. That was the last time Abbas had set foot in Israel prior to Tuesday's meeting at Gantz's home in the town of Rosh Haayin. Driving the news: The meeting lasted two and a half hours and focused mainly on security coordination and economic cooperation, senior Israeli officials say. Gantz presented Abbas with a series of measures Israel will take to boost the sputtering Palestinian economy, including a $30 million loan to the Palestinian Authority. One of the main issues Abbas raised was the recent attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. Abbas warned Gantz that they could lead to violent reprisals from Palestinians and wider escalation in the West Bank, Israeli and Palestinian officials say. Gantz and Abbas agreed to strengthen security coordination and increase security measures against extremist groups on both sides who are planning attacks. Abbas told Gantz he was satisfied with his meeting last week with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, but said the U.S. isnt giving the Palestinian Authority enough financial support Between the lines: The Israeli government is concerned that the economic and political turmoil in the West Bank and Gaza Strip could lead to a violent escalation on the ground. It's working to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, which faces a crisis of legitimacy after again postponing elections last spring. Netanyahu, by contrast, was accused of seeking to weaken the Palestinian Authority and effectively strengthen its more extremist political rival, Hamas, in order to reduce the pressure to hold peace talks. In Tuesday's meeting, Abbas told Gantz he understands that the current Israeli government an unwieldy coalition of right-wing, centrist and left-wing parties won't be able politically to move toward peace talks. But he stressed that the sides should continue to meet and signal there is an alternative political horizon to that of Hamas. What they're saying: The meeting was the last chance before the explosion and before finding ourselves at a dead end. Its a serious and bold attempt to [find] a political path," tweeted Palestinian Minister for Civilian Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh, who attended the meeting. California man arrested on way to White House with rifle, hit list compiled from TikTok US deaths from COVID-19 are falling even as omicron cases jump You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter. The Kern County Sheriffs Office on Friday recovered the neck of one of Buck Owens guitars, which was stolen from an Oildale post office earl Help slow the spread of COVID-19. Test your student before they return to school after the holiday break. Memories and (Tall) Tales from Christmas on the Oregon Coast Published 12/24/21 at 6:32 AM PST By Andre' GW Hagestedt (Oregon Coast) The holidays on the Oregon coast have always been a rather special place to me. It's a curious mix of the rugged (i.e. lots of wind) and the cheery, though strings of lights aren't as thickly-laden along the beaches because, well, they're not that sturdy. It's more of an effort to keep them up and twinkling. (Above: Cannon Beach) Yet the atmosphere is always a decidedly festive one, and some spots really know how to light it up. Having covered the Oregon coast for over 20 years now, I've seen and documented a lot of displays, but the experiences themselves have been priceless. I grew up with an absolute Christmas madhouse of sorts: my mother was native German, where Xmas was a wildly colorful and multi-layered affair, which she transported fully to our home in Salem. So the holidays are woven into me pretty deeply. My favorite memories of childhood involve densely-packed lights and European decorations all around, and that inimitable smell of the Christmas tree. That, coupled with her own European treats and those elaborate ones her relatives sent over, made the whole thing a powerful, multi-sensory experience. At one point in our teens, all four of us were classically trained musicians in some way, and my band director dad would lead the backup ensemble of him, my brother and I as my mom sang Christmas tunes in Deutsch. It was an intense, rich period. After she passed in the 90s, none of the three of us had the energy to put up the mighty displays of Mutti, but we've gathered pretty faithfully over the decades for a new kind of fun and camaraderie. Plus, I'd always get to hang with my brother's two golden retrievers, whom I call my fury nephews. These days, nothing is better at Christmas than getting hopped on by two goldie goofballs. Seaside When it came to the Oregon coast, few pleasures matched those long commutes between Newport and Manzanita for a handful of years getting to see all those light displays. Especially impressive were the hints of lights at Garibaldi as you came up from the south, and the bay was usually enshrouded by some kind of mist or another. It refracted everything and made it fuzzy, but at some point you could always see the giant G floating above it all, sometimes dressed up in holiday finery. The Coast Guard house was often smothered in glowing pleasantries as well. One of my favorites from decades ago was the lighted holiday display at the outlet mall in Lincoln City (above), which had lights in the shapes of reindeer and other holiday fixtures. Another one was and still is Seaside's beautiful holiday decor, where the whole of downtown changes into a beachy winter wonderland. More colorful sea stars and other whimsical shapes pop up around Broadway and other parts of the north coast burgh. One time I popped over to the Oregon coast on a Christmas Eve, when Highway 26 had recently been covered in snow, so I had a white Christmas for a little while. Though it was nighttime, I had to pull over and take long exposures of this snowy world, which seemed to simply glow in the faint illumination of the night. Then, couple that with passing cars leaving giant streaks of light, and you have a scene that's decidedly Christmasy. Don't let that peaceful look fool you though: at night, out on Highway 26 in the deep dark, it's almost pitch black to the human eye. Even after your eyes adjust, it's a bit jarring and scary out here. It doesn't help that cars whiz by at nearly 60 mph, and you never know what condition someone is in. Your mind wanders to things like crazed wolves, coyotes.and amusingly, even Bigfoot? Don't get me wrong, it's still gorgeous out here on this snow-lined road and fairy tale holiday forest. It's just got some spooky aspects. Thank goodness I'm a big horror movie fan, so that scare is kind'a fun. Finally, a bit before my final destination of Manzanita, I make it into an extremely quiet Cannon Beach. It's late at night so the sidewalks have long rolled up, but the place is downright magical with its lights. Bruce's Candy Kitchen has a smile-inducing display, the little mall is like a sea of stars, and much more. A calm wind, a steady chill, but otherwise absolute silence in the midst of this real holiday glow: it was all a bit unforgettable. I'm so thankful I got pics of it, however. One of my favorite Christmas tales is of an old friend in one coastal town (I won't mention the when, who or where), who had been the traditional Santa for the local kids on and off for a number of years. The guy has always been one of my best pals of all time, and part of that was his rather amusing drinking habits on occasion. I have no doubt he smelled of liquor a tad while hosting kids on his lap, as he had nipped a wee bit beforehand. At least he did on this particular holiday. Manzanita during the holidays always does it up right His beard was awfully itchy, he told me, and as he got off duty, walking up the street not too far from where he played Santa, he took off his beard. Apparently, a bit too soon. There were still one or two kids within sight of him and one small lad started crying when he spotted Santa removing his beard. Not that this was alcohol related, it was just hilarious as hell. Other favorite holiday tales of mine mostly include drinking at local bars in places like Manzanita, Newport, Depoe Bay, Lincoln City or Cannon Beach. Ah, there's nothing like the holiday SPIRITS. Plenty of good times I've had in December or New Year's Eve at places like Wing Wa in Depoe Bay, Nina's in Wheeler (magnificent retro bar back then, now gone), Warren House in Cannon Beach (miss you Shawn), and one particularly wild NY Eve in Newport at a bar I can't remember the name of. I do remember the kooky conga line, however. The best ever NY Eve was in Manzanita, when I joined in their infamous midnight parade, and two different girls kissed me. Awesome. There, people sauntered (or staggered) down Laneda, banging on drums, other noisemakers, and reveling in the streets in creative ways that would've made Paris of the 1920s jealous. There's more to the holiday glow on the Oregon coast than just the lights. Oregon Coast Hotels in this area - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees nearly 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Deceased and Decayed Humpback Whale Washes Up on North Oregon Coast Published 12/22/21 at 12:22 AM PST By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Cannon Beach, Oregon) A deceased whale in a serious state of decay washed up on the north Oregon coast Tuesday, providing local scientists with some things to work with but not as much as usual. The humpback whale came ashore at Silver Point, a rather secret spot just south of Cannon Beach. (Photos courtesy Tiffany Boothe, Seaside Aquarium) Crews from Seaside Aquarium responded to the scene, taking photos but able to do little else. The aquarium is part of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, dealing with deceased or stranded animals such as this along the north Oregon coast and southern Washington coast. The aquarium's Tiffany Boothe said little else is known about the humpback, but they will be back soon to learn more. This small humpback has been dead for quite some time, Boothe said. Due to the whale's condition and location it is unlikely that a necropsy will be performed. We will be returning to take standard measurements in the next few days. Exactly what will be done with the corpse is as yet unknown, although Oregon coast officials typically bury such whale carcasses or leave them to be picked apart by eagles, crabs, gulls and other creatures of the surf. Boothe said the humpback stinks pretty badly, but luckily some factors are keeping that from being worse. It does smell but it is on the south end of Cannon Beach so there is not a lot of foot traffic, Boothe said. The cold conditions keep it from smelling too badly as well, she said, and even now it's providing food for scavengers of the area. Humpbacks are rather common off the Oregon coast and Washington coast, she said, so these corpses do wash up now and then. We typically see a couple per year, Boothe told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Since they migrate along our coastline and are one of the more abundant species of cetaceans in our area. Grays and humpbacks wash ashore more often than any other species of cetacean. Boothe said humpback whales belong to the baleen whale suborder and are common in the Pacific ocean as well as any other ocean around the world. They are known for breaching and their complex whale songs. They can live up to 50 years in the wild. Whaling through the centuries, especially from the 1850s onward, resulted in a massive depletion of humpback whales in the North Pacific by the 1960s. As few as 1,400 were left, Boothe said. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 along with a 1982 ban on commercial whaling allowed them and other whales a significant bounce-back. Scientists now estimate their populations have rebounded to at least 18,000. Humpbacks are known for making stellar appearances on the north Oregon coast in the middle of the year. During the summer months some Humpbacks stop and feed along the Oregon coast, Boothe told Oregon Coast Beach Connection in 2019. They tend to stay five to fifteen miles offshore, but they will also go where the food is. September is the best time to see Humpbacks (especially from shore). This is because typically the weather is nicer and the ocean is calm. MORE PHOTOS BELOW Hotels in Cannon Beach - Where to eat - Cannon Beach Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW Below: humpback frolicking in the Columbia one summer, courtesy Seaside Aquarium More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Rice University students headed back to class in January will be greeted with some changes due to a surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant. While the semester will still begin on Jan. 10, classes will be online only for the first two weeks, and all students and employees will be required to get a booster dose against the virus if they were fully vaccinated more than six months ago. In an email to students and staff sent Sunday, Rice University president David Leebron and provost Reginald DesRoches announced classes will generally be online, and all indoor gatherings on campus are limited to 50 people through Jan. 24. Students are also encouraged to delay their return to campus until the weekend of Jan. 22. We intend to return to general in-person course delivery on Jan. 24 unless the situation in Houston deteriorates substantially or new information suggests that is inadvisable, Leebron and DesRoches wrote in the email, according to university student newspaper, the Rice Thresher. University staffers are also highly encouraged to work remotely until then. Classes with 50 or more students must be held online until Jan. 24. Those with 50 or fewer students may hold class in person, but faculty must record their classes for students not on campus. Booster shots are required for all students and staff members on campus without a medical or religious exemption who finished their two-shot Pfizer or Moderna regime at least six months ago or those who received the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine, regardless of timing. The presidents and provosts email doesnt lay out specific protocol for students who arent vaccinated, but as of Nov. 19 more than 90% of the Rice community had received the first set of doses. We need to lower the population density on campus for the first two weeks of the semester and allow time for everyone who is eligible to get their booster shots, Leebron and DesRoches wrote. This will also enable us to take into account any new information that emerges over the next two to three weeks. These arent the only policy changes brought on by the Omicron variant. Rice reinstated its campus-wide mask mandate earlier this month in light of rising case numbers. COVID-19 related hospitalizations in Houston have nearly doubled in the past week, according to the Houston Chronicle. The city logged its 300,000th case of the virus on Dec. 23. It likely will be weeks before Southeast Texans know the outcome of a decertification election to end the United Steel Workers Unions representation of workers at ExxonMobils Beaumont refinery and lube plant. The National Labor Review Board on Wednesday announced it would impound election ballots while charges of unfair labor practices by the USW against ExxonMobil are investigated, said NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado. USW District 13 representative Bryan Gross said the union was expecting the decision because they hadnt heard any update on the charges filed with the board. We believe that is a positive for us and our members, because it means that the labor board believes there is enough merit in our charges and that we have given them enough evidence and they are not throwing the charges out or saying there is no merit to them, he said. Since they are still reviewing them means there is still a possibility that they could rule in our favor on the charges and believe the company did violate the National Labor Relations Act. But in an information bulletin to employees, ExxonMobil made clear it is confident the company acted lawfully, and it believes the charges will be dismissed. Additionally, it underscored that the delay is not the result of any finding of fault made regarding the charge. The USW has, once again, silenced your voice and stopped your vote, the company said in the bulletin. Through their baseless legal charges, the union has prevented your vote from being counted in the election. According to a federal complaint by the United Steelworkers Union, USW claims that refinery and packaging facility employees a day before the lockout began seemingly were placed under surveillance by management and shifts were changed without notice. Gross said he wasnt given any timeline for when ballots could be counted, although he hopes the fact that workers are locked out will move the investigation the the front of the list a little bit. In the meantime, he said the union has asked the company to come back to the negotiating table to continue working to end the lockout. The union also has continued its food pantry and bill assistance program. I think our membership is still standing with us, he said. Obviously, there is some differences of opinion. We saw the stack of ballots - we dont know the exact number that was turned in back to the board, but it was a good turnout, a really, really good turnout. For ExxonMobils part, the company still is encouraging employees to sign the decertification petition. Should the majority of employees sign the petition, the company can withdraw recognition from the USW without an election. ExxonMobil has previously noted that USWs decertification would end the lockout, which began May 1. However, the lockout was started voluntarily by the company, which says it was necessary after the unions March vote to to authorize strike actions, meaning they can strike off the job as long as they give notice. kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com NEW YORK (AP) The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epsteins palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epsteins teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse. As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. Afterward, she could be seen pouring herself water as one of her attorneys patted her back. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings faithfully in attendance each day of the trial as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another. One of her victims, Annie Farmer, said she was grateful the jury recognized Maxwell's pattern of predatory behavior. She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom, she said in a prepared statement. I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law. Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams praised the victims who testified against Maxwell after experiencing what he called one of the worst crimes imaginable. I want to commend the bravery of the girls now grown women who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and todays result, possible, he said in a statement. Elizabeth Williams/AP No sentencing date was set. The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019. Her brother, Kevin Maxwell, said the family believes she will be vindicated on appeal. We firmly believe in our sister's innocence, he said in a written statement. During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epsteins homes a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case. A housekeeper testified he was expected to be blind, deaf and dumb about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul. Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries Britains Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump who flew on Epsteins private jets. Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a black book that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading massages. There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion onetime girlfriend, later employee. But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages. Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Farmer, who chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years. They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwells behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams. They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if shed had fun and told her: You are such a good girl. Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epsteins Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as a pyramid of abuse. Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at the Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. I was frozen in fear, she told the jury, adding that the assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse. Maxwells lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward. I was scared, she said, choking back tears. I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didnt want anybody to know any of this about me. The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epsteins New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers. Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify. The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, one of Maxwells lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwells legal team questioned whether the accusers memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epsteins estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Maxwells family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where shes been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense. Before Maxwell was taken from the courtroom, Sternheim asked that arrangements be made to give her a coronavirus booster shot, saying infection rates were rising dramatically at the lockup. The recent surge threatened to derail the trial itself as U.S. District Court Judge Alison J. Nathan prodded jurors to work quickly to avoid the potential of a mistrial caused by sickened jurors. The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury. Lawsuits loom, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months. Following the Maxwell verdict, Giuffre released a statement through her lawyers, saying, I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. ___ AP journalist Ted Shaffrey in New York contributed to this report. DENVER (AP) A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks. The writings are part of the investigation into what led Lyndon James McLeod to carry out the shootings, which took place in less than an hour Monday at several locations around the metro area, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said Wednesday. McLeod, 47, knew most of the people he shot through business or personal relationships, police have said. Four of the people who were shot were attacked at tattoo shops. In addition to those killed, two other people were wounded, including a police officer who shot and killed McLeod after being hit. In the first novel, written under a pen name of Roman McClay, a character named Lyndon stalks a poker party held by a character named Michael Swinyard and gains access to a building near Cheesman Park by posing as a police officer. He then fatally shoots everyone at the party and robs them before fleeing with his dog in a van. In Monday's attack, Michael Swinyard, 67, was fatally shot at a home near Denvers Cheesman Park, police said. In his second novel, which also features a character named Lyndon, McClay names Alicia Cardenas as a victim. The book also mentions the tattoo shop she owned, Sol Tribe. Alicia Cardenas, a 44-year-old tattoo artist, was among his first victims in Monday's rampage. She was killed at her tattoo shop, along with another woman, Alyssa Gunn, 35. A man who was also wounded there is expected to survive, police said. He was identified by friends and customers as Gunns husband, James Maldonado, a piercer there. That shop is less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from a tattoo shop that McLeod was listed as the lease holder for between 2014 and 2016. Cardenas later took it over before moving the shop to its current spot, city records show. McLeod was not licensed to work as a tattoo artist or operate a tattoo business himself in Denver according to city records, a spokesperson for Denvers licensing agency, Eric Escudero, said Wednesday. Cardenas, whose daughter is 12 years old, described herself as a proud Indigenous artist who also painted murals. Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said during a news conference Tuesday that McLeod was on the radar of law enforcement and had been investigated in both 2020 and 2021. He declined to say what McLeod was investigated for but said charges were not filed against him. Matt Clark, commander of the Denver Police Departments Major Crimes Division, said McLeod knew most of the people he targeted but not the last person he shot a clerk in a hotel in Lakewood's Belmar shopping area. However, McLeod had had some dealings with the hotel, Clark said. The hotel clerk, 28-year-old Sarah Steck, died of her injuries Tuesday. Steck graduated this year from Metropolitan State University with a bachelors degree of fine art in communication design. She was known among her co-workers at the hotel for her infectious laugh and love of kittens, art and music, The Denver Post reported. Soon after the shooting at Cardenas' shop, McLeod forced his way into a residence that is also home to a business. City records show it is licensed as a tattoo shop. He pursued the occupants through the building and fired shots, but no one was injured, Clark said. Then he shot and killed Swinyard near Cheesman Park, Clark said. Later, Denver police chased the vehicle believed to have been involved in the shootings, and an officer exchanged gunfire with McLeod, Clark said. McLeod was able to get away, fleeing into Lakewood, after gunfire disabled the officer's cruiser, he said. Just before 6 p.m., the Lakewood Police Department received a report of shots fired at the Lucky 13 tattoo shop. Danny Scofield, 38, was killed there, Lakewood police spokesperson John Romero said. Scofield was a father of three, according to a site raising money for his family. When officers spotted the car suspected of being involved in the shooting at the Belmar shopping area where shops line sidewalks in a modern version of a downtown McLeod opened fire and officers shot back, Romero said. He ran away and allegedly threatened some people in a restaurant with a gun before going to the Hyatt House hotel, where he spoke briefly with Steck, before shooting her, he said. About a minute later, Lakewood police officer Ashley Ferris saw McLeod and ordered him to drop his weapon. She was shot in the abdomen but fired back and killed the gunman. Ferris underwent surgery Monday night and is expected to make a full recovery. I can't overemphasize enough the heroic actions of our Lakewood police agent," Romero said during a news conference Tuesday. "In the face of being shot, in the face of danger, she was able to not only save others from this terrible tragedy but also neutralize the threat. ___ Associated Press writer Mead Gruver contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to change the spelling of Danny Scofield's last name. Anton Deev/Getty Images/iStockphoto Come early January, it will be illegal for Texas dog owners to chain up their pets outside. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in October to help ensure more humane care for companion animals. Violations are considered a Class C misdemeanors punishable by a fine up to $500, according to the bill. The Safe Outdoor Dog Act (or Senate Bill No. 5) bans the use of chains for tethering dogs outside and mandates necessities such as shelter, shade, and clean water. Under the new law, dog owners may only use humane tethers such as trolley systems or ziplines and all allowable tethers must be attached to a properly fitting collar or harness. Anti-coup protesters run around a makeshift barricade they burn to form a defense line during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, March 28, 2021. Southeast Asias longtime conflicts cooled in 2021, a development overshadowed by the Feb. 1 coup in Myanmar and ensuing civil war. Since the coup, the Burmese military has killed at least 1,375 people, according to reports. While fighting the National Unity Government (NUG) and a myriad of armed ethnic groups this year, the Tatmadaw, as Myanmars military is known, has attacked civilian populations, especially in Chin State, Kayah State, and the Sagaing region. It has razed villages and carried out wholesale massacres of civilians. With the civil war spreading, especially after the NUG declared war on the Tatmadaw in September, it was easy to lose sight of developments in some of the other conflicts in the region. Rohingya and Arakan rebels Despite a broader civil war in Myanmar, the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army (ARSA), a rebel group which has endorsed the National Unity Government, was not a factor. A rival group, the Buddhist Arakan Army, has not joined the National Unity Government and other armed ethnic groups taking part in the post-coup civil war, but it has engaged the military in a few small-scale skirmishes despite agreeing to a ceasefire with the Tatmadaw in late 2020. The Arakan Army has also taken advantage of the military being preoccupied with other conflicts to consolidate its political power and enhance its autonomy. It has threatened to fully resume hostilities should the Tatmadaw try to quash its autonomy, something the army can ill afford to do. ARSA, meanwhile, has been moving aggressively to consolidate its control over the sprawling refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh, where uprooted Rohingya seem destined to stay until a political resolution is reached in Myanmar. According to U.N. investigators, ARSA killed a leading Rohingya activist, and then six others at the camps in Coxs Bazar, where Bangladeshi forces are trying to control security for the massive refugee population. Hospital workers and volunteers unload the body of a Rohingya who was killed in an attack at a madrassa in a local refugee camp, for an autopsy at a hospital in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, Oct. 22, 2021. [Sunil Barua/BenarNews] Rebellion in Southern Thailand In 2021, the insurgency in Thailands restive Malay-majority southern border provinces remained at historically low levels. Thirty-four people were killed and 48 wounded the first time that total casualties were in the two digits since the separatist conflict reignited in 2004. Early last year, Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) rebels announced a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire so public health officials could respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the violence began to pick up again, starting in July 2020, there was no formal end to the ceasefire. In September 2021, the BRN called for a resumption of violence via a social media post. In a statement, it urged combatants to resume self-defense operations because, Siams security forces set up raids and conducted summary executions despite COVID difficulties. The rate of COVID infections in the Deep South, meanwhile, far surpassed the rest of Thailand. As of October 2021, only 33 percent of the population had been vaccinated, the lowest rate in the country. There clearly was vaccine hesitancy among the local population, coupled with mistrust of the Thai government. This spoke to the low priority the Thai government has placed on the provision of social services in the border region. The rate of violence intensified in August. Since then, there were 19 IED attacks, almost equal to the number of bombings in 2020. Targeted assassinations fell from 2020, but picked up during the last five months of the year. Security forces remained the BRNs primary target: Some 25 soldiers, police, rangers and defense volunteers were killed and 38 were wounded, compared with 11 civilians who were killed and six wounded. There were 14 prolonged firefights with security forces, down from 16 in 2020. But several of them stood out: Militants who refused to surrender in prolonged standoffs in Pattanis Sai Buri district, Yalas Krong Pinang district, and a 17-day standoff in Narathiwats Bacho district. In all these cases, public opinion turned on the security forces, who used disproportionate firepower. The militants were buried as martyrs. It was a reminder that public sentiment is very much still against the Thai government. In December, the Malaysian government announced that face-to-face talks between the Thai government and the BRN would resume in January 2021 for the first time in nearly two years. But with low levels of violence, the Thai side is unlikely to make any concessions, ensuring that the insurgency will go on. A woman (center) walks with Thai soldiers and family members during the funeral ceremony for her son, a soldier killed during fighting with suspected separatists, at Narathiwat airport in southern Thailand, Oct. 3, 2021. [AFP] Extremism in Indonesia In the worlds most populous Muslim-majority country, 2021 began on a sour note in the fight against terrorism. Indonesian authorities released the leader of the pro-Islamic State Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), Abu Bakar Bashir, after he had served only 11 years of his 15-year sentence. Although he has been fairly reticent publicly, he retains a large following. There was only one major terrorist attack: a young couple blew themselves up at a cathedral in Makassar in South Sulawesi, wounding 20 people. No people other than the bombers were killed. The wife was four months pregnant. The couple was tied to another couple who blew themselves up at a cathedral in Jolo in the Southern Philippines in January 2019. Overall, there were four important trends in terrorism in Indonesia during the calendar year. First, JAD continued to weaken both in terms of operational capability and resources. The investigation into the Makassar bombings led to the arrest of nearly 30 people. Second, Indonesian security forces began to take the revival of Jemaah Islamiyah very seriously. There were nearly as many arrests of JI members in 2021, as there were JAD members, and JI hadnt perpetrated a terrorist attack since 2011. Indonesian security forces no longer view JI as an ideological off ramp for the Islamic State groups, and are seriously concerned about the groups resilience and resourcefulness. And there were clear signs that JI, which has never renounced violence, is contemplating the resumption of militancy: In March, security forces arrested an Afghan-trained JI member, who had established a training camp in Malang for new JI members. Related to this, was a third trend: the move by JI to infiltrate government organizations. Security forces arrested, among others, a senior member of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas fatwa committee on suspicion of being a JI leader. Fourth, though down to just a handful of members, the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT), a pro-Islamic State group, kept terrorizing the local population in the Poso region of Central Sulawesi. MIT members rampaged against local communities whom they believed were providing intelligence to security forces. Poso remains central to narrative of every militant group in Indonesia. Inspector-General Abdul Rakhman Baso, the police chief in Indonesias Central Sulawesi province, shows a poster of wanted members of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen militant group, in Palu, March 2, 2021. [Keisyah Aprilia/BenarNews] Volatile Philippine South Violence in the conflict-prone southern Philippines was at its lowest level in years. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front continued to implement the peace agreement in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BAARM). Due to the pandemic and the Herculean task of passing a host of implementing and electoral legislation, the Philippine Congress passed a law that extended the appointed Bangsamoro Transitional Authoritys power until 2025, when elections for a regional government would be held. While there was some public backlash, especially by the MILFs rivals, the public did not view the extension as a power grab. Meanwhile, the MILF carried on with their decommissioning of weapons, after the pandemic had slowed down the normalization process. As of September 12,000 weapons had been put beyond use. Despite the success in the peace process, there remained several militant groups that continued to wreak havoc. Philippine security forces kept fighting Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu and Basilan provinces, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the Mautes, and other groups in Mindanao. While the Philippine government called on the BARMM to assist in combating these militant groups, the autonomous government actually has no legal authority to do so, after the Philippine Congress stripped those provisions from the 2019 implementing legislation. In 2021, the various militant groups continued to engage in low-level violence, bombings, kidnappings, and other terrorist attacks in a bid to scuttle the peace process. The local population remained angry about the governments continued failure to rebuild Marawi City, where pro-Islamic State fighters took over for five months in 2017. The pandemics negative impact on the economy, has further fueled grievances that militants have sought to exploit. With national polls scheduled for May 2022, there is ample concern about the 150 private armies that operate across the country; many of which are concentrated in Mindanao. A motorcyclist passes an arch marking the limits of Marawi City in the southern Philippines, May 21, 2021. [Jeoffrey Maitem/BenarNews] The decline in political violence around the region is an opportunity for the respective governments to take stock and address some core grievances. Sadly, few governments are willing to expend the political capital to reach durable political solutions, while security forces, many of which have increased authorities, will still be unable to soundly defeat militant groups. As such, many of the conflicts will continue to simmer in 2022. Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University or BenarNews. Supporters wear t-shirts bearing an image of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak with the Malay words for My Boss emblazoned on the back as they wait for his arrival in Slim River, Malaysia, Aug. 23, 2020. A Chinese organization is facing a fusillade of criticism in Malaysia for inviting convicted felon and former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak as the keynote speaker at a forum this week, with some calling it an insult to the nation. Only Chinas government could have cleared the invitation extended to Najib from the World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF), said Dennis Ignatius, a former Malaysian diplomat who observed acidly that the ex-PM remains Chinas blue-eyed boy. The invitation is [a] calculated insult to our nations honor, Ignatius, a critic of his countrys current government, which Najibs party leads, said in a blog post on Monday. That day, Najib gave the keynote speech at the World Chinese Economic Forum, co-hosted by the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC). It is a stunning rebuke of Malaysias legal process as well as an insult to all Malaysians. Never before has a foreign country acted with such disdain for a neighbor, wrote Ignatius, who works as a diplomatic adviser to First Step Forum, a Helsinki-based NGO. In July 2020, Najib was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison on corruption and money-laundering charges tied to a massive financial scandal at 1MDB, a state fund he established while in office. Earlier this month, a court of appeal upheld that ruling but postponed his sentence as it awaits a decision on Najibs appeal to the Federal Court. The World Chinese Economic Forum, held on Monday in Petaling Jaya, was jointly organized by the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), which is affiliated with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and the International Strategy Institute, a Malaysian think-tank. Najib delivered the keynote address, and local media reported he was the guest of honor during a gala dinner and award ceremony. Because of his conviction, Najib should not have been invited, regional political analyst Tunku Mohar Mokhtar said. With Najib convicted, getting invited to such an event, understandably, is an insult to the nation, Tunku Mohar, a political scientist at the International Islamic University Malaysia, told BenarNews on Thursday. [T]hey are free to invite anyone. But inviting Najib doesnt do much good to the image of the conference and its organizers. Najib is also standing trial in other 1MDB-related cases, which are ongoing or set to go to trial next year. BenarNews was unable to contact Cheah Chyuan Yong, the chairperson of the economic forum, who had earlier told local media news site Malaysiakini that Najib was invited because of his commitment to Sino-Malaysian relations. Najibs criminal convictions were not considered by the organizers, Cheah Chyuan said. Iganatius, the ex-diplomat, meanwhile was certain that Beijing had approved the invitation to Najib, because of the affiliation between CCOIC and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The WCEF [World China Economic Forum], sponsored and funded by a number of PRC organizations, is an important platform for highlighting and promoting Chinas signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). There is no way the PRC embassy here would have consented to Najibs invitation without high level clearance from Beijing, Ignatius wrote. It must be seen, therefore, for what it is a calculated decision by the government of the Peoples Republic of China to give pride of place to a convicted felon. BenarNews could not independently verify that the council was a state body, but its website says it was set up in 1952 and its responsibilities are to implement relevant major national development strategies, and promote foreign trade, bilateral investment and economic & technological cooperation. Najib remains Chinas blue-eyed boy. They do not consider his conviction an impediment to working with the man. Chinas strategic interests trump Najibs crimes, Ignatius said. By giving him an international platform, China hopes to redeem the man and whitewash his criminality. Corruption a capital offense in China One Malaysian investigative news portal, Edisi Siasat, noted that China metes out harsh sentences for those convicted of corruption and graft-linked activity. China is a country that has a fairly harsh and strict punishment for corruption offenses. Individuals convicted of criminal offenses in China, have no choice of punishment but death, it wrote in an editorial on Wednesday. Najib was friendly with China, Mokhtar, Ignatius, and another analyst noted. It is not a secret that Najib during his rule was very friendly to China with plenty of gigantic projects in awarded to Chinese concerns. So, it is not surprising that he is invited to the China-related forum, said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, who was a former political secretary under Najib. During his tenure as PM, Najib forged several deals with China, including the U.S. $12 billion East Coast Rail Link, which is part of Beijings global infrastructure-building program, BRI. Malaysias current government, spearheaded by Najibs United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party, recently revived the project that was halted in 2018 by then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on the grounds it was too expensive and unviable. Cynthia Gabriel, the director of Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism, an NGO, said criminals should not be included in Malaysias quest for economic success. In the rush towards post-pandemic priorities and foreign investment, lets not forget that anti-corruption rules must play a pivotal part in due diligence in our quest for economic success. Criminals should not be included in whatever capacity, she said on Twitter. Yumida Yusof, a widow from Thailands Deep South, prays in front of the Kaaba at the Great Mosque in Mecca during a Thai government-sponsored pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia, Dec. 11, 2021. Yumida Yusof, a widow from Thailands violence-torn Deep South, was thrilled that her impossible wish for Umrah a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia was coming true. She was terrified, too, because she had never been on an airplane. I could not even decide which foot to put first when walking from the passenger lounge to board the plane, said the 55-year-old dessert vendor from Yala province. But after the plane touched down, I simply went teary with joy when I was walking out of Medina Airport to be in the land of the Prophet Muhammad. Yumida was among 112 people making the pilgrimage from late November to mid-December. Many were relatives of people killed in violence tied to a separatist insurgency in Thailands mostly Muslim southern border region. The Thai government covered the cost of the 14-day trip to Medina and Mecca, saying this was part of a program to compensate people who have lost loved ones during the conflict in the Deep South. The government also sponsored a BenarNews reporter who took part in and documented the pilgrimage. I was overjoyed when I found out that I was chosen for the Umrah pilgrimage, despite the COVID-19 rampage, Yumida said, as she prayed next to Islams most sacred site, the Kaaba, at the Great Mosque in Mecca, also known as Masjid al-Haram. In 2011, unidentified gunmen shot dead Yumidas husband as he was returning home from a fruit plantation in Bannang Sata, a district of Yala. I think one must be extraordinarily fortunate for Allah to allow him or her to be the guest to his house, and to fulfill my impossible wish. The Southern Border Provinces Administration Center (SBPAC), a government agency, spent 14 million baht (U.S. $417,533) for the Umrah, which, unlike the Hajj, can be taken at any time of the year. The pilgrims spent five days in Medina, eight in Mecca, and a few more on Phuket, an island in Thailand popular with tourists, before they headed home. Referring to people widowed or orphaned by the war and related violence in the Deep South, Thai officials said the objective of sponsoring the trip was to compensate the survivors and connect with them to do something good. They did not elaborate on what the government expected in return. They are good people, have high morals. All of them were dedicated to worshiping at the Umrah and absolving their sins. May all the followers help propel such great activity, to support people to do good, said Praves Meedsen, an SBPAC employee who went on the trip. Maeya Koneng, a widow from Pattani, a province in the Thai Deep South, prays at the Great Mosque in Mecca, Dec. 11, 2021. [Mariyam Ahmad/BenarNews] Praying for peace More than 7,000 people have been killed in the southern border region since the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) and other armed separatist groups renewed their decades-old insurgency against Buddhist-majority Thailand in 2004. Locals say both sides in the conflict the Thai government forces and the rebels are to blame. Meanwhile, human rights groups have accused the Thai military of using excessive force on suspected insurgents, as well as torture. For their part, Deep South residents often bury slain fighters as martyrs for Patani, as the region is known among its Malay-speaking majority. This years Umrah pilgrimage is the seventh that SPBAC has sponsored, officials told BenarNews, adding that the arrangement is approved on a year-by-year basis. The trip was carried out amid stringent pandemic measures, including for the pilgrims to obtain a special Umrah passport, undertake a pre-trip quarantine, repeated COVID-19 tests, and other health protocols. But the pilgrimage had its upside, too, according to another participant. Fewer visitors during the pandemic meant that the Thai attendees could better concentrate on worship and get closer to Meccas Great Mosque and Medinas Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, or the Prophets Mosque. There were places such as the living quarters of the Prophet Muhammad. Many are not able to visit it, but we were, said Maeya Koneng, a pilgrim and widow from Pattani province, referring to Rawdah, a section in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi. It is not that easy during Umrah for a typical tour group to get close to Rawdah. Many never had such a chance, Maeya said. I am so happy and honored by Allah. It was her first trip out of Thailand for the 45-year-old noodle vendor, whose husband was shot dead in Koke Po, a district of Pattani, more than 16 years ago. We performed the Dua prayer to Allah to protect everyone from the pandemic and for the violence to disappear from the Deep South, Maeya said of her worship during the pilgrimage. Yumida Yusof, a pilgrim from Yala, uses her smartphone to photograph the Green Dome at Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 2, 2021. [Mariyam Ahmad/BenarNews] I dont forget the tragedy The Umrah miracle came at a heavy price for Yumida, a mother of five, and Maeya, a mother of one. It is my top-wish compensation that I have longed for years. I thank Allah and the Southern Border Province Administration Center for sponsoring this chance for Umrah, but I dont forget the tragedy. It is still with me every day, Yumida said of the unexplained and untimely death of her husband. An NGO working in the Deep South said the government could do much more to connect with regular people and win hearts and minds across the border region. The remedy program is good, but Im not sure the authorities could gain civilian support out of it, said Anchana Heemmina of the Duay Jai Group. The organization has alleged that the Thai military uses torture on Deep South detainees. The relationship must be sincere, full of respect for the people, instructional on peace, and make room for them, let them have a role in the peacebuilding process. Thai government negotiators and representatives of the BRN are reportedly poised to meet in person in January in Kuala Lumpur, after face-to-face meetings were suspended for nearly two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Occasional snow showers. High 29F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. About one inch of snow expected.. Tonight Cloudy early with partial clearing expected late. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 12F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Investigations editor Larry Parnass joined The Eagle in 2016 from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he was editor in chief. His freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, CommonWealth Magazine and with the Reuters news service. Community News Editor / Librarian Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. (If these stories don't load on the app, visit BerkshireEagle.com.) 10: Four Pittsfield postal employees test positive for COVID; city laments 'lack of cooperation' Citing a "lack of cooperation" from officials at the post office, Pittsfield officials alerted the public in October that at least four employees of the Fenn Street facility had tested positive for COVID-19. Four Pittsfield postal employees test positive for COVID; city laments 'lack of cooperation' Citing a "lack of cooperation" from officials at the post office, Pittsfield officials alerted the public Friday afternoon that at least four employees of the Fenn Street facility have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks. 9: Buddy system offered to boost vaccination for those 75 and older, including in Berkshire County The hesitation and inability of seniors to get to vaccination sites early in the year prompted Massachusetts to institute the "buddy system" offering vaccinations for those whose who were ineligible for vaccination at the current phase rollout who accompanied a senior to get their shots. Buddy system offered to boost vaccination for those 75 and over, including in Berkshire County Anyone but only one person who accompanies a senior 75 or older to get a COVID-19 vaccine at some of the state's public vaccination sites 8: Live in Massachusetts? Mask up, CDC guidelines say In August, all counties in Massachusetts were classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at a high or substantial level of community transmission, triggering CDC masking guidelines. Berkshire County is currently classified at a high level of community transmission, and masks are recommended indoors for vaccinated and unvaccinated residents. Live in Massachusetts? Mask up, CDC guidelines say All counties in Massachusetts are now classified by the CDC at a high or substantial level of community transmission. 7: Seven North Adams Commons residents die of COVID-19 In August, North Adams commons suffered an outbreak of COVID-19. By mid-August, 70 people had tested positive and seven residents died. Seven North Adams Commons residents die of COVID-19 Seventy people have tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak at the North Adams Commons. Seven people have died. 6: Total COVID-19 cases at Springside nursing center in Pittsfield now top 100, with National Guard assisting with care By January of this year, more than 100 residents and staff of Springside Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Center had contracted COVID-19, and members of the National Guard were assigned to the facility by the Department of Public Health to assist with care. 5: North Adams Commons COVID outbreak expands; Berkshire spread 'substantial' Early reports of the outbreak of COVID-19 at North Adams Commons saw 45 positive cases, while the CDC elevated the transmission rate in the Berkshires to substantial." North Adams Commons COVID outbreak expands; Berkshire spread 'substantial' More than 40 percent of residents at North Adams Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center have tested positive for COVID-19 as the number of total cases reaches 45. 4. Pittsfield just enacted a masking directive. What does that mean? In November, several municipalities in the Berkshires enacted masking directives. Following months of masking mandates at the start of the year, readers were curious: What's the difference? Pittsfield just enacted a masking directive. What does that mean? As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Berkshire County, Pittsfield has joined several South County municipalities in implementing masking directives. How is that different than a mandate? We break it down for you. 3. 120 Williams College students leaving campus after indoor party In March, students who attended an indoor party at Williams College against state and college gathering restrictions were asked to leave campus and transition to remote learning. Williams College had to postpone its Phase Two rollout in response. 120 Williams College students leaving campus after indoor party WILLIAMSTOWN After an indoor party at Williams College last week broke state and campus rules, 120 students have left campus or are making a 2. Great Barrington resident blocked from speaking against student masking at Berkshire Hills meeting In August, a Great Barrington resident was blocked from speaking against masking mandates during a during a public comment period at the Berkshire Hills Regional School Districts School Committees meeting. 1. Those who penned Great Barrington Declaration a year after it sparked worldwide firestorm: 'This is our crucible' On the one-year anniversary of the Great Barrington Declaration, some of those involved in the public health proposal spoke to The Eagle about their intentions, the fallout, pandemic data and the idea of focused protection. Afghan evacuees, including a couple pictured in California earlier in December, have been arriving in their new communities, many after long stays at U.S. military bases. Fifteen of 31 expected new residents have arrived in Berkshire County, four years after federal policies obstructed an earlier effort to resettle Syrian refugees in the Berkshires. The Kenai Mountains in Alaska. In a holiday season of extreme weather events, this one stands out: a 67-degree Fahrenheit reading in Alaska the day after Christmas. Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington speaks Dec. 5 during A Candlelight Vigil of Remembrance and Hope at the First United Methodist Church in Pittsfield. While Harrington has not officially announced a reelection bid for district attorney, she appears to be building a campaign and she'll likely have challengers. The 2021 high school yearbook of American politics, as named in an opinion column Michelle Cottle, a member to the New York Times editorial board. Articles Sorry, there are no recent results for popular articles. RIGGINS - At around 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, a routine check on a motorist resulted in the arrest of a 39-year-old man from Battle Mountain, Nevada. The Idaho County Sheriff's office says the man's vehicle was stopped alongside Highway 95 just south of Riggins, and Idaho County deputies stopped to see if they could assist the driver. During the interaction, Idaho County K9 Nation performed an exterior vehicle sniff and alerted on the vehicle. After speaking with the subjects in the vehicle, Jeffree Simmons, the passenger, was subsequently arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of psilocybin mushrooms, possession of ecstasy, and possession of paraphernalia. SHOSHONE COUNTY - A St. Maries, Idaho man has been sentenced in the First District Court in Shoshone County to months in jail, thousands of dollars in fines and a 10-year hunting revocation for various wildlife-related crimes. The case involved two states and long-term investigations that were prompted by citizens reporting violations Early in 2021, 55-year-old Paul D. Coward was charged with numerous misdemeanor and felony violations stemming from multiple search warrant executions which included: possession of drugs and paraphernalia, outfitting/guiding without a license, unlawful possession of firearms, hunting big game over unlawful bait, and a felony count of possession of unlawfully taken wildlife, which was a mountain goat he killed in Washington and had been hiding in his St. Maries home. Following nearly 23 years of complaints from concerned sportsmen about Coward's illegal hunting, and a three-year focused investigation, Idaho Fish and Game investigators were able to collect the necessary physical evidence demonstrating that Coward was illegally using bait to attract and hunt big game and providing outfitting and guiding services without a license. In addition to wildlife crimes, Coward, who was prohibited from possessing firearms due to previous felony convictions, was also found to be in the unlawful possession of numerous firearms. Investigators said that Coward admitted he knew what he was doing was illegal, but chose to continue to bait, hunt unlawfully, and disregard the licensing requirement for outfitting and guiding. On December 14, the 55-year-old was brought before First District Judge Scott Wayman in Shoshone County, where he pled guilty to multiple charges including providing outfitting and guiding services without a license, conspiracy to illegally provide such services, unlawfully hunting over bait, being in possession of wildlife taken unlawfully, and being in unlawful possession of firearms. As part of the pretrial settlement offer extended by the state, the parties agreed to proceed directly to sentencing on the matter. After over an hour of argument where both sides presented evidence and testimony, the court ultimately sided with the arguments made by local county prosecutor Benjamin Allen. The judge ordered that Cowards hunting privileges be revoked for 10 years in Idaho (as well as the other 48 member states of the Wildlife Violator Compact), and handed down a 5 year suspended prison sentence, requiring Coward to serve 90 days in the county jail. The jail time will be served in 30 day increments during September 2022, 2023 and 2024 in order to prohibit him from being in the field during the archery elk season when many of his violations took place. As a financial repercussion, Coward was ordered to pay a total of $16,000 in fines, restitution and court costs including a $10,000 civil penalty for the unlawfully possessed mountain goat. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, the truth about the January 6th capitol riot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has welcomed the decision of the High Court, Gauteng Local Division, in Pretoria to struck from the roll the urgent applications by Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders. Image source: Vitaliy Vodolazskyy 123RF.com In a bid to overturn the decision taken by the Minister of Home Affairs, supported by Cabinet, not to renew the ZEP, various interest groups connected to the holders of ZEP took the matter to court.We are determined to defend any spurious court actions aimed at undermining the lawful and reasonable decision which I took in my capacity as the Minister of the department. We are doing this while we acknowledge the rights of individuals and groups to approach the courts to seek remedies if they feel aggrieved, Motsoaledi said on Wednesday.According to the Minister, two organisations claiming to be representing the interests of ZEP holders, one calling itself African Amity, launched urgent applications in the High Court, Gauteng Division, late on 24 December.The other group is led by Bongani Nyathi, Gaston Ngulube and Njabulo Ncube.At the heart of the dispute is the decision taken by the Minister of Home Affairs not to renew the ZEP and impose a condition giving a 12-month grace period during which time ZEP holders need to regularise their stay through the normal immigration laws of the country.The Minister took the decision as he is empowered to do so in terms of the relevant provisions of the Immigration Act, 2002.The relief sought by these two groups was basically to be granted permanent residency and that the court should instruct the department to issue ZEP holders with visas, pending the review of the Ministers decision by the courts, the Minister said.The applications of these two groups were heard in court on 28 December 2021.The Minister and the department rigorously defended both applications and argued that the applicants in both matters failed to comply with the practice manual and directives, and lack of urgency.The court ruled in favour of the Minister and removed African Amitys matter from the roll. Costs were reserved. The Minister and the department intend to insist on punitive costs against African Amity.In the matter of Bongani Nyathi, Gaston Ngulube and Njabulo Ncube, the court ordered the applicants to pay the Minister and departments costs.It is common cause that there are many other groupings who are poised to take on review the decision on ZEP in the courts of law in the New Year. As a result, the department will defend the lawful, rational and reasonable decision taken in my capacity as the Minister of the department, Motsoaledi said. Tom Johnson is ending the year much the way he started it: waiting and praying for snow to fall. Advertisement Advertise With Us Tom Johnson is ending the year much the way he started it: waiting and praying for snow to fall. "I would sure love to see a little more snow on the ground," Johnson said prior to Christmas. "Theres sure not much moisture right now. And the lake a lot of our pasture and hay land is right beside the lake. And they said this year that this is the lowest the lake has ever been ever. And Ive never ever seen it this low." The lake he refers to is Lake Manitoba, which borders his near-century-old cattle farm in Oak Point. From where he stands in his home, he could still see bare patches of pasture midway through the month, and the dugouts beside the road hadnt filled with snow yet, which at this point of the year he called, "very curious." "Well need some more snow and awful quick." Witnessing the direct and immediate impacts of climate change was a hallmark of 2021 in Canada. Whether it manifested itself in heat, drought, fires or, more recently, intense atmospheric rivers and flooding, a world of extremes is upon us. This summer, Johnson thought hed lose everything his family had built on the eastern shore of Lake Manitoba. The extreme drought that enveloped the province meant the water sources his cattle regularly relied on had dried up. For the first time in the farms history, Johnson and his son, Cam, drilled wells on their property and hauled water to makeshift troughs they made in the pastures out of old tractor tires. They gave everything they had to keep the farm going; at the end of July, they really didnt know if it would be enough. The prospect of having to sell off their cattle loomed large. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS For the first time in the farms history, Johnson and his son, Cam, drilled wells and hauled water to makeshift troughs made out of old tractor tires. The family survived through drought conditions, but other farming families were forced to sell everything. "If my son hadnt wanted to keep going, I would have just sold everything and packed it in. But he kind of pushed for us to keep going," Johnson said. Government support came in the form of subsidies for feed and hay that needed to be purchased because the fields had produced so little. It meant the Johnson family farm would live to fight another day. Johnson sold off the calves early in the fall instead of the spring but the rest of the herd remains intact. Other families in the region werent so lucky, Johnson said. "They sold everything. They said, No, thats enough." Hay and feed across Canada became so scarce and expensive throughout the summer and fall the RCMP warned online scammers were taking advantage of desperate farmers. This summers historic drought didnt just hit farmers hard. In forested parts of the province and region, fire came with a vengeance. In July, Dave Schafer, director of the Manitoba Wildfire Service, said it was one of the most challenging firefighting seasons hed seen in his 40-year career. Five First Nations along the east side of Lake Winnipeg, with more than 2,000 residents, were evacuated. Fires torched power lines, which meant people from Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi were virtually held hostage in hotels across Winnipeg for more than 80 days before repatriation flights could bring them home. The City of Morden, also experiencing extreme drought, applied strict water restrictions in the spring and further increased its stringency as it continues to deal with the threat of water shortages. New water purchasing agreements from neighbouring communities mean residential water prices will increase by nearly 18 per cent starting in March. This month, polar bears left Churchill in one of the latest freeze-ups of the Hudson Bay in living memory. "Climate change, absolutely, is raising our temperatures at all times of the year. To date, its mostly been in the colder months of the year that weve really noticed the warming temperatures, but this year, the summer temperatures were also very high," said Danny Blair, co-director of the University of Winnipegs Prairie Climate Centre. "And on top of that, we had lower than normal precipitation. And both of those conditions higher temperatures and lower amounts of precipitation in the summertime is what weve been projecting for a very long time Into the decades ahead, this is going to become more common, unfortunately." Blair called 2021 a "preview" for what Manitoba will experience in the coming decades. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tom Johnson, a cattle farmer, checks on a water dugout for his cattle on his farm near Oak Point north of Winnipeg in July. Months later, Johnson says hed love to see more snow on the ground. Amid the chaos, the climate story of the year, for Blair, was the astounding heat wave in Western Canada that had Lytton, B.C., reach a record temperature of 49.6 C. "The heat wave event, for me, was a shocking event," Blair said. "But the real thing is that it killed more people than any other weather disaster in Canada. It killed almost 700 people. That is 600 people or so in B.C. and 60 or so in Alberta. "Thats a remarkable and distressing thing to see so many people fall victim to the heat stress that was associated with this remarkable heat wave." The death toll from the Western Canadian heat wave draws attention, again, to the fact Manitoba health authorities still do not track the number of heat-related deaths locally. The last 12 months were also marked by the COP26 conference and the raising of international goals to lower emissions on a global scale, including Canadas commitments. International agreements made this year have kept the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 C alive but just barely. Further advances in science have improved researchers ability to communicate the impact of climate change on specific events. The heat wave in Western Canada, for example, researchers were able to say it would have been impossible for it to have occurred without climate change. This type of advancement in the science of weather attribution is critical because journalists and other communicators have long-been afraid to draw definitive lines between extreme weather events and climate change. The direct and definitive lines are now becoming possible. "Its a really important development because it does help convince people, if thats the right term, that climate change is making the weather different. So the very complicated science of attribution is contributing to our understanding and awareness that climate change is affecting things," Blair said. special to the Free Press fpcity@freepress.mb.ca NEW YORK (AP) The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. In this courtroom sketch, Judge Alison Nathan, far left, speaks to the jury, right, about the new deliberations schedule and the courts concern regarding the recent COVID-19 outbreak during the Ghislaine Maxwell sexual abuse trial, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) NEW YORK (AP) The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epsteins palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epsteins teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse. As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. Afterward, she could be seen pouring herself water as one of her attorneys patted her back. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings faithfully in attendance each day of the trial as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another. Isabel Maxwell arrives at the federal courthouse where Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial for sex trafficking, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in New York. Ghislaine Maxwell is charged with recruiting teenage girls to be sexually assaulted by financier Jeffrey Epstein. Her lawyers say she was made a scapegoat after Epstein killed himself. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) One of her victims, Annie Farmer, said she was grateful the jury recognized Maxwell's pattern of predatory behavior. She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom, she said in a prepared statement. I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law. Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams praised the victims who testified against Maxwell after experiencing what he called one of the worst crimes imaginable. I want to commend the bravery of the girls now grown women who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and todays result, possible, he said in a statement. No sentencing date was set. In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell, center, sits in the courtroom during a discussion about a note from the jury, during her sex trafficking trial, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams) The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019. Her brother, Kevin Maxwell, said the family believes she will be vindicated on appeal. We firmly believe in our sister's innocence, he said in a written statement. During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epsteins homes a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case. A housekeeper testified he was expected to be blind, deaf and dumb about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul. Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries Britains Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump who flew on Epsteins private jets. FILE - Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of late British publisher Robert Maxwell, reads a statement expressing her family's gratitude to Spanish authorities after recovery of his body, Nov. 7, 1991. On Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, Maxwell was convicted of helping American financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard, File) Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a black book that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading massages. There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion onetime girlfriend, later employee. But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages. Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Farmer, who chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years. They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwells behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams. Christine Maxwell, left, Isabel Maxwell, center, and Kevin Maxwell, siblings of Ghislaine Maxwell, leave the courthouse after a verdict in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if shed had fun and told her: You are such a good girl. Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epsteins Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as a pyramid of abuse. Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at the Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. Kevin Maxwell, left, and Christine Maxwell, right, arrive at the federal courthouse where Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial for sex trafficking, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in New York. The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) I was frozen in fear, she told the jury, adding that the assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse. Maxwells lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward. I was scared, she said, choking back tears. I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didnt want anybody to know any of this about me. The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epsteins New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers. Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify. The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, one of Maxwells lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwells legal team questioned whether the accusers memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epsteins estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Maxwells family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where shes been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense. Before Maxwell was taken from the courtroom, Sternheim asked that arrangements be made to give her a coronavirus booster shot, saying infection rates were rising dramatically at the lockup. The recent surge threatened to derail the trial itself as U.S. District Court Judge Alison J. Nathan prodded jurors to work quickly to avoid the potential of a mistrial caused by sickened jurors. The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury. Lawsuits loom, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months. Following the Maxwell verdict, Giuffre released a statement through her lawyers, saying, I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. ___ AP journalist Ted Shaffrey in New York contributed to this report. Health officials are unable to say how many COVID-19 cases are linked to a south-east Queensland music festival that became a close contact site and been described by attendees as a superspreader event. Festival-goers also claim they were not formally notified by Queensland Health that the Elements Festival was upgraded from a casual contact site to a close contact site - which carried different isolation rules. The Elements Festival in Kingaham, inland from the Sunshine Coast. Credit:Instagram - @elements_festival_ It appears 17 police working at the event also fell victim to the communication breakdown. They only isolated until they tested negative - which is the rule for casual contacts, not close contacts. The festival in Kingaham, inland from the Sunshine Coast, attracted hundreds of people from several states and has been listed as a close contact site for three of its four days - December 17-19. Queensland has passed 10,000 COVID pandemic cases, with one in five of that number reported on Thursday. Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said 2222 cases had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, bringing Queenslands pandemic total to 10,752. Of those, Dr Gerrard said, 8586 were active cases. Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard. Credit:Dan Peled/Getty Images Queensland had reached 86.19 per cent fully vaccinated, Dr Gerrard said, with 90.52 per cent of the eligible population having received their first doses. Dr Gerrard said Queenslanders could expect to learn of tens of thousands of new cases over the New Year period and into January. Within weeks, Australians renewed their love affair with its Olympians. That the Tokyo Olympics even occurred seemed a triumph as the Delta variant surged. Australia won 46 medals, placing the nation sixth in the world. Our Paralympians followed up with 80 medals: eighth in the world. The Demons Grand Final win in Perth broke a 57-year drought. Credit:Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images A few days after the earthquake, the Melbourne Demons won their first AFL grand final in 57 years, though the big game had to be played in Perth,the second year in a row the match was not at the MCG. It was a year of mixed fortunes for Premier Daniel Andrews. In March, at a holiday home in Sorrento, on the Mornington Peninsula, he slipped and fell down a flight of stairs, breaking several ribs and a vertebra. He was off work for three months, during which conspiracy theorists and political opponents circulated unfounded theories about the cause of his injuries. Despite his travails and ongoing protests at COVID-19 restrictions, Andrews and his government retained significant support among voters, according to published polls. Victorias Matthew Guy emerged victorious over former opposition leader Michael OBrien. Credit:The Age The Coalition continued to struggle, even after the former Liberal leader Matthew Guy toppled Michael OBrien to regain the leadership in September. A survey by Resolve Political Monitor conducted for The Age in October showed Labors primary vote had fallen from 43 to 38 per cent since the last state election - most of the loss going to independents - but was still 4 points ahead of the LNPs 34 per cent. By November, a Roy Morgan poll showed Labor leading the LNP 58-42 on a two-party preferred basis - almost unchanged since the last election. Guy appointed his friend Tim Smith as shadow attorney-general. It ended in disaster when Smith crashed his car in late October and returned a blood-alcohol reading of 0.131. He announced in November he would quit state parliament at the next election. In the federal parliament, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons government slipped behind Anthony Albaneses Labor Party in published polls as Morrison suffered a number of setbacks. His troubles began early. Having named sexual assault survivor Grace Tame the Australian of the Year in January, Morrison found himself assailed for much of the year by Ms Tame and other women for failing to tackle a culture of sexual assault and bullying in parliament. The culture was revealed in a major report ordered by Morrison in February and released in late November. The PM also took hits over the slow roll-out of sorely needed coronavirus vaccines during the first two-thirds of the year. The project became so vexxed the Macquarie Dictionary chose the term strollout as its word of the year. Morrison tried to defend the situation by declaring the vaccination program was not a race, not a competition, causing passions to flare among those clamouring for the jab. And yet, by the last few months of the year, Morrison was able to boast that Australians were among the most vaccinated people in the world, with the lowest death rate. But the political embarrassments kept mounting. Morrisons former Attorney-General, Christian Porter - once considered a potential future Prime Minister - announced on December 1 he would quit politics at the election. Having sued the ABC for defamation after he identified himself as the subject of a report concerning historic sexual assault allegations - which he denied - Porter refused to reveal who was helping him pay, through a blind trust, hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills. In October, the PM was labelled a liar by French President Emmanuel Macron at the G20 in Rome, having broken a $90 billion contract for French submarines. Morrison argued he was putting the national interest first by joining the AUKUS defence agreement with the UK and US to give Australia its first nuclear-powered submarines. As parliament wound up for the year, Education Minister Alan Tudge was forced to stand aside pending an inquiry into claims by his former lover and staffer that he had been violent. He vehemently denied the allegations. There were ructions in the Liberals Coalition partner, The Nationals, too. In June, Barnaby Joyce - having resigned as Nationals leader in 2018 after revelations of an extramarital affair and a sexual harassment complaint that he strongly denied - marshalled enough support to overthrow Michael McCormack and return as leader. But where there were new beginnings, there were also endings. Popular NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian resigned on October 1 after the Independent Commission Against Corruption revealed she was being investigated. She later left parliament altogether and has said she has no intention of returning to politics. Australias role in the 20-year war in Afghanistan finally ended. The decision to pull out, led by the United States, caused a swift takeover of the country by the Taliban. Australia agreed to an initial 3000 humanitarian spots for Afghan refugees, but many were left behind. On April 9, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, died at 99, leaving his Queen a widow. Days before, Australias queen of fashion, Carla Zampatti, died after falling down stairs in Sydney. Loading On April 16, Andrew Peacock, former leader of the Liberal Party, died in the US, aged 82. On October 30, the Australian television and showbiz world lost Bert Newton, aged 83. He was granted a state funeral. Former Victorian governor Sir James Gobbo, who died on November 7, aged 90, received a state funeral soon after. Australias most acclaimed Indigenous actor, David Gulpilil, died on November 30, four years after being diagnosed with lung cancer. He was 68. The pandemic continued to create headlines, morphing in the last weeks of the year into a new infectious variant of coronavirus known as Omicron. Even as the vast majority of Australians sought the reassurance of vaccines, anti-vax protesters turned out in thousands on city streets. The protests, featuring at one point a mobile gallows and fluttering Donald Trump flags, reminded some observers of one of the most ominous events of the year. Jake Angeli, on the right, known as the Q Shaman, quickly became the face of the Capitol riots. Credit:AP On January 6, hundreds of protesters stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC. Inflamed by Trumps baseless claim that he had won the 2020 Presidential election, the protesters hunted for treasonous members of Congress. Five people died in the attempted insurrection. No such level of violence reached Australian streets, though police in Melbourne fired rubber pellets during running street battles in September. Elsewhere, police sought to bring healing to those touched by the unthinkable. In NSW, police renewed their seven-year search for missing child William Tyrell, expressing confidence that this time, they would solve the mystery. At the time of writing, no breakthrough had been announced. Australia needed, in this long year of distress, at least one great happy ending. Cleo Smith reunited with stepfather Jake Gliddon and mother Ellie Smith. Credit:Getty People have been advised not to come into Melbourne CBD to celebrate New Years Eve unless they have a booking at a restaurant or tickets for a designated gathering zone. The City of Melbourne is expecting far fewer people on city streets to celebrate the end of 2021 than the hundreds of thousands seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp outlines the safety protocols for New Years Eve celebrations. Credit:Chris Hopkins Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp said this years figure was likely to be in the tens of thousands, with festivities focused on four official and alcohol-free celebration zones in the Alexandra, Treasury and Flagstaff gardens and at Docklands. The total of 42,000 tickets are sold out. Each zone will be fenced off, with all entrants needing to have a ticket and be double vaccinated. Musicians will perform, and there will be DJs and dancing. Firework displays will be held at 9.30pm and midnight. Victorians will not be required to get a test if they are exposed to COVID-19 at places such as cafes, schools, supermarkets and offices under significant changes to protocols agreed between state and federal governments. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the reset agreed to by all states and territories except Western Australia for now was a result of problems caused by the infectious Omicron variant, including the huge strain on PCR testing that has led to Australians queuing for hours. The announcement came on a day when Australia recorded 21,000 new daily cases, including more than 5100 in Victoria and 12,200 in NSW. Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said cases would continue to rise, but Australia was well placed to handle them given data from South Africa suggested Omicron was 73 per cent less severe compared with the Delta variant. Now that [case numbers] may rise over time as well, but at the moment that is what were seeing a much less severe spectrum. So that brings about a change, he said. Emergency services have called off a search for a woman who was swept off rocks near a coastal walk on Victorias south coast. Hopes of finding the woman began to fade on Thursday evening after more than eight hours of fruitless searching. The coast around San Remo is dangerous. Credit:Film Victoria Victoria Police said the woman fell into the water near the George Bass Coastal Walk in San Remo about 10.50am on Thursday after being swept off rocks. Officers spent most of the day combing the area with the assistance of the police air wing and Life Saving Victoria but as of 9.30pm on Thursday, the woman was yet to be found. Foreign automakers have indicated an interest to the government of India's state in acquiring Co's plant there, the state industries minister said on Thursday, after inconclusive talks with the Tata Group. Ford India said in September it would wind down operations at a factory in Western Gujarat state by end-2021 and vehicle and engine manufacturing at the plant by 2022, as it did not see a path to profitability in the country. "Early stage talks are going on," Thangam Thennarasu, industries minister of told Reuters, adding that he could not give details of which firms were interested. "It is eventually up to Ford as it will be a commercial arrangement. We are merely facilitating talks between the companies," he said. Thennarasu said the Tata Group had also shown an interest in buying the Ford plant, having met the state's chief minister and visited the plant for a preliminary study but the state government had yet to hear from them about any deal. "It is now up to them to make an official announcement," Thennarasu told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. Ford, asked about which firms might be interested in buying the Tamil Nadu plant, told Reuters in a statement: "We continue to explore possible alternatives for our manufacturing facilities but have nothing further to share." Tamil Nadu, a state of more than 70 million people and one of the country's most industrialised, is sometimes called the "Detroit of Asia". It is home to factories of including BMW, Daimler, Hyundai, Nissan and Renault. Thennarasu said the state has been receiving interest from electric vehicle manufacturers and battery makers. Ride-sharing company Ola, which has started an electric scooter manufacturing facility in the state, has expressed plans to expand, he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Private lender Bank has set in motion the process of merging IDFC Ltd and IDFC Financial Holding Company with itself. Both entities form part of the bank promoter group. The bank, however, did not elaborate on the timeline for the merger. The board of directors of the bank at its meeting held on Thursday considered the merger proposal. It was, in principle, in favour of it, it informed the BSE. The boards of IDFC and IDFC Financial Holding Company too have given the nod for it. IDFC Financial Holding Company hold 36.52 per cent in the bank as of September 2021. IDFC holds 100 per cent stake in IDFC Financial Holding. The Bank stock closed flat at Rs 47.45 per share. The merger must have the approval of the shareholders of the concerned, their creditors, and the statutory and regulatory authorities. The board has formed a panel called Capital Raise and Corporate Restructuring Committee to work on the terms of the merger. Its remit will be areas like finalising the scheme, valuation, and hiring advisors. The details will be provided as and when the scheme of the merger is finalised, it added. IDFC, as promoter, was required to hold 40 per cent for five years from the date of the banks commencement of operations. This five-year period ended on September 30 last year. On July 20 this year, the Reserve Bank of India said IDFC could now exit as promoter of Bank. SenseTime Group co-founder Tang Xiaoou has become one of the worlds richest people, after the Chinese AI champion blew past concerns about American sanctions to surge as much as 23 per cent on its debut. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology alums wealth has jumped by $300 million to roughly $3.7 billion after SenseTime ended Thursday 7.3 per cent above its initial public offering price, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Unlike many of his cohorts, the SenseTime co-founder hailed from the world of academia, as an information engineering professor at the Chinese University of He has long been involved in developing the artificial intelligence required for facial recognition. SenseTimes rip-roaring debut defied all expectations, particularly after a US ban on American investors forced the AI company to first delay its IPO, then price its shares at the very bottom of a previously indicated range. Investors had been nervous about the fallout from the blacklisting, which stem from allegations SenseTimes facial-recognition software perpetuates human rights violations in the far western region of Xinjiang. The sanction, which came on top of an existing ban on sales of American technology, was announced just days before the debut. SenseTime said the claims are unfounded. Its executives were visibly moved on Thursday as they convened for a livestreamed listing ceremony, with at least one in tears. Every company will have their own challenges and objectives. For us, its about getting back on the front foot as creators and pioneers, said Xu Li SenseTimes chief executive officer. Chennai-based Co has bagged a $700-million deal to supply units to Kafkans Finanz LLC, based in Baku in The company will supply and set up units from December 2022, in the industrial areas around Baku in In early December, the company had surprised many by announcing a $4.14-billion investment from the US-based fund TFCC International for 46 per cent equity in Later on December 5, it signed a deal worth $2.2 billion with Ghana-based Masri Company Ltd to supply its waste-to-energy units to generate about 300 mega watt (MW) of power to the African country. The company said in a statement that it will build, operate and transfer these high quality units in the developing industrial areas of to help manage industrial effluents and bring back a significant amount of energy to these industrial areas. The Units when installed will have the capacity to generate upto 200 mega watt (MW) of power initially. Kafkans is the local partner with Ram Charan, with an experience in logistics, infrastructure, and imports to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, a developing country located on the old Silk Road, is a developing Nation, and the provision of this technology will provide immense support to the industrial growth in the region, it said. Ram Charans technology includes environment to energy management systems and renewable energy devices with high storage capacity made from sodium silicate. Through these agreements we hope to rapidly scale up our technologies offerings in the waste to energy field that will help the environment in a significant manner. The technology used by allows for zero toxic residue, and can be used to convert all types of unsegregated of waste into energy, with zero residue to the environment, making it the first of its kind globally and also the safest, said Chris Curtis, Chairman, TFCC International. Funds like Engine No. 1 are leading the environment space with relevant investments, and showing the path for global investment managers to look at such opportunities with interest, and the scope to grow scale, he added. Ram Charan is implementing modern techniques considering a zero part per million production unit, and also claims to be amongst the first globally to set up End Product Responsibility for their products. The technology, developed in-house after research from 2016 by the current team at Ram Charan has been branded under the name Entity 1, and has a slew of products lined up for release from 2022 till 2024. The company has planned manufacturing facilities in India, which are planned in the state of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. has tasked a search panel, comprising two board members, chairman of its nomination & remuneration committee and an external expert, to find a suitable candidate for the lender's MD and CEO post, according to a regulatory filing. The bank's board on December 25 elevated Rajeev Ahuja as an interim MD and CEO with immediate effect, after sending Vishwavir Ahuja on leave. Rajeev's appointment was subject to regulatory and other approvals. A day earlier, on December 24, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed its Chief General Manager Yogesh K Dayal on the lender's board as an additional director, a move seen as unusual in the case of private sector "The board at its meeting held today ie December 30, 2021, has constituted a search committee (comprising of chairman of the nomination and remuneration committee, two members of the board and one external expert) to identify and evaluate for the position of MD & CEO," said in the filing. The potential candidate can be both from within or outside the bank. The board had decided to appoint a reputed recruitment firm for the purpose, the bank said. "The bank will endeavour to complete the succession process at an early date," it said. Earlier in the day, the bank informed about receiving the RBI's approval to appoint Rajeev Ahuja as its interim MD and CEO for three months or until a regular candidate was onboarded. Rajeev in his first interaction with reporters and investors on December 26 had said that the bank was financially sound and that it had full support from its board of directors and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The apex bank, on its part, also came to the bank's rescue the very next day, stating that its financial position was satisfactory. The depositors, as well as the investors, should not pay heed to the speculation around the sudden change of affairs at the helm of the bank, the RBI had said. However, despite the RBI's clarification, the stock of the bank faced a sell-off on Monday. The scrip shed as much as 18 per cent at the close of trade on BSE on the first day of this week, before touching an intra-day low of over Rs 132 apiece on the BSE. Shares of the bank on Thursday closed at Rs 130.40 apiece on the BSE, down 9.63 per cent from the previous close. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For women who assembled iPhones at a Foxconn plant in southern India, crowded dorms without flush toilets and food sometimes crawling with worms were problems to be endured for the paycheck. But when tainted food sickened over 250 of the workers their anger boiled over, culminating in a rare protest that shut down a plant where 17,000 had been working. A close look by Reuters at the events before and after the Dec. 17 protest casts a stark light on living and working conditions at Foxconn, a firm central to Apple's supply chain. The tumult comes at a time when is ramping up production of its 13 and shareholders are pushing the company to provide greater transparency about labour conditions at suppliers. Reuters spoke to six women who worked at the Foxconn plant near Chennai. All of them requested they not to be named because of fear of retaliation on the job or from police. Workers slept on the floor in rooms, which housed between six to 30 women, five of these workers said. Two workers said the hostel they lived in had toilets without running water. "People living in the hostels always had some illness or the other -- skin allergies, chest pain, food poisoning," another worker, a 21-year-old woman who quit the plant after the protest, told Reuters. Earlier food poisoning cases had involved one or two workers, she said. "We didn't make a big deal out of it because we thought it will be fixed. But now, it affected a lot of people," she said. FOXCONN PLANT ON PROBATION and Foxconn said on Wednesday they found that some dormitories and dining rooms used for employees at the factory did not meet required standards. The facility has been placed "on probation" and will ensure its strict standards are met before the plant reopens, Apple said in a statement. "We found that some of the remote dormitory accommodations and dining rooms being used for employees do not meet our requirements and we are working with the supplier to ensure a comprehensive set of corrective actions are rapidly implemented." Apple did not elaborate on the improvements that would be made for workers at the plant or the standards that would be applied. Laws governing housing for women workers in Tamil Nadu mandate each person be allocated at least 120 square feet of living space and require housing to adhere to hygiene and fire safety standards as laid out by local authorities. Foxconn said it was restructuring its local management team and taking immediate steps to improve facilities. All employees would continue to be paid while it makes necessary improvements to restart operations, the company said. Venpa Staffing Services, a Foxconn contractor that runs the dorm where workers were sickened by food poisoning, declined to comment. The food poisoning and subsequent protests have also led to investigations, some of which are ongoing, by at least four Tamil Nadu state agencies. Officials have also privately told Foxconn to ensure better conditions, senior state government officials said. "It is Foxconn's responsibility," Thangam Thennarasu, the industries minister of Tamil Nadu state told Reuters. The Tamil Nadu state government said in a statement last week that the state had asked Foxconn to ensure that working and living conditions were improved, including the quality of housing and drinking water. Foxconn has agreed to ensure that worker living conditions follow government recommendations and meet legal requirements, the statement said. Apple and Foxconn did not indicate in their statements when the plant would reopen. Foxconn had told state officials that it had "ramped up production too quickly," though production was curtailed during April and May when the Delta variant of COVID-19 was raging in India, a senior government official from the state's industries department told Reuters. Taiwan-based Foxconn opened the plant in 2019 with the promise of creating up to 25,000 jobs, a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" campaign to create manufacturing jobs. Sriperumbudur, a town outside Chennai where the factory is situated, is a busy industrial area with factories that make Samsung and Daimler products nearby. The factory is central to Apple's efforts to shift production away from China due to tensions between Beijing and Washington. Reuters reported last year that Foxconn planned to invest up to $1 billion in the plant over three years. Foxconn contracts out the staffing of the factory to labour brokers, who are also responsible for housing the workers - mostly women - employed there. RATS AND POOR DRAINAGE Following the protests, food safety inspectors visited the hostel where the bout of food poisoning occurred and closed the dorm's kitchen after finding rats and poor drainage, Jegadish Chandra Bose, a senior food safety officer in the Thiruvallur district where the hostel is located, told Reuters. "The samples analysed did not meet the required safety standards," he said. The women who work at the Foxconn plant make the equivalent of about $140 (10,500 Indian rupees) in a month and pay Foxconn's contractor for housing and food while they work at the plant. Most workers are between 18 and 22 and come from rural areas of Tamil Nadu, the head of a women workers' union said. The monthly pay at the plant is more than a third higher than the minimum wage for such jobs, according to state government guidelines. The 21-year-old worker who quit following the protest, told Reuters that her parents are farmers growing rice and sugarcane. She said she looked for a city job like many others in her village and considered the Foxconn wages good. Several activists and academics said women recruited from farming villages to work in Sriperumbudur's factories are seen by employers as less likely to unionise or demonstrate, a factor that made the protests at the Foxconn factory - which isn't unionised - even more notable. V. Gajendran, assistant professor at Madras School of Social Work in Chennai, said women recruited to work in nearby factories "typically come from larger, poor, rural families, which exposes them to exploitation and reduces their ability to unionise and fight for their rights." 'WE WERE ALARMED' The food poisoning incident sent 159 women from one dorm to hospital on Dec 15, workers told Reuters. Some 100 more women needed medical attention but were not hospitalised, the Thiruvallur district administration said last week. A rumour - later proved to be false - circulated that some of the women who had fallen sick had died. When some sick workers failed to show up for work at the factory two days later, others staged a protest when shifts were changing. "We were alarmed and we talked among each other in the hostel and decided to protest. There was no one leader," one of the workers told Reuters. On December 17, about 2,000 women from the nearby Foxconn hostels took to the streets, blocking a key highway near the factory, the district administration said. Male workers, including some from a nearby auto factory, joined a renewed protest the next day, the Foxconn workers Reuters spoke to said. Police responded to the larger, second protest by striking the male workers and then chasing and striking some of the women involved, two workers and Sujata Mody, a local union leader who had interviewed workers told Reuters. Police detained 67 women workers and a local journalist, confiscated their phones, and called their parents with a warning to get their daughters in line, three of those detained, local union leaders, and a lawyer who was trying to help those detained told Reuters. Reuters could not independently confirm the descriptions of the police response. M Sudhakar, the top police official in Kancheepuram district, denied that protesters were beaten, phones were confiscated, or that workers were intimidated by police. "We strictly adhered to guidelines and respected the rights of those who were detained. All rules were followed," he told Reuters. K. Mohan, a village-level administrator who went to the hostel where the food poisoning incident occurred to investigate living conditions on Dec 16, found no safeguards to prevent COVID-19 infections, he told police in testimony reviewed by Reuters. "I went to that place to investigate since there is a chance that this place could become a COVID cluster," Mohan told police. "The women were made to stay in the hostel where no coronavirus guidelines were being followed." The unrest at Foxconn was the second involving an Apple supplier in in a year. In December 2020, thousands of contract workers at a factory owned by Wistron Corp destroyed equipment and vehicles over the alleged non-payment of wages, causing estimated damage of $60 million. Apple had then said it placed Wistron on probation and that it would not award the Taiwanese contract manufacturer new business until it addressed the way workers were treated at the plant. At the time, Wistron said it had worked to raise standards and fix issues at the factory, including the payroll systems. Wistron restarted operations at the plant earlier this year. Apple had no immediate comment on Wistron's status when asked by Reuters. (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan, A. Ananthalakshmi, and Ahmed Farhatha in Sriperumbudur; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco, Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles, Chandini Monnappa and Sethuraman N R in Bengaluru and Rupam Nair in New Delhi; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Kevin Krolicki) (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 the wake of theatres being seized in Andhra Pradesh, things were getting tense. It seems like the state government has now granted permission to reopen the theatres with immediate effect. The government has given permission for the closed theatres to be reopened, but the theatre owners are warned that they must fix the problems within one month, or they will face confiscation once again. A number of theatres in the state were shut down for not complying with basic guidelines. In the process, close to 100 theatres were seized during the quality checks, while a number of theatres shut down voluntarily. Several distributors, producers, and theatres owners had met with representatives of the government earlier, seeking to resolve the issue. With big-ticket movies like 'RRR' and 'Radhe Shyam' ready to hit the screens, the film trade in AP had pleaded with the government to take necessary steps. --IANS py/kr (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.) Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar Thursday claimed that appointments of vice-chancellors of 24 in the state were made without his approval or in defiance of orders. Dhankhar is the ex-officio chancellor of the state-run universities, including Calcutta University, Jadavpur University and Presidency University. "VCs of 24 appointed @MamataOfficial in disregard of law. These are ex facie in defiance of specific orders or without approval by Chancellor-the Appointing Authority," the governor tweeted. "These appointments carry no legal sanction and would be forced to take action unless soon recalled," he added. The warning comes close on the heels of chancellors and vice-chancellors of private not attending a meeting called by the governor earlier in the month at the Raj Bhawan here. Dhankhar is the visitor of private universities in the state. (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.) Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nalin Kohli has called for strict action against those who put pressure on a witness in the and said that the statement by the witness cannot be ignored. A witness in the 2008 Malegoan blast case on Tuesday had claimed before a special Investigation Agency (NIA) court that the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the then investigating agency of the case, had tortured and threatened him to take the names of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and five RSS leaders. The witness told the court that he was kept in the office of the ATS office for seven days after the blast and after that, the agency threatened to torture and frame his family members. Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon on September 29 in 2008. (ANI) The case is currently being investigated by NIA. Earlier on November 24, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur made an appearance in Mumbai's Special Investigation Agency (NIA) trial court in connection with the case. Apart from Thakur, LT Col Purohit, Chaturvedi, and Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay and Sudhakar Dwivedi are also accused in the case. They have been charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The charges include Sections 16 (committing the terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act) of the UAPA and Sections 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 153(a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups) of the IPC. Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008. (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.) Heavy to very heavy rains pounded and the suburbs on Thursday, inundating roads and subways and three persons were killed in rain-related incidents here. Three persons (two women and a boy) died of electrocution here, Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management, KKSSR Ramachandran said. It was a repeat of scenes witnessed here last month as motorists struggled to manoeuvre their vehicles on flooded roads and subways while showers led to traffic congestion in the city and suburbs. The intense spell may turn out to be one of the heaviest witnessed in recent years, while police said three subways were closed and in view of inundation and traffic moved at a snail's pace in at least 14 arterial city thoroughfares. Greater Corporation said that over 145 pumps were used to de-clog inundated locations. Metrorail authorities said services were extended by an hour from 11 PM onwards in view of rains so as to help passengers reach their destinations safely. Starting from noon, most areas in the city and suburbs began receiving and it was heavy to very heavy in several locations. According to India Meterological Department (IMD), the highest of 17.65 CM was recorded in MRC Nagar here. It was 14.65 CM and 10 CM at Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam respectively. In other areas, including those falling under neighbouring Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, the showers ranged from 1 CM (Madhavaram) to 10 CM (Nandanam). The data was recorded between 8.30 AM and 6.15 PM today. Isolated heavy to very rainfall activity is likely to continue over north coastal and adjoining areas of south coastal Andhra Pradesh during next three days and decrease thereafter, the said. Weather enthusiasts made claims in the social media vis-a-vis the intensity of rains and on showers beating previous records. One such claim said Thursday's rains in was the heaviest for a single day in the month of December after 2015. officials here, however, did not confirm such claims. Officials said a conclusion could be arrived at only after looking into actual rainfall for the 24-hour period and following a scrutiny of previous data. Enthusiast Pradeep John ( Weatherman) tweeted, "Mylapore crosses 200 mm. One of the craziest spells of lifetime. Chennai City (Nungambakkam) beats 2015 annual rainfall." In another tweet, he said,"2015 annual rainfall is overtaken by 2021 & is the 3rd wettest year of all time behind 2005 & 1996." He had also given data for Chennai city (Nungambakkam) to support his claim. witnessed heavy rainfall during the north east monsoon (October-December) monsoon and according to the weather office, presence of 'convective cells,' led to rainfall. A weather forecast by the (issued 12.30 hours on December 30) had said: "Thunderstorm with moderate rain is likely to occur at a few places over coastal Tamil Nadu. Thunderstorm with moderate rain is likely to occur at many places over Villupuram, Cuddalore and Delta districts, Puducherry and Karaikal. Light rain is also likely to occur at isolated places over Interior Tamil Nadu districts. (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.) Bruhat Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta on Wednesday instructed the concerned officials to take necessary measures to control the spread of Covid-19 and its latest variant Omicron in BBMP limits by taking up joint operations with the police, ensuring strict enforcement of the regulations issued by the state government on Wednesday. Addressing a virtual joint meeting of BBMP and the police department, Gupta said that on an average, 150-200 Covid cases are being reported from within the BBMP limits everyday. "In the past three days, the number of cases has gone up to 250. So it is necessarary to check the virus spread. For this, BBMP officials and police personnel will have to take up joint operations," he said. Gupta said that the regulations issued by the state government must be enforced strictly. Restaurants, pubs and clubs should only be allowed to operate with 50 per cent seating capacity. The personnel working there must have RT-PCR negative certificate and they must be double vaccinated. Only those customers should be allowed who have taken both doses of the vaccine, he said. As per the guidelines, New Year celebrations would not be allowed anywhere in the city after 10 pm. Actions would be taken if any such cases are found, Gupta said. Speaking at the meeting, city police commissioner Kamal Pant said, "Night curfew after 10 pm is being enforced strictly in the city to control the spread of Covid-19. Regulations issued by the government should be enforced strictly. Measures should be taken to avoid public gatherings." --IANS mka/arm (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.) Hyderabad-based vaccine maker International (BBIL), on Thursday said BBV152 (Covaxin), its whole-virion inactivated Covid-19 vaccine candidate, has proven to be safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic in paediatric subjects in phase 2 and 3 studies. It effectively means that the vaccine is safe for children. This comes after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the use of Covaxin for children aged 12 years and above. The subject expert committee advising the regulator had, however, cleared the vaccine for use in two-year-old children and above. had conducted phase 2 and 3, open-label, multi-centre studies to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of Covaxin in healthy children and adolescents in the 2-18 age-group, the vaccine maker said. Immunogenicity of a vaccine implies whether it induces the desired immune response. "Covaxin's clinical trial data from the paediatric population is very encouraging. Safety of the vaccine is critical for children and we are glad to share that Covaxin has now proven data for safety and immunogenicity in children. We have now achieved our goal of developing a safe and efficacious Covid-19 vaccine for adults and children," Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director, Bharat Biotech, said in a statement. The company claimed that the clinical trials on children conducted between June and September 2021 have shown robust safety. The data was submitted to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in October and has received emergency use nod for children aged 12-18 from DCGI recently. No serious adverse-effect was reported in the study. A total of 374 subjects reported either mild or moderate severity symptoms, with 78.6 per cent getting resolved within a day. Pain at the injection site was the most commonly reported adverse-effect, the statement said. Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech is targeting to manufacture one billion doses of its intra-nasal vaccine in 2022 which is under clinical trials now. BBV154, the intra-nasal vaccine, can be administered as a nasal spray or a drop but only in a clinical setting and cannot be taken at home. The adenovirus vector-based vaccine helps to trigger generation of immunoglobulin or IgA antibodies which line the nasal mucosa. Bharat Biotech claims that the vaccine helps to reduce transmission of the Covid virus as it attacks the virus at its first point of entry the nose and the upper respiratory part of the body. We have done a lot of work to stabilise the spike protein. The antibodies in the nose are IgA which are also present in the upper respiratory tract, a senior company official told Business Standard. We are scaling up the manufacturing of the intra-nasal vaccine now. The target is a billion annual doses for the nasal vaccine. The sites which produce Covaxin now (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune etc) will also have facilities to produce the nasal vaccine, the official added. The vaccine maker is also looking for global partners to manufacture and distribute the vaccine overseas. reported 23 more cases of the Omicron variant of the on Thursday, its highest daily spike so far, pushing the tally of such cases to 37 in the state, according to a health department bulletin. Of these 37 cases, 12 are active while the rest have been discharged, it stated. In view of a rise in Omicron cases, the government has imposed a night curfew and restriction on gatherings from Saturday. It said people eligible for vaccination but not fully vaccinated will be banned from shopping malls, cinema halls, restaurants and grain markets, among other crowded places from January 1. Meanwhile, the state continued to register a surge in COVID-19 cases, with 300 new infections being reported on Thursday, 180 of them from Gurugram alone. Faridabad and Panchkula reported 44 and 20 new infections respectively. However, no fresh fatality due to the viral disease was reported in the state. The total COVID-19 case count now stands at 7,73,361 in the state, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,063. The number of active cases in the state has almost doubled in three days, from 536 on Monday to 1,047 on Thursday, while 7,62,228 patients have recuperated, the bulletin said, adding that the recovery rate was recorded at 98.56 per cent. (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 light of the rising cases in the country, the government on Wednesday imposed night curfew from 9 pm to 4 am. The restriction comes just days ahead of New Year celebrations. As per an order issued by the state's Home Department, essential services and medical emergencies have been exempted from the night curfew. The state has also banned music concerts, thabal chongba (folk dance), celebratory feasts, large gathering of people in enclosed areas or indoor halls. "Wearing of face masks in public places, gatherings and crowded areas is a critical Covid Appropriate Behaviour and it should be strictly enforced and violators to be penalised promptly under relevant rules," the order read. All District Magistrates have been directed to enforce the curbs by invoking relevant provisions of law. "This order is in continuation of the order of even number dated 27.12.2021 and shall remain in force till 31.01.2022," the order stated. Notably, according to Union Health Minister, has reported one case of India's case tally stands at 781, as per a COVID-19 bulletin issued on Wednesday morning. (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 view of the rising COVID-19 cases, the Police on Thursday has imposed in the city starting from today till January 7. As per the new COVID-19 restrictions, prohibition has been placed on New Year's celebrations, parties in any closed or open space including restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs, resorts and clubs from December 30 to January 7. "The order shall come into the force, in the areas under the control of Commissioner of Police, Greater from 00:00 Hrs of 30th December 2021 and will remain in force till 24:00 Hrs of 7th January 2022, unless withdrawn earlier," the order reads. "Any person contravening this order shall be punishable under section 188 of Indian Penal Code 1860 in addition to the penal provision under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 and National Disaster Management Act 2005 and other legal provisions as applicable," said Chaitanya S, Deputy Commissioner of Police. Meanwhile, on Wednesday reported 2,510 fresh COVID-19 cases and one death in the last 24 hours, informed the state health bulletin. Mumbai has 8,060 active cases and the recovery rate stands at 97 per cent.Presently, 45 buildings have been sealed in Mumbai. Maharashtra cabinet minister Aditya Thackeray also chaired a meeting at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An unsung arm of the immune system appears to protect against severe disease with the Omicron variant even when antibodies wane, helping to explain why a record wave of infections hasnt engulfed hospitals so far. T cells, the bodys weapon against virus-infected cells, were primed enough by vaccination that they defended against omicron in separate studies from Erasmus University in the Netherlands and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. The study from the University of Cape Towns Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine looked at patients who had recovered from Covid or been vaccinated with shots from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE or Johnson & Johnson. They found that 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the T cell responses they assessed held up against Omicron. The number of Covid-19 cases topped one million globally for the third day in a row, as the World Health Organization warned of a bumpy road ahead. Experts in Singapore, which is seeing a surge in Omicron cases, warned that the new and supposedly more contagious variant is likely to replace Delta over the coming weeks as the dominant global variant, with the virus being fitter and having a reproductive advantage. A booster dose of Johnson & Johnsons single-dose Covid-19 vaccine was 84 per cent effective at preventing hospitalisation in South African healthcare workers who became infected as the Omicron variant spread, researchers said on Thursday. The real-world study, which has not been peer-reviewed, was based on a second dose of the J&J vaccine administered to 69,092 healthcare workers between November 15 and December 20. In the US, virus deaths are declining even as cases rise, according to federal health officials who suggested the surging Omicron variant may cause less suffering than other strains. Cases involving the Omicron variant will likely peak by the end of January, presidential medical adviser Anthony Fauci said. Englands National Health Service is building temporary structures at hospitals around the country to prepare for a possible surge of Covid-19 patients as the highly transmissible omicron variant fuels a new wave of infections. The UK reported a record 183,037 confirmed new infections on Wednesday, 32 per cent more than the previous day. JetBlue Airways said it was reducing its schedule through January 13 by about 1,280 flights due to a surge in crew members falling sick from the Omicron variant, a spokesperson for the airline told Reuters on Thursday. Italy, meanwhile, eased quarantine rules and imposed a vaccine mandate for most activities in a bid to keep essential services running, after the country recorded a record number of cases for consecutive days. Mario Draghis government lifted its quarantine requirement completely for people who come into contact with a Covid-19 case as long as they have had three vaccine doses, according to a statement. It will be a quiet New Years Eve at and bars due to night curfews and bans on celebrations in various states. Cafes and clubs have either cancelled or scaled down their events depending on local restrictions. Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have imposed a night curfew while Chennai has decided to ban all vehicular movement except emergency vehicles from Friday midnight to 5 am on Saturday. In Mumbai, and bars are allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity till midnight but there is a ban on celebrations on December 31. Municipal officials and the police are stepping up their vigil to limit the number of violations of Covid-19 norms. Mumbai hotels have been asked to share CCTV footage of their premises with the local ward office. Business is going to be muted on December 31. There are booking cancellations. Even in normal times, home deliveries are in demand on New Years Eve and it will be even higher today. Food delivery apps could face a challenge in fulfilling them, said Pranav Rungta, Mumbai chapter head of the National Restaurant Association of India. A spokesperson for food delivery app Swiggy said it hoped to fulfil the expected surge in orders. As more and more users turn to food delivery and Swiggys instant grocery service Instamart, we expect to reach new peaks this New Year's Eve.We have beefed up our teams as we expect a surge in orders for New Years. We have completed hyperlocal demand-supply planning and identified the specific slots which would see an increase in demand due to early ordering patterns. Delivery partners incentives and schemes are also tailored to satisfy this early ordering pattern, said a Swiggy spokesperson. We expect this year to be no different and are fully geared for it. We have expanded the capacity of our delivery fleet and our support and operations staff to ensure customers have a great experience on the platform on the day, said a Zomato spokesperson. Restaurant-ordering platform Thrive also expects bumper orders. We have already seen a 20 per cent spike in delivery orders since the start of the month as compared with November, said Dhruv Dewan, co-founder at Thrive. Dewan said the surge in orders today will be particularly high as, having cancelled going to and bars, people stay at home and order in. In Delhi, restaurants facing losses have petitioned the government for help. The National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) has complained to Lt Governor Anil Baijal about serious on-the-ground challenges and harassment when it comes to delivering food during curfew hours. The association has asked for the food delivery service to be treated as an essential service. This will bring much-needed relief to the industry and help prevent further job losses, said NRAI secretary-general Prakul Kumar. As cases rise in Kolkata, most clubs have cancelled dance parties and gala celebrations. It will be a normal day for clubs on Friday and there will be no bash, said Tolly Club CEO Anil Mukerji. Restaurants and pubs in Bengaluru are anxious about the best night of the year, when they make 50 per cent of their December revenue, becoming a washout. Celebrations will not be allowed anywhere in the city after 10 pm and restaurants, hotels, clubs, and pubs have to operate with 50 per cent seating capacity from 30 December to 2 January. The impact and loss are immeasurable as all are losing bookings and cancellations are happening every minute as there is no clarity yet. Most people have left the city or booked resorts on the outskirt or at farm houses, said Amit Roy, a restaurateur in the city and partner at Shilton Hospitality. In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the state government has urged people to avoid non-essential travel. Given the ban son vehicular traffic in Chennai on New Years Eve, the citys residents are flocking to Puducherry which is allowing beach parties and celebrations at hotels. Rajkumar Rajan, vice president of the Chennai Hotels Association, said around 25 per cent or nearly 500 hotels in the city are yet to restart operations after being shut during the pandemic. New Years Eve were supposed to be a big boost for our industry but with parties off the menu, business will be as dull as it has been for the past two years, said Rajan. (Aneesh Phadnis, Sharleen Dsouza, Shine Jacob and Deepsekhar Choudhury contributed to this report) : COVID-19 cases in continued to rise with 280 fresh infections being reported on Thursday, pushing the tally to 6,81,587, while the toll was up at 4,021 with one more fatality. The state also reported five new cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19, taking the tally to 67. As many as 22 people recovered from the new strain, leaving the number of active cases at 45, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM today. The number of fresh COVID-19 cases has outnumbered recoveries for the past few days. According to the bulletin, 206 people recovered from the infection and the cumulative number of recoveries till date was 6, 73,999, leaving 3,563 active cases. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 167, followed by Rangareddy district (29), it said. Nearly 38,000 samples were tested on Thursday, taking the total so far to 2.96 crore. The samples tested per million population were over 7.97 lakh. The case fatality and recovery rates were 0.59 per cent and 98.88 per cent respectively. Public Health Director G Srinivasa Rao, in a press conference, said the state may witness a spike in the number of cases in the coming two to four weeks and that period is crucial in terms ofcontaining the spread of the virus. However, he urged people not to worry and follow all COVID-19 appropriate behaviour. "We are well prepared to face any situation. Over 90 per cent of people do not have any symptoms. We may witness the highest spike in the number of cases within a few weeks and we will experience the spike for a very short period, he said. He predated that the third wave is expected to taper in six months. (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.) Long queues of commuters were seen outside various stations for the second consecutive day on Thursday morning after imposition of fresh curbs by authorities to check the spread of COVID-19 in the city. Meanwhile, anticipating gathering of commuters on New Year's Eve, authorities have decided that exit from the Rajiv Chowk metro station will not be allowed after 9 PM on that day. Every year, revellers gather at Connaught Place, the heart of New Delhi, adjacent to the metro station, to ring in the New Year. However, with new Covid restrictions and night curfew in place from 11 PM onwards in Delhi amid a scare of Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the crowd is likely to be small. "To ease overcrowding on New Year's Eve, exit from the Rajiv Chowk Metro station will not be allowed from 9 PM onwards. However, entry of passengers will be allowed till the departure of the last train from the station. Commuters are requested to plan their journey accordingly," the DMRC said in a statement on Thursday. 'Yellow alert' category graded action was put in place by authorities on Tuesday, which also entails running of metro trains with only 50 per cent seating capacity and no provision for standing for commuters, in view of rising cases of COVID-19 in Delhi. In view of the latest guidelines issued by the city government for the containment of in Delhi, travel inside the metro will be allowed, with certain restrictions, DMRC officials said. Since the new restrictions came into force, the queues in the morning time, when metro services are used by a large number of office-goers, were again seen getting longer at some of the stations, officials said, adding they were doing theirs best to manage the situation to ensure compliance of Covid norms. On Wednesday, long queues of commuters were seen outside stations at Laxmi Nagar, Akshardham, among others. Many also had taken to Facebook and Twitter to share pictures of such queues outside stations. Sources said, as offices are open, and not many can afford a private car or other means of transportation every day, so they are bound to use public transport, and if 50 per cent seating capacity rule is in place, such queues will be seen. Delhi resident Rameen Khan, who takes a metro to reach his office in Gurgaon, said, there was a "massive queue" at the station. Delhi Metro, in a statement, on Wednesday had said, as part of the intensified measures for containing COVID-19 spread, "15 flying squads were deployed across the network" to ensure that the Covid safety protocols are strictly adhered to by the passengers inside trains and on DMRC premises. The frequency of checking drives is also being increased to ensure strict adherence to the guidelines, and offenders are also being penalised on the spot, a senior official had said. "Due to the strict reinforcement of social distancing norms, the passengers are advised to plan their journey in advance and allow for some additional time for their commute. They should travel by the metro only if absolutely essential," the official added. The DMRC network's current span is nearly 392 km with 286 stations (including the NoidaGreater Noida Metro Corridor and Rapid Metro, Gurgaon). India saw the highest single day rise of 180 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, taking the total tally of such infections in the country to 961, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. Delhi recorded the maximum number of 263 cases followed by Maharashtra at 252, Gujarat 97, Rajasthan 69, Kerala 65 and Telangana 62. The national capital on Wednesday had recorded 923 fresh Covid cases, the highest daily rise since May 30, as the positivity rate again breached the 1 per cent-mark (1.29 per cent). (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 government on Thursday said that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka and Gujarat are emerging as states and UTs of concern on the basis of weekly COVID-19 cases and positivity rate. It said that eight districts are reporting over 10 per cent weekly positivity, while 14 districts are reporting between 5-10 per cent positivity. India's R naught value, which indicates spread of COVID-19, is 1.22 so cases are increasing, not shrinking, the government said. The country has reported more than 10,000 daily new COVID-19 cases after 33 days, it said stressing that there is a need for heightened vigil in view of sharp increase in infections. Evidence shows that variant has a growth advantage over Delta with doubling time of 2-3 days, the government said quoting the WHO. It said the durability of immunity post COVID-19 infection persists for about 9 months. The government said 90 per cent of India's adult population has been administered the first dose of the vaccine and 63.5 per cent people are now fully vaccinated. The precautionary dose of the vaccine is primarily to mitigate severity of infection, hospitalisation and death, it said. The government said that masking before and after vaccination is a must. It said that earlier and currently circulating strains of spread through the same routes and added that treatment guidelines for the infection remain the same. It said that the whole virus infects an individual in natural settings and added that it elicits cell mediated immunity and immunological memory. The government said that within one month 3,30,379 cases of variant and 59 deaths were reported across 121 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.) India on Thursday reported a net increase of 5,400 in active cases to take its count to 82,402. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 0.3 per cent (one in 333). The country is thirty-third among the most affected countries by active cases. On Wednesday, it added 13,154 cases to take its total caseload to 34,822,040 from 34,808,886 an increase of 0.1%. And, with 268 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 480,860, or 1.38 per cent of total confirmed infections. With 6,391,282 more Covid-19 vaccine doses being administered on Wednesday, Indias total count of vaccine shots so far reached 1,438,322,742. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 34,258,778 or 98.38 per cent of total caseload with 7,486 new cured cases being reported on Thursday. Now the thirty-third-most-affected country by active cases, third by deaths, second by total cases and recoveries, India has added 56,064 cases in the past 7 days. India now accounts for 0.3% of all active cases globally (one in every 333 active cases), and 8.84% of all deaths (one in every 11 deaths). India has so far administered 1,438,322,742 vaccine doses. That is 4130.49 per cent of its total caseload, and 102.82 per cent of its population. Among Indian states, the top 5 in terms of number of vaccine shots administered are Uttar Pradesh (203486238), Maharashtra (137389783), West Bengal (107474158), Madhya Pradesh (104506632), and Bihar (100290718). Among states with more than 10 million population, the top 5 in number of vaccine shots per one million population are Gujarat (1449510), Delhi (1448770), Jammu and Kashmir (1400282), Kerala (1388001), and Uttarakhand (1335766). Backwards from here, the last 1 million cases for India have come in 88 days. The count of active cases across India on Thursday saw a net increase of 5,400, compared with 1,546 on Wednesday. States and UTs hat have seen the biggest daily net increase in active cases are Maharashtra (2394), Delhi (579), Gujarat (482), Jharkhand (321), and Karnataka (315). With 7,486 new daily recoveries, Indias recovery rate stands at 98.38%, while fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.38%. The Indian states and UTs with the worst case fatality rates at present are Punjab (2.75%), Nagaland (2.18%), and Uttarakhand (2.15%). The rate in as many as 14 is higher than the national average. Indias new daily closed cases stand at 7,754 268 deaths and 7,486 recoveries. The share of deaths in total closed cases stands at 3.54%. 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 1834.6 days, and for deaths at 1243.3 days. Overall, five states with the biggest 24-hour jump in total cases are Kerala (3900), Maharashtra (2846), West Bengal (1089), Delhi (923), and Tamil Nadu (739). India on Wednesday conducted 1,199,252 to take the total count of tests conducted so far in the country to 676,445,395. The test positivity rate recorded was 1.1%. 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 (12.7%), Sikkim (11.42%), Goa (11.13%), and Maharashtra (9.68%). Five states with the highest TPR by daily numbers for tests and cases added are Mizoram (9.8%), Goa (5.25%), Kerala (4.07%), Maharashtra (3.16%), and West Bengal (2.84%). 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 (1736019), J&K (1405176), Kerala (1156305), Punjab (1083728), and Karnataka (832845). The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (6665386), Kerala (5242078), Karnataka (3005798), Tamil Nadu (2746000), and Andhra Pradesh (2076849). Maharashtra, the most affected state overall, has reported 3900 new cases to take its tally to 6665386. Kerala, the second-most-affected state by total tally, has added 2846 cases to take its tally to 5242078. Karnataka, the third-most-affected state, has reported 566 cases to take its tally to 3005798. Tamil Nadu has added 739 cases to take its tally to 2746000. Andhra Pradesh has seen its tally going up by 162 to 2076849. Uttar Pradesh has added 117 cases to take its tally to 1711166. Delhi has added 923 cases to take its tally to 1445102. The Delhi government has set up a total of 350 isolation beds at four places, including the Commonwealth Games village, for international travellers, their contacts and Omicron cases, amid the rising number of COVID-19 infections in the city, according to an official order on Thursday. In a separate order Director General of Health Services, Delhi government, Dr Nutan Mundeja said that in compliance of guidelines for international arrivals issued by the Health Ministry, institutional isolation of COVID-positive patients arriving at the IGI airport and their contacts will be done at designated paid and free facilities. The isolation facilities set up at Terapanth Bhawan (100 beds), Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre (100 beds), Commonwealth Games village in Akshardham (50 beds) and Ibis hotel (100 beds) will be linked to hospitals to look after patients, the health department said in the other order. The Terapanth Bhawan facility will be linked to the Ambedkar Nagar Hospital, Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre with the Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital, the Commonwealth Games village facility in Akshardham with the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, and Ibis hotel with the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka, it said. The 50 beds at the Commonwealth village facility will be scaled up to 500, the order noted. The linked hospitals will ensure proper monitoring and adequate supply of logistics to the isolation centres, it said. Guidelines issued by the Health Ministry on November 30 stipulates that passengers found to be symptomatic during screening at the IGI airport will be immediately isolated and taken to a medical facility. If tested positive for Covid, their contacts shall be identified and managed as per laid down protocols. Travellers from 'at risk' countries will be tested at the point of arrival. If they are found to have contracted Covid, their samples would be sent for genomic testing and they will be managed at separate isolation facilities and treated as per laid down standard protocol, including contact-tracing, the guidelines stated. (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.) With the spike in cases of COVID-19 and its Omicron variant, the district administrations and Police have intensified their enforcement drives for strict adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour. According to government data, authorities have fined 17,528 people in four days between December 26 and 29 for violating COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing of masks, maintaining social distancing, among others. They also realised a revenue of Rs 3.46 crore from the fine. On December 26, enforcement teams had issued 4,425 challans across 11 districts and collected a revenue of Rs 88.72 lakh, while a day after 4,123 people were fined and Rs 81.51 lakh was collected as fine. Similarly, on December 28, as many as 4,392 people were fined for violating Covid guidelines and Rs 86.33 lakh was collected. On December 29, the authorities issued 4,589 challans, the highest in these four days, and realised a revenue of Rs 89.67 lakh from it. The data also showed that the maximum number of 2,873 challans were issued in the north district between December 26 and 29 followed by east district at 2,504 fines in the same period. A senior official of the Narela sub-division of north district said the enforcement in the district has been enhanced as challan teams are inspecting the area to ensure the compliance of the DDMA order regarding the yellow alert. Challans are being issued as and when required. The highest number of challans in the district shows our strictness towards implementing the Covid guidelines. Three shops have been sealed for violation of Covid norms and the odd even policy under the yellow alert within the Narela sub-division, he said. He added that new testing and vaccination centres have been made operational. In other districts as well, the number of enforcement squads and other machinery engaged in the compliance mechanism have been increased. District Magistrate (Southeast) Vishwendra said the number of enforcement teams have been increased to keep a constant vigil on adherence of Covid appropriate behaviour to arrest the spread of the virus. Earlier before the yellow alert, there were 14 enforcement teams consisting government officers, but now that number has been increased to 25. These teams constantly visit markets such as Greater Kailash, Lajpat Nagar, South Extension for strict compliance of restrictions and crowd control measures, he said. He said apart from issuing challans, these teams are also responsible for enforcement of restrictions imposed under yellow alert like odd-even functioning of shops selling non-essential items in markets. Besides, the administration has also stepped up efforts to engage with public stakeholders and brief them about the disease and seek their support. A senior official at the office of New district magistrate said the machinery engaged in vigilance has been beefed up. We have almost doubled the number of civil defence volunteers at markets and other crowd prone areas. For instance, at India Gate, there now over 30 civil defence volunteers deployed and in Sarojini Nagar market, the number is about 50. Earlier, it was half of these numbers, the official said requesting anonymity. He added that enforcement teams have also been reinvigorated and their numbers increased for strict compliance of norms. The Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) sounded the "yellow" alert under its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Tuesday, after the Covid positivity rate was recorded above 0.5 per cent in the national capital for two consecutive days. Senior administrative officials of east and central districts said they are conducting meetings with representatives of different Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and market associations to tell them about the restrictions. Another official at south district echoed similar views and said other than forming special flying squads, more civil defence volunteers are being deployed in markets for crowd management. According to police, from making public announcements and creating awareness to taking strict action against Covid-19 violators, the has taken a slew of measures for implementation of DDMA guidelines. Harsha Vardhan, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) said in last three days alone, more than 150 FIRs have been registered for violating the norms. He said police have also approached those interested in volunteer services to reach out to residents and markets in their nearby areas to ensure both DDMA as well as COVID-19 appropriate behaviour are followed. Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said they are creating awareness about the latest DDMA guidelines in groups of RWAs and market associations. Public announcements in market, high footfall areas and residential places about the infectious disease are being made. At pickets, our men are also distributing masks to the needy and also issuing challans for violation of Covid appropriate behaviour and DDMA guidelines, Kalsi said. The officer said they have also approached school teachers, who through their online classes, help us create awareness among students about the implementation of DDMA guidelines, Omicron and Another police official of central district said with increase in awareness about the surge in Covid cases and prosecution, gatherings have reduced in the district. (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.) With a record number of 23,228 new Covid-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, health officials in Denmark have urged citizens to "see as few people as possible" during the holiday season. Among the cases reported are 1,205 reinfections, or about one in every 20, according to statistics from the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) on Wednesday. With only a day to go until New Year's Eve, the Director of Denmark's Health Authority (SST) Soren Brostrom strongly urged Danes to opt for quiet celebrations on the 31st, reports Xinhua news agency. "See as few people as possible, and keep it quiet," said Brostrom at a press conference. The official did not provide more specific advice, but noted that "the entire population has lived with Covid-19 for almost two years and knows how it is transmitted". The SSI also registered 16 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the national totals to 3,247 deaths and 762,299 cases since the pandemic began. According to SSI's academic director Tyra Grove Krause, the variant is now identified in 80 per cent of positive samples. "Overall, we can say that we have a growing epidemic and an Omicron-driven epidemic," said Krause at the press conference, predicting that the epidemic would peak in January 2022. Additionally, the SSI reports that 77.6 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated, and 45.7 per cent have received a booster shot. --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.) Indian cities' air pollution was even higher than the WHO set standards and worse than most cities even on the days pollution was at its lowest A day after the Centre extended in for six more months, the on Thursday tore into the government saying that its "lust for power" has pushed the North East into abyss of "lawlessness, insurgency and chaos." Chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said: "Modi Govt has pushed a hitherto peaceful North East into an abyss of lawlessness, insurgency and chaos." "The utter lack of understanding of the ethos of its people, its diversity, its concerns and attempt to annihilate democracy to usurp power has led us to the current state," he added. On Thursday, the Centre extended Armed Forces Special Powers Act(AFSPA) in till June 30 next year, declaring the entire state as 'disturbed area'. The act empowers the security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant. It also gives immunity to the forces if they shoot someone dead. This comes amid the protests for the withdrawal of the going on in several districts of ever since an Army unit killed 14 civilians in Mon district earlier this month, mistaking them as insurgents. On December 23, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting to discuss the present scenario in Nagaland with the Chief Ministers of Nagaland, Assam and other officials of the states and the Ministry and decided to form a committee to look into the withdrawal of in Nagaland and the committee was to submit its report in 45 days. The Nagaland Assembly has recently passed a unanimous resolution to remove this Act and it was expected that the Centre might limit the jurisdiction of the AFSPA to the border areas, viewing the huge resentment among the locals masses. --IANS miz/shb/ (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.) Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari held extensive talks with the top brass of the Republic of Korea to further enhance bilateral ties. The Chief of Air Staff (CAS) was on a four-day trip to the Republic of Korea from Monday. "As part of the visit, #CAS called on Minister of Defence & Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff. CAS also met Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Air Force. Wide ranging issues on enhancing bilateral defence engagement were discussed during the meetings," the IAF tweeted on Thursday. Earlier this month, India and the Republic of Korea agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation including in dealing with challenges of terrorism, extremism and radicalisation. The two sides discussed a range of key issues at the third India-Republic of Korea strategic dialogue held in the capital on December 3. South Korea has been a major supplier of weapons and equipment to India. In 2019, the two countries finalised a roadmap for cooperation in the joint production of various land and naval systems. It is Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari's second visit abroad after becoming the Chief of Air Staff. Last month, he had visited Egypt. (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 Institute of of India has said it will oppose the Centre's proposal to introduce three non-CA members into ICAI's disciplinary committee, arguing that the move will impact fair judgement. The government, through the Chartered Accountants, Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2021, has proposed the inclusion of two CAs and three non-CAs in the disciplinary committee. At present, the panel comprises two non-CA nominees and three members. The bill has been sent by Lok Sabha to a Parliamentary standing committee for scrutiny. We oppose the proposal and will present our case before the standing committee when we are invited for hearing, vice-president Debasish Mitra told PTI on the sidelines of a programme here on Wednesday. He said that non-CAs won't have the in-depth knowledge of accounting, which is a must for fair judgement. Mitra also said ICAI would focus on adapting new technologies like artificial intelligence along with forensic auditing and upgrading its code of ethics. (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 and the Philippines are set to formally seal a government-to-government BrahMos deal soon, capping years of negotiations for the supply of a batch of the supersonic cruise missiles for the Philippine navy, people familiar with the development said on Thursday. The procurement is expected to signal a major upswing in India's strategic ties with the Philippines which has been focusing on ramping up its naval prowess in the face of its lingering friction with China in the South China sea. The people cited above said the negotiations on the BrahMos deal have almost been completed and that both sides are now set to formally seal the contract in the next few weeks. BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russian joint venture, produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms. The missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound. The variant to be exported is likely to have a range of around 290 kilometres. In the last few days, the Philippines have sealed a number of defence deals to modernise its armed forces. In November last year, Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin said that India and Russia are planning to export the to the Philippines and several other countries. It is learnt that initially, the Philippines will procure the missiles for its naval forces though the country is also looking at the weapons for its land forces as well. A number of countries including Indonesia and many in the Gulf region have shown interest in procuring the missile. In March, India signed a framework agreement with the Philippines that provided for government-to-government deals for the supply of defence material and equipment. The defence and strategic ties between India and the Philippines are on an upward trajectory in the last few years. In August, India carried out a naval exercise with the Philippines in the South China Sea. An important country of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the Philippines has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea region. China claims sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons. However, several ASEAN member countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei, have counterclaims. (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 freedom of the press was a valuable and sacred right enshrined in the Constitution and a fearless media was essential for an efficient working of democracy, (CJI) NV Ramana said on Wednesday and maintained must resist being "co-opted by an ideology or the state". He said a healthy democracy could thrive only with a fearless and independent press, but warned "news mixed with views is a dangerous cocktail". The cautioned against the trend of seeping of ideological biases into news stories and said factual reports must keep aside interpretations and opinions. "Another trend that I witness in reporting nowadays, is the seeping of ideological stances and biases into the news story. Interpretation and opinions are colouring what should be factual reports," he said. Underscoring the need for unbiased, fact-based reportage, particularly during the current 247 news cycle, and the vast reach of social media, the said that must resist being "co-opted by an ideology or by the state". "It is often said that the legal profession is a noble profession. I can state that the journalist's job is as noble and is an integral pillar of democracy," Ramana said. "Like the legal professional, a journalist also needs to have a strong moral fibre and moral compass. Your conscience is your guide in this profession," he said. The CJI was speaking at the 'Red Inks Award' organised online by the Mumbai Press Club in the through a virtual interface. The top-most Supreme Court judge lamented the increasing trend of "mixing views with news," and publishing defamatory content without due verification. He said journalists must follow the principles of natural justice before making adverse comments against someone who was not in a position to defend himself. "Allowing yourself to be co-opted by an ideology or the state is a recipe for disaster. Journalists are like judges in one sense," CJI Ramana said. "Regardless of the ideology you profess and the beliefs you hold dear, you must do your duty without being influenced by them," he said. The also congratulated all the winners of the Red Ink Awards. He said Mumbai had been at the "forefront of protecting the freedom of speech and expression," and added the city had been home to some great patriots, freedom fighters, human rights activists and journalists. It was, therefore, apt that the Mumbai Press Club organised the awards for fearless journalism, the CJI said. "The media must have belief and trust in the judiciary. As a key stakeholder in democracy, the media has the duty to defend and protect the judiciary from motivated attacks by evil forces," he said. "We are together in the Mission Democracy and in promoting interest. We have to sail together," the CJI said. He added that the trend to "sermonise about judgments, and villainise judges," needed to be checked. In his keynote address delivered during the event, CJI Ramana also paid tributes to late photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed earlier this year in Afghanistan, where he was on an assignment when foreign troops were withdrawing from the war-torn country. Siddiqui was named posthumously as the 'Journalist of the Year - 2020' at the Red Ink Awards. "He (Siddiqui) was a man with a magical eye. If a picture can convey a thousand words, his photos were novels" CJI Ramana said. He also paid a tribute to all journalists who had lost their lives while reporting during the coronavirus pandemic. "Their reporting was integral for highlighting issues and to bring much needed attention to the plight of our citizens," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the government set to rollout vaccination for children in the 15-18 age group from January 3, doctors have welcomed the move saying only vaccination can mitigate Covid-19 risk fully at a time when the country is witnessing a spike in new infections and faces the threat from Omicron. After more than a year and half, educational institutions have reopened for physical classes, and school going children would be eager to indulge with their peers. On meeting their dear buddies after a long gap, children would like to unshackle the restrictions that were imposed on them. And possible risks due to this can only be addressed through vaccination, say the healthcare practitioners. "We have noticed that educational institutions, especially schools and junior colleges have time and again turned into Covid-19 transmission hotspots. This is due to unregulated sitting arrangements and mixing of children with their peers without strict implementation of fundamental Covid-19 protection protocols like wearing of masks, hand sanitising, and physical distancing. While the risk of virus spreading among these groups is increasing faster, the simple means to mitigate this risk is vaccination," said Dr. Pradeep Panigrahi, Medical Director, SLG Hospitals. " has fast reached the stage of self-sufficiency for Covid-19 vaccines. Millions of adults have already been vaccinated with near cent per cent efficacy. We doctors are confident these vaccines will be effective on children as well. While Covaxin is being made available to vaccinate children, other vaccines too might soon be made available," added Dr. Kanchan S. Channawar, Consultant Paediatrician, Kamineni Hospitals. Dr. Markandeyulu, Senior Consultant Paediatrician, Aware Gleneagles Global Hospitals described as welcome move the decision by the government to allow vaccination for teenagers (children between 15 years and 18 years). "Government network and Private hospitals must ensure the vaccination drive which is to start in the first week of January. Parents too must avoid overcrowding at vaccination centers, and this will help families stay safe in the times when the new variant of Covid-19 virus is spreading fast," he said. " and the World might be nearing the end stage of Covid-19 pandemic! Though the new variant Omicron, is said to be spreading faster than all its previous variants, it is important people do not panic at this stage. Most children have better immunity than adults, and vaccination will make them all safe," concluded Dr. Ravi Gajula, Consultant Pediatrician, Suncity Hospitals. Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech, has already been approved by Indian drug regulator to be administered on children in their teenage years. This vaccine is believed to be formulated uniquely, and the dosage to adults and children will remain the same. Country hopes more vaccines will pass the test and be made available for children too. --IANS ms/dpb (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.) Thousands of resident will go on strike in Maharashtra from Friday to seek a resolution of the NEET-PG 2021 counseling delay issue, their representatives said. The strike is likely to affect the services at government hospitals. Sanchari Pal, general secretary of the local KEM hospital unit of the Maharashtra Association of Resident (MARD), said resident at some government hospitals were already on strike from Thursday. "Our fundamental demand is resolution of the NEET-PG counseling issue with a proper timeline," she said. The MARD was also expressing solidarity with its counterpart in Delhi, Pal added. "We demand action against the perpetrators involved in violence against the doctors," she said, referring to the police action against the protesting medicos in the capital earlier this week. The FIRs registered against protesting doctors must be withdrawn immediately, she added. In Nagpur, around 500 resident doctors at two government hospitals will "withdraw" from Out Patient Departments, non-emergency ward work, departmental work and elective services from Friday, said local units of MARD. Resident doctors in Maharashtra have been working relentlessly during the pandemic, but with a third wave looming and delay in PG counseling causing shortage of resident doctors, the serving resident doctors will not be equipped to execute their duties efficiently, said the MARD unit at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here. "It's been more than six months that we have made multiple legal appeals and have protested silently but despite working with 2/3rd of the workforce our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. "Last week even more unacceptable and shameful event occurred, where our peacefully protesting resident doctors were brutally thrashed," it said in a statement. A senior MARD office bearer told PTI that around 350 resident doctors from GMCH and around 150 resident doctors from Indira Gandhi Government College & Hospital (IGGMCH) in Nagpur will withdraw from work from Friday. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The new wave of the pandemic could be worse than the earlier two waves, Mayor Kishori Pednekar said here on Thursday while appealing people to follow the norms. The Maharashtra capital on Wednesday reported 2,510 COVID-19 cases, a big jump compared to 283 cases on December 20. The new wave could be more terrible, therefore Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was issuing alerts to the states, Pednekar told reporters here. Earlier variants of the infected mostly adults, but the latest variant is also infecting children, she said. "Hence it is necessary to be careful, she added. Appealing people to follow COVID-19-appropriate behavior, Pednekar said she herself would be avoiding weddings and other gatherings till the Omicron crisis recedes. The civic body has ordered the closing of an illumination show on Bandra Reclamation as it was attracting crowds, the Mayor informed. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India's R naught value, which indicates the spread of Covid-19, is 1.22, the Union government said on Thursday, warning that cases are increasing, not shrinking. It asked Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Jharkhand to remain vigilant following a significant rise in weekly infections and positivity rate there. In view of rising cases, the West Bengal government on Thursday announced that it would suspend all direct flights from the UK and those emanating from other high-risk countries (as notified by the Union government) from January 3. This, even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee maintained that coronavirus-related restrictions cannot be imposed everywhere as they may impact the economy. Eight districts in India are reporting over 10 per cent weekly positivity across the country. The country on Thursday reported a single-day rise of over 13,000 new Covid-19 cases after around 49 days. Speaking to the media, Balram Bhargava, director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), noted that immunity against Sars-CoV-2 lasts for over nine months after natural infection and vaccination. This is likely to shape Indias policy on giving additional or booster doses to its population. The Centre has already indicated that health care, frontline workers and co-morbid senior citizens will now be eligible for a third Covid shot after they complete nine months post their second vaccine shots. Policy decisions on vaccination assume significance as cases start to mount across the country 961 cases of detected so far, of which 320 people have recovered. Also addressing the press conference, NITI Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul said: "We believe on the scientific basis R0 is 1.22 as per the available data... so the cases are now increasing, not shrinking. As the scenario emerges, we believe what we are witnessing could be part of the global rise in cases pushed by the Omicron variant... we are already aware that this variant is highly transmissible and that perhaps explains the speed with which it is rising in the world." Earlier in the day, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that Omicron was gradually spreading in the community and the new, fast-spreading variant of concern accounted for 46 per cent of the 115 Covid samples analysed in the city, so far. "These people include those who do not have any travel history. It means Omicron is now inside Delhi. Indeed, the variant is gradually spreading in the community," he said. The daily Covid figure in Delhi crossed the 1000-mark after 7 months, reaching 1,313 -- a 42 per cent rise over Wednesday's 923 cases. The financial capital, Mumbai, too, witnessed a massive surge in fresh cases yet again. The city reported 3,671 infections -- 46 per cent higher than Wednesday. Out of total cases, Dharavi recorded 20 cases, the highest since May 18. Mumbai Police has imposed Section 144 in the city until January 7 2022, in view of rising Covid cases and Omicron concerns. Parties in any closed or open space have also been banned until that date. Kolkata, too, nearly 102 per cent rise in fresh Covid cases. The daily case count more than doubled to 1,090 from 540 in a day. Even as Omicron is infecting a large number of vaccinated people globally, Bhargava noted that elicits three kinds of immune responses antibody-mediated, cell-mediated immunity and third, immunological memory. Measuring the antibody titres alone does not capture the entire protection. The durability of immunity post infections persists for about nine months. Citing global references, he said studies from the US show that immunological memory post-Sars-CoV-2 natural infection lasted for over eight months. Similarly, a study from China showed that antibody and cellular responses persist for about nine months after infection. Longitudinal studies from the US show that most patients had detectable Sars-CoV-2 antibody responses even after 13 months of infection. A systematic review of 10 studies from Israel, England, Denmark, the US, Austria and Italy showed over 90 per cent reduction in re-infection after ten months. Therefore 8-10 months is the general period of protection. We are taking a more conservative estimate and saying that one is protected for about nine months, he added. Indian studies that have tracked people who have had infections in 2020 and 2021 for eight or nine months seem to corroborate the claims made by global studies. A study by ICMR, Pune on 284 individuals showed the persistence of neutralising antibodies for over eight months (after infection), while a study by ICMR, Chennai showed that antibodies persisted for over seven months, and a Mumbai study on healthcare workers showed persistence of antibodies for over six months. Vaccination also induces immunity. Durability of immunity post-vaccination lasts for about nine months, Bhargava said. He cited a study from Kolkata to say that cell-mediated immunity after Covishield and Covaxin lasts for 10 months. A Kerala study showed that hybrid immunity with Covishield is stronger than only infection-induced immunity. About 90 per cent of India is covered with at least one dose of a Covid19 vaccine, while 63 per cent of people in this country have received two doses. Precautionary vaccine doses for Covid19 are primarily to mitigate the severity of infection, hospitalisation, and death. All Covid vaccines, whether they are from India, Israel, US, Europe, UK, or China, are primarily disease-modifying. They don't prevent infection. The precautionary dose is primarily to mitigate the severity of infection, hospitalisation, and death," Bhargava added. With agency inputs Prime Minister on Thursday inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 17,500 crore here ahead of the assembly elections in The unveiling of projects by Modi included the inauguration of six worth Rs 3,420 crore and laying the foundation stones of 17 others worth Rs 14,127 crore. The inaugurated projects include three different stretches of the Chardham all-weather road which have been widened, Nagina-Kashipur Highway, Suring Gad hydel project and sewage works under the Namami Gange programme at Nainital. Lakhwar multi-purpose hydro-electricity project worth Rs 5,747 crore, an AIIMS satellite centre for Kumaon worth Rs 500 crore, Moradabad-Kashipur four-lane road, improved road connectivity with Nepal and an Aroma Park in Kashipur are among the key projects whose foundation was laid by the prime minister. The Lakhwar multi-purpose project will produce 300 MW of electricity. The 330 million cubic metres water in its reservoir will supply irrigation and drinking water to the six states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. This is Modi's second visit to the state this month. On his last visit to on December 4, Modi had unveiled projects worth over Rs 18,000 crore in Dehradun besides addressing an election rally. (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 Thursday accused successive Congress governments at the Centre and in of dragging their feet for decades over development projects, forcing people to migrate from their villages in the state. Addressing a rally in Haldwani, Modi accused the previous governments of looting the state and doing nothing for its development. He said this inaugurating and laying foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 17,500 crore, including the Rs 5,747 crore Lakhwar hydropower project. Modi said the Lakhwar project was thought of in 1974 and took nearly 46 years to see the light of day. Generations of people in villages were forced to leave their homes in the absence of roads and other facilities and migrate somewhere else, he said. Modi also announced that he is bringing infrastructure projects worth Rs 2,000 crore to Haldwani as a New Year gift. He accused the previous regime in Uttarakhand of being interested only in looting the state and said it did nothing for its development. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) South Africa's legislative capital Cape Town has encouraged eligible persons to report to vaccination sites as soon as possible for their Covid-19 booster shots. Both Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer booster shots are now available, according to a statement issued by the Cape Town municipality on Wednesday. The national government requires persons who receive the Pfizer vaccines to receive a third dose six months after having received the second one, while recipients of one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to receive a second dose two months after the first one. Persons need the identity document and the vaccination card to receive the booster shot, and don't have to re-register, the city said. It also called on the public to encourage relatives and friends who are eligible to receive the booster shot and those who haven't been vaccinated to get vaccinated, Xinhua news agency reported. "If nothing else, this fourth wave has proven the efficacy of vaccines in minimising the risk of severe illness," the city's top Health official, Patricia Van der Ross said in a statement. The city had reminded the public to continue to be mindful of Covid-19 protocols during the ongoing festive season when people usually gather together, and to keep the city and the country open as Cape Town is reviving its popular and key tourism industry terribly hit by the pandemic and related travel restrictions. The city had 13,783 new cases from December 20-26, bringing its total tally to 375,568, its latest weekly update showed. The national tally stands at 3,424,534, including 7,216 reported on Wednesday. --IANS int/khz/ (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.) Governor Tamilisai Sounderrajan has congratulated the state on achieving 100 per cent first dose and urged people to take the second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. On completion of 100 per cent of the COVID-19 first doses in Telangana, Governor visited Chintalbasti Urban Primary Health Center (UPHC) in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Addressing media persons yesterday, the Governor said: " has completed 100 per cent first dose and 65 per cent second dose vaccination. I appeal to the people to take the second dose of vaccination also. Just a single dose is not enough and the people have to take a second dose too. Now we have entered the era of taking booster dose." Expressing her happiness at the State achieving 100 per cent first dose vaccination, she congratulated and lauded the efforts of the State government, officials, doctors, ASHA workers, and other para-medical staff for achieving this remarkable feat. Soundararajan also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supplying an adequate number of vaccine doses to the State. She further emphasised adhering to the COVID-appropriate behaviour to contain the spread of the pandemic escalated due to the rapid spread of the variant. "Apart from vaccination we need to be very cautious about the omicron, in Africa, the health workers have completed only 4 per cent of vaccination and even Health Minister Harish Rao mentioned unvaccinated people are seriously affected. In Puducherry, people are affected intensively. ," she added. Telangana Governor also appealed to people not to be reckless even after taking vaccination and appealed to the people to follow corona protocols to celebrate New Year. (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 UK is on Thursday marking the one-year anniversary of the approval of the Oxford/ vaccine to protect against COVID-19, also manufactured and administered in India as Covishield as part of a tie-up with the (SII). British Prime Minister Boris Johnson credited the vaccine produced by scientists at the University of Oxford and manufactured by with helping the world combat the COVID-19 pandemic and saving millions of lives. Our fight against COVID in the UK and around the world would not have been possible without the Oxford/ vaccine, said Johnson. Developed by brilliant scientists at Oxford and delivered on a not-for-profit basis thanks to AstraZeneca, this vaccine has provided 50 million doses to the British public and over 2.5 billion to more than 170 other countries. We can all be incredibly proud of and grateful for a jab that has saved many millions of lives, he said. On December 30, 2020, the UK became the first country in the world to approve the Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Since then, over 50 million vaccines have been administered in the country and millions more around the world as part of manufacturing partnerships, such as the one with Adar Poonwalla-led SII in Pune. Today marks one year since the UK made history by being the first country in the world to approve the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine a UK-made and government-funded vaccine which has been absolutely pivotal in helping to save millions of lives around the world, said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid. I'm incredibly proud of the role the UK has played in developing, researching and manufacturing ground-breaking vaccines and treatments during the pandemic, he said. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) highlighted early investment in the team since 2016 and in their COVID-19 vaccines since March 2020, which paved the way for approval by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The process was driven by the UK's National Institute for Health Research's (NIHR), which helped recruit thousands of volunteers from across the UK for Phase III trial and supported the researchers. It's a remarkable example of British innovation and scientific excellence please take advantage and get your vaccines as soon as you can to protect yourself this winter, said UK Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup. Following UK government investment of more than 88 million pounds to help research, develop and manufacture the vaccine, around 2.5 billion doses were distributed at-cost around the world. The DHSC said almost two-thirds of these have gone to low and lower-middle-income countries, including more than 30 million doses donated by the UK through the World Health Organisation's COVAX initiative or bilaterally. The UK has announced that it will donate a further 20 million Oxford/AstraZeneca doses to countries in need next year as part of the government's commitment to donate 100 million doses overall. Tom Keith-Roach, President of AstraZeneca UK, added: I am quietly humbled and hugely proud of the work we have done together to get 50 million doses into people's arms here in the UK and over 2.5 billion doses to people in over 170 countries globally in less than 12 months. There remain huge challenges ahead, much vital work is still to be done, but in 2021 we achieved remarkable things and this should give us confidence and renewed hope for 2022. The COVID-19 programme is dubbed the largest in British history, established at unprecedented speed, with thousands of vaccine centres set up rapidly. The DHSC used the anniversary to flag the UK's wider role in vaccine research, which provided results for three of the successful COVID vaccine candidates through huge Phase 3 trials for Oxford/AstraZeneca, Janssen and Novavax 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.) Global demand for Covid-19 vaccines as well as for booster shots will drive the growth of the Indian vaccine industry in 2022, said insiders. Work on new-generation vaccines has also begun. Only 48 per cent of people worldwide have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. According to ourworldindata.org, only 1.24 per cent of people in African countries such as Ethiopia had been fully covered with two vaccine shots as of December 23. A senior Bharat Biotech official said a certain demographic in India would always go out and get vaccinated if there is a fear of disease. ... After its worst two years since the second world war, 2022 is looking brighter for the global airline industry. For passengers, though, the chance to travel at low cost again may prove short-lived. In 2020 international passenger demand was less than 25% that of 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association. 2021 data isnt yet available, but the hiccups of the Delta and Omicron variants make the associations forecasts of 50% of 2019 levels look optimistic. With international and domestic routes reopening, airlines are offering a range of special deals on airfares. These deals are partly to entice back uncertain travellers and partly to compensate passengers for costs required to travel internationally, such as fees for COVID tests. But dont expect the cheap fares to last. They are likely to have a brief lifespan, as the industry come to grips with post-pandemic realities minus the government support that enabled so many, contrary to predictions, to survive. Now comes a reckoning, as surviving airlines seek to return to viability, repair their debt-laden balance sheets and future-proof their operations, with no guarantee theyll get the same government support when the next crisis hits. What this may mean is abandoning the business model of wafer-thin profit margins that delivered ever cheaper airfares from the 1970s until the beginning of 2020. Regulation and jumbo jets Up until the 1970s the airline industry was highly regulated. Domestically, this was often done by governments to protect state-owned airlines. Australias two-airline policy, for example, restricted competition on major routes to just two airlines the government-owned Trans Australia Airlines and a private competitor (Ansett Airlines for most that time). Internationally, airfares were kept high by price cooperation through the International Air Transport Association (IATA), often described as a cartel. There were two ticket pricing levels first-class and economy. Until 1970 the biggest commercial jet aircraft was a Boeing 707, which could accommodate 180 passengers at a squeeze. Airfares had to be high to cover the high cost of operations (especially jet fuel). Most airlines accepted the IATA fare levels. Discounting was rare. Then in 1970 came the Boeing 747 jumbo jet, which more than doubled flights passenger capacity, from 180 to 440. This led to many changes in aviation operations and costs. Jumbo jets also enabled greater seat-pricing flexibility, with the introduction of business and premium economy classes. Airfares plummet When I began work as a travel consultant in 1981 the regulation of air fares was beginning to unravel. The official IATA economy return fare from Sydney to London was about A$3,500. But you could find fares on selected airlines for about A$2,500. (This was still several months wages for most, with Australian average weekly full-time earnings in 1981 being A$311 for men and A$241 for women.) In the 1980s and 1990s, travel agents began to set themselves up as bucket shops specialising in offering discounted air fares to fill empty seats on less popular airlines. This was how Flight Centre started. It opened its first shopfront in Sydney in 1982, followed by stores in Melbourne and Brisbane. (It now has more than 650 shops in Australia, and more than 550 in 10 other countries.) Lower costs and plummeting air fares made the IATAs fares increasingly irrelevant. With the global rise of low-cost carriers, many of which were not IATA members, the IATA finally abandoned so-called YY fare-setting in 2017. Government regulation was also unwinding. Australias two-airline policy ended in October 1990. Deregulation permitted more competitors, and airfares were driven by the market rather than set by regulatory bodies. By 2019, a return fare between Sydney and London on a reputable airline could be bought for about A$1,250, less than Australias average full-time adult average weekly earnings of A$1,658. A Sydney-Perth return fare that cost about A$1,100 in 1981 could be bought in 2019 for less than A$300. Why the cheap fare era may end These price falls depended on airlines embracing a business model based on lower profits per customer but flying a lot more customers, cutting fixed overheads by using larger-capacity aircraft. This business model contributed to the number of global tourists increasing from about 166 million in 1970 to 1.5 billion in 2019. But it also meant airlines needed planes full of passengers to make a profit. By 2019 the average pre-COVID profit margin per passenger on a long-haul international return flight was about US$10. Its difficult to see how running on razor-thin margins can continue to be the industry model. During 2022 it is likely we will see consolidation within the industry, with the airlines that survive looking to diversify into other businesses, such as catering or insurance. Low-cost carriers may still be viable, but only by convincing customers to pay for ancilliaries beyond the airline seat, such as in-flight snacks, extra luggage capacity or a booking a hire car. Although most airlines are committed to limiting price increases, there is no escaping the fact they have two years of massive losses to make up and the continuing extra cost of COVID-related regulations to absorb. Higher margins with lower passenger volumes looks the more probable model. David Beirman, Senior Lecturer, Tourism, University of Technology Sydney This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. (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.) 'All weather terrain' might well be a befitting description for the country's Weathering the pandemic-induced twists and turns, the sector will see more stretches of national highways, completion as well as awarding of multiple projects and fund raises in 2022, making it a "better" year than the passing one. Connectivity with remote and tough terrains, decongesting major points in the road network, an integrated multi-modal national network of transportation and logistics, and steering ahead with the ambitious voluntary vehicle scrappage policy are also on the 2022 radar. "Next calendar year is going to be better (in terms of national construction) than the current year... next year, we are hoping that many of the projects which are being bid out, awarded this year and which have come to a certain stage, will be completed," Union Road Transport Secretary Giridhar Aramane told PTI. While the pandemic ravaged many a sectors at different points of time in the last nearly two years, the grappled with barriers but the progress in terms of national highway construction was stellar. Aramane pointed out that due to monsoon, state-owned agencies that are into construction of national faced some problems during August and September in certain states. The Ministry of Road Transport and (MoRTH) aims to construct 40 kilometres of national highway every day in the current fiscal. The target is higher than the record construction of 37 kms daily during 2019-20 period. "Our achievement can be much more than the current financial year. We also have a pipeline for awards next year under the Bharatmala Pariyojna and under the National Highway general programme," Aramane said in an interview. MoRTH has identified projects which need to be offered next year under the Bharatmala Pariyojna. "Many of them are important greenfield projects and many others are under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)," he said and emphasised these projects will help provide "logistic efficiency to the Indian economy". As part of bolstering infrastructure in the country, which aims to become a USD 5 trillion economy in the coming times, building high quality roads and ensuring smooth connectivity is a key priority. "We have identified the congestion points in the country, which need to be cleared and also the economic centres, which have huge traffic flow between them. So, they have to be connected with efficient roads," he said. Regarding monetisation of road assets, the secretary pointed out that all the roads built by the state agencies are monetised for a short term, ranging from 1-3 years, or for a longer tenure spanning 15-25 years. "So, as soon as we complete the building of a road, we will toll it for one year, if the market outlook is not good. If the appetite is good, we will do it for 3 years or under the Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) or under the Toll Operate Transfer (ToT) model..." he said. This year, the National Highway Authority of India's (NHAI) first InVIT raised more than Rs 5,000 crore. About the proposed second InVIT, Aramane said, "we are planning a small one, around Rs 2,500-3,000 crore. We are in the process of preparing for the issue." Under the government's ambitious National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), the road assets envisaged for monetisation during the current financial year aggregate to 5,000 kms. The secretary also said the government is thinking of securitising Delhi-Dehradun Expressway and Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway. "We are also thinking of securitisation of RaipurVisakhapatnam national highway project, which is going to be the first mineral highway in the country in terms that it carries most of the mineral produced in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand to Visakhapatnam port and other economic centres," he said. One of the major initiatives taken by MoRTH this year was the announcement of the voluntary Vehicle Scrappage Policy, which will phase out unfit vehicles. While work continued on the different national highway projects and tunnels at high speed, including Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Bangalore-Chennai Expressway and Zojila tunnel, foundation stone was also laid for the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway and other projects. The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, once operational, will significantly reduce the travel time between Dehradun and the national capital. MoRTH is also working to build an integrated multi-modal national network of transportation and logistics as part of the 'PM GatiShaktiNational Master Plan'. (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.) Industry body on Thursday said it fully supports the idea of deploying 5G 'small cells' on electric poles. The association noted that a key driver of effective 5G implementation is deployment of small cells which is a critical part of upgrading and expanding 4G networks. "In line with this, the committee led by Senior DDG, Kerala LSA, and members from State Electricity Department and COAI, telecom service providers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) provided a concrete proposal for the use of electric pole for 5G small cell deployment," SP Kochhar, director general of said in a statement. emphasised that to combat the challenges of laying aerial OFC (optical fibre cable), which serves as the backbone for 'small cell towers', it is important to enable initiatives for sharing existing infrastructure. "...we completely support the idea of deploying 5G small cells on electric poles and have provided the international best practices to the committee," Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) said. "With regard to the deployment of small cells over poles, we're in close contact with Department of Telecom and coordinating with OEMs to provide inputs on technical specifications, aesthetics, power requirements, backhaul requirements," it added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government will start receiving applications from companies for setting up of fabs, display units and for other related schemes from January 1, 2022. Earlier this month, the government approved a Rs 76,000-crore scheme to boost and display manufacturing in the country, in a bid to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production, and attract large chip makers. Announcing that companies can begin applying under the scheme from January 1, 2022, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday exhorted players to leverage this "good opportunity" and "right time" to set up their manufacturing operations in the country. The IT ministry has also released guidelines for implementation of the scheme and a portal has been launched for accepting and processing applications from interested players. "All the schemes have been notified, uploaded on the website and a portal has been prepared for receiving the applications. So January 1, 2022 onwards, we will start receiving the applications," Vaishnaw said. Asked if the government expects investments to come in from large players such as Intel under the mega scheme, Vaishnaw declined to comment on specific companies. "Please do not ask me names of the companies..let the applications come in the portal," he said. "Response is good" and the government is "very hopeful", he emphasised. On larger message to global giants at a time when India is set to woo semiconductor players through the mega scheme, the minister said, "This is a real opportunity for all big and small players and the right time for companies to come and set up their manufacturing facilities in India. So welcome to India." It is pertinent to mention here that under the Rs 76,000-crore scheme approved for development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India, incentives have been lined up for companies engaged in silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensors fabs, semiconductor packaging and semiconductor design. The move is expected to further India's ambitions to be self-reliant in electronics manufacturing, bring massive investments and result in 35,000 specialised jobs apart from indirect employment for one lakh people. With the semiconductor incentive scheme in place, the government expects investments of around Rs 1.7 lakh crore and 1.35 lakh jobs in the next four years. (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.) Finance Minister will chair the 46th meeting of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council in New Delhi on Friday. The agenda of the meeting will be to discuss the recently announced hikes in rates for textiles, which comes into effect from January 1. The Council could also deliberate on the reports of the two Groups of Ministers (GoMs) which were set up in the last Council meeting in September. On the sidelines of a separate pre-Budget meeting between Sitharaman, her top officials, and representatives of states and Union Territories, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P Thiagarajan and Rajasthan Technical Education Minister Subhash Garg confirmed that the main agenda of the meeting will be to discuss the rate hike in textiles to correct inverted duty structure. Rajasthan does believe the rate hike on textiles should be rolled back especially when countries like Bangladesh are giving us stiff competition in the sector, Garg told reporters on Thursday. The states received the agenda just yesterday (Wednesday). So a very short notice, and textile seems to be the main point of discussion, Thiagarajan said At the 45th meeting in Lucknow on September 17, the Council had decided to rectify the inverted duty structure for footwear and textiles. Subsequently, the rate for footwear and textiles for any value was raised to 12 per cent, effective from January 1, 2022. Earlier the rate was 5 per cent for sale value up to Rs 1,000 per piece in the case of apparel and per pair in the case of footwear. ALSO READ: Govt extends FY21 GST annual return filing deadline till February 28 While experts hailed the move, a section of the clothing industry decried it, saying only a small group of the sector had inverted duty structure. Many trader organisations have also been demanding a rollback of the rate hikes. Former West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Telangana Industries Minister K T Rama Rao had earlier urged the Centre to roll back the proposed GST rate hikes in textiles. Modi govt will commit another blunder on Jan 1st. By raising GST on textiles (from) 5 per cent to 12 per cent, 15 million jobs will be lost and 1 lakh units will close, Mitra had tweeted. The problem of inverted duty structure arises when the finished product is at a lower tax bracket compared to the input raw materials. However, this usually leads to a rise in the rate of the finished product. There has not been as much opposition to the rate hike in footwear, compared to textiles. At the Lucknow meeting, the Council had set up two GoMs. One group was tasked with suggestions on rationalising rates and correction of inverted duty structure, and is led by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. The other group has been tasked with recommending ways to review IT systems, potential sources of evasion, and data analyses in order to expand the tax base and and maximise returns. This GoM is headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Both these reports could be taken up in the in-person meeting on Friday. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Chief Minister has said that after fulfilling Bharatiya Janata Party's poll promise on Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya, work has begun in and Vrindavan as well. Addressing a public rally in Uttar Pradesh's Farrukhabad on Wednesday, said, "We had promised to launch Ram Mandir work in Ayodhya. And now Kashi Vishwanath Dham is also being constructed. How can Mathura-Vrindavan be left out? Work has started there as well." Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had done the Bhoomi Pujan of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on August 5, 2020. Besides, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor earlier this month, a megaproject expecting to boost tourism in Varanasi. The UP Chief Minister also took a veiled dig on the Samajwadi Party (SP) over businessman Peeyush Jain's arrest and said that the recovery of a huge stash of cash and gold bricks has exposed how the previous governments had concealed the money that belongs to the poor. The Chief Minister said, "Now the people would know where the money, which was originally to be used for the development of the state, was being misused." "The recovery of a huge stash of cash and gold bricks three days ago exposes the black deeds of previous governments and shows how they concealed the money that belongs to the poor," the CM hit out at the previous governments. "Now, this money will be used to accelerate the pace of development to make the state number one," he added. further accused Congress of filing false cases against Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu leaders and nurturing terrorists. "You must have seen Maharashtra ATS statement...you must have seen how at that time they used to put false cases on workers and leaders of BJP, RSS, Hindu leaders," said Adityanath. "You must have seen this in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, Congress should apologise to the people of this country for what they did," he added. "When Congress was in power they used to inspire and nature terrorists, now when they are in opposition they protest against the work done for the development of people of this country," he added. UP Chief Minister's comment comes a day after the 15th witness in 2008 Malegaon blast case turned hostile. The witness told the court today that ATS forced him to falsely take Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and five RSS members' names. The Assembly election in the state is scheduled for next year. (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.) leader Vadra on Wednesday asked Valmiki community to suggest a name from among them to contest election from her party in the coming assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. The party general secretary made the request during a meeting with representatives of Valmiki community here at Valmiki Vatika in Subhash Park area on MG Road. "When I came to Agra after the death of Arun Valmiki, I wondered what could we do for people belonging to Valmiki community. You have seen atrocities against the people of the community again and again, whether it is in Hathras or in Agra," the leader told reporters here after the meeting. Arun Narwar, a sanitation worker belonging to Valmiki community, had allegedly died in police custody in Agra in October this year. He was accused of stealing Rs 25 lakh from the storage house (Maalkhana') of Jagdishpura Police Station. Priyanka had also visited Arun's family members after the news of his death hit the headlines. "The choice of party to have a Valmiki community candidate is aimed at sending a message to the state and to the country that the community which faced atrocities in Agra and Hathras fights on its own and fights strongly," she said. The leader said she had sent a delegation of the party 4-5 days ago to discuss the proposal with the people of the community. (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.) With just months to go for Punjab Assembly polls, state campaign committee chief Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday made it clear that the party will not announce a chief ministerial face and will fight polls under collective leadership. Jakhar, the former president of Punjab Congress, said the party had never named its CM face adding that it was only an exception that the high command had declared Captain Amarinder Singh as the chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the 2017 state assembly polls. "We had never announced chief ministerial face before Assembly elections except in 2017, which was an exception. Now also we will not announce chief ministerial face and will contest Assembly elections 2022 under the joint leadership of Congress," Jakhar said on Wednesday. The screening committee, constituted under All India Committee (AICC) general secretary Ajay Maken for the selection of candidates, held a meeting in the national capital today which was attended by Jakhar, Maken and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Notably, Sidhu has been pushing for an announcement of the chief ministerial face in Punjab polls and obliquely positioning himself for the position. According to sources in the party, majority of the state leaders are in favour of collective leadership in fighting polls to balance caste equations in the state. With the announcement of the opting for collective leadership, the party is seemingly avoiding the risk of vote polarisation. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is a Dalit face and is likely to garner votes from the Dalit community. Notably, the party has placed its top faces in a combination of castes by appointing Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is a Jat Sikh, as the president of the Punjab Congress and Sunil Jakhar, who is a Jat, as chief of the election campaign committee. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa is a Jat Sikh, while another Deputy Chief Minister OP Soni comes from a Hindu community. In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the SAD-BJP government after 10 years. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in the 117-member Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Pary (BJP) had won 15 and 3 seats respectively. (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.) Presidents and are set to discuss the Russian troop buildup near during their second call in recent weeks amid little progress toward ending the smoldering crisis. Ahead of Thursday's call, the White House indicated that Biden would make clear to Putin that a diplomatic path remains open even as the Russians have moved an estimated 100,000 troops toward and Putin has stepped up his demands for security guarantees in Eastern Europe. But Biden will reiterate to Putin that for there to be real progress in talks they must be conducted in a context of de-escalation rather than escalation, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters ahead of the call. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity. The call, which was requested by Russian officials, comes as senior U.S. and Russian officials are to hold talks on Jan. 10 in Geneva. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin would speak with Biden on Thursday but provided no details. The official said Biden and Putin, who met in Geneva in June to discuss an array of tensions in the U.S.-Russia relationship, were not expected to take part in the coming talks. The two leaders held a video call earlier this month in which their conversation focused heavily on Russia's troop movements that have unsettled and other European allies. In that Dec. 7 video call, the White House said Biden put Moscow on notice that an invasion of Ukraine would bring sanctions and enormous harm to the Russian economy. Russian officials have dismissed the sanction threats. Moscow and NATO representatives are expected to meet shortly after the upcoming Geneva talks as are Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which includes the United States. Earlier this month, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back its military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. The U.S. and its allies have refused to offer Russia the kind of guarantees on Ukraine that Putin wants, citing NATO's principle that membership is open to any qualifying country. They agreed. however, to hold talks with Russia to discuss its concerns. As Biden prepared for talks with Putin, the administration also sought to highlight the commitment to Ukraine and drive home that Washington is committed to the principle of nothing about you without you in shaping policy that affects European allies. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken reiterated the United States' unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity in the face of Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's borders. Biden and administration officials also plan to consult with European allies after the president speaks with Putin to offer them a readout of the engagement. Putin said earlier this week he would weigh a slew of options if the West fails to meet his push for security guarantees precluding NATO's expansion to Ukraine. In Thursday's call, Biden is expected to stress to Putin that the U.S. is united with its allies but will demonstrate a willingness to engage in principled diplomacy with Russia, the administration official said. In 2014, Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and seized the territory from Ukraine. Russia's annexation of Crimea one of the darker moments for President Barack Obama on the stage looms large as Biden looks to contain the current crisis. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has made clear in public comments that the administration is ready to discuss Moscow's concerns about NATO in talks with Russian officials, but emphasized that Washington won't go behind the backs of European allies in shaping policy that affects them. The two leaders are also expected during Thursday's call to discuss efforts to persuade Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear accord, which was effectively scrapped by the Trump administration. Despite differences on Ukraine and other issues, White House officials have said the Iran nuclear issue is one where they believe the U.S. and Russia can work cooperatively. Biden, who is spending the week in his home state of Delaware, is expected to participate in the call from his home near Wilmington. (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.) At least four people were killed and 15 injured in a bomb in Pakistan's central Quetta on Thursday night. The bomb went off hidden beside a car parked near Science College on Jinnah Road, officials said. Jinnah Road is one of Quetta's main thoroughfares and busiest shopping district. Officials are assessing the type of bomb. The deceased and injured have been shifted to Quetta Civil Hospital. Officials said nearby buildings had broken glasses after the explosion and most of the injured suffered from shrapnel and nail injuries. The explosion site is barely 2 km from the four-star Serena Hotel in the city, where a powerful bomb took the lives of five people and injured dozens in April this year. The Chinese Ambassador was lodged at the hotel at the time but he was away on an official dinner. The restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces have become the hotbed of terror attacks in recent years, with raising concerns over a spike in attacks after the August 15 takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. The Taliban and the Islamic State are active in the region. (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.) US Secretary of State discussed over the telephone with his French, German and UK counterparts coordination on Russia regarding the tensions with as well as US concerns over Iran's nuclear program, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press release. "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, and UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss," the release said on Wednesday. "They discussed the importance of continued coordination to deter any further Russian aggression against .. They reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity." The United States and Russia will hold talks on arms control and on January 10. Negotiations on security guarantees with NATO are expected to take place on January 12 in Geneva, Switzerland. (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.) Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of engaging in a 10-year sex-trafficking scheme with Jeffrey Epstein, a verdict that offers long-delayed justice for his victims. The British socialite was convicted Wednesday in Manhattan federal court after the jurors deliberated for about five days. They found her guilty of five of the charges against her, including sex-trafficking of a minor, which carries a possible prison sentence of up to 40 years. Maxwell, 60, didnt appear to have any reaction to the verdict, at one point brushing her hair aside and taking a drink of water. Before, while waiting for the jury to return to the courtroom, she looked down with her hands clasped, as if praying. The road to justice has been far too long, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement. But, today, justice has been done. I want to commend the bravery of the girls -- now grown women -- who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and todays result, possible. Defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim told reporters on the courthouse steps Wednesday evening that Maxwells conviction would be appealed. We firmly believe in Ghislaines innocence, Sternheim said. Obviously we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started working on the appeal and we are confident she will be vindicated. Maxwells siblings, who have attended the trial regularly, didnt comment as they left the courthouse. She faces as long as 65 years in prison if shes sentenced consecutively on all five counts. No sentencing date was set for Maxwell, who still faces a separate trial on perjury charges. The high-profile case reaches back decades and intersects with some of the biggest names on Wall Street and in high society. Maxwell herself is the daughter of a disgraced publishing baron. Prosecutors said Maxwell was an integral part of Epsteins crimes. Her lawyers argued that she was being used as a scapegoat for the crimes of Epstein, her former boyfriend and employer, who died in federal custody while awaiting his own sex-trafficking trial. Shes being tried here for being with Jeffrey Epstein, defense lawyer Laura Menninger said in closing arguments. Maybe that was the biggest mistake of her life, but it was not a crime. Ties to Epstein led to career downfalls for former Barclays Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley and Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black and have besmirched the reputations of Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, Leslie Wexner, Bill Clinton and many other prominent men. All have denied knowing about or participating in inappropriate conduct with Epstein. Believe Those Women Those names largely didnt come up at the trial. Instead, the heart of the prosecutions case were four women who testified that Maxwell enticed them into Epsteins orbit for abuse between 1994 and 2004, when some were as young as 13. Three also said Maxwell herself participated in the abuse. They all described difficult home lives as teenagers that prosecutors said made them vulnerable to Maxwell and Epstein. If you believe those women, then thats it: the defendant is guilty, prosecutor Maurene Comey told jurors on Dec. 20. Annie Farmer, one of victims who took the stand, describing how Maxwell and Epstein abused her when she was 16, said in a statement that she was relieved and grateful after the verdict. She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom, Farmer said. I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law. Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young. Acosta Deal Epsteins long-rumored interest in underage girls became the subject of a 2005 Palm Beach police investigation, but that was resolved in a much criticized 2008 deal negotiated by then-Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta that allowed Epstein to plead to a single state charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution and serve 13 months in jail, much of it on work-release. Acosta was later forced to resign as President Donald Trumps labor secretary over his role in the Epstein deal. The 2019 case brought against Epstein by Manhattan federal prosecutors was meant to finally bring justice to his victims. After his death, more than a dozen women spoke to the judge in his case, saying theyd been robbed of justice for a second time. Jane, one of the women who took the stand against Maxwell, said she was compelled to come forward and help federal investigators after Epsteins death. Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein victim who didnt testify, took to Twitter to express her feelings about the verdict. Sarah Ransome, another Epstein accuser who did not testify but attended parts of the trial, issued a statement calling the verdict a major step forward in the fight for justice and praising the four women. Their courage is contagious, Ransome said. Finally, after decades in some cases, many survivors of Maxwells now know that the public heard their testimony, and their voices can no longer be ignored or shamed, she said. Lisa Bloom, a lawyer representing Epstein victims in civil suits, hailed the monumental verdict. Honestly, Im fighting back tears, happy tears. And that doesnt happen very much, Bloom said in a phone interview. Finally in 2021, there is some justice and accountability held against one of these monsters. The 12-member jury began deliberations on Dec. 20 and took two days off last week for the holiday. As Covid cases surged in New York due to the omicron variant, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan expressed concern ill jurors could lead to a mistrial. The verdict came hours after Nathan told jurors that, unless they reached a decision, theyd no longer have Thursday and Friday off from deliberations and might have to work on New Years Day. Still, one juror leaving the courtroom, who declined to give his name, said he didnt feel pressured to reach a verdict because of the judges suggestion. Prosecutors cast the Oxford-educated Maxwell as a sophisticated predator who often acted like a big sister, taking girls shopping or to the movies, before pushing them into sexual encounters with Epstein. Carolyn, who testified in the case using only her first name, told jurors she was a middle-school dropout with an alcoholic mother when Giuffre told her she could make hundreds of dollars by going to Epsteins Palm Beach, Florida mansion and giving him massages. Maxwell was there when she first arrived and told Giuffre to show her what to do, before sending both to an upstairs massage room where Epstein disrobed and a sexual encounter ensued. Carolyn was around 13 at the time. Prosecutors pointed out that Maxwells presence was often a source of false comfort to her victims. Farmer said she was hesitant to accept an invitation to Epsteins New Mexico ranch, supposedly to discuss her plans for college, because the financier had groped her during a previous trip to New York. But Farmer said she decided to go after she learned his girlfriend, Maxwell, would be there. Attacking Accusers I didnt think anything would happen with her there, Farmer said. She wound up being sexually abused by both of them, she testified. The defense attacked the reliability of the accusers testimony, saying their memories had been tainted by time, in some cases substance abuse, sensational media accounts and supposed financial gain. According to prosecutors, it was Maxwell who had economic motives. The government put on the stand former Epstein private pilot David Rodgers, who recalled that Maxwell downsized to a Manhattan studio apartment after the 1991 death of her father amid a massive financial scandal. Less than a decade later, she was living in a large Upper East Side townhouse. One of Maxwells accusers recalled that she bragged that Jeffrey had gotten her New York house for her. A JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker testified that Epstein transferred more than $30 million to Maxwell between 1999 and 2007. What Epstein Wanted Your common sense tells you, you dont give someone $30 million unless they are giving you exactly what you want, prosecutor Alison Moe told jurors. And what Epstein wanted was to touch underage girls. Several former Epstein employees testified about the jet-set lifestyle shared by Epstein and Maxwell, who ostensibly managed his five homes. Two pilots described shuttling them and their guests between his properties, which included a large Manhattan townhouse and a private Caribbean island. Former Palm Beach house manager Juan Alessi testified about a 58-page rulebook Maxwell produced specifying everything from the size of notepads placed on bedside tables to the brands of toiletries stocked in each bathroom. Maxwell also dictated that employees see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing, Alessi said. But Alessi testified that he did see two underage girls at the house with Maxwell and Epstein, Giuffre and Jane. Bradley Edwards, a lawyer for a number of Epstein victims, said the girls Maxwell didnt want seen or heard finally spoke loudly. Ghislaine never anticipated that the vulnerable girls she was feeding to her monster boyfriend would grow up to be the powerful and courageous women they became, he said. No matter how rich you are or powerful you are, if you choose to exploit and abuse, your day will come. Chinese officials have tightened travel curbs in the region ahead of Beijing and deployed a large police force in the regional capital Lhasa, a media report said. Beijing is imposing restrictions on Tibetans' movements in the areas by ramping up security in the region, Radio Free Asia reported citing a source. China's Information Service last week had announced that visitors to the country will be strictly monitored during the Olympic games. "In just a few days, greater security and restrictions have been put in place in Tibetan areas of Lhasa and in Shigatse, Chamdo, Draggo, Ngaba, and Rebkong," RFA quoted a source as saying. Lhasa is witnessing the massive deployment of police and armed security personnel. People who are visiting the regional capital are being closely questioned, the source said on the condition of anonymity. He also said that officials are also inspecting restaurants and shops. A former resident of Sichuan province's Draggo citing his local contacts said that Chinese authorities have also begun household inspections in these areas, according to RFA. The massive security deployment and checks are being carried out by soon before the Beijing The US, the UK, Australia, Canada and Lithuania have announced the diplomatic boycott of games. (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.) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit the and early next month as part of Beijing's efforts to expand its influence in both the South Asian countries strategically located in the Indian Ocean. Wang will visit Eritrea, Kenya and Comoros from Jan 4-7 and from there he will travel to the and Sri Lanka, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here on Thursday. The foreign minister's visit to the two South Asian countries come at the 50th anniversary of China- diplomatic relations, 65th anniversary of China- diplomatic relations and the 70th anniversary of the Rubber-Rice Pact between Colombo and Beijing, Zhao said. Signed in 1952, the Rubber-Rice Pact was a trade agreement between Lanka and under which Colombo supplied rubber to Beijing in exchange for rice, leading to the establishment of diplomatic relations and expansion of trade between the two nations. Wang's visit to Male and Colombo is regarded as significant in Beijing as seeks to stabilise its influence in both the countries acquired through massive investments for over a decade, much to the concern of New Delhi. In Maldives, the present government headed by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, unlike his pro- predecessor Abdullah Yameen, consolidated its relations with India, re-balancing the strategic paradigm in the archipelagic country located close to India's southern coast. Wang's visit to Male comes in the backdrop of Yameen's release from house arrest last month after Maldives Supreme Court overturned a money-laundering and embezzlement conviction against him, paving the way for his possible return to active In the past few years, China faced strong criticism of its investments in the Maldives, especially from former president and current Speaker of Maldives Parliament Mohamed Nasheed who accused Beijing of indulging in land grab through its investments, posing a threat to the peace and the stability of the entire region. According to estimates, Maldives debt to China stood at USD 3.4 billion, raising concerns over its pay back ability, especially after the island nation was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Maldives' economy also depends on the inflow of a large number of Chinese tourists. Wang's visit to Colombo comes at a time when is facing a crippling economic crisis due to dollar shortage, besides serious differences between the two countries over the quality of fertiliser shipment. In a rare legal action against Beijing's close ally, a Chinese firm has launched arbitration against Sri Lanka in Singapore for rejecting a large consignment of its fertiliser after failing to reach a constructive agreement to resolve the issue. Wang last visited Colombo in January 2020 after Gotabaya Rajapaksa took charge as President. That visit took place amid concerns over Lanka's outstanding debt to Beijing over several large scale infrastructure projects, including the strategic Hambantota port that China took over on a 99-year lease as debt swap, raising a global anxiety over China's investment pattern under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Recent reports from Colombo said Wang could come up with more investment proposals, including the USD 1.4 billion Colombo Port City project being funded by Beijing to bail out Lanka's economy, which is in dire straits due to severe foreign currency shortage. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haseena Niazi had pinned her hopes of getting her fiance out of on a rarely used immigration provision. The 24-year-old Massachusetts resident was almost certain his application for humanitarian parole would get approved by the US government, considering the evidence he provided on the threats from the he received while working on women's health issues at a hospital near Kabul. But this month, the request was summarily denied, leaving the couple reeling after months of anxiety. He had everything they wanted, said Niazi, a green card holder originally from It doesn't make any sense why they'd reject it. It's like a bad dream. I still can't believe it. Federal immigration officials have issued denial letters to hundreds of Afghans seeking temporary entry into the country for humanitarian reasons in recent weeks, to the dismay of Afghans and their supporters. By doing so, immigrant advocates say, the Biden administration has failed to honour its promise to help Afghans who were left behind after the US military withdrew from the country in August and the took control. It was a huge disappointment, said Caitlin Rowe, a Texas attorney who said she recently received five denials, including one for an Afghan police officer who helped train US troops and was beaten by the These are vulnerable people who genuinely thought there was hope, and I don't think there was. Since the US withdrawal, US Citizenship and Immigration Services has received more than 35,000 applications for humanitarian parole, of which it has denied about 470 and conditionally approved more than 140, Victoria Palmer, an agency spokesperson, said this week. The little-known programme, which doesn't provide a path to lawful permanent residence in the country, typically receives fewer than 2,000 requests annually from all nationalities, of which USCIS approves an average of about 500, she said. Palmer also stressed humanitarian parole is generally reserved for extreme emergencies and not intended to replace the refugee admissions process, which is the typical pathway for individuals outside of the who have fled their country of origin and are seeking protection. The US government, meanwhile, continues to help vulnerable Afghans, evacuating more than 900 American citizens and residents and another 2,200 Afghans since the military withdrawal. The state department said it expects to help resettle as many as 95,000 people from this fiscal year, a process that includes rigorous background checks and vaccinations. Many of them, however, had been whisked out of Afghanistan before the US left. Now, USCIS is tasked with this new wave of humanitarian parole applications and has ramped up staffing to consider them. The agency said in a statement that requests are reviewed on an individual basis, with consideration given to immediate relatives of Americans and Afghans airlifted out. And while USCIS stressed that parole shouldn't replace refugee processing, immigrant advocates argue that isn't a viable option for Afghans stuck in their country due to a disability or hiding from the Taliban. Even those able to get out of Afghanistan, they say, may be forced to wait years in refugee camps, which isn't something many can afford to do. Mohammad, who asked that his last name not be used out of fear for his family's safety, said his elder brother, who used to work for organisations, is among them. He has been in hiding since the Taliban came looking for him following the US withdrawal, Mohammad said. On a recent visit to the family home, Taliban members took his younger brother instead and held him more than a week for ransom, he said. Now, Mohammad, a former translator for US troops in Afghanistan who lives in California with a special immigration status, is seeking parole for this brother, too. He hopes a conditional approval letter can get them a spot on one of the US evacuation flights still running out of the country. I can provide him housing. I can provide him everything," he said. Let them come here. Immigrant advocates began filing humanitarian parole applications for Afghans in August in a last-ditch effort to get them on US evacuation flights out of the country before the withdrawal. In some cases, it worked, and word spread among immigration attorneys that parole, while typically used in extreme emergencies, might be a way out, said Kyra Lilien, director of immigration legal services at Jewish Family & Community Services in California's East Bay. Soon, attorneys began filing thousands of parole applications for Afghans. When the US immigration agency created a website specifically to address these applications, Lilien said she thought it was a sign of hope. By November, however, the agency had posted a list of narrow criteria for Afghan applicants and held a webinar telling attorneys that parole is typically granted only if there's evidence someone faces imminent severe harm". A few weeks later, the denial letters began arriving. Lilien has received more than a dozen but no approvals. Once the US packed up and left, anyone who was left behind has only one choice, and that is to pursue this archaic refugee channel, she said. It is just so angering that it took USCIS so long to be clear about that. Wogai Mohmand, an attorney who helps lead the Afghan-focused Project ANAR, said that the group has filed thousands of applications and that since the US troop withdrawal, has seen only denials. The despair has led some immigration attorneys to give up on filing parole applications altogether. In Massachusetts, the Institute of New England is holding off filing new applications until it hears on those that are pending after receiving a flurry of denials. Chiara St Pierre, an attorney for the refugee resettlement agency, said she feels clients like Niazi are facing an unwinnable battle. For Niazi's fiance, they had provided copies of written threats sent to the hospital where he works as a medical technician and threatening text messages he said came from Taliban members, she said. It wasn't enough. A redacted copy of the denial letter provided by St Pierre lists the USCIS criteria released in November but doesn't specify why the agency rejected the application, which had been filed in August. For now, Niazi says her fianc is living and working far from Kabul as they weigh their options. They could potentially wait until Niazi becomes an American citizen so she can try to bring him here on a fianc visa, but that would take years. He can't wait that long. It's a miracle every day that he's alive, Niazi said. I'm feeling like every door is closing in on him. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid the ongoing gas crisis, Prime Minister chaired a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review what he described as the "gas situation" in "Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI chaired a high-level meeting to review gas situation in The meeting was briefed about the demand and supply from domestic reserves, shortfall and import of liquefied natural gas (LNG)," Pakistan Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet. In a meeting attended by top-level cabinet ministers, directed officials to fast-track licences for domestic exploration, calling it the "cheapest source of natural gas," Dawn newspaper reported. "He also directed the concerned departments to remove hurdles in the process of installation of new LNG terminals and virtual pipeline projects by investors," the Pak PMO said. During the meeting, the Pakistan PM also directed the departments concerned to remove hurdles in the process of installing new LNG terminals and virtual pipeline projects by investors. Earlier this week, Pakistan's Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar blamed the legal hitch for its inability to meet domestic gas needs. Azhar had said domestic consumers' gas needs in winter are met by curtailing supply to non-export general industries and captive power plants. However, this year the Sindh High Court (SHC) issued a stay order on the curtailment, the minister added. The minister said the gas demand of domestic consumers had increased by 3 to 5 per cent in the winter season, which was met by curtailing the supply to other sectors as per the priority list set by the government, Dawn newspaper reported. Experts say that people in Pakistan don't have enough to cook their daily meals because successive governments handed out gas connections like sweet cakes. Gas has typically been cheap and readily available however, Pakistanis are now struggling to cope with hours-long gas outages, according to Turkish Radio and Television (TRT). Notably, household consumers in the country have also seen a sharp increase in their monthly bills. (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.) has approved a series of measures intended to improve ties with the Palestinian authority. Israeli Defence Minister, Benny Gantz announced the move on Wednesday in a statement, a day after a rare meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in former's home in Rosh Ha'Ayin, northeast of Tel Aviv. Gantz said in the statement that he authorised "a number of confidence-building measures," including the transfer of 100 million new shekels' ($32 million) worth of tax payments that has been collecting on behalf of the Palestinian authority. The package also includes travel permits to hundreds of VIP Palestinian businesspersons and the approval of residency status to about 9,500 Palestinians in the Israel-occupied West Bank and the Gaza strip, Xinhua news agency reported. has withheld Palestinian tax funds, citing stipends the Palestinian authority pays to families of the Palestinians imprisoned for their involvement in attacks against Israelis, although the Palestinian authority describe them as welfare stipends used to support needy families. --IANS int/khz/ (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.) Reports that US troops captured former Iraqi President while he was hiding in an underground hole were fabricated, an Iraqi interpreter who worked with the US military at the time told Sputnik. Following Hussein's arrest on December 13, 2003, the Pentagon claimed that the former Iraqi president was found hiding in an eight-foot-deep hole under a farm. In reality, Hussein was in a room at the time of his arrest, was unconscious and did not understand what he was saying nor what was happening, according to the interpreter, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons. "After his arrest, the situation was fabricated so that the American administration, headed by Bush, could get out [unscathed], so that the coalition he had created against would not be defeated, so that the US authority would not suffer because of the attack on under the pretext of having weapons of mass destruction and imminent threat to peace," the interpreter said. The interpreter stressed he wanted the world to know that Hussein was in the room, most likely praying as he was wearing a traditional Arab robe, called dishdasha, and the notion that he was cowering in a pit at the time of his arrest was fabricated. Hussein would not have been able to get inside the tunnel, as it was too narrow and the president was already weak at the time, the interpreter added. "I was wearing a bulletproof vest, I took it off and was able to forcefully squeeze myself into the hole, I could also get out with difficulty. Yes, there was a hole, but the information that the president was arrested there... I'm telling you - he was in the room, he was arrested in the room," the interpreter stressed. It was "an ordinary room" with no means of communication, it contained only a wardrobe, two beds, a radio, a voice recorder, a small TV, some clothes and shoes, according to the interpreter. On December 30, 2006, Hussein was executed after the US invaded on the pretext of searching for weapons of mass destruction the country was allegedly hiding. The existence of such weapons was never proved. (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.) Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline is ready for operation amid an energy crunch in Europe, Alexei Miller, the CEO of Russia's gas industry giant Gazprom, reported to President Vladimir Putin during a meeting. Gazprom has completed filling the second string of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline with gas, and both strings with sufficient pressure are fully ready for use, Miller said on Wednesday. "Now, of course, everything depends on our partners, consumers in As soon as they agree, large additional volumes of Russian gas will immediately begin to flow to Europe," Putin said. The launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will lower gas prices on the spot market, he predicted. The 1,234-km pipeline, the longest offshore gas pipeline in the world, is expected to transport 55 billion cubic metres of annually from to Germany through the Baltic Sea, Xinhua news agency reported. The pipeline, however, has been lying idle, pending a go-ahead from Germany and the European Union. On November 16, Germany's network regulator said that it had suspended the pipeline's certification amid speculations that the project would turn into a powerful geopolitical leverage for Moscow has repeatedly said that the pipeline is purely economical and beneficial to --IANS int/khz/ (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.) Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has expressed hope that will abandon what he described as a destabilizing regional policy. " is a neighboring country for the Kingdom [Saudi Arabia] and we hope that it will change its policy and negative behavior in the region, and will switch for dialogue and cooperation. We are very concerned over the policy of the Iranian regime aimed at undermining security and stability in the region," the king told Majlis ash-Shura on late Wednesday, as quoted by the SPA news agency. The king also voiced concern over the Iranian refusal to cooperate with the community on its nuclear program as well as over the development of ballistic missiles by Tehran. Saudi Arabia's relations with remain strained over Riyadh's concerns over the Iranian military buildup as well as Tehran's support for Shia movements in other countries, especially the Houthi rebels in Yemen. (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.) Inc. co-founder Tang Xiaoou has become one of the worlds richest people, after the Chinese AI champion blew past concerns about American sanctions to surge as much as 23% on its Hong Kong debut. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology alums wealth has jumped by $300 million to roughly $3.7 billion after SenseTime ended Thursday 7.3% above its initial public offering price, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. SenseTimes rip-roaring debut defied all expectations, particularly after a U.S. ban on American investors forced the AI company to first delay its IPO, then price its shares at the very bottom of a previously indicated range. Investors had been nervous about the fallout from the blacklisting, which stem from allegations SenseTimes facial-recognition software perpetuates human rights violations in the far western region of Xinjiang. The sanction, which came on top of an existing ban on sales of American technology, was announced just days before the debut. SenseTime has said the accusations are unfounded. Its executives were visibly moved Thursday as they convened for a livestreamed listing ceremony, with at least one in tears as he announced the opening pop. ALSO READ: Chinese AI startup SenseTime postpones $767-mn Hong Kong IPO after US ban Every company will have their own challenges and objectives. For us, its about getting back on the front foot as creators and pioneers, Xu Li, Tangs fellow founder and SenseTimes chief executive officer, said during the ceremony attended by Paul Chan, the financial secretary of Hong Kong. SenseTime is the first overseas offering by a high-profile Chinese tech unicorn since Didi Global Inc.s June in New York sparked a regulatory backlash by officials in Beijing, effectively freezing most major tech debuts. Tangs rapid ascent contrasts with his peers at Chinas largest tech firms, which collectively shed some $80 billion of wealth in 2021 thanks to Beijings year-long campaign to rein in tech excesses. Unlike many of his cohorts, the SenseTime co-founder hailed from the world of academia, as an information engineering professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has long been involved in developing the artificial intelligence required for facial recognition. Tang received his undergraduate degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, then graduated from the University of Rochester in New York and got his PhD from MIT in 1996, where he studied underwater robotics and computer vision. Tang worked for Microsoft Research Asia for a few years before co-founding Shanghai-based SenseTime in 2014 with Xu, then a research scientist at Lenovo Group Ltd. Their company attracted early investment from IDG Capital, then picked up backers including SoftBank Group Corp., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Silver Lake. Investors may now be counting on SenseTimes domestic growth prospects even as opposition solidifies abroad. SenseTime is the largest AI software firm in Asia with an 11% market share, according to the prospectus. The technology is deployed in a range of areas, including helping police in China, providing product placements in films and creating an augmented reality scene in a mobile game by Tencent Holdings Ltd. It relaunched its process days after the blacklisting with a group of cornerstone investors increasing their bets to $512 million. Those included state-backed names like the Mixed-Ownership Reform Fund and the Shanghai Xuhui Capital Investment Co. SenseTimes revenue increased 14% last year to 3.4 billion yuan ($534 million), though it still posted an operating loss. Investing heavily in technology R&D at the early stage is the only way to make an impact on the industry, Xu said in a pre-recorded interview with Bloomberg Television. For us, we are seeing a very clear path to achieving profitability for the next few years, thanks to our early investments in AI infrastructure. on Wednesday brought back the requirements of contact tracing and quarantine under certain circumstances amid rising Covid-19 cases, less than a week after it announced to do away with them. The health department had issued a circular on December 23 instructing all provincial authorities to stop contact tracing and some quarantine conditions. The Department said it has been inundated with media, stakeholders and public enquiries and comments since the release of the revised Protocols on Contact Tracing, Quarantine and Isolation that it had issued. The decision then was that asymptomatic individuals who had come into contact with a Covid-19 case no longer had to isolate, but should monitor any symptoms for five to seven days and avoid attending large gatherings. It also required only people who developed symptoms to be tested, while contact tracing efforts was to be stopped except for cluster outbreaks. In line with the principles of transparency and openness, the department has decided to put the implementation of the revised policy changes on hold, while taking all additional comments and inputs received into consideration," the health department said. This means the status quo remains, and all prior existing regulations with regards to contact tracing, quarantine and isolation remain applicable, it said in a statement. The department said the original reason for the revision was based on a number of scientific factors, including the fact that most people have vaccinated with at least one vaccine dose and developed some level of immunity. It added that this had contributed to the current low hospitalisation and high recovery rates during the fourth wave, which is largely driven by the variant. Another reason cited was that many people do not show any symptoms, and only a small percentage of them are diagnosed. There was also concern about people without symptoms losing their income during isolation periods at home and children losing valuable school time under similar conditions. An amended circular will be re-issued once all additional inputs and comments have been considered, the department said as it tendered apologies for any confusion and inconvenience caused by the earlier decision. Meanwhile, hundreds of South Africans who had planned to go to Mauritius in early January have had their holiday dreams dashed after the island nation announced on Wednesday that it would extend a travel ban for the entire month of January to nine states in southern Africa. Any person having been physically present in the Republic of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia within the past 14 days preceding the date of arrival in Mauritius will not be allowed entry or transit in the Republic of Mauritius with immediate effect, the Mauritian government said in a statement. South African Airways, the most popular airline for the four-hour flight to the holiday island, said it would cancel all its outward and inbound flights to Mauritius for the month of January. The airline said it would allow customers to rebook their flights to a date after 1 February at no additional cost. (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.) recalled some 475,000 cars in the US nearly equivalent to its global deliveries last year because of technical defects that may increase the risk of accidents. The company plans to recall all Model 3 vehicles made between 2017 and 2020 thats as many as 356,309 cars. The cable harness for the rear-view camera may be damaged by opening and closing the trunk and prevent the image from displaying, it told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. is also recalling as many as 119,009 Model S cars assembled from 2014 because of a faulty front-trunk latch that could cause the hood to open unexpectedly, according to a separate NHTSA statement also posted on its website Thursday. The company said it will fix both issues free of charge. NHTSA said identified 2,305 warranty claims that may be linked to either of the two glitches but the automaker is not aware of any related crashes, injuries, or deaths. While the scope of the recall is large for Tesla, such callbacks are increasingly routine in the auto industry. In 2020, recalls involved more than 300 auto models and affected almost 28 million vehicles, excluding Takata airbag-related recalls, according to Chicago-based consulting firm Stout. Teslas recalls do not appear to be related to more contentious issues involving regulatory scrutiny of the electric carmakers technology. NHTSA said earlier this month its reviewing a recent software update by Tesla that allows drivers to play video games on a dashboard screen while the vehicle is moving. Two doses of Johnson & Johnsons Covid-19 vaccine slashed hospitalizations caused by the omicron variant in South Africa by up to 85%, a critical finding since the shot is being increasingly relied upon across the continent, researchers said. The results are a welcome bit of news as the explosive rise of omicron pushes the world to a record number of daily cases, and evidence emerges that the highly mutated strain can evade the protection that normally stems from vaccination. They also could help explain why hospitalizations and deaths arent following the exponential growth in new cases. The study from the South African Medical Research Council found that protection levels rose in the weeks and months after a booster dose was given to those who previously received the J&J vaccine. It prevented 85% of hospitalizations one to two months after the second shot was given, up from 63% for people who received the booster within the past two weeks. The results are important and reassuring, said Glenda Gray, the lead researcher and president of the South African Medical Research Council. The study, one of the largest of its kind in the world, shows at a global level that this regimen can be useful, Gray said in a telephone interview. Almost half a million South African health workers were given J&J vaccines as part of a major trial ahead of the countrys general rollout earlier this year. They were offered boosters of the same single-shot dose starting in November, paving the way for this research. Dominant Strain The researchers tracked hospitalizations that occurred from Nov. 8 through Dec. 17 in South Africa, when omicron quickly became the dominant strain circulating in the nation. They compared the records of 69,092 health care workers who got the J&J vaccine to a matched group of unvaccinated individuals who were enrolled in the same managed care organization. There were 713 hospital admissions among those who were unvaccinated, compared to 10 for those who got the booster within two weeks, 8 for those who got it two weeks to a month earlier, and three among those who got it more than a month prior. The results are the first evidence that a second dose of the J&J shot given six to nine months after an initial injection is effective against severe infection caused by omicron, the investigators said in the study, posted on medRxiv.org. Johnson & Johnson shipped globally more than 200 million doses of its vaccine as of mid-December, making it the seventh-biggest shot in the world, according to health analytics company Airfinity. The study was funded by the government as well as donors including the Solidarity Response Fund NPC, The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, The Elma Vaccines and Immunization Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The government has pledged 105 million ($141.7 million) in emergency aid to help vulnerable countries, particularly in Africa, fight the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2. "The is providing vital assistance to help tackle the spread of new variants around the world. This is key to securing our freedom and ending this pandemic once and for all," Foreign Minister Liz Truss said in a statement released by her office on Wednesday evening. The fund will be used to increase testing capacities and improve access to oxygen supplies for ventilators. It will also help to provide hygiene advice, products and access to hand-washing facilities, and for deep cleaning in schools, health centers and other public places. The foreign secretary also confirmed that the UK has delivered over 30 million COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries this year, as part of its commitment to donate 100 million doses around the world. The official statement added that 24.6 million doses were donated to COVAX, the initiative aimed at ensuring an equitable and fair distribution of vaccines worldwide, while the remaining 5.5 million doses were given directly to countries in need including Kenya, Jamaica, and Indonesia. (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.) After Pramila Jayapal, the first Indian-American woman to serve in the US House of Representatives, took on for not paying enough taxes and bragging about it, while Republican Senator Ted Cruz has also criticised the CEO for "looting" the country. In a tweet, Jayapal said: " made $36 billion in one day, but wants to brag about paying an $11 billion tax bill. Oh yeah, he also added more than $270 billion in wealth just since the pandemic started. "Time for the rich to pay their fair share." Reacting to her tweet, Cruz said late on Wednesday: "Got it. You don't like @elonmusk, Who else do you want to loot?" Musk was yet to reply to either Jayapal or Cruz, who is a staunch critic of the CEO for not paying enough taxes, on Twitter. The world's richest person has a net worth of nearly $280 billion. "With a top tax rate of 40.8 per cent, he faces a federal tax bill of about $10.7 billion," according to reports. Musk has also said on Twitter that he'll pay more than $11 billion in taxes this year. "For those wondering, I will pay over $11 billion in taxes this year," he tweeted last week. The disclosure came as Musk and other billionaires in the US are facing increasing scrutiny over the amount of tax they pay. In early November, Musk started selling off billions worth of shares, which involves paying a combined tax rate of over 53 per cent, according to CNBC. Earlier this year, ProPublica reported that Musk paid zero federal income tax in 2018, and only paid $455 million in taxes in the previous four years despite his wealth growing by $13.9 billion. --IANS na/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.) Kimia Biosciences hit an upper circuit limit of 20% at Rs 56 after the company said it has been validated for supplying pharmaceutical raw material (Bilastine) to Bangladesh. Kimia Biosciences has been recognized/validated for supplying pharmaceutical raw material ('Bilastine') to Bangladesh by Directorate General of Drug Administration & Licensing Authority (Drugs), Govt. of the people's republic of Bangladesh. This certificate of source validation is valid for 3 years from date of issue. Kimia Biosciences reported net loss of Rs 1.27 crore in Q2 September 2021 as against net profit of Rs 3.61 crore in Q2 September 2020. Net sales declined 17.52% to Rs 30.93 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q2 September 2020. Kimia Biosciences is engaged in manufacturing bulk drugs addressing various therapeutic segments and has envisaged growth plans through infrastructure creation and CMS. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Varun Beverages: The company has incorporated a new company 'Varun Beverages RDC SAS' in the Democratic Republic of Congo to carry on the business of manufacturing, selling, trading and distribution of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL): Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) acquired 2.019% stake in the company via open market transactions, increasing shareholding to 7.03% from 5.01% earlier. Swelect Energy Systems: ICRA has downgraded rating on company's long term - fund based term loan to BBB+/Stable, from A-/Negative. Blue Dart Express: ICRA has reaffirmed the long-term rating at AA and short-term rating at A1+ assigned to the company's banking facilities. The outlook on the long-term rating is stable. Kimia Biosciences: The company has been validated for supply of pharmaceutical raw material (Bilastine) to Bangladesh by Government of Bangladesh. This certificate of source validation is valid for 3 years from date of issue. Indian Hotels Company: After the acquisition of balance 14.28% equity stake in ELEL Hotels and Investments (ELEL), which is holding the leasehold rights of the erstwhile Sea Rock hotel, ELEL has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. Deep Industries: The company has received letter of award from GSPC LNG (GLL) for hiring of gas compression services at GSPC LNG Terminal, Mundra, Gujarat, for a period of 5 years. The total estimated value of the contract is approximate Rs 44.40 crore. KPI Global Infrastructure: The company has received confirmation of the order for executing solar power project of 10 MWDC capacity from Colourtex Industries, Surat under 'captive power producer (CPP)' segment. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After talks with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the Kannada organisations have taken back the decision to observe a bandh in the state on Friday. The bandh call was given to condemn the burning of the Kannada flag and demanding a ban on the Ekikarana Samithi (MES). "Kannada activists have taken back their decision to observe bandh after considering my request. I thank them," CM Bommai stated on Thursday. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra had also requested the activists to drop their plan for a bandh and assured them that the government is ready to protect the interests of the Kannada language, culture and its people. The bandh (shutdown) call for December 31 was given by Kannada organisations under the leadership of activist Vatal Nagaraj in the backdrop of the desecration of freedom fighter Sangolli Rayanna and social reformer Basavanna statues in Belagavi. However, prominent Kannada organisations backed out of the bandh call saying that it won't serve any purpose. The Rakshana Vedike under the leadership of Narayana Gowda declared that it won't support the bandh call. The organization staged a massive protest urging a ban on the MES on Thursday. Another Kannada activist Praveen Shetty also declared that his organization would not support the bandh. The traders and businessmen also voiced concern that they were already badly hit by the Covid pandemic and they will lose heavily if they had to close down their business establishments on Friday. The government has already initiated action against the accused who desecrated the statues. The government has slapped sedition charges against them and also booked them under the Goonda Act. Belagavi, the district sharing a border with Maharashtra, witnessed developments during the recently concluded assembly session which threatened the peace and harmony in the city. However, the government seems to have defused the situation. --IANS mka/bg (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Thursday invoked Lord Hanuman during his election campaign in to praise the government, saying no 'bahubalis' (musclemen) are visible under his regime, but just 'Bajrang Bali'. Addressing the BJP's Jan Vishwas Yatra here, Shah alleged that general public especially "our daughters and sisters" were harassed by 'bahubali' during the Samajwadi Party government in the state. "The land was grabbed. But today in the regime of Yogi Adityanath, 'baahubalis' (musclemen) are not visible, but only 'Bajrang Bali' could be seen," he said. He also said the late BJP leader Kalyan Singh, who was the chief minister of when the Babri Mosque was demolished in 1992, had shown what "good governance" is. "Babuji (as Kalyan Singh is called by his supporters) had sacrificed his chair for Ram Janmabhoomi. Attacking SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Shah said, "As elections approach, Akhilesh does not remember Kalyan Singh, but Jinnah,'. Will you vote for those who eulogise Jinnah? In his address at an event held on October 31 in Hardoi, Yadav appeared to equate Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, raising eyebrows. "Sardar Patel, Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah studied in the same institute and became barristers. They helped (India) get freedom and never backed away from any struggle," he had said. Dwelling on the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Shah said senior BJP leader Advani-ji took out a Rath Yatra for Ram Janmabhoomi, and the Samajwadi Party fired bullets (at kar sewaks) and also used sticks on them. But, it was our Prime Minister (Narendra) Modiji who performed the bhoomipujan for the Ram temple." "No matter how hard you try, a grand temple of Lord Ram touching the sky will be built in a few months," Shah said, attacking Yadav. Praising the Modi government, Shah said it has given a heavy blow to terrorist activities and "our neighboring country was given a befitting reply after the terrorist strike at Pulwama two years back". He also claimed that Bua, Babua (apparent reference to BSP chief Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) or Congress leaders cannot prevent the BJP from coming to power in again. He asserted that the BJP would secure more than 300 seats in the upcoming elections. "Abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir had paved the way of complete integration of Kashmir with India," Shah also 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.) Paediatrician Kafeel Khan, who was dismissed last month over the death of children at Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College and Hospital, on Thursday said he is ready to campaign for any party that can defeat the in the upcoming Assembly polls. Khan, who was here to launch his book about the 2017 hospital tragedy, also made it clear that he will not contest the elections due early next year. His book is titled 'The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor's Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis'. According to Khan, the book talks about the 2017 incident in detail and gives the version of the family members of those who died at the hospital due to oxygen shortage. Speaking to reporters, Khan said, "I am not going to contest the ( Assembly) elections, but I will campaign for any political party that can defeat ( Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath and the " "I was dismissed from service despite the high court staying my second suspension. By terminating me ahead of the elections, Yogi Adityanath himself wants to create an issue. Yogi Adityanath is not good enough to be the chief minister," he said, adding that he will challenge his dismissal. Khan claimed it is a coincidence that his book is being released ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls. He exuded confidence that the book will have an impact on the state elections. He claimed more than 5,000 copies of his book have been sold in the last 15 days. He also said he is planning to set up a hospital in Rajasthan that will provide free treatment to children and that he will seek land for it from the state government. Khan hit the headlines in 2017 after 70 children died at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Hospital in Gorakhpur due to the shortage of oxygen. Initially, he was hailed as a saviour for arranging emergency oxygen cylinders but later faced action along with nine other doctors and staff members of the hospital. Khan alleged that an institutional failure had led to the deaths of the children. He was sacked by the Uttar Pradesh government last month after being found guilty in a probe into the circumstances that led to the deaths of children in the hospital. (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.) Gurugram (Haryana) [India], December 30 (ANI/NewsVoir): (https://www.paisabazaar.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank), India's largest digital marketplace for consumer credit, announced today that it has strengthened its partnership with Axis Bank, India's third largest private sector bank, by launching a Pre-Qualified Program for unsecured loans on its platform. The Pre-Qualified program on Paisabazaar.com entails deep technology and analytics collaboration with Banks and NBFCs, which enables select customers to view customized and pre-qualified lending offers on the fintech's platform. Axis Bank customers, both salaried and self-employed, who are eligible for pre-qualified personal loans from the bank, will now be able to view and apply for the same offers through the Paisabazaar platform as well. This integration would lead to instant access to credit for these select customers through an end-to-end digital process, which can be completed through the click of a few buttons on Paisabazaar. Speaking on the partnership, Sumit Bali, Group Executive & Head - Retail Lending, Axis Bank, said, ''Our partnership with Paisabazaar.com is one more step towards offering enhanced customer experience through an innovative financial solution that is both convenient and easy. Our pre-qualified credit products involve paperless processes and quick disbursals. The same delightful consumer experience on our pre-qualified products will now be available on Paisabazaar.com as well." Naveen Kukreja, CEO & Co-founder, Paisabazaar.com, said, "As a market leader, we remain committed to offer the industry-best experience on our platform for varied consumer segments and offer tailor-made lending solutions. By deepening our partnership with Axis Bank, we are not only helping a section of the bank's huge customer base access credit with ease but are also making the entire process simple, convenient and frictionless." Paisabazaar over the last few years, especially post-pandemic, has been strongly focussing on building digital capabilities and infrastructure, through deeper partnerships with large lender Banks, like Axis Bank. Paisabazaar's pre-qualified programs with large Banks and NBFCs have been built basis a mix of credit history, big data, and digital innovations. Axis Bank is the third largest private sector bank in India. Axis Bank offers the entire spectrum of services to customer segments covering Large and Mid-Corporates, SME, Agriculture and Retail Businesses. With its 4,679 domestic branches (including extension counters) and 10,970 ATMs across the country as on 30th September 2021, the network of Axis Bank spreads across 2,658 centers, enabling the Bank to reach out to a large cross-section of customers with an array of products and services. The Axis Group includes Axis Mutual Fund, Axis Securities Ltd., Axis Finance, Axis Trustee, Axis Capital, A.TReDS Ltd., Freecharge and Axis Bank Foundation. For further information on Axis Bank, please refer to the website (https://www.axisbank.com). Paisabazaar was India's largest consumer credit marketplace with a 51.4% market share, based on disbursals in Fiscal 2020, as per Frost & Sullivan. Paisabazaar has 50+ partnerships with large banks, large NBFCs and fintech lenders to offer a wide choice of lending products for consumers on its platform. These strong partnerships, built through technology and data integration with Lending Partners to provide real-time data flow and status updates, allows the Paisabazaar platform to offer quick decision making, ease of processes and faster disbursals. From application to disbursal, Paisabazaar accompanies the Consumer at each step, providing last-mile assistance such as document collection and assistance until disbursal and advice. Paisabazaar, since 2017, has also been providing consumers access to credit reports from credit bureaus, offering Consumers lifetime checking and tracking of their credit scores for free. Paisabazaar has been recognized at several industry platforms with awards like 'Digital Lending Award' at the Fintech India Innovation Awards, 'Excellence in Consumer Lending' at IAMAI's India Digital Awards, 'Outstanding Crisis Finance Innovation 2021 (Asia Pacific) Award' by Global Finance Magazine, 'Most Innovative Lending Startup' by India Fintech Forum and Economic Times' 'Most Promising Brand'. For further information on Paisabazaar, please refer to the website (https://www.paisabazaar.com). This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has seen the battle from very close quarters. In 2002, when his father died without writing a will, he was locked in one such bitter confrontation with his brother Anil Ambani. After over three years of face-off, a family pact divided the Reliance businesses between the two brothers. So now, at 64, Ambani doesnt want to take any chances. About a month ago, several reports had surfaced that the Reliance chairman was planning to move his familys holding into a trust-like structure. Similar to what some other billionaire families like Waltons and Kochs did. Now, Ambani has hinted that the preparatory phase for handing over the baton of his business empire to his three kids is coming to an end. His children have been increasingly playing more visible roles at the company - from speaking about the future roadmap at AGMs to brokering billion-dollar deals. And he chose his fathers birth anniversary, December 28, to make the big announcement. The family marks the day as Reliance Family Day. In what cements the future roles of his three Ivy League-educated children Isha, Akash and Anant at Reliance, Ambani said he had no doubt they would lead Reliance to even greater heights. It is the first time that Ambani has spoken publicly about planning at his $215 billion business empire. While he has not disclosed any timeline to step back from his responsibilities, the latest speech shows that the time for his children to take up major roles at Reliance is almost here after years of grooming. Now 30 years old, twins Isha Ambani and Akash Ambani had joined the board of Reliance Jio Infocomm and Reliance Retail Ventures as directors in 2014, at the age of 24. Isha graduated from Yale University in 2013 with a double major in Psychology and South Asian Studies and had a brief stint with consultancy firm McKinsey before joining the family business. Akash, meanwhile, majored in economics from Brown University and worked with Jio before becoming a director. As Jios head of strategy and a member of its executive committee, Akash is closely involved with its product development. Today, they are also on the board of Jio Platforms, the holding company for Reliances telecom and digital assets and have been a constant feature at the companys product launches. Its strategic investment deals with like Facebook, Google and Intel were negotiated by the duo. Besides, Isha also engineered the launch of fashion portal Ajio while Akash handles the IPL team Mumbai Indians. Kavil Ramachandran, Professor at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, gave his views on the timing of Ambanis announcement regarding the plans. 26-year-old Anant Ambani is also a Brown University alumnus like his brother. In February, he became the last of the three to join Reliance when he was inducted as a director of the O2C subsidiary, which would have housed the refining and petrochemical business. But the plan did not go ahead. And in July, Anant was appointed to the board of solar that were incorporated as part of Reliances green energy initiatives. The company is investing $10 billion over the next three years in green energy. Mukesh Ambanis actions suggest that eventually his three children could be leading separate divisions of Reliance. The promoter stake is today worth $110 billion. Plans were already afoot. The country got some hints about it a month ago, when reports on the proposed formation of management trust by Mukesh Ambani surfaced. Now, Asias richest man has finally announced a leadership transition at Reliance Industries, saying all seniors should yield to the highly-competent and extremely committed young leadership talent. Ambanis three children -- twins Akash and Isha, and Anant -- are already part of the company, playing different roles. During his address, Ambani said that Reliance has completely re-engineered its energy business despite the pandemic. Let us see what experts think about post-pandemic The recently came out with global value chain ratings across various economies. Erik Berglof, chief economist of the bank, speaks to Business Standards Jyoti Mukul about the and how sustainability is the most important step in that direction. This year also saw companies defying odds to rise above the rest. New-age companies, including Paytm, Zomato, and Nykaa cornered nearly 40 per cent of the funds raised during 2021 via public offers. However, corrections in their stock prices drove valuations below the levels sought during private funding rounds. What led to this divergence in private and public market reaction? And how should we interpret the changes by Sebi regarding the lock-in period for anchor investors in an Apart from tightening the framework, the government is also busy finalizing the contours of roll out in selected cities in 2022. Telecom service providers are currently testing in several pockets of the country. Recently, Vodafone Idea Limited claimed to have hit a speed of 1.5 gigabits per second (GBPS) as part of its ongoing trials in Pune and Gandhinagar. But the contention over the allotment of crucial millimeter-wave spectrum remains unaddressed. Let us find out what it is and more in this episode of the podcast. The ongoing 23rd China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) features 16 world-class exhibition areas taking place both online and on-site at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. The exhibitions cover areas ranging from IT and environmental protection, to aerospace and smart cities, providing an unparalleled opportunity to showcase inspiring products and services that integrate new market demands, future technology and industry development trends. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211229005225/en/ CHTF 2021 Exhibitions Showcase Leading High-Tech Solutions (Photo: Business Wire) IT Exhibition The IT Exhibition is the largest specialized product exhibition at CHTF with an on-site area spanning 30,000 square meters that highlights next-generation IT technologies, products and services. Participating in the IT Exhibitions online format this year are 436 exhibitors, including domestic and multinational giants such as Ping An Technology, BOE Technology, Fujifilm, and Seagate, which have set up a total of 835 exhibits. Environmental Protection and Energy This years focus of this years Environmental Protection and Energy Exhibition is on achieving Chinas dual carbon goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and related applications that can enable green development and lifestyles. Construction Science and Technology Innovation A key exhibition given the centrality of infrastructure and urban renewal in Chinas 14th Five-Year Plan, which kicked off this year, this years focus includes smart and green construction methods, green building materials, and advanced building technologies and products. Major online exhibitors this year include China Construction Science & Technology Group and Shenzhen SEZ Construction Group. International Participation The Brazilian Embassy in China, Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and the government of Brazils Mato Grosso state jointly set up the Brazilian pavilion, while Polands Consulate General in Guangzhou and the Polish Investment and Trade Agencys representative office in China established the Polish pavilion. The Belgian pavilion was hosted by hub.brussels and Flanders Investment & Trade, as part of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Belgium in 2021. The online format welcomed the participation of major companies, start-ups, and well-known universities from Russia, Switzerland and Hungary. Virtual Exhibition and Online Forum: https://online.chtf.com/pcen23/#/Home Official Website: https://www.chtf.com/english/ Facebook: @CHTFChina LinkedIn: @China Hi-tech Fair View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211229005225/en/ As part of its 4th Anniversary celebration, CoinEx hosted an industry conference titled Financial Innovation in Metaverse via Zoom on December 24, 2021. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211229005061/en/ Virtual Meet-up with CoinEx Team & Partners: Financial Innovation in Metaverse (Graphic: Business Wire) For a long time, Fi+ projects like DeFi and GameFi have been the hottest crypto topic. As business giants such as JPMorgan Chase, Fidelity, and VISA speed up their moves in the crypto space, these projects have captured the spotlight, with constant discussions centering on Fi+. Against such a background, how should institutional and individual investors evaluate the potential of Fi+ projects? To discuss such hot topics, CoinEx invited Bonnie Chen, its head of marketing department, Wayne Zhao, the CEO of Tokeninsight, Darshit Parmar, the CEO of Solster, as well as top blockchain YouTubers, My Financial Friend (Sam) and Flozin, to attend the conference and give their views on popular topics. Additionally, Bonnie also shared the future roadmap of CoinEx on such an occasion. Virtual Meet-up with CoinEx Team During the video conference, the guests engaged in extensive discussions on topics such as the potential of Fi+ projects and the future growth of the metaverse and CoinEx. All of them showed confidence and interest in the potential of Fi+ projects. Bonnie suggested that the boom of Fi+ projects is an experiment, extension and exploration of DeFi in different fields; Wayne said that the existence of Fi+ projects makes the information acquired by users more transparent and fair; both Darshit and Flozin felt that the crypto market is still in its infancy and that Fi+ projects have great potential; Sam predicted that GameFi, DeFi, and SocialFi will all be in our daily lives in 5 to 10 years. The crypto professionals CoinEx invited also shared their criteria for evaluating Fi+ projects without reservation. Bonnie advised crypto users to analyze projects from two dimensions: technology and market, while Flozin recommended the assessment of project potential based on the project team and the field it is focusing on. Speaking of the popular segment of the metaverse, Bonnie suggested: CoinEx has always kept an eye on the metaverse. From the development trend to the underlying value of this crypto category, our investment research team has studied the metaverse to identify target projects that truly meet CoinExs unchanging criteria of value-based investment. Meanwhile, other guests also showed a great interest in the metaverse. In short, this anniversary event invited professionals in different fields for extensive discussions that inspired and enlightened the audience. Celebrate CoinEx 4th Anniversary with Real Users To thank users for their continued support, CoinEx selected and shared some of the user comments during the My Story with CoinEx event. Some of the users were introduced to CoinEx by their friends, while some of them joined CoinEx through AMAs. Jose Goncalves said: I learned a lot in the last few months and CoinEx was very important in this process. Im happy and proud to be a part of this amazing community. It has been a fantastic experience. During the conference, CoinEx received many blessings from its global users for its 4th anniversary. The conference attracted over 2,000 online viewers who left more than 10,000 bullet comments. During this online talk, CoinEx also prepared amazing anniversary gifts, including $15,000 CET, Apple Watch Series 7, iPhone 13, and MacBook Pro 16, which were distributed to viewers through online lotteries. Finally, at the conference, Bonnie, head of CoinExs marketing department, looked backed on CoinExs development with users from all over the world. In terms of CoinExs plan for 2022, Bonnie said, In 2022, CoinEx will keep making steady efforts to pursue its globalization strategy. We will find and list more innovative and high-quality assets to meet the increasingly diverse user demand. CoinEx will strive to build a stronger team, improve its product experiences, offer more considerate user services, and acquire more market shares in 2022. A far-reaching, thought-provoking online conference On its 4th anniversary, CoinEx invited crypto bigshots for online discussions of hot crypto topics across both time and space. The exchange aimed to figure out the future development trend of the crypto community through extensive discussions with the guests. In addition, CoinEx also conveyed its vision and roadmap to partners and users via a video and received real-time feedback. Always putting users first, the exchange will also host more professional conferences to provide users with insightful views about various crypto topics. Twitter: @coinexcom YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CoinEx Medium: https://medium.com/@coinex https://www.coinex.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211229005061/en/ Whats New: Staff members of Chinas leading investment bank, China International Capital Corp. (CICC), were accused by the countrys top securities regulator of flaws in handling a short-lived share sale plan for Lenovo Group. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) called in five employees of state-backed CICCs investment banking department last week for a regulatory interview, criticizing them for inadequate due diligence in assessing Lenovos eligibility for the countrys tech-savvy STAR Market, the CSRC disclosed Wednesday. The five summoned include CICCs investment banking head Wang Sheng and four sponsor representatives. The staffers mainly relied on documents provided by Lenovo to draw a conclusion that was inadequate and imprecise, the regulator said. This violated related rules on sponsorship, it said. The background: Lenovo, the worlds No. 1 personal computer maker, in October abruptly withdrew a plan to sell stock on Shanghais STAR Market just days after its application was accepted by regulators. The Hong Kong-traded company originally planned to list Chinese depositary receipts in Shanghai in hopes of raising 10 billion yuan ($1.55 billion) to fund new businesses in artificial intelligence and cloud services. Lenovos Hong Kong traded stock plunged by the most in three years following the incident. Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (hello@caixin.com) Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter. Editor's note: Caixin Global and Yale Center Beijing jointly launched in August a Smart Talks on Climate Change program, including an essay competition, to endow young leaders of the next generation aged 16 to 25 to tackle the problem. We're publishing the top three essays from the winners of the competition as this year's program concluded in November. What I find most helpful for my physical and mental wellbeing is to venture into forest parks on the outskirts of my city every other weekend. When Im there and I look up, I see endless stretches of green. When I look down, unfortunately, I see clumps of worn-out plastic, decaying among the flourishing plants. I was so infuriated by this sight that I started a cleanup initiative, taking high school students on trips to pick up litter. However, despite our efforts, cleaning up behind others cannot solve the root of the problem. To get to the root, we must understand the many motives behind littering. Seldom are people intentionally trying to pollute the environment; it is often out of laziness and ignorance. They may be tired of carrying their trash, or theyre oblivious to the implications of littering. Fair enough. But this laziness and ignorance have long-term consequences. When we think of climate we think of global sea levels rising, greenhouse gas emissions contaminating our air, and other overwhelmingly big issues. We rarely think of the relatively smaller problem of littering. Tossing an empty can out your car window feels so harmless. After all, its just a can compared to the tons of fossil fuels emitted by cars and factories on a daily basis. This type of self-reassurance is particularly dangerous. If all of more than 7 billion of us carelessly toss a can each, that would be 7 billion cans. A single, tiny piece of litter, if left unattended, can degrade over time to release toxic chemicals and microplastics. They then sink into the soil, polluting the nutrient source of nearby plants and inhibiting their growth. If they make their way into a water source, they can cause up to 60% of total water pollution, damaging the freshwater that humans and animals rely on. If littering is so detrimental to the environment, then why does it still prevail in todays age? The answer lies in the leniency of the law. There are laws regulating every aspect of society, including littering. However, some laws are enforced more strictly than others, depending on a countrys priorities. Many countries have the necessary anti-littering laws in place, but put little effort into their enforcement. Without effective implementation, it is difficult for citizens to overcome their laziness and comply with the law. This puts the government under the limelight because they have a responsibility to recognize the threat of minor issues, like littering, within the bigger picture of climate change. Take Singapore for instance. Under the Environmental Public Health Act of Singapore, their notorious punishment for littering minor objects is a fine as high as $2,000 for the first offence. For the third or more offence, this fine is quintupled. The authorities ensure this regulation is strictly enforced, and that is the secret to guaranteeing compliance. Of course, applying such harsh pnealties in countries like the U.S. will pose challenges, due to the mindless worship of freedom and liberty by part of the population (as evident in their response to pandemic restrictions). In addition to penalties, the law must be improved to protect employed cleaners. People will invariably find loopholes, therefore, an alternative way must be found simultaneously. Take for example illegal dumping of the large amounts of waste, particularly bulky construction waste. It is a step up from casual littering but nonetheless an offence of the same nature. Many offenders use vehicles to smuggle their waste into natural areas, where police cannot catch them. Most of these areas have professionals responsible for maintaining cleanliness, but at the moment, they are often poorly equipped. During one of my cleanups, a cleaner approached me, desperately, and offered to buy my trash picker for a high price. I was shocked to discover the government had not supplied them with anything more than gloves. I heard similar complaints from cleaners in other places. This exposed a careless attitude toward the issue of littering that we, as people sharing one planet, cannot afford to have right now. By properly equipping cleaners, we can protect them from the negative health effects of their arduous work. This makes it more plausible for them to actually maintain cleanliness in their respective areas. These may not sound like game-changing solutions to climate change. No, it does not reduce the amount of consumption that leads to littering in the first place. But yes, it does sow the seed of consciousness which takes time and effort to grow. Climate change is a broad issue encompassing countless minor problems like littering. Addressing climate change as a whole often results in empty, superficial slogans and no practical solutions. By narrowing the focus down to littering, society can tackle one problem at a time, as long as we are consistently making concrete progress. Du Qinglan is a student at Beijing City International School. The views and opinions expressed in this opinion section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial positions of Caixin Media. If you would like to write an opinion for Caixin Global, please send your ideas or finished opinions to our email: opinionen@caixin.com Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter. The whole experience is different from the moment you book your ticket. Research is mandatory to determine each countrys Covid regulations. Its not just finding out what Italy requires when arriving (via France, which has its own set of guidelines), but its also dependent on where youre arriving from. Then ensure you check what Slovenias Covid rules are. Oh, and then you need to get an antigen test before you leave, and, as a Canadian, you must have a PCR test before you return to Canada. And its not just a matter of checking the countrys guidelines once. Things are so fluid that you have to check weekly to see if anything has changed. To be honest, I was having second thoughts about travelling right up to the moment I grabbed a cab to the Montreal airport. Even the airport felt different. It was pleasantly quiet and getting through security was smooth. Once that was done, it all felt relatively normal. The travel process was its usual blend of tedium and exhaustion. It was at the end of the week in Italy that my anxiety returned. News of some sort of South African variant has emerged. Shit. With that filling my mind, I drove off (courtesy of Animateka director, Igor Prassel, who attended the Piccolo Festival for a day) to Ljubljana (a country that only had a 54% vaccination rate as of November 2021). Igor told me about cancellations happening. Some guests and jury members canceled. They were worried about this new variant. On top of that, Animateka could only have a 50% capacity in venues (all attendees had to show their vaccine passport or provide a negative COVID test) and would not be allowed to have any evening social events, since current restrictions require all bars in Slovenia to close by 10 p.m. Beyond those lurking shadows, Animateka felt relatively normal. Thats a credit to the amazing staff who were very well prepared. Not only did they provide a detailed list of where to get COVID tests or what to do should you test positive, but within each festival bag was an N-95 mask, a take-home antigen test (which I put to good use after waking up the first day with cold symptoms), and a bottle of wine (for those missed social events). In most ways, it was the same ol Animateka. Lots of familiar and not-so-familiar faces, plenty of engaging screenings, talks, workshops, exhibitions, and installations. People are chatting, laughing, and drinking beer and coffee in Kinodvor, the festivals social hub. Kids and families are wandering through (not always at a safe distance). Once the lights dimmed in the cinema, you momentarily escaped all the chaos, and lost yourself in assorted animated worlds. If anything, Animateka was a reminder of how much we need in-person festivals. You could see how content people were to simply be with others. Yes, there were awards, but the real grand prize at this years edition was simply the act of being together. No one spoke of it, but you could see it in the eyes and hear it in the voices. Even Igor Prassel, normally as straight-faced as they come, was moved to tears as he spoke during the festivals awards ceremony. It was a powerful and moving moment that surely brought a tear to everyone in the room. At that moment, you realized that we werent necessarily there for the films or awards, we were there for each other. Animateka was a moment to come up for air and breathe life in. Perhaps for some, the question still remains: Where do festivals go from here? Will there ever be fully in-person festivals again? Will they become hybrid events, as some have suggested? As usual, people are overthinking. Festivals will be in person again. Dont let yourself be fooled by the gadgets and gimmicky nature of online events. They are not the same and never will be. The notion of hybrid events is short-sighted. Each festival (at least the worthwhile ones) has its own unique personality. Annecy, Zagreb, Ottawa, Animateka, etc., all have different characteristics, different goals, and unique experiences. Sure, some industry talks can be offered remotely, but if festivals veer too far into the hybrid route, theres a risk that not only will festivals start looking the same, but they will start stepping on each others toes. No one should want that. We need to be with each other. We need to be laughing, crying, yelling together at the screen, arguing about the merits of the competition selection in the bar afterwards, telling stupid jokes between events, dancing with each other at festival parties. We need shared experiences with people from other countries, encountering other languages, visiting new cities and countries. We all need that. Photo: The Canadian Press Nunavut's chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson. Nunavut is extending its "circuit-breaker'' lockdown as a rise in COVID-19 infections pushes the territory's health-care system to a breaking point. The territory's chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, said Wednesday the province has 74 cases in eight communities after counting zero cases on Dec. 21. "We are seeing COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the territory and we know that some cases are a direct result of visiting in homes," Patterson said during a news conference. "I know this is difficult but right now social gatherings are not allowed, whether you are vaccinated or not." Premier P.J. Akeeagok said the ban on indoor gatherings that was put in place before Christmas is being extended to Jan. 17 as a result of the rising case counts of the Omicron variant across the country. Libraries, gyms, arenas and churches must also remain closed and restaurants are limited to takeout food only. Travel to and from Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit, Pangnirtung, Sanirajak and Arviat has also been restricted to essential purposes only. Akeeagok said the lack of housing in the territory is exacerbating the spread of COVID-19 and tuberculosis in Pangnirtung, an Inuit hamlet in the Qikiqtaaluk area, because locals are not able to isolate safely. "I have been working with staff to draft requests for assistance from the federal government," Akeeagok said. Patterson said the increase in COVID-19 cases is also straining the health-care system. "There's just not enough staff to go around," he said. "The rise is putting extreme pressure on our health system, including our ability to manage contact tracing and surveillance testing." Patterson said shipping tests to labs that are also dealing with a backlog has made it difficult to immediately count how many new infections of Omicron are in the territory. "For most communities, there is the need to fly samples to labs. Once the samples get to the labs, they're tested within 24 to 48 hours," he said. "With contact tracing, our ability to identify and follow all threads of transmission is being hampered by the sheer volume." Patterson said he's also concerned about additional cases in the coming weeks as people return to the territory from the south after the holidays. "A negative test result does not mean that it is safe to leave isolation early," he told reporters. "There is still a chance that the virus has not grown enough to be detected and that you could be spreading the infection to other people. This is why it is vital that people travelling home who are not triple vaccinated isolate for 14 days upon arrival. "The risks are too high right now and we can only contain these outbreaks with the help and co-operation of all." He said the government is preparing test kits and will provide an update on how those kits could help community members in the coming days. Photo: The Canadian Press In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell, center, sits in the courtroom during a discussion about a note from the jury, during her sex trafficking trial, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams) The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epsteins palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings who faithfully attended each day of the trial as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another. She faces the likelihood of years in prison an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold Maxwell accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epsteins teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse. Maxwell was convicted of conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking of minors, the last of which carries a statutory maximum of 40 years in prison. She was acquitted of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019. During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epsteins homes a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case. A housekeeper testified he was expected to be blind, deaf and dumb about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul. Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries Britains Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump who flew on Epsteins private jets. Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a black book that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading massages. There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion onetime girlfriend, later employee. But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages. Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Annie Farmer, a psychologist who chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years. They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwells behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams. They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if shed had fun and told her: You are such a good girl. Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epsteins Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as a pyramid of abuse. Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at his Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. The lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted applied only to Jane. I was frozen in fear, she told the jury, adding that assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse. Maxwells lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward. I was scared, she said, choking back tears. I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didnt want anybody to know any of this about me. The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epsteins New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her. Maxwell, 60, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers. Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify. The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, one of Maxwells lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwells legal team questioned whether the accusers memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epsteins estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a University of California Irvine professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. She said memory can be contaminated by suggestions made by an interviewer, particularly law enforcement or the media. Maxwells family faithfully in attendance each day of the trial complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where shes been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense. The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury. Lawsuits involving the abuse allegations also continue, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months. Photo: Darren Stone / Times Colonist B.C. Ferries has cancelled two round-trips on its Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen route, citing staffing issues. The noon and 4 p.m. departures from Tsawwassen and 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. departures from Swartz Bay on the Coastal Renaissance have been cancelled. In a statement, B.C. Ferries said it requires a specific number of crew members on board to ensure the safety of passengers in an emergency and to comply with Transport Canada regulations. It said customers with bookings would have their reservation fees refunded. For up-to-date sailing and departure information, B.C. Ferries recommends following the corporation on Twitter (@BCFerries), checking www.bcferries.com or calling 1-888-223-3779. Expressing India's steadfast commitment to safeguarding the interest of the developing world, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti said the highlight of India's presence in the Security Council has been its presidency in August this year. Looking back on how 2021 panned out for India at the world stage, he said: "our performance again indicates that the world needs India to be at the horseshoe table permanently." In a video posted on Twitter, Tirumurti explained how India had an impact on world politics and peacekeeping. "It has been once a year since India took its place in the Security Council for the 8th time as an elective member. The highlight of our presence in the UN Security Council so far has been our presidency in August. Prime Minister of India first time chaired a high-level meeting of UNSC. Visit of PM to the UN and address at United Nation's General Assembly was the high point," Tirumurti said. Given our predominant role in peacekeeping, India gave UN peacekeeping a strong focus in the last year, Tirumurti said. "After nearly five decades, India piloted a resolution on protecting the protectors, calling for accountability for crimes against peacekeepers. India also gifted 200,000 vaccines to cover every peacekeeper and every peacekeeping mission throughout the world," he added. After the situation rapidly deteriorated in August, Permanent Representative recalled how India acted swiftly, which led to the adoption of Resolution 2593 on Afghanistan, under its presidency. "It demands assurances that Afghanistan soil won't be used for terrorism against other countries and that authorities in Kabul will act against all terrorists including those designated by the 1267 sanctions committee. India has been consistent in its support for the transition to democracy whether in Myanmar or in Africa," he added. Ambassador Tirumurti said that India continued to keep the focus on countering terrorism throughout the year. "During our presidency, External Affairs Minister chaired a meeting on ISIL/Daesh. We helped shape the global counter-terrorism strategy in the UNGA." "India has sought to bring the necessary balance to the debate relating to Africa, given our historical friendship with Africa. We made our views clear on the issue of burdening the African countries with unrealistic benchmarks on their sanctions regime and called for greater commitment from the international committee to assist Africa fight terrorism." Citing the example of countries like Syria, Yemen and Iraq, Tirumurti said that India has leveraged its strong and historical ties to put forward its views forcefully in the Middle East region. "On issues affecting the developing world, India has been a strong voice to protect their interest. India firmly opposed the attempts by countries to bring the issue of climate into the Security Council," he said. Ambassador Tirumurti also noted how India chaired the Taliban Sanctions Committee and the Libya Sanctions Committee. "We will chair a third committee -- the Counter-Terrorism Committee next year." He also noted how UNGA granted observed status to the International Solar Alliance. "Our performance again indicates that the world needs India to be at the horseshoe table permanently." (ANI) Also Read: Blinken, French, German, UK counterparts reaffirm support for Ukraine: US State Dept COVID-19 drove innovation across CDC and the rest of the scientific world; one such area has been wastewater testing, which can serve as a bellwether for communities in the COVID-19 pandemic. Samples taken from wastewater systems can contain genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in feces of infected people. CDC experts, working with academic researchers, wastewater utilities, and public health colleagues, found that tracking the amount of virus in wastewater systems can provide early detection and reliable trends of community-level COVID-19 cases. Data from wastewater testing supplement existing COVID-19 surveillance systems by providing an efficient pooled community sample that can monitor infections, regardless of whether someone has symptoms, sees a doctor, or gets tested. In 2020, CDC established the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), an innovative and unique collaboration among CDC, state and local health departments, academic institutions, wastewater utilities, and private laboratories to help communities put this tool to work. As of December 2021, CDC has funded 43 jurisdictions to conduct wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2. More than 30,000 wastewater samples have been tested, representing more than 44 million Americans. Funded partners have already used this data to confirm case spikes as the Delta variant surges across much of the United States. As we continue to see COVID-19 outbreaks, NWSS data will be a critical tool to help healthcare providers prepare for case increases and the impact on hospitals and healthcare workers. Wastewater surveillance can also target data collection from specific institutions such as nursing homes and correctional facilities where cases can spread quickly, and provide data in vulnerable communities where other forms of disease surveillance may not be enough. Early recognition of case spikes using wastewater data can help public health officials engage and recommend measures like increased social distancing, mask use, rapid testing and more so individuals can avoid spreading COVID-19 further. In coming years CDC will build on this capacity by expanding NWSS to better understand and respond to many other infectious disease threats like antimicrobial resistance or foodborne diseases. Cemex to sell Costa Rica and El Salvador operations to Cementos Progreso ICR Newsroom By 30 December 2021 Mexico-based Cemex has signed an agreement for the sale of its operations in Costa Rica and El Salvador with Guatemalas Cementos Progeso Holdings, for the amount of US$335m, to be completed in the first quarter of 2022. The assets up for sale include an integrated cement plant, a grinding station, seven concrete plants, an aggregates quarry and a distribution centre in Costa Rica as well as a distribution centre in El Salvador. The disposal of the operations are in line with Cemexs strategic plan, Operation Resilience, and aims to optimise the companys global portfolio, according to a document sent to the Mexican stock exchange, BMV. The income from the disposal is understood to be used to finance its growth strategy through complementary investments in its main markets, reduce debt and other corporate purposes. The sale is subject to compliance with the closing conditions in Costa Rica and El Salvador, including the approval of the corresponding competition authorities. Published under Belarusian commodity exchange sees 64% rise in cement exports ICR Newsroom By 30 December 2021 The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) saw a 64 per cent YoY increase in cement export transactions in January-December 2021 to US$15.2m, according to the exchanges press service. Two transactions were carried out on 28 December to supply 6000t and 39,000t of Belarusian Portland cement with a total value of US$2.7m to Poland. In 2021, 74 per cent of the countrys cement exports were sold through BUCE to the Russian Federation, with 10-12 Russian companies regularly participating in core trading sessions. Published under Caribbean Cement Co provides solution for Riverton waste tyres ICR Newsroom By 30 December 2021 More than 2m used tyres will be removed from the Riverton City disposal site in St Andrew, Jamaica, as part of a 10-year project, which is expected to be expanded to other refuse disposal sites across the island. The tyres will provide fuel for the kilns of the Caribbean Cement Co Ltd as part of the National Programme for the Environmentally Sound Management of End-of-Life Pneumatic Tyres, a project with the Jamaican government. Over 8700 tyres have already been taken from the Riverton facility in the programme, which was piloted between July-September 2019 and was fully rolled out on 1 Octobr 2019. Published under This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions Authorities said a woman has been charged with murdering a man she was in a romantic relationship with at a Signal Mountain residence "in a violent and brutal manner." Rhonda Lorna Essenpreis, 63, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Randall Paul Otto, 69. Authorities said she stabbed him three times with a large butcher knife, including first in the back of the head. Evidence at the scene showed the victim got down on his knees and tried to crawl away, but was attacked two more times, it was stated. The slaying happened near a packed suitcase, and detectives said Ms. Essenpreis may have been angry that the victim was leaving the residence at 3641 Scarlet Maple Court. His dead body was found seated in a chair in the living room. Ms. Essenpreis had blood on her hands and feet and blood was found in several areas of the living room and on a bed where she barricaded herself in a bedroom. An affidavit said Ms. Essenpreis has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had not been taking her medication. She was also suffering from a sleep disorder, it was stated. Police initially went to the home around 3 a.m. on a call of a drug overdose. A woman called and said her mother had called her, saying she had overdosed. Police later said it appeared Ms. Essenpreis had tried to take her own life after the slaying by overdosing on pills. They said she was hiding when they arrived and she then went into the bedroom and locked it. Police had to force their way inside the bedroom. Ms. Essenpreis declined to give a statement to a detective. She was taken to Silverdale to be booked on the murder charge. While the names of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe may be more familiar to the viewing public of the motion picture industry, in the early 1950s, Peggy Dow was a prominent actress in that era. More importantly she was a resident of Athens, Tennessee, during a portion of her early years. Although Peggy only made nine movies and she, like Grace Kelly, gave up her career to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco, she retired from being an actress to marry Tulsa, Oklahoma, oil man Walter Helmerich before he became prominent. Peggy Dow was born Margaret Varnadow on March 18, 1928, in Columbus, Mississippi. At age four her family moved to Covington, Louisiana. They would later move to Athens, Tennessee. She would attend a high school called Gulf Park College for Women in Gulfport, Mississippi, and college at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied for her acting career. Several future stars on the stage and screen were also at Northwestern while Peggy was a student. The most memorable one in her class was future comedian Paul Lynde. Charlton Heston, Patricia Neal and Clovis Leachman were students at the university a couple of years before Peggy. During her senior year she went to California to visit a classmate whose father died and her acting career began. In Hollywood she obtained an agent and signed a contract with Universal International. She attended an in-studio class of young actors including Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie. For two years Peggy lived at the Hollywood Studio Club which was a womens hotel that was sponsored by Mr. Cecil B. DeMille. Marilyn Monroe was one of the other girls residing there. Her first public acting role took place in a television show titled Your Show Time in a segment titled The Mummys Foot in 1949. She was under an exclusive seven-year contract that would not allow her to work for any other studio without Universals permission and she made her film debut in Woman in Hiding (1950) with Ida Lupino in the title role along with Stephen McNally. The second of the nine movies in her abbreviated movie career between 1949-1951 was Undertow filmed in Chicago. Her third film was The Sleeping City (1950) which starred Richard Conte as a detective in New York City. She was invited to an opening party given by the cast of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and it was where she met Walter Helmerich who would later become her husband and father of their five sons. What would follow would be a whirlwind romance with Walter which resulted in marriage after nine movies and ended a prominent movie career. Before she retired from acting to become the wife of Walter Helmerich who would become a millionaire in the oil business and philanthropist in the Tulsa area, she performed in Shakedown in 1950 which co-starred Brian Donlevy and Howard Duff. The Sleeping City (1950) followed as one of the first films to be shot exclusively at one location - Bellevue Hospital in New York and starred Richard Conte in a murder thriller. She had her first role in a famous movie with Jimmy Stewart in the classic Harvey where she played the role of a nurse. She spoke glowingly of Jimmy Stewart as she did with all of her leading men. Another memorable movie was Bright Victory with Arthur Kennedy who portrayed a blind veteran that won him an Oscar for Best Actor in 1951. Her last three movies in 1951 before retiring to domestic life as a wife and mother were I Want You and two family films, Reunion in Reno and You Never Can Tell. She was also chosen to present an Oscar to Edith Head at the Academy Awards in 1950 for dress designing and three of the movies she performed in 1950-1951 were nominated for Academy Awards. She was listed among the top four cast members each time. On a trip back to Athens for Christmas she agreed to meet Walt Helmerich at the airport in Tulsa for a 30-minute layover for a Coca-Cola. When the aircraft had to be repaired for a delay of four-five hours he gave Peggy a tour of Tulsa which was more of a cosmopolitan community than she realized. He eventually talked her into marrying him when he escorted her to Washington to receive an award for the film Bright Victory from President Harry Truman on the condition that she would marry him. They were married on November 23, 1951, in Athens and were leaders and philanthropists in the Tulsa area until his death in 2012. Her last invitation to perform in the movies was from renowned actor William Holden after the birth of her first son to be the leading actress in the Bridges of Toko-Ri which ironically was played by Grace Kelly. Although very little is written in the news media about her life in Athens she is another Hollywood movie star with contacts to the Volunteer State. She still resides in Tulsa and remains active at the age of 93 as a strong supporter of the arts and libraries. * * * Jerry Summers (If you have additional information about one of Mr. Summers' articles or have suggestions or ideas about a future Chattanooga area historical piece, please contact Mr. Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com) Police said Rhonda Lorna Essenpreis, 63, killed 69-year-old Randall Paul Otto, with a large butcher knife at a residence on Signal Mountain. Authorities went to 3641 Scarlet Maple Court on Wednesday at 3:08 a.m. and found Mr. Otto dead in a chair in the living room. He had been stabbed three times. An affidavit says it appears he was first stabbed in the back of the head, then he got on his knees and tried to crawl away. He was then stabbed two more times, including one blow that went into his internal organs. Ms. Essenpreis was found with her hands and feet covered with blood. Police said there was a packed suitcase by where the attacks took place, and Mr. Otto may have angered Ms. Essenpreis by trying to leave their romantic relationship. Officers were first summoned to the house by a woman who said she had gotten a call from her mother saying she had overdosed. Police found Ms. Essenpreis hiding behind a wall. She then locked herself in a bedroom. Officers had to force their way in. The bed on which she was lying was covered with blood, it was stated. The affidavit says Ms. Essenpreis has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and has not been taking her medication. She also has a sleep disorder, it was stated. Ms. Essenpreis was charged with criminal homicide. She declined to give a statement to police. She was booked at the workhouse after being taken to the hospital to be checked for a drug overdose. It is no secret that most Americans despise government mandates, especially when it is affecting the health care industry so badly. It is also obvious the new surge of COVID is stretching the nations hospitals and their staffs to the limit so this is hardly the time for The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to just announce it will start enforcing the vaccine mandates at hospitals in states where the mandate hasnt been judicially enjoined. According to Beckers Hospital Review, 16 states are experiencing critical staffing shortages in at least 25 percent of their hospitals. Next week, with the New Year arriving, there will be 25 states with critical staffing shortages and Tennessee is seventh in the country with 35.83 percent of our states hospitals gasping for breath. Add the fact Tennessee and 24 other states are not judicially enjoined from the mandate and failure to abide the idiotic order by Jan. 27 will put a facility at risk of losing its life blood Medicare and Medicaid funding. In New York more than 30,000 health providers have been terminated for not taking the vaccine and Im betting each will be missed, this despite the assurance that President Biden is sending 1,000 military doctors and nurses to help staff hospitals. Are you kidding me? We have already had over 800,000 people die of COVID in the United States and, if you cannot treat the disease victims, the prognosis is rather dim. "FEMA is deploying hundreds of ambulances and EMS crews to transport patients, the President told the nations governors this week. Weve already deployed emergency response teams in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New Mexico. Were ready to provide more hospital beds as well. A story in the Epoch Times yesterday stated CMS modified the compliance dates for the vaccine mandates. Facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding must comply with the mandates first phase, meaning that all health care staff has to have received the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Jan. 27, 2022 - or 30 days after the CMS memorandum was issued. Those facilities will have to comply with the CMS mandates second phase, meaning health care workers need to receive the second dose by Feb. 28, 2022, according to the memo. Earlier this month, a CMS spokesperson told The Epoch Times that it suspended enforcement of the vaccine mandate for health care workers pending future developments in litigation. It came after several courts issued injunctions against the rule. But now, according to its latest directive, a health care facility will have to show that policies and procedures are developed and implemented for ensuring all facility staff under the agencys mandate, regardless of clinical responsibility or patient or resident contact are vaccinated for COVID-19, the memo stipulates. The facility also must show that 100 percent of staff have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, or have a pending request for, or have been granted a qualifying exemption, or identified as having a temporary delay as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CMSs directive says. If fewer than 100 percent of staff are not compliant with the mandate, the facility is non-compliant under the rule, according to CMS. The facility will receive notice of their non-compliance with the 100 percent standard. A facility that is above 80 percent and has a plan to achieve a 100 percent staff vaccination rate within 60 days would not be subject to additional enforcement action. Under the mandate, a facility that isnt in compliance with the rule will be at risk of losing its federal Medicare or Medicaid funding. The CMS vaccine mandate will now affect the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the guidance doesnt currently apply in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, according to CMS. In states where the vaccine mandate cant be enforced due to judicial proceedings, CMS surveyors should not undertake any efforts to bring facilities under compliance, the memo says. --- royexum@aol.com Unless there is an unforeseen called special session, the Tennessee General Assembly will formally reconvene at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. There will be a special focus on drawing electoral district boundaries by the statehouse. This is called redistricting. Redistricting is the way they change the districts that determine who represents us. Therefore, it is of significant importance to every citizen in Tennessee. Created in 1992, the Basic Education Program has been the main source of K-12 education funding. The BEP, or a new funding formula, will likely be front and center at the Tennessee General Assembly in education. We must pay close attention to the upcoming education funding debate in Tennessee leading up to the upcoming legislative session. We must spend funding more efficiently and modernize the system. Using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families dollars for school counselors and school nurses is something we support. We must also remind ourselves that the quality of public education improves the personal growth and social development of children and makes a community a more attractive place to live. If we harm our schools irreparably, we hurt our future. Getting funding right, and not rushing it through the Tennessee General Assembly under a specific time frame should be the priority, as should be teacher salaries. Legislation may be on the horizon that a future Commissioner of Education goes through legislative approval. We should see a push to require the state to create an annual strategic plan in K-12 education, just like LEAs currently do. We may see legislation requiring the commissioner to present the plan for the state. In addition, appointments to the State Board of Education may need nomination input from the General Assembly. It is also likely there will be legislation clarifying how the state can take over low-performing school districts. The state has recognized that the state-run Achievement School District (ASD) model was deeply flawed. The state created the ASD using a chunk of its $500 million Race To The Top grant, secured under former Gov. Phil Bredesen. Updating the process will allow for the Commissioner of Education to take over school districts. In Nashville, we know the state has already done this once. The state partially took over Metro Nashville Public Schools in 2008 when Phil Bredesen was governor. The interim superintendent fired more than 60 principals and assistant principals after five years of underachieving test scores. Some of the districts that are the highest per-pupil funding are among the lowest-performing. Those districts should be prepared to answer that question. Today in Tennessee over 7,000 teachers are already eligible to retire and by 2024 that number will add another 3,300 teachers. We already have a teacher shortage in special education. We have a teacher shortage in math and science. We are seeing other teachers walking away, some in elementary and other key subject areas, as well. That is why we must embrace multiple pathways to teaching in our classrooms. There is a teacher shortage. We must figure out how to retain our current teachers while recruiting new teachers. There must be more options available to districts to meet this challenge. Vacant teaching positions lead to increased class sizes, student behavioral problems, and the lowering of standards for hiring both permanent and substitute teachers. There are also huge shortages of bus drivers and substitute teachers. If you throw that all on top of a global pandemic, maternity leaves, and natural disasters, our schools are stretched way beyond the classroom walls of any school. Our Colleges of Education simply cannot meet this demand as the number of applicants to become teachers is inadequate. Fewer students are choosing to go into the education field while schools across America are seeing an increased need for new teachers. Colleges of Education must also address how to serve Career & Technical Education. Areas such as business, agriculture, health, automotive, and mechatronics programs also need high-quality teachers. Additionally, we should consider how to better build the skills of paraprofessionals who work alongside teachers in classrooms in critical roles. We need to work with Colleges of Education and others to help the process. Educators have often told policymakers we do too much too early, especially in K-8. We have too many standards. Our teachers tell us regularly they have too many standards to teach, and yet when we have experts look at it, we end up with more. We may see legislation directed in this area. Addressing the use of supplemental materials in our schools, by making sure the curriculum used in our schools aligns with our state standards may be on the legislative agenda. The testing culture has killed the enthusiasm of many educators. We must work to ensure our assessments and subsequent results are empowering and informing without being a time drain. Assessments should not inhibit quality instruction but provide accurate feedback for educators, parents, and students. We need to know what our kids know, not how fast they can take a state. Therefore, legislation to give students more time to complete tests is possible. Testing will be done last 20 days of the end of the school year is probable. Testing should be paper testing which gives better results. If a wish list existed, TNReady goes away for grades 9-12 and is replaced with the ACT. Colleges and universities dont care about TNReady. We will have an active 2022 in the Tennessee General Assembly. We must focus on what unites us, listen to all voices, focus on the challenges together, and create alliances where there is support on attainable solutions. Programs will not work, no matter how well-intentioned, without personnel. Tennessees economy and future are dependent on educating our children effectively. JC Bowman Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee Dr. Louis Lorraine Carter, Jr. entered his heavenly home at 4 a.m. on Christmas Day, 2021. He was born on April 16, 1939, to Dr. Louis Lorraine Carter and Janet Carter of Memphis, Tn. Louis leaves his loving wife of 59 years, Anne Greer Carter of Lookout Mountain, Tn.; his son, David Louis Carter of Memphis; his daughter, Laney Carter of Chattanooga; and two grandsons, Joseph and Polk Eldridge. Dr. Carters passing is mourned by many friends and colleagues around the world. His medical mission career spanned five decades from 1974 to 2020. Louis and Anne always worked as a team with Anne assisting faithfully at his side. Louis graduated from McCallie School, Wheaton College, and The University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. He did his internship at the University of Texas Medical School Southwestern in Dallas and entered the US Air Force from 1967 to 69 and served in Vietnam. After the military, he returned to Dallas for residency in general surgery. Louis and Anne then served in Nigeria for seven years with SIM (formally Sudan Interior Mission). They then returned to Memphis in 1981 for Louis to do additional training in reconstructive surgery and spent one year on the UT medical faculty. Believing his calling to Africa not complete, Louis, Anne, and their children returned to Nigeria to serve another three years in Jos. Afterwards, they again returned to America, this time to Chattanooga for their childrens education and for further training in hand surgery. Dr. Cauley Hayes was his mentor during seven years practice with the Plastic and Hand Surgery Group. He then returned to serve with SIM, this time with a worldwide view, which resulted in the founding of the Plastic Surgery Group for Missionary and National Doctors. This was training for missionary and mainly African doctors whereby Dr. Carter took his knowledge and expertise to the locations where these doctors served to equip them to restore life, limb, and beauty by reconstructive surgery to those who were outcasts because of their deformity. Many of those were considered to have evil spirits. The Carters took equipment, books, surgical supplies, and teaching to remote mission hospitals. They remained in each place usually two to three months living and working with the doctors at their place of service. This ministry spanned two and a half decades from 1996 to 2020. Dr. Carter co-edited a book with Dr. Peter Thumb titled Principals of Reconstructive Surgery for Surgeons in Africa. Dr. Carter was honored by McCallie School with an alumnus award; by Wheaton College with a distinguished humanitarian award for an alumnus; by the American College of Surgeons with the Surgical Humanitarian Award; by Christian Medical and Dental Society as Educator of the Year, by Crichton College with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, and by the UT Medical School with membership in Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Awards were frequent and appreciated but Louis Carter looked forward to hearing the words from Jesus, Well done good and faithful servant. A memorial service celebrating the life of Dr. Carter will be at Woodland Park Baptist Church, 6735 Standifer Gap Road, on Saturday, Jan. 8, at 2 pm. The family will receive friends there from noon until 2 p.m. Arrangements are entrusted to Covenant Funeral & Crematory, Crox family owned and operated, www.CovenantFuneral.com. Attack on Titan Season 4B premieres in January, and it will bring the shonen anime to a close nearly a decade after the series first debuted. If the final episodes stay faithful to Hajime Isayamas manga, they could be met with a divisive response from audiences. Is there a chance Attack on Titan will change the mangas ending after all the backlash it received? [Warning: This article contains spoilers for the entirety of Attack on Titans manga.] How did the Attack on Titan manga end? Gabi and Falco in Attack on Titan | Crunchyroll RELATED: Attack on Titan OAD Episodes Are Heading to Crunchyroll and Funimation Ahead of Season 4B The final chapter of Attack on Titans manga was released in April 2021, leaving fans with a bittersweet ending to Hajime Isayamas popular series. Like in the anime, Eren Yeager becomes increasingly ruthless in his attempts to free humanity from the grip of the Titans. Not only does he turn on Paradis Islands military, but he winds up betraying Zeke. Despite agreeing to his brothers euthanization plan, he actually has his own ends in mind and theyre no less amoral, but they turn his sights outside the walls. Eren believes by eliminating everyone else in the world, hell keep his own people safe. He activates the Rumbling and successfully destroys much of the population outside of Paradis. Erens plan is a step too far for his friends and comrades, all of whom wind up teaming up with Reiner and the other Titan Warriors from Marley to stop him from finishing the Rumbling. This leads to an epic showdown before Mikasa is presented with a choice: kill the person she loves most in the world or stand by as he does the unthinkable. She chooses the first option. Its a heartbreaking conclusion to their story, but it brings about the end of the Titans. It also halts the war temporarily, though Isayamas epilogue suggests Marley seeks revenge somewhere down the line. Attack on Titan fans didnt love the mangas ending Attack on Titans ending villainizes and kills its main character, something that tends to create controversy regardless of the story youre looking at. Game of Thrones faced similar backlash with its series finale. In fact, Eren and Daenerys fans could probably find a thing or two in common. Of course, its not just killing Eren that bothered longtime manga readers. The cycle of violence carrying on makes his sacrifice feel like its in vain. Thats not to mention the epilogue chapter shows Mikasa moving on, a development those rooting for the pair werent exactly keen on. On Reddit, fans also pointed to the messiness of the ending many suggesting the conclusion felt rushed and left mixed messages. Some suggested it didnt fit with everything that came before. Whatever fans reasoning, its clear a good portion of them werent thrilled with the direction Attack on Titan went in. The anime has the chance to reshape the narrative heading into its final round of episodes. Will it? Could the anime change Hajime Isayamas ending? Given the fan reactions to Attack on Titans ending, one has to wonder whether the anime will stick with the events outlined in the manga. Thus far, the series has remained steadfastly faithful to Isayamas work. Its difficult to see it diverging now, especially after setting the stage for everything to come. With that in mind, it seems unlikely Attack on Titan will change any major plot points including Erens tragic demise. However, it could offer more insight into the aftermath of the mangas final battle. Theres also the chance it will exclude the controversial epilogue or rework it in some way. Hopefully, Attack on Titans anime will strike a balance between appeasing fans and honoring Isayamas vision in its final episodes. Of course, its hard to please everyone when it comes to such a popular series. Attack on Titan Season 4B debuts on Jan. 9, 2022. RELATED: The Best Anime of 2021: Attack on Titan, JoJos Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, & More Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook recently created individual Instagram accounts with BTS J-Hope even introducing ARMYs to some of his favorite stuffed animals. Heres what we know about the Outro: Ego rapper and some of his latest Instagram posts. BTS J-Hope created an Instagram account uarmyhope J-Hope of BTS during BTSs New Album BE (Deluxe Edition) Release Press Conference | The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images Hes your hope and youre his hope. Although all seven members of this K-pop group made individual Instagram accounts, J-Hope is the only BTS member with an ARMY-themed username. 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 for fans. Since its creation, J-Hope posted several pictures matching his polaroid theme. BTS J-Hope posted Instagram pictures in 2021, including one of Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon Since creating their individual Instagram accounts, the BTS members shared unique pictures and videos with fans. For V, that included a story of his dog Yeontan. RM posted pictures from his New York City Namjooning. After his trip to Hawaii, J-Hope shared some pictures from his home in South Korea. That included a set of pictures with the first being a plush Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon wearing a Christmas headband. The second picture featured this artist wearing black and green and holding his Toothless plush. J-Hope captioned this Instagram post, Holiday Toothless, earning over 9 million likes in the process. Have a drink with me on Christmas Eve, Jin commented on the post, according to a translation, also getting into the holiday spirit. J-Hope shared other pictures of the Christmas-y headband on other stuffed animals. One post he captioned holiday dog, according to a translation, and featured a white dog wearing the green accessory. The set of pictures earned over 7 million likes from ARMYs. What is BTS J-Hopes favorite movie? Of course, the BTS members mentioned a few of their favorite Disney and Pixar characters, even doing voiceovers during one Bangtan Bomb. J-Hope voiced a sloth from Disneys animated film Zootopia, while Suga appeared as Woody from the Disney-Pixar classic, Toy Story. According to Teen Vogue, J-Hope mentioned that one of his favorite movies is Jennifer Love Hewitt and Paul Nichollss 2004 fantasy rom-com If Only. The website reported, hes been saving the second season of the K-drama Kingdom, which recently premiered its second season on Netflix, for some future air travel. The BTS members also share their love for musicians. During a video interview with The Hollywood Reporter, J-Hope shared that he hearts Drake. J-Hopes Favorite Tracks Spotify playlist included Peaches by Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Up All Night by Khalid. RELATED: BTS J-Hope Says Working With the K-Pop Group Is Kind of an Ugly Duckling A new study ranked the British royals by intelligence, and Meghan Markle has topped the list. She came in above other family members, including Kate Middleton and Windsor matriarch Queen Elizabeth II. Heres more on that and where some other royals placed. (L to R): Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton watching a flypast on the royal balcony | Paul Grover WPA Pool/Getty Images Study names Meghan Markle most intelligent royal According to Express, the study from Oxford Royale Academy analyzed world university rankings and named Meghan as the most intelligent royal of all time. The study looked at institutions the royals attended and focused on several aspects of the schools, including academic reputation and staff-to-student ratio. Prince Harrys wife attended Northwestern University where she majored in theater and international relations. The private college was founded in 1851 and is located in Evanston, Illinois. It ranks No. 30 on the list of more than 1,350 institutions. The school also gets high marks in the U.S. News 2022 edition of Best Colleges in the U.S., where it ranks No. 9. Per Express, a spokesperson for Oxford Royale said: While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may have resigned from their roles as working royals, they have captured the interest and attention of the world, and Meghans desire to use her platform to raise awareness over serious world issues reflects her intelligence, analytical mind, and educational pedigree. Kate Middleton ranked just above Prince William on the list Kate Middleton and Prince William arrive at the Together at Christmas community carol service. | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images RELATED: What Prince William Said the Moment He Found Out Kate Middleton Was Single in College Meghans sister-in-law and brother-in-law both attended the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Kate studied art history while Prince William majored in art history as well before switching to geography. Their alma mater ranked 91 on the world list. The Duchess of Cambridge claims the second spot as the most intelligent royal. And William ranks just behind her for the third spot because Kate had higher grades. The Duke of Cambridges cousin Princess Eugenie comes in fourth. She attended Newcastle University, which is No. 134 on the university ranking list. Queen Elizabeth did not receive a formal education. Instead, educators tutored her at home. Harry didnt go to college either. After he graduated from boarding school, the Duke of Sussex went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The Duchess of Sussex was also the most Googled royal of 2021 Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Salute To Freedom Gala in NYC | Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Another list Meghan topped in 2021 was most Googled royal. Ahrefs.com collected the data for that. It shows the name Meghan Markle gets Googled about 1.1 million times in the U.K. alone every month. Meghans husband is the second most Googled royal, as Prince Harry gets searched around 579,000 times every month. But being the most searched royal isnt anything new for the former Suits actor. In 2020, data from Banc revealed that Meghan was the most Googled royal throughout the year. Yahoo U.K. noted she was the most searched royal in 2019, and that was the case in 2018 as well. RELATED: Meghan Markle Continues to Be Admired in the U.S. as She Becomes a Polarizing Figure in the U.K. The Disney+ docu-series The Beatles: Get Back has given fans an intimate look at the Beatles creative process. Hours of footage show Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr building the pieces of what would become classic songs. Hearing all of their conversations wasnt easy, director Peter Jackson said. L-R: Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison | Apple Corps Ltd. Jackson spoke at a Zoom press conference for The Beatles: Get Back on Nov. 16. He explained how he used new digital tools to uncover dialogue between band members that was previously buried under music and other noise. Peter Jackson developed a way to separate audio in The Beatles: Get Back footage Jackson founded Park Road Post Production in New Zealand. His team developed technology to pull apart the sound recorded for the 1969 documentary Let It Be. Even with all the raw footage shot in 1969, you never would have heard all of these conversations until The Beatles: Get Back. RELATED: The Beatles: Get Back Reminded Paul McCartney He Co-Wrote a John Lennon Solo Song The most depressing thing about this whole project at the beginning was the audio. It was like, Okay, well, its great, its fantastic, but God, I wish we could hear what theyre saying. So what we ultimately did, here in New Zealand at Park Road Post weve got these very clever people. Theyve developed an AI program, artificial intelligence, machine learning program. We could take this mono tape, we digitize it, put it into the computer, teach the computer what a guitar sounds like, teach the computer what a human voice sounds like, teach them what a drum sounds like. So, when the guys are playing and the drum and the guitars are drowning out the vocals and its all kind of weird, you know, say, Okay, just give us the guitars by themselves. Peter Jackson, The Beatles: Get Back press conference, 11/16/21 The Beatles: Get Back could isolate the band talking If they could isolate the guitars, they could isolate the band members talking. Thats where The Beatles: Get Backs groundbreaking audio comes from. So, you see Ringo drumming and you cant hear him, Jackson said. Then you say, Give us the vocals. And you literally just have the voices all by themselves. So, we developed this technology that allows us to de-mix, split the-all the audio components off these mono tracks. There was also audio only recording Jackson edited over 50 hours of footage for The Beatles: Get Back. He pored through even more sound that had no video to match. One of the things Id always wondered about over the last 40 years is what happened to all the unused footage from Let It Be? Jackson said. Michael Lindsay-Hogg shot a lot of stuff that didnt get used. I had no idea if it survived, I had no idea how much there was, and no books really talk about it. RELATED: The Beatles Paul McCartney Says John Lennons More Popular Than Jesus Comment Was Misunderstood Heres What He Really Meant Jackson first met with Apple Corps Ltd. about creating a Beatles virtual reality experience. When Jackson asked about the Let It Be material, it proved to be more than just filmed footage. They said, Yeah, yeah, theres about 60 hours of film and 130 hours of audio and weve got all that, Jackson said. I sort of arrived at this meeting to talk about VR, and I left with getting that [material]. I was in the right place at the right time. ABC remains one of The Jackson 5s most famous songs. During an interview, Michael Jacksons brother, Tito Jackson, revealed the members of the band were told the song might not perform well for a specific reason. Audiences in the United States and the United Kingdom had a strong reaction to ABC. The Jackson 5s Tito Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Michael Jackson, Jackie Jackson, and Jermaine Jackson | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images The Jackson 5s I Want You back sold millions of copies in 6 weeks In his book You Are Not Alone: Michael Through a Brothers Eyes, Jermaine Jackson discussed the early days of The Jackson 5. We just kept on working with new songs, building material for our debut album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, he recalled. Its prospects looked good because our single releases had gone through the roof. Jermaine noted I Want You Back and ABC became incredibly popular. I Want You Back went to No. 1 not just on the R&B charts but in the Billboard Hot 100, selling two million copies in six weeks in America, then catching fire in the U.K., the rest of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Israel. In February 1970, we followed up with ABC which also went No. 1, selling 2 million copies in three weeks. RELATED: Elvis Presleys Daughter Was in the Intimate Video for Michael Jacksons No. 1 Song You Are Not Alone The Jackson 5 were told ABC might not perform as well as I Want You Back because I Want You Back was the bands 1st single During an interview with The Guardian, Tito said he was nervous when The Jackson 5 released ABC. ABC was more nail-biting [than I Want You Back], he said. Wed been told the second hit is harder than the first, so to watch that one go up the charts was even more amazing. Then it happened with The Love You Save, too. We didnt think wed do it a fourth time with Ill Be There.' Marlon Jackson said the members of The Jackson 5 were shocked by their success. RELATED: George Harrison Surprised Michael Jackson When He Told Him Who Wrote This Beatles Song The way the world reacted to ABC ABC became a massive international hit. The song lasted 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, staying at the top of the chart for two weeks. ABC appeared on the album ABC. ABC reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and lasted on the chart for 50 weeks. ABC was prominent in the U.K. as well. According to The Official Charts Company, ABC peaked at No. 8 there and stayed on the chart for 16 weeks. Meanwhile, the album ABC hit No. 22, lasting on the chart for six weeks. ABC had an impact beyond its time on the charts. ABC appeared in trailers for the Eddie Murphy comedy Daddy Day Care. The song was No. 22 on Rolling Stone Australias list of the greatest boy band songs of all time. The members of The Jackson 5 were told ABC might not succeed and yet it connects with fans over 50 years after its release. RELATED: Michael Jackson: Madonnas Songwriter Said 1 of Her Songs Is Just Billie Jean in a Different Key By Olivia Harnack Special to the Free Press Josh Painter uses a snowblower to clear sidewalks near the intersection of West Second and K streets on Tuesday, Dec. 28. CHENEY The National Weather Service is warning residents and travelers that an Arctic air mass will continue to bring frigid temperatures to the regional through the first half of the New Year's weekend. "Dangerously cold temperatures will impact Eastern Washington and North Idaho through the remainder of the workweek," the agency reported in a special weather statement released Tuesday. "High temperatures will only warm into the single digits and teens." Overnight lows are expected dip into the single digits, and possibly below 0 degrees, the statement said. In the Cheney area, the we... As we wrap up 2021, here is what readers liked most during our first year at The Better Samaritan. 10. The COVID Debate Amongst Churches Kent Annan got frustrated when it came to sign up for his COVID booster shot. Heres the major mistake he sees the church making. 9. Thinking Biblically about Refugees and Immigrants Matthew Soerens, widely respected expert with World Relief, unpacks the situation in the United States. As over 50,000 evacuated Afghan refugees are expected to arrive in the coming months, what are the legalities and processes involved in helping people settle in America? More importantly, how can the church respond and support resettlement efforts? 8. To Befriend a Refugee Chong Bee Vang, who arrived in the U.S. as a small child, experienced a spectrum of help from church volunteersmost well intentioned, but not all of which was actually helpful. A must read for anyone with a heart for this years influx of Afghan refugees. 7. Viral News Is Not Always Valid Early 2021 saw tremendous amounts of misinformation circulating in the news, including about human trafficking. One expert explains how to discern whats worth sharing and acting on. 6. The Ripple Effects of COVID-19 on Pastors Church leadership consultant Christa Cordova puts her finger on a growing trend: pastoral burnout. Subscribe to email digests from the Better Samaritan. 5. A Better Solution to the Haitian Orphan Crisis Eight in ten orphaned children in Haiti have a living parent, but are often orphaned due to finances. Tara and Troy Livesay, executive directors of Heartline Ministries in Haiti, question whether nonprofits have responded well to the poverty in the country. 4. A Letter to an Anti-vaxxer An ongoing harmful trend by the evangelical church in response to Covid is called upon by misinformed leaders. Kent Annan and Jamie Aten respond to one of these claims and calling the Church to do better. 3. Calling Out the American Bible Kent Annan and Jamie Aten agree that it is essential to know the content of our nations founding documents and the Word of God, but to compile them together is promoting a Christian nationalism and promoting division in the Church. 2. Following Jesus over Our Rights Taylor Schuman survived a school shooting, wrote a book about it, and now stands as an example and inspiration for those receiving online hate. In this reflection, she challenges readers to think through who we are serving when holding to our rights and if we leave space to care for our neighbors. 1. Will the Church Lament? Our most popular post of the year. One in ten visitors to the Better Samaritan came for this post, underscoring the desire to listen. In the wake of the March 16 shooting that took six lives in Atlanta spas, we asked 8 leaders to share what churches should know and do in response to ongoing Asian American violence. Platform behind 'The Chosen' releases season 2 of clean sitcom 'Freelancers': 'People really want to laugh' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment At a time when clean sitcoms are hard to come by, the streaming platform behind The Chosen has released the second season of the popular, family-friendly crowdfunded series Freelancers. The online comedy show on Angel App, the new platform from Angel Studios, follows five best friends trying to make it as filmmakers and start a production company with no budget, one terrible job at a time. On the heels of the success of season one of the Freelancers which received over 7 million organic views the cast is back for a second season. In season two, we find our freelancers evicted from their house but not from friendship, notes the press release. After finding a new place ... they make videos for teens, daycare centers, local barbers, and even a magically enchanted theme park. They work hard together as best friends to make a dollar. Hopefully. Natalie Madsen, the executive producer of "Freelancers," told The Christian Post that with season two of the show, viewers can expect more of what we delivered in season one but leveled up. Crazy and lovable characters, terrible jobs, and lots of love. And of course, all family-friendly. The series features alums from BYUtvs viral sketch-comedy show, Studio C, who had gone on to create JK! Studios and is driven largely by women. I think we are an excellent show that happens to be run by women, Madsen said. Women, of course, have a unique view of the world, so that informs our comedy. We hope to be thought of as just funny leaders, regardless of our gender. I think female comedians are getting more and more recognition, which makes me happy. But women have always been funny and always been leaders. Exciting that we get the chance to do that now. Angel Studios the Provo-based group behind The Chosen and "Dry Bar Comedy" launched the Angel app to help creators crowdfund and distribute content that amplifies positive, family-friendly content. JK! Studios, which focuses on making family-friendly comedy, created season one of the show with a tiny production budget and no marketing money, yet it still got viewed millions of times, they said. But for season two, creators partnered with Angel Studios to crowdfund. The studios other projects have garnered billions of views worldwide. Dallas Jenkins, the creator of "The Chosen," previously explained to CP that though operating outside of traditional Hollywood structures has its challenges particularly regarding distribution and funding doing so allows creators to produce family-friendly content without backlash. We cant be canceled. Were owned by nobody. We dont have to alter our message whatsoever to please anybody. We play by our own rules, he said. And the support for Freelancers, Madsen said, is overwhelming; creators raised more than $1 million in funding for season two. It shows me that people really want to laugh, and laugh together. There is a need in the world and we are so lucky that we can fill it, she said, later adding: We have been so happy with how its been received and hope to grow the audience even more in 2022. Season two debuted in November, with new episodes released each week until mid-December. Already, Madsen said the response from viewers has been amazing and JK! Studios hopes to do two more seasons and possibly a "Freelancers" movie, in the future. Show creators, she added, are motivated by the idea that they can provide some levity for viewers at the end of what has been a particularly difficult year for many. The stories we hear from fans about watching it together during hard times, Madsen shared. Kids saying they watch us during chemo treatments, families watching it together after a parent has a lost a job. Helping people laugh when its hard to laugh. Thats what its all about. Freelancers season one and two are both available on Angel. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Law and order, once lost, is not easy to restore. Thats one of the clear lessons of 2021. Numerous American cities were devastated by violent crime, which rose sharply after protests stemming from the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. In 2020, the United States nationally saw its highest-ever increase in homicides by many measures. Official FBI crime statistics indicate that 2020 saw the largest increase in homicides since the bureau began tracking those numbers in the 1960s. The Uniform Crime Report will stand as the official word on an unusually grim year, detailing a rise in murder of around 29 percent,The New York Times reported of the 2020 surge. The previous largest one-year change was a 12.7 percent increase in 1968. The national rate murders per 100,000 still remains about one-third below the rate in the early 1990s. The trend continued this year. In some cases, it might have become even worse. We are now getting close to overall homicide records in many cities. In early December, ABC News reported that a dozen U.S. cities had set homicide records in 2021: Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; St Paul, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona; Toledo, Ohio; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Austin, Texas; Rochester, New York; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Portland is perhaps the perverse poster child of the group. The citys leaders decided to defund the police and embraced strongly anti-police rhetoric after the Floyd protests of 2020. When the protests turned violent, city leaders wilted and made excuses for why things had gotten out of control. Rioters smashed statues, destroyed businesses, besieged courthouses, and were effectively ceded control of the streets. More than a year later, even Portlands left-wing mayor who marched with Black Lives Matter before radicals turned on him has quietly decided to restore funding to the police and rebuild violent-crime-focused police units. San Francisco Mayor London Breed had an even more dramatic reversal. A year after leading the charge to defund the police, shes changing her tune. Its time that the reign of criminals who are destroying our city it is time for it to come to an end, Breed said in a fiery speech in early December, adding: And it comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement, more aggressive with the changes in our policies, and less tolerant of all the bulls that has destroyed our city. Its nice to see some common sense restored, but how much damage has been done by what has been one of the most obviously terrible policy movements in recent history? It shouldnt have taken citizens leaving their car trunks open to avoid vehicle break-ins and neighborhoods hiring expensive private security to shake politicians out of their anti-police lunacy. Countless police officers around the country have retired or simply left their departments. The demoralization of police in deep-blue cities has been obvious. Its part of what Paul Cassell, a law professor at the University of Utah, has called the Minneapolis Effect. Proactive policing was reduced after anti-police protests, and violent crime exploded. Arrests went down, and crime went up. Nobodys getting arrested anymore, said Robert Boyce, a retired chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, according to ABC News. He added: People are getting picked up for gun possession, and theyre just let out, over and over again. The numbers certainly support that. Making the crime situation far worse, especially in places such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, is the huge number of left-wing district attorneys, who have decided to stop prosecuting many crimes and criminals. Police officers dont have much of an incentive to make arrests when they know criminals will be put right back out on the streets. The environment putatively progressive politicians and policies have created is a far cry from utopia. In fact, its made many of Americas wealthiest and most prominent cities look like failed banana republics, where wealthy, gated communities are surrounded by swaths of poverty, violence, and lawlessness, and where reaching the middle class is no more than a hopeless dream for most. The defund the police movement championed in the name of Black Lives Matter has ended up taking countless black lives and turned many cities into places where only the wealthy and powerful can thrive. It has reversed the decades-long trend of decreasing crime and has contributed to the mass exodus from cities. History, unfortunately, repeated itself. The violent crime that spun out of control in the 1970s and continued for decades has returned. Theres simply no avoiding that reality now. We must now hope that in 2022 more leaders will wake up, reverse course, back the blue, and show theyre serious about snuffing out the violence that now haunts our streets. Originally published at The Daily Signal. Samaritans Purse to serve Christmas Eve lunch to thousands of tornado survivors Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Franklin Graham and the Evangelical disaster relief organization Samaritans Purse will serve free lunch Friday to as many as 4,000 people impacted by a deadly tornado that struck Mayfield, Kentucky, earlier this month. Known for aiding those impacted by the worlds worst humanitarian disasters and global conflicts, Samaritans Purse launched relief operations earlier this month in the wake of deadly tornadoes impacting six states. More than 1,600 volunteers have responded and helped over 350 families across Kentucky and Arkansas. At the Dec. 24 charity feast, the organization plans to help even more families by giving away gifts and serving a free Christmas meal consisting of traditional pies, roast turkey and baked ham. The event will run from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Graves County High School in Mayfield. Across Kentucky, as many as 76 people died as four tornadoes struck the state on Dec. 10. In Mayfield, much of which was destroyed, officials say at least 22 people died, including nine when a candle factory collapsed and trapped dozens. Graham, Samaritan Purses president and son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, who is also an evangelist, will share a message of encouragement and will be joined by bluegrass and country musician Ricky Skaggs, who will play Christmas music. Everyone is welcome to come. We want the people of this hard-hit region to know that we love them and God loves them, Graham said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. So many people are hurting and discouraged. They need hope, and Christmas is about the hope that is offered to all of us through the birth of Gods Son Jesus Christ. Samaritans Purse sent dozens of staff and three cooking trailers to Mayfield to prepare the free hot meals on Christmas Eve. Families literally lost everything just before Christmas, and knowing that Christmas would be different, we knew that we couldnt replace things or fix it right away, but we knew we could love them in the midst of their pain, Kendra Bandy, Samaritans Purse's podcast production manager, said in a podcast on the organizations website. So we wanted to bring some joy to this community. Bandy said that with less than a weeks notice, the food services team at Samaritans Purse started planning the entire Christmas lunch. Weve never done anything like this, she said. We dont want just to provide physical relief, we want to truly love on and minister to people in their time of need, Bandy continued. And weve never done anything quite like this. And so this is crazy and nearly an impossible feat. We are trusting God. A podcast team member named Melissa and Andy Jeter, the charitys director of food services, shared their thoughts on the Christmas Eve lunch. We work for someone who is an incredible visionary. Franklin Graham, he surprises us with these plans sometimes, Melissa shared. But, [Graham] just has a vision for helping these people and he knew that they would be hurting, that people would not have the same kind of Christmas that they normally would and so it was just something that the Lord put on his heart to do. We talked to Franklin, and we didnt know at that time what the number would be, but very soon, he made that evident that he was thinking big, which we like, but now weve got the fun part of figuring out the logistics of that and working through details and getting food procured, Jeter added. Melissa said the devastation caused by the tornado in Mayfield has been catastrophic. Its easy to look at pictures when theyre on social media [to see] what the devastation looks like, but for my own eyes to see it it took it to a whole different level, Jeter said. And to just see people just kind of walking around almost in a daze still, and you know its a week after it took place and you can see the confusion on their face, like what do we do next? Its neat to be a part of something that is going to minister to them directly of course their stomachs but also speakers and music and everything that we can love on these people, he continued. Staffers quit Venue Church after confronting pastor with allegations of affair, misconduct Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment At least eight employees of Venue Church, a fast-growing congregation based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have reportedly quit their jobs over alleged misconduct by Pastor Tavner Smith, who is allegedly shown kissing a woman who is not his wife in a video that recently surfaced online. Last Friday afternoon, staff and volunteers confronted Smith about the video recorded in North Georgia, The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported. Two former employees and four volunteers or members previously connected to the church told the newspaper that the eight employees quit after confronting the pastor about a rumored affair with a church employee. Venue Church did not immediately respond when contacted by The Christian Post on Thursday morning. But a spokesperson for the church told the Times Free Press that no comment will be made until after the severance process for staff was finalized. Court records show that the pastor and his wife, Danielle Smith, who have three kids, began divorce proceedings in May, according to The Times Free Press. Before the report, several individuals who said they are former members or employees of the church publicly made significant allegations of pastoral abuse and misconduct against Smith and his leadership team, including what they suggest is a pattern of marital infidelity. Former Venue Church employee Colt Chandler Helton wrote in a Facebook post Sunday that he has worked for over 12 churches throughout his career from North Point to Hillsong and was hired by Venue Church in its early days to set up its systems and structures and model anything an adult would experience on a Sunday morning. In hind sight I taught the Iranians how to make nuclear weapons, Helton, who worked for the church for nearly a year beginning in 2014, contends. I gave a man who had very very bad intentions the ability to make a mega church. He shared a lengthy list of reasons why he left Venue Church, including what he claims to be financial abuse and witnessing domestic abuse in an atmosphere where there are zero elders or accountability. The lead pastor had 100 percent absolutely control and his decision was Devine (sic), Helton wrote. Money issue - we were always told there was no money. But the lead pastor always had a new car every few weeks. And the shopping trips would blow your mind. From exotic dogs to shoe and jersey collections, Helton alleged. He recalled once watching the churchs worship pastor slam his wife against a wall in the green room prior to going on stage. Helton insisted that the pastor would talk to her like a dog and scream submit to me, women. I witnessed on many times if someone saw or said anything about the money, accountability or abuse they were ran off and everyone at the church was made to triangulate against the said person and attack them by calling their jobs friends etc. making false statements in person and or on social media, Helton alleges. Helton also suggested that Smith may have been intimately involved with females in the church other than his wife. I witnessed on many times the lead pastor have alone time with females on the worship team and congregation, he wrote, while pointing out how the churchs theology devolved into something resembling the prosperity gospel. When I went to report the physical abuse, I was told I was not allowed to speak to the lead pastor unless I was spoken to. Because he was so close to God and his closeness couldnt be put in jeopardy by speaking to commoners, Helton claimed. According to cached data from Smiths website, the Smiths met in 2003 while attending North Greenville University in South Carolina. They got married the following year. At the time, Smith worked as a student pastor at a church in Greenville, South Carolina. He continued working around the country until 2008 when he became the executive student pastor at the Ron and Hope Carpenter-led Redemption Church in Greenville. We had no intention of being anything but members, Pastor Tavner recalled. Four years later, in 2012, the Smiths moved to Chattanooga and started Venue Church, one of the fastest-growing churches across the country. I never wanted to be a pastor of a church, Pastor Smith said on his website. This was not my plan. Actually, right in the middle of what I thought was our perfect plan God spoke. He called me to start a church here in Chattanooga He said Shift. Danielle and I were scared to change our plan, but God continued to solidify in us that this Shift to live here in Chattanooga and start a move of God through Venue Church was what He has called us to do. Helton contends that there could not be a more dangerous man and or organization than Pastor Tavner and Venue Church. He currently has cheated on his wife with his assistant and lead worship leader, he claims. His staff have almost all quit and he refused to step down. This is in part due to no elder system or any leadership to force him out. This isnt how the church is or should run. Ex-gay married father of 3 shares his covenant with God, how he overcomes temptation Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment New Jersey father of three Brian Wheelock will never forget the day he wrote his covenant with God. After 10 years of living a gay lifestyle, Wheelock put pen to paper, expressing his vow to put his love for Jesus before his earthly desires and temptations. After he wrote down his promise nearly two decades ago to honor God and abstain from engaging in same-sex relations, Wheelock said he has not since acted on his same-sex attractions. He has been married to his wife for nearly 17 years and has three daughters. Wheelock has shared his covenant for others to use as an example as they seek to break free from whatever addictions and habits keep them from God. In the most recent episode of the Politely Rude Edifi podcast spearheaded by Abby Johnson, Wheelock was joined by his wife, Pam, to share his faith journey and how his written promise to God has helped him refrain from acting on his same-sex attractions. My wife Pam and I have been married 16.5 years, but this is not the path Ive been on for a lot of my life, he said in the podcast that aired just before Christmas weekend. I actually lived a homosexual lifestyle for many years and was pursuing that for at least 10 years of my life. Wheelock said the gay lifestyle wasnt just a little bit of a phase for him but rather who he thought he was and where my life was going to go. I couldnt get enough Wheelock grew up in a loving home in New Jersey, and his parents would occasionally attend church with him. He said he started to participate in sleepovers with other boys from a young age. At the sleepovers, he experienced his first same-sex encounters, as the boys around ages 12, 13 and 14 would explore and experiment on one another. Soon enough, the playdates that involved staying the night at other boys houses and engaging in same-sex encounters became a typical practice for Wheelock in his early teenage years. When Wheelock entered high school, the practice continued. It began to be kind of like a way of life. It was like, Oh wow, this is happening with a lot of people, and it fulfilled a void. And also at the ages of experimentation, ... you know theres a lot of hormones going on. And I think it really began to be a way of life for me, he detailed. And it started to become a way that I just felt like this is who I am, this is what feels natural to me. I kind of kept it quiet. I didnt really tell my family about that. I was embarrassed. And it was something that I would kind of pursue on the side, but really didnt tell anybody. In college, Wheelock said he did not have a strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ even though he did believe in God. Because he lived on campus away from his family, he said he fully embraced his gay identity and no longer had to worry about what his family or high school friends thought. I went away to college [and] it really opened up this door, and I began to meet other people that also identified as gay or homosexual, and it was this crazy thing of all of a sudden. They were kind of like supporting you and there for you and going out together, and I just suddenly felt free in a way to be who I thought I was, Wheelock said. And it was a really eye-opening experience for me. The gay community is really good at having each others backs and really supporting each other, and really, its better than some of the Christian communities. Ill be honest. And we have to all speak to that sometimes. He said getting embraced by the gay community was a really welcome feeling. While in College, Wheelock continued to pursue men in romantic relationships and eventually dated his first boyfriend. As he continued to date, he found himself wondering if this was how he wanted to move forward with his life because he had a desire ingrained in him to have children of his own one day. Every once in a while, during his college career, Wheelock said he would date females, but 90% of the time, he would date men because he was more physically attracted to them. Of course, I felt like it would be easier in my life if I could just date a girl and go this path, but no, it was like I felt like this must be who I am, this must be the way God made me because these feelings are really real and really strong and I pursued that. Following college graduation, Wheelock moved to England and Ireland to participate in a work abroad program for a year. He said he dove into that life to the point he was going out to bars and going home with different people each night. The experience he said was causing this depression. Like I couldnt get enough, Wheelock said, adding that he was also addicted to pornography. It was creating this insatiable desire, and I started worrying about getting sick, some kind of infectious disease, he added. I would actually go get tested for HIV and I [would] have to wait three days for my results. Now, the three days was when I was most like a Christian. Those three days was when I suddenly believed in God again. Ready to just listen to OK, God Im going to be good. Im not going to do that again. And then Id get the negative test result. And guess what? I was back out that night hooking up with somebody else. Our flesh is so ridiculous, you know. A vision from God Wheelock said he felt something inside of him lingering. He believed it was God saying: Brian, this is not the path I have for you. One day, when he was in Ireland, Wheelock said he had a vision in which God showed him that he would be married to a woman. In the vision, he said he could see that he would have at least three children. He said the vision described his wife and daughters specifically. God took that and captured my heart and showed me Brian, this is what I have for you. This is the vision Im giving you. This is the future. This is the path I have set before you. Im the right path. The life youre living is not the best for you. And God began to open my eyes suddenly to a bigger picture, Wheelock recounted. When he arrived back home in New Jersey, Wheelock remembers feeling a desire to attend church. After searching in the phone books for churches, he found a nondenominational church to attend. After attending the church for a while, he participated in an altar call public profession, declaring and accepting Jesus as His Lord and Savior. It was amazing, and I began to really follow Him, read the Bible on my own and all this stuff, Wheelock said. After some time, Wheelock returned to London to audition for an acting part, falling back into a pattern of hooking up with men. I was around all these celebrities and pop stars. I ended up even falling back and hooking up with them. And yet now, it was so empty. Now, I had the Spirit of God inside me that I had let into my life. And I couldnt enjoy it. I was like, Oh, this is terrible, he said. Finding a new dedication After two months in London, Wheelock returned to New Jersey because he said by the grace of God he did not get the part for which he auditioned. He returned to his church and rededicated his life to Jesus. It was January of 2000. That was the last time that I would have been with a guy or slept with somebody. And God show[ed] me that was not the path that He had for me, Wheelock said. And following Christ began a journey inside of me. And it was an amazing, beautiful thing. He said it was an exciting experience as he attended church and its programs for people in their 20s and 30s. As a result of the programs, he met God-centered male friends from the church, something he said he had always desired. I think that part of me going down the path of homosexuality was that I didnt have a lot of good solid male figures in my life that were solid in keeping me on the right path, he said. Even after Wheelock accepted Christ again, his same-sex attractions remained even though he dated females. I even dated a girl for a little bit ... but there was a problem. The problem was I still had these homosexual feelings and desires, Wheelock detailed. And even though I was following Christ, these feelings were strong. And they were less because I wasnt pursuing it. But, I really felt like: God, if Im going to be serious about following you Jesus I need to leave these feelings behind. Like what do I need to do? On Jan. 14, 2003, Wheelock said God led him to write out a covenant of purity, giving him something specific to pray over every day, twice a day. The prayers ask God to take away his same-sex feelings and desires and replace them with thoughts and wishes for God. It was not a covenant to become straight. That wasnt the point of it. It was a covenant to follow Christ wholeheartedly, to die to myself of all the desires that I had that were not godly whatever they were, including and specifically this, he said, referring to his same-sex attractions and thoughts. A covenant with God: Covenant of Purity by Brian Wheelock: On this the 14th day of the month of January in the year of our Lord 2003. Here I confirm a covenant between I Brian Wheelock and the Lord Jesus Christ. From this moment forward I will not entertain evil thoughts any longer and promise to obey the commandments the Lord has given me. For evil thoughts lead to temptation, temptation to sin and sin to death. I herby affirm that I will not masterbate, or engage in self-purity nor will I consider seeing homosexual partners or friends or engage in homosexual activities. I will not engage in any acts that can cause these feelings to arise and I promise to seek the Lord in any and all these tempting situations. I promise to get rid of (all) stumbling blocks and I will do the following when and if a temptation comes my way. 1) Focus on the Lord and what He has done 2) Take two deep breaths 3) Pray and cry out to God for strength 4) Read some verses in Scripture 5) Take communion with the Lord (John 6:25-59) 6) Pray for obedience 7) Leave the room [or] situation and rejoice 8) Run to the Lord 9) Confess to your friends and develop an accountability partner 10) Pray to be a light and to spread the Word of God to the ends of the earth. I hereby promise to adhere to this covenant that I Brian Weelock will no longer give into physical temptation and sin and hereby dedicate my mind, body and soul to the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord strengthen and keep me all the days of my life. In Jesus Name I commit these and all things. Signed with Love, Brian Weelock Impact of the written promise I literally wrote out a few steps to do when I knew the temptation was going to come, and I had like a battle plan, like a plan for when I was tempted. I knew that would help me, Wheelock said, referring to his written covenant. Occasionally, Wheelock said when he shares his covenant with other people who have same-sex attractions, they will tell him that they prayed over the covenant, but their same-sex attractions remained the same. Wheelock advises those struggling with their own desires and addictions, whatever they may be, to keep praying and die to self. Try to develop a plan and figure out a way to really make this serious about whatever the thing is, he said. It doesnt have to be homosexuality or whatever. Because I died to myself. I crucified the flesh every single stinking day. Wheelock said he still experiences same-sex thoughts and desires at times but doesnt act on them. He also confesses those desires to his wife and accountability partners. I was so serious about this. Talk about taking away the fuel source. So you have this raging fire, and every time that I looked at pornography, every time that I lusted after men, I was pouring gasoline on that fire, Wheelock described. All of a sudden, I was cutting off the fuel source. And taking away all of the stuff that was feeding it. Now, maybe its just this little pilot light that I dont want to pour gas on. But I took away all the fuel sources, so it became like almost a nonexistent part of my life. Today, Wheelock is a Christian speaker who has spoken at churches and various events, including the Freedom March in Washington, D.C. in May 2019. The Wheelocks also host a podcast called "The Pam & Brian Show." Harry Reid: 4 things to know about the late Senate majority leader Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Former United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has died at the age of 82, making him the latest of several established political figures to pass away this year. Reid, who represented the state of Nevada in the Senate for three decades, died Tuesday after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Reid served as Senate majority leader from 2007 to 2015. Additionally, he served as the Senate minority leader from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2015 to 2017. Reid opted not to seek a sixth term in office in 2016 and was replaced by fellow Democrat Catherine Cortez-Masto. While Reid was beloved by progressives and criticized by conservatives in his later years, politicians on both sides of the aisle issued statements following the news of Reids death Tuesday. President Joe Biden, who served alongside Reid in the Senate for more than two decades, released a statement Tuesday praising Reid for getting things done for the good of the country. Bidens reflection on Reids career as Senate majority leader specifically focused on actions he took during the Obama-Biden administration: Harry helped pass the Recovery Act to prevent another Great Depression. He helped rescue the American auto industry. He helped pass the Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, ended Dont Ask, Dont Tell, and ratified the New Start Treaty, Biden added. In a presidential proclamation Wednesday, Biden ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories in addition to embassies and military outposts abroad. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who served in that role during Reids eight years as Senate majority leader and replaced Reid as majority leader when Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015, also mourned the loss of a dedicated public servant and truly one-of-a-kind U.S. Senator in a statement. While he noted that the nature of Harrys and my jobs brought us into frequent and sometimes intense conflict over politics and policy, McConnell explained that I never doubted that Harry was doing what he earnestly, deeply felt was right for Nevada and our country. When Harry retired from the Senate, we both celebrated the fact that our many differences had never really gotten personal. Harrys and my paths in the Senate were roughly parallel. We seemed to reach each institutional milestone within just a few years of each other. I truly appreciated the sincere and cordial relationship we shared behind the scenes when passions cooled. Reid is one of several notable politicians to have died in 2021, along with former Sens. Bob Dole, R-Kan., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Here are four things to know about the late Senate leader. 1 2 3 4 5 Next Is it 'too late' for America to be spared God's judgment? John MacArthur gives warning Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment California megachurch Pastor John MacArthur spoke about the possibility that the United States is already under judgment for its acceptance of progressive sexual ethics, among other things, during his Palm Sunday sermon. MacArthur preached a sermon at Grace Community Church of Sun Valley titled Chosen in Him, mainly focused on Mark 12 and the passage commonly known as the Parable of the Vineyard Owner. The parable speaks of a vineyard owner who allowed tenants to oversee his vineyard, only to have them take control of it and kill everyone the owner sent to collect on what they grew. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Havent you read this passage of Scripture: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes? concluded the parable, as rendered by the New International Version. MacArthur said in his sermon that the parable was one of judgment, saying that with this parable, Jesus pledges the destruction of Jerusalem and the nation. Vengeance will come and it must come and it did, said MacArthur, referring to the sacking of Jerusalem by the Roman Empire in AD 70, or about 40 years after Jesus was crucified. The temple was never rebuilt, the priesthood was never recovered. No sacrifices, no ceremonies, no Sadducees, no Pharisees, no priests, no chief priests to this day. The whole system ended. Throughout the sermon, MacArthur spoke about the times in the Bible when different figures, including the Prophet Isaiah of the Old Testament and the Apostle Paul of the New Testament, spoke about it being too late for some to be saved. Go tell them, preached MacArthur, paraphrasing Gods call to Isaiah in Isaiah Chapter 6, its too late. You wouldnt listen, you wouldnt see, you wouldnt believe, and now you cant. Tell them it is too late. Judgment is already in motion. Near the end of his sermon, MacArthur addressed how he believed the passages about the parable and the notion of being too late to be saved applied to the modern church. One lesson he felt was important was that it can be for a generation of people too late. Too late for eighth century [BC] Israel, too late for first century [AD] Israel, but it can be too late for every nation. How do you know when a nation passes the point where salvation is possible for a people? asked MacArthur, who answered by citing Romans 1. When you see a nation deep in sexual sin, pervasively affirming of homosexuality, and the insanity of a reprobate mind, where they make laws to criminalize righteousness and to legalize gross evil, you know that nations under judgment, said MacArthur. MacArthur went on to state that our message to this nation is that its too late for the nation, were under judgment, but added that its not too late for the elect. Whats our message to this nation? Youre under judgment; its too late. Judgment has been unleashed. You can hear, but not understand. You can see, but not perceive, he said. But God has His people. So we warn, because we dont know who those people are and we also offer the grace of the Gospel. Thats our calling. MacArthurs recent sermon echoed past comments by the controversial pastor and prolific author. For example, in 2011 at the Resolved Conference in Palm Springs, California, MacArthur said that the United States was a nation in crisis in divine judgment. I look at America people say, 'What is wrong with this country?' That is whats wrong with this country. Right there. They have rejected the Word, the law of the Lord, the Holy One Himself, said MacArthur at the time. As somebody said a few years ago, if God doesnt destroy America pretty soon, Hes going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. John MacArthur urges pastors to preach on sexual morality to protest conversion therapy ban Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Pastor and theologian John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Los Angeles is calling on pastors to preach about the biblical view of sexual morality on Jan. 16 in opposition to a Canadian law banning therapy for unwanted sexual attractions and gender confusion what is often derisively referred to as conversion therapy set to take effect next month. MacArthur, known for his syndicated broadcast program Grace to You, published an open letter on the Grace Community Church website Tuesday calling on ministers of the Gospel to join him on the third Sunday of the new year in preaching about a biblical view of sexual morality. MacArthur stated that he received a letter from Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Edmonton, Alberta, a graduate of the MacArthur-led The Masters Seminary who made headlines when he was imprisoned for hosting in-person services in defiance of government lockdown orders. Coates alleged that Bill C-4, which passed by the Canadian House and Senate earlier this month, directly comes against parents and counselors who would seek to offer biblical counsel with respect to sexual immorality and gender. The law amends the criminal code to make illegal so-called conversion therapy, removing a child from Canada to undergo conversion therapy, advertising or promoting conversion therapy and receiving a material benefit for providing conversion therapy. Specifically, the law slated to go into effect on Jan. 8 describes the belief that heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions as a myth. Critics describe conversion therapy as counseling or efforts to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity through religious-based counseling or more controversial treatments like electric shock therapy. However, some counselors and Christian ministries have warned that their counseling for people experiencing unwanted same-sex attraction is misunderstood and that conversion therapy is a politically charged term designed to mislead the public about the work they do. Critics of such bills contend that the propagation of the narrative of conversion therapy being similar to electric shock therapy has become a straw man to promote one-sided and biased counseling methods, considering those types of treatments are already considered in the medical world to be barbaric and unethical. C-4s opponents claim that the language is too broad and could essentially ban religious leaders from preaching the teachings on sexual ethics and marriage found in the Bible or counseling a person with unwanted attractions or saying that homosexuality is sinful. Andrew DeBartolo, the teaching elder at Encounter Church in Kingston, Ontario, told MacArthur in a letter that the belief in Gods design for marriage and sexuality will now be seen as a myth beginning on Jan. 8. Since this law takes effect on January 8, 2022, faithful Canadian pastors are going to preach on the issue, calling for a biblical understanding of sexual sin, the eternal judgment that falls on the unrepentant and gospel-rejecting sinners, and the grace of God in the gospel which offers forgiveness to those who repent and believe in Christ, MacArthur wrote. In 1 Corinthians 6:911, Paul clearly articulates why we must speak the truth. Our calling as gospel ministers is to preach the truth, confront sin, and call all men to repentance and obedience to the gospelthe good news that achieves soul conversion and saves sinners from eternal wrath, he added. Several states in the U.S. have passed bans on conversion therapy, including MacArthurs home state of California. MacArthur claims the California government sought to prohibit any correction of an unbiblical view of sexual identity. A Christian therapist filed a lawsuit earlier this year in Washington state, alleging that the states 2018 ban on conversion therapy was a political attempt to silence dissent and impose its own new orthodoxy concerning sexual morality. However, his claim was rejected by a federal judge in September. In 2019, a federal judge dismissed an ex-gay psychotherapists lawsuit against Marylands ban on mental health professionals providing conversion therapy. As the United Kingdom Parliament has renewed efforts to pass a conversion therapy ban, concern was raised by the Evangelical Alliance that clergy might potentially face criminal prosecution. However, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured religious leaders that pastors wouldnt be criminally charged for counseling people with unwanted same-sex attraction. The Chosen debuts in France on major TV network, on mission to reach billion people worldwide Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment It's been three years since the series "The Chosen" first premiered and it's been watched over 334 million times worldwide, including more recently in France, where it's now being shown on one of the country's top TV networks. Actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the series, told CBN News during an interview in Paris that the experience of playing Him has made me want to be more like Him. When asked by CBN if he ever pinches himself, realizing the magnitude of the role that he has played as Jesus and how well the show has done, Roumie responded that he strives to remain humble amid the show's massive viewership. "I don't know if I pinch myself. I'm more bow my head to the ground because I never feel that I'm worthy of the things that are happening as a result," he said. Roumie also described what it's like to be part of a show that's working to help fulfill the Great Commission by spreading the Gospel worldwide in multiple languages, leading to a revival. I think its already happening, and I think were an additional element of that story. Im just honored to be a part of it, he added. Roumie and cast members recently joined 500 Parisians to watch a screening of "The Chosen" at a Paris movie theater. For many in attendance, it was their first time watching the series, CBN reported. "The intimacy between the disciples and Jesus, I like that very much," one female viewer said. Another woman who screened the film added: "It was different from other films about Jesus. It was just fantastic, I can say." As the first-ever multi-season show about the life of Jesus, The Chosen, is available to watch on its free app and is now also being shown on Canal+ in France. "To be on a major network is a first," said Katherine Warnock, one of the show's producers. "We love our platform. We love having a free app that's available to the whole world, but to be embraced by Canal Plus has been such an honor." As The Christian Post previously reported in 2019, "The Chosen" became the No. 1 crowdfunded media project in history, initially reaching $20 million crowdfunding and then surpassed that number by raising over $40 million in funding. The Chosen has 16 episodes that have been translated into 50 different languages. Eventually, the company that manages the distribution of the series, Angel Studios, hopes to reach a billion people worldwide and plans to dub the series in the top 25 most spoken languages worldwide. "We can't reach a billion just in English. So to reach a billion, we have to unlock more languages," Jared Geesey of Angel Studios, told CBN. Derral Eves, the executive producer of The Chosen, told CP in an interview earlier this year that he hopes the series will inspire many more people to have the values that Jesus Christ taught. I truly do believe this show has impact, and it has power, Eves said. The world needs The Chosen. If theres ever a time that the world needs Jesus, its now and not just Jesus, an authentic Jesus that people can literally connect with. In a separate interview with CP, the creator and co-writer of The Chosen, Dallas Jenkins, said that while hes not surprised by the shows success, he wouldn't have been surprised if it never took off at all. I genuinely was in a posture of, one day at a time, just doing what God wants for me, Jenkins told CP. In the beginning, when the show first premiered, Jenkins said, the primary audience was Christians because that's who was more attracted to a Jesus show. But as the buzz has been building, we're hearing all the time from atheists, agnostics, people in the industry even the friends and family of our casting crews, many of whom are not believers themselves, who just loved the show as a regular show, Jenkins said. It's making them think more about who Jesus was and wanting to look more into it. Thousands attend Sean Feucht's Riots to Revival event in Portland: Church is rising up Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Thousands attended California evangelist Sean Feuchts Riot to Revival worship concerts this weekend in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, two cities that have been gripped by riots and protests in recent weeks. Feucht, the founder of the Let Us Worship movement who is known for his work with Bethel Music, held a Riots to Revival event at Portlands Waterfront Park Saturday and another at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle, Washingtons Capitol Hill district on Sunday. Feucht, who ran for Congress earlier this year but lost in the primary election, made headlines last month for organizing a beach revival attended by hundreds in Southern California in defiance of the states coronavirus orders. He has also argued that coronavirus restrictions that prohibit church services are a double standard. Saturdays events in Oregon began at 10 a.m. with training for acts of love & compassion across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, according to a tweet from Feucht. After joining city pastors and leaders for the MLK March at 4 p.m., the revival concert began at 6 p.m. People gave their lives to Jesus, Feucht proclaimed in an interview on Fox & Friends Sunday. We baptized people in the river behind us It was so much joy that took over the streets of that city last night. We just believe that the church has the ability to change the narrative, he added. All of America has just seen these buildings burning and theyve seen this destruction and the violence. And the news, the mainstream media seems to be infatuated with this. But, Im telling you there is another story of what God is doing in these cities and the church is rising up. While Feucht was unsure exactly how many people attended the event in Portland, he estimated that there was a crowd of between 4,000 and 7,000. As Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth noted, the rally in Portland marked the largest gathering yet of all the events that Feucht has held this summer. Hours after his appearance on Fox & Friends," Feucht held the Sunday revival in Seattle. The event in Seattle took place in a part of the city that was once home to the autonomous zone known at different times as CHOP and CHAZ. Along with Portland, Seattle has also faced violence and unrest in the weeks following the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day. According to a local NBC affiliate, hundreds attended the rally in Seattle, most of which were not wearing face masks or practicing social distancing. Feucht first founded the Let Us Worship movement to protest the restrictions on worship services implemented to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. The movement calls on the Church to rise up with one voice and tell our government leaders and the rulers of big tech that we refuse to be silenced! States across America, including here in California have shut down church services and even outlawed singing in church, Feucht explains on the Let Us Worship website. Instagram and Twitter [are] censoring Christian voices every single day. And every hour that passes they grow bolder in their efforts to silence the faithful. In the interview with Fox & Friends last weekend, Feucht elaborated on his concerns about how restrictions have been placed on churches while protest gatherings drawing large crowds of people are permitted with no such restrictions. It is a double standard. And I would say at best, its hypocrisy. And at worst, its bigotry, he said. You know, theres a target on churches. In a previous interview with The Christian Post, Feucht described his movement as a return back to a gritty, raw Gospel, Jesus people movement foundation spurred by the fact that we cant be in our churches. I think what its doing is stripping off the sheen and the polished nature of what weve built in America and its allowing us to return to the simplicity, to the power of the raw Gospel, Feucht said. Feucht has many more outdoor worship events planned for the rest of the summer in cities all across the country. Those include Chicago, New York City, Milwaukee, Boston, Colorado Springs, Tampa and Orlando. The pastor has extended an invitation to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California to join him on the steps of the California Capitol on Sept. 6 for a Let Us Worship event. Worship leader: US on 'cusp of revival,' time to change narrative of burning cities with worship Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Worship artist Sean Feucht believes that the coronavirus prohibitions on holding church services is a double standard and that the United States is on the brink of a revival. In an interview with Fox & Friends, Feucht noted that he is participating in and helping lead gathering outside the four walls of the church, in the open air. "It's not just beaches," he said. "We're going under bridges, we're meeting in fields, really anywhere we can gather and spread out and worship, we're finding those places. It's summer time in California, it's just such an amazing movement that we've seen so much momentum on." Feucht, who recently ran for Congress in California but lost in the primary, is a worship leader with an extensive missionary background and is the founder of Hold the Line, an activist movement aimed at engaging the church and millennials, urging them to become more politically active. He has been taking the power of worship to the streets where tragedies have happened, including the place where George Floyd was killed while in police custody earlier this year. Asked by host Pete Hegseth about why singing and church services have been deemed "non-essential" and banned but protests that have drawn large crowds have been permitted, Feucht replied, "It is a double standard and I would say at best it's hypocrisy and at worst, it's bigotry. You know there's a target on churches." "I think it's time. We have to rise up. We need bold and courageous pastors that are not only going to stand on our Constitutional rights to worship, but are going to stand up against the insanity of these laws that are targeting the church." Yet he is taking the opportunity to worship outdoors to shift the spiritual atmosphere in troubled places around the nation. One such worship gathering is planned in the streets of Portland, Oregon, for Aug. 8. "The narrative that we've seen has just been burning and destruction. It's been disheartening, but yet the church in Portland, the church of Oregon, they want to gather, they want to rise up. They want to change the narrative and flip the script on their cities. It's going to be peaceful. It's going to be full of love," he said. Thanking his followers on his Instagram account after the Fox News interview, Feucht commented that he believes that "we are on the cusp of a revival that will sweep America!" The worship leader noted in a separate post that he has invited California Gov. Gavin Newsom to pray on the steps of the Capitol building for an event called "Let Us Worship" on Sept. 6. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Its that time of year when people partake in the annual ritual of making well-intended promises that end up broken by February. I also realize the presumptuous nature of this post as if I could tell you what promises to make (and then inevitably break). However, I do believe every pastor should consider these ten resolutions. Perhaps they will get you thinking. 1. I will pray for church members daily. Start by praying for your most outspoken antagonists. One of the best resolutions you can make is to pray more. 2. I will share my faith at least once a week. Most church leaders bemoan the lack of evangelism in North America. Our churches would grow if we expended the same amount of energy sharing Jesus as we do complaining about church members not sharing Jesus. 3. I will read my Bible devotionally. If you preach regularly, youre likely reading your Bible often. But too many pastors neglect the devotional reading of Scripture. Then we wonder why our sermons are dry. 4. I will listen more to my congregation. So much is said about leadership vision and the compelling effect it has on followers. Unfortunately, far too little effort goes into listening to people. Grand vision flops when it lacks the foundation of listening. You cant lead people without listening to them. 5. I will have an attitude of gratefulness. Lets rid ourselves of a sense of entitlement and be grateful God provides people for us to shepherd. 6. I will practice forgiveness. Practice makes perfect, and most of us have a long way to go before glorification. Forgiveness is one of the most under-practiced spiritual disciplines. 7. I will be the chief encourager in my church. Pastors can look to the church for self-worth feeding off the saints encouragement. I hope your church encourages you, but its the role of the pastor to lead with this spiritual gift and not feed off it. The more you lead with encouragement, the more likely your church will have a culture of encouragement. 8. I will be an example of discipline. Exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Spend the proper amount of time with your family. Read books. Keep a schedule and manage your time. Get enough sleep. Dont dress like a slob. Your visible demonstration of discipline will speak volumes without you saying a word. 9. I will laugh more. Many of us pastors take ourselves too seriously, and our leadership could utilize more levity. Laughter disarms, and leaders who laugh tend to be more enjoyable people. 10. I will take injustice seriously. We need more sermons on justice, not less. We need more churches serving the underprivileged. We need more pastors who fight for justice. Start the new year with a resolve to be a better pastor. The bride of Christ deserves your effort. Originally posted at Church Answers Jesus' birthplace closed to foreign Christians this Christmas due to omicron variant Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Christian pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land, including sites in Jesus birthplace of Bethlehem, will be inaccessible to foreign Christian travelers again this Christmas due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent surge in the omicron variant. The Israeli government has been accused of discriminating against Christian tourists during the busy Christmas holiday season by shutting its border to foreigners but giving an exception to young Jews. Israel has mostly restricted international tourists since March 2020, when many countries began implementing lockdown policies in response to the pandemic, and had only started admitting fully vaccinated foreign visitors in early November. With the emergence of the omicron variant, travel restrictions have been reimposed. A ban on foreign travelers to Israel was again instituted at the end of last month for two weeks and was later extended. In addition to banning foreign travel, Israeli officials have also restricted residents from traveling to several foreign countries to curb the spread of omicron. While Bethlehem lies in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank, the only way for most foreign pilgrims to access the town is by flying into Israel. Bethlehem is a popular destination for tourists over the holiday as many Christian pilgrims visit the ancient site, notably Manger Square. The now-crippled tourism industry in Bethlehem and other sites throughout the Holy Land have been devastated. This will mark the second consecutive year that foreigners will not be able to visit the region. In mid-December, Israeli officials made an exception to the foreign travelers ban for young Jews worldwide who want to travel as part of an exception for birthright. But restrictions still remain in place for other foreigners, including Christian pilgrims who want to travel to historic towns roamed by Jesus during his earthly ministry. Those include Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth. A spokesperson and adviser to churches in the Holy Land, Wadi Abunassar, took to social media to claim that various Christian denominations are not happy with what they view as discrimination against Christian pilgrims. Racist discrimination should never be accepted in any way! he wrote in a Facebook post, as reported by The Associated Press. I urge the Israeli authorities to treat all those who want to visit the country equally without any discrimination between religion. An official with the Catholic Church told the AP that the church has requested Israels Tourism Ministry make an exception for Christian pilgrims during the Christmas season. The U.S.-based persecution watchdog group International Christian Concern said local hotel owners and employees in Bethlehem had been preparing for an influx of visitors expecting to be filled at 70% capacity. In 2013, the last year data was made available by the Palestinian Authority, approximately 1.16 million foreign tourists visited the area, according to ICC. The nonprofit further noted that while Israeli hotels and the tourism sector have received stipends from the government, those located in the Palestinian territories only received a one-time stipend of $224. Over 4.5 million foreigners visited Israel in 2019, with Christian pilgrims accounting for roughly 25% of that total. In 2020, the number of foreign visitors to Israel dropped to fewer than 1 million when both Israel and the Palestinian territories saw high infection rates. Foreign visitors were mostly barred last Christmas. According to The New York Times, there had been hopes this year that up to 15,000 pilgrims would visit the region for Christmas despite travel complications and other virus-related challenges. For people in Bethlehem, that would have been important oxygen, Abunassr told the newspaper. The community is suffering. The Church of the Nativity, one of the most famous sites in Bethlehem, has been undergoing significant repairs, renovations that are expected to continue. Such restoration projects are being helped along with contributions from Americans. The restoration work on the church so far has cost at least $15 million, of which the American Friends of the Bethlehem Foundation and Bethlehem Development Foundation raised at least $2.6 million, split equally. The ancient church was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 2012. It was previously listed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger due to a poor state of conservation before its removal in 2019. In the latest trading session, Energy Transfer LP (ET) closed at $8.15, marking a -1.45% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.14%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.25%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.34%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the energy-related services provider had lost 1.78% over the past month. This has lagged the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 2.6% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.32% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from Energy Transfer LP as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Energy Transfer LP to post earnings of $0.24 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 26.32%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $18.94 billion, up 88.72% from the prior-year quarter. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.85 per share and revenue of $68.32 billion, which would represent changes of +870.83% and +75.39%, respectively, from the prior year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Energy Transfer LP. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Energy Transfer LP is holding a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now. Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Energy Transfer LP has a Forward P/E ratio of 4.48 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.27, which means Energy Transfer LP is trading at a discount to the group. The Oil and Gas - Production Pipeline - MLB industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 243, putting it in the bottom 5% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. To follow ET in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 77 billion devices by 2025, creating a $1.3 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 4 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2022. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Energy Transfer LP (ET): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Royal Dutch Shell plcs ( RDS.A ) seismic testing for oil and gas along South Africa's eastern coastline has been suspended, pending a final judgement by a South African court. Environmentalists applauded this move, which they believe will protect marine life from the loud blasting. Seismic surveys are used to map what is under the ocean's surface. Shockwaves launched from an air pistol similar to a large speaker are shot down to the seafloor. The sound echoed tells if there is oil trapped beneath the rock. Per the High Court Judge Gerald Bloem, permission to explore the seas around the Wild Coast was granted to RDS.A on the basis of a significantly faulty consultation procedure. The natural beauty and marine life of the 250-kilometer (155-mile) long coastline in the Eastern Cape province is world-famous. Many marine species, including whales, dolphins and seals will be harmed by the seismic testing, according to campaigners. Also, local communities represented in the lawsuit claimed that their customary rights to land and fishing had not been honored. Shell began scanning the 6,000-square-kilometer region in early December 2021 after a previous court ruling allowed it to proceed with its activity. At that time, the court had ruled that those opposed to the survey had failed to offer a sufficient proof of environmental damages. The Anglo-Dutch supermajor claims that the seismic testing is being applied for decades in search of oil and gas. Respecting the court's order, RDS.A suspended its exploration process. In view of the verdict, management asserted that if feasible resources were discovered offshore, it could considerably improve the country's energy security. There is no specific deadline for determining whether authorization is necessary under the National Environmental Management Act. Shell stated that it already has the required clearance to carry out the survey. Zacks Rank & Key Picks Shell currently has a Zack Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the energy sector might look at the following stocks worth considering with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. PDC Energy PDCE is an independent upstream operator dealing in exploration, development and production of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids. PDCE, which reached its present status following the January 2020 merger with SRC Energy, is currently the second-largest producer in the Denver-Julesburg Basin. As of 2020 end, PDCE's total estimated proved reserves were 731,073 thousand barrels of oil equivalent. In the past year, shares of PDC Energy have gained 169% compared with the industry's growth of 108.6%. PDCE's earnings for 2021 are expected to surge 273.4% from the prior-year reported figure. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PDC Energy's 2021 earnings has been raised 26.8%. Earnings of PDCE beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters, the average being 51.06%. Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNQ is one of Canadas largest independent energy companies. CNQ has a broad portfolio of low-risk exploration and development projects, with a strong international exposure that yields long-term volume growth at above-average rates. As of 2020 end, CNQ had 12.106 billion oil-equivalent barrels (BOE) in its total proved reserves. Canadian Natural Resources earnings for 2021 are expected to surge 1,085.4% from the year-ago reported figure. CNQ currently has a Zacks Style Score of B for Growth. CNQ raised its dividend 25% in November, reflecting strength in its cash flows. CNQ is counted as a Canadian Dividend Aristocrat with an attractive yield. The energy player has a solid track record of dividend hikes over 22 consecutive years. Sunoco LP SUN is a master limited partnership that distributes motor fuel to roughly 10,000 customers, including independent dealers, commercial customers, convenience stores and distributors. In the United States, Sunoco is among the largest motor fuel distributors in the wholesale market by volume. In 2020, the partnership sold 7.1 billion gallons of motor fuel. SUN's earnings for 2021 are expected to surge 743.4% from the year-ago reported figure. Sunoco currently has a Zacks Style Score of A for both Value and Growth. For 2021, SUN expects fuel volumes of 7.25-7.75 billion gallons, indicating a rise from the 2020 reported level of 7.09 billion gallons. Bitcoin, Like the Internet Itself, Could Change Everything Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the Internet of Money and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree were still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities. Zacks has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A): Free Stock Analysis Report Sunoco LP (SUN): Free Stock Analysis Report Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ): Free Stock Analysis Report PDC Energy, Inc. (PDCE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved In 2015, Jason Citron, a computer programmer, was struggling to break through in the video game industry. The new multiplayer game he had created with his development studio, Hammer & Chisel, was not catching on. So Citron engineered an abrupt about-face. He laid off his companys game developers, turned the games chatting feature into its sole product and gave it a mysterious name Discord. I think at the time we had maybe six users, Citron said. It wasnt clear that it was going to work. At first, Discord was only popular with other gamers. But more than six years later, driven in part by the pandemic, it has exploded into the mainstream. While adults working from home flocked to Zoom, their children were downloading Discord to socialize with other young people through text and audio and video calls in groups known as servers. The platform has more than 150 million active users each month up from 56 million in 2019 with nearly 80% logging in from outside North America. It has expanded from gamers to music aficionados, students and cryptocurrency enthusiasts. In September, Discord, which is based in San Francisco, said it was raising $500 million in funding, valuing the company at $14.7 billion, according to PitchBook, a market data provider. It more than doubled its workforce in 2021, to about 650 people. Discords evolution into a mainstream tool has been an unexpected twist in Citrons career. Citron, 37, said he grew up playing video games on Long Island, nearly failed to graduate from Full Sail University in Florida because he spent so much time playing World of Warcraft and went on his first date with his future wife at an arcade. So many of my best memories came from those experiences, so my whole career has been about giving other people the power to create those kinds of moments in their lives, he said. Before Discord, he ran a social gaming network, OpenFeint, which he sold in 2011 to a Japanese gaming company GREE for $104 million. Citron was considered by others in the gaming community to be innovative because he tried to keep gamers attentions through social interactions with their friends, a new strategy in the nascent mobile gaming market. At least he tries to put something new into the market, said Serkan Toto, a gaming analyst in Japan, adding that Citrons reputation was like a geek, in a good sense. Now, Citron finds himself running a prominent communications platform, a shift that he described as surprising and wonderful and humbling. Discord is split into servers essentially a series of chat rooms similar to the workplace tool Slack which facilitate casual, free-flowing conversations about gaming, music, memes and everyday life. Some servers are large and open to the public; others are invitation-only. The service doesnt have ads. It makes money through a subscription service that gives users access to features like custom emoji for $5 or $10 per month. Discord also began experimenting in December with allowing some users to charge for access to their server, up to $100 a month, of which the company takes a 10% cut. Discord made more than $100 million in revenue last year, according to a person familiar with the companys finances who was not allowed to discuss it publicly, but company officials would not say whether it was profitable. The companys biggest shift occurred early in the pandemic. In June 2020, Citron and his co-founder and chief technology officer, Stanislav Vishnevskiy, wrote a blog post acknowledging that Discord had moved beyond video games and was working to become more accessible to all. Months earlier, the company had changed its motto from Chat for gamers to A new way to chat with your communities and friends, a nod to its wider audience. That transition has come with growing pains. Discord has faced the same thorny questions as other social media companies about regulating speech, safeguarding against harassment and keeping young people safe. Discord allows people to chat using fake names, and the task of ensuring that people follow its community standards is largely left up to the organizers of individual Discord servers. That gives the platform a Lord of the Flies feel, with groups of young people forming online societies and deciding their own rules. In 2017, white nationalists gathered in far-right Discord servers to plan the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Discord executives, despite being aware that white nationalists were on the platform, did not ban them until after the rally had taken place, according to New York Times reporting. In the aftermath, the company got more serious about content moderation. Citron said about 15% of the companys employees work on trust and safety. The company began publishing biannual transparency reports in 2019 and bars those under 13 from Discord. In its most recent report, Discord said it had received more than 400,000 reports of misbehavior between January and June, with about one-third related to harassment, and had banned more than 470,000 accounts and 43,000 servers. The companys efforts have not stopped frequent problems. People interviewed for this story, including some who were 11 or 12 years old, said they knew of many underage Discord users. And an internet search for eating disorder communities on Discord, for instance, revealed dozens of servers, some explicitly encouraging people to develop eating disorders, a violation of Discords community guidelines. The company said it takes immediate action when it encounters violations like underage users or inappropriate content. Many say they joined Discord for more wholesome reasons, such as connecting with friends. The largest public servers, such as ones devoted to discussions of Minecraft or anime, have hundreds of thousands of members. They can be chaotic, with colorful memes, profanity and inside jokes. Others are intended only for people who know each other in real life or share a particular interest. Some have strict rules prohibiting profanity, graphic content or discussions of politics. Server owners can deputize moderators to enforce the rules. Clement Leveau, 21, has a powerful role on Discord: the owner of Kanye, a server hosting discussions of the eponymous artist, music, pop culture and other topics with more than 58,000 members. Leveau, a New York City college student, wields ultimate authority, with the power to appoint moderators and imprison people who break community rules in a solitary confinement channel known as jail. He said that he tries to let people be silly, have a place to unwind, but that he does not tolerate hate speech or bullying. Because of the isolation caused by the pandemic, Leveau said, the bonds people have formed on Discord have become crucial. Former Discord employees, investors and game industry observers say Citron has remained uncompromising in his vision for Discord as an independent company as it has grown. Joost van Dreunen, a New York University professor who studies the business of video games, said staying independent would befit Citrons tight control over the company, which has seen some high-ranking executives depart in recent years. Regarding turnover at Discord, the company said that its rapid growth had caused some parts of its business to change dramatically in a short period of time, which sometimes meant the skills and the scope of work we need with our leadership team also changed just as quickly. Earlier this year, Discord held deal talks with Microsoft about an acquisition that could have topped $10 billion, according to people briefed on the talks who were not authorized to speak about it publicly. The deal did not go through. (Microsoft declined to comment.) Citron repeatedly declined to comment on conversations with other companies, saying only that Discord gets a lot of interest. He would not say whether he was considering taking the company public, but he said theres only a few ways that these kinds of things play out. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Texas resident tech billionaire Elon Musk sold off another huge chunk of his stock holdings this week to the tune of $1 billion in Tesla (TSLA) shares. On Tuesday, the now Austin-based Tesla CEO exercised options to buy 1.6 million shares of Tesla stock at $6.25 per share per a compensation package agreed upon in 2012, and then sold 934,090 shares for about $1 billion, according to CNBC. The recent sale seemed to put him closer to the goal of selling off 10 percent of his stake in Tesla, a decision he left to the mercy of his more than 60 million Twitter followers back in early November. Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock. Do you support this? Musk asked his Twitter audience on Nov. 6, attaching a simplistic yes/no poll. Musk said he would honor the results of the pollultimately, 57.9% of the voters pushed him to sell the stock. Since September, Musk has sold 15.6 million shares tallying approximately $16.4 billion as part of a trading plan he set up. But Musk is far from lacking in his companies stocks. Hell actually end 2021 with 177.7 million shares, up from 170.5 million he held in trust at the beginning of 2021, according to CNN. Despite its democratic exterior, it seems Musks selling spree is partially to pay his massive tax bill of $11 billion, likely the largest individual tax bill in American history and a big change from Musks previous bills. A ProPublica report published earlier this year found that Musk paid no federal income tax at all in 2018when he was admittedly only the second richest man in the worlddespite seeing his wealth increase $13.9 billion during the previous four years. Musks current net worth exceeds $275 billion based on his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX. He does not collect an annual salary or cash bonuses. WASHINGTON - Fareha Ahmed had been cautious since the beginning of the pandemic. She had eaten in restaurants only three times. She and her husband were vaccinated and boosted, and their 7-year-old got vaccinated in November as soon as he was eligible. In mid-December, Ahmed, 39, who lives in Washington, D.C., met a former colleague for an outdoor lunch. A few days later, the family attended an indoor gathering for the first time with other families, to bake Christmas cookies. Then covid caught up with her. Two days after the lunch, the colleague tested positive for coronavirus. Ahmed took PCR and rapid tests - both negative - and then for good measure took another PCR test the day of the cookie party; the other participants told her to come over and not worry. But three days after the party she started feeling ill, and the next day her PCR test came back positive. "Like garbage," was how she felt when she saw the result, which came shortly before Christmas. "Like my stomach basically was in my throat . . . like I'd just ruined everybody's Christmas, including my own family's." Across the nation and the world, people who thought they knew how to avoid covid are getting a rude surprise. Safety precautions that had for so long felt talismanic get vaccinated, mask up, avoid large indoor gatherings - have in the past week or two collapsed under the weight of omicron, a much more highly transmissible variant than the ones before it. Schools and colleges returned to virtual learning. Flights were canceled as airline staff caught the virus. Long-anticipated holiday plans fell apart as people - young and old, vaccinated and unvaccinated - tested positive right and left. Those with negative tests worried it was only a matter of time. They are likely right, according to Robert Frenck, professor of pediatrics and director of the Vaccine Research Center at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. "You know what? You're probably going to get covid, but it's OK," he said. Instead of thinking they lost the race against the virus, Frenck encouraged people to redefine their concept of winning. "It's not that you failed," he said. "You actually succeeded. You dodged the bullet. . . . What are people trying to prevent? Are we trying to prevent the common cold? Nobody's going to do that. You've gotten your booster, you've done everything, and you still get covid, but how sick did you get?" For most infected people with vaccines, he said, "What they're having is a cold." People misunderstand what the vaccine is designed to do, Frenck said, adding that unvaccinated people are dying at a rate 20 times higher than people who are vaccinated and boosted. "Vaccines are going to stop people from being hospitalized and from ending up in the ICU and from dying," he said. "This is nature saying, it hasn't gone away now, and we need to go out and get vaccinated." But even if people are not feeling very sick, it can be hard to come to terms with a positive result after all the time and effort spent keeping the virus at bay. The pandemic's long and continuing arc has made it harder for people to process it, said Ilene Weingarten, a marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles who has seen patients sobbing over omicron, whether or not they've been exposed to it. "It's the relentlessness of it," she said. "We're still absorbing the shock of March 2020, but we're still in it. The normal trajectory of a trauma that resolves is you go through it, you may repeat it over and over in your head, and that aspect fades after time and then ultimately it get metabolized into your system. . . . But if it doesn't, it's trapped in your nervous system and you're reacting to it all the time." The narrowing of people's lives over the past two years contributes to a more depressive outlook, Weingarten said. "You don't see the world in a wide way, you don't see context," she said. "It has an immense mental health toll, immense; with omicron in particular, there's been a spike in disheartened feelings, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness." Adults 40 and under are having an especially difficult time, Weingarten said. "Everyone's disheartened, but I think it's hit millennials harder," she said, noting that that generation's adulthood has been marked by 9/11, the Great Recession and now covid. "You already feel like you were sold a bill of goods, like, 'I did all the right things and now this.' There's a sense that there's no end to the misery." Some who are now getting covid feel resentful toward those who have resisted vaccines and other safety protocols. Tatiana Laborde, 36, of Washington, said her family was careful to limit interactions during the pandemic. They raced to get the vaccine when it came out and got their children, now 8 and 6, vaccinated as soon as they were eligible. But several days before Christmas, her older son tested positive, and after a few negative tests Laborde and her husband tested positive Sunday. She thinks her son picked it up at school, where there had been an exposure. Her son and husband have experienced mild flu-like symptoms; Laborde felt more run-down and couldn't sleep for a couple of nights. She said the positive test results made her feel "defeated." "I know we're going to be fine, I know we're not going to the hospital," she said. "It's just that thing where we've been so careful, and not everyone in the country takes it seriously, so there's that anger." When Ahmed learned she was positive, she felt a surge of dread. She texted everyone else who had been at the cookie party - six adults and four kids - to let them know they had been exposed. "They said, 'Look, it's not your fault, don't blame yourself,' " she said. "But I said, 'If you test positive, it's my fault.' " Their tests all came back negative. Ahmed's symptoms have been up and down: she has felt tired with a mild sore throat, chest pressure, and intermittent headaches and body aches. She has been sleeping in the basement, isolated from her husband and two children. All have been wearing masks around the house, and they canceled Christmas at her in-laws' in West Virginia. Their neighbors are in a similar situation. In this latest wave, it seems everyone knows someone who has tested positive. The timing of omicron has felt especially cruel, spreading across the country just as boosters became widely available and families prepared for holiday gatherings. In fact, boosters had made some feel they could finally ease up on their precautions. Jo McDaniel, 40, says she was "hypervigilant," testing weekly as she and her wife prepared to open a new bar near their house in Washington. As omicron ramped up, they started testing more often. Even after being fully vaccinated, they had barely gone anywhere without masks. But after receiving their boosters, they attended a few networking events and ate dinner out unmasked. "It felt a little bit freeing . . . that felt kind of awesome," McDaniel said. A week before Christmas, her wife tested positive. She was mostly asymptomatic. But McDaniel said she felt duped. "We were starting to sense some sense of normal, and then got lax, being around people we didn't know or who weren't in our pod," McDaniel said. "We felt this sense of security to safely do that . . . the sense of hope that the vaccine and booster was going to keep us safe. Now I feel like a real fool. I feel like we let our guard down prematurely because we wanted it to be over, we wanted to hug people." That is understandable, Frenck of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital said, adding that people can only live with heightened awareness for so long. "Either they let their guard down or their systems go haywire," he said. "They can't tolerate it anymore, they're done. The world is done. We're interactive people, we're social creatures; we want to be around other people." With vaccines and boosters, most people can follow that instinct despite omicron, he said. Vaccinated people who are upset about getting mild cases now are "operating on an emotional level rather than a rational level. The curves of hospitalization and deaths of people who have been vaccinated are basically flat." Still, for many, getting the virus was a harsh reminder that life is still not back to normal. McDaniel and her wife canceled their plans to go home to Ohio for the holidays. "I think we'll go back to vigilance in terms of going out as little as possible . . . ordering takeout," she said. Ahmed and her husband and kids had a quiet holiday at home. "At first I was like, 'I ruined Christmas,' " she said. "But then I was like, 'No, we're going to have a different Christmas this year.' " MIAMI (AP) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating more cruise ships due to new cases of COVID-19 as the omicron variant drives extremely high infection levels in the industry hub of Florida. The CDC said 88 vessels are now either under investigation or observation, but it did not specify how many COVID-19 cases have been reported. Four other vessels are also being monitored by the CDC as well. Florida hit a new record for daily cases on Tuesday with 46,900 new cases in a day. Since Christmas, the state's 7-day average of daily cases has surpassed previous records set during last summer's surge, rising to 29,400 infections. Coronavirus hospitalizations in the state have also risen from about 1,200 patients two weeks ago to about 3,400 on Wednesday. But that is still less than one-fifth the number of hospitalizations reported in late August due to the delta wave. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal is calling for the CDC and cruise lines to again halt cruise travel, six months after the industry mounted its comeback. Our warnings have proved sadly prescient and continuously compelling. Time for CDC and cruise lines to protect consumers, again pause docking their ships, the Connecticut senator posted on Twitter. Cruise lines have not announced any plans to halt cruising. None of the ships so far appear to have so many cases that they would overwhelm medical resources on board and require a return to port. But some have been denied entry at some foreign ports. Several Florida-based ships have reported outbreaks. The Carnival Freedom was denied entry to Aruba and Bonaire after an undisclosed number of passengers and crew aboard caught the virus. Some cruise ships have not been allowed to disembark in Mexican ports due to cases reported, bringing to memory the early days of the pandemic when cruise lines negotiated docking plans as ships were being turned away by officials worried about the viruss spread. The Mexican government said Tuesday it would allow cruise ships with reported coronavirus cases to dock. The country's Health Department said passengers or crew who show no symptoms will be allowed to come ashore normally, while those with symptoms or a positive virus test will be quarantined or given medical care. Every year in the United States, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day honors all of those who lost their lives when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. More than 3,500 Americans lost their lives or were wounded on that solemn day. The attack damaged several battleships, capsized others and permanently sunk both the USS Arizona and the USS Oklahoma. As a result of this attack, the US was forced to enter into World War II, a war that had been raging for two years. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Authorities say a California man arrested in Iowa had an assault rifle, ammunition and a hit list that named President Joe Biden, former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and others. The man was pulled over while driving eastbound on Interstate 80 on Dec. 21, the Des Moines Register reported Thursday. Authorities say in criminal complaint that police stopped the man because he was driving aggressively. DENVER (AP) An estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening. At least one first responder and six others were injured, though Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle acknowledged there could be more injuries and deaths could be possible due to the intensity of fires that quickly swept across the region as winds gusted up to 105 mph (169 kph). The first fire erupted just before 10:30 a.m. and was attacked pretty quickly and laid down later in the day and is currently being monitored with no structures lost, Pelle said. A second wildfire, reported just after 11 a.m., ballooned and spread rapidly east, Pelle said. The blaze spans 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) and has engulfed parts of the area in smoky, orangish skies and sent residents scrambling to get to safety. The activity of the fires, which are burning unusually late into the winter season, will depend on how the winds behave overnight and could determine when crews are able to go in and begin assessing the damage and searching for any victims. This is the kind of fire we cant fight head on, Pelle said. We actually had deputy sheriffs and firefighters in areas that had to pull out because they just got overrun, he added. Evacuations have been ordered for the city of Louisville, home to about 21,000 people, and Superior, which has another 13,000 residents. The neighboring towns are roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Denver in an area filled with middle and upper-middle class subdivisions surrounded by shopping centers, parks and schools. The area is in between Denver and Boulder, a foothills college town home to the University of Colorado. Residents evacuated fairly calmly and orderly, but the winding streets in the suburban subdivisions quickly became clogged as people tried to get out. It sometimes took cars as long as 45 minutes to advance about a half mile (less than a kilometer). Small fires cropped up here and there in surprising places on the grass in a median or in a dumpster in the middle of a parking lot as wind gusts caused the fire to jump and spread. Shifting winds caused the skies to turn from clear to smoky and then back again as emergency sirens blared nearby. Some of the several blazes in the area Thursday were sparked by downed power lines. Six people who were injured in the fires were being treated at UCHealth Broomfield Hospital, spokesperson Kelli Christensen said. A nearby portion of U.S. Highway 36 also was shut down. Colorados Front Range, where most of the states population lives, had an extremely dry and mild fall, and winter so far has continued to be mostly dry. Denver set a record for most consecutive days without snow before it got a small storm on Dec. 10. It hasnt snowed since, though snow was expected in the region Friday. One video captured by a bystander outside a Superior Costco store showed an apocalyptic scene with winds whipping through barren trees in the parking lot surrounded by gray skies, a hazy sun and small fires scattered across the ground. Leah Angstman and her husband saw similar dark skies while returning to their Louisville home from Denver International Airport after being away for the holidays. As they were sitting on the bus going toward Boulder, Angstman recalled instantly leaving clear blue skies and entering clouds of brown and yellow smoke. The wind rocked the bus so hard that I thought the bus would tip, she wrote in a message to The Associated Press. The visibility was so poor that the bus had to pull over and they waited a half-hour until a regional transit authority van escorted them to a turnaround on the highway. There she saw four separate fires burning in bushes across the freeway, she said. The sky was dark, dark brown, and the dirt was blowing in swirls across the sidewalk like snakes, she said. Angstman later ended up evacuating, getting in a car with her husband and driving northeast without knowing where they would end up. Vignesh Kasinath, an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado in Boulder, evacuated from a neighborhood in Superior with his wife and her parents. Kasinath said the family was overwhelmed because of the sudden evacuation warning and anxious from the chaos while trying to leave. Its only because I am active on Twitter I came to know about this, said Kasinath, who said he did not receive an official evacuation notice from authorities. The fires prompted Gov. Jared Polis to declare a state of a emergency, allowing the state to access disaster emergency funds. The evacuations come as climate change is making weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive, scientists say. A historic drought and heat waves have made wildfires harder to fight in the U.S. West. Ninety percent of Boulder County is in severe or extreme drought, and hasnt seen substantial rainfall since mid-summer. With any snow on the ground, this absolutely would not have happened in the way that it did, said snow hydrologist Keith Musselman, who was at home when the fire broke out not far away. Musselman said this severe fire risk can be expected in September and October following a dry summer, but the lack of any precipitation snow or rain this late in the season is highly unusual. The National Weather Service predicts up to a foot of snow could fall tomorrow in Boulder, and that moisture would bring substantial relief, Musselman said. ____ Associated Press writer Colleen Slevin contributed to this report. Nieberg 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 under-covered issues. TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas prosecutor who will decide whether to charge employees of a juvenile center over a Black teen's death said Wednesday that an autopsy's finding that the death was a homicide doesn't necessarily mean the employees committed any crimes. The statement from District Attorney Marc Bennett in Sedgwick County, home to the state's largest city of Wichita, came after attorneys for the family of 17-year-old Cedric Lofton described his death as unjustified. They said Wednesday that they expect Bennett to file criminal charges based on the autopsy and video from a Sept. 24 struggle between Lofton and workers at the county's Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center. Lofton died at a Wichita-area hospital two days after the altercation. The autopsy concluded that Lofton's heart and breathing stopped after he was pulled to the ground and was handcuffed while lying on his stomach. The report from the county's chief medical examiner said, The manner of death is homicide. But Bennett said in a statement that a medical examiner's designation of a death as a homicide means only that someone committed an intentional act that led to the death of another person. Quoting a guide from the National Association of Medical Examiners, the district attorney said the other options were describing the death as natural, an accident, a suicide or having an undetermined cause. The determination that the manner of death was homicide does not reflect a legal determination on the part of the pathologist regarding the viability of criminal charges, Bennett said. Whether or not criminal charges can be brought is a separate, legal determination to be made by the Office of the District Attorney. Bennett said he expects to decide whether to file charges during the second week of January. He said he met Tuesday with Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents and Sedgwick County sheriff's detectives about the case. The staff members involved in the struggle have not been identified, but the county has said they are on paid administrative leave. Asked what prompted Wednesday's statement, Bennett spokesperson Dan Dillion said in an email that it is not a response to any one comment or comments, adding, It speaks for itself. The results of the Dec. 21 autopsy contradicted a preliminary finding that the teenager hadnt suffered life-threatening injuries during the Sept. 24 incident a conclusion announced by Sheriff Jeff Easter during a news conference four days after the teenager's death. Andrew Stroth, a Chicago civil rights attorney, said he was not surprised by the statement. Stroth and another Chicago attorney, Steven Hart, are representing Lofton's family. If you read the autopsy report, they literally took his breath away and killed him, Stroth told The Associated Press in an interview. This district attorney has had this evidence for several weeks. According to the autopsy report, the 5-foot-10, 135-pound Lofton was brought to the juvenile center at about 1 a.m. Sept. 24 after resisting police and assaulting one or more officers called to the scene of a reported disturbance. The report said that when staff later let Lofton out of a cell to use the restroom, he was uncooperative and punched a staff member in the head. Family attorneys and others have described Lofton as being in crisis rather than dangerous, and Stroth has repeatedly noted that he was unarmed. What additional evidence does Marc Bennett need to file criminal charges? Stroth said. Theres objective video evidence. There is (an) objective autopsy report. I dont know what else he possibly could need. ___ Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna ISLAMABAD (AP) Afghanistans former president said he had no choice but to abruptly leave Kabul as the Taliban closed in and denied an agreement was in the works for a peaceful takeover, disputing the accounts of former Afghan and U.S. officials. Former President Ashraf Ghani said in a BBC interview that aired Thursday that an adviser gave him just minutes to decide to abandon the capital, Kabul. He also denied widespread accusations that he left Afghanistan with millions in stolen money. Ghani's sudden and secret departure Aug. 15 left the city rudderless as U.S. and NATO forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years. On the morning of that day, I had no inkling that by late afternoon I would be leaving, Ghani told BBC radio. His remarks conflicted with other accounts. Former President Hamid Karzai told The Associated Press in an interview earlier this month that Ghani's departure scuttled the opportunity for government negotiators, including himself and peace council chairman Abdullah Abdullah, to reach an 11th-hour agreement with the Taliban, who had committed to staying outside the capital. After calling the government defense minister Bismillah Khan, the interior minister and police chief and discovering all had fled the capital, Karzai said he invited the Taliban into Kabul to protect the population so that the country, the city doesnt fall into chaos and the unwanted elements who would probably loot the country, loot shops. But Ghani in his radio interview with British Gen. Sir Nick Carter, former chief of defense staff, said he fled to prevent the destruction of Kabul, claiming two rival Taliban factions were bearing down on the city and were ready to enter and wage a bitter battle for control. There was no evidence upon the Taliban entry of the rival factions Ghani referred to. The insurgents, who in the days prior to the push into Kabul had swept over much of the country as Afghan government forces melted away or surrendered, quickly took control of the palace. According to humanitarian aid workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they wanted to speak privately and who were there at the time, the Taliban moved to protect their compounds. Still, the Taliban takeover was met with widespread fear and a deep longing by many to flee their desperately poor homeland despite billions of international money over the 20 years the U.S.-backed governments had been in power. In the BBC interview, Ghani denied widespread accusations that he left Afghanistan with a cache of stolen money. The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko has been tasked with investigating those allegations. Successive Afghan governments, as well as independent foreign and Afghan contractors, have been accused of widespread corruption, with dozens of reports by Sopko documenting the most egregious incidents. Washington has spent $146 billion on reconstruction in Afghanistan since the overthrow in 2001 of the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden. Yet even before the insurgents returned in August, the poverty level in Afghanistan was at 54%. Earlier this week, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting organization with 150 journalists in more than 30 countries, listed Ghani among the world's most corrupt leaders. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko was named the most corrupt, with Ghani, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz among the finalists for the title of most corrupt. After being told by his national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib that his personal protection force was not capable of defending him, Ghani said he decided to leave. Mohib, who was literally terrified, gave him just two minutes to decide whether to leave, Ghani said, insisting he was not sure where he would be taken even after he was on the helicopter getting ready to take off. Ghani did not address the rapid and swift collapse of the Afghan military in the weeks leading up to the Taliban takeover, but he did blame an agreement the United States had signed with the Taliban in 2020 for the eventual collapse of his government. That agreement laid out conditions for the final withdrawal of the remaining U.S. and NATO forces ending America's longest war. It also provided for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners, which Ghani said strengthened the insurgent force. SPRINGFIELD More than 250 Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers are about to celebrate the New Year with their families after returning home from deployment in November and December. All of these soldiers played important roles in our national security. All the units excelled in their federal missions and proudly represented Illinois, said Maj. Gen. Rich Neely, the Adjutant General of Illinois and Commander of the Illinois National Guard. It is gratifying to have them all back safe to their families and their communities in time for the holidays. The soldiers are from four different units with varied missions and deployment locations. The Army sent three of the units home as individuals or in small groups. The largest unit, the 1970th Quartermaster Co. based in North Riverside, was sent home as a unit on Nov. 5. However, the units welcome home ceremony was limited to families because of safety concerns. The unit served as part of the federal mission on the Southwest border with Mexico for approximately a year. The 176th Cyber Protection Team, based in Bloomington, also served within the United States. The approximately 20-soldier team served in Fort Meade, Maryland, under Task Force Echo. The team conducted cyberspace operations to support U.S. Cyber Command and Cyber National Mission Force requirements. The mobilization was the first for the unit since its creation in 2017. The mission began in October 2020 and ended before Christmas. Approximately 55 soldiers of the 616th Engineer Utilities Detachment are in the process of completing a move from Beardstown to Macomb following the units return from the Middle East in November. The unit provided construction and facilities repair in a public works capacity for all directed base camps and supported additional operations in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. Based primarily in Kuwait, the 616th also provided utilities support to strategic base planning and ensured compliance with mandated construction and utility standards within the Middle East. The units move from Beardstown to Macomb will be completed no later than February. The Illinois Army National Guard will maintain a recruiting office in Beardstown with the Beardstown Park District taking over the remainder of the space within the armory. The Springfield-based 233rd Military Police Co. deployed two separate teams to the Middle East, a 5-soldier personnel security team and about 60 soldiers for base security and military law enforcement operations. Approximately 65 soldiers returned to their families just before Christmas after the nearly 10-month deployment. The unit provided personnel security, law enforcement deterrence, Military Police first responders, law enforcement incident command, MP investigations, traffic accident investigations, physical security operations, and installation access management. SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) One person died and another was injured Wednesday afternoon when a helicopter crashed in rural eastern Tennessee, officials said. The Sevier County Sheriffs Office was alerted to the crash by a bystander who saw and heard the craft going down about 3 p.m., WBIR-TV reported. The crash happened near the Cocke County line and officials from both counties responded. They did not immediately release the names of those involved in the crash. BLACKFOOT, Idaho (AP) An eastern Idaho sheriff accused of threatening a church youth group with a gun and assaulting one of its leaders can stay on the job but must surrender all of his firearms to the Idaho State Police. A judges ruling Wednesday also requires Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland to have no contact with the alleged victims. The Idaho attorney generals office earlier this month charged Rowland with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and misdemeanor exhibition of a gun. Rowland did not enter a plea on Wednesday, his first appearance in court on the charges. First appearances involve procedural matters such as advising people of their rights. In court documents, investigators with the Idaho attorney generals office wrote that a youth group from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was participating in an activity Nov. 9 where they delivered thank-you notes to members of the congregation. The girls, aged 12 to 16, taped the notes to the churchgoers doors and then rang their doorbells, running away before they could be seen. Seven of the youth group members and an adult leader went to Rowlands neighborhood to leave a note for the sheriff and his wife, according to the court documents. In separate interviews with investigators, members of the youth group and Rowland both reportedly said that after the group left the note, Rowland stopped their car from driving away, pulled the adult driver out of the vehicle by her hair and pointed his handgun at her head, yelling profanities at her. Rowland agreed to take a leave of absence shortly after the allegations arose in November, but has since returned to the job. Prosecutors on Wednesday sought to have Judge Faren Eddins require Rowland to take a prolonged leave. But Eddins said Rowland was innocent until proven guilty and denied that request. Rowland has said he received threats in recent months and worried about people coming to his home. In a statement, he disparaged the people on the nearby Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Fort Hall Reservation, referencing intoxication, calling them not good people and saying their proximity was the reason for his actions. Bingham County Prosecutor Paul Rogers, Blackfoot Mayor Marc Carroll and the tribes have called on Rowland to step down. Rowland is next scheduled to appear in court Jan. 26. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A member of the jury that convicted Minnesota police officer Kim Potter of manslaughter in the killing of Daunte Wright says jurors felt she made an honest mistake when she drew her firearm instead of her stun gun, but that she was still responsible for his death. The juror spoke with KARE-TV reporter Lou Raguse on the condition of anonymity due to what the station described as the public animosity surrounding the case. It published the story Wednesday. The juror said no one felt Potter was a racist or meant to kill Wright, but that doesn't mean she was above the law. I don't want to speak for all the jurors, but I think we believed she was a good person and even believed she was a good cop, the juror said. "No one felt she was intentional in this. It's ludicrous that some people are assuming we thought she was a racist. That never came up or anything like that. We felt like she was a good person, we felt she made a mistake, and that a mistake does not absolve you from the fact she did commit a crime. Being a good person doesn't mean you're above the law. I don't think anyone felt she wanted to kill anybody that day. ... This was just a tragedy all the way around. Potter shot and killed the 20-year-old Wright in April as he tried to drive away from a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb. Potter, a 26-year veteran on the city's police department, said she meant to use her stun gun on Wright but didn't realize she had actually drawn and fired her pistol. Wright was Black and the shooting happened as another white officer, Derek Chauvin, was standing trial in nearby Minneapolis for the killing of George Floyd. It set off waves of angry protests in Brooklyn Center. Potter, 49, resigned from the police department two days after the shooting. Prosecutors charged her with first- and second-degree manslaughter. Potter took the stand at her trial, saying she was sorry the incident happened and the traffic stop just went chaotic. The jury deliberated for 27 hours over four days before convicting her of both counts on Dec. 23. She faces close to seven years in prison under Minnesota's sentencing guidelines, though prosecutors have said they would seek a longer term. The juror told KARE-TV's Raguse that jurors didn't feel Potter lied on the stand and instead felt she was fighting for her life. But the jury generally thought that Potter should have known she was holding a pistol and not a stun gun given her years of police experience. The juror said a turning point in deliberations came when jurors handled Potter's stun gun and pistol and felt the differences. The gun was about twice as heavy, and the two weapons had several differences in how they are un-holstered and fired, the juror said. The Taser kind of feels like a mouse click whereas the (pistol's) trigger has some trigger draw weight. The juror said Potter's attorneys seemed disorganized. The juror rejected their argument that Wright caused his own death by resisting. We did talk about Daunte's actions, but we as a jury did a really good job of separating his actions from Kim Potter's actions," the juror said. Daunte's actions clearly had consequences. So did Kim Potter's. The juror said that at times deliberations grew heated and discussions went in circles. Almost every juror cried at some point. Once we came to final verdict . . . we still had to wait an hour and a half until it was read, the juror said. So that last hour and a half, I was finally allowing myself to think of the consequences of this tragedy. Obviously we had been thinking about what this meant for Daunte Wright's family, but now I started to think about what this meant for Kim Potter's family. ___ This story was first published on Dec. 30. It was updated on Dec. 31 to correct the eighth paragraph to reflect that Potter, not Wright, took the stand at her trial. ___ Find the APs full coverage of the Daunte Wright case: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the first-degree murder conviction of a Topeka man over a fatal road rage shooting more than five years ago. The court rejected arguments from an attorney for Andre Clark Rhoiney Jr., that the prosecutor made improper statements during closing arguments. A Shawnee County judge sentenced Rhoiney to life plus 13 months in prison, with no chance for parole for 25 years. ATLANTA (AP) Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed new maps for Georgia's congressional delegation, state Senate and state House into law, resulting in three immediate lawsuits challenging the maps, even as candidates gear up to run under the new lines. The new districts are designed to increase the number of Republicans in Georgia's 14-member congressional delegation from eight to nine, turning the suburban Atlanta 6th District now held by Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath into a strongly Republican district. McBath has already announced that she's jumping to the new 7th District in Gwinnett and Fulton counties, which was made much more Democratic, to mount a primary challenge against fellow Democratic U.S. Rep Carolyn Bourdeaux. The state Senate map is projected to keep 59%, or 33, of the Senates 56 seats in GOP hands. Thats down from 34 right now. The state House map is projected to keep 54% of House seats, or 98 of 180, in Republican hands. That's down from 103 Republicans now. The Republican Kemp's decision to delay signing the maps reduces the amount of time for a lawsuit before candidates qualify in March and voting begins in advance of the May 24 party primaries. The short period could allow the state to ask a judge to delay a decision until after the 2022 elections are run under the maps Kemp signed. Democrats say the new lines, especially for Congress and the state Senate, grab too much power for Republicans, considering President Joe Biden carried Georgia with a narrow majority last year and two Democratic senators won seats in January. Critics also allege that the maps violate the federal Voting Rights Act by unnecessarily dividing minority populations, especially because nonwhite people make up most of the new Georgians added in the past decade. The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda and the GALEO Latino Community Development Fund filed suit challenging all three maps. The most sweeping of the three lawsuits, it alleges lawmakers drew districts for the express purpose of impermissibly discriminating against voters of color and asks judges to throw out 11 congressional districts and dozens of legislative districts. The suit also asks that Georgia be put back under federal supervision for all voting changes for the next 10 years. Democratic lawyer Marc Elias sued in federal court in Atlanta over the congressional map on behalf of six voters. The suit claims the lines are unconstitutional because they dilute Black voting strength by not drawing as many Black-majority state Senate and House districts as possible. Particularly, the suit contends lawmakers should have drawn an additional Black majority district centered on Cobb and Douglas counties, instead of packing many Black voters into some districts and cracking other Black population concentrations among multiple Republican-dominated districts. The General Assembly could have instead created an additional, compact congressional district in which Black voters, including Plaintiffs, comprise a majority of eligible voters and have the opportunity to elect their preferred candidates, the suit states. The American Civil Liberties Union sued in federal court on behalf of the historically Black Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the Sixth District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church covering Georgia, and several individual voters. The suit challenges three Senate districts District 16 in part of Fayette and all of Spalding, Pike and Lamar counties; District 17 in parts of Henry, Newton and Walton counties and all of Morgan County; and District 23, which includes parts of Richmond and Columbia counties as well as all of 11 other east Georgia counties. The lawsuit also argues that at least five more majority-Black state House districts could have been drawn, including at least three in Atlanta's southern and eastern suburbs, at least one more around Augusta, and at least one more in southwest Georgia. The U.S. Supreme Court in the last decade has ruled out challenges based on partisan gerrymandering. But although the court struck down the requirement that Georgia and other areas with a history of racial discrimination get preclearance for new district maps from the U.S. Justice Department, the way remains clear for people to sue in court alleging racial bias after lawmakers pass maps. Republicans say they were careful to follow the dictates of the Voting Rights Act. They also note that their maps split fewer counties. Fair Districts Georgia, a group that analyzed the maps with an eye toward preventing gerrymandering, said all three maps would have fewer districts where each party would have a competitive shot at winning than under current lines. The General Assembly must redraw electoral districts at least once every decade to equalize populations after the U.S. census. ___ Follow Jeff Amy at http://twitter.com/jeffamy. FRANKFORT, Ky (AP) Kentucky has reported a record COVID-19 test positivity rate of 14.46%, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wednesday. Folks, its clear Kentucky is now in a surge from Omicron, Beshear said in a statement posted to social media. "This is the most contagious variant weve seen. Protect yourself and others: get vaccinated and get a booster shot. The previous record positivity rate was 14.16% on Sept. 8, 2021. Beshear announced the first case of the omicron variant in Kentucky on Dec. 17. Kentucky reported 5,530 new coronavirus cases and 21 virus-related deaths Wednesday. A total of 12,118 people have died of the virus in Kentucky. Courtesy /USBP United States Border Patrol Agents out of the Laredo Sector announced Wednesday they arrested a 44-year-old man with an active warrant for the Sexual Assault of a Child. Jose Trinidad Delgado Esquivel, a 44-year-old national of Mexico, was encountered when attempting to travel further into the United States. BANGKOK (AP) When the young farmhand returned to his village in Myanmar, he found the still smoldering corpses in a circle in a burned-out hut, some with their limbs tied. The Myanmar military had stormed Done Taw at 11 a.m. on Dec. 7, he told the AP, with about 50 soldiers hunting people on foot. The farmhand and other villagers fled to the forest and fields, but 10 were captured and killed, including five teenagers, with one only 14, he said. A photo taken by his friend shows the charred remains of a victim lying face down, holding his head up, suggesting he was burned alive. I am very upset, it is unacceptable, said the 19-year-old, who like others interviewed by the AP asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. The carnage at Done Taw is just one of the most recent signs that the Myanmar military is reverting to a strategy of massacres as a weapon of war, according to an AP investigation based on interviews with 40 witnesses, social media, satellite imagery and data on deaths. The massacres and scorched-earth tactics such as the razing of entire villages represent the latest escalation in the militarys violence against both civilians and the growing opposition. Since the military seized power in February, it has cracked down ever more brutally, abducting young men and boys, killing health care workers and torturing prisoners. The massacres and burnings also signal a return to practices that the military has long used against ethnic minorities such as the Muslim Rohingya, thousands of whom were killed in 2017. The military is now accused of killing at least 35 civilians on Christmas Eve in Mo So village in an eastern region home to the Karenni minority. A witness told the AP that many of the bodies of the men, women and children were burned beyond recognition. But this time, the military is also using the same methods against people and villages of its own Buddhist Bamar ethnic majority. The focus of most of the latest killings has been in the northwest, including in a Bamar heartland where support for the opposition is strong. More than 80 people have died in killings of three or more in the Sagaing region alone since August, according to data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, or AAPP, a group that monitors verified arrests and deaths in Myanmar. These include the deaths of those in Done Taw, five people in Gaung Kwal village on Dec. 12 and nine in Kalay township on Dec. 23, part of a trend that has made Sagaing the deadliest region in Myanmar. The military is also reprising a hallmark tactic of destroying entire villages where there may be support for the opposition. Satellite imagery the AP obtained from Maxar Technologies shows that more than 580 buildings have been burned in the northwestern town of Thantlang alone since September. The violence appears to be a response to the local resistance forces springing up across the country, but the military is wiping out civilians in the process. In Done Taw, for example, the military moved in after a convoy hit a roadside bomb nearby, but the people killed were not part of any resistance, another villager told the AP. They were just normal workers on the betel-leaf plantation, the 48-year-old welder said. They hid because they were afraid. For the investigation, the AP spoke to dozens of witnesses, family members, a military commander who deserted, human rights groups and officials, along with analyzing data on deaths from the AAPP. The AP also reviewed satellite imagery and dozens of images and videos, with experts checking them against known locations and events. The numbers likely fall far short of actual killings because they tend to happen in remote locations, and the military suppresses information on them by curtailing Internet access and checking cell phones. There are similar cases taking place across the country at this point, especially in the northwest of Myanmar, Kyaw Moe Tun, who refused to leave his position as Myanmars United Nations envoy after the military seized power, told the AP. Look at the pattern, look at the way its happened.it is systematic and widespread. The military, known as the Tatmadaw, did not respond to several requests by phone and by email for comment. Three days after the Done Taw attack, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper dismissed reports of the slayings as fake news, accusing unidentified countries of wishing to disintegrate Myanmar by inciting bloodshed. The nature of how brazen this attack was is really indicative of the scale of violence we can expect in the coming months, and particularly next year, said Manny Maung, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. Just in the week of the Done Taw massacre, the military killed 20 more people in Sagaing, the AP analysis shows. And on Dec. 17, soldiers killed nine people, including a child, in Gantgaw township in the neighboring region of Magway, a witness told the AP, confirming AAPP data. Troops brought in by helicopter occupied the village for two days, and those who fled returned to find, identify and cremate rotting bodies, the witness said. The movement of troops suggests that violence in the northwest is likely to pick up. Two military convoys of more than 80 trucks each with troops and supplies from Sagaing have made it to neighboring Chin state, according to an opposition group. And a former military captain told the AP that soldiers in Chin State were resupplied and reinforced in October, and the army is now stockpiling munition, fuel and rations in Sagaing. The captain, who goes by the nom de guerre Zin Yaw, or Seagull, is a 20-year military veteran who deserted in March and now trains opposition forces. He said he continues to receive updates from friends still in the military and has access to defense documents, several of which he shared with the AP as proof of his access. His identity was also verified by an organization of military deserters. What the military worries about most is giving up their power, said Zin Yaw. In the military they have a saying, if you retreat, destroy everything. It means that even if they know they are going to lose, they destroy everything. ____ The Tatmadaw overthrew the enormously popular Aung San Suu Kyi in February, claiming massive fraud in the 2020 democratic election that saw her party win in a landslide. Since then, the military and police have killed more than 1,375 people and arrested more than 11,200, according to the AAPP. One of the earliest mass killings took place on March 14 in the township of Hlaing Tharyar in Yangon, the biggest city in Myanmar, according to a report this month from Human Rights Watch. Witnesses said that security forces fired on protesters with military assault rifles and killed at least 65, including bystanders. As the militarys tactics have turned increasingly brutal, civilians have fought back. Opposition started with a national civil disobedience movement and protests, but has grown increasingly violent with attacks on troops and government facilities. In May, the opposition National Unity Government announced a new military wing, the Peoples Defense Force, and in September declared a defensive war. Loose-knit guerrilla groups calling themselves PDF have since emerged across the country, with varying degrees of allegiance to the NUG. An early example of the military unleashing its battle-tested tactics on majority Buddhist areas came just 23 miles up the river from Done Taw in Kani township. In July, images circulated of massacres in four small villages that Myanmars ambassador to the United Nations called crimes against humanity. Four witnesses told the AP that soldiers killed 43 people in four incidents and discarded their bodies in the jungle. On July 9, soldiers in trucks rolled into Yin village in Kani, launching an attack that would leave 16 dead, according to three witness accounts. The soldiers started shooting and sent people fleeing. Troops surrounded a group in the nearby jungle, said one woman who was captured with her brother. She was set free, but would never see her brother alive again. When she returned with others three days later, they discovered his body on the forest floor, already rotting in the heat and showing signs of torture. We all live in fear, said the woman, who like the other villagers asked to remain anonymous for safety. We are worried that they might come back during the night. One 42-year-old man said a search party of 50 villagers found three separate clusters of bodies. Some appeared to have been dragged to death along rocky ground with ropes or with their own clothes. The bodies had been pillaged for gold. There were some fleshly remains and the odor was so foul, the villager said. We couldnt even get close because of the smell. The village is now terrorized into silence, he said, listening for the next attack with their bags packed and the normal rhythms of life frozen in fear. Another Kani resident told the AP that when soldiers approached his village of Zee Pin Twin on July 26, he fled into the jungle. He returned to find his home broken and blackened by fire. Precious goods were stolen, and important documents, food, and other belongings like wedding photos lay in a smoldering heap. Two days later, villagers with search dogs found 12 bodies, some buried in shallow pits in the jungle. A villager told the AP that they saw bruises and other signs of torture on the corpses, and that one mans hands were tied with military boot laces and his mouth gagged. The descriptions match photographs and videos of burned and brutalized bodies given to the Myanmar Witness monitoring group. When theres image and videos (in) three separate eventsits very hard to deny, said Benjamin Strick, head of investigations for the Britain and Thailand-based group. The AP could not independently verify the grisly images, but they also match incident reports collected by the AAPP. John Quinley, a human rights specialist with Fortify Rights, said the group believes the violence in Kani and in Sagaing is a direct result of PDF operations there. The Myanmar juntas strategy is to try to create an environment of terror and try to silence civilians and also try to drive out the PDF, Quinley said. ___ That strategy may not be working. Resistance has only stiffened, according to the Kani villagers. The whole village plays a role, one man said. Some women make gunpowder; people do not work; all the villagers somehow take part in the revolution. Another described a few shattered survivors in a village unified by hatred of the military. I am not afraid anymore, he said. Instead of dying fleeing, I will use my life for a purpose. Thousands of army desertions have been reported, although usually of lower ranks, said Quinley from Fortify Rights. These atrocities are happening to everyday people, you know, engineers, university students, businesspeople, he said. And so I think theres a growing solidarity movement across religious and ethnic lines. The Tatmadaw has the advantage of airpower and automatic weapons. But the opposition in Sagaing and Chin state relies on knowledge of the terrain and the support of locals, some lightly armed with muzzle-loaded home-made traditional guns. They just modify their skills of fighting to the defensive war and guerrilla warfare, said Aung Myo Min, the NUGs minister for human rights, in an interview from Europe. The armys attacks in Sagaing are thought to be the opening salvo in a campaign to stamp out resistance in Myanmars northwest, called Operation Anawrahta. Anawrahta was an 11th-century Buddhist king who established a Burmese empire, and the name carries a special meaning to the military, said the deserter, Zin Yaw. That means they are going to brutally crush the people, he said. More than 51,000 people are already displaced in seven Sagaing townships, including Kani, and another 30,200 in Chin State, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs. What were seeing in Sagaing is really interesting, because were talking about the Bamar heartland that basically should be the core foundation of this military, said Maung of Human Rights Watch. Its telling how worried the military is of its own people. There are now growing signs that the military is turning its focus on Chin state. Chin fighters claim to have killed dozens of soldiers, according to social media analysis by Myanmar Witness. As fresh soldiers have flowed into Chin state, residents have reported troops putting down protests with live rounds and brutal beatings. A teacher in the town of Mindat said many fled early on, but she was determined not to be forced out. Then the military fired artillery into the town so the houses would shake like an earthquake, she said. Her cousin, a member of the PDF, was killed by a sniper and his body boobytrapped, the teacher said. That evening, villagers tried to move the body from a distance with a stick. The body blew up. We didnt get back a body, she said. Instead we had to collect pieces. She fled to neighboring India in October. A half-days drive west from Mindat lies Matupi, a town with two military camps that is now bereft of its young people, according to a college student who fled with her two teenage brothers in October. She said the military had locked people into houses and set them alight, hid bombs in churches and schools, killed three protest leaders she knew and left bodies in the middle of roads to terrorize people. Yet the resistance has spread, she said. People are scared of the military, but they want democracy and they are fighting for democracy, she said from India, where she now lives. They are screaming for democracy. Thantlang, a town near the Indian border, has also been emptied of its people after four months of heavy fighting, according to the Chin Human Rights Organization. Drone footage shot by the group in October and December and seen by the AP shows fires raging inside buildings and charred churches, collapsed schools and ruined homes. The footage matches fires detected by satellites and interviews with villagers. Rachel, a 23-year-old who had moved home to Thantlang in June to escape the COVID pandemic in Yangon, said residents started hearing explosions and gunfire in the distance. The sounds gradually got closer starting in September. As the shelling hit the town, she and others hid on the ground floor of their local church for four days, she said. She then fled for a nearby village. But she sneaked back into town on Dec. 3 to gather belongings. While she was in her home with three friends, small arms fire and explosions suddenly erupted outside. She felt a hot burn as a bullet tore into her torso. Two of her friends bolted, leaving her alone with a cousin who has trouble walking due to a birth defect. She told him she was going to die and asked him to leave. But he stayed, wrapping her scarf around her stomach to stem the bleeding. The two managed to get to her motorbike, and her cousin held her with one hand as he drove with the other. A local doctor determined that the bullet had hit her cell phone and then gone into the left side of her stomach. I think I would have died there if it had not hit the phone, said Rachel, who asked to be identified by one name only for her safety. The following day she got across the border to Mizoram in India. In an interview with the AP from Mizoram, she said she would return home despite the danger to look after her ailing 70-year-old mother. In the meantime, the farmhand who told the AP about the Done Taw massacre is defiant. He had been passively supporting the PDF before, but is now vowing to avenge the killings of his neighbors. I have just decided to fight until the end for them, he said. I will do whatever I can until I die or until I am arrested. _____ McNeil reported from Beijing; Jain reported from New Delhi. HONOLULU (AP) The Navy on Wednesday filed objections to the conclusion by a Hawaii state official that it should be required to remove fuel from tanks it owns near Pearl Harbor. State Department of Health Deputy Director Marian Tsuji now has 30 days to consider the Navy's complaints before making a final decision on the matter. At issue is whether the Navy should be required, as ordered by Gov. David Ige earlier this month, to drain fuel from the tanks. The Navy argued it shouldn't. That prompted two days of hearings presided over by David D. Day, a deputy attorney general. After those hearings, Day on Monday recommended that the governor's order be followed. The governor issued his order after the Navy disclosed that fuel from a World War II-era fuel storage facility at Red Hill had contaminated one of its drinking water wells and sickened hundreds in military housing. Honolulu officials are concerned leaks from the facility may permanently damage an aquifer that sits underneath the tanks, jeopardizing Oahu's broader water supply. The Navy has a legal right to its filing, said David Henkin, a lawyer for Earthjustice, which represented the Sierra Club of Hawaii in the case. But it also has a moral obligation to acknowledge the reality that every day it fights this emergency order, is another day that Oahus principle source of drinking water remains at risk for catastrophic and irreversible contamination, Henkin said in a statement. The Navys filing Wednesday said Day used an overbroad interpretation of the Department of Healths emergency authority to regulate underground fuel storage tanks. The filing argued the current situation with the tanks did not pose an imminent threat to human health and the environment. Further, the Navy said Days findings improperly cited evidence of at least 76 incidents of fuel releases over the last 80 years as evidence that the fuel tank facility poses a constant threat to Oahus water supply. The filing said 30 of those releases were attributed to an early leak detection system with a flawed design that generated false positives. Another 26 leaks were from tanks 1 and 19, which have been permanently decommissioned. The Navys filing also objected to Days description of the Red Hill tanks as being too old, poorly designed, difficult to inspect and too large to prevent future releases. The Navy responded that the November fuel leak that contaminated the Navys drinking water well came from an accidental pipe release caused by human error and not from a tank leak. That release, in other words, does not support the Hearing Officers theory of system risk, the Navy said. LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) Nebraska Lt. Gov. Mike Foley signed a disaster declaration Wednesday to make state emergency money available to pay for damage caused by the severe wind storms earlier this month. The governor's office said the state declaration is required before Nebraska can request a federal disaster declaration for public assistance. Foley signed the declaration at the direction of Gov. Pete Ricketts, who is out of the state. RENO, Nev. (AP) A winter storm warning has been issued for southeast Nevada and the mountains west of Las Vegas through Friday afternoon. And a winter weather advisory runs through 10 p.m. Friday in parts of east-central and northeast Nevada, where overnight lows could drop into the negative teens by early Saturday. The remnants of a series of storms that dumped more than 10 feet (3 meters) of snow on the top of the Sierra over the past week spread into the rest of the state on Thursday with rain and snow in the east and upper elevations in the south. LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) Prosecutors have charged a man with groping a 10-year-old girl in an Onalaska Walmart. Online court records show 30-year-old Josey Amann was charged Dec. 15 with first-degree child sexual assault and resisting an officer. The La Crosse Tribune reported details from the criminal complaint on Wednesday. According to that document, Amman groped the girl in a store aisle on May 22. The girl told her mother, who confronted Amman. He fled the store. Police caught up with him at his job on Oct. 29. He said he didnt remember the girl or her mother. He then fled but was apprehended a short time later He told officers he was sick and needs help. Ammans attorney, public defender Tom Locante, declined to comment. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) A federal judge has approved a partial settlement of a lawsuit filed by the parents of a man who was shot and killed by Kansas City police in 2018. Court records do not include the amount of the settlement paid to the parents of 34-year-old Robert White by The Downtown Council of Kansas City and the area's community improvement district, The Kansas City Star reported. PHOENIX (AP) Phoenix police say a second man shot while inside a car stopped at a red light early Wednesday has died. Police on Thursday identified the victim who died at the scene as 27-year-old Everado Sandoval and said the other victim who died later of his injuries was 21-year-old Jorge Granados. According to police, at least one person in a second vehicle fired into the victims. A third person inside the victims' car wasn't injured. The shooting occurred at about 2:30 a.m. in the area of North 19th Avenue and West Camelback Road. Police made no immediate arrest and have said they'd like to hear from anybody with information on the incident. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) A retired FBI agent accused of driving his vehicle at high speed toward a group of boys on bicycles after they angered him could have his case dismissed and avoid felony convictions. Clifford Hedges, 62, who worked at the FBI for 27 years and was once named citizen of the year in Longmeadow, pleaded to sufficient facts in court on Wednesday, Masslive.com reported. The judge continued the case without a finding for one year and it will be dismissed if he complies with terms of a one-year probationary period that includes attending an anger management course and staying away from the 11- and 12-year-old boys. ISTANBUL (AP) A Turkish court accepted an indictment against suspects from a religious association Thursday in a case that could have political and legal repercussions on the opposition-held Istanbul municipality. The trial against 23 people involved with DIAYDER, which stands for Religious Scholars Mutual Aid and Solidarity Association, for purported links to outlawed Kurdish militants will begin on Feb. 18. Nine of the defendants are in pre-trial detention and some are said to work for the Istanbul municipality. The court's decision follows an Interior Ministry probe announced Sunday against hundreds of municipal staff for alleged terror links. Together, the cases have prompted worries that the government could be laying the groundwork for targeting popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is seen as a possible challenger to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections scheduled for 2023. Secular opposition Republican Peoples Partys Imamoglu came to power in 2019 in re-run elections after Erdogans ruling party contested his win, dealing a massive blow to Erdogan in Turkeys most important city. The opposition party has recently accused the government of mishandling the economy, calling for early elections. The 335-page indictment, accepted Thursday, said DIAYDER followed purported instruction by Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK, for setting up an alternative religious structure to Turkeys official religious authority in order to garner support from religious Kurds. The indictment states that people with links to the association were employed as imams and bathers for the deceased in preparation for Islamic funerals by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. It also says some of the suspects were handing over municipal aid to families with PKK links. Turkeys Interior Ministry said Sunday it launched a special investigation against 557 employees of the Istanbul municipality and linked companies. They are accused of links to terror groups, including the PKK, far-left groups and the network of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the government blames for the failed 2016 coup attempt. Minister Suleyman Soylu said they had identified people with terror links among employees and argued the move was to combat terror, including in public institutions. It's not political, it's a security issue," he said. Imamoglu, defending his 86,000 employees, called for Soylu's resignation. He said municipality staff must present official criminal records in order to be considered for employment and had asked the Interior Ministry to provide lists of suspects and information to investigate but had not heard back. Meanwhile, other opposition mayors came out in support of Imamoglu. They said unjust and baseless claims aimed to create suspicions on their municipalities and were part of dirty politics. Ozgur Ozel, parliamentary group leader of the Republican Peoples Party, repeated calls for early elections after criticizing the indictment, which he said was based only on two secret witnesses and a convicted PKK member. He accused the ruling party of trying to replace the mayor of Istanbul with a government-appointed trustee instead of going to the polls. The deputy chairman of the ruling party, Numan Kurtulmus, told Haberturk television Monday it was the government's job to identify and reveal people with terror links as he tried to ease concerns. There is no need to worry. ... I will say again, this has nothing to do with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayor. But Erdogans key nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, said Thursday that Imamoglu should be sacked if terror links are proven. The government has replaced and jailed numerous elected mayors from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, the second largest opposition party in parliament, for alleged links to the PKK. The PKK, which has waged an insurgency in Turkey since 1984, is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and others. Since the 2016 failed coup attempt, tens of thousands of people have been investigated, jailed or sacked from government jobs for purported terror links. MIAMI (AP) The University of Miami will start the spring semester with remote-only classes amid surging cases of COVID-19 in South Florida, school officials said. Julio Frenk, president of the private university, announced late Wednesday that classes will be conducted remotely when the semester begins on Jan. 18. In-person classes are expected to resume on Jan. 31, Frenk said in an email to students and faculty. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) State health officials and hospital leaders in Virginia are urging people who have mild coronavirus symptoms to avoid unnecessary trips to emergency rooms. Thursday's request by the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is being made at a time when the state is entering its fifth coronavirus surge since the pandemic began. State health officials say they've documented more than 50,000 new infections since Friday. At the same time, daily COVID-19 hospitalizations jumped from 922 on Dec. 1 to 2,100 on Thursday. That's a 128% increase. Health officials said hospitals are already feeling the strain of the latest surge. And a hospital visit isn't the appropriate place to go for someone who has contracted the coronavirus and has mild or moderate symptoms, the officials said. Most people can recover at home or reach out to their primary care doctor. The Health Department added that the peak of the current surge may not arrive until several weeks after the holiday season ends. That means the surge's impact on the health care system is likely yet to be fully felt. Later Thursday, an advocacy group that represents emergency physicians sounded a more dire alarm, issuing a statement calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to declare a state of emergency and calling on the Health Department to open more testing sites. The Virginia College of Emergency Physicians said in a statement that the state's emergency medicine system is under threat of collapse because of excessive patient volume. A significant contributor to overwhelming emergency department volumes is the lack of access to COVID-19 testing and care at other sites such as primary care offices and urgent care clinics, the statement said. The group said a state of emergency would offer hospitals greater flexibility to respond and enact protocols to more efficiently evaluate or treat patients. Grant Neely, a spokesman for Northam, said the administration was reviewing the request, which had just arrived Thursday afternoon. A day earlier, the governor issued a statement saying the record-setting number of new COVID-19 cases was a cause for concern, but not panic. He reiterated the importance of getting vaccinated to reduce both the likelihood of severe illness and the strain on the health care system. CATHLAMET, Wash. (AP) A decade ago, the Washington Supreme Court ruled in the landmark McCleary case that the state was failing to uphold its state constitutional duty to fund basic education for all students, but it stopped short of changing the funding system for building construction and improvements. Now, a lawyer in the McCleary case has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a small rural district in southwestern Washington, arguing the state is also violating the constitution by failing to ensure all students learn in safe and modern school buildings, the Seattle Times reported. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A COVID-19 surge since Christmas has brought confirmed daily cases in West Virginia to levels not seen in three months, and health officials on Thursday expressed concern that New Years get-togethers could make the situation worse. The state reported 1,908 positive cases on Wednesday, the most for a single day since a record 1,979 confirmed cases were reported on Sept. 23. Confirmed daily cases have more than tripled since Monday, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources. Statewide, active cases on Thursday hit 11,017. Thats the highest point since 11,223 on Oct. 9. Active cases have risen steadily since dropping to a three-month low of 4,500 on Nov. 25. West Virginia on Thursday reported 31 deaths from COVID-19, pushing the statewide total since the start of the pandemic to 5,336. Gov. Jim Justice read the ages and home counties of those who died most recently during a Thursday news conference. They included a 22-year-old from Lincoln County, which made Justice stop reading briefly and shake his head. That's a 22-year-old person that you lost, he said. That's really not good. That's really sad. Dr. Clay Marsh, the states coronavirus czar, said during the news conference that the spread of the omicron variant in the state lags the nation as a whole by about three weeks, with the variant detected in about 15% of West Virginia cases. He noted that omicron can affect even people who are vaccinated and boosted. However, vaccines and boosters help protect people from the most severe consequences of COVID-19, he said. This variant spreads ... faster than any other respiratory virus that we've seen, really, in our lifetime, Marsh said. Justice encouraged West Virginians to get tested for the virus if they are around someone who tests positive or if they start to feel sick. He also said people in situations where they are gathered with strangers should wear a mask; its no big deal. Justice also encouraged those who can to donate blood. And he noted that pandemic rental assistance is still available. Noting the surge in case numbers, Justice said, Im very concerned it could get into a situation where our hospitals are overrun. The Republican governor reiterated that he does not believe in government mandates and said he thought they would only harden some people's negative views of masking and vaccines. He said he hopes the state's continued appeals to West Virginians to protect themselves and their loved ones against the virus will motivate the unvaccinated. Another motivator would be if a bunch more people die, Justice said. We don't want that. ___ For answers to common questions about COVID, read the APs Viral Questions series at https://apnews.com/hub/viral-questions. ___ Travis Loller contributed to this report from Nashville, Tenn. EDNEYVILLE, N.C. (AP) A 3-year-old girl flown to a western North Carolina hospital on Christmas Day for treatment of what officials described as an accidental self-inflicted shooting has died, authorities announced on Wednesday. Aylee Gordon died late Tuesday at Mission Hospital in Asheville, the Henderson County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Hospitals and emergency medical services based in Scranton and York will be the first to receive help from federal teams to deal with the latest COVID-19 surge, Gov. Tom Wolfs administration said Wednesday. Three federal strike teams will arrive at the Scranton Regional Hospital and WellSpan York early next week and open about 30 additional acute care hospital beds for 30 days, the Wolf administration said in a statement. The weather forecast in Texarkana this week probably didn't predict light showers with a chance of fish. But the fishy phenomenon actually happened as strong thunderstorms moved through the East Texas city Wednesday afternoon. James Audirsch, who works at a used car dealership called Orr Maxx, told KXAN News that around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, he and his coworker Brad Pratt heard loud noises. When they looked outside, they were shocked to see fish slapping onto the sidewalk from above. "There was a loud crack of thunder and when we opened up the bay door, I looked outside and it was raining real hard and a fish hit the ground," Audirsch told KXAN. "And then I said, 'It's raining fish!' Brad was like, 'No it's not,' and I'm like, 'No, it really is!' and fish were dropping here and everywhere." All that remained as evidence of the post-apocalyptic-esque scene were small, 4-5-inch-long fish, silver and white in color, scattered throughout the parking lot of the dealership, at a dealership across the street and a tire shop next door, according to KXAN. However, local residents told the Texarcana Gazette that at least four locations in the town experienced the fish downpour. While some people said they only witnessed a few fish come down from the sky, others reported seeing up to 30. In a Facebook post, the city told residents that the rare and bizarre sighting was not a trick or a joke and explained that aquatic creatures can sometimes get swept up in strong storms like the one they were experiencing that day. In comments responding to the post, residents shared photos of the fish they found. "Animal rain is a phenomenon that occurs when small water animals like frogs, crabs, and small fish are swept up in waterspouts or drafts that occur on the surface of the earth," officials wrote in the post. "They are then rained down at the same time as the rain. While its uncommon, it happens, as evidenced in several places in Texarkana today." Hope Cozart was perplexed when she received a letter from her son Maddoxs school in April telling her he needed to cut his hair because it was too long. Even so, she obliged: She took Maddox to get a haircut, which consisted of shaved sides with a little more hair left at the top. Cozart would braid or plait her sons hair to keep it out of his face. But school officials from the Troy Independent School District, where Maddox was enrolled at Raymond Mays Middle School, outside of Temple, were still unhappy with the new cut. He was disciplined for breaking his schools dress code, which at the time prohibited male students from wearing their hair in a ponytail, bun or top knot. Maddox was placed in in-school suspension for more than 10 days and later in lunch detention, Cozart said. Her daughter, who had a similar hairstyle, never faced any issues. He was getting pulled out of class daily, sometimes by multiple teachers, and examined like he was an object, said Cozart, noting that her son is biracial and that his hair style relates to his Black culture. One time they called in three different people to examine his head to make sure that it was OK for him to be in class. Cozarts experience is part of a series of recent conflicts across the state over school dress codes, some of which have turned into civil rights court battles over gender and race. In the Houston area, a lawsuit filed against Magnolia ISD in October accused the district of violating Title IX and students 14th Amendment protections by prohibiting male students from wearing long hair. This month, the districts school board reached a settlement agreement and voted to eliminate its gender-based policy on hair. Their decision comes more than a year after a similar lawsuit involving two Black male students who wore their hair in dreadlocks while attending Barbers Hill ISD, also near Houston, and were punished for breaking the districts hair length policy for male students. The lawsuit is still ongoing, and the districts policy is still in place. Legal experts say school districts have had wide freedom in crafting dress codes and grooming policies for decades, but they believe those rules particularly those that directly or indirectly single out specific groups by gender or race are approaching an inflection point where reassessment is necessary. For many years, [dress codes] were sort of a set it and forget it [policy] for school districts, said Joy Baskin, director of legal services for the Texas Association of School Boards, a nonprofit group that represents local school boards across the state, helps review districts policies and provides assistance on how to navigate legal developments affecting Texas public schools. They had set their policies or procedures in their handbooks and left them in place for many, many years without reexamination, but in light of current challenges and attention being brought to dress and grooming, I think its been recently an area of greater attention. Creating the rules Cozart publicized her sons ordeal on social media in hopes of putting pressure on the school to change its hair policy, and the incident gained plenty of local attention. She considered taking legal action alleging gender and racial discrimination, but she ended up not doing so after the district sped up an in-depth review of its dress code policy, which happens every three years. Troy ISD Superintendent Neil Jeter said changes were made to the dress code as part of the regular review process, which included a districtwide survey and happened to align with Cozarts complaints. The district introduced a more gender-neutral policy that no longer specifies that hair should be worn at a certain length or limited to specific styles based on gender. In Texas, school districts dress codes are largely determined at an administrative level. While drafting new rules, school administrators may consult and receive input from school boards, students and parents, Baskin said, but ultimately they are not required to do so. Theres no standardized process sanctioned by the state for creating or reviewing dress codes. Ultimately, school districts seem to agree that educators need some guidance on what kind of styles are permitted among students. Some reasons listed in Texas school districts policies to explain the inclusion of dress codes include the need to instill discipline, prevent disruption and teach grooming and hygiene. Although Jeter agrees that dress codes are subject to scrutiny and review, he said theyre still needed to help keep students focused on their education. I do believe that how students dress can help set the environment for a good educational experience, so theyre focusing on their studies instead of the latest trend or fad, Jeter said. Its not uncommon for school districts to have gender-based guidelines in their dress codes. In September 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas found that out of the 1,000-plus school districts in Texas, nearly 500 had gender-specific provisions in place as part of their dress codes. The Texas Education Code mentions how school boards can adopt rules about school uniforms, but not dress and grooming codes. According to the Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education in the state, districts are authorized to adopt dress codes which may apply differently on a gender basis. The Texas Association of School Boards advises its members that although districts have rather broad authority when it comes to instituting dress code policies, they should consider diverse perspectives when crafting policies. Obviously, the world is changing and theres more awareness among courts about the potential for the impact of practices that may be intended to be generic, but in fact have a discriminatory impact, Baskin said. Dress codes under a new light Many Texas school districts defend their dress codes based on a pair of Texas Supreme Court rulings from the 1990s that concluded it was not discriminatory for school dress and grooming codes to differentiate based on gender, said Brian Klosterboer, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Texas. However, federal courts outside of Texas have ruled in recent years that gender-based dress codes could be classified as gender discrimination under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination in educational settings on the basis of sex. I think that these [gender-based] policies under modern case law are pretty clearly unconstitutional and illegal, and it's past time for districts to update them, Klosterboer said. According to Andrew Siegel, a law professor at Seattle University and co-author of Of Dress and Redress: Student Dress Restrictions in Constitutional Law and Culture, legal arguments examining whether a dress code policy is discriminatory under federal law or violates equal rights protections are a shift from the First Amendment arguments that that were once at the center of legal challenges to school dress codes. Until the late 1960s, students appearance in U.S. public schools was mostly dictated by unspoken societal norms and expectations, with formal dress codes being a rare tool, Siegel said. As culture shifted, young people began to adopt new clothing styles and habits, and the pushback led to the adoption of dress code guidelines. The clash led to litigation, including the landmark 1968 U.S. Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, in which justices ruled that students right to freedom of speech did not end when they entered school doors. Under the ruling, schools cannot suppress student speech unless they can prove it would interfere with school operations. As more litigation sprouted, the enforcement of dress code guidelines began to dissipate, Siegel said. Back in the 60s and early 70s, before schools kind of voluntarily did away with these various codes and uniforms, there was a developing legal movement to provide broad rights to students, and thats kind of disappeared, Siegel said. According to Siegels research, trends in politics, policing, parenting and race relations in the 1980s and 1990s led to a reemergence of uniform policies and dress code restrictions being implemented in schools, with courts empowering schools with greater latitude to control and monitor students style choices. But fresh concerns over discrimination have pushed some school districts to ensure their dress code policies reflect modern times. Jeter, the Troy ISD superintendent, said his district made sure to consult with its attorneys when revising its school dress code. We were also influenced by the legal tone in our nation right now, specifically regarding gender, he said. Impact on students of color In some instances, dress codes have also been challenged over potentially discriminatory treatment on the basis of race and ancestry or religion. This year, the ACLU of Texas has sent at least two complaints to the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Civil Rights concerning male students of Native American heritage being punished for wearing their hair long, which aligns with their cultural and religious beliefs, according to the organization. Mahogane Reed, an attorney with the NAACPs Legal Defense Fund, said the 2020 case of the Black male students who were disciplined for wearing dreadlocks at Barbers Hill ISD illustrates how sometimes students are caught at an intersection of identities and can be affected by school dress codes that dont account for cultural intricacies. I dont know that we have a standard set of provisions that sort of completely eradicate any form of discrimination and enforcement of policies, but certainly gender-based hair policies or policies that are enforced in such a way that disparately impact minority students [and] students of color [are] not the answer, Reed said. Binary dress codes have also presented a dilemma for LGBTQ and nonbinary students such as Danielle Millers fifth grade child, Tristan, who is nonbinary and one of the seven plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Magnolia ISD. When I explained that we would have to adhere to a boys dress code [to Tristan], it was just met with complete trauma, and I realized that we werent going to be cutting their hair and were going to have to do everything we had to to go ahead and fight this because its not OK, Miller said during a media briefing with the ACLU. For Ryder Appleton, superintendent of Mexia ISD near Waco, dress codes are not a one-size-fits-all approach, especially considering the racial and gender diversity in his district, he said. The district reviews its dress code annually, Appleton said, and this year it made notable changes: It got rid of its hair length policy, allowed both female and male students to wear earrings, and permitted tattoos as long as theyre not offensive, vulgar or inappropriate. Ultimately, Appleton said, the district wants to focus on keeping students in school and in class, especially after dealing with a high level of absences because of the pandemic. I think recently, [the] dress code was looked at as almost like a list of Ten Commandments, of thou shalt not do this or that, and we have deployed more of a New Testament version of lets look at the intentions of a person, Appleton said. Its open as opposed to more restrictive. Baskin said changes in the states demographics could also have contributed to the increase in complaints against school dress codes. Results from last years census show that 95% of the states growth since 2010 was fueled by people of color. I think the reason Texas stands out in terms of the national conversation is that we have such a variety of districts, Baskin said. We have growth in Texas that causes places that were once rural to become more suburban, and our rapid growth or demographic change has allowed really there to be more transitions and more awareness brought to these issues. Although Troy ISD has now adopted a new dress code policy, Cozart said she chose not to let two of her children return to in-person classes this year because of what her son Maddox went through and other incidents in which her daughter was called racial slurs. (In a statement, Jeter said Troy ISD investigates and responds to allegations regarding racial slurs and that it did not receive any allegations of racial slurs from Cozart in a formal grievance.) Since the clash over Maddoxs hair, the family has shown support for the CROWN Act, legislation that would prohibit hair discrimination in schools and the workplace. It was voted out of committee during this years regular session but was not taken up on the House floor for a vote. A spokesperson for the bills lead author, state Rep. Rhetta Bowers, D-Garland, said the lawmaker plans to reintroduce the legislation during the next regular session. Cozart and her family are looking to move to a new area outside of Troy. She said her kids have requested to go to a school where theres people who look like us. I just want them to feel comfortable and safe where theyre going [to school], Cozart said of her children. Because where they were at, they didnt feel comfortable and safe. Disclosure: The Texas Association of School Boards and the ACLU of Texas have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. The City of San Antonio is urging residents to remain vigilant while celebrating New Year's Eve amid the rise of the highly contagious omicron variant. Metro Health is reporting a major increase in COVID-19 cases that can be attributed to the new strain, according to a news release from the city on Wednesday, December 29. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, omicron accounted for approximately 25 percent of cases state-wide the week of December 11. A week later, that number more than tripled, accounting for approximately 85 percent of all COVID cases. "The omicron variant is spreading in our community, but we have the necessary tools to fight the virus and ring in 2022 in a safer way," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in the release. "Get vaccinated, get your booster shot and mask up. If you're planning to meet up with those outside your household, consider using a self-test or getting tested. By practicing these tried-and-true health measures, we can all kick off 2022 in a safer way." Officials recommend individuals who plan to ring in the New Year with family and friends practice a few safety measures to avoid COVID-19 infection, especially as Bexar County has seen an increase in daily case numbers this week. The safety measures include being vaccinated against the virus, getting tested, wearing a well-fitting mask, staying home if they are sick, and celebrating in well-ventilated or outdoor spaces. If you have not received your test results and were exposed to a confirmed positive case of COVID-19, stay home, Metro Health noted. If you test positive, stay home and do not gather with others. "As we prepare to celebrate the New Year, we ask that Bexar County residents exercise caution to avoid infection from the coronavirus and help prevent spreading it to others," Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said. "All of us must be on guard now that omicron is the dominant variant in the community." Leaders also stress the importance of testing. Officials ask others to consider using a self-test before joining indoor gatherings with others who are not in your household. Also, they remind folks that a positive self-test result means that you have an infection and should avoid all gatherings to reduce the risk of spreading the disease to someone else. Metro Health Director Claude A. Jacob added to wear a mask regardless of your vaccination status. He noted that those feeling ill should stay home and get tested even if the symptoms feel like allergies. "The omicron variant is responsible for the expected increase in daily cases we are seeing. This variant is highly transmissible, but we can all do our part to contain its spread," Jacob said. "Getting vaccinated can help prevent serious illness or hospitalization, and people who have breakthrough cases are much more likely to only have mild or no symptoms." Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance on the isolation and quarantine periods for individuals exposed to COVID-19. To that effect, Metro Health has issued an updated health advisory recommending this guide to the public. In short, both isolation and quarantine periods for asymptomatic people are shortened to five days, followed by five days of mask-wearing in shared public spaces. Metro Health's Alamodome Drive-Thru Clinic is operating on a holiday schedule this week. It is closed Wednesday, December 29 and Friday, December 31. The clinic will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday, December 30. Regular hours of noon to 8 p.m. resume January 5. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form How to hire immigrants for jobs in Canada Learn about the process for hiring foreign employees to work in Canada. How to hire immigrants for jobs in Canada Learn about the process for hiring foreign employees to work in Canada. How to hire immigrants for jobs in Canada Learn about the process for hiring foreign employees to work in Canada. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Every year, Canadian employers fill hundreds of thousands of jobs with foreign workers. If you want to hire foreign talent, the first step is to determine if you need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). A positive LMIA signals to the federal government that there is no Canadian available for the job, and you as the employer can hire the foreign worker without negatively impacting the Canadian labour market. Once you get the LMIA, the worker can then apply for a work permit. Work permits that require LMIAs fall under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Sometimes the position gets categorized into Canadas broader economic or cultural objectives. Employers hiring for these types of positions do not require an LMIA. These LMIA-exempt work permits fall under what is called the International Mobility Program (IMP). In some cases, the foreign worker does not require a work permit. Work permit-exempt positions may include media, business visitors, athletes, and others who are working in Canada temporarily. Get help with Canadian work permits Who needs an LMIA? Most Canadian employers need an LMIA before they can hire a foreign worker. You do not need an LMIA if one of the Canadian governments LMIA exemption codes or work permit exemption codes applies to your situation. If you are still not sure, you can contact the International Mobility Workers Unit so long as you are hiring a foreign worker from a visa-exempt country who is not already in Canada. How to apply for an LMIA Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is the federal department responsible for issuing LMIAs. The application process depends on what type of program you are hiring through. They are broken into four categories: Once you get the LMIA, then your foreign employee can apply for a work permit to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). What do workers need from the employer to apply for a work permit? To apply for a work permit, a foreign worker needs four documents: a contract; a copy of the LMIA; the LMIA number; and a job offer letter. The job offer letter is less detailed than a contract, and includes information about: employees pay and deductions from pay; job duties; and conditions of employment, such as hours of work. If the worker is approved, they will receive a letter of introduction. They can then get their work permit from a border services officer when they arrive in Canada. If they are already in Canada, IRCC will mail them the work permit. Hiring if you do not need an LMIA If you are hiring a foreign worker through the IMP, you first need to pay an employer compliance fee and submit an offer of employment form through the Employer Portal. After you have done this, then your worker can apply for a work permit. Hiring foreign workers in Quebec If you are hiring under the TFWP in Quebec, the foreign worker will need to apply for a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) from the Ministere de lImmigration, de la Francisation et de lIntegration (MIFI). However, if you are hiring through the IMP, the worker does not need a CAQ. Hiring for a permanent position You can support your employees immigration process if you want to offer them a permanent position. One of the ways you can help your employee immigrate to Canada is through the Express Entry system. This is only for foreign nationals who have work experience in an occupation that falls under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes 0, A, or B. Keep in mind, the NOC will change to the TEER system in 2022. Employers hiring under the remainder NOC skill levels C and D may be able to support their employees immigration through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP), or another Canadian immigration program. Express Entry candidates are chosen to apply for immigration based on a points system. They can get more points for having a valid job offer. The requirements for a valid job offer are different depending on which program the candidate is eligible for. Under the Express Entry system, there are three: Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). For the CEC and FSWP, a valid job offer must be for a job that is at least one year in duration after IRCC issues the permanent residency visa. It cannot be seasonal, and it must be at least 30 hours per week. Again, the jobs are only valid if they fall under NOC Skill Level 0 (managerial occupations), A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades). For FSTP candidates, a valid job offer must also be for at least one year of full-time work, and fall under NOC Skill Level B. The wages and working conditions should be comparable to those offered to Canadians working in the same occupation. FSTP candidates may receive job offers for up to two employers. What to tell new employees before coming to Canada Public health measures are constantly changing at the border depending on the COVID-19 situation. The Canadian government website has the information on how to comply with the most up-to-date regulations. Depending on the country where your new employee is coming from, they will either need a visitor visa or an electronic travel authorization. These documents are issued along with the work permit. They may also have to undergo a medical exam during the application process, depending on what type of work they will do in Canada and where they have lived in the previous year. Also, some countries have exit requirements on their citizens. Your foreign worker can check with their government to find out what they may need to do before leaving their country. Get help with Canadian work permits CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701) Today Mainly cloudy with snow showers around in the morning. High 31F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%.. Tonight A few clouds. Low near 15F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. NEW YORK (AP)A lawsuit by an American who claims Prince Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17 might have to be thrown out because she no longer lives in the U.S., lawyers for the Prince said in a court filing Tuesday. Attorneys Andrew Brettler and Melissa Lerner wrote that they recently discovered Virginia Giuffre has lived in Australia all but two of the last 19 years and cannot claim shes a resident of Colorado, where she hasnt lived since at least 2019. In an August lawsuit, Virginia Giuffre claimed that the prince abused her on multiple occasions in 2001. The princes lawyers in October asked Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to throw out the lawsuit, saying the prince never sexually abused or assaulted Giuffre and they believed she sued Andrew to achieve another payday at his expense and at the expense of those closest to him. The lawyers acknowledged that Giuffre may well be a victim of sexual abuse by financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting a sex trafficking trial. Last month, Kaplan said a trial in Giuffres lawsuit against the prince could occur between September and December 2022. But the princes lawyers say the new information about Giuffres residence should result in the suspension of any further progress in the lawsuit toward trial, which would include depositions of Andrew and Giuffre, until the issue is settled as to whether her foreign residence disqualifies her from suing Andrew in the U.S. They asked the judge to order Giuffre to respond to written legal requests about her residency and submit to a two-hour deposition on the issue. The lawyers wrote that Giuffre has an Australian drivers license and was living in a $1.9 million home in Perth, Western Australia, where she has been raising three children with her husband, who is Australian. Even if Ms. Giuffres Australian domicile could not be established as early as October 2015, there can be no real dispute that she was permanently living there with an intent to remain there as of 2019still two years before she filed this action against Prince Andrew, the lawyers wrote. They said the timing of Giuffres registration to vote in Colorado prior to filing the lawsuit against the prince was suspicious and appears to be a calculated move in an effort to support her specious claim of citizenship in Colorado despite having moved to Australia at least a year (if not four years) earlier. A message seeking comment from Giuffre to the latest filing by the princes lawyers was sent to a spokesperson for her lawyers. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they choose to come forward publicly, as Giuffre has. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Gaining momentum with every win, a disturbing defense strategy is invading courtrooms across America. Its target: shaken baby syndrome a devastating cascade of injuries that can lead to life-long brain damage in an infant, even death. A small but vocal group of defense witnesses are telling the courts that the science behind shaken baby syndrome also known as abusive head trauma, or AHT has been debunked. This attack on medical science is overturning convictions and setting legal precedent in the nations highest courts even persuading the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg. But theres a problem. Major medical associations and child abuse specialists say these claims just arent true. Medical science, itself, is now on trial, said Dr. Suzanne Haney, the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, in a powerful op-ed published in May. Child abuse specialists say these witnesses are confusing judges, juries, medical examiners and the media with theories for a childs injuries that may hold little to no scientific validity. Their efforts are even keeping cases of alleged child abuse from coming to trial. We begin with the story of one of those cases. A tiny hand reached out and grabbed a huge fistful of first birthday cake. Bringing it to her mouth, little Rehma Sabirs eyes widened as she realized her good fortune. She went nuts on that cake, remembers Anupendra Sharma, a family friend. She was beaming. She would take a piece and offer it to the grandmothers. It was adorable. As the only grandchild, Rehmas birthday was a special occasion no family member wanted to miss. Rehmas parents, Sameer Sabir and Nada Siddiqui, held her party on the weekend before her special day so relatives could fly from London and Toronto into Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was a really happy weekend, Sameer said. Everything seemed right with the world. Two days later on Rehmas actual birthday January 14, 2013 all that changed. Rehma was still asleep when her nanny of six months, 34-year-old Aisling Brady McCarthy, arrived around 8 a.m. Nada recalls Rehma woke, ate her breakfast, then cheerfully played with her birthday presents while both women watched. The newly minted 1-year-old was active and curious, Nada said, putting blocks into the holes of a sorter and playing choo-choo with her new toy train. Rehma pretended to have a tea party, using two dainty fingers to sip from her teacup. When Nada headed to work around 9:30 a.m., Rehma burst into tears. Crying when left with her nanny had become commonplace for Rehma, Nada said, but she considered it simply age-appropriate separation anxiety. To make sure all was well, Nada texted Ash, as the family called her, at 10:14 a.m. Ash replied that Rehma was asleep. How odd, Nada thought. Rehma was always on the go, so napping at that time of day was highly unusual. Nada tried to shrug off her concern: After all, Rehma was likely tired from the weekends birthday festivities. Over the next six hours, several people entered and left the apartment, but only saw Rehma on a baby monitor, asleep in her crib. Sameers parents arrived at 11:30 a.m. and asked to see Rehma, but were told not to disturb her nap. After waiting for well over an hour, they left to have lunch and run errands. During their wait, at approximately 12:15 p.m., a friend of the family dropped off her nine-month-old son for Ash to watch. She too did not see Rehma awake, neither then nor when she picked up her son at 4 p.m. Around 4:30 p.m. Sameers parents returned, and were quite surprised to see Rehma on the baby monitor, still asleep. Ash told them Rehma woke around 1:20 p.m. and had eaten a bit before slumping in her high chair as if tired. She had then put Rehma back in her crib and the baby had slept ever since. Concerned, Rehmas grandmother entered the babys room, rushed to the crib and tried to wake her. Just then, Nada returned home. You know how people talk about how theres a moment when your life changes and you always remember that moment? Nada said. I remember walking into the doorway of our apartment building and looking up and hearing Ash say, Nada, something is wrong. We cant wake Rehma up. Nada recalled running up the stairs to find Rehma in her grandmothers arms. She was breathing, but her eyes were closed and her body was jerking. And then, it was just a rush of memories. There were just policemen in the room and they were crouching by her paramedics, fire department, Nada said. Someone said, Its her birthday. Someone said, Oh, my God! Rehma was in a coma when she arrived at the emergency room at Boston Childrens Hospital. Doctors in the intensive care unit noticed injuries that were telltale signals of child abuse: bleeding inside Rehmas brain and behind her eyes, as well as bruising on her skull and along her spine. Hospital X-rays found more red flags: healing fractures in Rehmas left arm and leg, along with new compression fractures in her spine. I remember that my first reaction when the doctor said that was, How is that possible? Nada said. I dont understand how a little girl can have fractures that are healing and no one ever picked up on it. No doctor. Not me, her mother who was with her all the time. Not her nanny who was with her all the time, Nada added. She just showed no signs. Its possible to miss such injuries, explained Rehmas pediatrician, Dr. Michael Yogman, because doctors try to avoid damaging radiation from X-rays during infancy. Thats the surprising thing about babies, Yogman said. They can have fractures and not show any discomfort. Obviously, if she had shown some discomfort, we probably would have jumped at getting X-rays at that point. As medical concerns began to mount, a call went out in the wee hours to child abuse pediatrician Dr. Alice Newton, asking her to review the case. Newton is one of a few hundred specialists in the country who undergo an additional three years of training beyond medical school to become board certified in child abuse. In that role, Newton has been at the epicenter of several high-profile Boston child abuse cases, earning accolades from child protection advocates and ire from defense attorneys and parental rights groups. Newtons first stop was the radiology department to view scans of Rehmas brain. Looking at the CT scan performed just after Rehma arrived at the hospital, she was worried by the severe swelling eliminating the typical hills and valleys that make up a brains architecture. Newton turned to the MRI of Rehmas brain, taken about six hours after the CT scan, along with the results of a state-of-the-art high contrast scan that shows changes at the cellular level. Her brain stem was already swollen, Newton said, pointing to the scans during an interview with CNNs Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The brain was herniating or swelling so much that it was coming out of the cranial cavity. Gesturing to some white areas of the scan, she added, This is all brain tissue that is dead or dying, and that is going to lead to her death. This is irreversible when we see this. Shaken baby syndrome is a subset of abusive head trauma, or AHT, defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an injury to the skull or brain of a child under 5 due to inflicted blunt impact and/or violent shaking. According to the nonprofit National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, approximately 1,300 children in the United States are reported to be victims of abusive head trauma each year. Because symptoms may be easily misdiagnosed and therefore unreported, child abuse specialists say the actual incidence of AHT is much higher. Approximately 25% of diagnosed cases of abusive head trauma are fatal, experts say. Some 80% of the survivors will suffer lifelong disabilities, which may contribute to an early death. When five-month-old Benjamin Dowling suffered abusive head trauma in 1984, his injuries were so severe that he lived with permanent brain damage until his death in 2019. Maintaining her innocence, the babysitter charged with the abuse pleaded no contest to attempted murder and aggravated battery. She was sentenced to 60 days in jail on the weekends and three years of probation. However, forensic experts recently ruled Benjamins death 35 years later was directly caused by the prior trauma. Based on that ruling, a Florida grand jury indicted the now 59-year-old babysitter on new charges of first-degree murder. She was arrested in July, pleaded not guilty, and is currently awaiting trial. Heres what child abuse specialists believe happens when a baby is violently shaken: The force propels the infants brain back and forth inside the skull, tearing tiny bridging veins at the top while severing nerve fibers deep inside the brain. The resulting cell damage triggers inflammation and initiates a tragic cascade of swelling throughout the brain and brainstem, leading to seizures and abnormalities with heart rate, blood pressure and the ability to breathe. Babies who are shaken often have swollen brains; bleeding in the back of the eyes, called retinal hemorrhages; and bleeding under the dura, a membrane between the brain and the skull, called a subdural hemorrhage. Despite the devastation happening inside the skull, there may be no external physical signs of trauma. No one knows the amount of force needed to shake a baby to death. The definitive study a randomized trial in which researchers shake live babies of various ages will obviously never happen. Biomechanical studies have attempted to recreate the injuries by shaking live lambs and piglets, mechanical recreations of babies, or dummies, and even dead babies. The results have been mixed. Critics of the science behind shaken baby syndrome, including Wisconsin Innocence Project co-founder Keith Findley, say basic physics show pure shaking, that is, shaking alone wouldnt produce the brain and eye bleeding seen in AHT. And if it did generate forces sufficient to create subdural hematomas and then retinal hemorrhages, it would almost certainly fracture the neck, Findley added. All of that force has to transfer biomechanically. Child abuse specialists disagree. A babys neck isnt likely to fracture during shaking because loose musculature in infant necks offers little resistance during shaking and soft, cartilaginous cervical vertebrae don't break, said retired child abuse pediatrician Dr. Robert Reece, editor of the book, Child Abuse: Medical Diagnosis and Management. In addition, specialists point to newer science using expensive autopsy and MRI techniques that found injury can occur at the hinge between the base of the skull and the spine where the brain stem is located. When we started doing that, we found out, lo and behold, there is injury to that area, which explains why these children have disordered breathing or stop breathing, said Penn State pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Mark Dias, who conducted one of the studies. Police began searching Sameer and Nadas Cambridge apartment the next day. Behind Rehmas changing table, detectives found a piece of drywall missing. A police report described it as consistent with being damaged by forceful contact with the corner of the table. The damage was not there before they left for work, Sameer and Nada told authorities. Next to the changing table, police found human blood on six baby wipes discarded in a diaper pail. More blood was found on a baby wipe in a kitchen garbage can, on a pillowcase and blanket in Rehmas crib and on the onesie Rehma was wearing. DNA testing confirmed it was Rehmas, according to the prosecution. None of the family had seen blood on Rehma or knew of any injury that would explain the discovery. An upstairs neighbor told police she had heard Rehma screaming and crying around the time Nada left for work. At 9:30 a.m., the neighbor said the crying became so extreme that she came downstairs and began knocking on the front door. She told police she could hear the baby often gasping for its breath between cries. The neighbor told police she then began pounding on the door, timing her knocks between cries. No one responded. The crying continued while the neighbor, who worked from home, went back upstairs to prepare for a 10 a.m. conference call. By the time her 20-minute call was over, she said, the crying had stopped. At the hospital, Newton and her team of specialists were hard at work on their differential diagnosis. Thats a term doctors use to explain how they review and eliminate conditions that might cause the symptoms they see. In cases of suspected child abuse, the list of possibilities is long and includes a host of metabolic diseases, genetic syndromes, tumors, clotting disorders, infections and vitamin deficiencies. Potential causes are carefully crosschecked with a childs medical record and a thorough interview of the family. If needed, appropriate tests are run. Rehmas family had previously flagged one potential concern to doctors: her history of easy bruising. Rehma had sustained bruises on three occasions that were worrisome, Sameer said, so we were fairly persistent with our pediatricians to investigate any potential cause. When Rehma was 10 months, she had a full workup by a specialist in blood disorders at Boston Childrens Hospital. The hematologist found a small deficiency in a blood clotting protein called von Willebrand factor. But Rehma had Type O blood, which is often associated with a mild deficiency. Rehmas lower levels, said the specialist, were not enough to consider her at risk for bleeding. This baby did not have a bleeding disorder, said Yogman, Rehmas pediatrician, whose office ordered the tests. She had some of the problems that we see every day in the first year of life feeding issues, some reflux but by and large she was a healthy little girl. Newton and her team decided there was only one credible explanation for Rehmas condition: The abuse had to have occurred that day, Newton maintained, because immediately after the injury, Rehma would not have appeared normal. Holding vigil in the ICU, Sameer and Nada were slowly losing hope that their baby girl would recover. I was just sitting in the room watching the monitors, Sameer said. The nurse came in the room and checked her pupils. One of her pupils had dilated, which was a bad sign. And it all went south very quickly from there." Nearly 48 hours after she was found unresponsive in her crib, Rehma Sabir was declared brain dead. Sameer asked me to come to the back of her room and we sat there, Nada recalled, slowly and quietly. And I remember he just took my hand and said, Shes gone. I didnt fight, I didnt do anything, Nada continued. And I remember leaving that room thinking that my life was over. As the only person caring for Rehma after her parents left that day, Aisling Brady McCarthy was at the center of the police investigation. In statements to the police on January 15 and 16, McCarthy said Rehma was cranky as usual, but ate her breakfast and then played with her tea cups and train. McCarthy said Rehma was whiny, after Nada went to work, so she put her down for a nap around 10:15 a.m. Rehma woke just after 1 p.m. and McCarthy said she placed her in her highchair. She said Rehma only ate two spoonfuls of food but held her bottle independently and had normal eye contact. After leaving Rehma briefly, McCarthy told police she returned to find Rehma with her head down. The baby had heavy eyes and looked sleepy, McCarthy said, so she took Rehma back to her crib, singing as they went. Rehma remained in her crib from approximately 1:30 p.m. until she was found unresponsive around 4:30 p.m. McCarthy said she checked on Rehma around 2:30 p.m. and again at 4 p.m., and the baby showed no signs of distress. According to the Commonwealths Statement of the Case, McCarthy admitted she had sole care and custody of Rehma all day; she also denied any accidental or other trauma to Rehma and had no explanations for her injuries. Because McCarthy was considered a flight risk her visa had expired and she was in the United States illegally prosecutors moved quickly to keep her from leaving for Ireland, her native country. McCarthy was soon indicted by a grand jury for murder and assault and battery and held on $500,000 bail. For Nada and Sameer, it was unthinkable that a woman they liked and trusted could have hurt their daughter. They pinned their hopes on the autopsy, hoping the results would provide an alternative answer. For a very long time, we felt sorry for Ash and we did not have bad feelings towards her, Nada said. We struggled with it because she was our friend. We kept thinking something is going to turn up. There will be some rare condition [Rehma] passed away from, Nada said. If we had to lose our daughter, we hoped it was to that and not to this horrifying scenario. A few months later, Boston medical examiner Dr. Katherine Lindstrom released the autopsy report. She found blunt force injuries behind Rehmas right ear, on her back and right buttock, and healing fractures in Rehmas left arm, leg and upper back. She also found typical signs of abusive head trauma: detached retinas and widespread bleeding in both eyes; blood in the subdural layer of the brain, which is the tissue between the brain and skull; and swelling in Rehmas brain and spine. She concluded Rehmas death was caused by complications of blunt force trauma to the head. It was, she said, a homicide. Child abuse pediatrician Newton wasnt surprised by the findings. Rehma did have quite a terrible bruise, which I think was related to being thrown down on the side of her head and her ear, Newton told Gupta as she pointed to Rehmas CT scan. Reading the autopsy was excruciating for Nada and Sameer, confirming their worst fears. Rehma didnt pass away peacefully in her sleep, Nada said through tears. I try not to think about what she must have gone through. It just destroys my brain when I do that The story of McCarthys arrest for Rehmas death made international headlines. There was a media frenzy not unlike that of another Boston case, the historic 1997 Nanny Trial of 19-year-old British au pair Louise Woodward, broadcast live on Court TV. The attention took its toll on Nada and Sameer. I just felt like we couldnt catch a break, Nada said. We couldnt be left alone just to be sad, to remember her. The grieving couple said news crews camped out in their front yard, spurred on by defense team speculation that Rehmas healing fractures occurred while the family traveled to visit relatives over the holidays. The defense also told the press that Rehma was not a victim of abuse but was a sickly, malnourished child. The family had videos of Rehma taken during their holiday travels that showed a lively, curious child who was full of energy laughing, crawling and pulling herself up on furniture. But Nada and Sameer choose not to make them public. The media just wanted a story. I dont want to add to a story, shes my daughter, Nada said. This had become about Ash, and shaken baby syndrome and a controversy. Everyone forgot this is my daughter. Trial preparations limped along. One year passed, then another. Finally, a trial date was set for fall of 2015, nearly three years after Rehmas death. Suddenly, just weeks before the trial was to begin, came a shocking development: Medical examiner Dr. Katherine Lindstrom had changed her mind on the cause and manner of Rehmas death. It was no longer a homicide. The district attorney called Sameer and Nada on Friday, asking to meet Monday before the news was publicly announced. The couple spent the weekend hoping Lindstrom had spotted a disease or cause of death that everyone had missed. Please, they told each other, give us an understandable reason for Rehmas death that will bring us peace. But that was not to be. When I realized what her reasoning was, Sameer said, It was like being hit by a bus. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 29) The countrys Typhoon Odette relief response gets another much-needed boost from the United States, with Washington through USAID setting aside 950 million pesos, on top of its initial pledges for humanitarian assistance. To date, total aid from the U.S. government has reached 1.101 billion. In a joint press briefing, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. welcomed the massive amount of aid from the U.S. Our American partners are now the single largest country contributor to the governments efforts to help our communities severely impacted by the typhoon as they begin the process of rebuilding their homes and lives, Locsin said. The U.S. initially provided $200,000 (10 million) immediately after the typhoon to provide food, water and hygiene supplies to affected communities in hard-hit areas like Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands. Last Dec. 27, the U.S. provided an additional $1 million (50 million) for logistical support. U.S. Charges DAffaires Heather Variava said they allocated more funds to ensure supplies reach affected areas. She said some of the initial assistance was used for operational support in transporting supplies. This assistance is aimed at immediate needs including food, water, sanitation and hygiene. As we know, after disasters, there is a risk of illness and disease so we have a lot of water and sanitation and hygiene, as well as temporary shelter, she said. Variava said they will also extend support to other affected areas like Bohol and Cebu. She added that they are working with humanitarian experts who conduct rapid assessments to determine the allocation. She also plans to visit hard-hit areas to oversee U.S. relief activities. Locsin acknowledged the challenge of getting the supplies to hard-hit communities. He cited his experience and observations during Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Cash relief is oddly the most efficient. Because what we discovered during Yolanda, you give people money, they find someone to buy the goods they need. On the other hand, they have also generated income for those who are able to put together needs, he said. Locsin encouraged people to donate through the proper channels to ensure aid will reach the victims and they will be given what they need. Give to Red Cross because thats their job. Give to USAID, thats their job. They know how to do this. You give it to those who have worked longest in this kind of endeavor, he said. Typhoon Odette left the country last week after causing widespread destruction in the Visayas and Mindanao. It affected over a million families in more than 6,000 barangays. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 30) A continuous increase in COVID-19 cases may indicate a potential transmission caused by the feared Omicron variant, an infectious diseases expert warned on Thursday. Dr. Rontgene Solante, chief of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine unit of San Lazaro Hospital, told CNN Philippines' The Source that he is not discounting the possibility of an Omicron-driven spread in the coming days, after the country recorded 889 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, the highest in over a month. RELATED: DOH reports 889 new COVID-19 infections; active cases at 10,418 "I don't discount the possibility that it could also be Omicron-driven," Solante said. "But lets look at it first. When you look at Delta, Delta alone is highly transmissible." "If you put in an Omicron variant which is more transmissible, twice as that of Delta, these are signs that maybe we have the Omicron variant," he also said. Solante added: "If we look at the experience of other countries that already had the Omicron variant, it is the rapidity by which cases are increasing in a 24-hour interval. Its really the number of cases that we will be looking at on a day-to-day basis." "If there will be a rapid increase in the next few days, most likely we are dealing with a highly transmissible variant and that is the Omicron," he warned. Solante, also a member of the government's Vaccine Expert Panel, noted that even the vaccinated can get infected with the variant, but more studies should prove whether milder cases are more common than severe ones. He added that regardless, a sudden surge in cases may continue to overwhelm the country's healthcare capacity if left unmanaged. OCTA Research fellow Prof. Guido David earlier told New Day that the slight uptick in cases is not just solely caused by holiday gatherings, since infections seem to double every two to three days. "This is a pattern that is actually very similar to what we observed in many countries that recently had significant increase in cases like South Africa and the United Kingdom and even the United States," he said. "So definitely those are something you know, those are factors that we should consider regarding the alert level." Solante recommended that the country retain its Alert Level 2 status by January 2022, but David said additional restrictions must be in place for minors and unvaccinated people to reduce transmissions. Solante also urged the public to not be complacent about the minimum health protocols and get their booster shots as soon as they can. READ: OCTA suggests more restrictions for minors, unvaccinated in January Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 30) Charges are already being prepared against a coronavirus-positive woman who recently returned home from the United States but skipped quarantine protocols. "As we speak...the BOQ [Bureau of Quarantine] and even the DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government], they are filing cases," Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat told CNN Philippines' News Night. The woman later on infected other people. Puyat said one of the traveler's friends had at least 23 secondary contacts. The woman also claimed to have "connections" - explaining how she was able to skip the quarantine. But the woman's friends themselves squealed on her, according to Puyat. "When we inquired with the said hotel, the hotel said that she was in isolation. But the friends signed an affidavit saying that she indeed was with them the day after she arrived and we even have CCTV cameras," Puyat said. "This person not only went to Poblacion, but also went to other parties," she added. Puyat said the woman later on admitted to her friends that she had indeed breached quarantine protocols. She tested positive on the fifth day since arriving and is now in an isolation hotel. Her companions were also infected, the secretary added. The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday said government agencies are already investigating the incident. The Tourism department is also waiting for the hotel's explanation. "With the Department of Tourism, we have to wait for the explanation of the hotel to see what penalty we can give, it could be as bad as suspension of their accreditation, which means they have to close," Puyat said. The country is seeing another rise in COVID-19 infections after 1,623 new cases were reported on Thursday. The positivity rate also jumped to 6.6% - higher than the ideal 5% rate set by the World Health Organization. The DOH is reminding the public not to be complacent so as not to waste the government's efforts against COVID-19. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 30) Private hospitals may push through with the so-called "PhilHealth holiday" in February 2022, the president of one hospital group said. Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. President Jose de Grano told CNN Philippines' The Source on Thursday that they had to postpone their planned five-day protest from Jan. 1 to Jan. 5 to give consideration to patients who are relying heavily on the state health insurer. "[It will be held] most likely February," De Grano noted. "A lot of patients requested that we defer it because they said they will be affected and they want to be prepared so that when the PhilHealth holiday comes, they will be able to schedule their procedures," De Grano said. PHAPI initially urged its members to temporarily stop accepting claims from PhilHealth between Jan. 1 and Jan. 5, 2022, forcing patients to pay the entire hospitalization cost. RELATED: 'PhilHealth holiday' by private hospitals postponed According to De Grano, PhilHealth is making a "one-sided" offer which is not acceptable to most hospitals. This includes the implementation of the debit credit payment method (DCPM), which refers to payment of 60% of the total applicable healthcare facility receivables, with the remaining 40% to be disbursed only after the full compliance of these facilities with existing claims processing requirements. Private hospitals have long complained about the mounting unpaid claims of the agency, which they said affected their operations amid the pandemic. De Grano said PhilHealth still owes hospitals up to 10 billion worth of claims. "[We have] about 500 active members out of 1,200 private hospitals. We are expecting them to have the holiday when we announce it," he added. Where to find at-home tests in Columbia As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, here was the availability of at-home tests: Hyvee Pharmacy, Conley Road: Had tests available Kilgore's Medical Pharmacy, Providence Road: None in stock, expecting a shipment by Thursday Flow's Pharmacy, Broadway: None in stock, expecting a shipment Wednesday afternoon Flow's Pharmacy, Keene Street: None in stock, expecting a shipment Wednesday afternoon NextRx: None in stock, expecting a shipment Wednesday D&H Drugstore, Broadway: None in stock D&H Drugstore, Paris Road: None in stock Boone Plaza Pharmacy: None in stock Walmart Pharmacy, Conley road: None in stock Walgreens: None available online Backlog The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) defines backlog as anything that has not been started within 30 of receipt by the lab. The backlog is the sexual assault kits that are submitted to the MSHP lab for testing on recently committed sexual assault cases. Unreported sexual assault kit these are sexual assault kits that are collected by medical providers, but the survivor does not want to report the case to law enforcement. In 2020 the MSHP lab began storing these kits for medical providers. These kits are not tested (unless the survivor changes their mind and requests testing), and will be destroyed after 5 years. These kits are not part of the MSHP lab backlog. Untested sexual assault kit s these are sexual assault kits that were stored by law enforcement and never submitted to a lab for testing. In 2018 the Attorney Generals office conducted an inventory of these sexual assault kits. The Attorney Generals office is working on submitting these kits to private laboratories for testing. These kits are not submitted to the MSHP lab for testing and are not part of their backlog. The process First, the inventory was completed to know where all the kits were. Following that, the AG's office worked with local police department by using regional shipping events where smaller local police departments from around a 25 to 50 mile radius would bring their kits. The larger department hosting the event would then gather all the kids and then ship them off to a lab to be tested. The shipping processes were designed to make it easier for smaller and more rural police departments, and in turn preserve the chain of custody so fewer people handled the kits. The AG's office has contracted out several private labs for the testing of these kits, and the Marshall University for analysis. Marshall University houses a technical team that does a lot of crime analysis, and they conduct a technical review of the results, just to interpret exactly what's going on with the kits after the labs tested and gave DNA profiles back. Many times there is hardly enough DNA material collected in the kit to produce a full DNA profile, or the profile being not strong or complete enough to be uploaded. Sometimes the kit is old enough that the collected DNA has been damaged, as some cases go back somewhere around 40 years or more. At other times, the collected DNA also turns out to be of the victim's own, or of a consensual sexual partner, which is determined throughout the course of the investigation in accordance with the FBIs requirements. Kits with a full DNA profile are sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's crime analysis division, and the AG's help, they enter those kits into the FBI's DNA collection database called combined DNA index system, or CODIS. CODIS contains DNA profiles from previous offenders, and tries to match the profiles with those already existing in the system. This process is called producing a CODIS hit. When a CODIS hit happens, the MSHP and AG's office gather information to work with the victim to present a sort of packet to the local prosecutor where the crime potentially occurred, and then they consider prosecution. According to the latest data from late September, 963 of the 2000-plus shipped SAFE kits returned DNA results. Of them, 352 were eligible for CODIS upload, and 155 of them produced CODIS hits. This has allowed the AG's office to make 35 criminal referrals to local prosecutors across the state. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. For Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), 2021 was a year of big change. The New Jersey healthcare network with 17 hospitals rolled out thousands of Chromebooks to staff to support a rapid shift to remote work for many workers. The deployment was also the first step in a wider project that involved replacing Office 365 with Google Workspace for 40,000 employees and the adoption of Googles Cloud Platform. HMHs move to Google was accelerated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by the sudden the need to support staff that were able to working outside healthcare facilities. At the beginning of the pandemic..., we did not have a full UC platform rolled out, said Mark Eimer, senior vice president and associate CIO and CTO at Hackensack Meridian Health. Most of our applications work very well within our four walls, but they didn't work for a true mobile workforce. The pandemic forced us to pivot very quickly. When our CEO said everyone thats not doing direct patient care needs to work from home, we purchased 3,000 Chromebooks, got them configured in kiosk mode and basically sent people home. Hackensack Meridian Health Mark Eimer, senior vice president and associate CIO and CTO at Hackensack Meridian Health. The rollout of Chromebooks was a success, said Eimer, and led to an increase in the number of telehealth visits carried out during the pandemic. And with remote worker productivity rising during this time (to the extent that HMH hired a chief wellness officer to address employee burnout) the hospital network plans to continue its hybrid remote strategy long term. The hardware rollout has also now been extended to 5,000 Chrome OS devices to more frontline staffers. What began with non-direct patient care this year, as well as 50 ambulatory sites, will be expanded to all hospitals beginning in January. (Staffers access HMHs Epic health record system via Citrix Workspace on the Chromebook devices.) By the end of 2022, we will be one of the few, if not the only, large integrated delivery health networks that have rolled out Google Workspace and Chrome OS across the board, he said. Ransomware threats Why did HMH choose to distribute Chrome OS-based devices? Security is one driving factor, simplicity is another, said Eimer. If I think about operational support in the field, there's so much complexity on a Windows device. We're removing all of that, which enables the device to boot up faster, and allows a clinician to log in quicker because of the simplicity of the Chrome OS platform. In terms of security, ransomware is a key consideration for any healthcare organization, with the industry itself a growing target. Its particularly pertinent for HMH, which fell victim to a ransomware attack two years ago. Eimer said that Chrome OS devices are a less likely target for ransomware than Windows devices, due to the prevalence of Microsofts operating system. There are 12 ransomware attacks on companies every single day, he said. We know that Microsoft Windows is a targeted platform. Whether it be to a Linux-based platform on the desktop or in the data center, our goal is to try to move off as many Microsoft platforms as we can, because it is hugely targeted. Swapping Office 365 for Google Workspace Another aspect of the Google partnership has been a switch from Microsofts Office 365 to Googles Workspace productivity and collaboration application suite. This meant moving all 40,000 HMH employees in a single big bang migration. We're past implementation and we're now in optimization, said Eimer. HMH uses most of the apps in the Workspace suite, including Docs, Meet, Chat and Spaces, as it phases out Microsofts productivity and collaboration software suite. We were on Office 365 for years. If you look at Office 365..., Microsoft tried to patch together a lot of applications. They're not very seamless, they don't work well together. Users have found that moving between Workspace apps is more intuitive, with the individual tools integrated more effectively. While some of this is available in Office, it isnt stitched together as seamlessly as it is in Google, he said. Workspace app features and functionality are just one aspect of move. As a healthcare organization with tight budgets, saving money was another key driver for the switch, said Eimer. Microsoft is continuing to increase the price around Office 365. The average healthcare provider has a 2% operating margin: I can't continue to pay exorbitant rates on the Microsoft side and still have both state and federal governments keep reducing reimbursement rates: I'm getting squeezed on both sides, he said. The migration of 40,000 staffers to Workspace Managing the migration of tens of thousands of staff from familiar Office 365 tools to Googles suite was no small feat, least of all during a pandemic. Support from senior leaders was crucial, said Eimer. I sat very closely with our executive leadership team to ensure, multiple times, that I had executive leader buy in and support. If I didn't have that, then I wasn't moving forward, he said. Nevertheless, managing the project was a major undertaking. We spent a significant amount of time on organizational change management. [This included] partnering with our learning and development team within HR. We built a resource site with self-paced, web-based training, so that everyone could learn on their own time and own schedule, he said. Other aspects of the rollout included hosting webinars on the use of Workspace apps, as well as sessions for executive admins who needed to support multiple executives, and department-level training where required. We over-communicated multiple times about the resource site and schedule, said Eimer. We also spun up a specific Google service desk, specifically for the go-live, and we had a command center to address any issues and concerns at the time. Because the two platforms operate in different ways, change can take some adjusting to. We spent a lot of time on explaining 'in Word, you do this, and in Google Docs, you do it this way,' because a lot of people tried to take what they learned in Microsoft and do it in Google. It's really just about acclimation, because Workspace, for the most part, is about 80% [feature] parity-even with Office. Although most of the migration is done, theres still a way to go to complete the transition from to Workspace. We still have 5,000 people using Microsoft Office, and the goal is to fully get rid of Microsoft Office, so we're still working on that. HMH is talking with Google executives about tailoring Workspace apps to suit the workflows specific to healthcare staff. The hospital network will also continue to expand its use of the Google Cloud Platform, particularly around the use of Big Query databases going forward. Our goal at Hackensack Meridian Health is to pull out the bulldozer and build a whole new path for healthcare and life sciences, leveraging the Google platform to be the productivity and end user device platform of choice, and to get it to work seamlessly in healthcare, said Eimer. 12/30/2021 Photo (c) Thanasis - Getty Images Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.) Total U.S. confirmed cases: 53,715,547 (53,217,506) Total U.S. deaths: 823,115 (821,346) Total global cases: 284,807,611 (283,243,283) Total global deaths: 5,425,516 (5,418,524) Johnson & Johnson booster showed effectiveness against Omicron Johnson & Johnson today announced new preliminary results from the South African Phase 3b Sisonke study. The results showed that its booster demonstrated 85% effectiveness against COVID-19-related hospitalization. The study was conducted by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and showed that the vaccine booster reduced the risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 among healthcare workers in South Africa after Omicron became the dominant variant. "We believe that the protection could be due to the robust T-cell responses induced by the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, said Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head, Janssen Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson. Furthermore, these data suggest that Omicron is not affecting the T-cell responses generated by our vaccine." Demand for COVID-19 tests outpacing supplies As the Omicron variant spreads across the nation and people return from holiday gatherings, there is an increased need for testing. But current supplies of the tests are not matching the demand, officials say. The U.S. is once again a day late and a dollar short in responding to the pandemic, Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the San Francisco-based Kaiser Family Foundation, told the Wall Street Journal. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the number of COVID-19 cases rose by roughly 60% this week, with most caused by the Omicron variant. WHO warns of new variants The Omicron variant wont be the last mutation of the virus to emerge, and those that come later could be a lot worse. Thats the blunt message from the World Health Organization (WHO), which warned that later variants could be resistant to existing vaccines. As this pandemic drags on, its possible that new variants could evade our countermeasures and become fully resistant to current vaccines or past infection, necessitating vaccine adaptations, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. Tedros repeated his plea for nations to work together to improve global supplies, access to vaccines, and other infrastructure that could slow the spread of the virus. Around the nation Ohio: Gov. Mike DeWine is mobilizing an additional 1,250 additional members of the Ohio National Guard to help overwhelmed hospitals around the state. "We are so maxed. We are tired and we are frustrated and we want the best for all of our patients," Jennifer Hollis, a critical care nurse at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, told the Columbus Dispatch. "Please get vaccinated." New Hampshire: The surge in new cases of the coronavirus has meant some restaurants have had to make tough choices. Patty B's in Dover announced that it is closing for a week after several staff members tested positive for the virus. The restaurant is still selling some products that are made ready-to-go for home ovens, but its business will still take a financial hit. Tennessee: Cases of COVID-19 are up more than 100% week-over-week, putting a strain on hospitals. Health officials say the positivity rate on COVID-19 tests is running at about 20%. When there is 19%, 20%, 25%, thats concerning, Dr. Loren Lipworth, an epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told WKRN. Michigan: A Michigan schoolteacher was on a flight to Iceland just before Christmas when she tested positive for COVID-19 while over the Atlantic. Marisa Fotieo told NBC News she voluntarily isolated for the rest of the flight, a period of about five hours, in one of the aircrafts cramped restrooms. 12/30/2021 Photo (c) Artur Debat - Getty Images Get ready for another rash of flight cancellations as we enter the New Years weekend. According to FlightAware data, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant, Delta Air Lines, SkyWest, and Horizon have all canceled 50 or more flights between Thursday and Saturday. JetBlue is suffering much of that interruption due to a growing number of coronavirus-related illnesses among its crew members. FlightAware data shows that JetBlues current list of cancellations totals 367 through New Years Day. "We expect the number of Covid cases in the northeast -- where most of our crewmembers are based -- to continue to surge for the next week or two," a JetBlue spokesperson told Reuters. "This means there is a high likelihood of additional cancellations until case counts start to come down." The impact of JetBlues cancellations could also be felt in other parts of the country where it has secondary hubs such as Florida, Virginia, and California. A spokesperson for FlightAware said JetBlue probably wont be the only airline that will be canceling a large number of flights. We would expect to see more delays and possibly more cancellations over the weekend if the thunderstorm weather that is forecast to be an issue in the southeast United States actually happens, and if there is a widespread area of weather, the spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs. That area of projected storms could impact Atlanta, which could be problematic especially for Delta Airlines as thats their main base. What cancellations travelers can expect For a full rundown of flight cancellation data, consumers can view FlightAwares data here. Below are some of the details that ConsumerAffairs pulled out as of Thursday afternoon. Affected Points of Departure The greatest number of canceled domestic flights on Thursday 148 began at Seatac Airport in Seattle. After that, other affected points of departure include Liberty Newark with 48, JFK with 40, and Orlando, Boston, and Ft. Lauderdale with 34 each. Friday cancellations are similar, but Denver International rises to the top of the list with 69 cancellations. There has also been a spike in cancellations at Houston Bush International (17) and Chicago OHare (13). Its probably too early to tell how Saturday will eventually play out, but New Year's Day cancellations for origin airports are currently led by Liberty Newark (14), JFK (8), and Los Angeles LAX (8). Affected Destinations As far as destination airports are concerned, Seattles Seatac leads the way with 141 cancellations. Its followed by Newark with 60, Los Angeles LAX with 45, and Denver with 40. For Friday, Denver moves into the top spot with 62 cancellations. Its followed by Newark with 38, Seattle with 37, Boston Logan with 26, JFK with 25, Ft. Lauderdale with 23, and Houston Bush with 22. Domestic U.S. cancellations for Saturday are too early to predict accurately, but Denver, Newark, and JFK all listed 16 cancellations apiece on Thursday afternoon. 100% Website telunjuk.com uses latest and advanced technologies. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 79488 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 378565 bytes (369.69 kb uncompressed) and 37237 bytes (36.36 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-12-30, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. If there was one question on audiences' minds as the theater lights came up following Eternals's second and final post-credit scene well, other than why isn't Harry Styles giant and purple? it was what the hell just happened? Described as having what may be the weirdest ending of any Marvel movie yet, as Polygon's Susana Polo put it, the ominous voiceover-filled finale wasn't always how the film came to a close. Eternals originally had a really bleak ending," according to director Chloe Zhao, one better suited for Men in Black or like, that one Jimmy Neutron Halloween episode with the sentient evil pizzas than the MCU. It used to end with everybody back on the ship, minds erased, and just going on to another planet, like The Twilight Zone," Zhao explained in a recent interview with Empire. Despite this very 60s callback, it seems the ending just wasnt Marvel-y enough. I remember when it goes to black, everyone was like, I dont know what to do,' she continued. "And also, its the MCU, and you want to be excited for whats next. Although earlier in the interview, Zhao explained that she didnt hate this original conclusion as she a) co-wrote the damn thing and b) is used to films that are more melancholy, the average non-Oscar-winning superhero fan was apparently less than enthused by the ending. I dont think it went down well with audiences," she said. As such, the film needed a massive overhaul and a new conclusion all during the movie's edit phase. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) With a new and more infectious coronavirus variant sweeping California, attorneys representing inmates say violations of health orders by prison staff risk a repeat of the outbreaks that killed dozens in the first year of the pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration is fighting a federal judge's order that all California prison workers must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or have a religious or medical exemption. The administration argues in part that frequent testing can help limit the virus's spread. But large percentages of employees who are required to be tested twice weekly aren't doing so, and most of those workers face no consequences, inmates' attorneys said in a recent court filing, citing figures that officials now say are suspect. The concern comes as new cases soar across California and state models predict a gradual increase in hospitalizations and intensive care admissions over the next month. More than 5,100 people were hospitalized and more than 1,100 in the ICU statewide, numbers expected to climb above 7,300 and 1,300 by the end of January. The Greater Sacramento region meanwhile joined the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California with an R-effective that measures infection rates above 1. Anything above 1 means the number of infected persons will increase, and only the Northern California and San Joaquin Valley regions remained below 1. Corrections officials temporarily shut off new admissions to the reception center at Wasco State Prison in the San Joaquin Valley, the site of California's worst current prison outbreak with more than 150 new infections in the past two weeks. They also are restricting inmates' movement, programs and visitation at institutions with outbreaks. And starting Monday, inmates statewide must be fully vaccinated to have in-person or family visits, unless they have approved religious or medical exemptions. The twice-weekly testing requirement applies to about 10,000 unvaccinated corrections employees, nearly a third of whom weren't complying from mid-October through mid-November, according to the most recent data provided by corrections officials. Yet the state's figures show fewer than 20 employees were disciplined during the same time frame, though corrections officials said those numbers are misleading, "partly because fully vaccinated staff who are not subject to the testing requirement may show as noncompliant with testing. The prisons had nearly 350 active inmate coronavirus cases Thursday, up from fewer than 190 just two days earlier, with nearly half the total at the Wasco prison. There were lesser outbreaks at prisons near Norco, Corcoran, San Diego, Folsom and Chino. There were nearly 400 new infections among prison employees statewide. Prison officials said they have not seen an increase in hospitalizations, which have remained between one and three over the past two months statewide. The prisons lag behind the communities," said Steve Fama, an attorney with the nonprofit Prison Law Office that represents inmates. The virus has to skip into the prisons, literally leap into its got to get over the wall, and that just takes time. The cases are a fraction of the system's nearly 100,000 inmates and nothing like the outbreaks last year, including one that sickened 75% of inmates at San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco, killing 28 inmates and a correctional officer. Since the start of the pandemic, 245 inmates and 49 corrections staff have died statewide. Corrections officials said they continue to enforce a mask mandate for all staff, and require unvaccinated workers to wear N95 masks and submit to twice-weekly testing twice the frequency required by the California Department of Public Health. They also said in a statement they are "diligently resolving discrepancies in the staff COVID-19 vaccination and testing data but can't yet provide updated statistics. A related review by corrections officials of staff at two prisons that house the sickest inmates reduced the percentage of those initially listed as not complying with health rules from more than 10% to just 2% at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville and from more than 8% to about 5% at the California Healthcare Facility in Stockton. Meanwhile, vaccinations are lagging among contractors at those prisons, inmates' attorneys say, despite a separate requirement that all employees there be inoculated. Again there are few consequences, according to court documents, because contractors cannot be disciplined for failing to comply. Contractors are not state employees, but are supposed to comply and they should not be working in the institution if they are not vaccinated, Paul Mello, an attorney for the corrections department, said in response at a recent court hearing. Contractors including medical providers make up about a quarter of employees at the Vacaville prison, but only 37% are vaccinated as required. They make up nearly one in five employees at the prison in Stockton, with 61% vaccinated. That compares to about 80% of permanent employees vaccinated at the two prisons. State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomas Aragon last week expanded on the vaccination order for all paid and unpaid individuals who are regularly assigned to provide health care to inmates or work in prison medical settings or in local jails. They were supposed to be vaccinated by mid-October, and his order now requires them to get booster shots by Feb. 1. Citing the new omicron variant that he said may be two to four times as infectious as the delta variant, Aragon warned that "even a moderate surge in cases and hospitalizations could materially impact Californias health care delivery system within certain regions of the state. The federal court-appointed receiver who controls medical care in California prisons said officials are working to get boosters in all eligible inmates by year's end. Of about 70,000 eligible inmates, nearly three-quarters had received one by mid-December. CARLYLE, Ill. (AP) Police have arrested a Kentucky man in connection with the fatal shooting of an eastern Illinois deputy early Wednesday and a carjacking in neighboring Missouri a couple of hours later. An Illinois State Police SWAT team arrested Ray Tate, 40, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on Wednesday afternoon at a home in Carlyle where Tate allegedly committed a home invasion and took the homeowner hostage in addition to the carjacking victim, police said. Tate was charged with murder by the Wayne County States Attorney and lodged in the Clinton County Jail. Neither the carjacking victim nor the home invasion victim was injured, police said. No other suspect was being sought, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The Wayne County, Illinois, Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post that Deputy Sean Riley responded to a motorist assist call on Interstate 64 near Mill Shoals around 5 a.m. Wednesday. A second officer who arrived at the scene found Riley dead. The deputy's squad car was later found abandoned on I-64. The search for the suspect extended to St. Peters, Missouri, where police believe a man involved in a shooting and carjacking shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday at a QuikTrip convenience store was the same person who killed the deputy. St. Peters police spokeswoman Melissa Doss said in an email that there was evidence at the QuikTrip scene which indicates the suspect was also involved in the series of crimes which occurred in Illinois earlier this morning. She declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation. St. Peters police said the man drove away from the convenience store in a car that was later found near Interstate 70 in nearby O'Fallon, Missouri. The suspect then stole a white pickup truck, police said. Carlyle is 47 miles (76 kilometers) east of St. Louis. SEOUL, South Korea __ South Korea says itll extend the toughest social distancing rules for another two weeks to try to lower critical cases and guard against the omicron variant. The government said Friday the current restrictions such as a four-person limit on private gatherings and a 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes will continue until Jan. 16. Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol says South Koreas daily caseload has recently dropped to the 5,000s from the previous 8,000s thanks to the current distancing guidelines enforced two weeks ago. But he says the number of critically or seriously ill patients remains above 1,000. Kwon says the omicron variant also continues to spread throughout South Korea and that its difficult to prevent it from becoming the dominant strain in South Korea. On Friday, South Korea added 4,875 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the national tally to 630,838. Health authorities said theyve also confirmed 269 new cases of the omicron variant, taking the countrys total to 894. ___ HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: US children hospitalized with COVID in record numbers U.S. health officials press nursing home workers to get booster shots New COVID-19 cases in US soar to highest levels on record Do at-home COVID-19 tests detect the omicron variant? Canadian provinces adopt restrictions amid daily case records ___ Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic ___ HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY: NEW YORK A coronavirus surge has upended plans to hold a major nuclear treaty conference at the United Nations next month, with participants agreeing Thursday to postpone the meeting days before its scheduled start. After nearly two years of pandemic delays, delegations from around the world were due to converge Tuesday on U.N. headquarters to take stock of the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty, a pillar of nuclear arms control. But organizers are now penciling in an Aug. 1 start date, according to an email Thursday from the U.N. disarmament office to entities involved. The conference was initially scheduled for spring 2020. As coronavirus cases spike again in the U.N.s host city of New York and a growing number of staffers are sick or or quarantined, the world body told the conference leader Monday that it couldnt accommodate a big gathering now. The NPT is the worlds most widely ratified nuclear arms control agreement, with 191 participating countries. Nations without atomic weapons committed not to acquire them and to allow verification that nuclear energy programs werent morphing into weaponry. Countries that had nukes when the treaty was signed the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China -- agreed to move toward eliminating them. ___ TORONTO Quebec is reimposing a nighttime curfew beginning New Years Eve, and Ontario has delayed the resumption of school by two days as several Canadian provinces report new highs for COVID-19 infections. Quebec Premier Francois Legault says the curfew will be in effect 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. as of Friday night and will run for an indefinite period. Quebec imposed a pandemic-related nightly curfew last Jan. 9 and did not lift the measure until May 28. It has been the only Canadian province to order a curfew over the coronavirus. In Ontario, classes had been scheduled to resume Monday but that has been pushed back to Wednesday. Officials say that will give schools time to provide N95 masks to staff and deploy more HEPA filter units. ___ HONOLULU Hawaii set an all-time record for new coronavirus cases on Thursday as the state of about 1.5 million people reported nearly 3,500 new infections. The daily total of new cases reported by health officials was 3,484, topping the record of 2,205 cases set the day after Christmas. The state was averaging just over 100 new cases a day at the beginning of the month. The latest surge came about two weeks after the first omicron variant case was confirmed in Hawaii. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said there would be no new restrictions on Oahu over the New Year holiday. He said people should take personal responsibility to curb the disease. ___ SANTA FE, N.M. New Mexico is running short of free at-home rapid tests to detect COVID-19 infections as the state struggles with the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The company that runs the states program said Thursday that the states supply of tests was overstretched. The announcement came hours after Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wrote that residents could order a testing kit today. By afternoon all available tests have been shipped and Vault Health was offering paid testing instead. The state reported an additional 2,209 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 26 additional deaths. ___ NEW ORLEANS -- Louisiana is setting records for new COVID-19 diagnoses, and the states omicron variant surge is just beginning, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday. Thursdays 24-hour total of 12,467 new cases was more than a third above Wednesdays 9,378, Edwards said during a news conference livestreamed on Zoom. He said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesdays figure was itself a state record, topping 7,548 set in August, during the delta variant surge. Edwards says the number of people hospitalized with the virus has risen 268% since Dec. 17, to 762. The governor said he would not mandate masks unless such an order is needed to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed. But he said people should heed masking recommendations from both the CDC and the state Department of Health. Wearing a mask is a minor inconvenience compared to being in a hospital struggling to get oxygen or watching a loved one struggling to get oxygen, he said. He and other state and hospital officials around south and central Louisiana repeatedly urged everyone to take precautions such as getting vaccinations and booster shots. ___ JACKSON, MISS. Mississippis Supreme Court chief justice issued an emergency order Thursday allowing judges to postpone jury trials through mid-January because of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolphs order also allows courts to use teleconferencing, videoconferencing and electronic filing to limit in-person contact in courts. Felony plea, felony sentencing and probation violation hearings can be conducted remotely. The order is an extension of safety regulations that were already in place. Emergency Administrative Order 25 is the fourth emergency order issued by the chief justice since August which allows judges to postpone jury trials. In his most recent order, Randolph cited the recent uptick in cases especially the highly contagious omicron variant. As of Dec. 14, there were 575 new COVID-19 confirmed infections in Mississippi. Approximately two weeks later, the number of confirmed cases increased more than eightfold, to 4,885 cases, Randolph said. ___ SACRAMENTO, Calif. With a new and more infectious coronavirus variant sweeping California, attorneys representing inmates say violations of health orders by prison staff risk a repeat of the outbreaks that killed dozens in the first year of the pandemic. The most recent statistics show large percentages of employees who are required to be tested twice weekly arent doing so, and most face no consequences. Corrections officials say they are updating those figures but have not yet provided new data. Officials are temporarily shutting down admissions to Wasco State Prison in the San Joaquin Valley where there have been more than 150 new infections in the past two weeks. Starting Monday, officials say inmates statewide must be fully vaccinated to have in-person or family visits, unless they have approved religious or medical exemptions. The actions come as new cases soar across California and state models predict a gradual increase in hospitalizations and intensive care admissions over the next month. ___ SEATTLE A Seattle-area medical system says it will soon limit COVID-19 testing appointments at its community testing sites because of an astronomically high positivity rate. The Seattle Times reports UW Medicine said Thursday appointments will be limited to only those with symptoms or known exposures. Of UW Medicines 12 community testing sites, nine will soon start limiting appointments. Three will close temporarily. The positivity rate is measuring more than 40% at some South King County testing sites and the high rate is slowing scientists ability to parse out which samples are actually positive. ___ MADRID New coronavirus cases have hit the tenth daily record in Spain, with an unprecedented 161,688 new confirmed infections as the fast-spreading omicron variant takes the reins. According to figures released by Spains Health Ministry, Thursday was the second day in a row when new cases soared over the 100,000 mark. The 14-day contagion rate, which informs policymakers response to the pandemic, rose to 1,775 new cases per 100,000 residents nationally. Thats up from 1,508 the day before. The northern Navarra region recorded more than twice the national average. Spanish officials have taken pride in a successful vaccination rollout that has led to more than 80% of the countrys 47 million people having gotten two vaccine doses. On Thursday, health officials announced that 80% of those 60 and older had already received a booster shot. ___ MIAMI Florida is seeing a sharp rise in coronavirus infections as the omicron variant rages through the state. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 58,000 new cases for Wednesday and revised its tallies to add thousands of cases to the daily counts of previous days, setting new pandemic records. The new CDC estimate raises the 7-day average in Florida to more than 36,400 new cases. The number was at around 26,600 at the peak of the summer surge in August, which was fueled by the delta variant. In Miami-Dade County, where cases have been concentrated, one out four people is testing positive for the virus. Because of the surge, Miami-Dade County Public Schools is requiring all employees, volunteers and visitors to wear face coverings at schools starting Monday. Students will be strongly encouraged to wear them. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in November a measure that prevents school districts from imposing mask mandates for students. ___ COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio hospitalizations for COVID-19 have hit a pandemic record high for the second day running. State data shows 5,466 people in the hospital with COVID-19, or one of every five patients. Gov. Mike DeWine and hospital administrators around the state say the vast majority of those in the hospital are unvaccinated. Ohio Department of Health data out Thursday also shows coronavirus cases remaining at historic levels. Nearly 20,000 new coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, just below the record set Wednesday. The case surge has created long lines outside health clinics and at pop-up sites as thousands seek out testing. The governor has ordered a total of 2,400 members of the Ohio National Guard into hospitals to help overwhelmed staff. ___ JERUSALEM Israel has approved a fourth vaccine dose for people most vulnerable to COVID-19, becoming the first country to do so as it braces for a wave of infections fueled by the omicron variant. The director general of the Health Ministry, Nachman Ash, announced the decision at a press conference late on Thursday. He says the decision is based on early research, and that officials will consider expanding the administration of a fourth dose to more of the public as they assess the situation. Israel was among the first countries to roll out Pfizers coronavirus vaccine a year ago and began freely offering boosters last summer. But it still saw a wave of infections blamed on the delta variant, and officials have warned of another driven by the fast-spreading omicron. Earlier Thursday, Israel received its first shipment of pills that treat the worst effects of COVID-19. Israel currently has more than 20,000 active patients, including 94 who are seriously ill. At least 8,243 people have died from COVID-19 in Israel since the start of the pandemic. ___ Gov. Ned Lamont announced a set back Wednesday in Connecticuts plans to distribute 500,000 at-home COVID-19 testing kits, saying that the shipment of the kits faced shipping and warehouse delays on the West Coast. A statement released by the governors office Wednesday afternoon did not provide a new timetable for the arrival of the test kits. The announcement came a few hours after Connecticut National Guard Maj. David Pytlik told Hearst Connecticut Media the kits were scheduled to arrive by plane on Thursday morning, with the exact time subject to change by a few hours in one direction or the other. A spokesman for the governor later clarified that the state originally expected the shipment to arrive on Wednesday and that it was still possible it could be delivered later in the evening or overnight. The push for more widespread testing comes as the state reported a COVID test positivity rate of nearly 18 percent Wednesday with hospitalizations increasing by a net of 150 patients for a total of 1,113, the highest single-day census since Jan. 13. However, municipal leaders, in messages to the community, said a call was held with the governors office Wednesday evening in which they were told that the tests may not arrive in time for any planned distribution on Thursday afternoon. In a message to the community, Monroe First Selectman Ken Kellogg, a Republican, said: I share your frustration. We expect to get an update from the state late tonight. Paul Mounds, Lamonts chief of staff said: We provided realistic information to the municipalities. It is our hope that we will be able to have them in place for tomorrow... Its imminent. Its just a matter of things moving, thats all it is. Mounds went on to say that the governor has been working diligently on this. Local leaders were told earlier this week that they could begin picking up the testing kits from the state at 9 a.m. Thursday and some scheduled public distribution drives to begin as early as noon that same day. My staff and multiple state agencies have spent the past several days working around the clock to accelerate the movement of our tests through what is clearly a shipping and distribution bottleneck on the West Coast amid unprecedented international demand for tests, Lamont said in a statement. State officials remain confident in the supplier of the tests despite the delays. We have a legitimate supplier we have worked with in the past, we know exactly where these tests are located right now, Mounds said. Lamont earlier this week to help distribute the initial shipment of at-home test kits, which will be sent to each town and city and the state from a series of five centralized distribution hubs, according to the governors office. The municipalities, which were allotted a certain number of tests based on population size, will then be charged with delivering those tests to the public. In an email sent to municipal leaders on Monday, Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Regional Coordinator Jacob Manke said the distribution hubs should be up and running Thursday by 9 a.m. A subsequent email sent Wednesday promised to notify towns ASAP if there is any delay in the delivery status of the test kits, according to emails reviewed by Hearst. When asked about the potential for that timeline to be disrupted by shipping delays, both Manke and Maj. Pytlik referred a reporters questions the states Office of Emergency Services and Public Protection. A spokesman for that office said he was not aware of any expected distribution delays. While some towns publicly announced plans to open pick-up locations for residents on Thursday afternoon, others opted to wait to begin distribution until Friday morning or later. After Lamont announced delays in the testing supply chain, Lauren Meyer, special assistant to Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons, said if the test kits arrive to Bradley Airport before 5 a.m. on Thursday, the city will still be able to distribute the 17,010 test kids as planned Thursday afternoon. In his email to town leaders on Monday, Manke advised local officials to Remember the goal is for you to get these into the hands of your citizens as soon as possible and before New Years. When asked if there were immediate plans in the works for more tests to be distributed, Lamont spokesman Max Reiss did not offer specifics, but said we scaled up in just about every way you can, so I think this would be a continued effort. What we dont want to do is buy a bunch of tests and have them sitting in a warehouse collecting dust, he said. Each at-home testing kit contains two tests, which the manufacturers recommend a user take both over the course of several days. The state purchased 1.5 million kits for a total of 3 million tests directly from the manufacturer. The second phase of the states delivery will send 1 million kits to schools around the state beginning next month. The tests, made by California-based iHealth Labs, have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration under an emergency use authorization. Our procurement team has a remarkable amount of experience and muscle memory getting their hands on this stuff, Reiss said. Theyve done this before. We know how to work relationships, work supply chains. President Joe Biden also announced this month plans to have the federal government ship 500 million at-home tests directly to Americans free of charge beginning in January. To order those kits, people will register on a website that has yet to launch, the Associated Press reported. The states effort to distribute 1.5 million testing kits is separate from that effort. Reiss said Wednesday state officials are still waiting for additional information on the national at-home testing effort. Reporter Jordan Nathaniel Fenster contributed to this report. A plan to get 500,000 at-home COVID-19 tests kits to state residents before New Years Eve was derailed after Gov. Ned Lamont acknowledged an issue with the deal made to purchase the kits from a California company. The state had promised the tests to towns and cities for distribution to residents as early as Wednesday, but the time table was pushed back to Thursday and then left unclear. When asked, Lamont said Thursday: That particular shipment is not on its way. Other shipments I believe will be on their way, subject to enormous caveats ... Id like to say we are going to have more testing coming in the next 72 hours. The message from the governor ends about two days of confusion over when the tests would arrive and be ready for distribution to residents. The governors office provided few details about the situation throughout the day Thursday until the governor addressed the media just after 5 p.m. The states test plan fell apart on a day when the COVID-19 positivity rate reached 20 percent an hospitalizations jumped by 38 for a total of 1,151, about 115 fewer than a peak last winter. We had a deal to get those rapid tests. We are not going to get them on the schedule we wanted. There were some severe transportation and logistics issues, Lamont said Thursday evening. We have alternative places that are going to start delivering rapid tests as soon as this weekend. We are going to make up for that shortfall fast. Earlier this week, Lamont announced that the state had agreed to purchase 1.5 million at-home COVID tests from iHealth, a California-based company, for roughly $18.5 million in federal funds. Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani told reporters: We had a contract, we issued a purchase order off the contract. We were given pictures and confirmation that the product was being loaded and on the way. Those were misrepresented to us. When asked if the deal fell apart, Lamont said: I think there was a lot of competing folks that wanted those tests and it was the same thing we had a year and a half ago that we had with masks. House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R- North Branford, said he was told by Lamont on Thursday that another buyer had purchased the kits from under the state for more money. Bottom line is, I dont know who did what or when, but our cities and towns were put out, Candelora said. This has caused a lot of confusion and I think we need to hit a reset button, and I think that this administration needs to start with some long-term planning, and as Ive said before, stop worrying about the press conferences. Asked whether Candelora was right that the state was out-bid, Lamont spokesman Max Reiss said Thursday that he was unsure the exact nature of how the order was lost, but that it likely went to another unidentified buyer. If thats not an illustration of the Wild West nature of this right now, I dont know what is, Reiss said. Since Lamonts announcement Monday, municipal leaders were scrambling to schedule distribution events to quickly get tests into residents hands. However, overnight, a message was sent to local leaders saying: No test kit flight overnight. No distributions on Thursday will be possible. More info as received, according to the governors office. The governors office did not publicly provide additional information about the location or status of its expected delivery early Thursday after the message was issued. A spokesman for the governor said that staff were actively engaged in conversations surrounding the shipment and that Lamont was en route from Florida to Connecticut, where he is expected to address the media later today. Without additional information early Thursday, municipal leaders all over the state began hastily preparing to shift their public distribution schedules into next week. Both Middletown and West Hartford canceled plans to begin distributing the kits on Friday, joining a number of towns that were forced to push back earlier-scheduled deliveries on Thursday. A lot of people are disappointed that this didnt work out, Middletowns acting Health Director Kevin Elak said Thursday. In a perfect world, the kits would come in time and wed be ready. A small fraction of the states order, numbering a few thousand test kits, was delivered Thursday morning by FedEx to a state-leased warehouse in New Britain. Later, the kits were handed over to Connecticut Foodshare for distribution among social service agencies. The whereabouts of the vast majority of the states initial purchase, meanwhile, remained undisclosed until Lamont said the shipment was, in fact, not coming. This shows a ridiculous lack of deliberate planning. Instead weve got hasty state level crisis management causing our municipalities to jump through hoops to meet deadlines that the state government was unable to fulfill, said Tara Carr, the Republican first selectman for Brookfield. Carr said she knows theres a shortage of tests across the board. At this point, its each person for himself, she said. Its extremely unfortunate, said Pete Bass, the mayor of New Milford. A lot of time was expended within the municipalities, we acted on good faith and then to have this come up at the last minute I think was poor timing, poor planning. New Milford was slated to receive about 3,000 of these at-home tests. Bass said the town put out a call to residents to sign up for these tests and the slots filled up in about two hours. I hope we can do better next time, Bass added. The issues around acquiring at-home tests for Connecticut residents was met with harsh criticism from at least one Republican lawmaker. Id like to say I am surprised but Im not. Governor Lamont has a history of exaggerating his own ability. This time its his motive also that needs questioning, said state Sen. Rob Sampson of Wolcott. Self-serving promises are even worse than lies, especially when they are designed to generate hope and, in this case, for the singular purpose of promoting his own popularity. In Hartford, meanwhile, local officials began distributing 8,000 at-home test kits that the city acquired separately from the state earlier this week. Hartfords director of health and human services, Liany Arroyo, said Thursday that city placed the order for the test kits on Dec. 20 using $185,000 in CARES Act funding. Officials where unsure when the kits would arrive, Arroyo said, and did not schedule distribution until kits were delivered to the city on Monday. We wanted to make sure we had the kits in hand and everything in place before an announcement was made, Arroyo said, adding that the city will distribute additional kits once it receives its allotment from the state. We feel very fortunate, she said. Amid uncertainty over the delivery after delays were announced Wednesday evening, Paul Mounds, Lamonts chief of staff, said: We provided realistic information to the municipalities. It is our hope that we will be able to have them in place for tomorrow ... Its imminent. Its just a matter of things moving, thats all it is. And Mounds said the state was confident in the supplier of the tests. We have a legitimate supplier we have worked with in the past, we know exactly where these tests are located right now, Mounds said at the time. The tests, made by California-based iHealth Labs, have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration under an emergency use authorization. The promise of at-home test kits comes amid an overwhelming demand for testing following the Christmas holiday as highly transmissible variants including omicron and delta sweep across Connecticut. We are scouring the globe, as we were a year ago when it came to masks and P.P.E. We are at it again, scouring the globe, to make sure we can get all the testing materials we need. We are making incredible progress, Lamont said Thursday. Its complicated. Cassandra Day of the Middletown Press, and Liz Hardaway of Hearst Connecticut Media Group contributed reported. TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Police say they have arrested a man in connection with the vandalism of a Tucson synagogue and are investigating an unrelated attack at a local mosque. Detectives announced Wednesday they arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of aggravated criminal damage after reviewing surveillance video taken Kol Ami Tucson. The man was in jail for allegedly assaulting a officer when police arrested him. The unexpected delay that kept 500,000 at-home COVID-19 test kits from reaching Connecticut had local officials racing Thursday to inform residents that the hastily planned and announced local distribution events were off. Gov. Ned Lamont had announced the purchase of the half-million tests earlier in the week, and hoped to get the test kits into the hands of residents before the New Years holiday, and municipal leaders had announced their plans to hand out the tests, which the state allotted based on population. But the tests, expected to arrive Wednesday, never came. Overnight, a message went out to municipal leaders saying: No test kit flight overnight. No distributions on Thursday will be possible. More info as received, according to Lamonts office. Later in the day, it appeared the plan to get 500,000 at-home COVID-19 tests kits to state residents before New Years Eve was unlikely after Lamont acknowledged an issue with the deal made to purchase the kits from a California company. One by one, communities reached out to residents canceling the distributions and promising to announce makeup dates as soon as possible. Derby and Weston, which had planned Friday handout sessions, delayed making any announcement until late Thursday afternoon before finally pulling the plug. Ansonia broke the news first, posting the news on its Facebook page shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday. The city was expecting to receive 2,430 test kits. This afternoons COVID test distribution event at Nolan Field has been CANCELLED, according to the post. The cancellation is due to a delay in the shipment of the COVID rapid test kits ordered by the State of Connecticut. The delay will impact all CT cities and towns. Residents are urged to monitor the citys social media pages for a new distribution time. In Milford, Mayor Ben Blake was still holding out hope Thursday morning that the city would be able to distribute its allotment of 6,390 kits before the weekend. Milford emergency management officials are standing by ready to pick up Milfords allotment of test kits as soon as they enter the state, Blake posted online. Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis asked for patience as she informed residents the planned Thursday test kit distribution had been called off. We received word from the state late last night that the COVID testing kits will not arrive today, she said in an automated phone call Thursday morning. We are canceling todays distribution event and we (will) reschedule when we can confirm that the testing kits will arrive. We appreciate your continued patience and want to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. Shelton made its announcement through the citys CodeRED alert automated phone system. Todays (Dec. 30) scheduled distribution in Shelton is canceled and will be rescheduled once the test kits are delivered, according to the call transcript. Updates will be provided on Citys social media pages and the Citys website. The city was supposed to receive some 8,000 at-home test kits Thursday for distribution the same day. Trumbull First Selectman Vicki Tesoro announced at 10 a.m. Thursday that the shipment of the rapid tests to Connecticut was delayed and unfortunately, we must cancel todays delivery of the kits to the community due to the shipping delays. As soon as we receive confirmation of the arrival of the shipment, we will set up a new delivery date. Tesoro said those who have reserved a test kit already will hold their reservation and no further action is needed on their part. The town had intended to distribute 4,680 kits at Unity Park. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media MONROE An apparent delay in shipping a half-million COVID test kits from the West Coast has resulted in Monroe delaying a planned distribution event Thursday. According to an email announcement from First Selectman Kenneth Kellogg, the town has not planned a makeup date. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A state appeals court on Thursday upheld the conviction and death sentence of a man on death row, ruling that the land in southwest Oklahoma where the murders were committed was not Indian Country because the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation there was formally disestablished by Congress. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the murder conviction and death sentence of 41-year-old Mica Martinez for the October 2009 slayings of Carl Miller, 64, and Martha Miller, 55, at their home in the Comanche County community of Cache. Martinez had argued the state of Oklahoma didn't have jurisdiction in the case because he is a member of the Comanche Tribe and the killings occurred within the boundaries of the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation that existed in southwest Oklahoma. The issue of state jurisdiction on tribal lands led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as the McGirt decision, that held the Muscogee Nation reservation in northeast Oklahoma was never disestablished by Congress. Since then, lower courts have found the reservations of five other Native American tribes were also never disestablished, including the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole and Quapaw. But in Martinez's case, the district court in Comanche County held a hearing specific to the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation and determined that reservation was formally disestablished by Congress in the early 1900s. In cases long before McGirt, both the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and this Court had concluded that the Act of 1900 disestablished the Kiowa Comanche Apache Reservation, citing the language confirming complete tribal cession, transfer, conveyance, relinquishment, and surrender of all tribal claims to their reservation lands," the Oklahoma appeals court wrote in its opinion. Messages left Thursday with Martinez's public defender and an attorney for the Comanche Nation were not immediately returned. The appeals court ruled that even if the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation had not been disestablished, Martinez would not have been granted relief under McGirt because the court determined the ruling would not apply retroactively to void convictions that were already final when the McGirt case was decided. Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media STRATFORD After a recent increase in catalytic converter thefts, authorities say theyre searching for the suspects and are urging residents to take precautions. Police said one of the options residents have is to install an anti-theft device, which are available from various manufacturers. As the financial world fully embraces the digital-first approach, credit unions are unique in that physical branches still act as an important component of the growth strategy. Whether its seasoned credit union members valuing face-to-face interactions with tellers or younger members looking for personalized guidance in purchasing a first home, there will almost always be a place for credit union branch transactionsas long as there is a space. Lets take a closer look at a few ways credit unions can incorporate the branch into your 2022s growth strategy and optimize every square inch for maximum ROI. Capture the 1,000-Foot View of Your Branch Network If you take a helicopter up between 500 and 1,000 feet, you will still be able to recognize everything youre seeing. However, you will gain a unique strategic view of it all. When it comes to optimizing your credit unions branch experience, its important to start with the 1,000-foot view. In other words, the first step is to analyze your current credit union branch structure to learn whether each branch is meeting the needs of the community it serves. Here are a few questions you should ask: The NCUA Tuesday issued a Letter to Credit Unions encouraging participation in the agencys voluntary Credit Union Diversity Self Assessment and a Regulatory Alert to break down the CFPBs annual adjustments for three exemption thresholds under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the Consumer Leasing Act (CLA). Following the NCUAs 2021 Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Summit in early November, the agency wrote a Letter to Credit Unions discussing the voluntary Credit Union Diversity Self-Assessment as an appropriate next step for moving ahead with progress within the credit union industry around the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The self-assessment can be filled out on the agencys website. This self-assessment is designed to help credit union executives evaluate and advance their credit unions diversity policies and practices. Results are due to the NCUAs Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) by Jan. 15, 2022. NAFCU is committed to DEI and is supportive of NCUA efforts to ensure the financial inclusion of all Americans. Advertisement New Zealand Dollar Outlook: The major NZD -crosses are on the verge of tallying fresh monthly closing highs. Momentum indicators have confirmed that short-term bottoms were recently established in both NZD/JPY and NZD/USD rates. According to the IG Client Sentiment Index , the New Zealand Dollar still has a bearish bias in the near-term. High Beta Higher Still Risk assets have had a December to remember, with US equity markets closing out the month at or near all-time highs. Like other growth-linked assets around the globe, the New Zealand Dollar has continued to benefit from a resurgence in risk appetite as concerns around the COVID-19 omicron variant have further subsided: even as infection rates have climbed, hospitalizations and deaths remain incredibly low, suggesting that the impact to economic growth wont be nearly as disruptive or severe as initially feared. As noted last week, technical developments in NZD/JPY and NZD/USD rates are implying that short-term bottoms may have been established. Indeed, with both major NZD-crosses on the verge of establishing fresh monthly closing highs, evidence has accumulated that both pairs have bottomed for the foreseeable futures. NZD/JPY RATE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: DAILY CHART (December 2020 to December 2021) (CHART 1) Last week it was noted that a double bottom may have been established during this month, and now NZD/JPY rates are on the verge of closing above their daily 21-EMA the one-month moving average for the first time since November 18it appears that NZD/JPY rates may have further room to run higher towards 78.60 by the end of the year. At the time of writing, NZD/JPY rates were trading at 78.61. The pair has now moved back above the ascending trendline from the March 2020 and August 2021 lows, further reinforcing the view that a false bearish breakdown occurred at the end of November/beginning of December. With NZD/JPY rates above their daily 5-, 8-, 13-, and 21-EMA envelope, which is in bullish sequential order, daily MACD beginning to climb through its signal line, and daily Slow Stochastics holding in overbought territory, it appears likely that a return back towards the highs above 82.00 will play out sometime in early-2022. NZD/USD RATE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: DAILY CHART (December 2020 to December 2021) (CHART 2) Similarly last week, it was observed that NZD/USD rates are also on the verge of closing above its daily 21-EMA for the first time since November 9 an indication that the December lows have been established. With the daily 21-EMA slope now positive, momentum has shifted bullish, reinforcing the view that a return to the descending trendline from the February and May swing highs above 0.6900 may soon develop. IG Client Sentiment Index: NZD/USD RATE Forecast (December 30, 2021) (Chart 3) NZD/USD: Retail trader data shows 64.80% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders long to short at 1.84 to 1. The number of traders net-long is 1.87% higher than yesterday and 1.06% higher from last week, while the number of traders net-short is 8.41% lower than yesterday and 2.36% lower from last week. We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-long suggests NZD/USD prices may continue to fall. Traders are further net-long than yesterday and last week, and the combination of current sentiment and recent changes gives us a stronger NZD/USD-bearish contrarian trading bias. --- Written by Christopher Vecchio, CFA, Senior Strategist A 26-year-old woman has revealed the moment she was told she has terminal breast cancer after beating it twice and believing it was gone for good. Geneva Wilson, from New Zealand, was just 24 when she was first diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer - a rare and aggressive form of the disease. Despite the shock, she said she was lucky to be diagnosed at stage one because she still had options. Geneva Wilson, 26, from New Zealand is due to get married soon but is also planning her own funeral so her family don't have the stress when she dies from cancer Geneva, pictured here before cancer, was always a happy and healthy young woman, then at 24 she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer Even Geneva's second diagnosis - when she was told she was at stage three - pales in comparison to now, with doctors advising her she has only weeks to months left. 'Doctors are telling me to make most of the time I have left,' Geneva told Femail. This time the cancer has appeared in her lungs - making it difficult to breathe and forcing her already battered body to go through more operations. 'They have removed the lump and also piece of my lung, but my body is still recovering from the last lot of chemotherapy which it didn't handle well,' she said. Geneva, who is set to be married soon to her fiance James, is tired and emotionally overwhelmed as she also plans her own funeral to save her family the stress. This time the cancer was picked up by routine scans - the day before New Zealand went into lockdown. 'I got a text after I had the scan to tell me I needed to come in for an appointment the next day, my stomach dropped and I was just really sad,' she said. The young woman has since been told to 'live while she can' How can I check my breasts? Self-checking the same time every month is a great habit, breast-cancer patient Shonel Bryant says Things to look out for Lumps in breast or armpit Nipple discharge Dimpling Breast or nipple pain Nipple retraction or inversion Redness Changes to the skins texture- redness, discolouring, scaling, shrinkage Swelling in breast or arm Localised feeling of warmth Lymph node changes What to feel for While you're standing put your left hand on your waist, now roll that shoulder forward and reach into your underarm area and check for enlarged lymph nodes. These are small glands that will fill with fluid when you have an infection. An enlarged node would feel something like a corn kernel. Make sure you check that area just above and below the collarbone too. Now repeat this on the other side. Using the pads of 3 or 4 fingers, move them in a circular motion from the outside of your breast/pecs all the way in. Experiment with pressures until you find something that feels right. Be sure to cover the whole breast/pec until you have reached your nipple. Yes, you have to check your nipples too. A trick I have found useful is not taking your hands off your breasts/pecs so you do not miss anywhere. Putting a naturally derived lotion on (chemicals are not our friends) will help your hand slide around. Some people find it easiest lying down flat on their backs to feel for any changes as it flattens the breast. Personally I like to do it in front of the mirror standing up, though I frequently do it in the shower with my boob lube. Performing a self-check in the shower can help, as your hand tends to glide over your skin easier and you are already washing your body. Experiment with what works best for you. Regardless of which position you choose the motion is the same. Source: Support your girls Advertisement Geneva has fallen in love with James and became engaged in the last few months 'I was terrified, I knew it couldn't be good because usually it takes weeks for the scans to come back.' The young woman, who was studying psychology when she first found a cancerous lump in her breast, stopped everything for treatment. The first time she went into remission Geneva was afraid to celebrate - she didn't think it was the last time she would face the disease. 'I was scared, I felt like there was something not right inside me,' she said. And she was right - despite going through chemotherapy, radiotherapy and having a double mastectomy the cancer came back - this time in her lymph nodes. Geneva says she will keep fighting, despite her dire prognosis, because she wants to be there for friends and family for as long as possible But she fought back again and when she went into remission, Geneva finally felt like she could look forward to a cancer-free life. 'When I finished chemo the last time I genuinely thought I was through with it - even though doctors told me there was a high chance of it coming back,' she said. Geneva, who is now finding it difficult to breathe and speak for too long, wants to make sure other women are aware of the signs to look for and the importance of regular checks. Geneva said can barely remember her life before cancer and says that every time she gets a glimpse of normality it rips her world apart again 'I was sitting on the couch, it felt like they say it does - a hard lump that doesn't move around,' she said. She also wants to push for immunotherapy to be part of normalised treatment in New Zealand. 'If I was in Australia or the US then it would have been part of the standard treatment when I was first diagnosed. 'Now I have to come up with $100,000 if I want it, but I am probably too far along for it to have any effect,' she said. Geneva, pictured with James, now uses the skills she learned in her psychology degree to help herself and her loved ones cope with each stage of her terminal cancer diagnosis 'Who knows - if I had that available to me originally what my life would look like now.' Geneva now uses the skills she learned in her psychology degree to help herself and her loved ones cope with each stage of her terminal cancer diagnosis, and process the emotional trauma. 'At this point the money raised for me will be going toward funeral costs and not treatment,' she said. 'I have also had a whirlwind romance, and will get married to the love of my life soon, which means my sickness benefits will be cut. 'So I will use the money to survive, however long that may be.' To donate to Geneva you can head to her Give A Little page. Date Name of Engagement Attended 7/01/2021 The Oxford Farming Conference Video 12/01/2021 Meeting with Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive Officer the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce Video 13/01/2021 Meeting with Captain Laughton RN and Captain Simon Kelly RN of HMS ALBION Video 20/01/2021 Opportunity International UK conference Video 21/01/2021 Quarterly Meeting of the Court for Corporation of Trinity House Video 21/01/2021 Committee meeting of Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers Video 21/01/2021 Discussion meeting of Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers Video 3/02/2021 Meeting with WISE Video Video 10/02/2021 City Food Lecture Video 11/02/2021 Meeting with Mr. Kevin Watkins CEO of Save the Children UK Video 23/02/2021 Panel Discussion for Royal National Children's SpringBoard Foundation Video 23/02/2021 Meeting with Kay Hussein of WISE Video 24/02/2021 Advanced Clinical Practitioners Conference Video 25/02/2021 Executive board meeting for British Olympic Association Video 3/03/2021 Meeting with Save the Children UK Video 3/03/2021 Management Team Meeting of the Chaffinch Trust Video 3/03/2021 Management Team Meeting of Give Them A Sporting Chance Video 4/03/2021 National Equine Forum Video 5/03/2021 Meeting with the National Health Service Warwick Hospital Maternity Service Video 10/03/2021 International Olympic Committee Session Video 11/03/2021 International Olympic Committee Session Video 12/03/2021 International Olympic Committee Session Video 15/03/2021 Meeting to mark the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the first Society Meeting Video 17/03/2021 Engagements in Cambridgeshire Video 22/03/2021 Meeting with Foundation for Future London Video 24/03/2021 Visit to Cambridge In person 7/04/2021 Opening a new development at Churnbridge Row, North Cerney, Cirencester for English Rural Housing Association In Person 7/04/2021 Business Strategy Meeting for English Rural Housing Association, Video 13/04/2021 Spring Conference of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Video 14/04/2021 Visit to the Isle of Wight In person 15/04/2021 RedR UK Panel Discussion Video 17/04/2021 Funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in n St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle In Person 19/04/2021 The University of Edinburgh's Chancellor's Awards Ceremony Video 20/04/2021 Gloucestershire Constabulary Strategic Co-ordinating Group Meeting Video 21/04/2021 Visit to Gloucestershire In person 25/04/2021 ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Hyde Park Corner In person 25/04/2021 NZAC Day Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving in Westminster Abbey In person 26/04/2021 Visit to Worcestershire In person 27/04/2021 Visit to Northamptonshire In person 28/04/2021 Visit to Gloucestershire In person 29/04/2021 National Equine Forum's Sir Colin Spedding Award In person 29/04/2021 British Olympic Association executive Board Meeting Video 29/04/2021 The Weir Group's One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration Meeting Video 4/05/2021 Visited HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Hull In person 5/05/2021 Visited Charlton Park Group in London In person 10/05/2021 Visit to Hampshire In person 11/05/2021 Visit to Norfolk and Suffolk In person 12/05/2021 Visit to Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Bosham Sailing Club, the Quay, Bosham In person 12/05/2021 Visit of order Force Safeguarding and Modern Slavery Command, Gatwick Airport, Horley In person 13/05/2021 Opened the Defence College of Logistics, Policing and Administration at Worthy Down Campus, Winchester In person 13/05/2021 University College London Eastman Dental Institute, Rockefeller Building, 21 University Street, London In person 17/05/2021 Visit to Veolia Integrated Waste Management Facility, 43 Devon Street, London In person 17/05/2021 Online forum to launch HRH The Princess Royal Respite Fund for Carers Video 17/05/2021 Presented The Prince Philip Medal to Dr. Gladys West Video 18/05/2021 Reception at Jack Berry House, Old Malton Road, Malton In person 19/05/2021 Veolia Integrated Waste Management Facility, In person 20/05/2021 Reception at the Woolf Institute, Madingley Road, Cambridge In person 20/05/2021 Accepted an Honorary Fellowship of St. Edmund's College, Cambridge, and subsequently opened Mount Pleasant Halls of Residence at St. Edmund's College In person 21/05/2021 Annual Chilean Navy Day Service in Westminster Abbey, London In person 21/05/2021 Presented with the Chilean Order of Merit, Grand Cross, at Church House Conference Centre, Dean's Yard. In person 1/06/2021 Visited o 13th Signal Regiment, Blandford Camp, Blandford Forum, Dorset, on the occasion of the First Anniversary of its formation In person 2/06/2021 Trinitytide Anniversary Annual Court Meeting, Church Service and Luncheon, Trinity House In person 2/06/2021 Volunteer Awards Reception at Lockleaze Sports Centre, Bristol, In person 3/06/2021 International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission meeting Video 4/06/2021 Visit to the West Lothian Group at White Quarries Park, Abercorn In person 4/06/2021 Visit to Strathcarron Hospice, Randolph Hill, Fankerton, near Denny, on the occasion of its Fortieth Anniversary In person 7/06/2021 Service to mark the Completion of the Renovation at Iona Abbey, Isle of Iona In person 7/06/2021 Opened Barra Citizens Advice Bureau at Castlebay, Isle of Barra, In person 7/06/2021 Briefing at the Columba 1400 Centre, Staffin, Isle of Skye In person 8/06/2021 Visit o Evanton Wood Community Company, Evanton, Dingwall, In person 8/06/2021 Opened the new building at Alness Academy, Dalmore Road, Alness. In person 8/06/2021 Named the new Quay at Port of Cromarty Firth, Shore Road, Invergordon. In person 9/06/2021 Visited to the New Era Service at St. John's House, Weston Road, Stafford In person 9/06/2021 Attended a Conference at the Farmers Club, Whitehall Court, London In person 10/06/2021 Presented a Report to the Executive Board of -International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission Video 10/06/2021 Attended a Household Cavalry Council Meeting Video 12/06/2021 Traditional Scottish Fiddle Concert at Astley Ainslie Hospital, Edinburgh In person 14/06/2021 Attended a Dinner for the Woodland Trust at Fortnum and Mason In person 18/06/2021 Meeting for the Avening Women's Institute on the occasion of its Ninetieth Anniversary in person 19/06/2021 Attended The Princess Royal Parade at Blandford Camp, Dorset In person 21/06/2021 Visited National Coastwatch Institution St. Alban's Head Station, Worth Matravers In person 21/06/2021 Visited National Coastwatch Institution Swanage Station, Peveril Point Road, Swanage, In person 21/06/2021 Reception at Durlston Castle, Durlston Country Park In person 22/06/2021 Attended the Dedication Ceremony of the Wrens Centenary Monument at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas In person 24/06/2021 Visit to Jersey In person 25/06/2021 Visited 1 Military Working Dog Regiment, St. George's Barracks, North Luffenham, Rutland In person 26/06/2021 Attended the National Armed Forces Day Commemorations at the National Memorial Arboretum In person 28/06/2021 Opened the Lincoln Building, 4 Low Moor Road, Lincoln for St John Ambulance In person 28/06/2021 Opened Lincolnshire County Council Tri-Service Emergency Services Station In person 28/06/2021 Visited the completed restoration work at St. Botolph's Church, Church Close, Boston In person 28/06/2021 Opened the new Mid-Lincolnshire Bureau, Municipal Buildings, West Street, Boston In person 29/06/2021 Visited the Flintshire Bureau, the District Office, Terrig House, Chester Street, Mold In person 29/06/2021 Opened the Veterinary Education Centre, Edgmond, Newport, In person 29/06/2021 Presented Merchant Navy Medals for Meritorious Service at Trinity House In person 30/06/2021 Attended the Thirty Fifth Anniversary Dinner on board MV FINGAL, Edinburgh In person 30/06/2021 Accompanied the Queen during her visit of Glasgow In person 1/07/2021 Visited the Gannochy Trust Housing Development, Pitcullen Crescent, Perth In person 1/07/2021 Visited Harmeny School,in Balerno In person 1/07/2021 Visited Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, High School Yards, Edinburgh with the Queen In person 2/07/2021 Visited Antrim Castle Gardens In person 2/07/2021 Attended a Reception at Hillsborough Castle for representatives from the Counties of Northern Ireland In person 3/07/2021 Attended the Annual General Inspection at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College, Forest Road, Loughborough, In person 5/07/2021 Visited the Isle of Man In person 6/07/2021 Visited the Thames Tideway Tunnel, Chelsea Embankment, In person 6/07/2021 Attended a Reception to mark Opportunity International's Fiftieth Anniversary In person 6/07/2021 Attended a Friends of Scottish Rugby Reception at the Caledonian Club In person 7/07/2021 Visited Weston Acres Site at Belvedere House, Weston Acres, Banstead In person 7/07/2021 Attended a Civic Luncheon at Carpenters' Hall, London In person 8/07/2021 Visited the July Festival at Newmarket Racecourse In person 8/07/2021 Visited the 'Mud, Sweat and Tears' exhibition at the National Horseracing Museum In person 8/07/2021 Held an Investiture at St. James's Palace on behalf of he Queen In person 9/07/2021 Visited Lifeskills - Learning for Living, the Create Centre, Smeaton Road, Bristol, on the occasion of their Twenty First Anniversary In person 9/07/2021 Attended a Church Service at Holy Trinity, Bell Lane, Minchinhampton In person 11/07/2021 Attended a Mayflower 400 Reception at the Royal Citadel, Plymouth In person 12/07/2021 Opened the Magpie Centre Sensory Garden at Wallington Hall, South Runcton In person 12/07/2021 Opened new facilities at Snettisham Beach Sailing Club, Snettisham Beach In person 13/07/2021 Visited the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Summer Camp at Bodney Camp, Hilborough, In person 13/07/2021 Attended a Dedication Ceremony of Le Paradis Memorial at Norwich Cathedral In person 13/07/2021 Attended an Awards Reception at Prince Philip House for Royal Society of Engineering In person 14/07/2021 Visited Princess Yachts Limited at South Yard, Devonport in Plymouth In person 15/07/2021 Visited Triodos Bank UK, Deanery Road, Bristol, on the occasion of its Twenty Fifth Anniversary In person 15/07/2021 Opened the Conservation in Action Workshop in Hayes Way, Patchway, Bristol In person 16/07/2021 Attended the Open Championship at the Royal St. George's Golf Club, in Sandwich In person 20/07/2021 Visited Sheffield Combined Court Centre in Sheffield, to mark its Twenty Fifth Anniversary In person 21/07/2021 Visited the North East Ambulance Service Hazardous Area Response Team, Unit 6, in Tyne and Wear, to mark its Tenth Anniversary In person 21/07/2021 Presented The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service to Sunderland Maritime Heritage, Unit 2 In person 21/07/2021 Visited Aged Merchant Seamen's Homes, Trafalgar Square, Sunderland In person 22/07/2021 Attended the Annual General Meeting of Women's Royal Naval Service Benevolent Trust In person 22/07/2021 Took the salute at the household Division Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade, London in person 23/07/2021 Presented The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service to the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust's Butterfly Volunteer Service, Stevenage In person 23/07/2021 Visit of Hertfordshire In person 26/07/2021 Opened Hartley Hospital in Southport In person 26/07/2021 Opened Alt House, the headquarters of the Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Association in Sefton, Merseyside In person 26/07/2021 Visited Sefton Park Palm House, Sefton Park, Merseyside, to mark its One Hundred and Twenty Fifth Anniversary. In person 28/07/2021 Attended a Reception for Heads of State and Government at the Global Education Summit, Lancaster House In person 29/07/2021 Opened the International Youth Science Forum at the Royal Geographical Society in London In person 30/07/2021 Visit to Cornwall In person 4/08/2021 Held an Investiture at St. James's Palace on behalf of the Queen In person 26/08/2021 Attended the Argyllshire Gathering at Mossfield Park, Oban, on the occasion of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Games In person 26/08/2021 Engagements in Oban In person 1/09/2021 Opened Banchory and District Men's Shed at Banchory Legion Scotland, Ravenswood Country Club and new Deeside Rugby Football Club Clubhouse in Banchory In person 8/09/2021 Attended the Global Leadership Seminar at Coutts In person 8/09/2021 International Financing Review Awards Reception of Save the Children UK at Haberdashers' Hall In person 8/09/2021 Attended the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary Dinner at Trinity House In person 9/09/2021 Attended the Westmorland County Show, Crooklands In person 9/09/2021 Attended the Annual General Meeting of Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth In person 9/09/2021 Attended a Dinner held by The Prince Charles, at Dumfries House, Ayrshire. In person 10/09/2021 Visited Dumfries House Estate, In person 10/09/2021 Attended the International Sheep Dog Trials at Tancastell Fields, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion In person 13/09/2021 Witnessed the ship's company of HMS ALBION undertaking the Ceremony of the Constable's Dues and attended a Reception at HM Tower of London. In person 13/09/2021 Attended a London International Shipping Week Reception at Trinity House In person 14/09/2021 Opened the Paediatric Emergency Department at Northampton General Hospital, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust In person 14/09/2021 Visited Northgate School Arts College in Northampton In person 14/09/2021 Visited the Indian Hindu Welfare Organisation, Weston Favell Parish Hall, , Northampton In person 16/09/2021 Presented the Royal Dairy Innovation Award of Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, In person 16/09/2021 Attended the Annual Dinner of the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire in Tewkesbury Abbey In person 17/09/2021 Visited Mersey Maritime, Maritime Knowledge Hub, 3 Vanguard Way, Birkenhead In person 17/09/2021 Visited Bowers Riding School, Formby In person 20/09/2021 Visited Photocentric Limited in Peterborough In person 20/09/2021 Attended a Reception for Magpas Air Ambulance Capital Campaign at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket In person 20/09/2021 Chelsea Flower Show of the Royal Horticultural Society in the Gardens of the Royal Hospital Chelsea In person 21/09/2021 Visited Direct Meats Charcuterie Plant at Knights Farm in Colchester In person 21/09/2021 Opened the new Design, Art and Technology Building at Westcliff High School for Girls, Kenilworth Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea In person 21/09/2021 Visited Canvey Island Youth Project, Yellow Door Youth Hub in Essex In person 21/09/2021 Attended a Dinner at Trinity House, Tower Hill In person 22/09/2021 Visited Time 24 Limited in Burgess Hill In person 22/09/2021 Visited Citizens Advice West Sussex In person 22/09/2021 Attended a Service to mark First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps) being awarded Privileged Status of the City of London In person 22/09/2021 Attended a the Royal Academy of Engineering New Fellows' Reception, Prince Philip House In person 23/09/2021 Attended the Commissioning Ceremony at Royal Air Force College Cranwell, Sleaford In person 23/09/2021 Attended the Diploma Ceremony and Reception at the Royal College of Physicians In person 24/09/2021 Attended the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace, near Perth In person 25/09/2012 Joined the Ship's Company of HMS ALBION at sea off the coast of west Scotland. In person 26/09/2021 Joined the Ship's Company of HMS ALBION at sea off the coast of west Scotland. In person 28/09/2021 Attended the 30 Squadron Reformation Parade and Reception at Royal Air Force Brize Norton In person 28/09/2021 Visited 3 Regiment at Dalton Barracks, Shippon, Abingdon In person 29/09/2021 Opened a new theatre and ward at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham In person 29/09/2021 Opened the new Wolverhampton Violence Reduction Team Offices In person 29/09/2021 Visited HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Brinsford in Wolverhampton, to mark its Thirtieth Anniversary, and attended a Reception to mark Hidden Heroes Day In person 29/09/2021 Attended the Sail for Gold Dinner at Royal Thames Yacht Club in London In person 30/09/2021 Visited a Healthcare and Education Clinic at Ashford Cattle Market In person 30/09/2021 Visited the Royal Harbour Academy in Ramsgate In person 30/09/2021 Visited Wetwheels South East on the Esplanade, Dover In person 30/09/2021 Visited Dover Castle and attended a COVID-19 response Reception with Kent organisations. In person 1/10/2021 Visited 1st Signal Regiment and 15th Signal Regiment at Swinton Barracks, Perham Down, Wiltshire In person 3/10/2021 Visit to France - Day 1 In person 4/10/2021 Visit to France - Day 2 In person 5/10/2021 Attended the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society's annual General Meeting and Awards Ceremony, in London Bridge, In person 5/10/2021 Attended the English Panel Awards Ceremony at the House of Lords In person 5/10/2021 Attended a Reception at Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane In person 5/10/2021 Sense and Sense International dinner in London. In person 6/10/2021 Visited the Defence School of Transport and 25 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, Normandy Barracks, Leconfield, Beverley, to mark its Twenty Fifth Anniversary In person 6/10/2021 Visited CatZero, Hull Marina, Kingston-upon-Hull In person 6/10/2021 Attended an Awards Reception at the DoubleTree by Hilton Leeds, Granary Wharf House, Leeds In person 7/10/2021 Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery at the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton In person 7/10/2021 Opened the Dunsfold Rural Housing Development in Godalming In person 7/10/2021 Presented The Queen's Award for Enterprise to Vision Engineering Limited, the Freeman Building in Woking In person 7/10/2021 Presented The Queen's Award for Enterprise to Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging Limited, in Guildford, In person 8/10/2021 Visit of Worcester In person 8/10/2021 Attended the Autumn Banquet, Merchants' Hall, the Promenade, Clifton, Bristol In person 12/10/2021 Attended a Service of Thanksgiving to mark the Centenary of the Royal British Legion at Westminster Abbey In person 12/10/2021 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of he Queen In person 13/10/2021 Met key workers at the Tolbooth in Forres In person 13/10/2021 Visited AJ Engineering and Construction Services Limited and Moray Inshore Rescue Organisation in Forres In person 14/10/2021 Visited Chalmers Hospital and Macduff Medical Practice in Banff In person 14/10/2021 Opened the North West Aberdeenshire Citizens Advice Bureau Macduff Branch In person 14/10/2021 Visited Aberchirder and District Men's Sheds, in Huntly, Banffshire In person 14/10/2021 Opened a new extension at Ringlink (Scotland) Limitedin Laurencekirk, In person 15/10/2021 Attended a Management Team Meeting for the Chaffinch Trust at Hospitalfield House in Arbroath In person 19/10/2021 Visited Horsfall House, 42 Windmill Road, Minchinhampton, Stroud In person 19/10/2021 Visited 11th Signal and West Midlands Brigade during a training exercise on Salisbury Plain Training Area, Wiltshirethe Not Forgotten Association In person 19/10/2021 Attended a reception to mark the Charity's Centenary at the House of Lords In person 20/10/2021 Attended the Annual Awards Ceremony at the Museum in Henley-on-Thames In person 20/10/2021 Held investitures at Windsor Castle on behalf of Her Majesty In person 21/10/2021 Attended a Royal Academy of Engineering luncheon at Prince Philip House, 3 Carlton House Terrace In person 21/10/2021 Attended a Reception at Fortnum and Mason for Spinal Injuries Association in London In person 21/10/2021 Attended a Trafalgar Night Dinner at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich In person 22/10/2021 Opened new facilities at Fairmead School in Yeovil In person 22/10/2021 Opened University Centre Weston, Weston College of Further and Higher Education, Winter Gardens, in Weston-super-Mare In person 22/10/2021 Opened the Food Works Food and Innovation Centre in Weston-super-Mare In person 25/10/2021 Visited Plymouth Trawler Agents Limited In person 25/10/2021 Visited the University of Plymouth Marine Station, Queen Anne's Battery Marina In person 26/10/2021 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of The Queen In person 26/10/2021 Attended the Twenty Fifth Anniversary of the National Courier Awards Reception at the Institute of Directors in London In person 26/10/2021 Dinner for Give Them A Sporting Chance charity at Mansion House, In person 27/10/2021 Visited the Security Service in London. In person 27/10/2021 Attended the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary Luncheon at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich In person 28/10/2021 Attended a Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Major Lord Patrick Beresford which was held at the Guards Chapel in London In person 28/10/2021 Visited 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) at Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy, In person 29/10/2021 Attended the National Equine Forum's organising Committee Meeting Video 2/11/2021 Visited the Siege Museum, 13 Society Street, Londonderry, In person 2/11/2021 Visited Seating Matters Limited, 131 Carnamuff Road, Ballykelly In person 2/11/20211 Visited the Limavady Community Development Initiative In person 2/11/2021 Attended the International Maritime Hub Opening Reception at the City of Glasgow College In person 3/11/2021 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of he Queen In person 4/11/2021 Attended the Annual Awards Ceremony and Charity Race Day at Newbury Racecourse In person 4/11/2021 Attended the Fellows' Reception at Fishmongers' Hall, London Bridge In person 5/11/2021 Visit to Warwick In person 9/11/2021 Visited United Kingdom Health Security Agency in London In person 9/11/2021 Attended a Reception for Young Achievers at the Priory Church of the Order of St. John, St. John's Square In person 9/11/2021 Attended a King's Royal Hussars dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club In person 10/11/2021 Visited local communities at Theatre Royal Stratford East in London In person 10/11/2021 Attended a Learning and Work Institute centenary Reception at City Lit College in London In person 10/11/2021 Attended a Reception for winners of The Queen's Awards for Enterprise at Windsor Castle In person 11/11/2021 Attended the Annual Conference at the Royal Geographical Society in London In person 11/11/2021 Attended a Graduation Ceremony at Central Hall Westminster in London In person 11/11/2021 Attended a Reception at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London In person 13/11/2021 Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. In person 14/11/2021 Ceremony at the Cenotaph on the occasion of Remembrance Day In person 16/11/2021 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of the Queen In person 16/11/2021 Attended the Navigation 2021 Conference Video 17/11/2021 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of the Queen In person 18/11/2021 Attended the Forum for Associate Specialist and Staff Grade Doctors in Emergency Medicine Conference Video 18/11/2021 Attended a Meeting at the British Olympic Association in London In person 18/11/2021 Attended a Reception at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in London In person 19/11/2011 Chaired the Annual General Meeting of the Royal Yachting Association and presented Awards before attending a Luncheon at One Great George Street In person 19/11/2021 Held the Chancellor's Dinner at the Palace of Holyroodhouse In person 20/11/2021 Attended the International Rugby Match between Scotland and Japan at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh In person 23/11/2021 Attended the British Nutrition Foundation Annual Day In person 23/11/2021 Attended Foundation Day at Senate House, In person 23/11/2021 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of the Queen In person 24/11/2021 Attended a Conference at Moredun Research Institute in Penicuik, on the occasion of its Centenary In person 24/11/2021 Chaired the Annual General Meeting of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers and attended a Dinner at One Great George Street In person 25/11/2021 Attended the Team GB Ball at Evolution London In person 26/11/2021 Held a Charities Forum at St. James's Palace In person 30/11/2021 Held investitures at Windsor Castle on behalf of the Queen In person 1/12/2021 Presented Medals and Awards at a Royal Geographical Society ceremony in London In person 1/12/2021 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of the Queen In person 2/12/2021 International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission meeting Video 3/12/2021 Visited SS GREAT BRITAIN, Gas Ferry Road, Great Western Dockyard, Bristol, and presented Future Brunels Graduation Awards In person 3/12/2021 Attended a Carol Service in Bristol Cathedral In person 7/12/2021 Visited the Greater Manchester Cancer Pre-Habilitation and Recovery Programme, in Walkden In person 7/12/2021 Visited St. Ann's Hospice, St. Ann's Road North, Heald Green, Greater Manchester. In person 7/12/2021 Attended a Dinner at the Savile Club in London In person 8/12/2021 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of the Queen In person 9/12/2021 International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission meeting Video 9/12/2021 Attended a Luncheon at Chepstow Racecourse In person 9/12/2021 Attended the Logistics Awards at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London In person 10/21/2021 Took the salute at the Sovereign's Parade, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Camberley, Surrey In person 14/12/2021 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of the Queen In person 15/12/2021 Visited Carers First, the Showroom in Lincoln, to mark the Thirtieth Anniversary of the charity In person 15/12/2021 Visited the Arthur Troop Training Centre, at Skegness Police Station, in Skegness In person 15/12/2021 Attended a Carol Service at All Hallows by the Tower, In person 16/12/2021 East Coast College's Marine and Offshore Energy Training in Lowestoft In person Emma, 40, (pictured) is a dog groomer, who has been single for seven years EMMA, 40 Relationship History? I dont go for brief flings. I was married and divorced by 21 and then single for three years while I raised my son. I was then in a ten-year relationship and had my second son, but have been single since. Ive been online dating for seven years, so nothing surprises me any more. Pre-Date Nerves? I was really looking forward to it. My mum volunteered me for this, so she was more nervous than I was. VITAL STATISTICS Single for seven years with two sons, aged 22 and 11. CURRENT ROLE Dog groomer. WOULD LIKE TO MEET Someone who is kind and enjoys hiking in the country. I dont like men who are arrogant or too metrosexual. Advertisement First Impressions? Nick was everything I had hoped for in terms of company: warm, funny and at ease. He was there first and was wearing a smart jacket and jeans, which was nice because not all men make an effort. He had a lovely smile and lovely eyes, but I tend to like more muscular men. He was up for a laugh, though, and we hit it off straight away. I liked the way he held himself, and he was polite and chivalrous. Easy To Talk To? We have a similar sense of humour and made fun of each other quite a bit. We laughed about being on a blind date and shared our online dating horror stories. We both like being outdoors and camping. He had a lovely smile and eyes, but I like more muscular men I also enjoyed that he sounded ambitious about his work, which I think is important, and he complimented me on running my own business. Importantly, he was comfortable in his own skin, which is something you cant put a price on. Embarrassing Moments? EMMAS VERDICT: 8/10 LIKED? Hes self-assured. REGRETS? None. COFFEE OR CAB? Maybe a hike. Advertisement Not really. We just laughed. Did Sparks Fly? I got the impression he would happily go on a second date and we exchanged numbers. If our paths crossed Id definitely meet up with him for a chat, but I didnt feel any sort of spark which is a shame, as I think hed be a wonderful partner. Would you like to meet again? Not romantically, but maybe for a hike. What do you think he thought of you? I think he thought I was fun and easy company. He was engaged in our conversation, with good eye contact and body language. Would your family and friends like him? Yes, they would like Nick as he is great company. Nick, 47, (pictured) is a director, who has been single for three years NICK, 47 Relationship History? I was in a long-term relationship for 16 years, but we split after growing apart. Since then Ive tried online dating, but its quite painful trying to find the right person. Pre-Date Nerves? No, I work in sales so I am used to meeting new people. I wanted to be smart, so wore a shirt and jacket. VITAL STATISTICS Single for three years with a daughter, eight, and a son, 11. CURRENT ROLE Director of a metal-cutting machinery business. WOULD LIKE TO MEET Someone who is bubbly and enjoys laughing. Im usually attracted to slim brunettes. Advertisement First Impressions? I always make sure I arrive first on dates, so was there when Emma turned up. I thought she was gorgeous. She was smartly dressed in a blouse and white jeans, and was warm and friendly. We got on well with no awkwardness, which surprised me. I was amazed shes been single for a long time. Easy To Talk To? Yes, we have so much in common. I love that shes interested in camping and hiking, and has even bought a camper van which is right up my street. I live on the edge of the Peak District, which is great for walking. The day of the date was actually her birthday, so we probably had a few more drinks than normal. I asked the waiter to arrange a candle in a cake, which she found quite amusing. We laughed about the fact her mum had put her forward for the date I thought it was sweet. She found it funny that I ordered a candle in a cake for her birthday Embarrassing Moments? None at all. Did Sparks Fly? NICKS VERDICT: 8/10 LIKED? She was open and honest. REGRETS? None. COFFEE OR CAB? Coffee. Advertisement Its hard to tell because Im a man and not good at spotting this kind of thing, but I certainly felt a connection. I thought she was lovely. Thats all I know. She had a friend meeting her after the meal so we swapped numbers and parted with a kiss on the cheek. I dropped her a jokey message on my way home just to let her know how expensive the glasses of wine were because we drank a lot of them. Would you like to meet again? Id certainly meet again to see if there is something there. What do you think she thought of you? I think she enjoyed herself, but its hard to tell if she thought there was any chance of romance. Would your family and friends like her? Very much so. My friends are like me and like the outdoors, so Emma would fit right in. Fancy a posh meal with an eligible single like you? Or would you like to play cupid for someone else? Email your or their details and a photo to blinddate@dailymail.co.uk A young nurse was taken to hospital with second degree burns on Christmas Eve after sitting in the sun for just 30 minutes to speak to her neighbour. Kara, 32, is 30 weeks pregnant with her first child and decided to sit out the front of her apartment with her friend on a balmy 27C day in Melbourne. After a short time in the sun, the pair moved to under a tree for some shade and continued talking for 'a couple more hours' on December 21 before they parted ways and began preparing for the Christmas period. But despite not feeling hot or 'sun kissed', Kara started noticing a pink hue appearing on her neck, knees, lower arms and ankles at about 5pm. Kara, 32, is 30 weeks pregnant with her first child and decided to sit out the front of her apartment block for half an hour with a friend on a balmy 27C day in Melbourne 'I started applying after sun care to my skin that evening as a precaution,' the psychiatric nurse said. That night she woke up to a general feeling of warmth on the affected areas, but was otherwise shivering. By morning she was feeling sore and tender and continued to apply aloe vera to relieve the pain. 'That evening I continued to get increased pain and swelling of the affected areas. In particular oedema, or fluid retention, in my right ankle and both knees,' Kara said. 'This was most concerning because I'm pregnant and didn't know if there would be any complications. My oedema began "pitting" which meant I could leave behind a full handprint indentation in my leg, ankle and knees. 'I began icing myself on the areas.' On December 24 Kara asked a family member to take her to the hospital for a check up, where she learned that the risk of oedema was especially high in pregnant women - and she could largely blame her bump for how her skin had reacted to the sun. 'The doctor said that skin and hormones levels in pregnancy are super sensitive which is why sunburn happens quicker and more severe than what might normally be the skin's threshold,' she said. 'Unfortunately being pregnant meant I was limited to the types of creams or medicine I could take to help with the oedema because I couldn't have any anti-inflammatory medications.' Explaining that she didn't feel hot or 'sun kissed', Kara was surprised when she started noticing a pink hue appearing on her neck, knees, lower arms and ankles by 5pm that day That night she recalls waking up to a general feeling of warmth on the affected areas, but was otherwise shivering How does being pregnant increase your chances of getting burnt? When you are pregnant, the increased hormone levels coursing through your body cause your skin to become more sensitive and burn more easily. Your pigment-producing cells are in overdrive, causing your skin to be more susceptible to discoloration when exposed to the sun's UV rays. Instead of a tan, you could wind up with a plethora of freckles or even melasma, gray-brown patches often found on the cheeks. Combine that with the fact that pregnancy alters the immune system, and you can see why the risk of developing skin cancer is escalated when you are pregnant if you do not take precautions. Source: Very Well Family Advertisement Kara left the hospital only to struggle through what she described as 'serious pain' from December 24 until the 28th. 'It felt like my ankle would explode when I stood up. The skin on my knees was so sore and tight that getting up to go to the bathroom meant fighting back tears each time and a three minute trip turned into 15 minute one,' she said. Blisters on her knees would appear, swell and then burst all by themselves before forming again - a painful and 'messy' experience. Kara experienced nausea, was unable to regulate her temperature and felt constantly dehydrated. 'That evening I continued to get increased pain and swelling of the affected areas. In particular oedema, or fluid retention, in my right ankle and both knees,' Kara said 'I've reached the stage now where my skin has gone hard and I'm assuming will continue to peel which is important to be left alone due to risk of infection,' she said. 'I feel completely stupid for getting this sunburn at 32 years old. 'Never in my life have I ever come remotely close to burning like this - so this is a lesson I will never forget - though had I known the increased risk associated with pregnancy I would have had the right information to be a step ahead.' A young hairdresser who was once struggling to make ends meet on $12 an hour as a salon apprentice is now saving to buy a house with the $2.8million she has earned from posting to OnlyFans. Lilith Cavaliere, 21, worked at Stefan's, a chain of salons in Queensland, after leaving school but found it to be stressful and draining with no time for regular breaks. Deciding it wasn't the career she wanted, Lilith turned her attention to OnlyFans after hearing from women she knew that it was an 'easier' way to boost their incomes. She started an account in December 2019 just before the Covid pandemic hit Australia, and now averages a daily wage of $4,180AUD posting content. Lilith Cavaliere, 21, worked at Stefan's, which is a chain of salons in Queensland, after leaving school but found the work to be stressful and draining with no time for regular breaks 'I have two accounts now - my main account has a regular price at $10 a month and my premium access account is $50 a month,' she told FEMAIL 'I have two accounts now - my main account has a regular price at $10 a month and my premium access account is $50 a month,' she told FEMAIL. 'My audience is basically all men from around the world. The top places they are from are the US, Australia, Mexico, UK and France.' While working on the adults-only subscription website, Lilith can be asked for all kinds of fetish material, which she describes as 'strange', especially when it involves shaming men with small genitals. 'I always get asked for dirty undies, that is also very strange,' she said. Lilith will sometimes have to get 'creative' in front of the camera because she refuses to do full nudity, instead sticking to mainly lingerie 'with a see-through top'. Lilith will sometimes have to get 'creative' in front of the camera because she refuses to do full nudity, instead sticking to mainly lingerie 'with a see-through top' 'I do a lot of cosplay type content and fetishes. Lots of lingerie content and shaking my butt,' she said. The young OnlyFans star said she puts in a lot of hard work behind the scenes. 'It's eight hours a day most days, messaging, uploading, and making content... it's a full-time job. I have people who help with other parts of my life so that I can focus on creating for my subscribers and connecting with them,' she said. 'That's how I keep long-term high paying subscribers.' When she first signed up to the website a few of her loved ones were sceptical about the business idea and 'turned nasty', but now that she makes a living from it there are less complaints. When she first signed up to the website a few of her loved ones were sceptical about the business idea and 'turned nasty' - but now that she makes a living from it there are less complaints 'When I first realised I was making a lot of money I had to tell my mum, who was supportive. She said it's my body, if I want to do that she would support me and she helped me find the right people to help with the financial side of things,' Lilith said. 'I first purchased a Mazda 3 last year when I started earning lots of money, I paid it all up front which was a huge thing for me at the time. 'This year I purchased a Tesla Model 3 for my 21st birthday. I don't spend a lot of money, I prefer to save and invest in projects for my future. I've only ever bought a couple of designer bags.' The modest online model runs a crystal e-commerce store on the side which she plans to grow while she's on OnlyFans. Next year there will be a line of merchandise available on her website and she's even looking to get into the property market. 'I eventually would like to continue within the e-commerce world and keep creating new businesses,' she said. BBC historian Lucy Worsley has revealed she would put women in charge of money to avoid war and invest more in education, if she were in charge of the future. Speaking to Good Housekeeping as they celebrate their 100th anniversary, the British presenter, 48, looked at the last century of women's lives - delving into the history and how it has since developed. The joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces also branded it 'unthinkable' that women were expected to give up their job on getting married in the 1920s, and admitted that would have 'bothered her'. BBC historian Lucy Worsley has revealed she would put women in charge of money to avoid war and invest more in education, if she were in charge of the future Speaking about what she'd like to see change for women in the coming decades, she said: 'I would actually put women in charge of the world's money: I think we'd see very different spending priorities, such as less on war, more on education'. And addressing the lack of women's choices 100 years ago, Lucy said: 'People being worried about me working. I mean, that seems so restricting giving up your job when you got married, which women used to have to do. It seems unthinkable. 'This is what would bother me personally, but what about not having a vote, what about not having birth control? Things have really come on in 100 years. We feel like we know the 1920s because we see it depicted in films, but people had a very different mentality then'. Speaking to Good Housekeeping as they celebrate their 100th anniversary, the British presenter, 48, looked at the last century of women's lives - delving into the history and how it has since developed Lucy praised 'more choices in life' as the main change in women's rights - but argued it's 'not wide enough yet'. Read the full interview with Lucy Worsley in the February 2022 issue of Good Housekeeping And the historian put her love for history down to 'being nosy', explaining: 'It's just fun and fascinating and you can be nosy about people's lives. I like the way the long view gives you a sense of perspective that some things are going to get better, and it also encourages you to look out for things that might be going backwards. 'I think history provides us with hope for the future because you realise that things don't have to be the way they are'. Lucy is currently starring in a new series for BBC Two called Lucy Worsley Investigates, which covers four different historical events through the eyes of someone who was at the heart of it. The stories include a woman who was accused of witchcraft in the Scottish witch-hunt in the 1590s and ended up being garroted and then burned in Edinburgh. Read the full interview with Lucy Worsley in the February 2022 issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale the 30th of December. It is available in all supermarkets and online at MagsDirect. The most memorable TV moments of 2021 have been compiled in a hilarious list which has racked up 30,000 likes and retweets in less than a day. TV fan Diyora Shadijanova, from London, took to Twitter on Wednesday to share her favourite picks of the year, after her list of picks for 2019 became a viral sensation. The most memorable moments include Philip Schofield's horrified reaction after he was shown a nude by the man with the 'world's largest penis' - to which he described 'hell fire' after taking a while to find his words. Elsewhere a hard-hitting news report by ITV on the milkshake shortage at McDonald's which left one customer 'devastated' and another confused beverage lover 'looking for an ice cream shop' also made the list. Meanwhile a pair of baffled Tipping Point contestants who confused Greek author and poet Homer with the cartoon character Homer Simpson also got a nod. And a furious-looking passer-by who was asked about Labour Party leader Keir Starmer by a news correspondent and barked 'Who is he?' was also not forgotten. 1. A Talk Radio host telling an Insulate Britain activist that you can 'grow concrete' 2. Jesy Nelson's questionable performance of 'Boyz' at the Jingle Bell Ball 3. A tipping Point contestant who confused Greek author Homer with the cartoon character Homer Simpson 4. A compilation of Love Island's Lucinda Strafford saying 'really' 5. A passer-by with no idea who Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is 6. A very short BBC report on the petrol shortage crisis 7. This shocking moment a contestant falls through the floor on British dating show Love Trap 8. BBC presenters teasing a Tory MP over the size of his Union Jack flag 9. A viral Zoom call between Handforth Parish Council members which saw chairman and deputy thrown out 10. AJ and Curtis Pritchard's awkward joint Hollyoaks performance 11. A hard-hitting news report by ITV on the milkshake shortage at McDonald's 12. A Tipping Point contestant who thought the Liberal Democrats were also called 'moles' 13. When Barry Humphries congratulated Dermot O'Leary instead of Philip Schofield on 'coming out' 14. GBBO's Prue Leith talking about filling her holes 15. Love Island's Hugo Hammond calling his quest for love 'tragic' in front of his match 16. Matt Hancock running away from a Sky News reporter 17. The owner of the' world's largest penis' showing the This Morning presenters his nudes 18. A Ru Paul's Drag Race contestant dressing up as the Thomas Waghorn statue 19. When KSI had a Great British Bake Off disaster - resulting in an empty pie base 20. The very awkward moment a Married At First Sight groom thought the bridesmaid was his bride 21. Alan Carr attempting to step in for Adele at her concert during a make-up fix 22. Celebs Go Dating's Jodie not understanding the word sibling 23. Loose Women's Linda Robson swearing live on air 24. Alan Partridge's akward fall during his closing speech 25. Rufus Hound calling the government out during Dancing On Ice 26. Changing Room's Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen scaring a poor participant 27. Patsy Palmer refusing to finish a GMB interview because of the tag line being used 28. A Tipping Point contestant who called a Moby Dick character 'Captain Seaman' 29. Jonathan Van-Tam's very bizarre BBC Four TV Christmas lecture introduction 30. A man causing chaos in the background of a live interview in Wales 31. simply incredible scenes from Wales pic.twitter.com/dJWA20ZvEq Diyora Shadijanova ( ) (@thediyora) December 30, 2021 31. Love Island contestants getting emotional over Millie Court's keyboard performance A mum has beaten cancer thanks to the two of the Nolan sisters who helped her find and fight the disease. Carer Gail Jones, 56, who lives in Manchester with her wife Susan, 57, has been a lifelong superfan of the all-girls group but never expected Bernie and Linda Nolan, 62, would help to save her life after she developed breast cancer. The mum-of-four owns every The Nolans album and seen them perform live more than 100 times - and it was backstage at one of these concerts when she received lifesaving advice. The late Bernie Nolan, who had then just been diagnosed with cancer herself and died in 2013, encouraged Gail to 'always check your breasts' at a concert a decade ago - which led to an early diagnosis after finding a lump during a check last year. After reaching out to her hero Linda Nolan, who was diagnosed with cancer herself in 2008 and has since learned the disease is incurable, Gail was supported through every step in her terrifying journey and they became close friends. Gail Jones, 56, left, who lives in Manchester, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She revealed how the late Bernie Nolan told her to regularly check her breasts ten years ago. After her diagnosis, Gail reached out to Linda Nolan, 62, right, who helped her through her treatment Gail, left, has been a fan of the Nolan sisters ever since she saw them perform live when she was 16. She regularly meets with the musicians, and has developed a strong bond with Linda, pictured during a previous meeting After getting the all-clear last month, Gail says she owes her life to the Nolan sisters - because she'd never have spotted the lump without Bernie, and never had the strength to face treatment without Linda. Carer Gail, originally from West Bromwich, West Midlands, said: 'I couldn't quite believe it when I was told the cancer was gone - because there were times where I didn't think I'd make it at all. 'But even in the darkest of times, Linda was with me every step of the way and she has been a total strength for me because she's going through it herself. 'I still remember so clearly when I saw Bernie backstage and she made me promise I'd always check for lumps. Coleen, Maureen, Bernie and Linda Nolan performing during a concert in November 181. Gail has been a lifelong fan of the band 'I kept the promise for a decade but ever expected to find anything - I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't found that lump when I did. 'Bernie saved my life when she told me to check my breasts for cancer - and now Linda has saved my life by helping me through it.' Linda Nolan commented: 'I love that Gail felt she could approach me when she was diagnosed. 'It's so important to have contact with someone else who's going through the same thing as you. Gail with Coleen Nolan in 1985. The carer would meet with the Nolan sisters backstage at their concerts Gail lives in Manchester with her wife Susan, 57, left. She explained she began checking her breasts regularly after Bernie Nolan told her to Eight most common signs of breast cancer A change in size or shape A lump or area that feels thicker than the rest of the breast A change in skin texture such as puckering or dimpling (like the skin of an orange) A redness or rash on the skin and/or around the nipple Your nipple has become pulled in or looks different, for example changed its position or shape Liquid that comes from the nipple without squeezing Pain in your breast or your armpit thats there all or almost all of the time A swelling in your armpit or around your collarbone Advertisement 'I had no idea how far our friendship went back until I got the message from Gail - it's lovely to catch up with old friends and build on that friendship. 'My main message is the same as Bernie's was - always check your breasts!' Gail, who lives with wife Susan Jones, 57, in Manchester, told how she had been a huge fan of the Nolans since she first saw them live aged 16. Over the years, she has spent thousands on show tickets - and developed a close relationship with the Nolan family after meeting them backstage countless times. She recalled on one occasion meeting Bernie Nolan, who later died of cancer in 2013, and being given strict instructions which would later save Gail's own life. Gail, who has four children and eight grandchildren, said: 'I remember Bernie told me "Please promise me you'll always check your breasts, it can save your life." 'When Bernie said that, I felt like I owed it to her.' Gail heeded the advice and diligently checked for lumps every day for a decade - until she found a small cancerous lump in June 2020. During a mastectomy on July 20 to remove what doctors suspected was early-stage cancer, a grade-three tumour was found. A biopsy showed it had also spread to her lymph nodes - and she recalled the moment she began to think she'd never live to see her grandchildren grow up. She said: 'I was devastated - I was crying day and night. 'You never expect it to happen to you and my world fell apart.' Gail, left and Linda, right, have become close friends since Gail's diagnostic. She got the all-clear this year Gail with Susan, right. The carer said she was devastated after her diagnosis and was crying 'day and night' Then Gail decided to reach out to Linda Nolan, who has been fighting her own cancer battle for over a decade, after the pair became good friends after meeting at one of the many concerts Gail attended. Linda, 62, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and given the all-clear soon after, before learning in 2016 the cancer had returned to her hip. In May 2020, she found out the disease had spread to her liver and become incurable - but that didn't stop her stepping in to support long-time pal Gail just two months later. Gail said: 'I wasn't sure whether to message Linda because she has her own cancer battle, but as soon as I did, I knew I'd made the right decision. 'But as soon as I did, supported me every day and helped me stay calm in a truly terrifying time. 'It's was such a relief to speak to someone who understood what I'm going through - and I can't believe that someone is the same person I've looked up to since I was 16.' After undergoing more than a year of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments, Gail was finally given the all-clear last month. Gail backstage with Maureen and Anne after a concert in 1983. The Nolan's superfan said the group is her all-time favourite girl band And now she can officially say the Nolan sisters - her all-time favourite girl group - saved her life. Reflecting on her 18-month cancer battle, Gail said: 'It's been a very tough year and I had some points where I hit rock bottom. 'I thought I was going to die - at one point I even said to my wife I wanted to end it all. 'But Linda has been a strength for me - she texted me every night and reminded me that we're in it together and I need to keep going. 'I remember at a dark point Linda telling me 'Bernie wouldn't want you to give up' and it's true. Gail said she lost hope several times during her cancer treatment but revealed Linda would text her every evening to keep her strong 'Linda and my wife were the two people who reminded me life is worth living and I will come out the other side of it, when I didn't believe it myself. Gail says she has no doubt she and Linda will remain 'friends for life' and will forever be grateful for the advice Bernie gave her years back. She said: 'Bernie was the one who told me to check my breasts that night and I kept my promise to her. 'Then Linda was the one who helped me get through the scariest experience in my life even while fighting her own battle. 'Even now I'm cancer-free, I'll still be there for Linda and give her the same support she always gave me. 'Bernie saved my life when she told me to check my breasts for cancer - and now Linda has saved my life by helping me through it.' A mother-of-three has had her breasts and womb removed at 27 after being diagnosed with a gene mutation that put her in high risk of developing cancer. Haley Kelly, 27, from Fernandina Beach, Florida, lost her grandmother to ovarian cancer and great-grandmother to breast cancer. When she was nine-years-old her mother was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer, and tests revealed she had the BRCA1 mutation, meaning Haley had a 50 per cent chance of inheriting it. Aged 20, Haley discovered she too had the gene, and after reuniting with her high school sweetheart, they decided to start and complete their family as soon as possible so that she could have surgery to remove her womb. After having her three children, Haley underwent surgery aged 27 to remove her breast tissue, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, and uterus, when her youngest was three-months-old. Haley Kelly, 27, had her breasts and womb removed after finding out she had the BRCA mutation, which meant she had a high risk of developing cancer. Pictured two days post op Haley with her husband, Ty, and three children, Kannon, left, Kash, middle, and Kolbie, right Recalling her mother's diagnosis with cancer, Haley said: 'She was tested for the BRCA mutation given our family's extensive history. 'That's when she found out we had a BRCA 1 mutation in our family, and that meant that I had a 50% chance of inheriting it. 'I felt really scared at first, but it didn't truly hit home until I tested positive myself. 'I was scared of what that would mean for me in terms of having children, finding a husband, and navigating risk-reducing surgeries or surveillance.' At 20 years old, Haley, who is a registered nurse, decided to get tested for the gene mutation, which can increase the risk of developing breast cancer by up to 80% and ovarian cancer by approximately 50%. Sadly, they discovered she had the gene mutation too. The first person she reached out to was her high school sweetheart, Ty, as although they had broken up over two years earlier, he was a huge support. Pictured prior to her huge operation, where she had both breasts and her womb removed, after finding out she had the gene mutation Haley said: 'I felt very nervous, my biggest fear obviously was that they were going to go in there to remove everything and find cancer already beginning to grow' She said: 'We met when I was only 16 and actually went to my junior prom together. 'We hadn't talked for about a year at the time of my diagnosis. 'We rekindled our relationship shortly after me finding out, and the rest was history!' The pair married in July 2016 and decided to start trying for children right away. Haley said: 'We knew if we wanted children, especially multiple children, we needed to have them while I was young. 'We had Kash when I was 23, Kannon when I was 25, and Kolbie when I was 26. Haley was told that the 'rule of thumb' was to have surgery 10 years before the youngest diagnosis in her family, which was her mum at 34. Pictured nine days post op Haley said she knew if they wanted children, especially multiple children, they needed to have them while she was young because of the diagnosis 'I had my double mastectomy and hysterectomy on schedule when Kolbie was only three-months-old. 'We felt a peace about her being our last biological child. 'Our little family felt complete with her in it, so we went ahead and booked the surgeries.' Haley was told that the 'rule of thumb' was to have surgery 10 years before the youngest diagnosis in her family, which was her mother at 34. She said: 'That would put me only at 24. I knew this wasn't possible because I knew I wanted children and a family of my own, so I monitored very closely and had my three babies as close together as possible after getting married. 'Knowing it was coming is what scared me, so I decided to take action against my mutation before cancer took action on me.' The first person Haley reached out to when she found out the bad news was her high school sweetheart, Ty, as although they had broken up over two years earlier She said they met when they were only 16 and went to junior prom together, and hadn't talked for about a year at the time of the diagnosis Haley had Kash, left, when she was 23, Kannon when she was 25, and Kolbie when she was 26 The mother-of-three had the double mastectomy and hysterectomy on schedule when Kolbie was only three months old What is the BRCA gene and how does it affect people's risk of cancer? Having a mutated BRCA gene - as famously carried by Angelina Jolie - dramatically increases the chance a woman will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, from 12 per cent to 90 per cent. Between one in 800 and one in 1,000 women carry a BRCA gene mutation, which increases the chances of breast and ovarian cancer. Both BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes that produce proteins to suppress tumours. When these are mutated, DNA damage can be caused and cells are more likely to become cancerous. The mutations are usually inherited and increase the risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer significantly. When a child has a parent who carries a mutation in one of these genes they have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the mutations. About 1.3 per cent of women in the general population will develop ovarian cancer, this increase to 44 percent of women who inherit a harmful BRCA1 mutation. Advertisement On 9 September 2021, Haley had a prophylactic double mastectomy with tissue expander placement and a total robotic-assisted hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy, bilateral oophorectomy, removing her breast tissue, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, and uterus. Haley said: 'I felt very nervous, my biggest fear obviously was that they were going to go in there to remove everything and find cancer already beginning to grow. 'I'm also a nurse In the operating room, so there was a part of me that was fearful of surgery itself since I've seen "the good the bad and the ugly" of surgery from my nursing perspective.' She was in the hospital for two nights while the hospital sent all of her removed tissues off to pathology to be tested for any cancerous or precancerous cells. Thankfully, the tests all came back as benign. Since both her ovaries were removed, she is now on full hormone replacement therapy to prevent surgical menopause. She said: 'I was only 27-years-old, I made the choice to go onto hormone replacement therapy. 'It was either that or be in full-blown surgical menopause at 27, which has its own sets of risk factors in addition to the menopause symptoms like hot flashes, heart disease, osteoporosis, etc. In a clip posted on TikTok, her husband Ty, 29, shared a video of Hayley to share how proud he was of her for remaining so 'brave' and 'selfless' throughout Hayley on the beach with her drains coming out of her chest, saying she gets embarrassed about them and scars Ty shared the adorable and heartwarming clip to his TikTok following, in hospital to have tissue expanders removed as a follow-up surgery 'I think this was the right decision for me and I plan to remain on HRT until I am menopause age (around 50).' Now four months on, she has been recovering and healing in preparation for more surgery to replace her tissue expanders with breast implants to hopefully complete her breast reconstruction. Haley said: 'I was very nervous about this whole process, but I've been amazed at my body and how it's healed. 'I spent the first six weeks under strict orders not to lift anything over five pounds, and that was the hardest thing about it all since I had three children under four running around. Haley had a prophylactic double mastectomy with tissue expander placement and a total robotic-assisted hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy, bilateral oophorectomy, removing her breast tissue, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, and uterus Pictured 24 hours post op, Haley says she made it through the recovery with the help and support of friends and family 'But with the help and support of family and friends I have made I through it and am so happy to be back carrying my children around and running on my treadmill.' After sharing her story online, she has been overwhelmed with support. She said: 'I also was so blessed to be able to connect with so many women online who are facing similar situations and choices I was and am facing. 'If sharing my story helps one woman have the confidence to take control of her health then this was all worth it to me.' In a clip posted on TikTok, her husband Ty, 29, shared a video of Hayley on the beach with her drains coming out of her chest, saying she gets embarrassed about them and scars. Haley said: 'If sharing my story helps one woman have the confidence to take control of her health then this was all worth it to me' Ty captioned the post: 'I'm so incredibly honoured to call this beautiful soul my bride!' The clip went viral on TikTok, where it racked up more than two million views and was liked 145,000 times. One person commented: 'Previvor here too what a positive light she is, scars will heal and drains will go away you're stronger than cancer!' 'She's stunning, and a strong woman. Hope she's recovering well,' another user said. Someone else added: 'So beautiful, BUT THEN SHE SMILED AT YOU.' 'We are warriors!! Diagnosed at 33 w BRCA2, mastectomy and total hysterectomy soon after. 35 now and living life everyday,' another person commented. Another user said: 'God bless your beautiful wife. She has been through a lot at her age. I know she has good & bad days, but she is handling this with such grace!' 'Brave and beautiful. My wife had the same thing a few years ago. She is my hero,' added someone else. Advertisement The United States has hit a record of nearly 500,000 daily coronavirus cases - the most any country has ever reported - and risks grinding to a halt as experts say that the latest surge of infections will only get worse in the next month. On Wednesday, 489,267 positive Covid cases were reported. According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of new cases in America are of the Omicron variant, which was first discovered last month by South African health officials. The U.S. is now averaging 300,387 new Covid cases per day, a pandemic record and the first time the 300,000 mark has been reached in America. More than 500,000 Covid cases were reported on Monday, though that was a result of a large backlog of cases from the Christmas holiday. Wednesday's total is the largest increase from only a single day. The nation also recorded 2,184 deaths on Wednesday, and averages 1,546 deaths per day - an 18 percent increase over the past two weeks. But that number is still lower than the pandemic record, of 4,442 deaths in a single day recorded in January 2020. The CDC also reports that 75,477 Americans are currently hospitalized due to complications with Covid, an 11 percent increase over the past two weeks. Omicron has also been confirmed in 15,057 cases nationwide as well. Dr Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and member of President Biden's transition team's Covid task force, warns that things are only going to get worse as well. He told CBS Morning on Thursday that what is happening now is unlike anything Americans have experienced at previous points in the pandemic. 'We are going to see a viral blizzard over the next five to eight weeks,' he said. 'We're already beginning to see these very large numbers you're talking about, they're going to increase substantially. The real question we have is how many of those will then actually [suffer] severe illnesses requiring hospitalization, and even deaths and that's the challenge we're at right now. We don't quite understand that.' He warns that even fully vaccinated people should avoid large, crowded, environments in the near future because of how infectious the new virus strain is. As the Omicron variant continues to spread, Osterholm has other dire warnings as well. The former Biden advisor told MSNBC's Morning Joe on Thursday that spread of the variant could cause 'everyday life' to stop operating as normal. 'Right now we have a very imperfect situation that's going to require some very imperfect responses,' he said. 'Over the next three to four weeks, we are going to see the number of cases in this country rise so dramatically that we'll have a hard time keeping everyday life operating.' 'Already we are seeing it in our healthcare settings where we can lose 10 to 20 percent of healthcare workers who are not available to work. 'We are seeing that right now in critical infrastructure areas where people can't come to work.' Late last week, and early this week, thousands of American flights had to be canceled as airliners struggled with staffing issues because of how many employees were out with Omicron. In response, the CDC cut the required quarantine time for a positive Covid case to five days, from 10, in a move Director Rochelle Walensky said was to 'keep the critical functions of society open and operating.' 'You would like to have more time to allow people to clear the virus and not potentially be transmitting it,' Osterholm said of the situation. 'At the same time, we got to have people who are there every day who are doing the work. How can you provide the safest environment? I support what they are doing. I think it's not perfect. It won't be perfect and what we have come before us in the next few weeks is hardly going to allow for a perfect response.' America is already at risk of being paralyzed by this latest surge as companies implement their own de facto lockdowns: Restaurants, bars and businesses - including big chains like Walmart and Costco - have been forced to close as they battle staff shortages due to infections. In New York City, tech giant Apple has shut all its stores. Broadway has also been forced to temporarily shut down some of its shows, including Hugh Jackman's The Music Man, and others, like Waitress and The Rockettes shut down entirely for the season. Pro sports leagues have also been forced into postponements. The NHL, for instance, has been forced to reschedule 80 games on both sides of the US-Canada border since the season started. The NBA, meanwhile, postponed its 10th game of the season on Wednesday due to a breakout within the Miami Heat locker room and the Denver Nuggests were forced to delay their Friday night game against Golden State after falling short of players. Travel is also becoming increasingly frustrating for Americans, with hundreds of flights canceled every day since last week. On Thurdsay alone, more than 1,000 flights were canceled and more than 600 were delayed. Research shows that the emerging virus strain has the ability to circumvent protection provided by the existing crop of Covid vaccines. The variant has over 50 mutations, including more than 30 on its spike protein. It is the most mutated virus strain yet, and its many mutations allow it to evade protection provided by the Covid vaccines. The initial two-shot regimens of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna jabs have limited ability to prevent infection by Omicron, but they still can reduce symptoms, experts hope. Both companies have released data showing their booster shots can re-establish some protections against the variant. The one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine is believe to be ineffective at preventing Omicron infection. A recent study finds that the J&J booster shot can re-establish protection as well, though, and is 84 percent effective at preventing hospitalization from the new virus strain. Most recent CDC data shows that 73 percent of Americans have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 62 percent are fully vaccinated. The agency also reports that 68 million Americans have received a Covid booster shot. Meanwhile, Israel has become the first country to authorize a second booster shot for people with weakened immune systems, the top government health official said on Thursday, but a final decision on wider usage is still pending. Dr Michael Osterholm (pictured), director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and member of President Biden's transition team's Covid task force, warns that a 'viral blizzard' in the future will worsen America's Covid situation An Israeli hospital administered fourth shots to a test group of health workers on Monday, in what it called the first major study into whether a second round of boosters will help contend with the Omicron variant. Results are expected within two weeks. Omicron is not the only worry Americans have, though. The Delta variant, which caused a massive surge in cases over summer, is lingering as well and still causing case surges in unvaccinated pockets of the U.S. The CDC still projects that the variant accounts for between 25 percent to 60 percent of new cases in America. While the vaccines are effective against the strain, not all eligible Americans have received the jab. A study from the Africa Health Research Institute, the group who initially confirmed the Covid vaccines were not as effective against Omicron, also found this week that antibodies developed after infection from the new strain are effective against the Delta variant. This leads them to believe that Omicron will eventually push out Delta - and other strains - and take total control. Since the variant is comparatively mild as well, it will likely also become endemic - staying with the world in perpetuity the way the common cold does. Whether Omicron or Delta, the impact of the virus is being felt nationwide. New daily cases in the U.S. have grown by nearly 150 percent over the past two weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The nation also recorded 2,184 deaths on Wednesday, and averages 1,546 deaths per day - an 18 percent increase over the past two weeks. The CDC reports that 75,477 Americans are currently hospitalized due to complications with Covid, an 11 percent increase over the past two weeks. Omicron has also been confirmed in 15,057 cases nationwide as well. The CDC also reports that every single county in the United States, across all 50 states, is an area of 'high' Covid transmission, a first for the pandemic. Travel is also becoming increasingly frustrating for Americans, with hundreds of flights canceled every day since last week. On Thurdsay alone, more than 1,000 flights were canceled and more than 600 were delayed due to staff shortages In New York City, Broadway has also been forced to temporarily shut down some of its shows, including Hugh Jackman's The Music Man, and others, like Waitress (pictured) and The Rockettes shut down entirely for the season In New York City, tech giant Apple has shut all its stores but it will still allow customers to pick up online orders In Linden, New Jersey, Walmart was forced to shut its doors temporarily after 90 workers tested positive for COVID-19 Dr Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert, has warned in the past that what happens in the UK in regards to Covid will likely happen in the U.S. weeks later. Across the pond, a record 183,037 people are hospitalized with the virus, as London has emerged as a global virus hotspot. While some fear lockdown could return, Prime Minister Boris Johnson quelled concerns Thursday by telling Britons to enjoy the New Years holiday. Omicron strain may protect against Delta and usher in endemic phase of Covid, study finds Catching the Omicron variant of Covid may also help people fend off Delta, new research suggests. Academics took blood samples from people struck down with the ultra-infectious variant and measured their antibody levels. They then looked at how well the virus-fighting proteins reacted to both Omicron and Delta. Lab tests, conducted two weeks after patients joined the study, showed antibody levels spiked 14-fold in response to Omicron. But there was also a 4.4-fold increase against Delta, according to the findings which took the researchers by surprise. Other studies delving into the topic of cross-variant immunity showed antibodies made in response to Delta reacted poorly to Omicron. Researchers analyzed blood from 13 patients who had recovered from Omicron. Six were unvaccinated. And the majority of the volunteers had been hospitalized during their battle with the virus. Their blood samples were then tested in laboratory experiments against live versions of both the Omicron and Delta variants. Advertisement Other European nations like France, Germany, Norway and Denmark have instituted lockdowns to deal with recent Omicron surges, though, as the variant strikes much of the world. Meanwhile it South Africa, where the variant was first discovered and the site of the first recorded Omicron outbreak, cases and hospitalizations are starting to decline - signaling the variant could already be running out of steam. While the entirety of the U.S. is getting hammered by this winter surge in some form, some states in the south are especially being struck by the variant. While every state across America is feeling the effects of the new surge, with 44 out of 50 states recording case increases over the past two weeks, states in the U.S. South are getting hit especially hard. Florida has suffered the biggest increase in cases over the past two weeks. New daily cases have increased by 1,056 percent over the past two weeks. As of Thursday afternoon, an average of 141 out of every 100,000 people in Florida are testing positive for the virus every day, the fourth most of any state. Louisiana has also suffered a massive surge, with cases up 691 percent over the past two weeks, up to 88 of every 100,000 residents testing positive. In Georgia, cases have nearly septuple in 14 days, with the 99 out of every 100,000 residents testing positive every day in the the Peach state being a 690 percent over the last two weeks. Many other southern states also find themselves among the leaders in case growth over the past two weeks. Alabama and Mississippi both have had five-fold increases in cases over the past two weeks, with new cases rising 387 percent and 359 percent respectively. Other southern states experiencing large surges include Virginia (194 percent increase over past two weeks), Tennessee (198 percent), North Carolina (85 percent), Arkansas (130 percent) and Texas (232 percent). While states in the south are feeling the largest increases, New York and New Jersey lead the country in largest Covid rate. In New York, 215 out of every 100,000 people are testing positive for the virus every day, with a majority of these cases being detected in New York City - one of the hearts of the Covid pandemic in America. Nearby New Jersey has suffered the second highest Covid rate, with 196 of every 100,000 people testing positive for the virus every day. Other states in the area are also among the leaders in Covid infection rate, with Rhode Island coming in third at 157 of every 100,000 people being infected every day, Maryland (129 out of 100,000), Massachusetts (127), Connecticut (129) and Delaware (109). States out west that were experiencing declining cases only weeks ago are experiencing large increases of cases as well. States along the west coast like California (263 percent increase over two weeks), Washington (265 percent), Oregon (80 percent) and Colorado (156 percent). Even states in the great plains whose cases were declining up until recent days are experiencing heavy Covid increases as well. In Montana and Wyoming for example, cases are up nearly 50 percent each, after leading the nation in case declines over recent weeks. Pennsylvania is the nation's leader in death rate, with a staggering 103 out of every 100,000 residents, or more than one of every 1,000, dying from the virus every day. Michigan, a long time leader in Covid deaths after the state's hospital system was overwhelmed by Covid cases in recent months, remains second in death rate at 96 of every 100,000 residents dying from the virus daily. New York also finds itself among the leaders in deaths, with 75 of every 100,000 dying from Covid daily, joined by Ohio (72 of every 100,000), Tennessee (64), Arizona (61) and Illinois (61). London, capital of the UK, has emerged as another hotspot of the new variant, and could be a preview of the future for New York and other major U.S. cities. More than 400 people were admitted to the hospital with Covid symptoms in the city on Wednesday, crossing a key threshold that could lead to lockdowns in the city. Nationwide, the UK recorded 183,037 new cases a new record that also includes some backlogged cases from the Christmas weekend. New daily cases in England are up 45 percent over the past week without an increase in testing capacity. In England, more than 10,000 people are hospitalized with the virus as well. Officials from the National Health Service (NHS) are saying that the situation may not be as dire as it seems, though. Even people that are hospitalized are often suffering from shorter stays, with less severe cases, and are not usually dying. There are also many people being admitted to the hospital out of abundance of caution, and not because they actually require the intensive treatment. Booster shot of J&J's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is 84% effective at preventing Omicron variant hospitalization A booster dose of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine was 84% effective at preventing hospitalization in South African healthcare workers who became infected as the Omicron variant spread, researchers said on Thursday. An initial course of inoculation has been shown to offer greatly reduced protection against Omicron, particularly against infection. However, several studies have suggested that a booster dose still provides significant protection against severe illness. The new South African study of the J&J shot showed that the vaccine's effectiveness at preventing hospitalization rose from 63 percent shortly after a booster was administered to 84 percent 14 days later. Effectiveness reached 85 percent at one to two months post-boost. Earlier this month, another South African-based study showed that a first round of inoculation with two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine had been less effective in South Africa at keeping people infected with the virus out of hospital since the Omicron variant emerged last month. The trial has been evaluating the efficacy of the J&J vaccine in the field after it was temporarily suspended due to concerns over extremely rare cases of blood clots. Advertisement Amid speculation that lockdowns could return to the UK as cases rise, Prime Minister Johnson told Britons to enjoy their New Years holiday on Thursday, signaling that no new restrictions will come before Saturday at least. Johnson has focused his Omicron plan on the Covid boosters after initial data showed their effectiveness against the new strain. He implemented a massive booster roll out strategy that included enlisting the military and thousands of volunteers to keep clinics running en masse. Meanwhile in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, some lockdown restrictions have been implemented, as the nation's suffer surges of their own. Some fear this means many will travel from the more restrictive nations into England to celebrate the New Years holiday, and potentially bring Covid with them. The UK accounts for a vast majority of the 334,000 Omicron cases confirmed worldwide, with 210,122 confirmed as of Thursday morning. The large figure is mainly due to the country's robust, and successful, public health centers that have sequenced and traced cases at an unmatched level so far. Second to the UK in confirmed Omicron cases in Denmark, which has sequenced 46,140 confirmed cases as of Thursday morning. The Nordic nation has the highest infection rate in the world, with over 1,600 out of every 100,000 residents testing positive for the virus every day. A record 23,228 cases were recorded in Denmark on Wednesday, the highest single day total yet, and currently around 12 percent of Covid tests are coming back positive. The nation went into a soft lockdown earlier this month, with restaurants and bars required to close early, among other restrictions. Germany has sequenced the third highest total of Omicron cases, with 16,748, and has instituted some lockdown measures of its own. The European nation has banned unvaccinated people from shopping and dining establishments and also some other events. Health officials are calling for even stricter measures to come amid another virus surge, though. 'The protective measures that we are currently using to largely successfully counter the wave of Delta infections will not be enough to prevent a significant rise in Omicron cases,' Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Wednesday. 'I do not believe the drop in the overall case numbers to be sustainable. And we'll have to react to that.' The country is averaging around 30,000 new cases per day. While it is a sharp decline from the 60,000 case average in late November - right before restrictions on the unvaccinated went into place - local officials fear the vaccine resistant strain that has since emerged will reverse the country's fortunes. South Africa, where the variant was first detected late last month is showing promising signs that variant could quickly burn out, though. After Omicron's discovery, South Africa instantly suffered a massive surge in cases. A record of over 23,000 new cases per day was reached in mid-December. In the time since, though, cases have dropped, with less than 12,000 cases now being recorded per day nationwide. Hospitalizations have declined in consecutive weeks as well after surging upon the variant's arrival. Advertisement The United States is suffering from its worst Covid surge yet, and some experts fear it is only beginning. The nation is averaging more than 300,000 new cases every day for the first time since the pandemic first began, and hit a record 489,267 new cases on Wednesday, the highest single day total since Covid first arrived in March 2020. Across the country, cases are up 150 percent over the past two weeks. Deaths have jumped by 18 percent as well, to 1,546 per day. More than 75,000 Americans are receiving treatment for Covid related complications every day. While every state across America is feeling the effects of the new surge, with 44 out of 50 states recording case increases over the past two weeks, states in the U.S. South are getting hit especially hard. Florida has suffered the biggest increase in cases over the past two weeks. New daily cases have increased by 1,056 percent over the past two weeks. As of Thursday afternoon, an average of 141 out of every 100,000 people in Florida are testing positive for the virus every day, the fourth most of any state. Louisiana has also suffered a massive surge, with cases up 691 percent over the past two weeks, up to 88 of every 100,000 residents testing positive. In Georgia, cases have nearly septuple in 14 days, with the 99 out of every 100,000 residents testing positive every day in the the Peach state being a 690 percent over the last two weeks. Many other southern states also find themselves among the leaders in case growth over the past two weeks. Alabama and Mississippi both have had five-fold increases in cases over the past two weeks, with new cases rising 387 percent and 359 percent respectively. Other southern states experiencing large surges include Virginia (194 percent increase over past two weeks), Tennessee (198 percent), North Carolina (85 percent), Arkansas (130 percent) and Texas (232 percent). While states in the south are feeling the largest increases, New York and New Jersey lead the country in largest Covid rate. In New York, 215 out of every 100,000 people are testing positive for the virus every day, with a majority of these cases being detected in New York City - one of the hearts of the Covid pandemic in America. Nearby New Jersey has suffered the second highest Covid rate, with 196 of every 100,000 people testing positive for the virus every day. Other states in the area are also among the leaders in Covid infection rate, with Rhode Island coming in third at 157 of every 100,000 people being infected every day, Maryland (129 out of 100,000), Massachusetts (127), Connecticut (129) and Delaware (109). States out west that were experiencing declining cases only weeks ago are experiencing large increases of cases as well. States along the west coast like California (263 percent increase over two weeks), Washington (265 percent), Oregon (80 percent) and Colorado (156 percent). Even states in the great plains whose cases were declining up until recent days are experiencing heavy Covid increases as well. In Montana and Wyoming for example, cases are up nearly 50 percent each, after leading the nation in case declines over recent weeks. Pennsylvania is the nation's leader in death rate, with a staggering 103 out of every 100,000 residents, or more than one of every 1,000, dying from the virus every day. Michigan, a long time leader in Covid deaths after the state's hospital system was overwhelmed by Covid cases in recent months, remains second in death rate at 96 of every 100,000 residents dying from the virus daily. New York also finds itself among the leaders in deaths, with 75 of every 100,000 dying from Covid daily, joined by Ohio (72 of every 100,000), Tennessee (64), Arizona (61) and Illinois (61). Tech giant Apple has put its Foxconn supplier factory in southern India on 'probation' amid concerns over substandard food and poor accommodation conditions. Protests erupted earlier this month after more than 250 women who work at the Foxconn plant and live in its dormitories were treated for food poisoning, with more than 150 were hospitalised, Reuters said. Apple has not explained what probation means in this context, but when it placed the southern India plant of another supplier, Wistron Corp, on probation after unrest last year, it said it would not award that company new business until it addressed the way workers were treated. Probation: Apple has put its Foxconn supplier factory in southern India on probation amid concerns over substandard food and poor accommodation conditions An Apple spokesperson said it had dispatched independent auditors to assess conditions at the Foxconn factory's dormitories 'following recent concerns about food safety and accommodation conditions at Foxconn Sriperumbudur'. The plant, which is located in the town of Sriperumbudur near Chennai and employs around 17,000 people, was closed on 18 December. Apple and Foxconn did not confirm when they expected it to reopen. The impact on Apple from the closure of the plant, which makes iPhone 12 models and has started trial production of the iPhone 13, is expected to be minimal, analysts have said. But the factory is strategic in the long term as the US tech giant tries to reduce its reliance on its Chinese supply chain amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. A spokesperson for Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Foxconn said that it was restructuring its local management team, taking immediate steps to improve facilities. They added that all employees would continue to be paid while it makes necessary improvements to restart operations. Apple said it had found that some of the dormitory accommodations and dining rooms, which were not on the factory's premises, did not meet its requirements and that it was working with the supplier to ensure a comprehensive set of corrective actions, adding that it will ensure its standards are met before the facility reopens. A senior government official familiar with the matter said Foxconn had been answering queries from the state government on amenities provided to workers. 'Once they get clearances from the government, workers will be inducted and the company will resume production,' the official said. A second official said the reopening of the Foxconn plant in Chennai could be delayed until Monday. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Foxconn and 11 of its contractors, including those who provide food and living facilities, were summoned for a meeting with the state government. Officials had asked Foxconn to review services provided to the workers, including power backup at the hostels, food and water. A self-proclaimed 'wolf' stock trader who boasted about his life of luxury, then claimed he was on Centrelink when ordered to pay his mum $750,000, is at it again. Tyson Robert Scholz, 36, has been caught faking a glamorous wedding proposal to girlfriend Sophie Lee Anderson with a helicopter, diamond rings and a private jet. The video Mr Scholz posted to social media caught the eye of the Queensland police as the Gold Coast trader had not made a recent application for a border pass. Due to Covid restrictions, anyone wanting to enter Queensland must complete a border application and test negative up to 72 hours before entry. Controversial trader Tyson Scholz (pictured right) with his longtime partner Sophie Lee Anderson (left) Sophie Lee Anderson's hand (pictured) with diamond rings and champagne When police spoke with Mr Scholz, he told them the jet footage was old and he had not left the state for months. A check of his phone confirmed this was the case. The Gold Coast police confirmed officers spoke to Mr Scholz and that no crime had been committed. Though the footage was cobbled together from various occasions to make it look like it was all part of the same elaborate adventure, Daily Mail Australia understands the marriage proposal itself was real, and included a helicopter tour of the Gold Coast. Mr Scholz, who is under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission over allegations he operated as an unlicensed financial adviser, regularly uses Instagram - where he posts as ASX Wolf - to portray a lavish lifestyle. Along with his glamorous fiancee, there were also expensive foreign holidays and a $320,000 yellow Lamborghini. When the Lamborghini was later impounded by police over multiple speeding offences, it turned out to be leased. Tyson Scholz's lavish wedding proposal to Sophie Lee Anderson (pictured) was not all it was cracked up to be It is not suggested Ms Anderson had any knowledge of Mr Scholz dealings subject to the ASIC investigation or lawsuit by his mother. After a court ordered him to pay his mother $750,000 from an investment deal, Mr Scholz said he was on unemployment benefits with a declared income of just 44c a fortnight. Mr Scholz, from Paradise Point, claimed in October 2019 he could not afford a plane ticket back to the Gold Coast from Sydney and was seeking Centrelink payments to buy food, court documents showed. But just days later, he posted to his ASXWolf social media account a picture of a $5,000 fuel bill for a speedboat on the Gold Coast and other images claiming he was enjoying the 'Gold Coast sunset'. In the following weeks he posted about enjoying a day out on a jet-ski near Gold Coast theme park Sea World along with posts to his thousands of followers spruiking stock tips and investments. Wannabe 'wolf' share trader Tyson Scholz has been caught faking parts of an elaborate proposal to his girlfriend Sophie Lee Anderson featuring a helicopter, diamonds and a private jet. Pictured are Ms Anderson's Mr Scholz's hands Some of his social media posts were tendered as evidence against him in Brisbane Supreme Court in a case taken by his mother, Judith Gibbs. Ms Gibbs gave her son her life savings of $530,000 in 2013 to invest in a Subway sandwich shop franchise on the Gold Coast, according to her statement of claim. Mr Scholz, who already owned three Subway shops, did not transfer the ownership of the store to her name but rather kept filed it under the title of Gold Coast Investments Pty Ltd. Six years later she had not received a cent from the business, so she launched legal action. Sophie Lee Anderson (pictured left) and fiance Tyson Scholz (pictured right) use social media to portray a glamorous lifestyle A transcript of a telephone conversation entered as evidence showed Mr Scholz saying he needed '$2,500 a week' and had to 'keep maintaining his lifestyle for the image'. During the conversation, he offered to pay his mother $150,000 to settle the dispute using money he made in the stock market. Mr Scholz said he liked to dine out and bought clothes because 'that's what social media is about'. 'I have expensive taste,' he said in the transcript. Mr Scholz is due back in court next year to face driving and boating charges, and he has been ordered to stop promoting stock market and financial tips on social media. He denies the ASIC allegation that he operated as an unlicensed financial adviser. 'Starving' residents in the locked-down Chinese city of Xi'an are surviving on a bowl of porridge a day despite Beijing insisting there are 'sufficient' food supplies. Thirteen million residents in northern Xi'an are in their seventh day of home confinement, and national health officials have called for measures to be strengthened further as China battles its worst virus surge in months. Xi'an's inhabitants have been complaining of food shortages on social media but while officials admitted that there had been trouble providing essential supplies, they said 'the total supply of daily necessities in Xi'an is sufficient'. One resident surnamed Wang said: 'I live on.... a bowl of porridge every day, just to keep alive. 'I heard friends in other districts got their food delivered, but not here in Weiyang district.' One woman said: 'I didn't get any food delivered to me. I managed to order something from our convenience store downstairs two days ago, but not today.' 'I have rice at home... I have several eggs left - one per meal, one meal per day,' she said. Another resident who didn't want to be named said she only had enough food because she had persuaded the community manager at the gate to let her slip out to the supermarket for half an hour to get supplies. A worker prepares food supplies to be delivered to a residential compound in Xi'an A resident of the Chinese city of Xi'an is swabbed as she is tested for Covid-19 today. Current rules state residents may only leave their home if requested to take part in mass testing Residents in Xi'an wait in line with multiple barrels to purchase water from a gated community in the city Supplies were low and the vegetables were not fresh, she said, adding that by Thursday police had been stationed outside the block. Beijing has followed a strict 'zero Covid' strategy involving tight border restrictions and targeted lockdowns since the virus first surfaced in Wuhan in late 2019. But officials admitted at a press conference today that 'low staff attendance and difficulties in logistics and distribution' had led to trouble providing essential supplies as the country faces a resurgence in infections. And yesterday, many residents took to social media to ask for help acquiring food and other essentials, with some saying their housing compounds would not let them out even though they were running out of food. 'I'm about to be starved to death,' wrote one person on Weibo, China's equivalent of Facebook. 'There's no food, my housing compound won't let me out, and I'm about to run out of instant noodles ... please help!' 'I don't want to hear any more about how everything is fine,' said another. 'So what if supplies are so abundant - they're useless if you don't actually give them to people.' Xi'an official Chen Jianfeng told reporters that the local government had mobilised enterprises to step up community distribution, with cadres supervising wholesale markets and supermarkets. 'We're trying our best to assist in the problem of staff turnout, and are issuing passes for vehicles that guarantee the supply of necessities,' he said. But some were still struggling with supplies. 'How do we live? What do we eat?' one user wrote on the Twitter-like Weibo platform. 'Days ago, we could go out once to buy groceries but that's been cancelled... all online grocery apps are either sold out or beyond the delivery range,' the user added. Pictured: A huge line of residents in a gated community in Xi'an, China, earlier today as they wait to be tested for Covid The city stepped up confinement measures on Monday, with many residents told not to leave their homes except for virus testing - after previously being told they could go out once every three days to buy supplies. Authorities had previously insisted that supplies remain stable as they maintain strict controls of movement into and out of Xi'an. The city has logged over 960 domestic virus cases since December 9. Although the surge in China is low in comparison to rampant cases in Europe and the United States, Chinese officials imposed what they have called the 'strictest' possible curbs in Xi'an. Authorities have also detained at least seven people in the city over attempting to skip quarantine, disrupting order and spreading rumours, local media said. Officials in the city on Monday said that people are only allowed out of their homes when invited to take part in a new round of mass testing, or for medical emergencies. Previously, one member of each household was allowed out once every two days to buy food. City officials said people in 'low risk' areas will be allowed out to buy essentials once testing is complete and if their results are negative. Xi'an reported 175 new cases on Tuesday, a paltry figure compared to other large cities around the world but a major blow to China which is continuing to pursue a 'zero Covid' strategy even in the face of more-infectious variants. Nearby cities have also logged cases linked to the flare-up, with Yan'an - about 185 miles from Xi'an - on Tuesday shuttering businesses and ordering hundreds of thousands of people in one district to stay indoors. Xi'an's outbreak is being driven by the Delta variant and is believed to be linked to travel to Pakistan a week ago. The city has been in lockdown since last Thursday when mass testing revealed a case had escaped quarantine and then spread the virus widely. The 13million-person lockdown is also China's largest since Wuhan was locked down early in 2020, which affected 11 million people. Xi'an on Tuesday reported 175 Covid cases, its highest toll of the current outbreak, pushing up China's seven-day average of cases to its highest level this year (pictured above) On Sunday, city workers were dispatched to disinfect public spaces with residents warned not to touch anything until the chemicals had time to disperse. Lockdown rules were then tightened on Monday evening as a fifth round of mass testing got underway. It comes after armed riot police in southern China paraded four alleged violators of Covid rules through the streets this week, leading to criticism of the government's heavy handed approach. Four masked suspects in hazmat suits - carrying placards displaying their photos and names - were paraded Tuesday in front of a large crowd in Guangxi region's Jingxi city. Photos of the event showed each suspect held by two police officers - wearing face shields, masks and hazmat suits - and surrounded by a circle of police in riot gear, some holding guns. Armed riot police in southern China have paraded four alleged violators of Covid rules through the streets, leading to criticism of the government's heavy handed approach. Four masked suspects in hazmat suits - carrying placards displaying their photos and names - were paraded Tuesday in front of a large crowd in Guangxi region's Jingxi city The public shaming was part of disciplinary measures announced by the local government in August to punish those breaking health rules. China banned such public shaming of criminal suspects in 2010 after decades of campaigning by human rights activists, but the practice has resurfaced as local governments struggle to enforce the national zero-Covid policy. The four individuals paraded through the streets of Jingxi city were also accused of transporting illegal migrants while China's borders remain largely closed due to the pandemic, Guangxi News said. Jingxi is near the Chinese border with Vietnam. The newspaper said the parade provided a 'real-life warning' to the public, and 'deterred border-related crimes'. But it also led to a backlash, with official outlets and social media users criticising the heavy handed approach. Although Jingxi is 'under tremendous pressure' to prevent imported coronavirus cases, 'the measure seriously violates the spirit of the rule of law and cannot be allowed to happen again,' Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Beijing News said Wednesday. Other suspects accused of illicit smuggling and human trafficking have also been paraded in recent months, according to reports on the Jingxi government website. Videos of a similar parade in November showed a crowd of people watching two prisoners being held while a local official read out their crimes on a microphone. They were then seen marching through the streets in their hazmat suits, flanked by police in riot gear. A child was knocked to the ground by a member of the Queen's Guard after accidentally stepping into his path at the Tower of London. Footage captured from the Tower of London earlier today shows a group of tourists taking photographs of the two Guardsmen in their ceremonial bearskin hats as they march across the grounds. However just seconds later a young child walks into the path of one of the soldiers who immediately shouts: 'Make way!' The child is then knocked to the ground by the marching Guardsman who tries to step over them and carries on past the tourists. The child is knocked to the ground by a member of the Queen's Guard after accidentally stepping into his path at the Tower of London today A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence told MailOnline: 'We are aware of an incident at the Tower of London earlier today during a routine patrol. 'The Guardsmen on duty warned members of the public that a patrol was approaching but the child unfortunately ran out in front of the soldier unexpectedly. 'The soldier tried to step over the child and continued on his duty. 'Following the incident, the soldier checked on the child and was reassured that all was well.' The Queen's Guard are charged with protecting the official royal residences across the UK. They are known for their distinctive red tunics and bearskin hats but during the autumn and winter months they wear long grey coats instead. The child accidentally steps into his path of the Guardsmen during a patrol earlier today Tourists watch as the Queen's Guardsmen carry out a routine patrol at the Tower of London The soldiers are picked from one of five infantry regiments and have been protecting royal residences for three centuries. The units, manned by fully-trained, serving soldiers, have more than 350 years of history and have defended monarchs since Charles II took the throne after the English Restoration in 1660. There are thought to be guidelines in place for guardsmen to deal with obstacles, which include stamping their feet and shouting. Raising a rifle is considered a 'final warning', after which the guardsmen is allowed to detain the person in question. If a person obstructs their path the Guardsmen will shout: 'Make way for the Queen's Guard.' The latest scenes have since gone viral after it was shared on TikTok with the caption: 'My sister went to England, first day in.' One user wrote: 'Just no need for this.' Social media users shared their thoughts after the scenes were shared online Another commented: 'People think these guys are just decorative. They're real troops with real orders.' Another viewer added: 'Why can't we change the rules so that the guards can just walk around people? I'm sure the answer is ''tradition'' but who really cares.' In 2018, a tourist, who had crossed a rope barrier, was pushed out of the way by a member of the Queen's Guard at Windsor Castle. The tourist was not injured and managed to remain on her feet despite the incident. Nearly 100 convicted terrorists are being considered for release from prison by the Parole Board. Several of 92 active and ongoing terror cases could come before parole judges to be ruled on next year depending on how it long it takes to gather the relevant evidence needed for each hearing. Emergency laws were passed in February blocking the automatic release of terrorists behind bars after two attacks were carried out in a three-month period by extremists who had recently been freed from jail. Terror offenders must now serve two thirds of their sentence before becoming eligible for release, as opposed to the previous benchmark of half, and each individual first needs to be reviewed by the Parole Board. Some of the cases under review include that of Nazam Hussain, who plotted attacks alongside London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan, and Jack Coulson, who was convicted of making a pipe bomb in his Nazi memorabilia-filled bedroom and downloading a terror handbook in July 2018. Both could have their bids for freedom determined by the Parole Board in February. Nazam Hussain (pictured) was part of a gang of al Qaeda inspired terrorists who admitted plotting to blow up the London Stock Exchange Jack Coulson was jailed for making a pipe bomb in his Nazi memorabilia-filled bedroom and downloading a terror handbook in July 2018 Abdalraouf Abdallah was jailed after he assisted his brother Mohammed Abdallah in travelling to Syria to join Islamic State. The extremist was recalled to prison for breaching the conditions of his licence earlier this year Terror boss Rangzieb Ahmed, the first person to be convicted in the UK of directing terrorism after heading up a three-man al Qaida cell that was preparing to commit mass murder, is anticipated to have his case decided upon in March. In the same month a decision may be made on whether Jawad Akbar can be released - one of five terrorists who plotted to bomb the Bluewater shopping centre in Dartford, Kent, and the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London in 2004. Islamic extremist Abdalraouf Abdallah, who was visited in prison by Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi but denies any involvement in the attack, was recalled to prison for breaching the conditions of his licence earlier this year. He is likely to be reconsidered for release in the first half of 2022 along with Aras Hamid, who tried to leave the UK to join fighters with so-called Islamic State. Since the introduction of the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Act 2020, a total of 117 cases have been referred to the Parole Board. To date, 11 have been freed and 14 refused release from prison. Terror cases often take longer to consider due to their 'complexity' and 'go through painstaking and thorough processes' to ensure all necessary evidence is available to panels overseeing the hearings, the Parole Board says. Intelligence from security services forms a 'key part' of many terrorist parole reviews, with the panels tasked with making the decisions made up of members including former and serving judges, chief constables, prison governors, prosecutors, psychologists and psychiatrists. Each requires 'top level security clearance' in order to hear the often sensitive evidence given at the hearings. Rangzieb Ahmed was the first person convicted in the UK on a charge of directing a terrorist organisation Jawad Akbar was jailed for plotting terror attacks on the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent and the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London Aras Hamid is serving a prison sentence after trying to leave the UK to join fighters with so-called Islamic State Terror cases make up a 'tiny' proportion of the Parole Board's caseload - equating to fewer than 100 of the roughly 16,000 it deals with each year. However, because of the 'critical public protection nature' of terror cases, the Parole Board is increasing the number of specialists who can handle them and hopes to have around 70 panel members by early 2022. A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: 'Public protection is always our top priority. 'Any terrorist convicted offender released into the community will be subject to some of the strictest licence conditions available, including restrictions of where they can go, who they can associate with, restrictions on internet use, electronic devices, travel and work. 'They will also be subject to further close monitoring as part of Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements.' Prime Minister Scott Morrison's bid to ease the rules on Covid contacts has been blasted by medics who fear it will speed up the exploding spread of the virus. The PM yesterday revealed he wants to use Thursday's National Cabinet meeting to redefine what a close contact is nationwide and how long isolation should be. The move is a bid to stave off Covid chaos that sees businesses facing crippling staff shortages as workers are trapped in isolation because of contact alerts. But the Australian Medical Association warns easing the rules will allow Omicron to rip through the population even more quickly - and threatens to overwhelm hospitals. 'Im confused Scott Morrison,' AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid tweeted. 'Omicron spreads more easily than any other variant. Prime Minister Scott Morrison's bid to ease the rules on Covid contacts has been blasted by Australia Medical Association President Dr Omar Khorshid (pictured right with the PM) 'It doesnt care if you are a family member, a coworker, a drinker in the pub or breathing the same air in a lift. Isolating close contacts slows spread. 'Redefining close contacts will simply accelerate the outbreak. Lets not give up on slowing the spread. Isolating less people means faster spread. 'Vaccination, testing and public health measures have worked so far and remain the best option for living with COVID.' The AMA was branded 'the peanut gallery association' by Australia's former deputy chief health officer Dr Nick Coatsworth after an earlier tweet warning about delays to the government's booster program rollout. The PM's proposal to the nation's leaders at Thursday's crisis meeting is based on rule changes in NSW, which has already switched to a new system. The Australian Medical Association boss warned in a series of tweets (pictured) that the move will allow Omicron to rip through the population even quicker - and threatens to overwhelm hospitals Only household members or people who spent four hours or more with someone who tested positive will count as close contacts - and it will be up to the infected person to warn possible contacts. NSW Health will now only trace close contacts in cases involving workers in sensitive areas like healthcare or people at potential mass-spreader events. Under the new rules, all other contacts will only be required to isolate and get tested - but will be free to leave isolation after a negative PCR test result. But the move has medics worried. Close contacts will now only be required to isolate and get tested - but will be free to leave isolation after a negative test result (pictured, a resident in lockdown isolation in Sydney) UNSW's Professor Marylouise McLaws branded the NSW switch 'unscientific' and said the rules shouldn't be changed. 'Four minutes giving somebody a hug at home will get you infected,' she told Nine's Today show. 'The idea of a close contact really hasn't changed with the World Health Organization or the CDC in the USA, or in the UK.' Dr Khorshid added: 'I dont think you could call the NSW experiment a success yet. UNSW's Professor Marylouise McLaws (pictured) branded the switch 'unscientific' and said the rules shouldn't be changed 'Masks and social distancing measures to slow the spread urgently needed in NSW. Living with COVID doesnt mean letting it rip. 'Caution now so much better than regrets later. The pandemic is far from over - just look at the rest of the world ' NEW NSW CONTACT DEFINITIONS HIGHER RISK (HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS, CLOSE CONTACTS) You are more likely to develop COVID-19 if you spent a lot of time with a COVID-19 positive person in close interaction, spent time indoors together, and if you or the COVID-19 positive person didnt wear masks. If this situation applies to you, the best way to protect those around you from COVID-19 is to get tested immediately and self-isolate for 7 days after you last saw the COVID-19 positive person. Getting tested is important even if you dont have any COVID-19 symptoms or you are fully vaccinated. MEDIUM RISK If you spent a short amount of time with the COVID-19 positive person, but wore a mask or met outdoors, you may be of a lower risk. Consider getting a PCR (nose and throat swab) test and self-isolating until you receive a negative result. Check yourself for symptoms over the following days. Even if you do not develop symptoms, getting another PCR test 6 or more days after you last saw the COVID-19 positive person can also help show if you have an early infection. LOWER RISK If you had very brief contact with the COVID-19 positive person in an outdoor place or while wearing a mask, then monitor for symptoms. If you develop symptoms, get a PCR (nose and throat swab) test immediately and self-isolate until you receive a negative result. Stay COVID Safe for your 14 day risk period Protect your friends, family and community: Wear a face mask Limit your interactions with other people, particularly vulnerable people. You should take extra precautions if you have to see any vulnerable people including family members and friends Avoid visiting high-risk settings (health care, aged care, disability care and correctional facilities) if possible. If you must visit one of these settings or need to see any vulnerable people, do a rapid antigen test just before you go. SOURCE: NSW Health Advertisement The backlash from the medical profession comes after the PM called the emergency meeting of National Cabinet in response to the deepening Omicron crisis. NSW case numbers almost doubled in 24 hours on Wednesday with 11,201 cases as testing facilities buckle under the pressure with people turned away or forced to wait hours for a swab. The state recorded 12,226 cases on Thursday. The backlash from the medical profession led by Dr Omar Khorshid (pictured) comes after the PM called an emergency meeting of National Cabinet in response to the Omicron crisis Three other states also hit record highs as the nation smashed through 18,000 cases in a day. But every case also brings a slew of contacts who could be forced into isolation. 'We just can't have everybody just being taken out of circulation because they just happen to be at a particular place at a particular time,' Mr Morrison said. 'The uncertainty of that the impacts on the economy and given we are not seeing this impact our hospital system, it's an impractical way to live with the virus. 'It is important that we move to a new definition of close contact that enables Australia to keep moving for people that get on with their lives.' Four states hit record highs as the nation smashed through 18,000 cases in a day as testing stations buckled under unprecedented demand (pictured) He said Thursday's meeting aims to implement uniform guidelines across the states, but also allow those state which are less affected to carry on without unnecessary restrictions. 'It's important that we continue to adjust and get as consistent an approach as we possibly can across all the states and territories,' he said. 'But the other thing we've learned right across the pandemic is all states are at different stages. There are different phases. 'Now in states where there are very low numbers of cases, the need to change things at this stage is not as great as they are here in New South Wales. The PM aims to implement uniform guidelines across the states, but also allow those state which are less affected to carry on without unnecessary restrictions 'So to be applying exactly the same settings in all the states and territories would not match the reality of what's happening on the ground.' And he said he wanted to see other states adopt NSW and Victoria-style restrictions as soon as they started to see numbers explode. 'As states move into that phase, where they have more high volume cases, I would expect them to move towards adopting the practices that we're seeing in states like New South Wales and Victoria,' he said. 'So what we are looking to do is ensure we get a definition of close contact and which tests are used in what circumstances and how they are provided to manage a large volume of cases.' Australia is set to see in the New Year with more extreme weather, being hammered by tropical rains in the north and a three-day heatwave to the south which could spark bushfires and risk lives. Far North Queensland will see heavy rainfall into next week, while Brisbane and the Gold Coast will be wet and windy for New Year's Eve, as much of Victoria and South Australia bake in scorching temperatures. While it will be beach weather in Victoria, the Bureau of Meteorology warned people not to get carried away in the heat, even issuing a 'heat health alert' for Central Victoria and Melbourne. 'Heat kills more Australians than any natural disaster,' the bureau said. While it will be beach weather in Victoria, the Bureau of Meteorology warned people to not get carried away in the heat A burst of heat over New Year's with Severe Heatwave conditions across #Victoria@VicGovDH has issued a Heat Health Alert for the Central district, including #Melbourne Heat kills more Australians than any natural disaster Find out more: https://t.co/XwNgMfuP8k pic.twitter.com/gw3xbo6WW3 Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) December 29, 2021 Australia is set to see in the New Year with more extreme weather, being hammered by tropical rains in the north and and a three-day heatwave to the south which could spark bushfires and risk lives Hot across #SouthAustralia on Thursday, with Very High fire danger in most districts and Severe fire danger in the #LowerSouthEast. A #FireWeatherWarning is in place. See https://t.co/n5xel5IFp9 for details. Be prepared and stay fire aware @CFSTalk Bureau of Meteorology, South Australia (@BOM_SA) December 29, 2021 Victoria and South Australia also face a bushfire risk in some areas from lightning strikes. Campers heading towards Gippsland are advised to stay up to date with bushfire news. Melbourne and Adelaide will both reach a scorching 38 degrees on a hot and sunny New Year's Eve, and hit 36-37 degrees again on Saturday. Melbourne will cool slightly on Saturday afternoon, then drop to 21 by Monday, while Adelaide will stay in the 30s all weekend. Australia faces several days of vastly contrasting weather from a searing heatwave in Victoria and South Australia to tropical rain in Far North Queensland Much of Queensland will be facing heavy rain over the next few days, while parts of the southern states could be battling bushfires as authorities say lightning strikes are forecast On Saturday 'dry thunderstorms' will develop in Victoria's east, creating a potential bushfire threat. 'We'll see some dry lightning over the east of state, across Gippsland and the north east of Victoria, which can spark up fires,' said Jonathan How from the Bureau of Meteorology. 'So if you're heading out camping, keep in touch with information from the Country Fire Authority (CFA),' he added. With temperatures set to soar over the New Years Eve long weekend, Victorian fire agencies are warning people living in or travelling to regional areas to monitor fire conditions: https://t.co/xvpHicIMeA@FireRescueVic @FFMVic pic.twitter.com/Hhf14icZuX cfa_updates (@CFA_Updates) December 29, 2021 The weather office has warned of a risk of dry thunderstorms which could bring lightning strikes in Victoria's east and South Australia's lower south-east - and a risk of bushfires Mr How said the tropical storm which has drenched Far North Queensland will ease as it moves offshore - but it is likely to mean a wet and windy New Year's Eve for Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Sydney is set for a spell of warm fine weather, reaching 29 on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, then 30 on Sunday and Monday. 'It will be showery and windy along the beach along the Gold Coast and at Brisbane, so you might need to tie down your umbrella if you're out in it.' There's a good chance of showers into next week in south-east Queensland and 'dangerous surf conditions'. Cape York was drenched this week but the weather warnings for the far north have been cancelled The Daintree rainforest in Queensland copped 135mm of rain in 24 hours 'So follow all advice from surf lifesaving Queensland.' Mr How said Brisbane and the Gold Coast were unlikely to see a return to beach weather until mid-to-late next week. The wettest place in Queensland was Kowanyama, on the Cape York Peninsula, which was smashed with 386mm of rain since Tuesday. The heaviest rain was north of Townsville, around the Daintree and up to Port Douglas. All of Cape York Pensinula has seen heavy rain, he said. The heaviest rain was north of Townsville, around the Daintree and up to Port Douglas. All of Cape York Pensinula has seen heavy rain for several days A weather office radar image shows the storm off the coast of Cape York, Queensland, which has brought heavy rain to the area In the past 24 hours Port Douglas copped 143mm, while south Mission Beach near Cairns copped 147mm. The Daintree rainforest was hit with 135mm of rain in the last day. The wet weather in the far north will continue but Mr How said tropical storm warnings had been cancelled as the storm moved offshore. Its impact on the mainland will be dangerous surf and high winds along the coast. Friday will see gale force winds from Cairns to Mackay and strong winds down to Fraser Island. Inland temperatures will begin to soar. Birdsville is forecasts to reach 46 degrees on Monday. Mr How says inland Victoria will cop the worst of the three-day heatwave to the south. The low off Queensland will bring big surf, rain and high winds to the coast A map showing rainfall across Australia's east coast over the next few days Inland, towns such as Mildura, Malee, Echuca and Swan Hill are likely to crack 40 degrees on Friday. 'And they will stay that hot into Sunday,' he said. 'Victoria will see quite a few warm nights low to severe heatwave conditions developing across Victoria.' In the west, Mr How says Perth could reach temperatures in the high 30s and even 40 degrees on Monday ad Tuesday. Nearly four months after the United States military left Kabul at the end of August, retired Green Beret Scott Mann is still getting calls every day about vulnerable Afghans desperately trying to escape the Talibans brutal regime. Mann is the founder of Task Force Pineapple, a group of retired special forces veterans and others who made headlines by stepping up to help Afghans with targets on their backs to safety. Using an intricate network, Mann and others worked as shepherds to establish roadmaps for desperate people and their families and then guide them to safety through a series of checkpoints solely relying on remote communication. It's not the only rescue team of its kind, but Task Force Pineapple got its nickname because Afghans fleeing to Hamid Karzai International Airport during the evacuation would show Western forces a picture of a pineapple on their phone to signify they were being helped by the elite group. Mann told DailyMail.com that Pineapple is currently working with nonprofits like Operation Recovery to help as many as 6,000 people and estimated that with other parallel efforts, that number is likely significantly higher. Manns fellow former Green Beret Zac Lois, a shepherd with Operation Recovery whos been helping rescue Afghans since August, said the Afghans in hiding were like sitting ducks in safe houses. Meanwhile the volunteers trying to help them are tired, traumatized and feel largely left alone by the Biden administration. Retired Green Beret Zac Lois, one of the leaders of Operation Recovery, said the Afghans they're trying to help are 'sitting ducks' in safe houses like these These twins were born on Christmas day to a mother hiding in safe houses. Their father successfully managed to get on an evacuation flight from Kabul in August We're not going away. We're going to find ways to just continue to do what the government should be doing until they do it, Mann said. But the problem is, it's also causing a lot of harm a lot of trauma, not just on the Afghans but the Americans as well. The volunteers are really starting to run low on funds. They're starting to experience severe mental health issues. He later added, There has been such an egregious shift of responsibility from the institutional levels of power to these volunteer groups. Since the end of August, nearly 75,000 vulnerable Afghans have been evacuated to the United States and 3,000 more were at third-party safe haven countries overseas, according to the State Departments latest update earlier this month. The State Department also said its directly assisted 479 Americans and 450 green card holders and their families in leaving Afghanistan since the withdrawal ended on August 31. Mann said some of the 6,000 people hes linked to helping are American green card holders who have not been contacted that want to get out. Hes part of a small coalition that includes people in regular contact with the State Department and Pentagon about the ongoing rescue efforts, Mann said, but the results have been minimal compared to how many people are left. Frankly, I think there's a growing concern, particularly those in the Special Operations community that like the voices of our Afghan partners, are not being heard or considered to the level that they need to be, he said, calling for broader engagement from the Biden administration and military leaders. Lois shared another photo of a baby born in a safe house to an Afghan Special Forces family. He estimated that more than 20 babies have been born to Afghans in hiding since the US evacuation The retired lieutenant colonel said he received a text from Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley regarding his efforts in September. Milley had invited him to the Pentagon to discuss a private-public task force to aid in the continuing evacuations. Mann was hopeful at first but felt very little came from that conversation. If the needle had moved even a little, I would be prone to say, yeah, it there was some work [done], but it didn't. You know, it just really didn't. It was a lot of talk and not even a lot of talk, he said. Asked if Milley reached out to him again or took responsibility, Mann said its been quiet. Lois said the planned partnership never occurred. We went down to [Washington, D.C.]. We met with all the individuals from the different agencies, specifically the Department of State, and they said, Hey, we're going to put together a fusion cell. And that has never been the case, he said, adding: I feel like they're just they're just kicking this can down the road. DailyMail.com has reached out to the Joint Chiefs' office but has yet to hear back. Meanwhile the winter months have forced Task Force Pineapple and Operation Recovery to pause on their rescue efforts and instead focus on mental health counseling and other ways to sustain those Afghans still hiding in safehouses until they can resume in the springtime. It's really about hunkering down by the winter and emerging in the spring and reassessing the options that are there. This is going to be a long game, Mann said. Lt. Colonel Scott Mann, a retired Green Beret, founded Task Force Pineapple to help vulnerable Afghans such as those with connections to the US military escape from Taliban rule Lois said the stop was forced by a lack of State Department flights out of the country. There is a bit of a pause right now because there are no flights flying out of there are no Department of State flights flying out of Afghanistan right now, because of an issue between Qatar and the Taliban. So that's where a lot of the government flights are shut down right now, he said. Until then theyve aided in setting up care such as remote trauma intervention sessions using Zoom. Normally women in those situations are not eating, so they give them basic nutrition information to help them kind of get to a place where they can do diaphragmatic breathing, get down to that parasympathetic state and actually process their situation and you know, make it through the winter, he explained. Mann said Joint Chiefs Chair Mark Milley reached out to him about the White House's announced public-private partnership but that no help materialized from it Another new element to factor in, Mann said, is a baby boom. He estimated that anywhere between eight and 10 infants were born in safe houses so far, and predicted more will come before the winter is done. Lois estimate is even higher over 20 for sure. Lois shared images of twins born on Christmas Day, to an Afghan mother who had been hiding until she could join her husband in the United States. The couple and their children had attempted to evacuate in August but she and two children were injured in the chaos at the crowded gate and forced to turn back. Another baby was born in a safe house to the family of an Afghan Special Forces member, with the help of a midwife and interpreter via phone from the US. In addition to women and Special Immigrant Visa applicants, Task Force Pineapple and other organizations are working to help vulnerable people in the LGBTQ community and former Afghan commandos, who were trained by the US military but have no clear bureaucratic path to escape. Not only is it a moral imperative to help Afghan military veterans escape, Mann said, but their lack of safety is also a national security risk. As a career Green Beret, I have to believe that our leadership system is rotten to the core that they can allow that to happen, he said. As for the group he founded, Task Force Pineapple, Mann said it is still working with nonprofits helping vulnerable Afghans on a day-to-day basis but has since shifted focus to a larger-scale advocacy campaign. Theyre continuing to lobby members of Congress for support in pressuring the Biden administration to help. If not, Mann predicts the situation for thousands of at-risk Afghans will be catastrophic when evacuations resume in the spring. With the Taliban growing more violent and adding checkpoints near Kabul's airport, an all-volunteer group of American veterans of the Afghan war launched a daring mission in August dubbed the 'Pineapple Express' to shepherd hundreds of at-risk Afghan elite forces and their families to safety These volunteer groups, they're going to collapse under the weight and we're going to see, I'm afraid, some level of harm come to them too. And so I think we're heading off a cliff, he said. If we don't get with a sense of urgency, some accountability and assistance from the US government, I think we're going to see some catastrophic stuff happen in the spring. He later added, You've got some of the most at-risk people in Afghanistan in safe houses right now in refuge, you know, counting on the goodwill of the American people in the private sector. Well, what happens when that money runs out? Among their allies in Congress right now is Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, a retired Green Beret himself the first to serve at the US Capitol. He echoed his fellow veterans concerns about the State Departments role in the evacuation, calling them as much of a hindrance as they have been a help. I talk to a number of these groups and try to help them and every one of them has the very strong sense that the State Department just wants this to go away minus American citizens, and now some, like, green card holders and legal permanent residents. Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, a retired Green Beret himself, has been helping Task Force Pineapple, Operation Recovery and the numerous other groups aiding vulnerable Afghans He called on the Biden administration to step up and aid in an increasingly dire situation. These groups are running out of energy. The veterans, many of them have quit their jobs, exhausted their savings, theyre running out of funding. Most of the folks they're supporting are getting, you know, shuffled around from safe house to safe house in the middle of winter in Afghanistan with the economy collapsing. It's a really dire situation, and what I don't think what the administration doesn't fully appreciate, is we're not going to let this go, Waltz said. Waltz is championing these rescue groups efforts in Congress by pursuing ways Afghan military members can get out of the country, and called on the State Department to expand its current visa categories for vulnerable Afghans to include the former governments elite forces. Another line of effort that we're pursuing, that I will pursue this year in the defense bill, for example many of the pilots, the Afghan pilots that were evacuated and other folks with exceptional skills, want to join the US military, he said. The Florida lawmaker called for those highly-trained service members who chose to enlist in the US military to then get a pathway to citizenship. That's something that we're pushing on, and we'll push on this next defense bill, he said. Cases of the Covid-19 Omicron variant have exploded around Australia but only a handful of those with the strain are in intensive care. Just 0.1 per cent of cases of the variant in NSW are in the ICU, and just 0.3 per cent of Victorians, where patients actually declined by two on Thursday. NSW Health data shows the majority of hospitalisations were for those with the more virulent Delta variant, or those who are unvaccinated. Only one patient has died with Omicron in Australia, a man in his 80s with underlying health conditions who caught it in his Sydney nursing home. Cases of the Covid-19 Omicron variant have exploded around Australia but only a handful of those with the strain are in intensive care Of the more than 18,000 cases recorded around the country on Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said just 126 were in the ICU. From the year to September 12, ICU rates were at 2 per cent, but this has now dropped to 1.1 per cent. However, there is a lag time of two to three weeks between when a patient catches Covid and needs to be in the ICU, so it will take time to see the effects of surging cases in the past week. Chief medical officer Paul Kelly said the results were a reflection of the lesser severity Omicron has. 'In terms of the severity we know now that it is very likely this is less severe than other forms of the virus,' he said. 'How much less severe is still an open question. I've seen estimates from 15 per cent less severe to 80 per cent less severe.' He added that most cases of Omicron were younger Australians and in NSW two thirds of hospitalisations were in the unvaccinated. Australia's top doctor Paul Kelly said the results are a reflection of the lesser severity Omicron has Research by South African scientists suggested those who catch the Omicron variant may be better protected against other strains such as Delta. The study focused on 33 vaccinated and unvaccinated people who contracted Omicron in South Africa and found these people, especially those who were vaccinated, had an 'enhanced immunity' to the Delta variant. Alex Sigal, one of the researchers in the study, said the data showed Omicron could potentially push Delta out of the community. 'The increase neutralizing immunity against Omicron was expected - that is the virus these individuals were infected with,' he tweeted. 'However, we also saw that the same people - especially those who were vaccinated - developed enhanced immunity to the Delta variant. 'If, as it currently looks like from the South African experience, Omicron is less pathogenic, then this will help push Delta out, as it should decrease the likelihood that someone infected with Omicron will get re-infected with Delta. 'If that's true, then the disruption Covid-19 has caused in our lives may become less.' A temporary morgue set up in a remote community in Queensland has been used by the local council to provide a stark reminder about the effects of Covid-19 as its vaccination rate lags well behind the state's average. Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council posted a picture of the temporary morgue on its Facebook page as a grim warning that local residents are at risk of illness and death from the virus. The refrigerated storage container had been sent to the island, located 65km north-west of Townsville, by Queensland Health. Mayor Mislam Sam warned that the island of 2,600 people could face up to 60 deaths if it did not lift its vaccination rate. Only 58.4 per cent of Palm Island's residents have received two doses of a Covid vaccine, compared with 86.19 per cent of the overall Queensland population 16 years and over. The refrigerated storage container had been sent to the island, located 65km north-west of Townsville, by Queensland Health Only 58.4 per cent of Palm Island's (pictured) residents have received two doses of a Covid vaccine, compared with 86.14 per cent of the overall Queensland population 16 years and over 'We all look at the current infection numbers and think... that we wont get real sick or die,' Mayor Sam posted. 'The big difference is our population is massively under-vaccinated compared to the rest of the Qld. 'All medical advice to us indicates deaths are anticipated from Covid on Palm and that is an avoidable tragedy waiting to happen. 'We have very ill people in our community and low vaccination rates. 'While health authorities must plan for the worst, we can do more to make sure no one needs to use this morgue.' 'I know this is confronting but its time for tough advice to be listened to,' Palm Island Mayor Mislam Sam (pictured) said on Facebook NRL stars such as Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow from the North Queensland Cowboys (pictured), visited the island in November to encourage residents to get vaccinated The mayor urged residents to come forward for vaccination at Palm Island Community Company and the Joyce Palmer Health Service. 'I know this is confronting but its time for tough advice to be listened to,' he said. 'Its too late after the surge. Weve spent months and months and months getting ready. 'Health advise the facility will be ready from January 5. Lets make sure we never need to use it please.' Some people thought the presence of the morgue was an inappropriate way to encourage vaccination on the island. 'Im all for encouraging people to get vaccinated but this is not the way to go about it,' one person commented on Facebook. 'Biggest scaremongering I have seen all to boost vaccination numbers,' wrote another. 'Come on Queensland Health, do better.' 'How bloody disgraceful to instill fear within the community,' posted another person. Kieran Keyes, Chief Executive of Townsville Hospital and Health Service, told Daily Mail Australia the temporary morgue was provided to the Palm Island community at the request of the Palm Island Local District Disaster Management Group. 'The Townsville Hospital and Health Service has never speculated on any potential death rates from Covid-19 on Palm Island,' Mr Keyes said. 'Vaccinating the community remains a singular focus in our defence against this virus. 'We join the Mayor, though, in urging the community to be vaccinated especially as the rates of infection are climbing in Queensland since the border reopening.' In an earlier post the Mayor noted the incursion of the virus on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait. 'There's every reason to think with all the cases in Townsville that some of our residents have already been exposed.' On Wednesday, eight new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Thursday Island after an initial cases was identified on Tuesday. That first case was a double vaccinated person who is believed to have acquired the infection on a trip to Sydney. Not all of the new cases on the island are vaccinated. 'It's certainly been a shock to the community its caused a ripple effect into our community,' Thursday Island Mayor Vonda Malone told the ABC. Far North Queensland indigenous communities have used any means to encourage local populations to get vaccinated, including visits from NRL stars such as Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow from the Cowboys, who visited the island in November. The Federal government had identified the island as a Local Government 'area of focus' under the the vaccine rollout program, Operation Covid Shield. In May the island's residents had been praised by health officials, after 444 people showed up to receive their first dose of a Covid vaccine. The Chinese government has accused Scott Morrison of a 'double standard' after he joined TikTok. The Prime Minister made his debut on the Chinese video-sharing app over Christmas after criticising the platform for harming children and warning it potentially posed a data security threat. China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Wednesday said Mr Morrison was applying a double standard to benefit himself by reaching a younger audience. The Prime Minister (pictured on Wednesday) made his debut on the Chinese video-sharing app over Christmas 'Certain Australian politician's choice of social media platform is his own business,' Mr Zhao told his regular press briefing when asked about Mr Morrison joining TikTok. 'I need to reiterate that the Australian side should follow the principle of openness and market rules, stop abusing the concept of ''national security'' or applying double standard to serve its interests, and provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies,' he added. In August 2020 Mr Morrison said Australia's intelligence agencies were looking into TikTok for potential data breaches and warned parents the platform was ultimately answerable to the Chinese Government. 'People should know that the line connects right back to China and that they should exercise their own judgment about whether they should participate in those things or not,' he said. China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused Mr Morrison of a double standard In September last year he again blasted the platform as a video circulated of an American man taking his own life. TikTok struggled to remove the clip because it was embedded in other videos including of kittens. 'No child should be exposed to horrifying content like this,' Morrison said. 'Platforms like TikTok need to put in more resources to detect and tear down this sort of harmful content. That is their responsibility.' Earlier that year Assistance Defence Minister Andrew Hastie, then chair of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, said TikTok was a national security threat over fears that users' private information would be shared with authorities in Beijing. 'China's National Intelligence Law of 2017 means the Chinese Government can compel businesses to share information with them,' he told 7.30. 'So, I doubt if our information is secure when it's owned by Chinese companies.' Mr Hastie, who served in the ADF and is a vocal critic of the Chinese state, said he was worried that users' information such as their name, age and location could be accessed by the Chinese Communist Party. Liberal MP Andrew Hastie (pictured) in slammed the app for being a national security threat 'TikTok is largely used by teenagers but they're our future leaders... and we need to protect their information long-term,' he said. The father-of-two, 38, also expressed fears for his own children, saying: 'I certainly don't want my children's data going to a foreign country who might use it for nefarious purposes.' TikTok is the international version of Chinese app Douyin where users create and upload short videos and Gifs with a host of functions. The app asks users for access to their phone's camera, microphone contact list and location when they sign up. The company says it stores its data in the US and Singapore, not China - but experts fear it could still be accessed by the Chinese state. Users of the app, which is now more popular than Snapchat, only have to be 13 years old to sign up - and can be contacted by anyone unless they make their profile private. Even then, anyone can request to look at their pictures and videos, and even pretend to be another child. General Manager of TikTok Australia Lee Hunter told Daily Mail Australia the company does not share information of Australian users with any foreign government. Mr Morrison uploaded his first ever TikTok video on Christmas Eve followed by another clip on Christmas Day in which he wishes Aussies a Merry Christmas. His account carries the handle pm_scomo. Australia-China relations remain at a low ebb after Beijing imposed tariffs on several Aussie goods following Mr Morrison's call for an independent inquiry into coronavirus which was identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Experts have warned the Omicron situation is even worse than latest figures suggest as Australia closes in on recording 20,000 new Covid cases in 24 hours. NSW reached a new record high of 12,226 cases on Thursday with 746 in hospital and one death, while Victoria hit 5,137 cases with 395 in hospital and 13 deaths and Queensland reached 2,222 new infections. The staggering caseload comes after South Australia recorded 1471 cases on Wednesday. NSW chief medical officer Dr Kerry Chant has now admitted the spread of the disease is even worse than the latest soaring figures. 'We probably are not getting to all of the cases so there's probably more disease in the community than the numbers reflect,' she said on Wednesday. Experts have warned the Omicron situation is even worse than latest figures suggest as Australia closed in on 20,000 new Covid cases in 24 hours on Thursday (pictured a healthcare worker at a testing facility) NSW chief medical officer Dr Kerry Chant (pictured) has now admitted the spread of the disease is even worse than the latest surging figures But medical experts have warned the soaring official numbers are just the 'tip of the iceberg'. Doctors fear thousands more cases could be stuck at home and unable to get a test because of the long waits at testing facilities in Omicron-hit states. NSW Health had more than 157,000 test results on Wednesday as labs caught up after Christmas holidays but that number slipped back to 97,201 on Thursday. Monash University epidemiologist and Associate Professor James Trauer said the official numbers were misleading. NSW reached a new record high of 12,226 cases with 746 in hospital and one death, while Victoria hit 5,137 cases with 395 in hospital and 13 deaths (pictured, people waiting for a test at Sydney's Rose Bay on Thursday) 'Its hard to know exactly what the level of transmission is at the moment,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'But when you see case numbers jump from 6000 to 11,000 like they did in NSW, you get a sense the positive numbers are not giving us an accurate sense of the size of the epidemic. 'We always know that the observations that we have are a proportion of the true caseload for Covid. 'As transmission increases, we'll increasingly see that the notified cases are just the tip of the iceberg.' Testing facilities are buckling under the sheer number of people being tested, while the soaring number of positive tests has strained the system to breaking point. Monash University epidemiologist and Associate Professor James Trauer told Daily Mail Australia the official numbers were misleading (pictured, cars queueing for a test at Bondi) Up to now, pathology labs in Australia have been able to batch-test large numbers of samples which usually all tested negative, speeding up the process. If there was a positive test, individual samples would then be re-tested to identify the specific positive swab. But now Omicron has become so widespread, the batch tests are returning so many positive results, that system no longer works efficiently, slowing down results. One Twitter user said he had just got his test result back from NSW Health more than a week after getting tested. 'It has impacts on our laboratory,' Dr Chant admitted on Wednesday. "When we've got that higher positivity rate, it means some of the techniques used to increase lab throughput are no longer able to be used. 'That decreased our overall capacity.' Medical experts have warned the official numbers are just the 'tip of the iceberg' as covid cases records tumble in four states (pictured, Sydneysiders enjoy relaxed Covid restrictions) Officials are now aiming to restrict PCR testing to people who are sick or have been ordered to get tested by NSW Health to try to ease the pressure on pathology labs Dr Chant added: 'We really want to focus our PCI testing on symptomatic individuals, or people that have been clearly advised they need a test by public health.' Many still say they are unable to get a PCR test to confirm they are Covid positive. A Sydney's based-medic on the frontline said he has been inundated with Covid patients who are stranded without a PCR test. 'In my telehealth job Im taking a lot of calls from people who have tested positive to covid on rapid antigen tests, but who cant, for various reasons, obtain a PCR test,' tweeted Dr Michael Wu. 'The official covid numbers are just the tip of the iceberg...' One twitter user said he had just got his test result back from NSW Health more than a week after getting tested (pictured) Other Twitter users confirmed Mr Wu's Tweet and said they had relatives who were sick at home and tested positive on a rapid antigen home test - but were unable to get a PCR test. 'Thats our household,' tweeted one. 'My son has symptoms and confirmed positive by RAT and we have been isolating since finding out a close contact had it. 'But there is no way Im queuing up stuck in a car with him for over three hours for a PCR.' Another, Nesha Hutchinson, added: 'Yep - that's me. 'Positive on RAT for the last two days, too sick to sit in a car for six hours (too sick to drive at all) - but not sick enough to call an ambulance despite NSW Health admitting that I've got covid and need help.' Another added: 'I had a positive home test a week ago and can't find a place to report it. 'How many more positive cases are out there unreported and not reflected in the reported numbers? 'Also have a sick husband and son and can't get them seen or tested. Doctors/urgent care is all booked.' Officials are now aiming to restrict PCR testing to people who are sick or have been ordered to get tested by NSW Health to try to ease the pressure on pathology labs (pictured, Covid testing in Brisbane) Even those wanting to take a rapid antigen test are struggling to find kits and unable to queue for PCR tests. 'I suspect the number of cases is grossly under-reported for reasons just like this,' tweeted Ken White. 'I woke up feeling lousy - headache, nausea, sore throat...no tests to be found for the next two weeks.' An Indigenous influencer has hit back at internet trolls accusing her of pretending to be Aboriginal because of her light skin and blue eyes - saying 'it doesn't matter how much milk you put in coffee, it's always going to be coffee'. Kate Maree Cooper, a 22-year-old TikTok star from central New South Wales, posted a scathing reply to people questioning her heritage on social media on Thursday morning. She responded to a comment after a user accused her of 'thinking she's Indigenous... but just isn't', saying it was unjustified and hurtful. 'It's not ok, I identify as an Aboriginal woman,' she said. Kate Maree Cooper, a 22-year-old TikTok star from central New South Wales, posted a scathing reply to people questioning her heritage on social media on Thursday morning Kate, who has amassed nearly 370,000 followers on TikTok, said she's a proud member of the Wirdajuri mob, Indigenous Australians from central NSW. She regularly posts content referring to her Aboriginal roots, and says her appearance shouldn't take away from her traditions. 'Just because I have fairer skin, blue eyes and dye my hair blonde, doesn't take away that I'm Aboriginal,' she said. The 22-year-old's followers rallied around her, saying she'd handled the trolling with respect. Kate, who has amassed nearly 370,000 followers on TikTok, said she's a proud member of the Wirdajuri mob, Indigenous Australians from central NSW She hit back at internet trolls acussing her of pretending to be Aboriginal because of her light skin and blue eyes 'You gave the most amazing respectful response!' one girl commented. 'The government tried to breed out by telling fair skin/blue eyed aboriginal people theyre not aboriginal is exactly the point of white Australia,' another TikTok user replied. Kate replied to the comment 'FACTS' before sharing other comments in her proceeding videos. 'I love how you showcase your culture and Im sorry you have to make these videos,' another women responded. Covid-19 cases, fuelled by the Omicron variant, are soaring across his state and the country, but NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet still has a positive end of year message. NSW recorded 12,226 new cases on Thursday, with 746 people in hospital and 63 in intensive care, after almost doubling the day before. However, Mr Perrottet said lockdowns were not what the people of NSW wanted and the burden on the state's resources was reduced by 92.7 per cent of people being vaccinated and 94.2 per cent having had at least one dose. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (pictured) has praised people's community spirit in the fight against Covid-19 'Our exceptionally high vaccination rates, further strengthened by a strong take-up of booster shots, helps ensure people who catch Covid are at a much lower risk of getting seriously ill,' he wrote in an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald. The premier said though many people had to cancel plans over Christmas due to isolation requirements and testing delays, this revealed a strong community spirit that would survive whatever the pandemic threw at it. Mr Perrottet said preliminary data indicated the Omicron variant was less severe than Delta and that 'now is the time to change strategy and allow the virus to become endemic - essentially, to live with it'. The premier said the increase in Covid case numbers due to Omicron was expected, that given the variant's higher transmissibility. The only way to keep its numbers down would be to enforce the most severe lockdown yet - 'borders shut tight, everyone staying home, workplaces shut down, communities crippled. In short, Christmas cancelled for everyone'. 'It's hard to believe anyone really wants that kind of response, particularly because even radical restrictions offer no guarantees just look at Western Australia and the rapid increase in cases around the country,' he said. Mr Perrottet said when the evidence indicated the state needed to reintroduce mask mandates and QR codes, he did so. Members of the public (pictured) queue for a Covid-19 PCR test at the Rose Bay Drive-through Laverty Pathology clinic, in Sydney on Thursday, December 30, 2021 'If higher case numbers translate into a risk of excessive pressure on our health system, we will adapt again, continuing to put safety first, while having society continue to function as much as possible,' he said. Despite the growing number of cases, the premier said the state had the appropriate restrictions. He said the death rate was not rising sharply and the number of people in hospital and ICU was manageable. The premier said a highly vaccinated population required a strategy focused not on cases, but serious health impacts and the state's approach to testing was also changing. He said though people were accustomed to getting tested for any reason, with high vaccination levels testing was only necessary if people felt unwell. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has encouraged people to get booster shots (pictured) of Covid-19 vaccinations Earlier this week NSW placed its first significant order of rapid antigen tests, 50 million. The premier also said there would be changes to isolation times, close contact definitions and PCR requirements for returning travellers. 'The pandemic isn't over,' he said. Challenges will arise, and we will continue to adapt. 'But the new approach is a product of the progress we have made, so let's not lose sight of what we have achieved together. If we maintain the optimism and determination that has got us this far, we will find so much to celebrate this summer.' A 2009 settlement agreement between Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, which could directly impact her civil lawsuit accusing Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, will be made public on Monday. In a joint order on Wednesday, US District Judges Lewis Kaplan and Loretta Preska in Manhattan ordered the agreement's release on or around January 3, 2022, finding no reason to keep it under seal. Kaplan oversees Giuffre's lawsuit accusing Andrew of abusing her at two of Epstein's homes and forcing her to have sex more than two decades ago when she was under 18 at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell. The Duke of York has consistently and vehemently denied Giuffre's claims. Preska oversees Giuffre's lawsuit accusing Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz of defaming her when he denied her claim that he was among the men Epstein compelled her to have sex with. It comes as former Epstein associate Maxwell is found guilty by a US jury of helping the financier sexually abuse teenage girls. A 2009 settlement agreement between the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, which bears directly on her civil lawsuit accusing Prince Andrew (pictured on April 11) of sexual abuse, will be made public early next week Virginia Giuffre, pictured centre front, with attorney Sigrid Macawley, right, following a hearing in the Jeffrey Epstein case on August 27, 2019, in New York The prince's lawyer, Andrew Brettler, has contended that the 2009 settlement with Epstein released the Duke of York from liability from Giuffre's lawsuit because it covered 'royalty,' and Epstein insisted it cover anyone Giuffre might sue. Giuffre's lawyer, David Boies, countered that the settlement applied 'at most' to people involved in underlying litigation in Florida, where Epstein had a home, and that Prince Andrew should not use it as a 'get out of jail free card.' Andrew has not been charged with crimes. Giuffre's civil lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Kaplan is scheduled on January 4, 2022 to hear oral arguments on whether to dismiss Giuffre's lawsuit against Andrew. In a filing on Tuesday, Brettler called for the case to be halted or thrown out because Giuffre has long lived in Australia, depriving the Manhattan court of jurisdiction, and cannot support her claim that she is a Colorado resident. Sigrid McCawley, another lawyer for Giuffre, in a statement called that argument 'another in a series of tired attempts by Prince Andrew to duck and dodge the legal merits of the serious case Virginia Giuffre has brought.' It comes as former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell (both pictured above) is found guilty by a US jury of helping the financier sexually abuse teenage girls Kaplan oversees Giuffre's lawsuit accusing Andrew of abusing her at two of Epstein's homes and forcing her to have sex more than two decades ago when she was under 18 at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell (Giuffre pictured in a BBC Panorama interview in 2019) Meanwhile, in a separate sex trafficking case, a jury of six men and six women found Maxwell guilty on five of six counts - all except enticing an individual under the age of 17 to travel with intent to engage in illegal sex acts. She faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. The sixth count - sex trafficking of an individual under the age of 18 - carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. The New York trial heard how she summoned a 14-year-old girl to an orgy, groped another victim and laid a schoolgirl outfit out for a third accuser before a sexualised massage with Epstein because she 'thought it would be fun'. The court in the Southern District of New York heard Maxwell imposed a 'culture of silence... by design' at Epstein's properties, where staff were told to 'see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing'. A jury found Maxwell (court sketch above) guilty on five of six counts - all except enticing an individual under the age of 17 to travel with intent to engage in illegal sex acts While the 'horrific abuse' was going on, the jury was told how the defendant lived a 'life of luxury' - with the prosecution describing the trafficking as a 'means to support her lifestyle'. The jury accepted the prosecution's case that Maxwell and Epstein's youngest victim, who was 14 when she was 'recruited', did not know that 'this man and woman were predators'. The full indictment against Maxwell listed six charges, including conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts and conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Maxwell was also accused of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking of a minor and lying under oath by hiding her participation in Epstein's offences during a separate civil case. A Florida man accused of killing two children and injuring four other kids in a hit-and-run while he drove with a suspended license, caused a disturbance during his first court appearance Wednesday. Sean Charles Greer, 27, was hit with several charges, including two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death, for Monday's fatal incident, which claimed the lives of Andrea Fleming, 6, and Kylie Jones, 5. During a court appearance Wednesday, deputies led Greer away after he apparently objected to attending the proceeding. The court session was delayed for a minute as he was taken from the room. In the video, Greer tussled with deputies as he pointlessly tried to free himself from the courtroom guards. 'You can't make me stay in this [inaudible]!' Greer said as he was taken outside by the guards. 'We seem to have lost him for a moment,' Judge Joseph Murphy said during the videotaped hearing. Someone then told Murphy, 'Your honor, he stepped away. He didn't want to come back before the judge.' Murphy called Greer an 'extreme flight risk.' It is unclear if Greer will be charged for his outburst in court on Wednesday. During a court appearance Wednesday, deputies led Sean Charles Greer away after he apparently objected to attending the proceeding. The court session was delayed for a minute as he was taken from the room. In the video, Greer tussles with deputies as he pointlessly tries to free himself from the courtroom guards. Greer was arrested late Tuesday after physical evidence led detectives to him following the Monday afternoon crash in Wilton Manors, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. Detectives aid he has since confessed to his involvement in the crash. His address is listed as less than a third of a mile from where the incident took place. Greer fled the scene and his car was later located in Wilton Manors, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, deputies said. There was damage on the vehicle consistent with being involved in the crash. The car's front bumper was missing. It had been found at the scene of the crash. Greer was driving his 2009 Honda Accord southbound on Northwest Ninth Avenue in Wilton Manors at the same time that a Broward County Transit bus was stopped to drop off a passenger at around 3 pm. Sean Charles Greer, 27, was accused of running over a group of children Monday, killing two, including 6-year-old Andrea Fleming (right), and injuring four, all ten or younger, and is facing two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death among several charges Andrea Fleming, 6, and Kylie Jones, 5, were killed at the scene near 2417 N.W. Ninth Avenue in Wilton Manors (pictured), just north of Fort Lauderdale, at around 3.00p.m. on Monday, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office As the bus pulled out to continue southbound, it began to merge into the right lane from the edge of the roadway. Greer's Honda approached the bus from behind but the driver failed to allow the bus to merge and passed it, almost striking the front driver's side as it cut in front of the bus, police said. The Honda then veered right and drove off the roadway and onto the sidewalk, striking the children. The vehicle then accelerated and fled the area. 'I was just holding her hand and letting her know just hear my voice, don't go, don't go to sleep,' Lewis recalled. Andrea Fleming, 6, and Kylie Jones, 5, died at the scene. Four other children, Draya Fleming, 9, Laziyah Stokes, also 9, Johnathan Carter, 10, and Audre Fleming, 2, were transported to Broward Health Medical Center, police said. Neighbor Harriet Lewis told NBC6 she ran downstairs and saw the children lying on the street. Andrea (left) was pronounced dead at the scene. Her sister, Draya Fleming (right), 9, is in the hospital The girls' mother, Tyricka Williams (left), mourned her younger daughter and prayed for her older child's recovery The three Fleming children were siblings visiting their father, Audre Fleming Sr. Tyricka Williams, the mother of Andrea and Draya Fleming, wrote in the description of a GoFundMe campaign: 'I'm in the worse condition ever as a mother and don't know how I'm going to prepare myself mentally to fight and keep a smile for the rest of my children. 'How am I going to plan a funeral while visiting my other daughter in the hospital who doesn't know her little sister has passed away.' Andrea's uncle, Stanley Holcomb Sr, described the six-year-old as a smart and good-natured first-grader. 'She kept us smiling and kept my heart going,' he told Miami Herald. 'It's too bad I couldn't be there to save her.' A Broward County Transit bus in Wilton Manors, Florida, was in the motion of turning when Greer plowed into the children on the sidewalk after driving up the curve Police said Greer was driving a 2009 Honda Accord Sedan (pictured) when he caused the carnage Physical evidence at the scene and other information led detectives to identify the vehicle involved, which was then released among law enforcement agencies. The car was later located in Wilton Manors. Police said the vehicle had damage consistent with being involved in the crash. The front bumper was missing, which was located at the scene. Along with the two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death, Greer faces two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury, tampering with evidence, four counts of driving without a license causing death and/or serious bodily injuries and driving with a suspended license. Greer, who has a seven-year-old child of his own, is currently on probation for burglary for breaking into a home in Oakland Park in September 2018 and stealing a PlayStation 4. Greer's criminal history also includes arrests for trespassing, shoplifting, marijuana possession, driving without a valid license and resisting arrest. According to prosecutors, Greer's Florida drivers license has been suspended since 2016. He also has arrests, including for possession of cannabis, petty theft and driving with a suspended license, dating to 2013. His court-appointed public defender said Greer suffers from asthma, depression and insomnia, the South Florida SunSentinel reported. In 2017, Greer's estranged girlfriend filed for a restraining order against him after he destroyed her furniture, claiming that he has anger issues. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chair of the Democrat-led committee investigating the Capitol riot, revealed on Wednesday that he's looking to hear from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The southern Democrat told ABC he hopes the Republican leader will sit down with investigators as the panel's rapidly narrowing probe hones in on sitting members of Congress. 'If he has information he wants to share with us, and is willing to voluntarily come in, I'm not taking the invitation off the table,' Thompson said in a phone interview. 'If Leader McCarthy has nothing to hide, he can voluntarily come before the committee.' Thompson added that an interim report on the committee's findings can be expected as early as summer of 2022. The panel is due to issue a final report later that fall. He vowed, 'Part of what we will show is what went on to stoke the flames that ultimately led to January 6.' 'What we will do in our hearings is put the pieces of the puzzle together, so the average man and woman on the street will understand how close we came to losing our democracy,' the powerful House Democrat said. Thompson told ABC in an interview on Wednesday that McCarthy should come speak with the committee voluntarily 'if he has nothing to hide' McCarthy, who's frequently taken to the airwaves to defend Trump and his role leading up to the insurrection, didn't rule out cooperating with the committee. 'I have been very public, but I wouldn't hide from anything, either,' he told a local California television station when asked earlier this week. Just last week the bipartisan select committee reached out to two sitting members of Congress -- Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. Both Republican lawmakers had voted against certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory, after the day's session of Congress was delayed when angry supporters of Donald Trump stormed into the Capitol building on January 6th. Perry and Jordan have since rejected the committee's request. Thompson was hesitant to threaten subpoenas for his colleagues, unlike Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. The Republican congresswoman indicated that such penalties would be on the table for anyone who doesn't voluntarily comply with the investigation. The committee has said it's spoken with hundreds of people in connection with its investigation 'If we subpoena them and they choose not to come, I'm not aware of a real vehicle that we can force compliance,' Thompson said. A subsequent statement from the committee to ABC backtracked on Thompson's concerns and said subpoenaing lawmakers is not ruled out. Days after the Capitol riot, McCarthy, who acknowledged speaking with Trump on January 6, stood on the House floor and declared that Trump bared responsibility for the day's deadly events. Shortly after the ex-president left office in January the California Republican flew down to Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence for an audience. He's since since come to Trump's defense on numerous occasions. McCarthy also joined 138 other representatives in voting to overturn Biden's victory. A report published in the Washington Post earlier this week indicated that McCarthy was a person of interest for the committee, along with Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks and Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar. Reps. Scott Perry (left) and Jim Jordan (right) were invited to appear before the committee but both refused Both Brooks and Gosar were recently named in a court filing by Stop the Steal movement founder Ali Alexander as two lawmakers who coordinated events with him in the lead-up to January 6. In that report Thompson said it was 'unfortunate' that Perry and Jordan were refusing to come forward but added that 'if they choose not to come voluntarily, well have to see what, if any, options we have as a committee.' 'But if we have the authority, and the lawyers are still looking at it, to pursue it, then well do it,' he said of potential subpoenas. Subpoenas have already been issued by the committee to several high-profile figures in the former president's orbit. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and ex-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows were referred to the Justice Department for criminal charges in House-wide votes after they refused to cooperate. Bannon was formally indicted on one count of contempt of Congress in November. If found guilty he would face up to a year in jail and a fine of as much as $100,000. Although his name was barely mentioned, Prince Andrew's presence hovered uneasily over every moment of Ghislaine Maxwell's trial. Twice it came up, and on each occasion it offered a tantalising glimpse of both his folly and breathtaking lack of judgment. He was named by a pilot as one of the passengers flown on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private jet, the so-called 'Lolita Express', with all its unsavoury undercurrents. And 'Jane', one of the anonymous girls who claimed she was groomed by Maxwell to be abused by Epstein, said she had been on the plane with the Prince. For his part, Andrew has admitted he flew on the plane but insists he never saw anything untoward. As disturbing as the courtroom disclosures undoubtedly were, it was the emergence of a photograph of Maxwell cuddling up to Epstein on a bench at the Queen's picnic cabin at Balmoral issued by the prosecution that electrified proceedings. Since only the closest of friends are invited to the royals' Scottish estate, the fact that Andrew welcomed the pair into this most private of inner sanctums seemed to prove beyond doubt just how intimate they all were. The infamous photo of Virginia Roberts, Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell was taken at Maxwell's home in Belgravia Prince Andrew leaves sex offender Jeffrey Epsteins home and go for a stroll together through New York's Central Park. Taken in 2011 Of course, it is not the only photo haunting the 61-year-old Prince. There is another picture of similar vintage to the Balmoral one, but in this one it is Andrew who is centre stage. It shows the then 41-year-old Duke of York with his arm snaking around the bare midriff of teenager Virginia Roberts while his friend Maxwell smiles alongside them. According to her lawyers, the gamine Miss Roberts was the prize offered up by Epstein to Andrew the night the photograph was taken. For the Prince, who strenuously denies that claim and her allegations that they had sex which she says they did on three separate occasions the snapshot has, for years, been a millstone. He says he cannot recall the photograph, nor ever meeting the then 17-year-old. During his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019, he told Emily Maitlis: 'I have absolutely no memory of that photograph ever being taken.' Yet today the photo takes on an even more troubling new meaning. Consider how it might now be captioned. From right to left, 'the sex trafficker, the 'sex slave' and the Duke'. And the figure behind the camera? The predatory paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. It was the emergence of a photograph of Maxwell cuddling up to Epstein on a bench at the Queen's picnic cabin at Balmoral issued by the prosecution that electrified proceedings Kevin Maxwell, Christine Maxwell, Isabel Maxwell, and Ian Maxwell, the brothers and sisters of Ghislaine Maxwell, arrive at US Federal District court house In an instant everything and nothing has changed for Andrew. His hopes of salvation and evading the legal action mounted by Miss Roberts who has filed a civil case in New York claiming he abused her rests on a hearing to be held next Tuesday. She has accused Andrew of 'rape in the first degree', that he forced her to have sex with him three times in 2001: at Maxwell's London home (scene of the midriff photo); in New York at Epstein's Manhattan mansion; and on the late financier's Caribbean island. But with the resolution of the Maxwell case, prosecutors may well feel emboldened to go after others not only those, like Maxwell, who supplied girls for Epstein's gratification, but also the alleged beneficiaries; the men (and they were mainly men) with whom he shared his pleasures. They may want to prove no one is above the law. A request from the FBI to interview the Duke as a witness has been gathering dust. Little wonder, then, that the highly expensive team of lawyers Andrew has assembled in London and the U.S. has been monitoring the Maxwell case closely. Dozens of references were made to Virginia Roberts placing her at Epstein's properties, on his aircraft and her close contact with Ghislaine. Flight logs produced by the prosecution put Miss Roberts in London on the March 2001 weekend she says she had sex with Andrew for the first time in Maxwell's Belgravia mews home. Something the Duke has insisted 'didn't happen'. Lawyer David Boies (L) and Brad Edwards (R) speak to the press along with alleged victim Annie Farmer after a bail hearing in US financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking case The repeated references to the Duke's accuser placed her at the centre of Epstein's 'pyramid' of sexual abuse. They appeared to corroborate her account that she was an underage victim of the paedophile, recruited by Maxwell and flown all over the world. Photos found after a 2019 FBI raid on Epstein's New York mansion and shown to the jury included a topless image of Miss Roberts. But Roberts was not called as a prosecution witness. When, days before the case began, it was announced that Miss Roberts, who now uses her married name Giuffre, would not be taking the stand, no official reason was given. But in London 'Team Andrew' welcomed the news, with a source telling us: 'As the most high-profile and vocal accuser . . . one might have expected Ms Giuffre (Roberts) to be the star witness. 'However, the fact she is not to be called can only lead one to conclude that her increasingly inconsistent accounts make her a less than credible witness.' For months, Andrew's lawyers have accused Miss Roberts of being unable to get her story straight. In recent salvos, the Duke's legal team pushed for her lawsuit to be thrown out, branding her claims 'ambiguous at best and unintelligible at worst'. And just this week they filed a five-page motion saying the New York court does not have jurisdiction over Miss Roberts's claims because she is pretending to be a U.S. resident while actually living in Perth, Australia, with her husband and children. Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell sits as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in a courtroom sketch in New York City For Andrew, brought up in a family where planning and judgment are benchmarks of success, his mix of arrogance and foolishness has been a catastrophe. Ever since that BBC interview he has been a pariah, stripped of his purpose as a working royal. Removed from charities and honorary military posts, he has been sequestered largely at Royal Lodge, his home in Windsor. Forced to avoid public discourse, only once have we heard from him, and that was following Prince Philip's death, when he paid tribute to his father. When he has emerged, to ride in Windsor Great Park or behind the wheel of a Range Rover, he has looked careworn, paunchy and middle-aged. At times it has been hard to reconcile this Prince with the 'Randy Andy' figure who emerged from the ruins of his ten-year marriage although it had actually ended years earlier and embarked on a series of affairs that were, inexorably, to lead him into the path of Maxwell and, ultimately, Epstein. The late 1990s were a golden time for the footloose and fancy-free Andrew. After Fergie, he had dated a string of professional, mainly middle-class women, younger than him certainly, but by no means as young as Virginia Roberts. This photo of Jeffrey Epstein in front of one of his private planes was submitted into evidence during the trial of his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell Frequently in New York, he ran into an old friend whom he had first met when she was an undergraduate at Oxford University. Glamorous, chic and with an enviably packed contacts book, Ghislaine Maxwell had one other thing in common with the Queen's second son: an aversion to media scrutiny. He, anxious to avoid being pictured with any new love interests; she, building a new life after fleeing to New York at the start of the decade after the body of her fraudster father was recovered from waters off the Canaries. By then, of course, Maxwell had found security in the form of Epstein, a new sugar daddy. According to prosecutors, she began to transition from girlfriend to managing the billionaire's domestic and office staff from the mid-1990s onward. She also brought her transatlantic address book into play, widening Epstein's social circle and introducing the wide-eyed Andrew. A sleazy haul of never-before-seen photos unearthed in an FBI raid and introduced as evidence showed Ghislaine Maxwell giving Jeffrey Epstein foot rubs on his private jet dubbed Lolita Express Many say that Andrew was out of his depth, not just financially but also socially, in the glitzy world Ghislaine Maxwell inhabited. Pictured at a February 2000 party at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club in Florida, to which he had been brought by Maxwell and Epstein, the Duke looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Not only did Andrew meet the future president and Melania, Trump's future third wife, he also chatted to sex-aid entrepreneur Christine Drangsholt, who began promoting her business with pictures of herself and the Duke. Alarm bells were beginning to ring at Buckingham Palace. Was the Prince, courtiers asked, having a mid-life crisis? Or were these the opening moves in a Cold War-style honey trap which would bind Andrew so tightly to Maxwell and Epstein he has never been able publicly to disavow them? Meanwhile, the fun continued. Not long after Florida, Maxwell was introducing her royal friend to other characters from her demi-monde life at a New York club, where patrons were dressed as hookers and bondage freaks. Fellow guests included lingerie model Heidi Klum, sporting a black PVC dress, viciously spiked dog collar and wrist restraints. Ghislaine, dressed in gold trousers and a blonde wig, explained: 'I'm a hooker tonight. We are going on to another party with a pimps and prostitutes theme.' In a few short months Andrew had embarked on a lifestyle in which he appeared to be rediscovering his youth in the playgrounds of the Eurotrash. It didn't matter to him: he was apparently hooked by the wealth and reach of these new friends and the doors they could open. The relationship between Andrew, Epstein and Maxwell, meanwhile, intensified. After all their hospitality, he shared some of his with them. They were his guests at Royal Ascot and, infamously, at the Queen's 'Dance of the Decades' party at Windsor Castle, a gala to mark the Queen Mother's 100th birthday, Princess Margaret's 70th, Princess Anne's 50th and Andrew's 40th. Later that year, the Prince threw open Sandringham for his friends, with a shooting party to mark Ghislaine's 39th birthday. And don't forget that Balmoral visit. By now, Maxwell was also introducing him to attractive women and encouraging his relationships with, among others, PR Emma Gibbs and South African model Heather Mann. Camera crews and onlookers were seen outside of the Manhattan courtroom after the guilty verdict in the sex abuse trial Maxwell Indeed, Maxwell, Epstein and Andrew appeared to have evolved a curious symbiotic relationship. Whenever Ghislaine was seen with Andrew, Epstein was never very far behind. Both of them were there when Andrew was photographed on a yacht in Thailand in 2001, surrounded by sunbathing topless young women. In his only public comment about this three-way relationship, Andrew told the BBC: 'Remember that it was his girlfriend [Maxwell] that was the key element in this. He was the . . . plus one.' Now, with his own case only days away, his focus is to reassure the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family that the vast investment of his mother's money on his defence has been well spent. Family members have been left in the dark about the Prince's strategy, but understandably Andrew wants to protect the monarch from any damaging fallout from the Maxwell case. In one regard he was right: he had promised the trial would throw up no new brutal shocks. He may, however, reflect that, while friendship and loyalty are compelling allies, they are sometimes made at the expense of common sense. But will he? The enigmatic, unsettling and depraved relationship between Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein exerts a terrible fascination. But it is so clouded by their lies and obfuscation that even those closest to them remain unsure of the exact nature of their co-dependency. Epstein, found dead in his prison cell in 2019 while facing child sex-trafficking charges, was stupendously wealthy and undoubtedly handsome. He was also socially inept, awkward, taciturn and, of course, amoral. Maxwell, by contrast, was gregarious, Oxford-educated and formidably well-connected. Socially supremely confident, by turns charming and eccentric, she was also ruthlessly self-serving. She became first his lover then his constant companion and lady of the house; his confidante and co-conspirator. The enigmatic, unsettling and depraved relationship between Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein exerts a terrible fascination Epstein, in return, kept Maxwell in the lavish lifestyle of the super-rich, to which her childhood growing up in a 53-room mansion in Oxfordshire with private yachts and jets at her disposal had accustomed her The fashionable elite of New York where Epstein infamously abused underage girls in his 60 million townhouse, one of a number of luxury properties he owned throughout the world now, of course, spurn Ghislaine like rotting detritus She offered him the entree he craved into a world of high-society movers and shakers, of presidents and royalty. How else would the man from working-class Brooklyn ever have met Prince Andrew without her introduction? Epstein, in return, kept Maxwell in the lavish lifestyle of the super-rich, to which her childhood growing up in a 53-room mansion in Oxfordshire with private yachts and jets at her disposal had accustomed her. It is difficult to pinpoint when she lost her moral compass or, indeed, whether she ever possessed one but the roles she assumed became darker. She became Epsteins madam, procuring an endless supply of young girls, the innocent victims who fed Epsteins paedophile appetites. The fashionable elite of New York where Epstein infamously abused underage girls in his 60 million townhouse, one of a number of luxury properties he owned throughout the world now, of course, spurn Ghislaine like rotting detritus. But was the Maxwell/Epstein relationship romantic or merely pragmatic? The views of former associates are divided. Manhattan society columnist and publicist R. Couri Hay is certain that it was entirely founded on what each could do for the other. I want to make it clear that Im not a friend of either of them and when I first met them on the social circuit, no one had a whiff of what was going on. There was no hint of any scandal, he insists. Ghislaine was a classic social climber, only interested in people who were rich and entitled and powerful. Shed be talking to you and constantly looking over your shoulder to see if there was someone higher up the social scale. Of her relationship with Epstein, Hay says: I dont think there is any secret to it it was entirely transactional. When she first came to New York, she had $100,000 (75,000) a year and rented a one-bedroom apartment, and then suddenly she had money and houses and helicopters and planes and boats. She wanted someone like her father, who was rich and powerful and that was Jeffrey. A sleazy haul of never-before-seen photos unearthed in an FBI raid and introduced as evidence showed Ghislaine Maxwell giving Jeffrey Epstein foot rubs on his private jet dubbed Lolita Express The prosecution brought in pictures found in Epstein's mansion in a bid to show that Maxwell and Epstein had been in a relationship This photo of Jeffrey Epstein in front of one of his private planes was submitted into evidence during the trial of his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell Hay adds: She was socially adept and had a Rolodex of interesting contacts, and Jeffrey liked to collect people. The fact she could produce someone such as Prince Andrew made her a star in his eyes. I saw them at a very grand party once, and she might as well have been leading him around on a leash. He was horribly shy and awkward. She was his crutch. Shed hold his arm and parade him around, but it was clear Jeffrey didnt like going out he preferred to be in a controlled environment at his various homes. She had $20 million or $30 million in the bank where did that come from? It was Jeffreys money. She sold her soul to Jeffrey and shes too smart to claim she was hoodwinked. She knew what she was doing. She looked up to Jeffrey like he was Zeus she worshipped him. She clearly knew how perverted he was, but it didnt stop her becoming his accomplice. I never got the feeling he was in love with her, but they gave off the aura of being a couple. But it was Ghislaine worshipping Jeffrey and making sure he was the centre of attention in a room. A picture of Ghislaine Maxwell relaxing on a yacht in a black bikini was brought into evidence during her trial One of the pictures showed Epstein and Maxwell in a vacation picture in Europe. The prosecution established the close relationship between the pair - that went far beyond business Maxwell declined to give evidence at her trial, saying: 'The government has not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason to testify' Hay says he was put in touch with Jeffrey by a mutual real-estate mogul friend when he was trying to rehabilitate his reputation. He said: Im tired of every story about me starting with the words, Billionaire paedophile. . . So we talked about how he could flip the switch, signing up to Bill Gatess Giving Pledge, giving money to charities, having a meeting with the Pope . . . He said to me: Theres one thing you cant ask me to do and thats to get married. I said: Do you mean to Ghislaine? And he smiled and said: To anybody. They are toxic waste in New York. Everyone is ashamed they had anything to do with them, but no one knew about the depths of their depravity. Photographs that emerged during Maxwells trial expose a relationship more complex than the symbiotic one Hay has depicted. They show Maxwell fawning over Epstein on his private jet, massaging his feet. In another, she cosies up to him outside a log cabin on the Queens estate at Balmoral. Others, from a cache unearthed by police, show them embracing and she looks at him adoringly. A much younger Maxwell and Epstein are seen on a motorcycle together. The undated photo was submitted into evidence by the prosecution in the sex trafficking case against Maxwell These images were obtained during a 2019 FBI raid of Epstein's Manhattan mansion and offer graphic insight into their high-flying lifestyle The couple appeared to vacation to a cold destination. Seen together with warm coats and large fur hats in an undated photo Among those who regard the relationship as merely mutually self-serving is author and fashion designer Christina Oxenberg, daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia and a distant cousin of Prince Andrew. She recalls a bizarre first meeting with Ghislaine in 1990. I didnt warm to her. She was absurdly overconfident and had a total lack of self-awareness. Ms Oxenberg had been invited to Maxwells New York apartment for tea with three female friends. It was a hot day and Ghislaine was wearing only a bra and panties, white and frilly, she recalls. It was tolerated because it was Ghislaine. She had a reputation for being shocking, for saying outrageous things. People called her witty, though Ill never know why because I never heard or saw anything like wit from her. She was a non-stop spectacle, a performer, says Ms Oxenberg, who wrote Trash: Encounters With Ghislaine Maxwell. Despite having top-notch connections and the best education, including a degree from Oxford, I think Ghislaines upbringing with an overbearing father gave her a lot of psychological baggage and left her seeking another father figure. The pair are seen sitting in the grass with a dog in this undated photo submitted into evidence by the government Epstein appears with his arm around Ghislaine as he takes a phone call in this evidence photo Prosecutors have characterized Epstein and Maxwell as being 'partners in crime'. Maxwell is seen in this evidence photo cuddling up to Epstein She also told me her father had warned her to stay away from people who are poor. Dont make friends with poor people, shed say. Only make friends with rich people important people. And then thats who you will be. Other associates are absolutely certain she adored Epstein. Author and investigative journalist Conchita Sarnoff who, despite being offered bribes to stay silent, exposed the truth about Epsteins paedophilia views their relationship as more nuanced. Ms Sarnoff moved in the same circles as Epstein and Maxwell in the 1990s. She first met him, and later encountered Ghislaine, at a London dinner party hosted by a mutual friend. She wasnt dating Epstein at the time and I found her charming, very funny and witty with a wicked sense of humour, says Ms Sarnoff. She was an eccentric English woman. She was also very affected by what had happened to her father. Ghislaine, it seems, was drawn to powerful, abusive men. Her father, the newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, was a monstrous, controlling bully. But he could also be charming and mesmeric. He kept a photo of Ghislaine on his desk. But so volatile were his moods, he was as likely to tell her to f*** off as to embrace her when she sought his attention. Significantly, the yacht from which he fell to his death in 1991 was named Lady Ghislaine after the favourite of his nine children. And like Epstein, Robert Maxwell was a crook: after his death, it emerged he had plundered hundreds of millions of pounds from his companies pension funds. Maxwell is seen aboard a private plane. It's unclear if it is Epstein's infamous Lolita Express jet Ms Sarnoff was surprised when she learned Ghislaine and Epstein who apparently met in 1992 at a New York party were dating, so ill-matched were they socially. I first saw them together at a party at Palm Beach, she says. I spoke to Ghislaine and she said: Im living with Jeffrey. I never imagined them together. From what she told me, her father had raised her to marry a prince. They met right after her father had died. And she felt protected and powerful with Epstein. But it is also pertinent that Epstein came into Ghislaines life soon after her break-up from dashing Italian businessman and stunt pilot Count Gianfranco Cicogna. The aristocrat who was the grandson of Mussolinis finance minister and a member of the wealthy Ciga Hotels clan began a romance with her in 1986. Like nearly all her beaux, he was significantly older than her and is credited with moulding her into the woman she became. He told her where to have her hair cut and what to wear, said friends. They split up in 1990, leaving her all the more vulnerable and lonely: the stage was set for Epsteins entrance into her life in 1992. At first he respected her. Eventually, I believe, he grew to love her, says Ms Sarnoff of Epsteins feelings. The problem as I saw it was that Ghislaine continued to cave in to his demands and he began to disrespect her. The relationship spiralled in a negative direction. The spectre of Robert Maxwell, it seems, remained pervasive: Ghislaine was accustomed to appeasing monsters. She grew up in a very difficult household, says Ms Sarnoff. As a very bright child with sensitive antennae, she witnessed the manifestation of very negative attributes in her parents marriage. But whatever her father was, Ghislaine was bright enough to understand right from wrong. Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty of sex trafficking charges. Maxwell denies sex trafficking and other charges and had been awaiting trial for over a year in 'hell-hole' federal prison in Brooklyn Yet when Ms Sarnoff confronted Maxwell about the allegations against her, she says: She did not sound guilty, ashamed or alarmed, but merely dismissive. Her attitude was that I shouldnt pay any attention because it was sheer nonsense. She was simply a girlfriend hiring his masseuses, and they had all been legitimate and werent under age. The exact nature of Epstein and Maxwells relationship during the period of the criminal charges filed against her 1994 to 2004 was blurred. Epstein, a sex addict, needed constant gratification from the string of under-age girls Maxwell procured. She, meanwhile, had other lovers. Ted Waitt, 58, billionaire founder of the Gateway computer company became her boyfriend around 2005 the year in which Florida police started to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against Epstein, prompting Maxwell to begin distancing herself from him. Their relationship ended in 2010 when, two years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution, the strain was proving intolerable for Waitt. When, precisely, Maxwell stopped sharing Epsteins bed has been a matter of intense speculation. One British writer now living in New York who did not want to be identified observes: The photographs of Ghislaine rubbing his feet on the plane [the date on which the pictures were taken remains obscure] indicate how physically intimate and connected they were, and that he had tremendous sexual appeal for her. Was she in love with him? Yes. She wanted him to marry her and, as it was pointed out during the trial, they shared a bedroom at the Palm Beach estate for years. When Epstein was entertaining other ladies, his butler would remove any signs that she had been there. Did he love her? I dont know. He always told people that she was his best friend. He was odd and creepy, but she was besotted with him. I saw them together at an art opening and they were joined at the hip. She was the confident person in that scenario. He was certainly handsome, but his demeanour was awkward. He looked insecure. He also had this permanent sneer on his face, as if he was privy to knowledge that any normal person could only dream of. They were almost never seen together at parties because he was a social klutz. He had no small talk. On the other hand, Ghislaine was supremely social, charming, funny and very engaging. Epstein offered her financial security and was also a replacement for her frankly repugnant father, so he had a good deal to offer her. Theres no doubt Ghislaine facilitated amazing things for him, such as the trip to Balmoral. It was an astonishing leap for a boy brought up in Brooklyn. It would never have happened without Ghislaine. Today, as she confronts the cost of her collusion with Epstein, one man has been notably absent from the courtroom her husband Scott Borgerson, 45, the wealthy boss of a shipping technology firm whom she married covertly in 2015. He is personable, very bright and intelligent, but he is an extreme narcissist, totally in love with himself, money and power, says a neighbour who claims Mr Borgerson harbours ambitions of one day becoming U.S. President. If this assessment is correct, one thing is clear: Ghislaine Maxwell, for all her intelligence and social accomplishments, is unerringly adept at choosing the wrong kind of men. Rapid spread of the Omicron variant continues in Queensland as the state recorded 2.222 cases of Covid-19. None of the new cases are in ICU. There are now 8,586 active cases in Queensland. The new figure announced on Thursday follows on from 1,589 cases on Wednesday, of which 80 per cent were determined to be the Omicron variant. Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace said the virus was now present in 30 local councils across the state. Chief health officer John Gerrard warned Queenslanders they would be seeing 'tens of thousands' of cases in coming weeks. Dr Gerrard said some people contracting the virus were panicking and calling triple-0 for an ambulance and presenting to emergency departments in large numbers once they received a positive alert. 'Most people, particularly those who have been vaccinated, will be relatively well. The illness will be mild in the vast majority of you and can be managed at home,' he said. The state recorded just four cases on December 13, when its border reopened to hotspot states such as NSW, Victoria, and the ACT. Dr Gerrard encouraged Queenslanders to use the state's check-in app despite reports health authorities were no longer utilising it for contact tracing. He foreshadowed changes to use of the app in coming days. Queensland has recorded 2.222 cases of Covid-19 but none of the new cases are in ICU Drivers queue for Covid-19 PCR tests at a testing site in Boondall, Brisbane He said it was not the intention to impose further lockdowns in communities with lower vaccination rates such as Thursday Island, where 11 new infections were detected in the past 48 hours. Dr Gerrard said it was clear if Australia continued with its 'current settings' on close contacts, it wouldn't function because too may people would end up in quarantine. 'We are not going to stop the Omicron virus. There are some things we can do to slow the spread... masks are important,' he said. 'The number of people we expect to be infected with this virus is very large, very large, all of us will know someone who is infected. 'But it's important to remember that most people don't get critically ill, it's a small proportion.' 'We are not going to stop the Omicron virus. The number of people we expect to be infected with this virus is very large, very large,' Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said, while reassuring people the Omicron variant appeared milder then previous variants He said Queenslanders needed to think about working from home in January to help slow the spread of Omicron 'but not lockdowns'. Dr Gerrard said the good news was infection with Omicron appeared to produce less severe illness, and doctors he spoke with could distinguish between those with the Omicron variant and those with Delta. 'It appears to be milder, it's not trivial, but it is a little bit milder,' he said. 'It has a downside in that it's much more contagious than Delta but on the good side it does appear to be a milder disease.' Queensland recorded just four cases on December 13, when its border reopened to hotspot states such as New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT, and now has 2,222 cases On Wednesday, Dr Gerrard said health authorities were 'winding back' certain public health measures, including widespread contact tracing, as the pandemic progressed. 'In broad terms, we are pulling back to isolating those who are sick, and their immediate household contacts, that is the main group that we are contacting,' he said. 'We are doing we are doing less direct contact tracing in businesses like restaurants and cafes. 'We cannot afford to quarantine the entire population of Queensland, we know that, and this pandemic is progressing it has always been expected to progress.' Dr Gerrard said 90.52 per cent of eligible Queenslanders aged 16 years and over had now received a first dose of a Covid vaccine, while 86.19 per cent were doubled dosed. 'This is the first time Queenslanders will really experience the true pandemic,' Dr Gerrard said of the current widespread Omicron outbreak in the state He said Queensland Health had seven million rapid antigen tests on order for the state and the tests were already being used in the state's emergency departments. 'This is the first time Queenslanders will really experience the true pandemic,' Dr Gerrard said. 'If we are going to experience this pandemic, then January is probably the time for this to happen, because it's warm and we know the virus spreads more easily in the cooler months and schools are on leave at this time.' Ms Grace said there was no plans to change the Queensland school calendar as yet as the Omicron variant spread. She said the possibility of a mask mandate in the education sector would be considered closer to the date when schools returned in January. Anthony Albanese has been criticised for using a picture of a British nurse in an advert for his free TAFE policy. The Labor leader posted the picture on his Twitter account on Tuesday with the caption: 'We need more nurses. That's why Labor is going to make 465,000 TAFE places free, and support 20,000 more uni places.' But eagle-eyed followers were quick to notice that the leader's digital team had used a photo of a British nurse with an NHS badge instead of an Australian. The Labor leader posted this picture on his Twitter account on Tuesday with the caption: 'We need more nurses. That's why Labor is going to make 465,000 TAFE places free, and support 20,000 more uni places.' One commenter wrote: 'Took me about two seconds to recognise that is an NHS nurse in the UK. Could have perhaps used a local photo. 'It's a good plan, but your media director needs a wrap over the knuckles on this one.' Another commenter said: 'I didn't realise our nurses were NHS'. Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes said the blunder was especially embarrassing because Mr Albanese has been vocal about stopping the 'offshoring' of local jobs and bringing more manufacturing roles to Australia. 'It seems Labor's plan for a future made in Australia is based entirely on a future made overseas,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'Each way Albo is doing what he does best, having an each way bet.' A spokesman for Mr Albanese declined to comment on the mistake. Eagle-eyed followers were quick to notice that the leader's digital team had used a photo of a British nurse with an NHS badge instead of an Australian The Labor leader announced his policy to deliver 465,000 free TAFE places in a speech in Sydney in early December. Under the plan, TAFE would receive an extra $621million over four years, including $50million for a building works fund. Currently TAFE places are heavily subsidised under Scott Morrison's JobTrainer scheme. Labor would also spend $481.7million to deliver up to 20,000 extra university places over 2022 and 2023. But Employment Minister Stuart Robert accused Labor of offering less money for skills training than the Government which has spent $3.9billion on subsiding apprentice wages through the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements scheme. 'The Morrison Government is the best friend apprentices have ever had,' he said. A policy of sacking racist police after the Stephen Lawrence murder was described as 'over the top' by Tony Blair, who worried about the press reaction, declassified files released today by the National Archives in Kew reveal. The then prime minister also blocked proposals for a race equality strategy following the landmark report into the murder of the black teenager by white thugs. The 1999 Macpherson Report set out wide-ranging proposals for reform after it found that the Metropolitan Police investigation into the 1993 murder of the black teenager had failed in part due to 'institutional racism'. In response, home secretary Jack Straw, who commissioned the inquiry, wanted to publish a white paper with a ten-year strategy for tackling racial inequality. A policy of sacking racist police after the Stephen Lawrence (above) murder was described as 'over the top' by Tony Blair, who worried about the press reaction, declassified files released today by the National Archives in Kew reveal. The then prime minister also blocked proposals for a race equality strategy following the landmark report into the murder of the black teenager by white thugs But Mr Blair was sceptical about the idea, expressing concern that it could result in a 'regulation nightmare'. Mr Straw set out his proposals in a letter to Mr Blair in December 1998 ahead of the inquiry's expected report into the killing in south-east London. In it, he said he wanted to be able to announce a white paper including a commitment by all government departments to put race equality at the heart of policy making. 'At the extreme, black and Asian youngsters have observed their grandparents and parents suffer discrimination, harassment and racial violence and are developing very hardened attitudes against the white community,' he warned. 'We have to win back their confidence in the institutions of British society.' In No 10, however, there were deep misgivings about the home secretary's approach. The 1999 Macpherson Report set out wide-ranging proposals for reform after it found that the Metropolitan Police investigation into the 1993 murder of the black teenager had failed in part due to 'institutional racism'. In response, home secretary Jack Straw (above, with Mr Blair in 1996), who commissioned the inquiry, wanted to publish a white paper with a ten-year strategy for tackling racial inequality Angus Lapsley, an official in Mr Blair's private office, noted they were 'cool' towards a suggestion that officers who used racist language or committed racist acts should usually be dismissed, pointing to the possible press reaction. 'This could easily become a "Telegraph" cause celebre if taken too far,' he noted. In a handwritten note in the margin, Mr Blair commented 'I agree'. He then added: 'We do not want to go OTT on this. You're right.' Elsewhere in the files he scrawled: 'I really don't want a regulation nightmare out of this.' The proposal for a white paper was finally killed off at a meeting between Mr Blair and Mr Straw in March 1999. 'The Prime Minister said he shared the Home Secretary's political objectives and it was clear the Government needed to have a clear and positive agenda for change,' the official note of the meeting stated. 'However a white paper would offer too many hostages to fortune and the Government would find itself under pressure to include all sorts of measures that it would prefer to avoid.' Instead, Mr Blair agreed that Mr Straw could publish a series of separate consultation papers responding to the main recommendations in the inquiry report. Ghislaine Maxwell's siblings have already launched an appeal against her child sex trafficking conviction, claiming that she will be cleared of any wrongdoing. 'We believe firmly in our sister's innocence - we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated,' the Maxwell siblings said in a statement. The British socialite was found guilty of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for sexual abuse by her former lover, the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas Day, now faces the grim prospect of spending the rest of her life behind bars - with a maximum of 70 years in prison - unless she can overturn the conviction. Matthew Barhoma, a criminal appeals attorney in Los Angeles, believes Maxwell could have strong grounds to mount appeal. One of the women who testified that they were sexually abused was over the legal age of consent at the time of the incident. The judge instructed the jury not to convict based on her testimony, but she was still allowed to give evidence and Mr Barhoma told Insider that it could be argued in an appeal that she improperly influenced jurors. Mr Barhoma also said lawyers might try and persuade the appeals court that some of the evidence was 'dated or stale' because the sexual assaults happened decades ago. His view runs counter to the consensus among legal experts who explain that appeals are standard course after conviction and - given the lengthy sentence Maxwell faces - a last resort for her, one which is unlikely to be fruitful. UK-based civil rights lawyer Aamer Anwar told MailOnline the appeal - which could take up to two years - 'is highly unlikely to be successful and will not be allowed to delay sentencing.' Ghislaine Maxwell 's siblings have already begun appealing her sex trafficking conviction. Her siblings Christine (left), Isabel and Kevin are above leaving the trial following the guilty verdict Ghislaine's trial was just the latest chapter in the roller coaster history of her family, once headed by her crooked publishing tycoon father Robert Maxwell (Kevin, Isabel and Christine seen after the guilty verdict) Lead defense attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, spoke to reporters after Maxwell was found guilty Ghislaine's sister Isabel and brother Kevin attended court, while brother Ian repeatedly criticised her prosecution and the conditions she had endured in custody while on remand Kevin, Christine, Isabel Maxwell, and Ian Maxwell, brothers and sisters of Ghislaine Maxwell, arrive at the court in New York on Monday Ghislaine Maxwell in June 2019 (pictured front) with her six living siblings. Ian Maxwell, her older brother, top right, shared the photo in March 2021. A month after it was taken, Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and Ghislaine went into hiding with her husband, Scott Borgerson. The siblings, L-R, are: Anne, Kevin, twins Isabel and Christine, Philip, and Ian How appeals work: Maxwell is 'highly unlikely to be successful' and will not be able to delay sentencing during the process An appeal does not give Maxwell a re-trial but it is an opportunity for her attorney to raise any specific errors which they believe occured at trial. It will not buy her any time before sentence and she can expect to be working on the appeal with her lawyers while locked up in federal jail. A common appeal is that a decision from the judge was incorrect such as whether to suppress certain evidence or to impose a certain sentence. The process is complex and can take up to two years to complete. It can sometimes result in the case going back to the trial court. A specific conviction may be reversed, a sentence altered, or a new trial may be ordered altogether. Even after an appeal is decided by a circuit court judge, a defendant can try to appeal that decision to the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The highest court in the land is not required to hear every appeal and only takes a small number of cases each year. Outlining the process, civil rights lawyer Aamer Anwar told MailOnline: 'Maxwell would require to appeal to the federal court of appeal, if she were to lose - which is highly likely - she could then try to file a petition asking the Supreme Court leave to review the case. 'The Supreme Court, however, does not have to grant review and will only do so where there is a potential breach of an important legal principle or where there is a conflict in the lower courts appeal process. 'She has, according to the US Attorney, been convicted of one of the worst crimes imaginable and faces up to 70 years in prison and any appeal process whilst lengthy is highly unlikely to be successful and will not be allowed to delay sentencing.' Advertisement While the judge dealt several blows to the defense - ruling, for example, that their witnesses could not testify anonymously as some of Maxwell's accusers did - legal experts said Maxwell would struggle to clear the high legal bar needed to overturn a guilty verdict. To succeed, her lawyers would have to show that the judge violated federal rules of evidence or abused her discretion, and that the error impacted the verdict. Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former US federal prosecutor, told Insider he doesn't believe Maxwell has any grounds to appeal but expects she will anyway. 'She's going to appeal because otherwise, she's going to die in federal prison,' Mr Rahmani said. New York defence attorney Bradley Simon, a former federal prosecutor, told MailOnline that appeals are a standard course of action after a trial in the US. He anticipated that Maxwells lawyers will argue 'the publicity surrounding the case made it impossible for her to get a fair trial and that the government was attempting to try Jeffrey Epstein in absentia.' An appeal does not give Maxwell a re-trial but it is an opportunity for her attorney to raise any specific errors which they believe occured at trial. It will not buy her any time before sentence and she can expect to be working on the appeal with her lawyers while locked up in federal jail. Outlining the process, Mr Anwar told MailOnline: 'Maxwell would require to appeal to the federal court of appeal, if she were to lose - which is highly likely - she could then try to file a petition asking the Supreme Court leave to review the case. 'The Supreme Court, however, does not have to grant review and will only do so where there is a potential breach of an important legal principle or where there is a conflict in the lower courts appeal process. 'She has, according to the US Attorney, been convicted of one of the worst crimes imaginable and faces up to 70 years in prison and any appeal process whilst lengthy is highly unlikely to be successful and will not be allowed to delay sentencing.' On Wednesday evening after the verdict, Maxwell poured herself a glass of water and leaned into her lawyer, Jeffrey Pagliuca, who put an arm round her. Her sister Isabel sat behind her with her head bowed, while siblings Kevin and Christine stared into space. Even before the jury reached its verdicts, sources close to her family said her defense team would challenge any guilty verdicts. Last night Maxwell's family wrote on Twitter that the court should have given additional instructions. Referring to an earlier debate about one of the jury questions, they wrote: 'Request that the Court give the jury additional instructions to correct apparent errors in the jury's understanding of Counts Two and Four, and the law applicable to those counts, that were highlighted by the jury's note this afternoon.' Earlier today, they also quote the Wall Street Journal in a tweet that read, 'Juries are also only as good as the information and guidance they receive.' Maxwell walked out of court flanked by two security guards. She was not handcuffed or shackled on her legs. She managed one look back and walked out with her head held down. In the elevator Maxwell's lawyer and close friend Leah Saffian appeared red eyed and distraught. Hours before the verdict came in the Maxwell family put out the following tweet, quoting from a two-week old opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal titled: 'The Unconstitutional Convictions You Dont Know About.' The op-ed does not refer to the Maxwell trial Maxwell's defense team, including Jeffery Pagliuca and Laura Memminger, were seen leaving the Manhattan courthouse after the trial on Wednesday Christian Everdell, of Maxwell's defense team, walked past reporters after Wednesday's verdict Judge Nathan read out the verdict after being passed it in an envelope and asked each juror to confirm that it was correct by passing around a microphone. Each answered that yes it was - one male juror was seen rubbing his eyes and forehead. Maxwell is expected to be placed on suicide watch in jail after jurors agreed she was Epstein's 'partner in horrific crimes'. She masterminded a sick scheme to round up schoolgirls on an industrial scale for them and their friends to molest. 'Ghislaine Maxwell made her own choices. She committed crimes hand in hand with Jeffrey Epstein. She was a grown woman who knew exactly what she was doing,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said. Maxwell's siblings have been putting their own reputations on the line to defend her against such statements. Ghislaine's sister Isabel and brother Kevin attended court, while brother Ian repeatedly criticized her prosecution and the conditions she had endured in custody while on remand. They stood by her in a determined gesture of family support, despite the risk of tarnishing her own reputations by not condemning her over her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. However, a jury of six men and six women found her guilty on five out of six charges. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein's palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. As the verdict was read, Maxwell appeared to show little reaction behind a black mask. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings as she herself was led from the courtroom, but was otherwise stoic. She faces the likelihood of years in prison - an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold Maxwell accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein's teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse. The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019. The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury. Robert Maxwell (back row, centre) pictured with his wife Betty (sat with youngest daughter Ghislaine on her knee) and seven of their eight children at home in Headington Hill Hall, Oxford. When this photo was taken Ian (5) was 11 years old and attending preparatory school, while Isabel, then 17 (4) was at grammar school with their sister Christine (3), and youngest son Kevin, 8, (6) was at preparatory school. Second oldest son Philip, (1), had entered his second undergraduate yer at Balliol College, Oxford, while Anne (2) was also studying at the university, but at St Hugh's College. Lawsuits involving the abuse allegations also continue, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months. Commenting ahead of the verdict, a family friend said: 'Blood is thicker than water, and that means the Maxwells stick together through thick and thin. 'Ghislaine's brothers and sisters regard her as their beloved little sister, and family loyalty has always run deep. 'It is no surprise that Isabel, Kevin and Ian have offered their support in such a public fashion. 'Obviously they had nothing to do with her relationship with Epstein, and it would have been easy to leave her to her fate but that is not how the Maxwells operate. 'They blame Epstein for sucking her into his web, and believe her prosecution was an attempt to make an example of her because his suicide meant he could not face justice.' Robert Maxwell with his 'favourite' daughter Ghislaine watching the Oxford vs Brighton football match in October 1984 Robert Maxwell pictured speaking to the press and at the Football Writers' Association in 1990 Ghislaine's trial was just the latest chapter in the roller coaster history of her family, once headed by her crooked publishing tycoon father Robert Maxwell. Her father who owned the Daily Mirror died aged 68 in November 1991 after he tumbled into the Atlantic from his luxury yacht Lady Ghislaine named after his youngest daughter. His family were left to pick up the pieces of his shattered business empire after it emerged that he had embezzled hundreds of millions of pounds from his employee pension funds. Ghislaine and her six surviving siblings had to live in the shadow cast by the legacy of his death which is still regarded as a mystery today. Kevin, 62, became the UK's biggest ever bankrupt when a 407 million ($549 million in U.S. dollars) bankruptcy order was made against him in 1992 due to his role in his bullying father's business. Isabel described how she dealt with challenges in life in an interview in 2006, saying: 'I have learned not to run away from bad times. 'Personal tragedies and loss connect you to what is happening in this world...I am a survivor with an innate fire that doesn't allow me to be destroyed.' She also described her close bond with her siblings, revealing how she grew up 'completely in sync with the family' and 'when something got to her siblings, it got to her too.' Isabel was Ghislaine's only family member to attend every day of her trial, and she sat just yards away from her in the public gallery, waving at her in gestures of support. She became a familiar sight walking in and out of court every day, wearing one of her trademark berets to ward off the chill of the New York winter. Kevin was in court for several days when he sat beside Isabel, even featuring with her in artists' impression drawings of Ghislaine in the courtroom. He spoke to reporters outside the Manhattan court to complain about the conditions she was having to endure during the case. Kevin claimed that she was being inadequately fed and forced to wear shackles while being taken to and from court which had left her bloodied and bruised. He confirmed that he had asked the US Attorney General Merrick Garland to intervene in her case to ensure she received food and was not restrained Maxwell's family friend and attorney Leah Saffian appeared red eyed and distraught as she left the courthouse on Wednesday Saffian was seen leaving the courthouse on Wednesday Kevin claimed his sister had to be shackled from when she left the Metropolitan Detention Centre until she arrived in court, and then again for her journey back. He said: 'She's obliged to walk up and down stairs, in the shackles, and they hurt her. 'She's been bruised, she's even bled, and you really have to ask yourself in 2021, what on earth are they doing shackling a 59-year-old woman in this way every day when she represents absolutely no threat to the community.' He added: 'She's on trial for her life and she received no food on the first day, she received a boiled egg, she is lucky if it is not moldy, she receives a couple of pieces of bread, maybe a Kraft slice and a banana or an apple. 'That is literally everything from 6.30am until 7.30pm when she gets back to the detention center. It is simply inadequate sustenance. 'We don't understand how it is possible that everybody washes their hands of that problem.' Ghislaine's other brother Ian was also vociferous in supporting her, and gave interviews where he maintained that she faced an unfair trial, saying: 'My sister is not a monster'. He claimed she had been 'targeted' for prosecution by US authorities who were 'fueled by their shame and fury' over the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein while in custody. Ian also hit out at her time on remand, describing it as '500 days of effective solitary isolation in that evil place', adding that 'she's weakened, drained and hollowed out'. Robert Maxwell who had nine children with his wife Elisabeth 'Betty' Meynard was known as a tyrannical and bullying father, but he doted on Ghislaine. In a 1995 interview, Elisabeth talked of how they had recreated her husband's childhood family who were killed in the Holocaust. Two of Ghislaine's siblings had their lives cut short by early deaths while she went on to enjoy a gilded jet-set lifestyle as a friend of Prince Andrew and partner of Epstein before he was exposed as a pedophile. Robert and Elisabeth's sixth child, Karine, died of leukemia in 1957, aged three. Her death shaped how the devastated parents would eventually view the birth of their daughter next daughter, Ghislaine, four years later. Karine's death upset the family's 'balance' of 'four boys and four girls', Ian Maxwell explained in an interview. 'So when my parents had another little girl [Ghislaine] it was really magic, it allowed the four boys and four girls to be recreated,' Ian said. To add to the sense of miracle, she was born on Christmas Day. And Michael was the first child born in 1946 after his parents married in 1945, but he died aged 23. He was severely injured aged 15 in a car crash when his family's driver fell asleep at the wheel on December 27, 1961, just 48 hours after the birth of Ghislaine. Michael was left in a coma and never regained consciousness. He died eight years later. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle was called a publicity-mad loony by No 10 officials after asking Tony Blair to comment on whether British security services were involved in Princess Dianas death. The then Labour backbencher wrote to the prime minister in the summer of 1998 demanding he put an end to the mystery surrounding her death the previous August. Aides drafted a reply from Mr Blair describing the claims as ridiculous and deeply distressing for the bereaved families, according to declassified files released today by the National Archives in Kew. But they reasoned that the then Mr Hoyle planned to pass any written response to journalists, thereby stoking conspiracy theories about her death. There was misplaced speculation at the time of Dianas death in a car crash in Paris alongside her lover Dodi Fayed that British intelligence had been involved. In his letter to Mr Blair, Mr Hoyle said he had attempted to table a number of written parliamentary questions to you concerning the mystery surrounding the death. 'However, these were refused as they were deemed to be national security issues to which I am not entitled to an answer. He then asked Mr Blair to make a statement to clear up some of the secrecy and controversies surrounding her death. There has been an enormous amount of speculation on recent television documentaries stating that, somehow, British security forces may have been involved in the death of Diana, he added. Sir Lindsay Hoyle during Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons on November 3, 2021 The wreckage of Princess Diana's car in the Alma Tunnel of Paris. Diana, her friend Dodi Fayez and the driver Henri Paul were all killed in the crash Making a statement... would answer many of these questions and put an end to rumours and uncertainty. Mr Hoyle had only been elected as Labour MP for Chorley in 1997, but had already attracted headlines after calling for a national childrens hospital to be built as a memorial to Diana, and for Heathrow to be renamed Diana, Princess of Wales Airport. The files reveal he had previously written to the prime minister asking if there were any British security agents on duty in Paris on the night of Princess Dianas death. In a draft reply to Mr Hoyle marked personal, Mr Blair said it would be inappropriate for him to make any sort of statement that might prejudge the French investigation into the crash. He added: As the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been saying for months, any suggestion that any British official organisation or department had anything to do with this tragic event is both ridiculous and deeply distressing for the bereaved families. An accompanying note from John Grant, the principal private secretary, said: Mr Hoyle is likely to relay whatever he receives to the media. Our news department believe that a written statement coming out of the blue could end up giving the story a fresh wind and encourage the press to recycle all the conspiracy theories... before printing the Prime Ministers denials. Their preference would be to avoid putting anything in writing if we can. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle (pictured in 1997) was branded a 'publicity-mad loony' by No 10 officials for fuelling conspiracy theories about the death of Diana But Jonathan Powell, Mr Blairs chief of staff, said that was daft, adding much better to put this in writing clearly and dismissively. A reply from another No 10 official stated: But we have to reply + I dont really see he can do much with this. Lindsay Hoyle is [a] publicity-mad loony. The files also show that Dianas brother Charles Spencer wrote to Mr Blair who had called her the peoples princess to thank him for appreciating, when others scoffed at her, what a positive force she was in peoples lives. Tory leader William Hague urged Tony Blair to delay the referendum on Scottish devolution following Dianas death. The vote, which led to the creation of the Scottish Parliament, was due on September 11, 1997. But when it was announced that Dianas funeral would be on September 6, Mr Hague appealed for a postponement. The referendum campaigns will effectively close down, and only three days will then remain for the Scottish campaign. This cannot, in any respects, be regarded as satisfactory, he wrote. Mr Blair rejected the idea, telling him there were serious practical difficulties but admitting in a note to an official: The real argument is that we simply do not want to change the date of the referendum. The Dean of Westminster personally appealed to Buckingham Palace to allow Sir Elton John to sing Candle In The Wind at Princess Dianas funeral. The performance was one of the most memorable moments of the service at Westminster Abbey. However, papers released by the National Archives suggest there was resistance to the plan amid concerns that the rewritten lyrics including the opening line Goodbye Englands rose were too sentimental. In the event the dean, the Very Rev Dr Wesley Carr, successfully argued that allowing Sir Elton to appear would be an imaginative and generous gesture to the public who had turned against the Royal Family after the princesss death. Dr Carrs note to a senior member of the royal household was copied to No 10, although there is no record of the reply. Queen Elizabeth pictured with the Dean, Wesley Carr at Westminster Abbey in 1997 Elton John performing a rewritten version of his song 'Candle in the wind' as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, at her funeral Earl Spencer delivering his address to the congregation inside Westminster Abbey during the funeral service for his sister, Diana Blair called plans to sack racist police officers OTT A policy of sacking racist police after the Stephen Lawrence murder was described as over the top by Tony Blair, who worried about the press reaction, the files reveal. The then prime minister also blocked proposals for a race equality strategy following the landmark report into the murder of the black teenager by white thugs. The 1999 Macpherson Report set out wide-ranging proposals for reform after it found that the Metropolitan Police investigation into the 1993 murder of the black teenager had failed in part due to institutional racism. In response, home secretary Jack Straw, who commissioned the inquiry, wanted to publish a white paper with a ten-year strategy for tackling racial inequality. But Mr Blair was sceptical about the idea, expressing concern that it could result in a regulation nightmare. Mr Straw set out his proposals in a letter to Mr Blair in December 1998 ahead of the inquirys expected report into the killing in south-east London. In it, he said he wanted to be able to announce a white paper including a commitment by all government departments to put race equality at the heart of policy making. Tony Blair with Jack Straw (right). Blair blocked proposals for an ambitious race equality strategy following the inquiry report into the racist killing of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence in south-east London in 1993, according to newly released government papers At the extreme, black and Asian youngsters have observed their grandparents and parents suffer discrimination, harassment and racial violence and are developing very hardened attitudes against the white community, he warned. We have to win back their confidence in the institutions of British society. In No 10, however, there were deep misgivings about the home secretarys approach. Angus Lapsley, an official in Mr Blairs private office, noted they were cool towards a suggestion that officers who used racist language or committed racist acts should usually be dismissed, pointing to the possible press reaction. This could easily become a Telegraph cause celebre if taken too far, he noted. In a handwritten note in the margin, Mr Blair commented I agree. Stephen Lawrence (pictured) was killed by a gang of racists in Eltham, south-east London, in 1993 He then added: We do not want to go OTT on this. Youre right. Elsewhere in the files he scrawled: I really dont want a regulation nightmare out of this. The proposal for a white paper was finally killed off at a meeting between Mr Blair and Mr Straw in March 1999. The Prime Minister said he shared the Home Secretarys political objectives and it was clear the Government needed to have a clear and positive agenda for change, the official note of the meeting stated. However a white paper would offer too many hostages to fortune and the Government would find itself under pressure to include all sorts of measures that it would prefer to avoid. Instead, Mr Blair agreed that Mr Straw could publish a series of separate consultation papers responding to the main recommendations in the inquiry report. Tony Blairs aides urged an Operation Humility campaign as his government become mired in sleaze allegations. Officials feared New Labour was losing moral authority after transgressions by ministers. Papers released by the National Archives show his advisers were so concerned they considered creating a commissioner for ministerial ethics to restore public trust. Months after winning the 1997 general election, the government was hit by a series of damaging headlines regarding the conduct of ministers. They included the 650,000 refurbishment of the Lord Chancellor, Lord (Derry) Irvines official flat, a 1million donation from Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, and ministers taking their partners on official overseas visits. Lord Irvine, Mr Blairs former master when he was a trainee barrister, particularly infuriated opposition MPs when he defended the restoration of his apartment in the Palace of Westminster including 59,000 for wallpaper as a noble cause. In a 1998 note to Mr Blair, his chief of staff Jonathan Powell said: We have tried to think of possible initiatives that would get us out of the mess but all of them have pretty substantial downsides. We could mount operation humility. You could say tomorrow that it was a mistake and youre ensuring it wont happen again (but where does that leave Derry?). Derry could go up and do interviews saying that he is sorry (but he is not very good at that). In April Mr Powell told Mr Blair that he and senior aides were working on a counter sleaze and perks strategy. We should look at the concept of a commissioner for ministerial ethics, but we are worried we may be creating a rod for our own backs, he wrote. One of our major problems is the public perception that you are prepared to tolerate such abuses. Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown wanted to redesign the Commons chamber into a hemisphere as a symbol of his partys joint reform agenda with New Labour. He was keen to expand co-operation between the two parties dubbed The Project following Mr Blairs 1997 election victory. Reshaping the chamber as a hemisphere would recognise the new culture of consultation, pluralism, debate which they hoped to inaugurate, he wrote to Mr Blair. It met with little enthusiasm in No 10. Jonathan Powell wrote to Mr Blair: I cant believe he has proposed a hemispherical Commons. 'Are you sure you want to go ahead with this project? George W Bush admitted he knew little about international affairs at his first meeting with Britains ambassador to the US, the papers show. Mr Bushs later presidency was dominated by US military action in Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks of 2001. But when Sir Christopher Meyer met the then Texas governor in 1998 as he considered a run for the White House, he was candid about his lack of international experience despite his own father having been president from 1989 to 1993. Then US President George Bush (L) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair attend a round table meeting of G8 leaders on May 7, 2007 Bush admitted that, apart from Mexico, he did not know much about international affairs and that he would do well to broaden his experience, Sir Christopher wrote. His world view as he is well aware is largely limited to the Texan and Mexican horizons. The Blair administration feared he could be tainted by association if he went ahead with a visit to Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Aides secretly instructed US lawyers to assess just how much trouble the president was in over his affair with his intern as they finalised details for the trip, which happened in February 1998. And plans for Cherie Blair to attend a seminar on a White House intern scheme were dropped. Mr Clinton was impeached after falsely denying he had an affair with Miss Lewinsky, although he was eventually acquitted. Papers released by the National Archives show Mr Blairs chief of staff Jonathan Powell advised him to weigh in for the President at their joint press conference. In the event, Mr Blair called Mr Clinton someone I can trust, someone I can rely upon, someone I am proud to call not just a colleague but a friend. Facing the rest of her life behind bars, Ghislaine Maxwell has one option to significantly reduce the time she will be ordered to serve flip on the big names who have been linked to Jeffrey Epstein. Short of a surprise win on appeal which the Maxwell family says they have already started telling the true story behind Epstein's friendships with the rich and famous could be her only chance of breathing free air again. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth's second son Prince Andrew, star attorney Alan Dershowitz, former cabinet member and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and one-time Senate Democratic leader George Mitchell have all been linked to Epstein. Showbiz figures including Kevin Spacey, 62, Woody Allen, 86, and Chris Tucker, 50, are also known to have been friends with him, but have never accused of impropriety. Ghislaine Maxwell could start naming high-profile individuals connected to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in exchange for a lighter sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking following her four-week trial. Pictured: Maxwell, super model Naomi Campbell, Donald and Melania Trump at the Dolce & Gabbanna opening in NYC in 2002 Jeffrey Epstein forged a close relationship with President Bill Clinton in the early 90s, visiting him at the White House at least 17 times during his first term After six days of deliberation, a jury of six men and six women found the British socialite guilty on five of six counts - all except enticing an individual under the age of 17 to travel to with intent to engage in illegal sex act Maxwell may also be able to shed light on the relationship with billionaire Victoria's Secret boss Les Wexner, whose patronage made Epstein, a former math and physics teacher, enormously wealthy. But none have faced anything more than having their names tarnished by their association with the notorious pedophile who died of an apparent suicide while being held in federal custody in August 2019. Maxwell, 60, is the only person who knows the full truth of whether any of those men were involved in anything more than hobnobbing with the charismatic millionaire and telling all could be her only leverage to keep her out of prison until she is a very old woman. Judge Alison Nathan has not set a date for Maxwell's sentencing, so she has time to consider her strategy but the now-convicted felon would have to convince the FBI that she is telling everything she knows about everyone to have any chance of winning time off her sentence. Maxwell's attorney Jeffrey Pagliuca said in 2019 that documents sealed in a civil case brought by one of Epstein's main accusers, Virginia Giuffre contained 'dozens if not hundreds' of names. Prince Andrew is among the high-profile figures to have been associated to Epstein, but denies any impropriety Maxwell and Epstein (pictured behind woman in pink dress) were seen attending the Royal Ascot horse race meet with Prince Andrew (far left) in June 2000 The infamous photo of Virginia Roberts, Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell was taken at Maxwell's home in Belgravia, London. Roberts has repeatedly claimed she was made to sleep with him, which the prince has 'emphatically' denied He also pointed to Epstein's address book, saying it probably includes 1,000 names. And some of these are the people who are now quaking in their boots at the thought that Maxwell's only hope could be to rat them out. Many of the men have already denied that their friendship with Epstein was anything more than that. Prince Andrew, 61, has 'emphatically' denied any relationship with Giuffre, who has repeatedly claimed she was made to sleep with him. He also said he does not recall a 2001 picture of the two of them together with his arm around her waist. In an interview with the BBC he said he was at a Pizza Express on the night he is accused of going to Tramp nightclub in London with the then-teenager. He has also tried to use a series of legal maneuvers to prevent a civil lawsuit that Giuffre, 38, has brought against him in her former home state of Colorado. On Wednesday his lawyers argued that as she now lives in Australia, the Colorado court has no jurisdiction. Epstein is pictured above with Alan Dershowitz one of America's best-known legal experts. Dershowitz, 83, has repeatedly threatened to sue any publication that reported Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre's claims that he sexually assaulted her Showbiz figures including Woody Allen, 86, (pictured in 2013) have also known to have been friends with him Donald Trump was pictured alongside Epstein and Maxwell at numerous events in the 1990s. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and later said he was 'not a fan' of the financier The extent of The Clintons' relationship with Epstein and Maxwell came under intense scrutiny after the financier's 2019 arrest as photos resurfaced showing Ghislaine attending Chelsea Clinton's wedding in 2010 Clinton and Trump, who are both 75, have also insisted they did nothing inappropriate. Trump, who called Epstein a 'terrific guy' who is 'lots of fun to be with' in 2002 changed his tune by 2019 and said he was 'not a fan' of his. Dershowitz, 83, has repeatedly threatened to sue any publication that reported Giuffre's claims that he sexually assaulted her. He also countersued her saying her allegations were 'lies, disparagement, defamation, harassment that are 'beyond the bounds of decency and not tolerated in civilized society.' Giuffre also accused Epstein and Maxwell of trafficking her to Richardson, 74. Richardson denied it, saying he had never seen Epstein with underage girls. Former Maine senator Mitchell, 88, also denied ever meeting or speaking with Giuffre, after she accused him. Wexner, 84, has never been accused of being anything more than Epstein's principal benefactor. Shortly before Epstein's death he claimed the pedophile had 'misappropriated vast sums of money' from him and his family. Epstein and Maxwell are seen on board Epstein's plane with French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel. Brunel came under scrutiny for his close ties to Epstein and was arrested in 2020, charged with rape of minors by French prosecutors Evidence photos showed Maxwell being affectionate and kissing the pedophile. Many have testified that they believed Epstein and Ghislaine were boyfriend and girlfriend Former cabinet member and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and L Brands founder Les Wexner, have also been linked to Epstein. Wexner, 84, has never been accused of being anything more than Epstein's principal benefactor There is also speculation that Maxwell may give a media interview in a bid to restore part of her image. One of her lawyers summoned ABC journalist James Hill over to talk to her on Wednesday, the final day of her month-long trial. Hill, who won a Murrow Award for producing the podcast Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein, appeared to introduce himself to Maxwell who smiled back and did the same. They chatted for a few minutes before Hill returned to his seat on the press bench, moments before the judge came back into the courtroom in downtown Manhattan. The bizarre interaction suggests that Maxwell could be lining up TV interviews in a bid to gain some sympathy before she learns her fate. Maxwell faces up to 65 years in jail after being found guilty of five of the six counts she was accused of. By far the most significant sentence comes from count 6, when she was accused of sex trafficking the accuser known as Carolyn when she was under 18. Ghislaine Maxwell is seen during her trial near an image of Epstein on a screen in a courtroom sketch in New York City That carries a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. Three of the other four guilty verdicts carry maximum sentences of five years, while the fourth has a top sentence of 10 years. It is likely that Judge Nathan would sentence her to concurrent terms on the five charges. If she got the maximum sentence with time off for good behavior and time already served taken into account, she could be out by the time she is 93. A musclebound tattooed man has allegedly been shot three times by a mystery gunman during a late evening attack in Sydney's southwest. The victim was shot in Carnelian Street in Leppington as he got out of a black BMW SUV, but he escaped with three non-life-threatening wounds to his legs. Police believe the incident was targeted, and are investigating whether the attackers have connections to outlaw motorcycle gangs. Images from the scene showed the bearded 28-year-old man near-naked and covered with tattoos on a stretcher with a blanket over his thighs and groin area. A blood-stained designer Fendi paper carrier bag could be seen abandoned next to the bullet-riddled vehicle. A musclebound tattooed man has been blasted three times by a mystery shooter in a late evening attack in Sydney's south-west as police probe links to a bikie gang war. A blood-stained designer Fendi paper carrier bag could be seen abandoned next to the bullet-riddled vehicle. The victim was shot in Carnelian Street in Leppington as he got out of a black BMW SUV, but he escaped with three non-life threatening wounds to his legs. Paramedics rushed the victim to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition. A burnt-out car, believed to be a BMW, was later found in a quiet backstreet at Nettletree Place in nearby Casula. Neighbours say the car exploded after it was set ablaze in the cul-de-sac, with huge flames setting another car alight and threatening to engulf a nearby home. Local residents battled with hoses to protect their homes from the inferno despite further explosions. A burnt out car, (pictured) believed to be a BMW, was later found in a quiet backstreet at Nettletree Place in nearby Casula Neighbours say the car exploded repeatedly (pictured) after it was set ablaze in the cul-de-sac, with huge flames setting another car alight and threatened to engulf a nearby home Two men were spotted fleeing the area in a second car which had been left in the street earlier that day. 'I ran into the street after we heard the explosions - I was 43 years in the Army in artillery so I recognised it as explosions immediately,' said neighbour Col Watego. 'The whole street came out and tried to fight the flames while we waited for the fire brigade to arrive. It was very serious - very dangerous and very irresponsible. 'There's a lot of families and children on this street. It could have been catastrophic.' Tony Blairs aides urged an Operation Humility campaign as his government became mired in sleaze allegations. Officials feared New Labour was losing moral authority after transgressions by ministers. Papers released by the National Archives show his advisers were so concerned they considered creating a commissioner for ministerial ethics to restore public trust. Months after winning the 1997 general election, the government was hit by a series of damaging headlines regarding the conduct of ministers. They included the 650,000 refurbishment of the Lord Chancellor, Lord (Derry) Irvines official flat, a 1million donation from Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, and ministers taking their partners on official overseas visits. Lord Irvine, Mr Blairs former master when he was a trainee barrister, particularly infuriated opposition MPs when he defended the restoration of his apartment in the Palace of Westminster including 59,000 for wallpaper as a noble cause. In a 1998 note to Mr Blair, his chief of staff Jonathan Powell said: We have tried to think of possible initiatives that would get us out of the mess but all of them have pretty substantial downsides. We could mount operation humility. You could say tomorrow that it was a mistake and youre ensuring it wont happen again (but where does that leave Derry?). Former Prime Minister Tony Blair speaking during a media conference at Chequers in May 1998 Derry could go up and do interviews saying that he is sorry (but he is not very good at that). In April Mr Powell told Mr Blair that he and senior aides were working on a counter sleaze and perks strategy. We should look at the concept of a commissioner for ministerial ethics, but we are worried we may be creating a rod for our own backs, he wrote. One of our major problems is the public perception that you are prepared to tolerate such abuses. Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown wanted to redesign the Commons chamber into a hemisphere as a symbol of his partys joint reform agenda with New Labour. He was keen to expand co-operation between the two parties dubbed The Project following Mr Blairs 1997 election victory. Reshaping the chamber as a hemisphere would recognise the new culture of consultation, pluralism, debate which they hoped to inaugurate, he wrote to Mr Blair. It met with little enthusiasm in No 10. Jonathan Powell wrote to Mr Blair: I cant believe he has proposed a hemispherical Commons. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this project? Fire and police have responded to an explosion inside a home believed to be caused by a cockroach bomb. NSW emergency services rushed to the home in Hillsdale, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, after the explosion rattled the neighbourhood on Thursday. Fire and Rescue NSW said everyone in the home was uninjured and the explosion came from a ruptured cockroach bomb. NSW emergency services attended a home in Hillsdale, east Sydney, following reports of an explosion caused by a ruptured cockroach bomb on Thursday It said the house suffered 'substantial' damage in the explosion. However one commenter was able to make light of the unfortunate situation. 'Cockroaches were seen exiting the rubble with smug looks on their faces,' the person joked. Lateral flow tests and PCR test appointments are still unavailable as the testing chaos enters its fourth day amid Covid cases reaching a record-high of 183,000 yesterday. Boris Johnson earlier urged people to get tested before celebrating with friends and family after confirming on Monday that no new Covid restrictions would be brought in for New Year's Eve festivities. But rapid swab kits were not available online and pharmacies warned they had run out too with the Government website still showing they are unavailable for home delivery this morning. Appointments for drive-through and walk-in Covid tests were unavailable for hours on Wednesday even for doctors, nurses and carers - and are still unavailable this morning. As the UK reported 183,037 virus cases, there were fears the supply crisis could stop staff taking tests to leave self-isolation and return to work. NHS bosses warned personnel shortages could be exacerbated. The lack of tests will also make it harder for people to know whether they have the virus before ringing in 2022 with loved ones. But the Prime Minister told New Year revellers to party on regardless, saying that not having a negative Covid result just means being vigilant. A No10 source told The Times that people could still celebrate if they were unable to get a test, but should just exercise caution. Meanwhile, Tory MP Sir Roger Gale said that Sajid Javid admitted there 'isn't a quick fix' to ongoing supply problems amid a 'global shortage'. A government official also warned that Britons will soon struggle to get PCR tests 'anywhere near' them within 48 hours of ordering one, reports The Telegraph. MPs urged ministers to get a grip and the government announced almost eight million Covid kits would be made available to pharmacies by Friday. Next month's order of lateral flow tests has also been increased three-fold to 300million. In other coronavirus developments: Pressure mounted on the Prime Minister to follow America's lead and reduce the home quarantine period to five days; The number estimated to be isolating rose to 875,000; Doctors said up to 90 per cent of patients in some intensive care units have not had a booster jab; Almost one in three hospital patients with Covid were admitted for an unrelated condition; A review next week may axe pre-return virus tests for travellers; Pubs, bars and restaurants reported losing more than 10,000 each on average in the week leading up to Christmas. A woman wearing a face covering walks past a sign in the window of a north London pharmacy, which has run out of NHS Lateral Flow Test kits, on December 21 Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured visiting a vaccination centre in Milton Keynes on Wednesday) told New Year revellers to party on regardless of the shortage The Government had been insisting there were adequate lateral flow tests, which allow those without symptoms to check at home whether they have coronavirus. They had lifted the December order from 120million to 300million and blamed supply problems on delivery constraints. But in a briefing to a Tory MP yesterday, Sajid Javid admitted Britain was struggling to get hold of enough tests. Speaking after his call with the Health Secretary, Sir Roger said: 'Saj was very open about it. He said, look there is no magic wand. There's no quick fix to this. 'Originally it was a delivery problem, now it's a supply and delivery problem. He was very upfront and straight about it. He said there is a world shortage of lateral flow tests.' The MP for North Thanet added: 'The British company making them has cranked up its production by four times and is now producing 20million a week instead of five million. We the Brits are buying all those, plus anything else we can get our hands on, but we are competing with everybody else on a worldwide market.' Sir Roger said shortages risked hurting the hospitality industry if customers struggled to get the reassurance that they could enjoy New Year's Eve safely. Mr Javid apparently also told the MP the number of PCR tests was limited due to a lack of lab capacity. For most of the day yesterday, the Government website showed there were no home deliveries available for lateral flows, but officials insisted they were adding new ones every few hours Boots at Kings Cross displays a sign showing its Covid tests are out of stock earlier this month A sign at a Boots pharmacy informs customers that they do not have lateral flow tests in stock on Wednesday in London The Prime Minister yesterday acknowledged rising cases and hospital admissions but said Omicron was 'obviously milder' than the Delta strain. And he reiterated his call for people to enjoy New Year's Eve in a 'cautious and sensible way' by taking a test beforehand. But his colleagues struggled to answer questions on supply issues. Chloe Smith, work and pensions minister, insisted it was a 'good thing' that so many wanted to be tested ahead of New Year's Eve. Asked if those who cannot get a test should not go out, she told Radio 4's World At One: 'I'm not in a position to dole out advice on that basis, but... the Government is making sure that there is capacity in the testing system.' For most of the day yesterday, the Government website showed there were no home delivery slots available for lateral flow tests, but officials insisted they were adding new ones every few hours. As of yesterday morning there were no available appointments at PCR testing sites and testing kits were also showing as unavailable for home delivery on the Government's website An out of stock lateral flow test sign at a Boots pharmacy in London on Wednesday Speaking to broadcasters about New Year celebrations on Tuesday, Care Minister Gillian Keegan said: 'We have always said ''act cautiously'' since this new variant came among us' Ordering a Covid test online: What happened when MailOnline tried to get hold of a lateral flow test and book a PCR appointment Testing availability in much of the UK has been sporadic over the Christmas period with Government websites periodically saying they are unavailable. Out of five MailOnline reporters who tried to order Covid tests today - just one was able to get hold of lateral flows after logging on early this morning. After visiting the website each reporter was reminded that picking up a lateral flow test from a local pharmacy is the quickest way to get a kit. It then instructed users on those who can use the service, including people without symptoms, who are 11 or older and who have not been told to self-isolate. It then asked a series of questions, including contact details and whether you are showing symptoms. But on each try, a message appeared stating: 'Sorry, there are no home delivery slots left for rapid lateral flow tests right now.' It then directed people to visit their pharmacy if they do not have symptoms. When trying to book a PCR test, users were presented with a similar reminder about who is eligible to receive this type of test. It then asked users if they are sure they are eligible and whether you are a key worker. A screen then appeared informing users that there are no home tests for the general public or key workers. It also stated there was no availability for walk-in test appointments anywhere in England or Northern Ireland. Since this morning, availability has opened up in the North West, but it continued to change throughout the afternoon. Advertisement Throughout yesterday morning the website showed 'no tests available' across every region of England for people with symptoms looking for PCR tests, although this was later updated to provide tests in all regions. Some households in Essex were told their nearest available appointment at a testing site was in Scotland. The NHS is advising people to routinely swab themselves for Covid-19 twice a week using lateral flow tests. But Leyla Hannbeck, of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said patients were often unable to find tests in chemists because of 'patchy' and 'inconsistent' supplies. She told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme: 'Pharmacies are reporting that every five minutes people are coming in and asking for tests. 'But unfortunately, due to the issues around supply being patchy and inconsistent, it means those who come for the tests don't always get it which is very stressful, not just for the pharmacy team but also for the patients. 'The scale of the problem is huge because the demand is high due to the current guidelines and people are doing the responsible thing by wanting to be tested. '[900,000 kits a day] just isn't enough to meet the demand and it's patchy. 'Some days you get one box delivered to you and some days you get none so it just isn't enough for pharmacies to give to patients. 'This has been going on for some weeks now and what we are asking the Government to ensure that they promptly address the supply issues to meet the high demand and also address the cumbersome processes for the supply of this, the bureaucratic processes.' The Government's website urges people to go to their pharmacies to get tests and only order online if they are unable to do so. Speaking to broadcasters about New Year celebrations on Tuesday, Care Minister Gillian Keegan said: 'We have always said ''act cautiously'' since this new variant came among us. 'It is highly infectious and many people will know people who have caught this over the Christmas period. 'So do be cautious, take a Lateral Flow Test (LFT) before you go out. Go to well-ventilated areas - I have been to a couple of outdoor parties actually, people have moved things to outside. 'So just be cautious, but do try to enjoy yourself as well - but cautiously.' This is at least the seventh time lateral flow tests have been unavailable for delivery while the government urges people to collect tests from their local pharmacies. Chris Hopson of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, said: 'Trust leaders are reporting delays in the return of PCR test results and problems accessing lateral flow tests. 'Given the current pressures on the NHS due to staff absences, it's vital that NHS staff get prompt access to the tests they need to ensure they can return to work as quickly as possible.' The UK Health Security Agency said: 'We are delivering record numbers of lateral flow tests to pharmacies across the country, with almost eight million test kits being made available to pharmacies between today and New Year's Eve. 'We have made 100,000 more PCR booking slots available per day since mid-December and we are continuing to rapidly expand capacity. If you have not been able to get the test you need from gov.uk, keep checking every few hours.' And last week, a public health expert warned people to use tests 'responsibly' amid the shortage. Azeem Majeed, head of primary care and public health at Imperial College London, said on Twitter: 'I am hearing about people carrying out multiple lateral flow tests in a single day. 'The tests are in short supply in many parts of England and this kind of practice will exacerbate supply problems, including for key workers such as NHS staff. Please use the tests responsibly.' Advertisement The Mail's pocket cartoonist has kept readers smiling throughout 2021 with his consistently wry take on the news. Jonathan Pugh has tackled the most talked about topics over the course of the year with his series of individual caricatures. 2021 has had its fair share of ups and downs, but Pugh has been there to chronicle it all. From England reaching the Euros final to Insulate Britain blocking the M25 and causing havoc by bringing traffic to a standstill. And who can forget when Bridgerton-fever hit the UK in January whilst we were still in lockdown and when holidaymakers were finally given the green light to go abroad. Here is 2021 in review... January and the Government tells us to stay at home... again (left). Netflixs bodice-ripping drama is a hit amid lockdown gloom (right) After Megxit, the Sussexes are released from royal duties (left). Rising council tax bills bring more misery for households (right) Covid causes NHS havoc, with millions waiting for treatment (left). Experts find a cure for snoring but is there another answer? (right) In April, the Greensill lobbying row dominates the headlines (left). Soon, holidaymakers get the green light to go abroad... (right) . . . but working from home still causes problems for many (left). As alcohol consumption rockets in the latest lockdown (right) Euro 2020 ticket prices soar as England fly towards the final (left). Theres chaos in August as the U.S. pulls out of Afghanistan (right) The Great British weather dampens our spirits yet again (left). Climate activists block the M25 amid claims of police inaction (right) Boris Johnson delivers a joke-laden Tory conference speech (left). Patients get more desperate to actually see their GP (right) World leaders jet (and drive) in to the UK for a climate summit (left). The war on woke simmers even in a cold November snap (right) A man blew more than six times the legal alcohol limit after being involved in a crash in Sydney's west. The driver, 31, slammed his car into a street sign after mounting a median strip in Sydney's west on Wednesday afternoon. The driver, 31, slammed his car into a street sign after mounting a median strip in Sydney's west on Wednesday afternoon Emergency services were called to the scene on the corner of Mulgoa and Blaikie Road in Glenmore Park at about 3:20pm on Wednesday. They arrived to find a Ford Falcon on the median strip having smashed into a street sign. Police attending the scene breath tested the man driving the car, who blew over the limit. They then took him back to Penrith Police station, where he returned a breath test reading of 0.313 - more than six times the legal limit of 0.05. The car he was driving was also unregistered. The 31-year-old immediately had his license suspended and confiscated. He has been charged with high-range drink driving, use an unregisterable Class A motor vehicle on road and negligent driving (not death or grievious bodily harm). The man was granted conditional bail and will appear before Penrith Local Court on January 11. George W Bush admitted he knew little about international affairs at his first meeting with Britains ambassador to the US, the papers show. Mr Bushs later presidency was dominated by US military action in Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks of 2001. But when Sir Christopher Meyer met the then Texas governor in 1998 as he considered a run for the White House, he was candid about his lack of international experience despite his own father having been president from 1989 to 1993. George W Bush (above) admitted he knew little about international affairs at his first meeting with Britains ambassador to the US, the papers show Bush admitted that, apart from Mexico, he did not know much about international affairs and that he would do well to broaden his experience, Sir Christopher wrote. His world view as he is well aware is largely limited to the Texan and Mexican horizons. The ambassador urged him to visit the UK, but Mr Bush said that he could not afford to be seen undertaking high-profile foreign travel ahead of gubernatorial elections that autumn. The Texas electorate would not forgive him if he appeared to be taking his eye off the business of governing Texas, Sir Christopher reported. Mr Bushs later presidency was dominated by US military action in Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks of 2001 (pictured) He said that if Mr Bush did decide to seek the Republican Party nomination, he was regarded in the political salons in Washington as by far the front runner. This meeting confirmed my first snap opinion of George W: Very personable and with a good self-deprecating sense of humour, he noted. Mr Bush served two terms as president between 2001 and 2009. The Blair administration feared he could be tainted by association if he went ahead with a visit to Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Aides secretly instructed US lawyers to assess just how much trouble the president was in over his affair with his intern as they finalised details for the trip, which happened in February 1998. And plans for Cherie Blair to attend a seminar on a White House intern scheme were dropped. Mr Clinton was impeached after falsely denying he had an affair with Miss Lewinsky, although he was eventually acquitted. Papers released by the National Archives show Mr Blairs chief of staff Jonathan Powell advised him to weigh in for the President at their joint press conference. In the event, Mr Blair called Mr Clinton someone I can trust, someone I can rely upon, someone I am proud to call not just a colleague but a friend. Prime Minister Tony Blair (left) and American President Bill Clinton during the former's first visit to the White House in May 1998 A photograph showing former White House intern Monica Lewinsky meeting President Bill Clinton at a White House function In January 1998, as preparations for the February visit were being finalised, Mr Clinton stated that he did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky. Further investigation led to charges of perjury and to his impeachment later that year, though he was eventually acquitted. Ahead of the trip, Jonathan Powell, the prime ministers chief of staff, noted the White House was hoping for a Bill and Tony show to shore up Mr Clintons position. He took the precaution of commissioning a Washington law firm, Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan LLP, to advise on the extent of the presidents legal predicament. Summarising the legal situation ahead of Mr Blairs trip, the lawyers stated that if Mr Clinton had lied about his relationship with Ms Lewinsky, he would be charged with perjury. You remember that Al Capone was eventually convicted of tax evasion. It is no different in this case, John McInespie, a lawyer at the firm, wrote. So far our people say that there is no smoking gun to charge Clinton with anything, but that might not be the case by the time of the forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister. They concluded: Please remember that Nixon only resigned after the Supreme Court ordered the release of the tapes. So far, there are no relevant tapes in this case. Hospital canteens and car parks will be converted into 'Nightingale wards' as part of a new NHS 'war footing' for the Omicron wave. Eight hospitals in England will this week start building temporary structures to house up to 100 Covid patients each. They will be equipped with beds and machines for patients who need treatment after intensive care. Meanwhile hospitals are being urged to discharge as many patients as possible into hotels, hospices and care homes to make space for the expected surge of Covid admissions. Hospital canteens and car parks will be converted into 'Nightingale wards' as part of a new NHS 'war footing' for the Omicron wave. Eight hospitals in England will this week start building temporary structures to house up to 100 Covid patients each. (File image) NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis (pictured) said: 'Given the high level of Covid-19 infections, the NHS is now on a war footing. We hoped never to have to use the original Nightingales and I hope we never have to use these new hubs' NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: 'Given the high level of Covid-19 infections, the NHS is now on a war footing.' He added: 'We do not yet know exactly how many of those who catch the virus will need hospital treatment, but given the number of infections we cannot wait to find out before we act and so work is beginning from today to ensure these facilities are in place. 'We hoped never to have to use the original Nightingales and I hope we never have to use these new hubs.' In contrast to the first wave - when facilities such as London's ExCel centre were converted into giant hospitals - the 'Nightingale hubs' will be situated on existing hospital grounds. (Above, the then Health Secretary Matt Hancock at the opening of the Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in April 2020) Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: 'We hope the Nightingale surge hubs at hospitals will not have to be used but it is absolutely right that we prepare for all scenarios and increase capacity.' In contrast to the first wave - when facilities such as London's ExCel centre were converted into giant hospitals - the 'Nightingale hubs' will be situated on existing hospital grounds. Health chiefs said this will make it easy to deploy staff if there is a surge in admissions over the coming weeks that outstrips current capacity. NHS Trusts have also been asked to identify areas such as gyms and classrooms that can be converted to temporary Covid wards. They said this could create an additional 4,000 'super surge' beds across the country - eight times the capacity of a large district hospital, which has around 500 beds. Terrified Queenslanders are calling Triple Zero or rushing to emergency departments after receiving a positive Covid test even if their symptoms are mild. Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard on Thursday urged panicked residents to monitor their symptoms at home because the disease will be mild for almost everyone. 'Most people, particularly those who have been vaccinated, will be relatively well. The illness will be mild in the vast majority of you and can be managed at home,' he said. Former Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk used dramatic rhetoric to describe coronavirus as they urged residents to follow their rules Queenslanders are still getting used to living with Covid two weeks after the state - which detected a record 2,222 new cases on Thursday - finally opened its borders to the rest of the nation. The rush on hospitals comes after the state's former chief health officer Jeanette Young used hyperbolic language to describe Covid - including calling the virus 'insidious' - while urging residents to follow her rules over 2020 and 2021. Premier Palaszczuk, who repeatedly imposed draconian lockdowns and restrictions on Brisbane and the Gold Coast over just one or a handful of cases, was also accused of fearmongering throughout the pandemic, including by describing clusters in NSW as 'alarming' and threatening ever harsher border controls. Professor Emma McBryde, a disease modeller at the Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine at James Cook University, said premiers and chief health officers were guilty of over-reacting during outbreaks in Victoria and NSW over winter. 'I think it's really wearing thin these endless news cycles of chief health officers - and premiers for that matter - talking down to us, telling us what we should be doing and overreacting endlessly to Covid outbreaks and doing what they think might be popular at the time,' she told Daily Mail Australia in July. 'If you're chief health officer and you haven't got a health department handle on one case, you shouldn't be showing your face in public as far as I'm concerned,' she said Premier Palaszczuk repeatedly imposed draconian lockdowns on Brisbane (pictured) and the Gold Coast over just one or a handful of cases. Pictured: There are now 8,586 active cases in Queensland but not a single one is in ICU. The new figure announced on Thursday follows 1,589 cases yesterday, of which 80 per cent were determined to be the Omicron variant. Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace said the virus was now present in 30 LGAs across the state. Dr Gerrard warned Queenslanders they would be talking about 'tens of thousands' of cases in coming weeks but urged residents not worry because the disease is mild. The state recorded just four cases on December 13, when its border reopened to hotspot states such as New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT. Drivers queue for Covid-19 PCR tests at a testing site in Boondall, Brisbane Dr Gerrard encouraged Queenslanders to continue to use the state's check-in app despite reports health authorities were no longer utilising it for contact tracing. He foreshadowed changes to use of the app in coming days. The chief health officer said it was not the intention to impose further lockdowns in communities with lower vaccination rates such as Thursday Island, where 11 new infections had been detected in the past 48 hours. Dr Gerrard said it was clear if Australia continued with its 'current settings' on close contacts, it wouldn't function because too may people will end up in quarantine. 'We are not going to stop the Omicron virus. There are some things we can do to slow the spread... masks are important,' he said. 'The number of people we expect to be infected with this virus is very large, very large, all of us will know someone who is infected. 'But it's important to remember that most people don't get critically ill, it's a small proportion.' 'We are not going to stop the Omicron virus. The number of people we expect to be infected with this virus is very large, very large,' Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said, while reassuring people the Omicron variant appeared milder then previous variants He said Queenslanders needed to think about working from home in January to help slow the spread of Omicron 'but not lockdowns'. Dr Gerrard said the good news is infection with Omicron appeared to produce less severe illness, and doctors he had spoken with could distinguish between those with the Omicron an those with Delta. 'It appears to be milder, it's not trivial, but it is a little bit milder,' he said. 'It has a downside in that it's much more contagious than Delta but on the good side it does appear to be a milder disease.' Yesterday Dr Gerrard revealed health authorities were 'winding back' certain public health measures, including widespread contact tracing, as the pandemic progressed. 'In broad terms, we are pulling back to isolating those who are sick, and their immediate household contacts, that is the main group that we are contacting,' Dr Gerrard said. 'We are doing we are doing less direct contact tracing in businesses like restaurants and cafes. 'We cannot afford to quarantine the entire population of Queensland, we know that, and this pandemic is progressing it has always been expected to progress.' Dr Gerrard said 90.52 per cent of eligible Queenslanders aged 16 years and over had now received a first dose of a Covid vaccine, while 86.19 per cent were doubled dosed. 'This is the first time Queenslanders will really experience the true pandemic,' Dr Gerrard said of the current widespread Omicron outbreak in the state He said Queensland Health had seven million rapid antigen tests on order for the state and the tests were already being used in the state's emergency departments. 'This is the first time Queenslanders will really experience the true pandemic,' Dr Gerrard said. 'If we are going to experience this pandemic, then January is probably the time for this to happen, because it's warm and we know the virus spread more easily in the cooler months and schools are on leave at this time.' Ms Grace said there was no plans to change the Queensland school calendar as yet as the Omicron variant spread. She said the possibility of a mask mandate in schools would be considered closer to the date when schools returned in January. Australian Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre has warned more people must be brought to justice after Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking. Ms Giuffre, formerly Virginia Roberts, claims Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 after Maxwell lured her in. Now living in Perth with her family, she tweeted after the verdict that she believed others who helped Epstein and Maxwell would eventually be held accountable. 'My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always,' she tweeted. 'I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served,' one of Epstein and Maxwell's accusers, Australian resident Virginia Giuffre (pictured) tweeted after Ghislaine Maxwell's guilty verdict In the lawsuit filed in the US, Ms Giuffre (centre) has alleged Prince Andrew (left) abused her on multiple occasions in 2001 'Having lived with the horrors of Maxwells abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed. 'I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. 'Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be.' Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of five of six counts of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein and his circle of high-powered contacts. A jury in New York returned the guilty verdict after a long deliberation after a trial that threatened to be derailed by the Omicron outbreak. Ms Giuffre, originally from the US, has ongoing legal action over the time she spent with Epstein and Maxwell, including her claim that they arranged for to be sexually abused by Prince Andrew on several occasions in 2001. She previously claimed to have first met Maxwell in 2000, when the socialite commented on a book she was reading about massage therapy while Ms Giuffre worked as a spa attendant at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Ms Giuffre, formerly Victoria Roberts (pictured), has previously recalled that she first met Maxwell in 2000, when the socialite commented on a book she was reading about massage therapy while Ms Giuffre worked as a spa attendant at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida Maxwell, 60, (left) was found guilty of five of six counts of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein (right) and his circle of high-powered contacts Maxwell then offered her a potential job working for Epstein as a traveling masseuse. Ms Giuffre claimed that after accepting the offer, she was groomed by Epstein and Giuffre to offer massages and sexual services to Epstein and his associates over a two-and-half year period. In a 60 Minutes interview in 2019, Ms Giuffre produced the infamous photo of her with the prince that she says was taken on the first night she had sex with him. 'This photo has been verified as an original and has since been given to the FBI and they've never contested that it's a fake,' she said. 'I know it's real and he needs to stop with all of these lame excuses, we're sick of hearing it. 'This is a real photo. That's the very first time I met him.' Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty of sex trafficking charges. Maxwell denies sex trafficking and other charges and had been awaiting trial for over a year in 'hell-hole' federal prison in Brooklyn Maxwell, 59, who is accused of procuring underage girls for pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is on trial for sex trafficking charges. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges Ms Giuffre claimed she had sex with Prince Andrew three times, once in London, another time at Epstein's New York City mansion, and again at Epstein's private island in the Caribbean. Ms Giuffre's life in Australia came about because of Epstein. In September 2002 she flew to Thailand at his expense to attend a massage training school. It was there she met Robert Giuffre, an Australian martial arts trainer. The two quickly formed a bond and were married soon after. Ms Giuffre moved to Australia and contacted Epstein to tell him she wasn't returning. She was not included among witnesses in the current sex trafficking case against Maxwell. Ghislaine Maxwell faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison after she was found guilty of five of six counts of sex trafficking Annie Farmer, the only victim in the Maxwell trial who was named, was reportedly 'sobbing with joy' as she left court on Tuesday. 'I am so relieved and grateful that the jury recognized the pattern of predatory behavior that Maxwell engaged in for years and found her guilty of these crimes. She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom,' Farmer said in a statement on Wednesday. 'I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law... Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young,' Farmer added. Maxwell faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. One count - sex trafficking of an individual under the age of 18 - carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. A top producer for Jake Tapper has been arrested as part of a criminal investigation into allegations of misconduct involving 'juvenile victims,' just weeks after another CNN producer, for Chris Cuomo was fired over similar allegations. Rick Saleeby, a former producer for Jake Tapper's The Lead, resigned from the network after his arrest on December 18. Fairfax County, Virginia police have launched a probe into 'serious allegations involving potential juvenile victims' and that 'detectives assigned to the Child Exploitation Squad of the Major Crimes Bureau are leading this investigation. In a video posted by far-right conservative group Project Veritas, a man the group says is Saleeby was recorded describing sexual fantasies about young girls. On Tuesday, Saleeby appeared at a Fairfax County court where members from Project Veritas confronted him, however they received no comment from him or his attorney, according to the Denver Gazette. Not much information was available regarding Saleeby or his arrest as of Thursday. 'Detectives assigned to the Child Exploitation Squad of the Major Crimes Bureau are leading the investigation,' police said of Saleeby. 'While we will eventually be transparent about our findings, safeguarding the personal privacy and safety of victims and witnesses as well as maintaining the integrity of our criminal investigation are of paramount importance.' 'At this time, we are not in a position to provide additional detail on the scope or nature of this investigation,' the statement added. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Former CNN producer John Griffin, left, of Stamford, and former senior staffer on Jake Tapper's show Rick Saleeby, right It comes just a week after another senior CNN producer, John Griffin, was fired after being arrested on December 10 for sex crimes involving children. Griffin was charged with attempting to persuade minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity after a year-long investigation where he was accused of flying a woman and a 9-year-old girl, described as her adoptive daughter, to train the girl in 'sexual subservience.' The investigation into Saleeby was allegedly prompted by reporting by Project Veritas. 'While we will eventually be transparent about our findings, safeguarding the personal privacy and safety of victims and witnesses as well as maintaining the integrity of our criminal investigation are of paramount importance,' a spokesman for Fairfax County Police said in a statement. The Fairfax County Police Department confirmed that it had been in communication with CNN, as well as Saleeby's reported victims. 'The person in question no longer works for CNN' and resigned earlier this month, a spokesman for CNN said in a statement. Jake Tapper's 'The Lead,' pictured, the CNN program where former producer Rick Saleeby worked before he was forced to resign from the network earlier this month While Saleeby was given the opportunity to resign from the network, Griffin was fired immediately following his arrest on charges of enticing minors for sex. Griffin was charged by a grand jury in Vermont 'with three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.' The 42-year-old Stamford resident allegedly offered a Nevada woman, identified as 48-year-old Heather Carriker, of Henderson, $30,000 for a 'mother daughter weekend with me,' before revealing to authorities that he was 'ashamed' after being taken into custody for allegedly abusing a nine-year-old girl and enticing other minors. 'According to the indictment, from April to July of 2020, Griffin utilized the messaging applications Kik and Google Hangouts to communicate with people purporting to be parents of minor daughters, conveying to them, among other ideas, that a "woman is a woman regardless of her age," and that women should be sexually subservient and inferior to men,' the US Attorney's Office in Vermont wrote in a statement. John Griffin, left, was a producer for Chris Cuomo, right, before Cuomo landed his own primetime show in 2018 Chris Cuomo, left, and Griffin, right at CNN before the two left the network in disgrace 'On these communication platforms, Griffin sought to persuade parents to allow him to train their daughters to be sexually submissive. In June of 2020, Griffin advised a mother of 9- and 13-year-old daughters that the mothers responsibility was to see that her older daughter was "trained properly."' 'Griffin later transferred over $3,000 to the mother for plane tickets so the mother and her 9-year-old daughter could fly from Nevada to Bostons Logan airport.' 'The mother and child flew to Boston in July of 2020, where Griffin picked them up in his Tesla and drove them to his Ludlow house. At the house, the daughter was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity,' the statement read. In April 2020, Griffin reportedly attempted to entice two other minors for sex, after he 'proposed to engage in a "virtual training session" over a video chat that would include him instructing the mother and her 14-year-old daughter to remove their clothing and touch each other at his direction,' according to the US Attorney's Office in Vermont. Several months later in June 2020, authorities said Griffin 'proposed to a purported mother of a 16-year-old daughter that she take a "little mother-daughter trip" to Griffins Ludlow ski house for sexual training involving the child.' According to his former employer, CNN was completely unaware of Griffin's actions prior to his arrest. 'Prior to his arrest and indictment, we had no knowledge about the case,' a CNN spokesman told Fox News. Griffin had previously worked alongside another embattled former CNN employee, Chris Cuomo, before Cuomo landed his own primetime show in 2018. He was a senior producer for CNN's morning program 'New Day' before his arrest and subsequent termination from the network. The eclectic jury who brought justice to the victims of accused sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell on Wednesday includes a middle-aged mother, a Mets fan, and a grandmother who watches 'The Bold and The Beautiful.' Despite the secrecy surrounding the trial - with no cameras allowed in the courtroom and key documents being sealed - some details about the 12 jurors were unveiled last month when they were questioned for selection by Judge Alison J. Nathan. Among the selected jurors were a 41-year-old musician, a 54-year-old mother and maintenance worker, a 64-year-old Mets fan and a 53-year-old grandmother who watches CBS's drama series 'The Bold and the Beautiful,' The New York Times reported. Other members of the jury were a 61-year-old trader's assistant and a 35-year-old science fiction fan. The jury, who took six days to deliberate on the Maxwell trial, was composed of six men and six woman ranging from ages 28 to 70. Jurors in the Maxwell trial included a 61-year-old trader's assistant and a 35-year-old science fiction fan. The jury, who took six days to deliberate on the Maxwell trial, was composed of six men and six woman ranging from ages 28 to 70 The jury of six men and six women (seen in a court sketch) reached a verdict to convict Maxwell on Wednesday Maxwell's siblings Kevin, Christine and Isabel walked out of court and declined to comment. Christine and Isabel walked arm in arm and later Kevin took Christine's arm and they quietly walked to the nearby office they have been renting The majority of the jury said not to be familiar with Maxwell's role in concealing, enabling and participating on Epstein's abuse to underage girls, but some said to recall Epstein's suicide at a Lower Manhattan detention center in 2019, where he awaited trial Five jurors were in their 30s, five in their 60s and three in their 50s. They all live in the Southern District of New York - five in the Bronx, three in Westchester and four in Manhattan - according to the Times. Only two of the jurors have not completed high school, while two reportedly have their associates degrees, and four have their bachelors. They've received education in industries such as business, public administration and urban affairs. The jury claimed to use social media sparingly, and not to be overly aware of the media attention directed to Maxwell and Epstein. The majority of the jury said not to be familiar with Maxwell's role in concealing, enabling and participating on Epstein's abuse to underage girls, but some said to recall Epstein's suicide at a Lower Manhattan detention center in 2019, where he awaited trial. 'I don't think I have heard anything in particular related to her,' said one of the jurors. Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty of sex trafficking charges. Maxwell denies sex trafficking and other charges and had been awaiting trial for over a year in 'hell-hole' federal prison in Brooklyn This courtroom sketch shows Judge Alison Nathan reading the guilty verdict against Ghislaine Maxwell in her sex trafficking trial, Wednesday Dec. 29 The jury claimed to use social media sparingly, and not to be overly aware of the media attention directed to Maxwell and Epstein Maxwell's defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim spoke during a press conference after the guilty verdict Maxwell walked out of court flanked by two security guards: she was not handcuffed or shackled on her legs, seen in a court sketch A sleazy haul of never-before-seen photos unearthed in an FBI raid and introduced as evidence showed Ghislaine Maxwell giving Jeffrey Epstein foot rubs on his private jet dubbed Lolita Express 'I have heard of, obviously, Jeffrey Epstein,' another juror said during the selection, adding that he could, however, remain impartial and fair. Their identities are being protected due to the public attention the trial has received. They could have been removed had they not followed instructions to avoid media coverage of the case. After a fourth full day of deliberations on Tuesday, US District Judge Alison Nathan had said a positive COVID-19 case among jurors would '(put) at risk our ability to complete this trial.' Nathan worried that the pandemic would cause a mistrial if one of the jurors had to quarantine, but on Wednesday, after roughly 40 hours of deliberation, the jury reached a consensus. Jurors asked for transcripts on Wednesday of the testimony of five witnesses at the sex crimes trial of Ghislaine Maxwell as the judge suggested they work through the New Year's holidays if needed. The 12-person jury deliberated for six days and found the British socialite guilty on five of six counts - all except enticing an individual under the age of 17 to travel with intent to engage in illegal sex acts. The jury requested clarification from the judge on Wednesday regarding their schedule for deliberating for the remainder of this week. Nathan told them they should convene every day until a verdict is reached, including New Year's Day on Saturday, and Sunday, unless they have 'unmovable commitments.' Nathan again cited the risk of Covid cases amongst jurors and trial participants which could cause a 'substantial delay' to proceedings. 'Of course by this I don't mean to pressure you in any way,' she said. 'You should take all the time you need.' The jurors asked to review the transcripts of five witnesses on Wednesday, including that of key defense witness Elizabeth Loftus, a memory expert. The prosecution brought in pictures found in Epstein's mansion in a bid to show that Maxwell and Epstein had been in a relationship This photo of Jeffrey Epstein in front of one of his private planes was submitted into evidence during the trial of his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell One of the pictures showed Epstein and Maxwell in a vacation picture in Europe. The prosecution established the close relationship between the pair - that went far beyond business We believe firmly in our sister's innocencewe are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated. The Maxwell Family Loftus, who has testified in approximately 300 trials, including those of Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, testified that recollections become distorted over time and that 'false memories' can be planted during questioning years later. 'The older the event is the more susceptible people are to having post-event suggestion contaminate their memory,' she said. Jurors also asked for the testimony of three other defense witnesses: that of Maxwell's former executive assistant Cimberly Espinosa and two FBI agents, Amanda Young and Jason Richards. The other transcript requested was that of a prosecution witness, Shawn, a former boyfriend of one of Maxwell's accusers, a woman who was identified in court only as 'Carolyn.' Maxwell, wearing a burgundy pullover, black trousers and black face mask, looked relaxed in court on Wednesday as she chatted with her attorneys. She also appeared to have a brief conversation with a journalist which was inaudible to the courtroom. The charges against Maxwell stem from 1994 to 2004. Two of Epstein's alleged victims said they were as young as 14 when Maxwell allegedly began grooming them and arranging for them to give massages to Epstein that ended in sexual activity. US prosecutors alleged that the daughter of former British newspaper baron Robert Maxwell was a knowing participant in the conduct of Epstein, who killed himself in a US jail in 2019 while awaiting his own sex crimes trial. Carolyn, one of Ghislaine Maxwell's accusers, claimed she had seen a picture of her nude and pregnant. Though that picture was never introduced as evidence, another of Epstein cradling Maxwell's belly was Photographers are not allowed inside federal courts, so the public view of the trial came from sketch artists who were instructed not to depict the faces of the anonymous witnesses. Here 'Carolyn' is questioned during the trial The trial was held at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in downtown Manhattan Prosecutor Alison Moe argued that Maxwell was 'the key' to Epstein's scheme of enticing young girls to give him massages, during which he would sexually abuse them. Maxwell's defense team countered that there was a lack of evidence to convict and questioned the accusers' ability to recollect quarter-century-old events. The team also argued that Maxwell was being used as a 'scapegoat' for Epstein's crimes after he evaded justice. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas Day, did not testify but in a defiant statement to the court said prosecutors had failed to prove her guilt. Maxwell walked out of court flanked by two security guards. She walked out of court without being handcuffed or shackled but her confident swagger was gone, replaced by a slower walk with her head down as she exited through a door at the back of the room which led to the cells. She managed one look back and walked out with her head held down. In the elevator Maxwell's lawyer and close friend Leah Saffian appeared red eyed and distraught. Maxwell's lawyer Bobbi Sternheim asked if it was possible for Maxwell to get her booster shot to protect her from Covid-19. Judge Nathan said it was 'available' at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, where she is being held, and that she would 'look into it'. Judge Nathan said the decision was 'unanimous' and asked each juror to confirm that it was correct by passing around a microphone. Each answered that yes it was - one male juror was seen rubbing his eyes and forehead. Maxwell is expected to be placed on suicide watch in jail after jurors agreed she was Epstein's 'partner in horrific crimes'. She masterminded a sick scheme to round up schoolgirls on an industrial scale for them and their friends to molest. Maxwell's siblings Kevin, Christine and Isabel walked out of court and declined to comment. Christine and Isabel walked arm in arm and later Kevin took Christine's arm and they quietly walked to the nearby office they have been renting. A lawyer for Jeffrey Epsteins victims says Prince Andrew should be quaking in his boots over Ghislaine Maxwells guilty verdict. Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom, who represented eight victims of the billionaire pedophile, said the conviction of Epsteins madame for sex trafficking brought her and her clients to tears. Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of five of six counts of sex trafficking minors for Epstein and now faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. Hot on the heels of the verdict comes a hearing on January 4 to decide whether to throw out Andrews accuser Virginia Giuffres civil lawsuit over the Princes argument that she lives in Australia and cannot justify her claim to be a Colorado resident. Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom (left) said the conviction of Epsteins madame for sex trafficking meant Prince Andrew (right) should be shaking in his boots Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts, aged 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell's townhouse in London, Britain on March 13 2001 Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell sits as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in a courtroom sketch in New York City on Wednesday If the judge sides with Giuffre, the case could go before a jury in fall 2022. Bloom said in the wake of Maxwells conviction, she believes the princes technical objections arent going to fly. He should be quaking in his boots, the Epstein victims attorney told DailyMail.com. Because this shows that a jury is willing to come back with a guilty verdict even if the accusers are not perfect, as no human being is. Even if there were grounds for cross-examination, which there were, they looked to the essence of the story and they found that Ghislaine Maxwell was guilty of sex trafficking. Bloom said that if the case goes to trial Andrews attorney, Andrew Brettler, is likely to try to trip up Giuffre by pointing out inconsistencies in her testimony but the tactic would now be ineffective with a jury. I think in his case hes hoping that his lawyers can cross-examine Virginia and get her on some prior statements that shes made and mistakes that shes made. And I just dont think thats going to fly. I think he should be very concerned, she said. The lawyer added that Wednesdays verdict now makes Prince Andrew a self-confessed close friend of a child sex trafficker after admitting his friendship with Maxwell in a car-crash interview with BBC journalist Emily Maitliss. Hot on the heels of the verdict comes a hearing on January 4 to decide whether to throw out Andrews accuser Virginia Giuffres (left) civil lawsuit over the Princes argument that she lives in Australia and cannot justify her claim to be a Colorado resident. If the judge sides with Giuffre, the case could go before a jury in fall 2022. Bloom (right) said in the wake of Maxwells conviction, she believes the princes technical objections arent going to fly Virginia Giuffre, perhaps the most vocal accuser of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, reacted on social media after Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking and other charges on Wednesday She added: 'I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be' He clearly had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, said Bloom. And an even closer relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell. I mean, he said it himself in the interview that he gave that he was actually closer to Ghislaine. And she is now a convicted sex trafficker. So that just brings us one step closer to Prince Andrew. Attorney Brad Edwards, who was honored last month by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for his pivotal role representing victims and helping bring down Epstein, told DailyMail.com that Prince Andrew has been denied his hope for evil to win. That hasnt worked out so well. Maybe he will repent and provide information now. Prince Andrew may face another bombshell ahead of his January 4 hearing after Manhattan federal judges Lewis Kaplan and Loretta Preska ruled that a 2009 settlement agreement between Epstein and Giuffre, which bears directly on Giuffre's civil lawsuit accusing Britain's Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, will be made public early next week. Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of five of six counts of sex trafficking minors for Epstein and now faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. Epstein and Maxwell in a vacation picture in Europe Kaplan is presiding over Giuffres lawsuit against the prince for allegedly forcing her to have sex with him at Maxwells London home, and abusing her at two of Epsteins mansions. Brettler will argue in the upcoming hearing that Giuffre has long lived in Australia and cant back up her claim to be a Colorado resident. They're trying every kind of legal loophole they can come up with, because he clearly does not want the case to be decided on its merits, said Bloom. He does not want her to get into the courthouse door and get a trial. And that's what she's fighting for. Its very disappointing that he wants to deprive her of her day in court. If he's innocent, he should want a trial where he would be exonerated, and yet he's doing everything he can to fight it. Virginia Roberts' statement on Maxwell verdict My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always. Having lived with the horrors of Maxwell's abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed. I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be. Advertisement I wouldn't advise him because I am 100% victims side now for the last four years, the attorney added. But if I were advising him, I would tell him to come clean and apologize and cooperate with law enforcement, as he said he would do and then he never did. Stop hiding behind your lawyers and lets just get to the bottom of this. One of Blooms clients, named only as Kiki, said the verdict means Maxwell will have a small taste of how she and other victims felt. No sentence or punishment will take away the trauma that we all had to endure at their hands, but now she will have to live with what she did, just the way the survivors have to live with it every day of our lives, Kiki said. What she and Jeffrey did for their own sadistic pleasures, sentenced all of their victims to their own metaphorical prisons. I fight everyday to escape those 4 walls that entrapped me the day I was abused, and now she will know what thats like for all of the girls she damaged for life. No matter how rich you are or powerful you are, if you choose to exploit and abuse, your day will come, Edwards said. When I heard about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell 13 years ago, I decided not to stop until justice was served for all of the victims. Today is another huge step. But its not over. Everyone else who played a role knows who they are. Adelaide City Council is being pressured to cancel New Years Eve celebrations after one councillor returned his ticket. Phillip Martin said he would not attend Adelaide's new 'Light Up' New Years Eve celebration and called for to be cancelled over Covid fears. South Australia reached 1,000 Covid cases on Wednesday for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, with 1,465 new infections. Adelaide City councillor Phillip Martin has returned his ticket to Adelaide's new 'Light Up' New Years Eve celebration and called for the event to be cancelled His actions come after South Australia reached over 1000 Covid cases on Wednesday for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic SA's chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier urged the public to celebrate at home and have the 'quietest New Year's Eve ever'. Her comments sparked outrage from residents whose celebrations were already ruined by 10-person gathering limits as NSW hosts its fireworks display unabated with 10 times the cases. Adelaide's new 'Light Up' event will take place at Rymill Park after being moved from the usual venue Elder Park due to Covid restrictions. The new event is expected to draw crowds of 5,000 people, far fewer than in past years due to concern about the Omicron variant. Mr Martin said he agreed with Professor Spurrier and called for events at the Lion Hotel in North Adelaide and Whitmore Square to also be cancelled. Mr Martin also voiced his support for SA's chief public health officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier, after she urged the public to celebrate the holiday at home 'Let's just take the advice of the chief public health officer, who is the one that got us through this pandemic,' he said. 'Her frank and fearless advice has saved lives, I believe her.' The councillor also said he believed social distancing rules would be 'impossible' to enforce at the events and they were not worth the risk to public health. This is despite them being held outside where Covid very rarely spreads. Western Australia has escalated its COVID-19 pandemic response with tougher border rules, banning Queenslanders and South Australians. From Friday at 6pm, the two states will be deemed 'extreme risk' with travellers not permitted into WA except in extraordinary circumstances. Premier Mark McGowan says both states had recorded significant COVID-19 case spikes in recent days. Disparately, WA recorded one new Covid case on Thursday - a 27-year-old unvaccinated backpacker feared to have been infectious in the community. WA Premier Mark McGowan has banned travelers from Queensland, SA except in extraordinary cases From Friday at 6pm, the two states will be deemed 'extreme risk' with neither SA or Queensland travellers not permitted into WA except in extraordinary circumstances The traveller was a close contact of another previously reported case with whom he shared a bathroom, bringing the cluster connected to a French backpacker to 13. 'It is believed he has been infectious in the community, so therefore there are further exposure sites,' Mr McGowan said on Thursday. 'The arrival of the Omicron variant in Australia has seen cases surge in both Queensland and South Australia, and unfortunately we expect this trend to continue.' Travellers from the two states approved for entry into WA under their previous classification of high risk have been warned to move quickly. Under the extreme risk classification, travel exemptions are only approved for commonwealth and state officials, members of parliament, diplomats, and people who perform specialist roles. Extraordinary circumstances entry applications will be assessed by WA police or Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson. All approved travellers must be double-dose vaccinated and have returned a negative PCR test 72 hours before arriving in WA. Extraordinary circumstances entry applications from Queenslanders and South Australian who wish to visit WA will be assessed by WA police or Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson They also must undertake hotel quarantine at a state-run facility for 14 days at their expense and get tested for the virus on days one, five and 13. It comes a day after WA has detected two new local COVID-19 cases linked to an infected French backpacker who travelled from Queensland. The community cluster which sprang from Perth Mess Hall dance party 10 days ago has grown to 12 infections with fears more cases may follow. New exposure sites in WA include Dominos Pizza in East Fremantle on December 28, BP on Queen Victoria Street in Fremantle on the same day, an O'Connor climbing gym the day before and Farmer Jack's Spearwood on December 26. WA's first dose vaccination rate climbs to 91.7 per cent for people over 12 and 83.6 per cent double Covid-positive patients and close contacts will only have to isolate for seven days after most state premiers agreed to new rules to keep the economy moving as the disease spreads rapidly around the nation. Across most of the country, a close contact will now be defined as someone who has spent at least four hours in an 'accommodation setting' such as a household or a care facility with a positive case. If a workplace, such as an office has a positive case, the contacts don't need to isolate, just monitor symptoms. All Australians, whether they have come into contact with an infected person or not, are still encouraged to get a PCR test if they develop any Covid symptoms. What are the changes and when do they kick in? New definition of close contact: Someone who has spent at least four hours in a household or a care facility with a positive case. Workplaces do not count. New isolation period: Positive people and close contacts must isolate for seven days or 10 in SA Timing: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will implement the changes at midnight. Tasmania will follow on January 1 while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will not adopt the scheme until they get more Covid cases in the weeks ahead. Advertisement Close contacts with symptoms must have a PCR test but if they have no symptoms they can use a rapid antigen test. They must isolate for seven days since their contact with the positive person - even if they test negative - and can leave isolation on day seven if they test negative on day six. Covid-positive Aussies will also have to isolate for seven days after their initial test, provided they return a negative test on day six. This model has already been adopted in the UK. Casual contacts have been abolished, meaning anyone in a pub or at a restaurant, cafe or other form of retail outlet at the same time as a positive case no longer has to isolate. 'If you are anything other than a close contact and you are not symptomatic, you don't need to go and get a test,' Mr Morrison said. 'Now, I know this is a bit different to what you've been hearing over the last couple of years. That's the gear change. That's the reset. That's what we need people to really understand.' The move is expected ease pressure on testing queues which have swelled due to a growing outbreak of the milder but more contagious Omicron variant over Christmas. The new rules will also be welcomed by employers, especially hospitality venues, who are finding it increasingly hard to find staff because of the growing outbreak. NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will implement the changes on Friday morning at midnight. South Australia will adopt the new close contact definition - but keep a 10-day isolation rule in place. Tasmania will adopt the new rules on January 1, while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will not adopt the definition until they get high Covid caseloads in the weeks ahead. 'I am confident that this is the best way to manage the Omicron pandemic,' Mr Morrison said. Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, who recommended the changes, said they would help keep the economy functioning and avoid the whole nation being plunged into isolation. 'We can have people out there in society and working when they are at less risk,' he said. Australia recorded 21,329 new cases on Thursday but only 122 people are in ICU because of vaccinations and the less severe nature of the Omicron variant which is making up about 80 per cent of cases. Mr Morrison urged Aussies who are not close contacts to go the beach and enjoy themselves. Pictured: Bondi on Thursday Aussies at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Thursday as the east enjoys a period of sunny weather The Prime Minister also urged Aussies to get their booster jabs but said people are not considered 'overdue' if they don't get them as soon as they are eligible. On January 4 the recommended gap between second and third doses will shrink from five to four months. Mr Morrison also revealed that some testing clinics in NSW and Victoria will start offering rapid antigen tests instead of PCR tests to ease pressure on testing labs. 'We will transfer over the next few weeks from PCR to these rapid antigen tests at the state testing centres,' he said. Labor leader Anthony Albanese earlier blasted the Prime Minister for not acting fast enough to secure rapid tests amid a nationwide shortage at supermarkets and pharmacies. He said Mr Morrison was 'always playing catch up, always waits until an issue becomes a crisis before there's any movement whatsoever, and then always is looking for someone else to blame. 'What we need today is some national leadership, something that's been sorely lacking from this Prime Minister.' The move is designed to ease pressure on testing queues which have swelled due to a growing outbreak of the Omicron variant over Christmas. Pictured: Testing at Rose Bay in Sydney On Wednesday Mr Morrison defended himself after coming under fire for not buying enough rapid antigen tests which are largely unavailable in Queensland and scarce in Victoria and NSW. 'We need the tests in the country, we just don't have enough,' Labor health spokesman Mark Butler said. Victoria has ordered 34million rapid tests but has not said when they will arrive. NSW has ordered 20million tests but they won't arrive until February, sparking anger from the Labor Opposition. Premier Dominic Perrottet announced on Wednesday he will order an additional 30million tests. Mr Morrison said it was up to the states to provide rapid tests for general use but the Commonwealth has received four million and will get another six million for federal uses including in aged care settings. 'States have the responsibility providing the tests in their settings. But where there's issues around distribution and other things, the national reserve has been available just as it has been for masks and PPE,' he said. Mr Morrison also said a close contact of a positive Covid case should be released from isolation with a negative antigen test after six days. Pictured: Hotel quarantine in Adelaide for overseas arrivals in May Mr Morrison said the rapid tests were a 'precious commodity' amid soaring international demand. The need for rapid tests has become urgent as testing queues in Melbourne and Sydney stretched to five hours over the past week due to Queensland's entry test requirements, clinic closures and more people wanting a negative result before visiting family over the Christmas holidays. Asked if the long queues were a sign of 'political failure' Mr Morrison replied: 'The testing regimes are run by the state and territory governments.' On Wednesday, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced she would replace the PCR requirement with rapid antigen test results to alleviate some of the pressure on laboratories from January 1, copying the same move by South Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt have been identified as casual contacts of Covid-positive people after an event at a surf club. The pair visited Bribie Island Surf Club north of Brisbane on December 21 as part of an event to promote skin cancer awareness, including announcing $20 million in funding. Several people at the event later tested positive for Covid-19 but it is not known if they came into direct contact with the prime minister or the health minister. At a press conference held on an indoor balcony at the surf club on the day, Mr Morrison and Mr Hunt appeared with Cancer Council Australia boss Tanya Buchanan, melanoma survivor Courtney Mangan and federal MP for Longman Terry Young. Other photos showed Mr Morrison mingling with members of the local community outside the venue. Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) and Mr Hunt visited Bribie Island Surf Club north of Brisbane on December 21 as part of an event to promote skin cancer awareness, later giving a press conference with local MP Terry Young (middle) The Cancer Council informed Queensland Health and the prime minister's staff of the Covid cases. Mr Morrison was designated a casual contact by Queensland Health, but the club has not been listed as an exposure site on its website and is considered low risk. 'As per the NSW Health guidelines, the prime minister was not required to isolate or get tested, and continues to monitor for symptoms,' a spokesperson for Mr Morrison told the Courier Mail. 'Due to extensive travel engagements, the prime minister has been subject to regular PCR tests to comply with requirements under state public health orders for travel to Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania.' Mr Morrison gave a press conference held on an indoor balcony at the Bribie Island Surf Club Mr Morrison (in hat with glasses in shirt at left) was also seen mingling with members of the local community outside the venue The development has not affected Mr Morrison's chairing of today's snap national cabinet meeting. The meeting discussed changes to the national categorisation of close and casual contacts to prevent thousands of people having to go into quarantine as the Omicron variant spreads across the country. Queensland chief health officer John Gerrard admitted contact tracing by the health department is being gradually wound back as the number of cases in the state grows. 'We are pulling back to isolating those who are sick and their immediate household contacts, that is the main group that we are contacting,' he said. 'The broader contact tracing is gradually being pulled back. 'We are doing less contract tracing in places like restaurant and cafes... we cannot afford to quarantine the entire population of Queensland.' 'As per the NSW Health guidelines, the Prime Minister was not required to isolate or get tested, and continues to monitor for symptoms,' a spokesperson for Mr Morrison said, after he was identified as a casual contact of Covid positive cases at an event at Bribie Island Surf Club (pictured) Queensland Health said lower risk situations will likely not be added to published exposure sites, particularly if all those in attendance can and have been contacted. Queensland recorded 2.222 cases of Covid in Thursday, up from 1,589 on Wednesday. Case numbers have grown from just four announced on the day the state reopened its border to NSW, Victoria, and the ACT on December 13. A man who allegedly sexually assaulted and choked a seven-year-old Perth girl in her bed has been charged. West Australian police say the 25-year-old attacked the child in her bedroom about 12:30am on Monday after scaling a fence and breaking into an Ellenbrook family's home. He was arrested on Wednesday after police released footage of a man climbing over a wall near the home in Perth's northeastern suburbs. He was charged with sexual penetration of a child under 13, indecent dealings with a child under 13, deprivation of liberty and aggravated home burglary. A man who allegedly sexually assaulted and choked a seven-year-old Perth girl in her bed has been charged. The alleged attacker is shown in police video at the fence of the home where the incident took place An arrest was made on Wednesday after police released this footage of a man climbing over a wall near the home in Perth's northeastern suburbs He is also facing two charges of impeding another person's normal breathing or blood circulation by blocking their nose or mouth and applying pressure to their neck. The girl's parents learned about the assault later on Monday morning when the child told them she had been sexually assaulted during the night. The CCTV footage shows a man wearing shorts and a T-shirt walking near a wooden fence before he climbs up and peers into a backyard. He then walks away before returning a few minutes later with a backpack and jumping over the fence. The girl's pyjama top, which had a gingerbread man wearing a Santa hat on it, was missing from the home WA police captured the alleged abuser after releasing security footage taken at the Ellenbrook home The girl's pyjama top, which had a gingerbread man wearing a Santa hat on it, was missing from the home. The man will appear in the Midland Magistrates Court on Thursday. Tragic Tasmanian jumping castle victim Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, 12, was a 'little mum' to the younger kids, dozens of mourners were told at her tear-stained funeral. Dozens of family and friends gathered to say goodbye to the youngster described as 'one of God's angels and a perfect star' by her heartbroken grandparents. Jalailah was one of six children who died during end-of-year celebrations at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport on December 16, when a freak gust of wind picked up the castle and several inflatable zorb balls. Celebrant Tracey Bruce read out tributes written by family, friends and teachers for Jalailah, who was known affectionately as 'JJ'. Tragic Tasmanian jumping castle victim Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, 12, (pictured) was a 'little mum' to the younger kids, mourners were told at her tear-stained funeral Dozens of family and friends gathered to say goodbye to the youngster described as 'one of God's angels and a perfect star' by her heartbroken grandparents A keen dancer, swimmer and kayaker, her mother Rhianna Goodson described JJ as a 'little mum' to all of the younger kids in her life. She was 'joined at the hip' to her younger brother and would often sing and create dances with her siblings. 'Though our hearts are broken and your life was way too short, we thank you baby girl for all the happiness you brought,' Ms Bruce said, as she read the tribute. Male family members all wore white shirts to the service as a tribute to the youngster. Jalailah was one of six children who died during end-of-year celebrations at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport on December 16, when a freak gust of wind picked up the castle and several inflatable zorb balls Celebrant Tracey Bruce read out tributes written by family, friends and teachers for Jalailah, who was known affectionately as 'JJ' Male family members all wore white shirts to the service as a tribute to the youngster A keen dancer, swimmer and kayaker, her mother Rhianna Goodson described JJ as a 'little mum' to all of the younger kids in her life Hillcrest Primary School teacher, Miss Duff, said JJ had an 'infectious grin' and brought a spark to her day. 'The love and protection you showed for your family, especially your littler brother, was beyond words,' Ms Bruce said. 'Your classmates couldn't help but want to be around you.' Jalailah's small coffin was adorned in flowers with a single purple balloon tied to it at the end of the service. Jalailah was 'joined at the hip' to her younger brother and would often sing and create dances with her siblings. Jalailah's small coffin was adorned in flowers with a single purple balloon tied to it at the end of the service More than $1.4 million has been raised for the families via an online fundraising page, while the federal government has committed $800,000 to counselling and support for the region It follows the funeral of Peter Dodt in Devonport on Wednesday, whom family and friends remembered as a 'little hero' that tried to save others caught up in the jumping castle tragedy. Jye Sheehan and Zane Mellor, both 12, were farewelled last week, while 11-year-old Addison Stewart's funeral will take place on Friday. Chace Harrison, 11, became the sixth victim three days after the incident. More than $1.4 million has been raised for the families via an online fundraising page, while the federal government has committed $800,000 to counselling and support for the region. Devonport City Council is collecting countless tributes left outside the school to create a permanent memorial Hillcrest Primary School teacher, Miss Duff, said JJ had an 'infectious grin' and brought a spark to her day Devonport City Council is collecting countless tributes left outside the school to create a permanent memorial. The coroner is investigating the circumstances around the accident and will receive reports from Tasmania Police and WorkSafe Tasmania. The coroner is investigating the circumstances around the accident and will receive reports from Tasmania Police and WorkSafe Tasmania Jye Sheehan and Zane Mellor, both 12, were farewelled last week, while 11-year-old Addison Stewart's funeral will take place on Friday Advertisement Ghislaine Maxwell's trial was dominated by powerful images: of her and Jeffrey Epstein, their luxury lifestyle, and their famous friends. Yet the only images that actually emerged of the courtroom were sketches, with cameras banned from the court. Maxwell faced six federal charges related to sex trafficking of minors, and on Wednesday was found guilty of five. The courtroom sketch artists captured Maxwell looking decidedly more glamorous and composed during the trial than in the hearings that led up to the case - the result of a pre-trial jailhouse makeover. They showed her with a cold hard stare as the verdict was read out - and even sketching the artist herself. Ghislaine Maxwell is seen on November 1 sketching the sketch artist, Jane Rosenberg Maxwell is seen on Wednesday as the verdict is read out, looking shocked but steely beneath her face mask Maxwell is comforted by her lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim and Christian Everdell, on Wednesday after the verdict was read out Camera have been banned from federal courts since 1946; in 1972 the ban was expanded to include televised images. Despite repeated requests by broadcasters, the Judicial Conference of the United States, which establishes policy for the federal courts, has refused to reconsider its rules prohibiting television and radio broadcasting from federal trials. Ghislaine Maxwell is seen in a photo submitted by her lawyer in April, with a black eye - which they argued showed she was being abused in jail By contrast, many states allow cameras into the courtroom whenever the trial judge deems it appropriate, or, in some cases, when participants agree. Maxwell, who was arrested in July 2020, has not been publicly photographed since an August 2019 picture was published by The New York Post, showing the British socialite at an In N Out Burger in Los Angeles. The picture - the first of Maxwell in three years - immediately raised eyebrows and is now widely believed to have been staged and photoshopped. In April this year Maxwell's lawyers released a photo of her with a black eye, which they said was the result of maltreatment in jail, and greying hair. In November Maxwell appeared haggard as she was ushered into court in prison uniform, in handcuffs. Yet when the first court sketches emerged from opening statements on November 29, Maxwell was seen with freshly-dyed brown hair, cut into a bob. She was wearing her own clothes, and frequently opted for turtleneck jumpers, tailored pants and high heels - a strikingly different image. Maxwell is seen handcuffed and led into court for a pre-trial hearing on November 1. When the trial began, she wore her own clothes and had dyed her hair brown In tailored pants and a black turtleneck, Maxwell stands besides her lawyers on November 23 Maxwell is seen on December 7, once again sketching the courtroom artist - with her bottle of Fiji water on the desk Jane Rosenberg is seen outside a courtroom, finishing off a sketch, in a previous trial Rosenberg is seen in 2015, having drawn Tom Brady in court during the 'Deflategate' trial Maxwell is seen on December 10, listening to proceedings Maxwell is seen on December 16, listening in as her attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, cross-examined Elizabeth Loftus - who testified about false memory Maxwell is seen in a white polo neck jumper on December 20, listening to proceedings Maxwell on December 21 is seen hugging her attorney Bobbi Sternheim, during jury deliberations Maxwell is seen on December 21, toying with her hair, as the court hears a note from the jury during deliberations As jury deliberations resumed on December 27, following the Christmas break, Maxwell is seen sipping from a cup of water On December 28, Maxwell's twin sisters Isabel (right, in red beret) and Christine (left) are depicted talking to attorney Bobbi Sternheim The court sketches then became a source of fascination. Maxwell at one point even sketched the court artist, Jane Rosenberg. Rosenberg, who has spent more than 40 years as a professional courtroom sketch artist, was asked by The Guardian whether she thought Maxwell was trying to send a message. 'I don't know, and I'm not going to try to read her mind,' Rosenberg said. 'Maybe she was just bored coming out of her jail cell. I know her sister sometimes also sketches in court. 'Maybe the Maxwell family just likes to sketch in their free time.' Rosenberg's sketches captured moments of high drama - such as when one of the four women testifying against Maxwell, known only as Jane, burst into tears while testifying. Maxwell's lawyer, Laura Menninger, used the moment to point out that Jane now worked as an actress. 'You are an actor who convincingly portrays someone else for a living,' the lawyer stated. 'You are able to cry on command.' When, the following week, another of the four women - Carolyn - broke down in tears, Rosenberg captured the moment. 'Jane' is seen wiping away tears on November 30 as she testified against Maxwell Rosenberg captured the moment that 'Carolyn' broke down in tears, on December 7 An expressive Maxwell in a purple turtleneck gestures as she speaks with Bobbi Sternheim on December 16 U.S. marshals escort Maxwell out of court on December 29, after she was pronounced guilty Rosenberg also captured more mundane moments, which were equally revealing - Maxwell chatting with her beret-wearing sister, Isabel, 72, or hugging her lawyers at the end of every day. When Wednesday's verdict was read out, Rosenberg captured Maxwell looking stunned beneath her black face mask. Rosenberg is a familiar face in New York's courtrooms, and has sketched everyone from Harvey Weinstein and Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman to Steve Bannon and John Gotti - who asked her to get rid of his double chin. 'Since I became a courtroom artist, I've always thought cameras are going to be in court any minute,' she told the paper. 'And they did pass a bill in 1988 to allow cameras [in New York state courts], and I thought, 'That's it. It's all over for me.' 'However, it didn't hold true in all New York state cases.' Federal courts show no signs of changing. Rosenberg said that seeing and hearing of so much pain and trauma in courtrooms can be distressing. 'I try not to have emotion, because tears falling on my pastels is not good. But I hear horrific things a lot, and I've seen a lot of crime scene photos,' she said. 'Sometimes it gets to me, even when I've tried to be neutral. 'My life is weird, I guess. Forty-one years of seeing bad guys and bad things happen.' The Biden administration is under pressure from Americans as many wait hours to be tested for COVID - while the US hit a new high for new daily average cases with 301,472 reported on Wednesday. The country smashed its previously daily average record of 264,546 cases as the highly-infectious new Omicron variant continued to sweep the nation. The sudden spike has prompted warnings from experts that the virus will 'threaten critical infrastructure' in the US with workers at hospitals, grocery stores and gas stations forced into isolation. Despite Omicron being milder than previous variants the sheer scale of the numbers means that 'there's a big hole' in terms of what the US can expect in terms of deaths, according to Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. 'But what we do know and what is emerging here is that this country is going to be in the soup in just the next few weeks with so many cases and so many locations, that we're going to see critical infrastructure as well as health care challenged,' he told CNN. Americans are waiting in droves to be tested for COVID in cities across the country, demanding Biden fulfill his promise to have 500 million COVID at-home tests available after announcing Wednesday that the contracts for the order won't be finished until 'late next week.' Americans are still waiting hours in lines to be tested for COVID-19 as the Omicron variant sweeps the nation. Every US state is currently listed by the CDC as having a high level of community transmission of COVID, as seen in the above map Jeff Zients, the COVID response coordinator for President Joe Biden, said on Wednesday the contracts to order the kits won't be finished until early January. He did claim the first deliveries will come in January but didn't have specific details on how that will happen and precisely when. Zients simply said the White House is 'actively working to finalize' the distribution mechanism. 'Companies are already submitting information, and we expect the contract to be completed late next week,' Zients said at the COVID press briefing. 'That means that the first deliveries for manufacturers will start January. We'll set up a free and easy system, including a new website to get these tests out to Americans. We're actively working to finalize that distribution mechanism, which includes a website where people will be able to order tests for free. And we'll share more details in the weeks ahead days and weeks ahead,' he added. But specific details have been scant about how the at-home test distribution will work and how long it will take for the tests to arrive once ordered. The questions come as long lines of Americans continue to form as people seek to get tested around the holidays. Aravindh Shankar, 24, flew to San Jose, California, on Christmas from West Lafayette, Indiana, to be with family. Though he felt fine, he decided to get tested Wednesday just to play it safe, since he had been on an airplane. He and his family spent almost an entire day searching for a testing appointment for him before he went to a site in a parking lot next to the San Jose airport. 'It was actually surprisingly hard,' Shankar said about trying to find a test. 'Some people have it harder for sure.' Americans are waiting in lines for hours in cities across the country to get their COVID test. Above is one of those lines, seen in Times Square on Wednesday People are lining a street in Washington, D.C., to get a COVID-19 test on Wednesday People stood in the pouring rain for hours on Wednesday in Los Angeles waiting for a COVID test at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Medical Center Campus President Biden and his staff have pushed back against criticism of the lack of testing kits available during the holiday rush. With demand high and shelves emptying out of stock, some retailers have placed limits on how many at-home testing kits can be purchased at a time. CVS has a limit of six test kits per purchase both in stores and online while Walgreens limits it to four kits. The administration bragged on Wednesday it has brought two more at-home tests on the market 'The Biden-Harris Administration has brought two new over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests to the U.S. market. The tests, one manufactured by SD Biosensor and distributed by Roche and the other manufactured by Siemens, have received emergency use authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),' the Department of Health and Human Services noted in a release. 'Combined, it is estimated the companies can produce tens of millions of tests per month for use in the U.S.,' the agency noted. Again, it remains unclear when these tests will be in the hands of Americans. The White House has emphasized officials are working on the problem over the holidays and pushed out the numbers behind their work. 'There are now 20,000 free testing sites across the U.S., four times as many at-home tests available to Americans than were available this summer, and free at-home tests are already being made available at key community sites, such as community health centers and rural clinics,' HHS said. Biden told reporters on Tuesday he spent the day working the phones and said his administration had made 'a bit of progress' in getting more COVID testing kits distributed but he did not offer details. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jen Psaki downplayed questions about the unsigned contracts to deliver the promised testing kits, calling it a 'part of the process.' 'We have no concern about the contract being finalized. We're just working to finalize the contracts. We just announced this two days ago. But there's no we don't see any issue or any halt to getting that done and to finalizing that. That's a natural part of the process,' she said at her press briefing on Thursday. She also argued that the president has boosted testing capacity and pointed out it wasn't until October that five versions of at-home tests were available. 'The president knew that we needed to increase testing capacity. That's why he used the Defense Production Act to expand the supply of at-home tests. Without that, we wouldn't have the supply in the market,' she said. President Biden announced last Tuesday his plan to distribute 500 million at-home COVID tests. But he told ABC News the next day that 'I wish I had thought about ordering a half a billion [tests] two months ago, before COVID hit here.' The White House, however, has not be able to offer many details on how the tests will be distributed and how many kits households can order. Psaki said Tuesday there would be a website people can use to order their testing kits. 'We will make the website available as soon as these tests are available. They will start to be available in January,' she said. 'And in terms of the numbers that different families can order: We are working through all those very important details right now.' But when drilled on details - how long it would take to get a test after one was ordered, how would they be delivered - Psaki had no answers. 'Again, really good questions. And we, of course, want people to be able to rapidly receive the tests and people have certainty to know they can get a test, they can feel safe, go into their workplace, seeing their family members, sending their kids to school. That's our objective. The details of how it will be distributed and the mechanisms will all be coming soon,' she said. Despite the surge in people testing positive for the virus, it's highly unlikely that hospitalization numbers will ever rise to their previous peak, said Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School Public Health. Vaccines and treatments developed since last year have made it easier to curb the spread of the virus and minimize serious effects among people with breakthrough infections. 'Its going to take some time for people to get attuned to the fact that cases don't matter the same way they did in the past,' Adalja said. 'We have a lot of defense against it.' But even with fewer people hospitalized compared with past surges, the virus can wreak havoc on hospitals and health care workers, he added. 'In a way, those hospitalizations are worse because they're all preventable,' he said. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admitted a serious error in calculating the prevalence of the variant, overblowing the figure recorded in mid-December by as much as 50 percentage points and sowing confusion as the nation breaks records for new cases. The agency released a revised chart on Tuesday showing that the new variant accounted for 23 percent of all COVID-19 cases for the week ending on December 18, as opposed to the 73 percent it originally reported. The chart showed that the Omicron variant accounted for 59 percent of all new cases for the week ending on December 25, meaning the Delta variant has been accounting for far more infections than the agency initially thought, though Omicron is gaining ground quickly. 'There's no way around it, it is a huge swing that makes it seem like something went really wrong,' Dr. Shruti Gohil, the associate medical director for epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine's School of Medicine, told NPR. Despite the CDC's astonishing error, data from the UK suggest that Omicron will soon account for nearly all new cases in the US. President Biden caught heat Wednesday after announcing that contracts won't be finished 'until next week' for the 500 million at-home tests he promised. Above, he was seen on Tuesday walking his dog through Rehoboth Beach in Delaware when he spoke to reporters and said that his administration has made 'a bit of progress' on getting more COVID testing kits but had no details Jeff Zients said on Wednesday the contracts will only be finalized 'late next week' - above Zients is seen with President Joe Biden at Monday's virtual meeting with governors In England, which is several weeks ahead of the US in the Omicron wave, the new variant went from zero to 92 percent of all new cases in the four weeks leading up to December 27, according to data from the UK Health Security Agency. The CDC corrected its error, to the confusion of many, on the same day that the nation broke its record for the most daily COVID-19 cases. On Monday, 512,553 new cases were reported in the US, marking the country's largest single-day tally since the beginning of the pandemic. The record-breaking figure was in part the product of a multi-day build up of unreported cases over the Christmas holiday on Saturday, which finally were logged to start the week. In the UK, the Health Security Agency bosses logged 183,037 positive tests on Wednesday, up by almost three-quarters on last week's tally. The count which eclipses yesterday's previous record by more than 45,000 is skewed upwards because it includes five days' worth of backlogged data from Northern Ireland, which didn't feed officials its numbers over the Christmas break. Statistics for England-only which were kept up-to-date through the festive period were also their highest on record, jumping by 45 per cent in a week. Anthony Fauci again echoed on Wednesday that he 'strongly recommends' against going to large New Year's Eve gatherings this year as the highly contagious Omicron variant causes massive case surges nationwide. 'If your plans are to go to a 40 to 50-person New Year's Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing,' Fauci said during the White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing, 'I would strongly recommend that this year, we do not do that.' He claimed that smaller gatherings with everyone fully vaccinated and boosted against coronavirus is low risk, despite the massive number of breakthrough cases with the Omicron variant's emergence. The nation's top infectious disease expert also had a sobering message about COVID on Wednesday COVID likely isn't ever going away. 'We're never going to stop counting, tests but we're looking forward, as everyone I think feels is appropriate, that ultimately we're going to have to live with something that will not be eradicated and very likely would not be eliminated,' he said. Meanwhile, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, in a round of television interviews on Wednesday morning, said she was watching the nation's case load and its potential impact on health care providers. Biden says he WILL issue domestic flight vaccine mandate IF his medical team advises it - one day after Fauci flip flopped on his support for one Joe Biden fueled confusion on Tuesday by saying he will issue a vaccine mandate for domestic flights if his medical team advises it - one day after Dr Anthony Fauci walked back his comments in support of such a measure. Biden told reporters at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - while walking his new German Shepherd puppy, Commander, with First Lady Jill Biden - that he will make a decision on domestic travel vaccine requirements 'when I get a recommendation from the medical team.' In November, Biden said he would wait for the scientific community to provide him a recommendation when asked if consideration has been given to requiring proof of vaccination for domestic flights. The surge in COVID cases from the Omicron variant has made the White House reassess whether to impose it. Fauci, Biden's top health adviser, seemingly called for a vaccine mandate for air travelers on Sunday but quickly retracted his remarks the next day. 'Everything that comes up as a possibility, we put it on the able and we consider it, that does not mean that it is likely to happen,' Fauci clarified to CNN's Jim Acosta on Monday. 'I doubt if we're going to see something like that in the reasonably foreseeable future,' he added. The president also told reporters during his stroll on Tuesday evening that there has been 'a bit of progress' toward the administration's goal of producing and distributing at-home COVID testing kits amid nationwide shortages. The administration has pledged that all Americans will be able to acquire an at-home rapid test for coronavirus after previously ruling it out. Advertisement While there was some data from other countries that showed less severe illness with Omicron, it was too early to say what the impact might be across the United States, particularly given its uneven vaccination rates, Walensky told MSNBC. 'We may have many, many more cases and so we may still very well see a lot of severe disease in the hospitals,' Walensky said. 'What I am focused on now is making sure that we can get through this Omicron surge, that we do so with minimal amount of hospitalization and severe disease,' she added, pointing to vaccines and booster shots as top tools to curb infections. 'We are seeing and expecting even more cases of this Omicron variant,' even if many are mild, she said separately on CNN. Walensky also defended the CDC's move to slash the quarantine period for asymptomatic cases in half, to five days from 10, without any negative testing requirement. The CDC director said that PCR tests are too sensitive and could return a positive even after someone is no longer contagious, and that rapid antigen tests could be unreliable in later stages of infection. 'We know it performs really well during that period where you're initially infected, but the FDA has not at all looked at whether your positive antigen really does correlate with whether you're transmissible or not,' she told CBS Mornings. Walensky explained that even if someone tests negative with an antigen test after five days of isolation, the CDC would still urge them to wear a mask to prevent possible spread. 'Since it wasn't going to make a difference in our recommendations, we did not recommend an antigen at that period of time,' Walensky said. 'What we do know is about 85% to 90% of viral transmission happens in those first five days, which is why we really want people to stay home during that period of time,' Walensky said. 'And then mask for the rest of the time to capture that last 10% to 15%.' States showing the highest daily infection numbers on Tuesday included New York, which reported as many as 40,780 cases, and California, which reported over 30,000. Texas reported more than 17,000 cases and Ohio over 15,000. Global COVID-19 infections hit a record high over the past seven-day period, according to new data Wednesday. Almost 900,000 cases were detected on average each day around the world between December 22 and 28, with myriad countries posting new all-time highs over the past 24 hours, including the United States, Australia and many European nations. The simultaneous circulation of the Delta and Omicron variants of the coronavirus is creating a 'tsunami of cases', World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. 'Delta and Omicrom are now twin threats driving up cases to record numbers, leading to spikes in hospitalisation and deaths,' said Tedros. 'I am highly concerned that Omicron, being highly transmissible and spreading at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases.' Tedros repeated his call for countries to share vaccines more equity and warned that the emphasis on boosters in richer countries could leave poorer nations short of jabs. He said the WHO was campaigning for every country to hit a target of 70% vaccine coverage by the middle of 2022, which would help end the acute phase of the pandemic. New Year's Eve will mark the second anniversary of China alerting the WHO to 27 cases of 'viral pneumonia' of unknown origin in the city of Wuhan. More than 281 million people have since been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and more than 5 million have died. The CDC's new data on the prevalence of the Omicron variant shows that the Delta variant, which appears more severe but less contagious than Omicron, still has a hold on the country and is one driving factor behind the most current surge in cases. It also raises the question of how the CDC could have recorded such a drastic difference in the strain's prevalence than what was the reality. Jasmine Reed, a spokesperson for the CDC, recognized the 'wide predictive interval posted in last week's chart,' referring to the huge gap in the data for the week ending on December 18, and attributed it to the 'speed at which Omicron was increasing.' 'CDC's models have a range, and we're still seeing steady increase in the proportion of Omicron,' she told Fox News. Gohil noted that there is 'always a delay in the testing information that comes in, and that's what the public should take away.' Fauci urges Americans to have a 'vaccinated, boosted' New Year's Eve and COVID will NEVER be eradicated Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that he 'strongly recommends' against going to large New Year's Eve gatherings this year as the highly contagious Omicron variant causes massive case surges nationwide. 'If your plans are to go to a 40 to 50-person New Year's Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing,' Fauci said during the White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing, 'I would strongly recommend that this year, we do not do that.' He claimed that smaller gatherings with everyone fully vaccinated and boosted against coronavirus is low risk, despite the massive number of breakthrough cases with the Omicron variant's emergence. The nation's top infectious disease expert also had a sobering message about COVID on Wednesday COVID likely isn't ever going away. 'We're never going to stop counting, tests but we're looking forward, as everyone I think feels is appropriate, that ultimately we're going to have to live with something that will not be eradicated and very likely would not be eliminated,' he said. Even though Omicron is the most contagious variant yet, Fauci agrees with other medical professionals that it is a less severe case of COVID. 'All indications point to a lesser severity of Omicron versus Delta,' Fauci said, citing preliminary data. He added: 'Final conclusion about the level of severity in children remains to be determined.' Advertisement She added that health professionals were finally understanding the Delta variant more and figuring out how to test for it efficiently when the Omicron variant swept through the country. 'The way in which we test and the way in which we have certitude about the numbers was all in flux right at that moment. Then along comes this new variant and now here you are trying to project something when you don't have all of the mechanisms in place,' Gohil said. The scant rate of testing in the US may be contributing to uncertainty in the data. The UK is performing 22.3 COVID tests per 1,000 people every day, five times more than the US rate of 4.5, according to figures from Our World in Data. Moreover, only a tiny fraction of the positive tests are actually sequenced to determine the variant strain, leaving huge potential gaps in the surveillance effort. Dr. Jerome Adams, the former surgeon general for the Trump Administration, also pointed to testing as a reason for the false Omicron numbers. He referred to something called the 'S gene dropout,' in which one of the three target genes is not detected a signifier of the Omicron variant. 'A lot of people were seeing this S dropout on the tests even before they got the follow-up genetic testing, and so those samples were disproportionately more likely to be sent in for sequencing,' he told Fox News. 'It's also important for people to understand that in the grand scheme of things, they really were probably just a week or two ahead of what we're going to see anyway, because omicron is spreading so quickly that it is going to be 73 percent by the time you look at this week's or next week's numbers,' Dr. Adams told the news outlet. While the CDC reported that the Delta variant accounted for 41 percent of cases in the week ending on December 25, that number could be as high as 58 percent given the agency's margin of error, NPR reported. Regardless, Gohil said, 'The implication is that we have a lot of delta going on and that requires a lot more attention. People are thinking, 'Oh, well, omicron's not that bad.' But it's actually still too early to really know even that. Besides, Delta is the beast that you should be worried about.' The CDC's latest data will also put a burden on hospitals that will have to adjust their treatment methods to account for the vast different in Omicron and Delta cases, as different strains require different antibodies and medications. 'The bottom line is, don't take your masks off just yet and get vaccinated, vaccinated, vaccinated, vaccinated and boosted,' Gohil told NPR. COVID-19 cases in the U.S. also doubled over the past two weeks. Over the past week, 235,269 Americans have been testing positive for the virus every day a 98 percent increase from two weeks ago and approaching the prior record of 247,503 set last January, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of Johns Hopkins data. Though Omicron is thought to be less severe than Delta, hospitalizations have also been rising, up 6 percent nationwide over the past two weeks, to 71,381. Travellers to Tasmania will be required to take a rapid antigen test one day before arriving in the island state, as it moves to scrap its 72-hour PCR test requirement. The state recorded 92 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and the first virus-related hospitalisations since its borders reopened a fortnight ago. The fresh infections are a daily record and take the number of overall active cases in Tasmania to 386. Visitors will be required to take a rapid antigen test before entering Tasmania, Peter Gutwein says Premier Peter Gutwein has announced that, from 12.01am on January 1, all travellers to the state will be required to take a rapid antigen test 24 hours before their arrival. This removes the requirement for interstate travellers to take PCR tests 72 hours before travel, which had led to long queues and wait times in other states and territories. Mr Gutwein said only people with COVID-19 symptoms, or those who have returned a positive rapid antigen test, will be required to get a PCR test in Tasmania. He said two rapid antigen testing sites will set up in the south to provide free tests, however they will not be walk-up testing locations. 'Please do not just turn up to these sites,' the premier said in Hobart on Thursday. 'Health will prioritise who is eligible for a rapid antigen test and will contact those people directly and arrange for them to turn up and receive tests at the locations that are being established.' The majority of Tasmania's cases, 178, are being managed at home, while there are 74 people in community management clinics. Two cases are in hospital but not intensive care, while another person with coronavirus remains in hospital for a different medical condition. The state was free of COVID-19 when it reopened to fully vaccinated travellers from mainland hotspots on December 15. Meanwhile, St Ann's aged care facility in Hobart was forced into lockdown on Wednesday after a staff member who had worked there on Christmas Day tested positive. Australians will no longer be required to isolate if they are exposed to Covid at their workplace in sweeping new changes to the definition of close contacts - except if they start developing symptoms. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a game-changing modification to the definition of a close contact on Thursday, following an emergency cabinet meeting. State premiers have agreed to define a close contact as someone who has spent four hours in an 'accommodation setting' such as a household or aged-care facility with a positive case. However if a workplace records a positive case, the contacts do not need to isolate but simply monitor for symptoms including a runny nose, sore throat, cough or fever. Everyone in Australia should still get a PCR test if they experience Covid symptoms, regardless of whether they've had any contact with an infected person. If a workplace, such as an office, records a positive case the close contacts do not need to isolate but simply monitor for symptoms like a sore throat, cough or fever (pictured, commuters in Martin Place in Sydney) AUSTRALIA'S NEW COVID RULES Who should get a PCR test? Anyone who has symptoms or who has got a positive rapid antigen test New definition of close contact: Someone who has spent at least four hours in a household or a care facility with a positive case. Workplaces do not count. New isolation period: Positive people and close contacts must isolate for seven days or 10 in SA. This is regardless of whether the close contacts test negative or not Timing: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT implemented the new rules on New Year's Eve. Tasmania followed on January 1 while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will not adopt the scheme until they get more Covid cases in the weeks ahead. Advertisement The new rules also mean close contacts - even those who test negative - and Covid-positive patients only have to isolate for seven days, liberating thousands from quarantine from midnight on Friday. Asymptomatic close contacts will be required to isolate and get a rapid antigen test immediately as well as another on day six of their isolation period. Those who have symptoms must get a PCR test straight away. All close contacts must isolate regardless of whether their first test is negative. If the day six rapid test is negative the contact is free to return to the community, however if it is positive the contact must seek PCR testing. A confirmed case must isolate for seven days from the date they were tested for Covid and return a negative rapid antigen test on day six to leave isolation. Thousands in NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland will be liberated from isolation at midnight on Friday morning (pictured, a customer in a barber shop in Sydney) This means PCR tests will now only be reserved for people who are experiencing Covid symptoms or have returned a positive rapid antigen test. Casual contacts have been abolished, meaning anyone in a pub or restaurant at the same time as a positive case no longer has to isolate. 'If you are anything other than a close contact and you are not symptomatic, you don't need to go and get a test,' Mr Morrison said on Thursday. 'Now, I know this is a bit different to what you've been hearing over the last couple of years. That's the gear change. That's the reset. That's what we need people to really understand.' People in jurisdictions who will change the definition of a close contact at midnight, and meet the new definition can leave isolation in just a few hours. PCR tests will now only be reserved for people who are experiencing Covid symptoms or have returned a positive rapid antigen test (pictured, people dine at Opera House Bar) NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will implement the changes on Friday morning at midnight. South Australia will adopt the new close contact definition but keep a 10-day isolation rule in place. Tasmania will adopt the new rules on January 1 while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will not adopt the definition until they get high Covid caseloads in the weeks ahead. The move is expected to ease pressure on testing facilities that have been bombarded over the Christmas break due to a growing Omicron outbreak. The move is expected to ease pressure on testing facilities that have been bombarded over the Christmas break due to a growing Omicron outbreak (pictured, shoppers in Melbourne) NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will implement the changes on Friday morning at midnight (pictured, diners at Opera House Bar) Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, who recommended the changes, said they would help keep the economy functioning and keep thousands out of isolation. 'We can have people out there in society and working when they are at less risk,' he said. Australia recorded 21,329 new cases on Thursday but only 122 people are in ICU because of vaccinations and the less severe nature of the Omicron variant which is making up about 80 per cent of cases. NSW recorded 12,226 new cases and an uptick of hospitalisations from 625 to 746, while Victoria recorded 3,767 cases and Queensland recorded 2,222. NSW recorded 12,226 new cases and an uptick of hospitalisations from 625 to 746, while Victoria recorded 3,767 cases (pictured, people check-in before getting vaccinated in Sydney) On January 4 the recommended gap between second and third doses of the Covid vaccine will shrink from five to four months (pictured, St Kilda Beach in Melbourne on Christmas Eve) South Australia recorded 995 cases, the ACT had 253 new infections, the NT recorded 37 new cases and Tasmania reported 92 new cases. The Prime Minister has also urged Aussies to get their booster jabs but said people are not considered 'overdue' if they don't get them as soon as they are eligible. On January 4 the recommended gap between second and third doses will shrink from five to four months. Mr Morrison also revealed that some testing clinics in NSW and Victoria will start offering rapid antigen tests instead of PCR tests to ease pressure on testing labs. 'We will transfer over the next few weeks from PCR to these rapid antigen tests at the state testing centres,' he said. A California man was arrested on his way to DC after telling Iowa police he would do 'whatever it takes,' to kill political leaders on his 'Tik Tok hit list,' including President Biden and Chief Medical Adviser Anthony Fauci, in order to 'fight evil demons in the White House.' Kuachua Brillion Xiong, 25, is being held at Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs. On December 21, authorities seized an AR-15 rifle, ammunition, loaded magazines, body armor and medical kits from Xiong's car. He had initially been stopped by a sheriff for driving aggressively and weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate 80, Fox News reported. Xiong also had a TikTok 'hit list,' which included 100 videos, authorities said. After his arrest and a subsequent interrogation by the US Secret Service, Xiong allegedly made threats to kill high-profile figures including former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Xiong has since been charged with making criminal threats against a former president and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday. After his arrest and a subsequent interrogation by the US Secret Service, Kuachua Brillion Xiong allegedly made threats to kill high-profile figures including President Joe Biden and Dr Anthony Fauci Xiong has since been charged with making criminal threats against a former president and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday 'When concluding the interview, XIONG stated that nothing would stop him from carrying out his plan of gaining access to the White House and killing the persons on his 'hit list,' a criminal complained obtained by Fox reads 'When concluding the interview, XIONG stated that nothing would stop him from carrying out his plan of gaining access to the White House and killing the persons on his 'hit list,' a criminal complained obtained by Fox reads. 'He added that if released from custody he would immediately resume traveling to the White House in Washington, DC and 'do whatever it takes' to complete his plan.' 'He further stated that he had no intention of returning to California to see his family because he plans on dying while fighting evil demons at the White House,' the complaint added. Xiong, who had recently been fired from his job as a grocery store worker, had the White House address on a GPS device, authorities said. He reportedly told the sheriff who arrested him that he was traveling as he wanted to 'see things because it is unknown how long he has here on earth' and that he didn't need a hotel in Washington. According to authorities, Xiong also threatened to kill former presidents Barack Obama (left) and Bill Clinton (right) After his arrest, Xiong was questioned by the Secret Service and reportedly said that he was 'the only person remaining who can free the United States of evil and it is necessary for him to kill those in positions of power.' 'It is at this time Xiong began assembling the equipment needed to carry out his plan to kill those in power,' Secret Service Special Agent wrote in the complaint. Xiong reportedly claimed he would kill Biden and other political leaders s if the president did not comply with his demands, which Xiong failed to specify. He planned to outsmart White House security by breaking in through a 'weak spot' he had identified in the building, the complaint read. According to federal prosecutors, he said he was going to use a grappling hook to climb over the perimeter fencing to enter the building and kill his targets. China has warned the US that it risks paying an 'unbearable price' over its support of Taiwan. State councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi accused President Joe Biden of 'encouraging Taiwan independence forces' in the territory claimed by China as its own. Meanwhile another Chinese minister has threatened 'drastic measures' if Taiwan makes moves towards formal independence. State councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi (pictured) has warned the US that it risks paying an 'unbearable price' over its support of Taiwan The minister accused President Joe Biden of 'encouraging Taiwan independence forces' in the territory claimed by China as its own (pictured on Monday) The democratically governed country has been subjected to military and diplomatic pressure from China in recent years, fuelling anger in Taipei and concern in Washington. By 'encouraging 'Taiwan independence' forces' the United States 'not only puts Taiwan into an extremely dangerous situation but also exposes the United States to an unbearable price', Wang said. Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office, added that China is willing to try its utmost to seek peaceful reunification with Taiwan but would act if any red lines on independence were crossed. 'If separatist forces in Taiwan seeking independence provoke, exert force or even break through any red line, we will have to take drastic measures,' Ma said. In a statement late on Wednesday, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council urged Beijing to 'seriously reflect on its work towards Taiwan and make correct judgement on the situation'. Ma Xiaoguang (pictured), spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office, has threatened 'drastic measures' if Taiwan makes moves towards formal independence The Council reiterated its call for dialogue on an equal basis and said it has maintained a policy of 'not provoking' to safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait and in the region. Taiwan has emerged as a key factor in strained relations between China and the US, the island's most important international backer and arms supplier despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan says it is an independent country and vows to defend its freedom and democracy. China regularly describes the island as the most sensitive issue in its ties with the United States. The democratically governed country has been subjected to military and diplomatic pressure from China in recent years. Pictured: Xi Jinping 'Taiwan has no other way forward other than reunification with the mainland,' said Wang. While the United States recognises only one China, it is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and has long followed a policy of 'strategic ambiguity' on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. Ma said provocation by pro-independence forces and 'external intervention' could grow 'sharper and more intense' in coming months. 'Next year, the Taiwan Strait situation will become more complex and severe,' he said. Beijing has sent repeated air missions over the Taiwan Strait in recent months to pressure Taiwan. It has said it will not give in to threats. The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the Communists, who established the People's Republic of China. A man has died after being pepper sprayed by police in NSW's Central West. Police say they attended the Wellington home after reports of a domestic dispute and used capsicum spray on a 29-year-old man after a "brief struggle". The man was arrested and then lost consciousness, police say. CPR was performed by officers until paramedics arrived but the man was pronounced dead when he arrived at Wellington Hospital. The state crime command homicide squad is investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and their investigation will be subject to an independent review. A three-year-old girl in North Carolina has died four days after accidentally shooting herself in the head on Christmas with a gun left in a family visitors pick-up truck. Aylee Gordon was riding her new bike Saturday outside the familys rural Edneyville home when she picked up a 9-millimeter pistol left in a visitors pick-up truck and accidentally shot herself in the head, according to NBC News. She was flown to Mission Hospital in Ashville, where she underwent emergency surgery. But she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead on Tuesday night. Henderson County Sheriffs Office say they are weighing possible criminal charges. Aylee Gordon, 3, of Edneyville, North Carolina, died four days after accidentally shooting herself in the head on Christmas She found a 9-millimeter pistol left unattended in a family visitor's pick-up truck and accidentally shot herself in the head, according to NBC News The toddler was the daughter of retired Henderson County Sheriffs Captain Tim Gordon, who retired from the sheriff's office in 2016. The department confirmed, however, that the gun wasnt a service weapon. Possible criminal charges will be determined by the local district attorney's office and the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation, according to the county sheriffs office. Officials have not yet released who the gun was registered to. Friends of Aylees family set up a GoFundMe page to cover her medical expenses shortly after the tragedy and it has since raised $18,847 of its $5,000 goal. The last update on the page, posted Tuesday night, was from her parents Tim and Anya. Our beautiful little angel gained her wings last night. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the tremendous support to our family and appreciate continuous prayers, the update read. Over 1,000 children under the age of 11 were killed or injured by guns in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Have you been been affected by France's Covid rule changes? Whether you have been turned away or travelled through France to reach the EU this week, get in touch by emailing tips@dailymail.com Advertisement France tonight suspended a controversial ban on EU-based Britons crossing the channel to return home under tightened Covid rules. Emmanuel Macron's government said it would show 'tolerance' towards expats transiting through France over the new year as it threatened to spark yet another row with London. France's interior ministry had earlier stood by its decision to ban UK citizens living in the bloc from entering France, suggesting it was a 'logical step'. But a spokesman later reversed that position, saying that 'during the year-end holidays' border police will show 'tolerance'. British nationals who live in the EU had last night been turned away from the Eurotunnel and told they were banned from going home via France, although those who live in the country itself are able to travel. Confusion has surrounded the situation since yesterday as Eurotunnel warned its passengers that anyone with homes in countries such as Belgium, Italy, Spain and Germany could no longer drive or take a train through France to get there. This will affect those who planned to avoid air travel to return to their homes in the EU after spending Christmas with friends and relatives in the UK. The French Interior Ministry told MailOnline yesterday that Eurotunnel was wrong and, providing travellers have documentation, they should be free to travel. But tonight an official told the AFP agency it had clarified the rules allowing border police to admit Britons. 'It seems logical to consider them like all other third-country citizens, and to not allow their transit toward another EU country,' the official told AFP, asking not to be identified by name. France tonight suspended a controversial ban on EU-based Britons crossing the channel to return home under tightened Covid rules. (Above, travellers make their way into the tunnel at the Eurostar terminal in Kent today) Emmanuel Macron's government said it would show 'tolerance' towards expats transiting through France over the new year as it threatened to spark yet another row with London. (Pictured, in Kent today) France's interior ministry had earlier stood by its decision to ban UK citizens living in the bloc from entering France, suggesting it was a 'logical step'. But a spokesman later reversed that position, saying that 'during the year-end holidays' border police will show 'tolerance'. (Pictured, cars today heading towards the tunnel) Eurotunnel earlier warned Britons with second homes on the continent that they would no longer be able to travel through France to their homes in countries such as Spain and Portugal The ban had sparked fury among Britons travelling home. Fiona Navin-Jones (pictured), a school teacher who has lived in Belgium for 14 years, said: 'French rules still stink'. She decided to risk the Eurotunnel trip anyway on Thursday - and was told at the terminal that getting through would depend on the border official. 'I got through so I guess I was lucky!' she said However, the ministry later changed its mind again to allow transit, at least for a few days. The change caused dismay among Britons who embarked on holiday trips 'in good faith,' the French Interior Ministry said, acknowledging the 'difficulties in returning to their country of residence.' The ban had sparked fury among Britons travelling home. Fiona Navin-Jones, a school teacher who has lived in Belgium for 14 years, said: 'French rules still stink.' Paris and London have been at loggerheads over a range of thorny subjects, including fishing and illegal immigration, since Britain's official exit from the EU nearly two years ago. British nationals who live in the EU have been turned away from the Eurotunnel and told they are banned from going home through France due to strict Covid rules. Pictured: Daily new confirmed Covid cases per million people in Britain and France One senior Tory MP suggested the border confusion appeared to be the product of a mistake rather than a 'deliberate' attempt to stop Brits from travelling. They said: 'This time it appears to be, frankly, a cock up. But even so, it is another thing that you have to be concerned about when it comes to relations with France. 'When you consider that the cases in France are much higher than the UK, you could argue that UK citizens transiting through France are actually taking the risk, not the residents of France.' They said the French border rules throughout the pandemic have been 'all over the shop'. Meanwhile, the Government is seeking urgent clarification on the issue and has updated its travel advice for France online. Non-essential travel from the UK to France has been prohibited since December 18 in a bid to limit the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, but several exemptions have been in place. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office today updated its travel advice for France to state: 'The French government have indicated that UK nationals travelling from the UK who are not resident in France will not be permitted to transit France to return to their country of residence unless they are travelling by air. 'We are urgently seeking further clarification from the French government, and in the meantime advise UK nationals returning to other European countries via France to check with their carrier before travelling.' Reports from Brits attempting to get home to the EU have been mixed with some people reporting that travel on the Eurotunnel has been permitted if they were also travelling with their families who are EU nationals. But there have been reports from Brits that they had been barred from travelling and told that reaching their EU home was no longer considered a 'compelling reason' for transit through France. Roland Moore, who works as a public affairs director in Brussels, says he was escorted off the Eurotunnel 'like a criminal' and handed a piece of paper detailing the new restrictions on British nationals. He said on Twitter: 'Tonight I was denied access to the Eurotunnel by the FR customs. French President Emmanuel Macron, pictured, has introduced new restrictions to help stop the spread of Covid-19 across the country which limit travel through France for British citizens 'I was told being a Belgian resident (M card holder) was no longer a compelling reason for transiting FR to go home. I was given this document by the FR customs & told to leave.' In response to Eurotunnel who told him they were not aware of the rule at the time of his travel, he added: 'Imagine how I felt. Stranded and deserted last night and escorted off @LeShuttle property like a criminal.' He later made it home by travelling on the Eurostar, which does not stop in France and leaving his car in the UK. Victoria Arnold, who lives in Belgium with her partner and children, had planned to return home today after visiting her parents in South Wales. But when news broke about the restrictions, she contacted the Belgian embassy in Paris and was told to gather as much evidence as possible. She told MailOnline: 'We are currently in South Wales visiting my parents, who we haven't seen in a long time due to Covid, having left on December 17 - before the ban on travel came in. A post today from one Brit suggests travelling home with EU family members is possible 'We are Eurotunnel frequent travellers and were supposed to be going back to Belgium today via France. 'However my M card which has replaced the Belgian E card since Brexit is not enough to travel on. 'I have of course my British passport but I now need to obtain proof the children are mine and to prove my residence in order to travel. 'It is causing no end of stress as my partner needs to get back to Belgium to work. 'We called the Belgian embassy in Paris - they said the French border are fed up with all the constant changes. 'I've been told to get as much proof as possible as it's pot luck if they will let me and my family through or not.' The family has postponed their return until the new year to give them time to acquire the relevant documents from the Belgian authorities. Fiona Navin-Jones, a professor who is hoping to return to Belgium where she has lived with her family for 14 years, said: 'I'm completely lost. It doesn't make any sense. 'I no longer have the right to return home,' she said, adding that the new rules appeared to be 'using Covid to mask what is really a Brexit issue.' She decided to risk their Eurotunnel trip anyway on Thursday, where they were told at the terminal that getting through would depend on the border official. 'I got through so I guess I was lucky!' she said. Meanwhile, many Britons travelling through France said they were able to reach Belgium if they had their M-card - a residency document issued to Brits who qualify as 'beneficiaries' of the Brexit agreement - and if they were travelling with a partner who was an EU national. The document Roland Moore was handed when he says he was escorted off the Eurotunnel due to a rule change by French authorities which barred him from travelling through France French authorities said anyone travelling through France, including Britons, require 'compelling reasons' for their journey. On the French Government website, it states that 'nationals of the European Union or equivalent,' as well as their partners and children, 'who have their main residence in France or who join, in transit through France, their main residence in a country of the European Union' are considered to have a compelling reason for traveling from the U.K. through France. However, Mr Moore says he was presented with a piece of paper by border officials which said the rules had changed. It stated: 'From now on, border guards should no longer consider as a compelling reason the fact, for a British national beneficiary of the [Brexit] withdrawal agreement residing in a Member State other than France, to transit through France to regain his domicile.' But, as baffled passengers expressed their anger, an Interior Ministry spokesman in Paris told MailOnline last night that reaching a home in an EU country WAS a 'compelling reason'. The line he quoted said compelling reasons included 'a third-country national (UK included), [or a] holder of a valid French or European residence permit or long-stay visa ... who joins, in transit through France, his main residence in a country of the European Union or the like'. To add to the confusion, today, a French Interior Ministry official said it had not changed its list of 'compelling' reasons enabling Britons to travel to France, but had simply 'clarified' their application this month by border police. 'It seems logical to consider them like all other third-country citizens, and to not allow their transit toward another EU country,' the official told AFP, asking not to be named. Confusion: Eurotunnel's operator said Britons are banned from travelling through France to their homes in other EU countries, however, the French Interior ministry insists this is not true According to French officials British nationals with a home in another EU country, such Belgium, Germany, Spain or Italy will require evidence of their home, such as a residency permit, tax forms, or utility bills. However, the implementation of these rules has led to growing confusion. It follows President Emmanuel Macron's government imposing new restrictions to try and control spiralling Coronavirus cases in France. From Friday, wearing masks on the streets of Paris will be mandatory. Local authorities will levy a 135 for people without a face covering. Earlier, Health Minister Olivier Veran told lawmakers France was seeing a 'tsunami' of COVID-19 infections, fuelled by both the Delta and Omicron variants of the disease. Mask-wearing is already mandatory inside public buildings and public transport across France. A Greens senator has quickly deleted a contentious tweet that said the 'colonial system is burning down' after Old Parliament House was set on fire. The entrance to the historic building was engulfed in flames amid fears it may have been deliberately lit by protesters as part of a demonstration demanding Aboriginal sovereignty in Canberra on Thursday, though this has been denied by activist groups. Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe - who is the granddaughter of respected Indigenous matriarch Alma Thorpe - related the blaze to the burning of the 'colonial system'. Emergency services rushed to the scene to put out the flames but not before the fire had caused extensive damage, as protesters were heard yelling 'let it burn'. Observers of the plumes of black smoke outside the building's entrance said rally attendees also identified themselves as anti-government. 'Seems like the colonial system is burning down. Happy New Year everyone,' the tweet (pictured) read accompanied by hashtag #AlwayswasAlwayswillbeAboriginalLand' Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) related the blaze to the burning of the 'colonial system' in a quickly-deleted post to Twitter 'Seems like the colonial system is burning down. Happy New Year everyone,' the tweet read accompanied by hashtag #AlwayswasAlwayswillbeAboriginalLand'. The senator and proud descendant of the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung peoples deleted the tweet shortly after posting it. The politician was the first Aboriginal woman in the Victorian parliament in 2017, and in 2020 the first Aboriginal Senator for Victoria in the Senate. Ms Thorpe's tweet appeared to allude to the 1788 British colonisation of Australia when settlers took the land of First Nations peoples as their own. The colonisation of Australia has had devastating impacts on Indigenous people with the after-effects of massacre, disease and loss of culture still felt today. When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, a Greens spokesperson refused to comment and pointed towards leader Adam Bandt's tweet, which read: 'What a terrible sight. 'The Greens dont want to see the planet burning or Old Parliament. Investigations are now underway into the cause of the fire, but if this was arson, its unacceptable.' Ms Thorpe is no stranger to controversy after last month being accused of making a 'disgusting' comment towards Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes. Senator Hughes later claimed on Sky News Senator Thorpe's comments were a reference to her giving birth to an autistic son. Liberal Senator Ben Small interrupted proceedings to claim he clearly heard Ms Thorpe's insult, with the Ms Thorpe then offering a retraction. Senator Small alleged outside the chamber he distinctly heard Ms Thorpe say 'at least I keep my legs shut'. The greens senator later apologised to Ms Hughes. 'I just want to unreservedly take back my comments that I made earlier and I apologise to that senator wholeheartedly, Senator Hughes,' she said. The fire comes just one week after a similar blaze was lit at the historic site which served as Australia's federal parliament from 1927 until 1988. Crowds of protesters began gathering almost a fortnight ago ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy which was established in 1972. A federal police forensic team was later seen examining the scorched front entrance of the building and taking samples from the fire-damage Three forensic team members are seen analysing the scorched front entrance doors Lidia Thorpe (pictured) was the first Aboriginal woman in the Victorian parliament in 2017, and in 2020 the first Aboriginal Senator for Victoria in the Senate Protesters stand in front of the burned out doors to Old Parliament House on Thursday The tent embassy was and continues to be a site for occupation protests after initially prompting a national discussion on Indigenous land rights. Australia's current Parliament House was established in 1988 on Capitol Hill a short distance away, with the historic building now used as a museum and heritage site. After firefighters distinguish the blaze protesters continued to clash with media crews and police, some chanting 'long live us' and 'stop telling lies'. While leaders used a megaphone to talk about Indigenous rights and colonisation, baffled onlookers recorded the plumes of smoke pouring out of the building. Five fire engines and about 40 police officers attended the scene and the building was evacuated as a precaution while crews fervently extinguished the blaze. After firefighters distinguish the blaze protesters continued to clash with media crews and police, some chanting 'long live us' and 'stop telling lies' (pictured, a protestor holds a flag) Meanwhile an unruly crowd had to be held back from the building by a line of police before an all-out brawl began Emergency services rushed to the scene to put out the flames but not before the fire had caused extensive damage, as protesters were heard yelling 'let it burn' Meanwhile an unruly crowd had to be held back from the building by a line of police before an all-out brawl began. A federal police forensic team was later seen examining the scorched front entrance of the building and taking samples from the fire-damage. Among the protesters at Old Parliament House are a 'sovereign citizen' group who posted a 'trespass' notice on the building doors yesterday. Their notice says that 'under rule of law and with absolute authority and autonomy, I, Chief Bumajin Gumbaynggirr, representative of the National Sovereign Government, hereby accepts (sic) your acquiescence by default, enforceable immediately.' It goes on to say that 'All actions of genocide, complicity in genocide and terrorism are to cease and desist immediately as per today's date, commencing 29-12-2021.' The museum's director Daryl Karp said of last week's protest that 30 or 40 people approached the building advising they wanted to protest on the front steps. The historic building now used as a museum and heritage site (pictured, a forensic team analyse the damage on the front entrance doors) The museum's director Daryl Karp said of last week's protest that 30 or 40 people approached the building advising they wanted to protest on the front steps Federal politicians have criticised the protesters who set fire to the building with Prime Minister Scott Morrison stating: 'This is not how Australia works' 'On Tuesday the protesters lit a fire that got out of control and it scorched the front door. 'I don't believe it was their intention to do any damage; however, we had to ask them to move on,' Mr Karp said. Federal politicians have criticised the protesters who set fire to the building with Prime Minister Scott Morrison stating: 'This is not how Australia works'. 'I am disgusted and appalled by behaviour that would see Australians come and set fire to such a symbol of democracy in this country,' he said. 'The fire at Old Parliament House is an absolute disgrace if deliberately lit,' Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce wrote on his Facebook page. 'This is the Parliament that for so long underpinned the freedoms we have as a democracy and made the decisions that formed us as a nation, fighting for the increase of rights and corrections to our colonial past. 'If someone is trying to make a statement then it is a very bad one that will be received with overwhelming disgust.' Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack said there should be 'swift and severe' repercussions for those responsible if the blaze was deliberately lit. 'I am disgusted and appalled by behaviour that would see Australians come and set fire to such a symbol of democracy in this country,' PM Scott Morrison (pictured) said 'How disgraceful. An outrageous attack on our democracy, our history, our sovereignty. This modern penchant for tearing down our past serves no purpose,' he said on Twitter. Ben Morton, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet, released a statement saying 'Criminal damage has no place in our democracy'. 'Today's actions at Old Parliament House were not peaceful. The resulting damage undermines the message that peaceful protesters seek to deliver,' he said. 'It is the Government's expectation that all illegal activity should be dealt with by the police and the courts to the full extent possible. 'I thank the first responders. They should not have to put themselves in harm's way to deal with the fire. The damage to the building will be fully restored back to its original condition.' ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr also condemned the protestors who set fire to the building and said he was disappointed a heritage building had been damaged. 'People have a right to protest but that protest must be peaceful, and the actions that we've seen in setting fire to a heritage listed building, really disappointing and should be condemned,' he said. Five fire engines and about 40 police officers attended the scene and the building was evacuated as a precaution while crews fervently extinguished the blaze ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr (pictured) also condemned the protestors who set fire to the building and said he was disappointed a heritage building had been damaged The fire was eventually extinguished but the old Parliament House entrance was severely damaged with doors, front wall and portico all blackened by fire (pictured, fire damage) The fire was eventually extinguished but the old Parliament House entrance was severely damaged with doors, front wall and portico all blackened by fire. Commander Linda Champion from the Australian Federal Police said the fire most likely started when a smoking ceremony approved by police got out of control. 'There was a small smoking ceremony and that is something that we had agreed with a lot of the members who were attending each day as part of a peaceful protest,' Ms Champion said. 'It then became a little bit out of hand and then when ACT police went to respond, that's when it was greatly exacerbated.' ACT police said they would continue to monitor peaceful protests but 'when criminal actions take place the people responsible will be dealt in accordance with the law'. Advertisement What do Ghislaine Maxwell's convictions for child sex trafficking mean for her old friend Prince Andrew? What's next for Prince Andrew? Victoria Roberts Giuffre alleges she was forced to have sex with Andrew in 2001 in London, New York and the Caribbean at the disgraced financier's homes. She is suing the royal for damages. New York judge Lewis Kaplan will decide on January 4 whether to dismiss the case or allow it to proceed to trial. The duke's lawyers have filed a five-page motion saying the court does not have jurisdiction over Mrs Giuffre's claims because she says she is a citizen of the US state of Colorado when she actually lives in Perth, Australia, in a 1million home with her husband and children. Andrew's side will also argue that because she was above the age of consent in New York at the time of the alleged offences, Mrs Giuffre, now 38, must instead prove she was forced to have sex with him against her will. If the case is not thrown out, it will proceed to trial in the Autumn. The Duke of York is not facing a criminal prosecution in the United States. Was Andrew named in Ghislaine Maxwell's trial? Twice, but not linked to any crimes. He was named by a pilot as one of the passengers flown on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private jet, the so-called 'Lolita Express', with all its unsavoury undercurrents. And 'Jane', one of the anonymous girls who claimed she was groomed by Maxwell to be abused by Epstein, said she had been on the plane with the Prince. For his part, Andrew has admitted he flew on the plane but insists he never saw anything untoward. In photos released to the court, Maxwell and Epstein were shown cuddling up at one of the Queen's favourite beauty spots on her Balmoral estate, Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein look blissfully happy together. The paedophile and his madam were snapped relaxing on the bench at the monarch's secluded log cabin in Glen Beg. Andrew personally welcomed the pair to the Queen's official Scottish residence in 1999. The photo plunged Prince Andrew's efforts to distance himself from the scandal further into turmoil. Were there any other links to Andrew and the UK? Yes. One of Maxwell and Epstein's victims said she was abused at Ghislaine's London home, where Andrew was photographed with Ms Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked there for sex with the royal. Maxwell is said to have bragged of her friendship with Prince Andrew and allegedly told the 18-year-old named as 'Kate' how Epstein liked 'cute, young, pretty' girls. After first befriending the 'lonely' youngster in London when she was 17, Maxwell persuaded her to give the financier massages at her Belgravia townhouse, it was claimed. She allegedly led the youngster to a room where a naked Epstein 'engaged in a sex act', before Maxwell asked her accuser afterwards: 'How did it go, did you have fun? Was it good?' The woman, now 44, took the witness stand at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in New York. In a cut-glass British accent, and giving evidence under the pseudonym Kate, she told jurors Maxwell once gave her a schoolgirl uniform and said: 'I thought it would be fun for you to take Jeffrey his tea in this outfit.' They were neighbours in Belgravia where Kate lived with her 'struggling' mother who had been ill. She said Maxwell, who was 32 at the time, was 'very sophisticated, very elegant and very impressive'. Does Maxwell's conviction have implications for British police? In October Scotland Yard abandoned its review of sex abuse allegations surrounding Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein. After its officers reportedly spoke with accuser Virginia Roberts, the force has decided to take no further action over her allegation that she was trafficked to London as a 17-year-old and forced to have sex with Andrew. Scotland Yard has also decided to take no further action over claims that billionaire financier Epstein groomed and abused other young women in Britain. MailOnline has contacted Scotland Yard to ask if the Maxwell's trial will see them review the case again. Advertisement Prince Andrew's US lawyers have reportedly held emergency talks after Ghislaine Maxwell's convictions for child sex trafficking as experts told MailOnline the guilty verdicts are 'not good news' for the Duke of York whose future as a frontline royal is now looking increasingly 'bleak'. Lawyers in the US believe the ninth in line to the British throne should now be 'quaking in his boots' as his old friend faces spending the rest of her life behind bars unless she flips and 'names names'. Experts also believe that the Duke of York's chances of defeating the legal action brought against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre will now be even harder after Maxwell was found guilty by a New York jury yesterday. The 60-year-old British socialite was labelled a 'dangerous' predator as she was convicted of helping to entice vulnerable teenagers to Jeffrey Epstein's homes for him to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004. Miss Maxwell, a friend of Andrew's for many years who decided not to give evidence at her trial, could now try to cut a deal to reduce a sentence that would see her die in prison. Andrew's lawyers spoke after yesterday's verdicts to discuss the fallout - but also believe the decision not to call Mrs Giuffre as a witness was 'disastrous' for her credibility, the Mirror has claimed, describing them as emergency talks. Today royal experts have said the Duke of York's reputation is now 'a busted flush' because of his friendship with billionaire paedophile Epstein and now-convicted sex trafficker Maxwell. And the Queen's continued and unwavering support for her son, including reportedly spending millions of pounds privately funding the Duke of York's defence case against allegations of sexual abuse, risks bringing the Royal Family into disrepute, critics have claimed. Robert Jobson, author of Prince Philip's Century, told MailOnline: 'Whatever way you look at the Maxwell verdict it is not good news for the Duke of York. Not only has he admitted a judgement failure regarding his friendship with the dead convicted paedophile Epstein, but it is known that he also enjoyed a longer friendship with convicted sex trafficker Maxwell'. Prince Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing and is not facing a criminal prosecution in the United States - but was named twice in proceedings including by a pilot as one of the passengers flown on sex offender Epstein's private jet, the so-called 'Lolita Express' because it was used to ferry the billionaire paedophile's victims around the globe. Epstein and Maxwell were also snapped relaxing on the bench at the Queen's secluded log cabin in Glen Beg, Balmoral, after Andrew personally invited them to stay. Mr Jobson said: 'Prince Andrew may well be innocent and his accuser's allegation baseless, as he claims. But in the court of public opinion his association with these convicted criminals calls his own character and lack of judgement into question. Why did he spend so much time with them? What did he know of their debauched behaviour? 'At the moment this is a civil case again the Duke of York, but I am sure the authorities will be watching the developments in this case very closely. Unless he is cleared his position as a working royal representing the Queen going forward is untenable unless the Queen is prepared to bring the institution into disrepute.' Andrew's biographer Nigel Cawthorne told Newsweek: 'The verdict does not help Prince Andrew at all in the court of public opinion. The famous picture is now seen in a whole new light. 'Now we have Ghislaine Maxwell, sex trafficker, standing there next to a woman who says she was trafficked, next to Prince Andrew who says he wasn't there. 'If Maxwell was acquitted that would have helped him, indeed they could have called her as a defense witness. Things are looking a bit more bleak for him now.' On January 4, a New York judge will decide whether to throw out Andrew's accuser Mrs Giuffre's civil lawsuit over the Prince's argument that she lives in Australia and cannot justify her claim to be a Colorado resident. If the royal's challenge fails, he then faces the increasingly uncomfortable prospect of a trial in the US in front of a jury who are unlikely to be sympathetic to a British prince after Maxwell's conviction. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: 'Andrew was barely mentioned in Maxwell's trial. Yet the photograph of him, Virginia Roberts, now Giuffre and Maxwell, taken in 2001, remains unexplained and is constantly reproduced. 'He has not fulfilled his promise to help the FBI, who are attempting to trace Epstein's accomplices. The conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell adds yet another name to the list of notorious friends of his. Every appearance in public ends up with photographs which are bad publicity and at 61, he has no foreseeable role of any sort. 'His hopes obviously rest on either having the case against Virginia Roberts Giuffre dismissed, or ultimately in winning it. He might eventually have to settle, if the case against him goes ahead this would be extremely damaging to the monarchy. 'Even if he were to win, his close friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell will leave him tainted'. New York defence attorney Bradley Simon, a former federal prosecutor, said that Andrew could face trouble because the required burden of proof in a criminal trial is higher than a civil case. He said: 'Every jury is different and the facts will be different - but it does not bode well for the prince.' Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom, who represented eight victims of Epstein, said: 'He [Andrew] should be quaking in his boots. Because this shows that a jury is willing to come back with a guilty verdict even if the accusers are not perfect'. Mrs Giuffre is suing the duke for alleged rape, which he strenuously denies. Piling the pressure on Andrew in the minutes after the Maxwell verdicts came in, she tweeted: 'I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be.' She added: 'My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always. Having lived with the horrors of Maxwell's abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed'. The duke's lawyers say her civil action is 'baseless'. They have also convinced District Judge Lewis Kaplan to take into account a 2008 financial settlement deal between Giuffre and Epstein, which Andrew and his team believe will discredit her claim against him. The jury's confirmation that Maxwell was the willing accomplice for the late Epstein will serve to place Andrew beyond the pale for his elder brother Prince Charles, who already saw him as a liability for the Royal Family, with a return to any royal duties now highly unlikely. As Andrew's relationship with Maxwell and Epstein further tarnished his reputation, it also emerged today: Ghislaine Maxwell could now start naming names to get a shorter prison sentence after the British socialite was found guilty of sex trafficking schoolgirls for her and her pedophile boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein to abuse. Her family said they were 'very disappointed' with the verdict and had already begun the appeal process with the belief she will be 'vindicated'; Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre piles more pressure on after the Ghislaine Maxwell guilty verdicts, declaring: 'Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable'; BBC admits an interview with guest pundit Alan Dershowitz about Maxwell verdict was a mistake and says it should have told audience he was Epstein's lawyer and is accused of sex assault by Mrs Giuffre; Ghislaine Maxwell is expected to be placed on suicide watch at the notorious Brooklyn jail where she is being held. She is expected to be moved to a federal jail in Connecticut; Prince Andrew is just days from a crucial hearing in the US as his old friend Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of trafficking young women and enticing them to be abused by Jeffrey Epstein The infamous photo of Virginia Roberts, Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell was taken at Maxwell's home in Belgravia. Legal experts believe Maxwell's conviction 'doesn't bode well' for the Duke of York Prince Andrew leaves sex offender Jeffrey Epsteins home and go for a stroll together through New York's Central Park. Taken in 2011 Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell sits as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in a courtroom sketch in New York City on Wednesday Virginia Giuffre, perhaps the most vocal accuser of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, reacted on social media after Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking and other charges on Wednesday She added: 'I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be' 'He's a busted flush,' one seasoned royal expert told MailOnline, adding: 'Unfortunately for Andrew, it's no longer so much about evidence and proof, or what if anything went on with Virginia Giuffre - it's all about public perception. 'Andrew's handling of this whole affair, coupled with his car crash Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, have made him into a toxic brand for the rest of the Royal Family. Only the Queen, who has always considered him as her favourite, remains loyal, while the other Royals are keen to keep him at arm's length.' A lawyer for Jeffrey Epstein's victims says Prince Andrew should be 'quaking in his boots' over Ghislaine Maxwell's guilty verdict. Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom, who represented eight victims of the billionaire paedophile, said the conviction of Epstein's madame for sex trafficking brought her and her clients to tears. If the judge sides with Giuffre, the case could go before a jury in the Autumn of 2022. Bloom said in the wake of Maxwell's conviction, she believes the prince's technical objections 'aren't going to fly'. 'Even if there were grounds for cross-examination, which there were, they looked to the essence of the story and they found that Ghislaine Maxwell was guilty of sex trafficking.' Lisa Bloom said that if the case goes to trial Andrew's attorney, Andrew Brettler, is likely to try to trip up Giuffre by pointing out inconsistencies in her testimony but the tactic would now be ineffective with a jury. 'I think in his case he's hoping that his lawyers can cross-examine Virginia and get her on some prior statements that she's made and mistakes that she's made. And I just don't think that's going to fly. I think he should be very concerned,' she said. BBC admits interview with Alan Dershowitz about Maxwell verdict was a mistake after failing to tell viewers HE represented Jeffrey Epstein and is also accused of sexual assault by Virginia Roberts The BBC labelled Alan Dershowitz a 'lawyer' without saying he represented Jeffrey Epstein and is also accused by Virginia Giuffre The New York sex abuse case against Prince Andrew was weakened because prosecutors in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial failed to call his accuser as a witness, it was claimed last night. Jeffrey Epstein's former lawyer Alan Dershowitz insisted the fact the Maxwell jury didn't hear from Virginia Giuffre was because the authorities don't believe she is telling the truth. But critics pointed out Mr Dershowitz is also accused of sexual abuse by Ms Roberts, said that taints his opinion on the case and slammed the BBC for interviewing him on the subject without giving any context. And royal experts said there was 'no way back' for Andrew's reputation now the Maxwell verdicts are in regardless of the outcome of the case against him. Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz both deny all the allegations against them. Mr Dershowitz, 83, who was formerly Jeffrey Epstein's lawyer, told the BBC he thought the case against Andrew was 'weakened considerably' after the Maxwell trial. 'I think the most important thing for British viewers is that the Government was very careful as to who it used as witnesses,' he said. 'It did not use as a witness the woman who accused Prince Andrew, who accused me, who accused many other people, because the Government did not believe that she was telling the truth. 'And in fact that she, Virginia Giuffre, was mentioned in the trial as someone who brought young people to Epstein for him to abuse. 'So this case does not do anything at all in any way to strengthen the case against Prince Andrew. 'In fact it weakens the case against Prince Andrew considerably because the government was very selective in who it used. 'It used only witnesses it believed were credible and they deliberately did not use the main witness, the woman who started the whole investigation, Virginia Giuffre because ultimately it did not believe that she was telling the truth. 'They didn't believe that a jury would believe her and they were right in doing so, so it was very smart on behalf of the government.' The fact Mr Dershowitz was introduced on to the BBC News Channel as a 'constitutional lawyer', with no mention of his involvement in the case, drew condemnation last night. His claims about Ms Giuffre were not challenged by the interviewer. Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister, said that the interview represented a 'huge error by the BBC'. Advertisement The lawyer added that Wednesday's verdict now makes Prince Andrew a self-confessed close friend of a child sex trafficker after admitting his friendship with Maxwell in a car-crash interview with BBC journalist Emily Maitlis. 'He clearly had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,' said Bloom. 'And an even closer relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell. I mean, he said it himself in the interview that he gave that he was actually closer to Ghislaine. And she is now a convicted sex trafficker. So that just brings us one step closer to Prince Andrew.' Attorney Brad Edwards, who was honored last month by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for his pivotal role representing victims and helping bring down Epstein, told DailyMail.com that Prince Andrew has been denied his 'hope for evil to win'. 'That hasn't worked out so well. Maybe he will repent and provide information now'. Prince Andrew may face another bombshell ahead of his January 4 hearing after Manhattan federal judges Lewis Kaplan and Loretta Preska ruled that a 2009 settlement agreement between Epstein and Giuffre, which bears directly on Giuffre's civil lawsuit accusing Britain's Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, will be made public early next week. Kaplan is presiding over Giuffre's lawsuit against the prince for allegedly forcing her to have sex with him at Maxwell's London home, and abusing her at two of Epstein's mansions. Brettler will argue in the upcoming hearing that Giuffre has long lived in Australia and can't back up her claim to be a Colorado resident. 'They're trying every kind of legal loophole they can come up with, because he clearly does not want the case to be decided on its merits,' said Bloom. 'He does not want her to get into the courthouse door and get a trial. And that's what she's fighting for. 'It's very disappointing that he wants to deprive her of her day in court. If he's innocent, he should want a trial where he would be exonerated, and yet he's doing everything he can to fight it. 'I wouldn't advise him because I am 100% victims' side now for the last four years,' the attorney added. 'But if I were advising him, I would tell him to come clean and apologize and cooperate with law enforcement, as he said he would do and then he never did. 'Stop hiding behind your lawyers and let's just get to the bottom of this.' One of Bloom's clients, named only as Kiki, said the verdict means Maxwell will have a small taste of how she and other victims felt. 'No sentence or punishment will take away the trauma that we all had to endure at their hands, but now she will have to live with what she did, just the way the survivors have to live with it every day of our lives,' Kiki said. 'What she and Jeffrey did for their own sadistic pleasures, sentenced all of their victims to their own metaphorical prisons. I fight everyday to escape those 4 walls that entrapped me the day I was abused, and now she will know what that's like for all of the girls she damaged for life.' 'No matter how rich you are or powerful you are, if you choose to exploit and abuse, your day will come,' Edwards said. 'When I heard about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell 13 years ago, I decided not to stop until justice was served for all of the victims. Today is another huge step. But it's not over. Everyone else who played a role knows who they are.' Ghislaine Maxwell was last night facing up to 65 years behind bars after jurors declared her a child sex predator. The British socialite was found guilty of sex trafficking schoolgirls for her and her paedophile boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein to abuse. The guilty verdicts in New York will intensify the pressure on her friend Prince Andrew to speak to US prosecutors about his time with Epstein. Victims sobbed with relief and vowed Maxwell's 'powerful co-conspirators' should also face justice. British accuser Kate, who told jurors that Maxwell dressed her in a schoolgirl uniform aged 18 to be molested by Epstein, yelled 'finally' and would not stop crying, according to her lawyer. The jury took just over 40 hours to find 60-year-old Maxwell guilty on five of six charges. She was already working on an appeal last night. Following the verdicts, Maxwell simply poured herself a glass of water and leaned into her lawyer, Jeffrey Pagliuca, who put an arm around her. Her sister Isabel sat behind her with her head bowed, while siblings Kevin and Christine stared into space. Virginia Roberts' statement on Maxwell verdict My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always. Having lived with the horrors of Maxwell's abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed. I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be. Advertisement Maxwell was led out of court by two female US marshals, barely looking back to see her family. Kevin, Isabel and Christine left the courthouse arm in arm, and later issued a defiant statement saying: 'We believe firmly in our sister's innocence. We are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated.' But US attorney Damian Williams said: 'A unanimous jury has found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children. 'Crimes she committed with her long-time partner and co-conspirator, Jeffrey Epstein. The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done.' Annie Farmer, who was lured into a terrifying sex trap by Maxwell when she was 16, sobbed with joy, declaring: 'I am so relieved and grateful that the jury recognised the pattern of predatory behaviour that Maxwell engaged in for years. 'She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom. 'I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law. Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young.' Her sister Maria, also targeted by Maxwell and Epstein, added: 'We are proud of one another. I have spent every moment for seven years, working towards this verdict. No pay, just due diligence. I never gave up. This is the best thing I have ever had happen in my life. It means I don't have to hide.' Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom (left) said the conviction of Epstein's madame for sex trafficking meant Prince Andrew (right) should be shaking in his boots Prince Andrew strongly denies Ms Giuffre's (pictured at court in New York on August 27, 2019) allegations that he slept with her as a 17-year-old sex slave after she claimed to have been trafficked to him at the London house A sleazy haul of never-before-seen photos unearthed in an FBI raid and introduced as evidence showed Ghislaine Maxwell giving Jeffrey Epstein foot rubs on his private jet dubbed Lolita Express One of the pictures brought in as evidence showed Epstein and Maxwell relaxing at Balmoral, the Scottish home of Queen Elizabeth. Her son, Prince Andrew, is one of the men who was said to have flown on Epstein's plane Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of five of six counts of sex trafficking minors for Epstein and now faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. Epstein and Maxwell in a vacation picture in Europe Carolyn, one of Ghislaine Maxwell's accusers, claimed she had seen a picture of her nude and pregnant. Though that picture was never introduced as evidence, another of Epstein cradling Maxwell's belly was 'Andrew should be quaking in his boots': Victims' defense attorney says Maxwell verdict now makes Prince Andrew a self-confessed close friend of a child sex trafficker A lawyer for Jeffrey Epstein's victims says Prince Andrew should be 'quaking in his boots' over Ghislaine Maxwell's guilty verdict. Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom, who represented eight victims of the billionaire pedophile, said the conviction of Epstein's madame for sex trafficking brought her and her clients to tears. Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of five of six counts of sex trafficking minors for Epstein and now faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. Hot on the heels of the verdict comes a hearing on January 4 to decide whether to throw out Andrew's accuser Virginia Giuffre's civil lawsuit over the Prince's argument that she lives in Australia and cannot justify her claim to be a Colorado resident. If the judge sides with Giuffre, the case could go before a jury in fall 2022. Bloom said in the wake of Maxwell's conviction, she believes the prince's technical objections 'aren't going to fly'. 'He should be quaking in his boots,' the Epstein victims' attorney told DailyMail.com. 'Because this shows that a jury is willing to come back with a guilty verdict even if the accusers are not perfect, as no human being is. 'Even if there were grounds for cross-examination, which there were, they looked to the essence of the story and they found that Ghislaine Maxwell was guilty of sex trafficking.' Bloom said that if the case goes to trial Andrew's attorney, Andrew Brettler, is likely to try to trip up Giuffre by pointing out inconsistencies in her testimony but the tactic would now be ineffective with a jury. 'I think in his case he's hoping that his lawyers can cross-examine Virginia and get her on some prior statements that she's made and mistakes that she's made. And I just don't think that's going to fly. I think he should be very concerned,' she said. Advertisement Lawyers for victims vowed to pursue other individuals. David Boies, who acts for Mrs Giuffre and Miss Farmer, said: 'The scope and scale and duration of their sex trafficking crimes depending on many wealthy and powerful collaborators and co-conspirators. They too are not above the law. They too must be brought to justice.' Sigrid McCawley, the women's other lawyer, added: 'Today's verdict is a towering victory, not just for the brave women who testified in this trial, but for the women around the world whose young and tender lives were diminished and damaged by the abhorrent actions of Ghislaine Maxwell. For too long their voices were ignored and discounted and their characters impugned and disgraced, but no more.' Maxwell will be placed on suicide watch in jail after jurors agreed she was financier Epstein's 'partner in horrific crimes'. She masterminded a sick scheme to round up schoolgirls on an industrial scale for them and their friends to molest. Epstein killed himself while on remand two years ago. The daughter of the late tycoon Robert Maxwell, who rubbed shoulders with two US presidents, a pope and a host of global A-listers, was deserted by all her VIP friends, including the Duke of York, during her four-week trial for sex trafficking vulnerable teenagers. The jury of six women and six men took just over five days deliberating to seal her fate, finding her guilty of five of six charges she faced, which were read out by the trial judge Alison Nathan in Court 318 of the Thurgood Marshall courthouse. Jurors unanimously believed four women, including a Briton, who gave chilling testimonies of being 'served up' by Maxwell for sexual abuse by Epstein. The Mail can reveal that Prince Andrew, who is facing renewed pressure to cooperate with the FBI, did not offer any support and Maxwell's husband Scott Borgerson also snubbed the trial. In the 2000s, Andrew spent weeks as a guest at Epstein's 'House of Sin' villa in Florida where 'lady of the house' Maxwell forced children to dress in schoolgirl outfits for underage sex with her boyfriend. For more than two years, US prosecutors have been asking the British Government to facilitate a formal interview with the duke, under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. The Home Office has yet to act on the request, and a stand-off continues between the duke's legal team and US prosecutors over the terms of any interview by the FBI in London. Maxwell had pleaded not guilty to the six charges she faced, forcing her victims to relive their ordeals in court as her 5million team of superstar lawyers tried to unpick their stories. Over two weeks of harrowing prosecution evidence, jurors heard how 'giggling' Maxwell had enticed a 14-year-old known as 'Jane' into sordid orgies after she and Epstein approached her at a 1994 school summer camp when she was eating an ice cream. Maxwell was acquitted of one of the four charges relating to Jane. Maxwell had bragged of her friendship with Prince Andrew to Kate and told her she was just Epstein's type, as he favoured 'cute, young, pretty' girls. Will she flip? Ghislaine Maxwell could spill the beans on high-profile figures linked to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in exchange for a lighter sentence Jeffrey Epstein forged a close relationship with President Bill Clinton in the early 90s, visiting him at the White House at least 17 times during his first term Facing the rest of her life behind bars, Ghislaine Maxwell has one option to significantly reduce the time she will be ordered to serve flip on the big names who have been linked to Jeffrey Epstein. Short of a surprise win on appeal which the Maxwell family says they have already started telling the true story behind Epstein's friendships with the rich and famous could be her only chance of breathing free air again. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth's second son Prince Andrew, star attorney Alan Dershowitz, former cabinet member and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and one-time Senate Democratic leader George Mitchell have all been linked to Epstein. Showbiz figures including Kevin Spacey, 62, Woody Allen, 86, and Chris Tucker, 50, are also known to have been friends with him, but have never accused of impropriety. Maxwell may also be able to shed light on the relationship with billionaire Victoria's Secret boss Les Wexner, whose patronage made Epstein, a former math and physics teacher, enormously wealthy. But none have faced anything more than having their names tarnished by their association with the notorious pedophile who died of an apparent suicide while being held in federal custody in August 2019. Maxwell, 60, is the only person who knows the full truth of whether any of those men were involved in anything more than hobnobbing with the charismatic millionaire and telling all could be her only leverage to keep her out of prison until she is a very old woman. Judge Alison Nathan has not set a date for Maxwell's sentencing, so she has time to consider her strategy but the now-convicted felon would have to convince the FBI that she is telling everything she knows about everyone to have any chance of winning time off her sentence. Maxwell's attorney Jeffrey Pagliuca said in 2019 that documents sealed in a civil case brought by one of Epstein's main accusers, Virginia Giuffre contained 'dozens if not hundreds' of names. Advertisement A third accuser, 'Carolyn', said she too had been recruited as a 14-year-old and that Maxwell had groped her breasts and bottom and told her she had 'a great body' for paedophile Epstein 'and his friends'. The jury accepted Carolyn's story that she was trafficked. Accuser number four, Miss Farmer, described how Maxwell and Epstein had forced themselves on her aged 16 after she was enticed to the paedophile's remote ranch in new Mexico. She 'froze' as Maxwell massaged her breasts. Maxwell's shambolic defence focused on Epstein, with her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim telling jurors that women had been blamed for the bad behaviour of men 'ever since Eve was accused of tempting Adam for the apple'. They painted the four accusers in the case as money-grabbers looking for a 'jackpot'. Maxwell did not take to the witness stand in her defence, a gamble which did not pay off. She still faces two charges of perjury that will be tried at a later date. The New York sex abuse case against Prince Andrew was weakened because prosecutors in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial failed to call his accuser as a witness, it was claimed last night. Jeffrey Epstein's former lawyer Alan Dershowitz insisted the fact the Maxwell jury didn't hear from Virginia Giuffre was because the authorities don't believe she is telling the truth. But critics pointed out Mr Dershowitz is also accused of sexual abuse by Ms Roberts, said that taints his opinion on the case and slammed the BBC for interviewing him on the subject without giving any context. And royal experts said there was 'no way back' for Andrew's reputation now the Maxwell verdicts are in regardless of the outcome of the case against him. Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz both deny all the allegations against them. Mr Dershowitz, 83, who was formerly Jeffrey Epstein's lawyer, told the BBC he thought the case against Andrew was 'weakened considerably' after the Maxwell trial. 'I think the most important thing for British viewers is that the Government was very careful as to who it used as witnesses,' he said. 'It did not use as a witness the woman who accused Prince Andrew, who accused me, who accused many other people, because the Government did not believe that she was telling the truth. 'And in fact that she, Virginia Giuffre, was mentioned in the trial as someone who brought young people to Epstein for him to abuse. 'So this case does not do anything at all in any way to strengthen the case against Prince Andrew. 'In fact it weakens the case against Prince Andrew considerably because the government was very selective in who it used. 'It used only witnesses it believed were credible and they deliberately did not use the main witness, the woman who started the whole investigation, Virginia Giuffre because ultimately it did not believe that she was telling the truth. 'They didn't believe that a jury would believe her and they were right in doing so, so it was very smart on behalf of the government.' The fact Mr Dershowitz was introduced on to the BBC News Channel as a 'constitutional lawyer', with no mention of his involvement in the case, drew condemnation last night. His claims about Ms Giuffre were not challenged by the interviewer. Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister, said that the interview represented a 'huge error by the BBC'. The Duke of York's lawyers will try to have the civil lawsuit brought by his accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre thrown out of court early next month. But last night's result will make that much more difficult. And royal observers believe that even a victory for Andrew at that stage or at a full trial expected in the Autumn would still not be enough to remove the stigma attached to his name over his friendship with Epstein. And the sensational verdict in Maxwell's case will have done nothing to bolster confidence in Andrew's camp at having Ms Giuffre's lawsuit dismissed. Farmer testified that she was introduced to Epstein by her older sister, Maria Farmer, and he took them to see the 'Phantom of the Opera' and then a movie in New York, where she sat next to the pedophile. At some point during the movie she said Epstein 'caressed' her hand and then her leg. 'I felt sick to my stomach,' she told the court. Annie Farmer (pictured as a young girl) says she was introduced to Epstein and Maxwell when she was 16 Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's 2009 settlement with 'sex slave' Virginia Giuffre - which could directly impact Prince Andrew's New York case - will be made public on MONDAY, judges rule A 2009 settlement agreement between Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, which could directly impact her civil lawsuit accusing Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, will be made public on Monday. In a joint order on Wednesday, US District Judges Lewis Kaplan and Loretta Preska in Manhattan ordered the agreement's release on or around January 3, 2022, finding no reason to keep it under seal. Kaplan oversees Giuffre's lawsuit accusing Andrew of abusing her at two of Epstein's homes and forcing her to have sex more than two decades ago when she was under 18 at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell. The Duke of York has consistently and vehemently denied Giuffre's claims. Preska oversees Giuffre's lawsuit accusing Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz of defaming her when he denied her claim that he was among the men Epstein compelled her to have sex with. It comes as former Epstein associate Maxwell is found guilty by a US jury of helping the financier sexually abuse teenage girls. The prince's lawyer, Andrew Brettler, has contended that the 2009 settlement with Epstein released the Duke of York from liability from Giuffre's lawsuit because it covered 'royalty,' and Epstein insisted it cover anyone Giuffre might sue. Giuffre's lawyer, David Boies, countered that the settlement applied 'at most' to people involved in underlying litigation in Florida, where Epstein had a home, and that Prince Andrew should not use it as a 'get out of jail free card.' Andrew has not been charged with crimes. Giuffre's civil lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Advertisement 'He's a busted flush,' one seasoned royal expert told MailOnline. 'Unfortunately for Andrew, it's no longer so much about evidence and proof, or what if anything went on with Virginia Giuffre -- it's all about public perception. 'Andrew's handling of this whole affair, coupled with his car crash Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, have made him into a toxic brand for the rest of the Royal Family. 'Only the Queen, who has always considered him as her favourite, remains loyal, while the other Royals are keen to keep him at arm's length.' Officially, Andrew's position is that he has 'stepped back' from royal duties while the court case is resolved, but it's difficult to envisage how he could once again take his place in public life in the same way as previously. Last night Lisa Bloom, a lawyer representing many of Jeffrey Epstein's victims in several cases, said anyone connected to the paedophile financier should be 'concerned'. 'I think anyone who was associated with Jeffrey Epstein, who either participated in sexual abuse, or helped him by sending girls to him, trafficking, etc, should be very concerned today about this verdict.' She added: 'The case [against Prince Andrew] has been filed, it has been served after various attempts on his behalf to duck service. Eventually the courts said 'you've been served, move forward'. 'Now he is trying to get the case thrown out on some technical grounds, he says Virginia is not a resident of the United States, that she's really a resident of Australia, therefore the case should not be heard here. 'He seems to be doing everything he can to avoid the case being decided on its merits, hoping to get it thrown out on technical grounds, so we'll see what the judge does.' Said it was possible that the case could be thrown out but Virginia says she has residency of the US in Colorado. 'She has outstanding attorneys. 'I am rooting for her and I hope the case is decided on its merits, so that her dispute with Prince Andrew, and whether he sexually assaulted her can ultimately be decided once and for all by a jury.' That case is likely to dominate the news heading through the early part of 2022. At the moment, the Duke is not expected to play any high-profile part in the forthcoming commemorations for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands war in June, despite his role on active service as a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter pilot during the 1982 conflict. Prince Andrew first met Ghislaine Maxwell when she was at university and the pair had known each other for nearly 20 years when she is alleged to have introduced him to Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell (right) and the American financier (left) were believed to be dating at the time and the Duke subsequently struck up a friendship with Epstein As a veteran, Prince Andrew would be perfectly entitled to attend any of the events to mark the recapture of Port Stanley, but it is understood that no official invitations have been extended. Ghislaine Maxwell's family appeal sex trafficking conviction: Expert says testimony from witness who was over legal age of consent could have improperly influenced jury Ghislaine Maxwell's siblings have already launched an appeal against her child sex trafficking conviction, claiming that she will be cleared of any wrongdoing. 'We believe firmly in our sister's innocence - we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated,' the Maxwell siblings said in a statement. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas Day, faces the grim prospect of spending the rest of her life behind bars - with a maximum of 65 years in prison - unless she can overturn her conviction. Matthew Barhoma, a criminal appeals attorney in Los Angeles, said he thought that Maxwell could have strong grounds to mount an appeal. One of the women who testified that they were sexually abused was over the legal age of consent at the time of the incident. The judge instructed the jury not to convict based on her testimony, but she was still allowed to give evidence and Barhoma told Insider that it could be argued in an appeal that she improperly influenced jurors. Barhoma also said lawyers might try and persuade the appeals court that some of the evidence was 'dated or stale' because the sexual assaults happened decades ago. Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, told Insider he doesn't believe Maxwell has any grounds to appeal but expects she will anyway 'She's going to appeal because otherwise, she's going to die in federal prison,' Rahmani said. An appeal does not give Maxwell a re-trial but it is an opportunity for her attorney to raise any specific errors which they believe occured at trial. It will not buy her any time before sentence and she can expect to be working on the appeal with her lawyers while locked up in federal jail. Outlining the process, civil rights lawyer Aamer Anwar told MailOnline: 'Maxwell would require to appeal to the federal court of appeal, if she were to lose - which is highly likely - she could then try to file a petition asking the Supreme Court leave to review the case. 'The Supreme Court, however, does not have to grant review and will only do so where there is a potential breach of an important legal principle or where there is a conflict in the lower courts appeal process. 'She has, according to the US Attorney, been convicted of one of the worst crimes imaginable and faces up to 70 years in prison and any appeal process whilst lengthy is highly unlikely to be successful and will not be allowed to delay sentencing.' Advertisement Prince Andrew was frequently mentioned by the prosecution in the trial, as a friend of Epstein and Maxwell, a visitor to the billionaire's townhouse in Manhattan and his private island Little St James and as having travelled at least four times on the infamous 'Lolita Express', Epstein's private jet. Few references to the Prince have not been accompanied by the photograph of him with his arm round the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Roberts at Ms Maxwell's mews house in London, an occasion which he claims not to recall. Prince Andrew strongly denies Ms Giuffre's allegations that he slept with her as a 17-year-old sex slave after she claimed to have been trafficked to him at the London house. It has even been reported at one stage that 'sources close to Andrew' suggested the photo could have been faked. That said, his team must have breathed a sigh of relief over the fact that Ms Giuffre was never called to the stand to give evidence during the Maxwell trial, despite being 'available to do so'. In a hearing on Saturday, prosecutors taunted Maxwell's defence lawyers by saying they could have invited Mrs Giuffre to take the stand but had chosen not to. Andrew Rohrbach said: 'The most obvious witness who was available to both sides and who we expect the defence to comment on is Virginia Roberts, who was described as a victim but did not testify and she was fully available to the defendants. They did not call her.' A source close to the Duke told MailOnline: 'This was Ghislaine Maxwell's trial not the Duke's. Nothing new of any substance has been raised in relation to the Duke any mentions have been glancing blows, not body blows.' Prince Andrew first met Maxwell when she was at university and the pair had known each other for nearly 20 years when she is alleged to have introduced him to Epstein. She and the American financier were believed to be dating at the time and the Duke subsequently struck up a friendship with Epstein. It was that relationship which allegedly saw him make multiple visits to Epstein's homes and his island. Andrew's lawyers will bring their motion to the District Court in New York next month, seeking a dismissal. Court filings state that he 'unequivocally denies' sexually abusing or assaulting Ms Giuffre. His lawyer Andrew Brettler states in the court papers that 'accusing a member of the world's best known royal family of serious misconduct has helped Giuffre create a media frenzy online and in the traditional press. 'It is unfortunate, but undeniable, that sensationalism and innuendo have prevailed over the truth. 'Giuffre has initiating this baseless lawsuit against Prince Andrew to achieve another payday at his expense and a the expense of those closest to him Epstein's abuse of Giuffre does not justify her public campaign against Prince Andrew'. Those who have known Prince Andrew for decades say he is a victim of his own boorish, entitled arrogance and his biggest mistake and one which many other high-profile individuals also made, not least former US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, was to allow himself to associate with the likes of a man like Epstein at all. 'Andrew is out in the cold now and likely to stay there, whatever happens' said one who has met the Duke many times over the years. 'He doesn't help himself with his couldn't-care-less attitude, which makes people resent him. 'I don't think we're likely to see much of him in the future, whatever happens in the civil case in New York, because he'll find it impossible to shake off this stigma. 'He's likely to see out his days as a rather lonely figure riding out in Windsor Great Park and possibly assisting the Queen behind the scenes, but it seems very unlikely we'll see him doing public engagements again.' Heat turns up on Prince Andrew: His big problem is this picture can now be captioned 'The sex trafficker, the 'sex slave' and the Duke - taken by a predatory paedophile.' And he's facing his own legal battle at a hearing in New York, writes RICHARD KAY Although his name was barely mentioned, Prince Andrew's presence hovered uneasily over every moment of Ghislaine Maxwell's trial. Twice it came up, and on each occasion it offered a tantalising glimpse of both his folly and breathtaking lack of judgment. He was named by a pilot as one of the passengers flown on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private jet, the so-called 'Lolita Express', with all its unsavoury undercurrents. And 'Jane', one of the anonymous girls who claimed she was groomed by Maxwell to be abused by Epstein, said she had been on the plane with the Prince. For his part, Andrew has admitted he flew on the plane but insists he never saw anything untoward. As disturbing as the courtroom disclosures undoubtedly were, it was the emergence of a photograph of Maxwell cuddling up to Epstein on a bench at the Queen's picnic cabin at Balmoral issued by the prosecution that electrified proceedings. Since only the closest of friends are invited to the royals' Scottish estate, the fact that Andrew welcomed the pair into this most private of inner sanctums seemed to prove beyond doubt just how intimate they all were. The infamous photo of Virginia Roberts, Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell was taken at Maxwell's home in Belgravia Prince Andrew leaves sex offender Jeffrey Epsteins home and go for a stroll together through New York's Central Park. Taken in 2011 Of course, it is not the only photo haunting the 61-year-old Prince. There is another picture of similar vintage to the Balmoral one, but in this one it is Andrew who is centre stage. It shows the then 41-year-old Duke of York with his arm snaking around the bare midriff of teenager Virginia Roberts while his friend Maxwell smiles alongside them. According to her lawyers, the gamine Miss Roberts was the prize offered up by Epstein to Andrew the night the photograph was taken. For the Prince, who strenuously denies that claim and her allegations that they had sex which she says they did on three separate occasions the snapshot has, for years, been a millstone. He says he cannot recall the photograph, nor ever meeting the then 17-year-old. During his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019, he told Emily Maitlis: 'I have absolutely no memory of that photograph ever being taken.' Yet today the photo takes on an even more troubling new meaning. Consider how it might now be captioned. From right to left, 'the sex trafficker, the 'sex slave' and the Duke'. And the figure behind the camera? The predatory paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. It was the emergence of a photograph of Maxwell cuddling up to Epstein on a bench at the Queen's picnic cabin at Balmoral issued by the prosecution that electrified proceedings Kevin Maxwell, Christine Maxwell, Isabel Maxwell, and Ian Maxwell, the brothers and sisters of Ghislaine Maxwell, arrive at US Federal District court house In an instant everything and nothing has changed for Andrew. His hopes of salvation and evading the legal action mounted by Miss Roberts who has filed a civil case in New York claiming he abused her rests on a hearing to be held next Tuesday. She has accused Andrew of 'rape in the first degree', that he forced her to have sex with him three times in 2001: at Maxwell's London home (scene of the midriff photo); in New York at Epstein's Manhattan mansion; and on the late financier's Caribbean island. But with the resolution of the Maxwell case, prosecutors may well feel emboldened to go after others not only those, like Maxwell, who supplied girls for Epstein's gratification, but also the alleged beneficiaries; the men (and they were mainly men) with whom he shared his pleasures. They may want to prove no one is above the law. A request from the FBI to interview the Duke as a witness has been gathering dust. Little wonder, then, that the highly expensive team of lawyers Andrew has assembled in London and the U.S. has been monitoring the Maxwell case closely. Dozens of references were made to Virginia Roberts placing her at Epstein's properties, on his aircraft and her close contact with Ghislaine. Flight logs produced by the prosecution put Miss Roberts in London on the March 2001 weekend she says she had sex with Andrew for the first time in Maxwell's Belgravia mews home. Something the Duke has insisted 'didn't happen'. Lawyer David Boies (L) and Brad Edwards (R) speak to the press along with alleged victim Annie Farmer after a bail hearing in US financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking case The repeated references to the Duke's accuser placed her at the centre of Epstein's 'pyramid' of sexual abuse. They appeared to corroborate her account that she was an underage victim of the paedophile, recruited by Maxwell and flown all over the world. Photos found after a 2019 FBI raid on Epstein's New York mansion and shown to the jury included a topless image of Miss Roberts. But Roberts was not called as a prosecution witness. When, days before the case began, it was announced that Miss Roberts, who now uses her married name Giuffre, would not be taking the stand, no official reason was given. But in London 'Team Andrew' welcomed the news, with a source telling us: 'As the most high-profile and vocal accuser . . . one might have expected Ms Giuffre (Roberts) to be the star witness. 'However, the fact she is not to be called can only lead one to conclude that her increasingly inconsistent accounts make her a less than credible witness.' For months, Andrew's lawyers have accused Miss Roberts of being unable to get her story straight. In recent salvos, the Duke's legal team pushed for her lawsuit to be thrown out, branding her claims 'ambiguous at best and unintelligible at worst'. And just this week they filed a five-page motion saying the New York court does not have jurisdiction over Miss Roberts's claims because she is pretending to be a U.S. resident while actually living in Perth, Australia, with her husband and children. Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell sits as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in a courtroom sketch in New York City For Andrew, brought up in a family where planning and judgment are benchmarks of success, his mix of arrogance and foolishness has been a catastrophe. Ever since that BBC interview he has been a pariah, stripped of his purpose as a working royal. Removed from charities and honorary military posts, he has been sequestered largely at Royal Lodge, his home in Windsor. Forced to avoid public discourse, only once have we heard from him, and that was following Prince Philip's death, when he paid tribute to his father. When he has emerged, to ride in Windsor Great Park or behind the wheel of a Range Rover, he has looked careworn, paunchy and middle-aged. At times it has been hard to reconcile this Prince with the 'Randy Andy' figure who emerged from the ruins of his ten-year marriage although it had actually ended years earlier and embarked on a series of affairs that were, inexorably, to lead him into the path of Maxwell and, ultimately, Epstein. The late 1990s were a golden time for the footloose and fancy-free Andrew. After Fergie, he had dated a string of professional, mainly middle-class women, younger than him certainly, but by no means as young as Virginia Roberts. This photo of Jeffrey Epstein in front of one of his private planes was submitted into evidence during the trial of his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell Frequently in New York, he ran into an old friend whom he had first met when she was an undergraduate at Oxford University. Glamorous, chic and with an enviably packed contacts book, Ghislaine Maxwell had one other thing in common with the Queen's second son: an aversion to media scrutiny. He, anxious to avoid being pictured with any new love interests; she, building a new life after fleeing to New York at the start of the decade after the body of her fraudster father was recovered from waters off the Canaries. By then, of course, Maxwell had found security in the form of Epstein, a new sugar daddy. According to prosecutors, she began to transition from girlfriend to managing the billionaire's domestic and office staff from the mid-1990s onward. She also brought her transatlantic address book into play, widening Epstein's social circle and introducing the wide-eyed Andrew. A sleazy haul of never-before-seen photos unearthed in an FBI raid and introduced as evidence showed Ghislaine Maxwell giving Jeffrey Epstein foot rubs on his private jet dubbed Lolita Express Many say that Andrew was out of his depth, not just financially but also socially, in the glitzy world Ghislaine Maxwell inhabited. Pictured at a February 2000 party at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club in Florida, to which he had been brought by Maxwell and Epstein, the Duke looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Not only did Andrew meet the future president and Melania, Trump's future third wife, he also chatted to sex-aid entrepreneur Christine Drangsholt, who began promoting her business with pictures of herself and the Duke. Alarm bells were beginning to ring at Buckingham Palace. Was the Prince, courtiers asked, having a mid-life crisis? Or were these the opening moves in a Cold War-style honey trap which would bind Andrew so tightly to Maxwell and Epstein he has never been able publicly to disavow them? Meanwhile, the fun continued. Not long after Florida, Maxwell was introducing her royal friend to other characters from her demi-monde life at a New York club, where patrons were dressed as hookers and bondage freaks. Fellow guests included lingerie model Heidi Klum, sporting a black PVC dress, viciously spiked dog collar and wrist restraints. Ghislaine, dressed in gold trousers and a blonde wig, explained: 'I'm a hooker tonight. We are going on to another party with a pimps and prostitutes theme.' In a few short months Andrew had embarked on a lifestyle in which he appeared to be rediscovering his youth in the playgrounds of the Eurotrash. It didn't matter to him: he was apparently hooked by the wealth and reach of these new friends and the doors they could open. The relationship between Andrew, Epstein and Maxwell, meanwhile, intensified. After all their hospitality, he shared some of his with them. They were his guests at Royal Ascot and, infamously, at the Queen's 'Dance of the Decades' party at Windsor Castle, a gala to mark the Queen Mother's 100th birthday, Princess Margaret's 70th, Princess Anne's 50th and Andrew's 40th. Later that year, the Prince threw open Sandringham for his friends, with a shooting party to mark Ghislaine's 39th birthday. And don't forget that Balmoral visit. By now, Maxwell was also introducing him to attractive women and encouraging his relationships with, among others, PR Emma Gibbs and South African model Heather Mann. Indeed, Maxwell, Epstein and Andrew appeared to have evolved a curious symbiotic relationship. Whenever Ghislaine was seen with Andrew, Epstein was never very far behind. Both of them were there when Andrew was photographed on a yacht in Thailand in 2001, surrounded by sunbathing topless young women. In his only public comment about this three-way relationship, Andrew told the BBC: 'Remember that it was his girlfriend [Maxwell] that was the key element in this. He was the . . . plus one.' Now, with his own case only days away, his focus is to reassure the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family that the vast investment of his mother's money on his defence has been well spent. Family members have been left in the dark about the Prince's strategy, but understandably Andrew wants to protect the monarch from any damaging fallout from the Maxwell case. In one regard he was right: he had promised the trial would throw up no new brutal shocks. He may, however, reflect that, while friendship and loyalty are compelling allies, they are sometimes made at the expense of common sense. But will he? Concerns are growing for a missing 13-year-old girl from Buckinghamshire, who may have travelled to north London. Thames Valley Police is appealing for the public's help in tracing Selina Dimitrova from Aylesbury. The teenager was last seen at around 6.15pm on Tuesday at Great Missenden train station. She is described as white, around 5ft tall, and was spotted wearing black jeans, black trainers and a pink North Face jacket. Selina Dimitrova, aged 13, was last seen at around 6.15pm on Tuesday at Great Missenden train station in Buckinghamshire Selina Dimitrova pictured on CCTV during the last sighting of her on Tuesday. She has connections in High Wycombe but may have travelled to London She has connections to High Wycombe but officers say she may have travelled to North London. Inspector Mark Lacey, said: 'We are appealing for the public's help in tracing Selina as we are concerned for her welfare. 'We would ask anyone who knows where she might be or if they have seen someone matching her description to please come forward. 'Anyone with information should call Thames Valley Police on 101 quoting reference 43210582782' A coroner who previously ruled out inquests into the deaths of two new mothers from herpes has now announced a hearing will be held into the tragedy. Kimberley Sampson, 29, and Samantha Mulchay, 32, gave birth by Caesarean section just weeks apart in hospitals within the East Kent NHS Trust in 2018. There are fears the same surgeon may have infected both mothers while performing the operations as HSV-1, one of two strains of the herpes virus, only very rarely leads to death in healthy people. More than a year after their deaths, the families received a letter from coroner Katrina Hepburn saying there would not be an inquest for either case, acknowledging the similarities but saying there was 'no connection'. But the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists last month led calls for an investigation, claiming 'surgical infection appears to be a significant possibility'. Now Ms Hepburn has confirmed an inquest will be held, following an investigation by the BBC, which found documents showing the virus that infected the two women was genetically identical. The letter said: 'I am now of the view that there is reason to suspect that the infection may have arisen as a consequence of a necessary medical procedure, namely the Caesarean section, and in those circumstances, I have a statutory duty to investigate further.' Kimberley Sampson, 29, was a 'brilliant mummy' who was 'fun', 'loving', and had 'lots of friends', her mother Yvette Sampson said Samantha Mulchay, pictured with her husband Ryan, went into labour four weeks ahead of her due date and went into the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, run by the same Trust as Ms Sampson's hospital, in July 2018 How pregnant women are at a higher risk of dying from herpes because their immune systems are compromised The survival rate of herpes patients is 80 per cent in those who are given treatment. But for those with compromised immune systems, this can drop to as low as 40 per cent, according to some estimates. Pregnant women are at a higher risk of serious illness because they fall into the immunocompromised category. Individuals undergoing chemotherapy or recovering from an organ transplant can also be at high risk. The risk of serious illness is higher in those who are not treated, with survival rates just 30 per cent. Severe herpes infections can cause serious health conditions like encephalitis and meningitis, types of inflammation of brain tissues in response to the infection. Disseminated infection can also occur which is where an infection from the herpes virus spreads from a localised area, (such as the mouth) to other parts of the body, leading to potential organ failure. There are two types of herpes, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2. HSV-1 is mainly transmitted by oral-to-oral contact and causes blisters commonly called 'cold sores' , but it can also cause genital herpes. HSV-2 is the solely sexually transmitted infection that causes genital herpes. Both types of herpes are lifelong conditions which are incurable but manageable. Advertisement The East Kent Hospitals Trust said previously it could not identify the source of the infection and the surgeon did not have a history of the virus. A pathologist who investigated the deaths believed the women had been infected before they were admitted to hospital. But sexual health consultant Peter Greenhouse said it was 'very unlikely they acquired it before they got into hospital'. He added it was most likely that the infection was given to the two women by the surgeon accidentally in the C-section. He said it was possible the surgeon might have had a herpes infection on the finger which could have 'directly seeded the herpes into the abdomen of the women'. Ms Sampson, a barber who lived in Whitstable, Kent, with her three-year-old daughter, was a 'brilliant mummy' who was 'fun', 'loving', and had 'lots of friends', her mother Yvette Sampson said. After a smooth pregnancy Ms Sampson went on to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital's labour ward in Margate thinking 'everything was going to be fine', but her labour was not proceeding quickly and she kept saying the baby was stuck, her mother said. Doctors performed a C-section and her son was delivered, but Ms Sampson needed a blood transfusion following injuries sustained in the operation. She asked to be discharged with her baby after two days, but was in a lot of pain and could barely walk. She left the hospital with her mother, but the pain got worse, to the point where even a slight touch would cause her to scream in pain, Yvette said. Ms Sampson was rushed back to hospital in an ambulance. Doctors believed she had bacterial sepsis, so Ms Sampson was sent back to the maternity ward and given antibiotics, but her condition became worse. Doctors struggled to identify and treat the infection amid a series of operations, and eight days after she was readmitted a consultant microbiologist suggested trying Acyclovir - an antiviral drug used to treat herpes infections. Ms Sampson was transferred to Kings College Hospital in London and diagnosed with a catastrophic herpes infection. She died on May 22. Ms Mulchay went into labour four weeks ahead of her due date and attended the William Harvey Hospital (pictured) in Ashford, run by the same Trust as Ms Sampson's hospital Trust's record of failures The trust at the centre of both women's deaths has previously been criticised for failures in maternity care. In June this year, the East Kent Hospitals Trust was fined 733,000 over the death of baby Harry Richford in 2017 after admitting failing to provide safe care and treatment. A coroner said it was 'wholly avoidable'. Up to 15 babies have died at the trust's hospitals since 2011 and ministers have ordered an independent review. Last month an inspection revealed the trust did not have enough maternity staff to keep mothers and newborns safe. Numbers were sometimes so low that women had to be transferred to different hospitals during labour, the Care Quality Commission said. Midwives often had to care for two women at once. Advertisement Six weeks later nursery nurse Ms Mulchay, who lived just 20 miles from Ms Sampson, died of the same condition. Ms Mulchay went into labour four weeks ahead of her due date and went into the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, run by the same Trust as Ms Sampson's hospital, in July 2018. She was left exhausted and in pain following 17 hours of contractions and was taken for a C-section following some worrying blood test results. Ms Mulchay gave birth to a healthy baby girl, but doctors kept the new mother in for observation. She started to deteriorate after three days, with a swollen stomach, high blood pressure and a temperature. Doctors also though Ms Mulchay had bacterial sepsis, but, like Ms Sampson, antibiotics did not work. Ms Mulchay stayed for four days in intensive care, where a doctor suggested antiviral medication, but the microbiology department advised them to continue with antibiotics. Doctors called a London hospital for support and surgeons attempted to stabilise her, but they could not save her. A post-mortem revealed that Ms Mulchay died from multi-organ failure following a 'disseminated herpes simplex type 1 infection', meaning an overwhelming infection caused by HSV-1. Neither mother's child was found to have been infected. Both woman had a 'primary infection', meaning it was their first time being infected by herpes. Ms Sampson's family requested documents from Public Health England which revealed two email chains between the East Kent Hospitals Trust, some NHS bodies, staff at PHE, and a private lab called Micropathology. In the emails, which are partly redacted by PHE to hide names of those involved, someone from the Trust reveals that the same two clinicians - a midwife and the surgeon who carried out the C-sections - had taken part in the deliveries of both babies. Today, the families of the two women told the BBC they welcomed the announcement. Yvette Sampson said: 'We've wanted this since Kim died in 2018 - it's been a long time coming. We hope we are finally going to get answers to the questions we've always had - both for ourselves and for Kim's children.' Samantha's mother Nicky added: 'How did Sam and Kim get the virus, and from where? You feel like you are stuck and you can't move forward because you haven't got the answers you should have had.' Dr Rebecca Martin, Chief Medical Officer for East Kent Hospitals, said: 'Our deepest sympathies are with the families and friends of Kimberley and Samantha. 'We will do everything possible to support these inquests and our thoughts are with Kimberley and Samantha's families at this time.' The hearing will be formally opened on January 4. The NHS is still telling Covid-infected people in England to self-isolate for ten days, MailOnline can reveal. This is despite ministers deciding last week to cut the quarantine period to just one week for people who test negative two days in a row. More than a week on, however, and the NHS is still yet to prominently display No10's rule change on its own guidance website. Covid-infected people in England wanting to find out how long to self-isolate must click through to a separate page and then open a pop-up window to learn about the updated edict. Scientists today urged the NHS to 'rectify' its guidance quickly, saying no one should be expected to isolate for 'longer than is necessary'. England is on its own with the isolation guidance, however. The rest of the UK has stuck with the original 10-day period. It comes as business leaders, scientists and MPs have all lined up to call on Boris Johnson to cut self-isolation to five days in line with the US. Britons searching self-isolation online may be taken to this page telling them to isolate for ten full days. To reveal the seven-day rule, they must then click on the link highlighted above Those that click on the link are then taken to this page. They must select 'if you've tested positive' (highlighted above) to reveal the seven-day rule The window under the if you've tested positive reveals people who test positive for Covid can leave self-isolation three days early if they get a negative lateral flow on their sixth and seventh day in quarantine Boris Johnson is under mounting pressure to cut the isolation period to five days in line with the US. It could mean more NHS staff will leave quarantine early, and be able to return to their frontline roles People searching self-isolate rules online are taken to a page on the NHS website titled 'when to self-isolate and what to do Coronavirus (COVID-19)'. Under the section detailing how long to self-isolate at the bottom of the page they are told: 'If you test positive, your self-isolation period includes the day your symptoms started (or the day you had the test, if you did not have symptoms) and the next 10 full days.' Those that click on the link titled 'how long to self-isolate' are taken to a different page. Is it REALLY safe to cut the 10-day quarantine? How long are people infectious for? Britain's Covid's self-isolation sentence could be halved to just five days, some academics have argued. Data suggests roughly 98 per cent of virus transmission occurs either before people become ill, or within five days of symptoms starting. Dr Muge Cevik, an infectious disease expert from the University of St Andrews, said earlier this year: 'Given most transmission happens very early on, the isolation period could be much shorter for the cases. 'Viral load peaks pretty quickly, so people are highly infectious within the first few days.' How long can Covid patients test positive for? Lateral flow tests, which offer results in as little as 15 minutes, work best for sniffing out the people who are most infectious. They look for viral proteins called antigens in samples taken from the nose and throat. But the kits are less sensitive than gold-standard PCRs, which sees swabs sent off to laboratories to be analysed for viral genetic material. It means they are less likely to spot someone when they are infected, but also less likely to give a positive result when someone has gone past their peak infectiousness and have a lower viral load. PCRs, on the other hand, are extremely sensitive and can pick up the presence of viral fragments long after the illness has cleared. For this reason, a positive PCR result does not always mean someone is still contagious. Advertisement Once there, they must then click on the pop up titled 'if you've tested positive' to find out about the seven-day rule. The NHS is yet to respond to MailOnline's queries as to whether the page will be updated to make the isolation rules clearer. The hidden guidance has raised fears that some Britons may still be isolating for the full ten days, even when this is not necessary. Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, urged the NHS to 'rectify' its guidance quickly. He told MailOnline: 'This seems to be an error of presentation which needs to be rectified quickly. 'Nobody should be expected to stay in isolation for a day longer than is necessary and things like this just sow confusion and a sense that the rules and regulations are not clear. 'However, such communication also needs to be clear that stopping self-isolation after seven days is not a blanket rule and is only permissible if someone has negative lateral flow results on days 6 and 7, with the tests taken 24-hours apart. 'Otherwise people might unwittingly spread the virus to someone vulnerable.' Ministers announced on December 22 that Britons would only have to self-isolate for seven days, as long they got two negative lateral flow tests 24 hours apart. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said evidence showed the protection provided by lateral flows was 'very similar to ten days of isolation without tests'. He added that the updated guidance would help cut staff shortages in the NHS and essential services sparked by Omicron. Figures show as many as 875,000 are currently required to remain indoors after testing positive, with thousands of vital health workers self-isolating. Staff shortages mean almost one in 20 train services have been cancelled and a third of Londons fire engines are off the streets. The seven-day rule applies only in England, with people who test positive for Covid in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland still required to isolate for ten days. It comes amid growing calls from business leaders, MPs and some scientists for the period to be cut to five days in line with updates in the US. Professor Tim Spector, who leads the Zoe Covid Study at Kings College London, said: Five days is sensible if the individual has two lateral flow tests negative. A reduction in isolation days would help many frontline services by allowing low-risk staff to go into work and avoid people staying home unnecessarily. Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen told Sky News yesterday: The biggest threat I see now to the NHS, and indeed to all essential services and businesses, is from forced absenteeism due to self-isolation. America have dropped the self isolation to five days. I think we can do the same. CBI president Lord Bilimoria said: We have got to go for as low an isolation period as is safe because the disruption at the moment is huge. But a senior World Health Organization official yesterday warned Boris Johnson not to adapt Covid-fighting strategies based on 'early' Omicron data. Dr Michael Ryan, the executive director of the agency's health emergencies programme, urged the Government to 'wait and see' before acting. But he claimed the chances of someone transmitting the virus after six days of being infected were 'lower' and accepted it was up to individual countries to make a 'judgement call'. Dr Ryan told a WHO press conference: 'Even with the previous variants most people will incubate and show symptoms or be positive within that first six days or so, and the chances then of being positive or transmitting the disease after that are lower. 'But it is then for governments to make that judgment call of when to allow people out of a quarantine situation with extra tests. 'The most important thing at this moment is we need to be careful about changing tactics and strategies immediately on the basis of what were seeing in early Omicron data.' UK officials said yesterday there are 'no further changes' planned to self-isolation rules in the country, and insisted the current strategy was 'right'. China is developing brain control weapons that could be used to paralyze and control opponents instead of killing them, the US has alleged. America has sanctioned China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences and 11 affiliated research institutes for using 'biotechnology' to support the armed forces including 'purported brain-control weaponry'. The Commerce Department, which blacklisted the Chinese institutes, did not go into detail about the weapons - but a separate tranche of military documents penned in 2019 gives hints at what Beijing is trying to achieve. Instead of 'destroying bodies', China should focus on 'paralyzing and controlling the opponent' by 'attacking the enemy's will to resist', the report says. The US has sanctioned China's Academy of Military and Medical Sciences (pictured) and 11 associated institutes for allegedly developing 'brain control weponary' The Commerce Department sanctioned the research institutes in a memo last week, and the 2019 documents were obtained and translated by the Washington Times. The Academy of Military Sciences and its affiliates are now on the 'entity list', meaning American firms cannot export or transfer goods to them without a licence. It comes amid warnings from other government departments to US companies that China is trying to acquire American technology in fix key sectors, including biotech. One official, speaking to the FT, said the technology that China is trying to develop includes 'gene editing, human performance enhancement [and] brain machine interfaces.' Gina Raimondo, the US commerce secretary, said there are concerns that China will use any such weapons to maintain control over its own citizens - including ethnic minority Uighur Muslims. 'Unfortunately, the People's Republic of China is choosing to use these technologies to pursue control over its people and its repression of members of ethnic and religious minority groups,' she said. 'We cannot allow US commodities, technologies and software that support medical science and biotechnical innovation to be diverted toward uses contrary to US national security.' The Commerce Department also blacklisted companies from China, as well as Georgia, Malaysia and Turkey, for allegedly diverting US items to the military of Iran, a US adversary on which Washington maintains sweeping sanctions. Based in Beijing, the Academy of Military Medical Sciences has been active in development of a Covid-19 vaccine. But the United States has been increasingly alarmed by the connections between civilian and military research in China. Americans are now banned from trading with the academy without a licence, as the US fears its technology will be used to develop weapons to repress minorities including Uighurs (file) Rights experts, witnesses and the US government say that more than one million Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims are incarcerated in camps in an effort to root out their Islamic cultural traditions and forcibly homogenize them into China's Han majority. Beijing describes the sites as vocational training centers and says that, like many Western nations, it is seeking to reduce the allure of radical Islam following deadly attacks. The United States has described the campaign as genocide and, amid mounting concern, plans a boycott of official representation at the Beijing Winter Games next year. The United States is also expected soon to become the first country to ban all imports from Xinjiang, arguing that camp labor is so prevalent that it is difficult to separate it from other goods. After prolonged negotiations, lawmakers from the two parties and the Biden administration reached an agreement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which will ban the import of all goods from the region unless there is verifiable proof that production did not involve slavery. Xinjiang is a major source of cotton, with the Workers Rights Consortium, which monitors factories, estimating that 20 percent of the garments imported into the United States each year include some material from the region. 'We must take a clear moral position to stand with those who are suffering because of forced labor. No more business as usual,' Representative Jim McGovern said after the House last week approved the act which is expected to clear the Senate and be signed by Biden. The United States last week also imposed sanctions on two ethnic Uyghur political leaders in the Chinese administration of Xinjiang. China earlier Thursday voiced anger over US sanctions on four Chinese chemical weapons and one individual for allegedly fueling the painkiller trade through illicit online shipments. 'These kinds of erroneous acts, in which one side is sick but forces the other to take the medicine, is not constructive,' foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters. A military satellite which Russia boasted had been 'successfully launched' this week could come crashing down towards Earth after apparently suffering a malfunction. The new-generation Angara A-5 heavy carrier rocket was launched on Monday from Plesetsk spaceport. But independent experts say the mock spy satellite and booster rocket weighing 20 tonnes could come hurtling back towards the ground within weeks. The new-generation Angara A-5 heavy carrier rocket was launched on Monday from Plesetsk spaceport The modern Angara A-5 rocket is crucial to Russia's ambition to send advanced spy and weapons navigation satellites into orbit in the coming years, as well as for planned moon missions. The Angara and the Persei booster carried a mock satellite payload on this pioneering test flight. But experts now suggest that while the launch worked 'flawlessly', there was a failure with the Persei upper stage after its separation 12 minutes into the flight, meaning that the pretend satellite did not reach its orbit. It is expected to crash down to earth in weeks, say reports, with newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets calculating the 'uncontrollable' Persei and its load weighs some 20 tonnes . The modern Angara A-5 rocket is crucial to Russia's ambition to send up advanced spy and weapons navigation satellites into orbit The Angara and the Persei booster (pictured) carried a mock satellite payload on this pioneering test flight The Russian military high command - which was responsible for the launch - and space chiefs have not responded to requests for comment on the claims of a failure in the mission. The Kosmolenta online newspaper said that the Persei had to make five engine burns in the test mission, but it 'malfunctioned' on the second. As a result 'the model satellite remained in low orbit, in which it can stay for several weeks before falling to Earth'. It never reached its intended orbit 22,236 miles above sea level. 'This failure can be considered the first full-fledged launch accident at Roscosmos [the Russian space agency] in the past three years. The Angara and the Persei booster carried a mock satellite payload on this pioneering test flight Experts now suggest that while the launch worked 'flawlessly', there was a failure with the Persei upper stage' (pictured) Independent experts say the mock spy satellite and booster rocket weighing 20 tonnes could come hurtling back to ground within weeks 'If a real satellite had been on board as a payload, it would have been lost. 'And this failure reminds us that it was possible to achieve high reliability in recent years only due to the fact that Rososmos used old, long-proven technology. 'But accidents during the creation of new technology, sadly, are inevitable.' Scientific magazine N+1 said it had not received a response from the defence ministry. Space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin, a close Putin ally, had initially Tweeted his 'congratulations' on the 'successful launch' of the Angara. But he added that it was necessary to wait for the performance of the Persei booster, developed by the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation and launched by the Angara carrier rocket for the first time. Moskovsky Komsomolets [MK] reported that American space tracking service NORAD reported an unknown object 'A', numbered 50505 Space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin, a close Putin ally, had initially Tweeted his 'congratulations' on the 'successful launch' of the Angara Moskovsky Komsomolets [MK] reported that American space tracking service NORAD reported an unknown object 'A', numbered 50505. 'By all indications - this object is very similar to our Persei stuck in low orbit along with the payload model (satellite). 'If so, then a total of about 20 uncontrollable tonnes are flying over us, which will sooner or later fall. It will be good if it is in the Pacific Ocean.' Most is expected to burn out as it reenters the atmosphere. 'The question is where the leftovers will fall?' MK reported that the space agency has declined to give information on the launch. 'The launch was ordered by the military so the state corporation does not give any comments on it,' said a spokesman. Lateral flow tests have run out again on the Government's website, just minutes after more were made available online. The rapid home testing kits were available to order around 1pm today. But by 1.15pm the Government's website shared a message saying 'Sorry, there are no home delivery slots left for these tests right now'. Pharmacies, meanwhile, have started putting up signs warning customers they have no lateral flow tests - even for those who have pre-booked an order and have a code. Staff at one Boots store in London today put up a paper sign saying: 'We do not have the Covid lateral flow tests in stock. Please try another pharmacy. Thank you.' A pharmacy in Liverpool also stuck up a sign on their door saying: 'We have NO Covid tests! Even if you have a code.' It comes as today officials raised fears that people may soon struggle to access a PCR test 'anywhere near them'. Boris Johnson has urged the nation to enjoy celebrations tomorrow night in a 'cautious and sensible way' and that people should 'take a test' before heading to festivities. A Number 10 source has stressed that people do not have to take a test before they go out but should take one 'where possible'. However lateral flow tests and PCR test appointments were unavailable this morning as the testing chaos entered its fourth day - while private providers were found to be selling boxes of 25 LFTs for more than 200. Some Britons however have reported being able to get hold of lateral flow tests today, with one Twitter user said: 'Just managed to order some lateral flow tests after refreshing the website all morning, so it's worth keeping trying.' Worcestershire County council today said they had tests available in 'most' of their libraries and 'other collection points around the county'. Pharmacies have today started putting up signs warning customers they have no lateral flow tests - even for those who have pre-booked an order and have a code The rapid home testing kits were available to order around 1pm today. But by 1.15pm the Government's website shared a message saying 'Sorry, there are no home delivery slots left for these tests right now' Lateral flow tests and PCR test appointments are still unavailable this morning as the testing chaos enters its fourth day Data shows that almost a million lateral flow tests are being recorded every day in England at the moment. But that figure will be a huge under-estimate because only a fraction of swabs are officially recorded It comes as Government scientific adviser warned this morning it is 'very worrying indeed' that people in England could mix on New Year's Eve without taking a Covid test. Professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said indoor parties are 'absolutely perfect' for spreading the Omicron coronavirus variant. Meanwhile, a Government official told The Telegraph that people could soon struggle to get a PCR test at a walk-through or drive-through site within two days of asking for one as demand rises. A source told the newspaper: 'PCR test demand is still increasing. It's at the point now where demand and capacity are about level. But we will soon reach the point where people are struggling to get PCR tests anywhere near them within 48 hours. And what do we do then?' The Government is under growing pressure to resolve the testing shortage but ministers have blamed global supply issues. Mr Johnson said yesterday that people should get tested before celebrating with friends and family. He said: 'I think everybody should enjoy New Year but in a cautious and sensible way. Take a test, ventilation, think about others, but above all get a booster.' But rapid swab kits were not available online and pharmacies warned they had run out too with the Government website still showing they are unavailable for home delivery this morning. Appointments for drive-through and walk-in Covid tests were unavailable for hours on Wednesday even for doctors, nurses and carers - and are still unavailable this morning. The UK yesterday recorded a new record high of 183,037 coronavirus cases, amid growing fears the testing supply crisis could stop key workers taking tests to leave self-isolation and return to work. Boris Johnson has urged the nation to enjoy celebrations tomorrow night in a 'cautious and sensible way' Professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said indoor parties are 'absolutely perfect' for spreading the Omicron coronavirus variant Prof Openshaw was asked this morning how he feels about the prospect of people meeting up tomorrow without being able to take a test beforehand. He told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme: 'I think it is very worrying indeed. I think that we know the situations in which transmission happens and fortunately I don't think we are facing the sort of lockdown that was necessary in order to cope in the very earliest part of this year. 'But we do know that crowding together in poorly ventilated spaces, particularly if you are shouting over loud music and so on, is absolutely perfect in terms of transmitting this very, very high transmissible virus.' Asked if he believes new coronavirus rules will be needed in England in the coming days, he replied: 'That really is a political decision. I think, you know, as scientists and advisers all we can do is say what is likely to happen, according to the facts as we know them and then political decisions need to be made about what they are willing to put in place in terms of mitigation measures.' Prof Openshaw said it is still 'much too early to know' the full impact of Omicron. 'I think from the NHS point of view, the hospitalisations have now hit about 10,000 and about 70 per cent of those directly due to Covid and the daily admissions are increasing,' he said. 'The hospitalisations have roughly doubled in the last 10 days. There is always quite a lag in these figures and of course it is much too early to know what that is going to translate to in terms of people who will very sadly die. 'But I think it is inevitable that over time this will show up as the patients present and go through the course of this disease.' Asked if he anticipates a large rise in the number of Covid patients in intensive care, Prof Openshaw said: 'I think what we haven't seen really is what will happen to people who haven't been vaccinated and remember a lot of those who are eligible for vaccines have chosen not to take them and what will happen to the older, more vulnerable population. 'So far there has been a disproportionate number of infections in children and that has spread to the parents of those children, to those age groups, and it looks like it is now spreading up through the age groups.' The Government's decision to cut the self-isolation period from 10 days to seven, as well as advice to take a test before socialising, has seen demand for tests rocket in recent weeks. Officials have acknowledged that during periods of exceptional demand there could be 'temporary pauses' in ordering or receiving tests, in an attempt to manage distribution across the system. The reduced postal system over Christmas has also added to the supply issues. Health Secretary Sajid Javid admitted to a Tory MP yesterday that the Government is battling global supply issues. Sir Roger Gale said Mr Javid had confessed there was a problem with supplies previously ministers and officials had insisted they had sufficient stocks but the problems were in delivering them to people's homes or pharmacies. A Number 10 source told The Times that people do not need to take a test to go out but that it is advisable. The source told the newspaper: 'The government is not telling people they should not go out. 'It's about personal responsibility. But of course people should get a test where possible.' Have you received some unexpected Christmas money from Santander? Email isabella.nikolic@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement Santander will have to ask tens of thousands of customers to return funds, said experts, after the bank accidentally paid 130million from its own reserves on Christmas Day. Some 75,000 payment transactions, at an average of 1,733 each, were wrongly put through twice from 2,000 people and businesses who were set up to send either a one-off or regular payment, with the second payment coming directly from Santander's own reserves. The Spanish-owned bank - which said the blunder was due to a payments' 'scheduling issue' - is now struggling to get its money back because it has been sent to recipients who belong to a litany of other banks such as Barclays, HSBC and NatWest according to The Times. Even though the windfall was Santander's mistake, it is illegal for customers to keep the wrongly accredited money and if they spend it they face being charged with 'retaining wrongful credit' under the Theft Act 1968. The maximum sentence is 10 years in prison. But although those banks are able to take back money that was incorrectly paid into its customers' accounts, they fear some may have already spent it. Matt Boyle, Banking Publisher at the personal finance comparison site finder.com, told MailOnline that the bank will have to contact each customer directly to request that they return the funds. He also said Santander is allowed to report anyone who has accidentally received credit and refuses to pay it back to the police. Roughly 75,000 people and businesses who were already set up to receive either a one-off or regular payments from 2,000 companies with Santander accounts were wrongly paid twice Mr Boyle told MailOnline: 'Santander will need to contact each customer individually to request that they return the funds. The whole process could end up costing Santander a significant amount of time and effort. 'Unfortunately for Santander the retrieval process isn't as easy as just hitting the undo button.' He added: 'Santander is allowed to report anyone who has accidentally received credit and refuses to pay it back - either through stubbornness or because they spent the money and cannot repay it. 'You would hope and expect that Santander gives customers every opportunity to repay the money back first though.' One bank said it didn't want to take money back from a customer if it would force them into overdraft. Pay UK, which runs the main payment systems in the UK, is discussing the issue with Santander while the bank desperately tries to recover the money. The bank has been using 'bank error recovery' to go to various banks or directly to recipients of the cash to get it back. Referring to whether other banks are legally forced to give Santander the money back, Mr Boyle said: 'Santander has released a statement saying we will be working hard with many banks across the UK to recover the duplicated transactions over the coming days, which implies it is not a requirement for other banks to cooperate. The bank will struggle to get their money reimbursed because it has been sent to recipients who belong to a litany of other banks such as Barclays, HSBC and NatWest 'You would imagine other banks will place a big emphasis on not generating negative and unnecessary headlines for a fault that was not their own.' A Santander spokeswoman said: 'We're sorry that due to a technical issue some payments from our corporate clients were incorrectly duplicated on the recipients' accounts 'None of our clients were at any point left out of pocket as a result and we are taking steps to recover the duplicated transactions in line with industry processes.' The spokeswoman added: 'The duplicated payments were the result of a scheduling issue, which we quickly identified and rectified. The recipients and purpose of payment will have varied among clients but could have included wages or supplier payments.' Santander, which has 14million customers, was left in hot water earlier this year in May when it was forced to apologise after a glitch meant some of its customers weren't able to make any payments for almost an entire Saturday. And in August last year thousands of customers were unable to access their online accounts. Have you received some unexpected money from Santander? Email isabella.nikolic@mailonline.co.uk Darpa, the US army's scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept) AMERICA The US military has a number of hypersonic weapons programs across the Navy, Army and Air Force but most are still in development phase and highly top secret. However the known programs are all more conventional hypersonic weapons that strike from high altitude, rather than orbital bombardment systems that strike from space which the Chinese were revealed to have developed tis week. The only US hypersonic weapon know to have been successfully tested is the Air Force's GM-183 ARRW which is designed to be launched from a large bomber aircraft. It then accelerates to hypersonic speeds using of up to 15,345mph using a supersonic combustion ramjet to strike targets within 1,000 miles. Donald Trump refered to a 'super duper missile' while in office and this is believed to be the AGM-183 ARRW. The Navy's submarine launched Long Range Hypersonic Weapon is expected to be operational by 2023 and will have a range of 1,725 miles. Darpa, the US army's scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept) but kept details such as range, speed and payload secret. The missile uses oxygen in the atmosphere as part of its fuel - marking the first successful test of that class of weapon since 2013. The missile, which is built by Raytheon, was released from an aircraft just 'seconds' before the scramjet engine from Northrop Grumman kicked on, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said. The engine works by compressing incoming air with hydrocarbon fuel to create a fast airflow mixture, one capable of reaching over 1,700 meters per second, or five times the speed of sound. Earlier this year, a test of a hypersonic missile from the U.S. Air Force was abandoned after it was unable to complete its launch sequence. On March 19 last year, the Pentagon flight-tested a hypersonic glide vehicle at its Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. It deemed the test a success and 'a major milestone towards the department's goal of fielding hypersonic warfighting capabilities in the early- to mid-2020s.' Unlike Russia, the United States says it is not developing hypersonic weapons for use with a nuclear warhead. As a result, a U.S. hypersonic weapon will need to be more accurate, posing additional technical challenges. In 2004, NASA's experimental unmanned hypersonic aircraft X-43 reached 7,366mph (Mach 9.6) using a scramjet engine, setting the current record. In 2019, DailyMail.com reported that the Raytheon and Northrop Grumman-developed missile would use an engine made by a 3D printer. Last year, DARPA said it was working with Aerojet Rocketdyne on a nearly $20 million project to develop a hypersonic rocket that could intercept enemy missiles mid-air. Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine and has the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles RUSSIA Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine, and since late 2019 has had the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles in service. The Avangard can travel at up to Mach 27, changing course and altitude. The range of Russia's hypersonic missile, the Zircon, is 621 miles with a speed of 9,800mph. But the missile flies below the atmosphere and uses fuel to power itself to hypersonic speeds rather than the Earth's orbit. Earlier this month, Russia announced it has successfully test-fired the Zircon from a nuclear submarine for the first time. The 6,670mph weapon hit a target in the Barents Sea according to the Moscow defence ministry, who claims the missile is capable of Mach-9 speeds and able to evade all Western defences. Russia said it had completed flight tests of the new-age missile from a frigate - the Admiral Gorshkov - and a coastal mount, but it had not previously been launched from a submarine. The Zircon has been identified by Moscow's state-controlled TV as Vladimir Putin's weapon of choice to wipe out coastal American cities in the event of an atomic conflict. He has declared the missile as 'truly unparalleled anywhere in the world', and the Russians have boasted it is 'unstoppable' by Western defences. Putin first announced the development of an array of new hypersonic weapons in 2018, insisting that they would be able to hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield. The Zircon is due to go into service next year, and will first be deployed via the Admiral Golovko frigate which carries significant stealth-technology. A key use of the missile is taking out enemy ships and reports suggested its maximum range is between 188 and 620 miles. But there have been unconfirmed reports its true range is some 1,200 miles. The missile system's design and development have been conducted in deep secrecy, and Putin has warned that foreign spies have tried to steal its secrets. It is one of a number of hypersonic missiles Russia is deploying including the 188-tonne Sarmat - known in the West as Satan-2 - which will be the biggest beast in Russia's nuclear arsenal, due for tests in the autumn with deployment slated for next year. In May, Russia said it tested three 'invincible' hypersonic 'Satan 2' missiles that some have said could wipe out areas the size of England and Wales. China launched the dummy weapon into space on board a Long March 2C rocket (pictured) during a test in mid-August which it did not disclose at the time and was only revealed at the weekend by security analysts assigned to work out its purpose CHINA The hypersonic orbital bombardment system that China tested in August reportedly reaches a top speed of 21,000 mph and strikes from space. The core concept of China's 'new' weapon - deliver a warhead into orbit and have it circle the globe before hitting a target - was first developed by the Soviets in the 1960s. Called a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, or FOBS, it was developed to evade powerful US radar arrays and missile defence systems. Those systems work by detecting launches of ICBMs - very long-range missiles that can be tipped with nukes - and tracking them into space, then firing at the warheads as they come down in the hope of blowing them up before they hit their targets. This is possible because ICBMs and their warheads follow a predictable trajectory that rises high into space - making them relatively easy to spot and allowing defence crews to calculate where they are aimed so they can be shot out of the sky. FOBS aim to negate these defences by firing their warheads along a much-flatter trajectory - assisted by Earth's gravity. This means they pass under the scope of many radar detection arrays and are harder to track. It also makes the warheads much harder to shoot down because their trajectory is harder to calculate. The use of orbit makes a warhead's range potentially unlimited, meaning it can be fired at its target from any direction. This helps to avoid radar systems which generally point at a fixed spot in the sky - in America's case, over the North Pole. Meanwhile, China has also unveiled a hypersonic medium-range missile, the DF-17, in 2019, which can travel around 2,000 kilometres and can carry nuclear warheads. In October, China deployed the DF 17 missile to coastal areas in preparation for a possible invasion of Taiwan. The weapon has a maximum range of 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) and is capable of achieving speeds of up to 7,680 miles per hour (12,360 kph) - or 10 times the speed of sound - while carrying a nuclear warhead, according to previous reports. It has been billed as 'a death sentence' to aircraft carriers within its range. Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere - or about 6,200 km per hour (3,850 mph). This is slower than an intercontinental ballistic missile, but the shape of a hypersonic glide vehicle allows it to manoeuvre toward a target or away from defences. Combining a glide vehicle with a missile that can launch it partially into orbit - a so-called fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS) - could strip adversaries of reaction time and traditional defences mechanisms. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), by contrast, carry nuclear warheads on ballistic trajectories that travel into space but never reach orbit. China on Monday insisted that the test in August was a routine one for a spacecraft rather than a missile. Death threats against top journalists have forced the BBC to approach the Metropolitan Police for guidance. The organisation is understood to have written to Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, following fears of an attack similar to that carried out on Sir David Amess. BBC chiefs have taken the threats seriously enough to contact a journalism safety adviser at the Met in order to help journalists take precautions in all aspects of their work. It is the latest incident amid mounting concerns for journalists' safety. Reporters have received a barrage of abuse in recent months, The Times reports. In June, Newsnight political editor Nick Watt was hounded by aggressive anti-lockdown campaigners at a rally, who screamed that he was 'scum' and a 'traitor'. BBC political editor Nick Watt was forced to seek refuge from anti-lockdown campaigners during a rally in June Mr Watt was forced to retreat to the Downing Street security gate, which is guarded by police. Joseph Olswang, 38, Alexander Peat, 34, and Martin Hockridge, 57, deny breaching the public order act regarding the incident. Mr Hockridge was due to stand trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday following multiple adjournments. As he failed to turn up, the hearing was again adjourned to March 23 next year. From June to July, the Government ran a public consultation calling on journalists to give evidence about threats to their safety. Of the 360 responses received, it emerged over four in five reporters had experienced threats, abuse or violence while working in the UK. A third of these were acts of physical violence, while verbal abuse and online threats each made up the other two thirds. The death of Sir David Amess outside his constituency surgery in Southend-on-Sea on October 15 has heightened security fears for high-profile public figures, including journalists working at the BBC The Government's Call for Evidence report noted: 'The majority of respondents did not report all incidents to platforms, police and employers, due in part to poor confidence they would be progressed or taken seriously. 'A key theme raised was the challenges faced by journalists at demonstrations. 'For instance, one reported that: 'Filming during crowds and demonstrations is getting more and more difficult and less safe. A growing number of protesters and activists now target media and film crews with intimidation and threats of violence.' 'A larger proportion of female than male respondents - over one in three - indicated that they do not feel safe when operating as a journalist in the UK. 'A very similar proportion of male and female respondents experienced threats, abuse or violence as a result of their work in the UK. Violence and abuse were more commonly experienced by male respondents and bullying more commonly reported by female respondents.' The BBC says 'the safety and security of our journalists around the world and in the UK is paramount' The death of Sir David Amess outside his constituency surgery in Southend-on-Sea on October 15 has heightened security fears for high-profile public figures, including journalists working at the BBC. Ali Harbi Ali, 25, who allegedly stabbed Sir David to death, pleaded not guilty to murder during a pre-trial hearing earlier this month. A BBC spokesman said: 'The safety and security of our journalists around the world and in the UK is paramount, and we're constantly looking at ways to ensure we have the right measures in place. 'It's completely unacceptable that journalists should ever be threatened or targeted for doing their jobs.' The Met Police added: 'Should a member of the public have any concerns over their own safety or welfare, then they should contact their local police who will be able to assess those concerns and offer relevant crime prevention or security advice as appropriate.' Radio host Ray Hadley has launched a furious tirade at Dominic Perrottet accusing him of being 'arrogant' after the premier defended his decision to drop major restrictions just in time for the Christmas holidays. Hadley didn't hold back when he called in to discuss the NSW Premier's bold decision to drop mask-wearing and QR codes just in time for the festive season. Following a surge in Covid caseloads caused by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, these health measures have already made a swift return in NSW. Hadley told co-host Chris O'Keefe he nearly 'fell out of his chair' when the premier announced plans to ease additional rules following an emergency cabinet meeting, and later insisted he had no regrets despite the Christmas chaos that ensued. 'All of us make mistakes particularly under pressure,' the radio host said. 'And to say yesterday that he would do nothing different means there's an arrogance of touch to this premiership, which is almost breathtaking.' Radio host Ray Hadley (pictured with his wife Sophie) has launched a furious tirade at Dominic Perrottet accusing him of being 'arrogant' while defending his decision to drop major restrictions Poll DID DOM MAKE A MISTAKE DROPPING QR CODES AND MASK MANDATES? Yes No DID DOM MAKE A MISTAKE DROPPING QR CODES AND MASK MANDATES? Yes 730 votes No 829 votes Now share your opinion He claimed the 70,000 odd active cases in the state could be tripled or even quadrupled given most NSW residents had almost given up trying to get tested. Requirements for a test to travel interstate, for close contacts and for people experiencing Covid symptoms has overwhelmed testing facilities and caused wait times of up to six hours over the festive season. This is despite the same number of tests, and sometimes fewer, being conducted in the last week as during the winter lockdown - pointing to an issue with staffing over the Christmas period. 'This is all on the back of this bloke deciding that on December 15 that we open the floodgates. Everything is hunky dory,' Hadley said sarcastically. He said that for Mr Perrottet to tell his co-host Joe Hildebrand the day previously he didn't regret dropping restrictions when he did was the 'definition of insanity'. The state leader has repeatedly defended his decision to relieve residents of tough restrictions and reopen the state, recently encouraging New Year's celebrations. Following a surge in Covid caseloads caused by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant measures like masks and QR codes have returned to NSW (pictured, revellers in Sydney after restrictions lifted) Mr Perrottet has cited the number of ICU admissions as evidence the Omicron variant is not as severe as previous strains, and said hospitals were coping well. There are 746 Covid patients in hospital as of Thursday, rising from 347 a week ago - an increase of 115 per cent in just seven days. While a much lower percentage of Omicron patients seem to end up in hospital compared to those with Delta, due to Omicron's much higher transmissibility there are many more people infected - meaning even if a smaller fraction are hospitalised, it may lead to greater numbers overall. Typically, increasing case numbers are not reflected in hospitalisation rates for around two weeks, meaning the true extent of this new wave may not been seen until well into the new year. In a quick u-turn on December 23, Mr Perrottet announced masks would be required in indoor settings and reintroduced the two square metre rule in venues. Mr Perrottet (pictured) has repeatedly defended his decision to relieve residents of tough restrictions and reopen the state, recently encouraging New Year's celebrations Radio host Ray Hadley didn't hold back when he called in to discuss the bold decision to drop mask-wearing and QR codes before Christmas (pictured, a shopper checks in with a QR code) 'Yes ICU (admissions) are down, but big deal,' Hadley said. 'The economic cost because the boy Premier decided he knew more on December 15 and a week later, what did he do? 'Seven days after he made the decision, he reversed a decision he should never have made in the first place. 'I know one thing: this will cost him the premiership in 2023.' The premier has defended his decision to axe QR codes as as part of the state's plan to 'learn to live alongside the virus' and said use of the measures would 'dissipate'. It comes as Mr Perrottet confirmed PCR tests would be scrapped for rapid antigen tests would be scrapped to ease 'substantial pressure' on the state's testing system. 'From our state's perspective, to move away from overseas travellers requiring to be PCR-tested on return - we'll move to a rapid antigen test there,' told 2GB. Currently in NSW people travelling from overseas must receive a PCR test within 24 hours of their arrival and self-isolate until they are notified of a negative result. Mr Perrottet has cited the number of ICU admissions as evidence the Omicron variant is not as severe as previous strains and said hospitals were coping well (pictured, shoppers in Sydney) AUSTRALIA'S NEW COVID RULES Who should get a PCR test? Anyone who has symptoms or who has got a positive rapid antigen test New definition of close contact: Someone who has spent at least four hours in a household or a care facility with a positive case. Workplaces do not count. New isolation period: Positive people and close contacts must isolate for seven days or 10 in SA. This is regardless of whether the close contacts test negative or not Timing: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT implemented the new rules on New Year's Eve. Tasmania followed on January 1 while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will not adopt the scheme until they get more Covid cases in the weeks ahead. Advertisement Meanwhile, Covid-positive patients and close contacts will only have to isolate for seven days after most state premiers agreed to new rules on Thursday. Across most of the country, a close contact will now be defined as someone who has spent at least four hours in an 'accommodation setting' such as a household or a care facility with a positive case. Close contacts with symptoms must have a PCR test but if they have no symptoms they can use a rapid antigen test. They must isolate for seven days since their contact with the positive person - even if they test negative - and can leave isolation on day seven if they test negative on day six. If a workplace, such as an office has a positive case, the contacts don't need to isolate, just monitor symptoms. All Australians, whether they have come into contact with an infected person or not, are still encouraged to get a PCR test if they develop any Covid symptoms. The new rules will also be welcomed by employers, especially hospitality venues, who are finding it increasingly hard to find staff because of the growing outbreak. Covid-positive patients and close contacts will only have to isolate for seven days after most state premiers agreed to new rules on Thursday (pictured, bar-goers in Sydney) NSW recorded 12,226 new Covid cases on Thursday, up from 11,201 on Wednesday, with 746 people currently hospitals and 63 patients in ICU (pictured, revellers in Sydney) NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will implement the changes on Friday morning at midnight. South Australia will adopt the new close contact definition - but keep a 10-day isolation rule in place. Tasmania will adopt the new rules on January 1, while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will not adopt the definition until they get high Covid caseloads. 'I am confident that this is the best way to manage the Omicron pandemic,' Mr Morrison said. NSW recorded 12,226 new Covid cases on Thursday, up from 11,201 on Wednesday, with 746 people currently hospitals and 63 patients in ICU. Foreigners working or living in Russia will need to undergo routine testing for sexually transmitted infections and drugs under new laws. Overseas workers, those planning on staying in Russia more than 90 days, and their families will also be fingerprinted under rules signed into law by Vladimir Putin. Fingerprint requirements came into force Wednesday while medical exams will be required from March 1 next year. Doctors will test for HIV and Aids, tuberculosis, leprosy and syphilis, as well as the 'presence or absence' of psychoactive drugs. Foreigners will be allowed into the country without completing the checks, but must undergo the procedures within the first 30 days at the Sakharovo migration centre 50 miles outside of Moscow. Children under the age of six, Belarusians and some diplomatic officials will be exempt from the rules. It is believed that foreign journalists working in Russia will also be subjected to the testing, though DW.com reports the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it would seek 'favourable conditions' for reporters. Vladimir Putin (pictured yesterday) signed off on the new rules earlier this year on July 1, saying they would take effect after 180 days According to drafts of the law, medical certificates will only be valid for 90 days, with new tests required after the certificate expires. Tests must take place within 30 days of the certificate expiring. Russian's foreign ministry has denied routine testing will take place, calling this a misinterpretation, but has yet to clarify the wording of the law. Checks will also be carried out for Covid, while some people might be required to have blood tests, X-rays or CT scans depending on the results of their tests. Those found to be in violation of the laws risk having their work permits revoked, or their right to remain in Russia curtailed. Foreigners will be allowed into the country without completing the checks, but must undergo the procedures within the first 30 days at the Sakharovo migration centre (pictured) 50 miles outside of Moscow Russia says the new laws are necessary to 'prevent medical threats' and to 'better track foreign nations in the event of criminal offences'. But foreign governments and business groups say the rules will isolate Russia from the rest of the world and make it harder to work there. Jason Rebholz, spokesman for the US embassy in Moscow, described the rules as 'xenophobic' earlier this month and called for them to be scrapped. Mika Beuster of the German Journalists Association said the health of foreign journalists had nothing to do with the Russian government. Putin signed the law on July 1, saying it would take effect within 180 days. The American Chamber of Commerce and the Association of European Businesses have both opposed the new laws. The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce warned that there could be consequences for the Russian economy if the new rules are implemented. Before the Covid pandemic, Russia imported some 2.5million workers each year - or around 3% of its 81million-strong workforce - from overseas. Most of those workers came from poorer central Asian states, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Disgraced former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who resigned in the face of corruption allegations, has been tapped to work for billionaire Peter Thiel's investment firm starting next year. Kronen Zeitung newspaper and Heute news portal said Kurz, 35, confirmed to them that he would work as a global strategist at Thiel Capital, starting in the first quarter of 2022. He will be earning just under $340,000 a year. A spokesperson for Kurz during his chancellorship did not immediately return a request for comment. Billionaire Peter Thiel's (left) investment firm has hired disgraced former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, 35 (right), to work as a global strategist Kurz confirmed he would work at Thiel Capital in West Hollywood, California (pictured), starting in the first quarter of 2022 Kurz stepped down as Austria's chancellor in early October after persistent corruption allegations and in early December, he retired from all political posts, including as chairman of the conservative Austrian People's Party, saying he had lost interest since the birth of his first son last month. He is one of 10 people suspected of varying degrees of breach of trust, corruption and bribery in a case in which prosecutors allege public funds were used to secretly commission manipulated polling that was published with a view to helping Kurz become party leader and then chancellor in 2017. The boyish college dropout came to power at age 31, becoming Europe's youngest head of government. Kurz has denied all wrongdoing, but acknowledged making some mistakes in the course of his 10-year political career. 'I'm neither a saint, nor a criminal,' he told reporters earlier this month. 'I'm a human being with strengths and weaknesses.' Earlier this week, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting organization with 150 journalists in more than 30 countries, listed Kurz among the finalists for the title of the world's most corrupt leader. Heute, citing sources close to Kurz, said the former chancellor would commute between Europe, where his family will remain, and California, where Thiel Capital is headquartered. Kurz and Thiel have known each other since at least 2017, when they posed for this picture was taken during the Munich Security Conference Thiel, 54, who was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and has an estimated net worth of $6.92 million, was one of the founders of PayPal, the first outside investor in Facebook and adviser to former President Donald Trump. Thiel and Kurtz appear to have known each other for at least four years, the Financial Times first reported. In 2017, Kurtz tweeted out a photo of showing him posing up with Thiel at the Munich Security Conference. Kurz wrote in an accompanying message that it was 'great to meet' the right-wing billionaire to discuss 'digitalization,' and added, 'Thanks for the opportunity!' A former lawyer for disgraced tycoon Jeffrey Epstein has claimed one of the pedophile's victims who accused him of rape could now herself be charged with sex crimes. Alan Dershowitz suggested that prosecutors behind the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell for sex trafficking crimes could now try Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre for her alleged role in the abuse of under-age girls. The Harvard professor, who has previously represented rapist Harvey Weinstein and former President Trump, has been accused of rape by Giuffre and the pair are locked in a countersuit over a defamation case. He denies all wrongdoing. The claim comes after Epstein's 'madam' Maxwell was found guilty on five of six counts relating to sex trafficking at a federal court in New York last night. Dershowitz was a member of Epstein's legal defense team for his first criminal case in 2008 where he pled guilty to two felony prostitution charges in Florida, and was given 18 months in a 'sweetheart deal' which effectively shut down an FBI probe into the sex crimes. But on Fox News last night, Dershowitz said that Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein as a 17-year-old, could be tried for 'facilitating sex' between Epstein and a minor later on. Former Jeffrey Epstein lawyer Alan Dershowitz claimed prosecutors behind the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell for sex trafficking crimes could now try Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre for an alleged role in the abuse. Alan Dershowitz suggested that prosecutors behind the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell for sex trafficking crimes could now try Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre for her alleged role in the abuse of under-age girls 'The interesting question is who else should be prosecuted,' said Dershowitz. 'Virginia Giuffre one of the women [in the trial] testified she was 14 or 15 years old and she was brought to Jeffrey Epstein for money by Virginia Giuffre who was well over the age of consent. 'Giuffre then, according to the testimony at the trial, got naked, had sex with Jeffrey Epstein in order to facilitate her having sex with Epstein. 'So Giuffre, under the theory of the prosecution, is guilty as well' Derschowitz added that federal prosecutors were 'smart' not to use Giuffre as a witness in the Maxwell trial, claiming she 'would have been a key witness, but the government simply didn't believe her'. Asked if Maxwell could talk to prosecutors in the face of a 65-year jail sentence, Dershowitz added 'she will probably want to tell her full story at some point'. 'There is nothing that opens peoples' mouths more than facing a long criminal sentence.' Dershowitz told hosts that he had met Maxwell 'only a handful of times with my wife, with my daughter', and that at the time he believed she was 'just Jeffrey Epstein's girlfriend'. 'We had no idea any of these things were going on,' he said. Speaking to Fox News, Dershowitz said that Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein as a 17-year-old, could be tried for 'facilitating sex' between Epstein and a minor later on. Pictured: Virginia Giuffre with her lawyer in 2019 Few references to the Prince have not been accompanied by the photograph of him with his arm round the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Roberts at Ms Maxwell's mews house in London, an occasion which he claims not to recall At the start of Dershowitz's segment, the Fox News host pointed out that the lawyer had 'once represented Epstein and is currently being sued by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre for defamation' and that the Professor denies all wrongdoing and is in fact counter-suing Giuffre. This came in stark contrast to his appearance on BBC News hours before, where critics slammed the channel for interviewing him on the subject without giving any context. Dershowitz told the British public broadcaster that the New York sex abuse case against Prince Andrew brought by Ms Giuffre had been was weakened because prosecutors in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial failed to call his accuser as a witness. But critics pointed out Mr Dershowitz is also accused of sexual abuse by Ms Roberts, said that taints his opinion on the case and slammed the BBC for interviewing him on the subject without giving any context. And royal experts said there was 'no way back' for Andrew's reputation now the Maxwell verdicts are in regardless of the outcome of the case against him. Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz both deny all the allegations against them. Mr Dershowitz, 83, who was formerly Jeffrey Epstein's lawyer, told the BBC he thought the case against Andrew was 'weakened considerably' after the Maxwell trial. 'I think the most important thing for British viewers is that the Government was very careful as to who it used as witnesses,' he said. The BBC labelled Alan Dershowitz a 'lawyer' without saying he represented Jeffrey Epstein and is also accused by Virginia Giuffre 'It did not use as a witness the woman who accused Prince Andrew, who accused me, who accused many other people, because the Government did not believe that she was telling the truth. 'And in fact that she, Virginia Giuffre, was mentioned in the trial as someone who brought young people to Epstein for him to abuse. 'So this case does not do anything at all in any way to strengthen the case against Prince Andrew. 'In fact it weakens the case against Prince Andrew considerably because the government was very selective in who it used. The fact Mr Dershowitz was introduced on to the BBC News Channel as a 'constitutional lawyer', with no mention of his involvement in the case, drew condemnation last night. His claims about Ms Giuffre were not challenged by the interviewer. Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister, said that the interview represented a 'huge error by the BBC'. However royal experts said that Prince Andrew's reputation was 'a busted flush' regardless of what transpires in the case against him, because of his friendship with billionaire pedophile Epstein and now-convicted sex trafficker Maxwell. The jury's confirmation that Maxwell was the willing accomplice for the late Epstein will serve to place Andrew beyond the pale for his elder brother Prince Charles, who already saw him as a liability for the Royal Family. The Duke of York's lawyers will try to have the civil lawsuit brought by his accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre thrown out of court early next month. But last night's result will make that much more difficult. And royal observers believe that even a victory for Andrew at that stage or at a full trial expected in the Autumn would still not be enough to remove the stigma attached to his name over his friendship with Epstein. And the sensational verdict in Maxwell's case will have done nothing to bolster confidence in Andrew's camp at having Ms Giuffre's lawsuit dismissed. Prince Andrew strongly denies Ms Giuffre's (pictured at court in New York on August 27, 2019) allegations that he slept with her as a 17-year-old sex slave after she claimed to have been trafficked to him at the London house 'He's a busted flush,' one seasoned royal expert told MailOnline. 'Unfortunately for Andrew, it's no longer so much about evidence and proof, or what if anything went on with Virginia Giuffre -- it's all about public perception. 'Andrew's handling of this whole affair, coupled with his car crash Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, have made him into a toxic brand for the rest of the Royal Family. 'Only the Queen, who has always considered him as her favourite, remains loyal, while the other Royals are keen to keep him at arm's length.' Officially, Andrew's position is that he has 'stepped back' from royal duties while the court case is resolved, but it's difficult to envisage how he could once again take his place in public life in the same way as previously. Last night Lisa Bloom, a lawyer representing many of Jeffrey Epstein's victims in several cases, said anyone connected to the pedophile financier should be 'concerned'. 'I think anyone who was associated with Jeffrey Epstein, who either participated in sexual abuse, or helped him by sending girls to him, trafficking, etc, should be very concerned today about this verdict.' She added: 'The case [against Prince Andrew] has been filed, it has been served after various attempts on his behalf to duck service. Eventually the courts said "you've been served, move forward". 'Now he is trying to get the case thrown out on some technical grounds, he says Virginia is not a resident of the United States, that she's really a resident of Australia, therefore the case should not be heard here. 'He seems to be doing everything he can to avoid the case being decided on its merits, hoping to get it thrown out on technical grounds, so we'll see what the judge does.' Said it was possible that the case could be thrown out but Virginia says she has residency of the US in Colorado. 'She has outstanding attorneys. 'I am rooting for her and I hope the case is decided on its merits, so that her dispute with Prince Andrew, and whether he sexually assaulted her can ultimately be decided once and for all by a jury.' That case is likely to dominate the news heading through the early part of 2022. At the moment, the Duke is not expected to play any high-profile part in the forthcoming commemorations for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands war in June, despite his role on active service as a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter pilot during the 1982 conflict. Prince Andrew first met Ghislaine Maxwell when she was at university and the pair had known each other for nearly 20 years when she is alleged to have introduced him to Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell (right) and the American financier (left) were believed to be dating at the time and the Duke subsequently struck up a friendship with Epstein As a veteran, Prince Andrew would be perfectly entitled to attend any of the events to mark the recapture of Port Stanley, but it is understood that no official invitations have been extended. Prince Andrew was frequently mentioned by the prosecution in the trial, as a friend of Epstein and Maxwell, a visitor to the billionaire's townhouse in Manhattan and his private island Little St James and as having travelled at least four times on the infamous 'Lolita Express', Epstein's private jet. Few references to the Prince have not been accompanied by the photograph of him with his arm round the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Roberts at Ms Maxwell's mews house in London, an occasion which he claims not to recall. Prince Andrew strongly denies Ms Giuffre's allegations that he slept with her as a 17-year-old sex slave after she claimed to have been trafficked to him at the London house. It has even been reported at one stage that 'sources close to Andrew' suggested the photo could have been faked. That said, his team must have breathed a sigh of relief over the fact that Ms Giuffre was never called to the stand to give evidence during the Maxwell trial, despite being 'available to do so'. Those who have known Prince Andrew for decades say he is a victim of his own boorish, entitled arrogance and his biggest mistake and one which many other high-profile individuals also made, not least former US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, was to allow himself to associate with the likes of a man like Epstein at all In a hearing on Saturday, prosecutors taunted Maxwell's defence lawyers by saying they could have invited Miss Roberts to take the stand but had chosen not to. Andrew Rohrbach said: 'The most obvious witness who was available to both sides and who we expect the defence to comment on is Virginia Roberts, who was described as a victim but did not testify and she was fully available to the defendants. They did not call her.' A source close to the Duke told MailOnline: 'This was Ghislaine Maxwell's trial not the Duke's. Nothing new of any substance has been raised in relation to the Duke any mentions have been glancing blows, not body blows.' Prince Andrew first met Maxwell when she was at university and the pair had known each other for nearly 20 years when she is alleged to have introduced him to Epstein. She and the American financier were believed to be dating at the time and the Duke subsequently struck up a friendship with Epstein. It was that relationship which allegedly saw him make multiple visits to Epstein's homes and his island. Andrew's lawyers will bring their motion to the District Court in New York next month, seeking a dismissal. Court filings state that he 'unequivocally denies' sexually abusing or assaulting Ms Giuffre. A Kiwi newsreader has made history by becoming the first person to anchor a TV news bulletin with a traditional face tattoo. Oriini Kaipara, 37, who has a moko kauae, a traditional lower chin tattoo worn by Maori women, read Newshub Live's 6pm news bulletin in New Zealand on Monday. The mother-of-four from Auckland discovered she was 100 per cent Maori after taking a DNA test in 2017. Oriini Kaipara, 37, who has a moko kauae, a traditional lower chin tattoo worn by Maori women, read Newshub Live's 6pm news bulletin on Monday The mother-of-four from Auckland said the moment fulfilled a lifelong dream and hoped she was the first in a long line of Maori women reading the news with traditional tattoos The newsreader then decided to adopt the Maori tattoo in 2019 in a process known as Ta moko, which represents family heritage and social status. For Maori women the moko was a rite of passage, marking the passage between girl and adulthood and symbolises transformation. Kaipara said presenting the primetime bulletin fulfilled a lifelong dream and said she hoped she was the first in a long line of Maori women reading the news with traditional tattoos. 'It's really exciting. I'm really enjoying it. I'm not speechless, but it's a buzz. I am proud of how far I've come in being able to anchor 6pm right now,' she told Stuff. Kaipara made headlines in 2019 when she became the first person with a face tattoo to present mainstream news when filling in for TVNZ's midday broadcast. She regularly does packages for the main bulletin, becoming a fan favourite because of her Maori markings. Oriini Kaipara is hosting the 6pm bulletin on Newshub Live this week Kaipara is bilingual and of Tuhoe, Ngati Awa, Tuwharetoa and Ngati Rangitihi descent, something she proudly displays while working as a prominent journalist Oriini Kaipara, 37, has a moko kauae, a traditional lower chin tattoo worn by Maori women 'It's definitely a step forward, and a step-up. If there was a goal for me, it would be anchoring prime time news, and that's happened,' she said. 'We've got a good team at Newshub, I don't feel the pressure as much as I used to when I first started out in journalism. But that comes with doing the hard yards, and then actually realising it and doing it is really exciting.' Kaipara is bilingual and of Tuhoe, Ngati Awa, Tuwharetoa and Ngati Rangitihi descent, something she proudly displays while working as a prominent journalist. 'I'm very much aware that I'm the first [with moko kauae] to anchor a six o'clock primetime news bulletin.' she said. New Zealand's foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta (pictured) also has a moko kauae, becoming the first female MP to wear one in parliament 'That is always at the back of my mind, that every step I make is like breaking through a glass ceiling. 'It's breaking new ground for us as Maori, but also for people of colour. Whether you've got a moko kauae or not.' New Zealand's foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta also has a moko kauae, becoming the first female MP to wear one in parliament. The politician has links to Maori royalty, with her father the adopted son of King Koroki. She got the tattoo in 2016 and said it offers 'positive ways to enable cultural expression and pride in being Maori. Advertisement The NHS cannot 'magic up' staff to oversee temporary 'Nightingale' wards in hospital car parks, health leaders warned today as construction workers began erecting eight make-shift sites. NHS chiefs last night announced eight hospitals in England will start building temporary structures this week to house up to 100 Covid patients each. Work has already started at St Georges Hospital in South London and the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent. The overspill sites which could also be erected in canteens and gyms if needed in the coming weeks will be equipped with beds and machines for patients who still need minor treatment. The drive forms part of a new NHS 'war footing' to tackle the Omicron wave, which is starting to pile pressure on hospitals. But questions have already been raised as to how the units will be manned amid the spiralling rates of absences among the health service coupled with the 100,000-plus vacancies before Covid struck. Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers which represents hospital trusts said staffing the makeshift wards posed a 'major challenge' and that 'you cant just magic up the number of staff that are needed to staff these beds out of thin air'. He added, however, that having the facilities on existing hospital grounds 'maximises the NHS's ability to meet that challenge' and that he expects volunteers will be called in if the sites were needed to be used. Meanwhile, Pat Cullen, from the Royal College of Nursing, warned that it would mean nursing resources are 'spread thinner'. She said that she had 'no idea' how the hubs would be staffed. ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, SOUTH LONDON: Construction workers began erecting a temporary field hospital in the grounds of St George's Hospital in Tooting today WILLIAM HARVEY HOSPITAL IN ASHFORD, KENT: Pictured above is construction work beginning on the William Harvey 'mini-Nightingale' hospital, situated in the site's car park The above shows where England's eight new 'mini-Nightingales' will be set up. These will aim to treat 100 Covid patients following a stay in intensive care, and will be on hospital sites to ensure they can be properly manned. Previous Nightingales could not get enough nurses Trade site the Health Service Journal revealed the plans for more 'mini-Nightingales' before Christmas. It said at the time that army medical personnel could be called in to help, although the formal request was yet to be made. The Nightingale hospitals will be staffed by nurses and consultants, as well as clinical and non-clinical staff. It is not clear whether this would include soldiers, but NHS sources told MailOnline that the Army are always drafted in when required. ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, SOUTH LONDON: One member of a construction team was pictured working on the roofing of the make-shift site ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, SOUTH LONDON: The view of the temporary NHS ward WILLIAM HARVEY HOSPITAL IN ASHFORD, KENT A view of the make-shift Nightingale site set-up in a car park on the grounds of the William Harvey Row erupts as data shows a third of Covid patients are in hospital for reasons other than the virus A row erupted over the Government's Covid figures last night as it emerged almost one in three in hospital with the virus was admitted for unrelated reasons. NHS statistics revealed the proportion of so-called 'incidental' coronavirus admissions had risen to a record 29 per cent sparking claims that official figures were misleading. These cases are from patients taken to hospital for an unrelated reason, such as a fall or broken bone, who just happen to then discover they also have the virus. It means thousands of those who are being counted as Covid admissions which would suggest they are severely ill with the condition are not actually suffering seriously with the virus. Many only tested positive once they were on wards and may have simply caught the virus while there. It has raised concerns that the headline statistics which drive Government decisions on restrictions and lockdowns are overestimating how many people are dangerously sick with Covid. Advertisement The 'mini-Nightingales' will be scattered around the country, with sites based in London, Bristol, Leeds, Kent and Leicester among others. In contrast to the first wave when facilities such as London's ExCel centre were converted into giant hospitals the 'Nightingale hubs' will be situated on existing hospital grounds. Health chiefs said this will make it easy to deploy staff if there is a surge in admissions over the coming weeks that outstrips current capacity. NHS Trusts have also been asked to identify areas such as gyms and classrooms that can be converted to temporary Covid wards. They said this could create an additional 4,000 'super surge' beds across the country eight times the capacity of a large district hospital, which has around 500 beds. Mr Hopson said: 'Building on lessons learnt from earlier in the pandemic, trusts are identifying extra capacity on existing hospital sites that could be turned into super surge capacity should it be required. 'Trust leaders hope this back up insurance policy will never be needed, as with the original Nightingales. But it must be the right 'no regrets later' move to make these preparations now. 'Given the other pressures on the NHS and the current level of staff absences, staffing this capacity would be a major challenge. 'But co-location on existing hospital sites maximises the NHS's ability to meet that challenge.' He added: 'We also need to recognise that this will add further stretch to an already hard-pressed NHS.' In a follow-up interview with The Telegraph, he added: 'I think theres a very clear recognition in the NHS that you cant just magic up the number of staff that are needed to staff these beds out of thin air.' And he told MailOnline: 'If the NHS is using these hubs, we will be in an emergency and we would use an emergency staffing model. 'We would, for example, be redeploying staff from less critical activity, we would be calling for recently retired staff and experienced volunteers to help.' Ms Cullen, the general secretary of the RCN, warned today that there were not enough staff available for the extra units. She told Sky News: 'You can set up all the hubs that you wish to set up. 'But if you don't have the nursing staff to actually care for the patients that are going to be placed in those hubs, that places more challenges on the nursing workforce. 'The nursing workforce already is struggling massively to care for the patients that are already in hospital, and if we set up hubs and put up additional beds that's going to place more pressure on those nurses. 'So, at this point in time, we have no idea how we're going to be staffing those additional hubs as they're set up.' The NHS was short of up to 100,000 medics even before the pandemic began, data suggests. It comes after health chiefs warned staff absences pose a bigger threat to the health service than rising admissions due to the virus. A total of 18,829 NHS staff were absent because of the coronavirus on December 19, up from 12,240 a week earlier. And Covid-related absences have tripled in a week at London's biggest trust, underlying the huge problem the rest of England faces over the coming weeks. At the same time, the number of admissions has increased. Christmas Day saw 1,281 infected patients placed on wards, up 74 per cent in a week to the highest level since February. Dr David Nicholl, of the Doctors' Association, earlier this week described the ever-growing number of absences as 'our biggest worry' over the coming weeks. The number of Covid patients on England's wards yesterday breached the 10,000 barrier for the first time since early March. But NHS figures suggest up to one in three virus patients on wards were admitted for reasons unrelated to the infection, such as a fall or broken bone. It means thousands of those who are being counted as Covid admissions which would suggest they are severely ill with the condition are not actually suffering seriously with the virus. Senior No10 aides and officials have been ordered to attend formal interviews as part of an investigation into whether illegal Christmas parties took place in Downing Street last year. Whitehall heavy hitter Sue Gray is carrying out out inquiries into three alleged gatherings at No10 and the Department for Education in November and December last year, when indoor mixing was banned. And she has demanded that special advisers and Civil Service officials working in the heart of Government face questions about what happened, the Times reported. One source told the paper that some aides were 'p**sing themselves' at the thought of the interrogation. Ms Gray was drafted in from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities after Cabinet Secretary Simon Case quit his role leading the inquiry. He was forced to step down after it emerged a December 2020 quiz was held in his own department that he was aware of and spoke at. Whitehall heavy hitter Sue Gray (right) is carrying out out inquiries into three alleged gatherings at No10, including one said to have been attended by director of communications Jack Doyle (left) One source told the paper that some aides were 'p**sing themselves' at the though of the interrogation. Boris Johnson's popularity has taken a massive hit since the allegations about parties first emerged. Ms Gray is a former director general of propriety and ethics at The Cabinet Office and has been described as the most powerful civil servant you have never heard of. In her former job as director-general of propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office she had enormous power and long experience in Westminster scandals, and developed a fearsome reputation among ministers and officials. She dealt with complaints against ministers on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary and Prime Minister. Her inquiry into the so-called Plebgate affair led to the resignation of minister Andrew Mitchell. Her investigation into Damian Green led to his forced resignation after she discovered he had lied about pornography found on his Commons computer. From 2018 to 2021 she served as the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance at the Northern Ireland Executive. She returned to London to head up work on the Union earlier this year. No10 deny that parties happened when indoor gatherings were banned in the capital in November and December last year. But one of Boris Johnson's top advisers is alleged to have given a speech and handed out awards at one gathering on December 18. Jack Doyle, then the PM's deputy director of communications and since promoted, is said to have made a 'thank you' speech to up to 50 people who attended the bash. Civil servants have been told to stop saying 'Brexit' and to refer to the UK's departure from the European Union using the date of '31 December 2020'. A Whitehall 'style guide' advises staff to avoid the word 'Brexit', arguing it should only be used when necessary for 'historical context'. Staff have also been told to steer clear of the term 'transition period' which refers to to the months when the UK and Brussels were hammering out the terms of their future relationship. It came as the EU threatened to torpedo the post-Brexit trade deal with the UK if Liz Truss delivers on threats to unilaterally tear up border rules in Northern Ireland. Civil servants have been told to stop saying 'Brexit' and to refer to the UK's departure from the European Union using the date of '31 December 2020' A Whitehall 'style guide' advises staff to avoid the word 'Brexit', arguing it should only be used when necessary for 'historical context' The Government's 'style guide' entry for Brexit, first spotted by The Telegraph, states that civil servants 'can use the term "Brexit" to provide historical context, but its better to use specific dates where possible'. It states: 'For example, use: "31 December 2020" rather than "Brexit" or "when the UK left the EU", "before 31 December 2020" rather than "during the transition period", "after 1 January 2021" rather than "after the transition period".' The Government guidance is likely to spark a backlash from Brexiteer Conservative MPs. The emergence of the 'style guide' entry came as tensions between the EU and the UK increased over the Northern Ireland border dispute. The two sides have been locked in talks for months to try to agree ways to smooth problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol. Ministers have repeatedly threatened to trigger Article 16 of the protocol to unilaterally rip up the rules if the EU refuses to give ground. Ms Truss, the Foreign Secretary, has stood by that threat after she was handed control of the negotiations following the resignation of Lord Frost. But her EU counterpart, Maros Sefcovic, has said the threat to trigger Article 16 is disrupting the talks. The Vice President of the European Commission reportedly told the German newspaper Der Spiegel that 'you try to achieve something together and - boom - there's the threat of Article 16 again'. Mr Sefcovic said the protocol is the 'most complicated part of the Brexit negotiations and is the foundation of the whole deal' in comments which are likely to be viewed in London as a veiled threat to scrap the trade deal if the UK acts to suspend the border rules. The EU threatened to torpedo the post-Brexit trade deal with the UK if Liz Truss delivers on threats to unilaterally tear up border rules in Northern Ireland Mr Sefcovic said that 'without the protocol, the system collapses' and this must be prevented 'at all costs'. The protocol was negotiated as part of the Brexit deal to avoid a hard border with Ireland, by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the EUs single market for goods. But unionists have been pressuring for it to be scrapped because of the trade barriers it has created on products crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain. Brexit talks between the EU and the UK on the protocol are expected to resume next month. Wildlife TV presenter Michaela Strachan has said meat-eating eco critics have no right to criticise her for taking frequent flights for work because of the impact the meat industry has on the environment. The Springwatch host admits she is a frequent flyer for her job but tries to offset her carbon footprint by not eating meat, planting trees and using energy from solar panels. But after being criticised for taking flights while claiming to be green, the 55-year-old hit back by making a comparison to the environmental impact of the meat industry. Speaking in Platinum magazine, vegetarian Strachan, who now lives in South Africa, fumed: 'People are so quick to point out people's negatives without supporting their positives. Michaela Strachan (pictured in South Africa this week) claimed meat-eaters have no right to criticise her frequent flying for work because of the environmental impact of the meat industry 'We've got solar panels [in our home], I don't drive an electric car because South Africa has an electricity crisis, but I have a Fiat 500 that's particularly good on fuel. 'I do not buy bottled water unless it's absolutely desperate, and I've been vegetarian since I was 18. 'Anyone that eats meat, don't criticise me for flying.' Strachan also urged the public to get behind the government in their efforts to curb climate change and counter the pandemic, instead of focusing on the 'nitty-gritty'. She added: 'Sometimes we focus on the wrong things... 'Boris Johnson, whatever you think about him, whether you're for or against him, why don't we try to support the Government and help them get through these difficult times, rather than find the nitty-gritty stuff and pick, pick, pick all the time?' The Springwatch presenter, 55, says she makes every effort to mitigate the impact of her flying by being a vegetarian since she was 18, rarely buying bottled water and using solar panels Strachan came under fire from social media users herself earlier this year after she took to Twitter to complain about a quarantine hotel she was staying at in the UK. The Springwatch presenter, 55, described the Radisson Hotel in Hounslow, west London, as a 'posh prison', saying she was watched by eight security guards while taking a walk and taking objection to being served white bread. But furious followers deemed her remarks out of line - forcing the TV host to bite back, claiming she was being 'tongue-in-cheek'. 'I feel the urge to clarify,' she tweeted on Wednesday - her third day of quarantine. She went on: 'Of course there are disadvantaged people who would find this b/fast a feast. 'Thats not the point. My point is about value for money. My tweet was supposed to be tongue in cheek, but I really dont think expecting value for money makes me spoilt?' Yet this was met with further backlash, with one follower replying: 'You didn't just come off as spoiled, you came off judgmental with it. Cereal, toast, fruit & yoghurt pretty much are the standard breakfasts of the nation. Clarification: However the star received some backlash for the comments and later took to social media to explain 'It wasn't that you wanted more for the money that we heard- it's that you look down on those who consume standard staples.' Another replied: 'Perhaps complain to the hotel via Trip Advisor or ring reception. It seems a little insensitive at the moment when government are cutting 20 Universal Credit top!' Many leapt to her defence, with one posting: 'Dear oh dear oh me !!! What is the world coming to when you can't complain about a lousy breakfast... You work B****Y hard and I wish people would STOP JUDGING others by just one comment. You should NOT have to apologise.' 'I fully understood your tweet and can't see how it could possibly have been misunderstood. 'Clarity shouldn't have been necessary and I wouldn't have been happy either. You'll always get some looking for reaction on Twitter. Looking forward to Autumnwatch,' another loyal fan wrote. Strachan presented The Really Wild Show from 1993 to 2006 alongside Chris Packham, 60, who she also presents with on Springwatch and Autumnwatch. She lives in Hout Bay, in South Africa's Cape Town, with son Oliver, 16, and long-term partner Nick Chevallier. In 2014 Strachan revealed she underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Iran has used a satellite launch rocket to send three research devices into space, a defence ministry spokesman said today, without clarifying if it reached orbit. Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in the Middle East, has suffered several failed satellite launches in the past few years due to technical issues. Spokesman Ahmad Hosseini said the 'Simorgh' satellite carrier rocket had launched the three research devices at an altitude of 290 miles. 'The intended research objectives of this launch were achieved,' Hosseini said, in comments broadcast on state television. Iranian state television released footage of the rocket which was fired into space today, carrying three research devices Pictured: The Iranian satellite carrier Simorgh, is seen at an unknown location prior to launch today 'This was done as a preliminary launch... God willing, we will have an operational launch soon.' Iranian state television showed footage of what it said was the firing of the launch vehicle. The United States has criticised Iran's satellite launch attempts, claiming long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads. Tehran denies such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development. In February, Iran announced a successful test of its most powerful solid fuel satellite launcher to date, the Zoljanah, boasting that it can put a 220-kilogramme (1,100-pound) payload into orbit. The United States voiced concern about that launch, saying the test could boost Iran's ballistic missile technology at a moment when the two nations are inching back to diplomacy. Spokesman Ahmad Hosseini said that the research objectives of the launch had been successful, but did not elaborate on what these were Iran successfully put its first military satellite into orbit in April 2020, drawing a sharp rebuke from Washington. Western governments worry that satellite launch systems incorporate technologies interchangeable with those used in ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. Iran insists its space programme is for civilian and defence purposes only, and does not breach the nuclear deal or any other international agreement. The 2015 agreement has been hanging by a thread since the US left it in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to step up nuclear activities long curtailed by the deal. A new round of negotiations began in Vienna on Monday in a fresh push to make headway on reviving the deal, after they broke up at the end of last week without agreement as Iran's top diplomat went back home to seek further guidance on measures to be put in place. European diplomats said it was 'a disappointing pause' and that negotiators in Vienna are 'rapidly reaching the end of the road.' However, they did point to 'some technical progress' so far. A senior U.S. official involved in the talks also expressed frustration. 'It was better than it might have been, it was worse than it should have been, which leaves us in an uncertain position as to whether we can get to where we need to go in the short time that we have left to get there,' the official said. Participants said they aim to resume quickly, though they haven't yet firmed up a date. China's chief negotiator, Wan Qun, said the talks will 'resume hopefully before the end of the year.' Enrique Mora, the European Union diplomat who chaired the talks, echoed that, saying: 'I hope it will be during 2021.' The United States has participated indirectly in the ongoing talks because it withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump. Pictured: Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani is seen outside the Palais Coburg in Vienna earlier this week on December 27 President Joe Biden has signaled that he wants to rejoin the deal. 'For the eighth round, we have a lot of work ahead, a very complex task, I have to say,' Mora said. 'Difficult political decisions have to be taken.' The original accord was meant to rein in Iran's nuclear program in return for loosened economic sanctions. Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are still part of the agreement. Negotiators from the three Western European powers said they 'respect' Iranian negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani's decision to return to Tehran 'though it brings a disappointing pause in negotiations.' They said the other participants were ready to continue the talks, and stressed that 'this negotiation is becoming ever more urgent.' Negotiations in Vienna (pictured on December 9) broke up at the end of last week without agreement as Iran's top diplomat went back home to seek further guidance on measures to be put in place After twice expressing frustration during the recent talks, they said that 'there has been some technical progress in the last 24 hours, but this only takes us back nearer to where the talks stood in June.' 'We hope that Iran is in a position to resume the talks quickly, and to engage constructively so that talks can move at a faster pace,' the European negotiators said. Iran's nuclear program 'is now more advanced than it has ever been,' making it critical that Tehran refrain from taking further steps that escalate the situation, they said. 'As we have said, there are weeks not months before the JCPOA's core non-proliferation benefits are lost,' they added. 'We are rapidly reaching the end of the road for this negotiation.' Russia's delegate to the talks, Mikhail Ulyanov, said the latest round has set a 'sound basis for more intensive negotiations.' 'The negotiators now much better understand each other,' Ulyanov wrote on Twitter. A prominent Ugandan novelist and government critic has been arrested after armed men stormed his home and threatened to break his legs, his lawyer says. Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, an outspoken critic of President Yoweri Museveni, won plaudits for his 2020 satirical novel The Greedy Barbarian which describes high-level corruption in a fictional country. He has recently stepped up criticism of Museveni's son Muhoozi Kainerugaba - a general who many Ugandans believe is positioning himself to take over from his 77-year-old father - calling him 'obese' and a 'curmudgeon'. Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has been arrested after armed men stormed his home and threatened to break his legs, his lawyer says He criticised Museveni's son Muhoozi Kainerugaba (pictured) - a general who many Ugandans believe is positioning himself to take over from his 77-year-old father Rukirabashaija's lawyer Eron Kiiza said he was on the telephone to the author at the time of the armed raid, saying: 'I heard them threaten to break his legs.' It was not immediately clear who arrested the award-winning author, who wrote on his Facebook page: 'Men with guns are breaking my door. They say they're policemen but are not in uniform.' There was no immediate comment from Ugandan police. According to Kiiza, witnesses saw Rukirabashaija being bundled into a van known as a 'drone', which is associated with abductions of government opponents in Uganda. Rukirabashaija was selected by the PEN Pinter Prize to win this year's International Writer of Courage award, which is presented annually to a writer who has been persecuted for speaking out about their beliefs. Kakwenza Rukirabashaija is an outspoken critic of 77-year-old President Yoweri Museveni (pictured) Witnesses saw Rukirabashaija being bundled into a van known as a 'drone', which is associated with abductions of government opponents in Uganda Rukirabashaija has been repeatedly arrested after The Greedy Barbarian was published and said he was tortured while being interrogated about his work by military intelligence. At that time, he was accused of breaching Covid-19 social distancing regulations, inciting violence and promoting sectarianism. The writer described his time in detention as 'inhumane and degrading' in his most recent book Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous. Earlier this month the United States placed sanctions on the head of Uganda's military intelligence unit, Abel Kandiho, accusing him of 'leading interrogations of detained individuals' targeted for their political views. Uganda has suffered a series of crackdowns aimed at stamping out dissent, with journalists attacked, lawyers jailed, election monitors prosecuted and opposition leaders violently muzzled. The country's best-known rights lawyer, Nicholas Opiyo, who fled to the United States this year, criticised Rukirabashaija's 'violent unlawful arrest' and called for his release on Twitter. Advertisement The north of England is facing flood chaos due to heavy rain ahead of the warmest New Year's Eve on record with parts of the country set to be warmer than Madrid and the French Riviera over the coming days. One flood warning in Lostock, Greater Manchester, and 43 flood alerts have been issued across the country today, with the Met Office predicting showers in 'many areas' tonight and 'very mild' conditions. In its flood forecast for the next five days, the weather service says: 'Local flooding from rivers and surface water is possible in parts of Wales and the north of England today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday) due to heavy rain.' Meanwhile, those ringing in 2022 will see temperatures between 9C (48F) and 14C (57F) across the UK at midnight tomorrow night - well above the average daytime high for December of 7.6C (45.7F) in England and Wales. The UK is enjoying spring-like temperatures at the end of 2021 thanks to warm air being drawn up from the Azores along with a favourable position of the jet stream and a low pressure system to the west of Ireland. Social media users noted the unusually warm conditions, with one referring to 'shirt sleeve weather' in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and another adding: '15C on New Year's Day! BBQ weather in Wigan!' Mild air moving in today and lasting until the end of New Year's Day will bring the very warm temperatures which will compare to 15C (59F) in both Nice and Madrid - before a return to wintry conditions and frost next week. Highs of up to 14C (57F) are possible more widely across England and Wales, even as far north as Newcastle. But the mild spell is set to be a grey affair, with much of the country blanketed by cloud and outbreaks of drizzle likely. Flooded fields surround the A1101 in Welnet, Norfolk, this morning after the River Delph burst its banks following the heavy rain. The river levels are expected to rise over the next few days, making the road impassable Cambridgeshire underwater yesterday as river levels continued to rise and the Environment Agency issued flood alerts for the area. Meanwhile, those ringing in 2022 will see temperatures between 9C (48F) and 14C (57F) at midnight tomorrow Flooding around Earith in Cambridgeshire on Wednesday morning after the River Great Ouse burst its banks following the recent heavy rain Parts of Cambridgeshire underwater as river levels continue to rise. In its flood forecast for the next five days, the Met Office says: ' Local flooding from rivers and surface water is possible in parts of Wales and the north of England today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday) due to heavy rain' One flood warning in Lostock, Greater Manchester, and 43 flood alerts have been issued across the country today, with the Met Office predicting showers in 'many areas' tonight and 'very mild' conditions A map showing the very low flood risk areas in the UK for today and tomorrow. In its longer-range forecast, the Met Office said: 'Spells of rain will be accompanied by milder air, interspersed with showers and nearer average temperatures' Social media users noted the unusually warm conditions, with one referring to 'shirt sleeve weather' in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and another adding: '15C on New Year's Day! BBQ weather in Wigan!' Temperatures got up to 15.7C (60.3F) in Exeter yesterday, making it the warmest day of December so far in the UK and also the mildest day in about six weeks since November 19 when Dyce in Aberdeenshire hit 16.8C (62.2F). Met Office spokesman Richard Miles said: 'The mild temperatures are due to last until New Year's Day. It's not especially common and is being caused by warm air being drawn from the Atlantic.' But he added that a low pressure system bringing the mild air is then set to move north-eastwards. 'That will let colder air flow in behind it bringing temperatures closer to the average for the time of year,' Mr Miles said. The record highest temperature on New Year's Eve in the UK was 14.8C (58.6F) at Colwyn Bay in north Wales in 2011. And temperatures on Saturday could be around the New Year's Day record of 15.6C (60F), set in 1916 in Bude, Cornwall. The December record for England is 17.7C (63.9F) in 1985, while for the UK as a whole it was 18.7C (65.7F) in 2019 in Scotland. By Monday and Tuesday, however, there could be 'some wintry showers on high ground' such as the North Pennines and rain elsewhere, Mr Miles said. But the change is also predicted to finally clear some of the cloud, bringing a chance of sunshine which has been in short supply. Daytime temperatures will likely take a dramatic plunge falling to single figures by Tuesday, with highs of 8C (46F) in southern England and just 5C (41F) in the North East. Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland this morning as the UK enjoys warm temperatures for the time of year Pictured: Photographers gather prior to sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland earlier this morning The unusual mild temperatures are due to last until New Year's Day. Pictured: Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle this morning Flooded fields in Welney, Norfolk, this morning after the River Delph burst its banks earlier this week due to heavy rainfall Flooded fields in Welney, Norfolk, this morning after the River Delph burst its banks following recent heavy rain in the area Overnight frosts are also possible in the far north. Unsettled conditions are due to continue through the first half of January. In its longer-range forecast, the Met Office said: 'Moving beyond the midweek period, changeable conditions with westerly winds are likely to spread across the UK. 'Spells of rain will be accompanied by milder air, interspersed with showers and nearer average temperatures.' Meanwhile, an unusually warm spell in Alaska has brought record December temperatures of 19.4C (67F) at a time of year normally associated with bitter cold and thick snow. Scientist Rick Thoman, from the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, said such temperatures were 'absurd'. An endangered tiger was shot and killed in its zoo enclosure after biting a cleaner who had entered an 'unauthorized area' next to its cage. Deputies arrived at Naples Zoo in Florida to find the animal with the man's arm in its mouth and said they were 'forced to shoot' to free him. The maintenance worker was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries. Collier County Sheriff's Office confirmed the victim was a man with a third-party cleaning service contracted by the zoo. Reports suggest the Malayan tiger, named as eight-year-old Eko, had grabbed the man's arm after he reached through a fence barrier in an attempt to pet or feed the animal. Reports suggest the tiger, believed to be eight-year-old Eko, had grabbed the man's arm after he reached through a fence barrier in an attempt to pet or feed the animal The sheriff's office said the first deputy on the scene tried to get the tiger to release the man after kicking the enclosure. But when the tiger wouldn't release the man's arm, the officer was forced to shoot. The tiger retreated into the back of the enclosure and was later pronounced dead. A police spokesperson said: 'The first deputy on scene kicked the enclosure and tried to get the tiger to release the man's arm from its mouth but the deputy was forced to shoot the animal.' An endangered tiger was shot and killed in its enclosure after biting a cleaner who had entered an 'unauthorized area' next to its cage at Naples Zoo in Florida A police spokesperson said: 'The first deputy on scene kicked the enclosure and tried to get the tiger to release the man's arm from its mouth but the deputy was forced to shoot the animal' They added the cleaner appeared to have 'traversed an initial fence barrier and put his arm through the fencing of the tiger enclosure' in a possible attempt to pet or feed the animal. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission will investigate the incident. A February 2020 blog by Naples Zoo says that Eko came to Florida from Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. The zoo calls Eko 'a great ambassador for his species' adding they hope 'when guests see him, they fall in love'. Malayan tigers are critically endangered, with less than 200 mature individuals in the wild according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IRA commanders in the notorious Maze prison who oversaw an unused escape tunnel have claimed it was 'occupational therapy' and they would have never have used it. Irish state papers unsealed today revealed that when the illegal burrow was uncovered in 1997 they used the bizarre excuse. Commanders in the jail said they had allowed republican prisoners to become involved in planning and working on the tunnel. But they said if it had ever been finished they would have forbidden it being used. The leaders said digging it had been a 'form of occupational therapy' and had helped keep inmates off drugs. The Maze, in County Down, was home to paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles that blighted Great Britain and Ireland until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. A member of the Northern Ireland Probation Board who spoke to republican inmates said: 'The project would have had value as a form of occupational therapy to keep prisoners occupied and away from drugs.' The Maze, in County Down, was home to paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles that blighted Great Britain and Ireland until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 Brighton bomber and former Maze inmate Patrick Magee at a Forgiveness talk in Parliament on October 13, 2009 in London, England. The Irish Times reported IRA command structure in the prison was supportive of the peace process and did not want the tunnel to succeed. They were said to have feared it would allow 'hard-line republican prisoners' who opposed the peace process to escape. The account of the incident is included in secret State papers dating from 1991 to 1998 which are now being made public in Dublin. Sean O hUiginn, the head of the Anglo-Irish Secretariat in Belfast, described a conversation with Breidge Gadd of the Northern Ireland Probation Board in April 1997. Sean Kelly, seen here in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, had also been inside the Maze Jim McVeigh, with Michael Carraher, far left, and Brian Arthurs, left, outside the Maze prison in Northern Ireland, speaking to the press on their release He wrote 'Her understanding is that the work was approved by the Republican leadership in the Maze but that the latter, for various reasons, had no intention of allowing it to be completed.' 'The Republican command, who support [Sinn Fein leader Gerry] Adams and the political wing of the movement, was worried about the involvement in the escape bid of a number of hard-line Republican prisoners who wish to see a full-scale return to IRA violence and who could have been expected to stir up trouble had they succeeded in escaping.' He added that Ms Gadd told him the republican leadership in the prison always intended to intervene 'to halt the escape attempt shortly before the tunnel was finished'. 'They would also have been conscious, of course, of the propaganda value of even a failed escape bid. 'Whether they tipped off the prison authorities or merely allowed some detail to attract the latter's attention is unimportant. One way or another, they were going to abort the operation.' A health and safety worker who 'spiralled into despair' after he was unfairly dismissed has won 50,000 after attempting suicide when he was fired. Dane Rowe, 41, who worked for British food producers David Wood Baking, had been off work for three months with severe depression and anxiety. He suffered mental health issues for 20 years, told bosses of his 'regular suicide contemplation' and complied with their requests for regular sick notes. But after he missed 'informal wellness meetings' because he was so mentally unwell he couldn't leave the house, he was unfairly sacked. Dane Rowe, 41, who worked for British food producers David Wood Baking (pictured, the Newport site where Mr Rowe worked), had been off work for three months with severe depression and anxiety Mr Rowe has now been awarded 47,595 compensation after suing them for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal. He had worked for the firm for two years when his mental health worsened in March 2020 as the pandemic hit. Mr Rowe missed a day's work and 'fabricated a bizarre explanation' which 'snowballed' and ended with him facing a disciplinary hearing before he finally admitted he lied and was given a final written warning. He was then off across April, May and June in 2020 with severe depression and said he would be unable to attend a 'wellness' meeting at work. In messages across those months, he told managers: 'I'm really struggling mentally at the moment and spent most days isolated and alone in my flat as have been experiencing massive panic attacks when I try to go out. 'To be honest, I'm not well and I'm not coping. I'm struggling to find a reason to get out of bed each day and suicide is a regular contemplation. 'I'm in regular contact with my GP but all they can do is keep increasing my dosage [of medication] which I'm not even sure is doing any good anyways. I just can't get my head straight but I'm really trying.' He said his 'anxiety is through the roof' and didn't attend three of the meetings but continued to provide sick notes. He suffered mental health issues for 20 years, told bosses of his 'regular suicide contemplation' and complied with their requests for regular sick notes He told bosses: 'Without sounding like a moan, the thought of going anywhere (apart from the shop just up the road, preferably after 10.30pm so it's dark) is still a little daunting. 'My intention was to come in today for meeting but I can't leave the flat. 'I know it sounds like a completely feeble excuse but I've worked myself up into a state and now I'm frantic. 'I don't know why as I've been OK this morning but the last hour I've been going out of my mind. I've booked and cancelled three taxis now and feel like I just need to go back into bed and hide. 'I'm truly sorry to mess you all around I wish I could leave as planned.' On July 1 he was dismissed without a disciplinary hearing for 'continuous absence', perceived sick note failings, his 'inability to fulfil his contractual obligations', and his failure to attend wellness meetings. He appealed and in early August received a letter informing it failed. As soon as a day later, Mr Rowe was hospitalised after a suicide attempt. Chair of the Cardiff Employment Tribunal, Employment Judge Stephen Jenkins, said: 'We noted Mr Rowe attempted suicide in early August, a matter of days, possibly even only one day, after the receipt of the appeal outcome letter. 'It therefore appeared to us that the dismissal clearly had had an impact on him, and had exacerbated, potentially significantly, his health and ability to work. 'We noted and accepted Mr Rowe's evidence that, following his dismissal, he had felt in desperation, leading to thoughts of suicide, and that, when he knew that he was not going to go back to work having read the appeal letter, he 'spiralled into despair'.' Judge Jenkins ruled he was unfairly dismissed and discriminated on grounds of disability as David Wood Foods failed to make suitable adjustments. Judge Jenkins said: 'No investigation was undertaken in relation to the question of whether Mr Rowe had committed an act of misconduct. 'Had one been undertaken it would have been made clear he was suffering from ill health.' For confidential support visit Samaritans website samaritans.org or call 116 123 The BBC today admitted a live TV interview with Jeffrey Epstein's former lawyer Alan Dershowitz about Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction in New York was a mistake. Bosses launched a probe after the broadcaster failed to mention that Mr Dershowitz had represented Epstein and is also accused of sex assault by Virginia Giuffre. An interview with him on the BBC News Channel simply described him as a 'lawyer'. The BBC today accepted he was 'not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst' and it 'did not make the relevant background clear to our audience'. It comes after one MP said 'the BBC should not give a platform to people accused of child sexual abuse' and condemned Mr Dershowitz for 'trying to silence victims'. A BBC spokesman said: 'The interview with Alan Dershowitz after the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict did not meet the BBC's editorial standards, as Mr Dershowitz was not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst, and we did not make the relevant background clear to our audience. We will look into how this happened.' Ms Giuffre previously alleged that she was lent out to Mr Dershowitz for sex while she was underage, but he vehemently denies this and has said he has never met her. And, following his interview with the BBC, Mr Dershowitz defended himself - telling Newsweek: 'I made full disclosure of Virginia Giuffre's false accusation against me before expressing my opinion about the prosecution's wise decision not to vouch for her credibility by using her as a witness in the Maxwell case. 'The media has repeatedly interviewed alleged victims of Epstein and Maxwell regarding the Maxwell case. It is entirely appropriate for the media to interview a victim of Giuffre's perjury as long as there is full disclosure and no-one is misled.' The BBC labelled Alan Dershowitz a 'lawyer' without saying he represented Jeffrey Epstein and is also accused by Virginia Giuffre Mr Dershowitz claimed during the BBC interview yesterday that the New York sex abuse case against Prince Andrew was weakened because prosecutors in the Maxwell trial failed to call his accuser as a witness He also insisted that the fact the Maxwell jury did not hear from Ms Giuffre, previously known as Virginia Roberts, was because the authorities do not believe she is telling the truth. But critics pointed out Mr Dershowitz is also accused of sexual abuse by Ms Giuffre, said that taints his opinion on the case and slammed the BBC for interviewing him on the subject without giving any context. Labour MP Nadia Whittome said last night: 'Alan Dershowitz, who was accused of the same crimes as Prince Andrew, is on the BBC trying to silence victims following Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction. 'I can't believe this needs to be said but the BBC should not give a platform to people accused of child sexual abuse. 'We have a responsibility to believe people when they disclose sexual abuse and to create conditions in which they can in the first place. Few references to the Prince have not been accompanied by the photograph of him with his arm round the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Roberts at Ms Maxwell's mews house in London, an occasion which he claims not to recall 'All details of Epstein's network should be published and all victims/survivors are owed justice. This is clearly the tip of the iceberg.' Meanwhile royal experts said there was 'no way back' for Andrew's reputation now the Maxwell verdicts are in regardless of the outcome of the case against him. Prince Andrew and Mr Dershowitz both deny all the allegations against them. Mr Dershowitz, 83, told the BBC he thought the case against Andrew was 'weakened considerably' after the Maxwell trial. 'I think the most important thing for British viewers is that the Government was very careful as to who it used as witnesses,' he said. 'It did not use as a witness the woman who accused Prince Andrew, who accused me, who accused many other people, because the Government did not believe that she was telling the truth. 'And in fact that she, Virginia Giuffre, was mentioned in the trial as someone who brought young people to Epstein for him to abuse. 'So this case does not do anything at all in any way to strengthen the case against Prince Andrew. 'In fact it weakens the case against Prince Andrew considerably because the government was very selective in who it used. 'It used only witnesses it believed were credible and they deliberately did not use the main witness, the woman who started the whole investigation, Virginia Giuffre because ultimately it did not believe that she was telling the truth. 'They didn't believe that a jury would believe her and they were right in doing so, so it was very smart on behalf of the government.' The fact Mr Dershowitz was introduced on to the BBC News Channel as a 'constitutional lawyer', with no mention of his involvement in the case, drew condemnation last night. Prince Andrew strongly denies Ms Giuffre's (pictured at court in New York on August 27, 2019) allegations that he slept with her as a 17-year-old sex slave after she claimed to have been trafficked to him at the London house His claims about Ms Giuffre were not challenged by the interviewer. Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister, said that the interview represented a 'huge error by the BBC'. Royal experts said that Andrew's reputation was 'a busted flush' regardless of what transpires in the case against him, because of his friendship with billionaire paedophile Epstein and now-convicted sex trafficker Maxwell. The jury's confirmation that Maxwell was the willing accomplice for the late Epstein will serve to place Andrew beyond the pale for his elder brother Prince Charles, who already saw him as a liability for the Royal Family. The Duke of York's lawyers will try to have the civil lawsuit brought by his accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre thrown out of court early next month. But last night's result will make that much more difficult. And royal observers believe that even a victory for Andrew at that stage or at a full trial expected in the Autumn would still not be enough to remove the stigma attached to his name over his friendship with Epstein. And the sensational verdict in Maxwell's case will have done nothing to bolster confidence in Andrew's camp at having Ms Giuffre's lawsuit dismissed. 'He's a busted flush,' one seasoned royal expert told MailOnline. 'Unfortunately for Andrew, it's no longer so much about evidence and proof, or what if anything went on with Virginia Giuffre -- it's all about public perception. 'Andrew's handling of this whole affair, coupled with his car crash Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, have made him into a toxic brand for the rest of the Royal Family. 'Only the Queen, who has always considered him as her favourite, remains loyal, while the other Royals are keen to keep him at arm's length.' Officially, Andrew's position is that he has 'stepped back' from royal duties while the court case is resolved, but it is now difficult to envisage how he could once again take his place in public life in the same way as previously. Last night Lisa Bloom, a lawyer representing many of Jeffrey Epstein's victims in several cases, said anyone connected to the paedophile financier should be 'concerned'. 'I think anyone who was associated with Jeffrey Epstein, who either participated in sexual abuse, or helped him by sending girls to him, trafficking, etc, should be very concerned today about this verdict.' She added: 'The case [against Prince Andrew] has been filed, it has been served after various attempts on his behalf to duck service. Eventually the courts said 'you've been served, move forward'. 'Now he is trying to get the case thrown out on some technical grounds, he says Virginia is not a resident of the United States, that she's really a resident of Australia, therefore the case should not be heard here. 'He seems to be doing everything he can to avoid the case being decided on its merits, hoping to get it thrown out on technical grounds, so we'll see what the judge does.' She said it was possible that the case could be thrown out but Virginia says she has residency of the US in Colorado, adding: 'She has outstanding attorneys. 'I am rooting for her and I hope the case is decided on its merits, so that her dispute with Prince Andrew, and whether he sexually assaulted her can ultimately be decided once and for all by a jury.' That case is likely to dominate the news heading through the early part of 2022. At the moment, the Duke is not expected to play any high-profile part in the forthcoming commemorations for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands war in June, despite his role on active service as a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter pilot during the 1982 conflict. Prince Andrew first met Ghislaine Maxwell when she was at university and the pair had known each other for nearly 20 years when she is alleged to have introduced him to Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell (right) and the American financier (left) were believed to be dating at the time and the Duke subsequently struck up a friendship with Epstein As a veteran, Prince Andrew would be perfectly entitled to attend any of the events to mark the recapture of Port Stanley, but it is understood that no official invitations have been extended. Prince Andrew was frequently mentioned by the prosecution in the trial, as a friend of Epstein and Maxwell, a visitor to the billionaire's townhouse in Manhattan and his private island Little St James and as having travelled at least four times on the infamous 'Lolita Express', Epstein's private jet. Few references to the Prince have not been accompanied by the photograph of him with his arm round the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Roberts at Ms Maxwell's mews house in London, an occasion which he claims not to recall. Prince Andrew strongly denies Ms Giuffre's allegations that he slept with her as a 17-year-old sex slave after she claimed to have been trafficked to him at the London house. It has even been reported at one stage that 'sources close to Andrew' suggested the photo could have been faked. That said, his team must have breathed a sigh of relief over the fact that Ms Giuffre was never called to the stand to give evidence during the Maxwell trial, despite being 'available to do so'. In a hearing on Saturday, prosecutors taunted Maxwell's defence lawyers by saying they could have invited Ms Giuffre to take the stand but had chosen not to. Andrew Rohrbach said: 'The most obvious witness who was available to both sides and who we expect the defence to comment on is Virginia Roberts, who was described as a victim but did not testify and she was fully available to the defendants. They did not call her.' A source close to the Duke told MailOnline: 'This was Ghislaine Maxwell's trial not the Duke's. Nothing new of any substance has been raised in relation to the Duke any mentions have been glancing blows, not body blows.' Prince Andrew first met Maxwell when she was at university and the pair had known each other for nearly 20 years when she is alleged to have introduced him to Epstein. She and the American financier were believed to be dating at the time and the Duke subsequently struck up a friendship with Epstein. It was that relationship which allegedly saw him make multiple visits to Epstein's homes and his island. Those who have known Prince Andrew for decades say he is a victim of his own boorish, entitled arrogance and his biggest mistake and one which many other high-profile individuals also made, not least former US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, was to allow himself to associate with the likes of a man like Epstein at all Andrew's lawyers will bring their motion to the District Court in New York next month, seeking a dismissal. Court filings state that he 'unequivocally denies' sexually abusing or assaulting Ms Giuffre. His lawyer Andrew Brettler states in the court papers that 'accusing a member of the world's best known royal family of serious misconduct has helped Giuffre create a media frenzy online and in the traditional press. 'It is unfortunate, but undeniable, that sensationalism and innuendo have prevailed over the truth. 'Giuffre has initiating this baseless lawsuit against Prince Andrew to achieve another payday at his expense and a the expense of those closest to him Epstein's abuse of Giuffre does not justify her public campaign against Prince Andrew'. Those who have known Prince Andrew for decades say he is a victim of his own boorish, entitled arrogance and his biggest mistake and one which many other high-profile individuals also made, not least former US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, was to allow himself to associate with the likes of a man like Epstein at all. 'Andrew is out in the cold now and likely to stay there, whatever happens' said one who has met the Duke many times over the years. 'He doesn't help himself with his couldn't-care-less attitude, which makes people resent him. 'I don't think we're likely to see much of him in the future, whatever happens in the civil case in New York, because he'll find it impossible to shake off this stigma. 'He's likely to see out his days as a rather lonely figure riding out in Windsor Great Park and possibly assisting the Queen behind the scenes, but it seems very unlikely we'll see him doing public engagements again.' Catching the Omicron variant of Covid may also help people fend off Delta, new research suggests. Academics took blood samples from people struck down with the ultra-infectious variant and measured their antibody levels. They then looked at how well the virus-fighting proteins reacted to both Omicron and Delta. Lab tests, conducted two weeks after patients joined the study, showed antibody levels spiked 14-fold in response to Omicron. But there was also a 4.4-fold increase against Delta, according to the findings which took the researchers by surprise. Other studies delving into the topic of cross-variant immunity showed antibodies made in response to Delta reacted poorly to Omicron. The above graph shows the change in antibody levels against the two variants following an infection. Scientists calculated this by measuring antibody levels in the first four days after symptoms appeared in 15 patients, and ten days later The above chart shows estimates for Covid variant cases according to Britain's largest surveillance centre the Sanger Institute. It shows Delta cases dropped by almost a quarter over the two weeks to December 18, the latest available Professor Alex Sigal, a virologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa who led the research, said it suggested Omicron could usher in the endemic phase of the pandemic. He said: 'The increase in neutralising immunity against Omicron was expected, that is the virus these individuals were infected with. 'However, we also saw that the same people especially those who were vaccinated developed enhanced immunity to the Delta variant.' Omicron could 'push out' Delta, scientists say Infections with the Omicron variant could push out Delta, scientists say. Professor Alex Sigal, a virologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, found in research that infections with the super-variant also boost protection against Delta. He said: 'If, as it currently looks like from the South African experience, Omicron is less pathogenic, then this will help push Delta out as it should decrease the likelihood that someone infected with Omicron will get re-infected with Delta. 'If that's true, then the disruption Covid has caused in our lives may become less.' Professor Nathan Grubaugh, a virologist from Yale University, told the New York Times that the results matched observations on the ground. He said: 'We are seeing Omicron exponentially rise while Delta cases are falling. 'This suggests to me that Omicron is outcompeting Delta for susceptible individuals, leaving them less susceptible to Delta in the aftermath and driving down Delta cases.' UK data shows that Delta cases fell 24 per cent over the fortnight to December 18, the latest available, while Omicron infection skyrocketed. It comes amid the roll out of boosters in the country, which bolster protection against the variant. Advertisement Professor Sigal added: 'If, as it currently looks like from the South African experience, Omicron is less pathogenic, then this will help push Delta out.' He said this was because it should 'decrease the likelihood someone infected with Omicron will get re-infected with Delta'. 'If that is true, then the disruption Covid has caused in our lives may become less,' Professor Sigal continued. An ever-growing body of evidence shows Omicron is milder than its rivals, and less likely to put people who catch it in hospital. The variant is already dominant in Britain, and has caused cases to hit record levels. It has also driven a surge in infections in the US, which has seen infections top 500,000 a day also a record high. In the new research, Professor Sigal and colleagues analysed blood from 13 patients who had recovered from Omicron. Six were unvaccinated. And the majority of the volunteers had been hospitalised during their battle with the virus. Their blood samples were then tested in laboratory experiments against live versions of both the Omicron and Delta variants. The paper was published as a preprint on MedRxiv, and is yet to be peer-reviewed by other scientists. But Professor Nathan Grubaugh, a virologist from Yale University, told the New York Times that the results matched observations on the ground. He said: 'We are seeing Omicron exponentially rise while Delta cases are falling. 'This suggests to me that Omicron is outcompeting Delta for susceptible individuals, leaving them less susceptible to Delta in the aftermath and driving down Delta cases.' Scientists did not confirm whether the individuals had previously been infected with Delta, which could have skewed the results. But this is likely to have been the case because of South Africa's mammoth waves of infection. Previous research has suggested that people who had previously been infected with Covid were less likely to catch other variants of the virus. But Omicron carries more mutations than other variants, which has made it better at evading the bodies defences. The findings add to evidence that suggests the virus is becoming less dangerous as it transitions to a more endemic state. Real-world data from South Africa yesterday suggested death rates in the country's Omicron wave were just a quarter of levels seen during previous surges. Scientists behind the research said it shows 'a decoupling of cases, hospitalisations and deaths compared to previous waves'. Omicron could be a 'harbinger of the end' of the darkest days of the pandemic and could usher in the virus's endemic phase, the team wrote. A female Tory MP today blasted a 'coward' who sent a death threat to her constituency office before Christmas. Ynys Mon MP Virginia Crosbie revealed she received a letter with a drawing of a noose and the words 'traitors hang' at her Anglesey office on December 23. She said police were investigating the sick note and vowed not to be intimidated by it. 'I will not be stopped from doing the job I was elected to do by the people of Anglesey and the coward or cowards who sent this note will not undermine democracy. 'Too many times this sort of behaviour is tolerated but not by me. I will call out and relentlessly use all the avenues available to pursue all those who threaten myself, my family and my staff. Ynys Mon MP Virginia Crosbie revealed she received a letter with a drawing of a noose and the words 'traitors hang' at her Anglesey office on December 23. She said: 'I will not be stopped from doing the job I was elected to do by the people of Anglesey and the coward or cowards who sent this note will not undermine democracy' 'The police have launched a wide-ranging investigation to find the people behind this threat and I thank them for taking it so seriously. They have several lines of investigation and I am awaiting an update from them. 'This corrosive behaviour is harming democracy and stopping people, especially women, from standing for public office. It has no place in our society and my approach remains one of zero tolerance. 'It's absolutely vital in a democratic society that we have disagreements and debate, not death threats. 'I would like to praise my staff for all the work they do, including having to see this sort of cowardly communication when they are opening the post. They shouldn't have to.' She released an image of the letter today and urged anyone who recognised the handwriting to contact North Wales Police. The force confirmed it was investigating. It is the latest death threat to be made against a sitting MP and comes just months after the murder of Southend Tory Sir David Amess in October. In November, a Briton was arrested in Ireland for making threats to kill a female Labour MP just three days after Sir David's death. The 41-year-old man was detained in Douglas near Cork by officers from the Special Detective Units in Cork and Dublin, with armed support. A new spy-in-the-sky camera which identified 15,000 cases of drivers using mobile phones could also catch motorists eating, drinking, or not wearing a seatbelt, its makers say. Smart cameras linked to a new, automated system using artificial intelligence (AI) are being trialled on an undisclosed motorway - ahead of a blanket ban on holding a mobile device while driving which comes into force in early 2022. The cameras instantly analyse high-definition photos taken through the windscreen of passing cars, and Jenoptik, the enforcement technology firm testing the cameras in the UK, believes they will be crucial in providing evidence to prosecute offenders. The pilot scheme has been running since spring and it is hoped a wider rollout across the country will be possible next year. But Acusensus, the Australian firm who designed the cameras, admits that they can be used to catch motorists doing anything from eating, drinking, smoking, adjusting the radio or using navigation devices in a holder. The company says in a brochure that the system 'addresses all forms of distraction, beyond the illegal use of mobile phones'. The technology, which can also catch drivers not wearing a seatbelt, is already used in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, where it is estimated to have reduced road fatalities by a fifth since it was introduced two years ago. But local reports reveal that a bungled rollout of the mobile speed cameras in NSW resulted in drivers in the south of the state avoiding fines, while those in the north were caught out. The state government blamed Acusensus, which was awarded a $77million (41million) contract to operate the cameras in southern NSW, for not being able to buy enough vehicles due to the impact of coronavirus, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. A driver is caught on camera using their mobile phone while driving on the motorway The technology, which can also catch drivers not wearing a seatbelt, is already used in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, where it is estimated to have reduced road fatalities by a fifth since it was introduced two years ago The company says in a brochure that the system 'addresses all forms of distraction, beyond the illegal use of mobile phones' Acusensus, the Australian firm who designed the cameras, admits that they can be used to catch motorists doing anything from eating, drinking, smoking, adjusting the radio or using navigation devices in a holder. The company says in a brochure that the system 'addresses all forms of distraction, beyond the illegal use of mobile phones' But fine revenue from the government's mobile speed camera program had risen to $23.7million (12.7million) in the year leading up to June - ten times the $2.3million (1.24million) in the previous period. Figures revealed that the top 100 locations for mobile speed camera fines in July were in the north, while zero tickets were issued in Wagga Wagga and Queanbeyan in July - down from 339 and 152 respectively in the prior month. The roads spokesman for the country's Labor Party, John Graham, said Acusensus's failure to deliver led to a 'major inequity', with a record number of fines in the north of the state - but nearly zero in the south. Those in the UK who were identified in the trial have not been penalised as the trial is a 'proof of concept'. The cameras which can be fixed to overhead gantries or fitted in portable trailers use very high shutter speeds to take pictures through the windscreens of each passing vehicle. High-definition images are produced in any weather and at speeds of up to 185mph without any motion blur. New high-tech cameras can instantly capture motorists calling, texting or scrolling at the wheel, as is pictured above The new cameras that take pictures through car windscreens of drivers using their phones at the wheel Sophisticated software sifts through each image in real time and flags anyone deemed to be breaking the law to a team of human moderators to review. If use of the cameras is approved by law, the images would be sent to police and notices of intended prosecution posted to the vehicle's owner in the same way as speeding penalties. In November the UK Government announced that motorists would be banned from picking up their mobiles for any reason while driving from next year. Offenders will face a fine of up to 200 and six points on their licence. It is designed to close a loophole in the current law that means drivers can be prosecuted only if they are caught using hand-held phones to call or text. One in four drivers admitted using a phone in their hand while driving at least once in the past 12 months, according to a survey by the Department for Transport. If a driver looks at their phone for two seconds while travelling at 30mph, they will travel 100ft blind. A hero police officer who killed a shooter in Colorado after he murdered five people and shot her in the stomach has been identified as 28-year-old Ashley Ferris. Lakewood Police Agent Ferris shot and killed Lyndon McLeod, 47, after he rampaged through tattoo parlors across Denver on Monday night. 'I can't overemphasize enough the heroic actions of our Lakewood police agent,' said Lakewood police spokesperson John Romero. 'In the face of being shot, in the face of danger, she was able to not only save others from this terrible tragedy but also neutralize the threat.' 'If not for the heroic efforts of Agent Ferris and other law enforcement, this incredibly violent tragedy could have been even worse,' he added. McLeod killed four people, including three who worked at tattoo parlors, before marauding into the Hyatt House hotel where he shot dead his final victim, 28-year-old hotel clerk Sarah Steck. He ran out of the hotel and about a minute later was confronted by Ferris who ordered the killer to drop his weapon. She was shot in the abdomen but fired back and killed McLeod. Ferris, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, was rushed to hospital where she underwent surgery Monday night. The brave officer is 'doing well' and with family, and is expected to make a full recovery. Lakewood Police Agent Ashley Ferris, 28, shot and killed the rampaging gunman after he shot her in the abdomen McLeod had come on to the radar of police in 2020 and 2021, Denver police chief said, but no charges were ever filed. He did not say why there was concern Five people were killed and three injured, including a police officer, in a shooting spree that spread across Colorado on Monday night Detectives are still probing what motivated McLeod's deadly rampage, but have revealed he was someone with a history of extremist views and psychiatric episodes. McLeod used to own a tattoo business, Flat Black Ink, until 2017, ABC reported. His spree targeted several tattoo shops, and three of his five victims worked in the tattoo industry. Police said they believe McLeod was targeting the people he shot at the tattoo parlors. Paul Pazen, chief of Denver Police, said on Tuesday that McLeod had been on the radar of law enforcement during two recent investigations - one in 2020 and another in 2021 - but neither resulted in charges. Police said McLeod fired shots at six locations across Denver and the nearby suburb of Lakewood. His rampage left five people dead and three others wounded - including the hero police officer Ferris - before he was shot dead. McLeod sold his house five years ago to a man who said the property was full of gun safes. 'There were numerous hidden gun safes in the walls of this house,' said Gabriel Thorn, speaking to KDVR. 'He just disappeared off the face of the earth when we bought the house. My wife and I joke that he's changed his name and moved out of the country.' McLeod then wrote and published a series of books called 'Sanction' under the name Roman McClay, KDVR reported, with the main character based on himself, and the narrator being artificial intelligence. In an interview about the book, he was described as living in a converted storage container, and said the book was about 'our masculinity and the way we interact,' looking at religion, genetics and culture. He described it on Twitter, in an account dormant since June 2020, as: 'The book that philosophizes with a Jack-Hammer.' 'I tend to look at the world in threes. I'll look at the world currently, then the world below it and the world above it,' he said in a YouTube interview in March 2020, to promote the book. 'You have the terrestrial plane, then the sub level, then the atmosphere.' McLeod added: 'I consider myself an artist first, and then a man interested in ideas and culture second.' Alicia Cardenas, 44, the owner of Sol Tribe tattoo shop on Denver, was named by friends on social media as one of the five people who were killed in Monday's shooting spree Alyssa Gunn Maldonado, 35 (right), was shot dead inside Cardenas' shop. Her husband, Jimmy Maldonado, was said to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the chest Danny Scofield, 38 (right), a tattoo artist at Lucky 13 Tattoo and Piercing in Lakewood, was shot and killed during the rampage Scofield was the fourth person to be killed in the gunman's Monday night rampage Sarah Steck, 28, was the fifth person to be killed McLeod, and the only one he is not believed to know - although he was familiar with her workplace, the Hyatt House hotel His victims included Alicia Cardenas, 44, the owner of Sol Tribe tattoo shop on Broadway in Denver. Another deceased victim was identified on Tuesday as Alyssa Gunn Maldonado, 35, who worked with Cardenas alongside her husband, a piercing artist, who was injured in the attack. A third victim who succumbed to his injuries was named as 38-year-old Danny Scofield, a tattoo artist working at another parlor in Lakewood. A fourth victim was described as a man, shot in the street, and his fifth victim was a clerk at the Hyatt hotel, Sarah Steck, who died on Tuesday afternoon in hospital. McLeod, described by witnesses as wearing a trench coat, and being a tall, blonde man - despite being noticeably dark haired in his social media posts - was fatally shot after he opened fire at officers and struck one female officer once in the abdomen. She returned fire, striking him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 'She is in stable condition and doing well,' said John Romero, spokesman for the Lakewood Police Department. She was wearing a bulletproof vest. Romero said the officer 'probably saved' lives. 'We are beyond proud of her actions,' he said. 'To see this type of spree take place is not normal in our community,' Pazen told KDVR. 'This one individual was responsible for this very violent crime spree that took place this evening.' McLeod, 47, owned a tattoo parlor in Denver until 2017. He then relocated to a converted shipping container McLeod lived in a shipping container in the mountains, he told an interviewer while promoting his self-published fantasy novel McLeod sold his house in Denver around five years ago, according to the new owner McLeod used his Instagram to promote his book, with skull images According to the police department's timeline, McLeod's first stop on his deadly spree was Sol Tribe tattoo shop on Broadway, where he allegedly opened fire shortly after 5pm, killing the owner, Alicia Cardenas. He wounded one of her associates, piercing artist Jimmy Maldonado, and gunned down the man's wife, Alyssa Gunn Maldonado, who also worked there. Ernesto Burbank, a friend of the victims, identified them in a Facebook post, revealing that Jimmy Maldonado was taken to a hospital suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. His condition is unknown at this time. 'I just don't understand how so much hate can live in people and how the innocent always pay the price,' Burbank wrote. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help with Alyssa's funeral costs and her husband's medical expenses. The couple, who married in February 2020, have a young son. Facebook has lit up with messages expressing shock and grief as news of Alicia Cardenas' killing spread. She was remembered as a pillar of Denver's artistic community. 'Wisdom and grace poured from her anytime she chose to speak,' wrote Armando Lopez, her client. 'So many artists learned from her in apprenticeship through her masterful work in tattoo, murals, and altars. A Denver native, who's roots have held this city up through their strength and provision of soulful nutrients. Her voice and words of advice still ring so loudly in my ears.' Lopez revealed that he had got a tattoo at Cardenas' parlor just an hour before the shooting. The 44-year-old tattoo artist and muralist is survived by her 12-year-old daughter, according to her friend Patrick Anderson. 'She was such a kind and wise person,' Anderson told DailyMail.com on Tuesday. 'She hosted an annual Dia de los Muertes event at her tattoo shop and helped people remember loved ones. I like to think that she is now with her ancestors and will come visit us this Dia de los Muertes.' April Potter identified her brother, Danny Scofield, as the third victim of the shooting spree. She told KDVR that he was a father-of-three who worked as a tattoo artist at Lucky 13 Tattoo and Piercing on Kipling Street in Lakewood. 'He was my best friend,' Potter said through tears. 'The best person I've ever met in my life.' Officials are asking residents to keep the victims, specifically the officer, in their thoughts and prayers during this tough time. 'We just ask everyone in our community for their thoughts and prayer for that agent and their family,' Romero told the Denver Post. Police say McLeod fired shots in six locations across Denver and the nearby suburb of Lakewood The above map shows where the incidents in Monday night's killing spree occurred The shooting spree began around 5pm in Denver near the intersection of East 1st Avenue and Broadway. Police say McLeod killed two women and injured one man - since identified as Cardenas, Alyssa Gunn Maldonado and Jimmy Maldonado - before fleeing the scene. Shortly after, McLeod fatally shot another man in the Cheeseman Park neighborhood near 12th Avenue and Williams Street. He then fired a shot at 6th Avenue and Cherokee Street, as well as 8th Avenue and Zuni Street. However, police say no injuries were reported at either location. He was then spotted in his vehicle by police, near 8th Avenue and Zuni Street. Officers attempted to pull him over when he opened fire, prompting them to shoot back. A Denver police vehicle was disabled and McLeod fled the scene. He is believed to then have continued his killing spree in Lakewood. He was reported in the suburb just before 6pm, firing shots and killing one person - Danny Scofield - at the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Kipling Street. Soon after, Lakewood officers spotted his vehicle in the Belmar area. Gunfire was exchanged after McLeod shot at police. He then ran away into a nearby business where he brandished his weapon before entering the Hyatt House hotel where he shot a clerk. The clerk was taken to an area hospital, where she later died. McLeod fled the Hyatt and began shooting at officers, injuring one, who then shot back. Witnesses who were driving in the area told Fox 31 they saw the a police officer confronting the suspect. 'We seen [sic] the guy: he was a tall man, blond hair, with a trench coat,' the witnesses told the station. 'She yelled at him to 'put his gun down!' 'She yelled, 'put your gun down' and he turned around and, like, pulled up the gun and shot her right in front of us, multiple times.' McLeod was finally shot and killed at this location. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department is investigating the specifics behind the gunman's death. Pazen, the Denver Police Chief, told reporters police are investigating the motive behind the deadly rampage. 'We need to really dig and find out what the motivation behind this was,' Pazen said. Meanwhile, police say there is no ongoing threat to the community. McLeod was fatally shot by Lakewood police after he opened fire at officers and struck one in the back. Police say the cop is currently in surgery The suspect was shot and killed. The Jefferson County sheriff's department is investigating the specifics behind his death 'At this point, we do not believe there is any additional safety concern to the community,' added Romero. Of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in 2021, three were in Colorado, including the years deadliest. In addition to the shooting on December 27, there was the Colorado Springs shooting on May 11 that claimed seven dead and the King Soopers shooting in Boulder that killed 10. The King Soopers shooting is tied for the years deadliest with a June 2 shooting in San Jose, Calif., that also left 10 dead. In all, Colorado saw 13 mass shootings throughout 2021. Denver reported 6,715 cases of violent crime in 2021, as of October. The incidents include 95 murders; 1,038 sex offenses; 4,365 cases of aggravated assault; and 1,217 robberies. The shooting spree was the 10th most lethal of the year nationwide, according to Gun Violence Archive. When to get tested, who's a close contact and how long do I need to isolate are questions on the lips of millions of Australians after a major Covid rule switch-up came in overnight in five states and territories. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that National Cabinet had agreed to change the definition of a close contact following an emergency cabinet meeting on Thursday, as the nation learns to live with the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant. PCRs tests, which have seen thousands queueing for hours at overwhelmed testing centres, are now only for people who are symptomatic, or who have tested positive to a rapid antigen test. The announcements come as Australians prepare for drastically different New Year's Eve celebrations, with NSW told to carefully enjoy an evening out while those in South Australia are encouraged to stay at home. Australia's premiers and chief ministers have also agreed to define a close contact as someone who has spent at least four hours in an 'accommodation setting' such as a household or a care facility with a positive case. The adjustment of the definition comes after testing facilities were woefully underprepared for the onslaught of PCR testing over the festive season. Major changes to Covid rules affecting millions will come into effect just hours before Australia prepares to finally ring in the New Year (pictured, Sydneysiders celebrate in 2020) When to get tested, who's considered a close contact and how long do I need to isolate are questions on the lips of millions of Australians after a major Covid rule switch-up (pictured, concert-goers at a Melbourne festival on Thursday night) What are the changes and when do they kick in? Who should get a PCR test? Only people with symptoms or those who have received a positive rapid antigen test New definition of close contact: Someone who has spent at least four hours in a household or a care facility with a positive case. Workplaces do not count New isolation period: Positive people and close contacts must isolate for seven days or 10 in SA Timing: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will implement the changes at midnight. Tasmania will follow on January 1 while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will not adopt the scheme until they get more Covid cases in the weeks ahead. Advertisement Travel requirements, family reunions, end-of-year celebrations and tests for close contacts - as well as people experiencing symptoms - has seen the overwhelmed testing system clogged, bringing misery to thousands awaiting results over Christmas. The rush to get tested comes as most states and territories in Australia experience an unprecedented rise in case numbers as the Omicron variant runs rampant. However, increasing caseloads have not yet been reflected in hospitalisation rates, with early studies indicating the new variant is likely to lead to less patients in hospital. But with a two-week lag period for hospital presentations with Covid, doctors may not see the consequences of the latest outbreak until well into the new year. The changes to the definition of close contacts and who has to isolate, and for how long, brings Australia more in step with the majority of the world - having imposed generally stricter restrictions on citizens since the pandemic began. With Omicron now running rampant, Australians are being encouraged to learn to live with the virus in a way they have never experienced before. Frustrated citizens have spent hours in queues outside testing sites and even longer waiting for their results, with many forced to spend Christmas alone in isolation. The subsequent uproar coupled with the inadequate supply of rapid antigen tests has seen anger directed at Australia's politicians at both a state and federal level. The redefinition of a close contact is hoped to alleviate pressure on testing centres triggered by people testing for the milder but more contagious Omicron variant. Here is your complete guide to the sweeping new rules affecting millions of Australians as they round out the party season and ring in 2022. PM Scott Morrison announced that National Cabinet had changed the definition of close contact following an emergency cabinet meeting (pictured, Sydneysiders on Tuesday) The rush to get tested comes as most states and territories in Australia experience an unprecedented rise in case numbers (pictured, Sydneysiders queue for a test on Wednesday) - but the new rules look set to alleviate the pressure on testing sites Frustrated citizens spent hours in queues outside testing sites and even longer waiting for their results, with many forced to spend Christmas alone (pictured, Sydneysiders get tested) Who is considered a close contact? The definition of a close contact agreed upon by Australia's leaders is a person who has spent four hours with a positive case in a household-like setting. Workplaces are exempt from this definition. If a workplace records a positive case the contacts do not need to isolate but monitor for Covid symptoms. Close contacts must take a PCR test if they have symptoms, and it it comes back positive, that person is then deemed a confirmed case. If a close contact doesn't have any symptoms, they just do a rapid antigen test - which will be made available to pick up for free from testing centres to do back at home. If the rapid test is positive, they must then seek a PCR test. Excited young Aussies (pictured in Sydney) are gearing up to ring in the New Year - with many released from isolation overnight thanks to the new rules A close contact is defined as a person who has spent four hours with a positive case in a household-like setting (pictured, festival-goers in Melbourne on Thursday) How long do I need to isolate? All close contacts are required to isolate for seven days even if their PCR or rapid antigen test comes back negative. This is because symptoms can occur late into a person's infection, around the seven day mark. However, if a close contact returns a negative rapid antigen test on the sixth day of their isolation period they can re-enter the community. If the test comes back positive the close contact must get a PCR test. A confirmed case - someone who has received a positive PCR test - must remain isolated for seven days from the date they were first tested for Covid. They too can leave isolation if they return a negative rapid antigen test on day six. 'If you are anything other than a close contact and you are not symptomatic, you don't need to go and get a test,' Mr Morrison (pictured) said on Thursday The redefinition of a close contact is hoped to alleviate pressure on busy testing centres (pictured, people queue in their cars to get tested in Melbourne on Thursday) Who can get a PCR test? Any person who experiences Covid-like symptoms like a runny nose, sore throat, cough or fever is encouraged to seek a PCR test. This is regardless of whether they have come into contact with an infected person. However, unless a person is experiencing symptoms or is a close contact they will be unable to receive a free PCR test as has been the practice for the last 21 months. Those seeking peace of mind can still purchase a rapid antigen test in a pharmacy or supermarket, however the PM has made it clear only some RAT tests will be free. 'If you are anything other than a close contact and you are not symptomatic, you don't need to go and get a test,' Mr Morrison said on Thursday. 'Now, I know this is a bit different to what you've been hearing over the last couple of years. That's the reset. That's what we need people to really understand.' The PM urged anyone experiencing Covid-like symptoms like a runny nose, sore throat, cough or fever to seek a PCR test (pictured, people queue for a test in Sydney) Casual contacts no longer exist, meaning anyone in a pub or other form of retail outlet at the same time as a positive case no longer has to isolate (pictured, a concert-goer in Melbourne) What about casual contacts? Casual contacts no longer exist, meaning anyone in a pub or at a restaurant, cafe or other form of retail outlet at the same time as a positive case no longer has to isolate. When will the new rules come into effect? NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will implement the changes from Friday morning. South Australia will adopt the new close contact definition - but keep a 10-day isolation rule in place. Tasmania will adopt the new rules on January 1. The Northern Territory and Western Australia will not adopt the definition until they get high Covid caseloads in the weeks ahead. What if I'm isolating now, and wouldn't need to under the new rules? Mr Morrison confirmed the changes will apply to people currently in isolation who do not meet the new definition in jurisdictions making the changes at midnight. 'Let them out,' he said. NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will adopt the new definition of a close contact on Friday morning at midnight (pictured, revellers at a Melbourne concert on Thursday) Revellers in NSW (pictured) have been urged by Premier Dominic Perrottet to push ahead with celebrations despite fears of community transmission of the Omicron variant What about New Year's Eve celebrations? Revellers in NSW have been urged by Premier Dominic Perrottet to push ahead with celebrations despite fears of community transmission of the Omicron variant. The state leader's plea comes as part of a desperate attempt to boost the state's economy, however restaurants, cruise operators and venues are struggling to put on a show. Staff shortages in Sydney due to thousands isolating as close contacts or waiting for test results comes as many cancel reservations and decide to celebrate at home. South Australia's Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier has urged residents to stay home on New Year's Eve, despite protestations from the hospitality industry. The fate of residents in Western Australia has been sealed by a reintroduction of strict Covid rules due to last until January 4, ruining NYE plans for millions. Premier Mark McGowan announced large events would be cancelled, dancing banned apart from at weddings, masks would be required indoors and seated service within hospitality venues. The state leader defended the tough rules despite his state reporting one new case on Thursday and businesses warning it will destroy their all-important New Year's Eve revenue. Australia recorded 21,329 new cases on Thursday but only 122 people are in ICU because of vaccinations and the less severe nature of the Omicron variant which is making up about 80 per cent of cases. Old Parliament House has suffered 'incalculable damage' after a fire ripped through the entrance to the historic landmark, with Scott Morrison branding the destruction 'disgusting' and 'appalling'. Within hours of the building going up in flames on Thursday, Greens senator Lidia Thorpe posted a tweet - which was hastily deleted - remarking 'the colonial system is burning down'. She was quickly slammed for the post, in which she appeared to celebrate the destruction and told followers 'Happy New Year everyone'. The entrance to the building was engulfed in flames after a smoking ceremony demanding Aboriginal Sovereignty in Canberra grew out of control - with some claiming it was spread intentionally. Emergency crews arrived to douse the flames, but not before the fire had caused extensive damage to its heritage doors, the portico and the building's exterior. 'Seems like the colonial system is burning down. Happy New Year everyone,' the tweet (pictured) read accompanied by hashtag #AlwayswasAlwayswillbeAboriginalLand' Greens senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) quickly deleted her tweet after it prompted outrage, having remarked that the 'colonial system is burning down' Demonstrators were heard shouting 'let it burn', amid a tense stand-off with police who used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. The smoking ceremony, which was approved by authorities as part of a protest, was to blame for the blaze while police begin to investigate how the chaos escalated. The director of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, Daryl Karp, said the total cost of the damage was unknown but 'from a heritage perspective the damage is incalculable'. The Museum's deputy director Andrew Harper said he was 'devastated' by the incident and is unsure if the building's original 1927 facade could be repaired. 'We are devastated about the damage. We will be closed for some time,' he said. Staff were also unable to determine if there was any damage to the collection inside after the building's sprinkler system was activated. A federal police forensic team was later seen examining the scorched front entrance of the building and taking samples from the fire damage (pictured on Thursday) The museum's director Daryl Karp said the damage done to the building (pictured on Thursday) was 'incalculable' Three forensic team members are seen analysing the scorched front entrance doors (pictured on Thursday) with experts fearing the damage may be irreparable Prime Minister Scott Morrison slammed the behaviour as an insult to democracy on Thursday, saying: 'This is not how Australia works'. 'I'm disgusted and appalled by the behaviour that would see Australians come and set fire to such a symbol of democracy in this country,' Mr Morrison said. 'Their cause doesn't justify that sort of violence. That's not how Australia works. We have a rule of law in this country and people should obey it.' Meanwhile, the tweet from Ms Thorpe, the granddaughter of respected Indigenous matriarch Alma Thorpe, came under fire soon after the saga unfolded - despite her efforts to hastily delete it. 'Seems like the colonial system is burning down. Happy New Year everyone,' the tweet read accompanied by hashtag #AlwayswasAlwayswillbeAboriginalLand'. The senator and proud descendant of the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung peoples deleted the tweet shortly after posting it. 'I am disgusted and appalled by behaviour that would see Australians come and set fire to such a symbol of democracy in this country,' PM Scott Morrison (pictured) said Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) related the blaze to the burning of the 'colonial system' in a quickly-deleted post to Twitter When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, a Greens spokesperson refused to comment and pointed towards leader Adam Bandt's tweet, which read: 'What a terrible sight. 'The Greens dont want to see the planet burning or Old Parliament. Investigations are now underway into the cause of the fire, but if this was arson, its unacceptable.' The politician was the first Aboriginal woman in the Victorian parliament in 2017, and in 2020 the first Aboriginal Senator for Victoria in the Senate. Ms Thorpe's tweet appeared to allude to the 1788 British colonisation of Australia when settlers took the land of First Nations peoples as their own. The colonisation of Australia has had devastating impacts on Indigenous people with the after-effects of massacre, disease and loss of culture still felt today. Ms Thorpe is no stranger to controversy after last month being accused of making a 'disgusting' comment towards Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes. Lidia Thorpe (pictured) was the first Aboriginal woman in the Victorian parliament in 2017, and in 2020 the first Aboriginal Senator for Victoria in the Senate Protesters stand in front of the burned out doors to Old Parliament House on Thursday Senator Hughes later claimed on Sky News Senator Thorpe's comments were a reference to her giving birth to an autistic son. Liberal Senator Ben Small interrupted proceedings to claim he clearly heard Ms Thorpe's insult, with the Ms Thorpe then offering a retraction. Senator Small alleged outside the chamber he distinctly heard Ms Thorpe say 'at least I keep my legs shut'. The greens senator later apologised to Ms Hughes. 'I just want to unreservedly take back my comments that I made earlier and I apologise to that senator wholeheartedly, Senator Hughes,' she said. The fire comes just one week after a similar blaze was lit at the historic site which served as Australia's federal parliament from 1927 until 1988. After firefighters distinguish the blaze protesters continued to clash with media crews and police, some chanting 'long live us' and 'stop telling lies' (pictured, a protestor holds a flag) Meanwhile an unruly crowd had to be held back from the building by a line of police before an all-out brawl began (pictured on Thursday) Crowds of protesters began gathering almost a fortnight ago ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy which was established in 1972. The tent embassy was and continues to be a site for occupation protests after initially prompting a national discussion on Indigenous land rights. Australia's current Parliament House was established in 1988 on Capitol Hill a short distance away, with the historic building now used as a museum and heritage site. After firefighters extinguished the blaze protesters continued to clash with media crews and police, some chanting 'long live us' and 'stop telling lies'. While leaders used a megaphone to talk about Indigenous rights and colonisation, baffled onlookers recorded the plumes of smoke pouring out of the building. Five fire engines and about 40 police officers attended the scene and the building was evacuated as a precaution while crews fervently extinguished the blaze. Emergency services rushed to the scene to put out the flames but not before the fire had caused extensive damage, as protesters were heard yelling 'let it burn' The historic building now used as a museum and heritage site (pictured, a forensic team analyse the damage on the front entrance doors) A federal police forensic team was later seen examining the scorched front entrance of the building and taking samples from the fire-damage. Among the protesters at Old Parliament House are a 'sovereign citizen' group who posted a 'trespass' notice on the building doors yesterday. Their notice says that 'under rule of law and with absolute authority and autonomy, I, Chief Bumajin Gumbaynggirr, representative of the National Sovereign Government, hereby accepts (sic) your acquiescence by default, enforceable immediately.' It goes on to say: All actions of genocide, complicity in genocide and terrorism are to cease and desist immediately as per today's date, commencing 29-12-2021.' The museum's director Daryl Karp said of last week's protest that 30 or 40 people approached the building advising they wanted to protest on the front steps. 'On Tuesday the protesters lit a fire that got out of control and it scorched the front door. 'I don't believe it was their intention to do any damage; however, we had to ask them to move on,' Mr Karp said. Federal politicians have criticised the protesters with Labor leader Anthony Albanese condemning the attack on Twitter. 'This historic house of our democracy should be respected by all Australians it is beyond my comprehension that anyone or group could engage in such a destructive act,' he wrote. 'The fire at Old Parliament House is an absolute disgrace if deliberately lit,' Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce wrote on his Facebook page. 'This is the Parliament that for so long underpinned the freedoms we have as a democracy and made the decisions that formed us as a nation, fighting for the increase of rights and corrections to our colonial past. 'If someone is trying to make a statement then it is a very bad one that will be received with overwhelming disgust.' Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack said there should be 'swift and severe' repercussions for those responsible if the blaze was deliberately lit. Ben Morton, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet, released a statement saying 'Criminal damage has no place in our democracy'. 'Today's actions at Old Parliament House were not peaceful. The resulting damage undermines the message that peaceful protesters seek to deliver,' he said. Five fire engines and about 40 police officers attended the scene and the building was evacuated as a precaution while crews fervently extinguished the blaze 'It is the Government's expectation that all illegal activity should be dealt with by the police and the courts to the full extent possible. 'I thank the first responders. They should not have to put themselves in harm's way to deal with the fire. The damage to the building will be fully restored back to its original condition.' ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr also condemned the protestors who set fire to the building and said he was disappointed a heritage building had been damaged. 'People have a right to protest but that protest must be peaceful, and the actions that we've seen in setting fire to a heritage listed building, really disappointing and should be condemned,' he said. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr (pictured) also condemned the protestors who set fire to the building and said he was disappointed a heritage building had been damaged The fire was eventually extinguished but the old Parliament House entrance was severely damaged with doors, front wall and portico all blackened by fire (pictured, fire damage) The fire was eventually extinguished but the old Parliament House entrance was severely damaged with doors, front wall and portico all blackened by fire. Commander Linda Champion from the Australian Federal Police said the fire most likely started when a smoking ceremony approved by police got out of control. 'There was a small smoking ceremony and that is something that we had agreed with a lot of the members who were attending each day as part of a peaceful protest,' Ms Champion said. 'It then became a little bit out of hand and then when ACT police went to respond, that's when it was greatly exacerbated.' She said that while police had used pepper spray on protesters, it did not act as an accelerant to the fire because the spray was water-based. ACT police said it would continue to monitor peaceful protests but 'when criminal actions take place the people responsible will be dealt in accordance with the law'. A Minnesota juror from the Kim Potter trial said the panel believed the killer cop was a 'good person who made a mistake' and that the decision to convict came when they felt the difference between her gun and taser. Potter, a former Brooklyn Center police officer, was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal April 11 shooting of Daunte Wright on Dec. 23. The ex-cop claimed she accidentally killed Wright when she mistakenly grabbed her gun instead of her taser. 'I don't want to speak for all the jurors, but I think we believed she was a good person and even believed that she was a good cop,' a juror, speaking on the basis of anonymity, told KARE. 'No one felt she was intentional in this. ... We felt like she was a good person, we felt she made a mistake, and that a mistake does not absolve you from the fact she did commit a crime.' However, the individual shared how the jury had the opportunity to hold Potter's gun and taser in an effort to feel the differences between them. The gun was reportedly twice as heavy as the taser, as well as unholstered and fired differently. 'The taser kind of feels like a mouse click, whereas the trigger has some trigger draw weight. That was a key turning point,' the juror said. The jury deliberated for more than 27 hours before reaching both guilty verdicts. Potter, who will be sentenced on Feb. 18, faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. A Minnesota juror from the Kim Potter (pictured as her convictions were read aloud) trial said the panel believed the killer cop was a 'good person who made a mistake' but the turning point in their decision to convict came when they felt the difference between her gun and taser The panel leaned towards finding Potter guilty on both accounts immediately after closing arguments, but allegedly started doubting their decision when some of the jurors urged a deeper look at the law. 'Initially for both counts we were predominantly guilty' the juror explained. 'For Count 1, it was seven for guilty and the remainders were either "not guilty" or didnt know. Then for Count 2, eight said guilty, two said not guilty and two didnt know.' The juror said what the case was complex because the facts weren't in question but instead interpretation of the law was. 'This case was interesting because there werent really facts that were in dispute. It was more our interpretation of our jury instructions and the law. Those last couple days were literally just focusing in on the language of the law,' they explained. At one point the jury was event split n the charge of Manslaughter 1 at four guilty, four not guilty and four 'I have no idea,' the juror told the news outlet, noting they were 'arguing semantics and kind of in circles' at that point. Potter (left) who photographed grinning in a new mug shot that was released after her conviction on manslaughter charges for the killing of Daunte Wright (pictured, right) The ex-cop claimed she accidentally killed Wright when she mistakenly grabbed her gun instead of her taser (Pictured: Bodycam footage of the shooting) By the final day and a half of deliberations, the jury had already decided beyond a reasonable doubt that Potter was guilty of second-degree manslaughter, but two jurors were holding out on the higher charge. The two jurors - a middle-aged man and woman - shared concern about the language of the law, as well as concern over the consequences Potter would face. 'He kept saying, I dont think she was consciously aware that she was holding a firearm." We were like, "We get that. We understand. We agree. But you are missing the language where it says "or intentional,"' the juror shared. Ultimately, the decision came down to the verbiage of the law, according to the juror. They jury did not focus on the defense accusations that Wright caused his own death, but instead on Potter's actions. 'We did talk about Daunte's actions, but we as a jury did a really good job of separating his actions from Kim Potter's actions. Daunte's actions clearly had consequences. So did Kim Potter's. That's kind of the thought process there,' they said. 'This was strictly about Daunte Wright, Kim Potter and the law.' The juror added: 'I think you couldn't have asked for a better group of jury members the fact we didn't concern ourselves with those big picture things really speaks volumes to me and tells me we did a good job. I really think we made the right decision.' The jury reportedly had the opportunity to hold Potter's gun and taser in their hands, which was the 'turning point' for her guilty verdicts (Pictured: Potter's gun and taser side by side) The jury deliberated for more than 27 hours before reaching both guilty verdicts (Pictured: Potter's trial) Potter (pictured on Dec. 23) will be sentenced on Feb. 18 and faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. State sentencing guidelines suggest seven years in prison but prosecutors have said they would seek a longer term The charges and penalties in the Kim Potter trial FIRST-DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER PREDICATED ON RECKLESS USE/HANDLING OF FIREARM AND SECOND-DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER: First-degree manslaughter in this case means prosecutors allege that Potter caused Wright's death while committing a misdemeanor - the 'reckless handling or use of a firearm so as to endanger the safety of another with such force and violence that death or great bodily harm to any person was reasonably foreseeable.' The second-degree manslaughter charge alleges that she caused his death 'by her culpable negligence,' meaning that Potter 'caused an unreasonable risk and consciously took a chance of causing death or great bodily harm' to Wright, while using or possessing a firearm. Neither charge requires prosecutors to prove Potter intended to kill Wright. POTENTIAL PENALTIES: The maximum for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years; for second-degree, it's 10 years. But Minnesota judges follow sentencing guidelines that normally call for less - just over seven years for first-degree, and four years for second-degree. Prosecutors have said they will seek a longer sentence due to aggravating factors, which is what they did in former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial for killing George Floyd. The longest sentences that could conceivably stick on appeal are double the top of the guidelines range. But that's more than the statutory maximum of 15 years for first-degree manslaughter, so 15 years would be the cap for Potter if she's convicted. The realistic maximum on the lesser charge would be 9 1/2 years. Presuming good behavior, Minnesota offenders typically serve two-thirds of their time in prison and one-third on supervised release. Source: AP Advertisement Potter, 49, faces about seven years in prison under the states sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors said they would seek a longer term. Though Potter showed no visible emotion in court as the verdicts were read, she was photographed grinning in a mug shot taken later as she was processed at a womens prison near Minneapolis. Potter, who is white, shot and killed the 20-year-old Wright, who was black, during an April 11 traffic stop in Brooklyn Center as she and other officers were trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for a weapons possession charge. DailyMail.com exclusively reported last week that Wright had led a life of violence and crime in the years leading up to his death, which included his involvement in a shooting of two of his school friends, a home burglary, and an assault and robbery. 'Daunte lived a lifestyle that didn't have a long life span,' said Jennifer LeMay, the mother of a 19-year-old boy who was left with a traumatic brain injury after Wright allegedly shot him in the head in 2019. 'He was either going to be imprisoned, kill someone, or be killed. His actions and behavior were inexcusable on every level.' Jurors saw video of the shooting from police body cameras and dashcams. As Wright pulled away while another officer attempted to handcuff him, Potter repeatedly said she would tase him, but instead shot him once in his chest with her gun, which was in her hand. '(Expletive)! I just shot him. ... I grabbed the wrong [expletive] gun,' Potter said on video shown to the jury. Moments later, she said: 'Im going to go to prison.' During her sometimes tearful testimony, Potter told jurors that she was 'sorry it happened.' She said the traffic stop just went chaotic.' The maximum prison sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years. Minnesota law sentences defendants only on their most serious conviction when multiple counts involve the same act and the same victim, and state guidelines call for about seven years on that charge. Prosecutors have said they would seek to prove aggravating factors that merit whats called an upward departure from sentencing guidelines. In Potters case, they alleged that her actions were a danger to others, including her fellow officers, to Wrights passenger and to the couple whose car was struck by Wrights after the shooting. They also alleged she abused her authority as a police officer. Potters attorneys argued that she made a tragic mistake, but that she also would have been justified in using deadly force because of the possibility that Potters fellow officer, then-Sgt. Mychal Johnson, was at risk of being dragged if Wright had driven away from the traffic stop. Potter testified that she decided to act after seeing a look of fear on Johnsons face. This still image taken from from police body cam video shows Daunte Wright being shot during a traffic stop on April 11, 2021 Potter tearfully testified during her trial that she did not mean to hurt anyone Daunte Wright is pictured above with his young son But prosecutor Erin Eldridge pointed out to jurors that for much of the interaction, Potter was behind a third officer she was training and that Johnson didnt come into her cameras view until after the shot was fired and then it showed the top of his head as he backed away. 'Sgt. Johnson was clearly not afraid of being dragged,' Eldridge said. 'He never said he was scared. He didnt say it then, and he didnt testify to it in court.' Eldridge also noted an inconsistency in Potters testimony, saying that when she gave an interview to a psychologist working for the defense team, she told him she didnt know why she used her Taser. Potter told the jury she didnt recall saying that. First-degree manslaughter required prosecutors to prove that Potter caused Wrights death while committing a misdemeanor in her case, the reckless handling of a firearm. The second-degree charge required them to prove that she caused Wrights death by 'culpable negligence.' Fotieo was then put into a mandatory ten-day quarantine schoolteacher self-isolated in the plane's bathroom for five hours - posting about her experience on TikTok A schoolteacher isolated herself in a plane's bathroom for five hours after she tested positive for Covid mid-flight. Marisa Fotieo took a rapid lateral flow test after her throat began to hurt during the journey from Chicago, Illinois to Reykjavik, Iceland. Despite giving a required negative pre-departure test, she soon found that she had been infected with Covid and was forced to self-isolate. 'There's 150 people on the flight, and my biggest fear was giving it to them,' Fotieo told NBC's Today show. Michigan schoolteacher Marisa Fotieo isolated herself in a plane's bathroom for five hours after she tested positive for Covid mid-flight The Michigan schoolteacher then spent five hours of the six-hour journey in the plane's tiny bathroom. She posted videos of the experience on TikTok, with a clip of her finding out she was Covid positive going viral with more than 4 million views. 'Within what felt like two seconds there were two lines,' she said of taking her test on December 20. Upon arrival, Fotieo was taken off the plane straight into 10-day mandatory quarantine at a hotel for people with Covid-19. Fotieo took a rapid lateral flow test after her throat began to hurt during the journey from Chicago, Illinois to Reykjavik, Iceland. She posted videos of the experience on TikTok, with a clip of her finding out she was Covid positive going viral with more than 4 million views Upon arrival, Fotieo was taken off the plane straight into 10-day mandatory quarantine at a hotel for people with Covid-19 Fotieo has shared several videos from her quarantine hotel room documenting her activities in isolation However the experience was not all bad, as Fotieo said one of her Icelandair flight's crew, named as Ragnhildur 'Rocky' Eiriksdottir, brought her food and drink during her bathroom isolation. The pair kept in touch and Fotieo said Eiriksdottir tried to make her quarantine stay as enjoyable as possible. Footage shared on TikTok shows Fotieo receiving a delivery from the flight attendant filled with snacks, a card and flowers. Eiriksdottir also bought her a small Christmas tree with lights to hang on it so she could decorate her room for Christmas Day. However the experience was not all bad, as Fotieo said one of her Icelandair flight's crew, named as Ragnhildur 'Rocky' Eiriksdottir sent her gifts to make her quarantine stay as enjoyable as possible In response to 'Rocky's' kindness Fotieo asked followers on TikTok for gift ideas for Eiriksdottir, calling her 'an angel on earth' 'It was so heartfelt, and she's just an angel,' Fotieo added. In response to 'Rocky's' kindness Fotieo asked followers on TikTok for gift ideas for Eiriksdottir, calling her 'an angel on earth'. Fotieo's last post on December 29 showed her still in quarantine, although this is set to end either today or on New Year's Eve. Iceland requires flight passengers to provide a negative test taken within 72 hours of departure Icelandair have yet to respond to requests about the video. The National Trust has been accused of letting one of its most famous properties that has featured in Harry Potter films become a 'dying village' with homes sitting empty. Lacock in Chippenham, Wiltshire, is on the 'must-see' list for millions of tourists who flock from all over the world to walk around the ancient 'Hogwarts' abbey and peer along its streets that appeared in TV costume dramas such as Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall and Cranford. But the Trust, which rents out the houses, has allowed the village to decay, with more than a dozen homes having sat empty for years, according to one of the residents who has lived there for decades. The tenant, who did not want to be named, said that following the deaths of several elderly residents: 'Lacock is a dying village. There are at least 12 empty properties and it could be more. 'It is just sad because Lacock is a very unique village and the houses are going to rack and ruin. Some of them have been empty now for two years. Lacock in Chippenham, Wiltshire, is on the 'must-see' list for millions of tourists who flock from all over the world to walk around the ancient 'Hogwarts' abbey (pictured, Lacock Abbey used in Harry Potter) and peer along its streets that appeared in TV costume dramas such as Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall and Cranford Pictured: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and Michael Gambon as Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Lacock has been featured in several period dramas such as Pride and Prejudice (pictured) But the Trust, which rents out the houses, has allowed the village to decay, with more than a dozen homes having sat empty for years, according to one of the residents to has lived there for decades. Pictured: Downton Abbey filming in Lacock Pictured: The cast of Downton Abbey film scenes in Lacock in Chippenham, Wiltshire Village rents range from 750 to 3,000 a month, but Ian Wilson, the National Trust's assistant director of operations, said: 'We don't have a problem. When we go out to let properties, we are generally over-subscribed' 'It is not good policy to keep these very old houses empty because they get damp. Like all houses, if you haven't got heat in them they do get damp. Where we are, there is no double glazing, or anything like that. 'We are being told that people need houses, but they have just got too expensive for normal people. It is just very sad. 'There is a lot of feeling in Lacock of resentment, not particularly against the National Trust as such, but for their policies.' The pensioner, who is in her 70s, fears the 'high' rents charged by The National Trust, which owns 90 properties in Lacock housing around half of its 900 strong population, are contributing to the problem. 'I have never known a housing situation like this because everyone wants to live here. 'It is sad because we are not having the younger ones coming in. You can have mortgages for less than what they are paying. 'I mean 1,500 for a house in the village but you can't park outside. It is a lot of money.' In fact, village rents range from 750 to 3,000 a month, but Ian Wilson, the National Trust's assistant director of operations, said: 'We don't have a problem. When we go out to let properties, we are generally over-subscribed.' Actors including Dame Judi Dench and Imelda Staunton walk down Lacock High Street, which had been transformed for a night shoot of the BBC period drama, Cranford The Trust typically invests between 250,000 and 300,000 a year in maintaining and refurbishing its properties in Lacock, Mr Wilson said A police officer watches as Lacock High Street is transformed for a night shoot of the BBC period drama, Cranford Lacock Parish Council chairwoman Jane Durrant said: 'We have been pushing the National Trust hard on this. They are investing in properties and getting them back on the market as quickly as they can' He says the trust is 'turning around properties as quickly as it can' considering the challenges faced in managing historic homes nowadays, and the added costs associated with Covid. He said nine houses are currently lying empty and the trust has 'recently let four of them'. He said the Trust is 'about to offer two more and another two or three will come on to the market in the New Year'. The Trust typically invests between 250,000 and 300,000 a year in maintaining and refurbishing its properties in Lacock, Mr Wilson said. He added: 'There is the added legacy of Covid. We have not been able to maintain and refurbish the properties because of the pandemic. 'As a charity, we did put the investment programme on hold. We focused our spend on properties where people were living. 'The longest vacant property that we have got in Lacock has been empty for about 18 months. The rest have been vacant for six to 12 months, which is basically through the Covid period.' Lacock Parish Council chairwoman Jane Durrant said: 'We have been pushing the National Trust hard on this. They are investing in properties and getting them back on the market as quickly as they can. Similar claims about high rents and empty homes in the National Trust village were made in 2018, when six National Trust homes were reported to be sitting empty At the time the Trust said it was trying to find tenants 'with a local connection' but faced accusations that rents are out of reach for local families, with one long-time villager describing the impact it was having on the close-knit community 'Two have recently been done up and are in the process of being tenanted - people should be moving in in the New Year. 'Some of the properties require quite a lot of work and significant investment to bring them up to the standards they need to be, particularly around the levels of energy efficiency and things like that. 'The National Trust is slowly working through that but only has a certain budget available. 'But certainly they have got plans in place now to work through those properties. Some of them need over 100,000 to be spent on them.' On local social media, one user said: 'Tourists peering and sticking their heads to the windows is enough to put anyone off from living there.' And another wrote: 'The NT is constrained by the Charity Commission to charge market rents on all of its properties, not just in Lacock. How much would anybody pay to live in a 'character' cottage with original period features? 'It is also in a straitjacket imposed by planning regulations as to what it is permitted to do to any of the many listed buildings in its care, which means some of its properties are simply unlettable. From Hogwarts in Harry Potter to the Crawleys' Downton Abbey estate: What is the history of iconic Lacock? Lacock is one of the oldest villages in England and almost entirely owned by the National Trust. The medieval village hasn't changed much in hundreds of years and it's as if time stands still, with no telephone cables hanging between the houses or anything else that indicates this is the 21st century. Countless period dramas, such as Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, Pride and Prejudice and Cranford, have used Lacock as a filming location. Various places in Lacock were used in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and, more recently, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Lacock Abbey served as the interior for Hogwarts School, and Harry Potter's parents' house can be found in the village. The house is used in the first Harry Potter film, the Philosopher's Stone, when Hagrid explains to Harry what happened to his parents. The cloisters at Lacock Abbey served as Hogwarts school corridors. One of the most powerful women of the middle ages, Ela Countess of Salisbury, founded Lacock Abbey on the morning of 16 April 1232. The cloister and rooms are a rare example of medieval monastic architecture. Ela's original cloister was demolished in the 1400s and replaced with what you see today. In the 1500s, a Tudor courtier, Sir William Sharington, purchased the abbey after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and turned it into his country house. He incorporated the cloister into the design of his home, an unusual move, and added Italian-inspired Renaissance architecture, including an octagonal tower. In the 1700s, John Ivory Talbot inherited Lacock and over 58 years transformed both the abbey and its grounds. He was inspired by the Gothic taste and worked with architect Sanderson Miller to add features such as the entrance arch and Great Hall. In the 1800s, William Henry Fox Talbot and his family lived in the abbey much as it looks today. In August 1835 Talbot created the first photographic negative and established Lacock as a Birthplace of Photography. The family remodelled the South Gallery, including the window where he captured his famous image. With its central grid of four streets, Lacock today looks much like it did 200 years ago. Lacock is a quintessential English village with streets lined with timber-framed cottages and local shops. The Fox Talbot Museum explores the history of photography, housing a collection spanning photographic developments up to the present day. Advertisement 'Who wants draughty, single-glazed 17th century casement windows and the associated huge heating bills when they can have a modern, warm home for much, much less? 'There must be some people who want to live in an expensive museum piece, but it's doubtful that there are many. 'The NT can't win - it can't let the houses easily, but it is not allowed to upgrade them to make them more lettable.' Similar claims about high rents and empty homes in the National Trust village were made in 2018, when six National Trust homes were reported to be sitting empty. At the time the Trust said it was trying to find tenants 'with a local connection' but faced accusations that rents are out of reach for local families, with one long-time villager describing the impact it was having on the close-knit community. They said: 'I think the National Trust should be being a bit more sensible about the rents, because we do get our lives disrupted. 'There used to be just an influx of tourists in summer but it is all year round now. Some of them don't realise people actually live here they think it is like one of those theme villages. 'What they are charging is unrealistic and it is affecting the village, there being so many empty houses. I don't think the intention should be that people just rent them for six months at a time. 'Lacock was not given to the National Trust for that reason, she (Matilda Talbot) gave it because she wanted it to be kept the same and be a community.' Matilda Talbot, who inherited Lacock in 1916, was said to be conscious of her duties towards all who lived and worked on the Lacock Estate. During times of hardship she sold some of the abbey collection to improve the homes of her tenants in Lacock village. In 1944 she gave the estate to the National Trust. The villager went on: 'The Trust don't own it they are custodians of it. I would question why houses are left empty for so long, there is one that's been empty for a year. 'Local families can't afford to rent them and it is a worry to see them empty. If we do not get families in the village then it is not good.' At the time, in 2018, one National Trust three-bedroom home was available for rent and advertised on Rightmove at 760 per calendar month. A spokesman for the National Trust said in 2018 'When any National Trust rental property becomes available we advertise it on Rightmove. There are currently six properties in Lacock village which are either undergoing refurbishment, in the process of being rented or are vacant. 'We try and match up houses with the most appropriate tenants, where possible, seek those who have some local connections, that live or work locally or have children at the local school, in the case of family sized properties. 'However, as a conservation charity, we also have a duty to make sound financial decisions so we can continue to care for all our properties for the future. The Trust's housing policy is to let homes at market rents.' In March this year the Trust was accused of 'falsifying history by fitting cheapskate planks' in ancient Lacock Abbey. It was slammed for fitting what were described as bargain basement boards made of pine-like softwood instead of traditional, but more costly, sturdy oak planks to repair flooring. Wiltshire council planners said in a report that failing to use oak boards 'falsifies the history of the floor'. The Trust was in even more trouble after it transpired it had failed to get council consent for the work to replace rotten timber floorboards and had to apply for retrospective planning permission. The council planners said: 'The methodology of replacement rather than other forms of repair such as doubling up has resulted in the loss of more historic fabric than necessary.' They said using reclaimed wood 'falsifies the history of the floor' and they questioned why it was not done with oak. The report continued: 'Had these proposals been submitted prior to works being carried out, they would not have been supported in this form. 'Unfortunately, the work has already been carried out, the early 20th century timber lost, and timber from nearby buildings used for some of the work. They said with a hint of resignation: 'In this particular case, the work will be accepted and consent for its retention granted.' But they warned it 'should not happen with future repair or restoration works submitted for Lacock Abbey'. A Trust spokesman said: 'This was a small repair job to a 20th century floor with rotten timbers - work which wouldn't normally need consent. 'However, the more we opened up the floor, the more we found was rotten and needed replacing. 'We spoke to the local council planners and were asked to submit retrospective application, which has now been approved. 'We always listen to advice from local council conservation officers when seeking planning consent.' Armed hijackers ambushed a UPS driver, tied him up and ransacked his 18-wheeler tractor-trailer in Atlanta early Monday. At around 9:15 a.m., police responded to the area of Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW and Bankhead Court NW on a kidnapping report, according to the Atlanta Police Department. Officers were met by the driver of the stolen UPS big rig, who was unharmed, and his colleagues. A subsequent investigation has uncovered that the brazen heist took place after the driver had left a UPS facility laden with packages to deliver. The driver of a UPS 18-wheeler, similar to the one pictured above, was hijacked at gunpoint, kidnapped and robbed in Atlanta early Monday The driver (pictured in his uniform above) was found tied up in the back of his truck nearly six hours later At around 3:30 a.m., the truck stopped at a traffic light, where an armed man jumped into the cab, pointed a gun at the driver's head and forced him to head down a dirt road to an abandoned lot on Bankhead Court, police said. Once there, the kidnapper and several accomplices restrained the UPS driver's hands with zip-ties and proceeded to steal about a quarter of the cargo from the tractor-trailer, which they then transferred to their own truck waiting nearby, WSB-TV reported. The bandits then got into their vehicle and drove off with their loot, leaving the kidnapping victim behind. It was not until nearly six hours later, when the cargo was reported as overdue at its destination, that UPS used its GPS to track the missing big rig to the Bankhead Court area. Police say the hijackers stole about a quarter of the packages and transferred them to their own truck before fleeing the scene with their loot The UPS driver (far left) complied with the bandits' demands and was unharmed UPS workers opened the trailer and found the driver tied up inside. The company issued a statement saying it was thankful that its driver was not hurt. Atlanta police spokesperson Jarius Daugherty praised the driver for following the hijackers' commands to preserve his life. 'Our recommendation in a situation like this is to comply. Theres no amount of property out there worth possibly having your life taken,' Daugherty told 11Alive. Police are now poring over surveillance video from the area to try and track down the thieves. Late former Senator Harry Reid, who grew up approximately a two-hour drive from Area 51, spent much of his congressional career trying to unearth more about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and fund government projects to explore life in space. 'I think that I have opened the door to people not being afraid to talk about it,' Reid told Politico in interviews conducted in the final months of his life that were published this week. 'I know that when I first got involved in this, people in the military were afraid to mention it for fear of it hurting their promotions,' he said. 'But now the Pentagon has told them they should report all these things that they see that are unusual. So we made a tremendous amount of progress.' In his retirement from Congress in 2017, Reid became increasingly vocal on the need for more funding for UFO research even making that the central focus of one of his last interviews before dying at age 82 on Tuesday. 'Congress should make this an ongoing program,' Reid told The Guardian in June as the Biden administration prepared to release details about U.S. military encounters with UFOs, which have more recently become known as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). The director of national intelligence is scheduled to release next month a report containing all relevant government material on UAPs as the once fringe topic has become a hot topic in mainstream media as it emerges as a serious national security concern. 'I don't think the report is going to tell us too much,' Reid said in his interview with The Guardian months before his death. 'I think they need to study it more and not just have one shot at it.' In the 2,000-page-plus National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2022, there is a provision included that mandates formal establishment of a federal office and authorities to address UAPs. Late longtime Nevada Democratic senator Harry Reid spent much of his career and his years out of Congress pushing for more government funding and investigations into Unidentified Flying Objects, now known officially as unidentified aerial phenomena or UAPs Reid was born, grew up and spent his whole life close to Area 51 in Nevada (pictured). He wrote in a New York Times article in May: 'I believe this fascination comes in part from growing up in rural Nevada. People who live in rural America, away from the light pollution of the major cities, can gaze at the night sky and see the marvel of the Milky Way' On Tuesday evening, Reid's widow Landra revealed that after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer, the lifelong Democratic lawmaker died. He is survived by his wife, five kids and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. Reid spent 35 years in Washington politics, including as a Democratic leader in the Senate for more than a decade. His death was mourned by many, including former presidents and current lawmakers. During his time in Congress, Reid was able to secure $22 million in funding for research related to UFOs, which led to the creation of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP). The program investigated alleged sightings of UAPs before it was disbanded in 2012. Reid wrote in a New York Times piece in May of this year that he has 'always been fascinated by things I don't understand', like the 'mysterious and unexplained.' 'I believe this fascination comes in part from growing up in rural Nevada,' he added. 'People who live in rural America, away from the light pollution of the major cities, can gaze at the night sky and see the marvel of the Milky Way.' Reid said he ignored warning from aides not to get close with the National Institute for Discovery Science, which was founded in the 1990s by Nevada real-estate magnate Robert Bieglow (pictured) In a magazine feature for Politico released this week, it was revealed that Reid engaged with a group dubbed the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), which was a collection of people interested mainly in exploring UFOs and consciousness after death. Reid recounted the details of how he became involved with the group in a series of interviews in recent months with Politico. At the meetings, which started in Las Vegas in 1995, Reid said he joined a collection of people with respect in their fields, including scientists and engineers, a CIA spy, a former Army colonel, two Apollo astronauts, former U.S. lawmakers, a real-estate magnate and a commercial developer. Reid, then 55, said he was warned against fraternizing with the group considering he was one of the only people there with anything to lose as he was currently serving in his second term as a senator from Nevada and had aspirations of Democratic leadership in Congress. At the time, the nature of these meetings were total fringe and conspiracy topics. Following his death Tuesday, casinos and hotels along the Vegas strip illuminated their signs with a tribute to Reid, who served as a senator for the state for two decades 'I had my staff, I had lots of people who said: 'You are going to get yourself in trouble, stay the hell away from that,' Reid said, according to the Politico article. 'A lot of people said it would ruin my career.' But Reid said his work involving UFOs was a 'highlight' on his resume. 'I think that I have opened the door to people not being afraid to talk about it,' he said. 'I know that when I first got involved in this, people in the military were afraid to mention it for fear of it hurting their promotions.' 'But now the Pentagon has told them they should report all these things that they see that are unusual. So we made a tremendous amount of progress,' Reid told Politico. Robert Bigelow, a Nevada real-estate magnate, was the man who hand-selected the group who met for the first time in Las Vegas in 1995. He was 50 at the time. Reid was initially introduced to Bigelow by Nevada TV journalist George Knapp, who covered UFOs. Knapp, through coverage of Reid's political career, was aware that the Democratic senator was interested in the subject. After accepting an invitation to the meeting, Reid made clear to Knapp that his participation had to be kept secret, which was the case for more than two decades until Reid recounted how he got involved with exploring UFOs and UAPs in interviews with Politico in recent months, which were published days after his death. A right-wing radio host who once opened for Donald Trump at his 2018 Las Vegas rally now wants the former president to have an 'intervention' after he urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root appeared on Alex Jones' InfoWars earlier this week where he joined a chorus of fellow Trump supporters who are now turning on the Republican leader over his ardent support for vaccines. 'He needs an intervention from a friend, because he's the greatest president of my lifetime, I love him, I will always love him,' Root said on Tuesday. The radio host, who was the Libertarian Party's vice presidential nominee in 2008, went on to say Trump has been 'right on everything except this issue.' 'He's so horribly wrong on this issue, and the best way to put it -- ironically -- is he's dead wrong, 'cause people are dying left and right,' Root continued, claiming they died of the vaccines. He said Trump's embrace of the jabs amounted to 'political suicide.' Jones, who also criticized Trump for his heel-turn on getting vaccinated, said he felt 'like a woman scorned' by the ex-president. He said Trump's promotion of vaccines made him 'feel like a family member is dying, quite frankly,' a potential sign that his base's dissatisfaction could force them to look to someone else in 2024. Right-wing conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root shared a message for Trump on Alex Jones' show: 'I'm a friend and I love you man, but you need an intervention' Root has been a supporter of Trump's for years and opened for him at two separate Las Vegas rallies, in 2016 and 2018 Root posted this note from Trump on Facebook, which the ex-president sent to congratulate Root on his recent wedding Root aimed his next statement directly at Trump during the interview first reported by The Daily Beast. 'I'm a friend and I love you man, but you need an intervention. And the intervention isn't that you're going to change overnight from a cheerleader for the vaccine,' he said, adding that the ex-president is in a state of 'total delusion.' 'What he can do is pivot to never again discussing the deaths or non-deaths of the vaccine or how much he loves the vaccines,' Root advised. He urged the Republican to instead focus on vaccine mandates and how they are 'destroying' the lives of people who decide not to get inoculated, as well as lockdowns and mask mandates. Jones claimed that he and 'Roger' -- likely Roger Stone -- gave Trump a 'nuanced way to get out of it' which he said the former president rejected. Root said: 'When everyone I know dies, you are getting the blame, President Trump!' Las Vegas-based radio host Root has long been a supporter of Trump's, and even wrote a 2015 book titled, Angry White Male: How the Donald Trump Phenomenon is Changing America. He followed it with a 2020 book, 'Trump Rules: The Ultimate Guide to Being a Winner.' Trump first stunned both allies and opponents when he defended the COVID-19 vaccines on stage with Bill O'Reilly as the normally supportive crowd booed him Ahead of Trump's 2018 rally in the Nevada city Root said the then-president had personally asked him to speak. He also spoke at a 2016 Trump rally in Las Vegas where he compared Hillary Clinton and her longtime aide Huma Abedin to movie characters Thelma and Louise, who famously drive off a cliff to their deaths. He's perhaps most known for alleging without a shred of evidence that the devastating 2017 mass shooting in which a gunman slaughtered 59 people (including two that died from their injuries in the following years) at a Vegas country music festival was a 'clearly coordinated Muslim terror attack.' Trump surprised both allies and opponents last week when he delivered a full-throated endorsement of the vaccines in an interview with conservative Daily Wire host Candace Owens. Owens had tried to draw a link between more people dying from COVID under President Joe Biden than under Trump, and the vaccine rollout earlier this year. The ex-president interrupted her, 'Oh no, the vaccine work (sic), but some people aren't the ones. The ones who get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don't take the vaccine. But it's still their choice.' He added: 'Look, the results of the vaccine are very good, and if you do get it, it's a very minor form. People aren't dying when they take the vaccine.' Earlier this month he told veteran pundit Bill O'Reilly in front of a crowd of supporters that he had both vaccine doses as well as his booster, and lauded his administration's work developing the vaccines as 'historic.' A section of the audience erupted in boo's, to which Trump replied, 'Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't. That's all right, it's a very tiny group over there.' He stunningly lectured the crowd, 'We should take credit for it, and you play right into their hands [doubting it].' Root is just the latest ally of the former president's to speak out against him as Trump world tears itself apart over COVID-19 vaccines. Days earlier Jones slammed Trump as a 'coward' and lamented that 'were fighting Bill Gates and Fauci and Biden and the New World Order and Psaki and the Davos Group, and now we've got Trump on their team.' Ron Watkins, the alleged leader of the QAnon movement, responded to Trump by calling the vaccines 'subscription suicide shots.' However the move earned praise from figures that Trump's circle has long held as enemies. Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was 'glad' that Trump is pushing vaccines in a CNN interview earlier this week. Even Biden praised Trump's public support coronavirus vaccines, claiming it was one of the 'few things he and I agree on.' In a speech delivered last week as the Omicron variant took over as the dominant COVID strain in the country and forced cases to surge again, Biden credited his predecessor for his role in the vaccine rollout. 'Let me be clear. Thanks to the prior administration and our scientific community, America was one of the first countries to get the vaccine,' the president said. Unvaccinated people face a 10 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and 20 times greater risk of dying from the virus than fully vaccinated people who have also received a booster shot. Trump told Fox News hours after Biden's speech that he was 'surprised' by his praise. 'You know, it has to be a process of healing in this country, and that will help a lot,' the ex-president said of his rival. Ray Tate, 40, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, has been charged with first-degree murder for the death of Illinois Police Deputy Sean Riley, who he shot around 5am on Wednesday A Kentucky man charged with first-degree murder is accused of kidnapping two people, killing an Illinois police deputy, and a series of carjackings and robberies. Ray Tate, 40, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was tracked down Wednesday after a crime spree in Illinois and Missouri. He was taken into custody around 2pm and charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Illinois Police Deputy Sean Riley around 5am that morning. Riley responded to a motorist assist call on Interstate 64 near Mill Shoals, Illinois, at around 5am on Wednesday, according to a Wayne County Sheriff's Office Facebook post. When a second officer arrived at the scene, he found Riley dead. The deputy's squad car was gone but later found abandoned near I-64 east. The exact location was not released. It is unclear if Tate stole the police car. Police began to track Tate, first to St. Peters, Missouri, after they suspected him in the carjacking of a semi-truck two hours after Riley was shot. The semi driver was taken hostage, Illinois State Police said in a statement. Around 7am, the driver and Tate arrived at a QuikTrip in St. Peters, Missouri, police said, where Tate shot and carjacked another man. The man, who was not identified by police, was shot in the shoulder and his white Nissan Titan was stolen. It later was found abandoned off Highway 70 near O'Fallon. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Tate was released on parole in late April and finished it on December 21. He spent several years in and out of Kentucky jails for promoting contraband, several counts of wanton endangerment, unlawful possession of meth precursor, and fleeing or evading police Tate was last seen inside a QuikTrip in St. Peters, Missouri, wearing a gray hoodie (pictured) where he allegedly shot a man and carjacked his vehicle before heading back to Illinois where he invaded a home and took a second hostage Tate carjacked a semi-trunk (pictured) on I-64 and took the driver hostage after shooting Riley, police said. The pair drove to QuikTrip in St. Peters, Missouri, where he shot a second victim in the shoulder and stole his car. The victim was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries He shot the victim around 7am, two hours after reportedly fatally shooting an Illinois Police Deputy Sean Riley on I-64 near Mills Shoals, Illinois 'While in Missouri, a series of carjackings, robberies and shootings occurred,' the Illinois State Police said in a statement. St. Peters police said after he abandoned the car near Interstate 70, Tate stole a white pickup truck, police said. He drove to a home in Carlyle, Illinois, and broke in, taking the homeowner hostage, along with the semi-driver, police said. Clinton County Sheriff's Office warned Carlyle residents about two men 'considered armed and dangerous' because they were unsure of whether the homeowner was involved. Tate was involved in two shootings on Wednesday morning and several carjackings Deputy Sean Riley (pictured) was declared dead at the scene by a second officer Around 2pm, a SWAT team got into the home 'and took the suspect into custody without incident.' Illinois State Police said the homeowner and semi driver hostages were found there uninjured. Tate was taken to Clinton County Jail and was charged with first-degree murder by the Wayne County State Attorney. He recently finished his parole, which ended on December 21, after being in and out of prison in Kentucky for promoting contraband, several counts of wanton endangerment, unlawful possession of meth precursor, and fleeing or evading police. He was released in late April. The deputy's body was taken to a Vanderburgh County, Indiana, morgue and was escorted back to Illinois on Wednesday, an Indiana State Police confirmed to DailyMail.com on Wednesday. A former Victorian rail line is set to be Europe's longest cycle lane after government officials cleared the way for its opening. The two mile underground path was built in 1890 to transport coal from mines in Rhondda to Swansea Bay. It was shut down together with dozens of other lines and hundreds of stations in the 1960s. Now, campaigners are bidding to reopen the 3,148 metre-long route and make it the longest underground cycle path in Europe. But despite its location in the former mining heartlands of South Wales locals were shocked to discover the tunnel was owned and controlled by Highways England. Last month, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps promised to hand over control to Welsh ownership - so the project can continue. Transforming the disused line into a tourist attraction has been estimated to cost 10million. The two mile underground path was used to link two Welsh valleys during the height of the coal boom A former Victorian rail line is set to be Europe's longest cycle lane after government officials cleared the way for its opening It was shut down together with dozens of other lines and hundreds of stations in the 1960s Campaigners are bidding to reopen the 3,148 metre-long route and make it the longest underground cycle path in Europe Mr Shapps said: 'I would be happy to transfer it to a local group, the Welsh Government or the local council, with money for the purpose.' The tunnel used to carry coal trains under the mountains from the mines of the Rhondda to the ports of Swansea Bay, until its closure in 1968 and the entrances to the tunnel at both ends have long been buried. It would be the longest cycle tunnel in Europe - and second only to the 4,000m Snoqualmie Tunnel near Seattle in the U.S. Despite its location in the former mining heartlands of South Wales, locals were shocked to discover the tunnel was owned and controlled by Highways England A Victoria stone inscription marks the opening date of the Rhondda Tunnel The tunnel opened in 1890 during the coal boom after a five-year building project Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has since promised to hand over control to Welsh ownership - so the project can continue It was opened in 1890 during the coal boom after a five-year building project overseen by the tunnel's chief engineer Sydney William Yockney, a pupil of Victorian engineering kingpin Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Rhondda MP Chris Bryant said: 'If we are able to reopen it as a cycle path, as many people hope, it would be the longest cycle path in Europe. 'It would be a major local attraction, which would be good for tourism and jobs in an area of outstanding beauty that unfortunately has terrible financial deprivation.' Annie Farmer, one of the four accusers who testified against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, said she felt 'tremendous relief' after the jury convicted the socialite of charges related to the abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls. 'It's a tremendous relief. I wasn't sure that this day would ever come.' Farmer, 42, said on Good Morning America on Thursday. 'I just feel so grateful that the jury believed us and sent a strong message that perpetrators of sexual abuse and exploitation will be held accountable no matter how much power and privilege they have.' Farmer - whose older sister Maria was the first person to report Epstein and Maxwell's alleged sexual abuse of underage girls in 1996 - was only 16 when she was lured to the late pedophile's New Mexico ranch and subjected to unwanted fondling by the pair. According to her testimony, Maxwell played a 'really important part of the grooming process' in Epstein's sex trafficking ring, noting the pair 'worked as a team'. The British socialite was found guilty on five of six charges against her - all except enticing an individual under the age of 17 to travel with intent to engage in illegal sex act - and faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. She will discover her fate on February 18 2022. Annie Farmer (pictured on GMA Thursday), one of the four accusers who testified against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, said she felt 'tremendous relief' after the jury convicted the socialite of charges related to the abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls Maxwell, 60, maintains her innocence on all charges of procuring women - with her youngest alleged victim aged 14 - for Epstein and engaging in sexual assault against them herself. Farmer, now a psychologist who treats patients who underwent similar experiences, is the only victim in the case who testified under her real name. Her comments come as Epstein accusers Sarah Ransome and Virginia Giuffre are also spoke out about the Maxwell verdict, alleging her role in the trafficking ring was 'worse' than that of Epstein. According to Farmer's testimony, Maxwell played a 'really important part of the grooming process' in Epstein's sex trafficking ring, noting the pair 'worked as a team' (Pictured: Court sketches of Farmer, left, and Maxwell, right, drawn during Farmer's Dec. 10 testimony) .@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Ghislaine Maxwell accuser speaks out on guilty verdict. Its a tremendous relief.https://t.co/AMhANIhWh8 pic.twitter.com/BR5Ydeb644 Good Morning America (@GMA) December 30, 2021 During her Thursday morning interview, Farmer called Maxwell's conviction an 'important step towards justice'. 'We have a lot of work to do in this country in terms of holding people accountable and educating about things like grooming,' she said. She said the combination of being giving lots of gifts and positive attention, while also being abused was hard to navigate, especially as a teen. 'I didn't know when I was 16, I had no idea, I hadn't heard that term and didn't understand what was happening to me,' Farmer explained. Annie Farmer (pictured as a young girl) says she was introduced to Epstein and Maxwell when she was 16 'Looking back at the series of events now, it's just clear how Maxwell was a really important part of the grooming process and they worked together as a team.' While she believes Maxwell's conviction is a step in the right direction, Farmer argues that America still needs to take further action to hold predators accountable. 'I think justice is a complicated term,' she said, reflecting on the verdict. 'In this particular case there are, we know there were other people involved and other perpetrators and certainly hope that they will continue to investigate so others will be held accountable for the ways they abused people.' She continued: 'I think we have a lot of work to do and I hope to be part of it to continue to educate people and hold people accountable.' Farmer has already taken steps to help other sex trafficking victims and treats patients who had similar experiences to her and the other Maxwell-Epstein victims. 'Having the privilege of hearing so many stories from the people that I work with, I have really recognized that it's a very rare opportunity to be able to be in court and tell your story,' Farmer said Thursday. 'And to be able to see the person who perpetrated the abuse held accountable.' We have a lot of work to do in this country in terms of holding people accountable.https://t.co/AMhANIhWh8 pic.twitter.com/WE5qmpYBAM Good Morning America (@GMA) December 30, 2021 Farmer (pictured at Epstein's 2019 bail hearing) alleged she was lured to the late pedophile's New Mexico ranch and subjected to unwanted fondling by the Epstein and Maxwell An undated picture of Jeffrey Epstein (right) with Ghislaine Maxwell (left) and a dog that was entered into evidence on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. The photo was one of several recovered from Epstein's Upper East Side NYC mansion during a 2019 FBI raid Farmer's claims were echoed Thursday morning by Sarah Ransome, who described Maxwell as someone was 'supposed to be a protector and nurturer'. She alleged Maxwell was actually worse than Epstein. 'Women are supposed to look after each other. Human beings are supposed to look after each other and because she was a woman, she normalized abuse,' Ransome told CBS Mornings Thursday, her voice shaking as she fought back tears. 'She participated. She tortured me and - and others, and she's worse than Jeffrey. She broke the sisterhood. She broke that bond. She was supposed to be a protector and nurturer, and she failed us.' She added: 'And she'll have to live with that for the rest of her life.' Ransome was recruited into the sex trafficking ring in 2016 when she was 22. She settled a civil suit against Epstein and Maxwell in 2018, but notes the socialite's guilty verdict has brought her some vindication. Sarah Ransome, also speaking out Thursday morning, alleged Maxwell was actually worse than Epstein and said: 'She tortured me and - and others, and she's worse than Jeffrey. She was supposed to be a protector and nurturer, and she failed us.' Ransome (pictured outside the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York on Nov. 29, 2021 during Maxwell's trial) was recruited into the sex trafficking ring in 2016 when she was 22. She settled a civil suit against Epstein and Maxwell in 2018, but notes the socialite's guilty verdict has brought her some vindication 'I do feel vindicated. Well, I feel completely overwhelmed, for a start, and I never thought this day would ever happen,' Ransome explained. 'For me, it's really important to thank the prosecutors and to thank the four incredibly brave, beautiful women that testified because without them - without their truth - we would never have got Ghislaine behind bars. We would never have had this verdict.' She added: 'So yes, this is justice. But this is just the beginning.' Like Ransome, Virginia Giuffre - the most vocal accuser of Epstein and Maxwell - also alleged that Maxwell was 'more evil than Epstein'. Giuffre, who has also accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, told The Cut Wednesday night the British socialite used her accent and her advantages as a woman to aide the billionaire pedophile in his crimes. She said: 'She was the devil's right-hand man. She made these appointments for him, she actively went out there and scouted for new girls. She was part of the sexual encounters at times. To paint herself as just the 'house manager' is a load of crock.' Giuffre claims Maxwell used her charm, wit and smile to gain victims' trust. She was supposed to be a protector and nurturer and she failed us. And shell have to live with that the rest of her life: Jeffrey Epstein accuser Sarah Ransome shares what the Ghislaine Maxwell conviction means for her and other survivors of abuse. pic.twitter.com/fmx2jT8DDs CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) December 30, 2021 Virginia Giuffre (left) was not included in the trial against Maxwell but has become one of the most well-known Epstein accusers. She called Maxwell the 'devil's right-hand man' during a Wednesday night interview The infamous photo of Virginia Roberts (Guiffre), Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell that was taken at Maxwell's home in Belgravia 'Shes definitely worse than Epstein,' Giuffre added. 'Epstein did a whole bunch of really bad stuff, acting on his sick urges. But Ghislaine facilitated it. She was the one out there bringing the girls in for him and participating in some of the sexual events. Shes worse to me, more evil than Epstein. What Ghislaine did to so many of us, its unforgivable.' Giuffre, who was not included in Maxwell's trial, said that for justice to be done, this has to be merely the beginning of people going to jail for crimes committed in Epstein's orbit. 'Lets just say, it wasnt just Jeffrey and Ghislaine who participated in this,' she said. 'Justice to me looks like holding all of these people involved in the sex ring, those who greased its wheels, named and shamed. Im sick of carrying around that shame. That shame doesnt belong to me. I think justice comes in many forms, and one area I want to change is the statute of limitations.' Four victims testified in Maxwell's trial, however Farmer was the only one to do so under her real name. She first met Epstein in New York in 1995, according to her testimony. She said she was living in Phoenix, Arizona with her mother and younger sister at the time. Her older sister, Maria - who is nine years her elder - was living in New York and working for Epstein. Maria mentioned that Farmer was looking at colleges and Epstein offered to fly the younger Farmer out to New York from Arizona. Epstein later invited the then-16-year-old to visit his ranch in New Mexico for a weekend and she accepted, expecting that other students would be there as well. When she arrived and found it was only her, Epstein and Maxwell, the weekend took an uncomfortable turn. Farmer testified that she was introduced to Epstein by her older sister, Maria Farmer, in New York in 1995. Maria thought Epstein could help Farmer with her college search (Pictured: A courtroom sketch on Annie Farmer dated Dec. 10) Epstein later invited the then-16-year-old to visit his ranch in New Mexico for a weekend and she accepted. Farmer (pictured in court on Dec. 10) alleged she was fondled and abused during this visit An undated Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at the Queen's log cabin at Glen Beg, Balmoral. This picture was also submitted as evidence during Maxwell's trial She said Epstein subjected her to more intimate touching, noting that one morning he came into her room and got into her bed because he wanted to cuddle. She recalled Maxwell persuading her to give Epstein a foot massage and then teaching her how to do it. Farmer said the encounter left her feeling 'very uncomfortable, I didn't want to be touching his foot'. Maxwell also repeatedly asked her if she wanted a massage and wore her down until she finally undressed and got on a massage table, where Maxwell groped her bare chest, she claims. Farmer testified: 'I was wearing nothing. She told me to get undressed and lay under the sheet and I did. 'She started rubbing my body, rubbing my back and she's making small talk and then at some point she had me roll over so I was laying on my back. 'She pulled the sheet down and exposed my breasts and started rubbing on my chest and upper breasts'. 'I don't think there was any reason for her to be touching me that way,' she added. Epstein did not participate in the massage, but Farmer sensed that he may have been watching the encounter. Maria Farmer, who is not a part of this case, has said she was unaware of what went on with her sister at the New Mexico ranch until after her own abusive encounter with the pair. Maria has also expressed guilt over having accidentally helped Maxwell and Epstein prey on her younger sister. A father and his girlfriend have been sentenced to death in China after he threw his two children from his apartment building because his new girlfriend did not want another woman's kids. The two young children fell from the tower block in the municipality of Chongqing, China, on November 2 last year. Zhang Bo's daughter Zhang Ruixue, 2, died instantly, while his son Zhang Yangrui, 1, died shortly after from his injuries. The 27-year-old had met Ye Chengchen, who he wanted to marry, but she refused to accept him while he already had children and so did her parents. Zhang Bo, 27, (right) threw his two children, aged 2 and 1, from his apartment building in Chongqing, China, because his new girlfriend Ye Chengchen (left)would not marry him while he was the father to someone else's children His girlfriend pressured him into getting rid of them, even cutting her wrists on the day in question to show her frustration at not being able to start a new family with him. The man then threw both children out of the window before running downstairs to appear grief-stricken at what had just happened. He was filmed banging his head on the wall and crying uncontrollably, which prosecutors said was all a sham. He claimed at the time that he was asleep when the children fell out of the window and said he was woken up by people shouting downstairs after discovering the bodies on a grass lawn. Zhang Bo's daughter Zhang Ruixue, 2, died instantly, while his son Zhang Yangrui, 1, died shortly after from his injuries The two children were thrown from a balcony on the 15th-floor of Bo's apartment complex in the municipality of Chongqing Zhang's ex-wife, named Chen Meilin, told local media that his new girlfriend Chengchen 'didn't want Zhang to have children of his own blood' to another woman. Zhang started a relationship with Chengchen while he was still married, and he divorced Meilin later. Custody of the children was shared, so the daughter would remain with her mother and the son would remain with his father until he was six-years-old. However, he asked to look after his daughter on the day that he killed both of them after seeing his girlfriend cut her wrists during a live video chat. The dead children's mother Chen said: 'At that time, Zhang was on a video phone call with Ye. She slit her wrists and then Zhang got scared. The phone was dropped, he picked up the two children, and threw them from the balcony.' According to local media, the father admitted he and Ye had plotted to kill the children so that they could start a new family without any children from his former marriage. The suspect's ex-wife said: 'The moment I heard my kids were actually thrown out of the 15th-floor by their father and the mistress, I couldn't find any words to describe my feelings. Bo threw both children out of the window before running downstairs to appear grief-stricken at what had just happened. He was filmed banging his head on the wall and crying uncontrollably (pictured), which prosecutors said was all a sham Pictured: The two children who were thrown to their deaths from an apartment complex in China 'I couldn't imagine what my kids had experienced from the 15th floor to the ground. Were they desperate? Were they afraid?' She claimed her ex-husband cried in court and apologised for his actions while his girlfriend denied accusations against her many times. The trial got underway at the Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People's Court in July. On 28th December, Zhang was reportedly sentenced to death for killing his children. His girlfriend was also sentenced to death for pressuring the father to carry out the crime. It is unclear if they plan to appeal the decision. President Joe Biden will hold his second call in a month with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to discuss the troop build-up near Ukraine, in the latest effort to end the simmering crisis. The White House said Biden would make clear that a diplomatic path remains open to resolving tensions even as Moscow stepped up demands that the West guarantee that it does not allow Ukraine to join NATO. Meanwhile, almost 100,000 Russian troops are stationed near the border with Ukraine, which fears an invasion could be launched within the next month. The call, at 3:30pm, was requested by Putin, according to a senior Biden administration official. 'We are at a moment of crisis and have been for some weeks now given the Russian buildup,' the official said. 'It will take a high level of engagement to address this and to try to find a path of de-escalation.' Both sides accuse the other of provocations. For Moscow, it is a sense that the West is closing in on its territory, admitting former Soviet states to N.A.T.O. Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky told reporters the West had betrayed the trust shown to it by Russia after the end of the Soviet Union. 'We have started to be perceived as a threat by the West, by the United States,' he said on Wednesday, according to the state news agency TASS. 'What we're having now we have is kind of a remake of the Cold War, Cold War 2.0.' President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Joe Biden will hold a telephone call on Thursday afternoon amid increased tensions over Ukraine An image released by the White House showed President Biden in the Situation Room as he spoke to Putin by videolink earlier this month Ukrainian reservists take part in military exercises near Kiev on December 18, as the country prepares for a possible Russian invasion that could come as soon as next month First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said the U.S. and the West were responsible for starting Cold War 2.0 White House National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne confirmed details of the call, saying the two leaders would 'discuss a range of topics, including 'upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia.' The talks are expected to preview security talks due to take place of January 10, when the two sides will discuss arms control and Ukraine. Biden accepted the request for a conversation because 'he has always believed that there is no substitute for direct leader to leader dialogue and engagement, and that is especially true when it comes to Russia and to his engagement with President Putin,' added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. He will tell Putin that there is a diplomatic path to de-escalating tensions if he wants to take it, but that he should expect consequences if he invades Ukraine. 'President Biden will also make clear when he speaks with President Putin that we are prepared for diplomacy and for a diplomatic path forward,' said the official. 'But we are also prepared to respond if Russia advances with a further invasion of Ukraine.' Moscow has repeatedly denied it is planning to invade Ukraine. But Putin raised the stakes on Sunday by saying he would consider a range of options if the West failed to provide security guarantees preventing Ukraine joining NATO. At the same time, Biden will spell out some of the consequences of aggression during the call, according to the official.t The official said the U.S. had made plans to reinforce 'NATO's force posture' in eastern Europe if Russia attacked and was prepared to provide Ukraine with 'further assistance' to help the county defend itself. 'And we would like to see obviously, a reduction in that buildup and the return of forces to their their regular training areas or their long term deployment areas,' said the official. President Joe Biden is due to have a phone call with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, a matter of weeks after they held a video call to discuss tensions in Ukraine America has been warning for weeks that Putin appears to be readying tens of thousands of troops, tanks and artillery pieces to invade Ukraine, but the Kremlin has insisted it is merely a defence force - until now (pictured, Russian forces currently massed in border regions) Russian troops have massed along the border with Ukraine raising fears of imminent invasion Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to the Ukrainian president on Wednesday Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday about the tensions and outlined Biden's call with Putin. 'We will continue to consult closely with Ukraine, NATO allies, and partners in our diplomatic efforts to deter further Russian aggression,' he said in a tweet. It comes as a senior Russian diplomat accused the U.S. of starting a new Cold War. Further raising the stakes, it emerged at the same time that Russia has deployed into service a new top-secret 'star wars' missile that is designed to shoot down nukes and satellites. The S-550 missile defense system 'has entered combat duty', according to defense sources who spoke to TASS on Wednesday. While little is known about the missile, it is thought to be Russia's latest foray into the space arms race - designed to take out targets hundreds of miles above earth such as low-orbit satellites, nuclear warheads, and orbital hypersonic weapons. Moscow is thought to have carried out a test of this weapon system last month when it blew up one of its own defunct spy satellites in a move that enraged Washington and ramped up tensions with NATO. The Biden administration struck a $137 million deal to build a new factory in the U.S. to ramp up production of COVID-19 testing kits but the new facility won't be completed until late 2024 at the earliest. MilliporeSigma, a brand formed by Germanys Merck KGaA, will build a new factory in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the Defense Department announced as the U.S. hit a high record of 489,267 COVID cases on Wednesday While the contract gives the company three years to complete the facility, it is not immediately clear when it will ramp up to full production, which is expected to pump out 83.3 million tests per month. 'Construction is expected to begin the second half of 2022 and initial planning and preparatory work is already underway,' a MilliporeSigma spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'We estimate that the facility will be capable of providing lateral flow membranes in the latter part of 2024.' The individual said that the production of lateral flow membrane is 'critical for rapid diagnostic tests' that will not only help with COVID-19 detection, but also with 'any future public health emergencies.' The deal has fueled speculation that the administration is predicting high rates of testing capabilities for coronavirus detection will still be needed several years down the line. Others have pointed out that the deal does not fix any immediate issues rising from testing kit shortages in the U.S., which has led to massive wait times at testing locations across the country. Hours-long lines continue to build up across the country as Americans scrambled to get tested for COVID-19 amid a massive surge in cases with spread of the Omciron variant and a nationwide shortage of tests The Biden administration struck a deal, it announced Wednesday, with a German company to build a factory in Wisconsin that will increase capabilities to pump out 83.3 million tests per month but the facility won't be completed until late 2024 at the earliest 'Worldwide market demand for lateral flow membrane exceeds supply, and there is limited production capacity in the United States,' the spokesperson said. 'The current lack of domestic supply of lateral flow membrane impacts the United States' ability to respond fully to the COVID-19 pandemic and any future public health emergencies.' 'MilliporeSigma's new lateral flow membrane facility will increase domestic supply, help alleviate shortage concerns, and add to the United States' pandemic preparedness and response.' The Pentagon released a statement Wednesday stating: 'On Dec. 29, 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD), on behalf of and in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded a $136.7 million contract to MilliporeSigma to establish nitrocellulose membrane production capacity in the United States.' 'Nitrocellulose membrane,' according to the statement, 'is a critical material used in manufacturing SARS-CoV-2 rapid point-of-care tests.' The facility will expand MilliporeSigma's ability to manufacture nitrocellulose at the new facility that will support production of 83.3 million tests per month starting in 2025. Money for the project is allocated through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed by President Joe Biden early in his presidency. It falls under the need to 'support domestic industrial base expansion for critical medical resources.' 'It's probably the most constrained piece of technology in expanding capacity, in making more of these over-the-counter or point-of-care tests,' an official told Reuters. 'This amount they're going to produce is roughly equivalent to another billion over-the-counter tests being able to be made.' The official said the government is invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to award the contract, claiming there are several similar contracts in the works. Biden has already used the DPA to speed production of swabs and pipettes for COVID-19 test production. DPA is a 1950s Korean war-era national defense law giving federal agencies the power to prioritize procurement orders in times of war or national emergency. The MilliporeSigma deal comes as nations face more urgency to produce testing as the highly-contagious Omicron variant spreads throughout the world leading to some of the biggest-ever spikes in cases in the near two-year pandemic. The United States has hit a record of nearly 500,000 daily coronavirus cases Wednesday the most any country has ever reported as experts say that the latest surge of infections will only get worse in the next month. On Wednesday, 489,267 positive COVID cases were reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports anywhere from 40 to 70 per cent of new cases in America are from the Omicron variant, which was first discovered last month by South African health officials. Earlier this month, Biden unveiled a plan to distribute 500 million at-home coronavirus tests, building on a prior pledge to invest $3 billion in the kits. There are concerns Biden won't be able to deliver on his promise for 500 million tests as it emerged Wednesday contracts for the order won't be finished until early January and the administration is still 'working to finalize' how to distribute the kits. Bidne's coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said during the Wednesday White House COVID briefing: 'Companies are already submitting information, and we expect the contract to be completed late next week.' 'That means that the first deliveries for manufacturers will start January,' he clarified. 'We'll set up a free and easy system, including a new website to get these tests out to Americans. We're actively working to finalize that distribution mechanism, which includes a website where people will be able to order tests for free. And we'll share more details in the weeks ahead days and weeks ahead.' Specific details have been scant about how the at-home test distribution will work and how long it will take for the tests to arrive once ordered. The questions come as long lines of Americans continue to form as people seek to get tested around the holidays. Many Americans are forced to wait several hours to be tested for COVID as the U.S. is now averaging 300,387 new COVID cases per day. The Omicron variant sweeps the nation, leading to record level of case rates. Every U.S. state is currently listed by the CDC as having a high level of community transmission of COVID, as seen in the above map Americans are waiting in lines for hours in cities across the country to get their COVID test. Above is one of those lines of cars in Tropical Park in Miami, Florida on Wednesday The country smashed its previously daily average record of 264,546 cases as the highly-infectious new Omicron variant continued to sweep the nation. The sudden spike has prompted warnings from experts that the virus will 'threaten critical infrastructure' in the US with workers at hospitals, grocery stores and gas stations forced into isolation. Despite Omicron being milder than previous variants the sheer scale of the numbers means that 'there's a big hole' in terms of what the US can expect in terms of deaths, according to Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. 'But what we do know and what is emerging here is that this country is going to be in the soup in just the next few weeks with so many cases and so many locations, that we're going to see critical infrastructure as well as health care challenged,' he told CNN. Despite test shortages, case spikes and reimposed restrictions, the travel nightmare will also continue into mid-January as airline staff call out sick with COVID. At least 1,071 flights were canceled and 1,564 are delayed Thursday as travel chaos drags into a seventh day, according to tracking website FlightAware. JetBlue announced it has already cut 1,280 flights between December 30 and January 13 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Staffing shortages caused by COVID infections also led United Airlines to cancel 190 flights on Thursday, Delta said it canceled 86 and JetBlue reported 175 nixed flights. Some passengers vented their fury on social media saying they were forced to wait on the tarmac for hours before being told to deplane. Others said the wait time at call centers was as long as 102 minutes as phone lines jammed. Americans are also waiting in droves to be tested for COVID in cities across the country, demanding Biden fulfill his promise to have 500 million COVID at-home tests available after announcing Wednesday that the contracts for the order won't be finished until 'late next week.' Aravindh Shankar, 24, flew to San Jose, California, on Christmas from West Lafayette, Indiana, to be with family. Though he felt fine, he decided to get tested Wednesday just to play it safe, since he had been on an airplane. He and his family spent almost an entire day searching for a testing appointment for him before he went to a site in a parking lot next to the San Jose airport. 'It was actually surprisingly hard,' Shankar said about trying to find a test. 'Some people have it harder for sure.' More cars line up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana to get a COVID test on Wednesday, December 29 People line a street in Washington, D.C. to get a COVID-19 test on Wednesday President Biden and his staff have pushed back against criticism of the lack of testing kits available during the holiday rush. With demand high and shelves emptying out of stock, some retailers have placed limits on how many at-home testing kits can be purchased at a time. CVS has a limit of six test kits per purchase both in stores and online while Walgreens limits it to four kits. The administration bragged on Wednesday it has brought two more at-home tests on the market 'The Biden-Harris Administration has brought two new over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests to the U.S. market. The tests, one manufactured by SD Biosensor and distributed by Roche and the other manufactured by Siemens, have received emergency use authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),' the Department of Health and Human Services noted in a release. 'Combined, it is estimated the companies can produce tens of millions of tests per month for use in the U.S.,' the agency noted. Again, it remains unclear when these tests will be in the hands of Americans. The White House has emphasized officials are working on the problem over the holidays and pushed out the numbers behind their work. 'There are now 20,000 free testing sites across the U.S., four times as many at-home tests available to Americans than were available this summer, and free at-home tests are already being made available at key community sites, such as community health centers and rural clinics,' HHS said. Biden told reporters on Tuesday he spent the day working the phones and said his administration had made 'a bit of progress' in getting more COVID testing kits distributed but he did not offer details. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jen Psaki downplayed questions about the unsigned contracts to deliver the promised testing kits, calling it a 'part of the process.' 'We have no concern about the contract being finalized. We're just working to finalize the contracts. We just announced this two days ago. But there's no we don't see any issue or any halt to getting that done and to finalizing that. That's a natural part of the process,' she said at her press briefing on Thursday. She also argued that the president has boosted testing capacity and pointed out it wasn't until October that five versions of at-home tests were available. 'The president knew that we needed to increase testing capacity. That's why he used the Defense Production Act to expand the supply of at-home tests. Without that, we wouldn't have the supply in the market,' she said. President Biden announced last Tuesday his plan to distribute 500 million at-home COVID tests. But he told ABC News the next day that 'I wish I had thought about ordering a half a billion [tests] two months ago, before COVID hit here.' The White House, however, has not be able to offer many details on how the tests will be distributed and how many kits households can order. Psaki said Tuesday there would be a website people can use to order their testing kits. 'We will make the website available as soon as these tests are available. They will start to be available in January,' she said. 'And in terms of the numbers that different families can order: We are working through all those very important details right now.' But when drilled on details - how long it would take to get a test after one was ordered, how would they be delivered - Psaki had no answers. 'Again, really good questions. And we, of course, want people to be able to rapidly receive the tests and people have certainty to know they can get a test, they can feel safe, go into their workplace, seeing their family members, sending their kids to school. That's our objective. The details of how it will be distributed and the mechanisms will all be coming soon,' she said. Despite the surge in people testing positive for the virus, it's highly unlikely that hospitalization numbers will ever rise to their previous peak, said Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School Public Health. Vaccines and treatments developed since last year have made it easier to curb the spread of the virus and minimize serious effects among people with breakthrough infections. 'Its going to take some time for people to get attuned to the fact that cases don't matter the same way they did in the past,' Adalja said. 'We have a lot of defense against it.' But even with fewer people hospitalized compared with past surges, the virus can wreak havoc on hospitals and health care workers, he added. Cases are spiking at rates not ever seen since the start of the pandemic nearly two years ago Deaths are not proportionally rising with the case rate as medical professionals claim the Omicron variant, while much more contagious, is not as deadly or serious a case of COVID as previous strains 'In a way, those hospitalizations are worse because they're all preventable,' he said. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admitted a serious error in calculating the prevalence of the variant, overblowing the figure recorded in mid-December by as much as 50 percentage points and sowing confusion as the nation breaks records for new cases. The agency released a revised chart on Tuesday showing that the new variant accounted for 23 percent of all COVID-19 cases for the week ending on December 18, as opposed to the 73 percent it originally reported. The chart showed that the Omicron variant accounted for 59 percent of all new cases for the week ending on December 25, meaning the Delta variant has been accounting for far more infections than the agency initially thought, though Omicron is gaining ground quickly. Despite the CDC's astonishing error, data from the UK suggest that Omicron will soon account for nearly all new cases in the US. Jeff Zients said on Wednesday the contracts for 500 million tests promised by Joe Biden will only be finalized 'late next week' - above Zients is seen with President Joe Biden at Monday's virtual meeting with governors In England, which is several weeks ahead of the US in the Omicron wave, the new variant went from zero to 92 percent of all new cases in the four weeks leading up to December 27, according to data from the UK Health Security Agency. The CDC corrected its error, to the confusion of many, on the same day that the nation broke its record for the most daily COVID-19 cases. On Monday, 512,553 new cases were reported in the US, marking the country's largest single-day tally since the beginning of the pandemic. The record-breaking figure was in part the product of a multi-day build up of unreported cases over the Christmas holiday on Saturday, which finally were logged to start the week. Anthony Fauci again echoed on Wednesday that he 'strongly recommends' against going to large New Year's Eve gatherings this year as the highly contagious Omicron variant causes massive case surges nationwide. 'If your plans are to go to a 40 to 50-person New Year's Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing,' Fauci said during the White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing, 'I would strongly recommend that this year, we do not do that.' He claimed that smaller gatherings with everyone fully vaccinated and boosted against coronavirus is low risk, despite the massive number of breakthrough cases with the Omicron variant's emergence. The nation's top infectious disease expert also had a sobering message on Wednesday COVID likely isn't ever going away. 'We're never going to stop counting, tests but we're looking forward, as everyone I think feels is appropriate, that ultimately we're going to have to live with something that will not be eradicated and very likely would not be eliminated,' he said. Meanwhile, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, in a round of television interviews on Wednesday morning, said she was watching the nation's case load and its potential impact on health care providers. Biden says he WILL issue domestic flight vaccine mandate IF his medical team advises it - one day after Fauci flip flopped on his support for one Joe Biden fueled confusion on Tuesday by saying he will issue a vaccine mandate for domestic flights if his medical team advises it - one day after Dr Anthony Fauci walked back his comments in support of such a measure. Biden told reporters at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - while walking his new German Shepherd puppy, Commander, with First Lady Jill Biden - that he will make a decision on domestic travel vaccine requirements 'when I get a recommendation from the medical team.' In November, Biden said he would wait for the scientific community to provide him a recommendation when asked if consideration has been given to requiring proof of vaccination for domestic flights. The surge in COVID cases from the Omicron variant has made the White House reassess whether to impose it. Fauci, Biden's top health adviser, seemingly called for a vaccine mandate for air travelers on Sunday but quickly retracted his remarks the next day. 'Everything that comes up as a possibility, we put it on the able and we consider it, that does not mean that it is likely to happen,' Fauci clarified to CNN's Jim Acosta on Monday. 'I doubt if we're going to see something like that in the reasonably foreseeable future,' he added. The president also told reporters during his stroll on Tuesday evening that there has been 'a bit of progress' toward the administration's goal of producing and distributing at-home COVID testing kits amid nationwide shortages. The administration has pledged that all Americans will be able to acquire an at-home rapid test for coronavirus after previously ruling it out. Advertisement While there was some data from other countries that showed less severe illness with Omicron, it was too early to say what the impact might be across the United States, particularly given its uneven vaccination rates, Walensky told MSNBC. 'We may have many, many more cases and so we may still very well see a lot of severe disease in the hospitals,' Walensky said. 'What I am focused on now is making sure that we can get through this Omicron surge, that we do so with minimal amount of hospitalization and severe disease,' she added, pointing to vaccines and booster shots as top tools to curb infections. 'We are seeing and expecting even more cases of this Omicron variant,' even if many are mild, she said separately on CNN. Walensky also defended the CDC's move to slash the quarantine period for asymptomatic cases in half, to five days from 10, without any negative testing requirement. The CDC director said that PCR tests are too sensitive and could return a positive even after someone is no longer contagious, and that rapid antigen tests could be unreliable in later stages of infection. 'We know it performs really well during that period where you're initially infected, but the FDA has not at all looked at whether your positive antigen really does correlate with whether you're transmissible or not,' she told CBS Mornings. Walensky explained that even if someone tests negative with an antigen test after five days of isolation, the CDC would still urge them to wear a mask to prevent possible spread. 'Since it wasn't going to make a difference in our recommendations, we did not recommend an antigen at that period of time,' Walensky said. 'What we do know is about 85% to 90% of viral transmission happens in those first five days, which is why we really want people to stay home during that period of time,' Walensky said. 'And then mask for the rest of the time to capture that last 10% to 15%.' States showing the highest daily infection numbers on Tuesday included New York, which reported as many as 40,780 cases, and California, which reported over 30,000. Texas reported more than 17,000 cases and Ohio over 15,000. Global COVID-19 infections hit a record high over the past seven-day period, according to new data Wednesday. Almost 900,000 cases were detected on average each day around the world between December 22 and 28, with myriad countries posting new all-time highs over the past 24 hours, including the United States, Australia and many European nations. The simultaneous circulation of the Delta and Omicron variants of the coronavirus is creating a 'tsunami of cases', World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. 'Delta and Omicron are now twin threats driving up cases to record numbers, leading to spikes in hospitalization and deaths,' said Tedros. 'I am highly concerned that Omicron, being highly transmissible and spreading at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases.' Tedros repeated his call for countries to share vaccines more equity and warned that the emphasis on boosters in richer countries could leave poorer nations short of jabs. He said the WHO was campaigning for every country to hit a target of 70% vaccine coverage by the middle of 2022, which would help end the acute phase of the pandemic. New Year's Eve will mark the second anniversary of China alerting the WHO to 27 cases of 'viral pneumonia' of unknown origin in the city of Wuhan. More than 281 million people have since been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and more than 5 million have died. The CDC's new data on the prevalence of the Omicron variant shows that the Delta variant, which appears more severe but less contagious than Omicron, still has a hold on the country and is one driving factor behind the most current surge in cases. It also raises the question of how the CDC could have recorded such a drastic difference in the strain's prevalence than what was the reality. Jasmine Reed, a spokesperson for the CDC, recognized the 'wide predictive interval posted in last week's chart,' referring to the huge gap in the data for the week ending on December 18, and attributed it to the 'speed at which Omicron was increasing.' 'CDC's models have a range, and we're still seeing steady increase in the proportion of Omicron,' she told Fox News. Fauci urges Americans to have a 'vaccinated, boosted' New Year's Eve and COVID will NEVER be eradicated Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that he 'strongly recommends' against going to large New Year's Eve gatherings this year as the highly contagious Omicron variant causes massive case surges nationwide. 'If your plans are to go to a 40 to 50-person New Year's Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing,' Fauci said during the White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing, 'I would strongly recommend that this year, we do not do that.' He claimed that smaller gatherings with everyone fully vaccinated and boosted against coronavirus is low risk, despite the massive number of breakthrough cases with the Omicron variant's emergence. The nation's top infectious disease expert also had a sobering message about COVID on Wednesday COVID likely isn't ever going away. 'We're never going to stop counting, tests but we're looking forward, as everyone I think feels is appropriate, that ultimately we're going to have to live with something that will not be eradicated and very likely would not be eliminated,' he said. Even though Omicron is the most contagious variant yet, Fauci agrees with other medical professionals that it is a less severe case of COVID. 'All indications point to a lesser severity of Omicron versus Delta,' Fauci said, citing preliminary data. He added: 'Final conclusion about the level of severity in children remains to be determined.' Advertisement The scant rate of testing in the US may be contributing to uncertainty in the data. The UK is performing 22.3 COVID tests per 1,000 people every day, five times more than the U.S. rate of 4.5, according to figures from Our World in Data. Moreover, only a tiny fraction of the positive tests are actually sequenced to determine the variant strain, leaving huge potential gaps in the surveillance effort. Dr. Jerome Adams, the former surgeon general for the Trump Administration, also pointed to testing as a reason for the false Omicron numbers. He referred to something called the 'S gene dropout,' in which one of the three target genes is not detected a signifier of the Omicron variant. 'A lot of people were seeing this S dropout on the tests even before they got the follow-up genetic testing, and so those samples were disproportionately more likely to be sent in for sequencing,' he told Fox News. 'It's also important for people to understand that in the grand scheme of things, they really were probably just a week or two ahead of what we're going to see anyway, because omicron is spreading so quickly that it is going to be 73 percent by the time you look at this week's or next week's numbers,' Dr. Adams told the news outlet. While the CDC reported that the Delta variant accounted for 41 percent of cases in the week ending on December 25, that number could be as high as 58 percent given the agency's margin of error, NPR reported. The CDC's latest data will also put a burden on hospitals that will have to adjust their treatment methods to account for the vast different in Omicron and Delta cases, as different strains require different antibodies and medications. COVID-19 cases in the U.S. also doubled over the past two weeks. Over the past week, 235,269 Americans have been testing positive for the virus every day a 98 percent increase from two weeks ago and approaching the prior record of 247,503 set last January, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of Johns Hopkins data. Though Omicron is thought to be less severe than Delta, hospitalizations have also been rising, up 6 percent nationwide over the past two weeks, to 71,381. Processing unwanted Christmas returns has become so expensive for online retailers they're increasingly likely to let customers keep the item and offer a refund too. According to returns processor Optoro, returning a $50 item costs an average of $33, up 59 percent from 2020, when it cost around $13.53 to do so. That has led to an increase in the number of retailers telling shoppers' to keep an unwanted gift, rather than return it, because the processing cost wipes out any profit they'll have made. Optoro's CEO Tobin Moore claims supply chain issues and worker shortages are to blame for the rocketing prices of handling returns. According to CBRE supply chain, about three in 10 online purchases get returned. Many big retailers already analyze shoppers they suspect of gaming the system by making too many returns, or buying goods in the hopes of getting to keep them and receive a refund. And attempting to exploit the strained system could result in people being banned from shopping with certain retailers, experts have warned. The cost of returning a $50 item to a retailer could come in as high as $33, a stunning 59 percent increase from 2020, when the average cost was just over $13.50 A USPS van is pictured laden with Black Friday purchases in NYC on December 3. People who try to game the new system of no returns and a refund are being monitored by retailers, experts have warned 'The consumer pays the price of a free return,' Columbia Business School retail studies professor Mark Cohen told Today. Ultimately, retailers will increase the price of their products to make up for the shortfall caused by returns, further hitting shoppers who've already seen their finances depleted by inflation. But sometimes, retailers like Amazon will just tell returners to keep the goods they don't want and still provide a refund because the return costs too much. Moore says, however, that this is not an excuse to try and game the returns system for more free items. 'There's tracking involved that will determine whether or not consumers are taking advantage of the system,' adds Moore. Online retailers are typically working round the clock to make sure they can get the returned products back in stock so they don't have to mark down prices. Online retailers like Amazon were up 11 percent from last year in sales during the holiday season 'The faster you can get a good back to stock, the more you can avoid markdowns,' Moore said. However, those items returned to online retailers are often just gotten rid of or donated or sold through a different avenue. It was a good holiday season for retailers, regardless. Between November 1 and December 24, they recorded a sales increase of 8.5 percent from 2020, according to Mastercard SpendingPulseTM. Online retailers benefitted especially, up 11 percent from last year in sales. In-person shopping also rose by more than eight percent, spelling good news for businesses hit hard by COVID and the burgeoning popularity of online shopping. A dancer has given birth to a baby girl while undergoing brain surgery in Italy - with mother and daughter surviving the risky procedure in a Christmas miracle. Teresa Sgro, 33, who is Portuguese but living in Turin, was seven months pregnant when she went to hospital for a severe headache on December 18. Doctors at the city's Molinette hospital discovered she was suffering from a brain lesion - an area of tissue damaged by disease or injury - meaning she needed emergency surgery or she might die. But medics were also worried about the health of the baby, so decided to perform a Caesarean section at the same time. Teresa Sgro, 33, (rear, in pink) a dancer living in Turin, Italy, was 31 weeks pregnant when she went to hospital with a severe headache and doctors discovered a brain lesion Ten medics ended up operating on Teresa (left, with husband Francesco in brown) simultaneously to fix the lesion and deliver her baby - a daughter - by Cesarean section Teresa was anaesthetised and taken to the neurosurgial operating theatre, which had been partially converted into a maternity suite. A total of eight doctors split into two teams then worked on her simultaneously, one to repair the brain lesion and the other to deliver the baby. Once the infant - a girl, now named Alma - had been delivered, she was put into an incubator and taken to the maternity ward for treatment. Meanwhile Teresa remained on the operating table for several more hours, before she was also patched up and sent to recover on the neurosurgery ward. She was eventually brought round from the anaesthetic, and - despite fears that she make not be able to speak or remember what happened to her - began speaking with husband Francesco - an acrobat - and her mother almost immediately. She was taken to see baby Alma for the first time on Christmas Day, and found her daughter doing well. Teresa and baby Alma are now both recovering well, and were able to see each other for the first time on Christmas Day (pictured). Doctors hope to discharge them both within weeks Speaking about the terrifying experience, Teresa told newspaper Corriere Della Sera: 'I only remember that they gave me a swab for Covid, nothing else. 'When I woke up I saw my mother. My husband said he was afraid I wouldn't speak, but I replied that I am too pleased to communicate with the world... they couldn't take that away from me.' Husband Francesco added: 'Weve had a miracle happen to us. It will take time for it to sink in. The baby is a fighter.' 'Because of our work, Teresa and I are accustomed to taking care of every detail. 'From what I saw I have understood that these doctors also know how to put on shows that are perfect in every detail.' Doctors Alma has been eating well and putting on weight, and that she is also starting to breathe easier. Medics still need to keep an eye on the rest of her organs to make sure they develop as they should, but hope to discharge mother and daughter in a few weeks. Asked what happens next, Teresa replied: 'Now? Now we live day by day.' Tattooists in the EU fear their businesses will be destroyed by new EU red-tape laws which ban most of their inks. From January 4, the use of 4,000 chemicals will be banned by the bloc under its flagship REACH chemicals regulation. The EU say some of the outlawed chemicals, which are found in coloured tattoo inks, are toxic and can lead to cancer or genetic mutations. Tattooists in the EU fear their businesses will be destroyed by new EU red-tape laws which ban most of their inks (file image) Among them is isopropanol alcohol which features in most coloured pigments used by tattoo artists today. The new rules could have a devastating effect on the industry in Europe, artists have said. Fabrizio Funelli, who runs the Funestik Tattoo Mania parlor in Brussels, said his tattoo pen will now be illegal. He says manufacturers are yet to provide adequate alternatives and those that are offered may not have the same long-lasting effect and vibrancy. He told Politico he may not be able to keep designing his trademark neo-Japanese tattoos from the New Year. Others have had to turn away customers already who wanted full sleeves or large tattoos which can take months, knowing they might not have a replacement ink come January. An EU-wide petition challenging the ban of two pigments under the new law called Save the Pigments has already attracted 170,000 signatures. They say the new rules would 'have a lasting negative impact on the economic competitiveness of European tattooists... and would seriously jeopardise the very existence of this profession.' They add: 'Consumers could switch to providers from abroad or switch to dubious providers.' The EU say some of the outlawed chemicals are toxic and can lead to cancer or genetic mutations There remains no scientific consensus on whether tattoo ink can cause cancer, even though some of the chemicals are known carcinogens. Tattooists and their customers say even if there is a risk, the individual has a right to choose like with smoking and drinking. Scientific research has recently deemed the link between cancers and tattoos 'coincidental' and 'generally unpredictable', while the long-term effects have never been properly studied. Mark Blainey, an expert at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) said they only want to make tattooing safer. The agency predicted there would be no 'significant economic impacts on supply chains'. Blainey added that manufacturers have known about the upcoming ban for some time and were given an extra 12 months to replace the two blue and green pigments that are the focus of the petition. They will now be banned in January 2023. Marjorie Petit, who runs Duck Art Tattoo in Mechelen, Belgium, said: 'We now every week get messages from manufacturers that theyre working on it, but the communication about that is not quite transparent. 'So they say it's coming, it's coming But when?' One ink supplier that has a total of 138 pigments available but only seven are now REACH compliant, all of them black, white or grey. Tattooists say they still don't know how the new measures will be enforced and what penalties they could face. A woman and her six-year-old daughter are back in the United States after her ex-husband kidnapped her and their child in Georgia and drove them to Tijuana, Mexico, where he was arrested Wednesday, the Cumming Police Department (CPD) said. Mexican national Balvanera Esperanza Parada-Olivas, 45, visited the home of Guatemalan Alexis Zecena-Lopez, 55, in Flowery Ranch on Sunday afternoon to pick up their daughter, Rachel Zecena. The mom was taking Rachel to Northside Forsyth Hospital for a COVID-19 test, according to CPD police report. Police said Parada-Olivas was heading toward her former Guatemalan husbands home around 5 p.m. Sunday. Balvanera Esperanza Parada-Olivas and her six-year-old daughter, Rachel Zecena, were found in Mexico on Wednesday after her ex-husband, Alexis Zecena-Lopez, allegedly kidnapped them. Alexis Zecena-Lopez was arrested during the summer and was out on bail for reportedly threatening Balvanera Esperanza Parada-Olivas with a gun and kidnapping her When she arrived, police said Zecena-Lopez forced Parada-Olivas and Rachel into his vehicle and took off. Parada-Olivas' son alerted the police, and reported her and his sister missing after they had failed to return home. Authorities issued an Amber Alert Tuesday and while searching for the three, found Zecena-Lopezs ankle monitor near a Six Flags amusement park in Cobb County. Zecena-Lopezs vehicle was spotted on Interstate 40 in northern Arizona on Monday night heading west toward California before apparently crossing into Mexico where they were found. Parada-Olivas and her daughter are in good health, officials said. Rachel Zecena was with her mother when police said her father kidnapped them in Georgia on Sunday and drove off with both to Mexico. Zecena-Lopez is being held in Mexico on kidnapping charges with a pending extradition to the United States. Both parents are legal residents of the United States. Police records show that he had been out on bail for only a week following an arrest over the summer for holding Parada-Olivas at gunpoint and abducting her. He was also involved in a violent incident with her in March. This is still an ongoing investigation and we will only release limited details, Cumming police chief David Marsh said in a statement Thursday. Marsh thanked US Marshals and the FBI for finding 'Esperanza and Rachel and bringing them home safely.' Zecena-Lopez faces charges of violating his bond and kidnapping, according to Marsh, who said other charges are possible. A father fatally shot his 16-year-old daughter in the family's Columbus home after he mistook her for an intruder, the mother told police. Janae Hairston, 16, of Canal Winchester, Ohio - a Columbus suburb - was fatally shot in the chest in the garage of her home by her dad who mistook her for an intruder on Wednesday morning. Her mother called 911 after the shooting around 4:30am and said the father had shot someone he thought was breaking into the house after the security system alerted, authorities said. On the eight-plus-minute 911 call, her parents reportedly beg her to wake up and her father asks her what she was doing, according to the Columbus Dispatch. 'My husband made a mistake and shot her because he thought she was an intruder,' the mother tells the 911 dispatcher, obtained by NBC. 'She was in our garage and my husband just didnt know what was going on. Oh my God.' The father can be heard telling his daughter, 'breathe, baby.' Janae Hairston, 16, of Columbus, Ohio, was fatally shot in the chest in the garage of her home by her father who mistook her as an intruder on Wednesday morning She was shot in the chest after the security system was activated. In a more than eight-minute 911 call, the parents can be reportedly heard telling their daughter to 'breathe, baby' and to wake up The junior at Canal Winchester High School was taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital and was pronounced dead 45 minutes later, authorities said. Randy, a neighbor who used only his first name, called the teen's death 'heartbreaking' and expressed 'shock' that something like this would happen in a quiet and 'great neighborhood.' 'This is a neighborhood that has, like, picnics in the square during the [Ohio State University] games, we get the big screens out. We're a great neighborhood, I'm just kind of shocked,' Randy told ABC 6. Hairston was taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital and died 45 minutes later The shooting remains under investigation by the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office, and no charges have been filed. A crime scene search unit was seen at the residence on Wednesday. Hairston's death marked the 202nd homicide in the Columbus and its suburbs this year, the seventh this week, and the third in the last three days, the Columbus Dispatch said. It has been the deadliest year in the city, The city's homicide rate has surpassed Chicago's, rising 63 per cent compared to 34, according to WBNS. Violent crime isn't only in the city, but in the suburbs, as well. Whitehall, a suburb south of Canal Winchester, has seen a 54 per cent increase in violent crime. Whitehall Police Chief Mike Crispen told ABC 6 that multiple suspects are moving from suburb to suburb. 'Just from conversations, I haven't heard anyone say it's down in their area,' he told ABC 6. 'Everybody genuinely thinks we have an issue, and it's still climbing. Neighbor Randy, whose last name was not revealed, said she was 'shocked' about the death because it happened in a 'great neighborhood.' Hairston's death is the 202nd homicide in Columbus, making it the most deadly year in the city 'It's usually a small percentage of people who are doing the majority of the violent crime. When you're on your third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh offense, the system's broke and not the suspect,' Crispen said. He also credited the attitude change toward police as a reason for violent crimes rising. 'It's almost surprise, shock or anger that we're even thinking of arresting them for this. That's what I see a lot,' he told ABC 6. DailyMail.com has requested a copy of the 911 call, and contacted Franklin County Prosecutor's Office and the Columbus Police Department for comment. All four victims of the medical plane crash in California have now been identified as two pilots and two flight nurses who were killed on Monday while returning from transporting a patient. The San Diego Medical Examiner's Office said they had to use 'special fingerprinting techniques' to identify the pilots of the Learjet 35A as Julian Jorge Bugaj, 67, and Douglas James Grande, 45. The two flight nurses who died in the crash were identified earlier this week by professional associations as Tina Ward and Laurie Gentz. The Medical Examiner's Office has yet to formally name Ward and Gentz as victims of the crash, saying that one of the women could be identified through dental records by the end of this week, while the other requires DNA testing that could take several months. The Learjet 35A, operated by Aeromedevac Air Ambulance, smashed into a power line before exploding on a street in El Cajon, leaving no survivors on the plane. Scroll down for video All four victims of Monday's medical airplane crash in California have been identified as (clockwise) nurse Tina Ward, pilot Julian Bugaj, nurse Laurie Gentz and pilot Douglas Grande Ward was the wife of retired Oceanside Fire Chief Joe Ward, according to an Instagram post from the Oceanside Firefighters Association Firefighters work to put out flames on the ground after a small jet plane crashed in unincorporated area in a town about 17 miles east of San Diego The company posted a statement on its website on Wednesday, addressing the deadly crash. 'It is with great sadness that we must share the devastating loss of our colleagues at Aeromedevac Air Ambulance on December 27, 2021. The loss of our friends has left us an indescribable void. To both us and their families they are unsung heroes, dedicating their lives to caring for others in need throughout our community. 'Our priority now is to support the well-being of the families of all our crew members. We are a close-knit air ambulance program that is united by our missions to care for our patients. Our teams commitment to helping others has always been inspiring. 'We are honored and blessed to have worked with the crew members that we have lost, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to their families.' The Oceanside Firefighters Association named Ward as one of the victims of the crash, revealing in an Instagram post Tuesday that she was the wife of a recently retired local fire chief, Joe Ward. 'It is with heavy hearts that the Oceanside Fire Department and their fire family would like to extend our deepest condolences to our recently retired Chief Ward, his family, and all family and friends of the Aeromedevac flight crew N880Z,' the post read. Bugaj, 67, was identified by the San Jose Medical Examiner's Office through special fingerprinting techniques. The pilot leaves behind a wife, children and grandchildren Bugaj was described by relatives as an outstanding family man and grandfather, pictured above with tow of his grandchildren Bugaj (right) was said to be a lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined the medical transport company a few years ago 'Chief Wards wife Tina, was a flight nurse on board of the aircraft that crashed last night in El Cajon. We are shocked and saddened by this devastating news and are keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.' Joe and Tina Ward had been married for more than a decade and had three daughters together. Meanwhile, the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics on Tuesday identified one of the other victims of the plane crash as Laurie Gentz, a nurse with more than 30 years of experience who also served as president of her local union. 'The IAEP extends sincere condolences for the devastating and sudden loss of Local 162 President Laurie Gentz, her fellow passengers and the Learjet flight crew early this morning,' the Facebook post read. 'President Gentz will be greatly missed by all who knew her and all who benefit from her selfless contributions to organized labor in the Greater San Diego area.' The post was accompanied by an undated selfie showing Gentz, Ward, Bugaj and Grande posing in front of the doomed Learjet 35A with the tail number N880Z. Ward was a veteran health care worker who previously worked as an emergency room nurse at Palomar Pomerado Health. She is pictured with husband Joe, right Joe and Tina Ward are pictured with their three daughter in this photo the mom posted on Facebook a day before her death According to CBS8, the medevac plane transported a patient from Arizona to Orange County, California, Monday and was returning to Gillespie Field when it went down. The San Diego County Medical Examiner has yet to officially identify any of the victims pending notification of next of kin. According to her Facebook page, Tina Ward previously worked as an emergency room nurse at Palomar Pomerado Health. Laurie Gentz's LinkedIn profile reveals that she only joined Aeromedevac Air Ambulance as a part-time flight nurse in February. She also worked as a critical care transport registered nurse at Rural Metro for nearly a decade. She leaves behind her husband and three pet boxers. Laurie Gentz was a transport nurse with more than 30 years of experience. She had only joined Aeromedevac Air Ambulance as a part-time employee in February 'I have 30+ years of experience in the field of Nursing, and have spent over 2 and a half decades doing Critical Care Transport both on the ground and in the air,' Gentz wrote in the description. Douglas Grande had worked at Aeromedevac Air Ambulance for less than three years, serving as a first officer and captain, according to his LinkedIn page. Prior to that, he worked for 17 years at an aviation manufacturing company. Julian Bugaj, who went by his middle name, Jorge, was a lifelong aviation enthusiast and a certified flight instructor who for the last few years had piloted planes for Aeromedevac, transporting patients and transplant organs, according to the description of a GoFundMe campaign that was launched by his daughter-in-law on Wednesday. 'He is truly a hero in what he did and loved every second of it,' wrote Blanca Olmsted. 'Aside from being an actual life saver, he was an amazing provider for his family.' Bugaj is survived by his wife, Alexis, their grown children and several grandchildren. The pilot's daughter, Becky Adkins. posted a moving tribute to her late father on Facebook, writing: 'Jorge Bugaj was truly the greatest man ive ever know he was the most generous, the kindest and the happiest and most positive person always! Jorge was a great father, an amazing husband.. every woman should be as lucky to have a husband like Jorge! and he was by far the best Grandpa ever ' Friends and co-workers of Ward and Gentz also have been posting messages on Facebook expressing their grief. 'My heart is heavy tonight,' wrote Ryan McBride. 'I lost some amazing coworkers with such an amazing company to work for.... The nicest crew to fly with! Its because of ALL of you I gained confidence and began to love flying while performing my job as a flight paramedic while assisting Tina, Laurie and all of the other amazing nurses we have with us! While feeling so safe in the air!' Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration said the Learjet plane was carrying four people who had taken off from Orange County. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the crash. A final report, including the probable cause, will likely take 12 to 24 months, the board said. Doorbell camera footage shows the Learjet 35A hurtling towards the ground before a flash of light erupts across the clouded sky as it explodes in El Cajon, California. Luggage is removed from the scene as emergency teams worked to identify the victims on Monday night This map shows the route of the doomed Learjet plane that crashed on its way to Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California The Learjet 35A, similar to the one pictured above, was operated by Med Jet, an air ambulance company Fire and smoke are seen rising above a neighborhood in El Cajon, California, on Monday night following the private plane crash The jet, flying out of John Wayne Airport in Orange County, struck power lines before crashing in the area of Pepper Drive and North 2nd Street, at around 7.15pm Monday. National Weather Service data described sky conditions at Gillespie as 'fog/mist' at 6.55pm. Radio communications between the jet and the airfield recorded by LiveATC.net indicated that trouble happened suddenly. The pilot canceled an instrument flight rules approach to Runway 27 and requested a switch to Runway 17 using visual flight rules. After the switch was granted and new instructions were given, the pilot asked that the field lights be turned up and was told they were already at 100%. But in that moment something goes awry. 'Oh, s***! Oh, s***! Oh, s***! No!' the pilot is heard screaming, following by a loud noise and then silence. Footage showed the smoldering wreckage lying in the middle of a road, most of it destroyed, with parts of the jet, including the landing gear, strewn across the street. The crash also appeared to have caused a car to erupt in flames outside a house. No fatalities or injuries were reported on the ground, however about 2,500 people were left without power by the fallen power line. 'There is very little left of the aircraft,' Fire Chief Don Butz said. 'We weren't able to find any survivors.' Footage from a doorbell camera shows the moment the plane hurtles towards the ground before a flash erupts across the clouded night sky in El Cajon, California A blast lights up the night sky over El Cajon following the plane crash seen on a Nest camera A cloud of smoke rising from the scene of the crash that killed everyone on board the plane Parts of the jet are seen strewn across the road after it exploded in the residential neighborhood last night Several fire and police units worked to get the blaze under control by about 9 p.m. local time in El Cajon, California San Diego Sheriff's Lt. Mike Krugh told The San Diego Union Tribune the jet smashed into a power line and exploded on the ground shortly after. Around six San Diego Gas & Electric trucks were in the area working to get power restored amid constant rainfall. Shortly before midnight, power was restored to most customers, however around 350 people remained without. The Sheriff's Department said local volunteers from the American Red Cross would visit those people still without power in the morning to check on them. At around 9pm, police said the burning wreckage had been extinguished. Around an hour later, two chaplains arrived at the scene. Lakeside resident Suzie Mercadante was out walking the dogs at around 7.15pm when she saw the jet plummeting to the ground. She told the Tribune how she saw 'a blue streak and then a giant big orange ball,' then 'the blackest smoke just billowing out.' Thomas O'Brien who lives just a few blocks away from where the plane exploded onto the road said he was sitting on the couch when he heard the jet's turbines screaming across the night sky. He said that he used to hearing planes because they live near the runway at Gillespie Field, but described the sound as incredibly loud. 'It was 10 times louder than normal,' O'Brien told the Tribune. 'My walls started shaking, like there was an earthquake. I froze. Honestly, I thought it was about to hit us.' O'Brien said he saw the jet explode from his back window and the blast reflecting off his pool. A few beats later, the booming sound of the explosion hit him and then his house lost power. Fire and smoke could be seen in video provided by a local resident. A Facebook livestream showed a car on fire in front of a house and debris in the street No one on the ground was injured or hurt. Rainy conditions and the darkness have kept investigators from finding the full extent of the damage Resident Lauren Watling also described the plane as 'really, really, loud' as it approached and that after the crash all she could see was 'fire and smoke'. She told NBC7: 'We were outside and basically, we heard the plane getting closer. 'Normally they get loud because we live right by the airport, but it got really, really loud and all of the sudden, we think it could've hit our power lines above our house, but we just saw bright blue and orange flashing lights and we heard the electricity running. 'And then after that, we heard the plane actually crash. We ran out immediately and there was a ton of smoke everywhere.' The cause of the crash has yet to be determined as authorities are still investigating. NTSB will produce a preliminary report in several weeks. Democrat Rep. Debbie Dingell grew emotional on Wednesday night over having to leave her hometown of Dearborn, Michigan in order to keep serving in Congress after redistricting swiped her seat ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. For the first time in history, Michigan's new map was drawn by an independent commission rather than political operators. That saw the state's number of House seats drop from 14 to 13, and is forcing Dingell out of the 12th Congressional District she took over from her husband, late longtime Rep. John Dingell. Members of her party are watching nervously as next year's races begin to take shape with 23 less Democrat incumbents -- all of whom are either retiring or seeking a different office. At the same time, Republicans are riding on momentum created by their overwhelming performance during November's off-year elections that saw the GOP make gains in state legislatures, local roles and take over the governorship of Virginia. Recent polls have also shown voters increasingly favoring another Republican-majority Congress. 'Look I'm just starting to tear. So I'm trying not to let this get to me because Ann Arbor is a growing city too, and the fact of the matter is that most of the people I represent will be in this new district,' Dingell told Fox 2 Detroit. Her interviewer asked, 'I saw you wipe away a tear. Did you think youd get this emotional talking about this?' Dingell said she will leave her home of Dearborn for Ann Arbor, Michigan 'No, I didn't,' Dingell answered. 'Because I, you know, I lived there with my husband for a long time. But I still have all the people that I love.' The Michigan Democrat announced on Tuesday that she'd be seeking re-election in the state's newly-drawn 6th District to allow for more 'representation' in the new boundaries of the 12th District. 'The vast majority of my current district, and approximately 60% of my current constituents, will fall within the newly drawn 6th District but it will no longer include Dearborn,' she said in a statement at the time. 'It has long been clear that Dearborn would be incorporated into a voting rights district with communities in Detroit, and I have always believed representation matters so I will not run in a [Voting Rights Act-protected] district.' Both the 12th and 6th Districts are safe blue seats in the battleground state. President Joe Biden won Dingell's district by roughly 30 points in 2020. The Dingells have long been an established presence in Dearborn. Slide me For the first time, Michigan's redistricting was done by an independent commission rather than partisan officials. The new map sees the Great Lakes State lose a House seat in 2022 In 2014 Dingell ran for the seat her husband had recently vacated. John Dingell was the longest-serving member of Congress, representing the area encompassing Dearborn through various districts from 1955 until 2015. Before that his father, John Dingell Sr., represented Michigan's 15th Congressional district, also including part of Dearborn, from 1932 until 1955. Dingell said on Wednesday that she's already reaching out to communities in the new district. 'More importantly, we all need to make sure were invested in infrastructure, our water, our roads. We've got to work as a region, and I am committed to working at keeping our region together,' she said. Michigan's new independently-drawn map will further cement the Great Lakes State's battleground status. It creates six GOP-leaning seats, four Democrat-leaning seats and three that are competitive. If polls projecting a red wave in 2022 prove true, Republicans could win as many as nine of 13 House seats there, according to Politico's analysis. Currently there are seven Democrats and seven Republicans representing Michigan in the House. Dingell took over her current district after her late husband, longtime Rep. John Dingell, retired GOP Rep. Fred Upton, who represents the current 6th District, is now pitted against fellow Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga in the red-leaning 4th District. Huizenga is running, but it's not clear what Upton's plan is. Dingell's likely victory in the 12th district, however, is one less headache for Pelosi and her caucus to worry about as nearly two dozen of their colleagues have already said they're not running again in 2022. The most recently-announced Democrat departures are Rep. Albio Sires of New Jersey, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard of California and Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida, who all said they were retiring. In comparison just 12 Republicans have said they're leaving the House so far. Meanwhile redistricting in Virginia may put another Democrat, former CIA officer Rep. Abigail Spanberger, in a more vulnerable position. Spanberger said she planned to seek reelection in Virginias still-competitive 7th Congressional District, which has been substantially redrawn and shifted north, away from her home and largest base of support in suburban Richmond. Nearly 200,000 Virginians in the new Seventh District have already been my constituents under the current district lines, and I look forward to continuing my service representing them as well as my future constituents, the two-term moderate and former CIA case officer said in a statement. Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote critically of the kingdom's policies and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials say a 15-men team tortured, killed and dismembered the writer, while Saudi Arabia says he died in a 'fistfight.' Here are some key moments in the slaying of the Washington Post columnist: BEFORE HIS DISAPPEARANCE September 2017: The Post publishes the first column by Khashoggi in its newspaper, in which the former royal court insider and longtime journalist writes about going into a self-imposed exile in the U.S. over the rise of Prince Mohammed. His following columns criticize the prince and the kingdom's direction. September 28, 2018: Over a year after the Post published his first column, Khashoggi visits the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, seeking documents in order to get married. He's later told to return October 2, his fiancee Hatice Cengiz says. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says a plan or a 'road map' to kill Khashoggi was devised in Saudi Arabia during this time. September 29: Khashoggi travels to London and speaks at a conference. October 1: Khashoggi returns to Istanbul. At around 4.30pm, a three-person Saudi team arrives in Istanbul on a scheduled flight, checks in to their hotels then visits the consulate, according to Erdogan. The Turkish president says another group of officials from the consulate travel to a forest in Istanbul's outskirts and to the nearby city of Yalova on a 'reconnaissance' trip. Jamal Khashoggi (right) arriving at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2 THE DAY OF HIS DISAPPEARANCE 3.28am, October 2: A private jet arrives at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport carrying some members of what Turkish media will refer to as a 15-member Saudi 'assassination squad.' Other members of the team arrive by two commercial flights in the afternoon. Erdogan says the team includes Saudi security and intelligence officials and a forensics expert. They meet at the Saudi Consulate. One of the first things they do is to dismantle a hard disk connected to the consulate's camera system, the president says. 11.50am: Khashoggi is called to confirm his appointment at the consulate later that day, Erdogan says. 1.14pm: Surveillance footage later leaked to Turkish media shows Khashoggi walking into the main entrance of the Saudi Consulate. No footage made public ever shows him leaving. His fiancee waits outside, pacing for hours. 3.07pm: Surveillance footage shows vehicles with diplomatic license plates leaving the Saudi Consulate for the consul general's home some 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away. 5.50pm: Khashoggi's fiancee alerts authorities, saying he may have been forcibly detained inside the consulate or that something bad may have happened to him, according to Erdogan. 7pm: A private plane from Saudi Arabia carries six members of the alleged Saudi squad from Istanbul to Cairo, the next day returning to Riyadh. 11pm: Seven members of the alleged Saudi squad leave on another private jet to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which the next day returns to Riyadh. Two others leave by commercial flights. Erdogan confirms reports that a 'body double' - a man wearing Khashoggi's clothes, glasses and a beard - leaves the consulate building for Riyadh with another person on a scheduled flight later that day. CCTV images showed a a private jet alleged to have been used by a group of Saudi men suspected of being involved in Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death INITIAL REACTION October 3: Khashoggi's fiancee and the Post go public with his disappearance. Saudi Arabia says Khashoggi visited the consulate and exited shortly thereafter. Turkish officials suggest Khashoggi might still be in the consulate. Prince Mohammed tells Bloomberg: 'We have nothing to hide.' October 4: Saudi Arabia says on its state-run news agency that the consulate is carrying out 'follow-up procedures and coordination with the Turkish local authorities to uncover the circumstances of the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi after he left the consulate building.' October 5: The Post prints a blank column in its newspaper in solidarity with Khashoggi, headlined: 'A missing voice.' October 6: The Post, citing anonymous Turkish officials, reports Khashoggi may have been killed in the consulate in a 'preplanned murder' by a Saudi team. October 7: A friend of Khashoggi tells the AP that officials told him the writer was killed at the consulate. The consulate rejects what it calls 'baseless allegations.' October 8: Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Turkey is summoned over Khashoggi's disappearance and alleged killing. LEAKED FOOTAGE October 9: Turkey says it will search the Saudi Consulate as a picture of Khashoggi walking into the diplomatic post surfaces. October 10: Surveillance footage is leaked of Khashoggi and the alleged Saudi squad that killed him. Khashoggi's fiancee asks President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump for help. October 11: Turkish media describes Saudi squad as including royal guards, intelligence officers, soldiers and an autopsy expert. Trump calls Khashoggi's disappearance a 'bad situation' and promises to get to the bottom of it. October 12: Trump again pledges to find out what happened to Khashoggi. October 13: A pro-government newspaper reports that Turkish officials have an audio recording of Khashoggi's alleged killing from his Apple Watch, but details in the report come into question. INTERNATIONAL UPROAR October 14: Trump says that 'we're going to get to the bottom of it, and there will be severe punishment' if Saudi Arabia is involved. The kingdom responds with a blistering attack against those who threaten it, as the manager of a Saudi-owned satellite news channel suggests the country could retaliate through its oil exports. The Saudi stock exchange plunges as much as 7 percent at one point. Khashoggi (pictured), went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul October 15: A Turkish forensics team enters and searches the Saudi Consulate, an extraordinary development as such diplomatic posts are considered sovereign soil. Trump suggests after a call with Saudi King Salman that 'rogue killers' could be responsible for Khashoggi's alleged slaying. Trump says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to the Mideast over the case. Meanwhile, business leaders say they won't attend an economic summit in the kingdom that's the brainchild of Prince Mohammed. October 16: A high-level Turkish official tells the AP that 'certain evidence' was found in the Saudi Consulate proving Khashoggi was killed there. Pompeo arrives for meetings in Saudi Arabia with King Salman and Prince Mohammed. Meanwhile, Trump compares the case to the appointment of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing, saying: 'Here we go again with you're guilty until proven innocent.' October 17: Pompeo meets with Turkey's president and foreign minister in the Turkish capital, Ankara. Turkish police search the official residence of Saudi Arabia's consul general in Istanbul and conduct a second sweep of the consulate. October 18: A leaked surveillance photograph shows a member of Prince Mohammed's entourage walked into the consulate just before Khashoggi vanished there. October 20: Saudi Arabia for the first time acknowledges Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, claiming he was slain in a 'fistfight.' The claim draws immediate skepticism from the kingdom's Western allies, particularly in the U.S. Congress. October 22: A report says a member of Prince Mohammed's entourage made four calls to the royal's office around the time Khashoggi was killed. Police search a vehicle belonging to the Saudi consulate parked at an underground garage in Istanbul. CCTV emerges showing a Saudi intelligence officer dressed in a fake beard and Jamal Khashoggi's clothes and glasses on the day he went missing. October 23: Erdogan says Saudi officials murdered Khashoggi after plotting his death for days, demanding that Saudi Arabia reveal the identities of all involved. October 25: Changing their story again, Saudi prosecutors say Khashoggi's killing was a premeditated crime. November 2: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels of the Saudi government. Earlier the same day, Yasin Aktay, a ruling party adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he believed the body had to have been dissolved in acid. November 4: Khashoggi's sons Salah and Abdullah Khashoggi issue appeal for his remains to be returned so that he may be buried in Saudi Arabia. November 10: President Erdogan says Turkey gave the audio recordings linked to the murder to 'Saudi Arabia, to Washington, to the Germans, to the French, to the British'. November 13: Turkish media reports that the luggage carried by the Saudi 'hit squad' included scissors, defibrillators and syringes that may have been used against Khashoggi. November 15: Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor announces that he is seeking the death penalty for five out of 11 suspects charged in the murder. Shalaan al-Shalaan said the person who had ordered the killing was the head of the negotiating team sent to repatriate him, and exonerated Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. On the same day, the U.S. Treasury announces sanctions against 17 Saudi officials, including the Consul General in Turkey, Mohammed Alotaibi. November 16: A CIA assessment reported in the Washington Post finds that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination. November 18: Germany bans 18 Saudi nationals believed to be connected to the murder from entering Europe's border-free Schengen zone. Berlin also announces it has as halted previously approved arms exports to Saudi Arabia amid the fallout. Ghislaine Maxwell has four potential grounds for appeal - including the judge's decision to force the jury to work through New Year's Eve holiday due to the coronavirus, a legal analysis by DailyMail.com reveals. Lawyers for the former socialite, who is facing 65 years in jail for recruiting and trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein, could zero in on how Judge Alison Nathan handled the case as they seek to overturn the conviction. Their primary argument will likely be how Judge Nathan ordered the jury to sit every single day of the final week until they reached a verdict. That would have included New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, even though it falls on a Saturday and is a public holiday, and Sunday as well. Maxwell's lawyers complained that such instructions were essentially telling the jury they needed to 'hurry up'. Judge Nathan said that the move was necessary because the 'astronomical' numbers of Covid-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant meant there was a real risk of a 'mistrial'. But at the end of that very day the jury came back with their verdict. Ghislaine Maxwell is facing 65 years in jail for recruiting and trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein after a jury found her guilty on five of six counts. A courtroom sketch shows Maxwell sitting as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in New York A legal analysis by DailyMail.com reveals Ghislaine Maxwell has four potential grounds for appeal. Lawyers for Maxwell could zero in on how Judge Alison Nathan handled the case as they seek to overturn the conviction Other issues which could be raised on appeal include how Judge Nathan handled a question from the panel about count four - transportation of an individual under the age of 17 with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity - on which Maxwell was convicted. Other high profile sex crimes cases give Maxwell, 60, some hope Maxwell's lawyers are likely to raise concerns about a jury note related to the accuser Annie Farmer and counts one and three, on which they also found Maxwell guilty. Fourthly, Maxwell's lawyers could object to how Judge Nathan brusquely handled their request for the US Marshals to force one witness to attend court, a request they ultimately dropped. Maxwell has yet to formally file her appeal but outside the federal court in New Year after the verdict, her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said they would be doing so. In a statement, Maxwell's family said she would be 'ultimately vindicated' despite the jury convicting her of five of the six charges. Other high profile sex crimes cases do give Maxwell, 60, some hope, most notably that of Bill Cosby. In 2018 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home 14 years earlier. Cosby's conviction was overturned on appeal in June after the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court ruled that his due process rights had been violated because a previous prosecutor agreed not to charge him. Harvey Weinstein is currently appealing his 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault that was handed down in March last year. During an appeal court hearing in New York earlier this month, judges asked whether lining up three Weinstein accusers as bad character witnesses was 'overkill' - a decision is due in Spring 2022. Maxwell has yet to formally file her appeal but outside the federal court in New Year after the verdict, her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said they would be doing so Maxwell's defense team Jeffery Pagliuca and Laura Menninger are seen leaving court in New York after yesterday's verdicts Maxwell suffered a setback Tuesday after Judge Nathan rejected her defense team's request to give the jury additional instructions on one of the counts related to transporting accuser 'Jane'. They will likely use this as grounds for appeal Harvey Weinstein is currently appealing his 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault that was handed down in March last year. Bill Cosby's conviction was overturned on appeal in June after the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court ruled that his due process rights had been violated because a previous prosecutor agreed not to charge him Judge Nathan's handling of the jury instructions about the coronavirus will undoubtedly feature highly in Maxwell's appeal. On day 16 Judge Nathan discussed instructing the jury to sit until 6pm instead of 5pm because of the risk one of them may become infected. Maxwell's lawyer Laura Menninger strongly objected. She told the court: 'Because it has only been three days, we believe that any suggestion that they should stay later is beginning to sound like urging them to hurry up, when clearly they know that they can deliberate as long as they want and they should be able to deliberate as long as they want'. Menninger noted that the previous week Judge Nathan had offered the jury an extra day to deliberate but they declined it, stating in a note they had 'made plans' for the Christmas break. Judge Nathan did instruct the jury they could stay until 6pm or longer but added that there was no 'pressure' and they should take as long as they wanted. The next day Judge Nathan's mood darkened and she said that the longer hours were necessary because 'we are seeing an astronomical spike in the number of Covid positive cases in New York'. Judge Nathan added that 'we are facing a high and escalating risk that the jurors or participants (such as Maxwell) may need to quarantine, putting at risk our ability to complete this trial'. At the end of the day the jury sent a note saying they were 'making progress'. On Wednesday, the morning of what turned out to be the final day of deliberations, the jury asked for clarification of their schedule for the week. Judge Nathan told them that she would compel them to sit every day that week until they reached a verdict: previously they were told they would sit only Monday to Wednesday. That would include New Year's Eve on the Friday and New Year's Day on the Saturday, as well as Sunday if necessary. After appeals from Maxwell's lawyers, the judge added the same qualifier as before: 'Of course, by this I don't mean to pressure you in any way. You should take all the time that you need'. At the end of that very day, the jury came back with their verdict. Another source of contention which could feature in the appeal was when Maxwell's lawyers repeatedly argued with Judge Nathan on day 16 of the trial over a note from the jury about count four, which related to the accuser Jane. The count was transportation of an individual under the age of 17 with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity. Maxwell was found guilty and faces up to 10 years in jail for this count. Maxwell's siblings Kevin, Christine and Isabel walked out of court in New York yesterday and declined to speak to reporters. In a statement, Maxwell's family said she would be 'ultimately vindicated' despite the jury convicting her of five of the six charges The prosecution brought in pictures found in Epstein's mansion in a bid to show that Maxwell and Epstein had been in a relationship The note read: 'If the defendant aided in the transportation of Jane's return flight, but not the flight to New Mexico, where/if the intent was for Jane to engage in sexual activity, can she be found guilty under the second element?' Prosecutor Alison Moe said they were 'not able to parse the question because we find it confusing' so the 'safest course' was to refer the jury to the instructions. Maxwell's lawyer Christian Everdell said that the 'significant purpose' of the trip was not that 'Jane engaged in illicit sexual activity' as required by the law. In this case she was 'just presumably going home, but is not for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual activity', Everdell said. Judge Nathan said that the note was 'ambiguous' and told the court: 'I don't know what the question means, it's too difficult to parse factually and legally'. As a result she referred the jury to her instructions without further comment. The following day Maxwell's lawyers tried again to change the judge's mind with a seven page letter filed to the court which said her decision was 'incorrect and prejudicial to Ms. Maxwell' They said that the jury were 'confused' about not just count four but count two as well and requested an additional, three paragraph instruction to clarify. Judge Nathan rejected the request to address count two as the jury didn't ask about it. She told Everdell that he was seeking a 'third bite of the apple' and dismissed his letter as 'just wrong' as she stood by her original decision. Another note on day 14 of the trial sparked intense argument from Maxwell's lawyers and could form the basis of an appeal. The jury asked if they could consider the accuser Annie Farmer's testimony for the counts of conspiracy to entice and transport a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. Maxwell is facing five years on jail on each count. Judge Nathan said she would tell the jury: 'The answer is yes, you may consider it'. Everdell said he was worried that the jury might use Farmer's testimony 'more broadly' than they should. He wanted to remind the jury that Farmer's allegations were not 'illegal sexual conduct' as charged in the indictment. Pictured: The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) where Ghislaine Maxwell is being held and has been since her arrest in July 2020 Judge Nathan rejected the argument and said it would be 'nonresponsive to their question'. In their appeal Maxwell's lawyers may well raise Judge Nathan's handling of their problems calling defense witnesses. Judge Nathan was blunt with Maxwell's attorneys when they asked for help from the US Marshals to compel one female witness, Kelly Bovino, to come to court. The judge sounded exasperated at the prospect of a delay in the trial especially as the defense knew two weeks ago that Bovino was not replying to their subpoena. She said: 'We're not delaying trial, so this all needs to happen yesterday'. During a testy exchange with Menninger Judge Nathan said that a 'nonresponsive witness is not a little thing'. A desperate-sounding Menninger replied: 'We've been flying people across the country, across the pond. 'Our client's life is on the line and we're being given one day to put on a defense, one and a half days, and there is one witness that we're having problems with. We're not asking for some weeks' long delay'. In the end Maxwell's lawyer withdrew their request to engage the US Marshals, but on appeal this may well be raised to try and overturn the conviction. A former teenage beauty queen who shot dead her husband's killer before going on to become the head of the powerful Camorra mafia clan has died aged 86. Assunta Maresca, who was known as Pupetta, meaning little doll, was 18 years old and six months pregnant when she gunned down Antonio Esposito. Esposito was a former crime partner of her husband, Pasquale Simonetti and was even a witness at his wedding to Maresca in April 1955. But just two months later, he turned against him and hired Carlo Gaetano Orlando, a small-time member of his entourage, to kill the newlywed in the busy Piazza Mercato in Naples. Assunta Maresca, a former beauty queen turned mafia boss, has died aged 86. Pictured in the 1950s (left) and 2000 (right) Maresca, the daughter of notorious Camorra member Vincenzo Maresca, decided to exact revenge on the crime boss herself, believing the police would turn a blind eye. She tracked down Esposito in broad daylight and shot him dead with a Smith & Wesson .38. Maresca was sentenced to 18 years in prison after she defiantly said during her murder trial in 1959, 'I would do it again!', prompting the courtroom to erupt with cheers. The sentence was later reduced to 13 years and four months but she was pardoned after ten years. The year before the killing, she had won a beauty contest and was named Miss Rovegliano, a suburban village of Naples. Aged 18, she married Camorra boss Pasquale Simonetti in April 1955 but he was killed just two months later The Maresca family was known as the Lampetielli, the lightning knives, for their use of switchblades, and her father profited from illegal cigarettes. She later gave birth in prison to Pasqualino and continued to be involved in criminal activities after her release. The now infamous female mobster became a lover to another Camorra boss, Umberto Ammaturo, and they had twins while she supported his drugs and arms enterprise. She even starred in a film about her own life and opened two clothes shops but could not escape a life of crime. Her eldest son Pasqualino had Camorra ambitions himself before he disappeared aged 18, after meeting Ammaturo on a construction site. Maresca's new partner was jealous of Pasqualino and she believes he had the teenager murdered before burying him in cement. Pictured: Assunta Maresca is arrested in Naples on January 31, 1993 Despite strongly suspecting her new lover of murdering her son, she stuck by his side to help raise their twins. He has always denied killing Pasqualino. She was later accused of ordering the killing of Ciro Galli in 1981, a member of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata. The new gang was an attempt by ruthless clan boss Raffaele Cutolo to revive the Camorra. In a press conference in 1982, Maresca publicly defied Cutolo after he imposed a tax on all imported cigarettes, and defended her fellow gangsters. Later that year, she was arrested alongside her partner Ammaturo for the murder of neo-fascist Aldo Semerari whose decapitated body was found in a stolen Fiat. The scientist was believed to be complicit in a 1980 terror attack in Bologna which killed 80 people. Maresca has always denied her involvement but spent four years in prison before being acquitted. But Ammaturo, who had fled to Peru to become a cocaine baron, was extradited to Italy and confessed to the murder after becoming a state witness, breaking the mafia's omerta or code of silence. Maresca died aged 86 at her home in Castellammare di Stabia near Pompeii after an illness. She is remembered as one of the fiercest bosses of the Camorra but insisted she only focused on her clothing stores for the final years of her life. Hillary Clinton has warned the Democratic Party it needs to be 'clear eyed' about what wins elections - a tacit warning that its progressive wing risks handing midterm victories to the Republican Party. The former presidential candidate told MSNBC's Willie Geist that Democrats needed candidates who could win in purple states if it was to have a Congress that will 'get things done.' Her comments reflect divisions in both parties, as centrists grapple with fringes that offer ideological purity and headline generating Twitter accounts. For Democrats, that means the so-called Squad of progressives - including the likes of Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. 'I think that it is a time for some careful thinking about what wins elections, and not just in deep blue districts where a democrat and a liberal Democrat or so-called progressive Democrat is going to win,' said Clinton. She made her comments in an interview earlier this month, which was broadcast in part on Thursday. Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took a tacit swipe at the progressive wing of her own party, but saying Democrats needed to be 'clear eyed' about how to hold the House and the Senate in 2022's midterm elections The Squad is a six-strong group of U.S. Representatives on the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (left) and Ilhan Omar In a discussion of the state of the Democratic Party, she said: 'We've got to be very clear eyed about what it's going to take to hold the House and the Senate in 2022. And to win the electoral college because also Republicans are doing everything they can to create an environment in which winning the Electoral College, even narrowly the way Joe Biden did will be out of reach for Democrats.' She added that she understood why politicians would want to argue for their own priorities. 'But at the end of the day, nothing is going to get done if you don't have a Democratic majority in the House, in the Senate, and our majority comes from people who win in much more difficult districts and our majority in the Senate comes from people who can win in not just blue states and hold those wins ... but can win in more purpleish states,' she said. Her words came soon after the party's defeat in Virginia's gubernatorial election and as the party prepares for a backlash against President Biden in next year's midterms. She said she was in favor of a vigorous debate about how to move forward. 'But at the end of the day, it means nothing. If we don't have a Congress that will get things done and we don't have a White House that we can count on to be sane and sober and stable and productive,' she continued. 'So this is going to be a very intense period, not just for the Democratic Party, but for the country.' Her comments put her odds with the progressive wing of her own party, which has at times opposed President Biden. So although his administration hails a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill as among its biggest achievements, the likes of Omar opposed its progress unless it was accompanied by a far bigger social spending program. 'I made a promise to my constituents that I would not vote for the infrastructure alone, unless the two bills were being passed together and were going to get signed together,' she said in a recent interview with Minnesota's Star Tribune newspaper. She accused her own party leadership of timidity. 'Democrats sometimes tend to be afraid of their own shadow and their own power,' she said. 'So that's been a little frustrating.' The high profile of the Squad offers an easy target to Republicans. In an end-of-year statement, former President Trump said they were running the administration. 'Biden has systematically dismantled the foundations of american energy independence to satisfy AOC, Ilhan Omar, and the other extremists calling the shots in the Democrat Party,' he claimed. But the tensions are echoed in the Republican Party. The likes of Rep. Adam Kinzinger - hated by much of Trump world for joining the Jan. 6 House investigation - have accused senior party figures of pandering to an extremist wing of the party at the expense of more mainstream voices. 'These aren't the ones that you know, tweet all the time,' he told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' program earlier this month. 'They're not the ones that are going to you know, talk about Jewish space lasers and make, you know, crazy racist jokes just so that they can get more Twitter followers because they don't take governance seriously. 'These are actually members of Congress that take governance seriously.' Prince Andrew must face criminal trial, according to a rape victim of Jeffrey Epstein who once sued Ghislaine Maxwell. Jennifer Araoz, 34, said she fell into Epstein's 'sadistic web' and was sexually abused by the financier when she was just 15 years old. Ms Araoz sued the Epstein estate and Maxwell but dropped the case last year. It could suggest that she received a pay out. The charity worker, who attended Maxwell's trial in New York to support the accusers, said that now Epstein's other former associates needed to face justice. 'The authorities should have been investigating other people a long time ago. Prince Andrew needs to be investigated for any women who were involved with him,' Ms Aroaz said. Prince Andrew, 61, has consistently denied any wrongdoing and is not facing a criminal prosecution in the United States - but was named twice during the Maxwell trial including by a pilot as one of the passengers flown on Epstein's private jet, the so-called 'Lolita Express.' The Duke of York has previously insisted that 'at no stage' during his friendship with Epstein did he 'witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest.' Jennifer Araoz, 34, said she fell into Epstein's 'sadistic web' and was raped by the financier when she was just 15 years old. Prince Andrew riding at Windsor on December 9 Epstein standing in front of jet in a never-before-seen picture shown at Maxwell's trial Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell sits as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in a courtroom sketch in New York City on Wednesday In an interview with The Sun, Ms Aroaz said of Andrew: 'The TV interview he had to "prove his innocence" didn't come across very well in my opinion. 'If the authorities haven't investigated other people by now, it's hard to see if they will. But I have a lot of faith in the justice system if they feel like they need to go further then they will.' Ms Aroaz, who now runs the Survivors Initiative to help other victims of sexual abuse, said she hoped that Maxwell would spend the rest of her life in jail. Maxwell, 60, was labelled a 'dangerous' predator as she was convicted of helping to entice vulnerable teenagers to Epstein's homes for him to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004. Ms Aroaz told The Sun: 'The fact that Ghislaine is a woman hurts a little bit more. She was older she should have been more nurturing and caring towards the girls. In a way, she was just like Epstein if not even worse. 'The fact that she was directly wanting to find young girls who were lost in life, who didn't really have much going on financially, who were easily able to fall into this web of evil. 'It's sadistic. Ghislaine is evil as are all of the other people involved. Ghislaine should spend the rest of her life in jail.' Epstein victims' compensation fund paid out $121million to more than 100 abuse survivors The compensation fund for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein wrapped up earlier this year with more than than $121million being paid out to abuse survivors, from the pedophile's estate. According to the administrators of Epstein Victims Compensation Fund (EVCF), 225 women from around the world filed applications for compensation. That number is more than double the 100 that were expected to file claims and gives an idea of the scale of Epstein's abuse. Around 150 women were deemed eligible for monetary awards with roughly 92 percent, or 138, accepting the money. However, a dozen victims turned down the cash after getting approved as they apparently thought they could get higher awards from pursuing their own lawsuits. The compensation fund, which wrapped up in August, was proposed by Epstein's estate in late 2019 after he hanged himself in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. More than 30 women had filed civil lawsuits against the estate, which was worth around $570million when Epstein died, and the fund was a way to wrap up all lawsuits in one go as the women had to give up their claims in court. The fund began accepting applicants in the summer of 2019 and was operated independently from Epstein's estate. It was administered by Jordana Feldman, an attorney who previously served as a special master of the September 11th Victims' Compensation Fund. She said claims were generally processed and paid within 60 to 90 days following a review of each victim's application and a meeting with her. Advertisement Andrew's US lawyers reportedly held emergency talks after Maxwell's conviction last night, with legal experts telling MailOnline that the guilty verdicts are 'not good news' for the Duke of York. Lawyers in the US believe the Queen's 'favourite' should now be 'quaking in his boots' as his old friend faces spending the rest of her life behind bars unless she flips and 'names names'. Experts also believe that the Duke's chances of defeating the legal action brought against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre will now be even harder. Maxwell, a friend of Andrew's for many years who decided not to give evidence at her trial, could now try to cut a deal to reduce a sentence that would see her die in prison. Andrew's lawyers spoke after yesterday's verdicts to discuss the fallout - but also believe the decision not to call Mrs Giuffre as a witness was 'disastrous' for her credibility, the Mirror has claimed, describing them as emergency talks. Today royal experts have said the Duke of York's reputation is now 'a busted flush' because of his friendship with billionaire paedophile Epstein and now-convicted sex trafficker Maxwell. And the Queen's continued and unwavering support for her son, including reportedly spending millions of pounds privately funding the Duke of York's defence case against allegations of sexual abuse, risks bringing the Royal Family into disrepute, critics have claimed. Robert Jobson, author of Prince Philip's Century, told MailOnline: 'Whatever way you look at the Maxwell verdict it is not good news for the Duke of York. Not only has he admitted a judgement failure regarding his friendship with the dead convicted paedophile Epstein, but it is known that he also enjoyed a longer friendship with convicted sex trafficker Maxwell'. A photograph of Epstein and Maxwell was shown at the trial of them relaxing on a bench at the Queen's secluded log cabin in Glen Beg, Balmoral, after Andrew personally invited them to stay. Mr Jobson said: 'Prince Andrew may well be innocent and his accuser's allegation baseless, as he claims. But in the court of public opinion his association with these convicted criminals calls his own character and lack of judgement into question. Why did he spend so much time with them? What did he know of their debauched behaviour? The infamous photo of Virginia Roberts, Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell was taken at Maxwell's home in Belgravia. Legal experts believe Maxwell's conviction 'doesn't bode well' for the Duke of York Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom (left) said the conviction of Epstein's madame for sex trafficking meant Prince Andrew (right) should be shaking in his boots Prince Andrew strongly denies Ms Giuffre's (pictured at court in New York on August 27, 2019) allegations that he slept with her as a 17-year-old sex slave after she claimed to have been trafficked to him at the London house A sleazy haul of never-before-seen photos unearthed in an FBI raid and introduced as evidence showed Ghislaine Maxwell giving Jeffrey Epstein foot rubs on his private jet dubbed Lolita Express One of the pictures brought in as evidence showed Epstein and Maxwell relaxing at Balmoral, the Scottish home of Queen Elizabeth. Her son, Prince Andrew, is one of the men who was said to have flown on Epstein's plane 'At the moment this is a civil case again the Duke of York, but I am sure the authorities will be watching the developments in this case very closely. Unless he is cleared his position as a working royal representing the Queen going forward is untenable unless the Queen is prepared to bring the institution into disrepute.' Andrew's biographer Nigel Cawthorne told Newsweek: 'The verdict does not help Prince Andrew at all in the court of public opinion. The famous picture is now seen in a whole new light. 'Now we have Ghislaine Maxwell, sex trafficker, standing there next to a woman who says she was trafficked, next to Prince Andrew who says he wasn't there. 'If Maxwell was acquitted that would have helped him, indeed they could have called her as a defense witness. Things are looking a bit more bleak for him now.' On January 4, a New York judge will decide whether to throw out Andrew's accuser Mrs Giuffre's civil lawsuit over the Prince's argument that she lives in Australia and cannot justify her claim to be a Colorado resident. If the royal's challenge fails, he then faces the increasingly uncomfortable prospect of a trial in the US in front of a jury who are unlikely to be sympathetic to a British prince after Maxwell's conviction. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: 'Andrew was barely mentioned in Maxwell's trial. Yet the photograph of him, Virginia Roberts, now Giuffre and Maxwell, taken in 2001, remains unexplained and is constantly reproduced. Prince Andrew is just days from a crucial hearing in the US as his old friend Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of trafficking young women and enticing them to be abused by Jeffrey Epstein 'He has not fulfilled his promise to help the FBI, who are attempting to trace Epstein's accomplices. The conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell adds yet another name to the list of notorious friends of his. Every appearance in public ends up with photographs which are bad publicity and at 61, he has no foreseeable role of any sort. 'His hopes obviously rest on either having the case against Virginia Roberts Giuffre dismissed, or ultimately in winning it. He might eventually have to settle, if the case against him goes ahead this would be extremely damaging to the monarchy. 'Even if he were to win, his close friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell will leave him tainted'. One of the five charges Maxwell was guilty of related to Andrew's own accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre. She claims she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times after being trafficked by Maxwell and Epstein. New York defence attorney Bradley Simon, a former federal prosecutor, said that Andrew could face trouble because the required burden of proof in a criminal trial is higher than a civil case. He said: 'Every jury is different and the facts will be different - but it does not bode well for the prince.' Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom, who represented eight victims of Epstein, said: 'He [Andrew] should be quaking in his boots. Because this shows that a jury is willing to come back with a guilty verdict even if the accusers are not perfect'. Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of five of six counts of sex trafficking minors for Epstein and now faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. Epstein and Maxwell in a vacation picture in Europe Carolyn, one of Ghislaine Maxwell's accusers, claimed she had seen a picture of her nude and pregnant. Though that picture was never introduced as evidence, another of Epstein cradling Maxwell's belly was Mrs Giuffre is suing the duke for alleged rape, which he strenuously denies. Piling the pressure on Andrew in the minutes after the Maxwell verdicts came in, she tweeted: 'I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be.' She added: 'My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always. Having lived with the horrors of Maxwell's abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed'. The duke's lawyers say her civil action is 'baseless'. They have also convinced District Judge Lewis Kaplan to take into account a 2008 financial settlement deal between Giuffre and Epstein, which Andrew and his team believe will discredit her claim against him. The jury's confirmation that Maxwell was the willing accomplice for the late Epstein will serve to place Andrew beyond the pale for his elder brother Prince Charles, who already saw him as a liability for the Royal Family, with a return to any royal duties now highly unlikely. A pregnant Boston cop has called out new Mayor Michelle Wu over expanding the COVID vaccine mandate and for refusing to allow the option to test out. During a visit to a Boston Police Department precinct last week, newly elected Wu was grilled by 30-week pregnant officer Gianna Mullane, 37, who said the city's latest expansion of vaccine mandates is forcing parents to choose between their children's health and their job. 'Mayor Wu, when you were pregnant, did you do drugs or drink alcohol? Did you eat sushi or cold cuts? Did you listen to your doctor, your husband's wishes and the guidance of your faith leaders?' Mullane says in a video clip that was posted online from Wu's December 23 visit. 'Mayor Wu, did you make your own decisions for yourself and your unborn children?' Last week, Wu announced that Boston will strengthen the existing vaccine mandate for its roughly 18,000 city workers by removing the option for them to get regularly tested instead of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they qualify for a medical or religious exemption. Scroll down for video During a visit to a Boston Police Department precinct last week newly elected Mayor Michelle Wu (left) was grilled by 30-week pregnant officer Gianna Mullane (right) over the vaccine mandate Mullane (pictured) told Wu the city's latest expansion of vaccine mandates is forcing parents to choose between their children's health and their job #MayorKaren is happy to talk about anything What, wait 20 minutes later she ran away from business owners, mothers, LEOs, firefighters #HappyTalk @BostonFRU @mafamass pic.twitter.com/g8CPx2kWKy Louis L. Murray Jr (@LouisLMurrayJr1) December 23, 2021 Currently 2,300 city employees and contractors face losing their jobs unless they present proof of vaccination by January 15, 2022, and proof of a second dose by February 15, WBGH.com reported. The strengthened mandate comes as Massachusetts passed 1 million coronavirus cases, according to state Department of Public Health data. In Boston, there have been 108,336 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,510 deaths. There have been 980,565 total vaccines administered and 467,157 residents, or nearly 69 percent, are fully vaccinated, according to the latest city data. Mullane told Wu she was due in 10 weeks and under the mandate, she would need to get two vaccines before she delivers and said her fears over the vaccine stem from previous miscarriages. 'Did you do everything you needed to do to have a safe and healthy pregnancy?' she says in the video. Mayor Wu (pictured) has not made any adjustments to the updated vaccine mandate 'Do you understand what it's like losing a child and having to go through fertility treatments? We are asking you, Mayor Wu, to understand where we're coming from. We are mothers. We are fathers. We don't know what the outcome is going to be. 'We care about our families,' she added. Mullane then asked Wu to sign a document stating she would take personal and administrational responsibility if anything went wrong for expectant mothers who get the vaccine. 'Can you, right now, put your faith, your person, everything that your research behind this vaccine right now, and sign a document for us, saying that you personally and the city, will take full responsibility if something were to happen to us as mothers and our unborn children,' Mullane asked at meeting. 'Would you do that right now for all of us?' Wu did not appear to agree to sign the document and has not made any adjustments to the updated vaccine mandate since her visit. In a separate video from the meeting Wu also said she would not consider extending the start date for the updated mandate until after the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on January 7. 'Um, no,' Wu said. 'We're going to be on our timeline, and if the court tells us otherwise, then we can do that. But there's already been cases that have happened elsewhere, and we are matching what the state's doing in terms of their policies.' On Tuesday, 9,228 confirmed cases across the state brought the total number of COVID cases since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to 1,002,266, Boston.com reported. In Massachusetts, 6,235,047 people or 90 percent of the state have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 5,134,522 people, or 74 percent of Massachusetts's population, have been fully vaccinated, according to USAfact.org. The U.S. has has hit a record number of COVID infections. A seven-day average of cases nationwide currently sits at 300,387, the highest of the pandemic so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. New data shows 489,267 new cases recorded on Wednesday - 15,057 of which were from the highly contagious Omicron variant. Currently, only 61.9 percent of the total U.S population is fully vaccinated. Joe Biden's controversial nationwide order that large businesses either mandate COVID-19 vaccinations or test their workers regularly will be considered by the Supreme Court during a special hearing on January 7. The court will also decide on the lawfulness of a separate vaccine requirement for health care workers. The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, delayed action on emergency requests in both cases that sought an immediate decision. The workplace mandate is currently in effect nationwide, while the health care worker mandate is blocked in half the 50 U.S. states. The Biden administration asked the court to allow the policy to go into effect in 24 states in which it was blocked by lower courts. It is also blocked in Texas in a separate case not before the justices. President Joe Biden in September unveiled regulations to increase the adult vaccination rate as a way of fighting the pandemic, which has killed more than 800,000 Americans and weighed on the economy. Ramone Marcio Martinez, 39, was arrested on Wednesday in Salt Lake City A self-proclaimed millionaire in the medical cannabis industry has been charged with holding a woman captive for weeks, beating her and carving the number '6' into her hand as a warning that she had six months to love him or be murdered. Ramone Marcio Martinez, 39, was arrested on Wednesday in Salt Lake City on police charges of aggravated kidnapping, assault and five counts of aggravated assault in the case, which is being classified as domestic violence. Police were alerted to the case when the woman texted a friend saying she was being held against her will, and 'begging for help and that she was scared for her life', according to a booking affidavit reported by KSL-TV. A cop responding to Martinez's home in the Poplar Grove neighborhood said that he 'had his hand in his hoodie pocket and I could see the outline of a handgun which he was holding onto.' 'I ordered him to put his hands in the air and he complied,' the officer wrote. Martinez, the founder of a medical cannabis consultancy, is charged with holding a woman captive for weeks, beating her and carving the number '6' into her hand as a warning that she had six months to love him or be murdered A cop responding to Martinez's home on this block in the Poplar Grove neighborhood said that he 'had his hand in his hoodie pocket and I could see the outline of a handgun' Police searched the home and quickly found the distressed woman, who allegedly had heavy bruising around both eyes, and said that she had trouble breathing due to pain in her ribs. The woman said that Martinez had held her for several weeks, threatening to kill her and her family, and beating her repeatedly. 'During this time she was unable to leave or go anywhere freely,' the affidavit states. The woman told cops she had been assaulted six times on Tuesday alone. On two occasions she was choked to the point of losing consciousness, the affidavit states, once by Martinez using his hands and the other by his foot. At one point Martinez held a knife to her throat, and at another he 'grabbed a knife and carved the number '6' into the victim's left hand stating that she had six months to love him or be killed,' the affidavit states. He also at one point held a gun to the woman's head and threatened to kill her, the affidavit says. Police say that Martinez admitted only to strangling the woman, but said it was during consensual sex. In 2019, Martinez gave an interview (above) to CBS affiliate KUTV regarding regulation of the medical cannabis industry in Utah. On his arrest, he boasted to cops that he is a millionaire Public records show that Martinez is associated with a number of businesses, including a limo service and Truu Med, a medical cannabis referral service in Utah Cops are asking the court to order Martinez be held without bail, saying that he has 'many firearms and has access to a large amount of money to gain access to more firearms if he chooses. '(Martinez) also stated he is a millionaire, giving him access to flights and other means of travel which would enable him to flee,' police wrote. Public records show that Martinez is associated with a number of businesses, including a limo service and Truu Med, a medical cannabis referral service in Utah. The company appears to assist people, for a fee, in obtaining so-called 'green cards' for legal purchase and consumption of medical marihuana. In 2019, he gave an interview to CBS affiliate KUTV regarding regulation of the medical cannabis industry in Utah. 'We welcome the regulations to come; we don't mind the oversight whatsoever,' he said at the time. In one of his final Facebook posts on Sunday, Martinez shared the quote: 'I am not for everyone, but once you taste my energy, you'll always be thirsty' Police say that among his threats to the woman, he threatened to go to Mexico and 'chop up' her brother and rape her mother. He also owns a second home in Arizona, where he allegedly planned to take the woman on the night police intervened. Martinez is being held in the Salt Lake County jail, where booking records show that he is also charged with speeding and driving without proof of insurance. He is being held without bond and was due to be arraigned on Thursday morning. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney to speak on his behalf. In one of his final Facebook posts on Sunday, he shared the quote: 'I am not for everyone, but once you taste my energy, you'll always be thirsty.' A couple who claimed their neighbour's 36ft trees were making their lives a misery have won a battle to have them chopped down. George McMillan, 72, and his wife had been locked in a lengthy dispute with Edward Kelly over the towering cypress leylandii between their homes. They claimed their bedroom at the property in Paisley, Renfrewshire, was kept in constant darkness and attempted to engage with Mr Kelly to get them lopped. But their pleas failed and the couple turned to Renfrewshire Council under high hedge legislation. The council issued an order saying the trees were 'adversely affecting' the McMillans' lives and ordered them to be cut to ground level. A couple who claimed their neighbour's 36ft trees were making their lives a misery have won a battle to have them chopped down. George McMillan, 72, and his wife had been locked in a lengthy dispute with Edward Kelly over the towering cypress leylandii between their homes But the McMillans argued more trees needed to be lopped as they also formed part of the hedge and appealed to the government. Officials have agreed with the couple and widened the order to include felling three leylandii and a fir tree and reducing the height of two rhododendrons and a bamboo shrub to 6.5ft. In a letter to Mr Kelly, the McMillans wrote: 'Over the years, we have tried to engage in discussions on the issue of overhang and height of the trees within the grounds at the above address. 'Admittedly, things did not go well and no amicable outcome was the result. 'Our bedroom faces onto your trees and since they are approximately ten feet away from our bedroom window and are now overhanging our roof, next to no natural light enters the bedroom.' Their appeal document said: 'All the trees down the side of the house undoubtedly form part of the hedge and contribute to the impact of reasonable enjoyment and yet they have not been considered.' They claimed their bedroom at the property (above) in Paisley, Renfrewshire, was kept in constant darkness and attempted to engage with Mr Kelly to get them lopped. But their pleas failed and the couple turned to Renfrewshire Council under high hedge legislation. The council issued an order saying the trees were 'adversely affecting' the McMillans' lives and ordered them to be cut to ground level Mr Kelly did not appeal the decision of the council and said he was 'happy' to proceed with the ruling. In their decision, the council said: 'The council has decided that the hedge in question both constitutes a high hedge for the purposes of the act and adversely affects the enjoyment of the domestic property which an occupant of that property could reasonably expect to have.' Government reporter Philip Barton said: 'I agree with the appellants that the council's approach to identifying the high hedge is at fault because it does not accurately reflect what the act says. 'In balancing the harm being caused by the high hedge against its value to the hedge owner and its general amenity value, I find that felling the cypress cultivars and fir, as well as reducing the height of the rhododendrons and bamboo to two metres [6.5ft] and then requiring them to be maintained at a height no greater than 2.35 metres [7.7ft] would be the most reasonable course of action. 'This would address the appellants' concerns whilst also allowing the remaining vegetation to continue to thrive and perform its function as both a boundary treatment and ornamental planting. 'Consequently, I conclude that the high hedge notice must be confirmed but varied in accordance with my reasoning above.' As New York City finishes 2021 with crime up on all fronts and rising six percent from 2020, two more disturbing attacks took place to add to those grim statistics. On Tuesday, police released footage of the aftermath of an attack that took place in Northwest Brooklyn. The incident happened on Sunday at around 6:25 p.m. in the area of 45th Street and 8th Avenue. A woman, 41, was walking with her two children when a man approached her and brandished a knife. The man then slashed the woman in the stomach, causing a minor cut. He then fled southbound on foot, and was filmed vaulting a subway station barrier as he escaped the scene. The victim was taken to a local hospital and is in stable condition. Police are looking for this man who they say stabbed a 41-year-old woman in the stomach while she was walking with her two children in Brooklyn on December 26 Police have yet to make any arrests in connection with the stabbing and the investigation is ongoing Meanwhile, on Thursday, the NYPD released new video of the assault of a 75-year-old man on the ritzy Upper West Side of Manhattan. The incident took place at around 2:50 a.m. on December 20 inside a Capital One bank lobby on West 72nd Street. An unknown man punched the 75-year-old from behind and knocked him to the ground. The victim was taken to a local hospital and treated for a laceration to his eye. No arrests have been made and the NYPD is still investigating the assault. Video footage released by the NYPD shows this man brutally assaulting a 75-year-old inside a bank on the Upper West Side of Manhattan The victim was treated for a laceration to his eye at a local hospital due to the assault. Police have not given a motive Overall crime in New York has risen by over six percent in 2021, but assaults like the ones that took place in Manhattan and Brooklyn are up nearly 10 percent Overall, crime rose 6.13 percent in New York City over 2020 through December 26. The biggest rise came in felony assaults like the ones previously mentioned, which rose 9.6 percent from 2020. Murders (4.1 percent), shooting victims (0.6 percent), rapes (3.3 percent), and robberies (4.7 percent) have also risen this year. Incoming Mayor Eric Adams and new police chief Keechant Sewell will be tasked with harnessing the world's largest police force to clean up New York City's worsening crime problem under lame duck Bill de Blasio. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, who departs at the end of the month, has blamed bail reform laws enacted by the Democratic-dominated state Legislature for the spike in violent crime. In early 2020, criminal justice reform measures passed by the New York State Legislature and signed into law by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo took effect. The new law has received increasing scrutiny over its rules that allow New York courts to release people who would have remained in jail under the old rules. The statute, which went into place at the beginning of the year, eliminated cash bail and pretrial detention for a wide majority of low-level cases and nonviolent felonies. The law also allows courts to release a person under certain conditions, such as a travel or firearm restriction. Shea and others have claimed that the new law is to blame for the increase in violent crime. But defenders of the law say that violent crime has increased in most of the country - including in jurisdictions that did not enact any criminal justice reform measures. Despite the spike in crime, Mayor Bill de Blasio commended Shea's leadership in their last monthly press conference on crime statistics earlier this month. 'I think the commissioner has a lot to be proud of,' De Blasio said. Shea, who was appointed to his position in December 2019, said he 'wouldn't change a thing.' 'I consider the work that [my executive team] did was the glue that held the city together through one of the toughest times the city has seen,' said Shea, adding, 'Obviously, people make mistakes and things.' Mayor Bill de Blasio (pictured) and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea addressed New York City's rising crime in their last monthly press conference on crime statistics on December 8 Keechant Sewell, 49, will be the next NYPD commissioner after being chosen by incoming Mayor Eric Adams Priti Patel has slammed the 'completely unacceptable' behaviour of anti-vaccine protesters who stormed a Covid testing centre yesterday. Dozens of marchers entered the facility in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, and shouted 'shame on you' at NHS staff. Others threw traffic cones and pushed over signs, while one demonstrator appeared to damage and remove testing equipment in videos shared on social media. Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Piers Corbyn, 74, was not seen in the footage but made a speech at the so-called 'Freedom Rally' earlier in the day. The Home Secretary has now condemned the scenes, saying that police have her 'full support' to take action against those involved. Sajid Javid also said he is 'appalled' by the 'vile behaviour' of the protesters, tweeting: 'I was appalled to see Piers Corbyn and his mob threaten NHS test and trace staff who are working so hard to keep people safe. 'This kind of vile behaviour is unacceptable.' Priti Patel (pictured in October) has slammed the 'completely unacceptable' behaviour of anti-vaccine protesters who stormed a Covid testing centre yesterday Dozens of marchers entered the facility in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, shouting 'shame on you' at NHS staff while others threw traffic cones (pictured) and pushed over signs The Home Secretary has condemned the scenes, saying that police have her 'full support' to take action against those involved (Twitter thread above) Sajid Javid also said he is 'appalled' by the 'vile behaviour' of the protesters, tweeting: 'I was appalled to see Piers Corbyn and his mob threaten NHS test and trace staff' Ms Patel tweeted: 'It is more important than ever that people have their vaccinations and booster jabs and it is completely unacceptable that conspiracy theorists are intimidating and harassing those administering tests or delivering the life-saving vaccine programme. 'The police have my full support to take swift action where necessary. We'll always give the police the powers (and) resources they need to keep the British people safe. 'That's why we're bringing forward measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill to crack down on public nuisance & disruptive protests that impact the law-abiding majority.' Anti-vaxxer Piers was seen speaking at the demonstration. He was arrested on suspicion of encouraging people to attack MPs' offices earlier this month. The group also entered Milton Keynes Theatre, where a pantomime was being staged. Alfie Drake, a 19-year-old student who was visiting the theatre with his family, said that children cried while the protesters were 'shouting and blowing whistles'. Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Piers Corbyn, 74, and other protesters clash with theatre patrons wearing face masks inside Milton Keynes Theatre during the rally A motorist remonstrates with anti-vaccination protesters during the rally at a Covid testing site in central Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, yesterday He said: '(I was) shocked (at) what we had seen, this panto was for families to enjoy with their kids. 'It's disgraceful, older men and women were shouting and blowing whistles and making some kids cry. 'It is a panto, not the parliament, they came across as very aggressive and (were) shouting at families with their kids to take off their masks.' Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University and a member of the Vaccine Task Force, told Times Radio the group were 'crazy'. Demonstrators also appeared to damage and remove testing equipment in videos shared on social media of the rally in Milton Keynes on Wednesday Staff appeared overrun as protesters took part in an anti-vaccination Freedom Rally inside an NHS Covid testing centre in central Milton Keynes He said: 'That's completely unacceptable behaviour by any standard. There are a group of crazy people who don't want to have vaccines and who you'll never persuade to have vaccines, and as far as I'm concerned, good luck to them.' On Wednesday Thames Valley Police had called for the public to share information with them about the protest by calling 101 or finding them online and quoting reference 604 29/12/2021, adding that no arrests had been made. A spokesman for Thames Valley Police told MailOnline yesterday that the force 'is aware of an anti-vaccination protest that took place in central Milton Keynes.' He added: 'Where criminal offences have been disclosed, we will take swift action and bring offenders to justice. 'If anyone has any information or wishes to report they can do by calling 101 or online quoting reference 604 29/12/2021.' Advertisement Covid hospitalisations in England have almost doubled in a week to levels not seen since the country's devastating second wave. Some 2,082 virus-infected patients were placed on wards on December 28, a leap of nearly 90 per cent compared to the figure the week before. It marked the highest daily total since February, according to Government data. But experts have called for caution over interpretations of the hospital numbers amid the rapid spread of Omicron, given that patients are suffering milder disease now than in previous waves. Official data also shows the number of critically ill Covid patients remains stable, highlighting how the outbreak is now in a vastly different position to ever before. NHS England data also showed hospitalisations in London the epicentre of the UK's Omicron crisis increased yet again, with 456 newly-infected patients placed on wards on December 28. The figure was up by around 50 per cent on the previous week. It means the capital's daily admissions have for two days in a row been above the crucial 400-a-day threshold that Government advisers warned could trigger nationwide intervention. But statistics looking at the situation in intensive care wards paints a much different picture, with just 232 patients hooked up to ventilators as of today. Rates are ticking up much slower, and are still a fifth of levels seen in January during the depths of the Alpha wave. Daily Covid admission in London have risen again, with 456 newly-infected patients placed on wards on December 28. This is the second day in a row admissions been above the crucial 400-a-day threshold that Government advisers warned could trigger nationwide intervention No tests before NYE: LFTs run out AGAIN and officials say people will struggle to get PCRs 'anywhere within 48 hours' Officials fear people may soon struggle to access a PCR test 'anywhere near them' within 48 hours of applying as experts issued a New Year's Eve warning because of the ongoing testing supply crisis. Boris Johnson has urged the nation to enjoy celebrations tomorrow night in a 'cautious and sensible way'. The Prime Minister said people should 'take a test' before heading to festivities but lateral flow tests and PCR test appointments are still unavailable this morning as the testing chaos enters its fourth day. A Number 10 source has stressed that people do not have to take a test before they go out but should take one 'where possible'. While none are available from Government sites, private providers have been found to be selling boxes of 25 LFTs for more than 200. A Government scientific adviser warned this morning it is 'very worrying indeed' that people in England could mix on New Year's Eve without taking a Covid test. Professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said indoor parties are 'absolutely perfect' for spreading the Omicron coronavirus variant. Meanwhile, a Government official told The Telegraph that people could soon struggle to get a PCR test at a walk-through or drive-through site within two days of asking for one as demand rises. Advertisement It comes as experts estimate that almost 200,000 people in Britain are getting ill with Covid every day, according to one of the country's largest surveillance studies which predicts the milestone will be breached within days. King's College London experts who monitor the outbreak using a symptom-tracking app estimate infections jumped 33 per cent in a week to around 192,000 per day. But the team hailed promising signs that the exponential growth phase of the Omicron outbreak has 'stopped'. Dr Claire Steves, one of the experts behind the app, said the rise is now 'more steady' and cautioned that up to three-quarters of people with cold-like symptoms probably have Covid. It fits with data suggesting the wave may have already peaked in London, which was the first region to be battered by the ultra-infectious variant which evidence shows is causing milder disease than previous strains. NHS bosses fear pressure on London's wards will only ramp up over the next few weeks because of the time lag between people getting infected and becoming severely ill, even if a smaller proportion of patients are seriously ill. Dr Steves said her team's data shows that cases are still on the rise in 55-75-year-olds, adding: 'Unfortunately, it's likely that this will translate into more hospital admissions in the New Year.' For context, daily hospitalisations peaked at over 4,100 in January, before Britain embarked on its historic vaccine roll-out. London saw admissions hit a record-high of 977. Critics say the NHS figures are over-inflated currently because of rising cases of 'incidental' admissions, due to the soaring prevalence of Omicron in the community. Coupled with the fact the patients are suffering milder disease and spending less time on wards, analysts argue it makes interpreting the raw figures impossible. Statistics delving into the number of patients currently in mechanical ventilation beds offer a much clearer picture of the current situation, therefore. NHS England data shows the tally has hovered in the mid to high 700s since the start of December, with 782 today. The King's College London estimates made in conjunction with health-tech firm ZOE are based on reports from around 840,000 weekly users of the app. They estimate the prevalence of the virus based on positive tests logged within the software and the number of people with tell-tale symptoms. Statistics from King's College London scientists estimated almost 200,000 people were now catching Covid every day in the UK, and that the country will break through the milestone in the next few days Covid cases are highest among 18 to 35-year-olds (orange line), they said, but are rising in all age groups. There is also an uptick among 55 to 75-year-olds (red line) and over-75s (purple line) who are more at risk from the virus Across England's regions the number of infections is still highest in London. But as Omicron spreads across the country cases are now rising in all other regions Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics today showed weekly deaths in England and Wales are still above the five-year average. Covid fatalities are yet to surge but this is a lagging indicator because of the time taken for someone who catches the virus to become seriously ill Slide me In the week to December 23 (second image), 2.8 per cent of people in Lambeth (2,874 per 100,000) tested positive, followed by 2.6 per cent in Wandsworth and Southwark (2,686 and 2,621 per 100,000) and 2.5 per cent in Lewisham (2,531 per 100,000) . But these boroughs had some of the lowest week-on-week growth in infection rates compared to the week to December 16 (first image), suggesting the capital's outbreak is flattening. Cases rose 11 per cent in Wandsworth, 15 per cent in Lambeth, 25 per cent in Southwark and 43 per cent in Lewisham Cases rose by 12 per cent in the week ending December 23 in Wandsworth, 15 per cent in Lambeth, 25 per cent in Southwark and 43 per cent in Lewisham the areas with the highest infection rate It is different to the officially recorded numbers, which yesterday soared to another pandemic high, illustrating Omicron's rapid spread. UK Health Security Agency bosses logged 183,037 positive tests, up by almost three-quarters on last week's tally. The count which eclipses the previous record from the day before by more than 45,000 was skewed upwards because it included five days' worth of backlogged data from Northern Ireland, which didn't feed officials its numbers over the Christmas break. Statistics for England-only which were kept up-to-date through the festive period were also their highest on record, jumping by 45 per cent in a week. This is despite a similar number of tests being carried out. But even officially-recorded numbers, which offer an accurate glimpse of the situation Britain finds itself in, are an undercount because up to half of people who get infected never get tested. Dr Steves today also called for the official list of Covid symptoms to be expanded because data suggests 75 per cent of people with cold-like symptoms probably have the virus. She added: 'Its good news to see that fewer people are newly sick than a few weeks ago. However, the fact 75 per cent of new cold-like symptoms are Covid and the classic symptoms are much less common, means Government advice needs to be urgently updated. 'We want to see symptoms like sore throat, headache, and runny nose added to the list as soon as possible.' UK guidance currently only recognises three symptoms as early warning signs of an infection with the virus, a new continuous cough, a high temperature, and a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell. But experts have repeatedly called for the NHS's list to be expanded, saying it misses cases in the early stages increasing the risk of the virus being transmitted. The US-based CDC and other countries have identified more than ten warning signs, and warn their populations about things like fatigue, headache and muscle aches. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics today said a total of 755 deaths were registered in England and Wales in the week ending December 17 that mentioned Covid on the death certificate. This was down 1 per cent on the previous week and is the lowest number of deaths since the week to October 15, when the total was 713. Around one in 16 (6.1 per cent) of all deaths in England and Wales in the week to December 17 mentioned Covid on the death certificate. Despite the explosion in cases over the past week, Boris Johnson gave the green light for people to celebrate New Year's Eve but urged millions of revellers to be 'cautious and sensible'. The Prime Minister insisted that 'everybody should enjoy' the last social hurrah of the year, despite the spread of Omicron. He said the strain 'continues to cause real problems' with hospitalisations rising but the data shows it is 'obviously milder than the Delta variant'. Separate NHS figures showed daily Covid hospitalisations in London have now breached the 400-a-day threshold, which Government advisers said may trigger nationwide restrictions. England itself saw a 65 per cent weekly jump in admissions, with more than 10,000 beds now occupied by virus-infected patients for the first time since March. But NHS bosses have called for caution over interpretations of increasing hospital numbers, with Omicron known to cause a milder disease, virus-infected patients spending less time on wards, and 'incidental' admissions on the rise due to extremely high prevalence of Covid in the community. Mr Johnson argued the success of England's booster roll-out was behind his decision to hold off on implementing any tougher restrictions, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all having imposed new rules on socialising. Construction workers begin erecting 'Nightingale' wards in hospital car parks as NHS goes on 'war footing' to tackle Omicron wave... but health chiefs warn they can't 'magic up' staff to oversee the eight temporary sites The NHS cannot 'magic up' staff to oversee temporary 'Nightingale' wards in hospital car parks, health leaders warned today as construction workers began erecting eight make-shift sites. NHS chiefs last night announced eight hospitals in England will start building temporary structures this week to house up to 100 Covid patients each. Work has already started at St Georges Hospital in South London and the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent. The overspill sites which could also be erected in canteens and gyms if needed in the coming weeks will be equipped with beds and machines for patients who still need minor treatment. The drive forms part of a new NHS 'war footing' to tackle the Omicron wave, which is starting to pile pressure on hospitals. But questions have already been raised as to how the units will be manned amid the spiralling rates of absences among the health service coupled with the 100,000-plus vacancies before Covid struck. Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers which represents hospital trusts said staffing the makeshift wards posed a 'major challenge' and that 'you cant just magic up the number of staff that are needed to staff these beds out of thin air'. He added, however, that having the facilities on existing hospital grounds 'maximises the NHS's ability to meet that challenge' and that he expects volunteers will be called in if the sites were needed to be used. Meanwhile, Pat Cullen, from the Royal College of Nursing, warned that it would mean nursing resources are 'spread thinner'. She said that she had 'no idea' how the hubs would be staffed. ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, SOUTH LONDON: Construction workers began erecting a temporary field hospital in the grounds of St George's Hospital in Tooting today WILLIAM HARVEY HOSPITAL IN ASHFORD, KENT: Pictured above is construction work beginning on the William Harvey 'mini-Nightingale' hospital, situated in the site's car park The above shows where England's eight new 'mini-Nightingales' will be set up. These will aim to treat 100 Covid patients following a stay in intensive care, and will be on hospital sites to ensure they can be properly manned. Previous Nightingales could not get enough nurses Trade site the Health Service Journal revealed the plans for more 'mini-Nightingales' before Christmas. It said at the time that army medical personnel could be called in to help, although the formal request was yet to be made. The Nightingale hospitals will be staffed by nurses and consultants, as well as clinical and non-clinical staff. It is not clear whether this would include soldiers, but NHS sources told MailOnline that the Army are always drafted in when required. ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, SOUTH LONDON: One member of a construction team was pictured working on the roofing of the make-shift site WILLIAM HARVEY HOSPITAL IN ASHFORD, KENT A view of the make-shift Nightingale site set-up in a car park on the grounds of the William Harvey Row erupts as data shows a third of Covid patients are in hospital for reasons other than the virus A row erupted over the Government's Covid figures last night as it emerged almost one in three in hospital with the virus was admitted for unrelated reasons. NHS statistics revealed the proportion of so-called 'incidental' coronavirus admissions had risen to a record 29 per cent sparking claims that official figures were misleading. These cases are from patients taken to hospital for an unrelated reason, such as a fall or broken bone, who just happen to then discover they also have the virus. It means thousands of those who are being counted as Covid admissions which would suggest they are severely ill with the condition are not actually suffering seriously with the virus. Many only tested positive once they were on wards and may have simply caught the virus while there. It has raised concerns that the headline statistics which drive Government decisions on restrictions and lockdowns are overestimating how many people are dangerously sick with Covid. Advertisement The 'mini-Nightingales' will be scattered around the country, with sites based in London, Bristol, Leeds, Kent and Leicester among others. In contrast to the first wave when facilities such as London's ExCel centre were converted into giant hospitals the 'Nightingale hubs' will be situated on existing hospital grounds. Health chiefs said this will make it easy to deploy staff if there is a surge in admissions over the coming weeks that outstrips current capacity. NHS Trusts have also been asked to identify areas such as gyms and classrooms that can be converted to temporary Covid wards. They said this could create an additional 4,000 'super surge' beds across the country eight times the capacity of a large district hospital, which has around 500 beds. Mr Hopson said: 'Building on lessons learnt from earlier in the pandemic, trusts are identifying extra capacity on existing hospital sites that could be turned into super surge capacity should it be required. 'Trust leaders hope this back up insurance policy will never be needed, as with the original Nightingales. But it must be the right 'no regrets later' move to make these preparations now. 'Given the other pressures on the NHS and the current level of staff absences, staffing this capacity would be a major challenge. 'But co-location on existing hospital sites maximises the NHS's ability to meet that challenge.' He added: 'We also need to recognise that this will add further stretch to an already hard-pressed NHS.' In a follow-up interview with The Telegraph, he added: 'I think theres a very clear recognition in the NHS that you cant just magic up the number of staff that are needed to staff these beds out of thin air.' And he told MailOnline: 'If the NHS is using these hubs, we will be in an emergency and we would use an emergency staffing model. 'We would, for example, be redeploying staff from less critical activity, we would be calling for recently retired staff and experienced volunteers to help.' Ms Cullen, the general secretary of the RCN, warned today that there were not enough staff available for the extra units. She told Sky News: 'You can set up all the hubs that you wish to set up. 'But if you don't have the nursing staff to actually care for the patients that are going to be placed in those hubs, that places more challenges on the nursing workforce. 'The nursing workforce already is struggling massively to care for the patients that are already in hospital, and if we set up hubs and put up additional beds that's going to place more pressure on those nurses. 'So, at this point in time, we have no idea how we're going to be staffing those additional hubs as they're set up.' The NHS was short of up to 100,000 medics even before the pandemic began, data suggests. It comes after health chiefs warned staff absences pose a bigger threat to the health service than rising admissions due to the virus. A total of 18,829 NHS staff were absent because of the coronavirus on December 19, up from 12,240 a week earlier. And Covid-related absences have tripled in a week at London's biggest trust, underlying the huge problem the rest of England faces over the coming weeks. At the same time, the number of admissions has increased. Christmas Day saw 1,281 infected patients placed on wards, up 74 per cent in a week to the highest level since February. Dr David Nicholl, of the Doctors' Association, earlier this week described the ever-growing number of absences as 'our biggest worry' over the coming weeks. The number of Covid patients on England's wards yesterday breached the 10,000 barrier for the first time since early March. But NHS figures suggest up to one in three virus patients on wards were admitted for reasons unrelated to the infection, such as a fall or broken bone. It means thousands of those who are being counted as Covid admissions which would suggest they are severely ill with the condition are not actually suffering seriously with the virus. Sajid Javid also revealed that the UK had trebled its order of lateral flow kits Lateral flow tests are set to be in short supply for another two weeks as officials grapple with 'huge demand', Sajid Javid has admitted. In a letter sent out to all MPs in England last night, the Health Secretary warned supplies would have to be prioritised for vulnerable groups, such as care home residents. He also revealed the UK had trebled its order of lateral flows over January and February, from 100 to 300million. It came as many Britons were left unable to get kits for the third day running despite ministers urging people to take the swabs before heading out to New Year's celebrations. The Government website was offering lateral flow tests at 1pm today, but by 1.15pm it was once again telling people none were available. Pharmacies have even started putting up signs telling customers they have no lateral flow tests even for those who have pre-booked an order and have a code. Wales has now stepped in to help No10, loaning more than four million lateral tests to England. Despite the shortages, pictures today showed contractors dishing out boxes of the in-demand kits. In Slough, packs of seven and 20 swabs were given out outside a Nando's. Ministers have blamed a 'global supply issue' for the crisis. There are also problems accessing PCRs in some areas. Fears are mounting that the swab crisis could stifle the UK's economy, with millions needlessly forced to self-isolate because they are unable to get tests to prove they no longer have the virus on day six and seven of quarantine. Some local authorities have taken matters into their own hands and started dishing out lateral flow tests. Pictured above is a van parked outside a Nando's in Slough town centre today. It dished out lateral flows in packets of seven and 20 Slough council has had a partnership with the provider since January. Under the deal Solutions 4 Health offers lateral flow tests to people who do not have Covid symptoms in the area. Pictured is the van dishing out lateral flows in Slough town centre Pictured above are Slough residents queuing to get lateral flows in the town centre. Many walked away with bags full of the kits Pharmacies across the country today placed signs in their windows saying they had run out of lateral flow kits, even for those who had a code The rapid home testing kits were available to order around 1pm today. But by 1.15pm the Government's website shared a message saying 'Sorry, there are no home delivery slots left for these tests right now' Data shows that almost a million lateral flow tests are being recorded every day in England at the moment. But that figure will be a huge under-estimate because only a fraction of swabs are officially recorded Mr Javid told MPs: 'The arrival of Omicron has caused record case numbers and unprecedented demand for both PCR and Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests. 'This has inevitably placed strain on the testing system, despite the impressive scaling-up of supply, logistics and laboratory capacity. Other countries have faced similar challenges.' He added: 'In light of the huge demand for LFDs seen over the last three weeks, we expect to need to constrain the system at certain points over the next two weeks to manage supply over the course of each day, with new tranches of supply released regularly throughout each day. Confusion as NHS guidance STILL says people who test positive for Covid should self-isolate for 10 DAYS The NHS is still telling Covid-infected people in England to self-isolate for ten days, MailOnline can reveal. This is despite ministers deciding last week to cut the quarantine period to just one week for people who test negative two days in a row. More than a week on, however, and the NHS is still yet to prominently display No10's rule change on its own guidance website. Covid-infected people in England wanting to find out how long to self-isolate must click through to a separate page and then open a pop-up window to learn about the updated edict. Scientists today urged the NHS to 'rectify' its guidance quickly, saying no one should be expected to isolate for 'longer than is necessary'. England is on its own with the isolation guidance, however. The rest of the UK has stuck with the original 10-day period. It comes as business leaders, scientists and MPs have all lined up to call on Boris Johnson to cut self-isolation to five days in line with the US. Advertisement 'We will continue making tests available to everyone who needs them, particularly vulnerable groups such as care home residents and those who work in critical sectors such as the care workforce.' Outlining plans for the months ahead, Mr Javid said: 'To respond to anticipated demand over the coming few weeks we are buying hundreds of millions more LFD tests, bringing new products on board and accelerating their deployment to the public. 'We are also doubling our total delivery capacity with Royal Mail to 900,000 test packs and PCR tests a day.' He also revealed that PCR testing capacity had been expanded from 530,000 to 700,000 per day amid surging cases of the variant. He stressed that the tests were being provided free of charge to people with or without symptoms, unlike in many other countries. Britons are currently taking around a million lateral flow tests a day, according to official figures, while 630,000 PCRs are also being completed every 24 hours. A testing shortage was sparked earlier this month amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, sparking a rush for swabs. At the time officials insisted there were more than enough swabs in the country, and that it was a distribution issue. But ministers now say a 'global supply issue' is behind the shortage, with testing kits being dished out shortly after arriving in the UK. To help ease the shortage Wales today agreed to loan four million lateral flow tests to the NHS in England, taking the total given by the country to ten million. First Minister Mark Drakeford said Wales had 'sufficient' stocks of the tests to meet demand in the weeks ahead. Britons are now able to leave self-isolation three days early if they test negative with a lateral flow kit on days six and seven of quarantine. The change was meant to ease staffing pressures in the NHS and other vital parts of the economy, but it has also helped to fuel spiralling demand for the kits. Officials have also urged Britons to test themselves for the virus before heading out for New Year's celebrations, placing further demand on the testing system. Covid tests were given out at a Nando's in Slough today, with residents walking away with shopping bags full of the swabs. The local authority dished out the kits through its partnership with Covid test provider Solutions 4 Health, which has been in place since January. Boris Johnson has urged the nation to enjoy celebrations tomorrow night in a 'cautious and sensible way' Is it REALLY safe to cut the 10-day quarantine? How long are people infectious for? Britain's Covid's self-isolation sentence could be halved to just five days, some academics have argued. Data suggests roughly 98 per cent of virus transmission occurs either before people become ill, or within five days of symptoms starting. Dr Muge Cevik, an infectious disease expert from the University of St Andrews, said earlier this year: 'Given most transmission happens very early on, the isolation period could be much shorter for the cases. 'Viral load peaks pretty quickly, so people are highly infectious within the first few days.' How long can Covid patients test positive for? Lateral flow tests, which offer results in as little as 15 minutes, work best for sniffing out the people who are most infectious. They look for viral proteins called antigens in samples taken from the nose and throat. But the kits are less sensitive than gold-standard PCRs, which sees swabs sent off to laboratories to be analysed for viral genetic material. It means they are less likely to spot someone when they are infected, but also less likely to give a positive result when someone has gone past their peak infectiousness and have a lower viral load. PCRs, on the other hand, are extremely sensitive and can pick up the presence of viral fragments long after the illness has cleared. For this reason, a positive PCR result does not always mean someone is still contagious. Advertisement Under the deal, the provider carries out lateral flow Covid tests for people in the area who do not have symptoms of the virus but fear they might be infected. Under the official system, people should only get a PCR test if they are suffering any of the three key symptoms fever, new continuous cough and loss of taste or smell. Pharmacies have started putting up signs warning customers they have no lateral flow tests even for those who have pre-booked an order and have a code. Staff at one Boots store in London today put up a paper sign saying: 'We do not have the Covid lateral flow tests in stock. Please try another pharmacy. Thank you.' A pharmacy in Liverpool also stuck up a sign on their door saying: 'We have NO Covid tests! Even if you have a code.' It comes as Government scientific adviser warned this morning it is 'very worrying indeed' that people in England could mix on New Year's Eve without taking a Covid test. Professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said indoor parties are 'absolutely perfect' for spreading the Omicron coronavirus variant. Meanwhile, a Government official told The Telegraph that people could soon struggle to get a PCR test at a walk-through or drive-through site within two days of asking for one as demand rises. A source told the newspaper: 'PCR test demand is still increasing. It's at the point now where demand and capacity are about level. But we will soon reach the point where people are struggling to get PCR tests anywhere near them within 48 hours. And what do we do then?' The Government is under growing pressure to resolve the testing shortage but ministers have blamed global supply issues. Mr Johnson said yesterday that people should get tested before celebrating with friends and family. He said: 'I think everybody should enjoy New Year but in a cautious and sensible way. Take a test, ventilation, think about others, but above all get a booster.' But rapid swab kits were not available online and pharmacies warned they had run out too with the Government website still showing they are unavailable for home delivery this morning. Appointments for drive-through and walk-in Covid tests were unavailable for hours on Wednesday even for doctors, nurses and carers - and are still unavailable this morning. The UK yesterday recorded a new record high of 183,037 coronavirus cases, amid growing fears the testing supply crisis could stop key workers taking tests to leave self-isolation and return to work. Professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said indoor parties are 'absolutely perfect' for spreading the Omicron coronavirus variant Prof Openshaw was asked this morning how he feels about the prospect of people meeting up tomorrow without being able to take a test beforehand. He told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme: 'I think it is very worrying indeed. I think that we know the situations in which transmission happens and fortunately I don't think we are facing the sort of lockdown that was necessary in order to cope in the very earliest part of this year. 'But we do know that crowding together in poorly ventilated spaces, particularly if you are shouting over loud music and so on, is absolutely perfect in terms of transmitting this very, very high transmissible virus.' Asked if he believes new coronavirus rules will be needed in England in the coming days, he replied: 'That really is a political decision. I think, you know, as scientists and advisers all we can do is say what is likely to happen, according to the facts as we know them and then political decisions need to be made about what they are willing to put in place in terms of mitigation measures.' Prof Openshaw said it is still 'much too early to know' the full impact of Omicron. 'I think from the NHS point of view, the hospitalisations have now hit about 10,000 and about 70 per cent of those directly due to Covid and the daily admissions are increasing,' he said. 'The hospitalisations have roughly doubled in the last 10 days. There is always quite a lag in these figures and of course it is much too early to know what that is going to translate to in terms of people who will very sadly die. 'But I think it is inevitable that over time this will show up as the patients present and go through the course of this disease.' Asked if he anticipates a large rise in the number of Covid patients in intensive care, Prof Openshaw said: 'I think what we haven't seen really is what will happen to people who haven't been vaccinated and remember a lot of those who are eligible for vaccines have chosen not to take them and what will happen to the older, more vulnerable population. 'So far there has been a disproportionate number of infections in children and that has spread to the parents of those children, to those age groups, and it looks like it is now spreading up through the age groups.' The Government's decision to cut the self-isolation period from 10 days to seven, as well as advice to take a test before socialising, has seen demand for tests rocket in recent weeks. Officials have acknowledged that during periods of exceptional demand there could be 'temporary pauses' in ordering or receiving tests, in an attempt to manage distribution across the system. The reduced postal system over Christmas has also added to the supply issues. Health Secretary Sajid Javid admitted to a Tory MP yesterday that the Government is battling global supply issues. Sir Roger Gale said Mr Javid had confessed there was a problem with supplies previously ministers and officials had insisted they had sufficient stocks but the problems were in delivering them to people's homes or pharmacies. A Number 10 source told The Times that people do not need to take a test to go out but that it is advisable. The source told the newspaper: 'The government is not telling people they should not go out. 'It's about personal responsibility. But of course people should get a test where possible.' Dr. Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth, is calling on the CDC and Biden administration to update its public health guidance with a more targeted approach A top medical expert is going after President Joe Biden for his 'mixed messaging' on masks nearly two years into the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth, urged the president to update public health guidance 'based on science' rather than 'optics.' 'The messaging around the utilization of face masks has been muddied since the beginning of the pandemic,' Saphier told DailyMail.com. 'Now, President Biden is sending mixed messaging when he is wearing a mask outside alone with his wife while walking his dog yet takes it off when he goes indoor to a retail store surrounded by people.' The president and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden raised eyebrows on Tuesday evening when photos emerged of them with their new German Shepherd puppy, Commander, playing on the beach while wearing masks. Both the Bidens are fully vaccinated and have received their booster shots. It's unclear why they chose to wear masks on a strip of land populated only by them and the Secret Service -- who were standing 10 yards away. Biden was seen wearing a face covering, even after his wife removed hers, hours after chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci admitted there was an 'extremely low' risk of contracting COVID indoors after getting fully vaccinated and he only continued to wear a mask to stop 'giving mixed signals.' It comes as the Omicron variant is fueling a new wave of COVID infections and wreaking havoc on the holidays. Recent studies have shown that while it's more infectious, the mutated strain generally leads to less severe illness than the formerly dominant Delta strain. Biden raised eyebrows when he wore a face mask on the beach on Tuesday despite only his wife and Secret Service anywhere nearby The Omicron variant is helping fuel a new wave of COVID-19 infections, though early studies suggest it causes less severe illness than Delta The US hit a new high for new daily average cases with 301,472 reported on Wednesday, smashing through the previous record of 264,546 new cases. But Tuesday wasn't the first time the first couple triggered nationwide mask confusion with their own actions, either. Days before Christmas the Bidens invited the Northwell Health Nurse Choir to sing in the White House East Room for a holiday special that aired on PBS last week. Despite the White House's own mask mandate, some of the singing nurses displayed bare faces -- and at one point in the performance video, a very awkward-looking Jill Biden looks on with nothing covering her face either. And over Thanksgiving, Biden was seen flaunting Nantucket's mask mandate on his family's annual trip to the Massachusetts island. The president was maskless at several points while shopping for his grandchildren's Christmas gifts. 'The messaging on face masks need to be clear with transparent recommendations that are science-based and not to appease optics,' Saphier said. She urged the White House as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to amend their messaging on masks with a more targeted approach. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden appeared to flaunt the White House's mask rules last week when watching a performance of singing nurses in the East Room The president was criticized for not following local mask guidance while shopping for holiday gifts over Thanksgiving in Nantucket 'The CDC recommendations are due for an update. Single layer cloth masks have no utility at this point in the pandemic with a variant which demonstrates an exceedingly high level of transmission indicating aerosolized particles. Yet, children two and older are still being made to wear them despite zero data demonstrating their clinical benefit in the current scenario,' the doctor explained. During the week of December 21 through 27, an average of 334 children aged 17 and under were admitted per day to hospitals with the coronavirus, a 58 percent increase from the week before, according to the CDC. The previous peak was in early September, when child hospitalizations averaged 342 per day. However, doctors who spoke with the Associated Press have observed that many of their young patients appear to be less sick than those that came in during the summer's Delta wave. Rather than telling the public to cover their faces with any scrap of cloth available in both indoor and crowded settings, Saphier argued that officials setting public health policy should be 'making sure high quality masks are available for high risk individuals and those who work in healthcare settings.' The White House's grim forecast for unvaccinated Americans drew criticism for its harsh language warning people not getting the jab that they're in for a winter of 'severe illness and death.' Republican Rep. John Carter of Texas also took aim at Biden's handling of the pandemic on Thursday. 'Biden does not have control over the virus, so instead he is exerting control over the American people by way of mandates and confusion. Biden and Fauci have no authority over COVID-19 because they pretend to have all of the facts when, in reality, they are just as confused as the rest of us. Where I come from, thats called lying,' Carter told DailyMail.com. Saphier said factors like the rising number of vaccinations and people with post-infection immunity should be considered for updated public health guidance Meanwhile the Omicron variant has caused holiday chaos with Americans waiting in hours-long lines to get tested for COVID (pictured: People line up at a testing facility in Times Square on December 29 in New York City) But Saphier believes that the growing percentage of the population who now have post-infection herd immunity, the apparently diminished severity of Omicron, along with the millions who are vaccinated, means we can go into the new year 'maximizing life while minimizing severe illness.' 'Cases are skyrocketing because of a highly transmissible, but thankfully, less virulent variant of SARS-CoV-2. Despite mask (and vaccine) mandates, new cases are rising as more people gather in the comfort of their homes during the cold holiday seasons,' she said. 'The growing wall of immunity from vaccinations, boosters and natural immunity are providing more protection from severe outcomes than generalized wearing of face masks ever could.' Saphier had previously spoken out against politicizing the pandemic. She wrote a book titled 'Panic Attack: Playing Politics with Science in the Fight Against COVID-19,' published in May of this year. She previously spoke to DailyMail.com in April when the doctor took issue with Fauci stating that herd immunity against the virus would be reached only when 85 percent of the US population is fully vaccinated. Roughly eight months later the country still hasn't reached that benchmark, with 61.9 percent of Americans with both jabs. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is calling on schools to maintain in-person learning, as millions of U.S. school children prepare to return to classes after holiday breaks amid the spread of the omicron variant. Cardona said students should be in the classroom 'every day' when possible as some schools sent students home early before Christmas amid the spike of coronavirus infections. Some schools have announced temporary returns to 'virtual' learning amid the outbreak. Many are hurrying to implement new testing policies. 'If you are fully staffed to provide a safe school environment, students should be in the classroom full time every day. We've done this before and we did it before vaccines were available. If you recall, we reopened schools this year, right at the height of the Delta variant,' he told ABC's 'Good Morning America.' He was responding to a question about whether schools should consider going back to remote classes or delaying the start of in-person school. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona told ABC's ' Good Morning America' that students should be in class every day if their schools are fully-staffed Cardona pointed to the availability of vaccines and mitigation strategies as well as a growing body of research on the learning loss associated with keeping students away from school. 'We know what works we know mitigation strategies work. Now we have access to vaccines for children as young as five. We know what to do. And let's remember our students suffer when they're not in the classroom,' he said. 'We need to do everything in our power to provide in person learning options to students as soon as possible and making sure that we have the resources that are available [through] the American rescue plan being used to fully staff our schools provide testing protocols, mitigation strategies, so that our students stay in the classroom.' A parent, center, completes a form granting permission for random COVID-19 testing for students as he arrives with his daughter, left, at P.S. 134 Henrietta Szold Elementary School, in New York on Dec. 7, 2021 Cardona made the comments on 'Good Morning America' after many school districts sent kids home early for holiday breaks Cardona spoke as the nation recorded 489,267 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday amid the rapid rise of the omicron variant the most of any country in the world. A number of school systems are rushing to impose new covid testing requirements as they prepare for students to return from holiday breaks. Washington, D.C. extended its winter break by two days to allow for distribution of tests, and Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that students must test negative before returning to school. New York and California are among the states sending millions of rapid test kits to schools, amid a nationwide shortage. Prince George's County, Maryland announced in mid-December that it was switching to remote learning through mid-January amid a spike in cases. Cardona didn't respond direction when asked if he could 'guarantee' that any school or district that wanted tests could get them. He instead pointed to the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which included funds for covid relief. 'Since the American rescue plan was passed in March, money was made available, $10 billion, for testing, in schools and districts across the country have been engaged in setting up testing protocols going as far back as March. So the testing supply that schools are using is different than what you might see happening at CVS or Walgreens where folks are looking for tests,' he said. 'We've also partnered with Rockefeller Foundation, who are working to get school systems set up for testing. Some of the guidance that we put out last week shows examples of that and provides resources for districts that are interested in getting those systems set up to move on that,' he said. Cardona said he was 'pleased' with new Centers for Disease Control guidelines shortening quarantine and isolation periods, as the requirements sidelined teachers, just like they have other essential workers. 'I'm really pleased with this because to me, what this is going to do is allow for some of the staffing issues to go away,' he said. 'We know that many schools couldn't open because teachers or educators were in quarantine. The fact that it's shortened now allows for educators to get back to the classroom and our students to have schools open.' The buzzword of the moment - trotted out by doomy experts and government ministers - is 'cautious'. Yes, fun is permitted this New Year's Eve, but please don't do anything stupid and have too much. Or what? Is PC Plod going to break down the doors of the Dog and Badger if not enough windows are open to ensure a howling gale whooshes through the bar moving any microbes outside, reducing the hot bar snacks to a lukewarm buffet? The idea of sensible partying is bizarre. Brits don't do sensible. We are bingers when it comes to food and drink. And after the year we've been through, how can anyone (except Chris Whitty) expect us to go out and party but keep the brakes on? How do you party without partying? I guess it means; keep our knees together, masks on, knickers up and our glasses only half-filled you get the picture. A group of revellers hit Leeds city centre on Boxing Day last weekend People out in London's Leicester Square on Monday this week after the Christmas weekend And don't breathe on guests we haven't inspected for proof of vaccination, let alone have them breathe on us. And God forbid we exchange any bodily fluids with anyone who can't provide full documented proof of their medical history. How we cheered when those doomsters at Sage were given the brush-off by our leader who proudly announced that festive fun was BACK ON. Christmas might have been spent with our close family, but New Year is another matter and now we are officially permitted to have fun in pubs, restaurants and anywhere we can get in, or which hasn't gone bust. But - and it's a huge BUT - even Boris has decreed we must follow the rules and be 'careful' at all times. Anyone would think we were teenagers being given sex education advice, not a population which normally consumes its own weight in booze during these seasonal festivities. Boris Johnson visits a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Milton Keynes on Wednesday Yes, Boris 'saved' this Christmas by refusing to impose draconian lockdowns like the couple of self-styled dictators running Scotland and Wales. Nicola Sturgeon has made a successful policy out of gazumping Boris at every turn with harsher Covid rules than he dared impose on the English. How I hope he gets away with his great festive gamble and leaves Scotland's First Minister with eggnog all over her face explaining to Scotland why she stole their Hogmanay. If any of her oppressed subjects can get in a car (or find a train that's running), they are welcome to throw caution to the wind and brazenly cross the borders to join the sensible partying that's permitted in England. But will they bother? How many Scotsmen and women will be tempted by the idea of a 'sensible' New Year's Eve? Even if Nicola Sturgeon has gracefully conceded that she does not plan to arrest anyone who dares leave her domain. Throughout the pandemic we have been consistently addressed by scientists, health experts and politicians as if we're toddlers. Nevertheless, in spite of the patronising tone, the public have complied with most of the rules so far, most recently to queue for hours for jabs and boosters. We might have felt like subservient sheep at times, led by a clown who didn't think the rules about social gatherings applied to his own office, but I'm proud of the fact that most of the public (excluding brainless twats like Piers Corbyn and his loutish pals) did their best to follow the rules, protect the vulnerable, and keep the NHS open. Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Whitty addresses the nation at No10 on December 15 But the latest directive - which is still a form of social control - telling us we must be 'cautious' when eating, drinking or meeting friends, is plain ridiculous. I've had three jabs, I've spent months being careful. Now I'm done with careful when it comes to the final party of 2021. Being sensible and cautious are a clear sign you've officially turned into your mum and dad. The words are meaningless, woolly, confusing. Sensible people will be drinking a glass of sherry at 9pm and turning the lights out at 10pm as per usual tomorrow. And good luck to them. Throughout the pandemic, government has relied on messaging which the public would find acceptable. Previous covid guidelines were simple to follow, but as the virus mutated, the instructions from mission control have become more vague and slightly sinister. With hospitalisation and death rates remaining low, many would argue that we are being made to feel frightened and scared when it's not necessary. Anxiety, depression and isolation have soared. The first official guidelines like 'wash your hands for 15 seconds' made sense. Obeying the rules of social distancing and maintaining two metres away from others was fine, but it can't be followed when Britain eventually drags itself back to work and public transport operates as normal. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is pictured at Holyrood in Edinburgh on December 15 Wearing a mask in shops and enclosed spaces is simple enough to obey - although an increasing number of us have had enough after months of rule-changing. But attending a New Year's Eve party and 'being sensible' is a non-starter. It might as well be written in Urdu or Swahili. I can't comprehend how a party at the end of such a horrible year, an event where food and drink flow freely, where people will listen to music, dance and throw their arms around each other in an embarrassing way and wear clothes which are never going to provide any protection against winter weather, can ever be conducted 'sensibly'. How many people do you know who are 'sensible' after a bottle of wine, five pints of beer, a couple of whiskey sours and a turn on the karaoke? Not me, for sure. It defeats the entire object. The government script for a Sensible New Year's Eve is as follows. 1. Test yourself before you go out. That assumes you can actually get a lateral flow test when even the Saj, who never likes to deliver anything other than positive news, admits there's been a serious 'glitch' and kits are in really short supply. Apparently there will be plenty available in two weeks, when New Year's Eve has passed, credit card bills have arrived and you can't afford to go out. 2. Make sure all your mates have been tested. Well, you'll just have to take their word for it if their phones have died or they lost the little negative plastic test marker thing. As for relying on a negative PCR test - it's taking up to ten days to get a result in some areas. 3. To be extra 'cautious' and 'sensible' make sure everyone in your group has been triple-jabbed. So what are you supposed to do if one of the hasn't? Send them home? Name me someone who has had to put up with their relatives and dreary siblings for 48 hours over Christmas who is going to let a small detail like that come in the way of going out drinking on New Year's Eve. 4. When you arrive at the venue, tour the entire room making sure all the windows are wide open as requested by our chief medical officers. What if it's a basement club or a posh restaurant in a hotel? Well, Chris Whitty probably won't be spending his New Year's Eve in a nightclub and Boris is most likely to be stuck at Chequers nappy changing, regularly replenishing his 'cheese board' as he hosts a 'working' dinner featuring paper hats, a tarts and tramps disco and a magician dressed as Dominic Cummings. 5. Wear your mask, except when you're kissing or eating or drinking - which will be most of the time. I know that only 60% of Londoners have been jabbed, the lowest rate in the country. New Year's Eve Celebrations in the city do carry some risk but I'll take my chances. And who wants to catch anything now, just before we return to work? On second thoughts, don't answer that. Just as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back on the idea that lawmakers should not be able to make individual stock trades while in office, her husband Paul bought shares in Google's parent company Alphabet, Disney and Salesforce worth millions. 'We're a free market economy,' Pelosi told reporters during a news conference on Dec. 15. 'They [lawmakers] should be able to participate in that.' Two days later, Paul Pelosi bought stock in Alphabet worth between $500,001 and $1 million. He also bought shares in Disney worth between $100,001 and $250,000. Three days after that on Dec. 20, he made two separate purchases in Salesforce - one worth between $100,001 and $250,000 and another between $500,001 and $1 million, and one purchase of Roblox worth between $250,001 and $500,000. As Nancy Pelosi pushed back on the idea that lawmakers should not be able to make individual stock trades while in office, her husband Paul bought shares in Google's parent company Alphabet and Salesforce worth millions. On Dec. 21, he purchased stock in Micron Technology worth between $250,001 and $500,000 and on Dec. 22, there was a purchase of Reoff XX worth $50,001-$100,000. Over the course of five days, Paul Pelosi purchased stock worth anywhere between $1,750,007 and $3,600,000. Paul Pelosi has proven himself a prolific stock trader, so much so that social investing app Iris allows users to track their trades and be notified every time he makes a purchase so that they can do the same. 'Every single stock she [Pelosi, through her husband] has bought in the last two years has gone up significantly,' Christopher Josephs, cofounder of Iris, told Yahoo. And popular Twitter account @NancyTracker, which tracked Pelosi's investments, was banned from the social media network. Asked about the recent trades, Pelosi's chief of staff and spokesperson Drew Hammill said that they had all been made by the speaker's husband and she did not own any stocks herself. ' The Speaker has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,' Hammill told DailyMail.com. He also pointed to 2012 legislation, the STOCK Act, which prohibits members of Congress from using 'any nonpublic information derived from the individual's position ... or gained from performance of the individual's duties, for personal benefit.' It also required lawmakers to report any publicly disclose any transaction of stocks, bond, commodities futures, and other securities within 45 days, rather than once per year. 'The STOCK Act exists to shine a bright light on trades by Members of Congress. Sunlight is the best disinfectant,' Hammill said. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed for a ban on lawmakers holding and trading stocks during their time in office. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently called the notion that lawmakers can trade individual stock 'ludicrous.' 'The access and influence we have should be exercised for the public interest, not our profit,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter earlier this month. Walter Shaub, director of the U.S. Office of Government and Ethics under President Obama, said that Pelosi is '100% wrong' for saying members of Congress should be able to hold stock because the U.S. is a 'free market economy.' 'GOOD GRIEF! NO! She's wrong. She is 100% wrong. Nobody put a gun to anyone's head and said "you must be a member of Congress." Want to trade stocks? Do it. Want to be a member of Congress? Do it. But you have NO BUSINESS doing both! This is the opposite of government ethics,' Shaub wrote on Twitter. GOOD GRIEF! NO! She's wrong. She is 100% wrong. Nobody put a gun to anyone's head and said "you must be a member of Congress." Want to trade stocks? Do it. Want to be a member of Congress? Do it. But you have NO BUSINESS doing both! This is the opposite of government ethics. https://t.co/B1kIUYUuzx Walter Permanent March Shaub (@waltshaub) December 15, 2021 Pelosi is far from alone in her husband's stock trades - more than 220 other representatives and senators, around 40% of Congress, held together at least $225 million in stock assets during 2020, according to an Insider investigation Pelosi is far from alone in her husband's stock trades - more than 220 other representatives and senators, around 40% of Congress, held together at least $225 million in stock assets during 2020, according to an Insider investigation. An Insider investigation found that 49 members and 182 congressional staffers were late to disclose trades from January through September 2021, violating the STOCK Act. In 2018, Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill to ban members of Congress and White House staff from owning individual stocks, and reintroduced the legislation in 2020. In March of this year, a bipartisan bill with support from more than a dozen in the House and Senate that would do the same was introduced. In early 2020 a number of lawmakers came under fire for making trades after a private briefing on the impending devastation of coronavirus. None were criminally charged, but Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., lost his spot on the Senate Intelligence Committee and is currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Boris Johnson will be cleared of breaking the ministerial code by taking a 58,000 loan to redecorate his Downing Street flat, it has been claimed. The Prime Minister had been facing claims that he misled his own sleaze watchdog about his knowledge of the lavish revamp of his apartment over No 11. He had assured Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministerial interests, that he did not know who was paying for the 112,549 refurbishment until this year. But a separate probe by the Electoral Commission uncovered evidence that the PM had sent WhatsApp messages asking Tory donor Lord Brownlow for money several months earlier. In the light of the revelations, Lord Geidt has in recent weeks written to Mr Johnson asking him to explain the apparent contradiction. However, the Prime Minister will not face the damaging outcome of having broken the ministerial code, the Financial Times reported. His behaviour is set to be criticised, with Lord Geidt, a former royal aide, reportedly describing the situation as deeply unsatisfactory'. The donation paid for lavish renovation of private quarters in No 11 used by Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie (both pictured) The Prime Minister's standards adviser, Lord Geidt (pictured), will clear Mr Johnson of breaking the ministerial code, but he will criticise his deeply unsatisfactory behaviour What happened in the 'Wallpapergate' scandal? What work was done? interior designer Lulu Lytle transformed the living quarters from what the PM's wife Carrie reportedly felt was a 'John Lewis furniture nightmare' left behind by Theresa May. Who paid for it? Initially the Cabinet Office settled the bill. But because it was significantly above the 30,000 annual public grant for work to the flat, officials set up a charitable trust for donations to cover the costs. The Tory party repaid the Cabinet Office, then Tory donor and trust chairman Lord Brownlow and his firm made a donation to the party as well as paying some money directly to the supplier. Eventually the PM paid the designer personally. Did this break any rules? The Electoral Commission has found that the Conservative Party broke the law by failing to declare most of the money it received from Lord Brownlow as a donation. What about the PM's role? He had been cleared by sleaze watchdog Lord Geidt of breaching the ministerial code on the basis that he claimed he knew nothing about the complex funding arrangements until February. This has been called into question as the Electoral Commission has found evidence that Mr Johnson messaged Lord Brownlow asking for money the previous November. Advertisement It is understood that Lord Geidt's latest probe has included 'three to four letters' exchanged with No 10 that may be published next year. As opposed to sanctions, Mr Johnson and Lord Geidt have agreed to reform the system for oversight of ministerial interests to include more resources for the relevant secretariat in the Cabinet Office. One official said: Geidt makes clear the situation is a total mess. But at the same time the fundamental conclusion is that the PM did not deceive and did not break the ministerial code. Mr Johnson is said to have apologised for the handling of the initial inquiry into the loan of 58,000 from Lord Brownlow. Reasons have been put forward about why certain details, like the WhatsApp messages, were not put forward, said one insider. Another claimed: Theres enough in those letters to raise eyebrows. The Prime Minister has apologised for some of the circumstances around the initial investigation, which Lord Geidt has accepted. But Mr Johnson may yet face a further investigation into the wallpapergate saga exposed by the Daily Mail. Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone is under pressure to launch an inquiry into the Prime Ministers failure to disclose the loan in his register of interests, and the discrepancies in his accounts of the funding. Downing Street declined to comment last night. The Cabinet Office, where Lord Geidts office is based, said: We dont comment on speculation. Designer Lulu Lytle was commissioned early in 2020 to transform the John Lewis furniture nightmare left behind by Theresa May in the Downing Street living quarters, and used gold wallpaper costing 840 a roll. Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner wrote to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone earlier this month asking her to investigate the donations. Ms Rayner said: 'Boris Johnson's sleaze is corroding the office of Prime Minister. 'The Paterson scandal, illicit Christmas parties in Number 10 and now dodgy payments from a multimillionaire Conservative Party donor to fund his luxury Downing Street refurb. 'It is one rule for them, and one rule for the rest of us, and Boris Johnson is at the heart of it.' It comes as Mr Johnson has slumped to his lowest ever popularity rating among Tory members, according to a poll on Tuesday. An example of previous work carried out by interior designer Lulu Lytle, who transformed the living quarters above No 11 The Prime Minister is the most unpopular member of the Cabinet, according to the ConservativeHome survey, with a net approval score of minus 34 per cent. Only two others have a negative rating: Chief Whip Mark Spencer on minus 24 per cent and Home Secretary Priti Patel on minus 2 per cent. Most popular is Liz Truss, with an approval score of 74 per cent. It came a day after another survey for the website found the Foreign Secretary is in pole position to take over from Mr Johnson storming past Rishi Sunak. The poll found the Chancellor is the sixth most popular Cabinet member, with a net satisfaction rating of 49 per cent. He is beaten by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi. The poll also shows Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove fell from twelfth to sixth from bottom (plus 16), and Health Secretary Sajid Javid from eighth to twelfth (plus 29). More women have been urged to pick up the tools and enter the construction industry in a policy overhaul by Daniel Andrews that comes into force tomorrow. The Victorian Premier has announced mandatory gender quotas on major construction sites for new government projects worth $20 million or more earlier this month, set to come into effect from January 1. The landmark gender quota for the male-dominated industry has been hailed as an Australian-first. Women currently represent just 2.5 per cent of building and construction trades workers in Victoria. Expect to see more women donning the high-vis on construction sites in Victoria It means that women must represent at least three per cent of jobs in each trade role on a project, four per cent of apprentices and trainees, seven per cent for each non-trade position, and 35 per cent of management, supervisor and specialist labour roles under the Building Equality Policy. 'We need to make women aware that construction is an attractive and viable career option and these targets will ensure women are proactively included and stay in the industry, with stronger career pathways,' transport infrastructure minister Jacinta Allan said. 'Greater diversity makes our workplaces stronger and greater representation of women in construction will benefit everyone in the industry.' The Victorian government has announced mandatory gender quotas on major construction sites in a major shake-up to the industry (pictured, Melbourne construction worker at work) The new policy to overhaul the male-dominated industry was devised in consultation with Victoria's Building Industry Consultative Council. Acting council chair and Master Builders Victoria chief executive Rebecca Casson added: 'More women are active in building and construction now than in the past, but they still make up just 2.5 per cent of all building and construction trades workers in Victoria.' Industry leaders and female workers have also welcomed the new gender quotas. Women must represent at three per cent of jobs in each trade role on a construction site under Victoria's new policy 'I wish there were more women working in construction because there's a set of skills that we bring,' Metro Tunnel Project engineer Melanie Langlois told Nine News. Supa Group Constructions director Neil Gardiner added: 'I would encourage any females out there that would like to join the construction industry or join a trade to do so,' he said. Major construction sites will be some leniency with a two year transition period to work towards fulfilling gender quotas before penalties kick in from January 2024. A Kansas teenager's death has been ruled a homicide months after he was left face down and handcuffed following his arrest for becoming 'aggressive' with cops who were called to his foster home to respond to his agitated behavior. Cedric Lofton, 17, of Wichita, Kansas, died on September 26 at a Sedgwick County juvenile jail where he was taken after 'running away from his foster home, returning, and then exhibiting 'erratic and aggressive behavior' toward his foster family, an autopsy report said according to the Washington Post. He ran away September 21 due to a 'mental health crisis,' and returned on September 24. Cedric Lofton, 17, of Wichita, Kansas, died on September 26 after he was taken to a Sedgwick County juvenile center. He had exhibited 'erratic and aggressive behavior' toward his foster family after returning home from running away The Sedgwick County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide after the teen was laid in a prone position in a juvenile detention center and stopped breathing The teen appeared paranoid, the Kansas Bureau of Investigations said. Officers tried to convince him to voluntarily seek mental health treatment but took him into custody after he assaulted the officers, according to the release. After a struggle, he was arrested on suspicion of battery of a law enforcement officer. Lofton was put in a cell at a Sedgwick County juvenile center for 90 minutes. When he was taken to the lobby to be processed, he became 'uncooperative and agitated,' according to KBI. He punched an employee in the head, causing officers to handcuff him and put him facedown on the floor after 'a lengthy physical struggle.' Lofton was released from his cell around 4.20am and was put in the prone position at 5.08pm. He calmed down and even fell asleep, and 'made occasional snoring sounds,' the medical examiner's report said. But minutes later, the teenager didn't have a pulse. Staff gave him chest compressions and called emergency services. Lofton was declared dead two days later in the hospital. The employees involved in his restraint were placed on administrative leave during the investigation. Rescues efforts were performed on Lofton and he was transported to a hospital, where he was declared dead on September 26 The teenager's death was ruled a homicide December 21 by medical examiner Timothy S. Gorrill. 'In my opinion, Cedric Lofton died as a result of complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position,' Gorrill said in the report. 'The manner of death is homicide.' Lofton's death has sparked discussion about prone position deaths, which had resurfaced after George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis. The prone position can cause breathing difficulty, and limit or cut off the supply of oxygen the heart and brain, the Washington Post reported. Multiple medical experts testified at Derek Chauvin's trial that it was a factor in Floyd's death. Chauvin was the Minneapolis police officer who held Floyd down on his stomach while arresting him; he was convicted in the death and is serving 22-year prison sentence. The Lofton family's attorney, Steven Hart, said authorities 'should know from the Floyd case alone' that the position increased risk. 'Thats whats equally disturbing. Authorities cant plausibly suggest that putting someone in the prone position is a safe thing to do. Its a conscious disregard for safety and their life,' Hart said. Alon Steinberg, the chief of cardiology at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California, told The New York Times in October, 'people are dying all the time, and were not doing anything about it.' He also accused law enforcement of misclassifying fatal police violence. Despite debate over the controversial restraint position, the National Association of Medical Examiners said the position does not automatically equal an 'intent to kill.' 'Contrary to multiple public comments since the release of the autopsy report prepared by the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center, the determination that the manner of death was homicide does not reflect a legal determination on the part of the pathologist regarding the viability of criminal charges. The medical examiner said Lofton died from 'complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position.' Lofton was put in the position after he punched an employee in the head after being let out of his cell The employees at Sedgwick County Juvenile Center (pictured) were put on administrative leave until the investigation is complete Whether or not criminal charges can be brought is a separate, legal determination to be made by the Office of the District Attorney based on the laws of the State of Kansas and the evidence collected by law enforcement,' Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett told the Washington Post. A former New York City police officer said that officers are 'trying their best' and don't always 'know what they're doing.' 'They are frequently overmatched. The cops themselves that are frequently involved in using force. When you ask them what theyre doing, they dont know what theyre doing. Theyre doing the best they can, thats what theyre doing,' Eugene ODonnell told the Washington Post. However, he did say he was 'surprised [death] doesnt happen more often.' That investigation is still ongoing and is expected to be completed next month. The brother of one of President Joe Biden's top advisors has signed up as a client the Taiwanese manufacturer of a COVID-19 vaccine. Jeff Richetti, whose brother Stever serves as counselor to the president, is now lobbying for Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp., according to Senate lobbying disclosure reports. The company recently completed Phase 3 of clinical trials for its coronavirus vaccine, which has received emergency use authorization from Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration but is not yet an approved vaccine in the U.S. for purposes of traveling to the country. Steve Ricchetti, l, serves as counselor to President Joe Biden. Taiwan based vaccine maker Medigen has hired lobbying firm Richetti Incorporated as it seeks approval of the vaccine for travel purposes for U.S. visitors The firm hired Richetti's firm, Richetti Incorporated, to work on vaccines approved for foreign travelers to the U.S., and listed Richetti's name. Steve Richetti helped found the firm with his brother. He is a longtime advisor served as Biden's chief of staff when Biden served as vice president, and held senior staff posts in the Clinton administration. The registration was posted before Christmas, and comes as the U.S. is experiencing a wave of infections, with a record 489,267 new cases on Wednesday, and an average of more than 300,000 cases a day. Jeff Richetti previously partnered with his brother at the firm Steve Richetti is a longtime Biden aide who served as his chief of staff when he was vice president A health worker administers a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. at a vaccination center in Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021 Taiwan Armed Forces M60A3 main battle tanks during a military combat live-fire exercise in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. Taiwan faces increasing military pressure from China Cases in the U.S. are up 150 per cent compared to two weeks ago. The Richetti firm is the first lobbying group the company has hired, CNBC reported. The firm's other clients include Amazon, Eagle Pharmaceuticals, drug company Horizon Therapeutics, San Diego-based Neurocrine Biosciences, and GlaxoSmithKline. He has said he no longer lobbies the White House. According to OpenSecrets, the firm has been hired by a total of 15 clients this year for a total of $2.4 million. Taiwan faces increasing military pressure from China, amid fears of a potential invasion by Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be a province. China has been conducting military exercises which Taiwan considers a deliberate provocation. A man has suffered serious burns to his upper body after another man allegedly splashed him with a flammable substance then set fire to him in north Queensland. Emergency services were called to an address in Greenvale near Charters Towers around 1pm on Thursday to find the badly burned 41-year-old man. He was airlifted to Townsville University Hospital in a critical condition and has since been transported to Brisbane for further treatment. Police arrested a 49-year-old man known to the alleged victim. A man has suffered serious burns to his upper body after another man allegedly splashed him with a flammable substance then set fire to him in north Queensland It's alleged the 41-year-old man went to the Greenvale address to speak with the 49-year-old man who then splashed him with a flammable substance and ignited it. The accused has been charged with acts intended to maim and is due to appear in Townsville Magistrates Court on Friday. A Florida mother has been accused of arranging to fly her 12-year-old daughter to Georgia to have sex with a 20-year-old man after the suspect and victim had exchanged X-rated messages. Adrienne Klein, 43, from Gulf Breeze, Florida, and Gesart Hoxha, 20, from Buford, Georgia, have been charged in connection with the alleged molestation of the woman's child. Klein was arrested on December 14 in Florida on counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes and cruelty to children, according to authorities. Adrienne Klein, 43, from Florida, is accused of having her 12-year-old daughter travel to Georgia to have sex with a 20-year-old man Hoxha was taken into custody a month prior and booked into the Gwinnett County jail on charges of child molestation, statutory rape, enticing a child for indecent purposes and employing or using a minor to engage in or assist a person in sexually explicit conduct for a visual medium, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. Gwinnett County police said Klein and Hoxha had arranged for the woman's daughter to travel from Texas, where she was staying, to the Atlanta area in July to meet the 20-year-old man for sex in a hotel room that was paid for by the two suspects. The investigation got under way in early September, when the Arlington Police Department in Texas contacted the Gwinnett Police Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, leading to a search warrant being executed at Hoxha's apartment on Appaloosa Lane in Buford. According to the police, officers found a large amount of cash and sexually explicit photos depicting Klein's daughter at Hoxhas home. Gesart Hoxha, 20, from Georgia, faces charges of child molestation, statutory rape, among others, for allegedly meeting Klein's daughter for sex A search of Hoxha's apartment in Buford, Georgia (pictured), allegedly turned up sexually explicit photos of Klein underage daughter The investigation also uncovered that the 20-year-old suspect had been exchanging messages, some of them sexually explicit, with the underage victim prior to her Georgia trip. Hoxha was released from the Gwinnett County jail on December 15. Klein on Thursday remained at the Santa Rosa County jail in Florida without bond pending her extradition to Georgia. Advertisement Firefighters on Thursday night were trying their best to preserve homes in the line of a fast-moving wildfire, which has shocked the state at a time when the ground should usually be thick with December snow. The Marshall Fire, just south of Boulder, was sparked by extreme winds gusting over 100mph, which knocked down power lines and sparked a fire. Officials on Thursday night confirmed that at least 580 homes had been lost - making the Marshall Fire the most devastating destruction of property in state history. A second fire on Thursday, the Middle Fork Fire, begun at 10:30am north of Boulder, but was brought under control by mid afternoon, and did not burn any structures. The unseasonal fires came after smaller fires were reported in the state, at the end of a bone-dry summer and fall. Colorado saw unusually high levels of rain in the spring, but that has been followed by a punishing drought: since April 1, Boulder has received less than a quarter of its typical rain and snow over that five-month time period. The spring rains caused a surge in undergrowth, which then dried over the parched summer and served as perfect tinder for Thursday's fire. More than 30,000 people were forced to evacuate on Thursday around the towns of Superior, population 13,000, and Louisville, home to 21,000 people. As night fell on Thursday, the Marshall Fire was still blazing around Boulder, having forced the evacuation of some 30,000 people and destroyed 600 homes A home burns after a fast moving wildfire swept through the area in the Centennial Heights neighborhood of Louisville, Colorado Fires burning in Superior are seen from a plane flying from Denver, Colorado A Louisville fire officer is seen on Thursday night trying to put out a blaze in the Centennial Heights area A spooked horse gallops through a smoke-filled Grasso Park on Thursday afternoon as wildfires rip through the area Flames tear through a house in the Rock Creek Village neighborhood near Broomfield, Colorado Houses are engulfed in flames as the wildfires ripped through a neighborhood in Superior, Colorado A satellite image shows an overview of fires in Superior, Colorado Homes burn as wildfires rip through a development in Superior on Thursday night The wildfire is seen burning near houses in Superior on Thursday evening Police officers secure the smoke-filled road on 96th St. and West Dillon Rd. in Louisville, Colorado on Thursday As night fell, people living in some parts of Westminster were also ordered to leave, in addition to areas around Rocky Mountain airport. Evacuation warnings for Arvada were lifted, however. Aerial footage shot by passengers flying out of Denver airport - where flights were halted earlier in the day due to the high winds - showed the scale of the fires, roaring in the night sky. 'The conditions around the Marshall Fire are currently very volatile and unsafe,' said Joe Pelle, sheriff of Boulder County, who said it had been 'a harrowing day'. He said they hoped the winds would drop overnight, but forecasters were warning there would be continued strong gusts. Snow is forecast for Friday. Pelle said the damage had been significant, and at 7pm one of the two fires was out but the larger Marshall Fire had burnt more than 1,600 acres. 'We know that approximately 370 homes in the Sagamore subdivision, just west of Superior, have been lost,' he said. 'There is a potential of 210 homes lost in Old Town Superior. 'The Target shopping complex is on fire. The Element hotel is on fire. 'We had one officer lightly injured, but thankfully no fatalities.' Later on Thursday, reports suggested that the Home Depot store was also on fire. The hillsides and houses in Broomfield were ablaze on Thursday evening Wind-driven wildfires rip through homes as smoke obscures the highway in Superior, Boulder County A police officer tries to secure the scene in Louisville on Thursday Homes burn as wildfires rip through a development near Rock Creek Village Homes burning in Rock Creek Village. 600 homes, a hotel and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver Homes burn as a wildfire rips through a development near Rock Creek Village, near Broomfield Residents fight the Marshall Fire in Louisville, Colorado Fire crews worked through the night battling the blaze that had destroyed more than 600 homes in Boulder County Pelle added: 'We currently have no reports of missing people, and no casualty reports. But given the ferocity of this fire, it wouldn't surprise us if we did.' Six people were taken to hospital with burns said Kelli Christensen, a spokeswoman for UC Health in Broomfield, speaking to The Colorado Sun. Pelle did not mention homes destroyed in Louisville in his tally of 580, but dramatic photos on Thursday night showed properties gutted by flames. The historic center of Louisville - an old mining town, with what is claimed to be the longest-running tavern in the state - was unscathed as of 10pm local time, according to a Denver Post photographer. Those in Louisville who were not in the evacuation area were being told to boil their water, as purification plants failed. XCel Energy said that 22,500 people in the area were without power on Thursday night. Wind-driven fires raging last night in Broomfield, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes Broomfield police tweeted shocking footage of houses ablaze in Louisville The convoy of Broomfield police drove through smoky scenes of a horrifying nature The town of Superior was particularly hard hit, losing 580 homes plus a hotel and a Target store Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, declared a state of emergency. 'We are potentially talking about over 500 homes lost,' he said. 'This is the kind of fire you can't fight. 'For those who have lost everything they had, know that we will be there for you.' Among those whose homes had been destroyed was a coach at Colorado University's football team, Mark Smith. 'Just got word that every material possession we had today is now gone,' tweeted Smith, inside linebackers coach. 'Our home, cars, and everything we had in our home lost to the fires that ripped through our community. Thank you to those who reached out. Processing how to completely start over and grateful for our health.' Mark Smith, a Colorado University coach, has lost his house in the fire, he confirmed on Thursday Evacuees stand as they check in at the 1stBank Center, acting as an evacuation center in Broomfield People line up as they get up food at 1stBank Center, acting as an evacuation center, after wind-driven wildfires prompted evacuation orders, in Broomfield Dhieux Windsor was brought to the YMCA of Northern Colorado by an ambulance after wind-driven wildfires prompted evacuation orders Three evacuation centers had been set up, with cots brought in to sleep on and meals provided. A fourth shelter, for COVID positive people, was also in place on Thursday night. Residents were being asked not to try and return to their homes as night fell. 'If you are a resident who has evacuated or has property in an evacuation zone, please do NOT return to the area,' said Boulder Office of Emergency Management. 'We know that you are concerned about your home and your belongings. 'First responders are working non-stop to keep everyone safe, even as they dont know the status of their own homes in the area. 'No one will be allowed in the evacuated areas overnight. 'Please be patient as we do our best to protect everyones safety. 'The recovery process will be a long one, but we will get through this together one step at a time.' The sheriff of Boulder County said they estimated 580 homes in Superior had been lost to fire. On Thursday night dramatic images from Louisville (above) showed that the tally would rise significantly A blazing apartment complex is seen in Superior, in footage shot by a CBS Denver editor. The light from the fire can be seen between the two tall trees (Better Angle) It appears this apartment complex is fully engulfed. Im at the intersection of McCaslin and Rock Creek Pkwy shooting towards the north / northeast. Winds are dying down slightly. #MarshallFire @CBSDenver pic.twitter.com/mPcgNpTaTO Robert G. (@_rgski) December 30, 2021 Flames threaten a small shopping center in Broomfield on Thursday night Broomfield is seen surrounded by flames. The city was placed under an evacuation warning, but has not yet evacuated Harrowing photos and video of houses ablaze and fields on fire were widely shared. One dramatic image showed a horse galloping through the clouds of smoke blotting out the sun. People issued appeals on social media for help relocating their pets, who fled in terror. Shoppers at a Costco in the town of Superior were evacuated, with Tison Hoff, a shipping receiving manager for the company, tweeting dramatic footage of the smoke blotting out the sun. Other social media users shared footage of the smoke and burning grasses around the store, as shoppers were hurried out with their carts full of goods. Small fires were seen burning around the parking lot as Hoff drove away from the scene. Back at his home, he tweeted the footage and then added: 'Scariest day of my life.' Joe Pelle, the sheriff of Boulder County, is seen on Thursday evening announcing the grim total of 580 houses destroyed - the worst tally for a wildfire in Colorado's history. Governor Jared Polis is standing next to him, to the left Smoke from the wildfires north of Denver is seen from the sky, as fast winds whip the blazes Wildfires are pictured sweeping across the plains north of Denver, around Boulder Two wildfires were sparked near Boulder, Colorado this morning after strong winds caused downed power lines and exploding transformers in the area Residents of Superior and Louisville have begun to be evacuated. Citizens of Boulder County have been warned to flee to if they see flames A motorist captured the flames flickering along the side of the road near Boulder on Thursday Dramatic aerial footage from a flight above the Denver area on Thursday night showed the scale of the fires Thousands are without power and roads have been closed as the winds and fire persist Power lines downed and transformers exploded. 3 fires now in the area, this is when it first rolled in to #louisville #Boulder #fire pic.twitter.com/kDeRobNQBB Pandora Spocks (@CORiversong) December 30, 2021 Cars turned around on the freeway, about 50 drove in the wrong direction to get away while hubby was trying to get home pic.twitter.com/2Z5Qt54U37 Pandora Spocks (@CORiversong) December 30, 2021 Power lines downed and transformers exploded. 3 fires now in the area, this is when it first rolled in to #louisville #Boulder #fire pic.twitter.com/kDeRobNQBB Pandora Spocks (@CORiversong) December 30, 2021 The Marshall Fire now holds the grim record for destroying more homes than any other in Colorado's recent history. The state's largest ever wildfire, the Cameron Peak Fire, burned through 208,913 acres in August 2020, and destroyed 184 homes, 30 of which were primary residences. The most destructive, before today, was the the Black Forest Fire of June 2013, which burned through a heavily-populated area surrounded by dense forest, destroying 498 homes. The wildfires are yet another troubling climatic phenomena to strike the U.S. this December. The east of the U.S. has had abnormally warm weather, while the Northern Rockies went into a deep freeze. Alaska has had unprecedented heat for any winter month, while California has endured huge snowstorms. There have also been unseasonal tornadoes ripping across Missouri and Kentucky. Thursday's wildfire was helped by drought-ridden grasslands, and is Colorado's second unusual fire outbreak in as many months. In mid-November, wildfires sprung up in the mountains near the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, a place normally accustomed to snow rather than flames at this time of year. The Marine Corps has kicked out 206 troops for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, while reporting that least 95 percent of active-duty jarheads have gotten the jab. The Corps made the announcement Thursday. The more than 200 Marines kicked out is up from 169 reported last week. All unvaccinated Marines without pending or approved exemptions will be processed for administrative separation, officials confirmed. Overall, 95 percent of the more than 182,000 active-duty Marines are at least partially vaccinated, while 94 percent are fully vaccinated, a Marines spokesman said. The vaccination rate for Marine reservists went up, as well, with 86 percent of reservists at least partially vaccinated and 83 percent fully vaccinated. The Marine Corps also announced it has received 3,247 requests for religious exemption. The military branch has not approved any of the 3,115 requests it has reviewed so far. Active-duty Marines had until November 28 to be vaccinated while the deadline for reservists to comply was Tuesday. The Marine Corps announced Thursday that it let go of a total of 206 troops for refusing the vaccine - which is up from 169 last week. Pictured: Marine medical personnel administer a jab at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina The Marine Corps' vaccination rate is now tied with the Air Force, meanwhile 98 percent of the Army is vaccinated and 99 percent of the Navy is vaccinated This comes as U.S. military branches begin to discharge up to 30,000 active-duty service members who have continued to refuse the shot. The military branches set their own deadlines after the Biden administration announced plans to mandate the vaccine for all U.S. service members across the branches - Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy - back in August. With 95 percent of active-duty Marines getting the jab, the branch's vaccination rate is now tied with the Air Force, while 98 percent of the Army is vaccinated and 99 percent of sailors in the Navy have received the vaccine, Politico reported. Overall, more than 1.9 million service members have either been partially or fully vaccinated, according to data from the Department of Defense. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said repeatedly that getting the vaccine is critical to maintaining a healthy, ready force that can be prepared to defend the nation. The Pentagon is also weighing making the vaccine booster shots mandatory for service members. Officials say the vaccines, particularly boosters, beef up protections against more severe illnesses. Overall, more than 1.9 million service members have either been partially or fully vaccinated, according to data from the Department of Defense Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (pictured) has said repeatedly that getting the vaccine is critical to maintaining a healthy, ready force that can be prepared to defend the nation The U.S. has hit a record number of COVID infections. A seven-day average of cases nationwide currently sits at 300,387, the highest of the pandemic so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. New data shows 489,267 new cases recorded on Wednesday - 15,057 of which were caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant. Navy officials have begun terminating the 5,731 active-duty sailors, or two percent of its active branch, who remain unvaccinated two weeks after the established deadline, leaders of the military branch confirmed in December. Meanwhile, the Army announced it is prepared to ax 3,800 unvaccinated soldiers beginning in January and after the Air Force has already discharged 27 service members who refused the vaccine order. The Navy has the highest vaccination rate of all military branches with 381,000 sailors - or 99 percent - vaccinated from COVID-19. Navy officials had previously announced that unvaccinated officers and enlisted sailors eligible to retire or leave the service before June 1, 2022, will be allowed to do so with an honorable discharge. Those who an ineligible for retirement or leave by that date will still receive an honorable discharge but 'will be processed for separation on the basis of misconduct for refusing the lawful order to be vaccinated,' officials explained. However, those with more than six years of service 'will be processed with the least favorable characterization of service, being general, under honorable conditions, barring other misconduct.' Army officials said in December that more than 3,800 soldiers - nearly 2 percent of the military branch's active duty-force - had flatly refused to get at least one dose of the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine as of the deadline and could be fired as early as next month. Earlier this month, the Air Force said it discharged 27 airmen for refusing to obey a lawful order and get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe were the first service members to be removed for disobeying the shot mandate. The airmen were formally discharged for failure to obey an order. It is possible that some had other infractions on their records, but all had the vaccine refusal as one of the elements of their discharge. None of those discharged had sought any type of exemption, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told The Washington Post at the time. Across the military, the vaccine reaction has mirrored that of society as a whole, with thousands of members 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. Members of the U.S. military are already required to get as many as 17 vaccines, depending on where they are deployed. The requirements - which include shots for smallpox, hepatitis, polio and the flu - also provide for a number of temporary and permanent exemptions for either medical or administrative reasons. The Pentagon has ordered all service members - active duty, National Guard and Reserves - to get the COVID vaccine, saying it is critical to maintaining the health and readiness of the force. A California man who was arrested on his way to DC after telling Iowa police he would do 'whatever it takes,' to kill political leaders on his 'Tik Tok hit list,' including President Biden and Chief Medical Adviser Anthony Fauci, is likely to plead insanity. Kuachua Brillion Xiong, 25, is being held at Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs after telling authorities he would do anything in order to 'fight evil demons in the White House.' On December 21, authorities seized an AR-15 rifle, ammunition, loaded magazines, body armor and medical kits from Xiong's car. He had initially been stopped by a sheriff for driving aggressively and weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate 80, Fox News reported. Xiong also had a TikTok 'hit list,' which included 100 videos, authorities said. After his arrest and a subsequent interrogation by the US Secret Service, Xiong allegedly made threats to kill high-profile figures including former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Kuachua Brillion Xiong, 25, is being held at Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs after telling authorities he would do anything in order to 'fight evil demons in the White House' He also was using the phrase 'Save America' which is associated with the conspiracy group QAnon, though he made no mention of being connected to QAnon. Xiong has since been charged with making criminal threats against a former president and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday. His federal defender, Michael F. Maloney, filed notice Thursday of Xiong's 'intent to reply upon an insanity defense at the time of any trial in this matter.' 'He also provides notice that if he pursues an insanity defense, he will introduce expert evidence at trial relating to a mental disease bearing on the issue of guilt,' Maloney added, noting that if prosecutors seek a mental examination of Xiong he will request a competency examination for his client. After his arrest and a subsequent interrogation by the US Secret Service, Kuachua Brillion Xiong allegedly made threats to kill high-profile figures including President Joe Biden and Dr Anthony Fauci Xiong has since been charged with making criminal threats against a former president and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday 'When concluding the interview, XIONG stated that nothing would stop him from carrying out his plan of gaining access to the White House and killing the persons on his 'hit list,' a criminal complained obtained by Fox reads 'When concluding the interview, XIONG stated that nothing would stop him from carrying out his plan of gaining access to the White House and killing the persons on his 'hit list,' a criminal complained obtained by Fox reads. Police also found money in his car that was 'earmarked' for his funeral, though he told them he was not suicidal and planned to use his weapons to defend himself. 'He added that if released from custody he would immediately resume traveling to the White House in Washington, DC and 'do whatever it takes' to complete his plan.' 'He further stated that he had no intention of returning to California to see his family because he plans on dying while fighting evil demons at the White House,' the complaint added. Xiong, who had recently been fired from his job as a grocery store worker, had the White House address on a GPS device, authorities said. He reportedly told the sheriff who arrested him that he was traveling as he wanted to 'see things because it is unknown how long he has here on earth' and that he didn't need a hotel in Washington. According to authorities, Xiong also threatened to kill former presidents Barack Obama (left) and Bill Clinton (right) After his arrest, Xiong was questioned by the Secret Service and reportedly said that he was 'the only person remaining who can free the United States of evil and it is necessary for him to kill those in positions of power.' 'It is at this time Xiong began assembling the equipment needed to carry out his plan to kill those in power,' Secret Service Special Agent wrote in the complaint. Xiong reportedly claimed he would kill Biden and other political leaders if the president did not comply with his demands, which Xiong failed to specify. He planned to outsmart White House security by breaking in through a 'weak spot' he had identified in the building, the complaint read. According to federal prosecutors, he said he was going to use a grappling hook to climb over the perimeter fencing to enter the building and kill his targets. The Pentagon is building a second secret courtroom at Guantanamo Bay to hold trials for suspected terrorists at the same time, as calls have grown for President Biden to shut down the controversial prison. The new courtroom will exclude the public from the chamber, and permit two military judges to hold proceedings at the same time starting in 2023, according to the New York Times. Smaller cases would be held in the new chamber, which will cost $4 million to build, while Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the four other men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks would be tried in the existing chamber, with a gallery for the public. The Guantanamo Bay prison has become more and more secretive over its 20 years of operation, even as it costs taxpayers millions of dollars per year. The Biden administration had signaled it aims to close the military prison in Cuba before leaving office, reviving an Obama-era promise. Congress stood in the way of Obama's effort by forbidding any detainee from stepping foot on the US mainland. Guantanamo has reportedly cost U.S. taxpayers over $6 billion since its inception. American taxpayers spend roughly between $9.5 and $13 million per prisoner, per year. The prison currently has 39 inmates. That's compared to $78,000 spent per inmate at a 'super-max' prison in Florence, Colo., home to some of the highest-risk prisoners in the U.S. The cost has risen dramatically over the years a 2013 Defense Department report calculated the per-prisoner detention cost at only $2.7 million. In recent years, officials at Guantanamo have forbidden photography of sites that were once routinely shown to visitors and restricted access for reporters to prison facilities. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the four other men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks would be tried in the existing chamber, pictured above, with a gallery for the public American taxpayers spend roughly between $9.5 and $13 million per prisoner, per year. The prison currently has 39 inmates About 770 men and boys have been held at Guantanamo as war prisoners, with prison population peaking at 677 in 2003 In the prison's current courtroom chamber, the public can view proceedings and hear audio on a 40-second delay, time enough for the judge or a security officer to mute the sound if they believe a suspect has said something classified. The plan for the second courtroom was designed before Biden took office, the Times noted. Even the first courtroom has earned criticism for lack of transparency. 'I've observed trials in Mongolia that were more transparent than this,' said James R. Hodes, a lawyer representing Encep Nurjaman, the lead defendant charged in two Indonesian terrorist bombings. Two men, Sanad Yislam al-Kazimi and Assadullah Haroon Gulone Yemeni, one considered to be Osama Bin Laden's bodyguard and one Afghan commander who fought alongside al-Qaeda, were approved for a transfer out of Guantanamo for rehabilitation in October. Another 12 men could be eligible for release if the US State Department could reach an agreement with a receiving nation to impose security protocols, such as restricting their ability to travel abroad. Meanwhile, another 12 are in the midst of military commission proceedings and 15 are held as 'law of war' prisoners, with no plan for release due to their alleged role in the 9/11 attacks. About 770 men and boys have been held at Guantanamo as war prisoners, with prison population peaking at 677 in 2003. The Bush administration, which opened the prison after 9/11, released 540 detainees, mostly repatriating them back to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The Obama administration released another 200. Trump placed an effective hold on releases. Democrat Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. of New Jersey announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, becoming the fourteenth member of Congress to be infected in just two weeks as another virus wave sweeps the country. He warned on Twitter that the new Omicron variant, which has infected people across the globe at a record-shattering pace, is 'spreading like wildfire.' More than a dozen lawmakers have announced positive diagnoses since Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren announced her breakthrough case on December 19. The US hit a new high for new daily average cases with 301,472 reported on Wednesday, smashing through the previous record of 264,546 new cases. Pascrell joins three other fully-vaccinated and boosted members of his caucus in who have all contracted COVID since Christmas: Reps. Kaialii Kahele of Hawaii, Bobby Rush of Illinois and Doris Matsui of California. 'Today I tested positive for covid. I am fully vaccinated and boosted. Blessedly my symptoms are mild. I'm working from home,' Pascrell wrote just after noon on Thursday. 'Omicron spreads like wildfire. Get vaxxed and boosted -- these shots are the *only* reason my case is mild. Dont worry about me: get your shots!' Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey, Doris Matsui of California, Bobby Rush of Illinois and Kaialii Kahele of Hawaii have all tested positive for COVID-19 since Christmas Each of the other three lawmakers who recently tested positive posted similar messages, hoping the examples of their mild infections due to getting the jab would push people to have it done for themselves. Nearly every member of Congress is currently in their home states for the holiday recess and are set to return next week when the 2022 legislative calendar begins. Kahele, the first of the bunch, tested positive the day after Christmas. 'I am vaxxd, boosted & regularly test, yet unfortunately after 2 Rapid & 1 PCR, all tests show I am + with a breakthrough case. I have mild symptoms & am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaxxd & boosted. Stay safe everyone,' the Hawaii Democrat wrote on Twitter. Rush was tested after a contact came down with COVID, though he said on December 27 that his case was asymptomatic. 'Today, after being notified of a recent exposure, I tested positive with a breakthrough case of COVID-19. Fortunately, I am fully vaccinated and recently received my booster shot. I am feeling fine and currently have no symptoms,' Rush said. 'I will be quarantining and following the latest guidance from the @CDCgov and @ChiPublicHealth. As cases rise and the Omicron variant spreads throughout the nation, I encourage everyone who has not yet done so to get vaccinated and get boosted as soon as possible.' All four Democrats posted similar messages crediting their vaccine doses for their light infections and urging Americans to get the jab California Democrat Matsui just announced testing positive on Wednesday, the day before Pascrell. 'Today, I tested positive with a breakthrough COVID-19 case. Im fully vaccinated & received my booster shot in September. Im only experiencing mild cold-like symptoms & I'm thankful for the protection provided by the vaccine,' she posted on Twitter. 'I encourage everyone to get vaccinated & boosted.' The wave has hit more than just Congress -- seven Pentagon staffers who were on a domestic tour of U.S. military bases with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks have tested positive for COVID-19, the Pentagon said on December 23. They were tested at the end of the trip out of an 'abundance of caution.' Hicks herself has tested negative. They accompanied Hicks on her reviews of military bases where officials focused on how next year's budget dollars could expand capacity to take on increasingly aggressive counterparts in China and Russia. The group traveled through Michigan, Colorado, Hawaii, California and Nebraska. Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons became the 10th member of Congress to test positive for COVID-19 in a single week as the Omicron variant has let to a spike in cases in Washington, D.C. and across the country. The Omicron variant is now the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States 'In recent weeks I have been tested for COVID-19 regularly, both with rapid tests and PCR tests, and last night I got bad news I tested positive,' he tweeted Thursday. 'I have minimal symptoms so far and am optimistic I will recover well after isolating and following CDC guidelines.' LAWMAKERS WHO'VE TESTED POSITIVE SINCE OMICRON OUTBREAK Sen. Elizabeth Warren Sen. Cory Booker Rep. Jason Crow Rep. Matt Cartwright Rep. Antonio Delgado Rep. Nicole Malliotakis Rep. Barbara Lee Rep. Jim Clyburn Rep. Jan Schakowsky Sen. Chris Coons Rep. Kaiali'i Kahele Rep. Bobby Rush Rep. Doris Matsui Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. Advertisement Coons, who represents Delaware, is one of the president's top allies on Capitol Hill. He follows Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Jim Clyburn in announcing a positive COVID-19 test. Schakowsky tweeted the night before Coons, Wednesday, that her husband tested positive on Friday and after several negative tests the congresswoman tested positive Tuesday night. The couple is vaccinated and boosted. 'We got tested when we felt something was off, and now we can prevent exposure to our family and loved ones. I implore you to do the same before holiday gatherings this week and next,' she wrote. 'Get tested if you feel sick or have been around someone who tests positive.' Schakowsky's tweets came shortly after Clyburn, the No. 3 Democrat and chair of the coronavirus select committee, said he tested positive for COVID - forcing him to miss his granddaughter's wedding. 'Tonight, I received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. This is a breakthrough case, and I am asymptomatic,' the 81-year-old House Majority Whip said. The South Carolina Democrat said it took more than 56 hours to receive his positive PCR result. Clyburn said he took an at-home COVID test on Sunday in preparation for a family gathering. 'On Sunday, my entire family took at-home tests as a precaution prior to my granddaughter's wedding, which took place today,' he said. The rapid test was inconclusive and, 'out of an abundance of caution,' Clyburn quarantined and took a PCR test on Monday. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (pictured in November 2021) has tested positive for COVID-19 despite having no symptoms and being fully vaccinated with a booster Rep. Jan Schakowsky tweeted Wednesday night that she had tested positive for COVID-19 the night before, after her husband received a positive test on Friday As he remains quarantined, Clyburn is issuing a warning to Americans as more citizens are reporting breakthrough cases amid the surge of the now-dominant Omicron variant He claims it took more than two days to get his positive result. Clyburn tested negative for COVID last week ahead of President Joe Biden's visit to his alma mater, South Carolina State University. Both men attended the university's December commencement, where Biden addressed the graduates, commending their successes amid challenging pandemic times. Biden was then potentially exposed to COVID on Air Force One traveling between South Carolina and Philadelphia, when an aide tested positive for the virus days later. Biden received a negative PCR result Wednesday. Earlier in the week, seven additional lawmakers said they had contracted COVID. They include Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, as well as Reps. Jason Crow, Matt Cartwright, Antonio Delgado, Barbara Lee and Nicole Malliotakis, the lone Republican. Delgado, 44, announced Tuesday he tested positive for COVID. He's also fully vaccinated and boosted. Clyburn (center) tested negative for COVID last week ahead of President Joe Biden's (left) visit to his alma mater, South Carolina State University 'Yesterday, I tested positive for COVID-19 and am currently experiencing mild symptoms,' he said in a statement. 'I'm grateful for the protection of a safe and effective vaccine and booster and encourage all who are able to get both.' Prior to that, Lee and Malliotakis announced their positive COVID tests, as Washington, D.C. surpassed all other states in the nation in its coronavirus infection rate. 'This week, I received a breakthrough positive COVID-19 test result. Fortunately, I have only mild cold-like symptoms. I know it could have been much worse had I not been vaccinated and boosted,' Lee said in a statement. 'After experiencing mild symptoms and a slight fever, Congresswoman Malliotakis, who is vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. She is quarantining at home and is feeling well,' her office announced. The announcements come as Washington D.C.'s COVID cases rose by 369 percent in the past week, the largest gain in the nation, as the Omicron variant spreads across the nation. The number is based on a seven-day rolling average of daily new cases per 100,000 residents. Democratic Rep. Antonio Delgado of New York announced a breakthrough COVID case on Tuesday Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California (left) and Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (right) of New York also tested positive for COVID-19 this week Elizabeth Warren revealed her positive diagnosis on Twitter Sunday afternoon Warren urged others to get vaccinated amid the rise in COVID cases and the Omicron variant Earlier Tuesday, Cartwright of Pennsylvania, announced that he, too, tested positive for COVID. 'He tested positive on Saturday,' his Communications Director Colleen Eagen Gerrity told Times News Online. She said Cartwright, who represents an area that includes Scranton, had received two vaccine shots. It was not known if he had received a booster shot. He is quarantining at home after experiencing flu-like symptoms. Crow of Colorado announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday night, hours after Warren and Booker tweeted news of their own diagnoses. The number of members of Congress who have tested positive for the virus since the start of the outbreak in 2020 has now surpassed 100, according to a list kept by PBS News Hour. The Senate and House have each gone home for its holiday recess, avoiding the chance of more transmission between members, although many lawmakers hold events with constituents while away from Washington. Meanwhile, Americans nationwide are seeing a surge in COVID infections fueled by the Omicron variant. The swift rise in infections from Omicron, first detected last month and now accounting for at least 73 percent of US cases, has caused fresh concern ahead of the Christmas holiday. Biden last week laid out measures - including activating new pop-up vaccination clinics run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and federal testing sites - aimed to combat the surge. Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, announced on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Pennsylvania Democrat, and Rep. Jason Crow (right), a Colorado Democrat both tested positive for COVID-19 as the omicron variant created a new surge He pledged to assist states in battling the wave of cases by providing stockpiled resources and mobilizing 1,000 troops to aid with healthcare. The president, at the same time, offered both a warning to the unvaccinated, who he said have 'good reason to be concerned,' and reassurance that those who are inoculated can gather for the holidays despite the new variant sweeping the country. 'No this is not March of 2020,' Biden told reporters at the White House. 'Two hundred million people are fully vaccinated, we're prepared, we know more.' Biden's remarks came after health experts said earlier this week the country would likely see record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks and months ahead. 'We are going to see a significant stress in some regions of the country on the hospital system, particularly in those areas where you have a low level of vaccination, which is one of the reasons why we continue to stress the importance of getting those unvaccinated people vaccinated,' Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, predicted Sunday on CNN's State of the Union. As lame duck Mayor Bill de Blasio departs Gracie Mansion on Friday and incoming Mayor Eric Adams takes the gig, he has a lot of work to do to slow the city's crime wave. The city is on pace to reach 500 murders in the year 2021, something they haven't recorded in 10 years. As of Thursday, the city has recorded 481 murders which has been fueled by an increase in gun crime, according to city data. The last time the city hit 500+ murders was 2011, under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, when homicides ended up totaling 515. The rest of the decade had seen a sharp decrease in murders, going down to 419 in 2012 and heading as low as 292 in 2017 under de Blasio. Murders have gone up in New York City each of the last three years, with numbers hitting a 10-year high in 2021 Crime overall has gone up 6.13 percent in New York City from 2020 through December 26, with felony assaults up nearly 10 percent Despite the spike in crime, Mayor Bill de Blasio commended Shea's leadership in their last monthly press conference on crime statistics earlier this month. 'I think the commissioner has a lot to be proud of,' De Blasio said Outgoing Commissioner Dermot Shea has continually blamed the rise in crime on bail reform laws But the numbers have climbed since, up to 462 in 2020 during the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city, which also saw stores hit by looting, and riots in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Those numbers have continued to go up this year, even as the city reopens, and are on pace to hit 10-year highs and the numbers continue to increase of late. Between November 28 and December 26, homicides were double what they were in the same period last year, with 41 murders compared to 24 in 2020. Overall, crime has risen 6.13 percent in New York City over 2020 through December 26. The biggest rise came in felony assaults like the ones previously mentioned, which rose 9.6 percent from 2020. Murders (4.1 percent), shooting victims (0.6 percent), rapes (3.3 percent), and robberies (4.7 percent) have also risen this year. De Blasio had initially continued the downward trend of murders in the city that happened under his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg Eric Adams will replace de Blasio, with his swearing in happening on Saturday, as the mayor's term begins on January 1 Incoming Mayor Eric Adams and new police chief Keechant Sewell will be tasked with harnessing the world's largest police force to clean up New York City's worsening crime problem under lame duck Bill de Blasio. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, who departs at the end of the month, has blamed bail reform laws enacted by the Democratic-dominated state Legislature for the spike in violent crime. In early 2020, criminal justice reform measures passed by the New York State Legislature and signed into law by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo took effect. The new law has received increasing scrutiny over its rules that allow New York courts to release people who would have remained in jail under the old rules. The statute, which went into place at the beginning of the year, eliminated cash bail and pretrial detention for a wide majority of low-level cases and nonviolent felonies. The law also allows courts to release a person under certain conditions, such as a travel or firearm restriction. Shea and others have claimed that the new law is to blame for the increase in violent crime. But defenders of the law say that violent crime has increased in most of the country - including in jurisdictions that did not enact any criminal justice reform measures. Despite the spike in crime, Mayor Bill de Blasio commended Shea's leadership in their last monthly press conference on crime statistics earlier this month. 'I think the commissioner has a lot to be proud of,' De Blasio said. Shea, who was appointed to his position in December 2019, said he 'wouldn't change a thing.' 'I consider the work that [my executive team] did was the glue that held the city together through one of the toughest times the city has seen,' said Shea, adding, 'Obviously, people make mistakes and things.' Mayor Bill de Blasio (pictured) and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea addressed New York City's rising crime in their last monthly press conference on crime statistics on December 8 Keechant Sewell, 49, will be the next NYPD commissioner after being chosen by incoming Mayor Eric Adams Advertisement Britain's Covid cases hit another pandemic high today as deaths soared to 332 and hospitalisations in England almost doubled in a week to levels not seen since the country's devastating second wave in February. UK Health Security Agency bosses logged 189,213 positive tests, up by 58 per cent from last week, in another new record for daily reported cases. The count - which overtakes yesterday's previous record by more than 6,000 - includes figures for Wales covering a two-day period. A further 332 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, said the Government, in data including a backlog of hospital deaths reported by NHS England covering the period from December 24 to 29. Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 174,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. A total of 51,738,013 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by December 29 - a rise of 32,607 on the previous day. Some 2,082 virus-infected patients were placed on wards on December 28, a leap of nearly 90 per cent compared to the figure the week before. It marked the highest daily total since February, according to Government data. But experts have called for caution over interpretations of the hospital numbers amid the rapid spread of Omicron, given that patients are suffering milder disease now than in previous waves. Official data also shows the number of critically ill Covid patients remains stable, highlighting how the outbreak is now in a vastly different position to ever before. NHS England data revealed hospitalisations in London the epicentre of the UK's Omicron crisis increased yet again, with 456 newly-infected patients placed on wards on December 28. The figure was up by around 50 per cent on the previous week. It means the capital's daily admissions have for two days in a row been above the crucial 400-a-day threshold that Government advisers warned could trigger nationwide intervention. But statistics looking at the situation in intensive care wards paints a much different picture, with just 232 patients hooked up to ventilators as of today. Rates are ticking up much slower, and are still a fifth of levels seen in January during the depths of the Alpha wave. Daily Covid admission in London have risen again, with 456 newly-infected patients placed on wards on December 28. This is the second day in a row admissions been above the crucial 400-a-day threshold that Government advisers warned could trigger nationwide intervention Covid lateral flow tests are handed out for free in boxes of either seven or 20 tests to residents in Slough, Berkshire, today No tests before NYE: LFTs run out AGAIN and officials say people will struggle to get PCRs 'anywhere within 48 hours' Officials fear people may soon struggle to access a PCR test 'anywhere near them' within 48 hours of applying as experts issued a New Year's Eve warning because of the ongoing testing supply crisis. Boris Johnson has urged the nation to enjoy celebrations tomorrow night in a 'cautious and sensible way'. The Prime Minister said people should 'take a test' before heading to festivities but lateral flow tests and PCR test appointments are still unavailable this morning as the testing chaos enters its fourth day. A Number 10 source has stressed that people do not have to take a test before they go out but should take one 'where possible'. While none are available from Government sites, private providers have been found to be selling boxes of 25 LFTs for more than 200. A Government scientific adviser warned this morning it is 'very worrying indeed' that people in England could mix on New Year's Eve without taking a Covid test. Professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said indoor parties are 'absolutely perfect' for spreading the Omicron coronavirus variant. Meanwhile, a Government official told The Telegraph that people could soon struggle to get a PCR test at a walk-through or drive-through site within two days of asking for one as demand rises. Advertisement It comes as experts estimate that almost 200,000 people in Britain are getting ill with Covid every day, according to one of the country's largest surveillance studies which predicts the milestone will be breached within days. King's College London experts who monitor the outbreak using a symptom-tracking app estimate infections jumped 33 per cent in a week to around 192,000 per day. But the team hailed promising signs that the exponential growth phase of the Omicron outbreak has 'stopped'. Dr Claire Steves, one of the experts behind the app, said the rise is now 'more steady' and cautioned that up to three-quarters of people with cold-like symptoms probably have Covid. It fits with data suggesting the wave may have already peaked in London, which was the first region to be battered by the ultra-infectious variant which evidence shows is causing milder disease than previous strains. NHS bosses fear pressure on London's wards will only ramp up over the next few weeks because of the time lag between people getting infected and becoming severely ill, even if a smaller proportion of patients are seriously ill. Dr Steves said her team's data shows that cases are still on the rise in 55-75-year-olds, adding: 'Unfortunately, it's likely that this will translate into more hospital admissions in the New Year.' For context, daily hospitalisations peaked at over 4,100 in January, before Britain embarked on its historic vaccine roll-out. London saw admissions hit a record-high of 977. Critics say the NHS figures are over-inflated currently because of rising cases of 'incidental' admissions, due to the soaring prevalence of Omicron in the community. Coupled with the fact the patients are suffering milder disease and spending less time on wards, analysts argue it makes interpreting the raw figures impossible. Statistics delving into the number of patients currently in mechanical ventilation beds offer a much clearer picture of the current situation, therefore. NHS England data shows the tally has hovered in the mid to high 700s since the start of December, with 782 today. The King's College London estimates made in conjunction with health-tech firm ZOE are based on reports from around 840,000 weekly users of the app. They estimate the prevalence of the virus based on positive tests logged within the software and the number of people with tell-tale symptoms. Covid cases are highest among 18 to 35-year-olds (orange line), they said, but are rising in all age groups. There is also an uptick among 55 to 75-year-olds (red line) and over-75s (purple line) who are more at risk from the virus Across England's regions the number of infections is still highest in London. But as Omicron spreads across the country cases are now rising in all other regions Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics today showed weekly deaths in England and Wales are still above the five-year average. Covid fatalities are yet to surge but this is a lagging indicator because of the time taken for someone who catches the virus to become seriously ill Slide me In the week to December 23 (second image), 2.8 per cent of people in Lambeth (2,874 per 100,000) tested positive, followed by 2.6 per cent in Wandsworth and Southwark (2,686 and 2,621 per 100,000) and 2.5 per cent in Lewisham (2,531 per 100,000) . But these boroughs had some of the lowest week-on-week growth in infection rates compared to the week to December 16 (first image), suggesting the capital's outbreak is flattening. Cases rose 11 per cent in Wandsworth, 15 per cent in Lambeth, 25 per cent in Southwark and 43 per cent in Lewisham Cases rose by 12 per cent in the week ending December 23 in Wandsworth, 15 per cent in Lambeth, 25 per cent in Southwark and 43 per cent in Lewisham the areas with the highest infection rate US sets WORLD record 489,267 COVID cases in 24 hours as country risks grinding to a HALT The United States has hit a record of nearly 500,000 daily coronavirus cases - the most any country has ever reported - and risks grinding to a halt as experts say that the latest surge of infections will only get worse in the next month. On Wednesday, 489,267 positive Covid cases were reported. According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of new cases in America are of the Omicron variant, which was first discovered last month by South African health officials. The U.S. is now averaging 300,387 new Covid cases per day, a pandemic record and the first time the 300,000 mark has been reached in America. More than 500,000 Covid cases were reported on Monday, though that was a result of a large backlog of cases from the Christmas holiday. Wednesday's total is the largest increase from only a single day. The nation also recorded 2,184 deaths on Wednesday, and averages 1,546 deaths per day - an 18 percent increase over the past two weeks. But that number is still lower than the pandemic record, of 4,442 deaths in a single day recorded in January 2020. The CDC also reports that 75,477 Americans are currently hospitalized due to complications with Covid, an 11 percent increase over the past two weeks. Omicron has also been confirmed in 15,057 cases nationwide as well. Dr Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and member of President Biden's transition team's Covid task force, warns that things are only going to get worse as well. He told CBS Morning on Thursday that what is happening now is unlike anything Americans have experienced at previous points in the pandemic. 'We are going to see a viral blizzard over the next five to eight weeks,' he said. 'We're already beginning to see these very large numbers you're talking about, they're going to increase substantially. The real question we have is how many of those will then actually [suffer] severe illnesses requiring hospitalization, and even deaths and that's the challenge we're at right now. We don't quite understand that.' Advertisement It is different to the officially recorded numbers, which yesterday soared to a previous record, illustrating Omicron's rapid spread. But even these numbers, which offer an accurate glimpse of the situation Britain finds itself in, are an undercount because up to half of people who get infected never get tested. Dr Steves today also called for the official list of Covid symptoms to be expanded because data suggests 75 per cent of people with cold-like symptoms probably have the virus. She added: 'Its good news to see that fewer people are newly sick than a few weeks ago. However, the fact 75 per cent of new cold-like symptoms are Covid and the classic symptoms are much less common, means Government advice needs to be urgently updated. 'We want to see symptoms like sore throat, headache, and runny nose added to the list as soon as possible.' UK guidance currently only recognises three symptoms as early warning signs of an infection with the virus, a new continuous cough, a high temperature, and a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell. But experts have repeatedly called for the NHS's list to be expanded, saying it misses cases in the early stages increasing the risk of the virus being transmitted. The US-based CDC and other countries have identified more than ten warning signs, and warn their populations about things like fatigue, headache and muscle aches. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics today said a total of 755 deaths were registered in England and Wales in the week ending December 17 that mentioned Covid on the death certificate. This was down 1 per cent on the previous week and is the lowest number of deaths since the week to October 15, when the total was 713. Around one in 16 (6.1 per cent) of all deaths in England and Wales in the week to December 17 mentioned Covid on the death certificate. Despite the explosion in cases over the past week, Boris Johnson gave the green light for people to celebrate New Year's Eve but urged millions of revellers to be 'cautious and sensible'. The Prime Minister insisted that 'everybody should enjoy' the last social hurrah of the year, despite the spread of Omicron. He said the strain 'continues to cause real problems' with hospitalisations rising but the data shows it is 'obviously milder than the Delta variant'. Separate NHS figures showed daily Covid hospitalisations in London have now breached the 400-a-day threshold, which Government advisers said may trigger nationwide restrictions. England itself saw a 65 per cent weekly jump in admissions, with more than 10,000 beds now occupied by virus-infected patients for the first time since March. But NHS bosses have called for caution over interpretations of increasing hospital numbers, with Omicron known to cause a milder disease, virus-infected patients spending less time on wards, and 'incidental' admissions on the rise due to extremely high prevalence of Covid in the community. Mr Johnson argued the success of England's booster roll-out was behind his decision to hold off on implementing any tougher restrictions, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all having imposed new rules on socialising. Construction workers begin erecting 'Nightingale' wards in hospital car parks as NHS goes on 'war footing' to tackle Omicron wave... but health chiefs warn they can't 'magic up' staff to oversee the eight temporary sites By Luke Andrews Health Reporter for MailOnline The NHS cannot 'magic up' staff to oversee temporary 'Nightingale' wards in hospital car parks, health leaders warned today as construction workers began erecting eight make-shift sites. NHS chiefs last night announced eight hospitals in England will start building temporary structures this week to house up to 100 Covid patients each. Work has already started at St Georges Hospital in South London and the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent. The overspill sites which could also be erected in canteens and gyms if needed in the coming weeks will be equipped with beds and machines for patients who still need minor treatment. The drive forms part of a new NHS 'war footing' to tackle the Omicron wave, which is starting to pile pressure on hospitals. But questions have already been raised as to how the units will be manned amid the spiralling rates of absences among the health service coupled with the 100,000-plus vacancies before Covid struck. Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers which represents hospital trusts said staffing the makeshift wards posed a 'major challenge' and that 'you cant just magic up the number of staff that are needed to staff these beds out of thin air'. He added, however, that having the facilities on existing hospital grounds 'maximises the NHS's ability to meet that challenge' and that he expects volunteers will be called in if the sites were needed to be used. Meanwhile, Pat Cullen, from the Royal College of Nursing, warned that it would mean nursing resources are 'spread thinner'. She said that she had 'no idea' how the hubs would be staffed. ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, SOUTH LONDON: Construction workers began erecting a temporary field hospital in the grounds of St George's Hospital in Tooting today WILLIAM HARVEY HOSPITAL IN ASHFORD, KENT: Pictured above is construction work beginning on the William Harvey 'mini-Nightingale' hospital, situated in the site's car park The above shows where England's eight new 'mini-Nightingales' will be set up. These will aim to treat 100 Covid patients following a stay in intensive care, and will be on hospital sites to ensure they can be properly manned. Previous Nightingales could not get enough nurses Trade site the Health Service Journal revealed the plans for more 'mini-Nightingales' before Christmas. It said at the time that army medical personnel could be called in to help, although the formal request was yet to be made. The Nightingale hospitals will be staffed by nurses and consultants, as well as clinical and non-clinical staff. It is not clear whether this would include soldiers, but NHS sources told MailOnline that the Army are always drafted in when required. The 'mini-Nightingales' will be scattered around the country, with sites based in London, Bristol, Leeds, Kent and Leicester among others. In contrast to the first wave when facilities such as London's ExCel centre were converted into giant hospitals the 'Nightingale hubs' will be situated on existing hospital grounds. Health chiefs said this will make it easy to deploy staff if there is a surge in admissions over the coming weeks that outstrips current capacity. ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, SOUTH LONDON: One member of a construction team was pictured working on the roofing of the make-shift site WILLIAM HARVEY HOSPITAL IN ASHFORD, KENT A view of the make-shift Nightingale site set-up in a car park on the grounds of the William Harvey Row erupts as data shows a third of Covid patients are in hospital for reasons other than the virus A row erupted over the Government's Covid figures last night as it emerged almost one in three in hospital with the virus was admitted for unrelated reasons. NHS statistics revealed the proportion of so-called 'incidental' coronavirus admissions had risen to a record 29 per cent sparking claims that official figures were misleading. These cases are from patients taken to hospital for an unrelated reason, such as a fall or broken bone, who just happen to then discover they also have the virus. It means thousands of those who are being counted as Covid admissions which would suggest they are severely ill with the condition are not actually suffering seriously with the virus. Many only tested positive once they were on wards and may have simply caught the virus while there. It has raised concerns that the headline statistics which drive Government decisions on restrictions and lockdowns are overestimating how many people are dangerously sick with Covid. Advertisement NHS Trusts have also been asked to identify areas such as gyms and classrooms that can be converted to temporary Covid wards. They said this could create an additional 4,000 'super surge' beds across the country eight times the capacity of a large district hospital, which has around 500 beds. Mr Hopson said: 'Building on lessons learnt from earlier in the pandemic, trusts are identifying extra capacity on existing hospital sites that could be turned into super surge capacity should it be required. 'Trust leaders hope this back up insurance policy will never be needed, as with the original Nightingales. But it must be the right 'no regrets later' move to make these preparations now. 'Given the other pressures on the NHS and the current level of staff absences, staffing this capacity would be a major challenge. 'But co-location on existing hospital sites maximises the NHS's ability to meet that challenge.' He added: 'We also need to recognise that this will add further stretch to an already hard-pressed NHS.' In a follow-up interview with The Telegraph, he added: 'I think theres a very clear recognition in the NHS that you cant just magic up the number of staff that are needed to staff these beds out of thin air.' And he told MailOnline: 'If the NHS is using these hubs, we will be in an emergency and we would use an emergency staffing model. 'We would, for example, be redeploying staff from less critical activity, we would be calling for recently retired staff and experienced volunteers to help.' Ms Cullen, the general secretary of the RCN, warned today that there were not enough staff available for the extra units. She told Sky News: 'You can set up all the hubs that you wish to set up. 'But if you don't have the nursing staff to actually care for the patients that are going to be placed in those hubs, that places more challenges on the nursing workforce. 'The nursing workforce already is struggling massively to care for the patients that are already in hospital, and if we set up hubs and put up additional beds that's going to place more pressure on those nurses. 'So, at this point in time, we have no idea how we're going to be staffing those additional hubs as they're set up.' The NHS was short of up to 100,000 medics even before the pandemic began, data suggests. It comes after health chiefs warned staff absences pose a bigger threat to the health service than rising admissions due to the virus. A total of 18,829 NHS staff were absent because of the coronavirus on December 19, up from 12,240 a week earlier. And Covid-related absences have tripled in a week at London's biggest trust, underlying the huge problem the rest of England faces over the coming weeks. At the same time, the number of admissions has increased. Christmas Day saw 1,281 infected patients placed on wards, up 74 per cent in a week to the highest level since February. Dr David Nicholl, of the Doctors' Association, earlier this week described the ever-growing number of absences as 'our biggest worry' over the coming weeks. The number of Covid patients on England's wards yesterday breached the 10,000 barrier for the first time since early March. But NHS figures suggest up to one in three virus patients on wards were admitted for reasons unrelated to the infection, such as a fall or broken bone. It means thousands of those who are being counted as Covid admissions which would suggest they are severely ill with the condition are not actually suffering seriously with the virus. Nearly 200,000 Brits are 'getting ill with Covid' each day and milestone will be breached within days but symptom-tracking app claims exponential growth of Omicron has STOPPED By Stephen Matthews Health Editor for MailOnline Almost 200,000 people in Britain are getting ill with Covid every day, according to one of the country's largest surveillance studies which predicts the milestone will be breached within days. King's College London experts who monitor the outbreak using a symptom-tracking app estimate infections jumped 33 per cent in a week to around 192,000 per day. But the team hailed promising signs that the exponential growth phase of the Omicron outbreak has 'stopped'. Dr Claire Steves, one of the experts behind the app, said the rise is now 'more steady' and cautioned that up to three-quarters of people with cold-like symptoms probably have Covid. It fits with data suggesting the wave may have already peaked in London, which was the first region to be battered by the ultra-infectious variant which evidence shows is causing milder disease than previous strains. However, hospitals in the capital have already breached the key 400-a-day admissions threshold that could trigger the Government to make a nationwide intervention. NHS bosses fear pressure on London's wards will only ramp up over the next few weeks because of the time lag between people getting infected and becoming severely ill, even if a smaller proportion of patients are seriously ill. Dr Steves said her team's data shows that cases are still on the rise in 55-75 year olds, adding: 'Unfortunately, it's likely that this will translate into more hospital admissions in the New Year.' Meanwhile, separate figures showed the number of Covid deaths registered in England and Wales for the week ending December 17 fell by 1 per cent on the previous seven-day spell. Statistics from King's College London scientists estimated almost 200,000 people were now catching Covid every day in the UK, and that the country will break through the milestone in the next few days She said: 'The number of daily new symptomatic Covid cases are more than double what they were this time last year and we are just a day or two away from hitting over 200,000. 'However, the exponential growth in cases appears to have stopped, and the rise is more steady.' Dr Steves added: 'Hospitalisation rates are thankfully much lower than this time last year but they are still high, especially in London.' The King's College London estimates made in conjunction with health-tech firm ZOE are based on reports from around 840,000 weekly users of the app. They estimate the prevalence of the virus based on positive tests logged within the software and the number of people with tell-tale symptoms. It is different to the officially recorded numbers, which yesterday soared to another pandemic high, illustrating Omicron's rapid spread. UK Health Security Agency bosses logged 183,037 positive tests, up by almost three-quarters on last week's tally. The count which eclipses the previous record from the day before by more than 45,000 was skewed upwards because it included five days' worth of backlogged data from Northern Ireland, which didn't feed officials its numbers over the Christmas break. Statistics for England-only which were kept up-to-date through the festive period were also their highest on record, jumping by 45 per cent in a week. This is despite a similar number of tests being carried out. But even officially-recorded numbers, which offer an accurate glimpse of the situation Britain finds itself in, are an undercount because up to half of people who get infected never get tested. Dr Steves today also called for the official list of Covid symptoms to be expanded because data suggests 75 per cent of people with cold-like symptoms probably have the virus. She added: 'Its good news to see that fewer people are newly sick than a few weeks ago. However, the fact 75 per cent of new cold-like symptoms are Covid and the classic symptoms are much less common, means Government advice needs to be urgently updated. 'We want to see symptoms like sore throat, headache, and runny nose added to the list as soon as possible.' UK guidance currently only recognises three symptoms as early warning signs of an infection with the virus, a new continuous cough, a high temperature, and a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell. But experts have repeatedly called for the NHS's list to be expanded, saying it misses cases in the early stages increasing the risk of the virus being transmitted. The US-based CDC and other countries have identified more than ten warning signs, and warn their populations about things like fatigue, headache and muscle aches. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics today said a total of 755 deaths were registered in England and Wales in the week ending December 17 that mentioned Covid on the death certificate. This was down 1 per cent on the previous week and is the lowest number of deaths since the week to October 15, when the total was 713. Around one in 16 (6.1 per cent) of all deaths in England and Wales in the week to December 17 mentioned Covid on the death certificate. Despite the explosion in cases over the past week, Boris Johnson gave the green light for people to celebrate New Year's Eve but urged millions of revellers to be 'cautious and sensible'. The Prime Minister insisted that 'everybody should enjoy' the last social hurrah of the year, despite the spread of Omicron. He said the strain 'continues to cause real problems' with hospitalisations rising but the data shows it is 'obviously milder than the Delta variant'. Separate NHS figures showed daily Covid hospitalisations in London have now breached the 400-a-day threshold, which Government advisers said may trigger nationwide restrictions. England itself saw a 65 per cent weekly jump in admissions, with more than 10,000 beds now occupied by virus-infected patients for the first time since March. But NHS bosses have called for caution over interpretations of increasing hospital numbers, with Omicron known to cause a milder disease, virus-infected patients spending less time on wards, and 'incidental' admissions on the rise due to extremely high prevalence of Covid in the community. Mr Johnson argued the success of England's booster roll-out was behind his decision to hold off on implementing any tougher restrictions, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all having imposed new rules on socialising. NSW has recorded 21,151 new Covid-19 cases and six deaths while Victoria has reported 5,919 infections and seven deaths in major New Year's Eve spikes - but hospitalisations have remained stable. The new cases announced in NSW on Friday has set a new pandemic record with figures almost double the 12,226 cases reported on Thursday. Hospitalisation rates have remained steady with 763 patients being treated by nurses - slightly up from 746. ICU figures have also increased by just six from 63 to 69 - despite cases nearly doubling in a single 24 hour period. In Victoria, 428 patients are being treated in hospital - up from 395 - while 54 are in ICU - down from 55. Most of those in intensive care are unvaccinated. Meanwhile, huge queues have continued to form outside testing clinics across Australia despite a raft of changes made to testing requirements, isolation rules and definitions of a close contact announced by Scott Morrison on Thursday. Hundreds of drivers queue at a testing clinic in Bondi despite changes to testing requirements Pandemic record case numbers prompted residents to rush to get tested at a drive-thru clinic in Bondi NSW has recorded 21,151 new Covid-19 cases and six deaths while Victoria has reported 5,919 new infections and seven deaths Drivers queue at a Bondi testing clinic with wait times reaching into several hours on Friday NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will on Friday adopt a new definition of a close contact agreed to at Thursday's national cabinet meeting. In those jurisdictions, a close contact will only cover household or intimate contacts who spent more than four hours with a positive case. They will only need a rapid antigen test and will be able to leave isolation after seven days if they return a negative RAT on day six. Positive cases regardless of vaccination status will be able to leave isolation after seven days from their positive test but will need to return a negative RAT on day six. South Australia will continue with a 10-day quarantine period for cases and close contacts. Symptomatic close contacts will still need to take a PCR test and a positive RAT will need to be confirmed by a PCR test. Tasmania will join the new arrangements from January 1, with the Northern Territory and Western Australia to make announcements in the coming days. Drivers queued outside a drive-thru clinic at Bondi, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on Thursday Australians across five states and territories now only need to isolate for seven days if they are a close contact The new cases announced in NSW on Friday has set a new pandemic record with figures almost double the 12,226 cases reported on Thursday NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will on Friday adopt a new definition of a close contact agreed to at Thursday's national cabinet meeting The Australian Medical Association expressed their concern at the new arrangements, saying the amended definition appeared to 'put politics over health'. AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid said more cases would be missed with the narrowed definition, which could accelerate the outbreak. 'It seems national cabinet is prepared to bet that a massive Omicron outbreak won't cause large numbers of hospitalisations.' State testing centres will hand out rapid antigen tests over the coming weeks, but tests will not be provided for free across the board, the prime minister says. The Australian Medical Association expressed their concern at the new arrangements, saying the amended definition appeared to 'put politics over health' AUSTRALIA'S NEW COVID RULES Who should get a PCR test? Anyone who has symptoms or who has got a positive rapid antigen test New definition of close contact: Someone who has spent at least four hours in a household or a care facility with a positive case. Workplaces do not count. New isolation period: Positive people and close contacts must isolate for seven days or 10 in SA. This is regardless of whether the close contacts test negative or not Timing: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT implemented the new rules on New Year's Eve. Tasmania followed on January 1 while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will not adopt the scheme until they get more Covid cases in the weeks ahead. Advertisement Mr Morrison encouraged Australians to get their booster shots when they become eligible, saying high vaccination rates gave the government confidence in adopting the new measures. Around 4.1 million Australians will be eligible for their booster shot by the end of Friday, and this will jump to 7.6 million when the interval between a second and third dose is shortened to four months on January 4. The man in charge of the country's vaccine rollout, Lieutenant General John Frewen, said supply was not a concern. 'There are currently three million doses of mRNA (vaccines) sitting on shelves (and) over the first two weeks of January we will deliver another six million doses of mRNA out to GPs, pharmacists and state hubs,' he said. 'In addition to that, there is another 16 million doses of mRNA sitting in warehouses awaiting delivery.' Kremlin officials said President Putin warned Joe Biden that new sanctions would lead to a complete breakdown in relations between the two countries, during a 50-minute phone call to discuss the crisis over Ukraine on Thursday. Both sides have accused the other of provocations while tens of thousands of Russian troops have been moved close to the Ukrainian border. And both sides used the call to warn of dire consequences if the current impasse over Ukraine is not resolved. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the conversation centered on security guarantees that Moscow wants from the West, including preventing Ukraine joining NATO. And he also said Putin pushed back on threats of new sanctions on Russia. 'It would be a colossal mistake that would entail grave consequences,' Ushakov told reporters after the call, saying it would lead to a 'complete breakdown' in relations. Putin requested the call ahead of security talks scheduled for Jan. 10 in Geneva. For its part, the White House stressed that Biden urged his Russian counterpart to deescalate tensions, hours after it emerged that the U.S. Air Force had flown a second spy plane over the region. 'He made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine,' said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. A senior administration official added: 'The tone of the conversation between the two presidents was serious and substantive.' Russia has alarmed the West by moving more than 85,000 troops close to the Ukrainian border but officials deny they are planning to invade. President Biden spoke to President Putin of Russia for 50 minutes on Thursday afternoon. White House officials said the conversation was requested by Putin An image released by the Russian Ministry of Defense shows units of the anti-aircraft missile brigade during an exercise in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, at the end of December America has been warning for weeks that Putin appears to be readying tens of thousands of troops, tanks and artillery pieces to invade Ukraine, but the Kremlin has insisted it is merely a defense force - until now (pictured, Russian forces currently massed in border regions) The call began at 3:35pm and the White House released a photograph of Biden on a secure line in the wood-panelled office of his Delaware home soon after. Flight tracking websites showed a U.S. Air Force J-STARS spy plane operating over eastern Ukraine on Thursday morning - the second such flight in recent days. 'The US Air Force flew another spy plane over eastern Ukraine on Thursday morning to gather intel about the Russian military situation on the ground, per source,' said CNN reporter Natasha Bertrand on Twitter. The telephone call came at the request of Putin, according to a senior Biden administration official. 'We are at a moment of crisis and have been for some weeks now given the Russian buildup,' the official said before the call. 'It will take a high level of engagement to address this and to try to find a path of de-escalation.' Russia has moved hundreds of tanks, self-propelled artillery and short-range ballistic missiles close to the Ukrainian border, along with what Ukrainian officials say are 50 battalion tactical groups. Both sides accuse the other of provocations. For Moscow, it is a sense that the West is closing in on its territory, admitting former Soviet states to NATO. Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky told reporters the West had betrayed the trust shown to it by Russia after the end of the Soviet Union. 'We have started to be perceived as a threat by the West, by the United States,' he said on Wednesday, according to the state news agency TASS. 'What we're having now we have is kind of a remake of the Cold War, Cold War 2.0.' President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Joe Biden held a telephone call on Thursday afternoon amid increased tensions over Ukraine An image released by the White House showed President Biden in the Situation Room as he spoke to Putin by videolink earlier this month Ukrainian reservists take part in military exercises near Kiev on December 18, as the country prepares for a possible Russian invasion that could come as soon as next month First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said the U.S. and the West were responsible for starting Cold War 2.0 White House National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne confirmed details of the call on Wednesday, saying the two leaders would 'discuss a range of topics, including 'upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia.' The talks were expected to preview security talks due to take place of January 10, when the two sides will discuss arms control and Ukraine. Biden accepted the request for a conversation because 'he has always believed that there is no substitute for direct leader to leader dialogue and engagement, and that is especially true when it comes to Russia and to his engagement with President Putin,' added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. In advance of the conversations, officials said Biden would tell Putin that there is a diplomatic path to de-escalating tensions if he wants to take it, but that he should expect consequences if he invades Ukraine. 'President Biden will also make clear when he speaks with President Putin that we are prepared for diplomacy and for a diplomatic path forward,' said the official. 'But we are also prepared to respond if Russia advances with a further invasion of Ukraine.' Putin raised the stakes on Sunday by saying he would consider a range of options if the West failed to provide security guarantees preventing Ukraine joining NATO. At the same time, Biden will spell out some of the consequences of aggression during the call, according to the official.t The official said the U.S. had made plans to reinforce 'NATO's force posture' in eastern Europe if Russia attacked and was prepared to provide Ukraine with 'further assistance' to help the county defend itself. 'And we would like to see obviously, a reduction in that buildup and the return of forces to their their regular training areas or their long term deployment areas,' said the official. President Joe Biden is due to have a phone call with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, a matter of weeks after they held a video call to discuss tensions in Ukraine Russian troops have massed along the border with Ukraine raising fears of imminent invasion Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to the Ukrainian president on Wednesday Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday about the tensions and outlined Biden's call with Putin. 'We will continue to consult closely with Ukraine, NATO allies, and partners in our diplomatic efforts to deter further Russian aggression,' he said in a tweet. It comes as a senior Russian diplomat accused the U.S. of starting a new Cold War. Further raising the stakes, it emerged at the same time that Russia has deployed into service a new top-secret 'star wars' missile that is designed to shoot down nukes and satellites. The S-550 missile defense system 'has entered combat duty', according to defense sources who spoke to TASS on Wednesday. While little is known about the missile, it is thought to be Russia's latest foray into the space arms race - designed to take out targets hundreds of miles above earth such as low-orbit satellites, nuclear warheads, and orbital hypersonic weapons. Moscow is thought to have carried out a test of this weapon system last month when it blew up one of its own defunct spy satellites in a move that enraged Washington and ramped up tensions with NATO. The former chief of the Armed Forces has highlighted research into the illegal drug ecstasy to treat anxiety disorders caused by combat. Yesterdays edition of the BBCs Today programme on Radio 4 was guest-edited by General Sir Nick Carter, who retired last month as Chief of the Defence Staff. Listeners were told Sir Nick wanted Today to showcase the banned drugs apparently positive effects on traumatised troops. General Sir Nick Carter said he wants officials to consider whether ecstasy could be used to treat traumatised troops suffering from PTSD Research in the United States suggests ecstasy could be effective in treating soldiers suffering PTSD, picture posed by model Ecstasy remains a Class A drug in Britain because it is blamed for the deaths of hundreds of mainly young people from seizures and high blood pressure. Consequently possessing ecstasy or MDMA, as it is also known, can carry a seven-year jail sentence while dealing the drug can lead to a life sentence. But early research in the US into the drugs efficacy in treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder has been so encouraging that it could be prescribed to soldiers from 2023. Radio 4s Today featured interviews with US veterans who said MDMA had helped them rationalise battlefield trauma. British trials into MDMA-assisted psychotherapy are expected to start in early 2022 at Kings College London, the Daily Mail has confirmed. Already researchers have found that MDMA releases hormones such as oxytocin and alters patterns of brain activity. In particular, it was found to reduce activity in parts of the brain where memories are processed. MDMA also allowed veterans to more easily rationalise recollections of traumatic moments which would otherwise be stuck in the heads. The drug was administered in combination with intensive therapy sessions. A US veteran told Today: I was in Vietnam in 1968-69 and suffered for more than 50 years before joining this research. I was suffering from a lot of anger but I could finally release it. MDMA and the therapy calmed me down and I gained a tool kit for fixing negativity. Last night, Dr James Rucker, a consultant psychiatrist at Kings College London, said: PTSD can be a life altering and extremely debilitating illness. We are close to signing a contract to host a trial that is committed to finding an effective treatment for PTSD via MDMA-assisted therapy. We anticipate it will be signed in the very near future. Her message to the 'calculating witch' who destroyed her life was uncompromising and to the point. 'I wish her well in hell,' says Chauntae Davies. 'Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster in every sense of the word. She deserves to die behind bars for what she did to me and the countless other women's lives she destroyed. She and Epstein will meet each other in hell when her time comes.' Still scarred by the four years she suffered at the hands of Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, Chauntae was jubilant at the sensational conclusion of the New York trial this week. Maxwell, 60, was branded a 'sophisticated predator' who procured and served up young girls to her lover in what prosecutors described as a 'pyramid scheme of abuse'. Her message to the 'calculating witch' who destroyed her life was uncompromising and to the point. 'I wish her well in hell. Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster in every sense of the word,' says Chauntae Davies (pictured today) Chauntae was jubilant at the sensational conclusion of the New York trial this week. For four years, she continued to be a part of Epstein and Maxwell's circle, enduring repeated rapes by her depraved employer. Chauntae (above, with Epstein) still struggles to come to terms with why she didn't attempt to break free earlier Chauntae was one of those girls. She was a 21-year-old trainee massage therapist when she was lured into the couple's depraved circle, where she was repeatedly raped over many years. 'She and Epstein destroyed my life in every way. My relationships. My family life and my health,' she says. Unlike Epstein's other young victims, who were below the age of consent, Chauntae was older and, some may assume, wiser. Which brings us to the troubling question of why, having been assaulted on one occasion, she continued to put herself in harm's way. For four years she continued to be a part of Epstein and Maxwell's circle, enduring repeated rapes by her depraved employer. Chauntae still struggles to come to terms with why she didn't attempt to break free earlier. 'There is a decent amount of shame and guilt I carried with me for years over this, and in many ways still do,' she says. 'Those feelings are now mixed with embarrassment and anger. It's hard to understand why the strong, brave and independent woman that I've become could allow that to happen. 'I am only now beginning to understand the manipulation and control that was used by both Jeffrey and Ghislaine. But especially Ghislaine. She was wearing a mask throughout the time I knew her. I wish I could have seen her for who she was.' Chauntae travelled with Epstein and Maxwell, and was part of a group of dignitaries and celebrities that flew on the billionaire's private jet to Africa in 2002. Former US president Bill Clinton, together with actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker, visited the five African countries during the five-day humanitarian trip, part of a project for Clinton's foundation to raise awareness about poverty and the Aids crisis. (Above, Chauntae with Clinton) During a stopover at a small airport in Portugal to refuel, Chauntae was pictured giving the former president a neck massage he had complained of 'stiffness' after falling asleep in his seat. 'Ghislaine Maxwell chimed in to be funny and said that I could give him a massage,' she recalls. The moment (above) was captured on camera: 'Although the image looks bizarre, President Clinton was a perfect gentleman, and I saw absolutely no foul play involving him,' says Chauntae Chauntae is reassured only by the knowledge that many other girls were similarly duped, and then intimidated into not speaking out sooner. 'My story is so similar to that of the other survivors who were initially tricked by Maxwell and then delivered to Epstein whose power and connections made escaping and leaving seem utterly terrifying.' How Chauntae came to be recruited by Maxwell, and delivered to Epstein, was fairly typical of how the couple operated. She was just weeks into her training as a masseuse, in 2001, when her LA-based tutor and mentor Gypsy Gita took her to the five-star Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills to give a massage to Maxwell. There is no suggestion Gita had any awareness of Epstein and Maxwell's wrongdoing. Chauntae recalls a 'charming, tall, thin, sophisticated British woman, with a pixie haircut'. 'Her stare was sharp, and she seemed to look me over like a farmer assessing his cattle. She continued to ask me questions throughout the session,' Chauntae remembers. 'I remember feeling a bit uneasy that there was so much focus on me during her paid hour.' Pictured, Epstein and Maxwell in 2005. Chauntae says: 'My story is so similar to that of the other survivors who were initially tricked by Maxwell and then delivered to Epstein whose power and connections made escaping and leaving seem utterly terrifying' She obviously made an impression, because within hours Gypsy got a call asking if Chauntae would be available for hire for the weekend at a home in Palm Beach, Florida Epstein's luxury mansion. A dream opportunity, surely, for any young woman at the start of her career. 'My first reaction was that it just wasn't possible. I had only been in massage school for a couple of weeks,' says Chauntae. 'Looking back on it now, the speed of it is so suspicious but this is how her and Epstein were operating all along. Little did I know that this was to be the start of the worst period of my life. She was so charming that I trusted her implicitly.' Chauntae's first encounter with her billionaire boss should have sounded alarm bells that had her running to the airport. Epstein, she later told prosecutors, performed a sex act on himself in front of her during the session. But somehow through fear she wouldn't be believed or the sheer force of Maxwell's charm and reassurance she was persuaded to join the couple again. Within weeks, Chauntae was fully immersed into Epstein's bizarre life of wealth and luxury, travelling the world on his Boeing 727 nicknamed the Lolita Express. She even went to Little Saint James, his private island home in the Caribbean nicknamed Orgy Island where Prince Andrew previously admitted visiting. 'The island was stunning. Turquoise waters moving back and forth across white sand. It was breathtaking.' And it was here that she came to realise the true nature of her 'dream job'. She was reading a book in bed late at night when Epstein's assistant Sarah Kellen came to the room of her private bungalow and knocked on the door. Kellen has been accused by some of helping to facilitate Epstein's abuse, but insists she was in fact a victim herself. 'She peered cautiously around the door with a shy smile and said, 'Jeffrey's ready for his massage',' recalls Chauntae. 'I froze. It was late, I thought we were all going to bed. I knew I was brought here to work as their massage therapist, but I also knew this late-night call on an island where I already felt isolated did not feel right. 'She led me to another, bigger private villa on the opposite side of the main house, a part of the island I had not yet seen; Jeffrey and Ghislaine's villa. 'It was a large room with a large bed that centred the room, and you could hear the waves crashing against the rocks just outside the windows. A beautiful bathroom, which lit the room, sat to the left and just in front of that, a massage table was set up. 'Sarah mumbled something as she closed the double doors behind her, and Jeffrey would be here shortly. I took a breath. I knew this didn't look good and I wanted to run right then and hop in one of the boats and drive to the nearest island and fly myself home. 'But I didn't. I stood there, nervous, wondering how this would play out. 'Suddenly the doors flung open, and Jeffrey came waltzing in, smug, happy, and climbed on the table. 'He didn't stop talking, I supposed to avoid any awkwardness, and asked me how I liked the island and how he had strained a muscle in the gym that day. He asked me about my massage school and many other things while I attempted to answer his questions without giving away the fact that I was nervous as hell. 'I wondered where Ghislaine was and hoped that because this was their room, he wouldn't pull any funny business.' I doubt this is the last we have heard from [Maxwell]. A rat will always try to force its way out of the sewer.' Chauntae Davies But the massage session took a dark turn as Epstein's personality suddenly switched the details of which she still finds difficult to talk about. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her body 'on to his already naked body,' she said. She begged him to stop but 'that just seemed to excite him more', and he raped her. Afterwards Epstein simply climbed off the bed without speaking, and calmly walked into the bathroom for a shower while she fled through the night, running back to her cottage in bare feet. 'I still wonder why I didn't protect myself from this sociopath,' Chauntae recalls. 'I would think, "You idiot, get out of there" like you do in a scary movie and the bad guy is hiding round the corner with a knife. 'We stayed on the island a few more days after this, but I don't remember much. That first night is burned in my memory for ever, and I'm sure the next few days were the same, but it's a block for me. 'I've been told that sometimes memories are too far a burden to bear and that's why our minds block them.' And so it was that Chauntae continued to travel with Epstein and Maxwell, and was part of a group of dignitaries and celebrities that flew on the billionaire's private jet to Africa in 2002. Former US president Bill Clinton, together with actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker, visited the five African countries during the five-day humanitarian trip, part of a project for Clinton's foundation to raise awareness about poverty and the Aids crisis. Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell sits as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in a courtroom sketch in New York City on Wednesday. Chauntae, who has a young daughter and is raising her in a remote part of the US, now finally hopes her life can resume. 'I am now starting a new chapter of my life and am determined to move on. Maxwell's conviction is long overdue' During a stopover at a small airport in Portugal to refuel, Chauntae was pictured giving the former president a neck massage he had complained of 'stiffness' after falling asleep in his seat. 'Ghislaine Maxwell chimed in to be funny and said that I could give him a massage,' she recalls. 'Everyone had a little chuckle but Ghislaine in her prim British accent insisted and said I was good. The president then asked me, "Would you mind giving it a crack?" 'He turned his back to me, and I reached up and I started to rub out the kink in his neck and shoulder.' The moment was captured on camera: 'Although the image looks bizarre, President Clinton was a perfect gentleman, and I saw absolutely no foul play involving him.' However, there was an embarrassing moment: as she massaged Clinton's neck, she asked, innocently: 'I've got a bad angle, would you mind getting on your knees?' After Clinton's infamous 'inappropriate' relationship with his former intern, Monica Lewinsky, her choice of words could have been better. 'I have always been the queen of putting my foot in my mouth,' Chauntae says. 'The room fell silent. I couldn't believe I'd said that. Then, although his face had turned the colour of fire, he laughed. The whole room was laughing. And being the good sport he was, he sat down so I could get a better angle.' The encounter would prove to be one of the few lighter ones that marked her four years in Epstein's circle of hell. In July 2019, Chauntae told everything to the FBI and the Assistant Attorney General of New Mexico. Epstein was arrested five days later. He hanged himself in his Manhattan prison cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial. Chauntae, who has a young daughter and is raising her in a remote part of the US, now finally hopes her life can resume. 'I am now starting a new chapter of my life and am determined to move on. Maxwell's conviction is long overdue. 'I just hope that myself and the other brave women who came forward and fought for justice now finally get some peace.' As for her charming seducer with the cut-glass accent, however, Chauntae issues a note of caution. 'I doubt this is the last we have heard from her. A rat will always try to force its way out of the sewer.' Britain risks being brought to a standstill by soaring Covid cases, a shortage of tests and the seven-day quarantine period, NHS and business leaders warned yesterday. As absences linked to the Covid isolation crisis worsened last night, a rail operator cancelled commuter trains into one of Londons busiest stations for more than ten days. Meanwhile, so many health workers are being forced to stay at home that there may not be enough doctors and nurses to run new Nightingale units. Close to a million employees are now believed to be stuck at home, with restaurants forced to close and deliveries hit by the astronomical numbers off sick. Business leaders, MPs and some scientists repeated calls to follow the US and cut the self-isolation period for those who test positive to five days to protect essential services, as record numbers catch the milder but more contagious Omicron variant. But despite warnings the situation will worsen further as many people return infected with Covid after visiting family over Christmas and going out on New Years Eve, ministers are currently resisting the clamour to reduce the quarantine time further. There is also growing pressure on the Government to secure more tests amid soaring demand and a global shortage of supplies, with Wales giving four million rapid lateral flow kits to the NHS in England. Britain risks being brought to a standstill by soaring Covid cases amid a shortage of tests and the seven-day quarantine period general view of construction of a Nightingale 'surge hub' at St George's Hospital, in south west London, on Thursday Ten-day wait for a train Rail passengers are facing New Year travel chaos caused by Covid and other problems. Southern said yesterday that no trains will run into or from London Victoria until January 10 due to high levels of coronavirus isolation and sickness among staff. Other operators including Avanti West Coast, Greater Anglia, London North Eastern Railway, Northern and ScotRail have also cancelled trains for this reason. CrossCountry will run a very limited timetable due to a 24-hour strike starting today over the role of guards. More disruption will be caused by engineering work at London Victoria and on the Transpennine route. Advertisement Health Secretary Sajid Javid said supplies of tests are likely to be rationed over the next fortnight as health officials struggle to cope with huge demand. He warned in a letter to MPs that tests will need to be prioritised for vulnerable groups, such as care home residents and staff. Mr Javid told MPs: In light of the huge demand for LFDs [lateral flow devices] seen over the last three weeks, we expect to need to constrain the system at certain points over the next two weeks to manage supply over the course of each day, with new tranches of supply released regularly throughout each day. The Government will triple supplies for January and February from an anticipated 100million to 300million per month. Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen said last night: The biggest threat facing the NHS is forced absenteeism due to people isolating with a cold. Its exactly the same for private businesses. Craig Beaumont, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: We are now well on our way to one million people sick with Covid or self-isolating, which is seeing a rapid rise in staff absences. 'This will worsen in the New Year as people return from Christmas. John Foster, of the Confederation of British Industry, said the level of workers absences was starting to bite firms and cutting isolation to five days would be a pragmatic choice that can help keep the economy moving. Construction workers at work building a Nightingale 'surge hub' at St George's Hospital amid rising Covid cases Professor Mark Walport (pictured, the former chief scientific adviser, described the number of Covid cases as 'astronomical' The British Medical Association and Royal College of Nursing said healthcare staff should be prioritised for tests to avoid staffing shortages. The London Ambulance Service said 12 per cent of its workforce was off sick as of the week before Christmas. Southern Rail announced due to the ongoing effect of coronavirus isolation and sickness there would be no direct services to and from London Victoria until January 10, preventing tens of thousands from returning to work. Professor Sir Mark Walport, the former chief scientific adviser, told BBC Radio 4s World At One programme: There is an astronomical number of infections in the UK at the moment, which means its not just health and social care workers off sick, but also delivery drivers. Professor Tim Spector, who leads Kings College Londons Zoe Covid study, said: I believe five days is sensible for the UK, if the individual has two lateral flow tests negative. This means the risk of infection will be significantly reduced. The NHS app is insisting people in England self-isolate for ten days despite the period being cut to a week if negative. It says people will not receive a Covid pass until ten days have passed. This means they may not be able access venues such as nightclubs even if out of isolation after seven days. The Somerset town of Taunton has seen the biggest rise in house prices in Britain, with values up more than 20 per cent this year. It tops a list of the house price winners and losers in 2021, compiled by Halifax, with towns and more rural areas leading the way. The huge 21.8 per cent growth in property values in Taunton is more than three times the national average, which currently stands at 6.2 per cent. Pictured: Somerset's Taunton has seen the biggest rise in house prices, up 21.8 per cent in a year, according to research by Halifax Halifax has revealed the areas with the biggest increases in house price growth in Britain In cash terms, the rise in Taunton translates to 56,546, bringing the average price of a home in the Somerset town to 315,759. Also ranking highly in the price winners' list is in the Wiltshire town of Chippenham, which has good links to the M4 and rural surroundings. Although it has seen a smaller percentage increase in house prices of 18.1 per cent, this translates into the biggest rise in cash terms of almost 60,000 in just one year. Average values in Chippenham have increased from 322,859 in 2020 to 381,181 a year later, having risen 58,322. Another winner in the hotspot list is the Wiltshire town of Chippenham, which has seen the biggest rise in cash terms of almost 60,000 in just one year The top 20 areas with the highest price rises do not contain any London boroughs, reflecting how buyers have shunned cities in favour of towns and rural areas during the pandemic. Rising house prices were not limited to the South. Indeed, the Halifax research found that only five of the top 20 biggest rises occurred in towns across the South East and South West. The remaining 15 were spread across the Midlands, Wales, North of England and Scotland. WHY SOMERSET'S TAUNTON? Pictured: Somerset's Taunton Somerset's Taunton reaching the top slot of house price rises has not come as a surprise to some. Residents praise its commutable distance to London for those only required to be in the office a couple of days a week, its good schools and a National Park being on its doorstep. Robin Gould, of buying agents Prime Purchase, said: 'I've been recommending Taunton to clients for years. It has long been the place where you can get more for your money, although predictably property prices are now rising. 'If you look at a map, it looks a long way from everything and yet it's less than two hours on the train from London Paddington so it's very quick. If you don't have to commute every day, it's incredibly accessible. 'Although Taunton was bombed during the war and so much of it is modern and ugly, it has everything you could possibly want good schools, shops, and Exmoor on the doorstep. It offers that balance between London and country, and with more people searching by lifestyle, it ticks all the boxes.' Advertisement TOWNS WITH THE HIGHEST HOUSE PRICE GROWTH 2020 - 2021 Town Region Average House Price 2020 Average House Price 2021 1 year change 1 year change % Taunton South West 259,213 315,759 56,546 21.8% Newark East Midlands 234,202 280,934 46,732 20.0% Rochdale North West 173,975 206,098 32,123 18.5% Chippenham South West 322,859 381,181 58,322 18.1% Braintree South East 301,980 356,216 54,236 18.0% Widnes North West 189,247 222,876 33,628 17.8% Motherwell Scotland 151,015 177,118 26,103 17.3% Bolton North West 181,853 212,671 30,818 16.9% Hereford West Midlands 262,536 306,872 44,336 16.9% Walsall West Midlands 199,358 230,972 31,614 15.9% Bradford Yorkshire and Humberside 147,361 170,684 23,323 15.8% Swansea Wales 183,230 211,590 28,360 15.5% Kettering East Midlands 248,320 285,103 36,783 14.8% Maidstone South East 323,208 370,964 47,756 14.8% Newton Abbot South West 284,609 326,623 42,014 14.8% Spalding East Midlands 230,965 264,668 33,703 14.6% Wirral North West 241,107 276,042 34,936 14.5% Scunthorpe Yorkshire and Humberside 154,199 176,186 21,986 14.3% Doncaster Yorkshire and Humberside 176,728 201,824 25,096 14.2% Hamilton Scotland 139,951 159,176 19,225 13.7% UK average 304,598 323,355 18,757 6.2% Source: Halifax The area of London with the highest growth was Enfield, where average values were up 6.8 per cent, from 479,745 in 2020, to 512,135 in 2021. It was marginally ahead of Harrow, where average prices rose 6.7 per cent, from 531,708 in 2020 to 567,501 in 2021. Russell Galley, of Halifax, said: 'As the county town of Somerset, this year's house prince winner, Taunton, has a lot to offer homebuyers with its high quality of life and great transport links to major towns and cities across the South West. 'Like Taunton, many of the areas that saw the biggest house price growth over the last year enjoy a combination of greater affordability and space compared to nearby cities. 'Places like Bolton, Newark, Bradford and Hamilton - where there are a broad range of property types and settings - all offer significantly better value than their more metropolitan neighbours.' 'This is perhaps most clearly shown in the UK's capital. It is rare that no London boroughs appear among the areas of highest house price growth but that is the case in 2021. 'This shift echoes what we have seen from home buyers over the last year - less focus on major cities and more demand in the suburbs and further afield.' Rise of the North The top 20 areas for house price growth included four from the North West - which were Rochdale, Widnes, Bolton, and Wirral - three from Yorkshire and the Humber - which were Bradford, Scunthorpe, and Doncaster - and two from Scotland, which were Motherwell and Hamilton. A further six were from the Midlands and Wales. It is in sharp contrast with 2020, when 11 of the areas with the greatest growth were in London and the South. The top 20 areas for house price growth included fourlocations in the North West - including Rochdale in Greater Manchester (pictured) REGIONAL HOUSE PRICE CHANGES 2020 - 2021 Region Average House Price 2020 Average House Price 2021 1 year change 1 year change % Wales 202,680 231,134 28,454 14.0% Yorkshire and Humberside 209,858 231,553 21,695 10.3% East Midlands 241,453 265,828 24,375 10.1% East Anglia 294,814 322,604 27,790 9.4% Scotland 191,017 207,778 16,761 8.8% North West 223,913 242,286 18,373 8.2% Northern Ireland 175,528 188,892 13,364 7.6% South West 306,502 329,110 22,608 7.4% West Midlands 251,474 266,659 15,185 6.0% North 184,678 195,515 10,837 5.9% South East 408,391 420,042 11,651 2.9% Greater London 558,272 554,684 -3,588 -0.6% UK average 304,598 323,355 18,757 6.2% Source: Halifax Wales saw the greatest rate of house price growth across any region in Britain, according to Halifax, with the value of homes rising by 14 per cent on average, from 202,680 in 2020 to 231,134 in 2021. This was well ahead of those in second and third place - Yorkshire and Humber and East Anglia - where gains of just over 10 per cent were made during the past 12 months. On average, almost every region between the Midlands and Scotland saw house prices increase by the national average or more during the last year. Scotland saw average growth of 8.8 per cent, with prices rising by 16,761 to 207,778. Motherwell saw the highest growth with 17.3 per cent, up 26,103 to 177,118, ahead of Hamilton at 13.7 per cent - up 19,225 to 159,176 -, and Dumfries on 13.6 per cent - up 20,982 to 175,002. Like the rest of Britain, while the major cities saw growth, in most instances it was at a rate below the Scottish average. Only Dundee - at 11.3 per cent - had an above regional average increase, with Aberdeen at 8.4 per cent, Glasgow at 7.1 per cent, and Edinburgh at 7.0 per cent all falling short of Scotland-wide gains. At the other end of the country, the capital experienced a largely flat year for house prices. Greater London saw average prices fall marginally, down 0.6 per cent from 558,272 to 554,684. The picture across individual boroughs was mixed. Enfield and Harrow were the only two areas with growth beyond the national average. Westminster saw the greatest fall of any area of the country, down 6.9 per cent. Advertisement Four new dinosaurs including the 'horned crocodile-faced hell heron' are among more than 550 new animal and plant species discovered by staff at the Natural History Museum (NHM) this year. The museum's annual round-up of newly discovered species range from some of the smallest invertebrates swimming in the oceans to ferocious predators that stalked the land millions of years ago. By far the biggest and most fearsome new species to have been described this year are a pair of giant carnivorous dinosaurs known as spinosaurs, discovered from remains on the Isle of Wight. The predators were named the 'riverbank hunter' and 'horned crocodile-faced hell heron' after the swampy environment they would once have lived and hunted in. The more ferocious of the two, the 'horned crocodile-faced hell heron', was named due to a series of low horns and bumps across the brow region and its 'heron-like' hunting style. Both are thought to have roamed land that is now the the Isle of Wight around 129 million years ago. Artist's depiction of the two new species of spinosaurid dinosaurs discovered on the Isle of Wight, named Hell heron (foreground) and Riverbank hunter Silhouettes showing the bones discovered. Ceratosuchops inferodios (hell heron) in the foreground, Riparovenator milnerae (riverbank hunter) in the background Remains from Rhomaleopakhus turpanensis, a 'chunky' sauropod which had an unusually large funny bone, uncovered in China NEWLY-FOUND DINOSAUR SPECIES Ceratosuchops inferodios: Known as 'hell heron' and found in the Isle of Wight Riparovenator milnerae: Known as 'riverbank hunter', also from the Isle of Wight Brighstoneus simmondsi: An iguanodontian with an unusual snout also from the Isle of Wight Spicomellus afer: The earliest ankylosaur and first to have been found in Africa Pendraig milnerae: The earliest known carnivorous dinosaur from the UK Rhomaleopakhus turpanensis: A chunky sauropod from China Advertisement The museum's total new species for discovered by staff this year 552 is despite international travel to field sites or other museum collections having remained largely off limits due to Covid-19 restrictions. 'It's been a fantastic year for the description of new dinosaurs, especially from the UK,' said Dr Susannah Maidment, a senior researcher in paleobiology at the NHM, who helped describe some of these new finds. 'Although we've known about the UK's dinosaur heritage for over 150 years, the application of new techniques and new data from around the world is helping us to uncover a hidden diversity of British dinosaurs. 'These specimens are parts of a vast palaeobiological jigsaw puzzle that allows us to understand environments of the past and how they changed over time.' Riverbank hunter and hell heron were huge carnivorous dinosaurs that most likely walked upright. Their massive, crocodile-like jaws show that they mostly ate fish and possibly other dinosaurs too. The two spinosaurs already detailed in a paper in Scientific Reports earlier this year were just two of six new dinosaurs to have been described by NHM staff in 2021. In total, four of these were from the UK, one was uncovered in China and the other from the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Rhomaleopakhus turpanensis, from China, was a 'chunky' sauropod with an unusually large funny bone. Meanwhile, Spicomellus afer from Morocco was an ankylosaur and had an odd series of spikes attached to the rib. Ankylosaurs were a diverse group of armoured dinosaurs related to the stegosaurs, which were present throughout the Cretaceous period from 145 to 66 million years ago. A bizarre armoured spike fossil, found in Morocco, belonged to a new species of dinosaur that was 'unlike anything else in the animal kingdom,' NHM researchers found Artistic reconstruction of Brighstoneous simmondsi, a new igaunodontian with an unusual snout found on the Isle of Wight, UK Artistic reconstruction of the 'small-bodied' Welsh theropod Pendraig milnerae, the earliest carnivorous dinosaur from the UK NHM made a number of other fossil finds this year, including algae, arachnids trapped in amber and fossil bryozoans microscopic aquatic invertebrates that live in colonies, also known as moss animals. The museum also found two ancient mammals Megalomys camerhogne, which belonged to a group of rodents which once lived scattered across the Caribbean, and Borealestes cullinensis, a 'Jurassic mouse' from the Isle of Skye, Scotland that would have scurried around the feet of dinosaurs 166 million years ago. Many of the new species described this year have been crustaceans, in particular 291 species of copepods small, shrimp-like creatures that are found near water. Despite their small and unassuming appearance, they are critical to our planet's ecology and carbon cycle, according to the NHM, and form the major component of zooplankton. 'Copepods are not only free-living but many are parasites, and they can be found living in virtually every other major animal group,' said Professor Geoff Boxshall, researcher in the department of life sciences at the NHM. 'I have been focusing my research on these parasitic copepods from fishes and marine invertebrate hosts.' Museum scientists have also described 52 species of wasps, 13 moths, seven crabs, six flies, five amphipods and 90 beetles. The moths includes Wallace's sphinx moth, which has the longest tongue of any insect, according to the NHM, used for reaching the bottom of the nectar tubes. The moth is notable for having been predicted to exist by Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, some 40 years before it was recorded in the wild. The beetles included a pair of glitteringly purple and green metallic beetles from India, a chunky monochromatic beetle with a large pair of jaws from the Philippines and Caccothryptus larryi, a minute marsh loving beetle named in honour of Larry the cat at 10 Downing Street. A beautiful green Donaciolagria regia beetle from India. This is the female of the species which is a different colour from the male (below) Donaciolagria regia female. Note the striking differences in colour between the male and female of this particular Indian species Caccothryptus larryi - a minute marsh-loving beetle from India named after Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office There were also 10 new species of reptiles and amphibians, including five snakes. One of these new snake species, called Joseph's racer, was described with the help of a 185-year-old painting. There's also Rhabdophis bindi, a new species of snake from India and Bangladesh that lives in tropical evergreen forest. Rhabdophis bindi has a red spot on the nape of the neck, 'reminiscent of the red beauty spot adorning the foreheads of Indian women', according to a paper describing the species. Three new species of lizards have also been described, including a fan-throated lizard and a gecko from India, as well as one new species of frog from Vietnam. There has also been a new species of caecilian, a type of snake-like amphibian which lives primarily underground and in the water. Rhabdophis bindi - a new species of snake from India and Bangladesh that lives in tropical evergreen forest. Note the red spot on the nape of the neck, 'reminiscent of the red beauty spot adorning the foreheads of Indian women', according to a paper describing the species Pictured here is impatiens versicolor - one of five new species of jewelweeds, or touch-me-nots, described from eastern Africa NHM also found five new species of plants from eastern Africa. Known as jewelweeds or touch-me-nots, they usually produce delicate pink or white flowers, except for a few species which have switched to producing red flowers. Rather than being pollinated by butterflies, these red flowers are visited by birds, which find it easier to pick the colour red out from amongst green foliage. NHM staff were also involved in classification of a piece of space rock that fell to Earth in a blazing fireball in February this year. The space rock burnt through the atmosphere before coming to a sudden stop on a driveway in the Gloucestershire town of Winchcombe. Winchcombe meteorite. A piece of the meteorite which fell to earth during lockdown in February, the first observed meteorite fall to have been recovered in the UK in 30 years Hundreds of people spotted the fireball streaking across the night sky, and within a matter of hours researchers were able to get out and recover over 600 grams of the meteorite that had travelled billions of kilometres. Now officially classified as the Winchcombe meteorite, it is one of only 603 approved meteorites classified as carbonaceous chondrites. Each official meteorite becomes its own type specimen, which is roughly analogous to being a new species. 'The Winchcombe meteorite is the first meteorite fall to be recovered in the UK for 30 years,' said Dr Helena Bates, a researcher at the museum who was involved with recovering the Winchcombe meteorite. 'Winchcombe is thought to come from an asteroid that has remained largely unchanged since the birth of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.' Tabwecala robinsoni. This rather striking new moth from Vanuatu is one of 14 new species of moths and butterflies described this year Xanthopan praedicta. This species of moth was predicted to exist by Darwin and Wallace, and was finally recognised as its own species this year Neanthes goodayi. A new species polychaete worm found to live within the polymetallic nodules which are being eyed up for deep sea mining Eurythenes atacamensis. One of two colour morphs of giant isopod from the Atacama Trench off the coasts of Peru and Chile The climate crisis is killing migrants who are crossing the US border from Mexico, a new study finds. Many people making the dangerous journey have died of dehydration, but a team of American scientists found that, specifically, most travelers die in the area between Nogales, Mexico and Three Point, Arizona. This is a region within the Sonoran desert. The area has a concentration of places with the greatest predicted evaporated water loss, the study found. Those who trek through it experience disorientation and organ failure that can lead to death; more men have died of dehydration than women, the researchers determined. The study concludes that in 30 years, even under an 'intermediate mitigation' scenario, people would be expected to lose one-third more water on a journey across the US southern border than they would today. Scroll down for video The image shows recorded deaths of 93 men (top) and 28 women (bottom) who were travelling on foot in southern Arizona. The black dots indicate individual deaths, while red coloring indicates regions in which deaths are most likely to be recorded The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Idaho, Princeton University, the University of California and the University of Wisconsin, who sought to quantify the costs, in terms of water lost through respiration and sweating, of the migrant journey, and how variation in those costs corresponded to patterns of migrant mortality. Ryan Long, associate professor of wildlife sciences at the University of Idaho and senior author of the study, said in a statement: 'Over the past several decades, thousands of men, women and children have died attempting to circumvent border protection efforts and cross from Mexico into the United States. 'Because official ports of entry are heavily fortified, many migrants attempt to enter the U.S. by crossing remote desert regions.' The team determine which parts of the crossing are the most dangerous using geo-referenced records of adult male and female deaths recorded from 1981 to 2019, with a focus on those who died between May and September - when the hottest and driest weather hits and the most migrant deaths occur, Carbon Brief reports. It has been known that many people making the dangerous journey die of dehydration, but a team of American scientists found that most travelers die in the area between Nogales, Mexico and Three Point, Arizona. This is a region within the Sonoran desert (stock) The study shows the amount of drinking water carried by a typical migrant is likely not sufficient to prevent severe dehydration, and this deficit will only increase as the climate warms. Pictured are water bottles found along the route to the US Using the Niche Mapper biophysical model, scientists then calculated how much people dehydrate at different points of the trip. This allowed them to determine where people are more likely to be hit with dehydration. Different levels of dehydration were then given: from 'severe dehydration', in which people lose over 10 percent of their body mass in a single day from water loss, to 'mild dehydration' in which people lose zero to five percent. The study includes quotes from migrants who made the crossing, describing their experiences, with one who explained the extent of dehydration. Lucho, a 47-year-old migrant from Jalisco, Mexico, said in an interview in June 2009: 'We were dying of thirst. I was hallucinating at that point. We were surrounded by dirt but I kept seeing water everywhere in the desert.' Taking a deeper look, the team found that people will experience more water loss in June. The black dots indicate individual deaths, while red coloring indicates regions in which deaths are most likely to be recorded The data shows that, on average, a 152-pound pregnant woman would be expected to lose two gallons of water during a day-time journey, while a 41-pound five-year-old would lose five cups. And taking a deeper look, the team found that people will experience more water loss in June. The study shows the amount of drinking water carried by a typical migrant is likely not sufficient to prevent severe dehydration, and this deficit will only increase as the climate warms, Long said. 'We provide the first empirical evidence that the physiological stresses experienced by humans attempting to cross the Sonoran Desert into the U.S. are sufficient to cause severe dehydration and associated conditions that can lead to death,' Long said. 'Our study provides strong evidence that patterns of migrant mortality in the desert can be explained by spatiotemporal variation in the physiological costs experienced during the journey; a disproportionately large percentage of migrant deaths occur in areas where the predicted rates of water loss are highest.' Apple shut down its Foxconn iPhone plant in India on December 18, after appalling conditions were found inside the heavily guarded facility. Reuters spoke to six women who worked at the Foxconn plant near Chennai. All of them requested they not to be named because of fear of retaliation on the job or from police. The women told the news outlet that they were forced to live in crowded dorms with no toilets and eat food crawling worms, while rats ran wild in the kitchens that also had poor drainage. It wasn't until tainted food sickened over 250 of the workers did their anger boiled over, culminating in a rare protest that shut down a plant where 17,000 had been working. The tumult comes at a time when Apple is ramping up production of its iPhone 13 and shareholders are pushing the company to provide greater transparency about labor conditions at suppliers. For women who assembled iPhones at a Foxconn plant in southern India, crowded dorms without flush toilets and food sometimes crawling with worms were problems to be endured for the paycheck. Private security guards stand at the entrance of a closed plant of Foxconn India A close look by Reuters at the events before and after the December 17 protest casts a stark light on living and working conditions at Foxconn, a firm central to Apple's supply chain. Workers slept on the floor in rooms, which housed between six to 30 women, five of these workers said. Two workers said the hostel they lived in had toilets without running water. 'People living in the hostels always had some illness or the other -- skin allergies, chest pain, food poisoning,' another worker, a 21-year-old woman who quit the plant after the protest, told Reuters. Earlier food poisoning cases had involved one or two workers, she said. 'We didn't make a big deal out of it because we thought it will be fixed. But now, it affected a lot of people,' she said. Apple and Foxconn said on Wednesday they found that some dormitories and dining rooms used for employees at the factory did not meet required standards. The facility has been placed 'on probation' and Apple will ensure its strict standards are met before the plant reopens Apple and Foxconn said on Wednesday they found that some dormitories and dining rooms used for employees at the factory did not meet required standards. The facility has been placed 'on probation' and Apple will ensure its strict standards are met before the plant reopens, Apple said in a statement. 'We found that some of the remote dormitory accommodations and dining rooms being used for employees do not meet our requirements and we are working with the supplier to ensure a comprehensive set of corrective actions are rapidly implemented.' Apple did not elaborate on the improvements that would be made for workers at the plant or the standards that would be applied. Laws governing housing for women workers in Tamil Nadu mandate each person be allocated at least 120 square feet of living space and require housing to adhere to hygiene and fire safety standards as laid out by local authorities. Foxconn said it was restructuring its local management team and taking immediate steps to improve facilities. All employees would continue to be paid while it makes necessary improvements to restart operations, the company said. Venpa Staffing Services, a Foxconn contractor that runs the dorm where workers were sickened by food poisoning, declined to comment. The food poisoning and subsequent protests have also led to investigations, some of which are ongoing, by at least four Tamil Nadu state agencies. Officials have also privately told Foxconn to ensure better conditions, senior state government officials said. 'It is Foxconn's responsibility,' Thangam Thennarasu, the industries minister of Tamil Nadu state told Reuters. The Tamil Nadu state government said in a statement last week that the state had asked Foxconn to ensure that working and living conditions were improved, including the quality of housing and drinking water. Foxconn has agreed to ensure that worker living conditions follow government recommendations and meet legal requirements, the statement said. Apple and Foxconn did not indicate in their statements when the plant would reopen. Foxconn had told state officials that it had 'ramped up production too quickly,' though production was curtailed during April and May when the Delta variant of COVID-19 was raging in India, a senior government official from the state's industries department told Reuters. Taiwan-based Foxconn opened the plant in 2019 with the promise of creating up to 25,000 jobs, a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign to create manufacturing jobs. Foxconn said it was restructuring its local management team and taking immediate steps to improve facilities. All employees would continue to be paid while it makes necessary improvements to restart operations, the company said. Pictured is the outside of the Foxconn India plant The tumult comes at a time when Apple is ramping up production of its iPhone 13 and shareholders are pushing the company to provide greater transparency about labor conditions at suppliers Sriperumbudur, a town outside Chennai where the factory is situated, is a busy industrial area with factories that make Samsung and Daimler products nearby. The factory is central to Apple's efforts to shift production away from China due to tensions between Beijing and Washington. Reuters reported last year that Foxconn planned to invest up to $1 billion in the plant over three years. Foxconn contracts out the staffing of the factory to labor brokers, who are also responsible for housing the workers - mostly women - employed there. Following the protests, food safety inspectors visited the hostel where the bout of food poisoning occurred and closed the dorm's kitchen after finding rats and poor drainage, Jegadish Chandra Bose, a senior food safety officer in the Thiruvallur district where the hostel is located, told Reuters. 'The samples analyzed did not meet the required safety standards,' he said. The women who work at the Foxconn plant make the equivalent of about $140 (10,500 Indian rupees) in a month and pay Foxconn's contractor for housing and food while they work at the plant. Most workers are between 18 and 22 and come from rural areas of Tamil Nadu, the head of a women workers' union said. The monthly pay at the plant is more than a third higher than the minimum wage for such jobs, according to state government guidelines. The 21-year-old worker who quit following the protest, told Reuters that her parents are farmers growing rice and sugarcane. She said she looked for a city job like many others in her village and considered the Foxconn wages good. Several activists and academics said women recruited from farming villages to work in Sriperumbudur's factories are seen by employers as less likely to unionise or demonstrate, a factor that made the protests at the Foxconn factory - which isn't unionised - even more notable. V. Gajendran, assistant professor at Madras School of Social Work in Chennai, said women recruited to work in nearby factories 'typically come from larger, poor, rural families, which exposes them to exploitation and reduces their ability to unionize and fight for their rights.' The food poisoning incident sent 159 women from one dorm to hospital on Dec 15, workers told Reuters. Some 100 more women needed medical attention but were not hospitalized, the Thiruvallur district administration said last week. 'We were alarmed and we talked among each other in the hostel and decided to protest. There was no one leader,' one of the workers told Reuters. On December 17, about 2,000 women from the nearby Foxconn hostels took to the streets, blocking a key highway near the factory, the district administration said. Male workers, including some from a nearby auto factory, joined a renewed protest the next day, the Foxconn workers Reuters spoke to said. Police responded to the larger, second protest by striking the male workers and then chasing and striking some of the women involved, two workers and Sujata Mody, a local union leader who had interviewed workers told Reuters. Police detained 67 women workers and a local journalist, confiscated their phones, and called their parents with a warning to get their daughters in line, three of those detained, local union leaders, and a lawyer who was trying to help those detained told Reuters. Reuters could not independently confirm the descriptions of the police response. M Sudhakar, the top police official in Kancheepuram district, denied that protesters were beaten, phones were confiscated, or that workers were intimidated by police. 'We strictly adhered to guidelines and respected the rights of those who were detained. All rules were followed,' he told Reuters. K. Mohan, a village-level administrator who went to the hostel where the food poisoning incident occurred to investigate living conditions on December 16, found no safeguards to prevent COVID-19 infections, he told police in testimony reviewed by Reuters. 'I went to that place to investigate since there is a chance that this place could become a COVID cluster,' Mohan told police. 'The women were made to stay in the hostel where no coronavirus guidelines were being followed.' Rising temperatures brought about by climate change could see more tropical cyclones striking populous mid-latitude cities like Beijing, New York and Tokyo. As their name suggests, tropical cyclones have long been characterised by the fact that they form almost exclusively over seas located at low-latitudes. Key to these storms are warm sea surface temperatures of at least 81F (27C) and converging low-level winds that force air to rise and form storm clouds. As long as the burgeoning system has enough distance from the equator, planetary spin will interact with the flow of moist rising air, causing it to rotate cyclonically. And just as cyclones do not form too close to the equator, their range is bounded at higher latitudes by the jet streams, which have long confined them to the tropics. Research by Yale University-led experts, however, suggested that global warming will reduce the temperature differential between the equator and the poles. This, they warn, could weaken the jet stream at mid-latitudes, allowing cyclones to form by 2100 over a wider range than they have in the last 3 million years. The ability for more tropical cyclones to form at mid-latitudes, where most of the world's population lives, will place millions more within their devastating reach. Rising temperatures brought about by climate change could see more tropical cyclones striking populous mid-latitude cities like Beijing, New York and Tokyo. Pictured: a satellite image of 'Sam', the strongest tropical cyclone to form in 2021's Atlantic hurricane season As their name suggests, tropical cyclones have long been characterised by the fact that they form almost exclusively over seas located at low-latitudes. Pictured: Typhoon Goni batters the coast of the central Philippines' Sorsogon province on November 1, 2020 The investigation by physicist Joshua Studholme of Yale University and colleagues was inspired in part by September 2020's subtropical storm Alpha the first ever cyclone to make landfall in mainland Portugal. 'We hadn't observed this before,' Dr Studholme told BBC News. 'You had a traditional kind of mid-latitude storm, that [] in its decay, the right conditions for a tropical cyclone to form occurred, 'That hadn't happened to Portugal before.' In their study, the team reviewed existing research into the impacts of climate change on the jet streams, tropical atmospheric circulation and the convergence of the trade winds over the equator. They did so, however, through the lens of how these effects interact with the complex physical processes that occur on the scale of individual storms. 'What we've done is make explicit the links between the physics going on within storms themselves and the dynamics of the atmosphere at the planetary scale, said Dr Studholme. 'This is a hard problem because this physics isn't well simulated in numerical models run on modern computers.' Key to the formation of tropical cyclones (aka hurricanes) are warm sea surface temperatures of at least 81F (27C) and converging low-level winds that force air to rise and form storm clouds. As long as the burgeoning system has enough distance from the equator, planetary spin will interact with the flow of moist rising air, causing it to rotate cyclonically. Pictured: the structure of a hurricane as seen in the Northern Hemisphere Pictured: Earth's atmosphere on July 22, 2017, as captured by NASA . This day was special as it featured the largest number of simultaneous tropical cyclones in the satellite record The team noted that simulations of Earth's past warm climates such as found in the Eocene (5633.9 million years ago) and Pliocene (5.32.6 mya) epochs suggest that typical cyclones can form and intensify at higher latitudes than today. The team's finding that climate change could similarly increase the risk from tropical cyclones in the future is consistent with a number of recent studies. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change wrote in their sixth assessment report last August that they had a 'high confidence' that humanity's influence on the climate was leading to a strengthening of tropical cyclones. 'The proportion of intense tropical cyclones, average peak tropical cyclone wind speeds, and peak wind speeds of the most intense tropical cyclones will increase on the global scale with increasing global warming,' they concluded. Alongside being able to strike populated areas that were previously out of bounds, the mid-latitude tropical cyclones enabled by climate change may sport dangerous differences from their lower latitude counterparts. 'Tropical cyclones in the mid-latitude band could experience other changes such as slower motion and heavier rainfall,' hurricane researcher Gan Zhang formerly of Princeton University and who was not involved in the present study told the BBC. 'These tropical cyclone changes, plus pronounced coastal sea level rise might compound potential societal impacts,' he added. The team noted that simulations of Earth's past warm climates such as found in the Eocene (5633.9 million years ago) and Pliocene (5.32.6 mya) epochs suggest that typical cyclones can form and intensify at higher latitudes than today. Pictured: Tropical cyclone tracks seen in the present (top) as compared to the Eocene and the preceding Palaeocene epochs (bottom) The team did have some good news, however noting that tackling climate change by drastically reducing carbon emissions over the next decade could help to stop tropical cyclones from forming at mid-latitudes in the first place. 'The control over this is the temperature gradient between the tropics and the poles, and that's very tightly linked to overall climate change,' Dr Studholme explained. 'By end of this century, the difference in that gradient between a high emission scenario and a low emission scenario is dramatic. 'That can be very significant in terms of how these hurricanes play out.' The full findings of the study were published in the journal Nature Geoscience. NASA's first ever 'planetary defence' spacecraft, sent to deflect an asteroid 6.8 million miles from Earth, has sent its first image back, and it is of a small star field. NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on November 24. Soon after launch, the spacecraft opened its 'eye', returning its first image, which is a major operational milestone on its one-way trip to crash into an asteroid. It is on a year-long journey to crash into the small asteroid Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos, at 15,000mph (24,100km/h) in September 2022. 'On Tuesday, December 7, the spacecraft opened the circular door covering the aperture of its DRACO telescopic camera and streamed back the first image of its surrounding environment,' according to NASA. After opening the circular door to its telescopic imager, NASAs DART captured this image of about a dozen stars near where the constellations Perseus, Aries and Taurus intersect On December 10, DARTs DRACO camera captured and returned this image of the stars in Messier 38, or the Starfish Cluster, which lies some 4,200 light years away NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on November 24, 2021 WHAT IS THE NASA DART MISSION? DART will be the world's first planetary defence test mission. It is heading for the small moonlet asteroid Dimorphos, which orbits a larger companion asteroid called Didymos. When it gets there it will be intentionally crashing into the asteroid to slightly change its orbit. While neither asteroid poses a threat to Earth, DART's kinetic impact will prove that a spacecraft can autonomously navigate to a target asteroid and kinetically impact it. Then, using Earth-based telescopes to measure the effects of the impact on the asteroid system, the mission will enhance modeling and predictive capabilities to help us better prepare for an actual asteroid threat should one ever be discovered. Advertisement The images were taken when the probe was two million miles from Earth, which is about twice as far as the final destination of the James Webb Space Telescope. The first image shared by the spacecraft shows a dozen stars, each of which appear crystal-clear and sharp against the black backdrop of space, located near the point where the constellations Perseus, Aries and Taurus intersect. The DART team, in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, used the stars in the image to work out how precisely the DRACO camera was oriented. Doing so provided the first measurements of how the camera is pointed relative to the spacecraft, which can be used to accurately move the spacecraft to point DRACO to objects the team are interested in observing from deep space. This includes Messier 38 (M38), also known as the Starfish Cluster, that is in the constellation Auriga, 4,200 light years from the Earth. Capturing images with many stars like M38 helps the team characterise optical imperfections in the images as well as calibrate how absolutely bright an object is. These are all important details for accurate measurements when DRACO starts imaging the spacecraft's destination, the binary asteroid system Didymos. DRACO, the camera on the DART probe, is short for Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation. The images were taken when the probe was two million miles from Earth, which is about twice as far as the final destination of the James Webb Space Telescope It is a high-resolution camera inspired by the imager on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft that returned the first close-up images of the Pluto system and of a Kuiper Belt object, Arrokoth. As DART's only instrument, DRACO will capture images of the asteroid Didymos and its moonlet asteroid Dimorphos, as well as support the spacecraft's autonomous guidance system to direct DART to its final impact. The $325m (240m) DART mission will take 10 months to complete its almost seven million-mile journey into deep space. When the 1,210lb space probe hits Dimorphos, the plan is for it to change the speed of the 'moonlet' by a fraction of a per cent. It is on a year-long journey to crash into the small asteroid Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos, at 15,000mph (24,100km/h) in September 2022 DART will arrive at Dimorphos in October 2022, where it will deliberately smash into the asteroid at speeds of 15,000mph. This collision will change the speed of Dimorphos in its orbit around Didymos by a fraction of one per cent, changing the orbital period by several minutes Although the 525ft-wide space rock doesn't pose a danger to Earth, NASA wants to measure the asteroid's altered orbit caused by the collision. This demonstration of 'planetary defence' will inform future missions that could one day save Earth from a deadly asteroid impact. 'This isn't going to destroy the asteroid. It's just going to give it a small nudge,' said mission official Nancy Chabot of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which is managing the project. Dimorphos completes an orbit around Didymos every 11 hours and 55 minutes 'just like clockwork', she added. DART's goal is a crash that will slow Dimorphos down and cause it to fall closer toward the bigger asteroid, shaving 10 minutes off its orbit. NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on November 24 DIMORPHOS AND DIDYMOS Dimorphos completes an orbit around Didymos every 11 hours and 55 minutes. It was discovered in 1996 by the Spacewatch survey at Kitt Peak. The sub-kilometre asteroid is classified as both a potentially hazardous asteroid and a near-Earth object. Orbiting Didymos is a 'moonlet' called Dimorphos, which was found in 2003. Advertisement The change in the orbital period will be measured by telescopes on Earth. The minimum change for the mission to be considered a success is 73 seconds. The DART technique could prove useful for altering the course of an asteroid years or decades before it bears down on Earth with the potential for catastrophe. A small nudge 'would add up to a big change in its future position, and then the asteroid and the Earth wouldn't be on a collision course,' NASA said. Scientists constantly search for asteroids and plot their courses to determine whether they could hit the planet. 'Although there isn't a currently known asteroid that's on an impact course with the Earth, we do know that there is a large population of near-Earth asteroids out there,' said Lindley Johnson, NASA's Planetary Defense Officer. 'The key to planetary defence is finding them well before they are an impact threat. 'We don't want to be in a situation where an asteroid is headed towards Earth and then have to test this capability.' Dimorphos and Didymos are depicted here to scale with some of Earth's most famous landmarks DART's goal is a crash that will slow Dimorphos down and cause it to fall closer toward the bigger asteroid, shaving 10 minutes off its orbit NASA is targeting the impact to be as nearly head-on as possible 'to cause the biggest deflection', but DART will not 'destroy' the asteroid. Images of the impact will also be collected by a miniature camera-equipped satellite called LICIACube contributed by the Italian Space Agency that will be ejected by the DART spacecraft 10 days before impact. LICIACube is a mini satellite that weighs just 31lbs and measures roughly the length of an adult's hand and forearm. Both Didymos and the smaller Dimorphos were discovered relatively recently; Didymos in 1996 and the smaller Dimorphos in 2003. The year it was discovered, Dimorphos came within 3.7 million miles of Earth 15 times farther away than the Moon. NASA considers any near-Earth object 'potentially hazardous' if it comes within 0.05 astronomical units (4.6 million miles) and measures more than 460ft in diameter. More than 27,000 near-Earth asteroids have been catalogued but none currently pose a danger to our planet. Elon Musk has hit back at claims that his Starlink satellites are hogging space, following a backlash from China and the European Space Agency. In an interview, SpaceX CEO Musk said that 'tens of billions' of spacecraft can orbit close to Earth and rubbished claims that his firm is 'squeezing out rivals in space'. Earlier this week, the billionaire tech entrepreneur was blasted by China over two 'close encounters' between his satellites and Beijing's new space station, Tiangong. SpaceX has so far launched almost 1,900 Starlink satellites into space and plans to add thousands more as part of a global internet system to bring internet access to underserved areas. In its 34th and latest launch, SpaceX sent 52 satellites into orbit aboard a rocket on December 18. China has complained to the US over Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX, the company owned by Elon Musk (pictured) A Starlink satellite is seen in an artist's rendering. China says its space station had to take evasive action twice to avoid collision threats with the satellites CHINESE CITIZENS SLAM MUSK OVER SATELLITE THREAT Chinese citizens have lashed out with fury against billionaire SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk after China said its space station was forced to take evasive action to avoid collision with SpaceX's Starlink satellites. In a post on China's Twitter-like Weibo microblogging platform on Monday, one user said Starlink's satellites were 'just a pile of space junk', while another described them as 'American space warfare weapons'. Although Musk is widely admired in China, the reputation of Tesla which sells tens of thousands of vehicles in the country each month has faltered this year following a spate of crashes, scandals and data storage concerns. Tesla is still hugely popular, selling around one out of every four of its cars in China, and has built a rare wholly-owned factory in Shanghai. Read more: Chinese citizens slam Musk over threat to space station Advertisement 'Space is just extremely enormous and satellites are very tiny,' Musk told the Financial Times. 'This is not some situation where we're effectively blocking others in any way. We've not blocked anyone from doing anything, nor do we expect to.' Musk argued that each satellite orbits Earth in its own 'shell' essentially a pathway around Earth at a certain fixed altitude that has a bigger diameter than Earth itself. He compared this to the density of 2 billion cars and trucks that cover only a fraction of the Earth's surface. 'That would imply room for tens of billions of satellites,' Musk said. 'A couple of thousand satellites is nothing. Its like, hey, here's a couple of thousand of cars on Earth it's nothing.' However, one astrophysicist rubbished the billionaire's comparison, saying that spacecraft travelling at 17,000 miles per hour needs far greater separation than road vehicles to prevent a potential collision. 'For many space users, planning an avoidance manoeuvre is at least hours if not days, so this suggests space is already too crowded,' Jonathan McDowell at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told the FT. What's more, calculating the trajectory of many different satellites can be affected by changes in solar weather, McDowell said. He added that evasive manoeuvres are becoming more frequent as more objects crowd into near-Earth orbit and force course adjustments to reduce the risk of crashes. 'We've really noticed the increase in the number of close passes since Starlink started getting deployed,' he told AFP earlier this week. Any collision between Tiangong and a Starlink satellite would likely 'completely demolish' the space station and kill everyone on board. Josef Aschbacher, head of the European Space Agency, has also said that Musk was 'making the rules' for the new commercial space economy. ELON MUSK IS NAMED TIME MAGAZINE'S PERSON OF THE YEAR Time Magazine has named Elon Musk as its Person of the Year for 2021, while also calling him a 'clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist and showman'. Time cited the breadth of Musks endeavours, from his founding of SpaceX in 2002, to his hand in the creation of the alternative energy company SolarCity in addition to Tesla, the most valuable car company in the world. The magazine emphasises that its annual acknowledgement is not an award, but rather, 'recognition of the person who had the most influence on the events of the year, for good or for ill' The magazine also noted the sway Musk holds over an army of loyal followers (and investors) on social media. Read more: Elon Musk is named Time Magazine's 2021 Person of the Year Advertisement However, Laura Forczyk, a space analyst at space consulting group Astralytical, said that this criticism of Starlink was 'based on emotion, not facts'. 'I have to wonder if similar complaints were made when certain airlines started flying more planes on set routes. No one owns the skies and all are free to use them,' she said. On Tuesday, China accused the US of ignoring its space treaty obligations after Musk's two 'near misses' between Starlink satellites and the new Tiangong space station, which is currently home to three astronauts but is still under construction. A foreign ministry spokesman for China accused Washington on Tuesday of ignoring its treaty obligations to protect the safety of the Tiangong station's three-member crew following the two separate launches. Tiangong had to perform 'evasive manoeuvres' to 'prevent a potential collision' with two Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX on July 1 and October 21, the Chinese government said in a December 6 complaint to the UN. During both the July and October incidents, the Starlink satellites moved into orbits that prompted space station operators to change course, said the document submitted to the UN's space agency by Beijing this month. 'The manoeuvre strategy was unknown and orbital errors were hard to be assessed', Beijing said of the satellite involved in the October incident, adding that it took action to 'ensure the safety and lives of in-orbit astronauts'. The US should 'take immediate measures to prevent such incidents from happening again,' said Zhao Lijian, deputy director of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Zhao accused Washington of failing to carry out its obligations to 'protect the safety of astronauts' under Outer Space Treaty, a 1967 treaty on the peaceful use of space. China said the satellites had two 'close encounters' with the Chinese space station on July 1 and October 21. The Tiangong station, currently under construction, is seen in a rendering 3D rendering of the Chinese Space Station, or Tiangong Space Station, as it'll look when fully constructed. Tianhe will form the main living quarters for three crew members. Shenzhou is an existing spacecraft that would dock at the station with crew. Tianzhou is an existing cargo transport spacecraft CHINESE SPACE STATION MODULES - Tianhe: Core module. Launched on April 29, 2021 - Wentian: Experiment module I. Launch planned for 2022 - Mengtian: Experiment module II. Launch planned for 2022 - Xuntian: Space telescope module. Planned launch in 2024 to co-orbit with Chinese Space Station Advertisement Tiangong, meaning 'heavenly palace', will rival the ageing International Space Station (ISS), which is operated by the space agencies of the US, Canada, Russia, Japan and Europe. The Tianhe module of the China's new space station which was the first module to be launched, in April this year forms the main living quarters for crew members in Tiangong, which will have a life span of at least 10 years. Tianhe will be connected next year to two more 'experiment module' sections, named Mengtian and Wentian. Once completed, Tiangong Space Station will weigh some 66 tons, far smaller than the ISS, which launched its first module in 1998 and weighs around 450 tons. ISS, currently in orbit, took 10 years and more than 30 missions to assemble from the launch of the first module back in 1998. The ISS is backed by five participating space agencies NASA (US), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada) but China was originally barred from participating by the US. Tiangong's first crew returned to Earth in September following a 90-day mission. The second crew of two men and one woman Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu and Wang Yaping arrived in mid October for a six-month mission and are still aboard today. In early November, Yaping became China's first female spacewalker after completing a six-hour task outside the station, along with Zhigang. The spacewalk took a total of six hours 25 minutes, during which time the duo installed equipment and carried out tests alongside the station's robotic service arm. Musk said last month that SpaceX would attempt to launch its futuristic, bullet-shaped Starship to orbit in January, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had other plans. It changed the date of its final environmental review to February, meaning Starship is now grounded until March. An exercise 'sweet spot' found to reverse cognitive decline in mice could one day be used to help people living with dementia, a new study suggests. In experiments on ageing mice, Australian researchers found exercising for 35 days straight was the 'sweet spot' for reversing learning deficits in mice aged 24 months. Curiously, longer or shorter periods of exercise proved ineffective for reversing this cognitive decline, the researchers found. The results pave the way for human studies that look at the effects of specific exercise durations on reversing the effects of dementia. University of Queensland researchers have discovered an exercise sweet spot that reverses the cognitive decline in ageing mice, paving the way for human studies. Worldwide, around 55 million people have dementia conditions, including Alzheimer's (stock image) DEMENTIA FACTS Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a category of symptoms marked by behavioural changes and gradually declining cognitive and social abilities. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia, but other dementia conditions include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia. Alzheimer's disease is thought to be caused by the abnormal build-up of proteins in and around brain cells. According to predictions from Alzheimer's Research UK, one million people in the country will have dementia by 2025, doubling to two million by 2050. Advertisement Worldwide, around 55 million people have dementia conditions, including but not limited to Alzheimer's disease. The new study was led by researchers at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), the University of Queensland, Australia. '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,' said study author Dr Dan Blackmore. Dementia is caused by damage to or loss of nerve cells (also known as neurons) and their connections in the brain. These nerve cells carry electrical impulses from one place to another, transmitting information through electrical and chemical signals. The growth of new neurons known as neurogenesis is critical in regions of the brain for maintaining cognitive abilities, including the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped brain region responsible for learning, emotions and memory. The hippocampus is essential for memory consolidation where recent learned experiences are transformed into long-term memory. 'Hippocampal function is critical for spatial and contextual learning, and its decline with age contributes to cognitive impairment,' Dr Blackmore and colleagues say. Graphical abstract shows the method and results of the experiments; the team found 35 days of voluntary physical exercise improved learning and memory 'Exercise can improve hippocampal function, however, the amount of exercise and mechanisms mediating improvement remain largely unknown.' ACTIVE PLACE AVOIDANCE TASK The active place avoidance (APA) task is a dry-arena task used to assess spatial navigation and memory in rodents. In this task, a subject is put on a rotating circular arena and avoids an invisible sector that is stable in relation to the room. Rotation of the arena means that the subjects avoidance must be active, otherwise the subject will be moved in the to-be-avoided sector by the rotation of the arena and a slight electric shock will be administered. Source: Bahnik et al Advertisement In the experiments, the researchers tested mice aged from 10 weeks to 24 months on the active place avoidance (APA) task, which tests the spatial navigation and memory of rodents. This task involves placing rodents on a rotating platform, which are then required to use surrounding cues to navigate away from a electrified 'shock zone'. Unsurprisingly, the 18-month-old and 24-month-old mice performed significantly worse than their younger counterparts over the course of five days of testing. The animals were then housed in a cage with access to a running wheel for multiple time periods. When researchers repeated the APA with the aged mice, they found that only those who had exercised for 35 days showed a significant improvement in learning. The researchers also found that injecting growth hormone into sedentary mice improved learning by activating neurogenesis. In humans, GH is negatively affected by age, whereas exercise increases circulating GH levels in our body. 'Weve 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.' In further experiments, the team were able to explore how the production of new neurons changed the circuitry in the brain using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI showed that improved spatial learning was due to enhanced connectivity in the dentate gyrus (DG), part of the hippocampal formation of the brain. '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. To conclude, the researchers stress that they don't think the 'sweet spot' exercise period of 35 days is a 'sine qua non' for hippocampal activation 'under all conditions and for all ages'. Dementia is a term used to describe the symptoms that occur when there's a decline in brain function (stock image) 'Rather, we demonstrate that a comprehensive examination of different exercise periods is crucial to understand the mechanisms underlying the cognitive improvements which follow exercise,' they say. This new research has been published in two separate papers in the open access journal iScience. The first is entitled, 'An exercise sweet spot reverses cognitive deficits of aging by growth-hormone-induced neurogenesis'. The second is called 'Neurogenic-dependent changes in hippocampal circuitry underlie the procognitive effect of exercise in aging mice'. China has approved three more missions to the Moon over the coming decade, including ones involving rovers, a flying craft and the start of a permanent base. This will be the fourth phase of the Chinese lunar plan, that has previously seen them photograph the dark side, and return samples of moon rock to the Earth. Future missions, scheduled to begin in 2024, will become increasingly complex, resulting in the basic model of a lunar research station built on the Moon. This station is a joint project with the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, and is expected to be operational ahead of a joint crewed mission in 2030. Known as Chang'e 6, 7 and 8, the trio of uncrewed moon mission will launch throughout the 2020s on an array of spacecraft, according to Wu Yanhua, deputy head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The move comes as part of China's increasing push into space exploration, that saw the nation launch its own space station in 2021. China has approved three more missions to the Moon over the coming decade, including ones involving rovers, a flying craft and the start of a permanent base The Yutu 2 rover (pictured), which almost three years ago arrived with the first spacecraft to land on the dark side of the moon, saw the object while travelling across the Von Karman crater Known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), it will consist of a surface moon base and station in lunar orbit, with construction expected to start in 2026 UPCOMING CHANG'E MISSIONS Chang'e-6 will be the first mission to explore the Moon's south pole. It's expected to launch in 2023 or 2024. Chang'e-7 will study the land surface, composition, space environment in an overall mission, according to the Chinese space authority, while Chang'e-8 will focus on technical surface analysis. China is also reportedly working on building a lunar base using 3D printing technology and sending a future crewed mission to the surface. Chang'e-8 will likely lay the groundwork for this as it strives to verify technology for the project. Advertisement The first of the phase four moon missions to launch will be Chang'e 7, expected to launch around 2024, when NASA is expected to returns humans to the moon. The Chinese mission will be multipurpose, including a relay satellite, a lander, a rover and a mini flying craft, similar to the NASA Ingenuity helicopter used on Mars. The collection of moon vehicles are designed to hunt for evidence of ice at hte lunar south pole, that could provide water and fuel for a future colony. They will carry a number of science instruments, including radar, camera, mineral imager, thermometer and even a water-molecule analyser. The goal is to create a comprehensive picture of the lunar environment, and will launch on China's largest rocket, the Long March 5. Chang'e 6 will launch second, although no specific dates have been given for when it is expected to leave the Earth. It was originally envisioned as a backup for the Chang'e 5 sample-return mission, that brought rock samples back to Earth in December 2020. Now a mission in its own right, it will build on the success of Chang'e 5, by bringing rock samples back to Earth, but also carrying science payloads for international partners including France, Italy, Russia and Sweden. The final of the trio, Chang'e 8, will launch towards the end of the decade and is the first mission to begin construction of the joint Russia-China International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). The uncrewed mission will test out technology designed to take local lunar resources, and use them to 3D print structures. 'The main purpose of these three missions is for China to build the basic model of a lunar research station in cooperation with Russia, with China taking the lead,' Wu told CCTV. 'The construction of the station can lay a solid foundation for us to better explore the lunar environment and resources, including how to peacefully use and develop lunar resources.' This will be the fourth phase of the Chinese lunar plan, that has previously seen them photograph the dark side, and return samples of moon rock to the Earth The goal is to create a comprehensive picture of the lunar environment, and will launch on China's largest rocket, the Long March 5 Eventually it will include a fully robotic base, designed for research and exploration of the lunar surface without the need for human intervention. This will then be expanded to allow astronauts to make long-duration stays on the lunar surface into the 2030s, according to Wu. China currently operates the Chang'e 4 lander and rover on the far side of the moon, and have been doing so since 2019. It is currently investigation rocks it has spotted on the horizon that have been dubbed a 'mystery hut' by Chinese space fans Orangutan mothers gradually adjust how much food they share with their offspring to help them learn quicker and become independent, scientists in Germany reveal. The researchers, from Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, analysed behaviour between orangutan mothers and infants in Sumatra, Indonesia. They claim to have uncovered the first evidence yet of active involvement by orangutan mothers in their offspring's learning of new skills. When orangutan mothers are foraging, they 'tailor their behaviour' to match the age and abilities of their offspring, thereby helping their young to learn. Once the orangutan infants become independent, the mothers can reproduce again, so tailoring their behaviour in this way is beneficial for the mothers too. Scroll down for video Much like humans, orangutans rely on their mothers to learn life skills - such as what to eat and where to find it. Pictured is a female orangutan holding a baby An immature Sumatran orangutan is soliciting food from its mother as a way of learning foraging skills 'Immature orangutans acquire their feeding skills over several years, via social and independent learning,' the researchers say in their research paper. 'So far, it has remained uninvestigated to what extent orangutan mothers are actively involved in this learning process. THE GREAT APES There are four genera of great apes: - Pongo (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan) - Gorilla (the eastern and western gorilla) - Pan (the chimpanzee and the bonobo) - Homo (of which only modern humans remain) Advertisement 'We conclude that orangutan mothers have a more active role in the skill acquisition of their offspring than previously thought.' There are four living classifications of great apes or 'Hominidae' Orangutan, Gorilla, Pan (consisting of chimpanzee and the bonobo) and Homo, of which only modern humans remain. Humans today are fundamentally different from the other great apes most notably because we live on the ground, walk on two legs and have much larger brains. But when it comes to motherhood, orangutans are animals of distinction, according to the researchers. An orangutan mother will stay in close contact with her baby for up to nine years longer than almost all mammals other than humans. Much like humans, orangutans rely on their mothers to learn life skills such as what to eat and where to find it before they finally reach independence. But unlike humans, orangutan mothers were not known to participate in their offspring's learning. Until now, orangutan mothers were thought to behave as passive role models rather than active teachers. During the eight to nine year weaning period, immature orangutans must learn how to recognise and process more than 200 food items, many of which require several steps before they can be eaten. For example, easy-to-eat flowers and leaves require no processing, whereas bark must be loosened from the tree and scraped with the teeth to remove the nutritional parts. The most difficult foods require tools, such as sticks that are converted into brushes for excavating honey from bee hives. A young orangutan (Pongo abelii) is pictured here in its mother hand at Chester Zoo in April 2018 How immature orangutans learn such complex foraging skills, according to previous studies, is by watching mother when she is eating. ORANGUTAN FACTS Orangutans are great apes, as opposed to monkeys, and are closely related to humans, having 97% of DNA in common. Orangutans are extremely patient and intelligent mammals. They are very observant and inquisitive, and there are many stories of orangutans escaping from zoos after having watched their keepers unlock and lock doors. Height: males - about 1.5m; females - about 1.2m Weight: males - 93 to 130 kg; females 48 to 55 kg Lifespan: 60 years or more Gestation: about 8.5 months Number of young at birth: usually 1, very rarely 2 Source: theorangutanproject.org.uk Advertisement They will also beg or 'solicit' food that the mother is eating, usually by attempting to grab the item out of her hands. But it was a mystery why the learning process was so 'one sided', in that the mother didn't appear to be actively 'teaching' their young. 'It was puzzling that mothers always seemed so passive during these feeding interactions,' said study author Dr Caroline Schuppli. 'Mothers have so much time with their offspring, and maintain such a close connection, but they never appeared to be actively involved in the skill acquisition of their young.' For this study, Dr Schuppli teamed up with researchers from the University of Zurich in Switzerland, the Universitas Nasional in Indonesia, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany to gather data on the mother's role in offspring skill development. They analysed data on 1,300 instances of begging, or 'food solicitation' the infant asking for or trying to obtain food from the mother by 27 immature Sumatran orangutans that were collected over 12 years at the Suaq Balimbing research area in Sumatra, Indonesia. For each event, they scored if the mother would let the immature take the food or not, and then analysed this with information on the age of the begging individual and the properties of the food item. Results showed that orangutan mothers do respond to their offspring during feeding, and therefore facilitate learning opportunities. When their offspring solicit food, orangutan mothers adjust their 'tolerance' according to their offspring's age and how difficult the food item is to process. 'Tolerance' from the mother is defined as letting the offspring take the food item, while 'intolerance' is refusing to let the offspring take the food or showing low-level aggression towards the offspring. ORANGUTANS INSTINCTIVELY KNOW HOW TO USE HAMMERS Scientists at Germany's University of Tubingen learned that orangutans living in zoos can use tools to crack nuts. Orangutans are one of just a few species of primates with the capability of doing so, they reported in 2021. Additionally, some of the orangutans did not observe the behaviour from others, a fact that surprised the researchers. Read more: Orangutans instinctively know how to use hammers, study says Advertisement The researchers found that orangutan mothers show the highest tolerance levels during the age at which their offspring acquire their food recognition and food processing skills around four to five years. What's more, they show the highest levels of tolerance for items that are difficult to process, and they stay tolerant longest for these items. For items that require tool use, for example, the mothers show the highest tolerance levels and stay tolerant throughout the offspring's dependency period. For leaves which can just be picked and ingested whole, they show overall lower levels of tolerance and stop sharing them when the offspring has reached a certain age. 'Our findings suggest that orangutan mothers are actively involved in their offspring's skill learning,' Dr Schuppli said. 'However, they do this in a reactive, rather than proactive way. 'Interestingly, there were very few incidents of active food sharing only. This means that orangutan immatures need to take the initiative during learning. 'This is very different from humans, where active teaching plays an important role and role models are much more proactive. 'It is also different from chimpanzees, where mothers seem to be more proactive.' For orangutans, the most difficult foods to access require tools, such as sticks that are converted into brushes for excavating honey from bee hives Damien Neadle, a researcher at Birmingham City University who was not involved with the study, thinks the orangutan mothers change in behaviour might provide an evolutionary advantage. 'They only reproduce again once their current offspring has gained a large degree of independence so, the faster this happens, the more offspring can be reared,' he wrote for The Conversation. 'Those mothers who are more tolerant and helpful, with offspring potentially gaining independence earlier, can reproduce more.' Whether or not these behavioural adjustments seen by orangutan mothers classify as functional teaching is still unknown. 'These findings give us a special insight into the factors that lead to the evolution of teaching,' said Dr Schuppli. 'While teaching is quite rare in the animal kingdom, it occurs in widely separated species. 'Our study shows that these orangutans have at least some, and perhaps all, of the cognitive, ecological, and social conditions to support teaching ability.' The study has been published in Scientific Reports. The underwater remains of a ship lost in battle more than 2,000 years ago off the coast of Sicily is now teeming with marine life. Italian researchers found 114 marine animal species coexisting on remains of the warship that sunk during a fight between the Romans and Carthaginians. The trove of life includes different types of snails, slugs, mollusks, worms and underwater moss creatures, all of which are located on the ram of the sunken a Carthaginian ship. The ship sank on March 10, 241 BC during a sea battle near the Aegadian Islands off northwestern Sicily. A fleet equipped by the Roman Republic destroyed a fleet from Carthage, ending the First Punic War in Rome's favor - but the carnage made has now produced 'a rich flowering of marine life.' The underwater remains of a ship lost in battle more than 2,000 years ago off the coast of Sicily is now teeming with marine life The ram, nicknamed 'Egadi 13', was recovered in 2017 from the seabed around 295 feet deep by marine archeologists from the Soprintendenza del Mare della Regione Sicilia, directed by Dr Sebastiano Tusa, in collaboration with divers from the organization Global Underwater Explorers. But a recent analysis revealed the marine life thriving on the ancient ship remains. Last author Dr Sandra Ricci, a senior researcher at Rome's 'Istituto Centrale per il Restauro' (ICR), said in a statement: 'Shipwrecks are often studied to follow colonization by marine organisms, but few studies have focused on ships that sank more than a century ago.' Ricci and colleagues found a species-rich community, structurally and spatially complex, with 114 living invertebrate species. The ram is a little more than two feet long, about one inch thick at the front edge and weighs nearly 375 pounds. And because the ram is hollow, it has accumulated organisms and sediments inside as well as outside Italian researchers found 114 marine animal species coexisting on remains of the warship that sunk during a fight between the Romans and Carthaginians THE FIRST PUNIC WAR The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between the Phoenicians of Carthage and Rome in the early third century BC. The longest naval war of antiquity, the conflict raged from 264241 BC in the waters around Sicily and North Africa. It began when Roman forces gained a foothold on Sicily and, allied with the people of Syracuse, laid siege to the Carthaginian's main base on the island, that of Akragas. Following this, Rome built a navy to rival that of the Phoenicians' and, after a series of minor victories, launched an invasion of North Africa which was intercepted at the Battle of Cape Ecnomus in what many consider, by the number of combatants, to be the largest naval battle of all time. Beaten, Carthage sued for peace, but fought on after rejecting the Roman's harsh terms for such. After several years of effective stalemate, the Roman forces deployed a successful blockade of the garrisons at Drepana and Lilybaeum. Carthage dispatched a fleet in 241 BC to relieve their outposts, but this was intercepted and bested at the Battle of the Aegates in which the nimble Roman vessels deployed battering rams against their opponents to devastating effect. In the wake of the battle, Carthage sued for peace, ultimately surrendering Sicily to Roman control. Advertisement These included 33 species of gastropods, 25 species of bivalves, 33 species of polychaete worms, and 23 species of bryozoans. Coauthor Dr Edoardo Casoli from Rome's Sapienza University, said in a statement: 'We deduce that the primary 'constructors' in this community are organisms such as polychaetes, bryozoans, and a few species of bivalves. Their tubes, valves, and colonies attach themselves directly to the wreck's surface.' 'Other species, especially bryozoans, act as 'binders': their colonies form bridges between the calcareous structures produced by the constructors. Then there are 'dwellers', which aren't attached but move freely between cavities in the superstructure. What we don't yet know exactly is the order in which these organisms colonize wrecks.' Corresponding author Dr Maria Flavia Gravina concluded: 'Younger shipwrecks typically host a less diverse community than their environment, with mainly species with a long larval stage which can disperse far. 'By comparison, our ram is much more representative of the natural habitat: it hosted a diverse community, including species with long and short larval stages, with sexual and asexual reproduction, and with sessile and motile adults, who live in colonies or solitary. 'We have thus shown that very old shipwrecks such as our ram can act as a novel kind of sampling tool for scientists, which effectively act as a 'ecological memory' of colonization.' Egadi 13 is constructed out of a single, hallow piece of bronze and is engraved with an undeciphered Punic inscription - the ancient language of Carthaginians that was only found in the Mediterranean. The ram is a little more than two feet long, about one inch thick at the front edge and weighs nearly 375 pounds. And because the ram is hollow, it has accumulated organisms and sediments inside as well as outside. The Romans and Carthaginians went to war in in 264 BC in what is called the First Punic War. The civilizations battled for control of the western Mediterranean Sea. The ship sank on March 10, 241 BC during a sea battle near the Aegadian Islands off northwestern Sicily These included 33 species of gastropods, 25 species of bivalves, 33 species of polychaete worms, and 23 species of bryozoans The war on March 10 was called the Battle of Aegusa, which saw the Roman fleet sink 50 Carthaginian ships that led to the end of the First Punic War. Accounts also say the Romans captured 70 more ships, although at the cost of 30 of their own ships and damage to 50 more. It is thought that the fleets of both sides originally numbered some 200 vessels. Rome became the dominant navy in the Mediterranean Sea, forcing Carthage to pay for war damages, and Rome took control of all of the Carthaginian lands on the island of Sicily. When the question came Pep Guardiola was ready for it and armed with a sarcastic response. I want to tell you something, he began, following another goal-filled Manchester City win, this time at Brighton in October. One day we'll lose and you'll ask me do you need a striker. I bet you whatever you want. I don't buy this question. Phil Foden and Jack Grealish showed intelligent movement overcomes a need for a striker Pep Guardiola's men look as though they will coast to the title without a traditional frontman Two months on he still has no interest in buying a striker either. And, to win the Premier League at least, nor does it look like he needs one. Two summers ago City missed out on Harry Maguire and did not land an alternative target. Given they were prepared to pay a considerable sum for the England defender that a cheaper Plan B was not lined up raised some eyebrows. The fact they did not fill the defensive void left by the talismanic Vincent Kompany then proved to be a significant factor in them relinquishing their title the following season. Ferran Torres was allowed to leave City and join Barcelona in a 55million deal The centre-back they did eventually sign, Ruben Dias, has admittedly proved to be worth the wait. The danger after failing to land Harry Kane from Tottenham this summer was that history may repeat itself in this seasons title race. Especially with an even fiercer battle for the big prize expected. It has not turned out that way so far. At the halfway stage, City were clear at the top having hit a half century of goals, a total only matched by Liverpool. Ferran Torress 55m departure for Barcelona has removed another attacker from Guardiolas options. Yet, still, he remains unfazed. We won't bring in a striker in January, he insisted last week as Torres closed in on his return to Spain. Fluidity will continue to be Guardiolas preferred mode of attack rather than the familiarity of a traditional frontman. City are now nine points ahead of Liverpool and eight points ahead of Chelsea It has taken them eight points clear after 20 games so why change now? Against Brentford, Jack Grealish started as the most central of Citys attackers, with Kevin De Bruyne joining him from midfield and Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus hugging the flanks. But their freedom of movement of key. Swinging in high crosses and battling Brentfords giant defenders was a waste of time without a focal point, at times rendering them redundant. Instead, all four roamed, interchanged and to devastating effect for Citys opening goal. Just when Brentfords hopes were building City pulled out one of their trademark moves from the Guardiola playbook and Foden finished off a first-time De Bruyne cross with his own one-touch finish. Like a clinical, seasoned striker you might say. From the wide role he had primarily occupied, when the opportunity arose Foden had the intelligence and strikers instinct to spot a gap, move into the No.9 position ahead of Grealish, evade defenders and convert his chance. Foden sums up the unpredictability and fluidity of City that is so difficult to defend An intelligence all of Guardiolas forwards need to possess to ensure this way works and City retain a cutting edge. Foden back in the starting XI for the first time since his ill-timed night out with Grealish - had two more headed opportunities from a similar close range to his goal in the second half, one flicked wide and another converted before it was chalked off for offside. All showed the value of the unpredictability of Citys approach. One that makes Guardiolas attackers hard for defenders to pick up and increasingly looks more than capable of taking them to a sixth Premier League title. And reducing the chances of Guardiola being asked question again. Pep Guardiola insisted the title race is far from over after Manchester City tightened their grip on top spot at Brentford. Guardiolas defending champions took full advantage of their nearest challengers Liverpool and Chelsea both dropping points this week to rack up a 10th successive league win and move eight points clear after 20 games. But Citys manager said: There are 54 points to play for and so many more tough teams to play so when you put it in that perspective eight points is ridiculous. We were 4-0 up and in 20 minutes it was 4-3 three, four days ago [against Leicester] so all of you, thank you for your nice words because we win but Im not going to believe any of the words you are going to say about you think it is already done. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists the Premier League title race is far from over City pulled eight points clear at the top of the table after defeating Brentford on Wednesday The teams were competing with, Chelsea and Liverpool, are more than exceptional. One is champions of Europe and Liverpool have been our big rivals in the last three, four years. And we have this distance not because they drop points but because we win 10 games in a row. When you win 30 points from 30 you can be in a good position but it is 54 points still to play and we are just thinking of Arsenal, Chelsea and Southampton the next three games we have. Phil Foden's strike was enough to give City a 1-0 win at Brentford for a tenth straight win Unfortunately we have to come back soon here to London, play Arsenal at 12.30. Maybe right now one of the best teams, in top form. It is Arsenal maybe in in their best moment in the last four, five or six years. Everyone can agree or disagree with me but its another one so now rest, recover the people and try to do it. A fuming Thomas Tuchel hit out at referee Mike Dean for denying Chelsea a '100 per cent penalty' and also a possible goal for Mason Mount in their shock draw against Brighton. Tuchel felt Christian Pulisic was definitely fouled in the box without censure for Brighton in the second half, while Mount rolled the ball into the empty net only to see play brought back for a foul. 'We have a 100 per cent penalty against Christian Pulisic, a 50-50 challenge from Mason Mount right before their equaliser,' said Tuchel. A fuming Thomas Tuchel hit out at referee Mike Dean for denying Chelsea a '100 per cent penalty' against Brighton at Stamford Bridge 'Why does he even need to whistle before the ball is over the line? We have VAR to check. Is he so sure or does he want to keep the tension up? And the penalty, it's a joke, honestly it's a joke not to intervene from VAR. 'And we have a horrible decision from the referee. It is a clear penalty for two zero, not even checked, so everything against us.' Asked whether a draw was right, an irate Tuchel replied: 'Absolutely not. We had the better chances and a clear penalty. Very disappointing. Tuchel was convinced his side should have had a '100 per cent penalty' after a foul on Pulisic The American appealed but had his protests waved away by referee Mike Dean 'If the ref does not want to give a penalty when it is a clear 100 per cent penalty. Circumstances are against us. 100 per cent penalty, you ask the ref not me. 'Sure we are tired, if you had been in bed for 10 days and played Premier League after that you would be tired.' In the opposition dug-out, when asked if Chelsea should have had a penalty for the foul on Pulisic, Brighton boss Graham Potter reasoned: 'I'd have to see it back, live I didn't think it was. I guess that's why they've got VAR. Referee Dean, as always, placed himself at the centre of the action at Stamford Bridge 'If it was 100 per cent I think it would be given, I didn't think it was at the time but I was quite a way away to be honest.' The draw sees Chelsea lose precious ground on leaders Manchester City, who now have a eight point lead at the top of the table after beating Brentford. Chelsea return to action in four days with a crucial meeting with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, who currently sit just one point behind them in third. Ousmane Dembele's contract negotiations with Barcelona have reportedly collapsed, with the Frenchman unhappy with the club's pursuit of Erling Haaland. Dembele, 24, has been locked in talks with Barcelona chiefs over a contract extension with his current deal set to expire at the end of the campaign. New Barca boss Xavi is determined to keep hold of Dembele and negotiations had been positive. It was reported last week that the attacker was prepared to make a sensational U-turn having had his heart set on an exit. Ousmane Dembele is likely to leave Barcelona for free after contract talks reportedly collapsed The same report suggested that Dembele - who joined for 135million in 2017 - would be willing to take a wage cut to stay on and had been looking for a new pay packet of 200,000-per-week, to help ease the cash-strapped club's financial difficulties. However, talks have suffered a major setback with Dembele unhappy with Barcelona chiefs pleading poverty despite the fact they have been linked with a mega-money move for Haaland next summer, according to Sport. Haaland, 21, has been linked with Real Madrid, Man City and Bayern Munich, and his agent, Mino Raiola, named Barca as an option for his client. The Borussia Dortmund star will be available for a cut-price fee of 64million, but Marca claimed on Wednesday that a deal stretched over five years could total as much as 400m, when wages and commissions to Raiola and his father, Alf-Inge, are taken into account. The 24-year-old has been locked in talks and was reportedly prepared to take a wage cut However, he is unhappy with Barca pleading poverty while being linked with Erling Haaland Barcelona have been hit hard by financial difficulties, with the LaLiga club's debts passing the 1bn mark earlier this year. Senior stars such as Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba also took pay cuts to help ease the financial burden on the Catalans. Despite the devastating blow to negotiations, Xavi and Barcelona remain hopeful that an agreement can be reached, even with Dembele free to negotiate with other clubs when he enters the final six months of his contract on January 1. Xavi wants Dembele to be a key part of his Barcelona rebuild and said of the Frenchman: 'We are going to be positive for him to renew, for me it is fundamental.' Barcelona need to slash their wage bill in order to register new 55m signing Ferran Torres to their squad. Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United have been linked with moves for the former Borussia Dortmund star. Advertisement The world's second-tallest building has now reached its maximum height - and it's a sight to behold, as pictures show. Merdeka 118 topped out last month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the completion of the spire at its tip - making the skyscraper a staggering 2,227ft (678.9m) tall. This means it's more than double the height of London's Shard, which is 1,017ft (310m) high. The 118-storey behemoth, which is set to open by the end of next year, has knocked the 2,073ft- (632m) high Shanghai Tower in China off its perch as the world's second-tallest tower. Dubais Burj Khalifa, however, is still No.1 at a whopping 2,717ft (828m) in height. The world's second-tallest building, Merdeka 118, has now reached its maximum height - and it's a sight to behold Merdeka 118, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, topped out last month with the completion of the spire at its tip The fourth-tallest building in the world is the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower in Saudia Arabia (1,972ft/601m), followed by the Ping An International Finance Centre (1,966ft/599.1m) in Shenzhen, China. Merdeka 118, which is officially classed as a megatall skyscraper, was designed to overlook a significant historical landmark in Kuala Lumpur Stadium Merdeka, the site of the declaration of independence of the country in 1957. The sleek exterior of the tower, which was designed by the Australian firm Fender Katsalidis Architects, is made up of triangular glass panels, inspired by shapes 'found in traditional Malaysian arts and crafts'. The Malaysian skyscraper, pictured on the far right, is a staggering 2,227ft (678.9m) tall Merdeka 118 was designed to overlook Stadium Merdeka, pictured, which is known as the site of the declaration of independence of the country in 1957 The exterior of the tower, which was designed by the Australian firm Fender Katsalidis Architects, is made up of triangular glass panels Inside, the skyscraper covers over three million square feet (278,709 square metres) of floor area. Its upper floors will feature an observation deck - set to be the tallest in Southeast Asia - called The View at 118. Its billed as a must-visit attraction. Seventeen storeys of the skyscraper, which was developed by the fund management company Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), will encompass a Park Hyatt Hotel. Merdeka 118 knocked the 2,073ft- (632m) high Shanghai Tower (pictured centre-left) in China off its perch as the world's second-tallest tower Seventeen storeys of the skyscraper will encompass a Park Hyatt Hotel, and a 118 Mall will be connected to the tower at its base The tower in September 2021, weeks before the spire at its tip was completed According to a statement, hotel guests will enjoy a fine dining experience and can check in to rooms and suites that offer panoramic views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline. There will also be residential facilities and rentable office spaces incorporated into the megatall tower. A glass-dome-covered 118 Mall with shops and retail facilities will be connected to the tower at its base, a statement reveals. Beside the skyscraper, plans are in place to design a Merdeka Boulevard at 118 park, a textile museum with a focus on Malay-world textiles, a childcare centre, and a new mosque - named Masjid Merdeka - with a capacity for up to 3,000 people. Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob described the skyscraper as a 'great achievement' at a ceremony that celebrated the topping out of the tower last month, according to The Star. He said: 'Merdeka 118 will also be the first tower in Malaysia that has earned a triple-platinum rating with international sustainability certifications including the highly prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (Leed). 'This is not only a great achievement in the field of engineering, but also further strengthens Malaysias position as a modern and developed country.' A rendering shows the completed tower illuminated at night. The developers behind the project described it as an 'incredible engineering achievement' Pictured is a rendering of the 'View at 118', which is set to become the highest observation deck in Southeast Asia A rendering shows Merdeka Boulevard at 118, a public park that is set to open beside the skyscraper A rendered picture of a room at the Park Hyatt hotel. According to a statement, hotel guests will enjoy panoramic views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline PNBs President and Group Chief Executive, Encik Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn, added: 'The Merdeka 118 tower shares the same location with some of our beloved historical sites, which makes for a remarkable blend of the historical and the contemporary. 'Despite the challenges of the pandemic, I am happy to report that the tower and the surrounding infrastructure upgrades are on track for completion by late 2022. 'Today, I am excited to announce the incredible engineering achievement attained. We thank everyone who contributed to this important milestone.' For more information visit merdeka118.com. Dakota Johnson has discussed her romance with Chris Martin in a candid and rare insight into their relationship in a new interview. The actress, 32, best known for her role as Anastasia in the Fifty Shades franchise, and the Coldplay frontman, 44, have largely kept their four-year relationship out of the spotlight yet she has now shed light on their romance. Speaking in the new issue of ELLE magazine, the film star explained content it being that way, admitting most of their partying happens 'inside the house.' In the interview, which came alongside a stunning new shoot, she also spoke about feeling 48 and 16 due to 'having a lot in her life'. Telling all: Dakota Johnson has reflected on her 'cosy and private' home life with Chris Martin - and why she feels both 48 and 16 during a new interview with ELLE Chris is father to Apple, 17, and Moses, 15, with his ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow and has been dating Dakota since October 2017. On their home life, Dakota detailed: 'We've been together for quite a while and we go out sometimes, but we both work so much that it's nice to be at home and be cosy and private. Most of the partying takes place inside of my house'. Elsewhere during the interview, the Texan born, who snatched her first film role alongside her film sensation mother Melanie Griffith 22 years ago, also expanded on why she feels older and younger at the same time. Despite being in her early 30s, she explained: 'I feel both 48 and 26. Ive had a lot of "life" in my life. I had a lot of life really young, so I think I feel older'. Low-key: 'We've been together for quite a while, and we go out sometimes, but we both work so much that it's nice to be at home and be cosy and private' the Fifty Shades star, 32, said of her relationship with Chris, 44 Low-profile: The actress - best known for her role as Anastasia in the Fifty Shades franchise - and the Coldplay frontman have largely kept their four-year relationship out of the spotlight (pictured 2018) Dakota described her mother Melanie as 'nurturing, generous and loving' and someone who was an 'amazing partner to her husbands' - Dakota's father Don, actor Steven Bauer and Spanish star Antonio Banderas. Despite this, Dakota noted that 'there were also really dark times' adding that 'nothing is perfect all the time.' Elsewhere, The BAFTA winner was highly complimentary of fellow actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and her Lost Daughter co-star Olivia Colman. She explained how Maggie - who she dubbed a 'truth seeker' - ignited her to see parts of herself she didn't know were there after they delved 'deep into the experience of being a woman, both in film and in this world.' Looking back: Elsewhere during the interview, the Texan born, who snatched her first film role alongside her mother Melanie Griffith 22 years ago, also expanded on why she feels older and younger at the same time New interview: Speaking exclusively to ELLE UK, Dakota reflected on pivotal women in her life, motherhood, and making moves in Hollywood Family: Dakota described her 1980s film sensation mother Melanie as 'nurturing, generous and loving' and someone who was an 'amazing partner to her husbands' - Dakota's father Don, actor Steven Bauer and Spanish star Antonio Banderas Meanwhile Dakota hailed Olivia as a 'wild time', regaling how she 'always wants to meet up, drink wine and talk.' Not only is Dakota's forte acting, she is also investor and Co-Creative Director of sexual wellness brand Maude. She believes that it's 'healthy' and a 'basic human need' to have access to quality sexual wellness products. 'Im just remembering I had a dream about our butt plug last night... [I want to explore] what the most pleasurable and seamless and chic and quality experience can be,' she concluded. Role: Elsewhere, The BAFTA winner was highly complimentary of fellow actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and her Lost Daughter co-star Olivia Colman (pictured in The Lost Daughter) Multi-talented: Not only is Dakota's forte acting, she is also investor and Co-Creative Director of sexual wellness brand Maude In the wake of comments about her home life, it was revealed earlier in the week that Chris Martin sold his stunning Malibu home, which he shared with Dakota Johnson, for $14.4 million (10.7million). The sale comes just over a year after purchasing the property for $12.5million (9.3million) back in October 2020. He made an impressive of $1.9million (1.4million) profit on the sale, which comes 'reportedly purchased another house just blocks away from' this one for $14 million (10.5million) with more privacy, according to Dirt. Saying goodbye: In the wake of comments about her home life, it was revealed earlier in the week that Chris Martin sold his stunning Malibu home, which he shared with Dakota Johnson, for $14.4 million (10.7million) Last year Chris' ex Gwyneth said she was still on good terms with Chris and gushed over Dakota. Gwyneth 'loves' the star, and has been spotted spending time with Dakota, as well as Chris, several times. She added to Harper's Bazaar magazine: 'I love her. I can see how it would seem weird because it's sort of unconventional. But I think, in this case, just having passed through it iteratively, I just adore her... 'I always start to think of the ampersand sign - what else can you bring in, instead of being resistant to or being made insecure by? There's so much juice in leaning in to something like that.' The February issue of ELLE UK is on sale from 6 January. He is one of the most famous actors in the world. But Kevin Hart's best role is one as a doting dad. The 42-year-old actor was seen enthusiastically cheering on his children as they skied during family vacation in Aspen, Colorado on Wednesday. Doting dad: Kevin Hart was seen enthusiastically cheering on his children as they skied during family vacation in Aspen, Colorado on Wednesday Bonding time: His eldest of four - 16-year-old daughter Heaven - was seen gliding down the mountain as her famous father jumped up and down, yelled, and gave the thumbs up to her His eldest of four - 16-year-old daughter Heaven - was seen gliding down the mountain as her famous father jumped up and down, yelled, and gave the thumbs up to her. Heaven is from his six-year marriage to Torrei Hart, which ended in 2011, along with 14-year-old son Hendrix. Two-time Emmy nominee Kevin Hart bundled up in a $2,060 Moncler 'Mazod Short Down Jacket.' Fancy: Two-time Emmy nominee Kevin Hart bundled up in a $2,060 Moncler 'Mazod Short Down Jacket' Kevin was also seen with four-year-old son Kenzo as he lovingly held him up as he learned to ski. They also took the lift together while enjoying some father and son bonding. Sweet: Kevin was also seen with four-year-old son Kenzo as he kept his arm around him on the slopes Support system: He also lovingly held him up as he learned to ski Riding high: They also took the lift together while enjoying some father and son bonding Kenzo's mother and Kevin's second wife Eniko Parrish was not seen on the outing along with 15-month-old daughter Kaori. The previous day, Eniko Instastoried a video of herself and Kevin ready to ride their snowmobiles with a big group. Eniko later glammed up in a green 'Aspen' knit sweater for a dinner date at a local restaurant with Kevin, who looked 'fly' in a mustard-colored beanie and sweater. Squeee! The previous day Kevin's wife Eniko Parrish posted plenty of Instagram Stories including this one of Little Kenzo looking especially cute with his face squished into a white helmet for the snowy adventure Let's go! Eniko Instastoried a video of herself and Kevin ready to ride their snowmobiles with a big group '#Harts #LiveLoveLaugh': Hart and the 37-year-old Baltimore native - who wed in 2016 - are also parents of 15-month-old daughter Kaori Mai (M) looking adorable wearing a white 'love' snow suit '#FamilySwag': The Live in Front of a Studio Audience actor was also joined on vacation by his 14-year-old son Hendrix (2-R) and 16-year-old daughter Heaven (R) from his six-year marriage to Torrei Hart, which ended in 2011 Hart pretended to be annoyed with giggling Parrish, even exiting the frame while saying: 'Get that camera out my face!' The True Story producer-star reunited with his Olympic Highlights co-star Snoop Dogg for the 75-minute special 2021 and Done With Snoop Dogg & Kevin Hart, which premiered Tuesday on Peacock. The talented twosome's celebrity guests include Mark Cuban, DJ D-Nice, DL Hughley, Loni Love, Killer Mike, William Shatner, Stephen A. Smith, and Michael Strahan. 'Show them we're all fly': Eniko later glammed up in a green 'Aspen' knit sweater for a dinner date at a local restaurant with Kevin, who looked 'fly' in a mustard-colored beanie and sweater Hart pretended to be annoyed with giggling Parrish, even exiting the frame while saying: 'Get that camera out my face!' For his Netflix special Zero F***s Given, Kevin scored a nomination for the best comedy album trophy at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, which air January 31 on CBS. Hart competes against disgraced comic Louis C.K. as well as Chelsea Handler, Lewis Black, Nate Bargatze, and Lavell Crawford. Meanwhile, Eniko works as brand ambassador for Oscar nominee Kate Hudson's seven-year-old clothing company Fabletics, which reportedly does approximately $500M in annual sales. Premiered Tuesday on Peacock! The True Story producer-star reunited with his Olympic Highlights co-star Snoop Dogg (R) for the 75-minute special 2021 and Done With Snoop Dogg & Kevin Hart Dame Joan Collins has admitted she misses the eighties when there was 'beautiful people, beautiful clothes' and plenty of 'greed'. The actress, 88, who is known for sporting an array of shoulder pads as Alexis Colby in US soap Dynasty from 1981 to 1989, enjoyed the decade of excess which saw 1987 film Wall Street's ruthless and wealthy investor Gordon Gekko-types become part of the financial culture, with Dame Joan saying she was a fan of the character. On Dynasty, she said according to the Mirror: 'It was the right show for the right time. It had beautiful people, beautiful clothes, beautiful sets, real flowers, real caviar, real anger behind the scenes from some of us. Looking back: Dame Joan Collins, 88, has admitted she misses the eighties when there was 'beautiful people, beautiful clothes' and plenty of 'greed' 'The 1980s was the "me" decade. The markets were trading bonds with the bravado of Gordon Gekko. And the stock market soared, obviously, and people were making a lot of money and investing it and living the good life. 'I dont care what people say about it. I dont care if they say it was all greed and Gordon Gekko. I loved Gordon Gekko and I miss it.' Dame Joan went to Hollywood in 1953 to pursue an acting career and met the late 20th Century Fox executive Darryl F Zanuck who is now known to have abused his position. Screen siren: The actress, who is known for sporting an array of shoulder pads as Alexis Colby in US soap Dynasty from 1981 to 1989, enjoyed the decade of excess On Dynasty, she said according to the Mirror : 'It was the right show for the right time. It had beautiful people, beautiful clothes, beautiful sets, real flowers, real caviar' (pictured 1981) She explained in BBC documentary This Is Joan Collins how Darryl chased her down a corridor and pinned her against a wall, saying: 'You need a real man honey, a real man.' The star described herself as a 'survivor' as she was able to escape when a make-up artist walked down the hall. She said: 'I survived being a young female in a business when practically all the men were predators.' Meanwhile, Dame Joan has insisted she would not 'judge' Chris Noth after allegations were made against the Sex and the City actor of sexual abuse. Earlier this month, four women accused the 67-year-old of sexual assault, something he denies, adding in a statement that any allegations were 'categorically false'. Speaking out: Dame Joan went to Hollywood in 1953 to pursue an acting career and met the late 20th Century Fox executive Darryl F Zanuck who is now known to have abused his position Speaking on Christmas Day's Woman's Hour podcast released on BBC Radio 4, Dame Joan was asked how she would deal with the advances of men as a young woman in Hollywood. She explained how she coped 'by laughing a lot' and would not hesitate to give 'a stiff knee to the nether regions'. On Noth, she added: 'Who knows what he did? I know him, and Im not going to judge him, because who knows who these women are? But his career is wrecked, absolutely wrecked, in doing what he did. 'I think that men certainly men in my business have to be quite a bit more careful, because we were abused. 'Its just that I happened to be a particularly tough person, so it did not fracture my life.' Former Love Island Australia star Eden Dally underwent a hair transplant earlier this month, after three years of feeling 'insecure' about his receding hairline. The father of one, 29, told Daily Mail Australia: 'I had it done because I was getting a lot of comments on Instagram about how my hair was receding, and that I've got a big forehead.' 'At first it didn't bother me, but now three years down the track I was getting the same comments,' he added. Confidence: Former Love Island Australia star Eden Dally underwent a hair transplant earlier this month, after three years of feeling 'insecure' about his receding hairline. (Pictured during his pre-surgery consultation with a specialist at Hair Doctors Australia) Eden said the comments would make him feel insecure about his hair, so he decided to explore his options. 'I started to notice it a lot myself,' he added. Eden chose to get the life-changing procedure after seeing how happy his partner, Cyrell Paule, was after her breast augmentation earlier this year. Changes: The father of one, 29, told Daily Mail Australia: 'I had it done because I was getting a lot of comments on Instagram about how my hair was receding, and that I've got a big forehead.' Pictured on Love Island in 2018 (left) and SAS Australia in 2020 (right) 'Insecure': Eden said the comments would make him feel insecure about his hair, so he decided to explore his options. (Pictured at Hair Doctors Australia getting his forehead measured) 'I met with Dr Oz and Dr Ateka at Hair Doctors Australia and they gave me the opportunity to have this life-changing procedure,' he said. 'Now, thanks to the trolls, I've never felt better.' Eden encouraged men who are losing their hair to look into hair transplant surgery, saying: 'Don't be embarrassed. If it does bother you, go and get this done. 'Feel good and confident about yourself; there's nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a painless and fast procedure, and brings out a new confidence.' Motivator: 'Now, thanks to the trolls, I've never felt better,' Eden said The procedure involves taking hair follicles from the back of the head - where hair is at its fullest and thickest - and placing them at the front of the hairline. Hair grafts are extracted in follicular units consisting of 1-4 hairs through a follicular unit extraction (FUE) method. A hair transplant in Australia can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $20,000, depending on the extent of the hair loss and the type of procedure you have. Regrowth: The procedure involves taking hair follicles from the back of the head - where hair is at its fullest and thickest - and placing them at the front of the hairline In May, Cyrell underwent a breast augmentation after she was left with 'deflated' and 'lifeless' breasts following the birth of her son, Boston. 'After having Boston there was a lot about myself and my body that I wasn't happy with,' she told Daily Mail Australia at the time. 'I was no longer happy with my breasts and the way they looked,' she added. 'They were deflated, and looked lifeless. They truthfully they looked like socks hanging from the clothes line.' Happy with the results: Eden is seen here with Dr Oz and Dr Ateka from Hair Doctors Australia Procedure: Eden's partner, Cyrell Paule, underwent a breast augmentation earlier this year Cyrell and Eden welcomed Boston, their first child together, in February 2020. The couple met in March 2019 after Cyrell's 'marriage' to Nic Jovanovic on Married At First Sight ended when they decided they were better off as friends. Eden rose to fame on the first season of Love Island Australia in 2018. They've been romantically linked since February. And Alessandra Ambrosio looked smitten with boyfriend Richard Lee as they strolled arm-in-arm through the city of Florianopolis in her native Brazil on Wednesday. The 40-year-old supermodel stunned in a bright red slip dress with diamond cut-outs on the stomach. Love and leisure: Alessandra Ambrosio looked smitten with boyfriend Richard Lee as they strolled arm-in-arm through the city of Florianopolis in her native Brazil on Wednesday Alessandra's toned legs poked out from a modest slit in her dress while walking beside her hunky partner. She slipped her feet into a pair of strappy brown sandals and toted her belongings in a colorful woven bag with bamboo handles. The Victoria's Secret Angel's brunette hair was swept up in a claw clip and she shielded her eyes with a pair of stylish shades. Always one to accessorize, Ambrosio layered three chains around her neck and decked out her wrists in bangles. Strike a pose: Clearly enamored with his stunning girlfriend, Richard stopped to snap a photo of Alessandra in front of the lush greenery Lady in red: The 40-year-old supermodel stunned in a bright red slip dress with diamond cut-outs on the stomach Clearly enamored with his stunning girlfriend, Richard stopped to snap a photo of Alessandra in front of the lush greenery. She posed with one hand grasping onto a tree branch above her and the other resting at her side. Lee suited up for his walk with Ambrosio in a maroon polo shirt, charcoal grey shorts, and a pair of flip flops. The couple reportedly arrived in Brazil on Monday after celebrating the holidays in California. End-of-year getaway: The couple reportedly arrived in Brazil on Monday after celebrating the holidays in California; Richard and Alessandra pictured on December 18 Alessandra hosted a family gathering at her Los Angeles home along with her two children, daughter Anja, 13, and son Noah, nine. 'Feliz Natal Wishing you all a Merry Christmas' wrote the Brazilian beauty, who shared several smile-filled snaps for the get together on her Instagram. Ambrosio modeled a silky green wrap dress paired with bold red lipstick and minimal jewelry. She posed lovingly between Anja and Noah before getting her entire family in on the photo fun by the towering Christmas tree. Family time: Alessandra hosted a family gathering at her Los Angeles home along with her two children, daughter Anja, 13, and son Noah, nine Memories: 'Feliz Natal Wishing you all a Merry Christmas' wrote the Brazilian beauty, who shared several smile-filled snaps for the get together on her Instagram The GAL Floripa swimwear founder shares her two kids with ex fiance Jamie Mazur, 40. On December 18, Alessandra uploaded shots from another Christmas party that included Lee and some of her closest pals. The happy couple, each donning cozy crewnecks, posed prom-style for one image while sharing a kiss for another. Nicki Minaj took to social media Wednesday with a memorial for Angela Kukawski, a Los Angeles business manager she had worked with, after Kukawski was found dead in the trunk of her car last week. 'Hardest working, most reliable, sweetest person you could ever know,' Minaj wrote. 'You didn't deserve this, Angela. My heart is breaking for your children. Rest in peace.' Minaj spoke out on Wednesday, after police said that Kukawski's boyfriend Jason Barker, 49, was charged with murder after Kukawski, 55, was found dead with a stab wound in the Simi Valley neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley early Thursday morning. The latest: Nicki Minaj, 39, took to social media Wednesday with a memorial for Angela Kukawski, a Los Angeles business manager she had worked with, after Kukawski, 55, was found dead in the trunk of her car last week Barker was arrested hours after her body was found and is being held at Van Nuys Jail on a $3 million bond, police said. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has filed murder charges against Barker. Police believe Barker killed Kukawski in their Sherman Oaks home on December 22, put her body in his car, and drove to a relative's home in Simi Valley. Kukawski's death has been ruled a homicide with her cause of death being sharp and blunt force injuries of the head and neck and strangulation, the Ventura County Medical Examiner's office confirmed to DailyMail.com. The mother-of-five worked at Boulevard Management which specializes in 'financial management services to entertainers, athletes, and high-net worth individuals,' according to their site. The Kardashian family said in a statement to DailyMail.com, 'Angela was truly the best. She cared about everyone of us and made things happen that were impossible.' Kourtney, Khloe, and Kim Kardashian were snapped in 2019 'Angela was truly the best. She cared about everyone of us and made things happen that were impossible,' the Kardashian family said in a statement to DailyMail.com. 'She will be greatly missed and we send our sincere condolences to her family and loved ones during this most difficult time.' Authorities were investigating what began as a missing person's case when they found Kukawski's car in the 1500 block of Patricia Avenue around 2 a.m. Thursday, police said. Kukawski maintained many high-profile clients. Along with the Kardashians and Minaj, she also worked with Kanye West, Offset and late rapper Tupac Shukar's estate. LAPD released a statement detailing the incident on Wednesday 'We are saddened and heartbroken by the loss of our colleague, Angie Kukawski,' Boulevard's Todd Bozick and Lester Knispel said in a statement to Variety. 'Angie was a kind, wonderful person, and she will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Our deepest condolences go out to all of Angie's family and friends.' The 'beloved' mother and friend is remembered by loved one as 'hard-working' and a 'straight shooter,' Variety reported. The investigation surrounding Kukawski's death remains ongoing. Barker is scheduled to appear in Van Nuys Municipal Court on January 12 at 8:30 a.m. Outer Banks star Chase Stokes is clearly not afraid of public displays of affection. Just a month after splitting from co-star Madelyn Cline, the actor, 29, was spotted putting on a very amorous display with a mystery girl at Eden The Lounge in Orlando, Florida on Sunday. Things were getting pretty hot and heavy between the two, with Chase even hiking her leg around her waist mid-make out session. Get a room! Outer Banks star Chase Stokes were spotted making out with a mystery woman at Eden The Lounge in Orlando, Florida on Sunday According to TMZ, Chase was drinking at the dimly-lit bar with friends at around midnight. Yet when the lights flickered on at 2AM, he was spotted locking lips with the woman. The couple were oblivious - or did not care - about bar patrons just feet away as they exchanged a series of passionate kisses near the corner of the bar after the lights turned on. Sources told the site Chase left the bar with the woman, and the man she originally arrived with was allegedly not happy she wasn't leaving with him. Madelyn has since been linked to DJ Zack Bia. The duo were spotted grabbing dinner at Giorgio Baldi earlier this month and attending a Lakers' game on her 24th birthday. Raising the bar! The couple were oblivious - or did not care - about bar patrons just feet away as they exchanged a series of passionate kisses near the corner of the bar Out on the town: Chase was drinking at the dimly-lit bar with friends at around midnight Last month, Chase and Madelyn left fans devastated as news broke they called it quits after a year of dating. 'Madelyn and Chase are no longer together. They were trying to work things out privately but broke up a couple of months ago,' said a People source. Chase and Madelyn, who became a couple through their work on the hit Netflix show, 'are definitely broken up' according to the insider. They have a spark! Sources told the site Chase left the bar with the woman, and the man she originally arrived with was allegedly not happy she wasn't leaving with him Man of style: Stokes kept it casual in jeans, a black T-shirt, and chunky white trainers Madelyn stars on the show as a girl from a wealthy background who gets involved with Chase, a plucky working-class boy. As the show wears on the two get caught up in a series of action-adventure mishaps and wind up on a treasure hunt abroad. In real life the pair went Instagram official as a couple last June, just a couple of months after their show debuted on Netflix. However they had apparently been together since just before the show first dropped, as they celebrated their first anniversary on Instagram this April 4. Back on the market: Stokes is single again after splitting from Cline after over a year of dating 'It's nice to have somebody who not only you enjoy being around but you also enjoy working with,' Chase said of his workplace romance on The Drew Barrymore Show. 'And I'm sure as you can attest to there's some days where you show up to work and you're like: "Ugh," but you know, to have your partner right next to you who can kind of pick you up and be a good person in your corner has just been awesome.' Over the summer Madelyn told Access with a laugh that Chase 'was in a really bad mood' when they first met and came off 'kinda bratty.' 'My first impression of Maddie was she was confused with me, so that makes sense because if I was being a brat...' he said to which she added 'I was' confused. Netflix hit! Madelyn stars on the show as a girl from a wealthy background who gets involved with Chase, a plucky working-class boy Chase revealed that they fell in love 'during kind of the pandemic. Like we all were quarantined together and we had this extended period of time where we were locked in a 500 sq ft apartment with Maddie's upstairs neighbor teaching yoga classes and aerobics three sessions a day, you know, at odd hours.' He continued: 'And I think it definitely tested what, you know, our relationship was and where it was going and I think we kind of realized in that time like, okay, what we're feeling is real and if we can make it through the yoga instructor and not rip each other's heads off then I think life might be pretty easy.' Maddie said: 'I definitely had some feelings but I mean it's, you know, I think when you're on location in like a really dreamy place then, you know, you connect with a lot of people. You know, I think when you're put in those magical circumstances of course, you know, and you all have chemistry I think it's, you know, it's a lot of fun.' She clarified: 'But I think like what Chase is saying, I think when we came back to reality and we still remained as good of friends and even got closer I think that's for me when I realized that those feelings were real.' Former Home and Away star Kate Ritchie was mocked on air recently by her Nova FM co-hosts for being anti-social while on vacation. The radio presenter, 43, was accused of not talking to anyone on holiday and instead spending most of her time off looking at her phone. Her holiday habit was mentioned on the Kate, Tim and Joel Show as the team discussed the 'signs' swingers supposedly use to attract each other at resorts. 'You always go to resorts and not talk to anyone': Former Home and Away star Kate Ritchie was mocked on air recently by her Nova FM co-hosts for being anti-social while on vacation 'It turns out that pineapples are reportedly a sign used by people interested in swinging,' Kate said. 'I've never heard of it - not that I'm a swinger. So why would I know?' Her co-host Tim Blackwell replied: 'Well, you always go to resorts and not talk to anyone. You could be wearing a Maria Venuti pineapple hat and you wouldn't notice.' Kate protested: 'I'm very social! I've met some lovely friends on holidays that I've stayed in touch with.' 'Yeah, the new iPhone 12...' Tim joked, as Kate burst into laughter in the studio. Digital addiction: The radio presenter, 43, was accused of not talking to anyone on holiday and instead spending most of her time off looking at her phone It comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed earlier this month Kate had split from cyber security expert John Bell, 25, after a whirlwind romance of less than a year. 'Kate is single. Lockdown is to blame,' a source said. 'Kate and John haven't seen each other since January, even though borders to Victoria opened a few weeks ago. She hasn't mentioned wanting to visit him once.' The pair were last seen together in January during a PDA-filled holiday in Byron Bay. They reportedly stayed at an Airbnb and spent most of their time relaxing by their private mineral salt pool and visiting the town's top restaurants. 'Kate is single': It comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed earlier this month Kate had split from cyber security expert John Bell, 25, after a whirlwind romance of less than a year Sighting: The pair were last seen together in January during a PDA-filled holiday in Byron Bay While little is known about John, resurfaced court records show he once had a minor brush with the law. He was charged with careless driving in March 2015, but was not convicted. John started security solutions business VIREOSS in September 2019. He runs the company from the small town of Seymour, an hour and a half from Melbourne. Kate was previously married to retired NRL player Stuart Webb, with whom she shares a daughter called Mae. Southern Charm star Kathryn Dennis took to Instagram on Monday to show off a new puppy her family acquired over the holidays. The 30-year-old reality star captioned the shot: 'Merry Christmas from the Dennis/Ravenel family, party of 4.' In the main shot snapped in Charleston, South Carolina, Dennis held the puppy as she posed with her two kids with ex Thomas Ravenel, 59 - daughter Kensington, seven, and son St. Julien Rembert, six. The latest: Southern Charm star Kathryn Dennis took to Instagram on Monday to show off a new puppy her family acquired over the holidays, as she posed with her two kids, daughter Kensington, seven, and son St. Julien Rembert, six In the shot, Dennis posed between her kids donning a long-sleeved off-white top with floral print pants. In other images in the gallery, Dennis was seen petting the dog, while Kensington carried the adorable pooch, with one shot showing the small dog in a silver backpack. Dennis also posted a shot of the dog on Instagram Stories, calling the dog a 'little cutie,' according to People. Dennis earlier this month took to the social media site with an image of a long-flowing auburn wig she got. Dennis posted a shot showing the small dog in a silver backpack Dennis shared a pair of pics of her daughter Kensington embracing the new puppy Dennis was seen petting the dog as it relaxed on a grassy area 'Meet my very first wig, her name is Kathryn,' the reality star captioned the shot. 'So heres the deal - if youve been keeping up with me you know that Ive had to deal with extreme stress over the years. 'Blondes have more fun (sometimes) but way more damage smh I needed my confidence back and wigs have done that for me. Finally dabbled my toes in the wig world and Im obsessed. Yall know me.' Dennis emerged with the bold new do after going with a blonde look one year ago. She told People earlier this year that for 'a few years,' she had debated about going with the different look and decided to unveil it for Southern Charm's seventh season reunion episode. 'I feel like every reunion I always kind of try and serve a good look,' she said, 'and so this year, I was like, "Why not just do go blonde?" And that was it.' The Amazing Race will finally return next week for its season 33 premiere after being postponed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. 'It's so good to be back,' said New Zealand show host Phil Keoghan, 54, at the start of the episode in an exclusive clip provided to Variety. 'We know how much you have missed The Amazing Race, and believe me, we have missed making it for you,' he added. Long delay: The Amazing Race will return next week for its season 33 premiere after being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic Keoghan went on to say the premiere was filmed before the outbreak of COVID-19 and the pandemic forced them to suspend shooting at the end of the third leg. 'I am excited to tell you that after a long break, we did finish shooting this season and once again, the world is waiting for you,' Keoghan said. Eleven teams were then shown pre-pandemic preparing for their adventure as Phil started the race with a video message on their phones. The contestants were instructed to fly to London for their next clue at Trafalgar Square. The host: 'It's so good to be back,' said New Zealand show host Phil Keoghan, 54, at the start of the episode in an exclusive clip provided to Variety Long-running series: Ryan Ferguson and Dusty Harris talk to Keoghan in London They next traveled to Scotland where a 20-month break from filming ensued due to the pandemic. Geoghan has been hosting The Amazing Race since its premiere on CBS in September 2001. While the show was postponed, he hosted the CBS competition series Tough As Nails. Eleven teams: The contestants were instructed to fly to London for their next clue at Trafalgar Square. Coming soon: The Amazing Race will have its season premiere on Wednesday on CBS Geoghan has been involved with winning 10 Primetime Emmy Awards related to The Amazing Race, which won the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program seven straight times. The upcoming season will feature 11 teams of two in a race around the world for a $1 million grand prize. The travel racing resumed in September 2021 with the same remaining teams, but they had a modified route through COVID-safe countries and with chartered travel. Paris Hilton had an amusing response to a fan on Twitter who asked if she'd seen the movie House of Gucci yet. On Wednesday the 40-year-old heiress replied to a tweet from a Lady Gaga fan account with the handle @gagavoodoo. Showing just how cushy her life is she said, 'I want to watch it. But its only playing in Movie theatres and Im on my honeymoon on a private island.' Unexpected reply: Paris Hilton had an amusing response to a fan on Twitter who asked if she'd seen the movie House of Gucci yet Paris' reply has racked up nearly 37,000 likes since it was tweeted and it was retweeted more than 4,000 times. The original question read, 'did you watched House of Gucci? Its not romantic at all but its very entertaining,' and was accompanied by a GIF from the film, which stars Lady Gaga and Adam Driver. The multihyphenate is currently enjoying a seven-week-long holiday with her new husband Carter Reum, 40. The two tied the knot November 11 in Los Angeles at a star-studded ceremony held at her grandfather's estate. Chatting with fans: Paris replied to a tweet from a Lady Gaga fan account that asked if she'd seen House of Gucci Rich people problems: Hilton told a fan the reason she hasn't seen the movie is because she's honeymooning on a private island House of Gucci came out in theaters November 24, nearly two weeks after the blonde DJ's nuptials. The event was followed by an afterparty on the Santa Monica Pier in the form of a carnival-themed bash. Paris has been documenting her lengthy honeymoon with her partner on Instagram. The media personality and her businessman counterpart spent some of the festive period in London, UK, and outtakes from the trip made it to her social media. 'Monthiversary': Paris is so in love with her beau that she's been keeping track of the months they've been an official couple Paris looked incredible during one evening outing as she donned a black long-sleeved dress with beading throughout. The trip followed their excursion to Anguilla, where the two lovebirds took romantic photos together in the ocean as Hilton donned a hot pink bikini. During a recent episode of her This Is Paris podcast, the star revealed: 'We've just been working so hard that we've actually decided to take a seven-week honeymoon.' Thor star Chris Hemsworth has the resilience of a real-life superhero. The Australian actor, 38, braved sub-zero temperatures on Wednesday as he went shirtless for a 'snow bath' with a friend. Chris shared a photo on Instagram of himself lying down on a snow-covered slope while trying his best to look zen. Superhero resilience: Thor star Chris Hemsworth (right) braved sub-zero temperatures on Wednesday as he went shirtless for a 'snow bath' session with a friend (left) 'Ice baths are old news. Its all about snow baths in 2022,' he captioned the picture. Some alternative medicine advocates claim submerging one's body in cold water, snow or ice can have health benefits. Chris and his family are in Austria as he continues filming Netflix movie Extraction 2. Working holiday: Chris and his family are in Austria as he continues filming Netflix movie Extraction 2. Pictured: Chris and his wife, Elsa Pataky, with two of their children His wife, Elsa Pataky, shared several photos on Instagram earlier this week of the family making the most of their snowy getaway. The couple were joined by their three children, India, Sasha and Tristan, as well as Chris' brothers, Luke and Liam, and their partners. One of Elsa's holiday snaps showed her posing in front of the picturesque snowfields with Liam's model girlfriend, Gabriella Brooks. Family fun: The couple were joined by their three children, India, Sasha and Tristan, as well as Chris' brothers, Luke and Liam, and their partners Sisters: One of Elsa's holiday snaps showed her posing in front of the picturesque snowfields with Liam's model girlfriend, Gabriella Brooks (left) Pranksters: On Sunday, Chris shared a video of the Hemsworth clan pushing each other around and throwing snowballs at each other On Sunday, Chris shared a video of the Hemsworth clan pushing each other around and throwing snowballs at each other. At one point, Elsa squealed and giggled as she fell to the ground, before her husband helped her get back on her feet. Chris was seen hysterically laughing and attempting to run away. Falling down: At one point, Elsa squealed and giggled as she fell to the ground, before her husband helped her get back on her feet The Hemsworths have been in Europe for the last few weeks as Chris shoots his new film Extraction 2 in Prague. The production is expected to last until March. Extraction 2 was originally supposed to be filmed in NSW but production moved to the Czech Republic due to fears of Covid shutdowns. Ashley Benson was seen leaving a nail salon in the trendy Los Feliz neighborhood on Wednesday. The 32-year-old Pretty Little Liars star - who recently sparked reconciliation rumors with her rapper ex G-Eazy, 32, after the two were seen meeting up for a friendly lunch in Los Angeles - spent three hours at the salon getting the perfect manicure. Despite the rainy weather, the actress flashed her taut abs in a black crop top as she made her way back to her car. Nail appointment: Ashley Benson, 32, was seen leaving a nail salon in the trendy Los Feliz neighborhood on Wednesday after getting a three-hour manicure In order to keep warm on the chilly day, Benson sported a black hoodie on top of her shirt. She also opted for a comfortable look for the nail session, wearing a pair of oversized grey sweatpants. The Her Smell actress accessorized her look with a stylish bright red Chanel backpack slung over her shoulder, which matched her black and red Air Jordan sneakers. The star also surprisingly sported a pair of black sunglasses, though there was no sun to shield her eyes from. Benson's long blond tresses could be seen gently flowing in the wind from underneath her hoodie. Rainy day fashion: Despite the rainy weather, the actress flashed her taut abs in a black crop top as she made her way back to her car The star recently sparked rumors of a potential reunion with her ex G-Eazy - born Gerald Earl Gillum - after the two were seen having an outdoor lunch on the day after Christmas. Benson and the I Mean It hitmaker appeared to be having an animated conversation, and Ashley could be seen beaming excitedly at times. After their lunch, the two drove away together in G-Eazy's car. The couple were first linked in May of 2020, but they had previously collaborated on recording a cover of Radiohead's classic single Creep in February of that year. Although the two were reported to be getting serious about their relationship later in 2020, they split abruptly in February of 2021. He became a father of twins this year after welcoming two daughters with his long-term partner Christine Centenera in May. But there was no dad bod in sight when Joel Edgerton went for a morning stroll outside his home in Bondi Beach, Sydney, on Wednesday. The actor and director, 47, showed off his muscles in a white singlet and cargo pants, which he teamed with a blue beanie and sneakers. Welcome to the gun show: There was no dad bod in sight when new father Joel Edgerton went for a morning stroll outside his home in Bondi Beach, Sydney, on Wednesday Joel has sported a muscular physique for about a year now, leading to rumours he could be bulking up for a particular role. It comes after the filmmaker and his fashion director girlfriend were seen pushing along two prams during Paris Fashion Week in late September. The photos confirmed rumours the couple had welcomed twins in May. Lean machine: The actor and director, 47, showed off his muscles in a white singlet and cargo pants, which he teamed with a blue beanie and sneakers Before these pictures surfaced, it was assumed Christine, 39, had only given birth to one child because she and Joel hadn't said otherwise. Joel had announced he was a father during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in May, saying Christine had given birth a few days earlier in Sydney. 'I just ran away from the hospital for a moment. I can't even put it into words. I'm in love,' he said. Hitting the gym: Joel has sported a muscular physique for about a year now, leading to rumours he could be bulking up for a particular role The Secret Life of Us star revealed he was worried about missing the birth because he was filming a project interstate. 'I was very nervous because I was working in Queensland and there are some border issues with Sydney and Queensland that pop up,' he said. 'I was getting very nervous that I'd get stuck.' Fortunately, Joel was able to leave the set and return to Sydney in time for his children's arrival. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson called out Vin Diesel for going public trying to convince him to return to the Fast & Furious film series after he told him he wasn't coming back. The 49-year-old superstar, speaking with CNN Wednesday, said he was 'very surprised' to see Diesel, 54, take to Instagram last month with a post trying to sign him on for the next installment of the series to reprise his role of Luke Hobbs. 'My little brother Dwayne... the time has come,' Diesel said in the November 7 post. 'The world awaits the finale of Fast 10. As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you dont send well wishes... but the time has come. Legacy awaits.' The latest: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, 49, called out Vin Diesel, 54, for going public trying to convince him to return to the Fast & Furious film series after he told him he wasn't coming back Referring to the late Paul Walker, Diesel said, 'I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10! 'I say this out of love... but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs cant be played by no other. I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfill your destiny.' Johnson told CNN that he and Diesel chat about the topic 'this past June,' and he 'told him directly - and privately - that [he] would not be returning to the franchise.' Said the wrestler-turned-actor: 'I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return.' Johnson said he was 'very surprised' to see Diesel take to Instagram last month with a post trying to sign him on for the next installment of the series to reprise his role of Luke Hobbs Johnson said that 'Vin's recent public post was an example of his manipulation,' and that he 'didn't like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker's death,' adding, 'Leave them out of it' The Red Notice star said that he also told his business associates at Universal Pictures about his decision, and that they 'were very supportive as they understand the problem.' Johnson said that 'Vin's recent public post was an example of his manipulation,' and that he 'didn't like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker's death,' adding, 'Leave them out of it.' The Young Rock personality said that he and Diesel 'had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding' on the issue, and that Diesel bringing it into the 'public dialogue has muddied the waters.' Johnson said that he'd always hoped to wrap up his stint in the action film series 'with gratitude and grace,' and that he believes the film will 'deliver for the audience' when it comes out. 'I truly wish my former co-stars and crew members the best of luck and success in the next chapter,' he said. Johnson and Diesel were snapped with one another at the Fast and the Furious 5 premiere in 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The rift between Johnson and Diesel went public in 2016 when Johnson wrote on Instagram, 'Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don't. The ones that don't are too chicken s*** to do anything about it anyway. Candy a**es.' Diesel told Men's Health earlier this year that he 'could give a lot of tough love' while working with Johnson on the action films: 'Not Felliniesque, but I would do anything I'd have to do in order to get performances in anything I'm producing.' In response, Johnson told Vanity Fair, 'One part of me feels like there's no way I would dignify any of that bull**** with an answer. I've been around the block a lot of times. Unlike [Diesel], I did not come from the world of theater. And, you know, I came up differently and was raised differently.' Johnson said he 'came from a completely different culture and environment' and ventures 'into every project giving it [his] all. 'And if I feel that there's some things that need to be squared away and handled and taken care of, then I do it. And it's just that simple. So when I read that, just like everybody else, I laughed. I laughed hard. We all laughed. And somewhere I'm sure Fellini is laughing too.' Advertisement Izabel Goulart looked effortlessly elegant in a sparkling silver dress as she hit the red carpet at LuisaViaRoma's winter benefit for UNICEF on Wednesday. The charity event, which was held in St. Barths in the Caribbean, featured a bevy of other stars and famous faces as they helped raise money for the United Nations agency, which provides aid to children across the globe. The 37-year-old Brazilian model had all eyes on her as she hit the plant-covered red carpet thanks to her shimmering outfit, which featured striking cutouts highlighting her cleavage and her washboard abs. Stunner: Izabel Goulart looked effortlessly elegant in a sparkling silver dress as she hit the red carpet at LuisaViaRoma's winter benefit for UNICEF on Wednesday. The charity event, which was held in St. Barths, featured a bevy of other stars and famous faces as they helped raise money for the United Nations agency, which provides aid to children across the globe Izabel's sleeveless dress also highlighted her toned arms, and she turned around to flaunt her pert backside in the ensemble. The item featured a skirt with thick ruffles that reached down to the ground, nearly covering up her tan open-toe heels. The 5ft10in beauty wore her long brunette locks pulled back in a high ponytail that cascaded down her back in thick waves. Her tied-back hair helped show off her long dangling silver earrings, which framed her impeccably made-up face? Sparkler: Izabel's sleeveless dress also highlighted her toned arms, and she turned around to flaunt her pert backside in the ensemble. The item featured a skirt with thick ruffles that reached down to the ground, nearly covering up her tan open-toe heels Colors of the rainbow: Putting on a colorful display at the event was Danish model Nina Agdal. She wore a revealing pleated crop top with colorful kaleidoscopic designs and and thick yellow trim, with a cutout over her cleavage and a matching skirt Putting on a colorful display at the event was Danish model Nina Agdal. She wore a revealing pleated crop top with colorful kaleidoscopic designs and and thick yellow trim, with a cutout over her cleavage. The brunette beauty paired the top with a matching skirt emphasizing her long, tanned legs, and she accessorized with a gold-and-white handbag and beige open-toe heels with studded straps. Joining the model at the benefit was former boxer Mike Tyson, who had on a midnight blue satin shirt with the sleeves partly rolled up. He contrasted it with black pants covered in silver floral designs and white alligator print shoes. Cuba Gooding Jr. looked dapper in a gray plaid blazer with black satin shawl lapels. The actor who is set to go on trial in New York City in February for allegedly groping three different women in 2018 and 2019 wore his jacket with a black vest and a matching shirt, which he accented with an orange bow tie. He completed the look with black jeans, along with laceless green sneakers and black browline sunglasses. Blue mood: Joining the model at the benefit was former boxer Mike Tyson, who had on a midnight blue satin shirt, black pants covered in silver floral designs and white alligator print shoes. Cuba Gooding Jr. looked dapper in a gray plaid blazer with black satin shawl lapels Standing out: The actor who is set to go on trial in New York City in February for allegedly groping three different women in 2018 and 2019 wore his jacket with a black vest and a matching shirt, which he accented with an orange bow tie Accessorized: He completed the look with black jeans, along with laceless green sneakers and black browline sunglasses The model Frida Aasen left little to the imagination in a white mesh dress. The look featured a high slit showcasing her legs, along with a triangular cutout over her flat midriff. The dress only featured a single strap crisscrossing her torso, but she covered her other shoulder with her waves of long golden hair. Frida was joined by her Italian businessman fiance Tommaso Chiabra, whom she got engaged to in August. He looked stylish in a beige blazer with cream-colored pants and a tie-free white shirt, along with brown shoes. Woman in white: The model Frida Aasen left little to the imagination in a white mesh dress. The look featured a high slit showcasing her legs, along with a triangular cutout over her flat midriff Cute couple: Frida was joined by her Italian businessman fiance Tommaso Chiabra, whom she got engaged to in August. He looked stylish in a beige blazer with cream-colored pants and a tie-free white shirt, along with brown shoes Stunners: Frida was also joined by several other models, including (LR) Chantal Monaghan, Gabby Westbrook Patrick and Kasey Wamsher Frida was also joined by several other models, including Chantal Monaghan, Gabby Westbrook Patrick and Kasey Wamsher. Chantal wore a glowing off-white halter dress covered in sequins and featuring a high slit revealing her long legs and beige open-toe heels. Gabby wore a hypnotizing tiered dress decorated with black stripes and gold fringe, while Kasey put on a busty display in a plunging gold satin dress that was ruched around her midriff. The actress and model Fiammetta Cicogna bared her toned tummy in a stylish white crop top highlighting her cleavage and featuring a single strap over one shoulder. The outfit included a matching white skirt with thick satin straps crisscrossing her stomach. She wore lavender open-toe heels and carried a white handbag that matched her outfit. Cropped style: The actress and model Fiammetta Cicogna bared her toned tummy in a stylish white crop top highlighting her cleavage and featuring a single strap over one shoulder. She posed with her partner Carl Hirschman Joining her was her partner Carl Hirschman, who was more casual in a black button-up shirt that exposed his chest and black track pants, which he contrasted with white trainers. The Swedish model Victoria Silvstedt added some color to the proceedings with her sheer green dress, which she wore with a slim silver belt around her midriff. Fashion designer and blogger Danielle Bernstein looked fierce in a black-and-red tiger stripestyle dress with a thick black fur trim running down her skirt. The look featured spaghetti halter straps, and she wore her brunette locks pulled back and cascading down her back. Seeing green: The Swedish model Victoria Silvstedt added some color to the proceedings with her sheer green dress. Fit figure: Silvstedt wore her dress with a slim silver belt around her midriff. Fashion designer and blogger Danielle Bernstein looked fierce in a black-and-red tiger stripestyle dress with a thick black fur trim running down her skirt Elegant: The look featured spaghetti halter straps, and she wore her brunette locks pulled back and cascading down her back LuisaViaRoma fashion director AnnaGreta Panconesi kept her look more relaxed with a sheer yellow cropped blouse that was left partially unbuttoned to highlight her cleavage. Her skirt was covered with intriguing green and yellow blotches outlined with sparkling studs, and she wore a thick diamond necklace around her throat. The model Jordan Barrett looked cool with baggy black leather pants, along with a black vest and a matching T-shirt. The street artist Alec Monopoly who was making a rare appearance without his face covered went ultra casual with a black shirt and matching blazer, which he contrasted with white jeans and high-top sneakers, both of which were splattered with paint. He added some flair with a wide black top hat and a silver figurine dangling from a chain around his neck. The boss: LuisaViaRoma fashion director AnnaGreta Panconesi kept her look more relaxed with a sheer yellow cropped blouse that was left partially unbuttoned and a skirt covered with intriguing green and yellow blotches outlined with sparkling studs Jennifer Garner got into a scary hot situation while attempting to prepare a recipe on her Pretend Cooking Show on Wednesday. The 48-year-old actress made a slightly miscalculated culinary choice as she tried to recreate Ina Garten's beef bourguignon stew recipe, which she referred to as a 'family Christmas tradition'. The Alias star decided to veer away from the original recipe and add double the amount of cognac to her dish, which caused her pot to erupt in a high flame. Careful! Jennifer Garner, 48, had a scary moment while filming her Pretend Cooking Show on Wednesday when she added too much cognac to a dish, causing her pot to erupt in a flame Thankfully the flame quickly subsided. 'Don't double the cognac,' the flustered star - who wore an all-black outfit paired with high Christmas socks - stated after realizing her mistake, adding, 'Can you believe that just happened? That was wild!" The mom-of-three found humor in the situation in the caption of the four-minute video, which was shared to Instagram. 'The thing about traditionsall you do to give them meaning is keep them. I dont know when I started making @inagartens beef bourguignon (from Barefoot in Paris) for Christmas, it was long enough ago that the smell of this perfect stew makes me feel happy, cozy, and relaxed (until I almost lit the kitchen on fireIna would never!).' Where it all went wrong: Things in the kitchen took a turn for the worse when Jen decided to veer away from the original recipe A blazing miscalculation: Thankfully the flame quickly subsided and the Alias star quickly learned where she went wrong, warning her followers not to mess with the recipe She added, 'Maybe this will make sense for your New Years Eve, but wherever this weekend takes youwe wish you a healthy, a joyful, and a peaceful New Year.' The actress then provided her 11.8M followers with the recipe to the tasty looking dish. The originator of the recipe - also known as the Barefoot Contessa - decided to cheer Jen up in the comments by letting her know the high flame wasn't unusual. Lesson learned: 'Don't double the cognac,' the shocked star stated after realizing her mistake, adding, 'That was wild!" She wrote, 'Thats my favorite!!! And I almost set the kitchen on fire every time! Happy New Year!!! Love you.' The star also took some time to answer a few pressing fan questions during the video. When her friend, who was filming the funny exchange, asked what her favorite type of pants were, the actress quickly replied, 'sweatpants.' All is well: After conquering the flame situation, Jen went back to finishing the recipe with a smile on her face Another miscalculation? As she continued working on the dish, the mom-of-three appeared to overload her small pan with a few too many mushrooms She also stated that her favorite color was blue, her favorite element was Oxygen, and the fruit she likes the most are apples. After conquering the flame situation, Jen went back to finishing the recipe with a smile on her face. She was seen tasting the end result and looked pleased with how the dish turned out, despite the slight commotion that took place earlier. Savory: Garner stirred the delicious looking stew before trying the savory dish Melissa Leong has revealed she feels 'content' after finding love with boyfriend Rob Mason, following her split from husband Joe Jones in December last year. Speaking to the Emsolation with Em Rusciano podcast on Wednesday, the MasterChef judge admitted her newfound happiness had been 'very hard-earned'. 'I think every adult that reaches a certain age, if you put in the work, you will get there. But the other thing to remember with happiness is that it is fleeting,' the 39-year-old food writer explained. New love: Melissa Leong (left) has revealed she feels 'content' after finding love with boyfriend Rob Mason (right), following her split from husband Joe Jones in December last year 'So, if you just work on being content... Contentment is far more sustainable. That can take into account being really happy and being less happy, but being okay with who you are. That's with you for life,' she added. 'The best investment I've ever made in myself is getting good with who I am. Ugly bits, weird bits, funny bits, you know, all of it.' Melissa also said she tries 'not to share... the private life stuff', but admitted it can be difficult when you're in the public eye. Doing the work: Speaking to the Emsolation with Em Rusciano podcast on Wednesday, the MasterChef judge, 39, admitted her newfound happiness had been 'very hard-earned' 'Sometimes that gets forced out into the public. I don't know how I feel about that yet. Actually, I highly detest it. I highly detest it. I don't like being forced into having to talk about things,' she said. Melissa announced her split from bar owner Joe Jones in December last year, after almost four years of marriage. 'It has brought us such happiness to walk together, but the time has come for Joe and I to part ways and walk on, apart,' she wrote on Instagram at the time. Philosophy: 'I think every adult that reaches a certain age, if you put in the work, you will get there. But the other thing to remember with happiness is that it is fleeting,' Melissa explained 'We ask for your kindness and consideration for our privacy, we will not be making any further comment as our private lives have, and will always remain exactly that. 'We wish you peace at the end of such a challenging year for all.' In separate post on Instagram on New Year's Eve last year, Melissa reflected on what had been a difficult year. Going public: She debuted her relationship with Melbourne haircare entrepreneur Rob Mason (right) in September, paying tribute to the dad of three on Instagram for Father's Day '2020 will always be the year my life changed irrevocably. It's never all good, or all bad, what prevails is the work we put into ourselves and the people we love,' she wrote. 'Thank you so very much to everyone who gave me the dignity of truly hearing and seeing me, for witnessing me take a leap of faith with kindness, support and patience.' Melissa said she was using the end of the year as a time to 'reflect' with the 'intention for a better, brighter year ahead'. Separation: The food writer announced her split from bar owner Joe Jones (right, on their wedding day) in December last year, after almost four years of marriage She later debuted her relationship with Melbourne haircare entrepreneur Rob Mason in September, paying tribute to the dad of three on Instagram for Father's Day. 'Gratuitous hot dad post,' she wrote, sharing a black and white photo of her beau. 'Creator of world-class cosmetics and the brains behind @morrismotley, brilliant father to a legendary babe squad and the best part of my day, nothing but love.' Jordan Barrett is no stranger to making a fashion statement. But on Wednesday, the 25-year-old model opted for a low-key all-black look as he stepped out LuisaViaRoma's benefit for UNICEF. The charity event, held in St. Barts in the Caribbean, featured a bevy of famous faces as they helped raise money for the United Nations agency, which provides aid to children across the globe. Low-key in leather: Jordan Barrett opted for an all-black outfit as he attended LuisaViaRoma's benefit for UNICEF in St Barts on Wednesday The handsome Australian, who hails from Byron Bay, teamed a black T-shirt with leather trousers and a belt with a diamond encrusted buckle. He wore a black oversized sweatshirt over his shoulders and completed his look with slides. The runway star did little to style his long sandy tresses, instead letting the wind sweep it to the side. All in the details: The handsome Australian, who hails from Byron Bay, teamed a black T-shirt with edgy leather trousers and a belt with a diamond encrusted buckle Cosy chic: He wore a black oversized sweatshirt over his shoulders and completed his look with slides. The runway star did little to style his long sandy tresses, instead letting the wind sweep it to the side Loved up: Jordan's appearance at the charity event comes after he tied the knot with married male model Fernando Casablancas in August in Ibiza Jordan's appearance at the event comes after he tied the knot with married male model Fernando Casablancas in August in Ibiza. Fernando is the brother of The Strokes front man Julian Casablancas. Their late father John Casablancas founded Elite Model Management. 'It was very spontaneous, but his wedding planner Serena Cook was able to pull some strings to make sure it was very special since his Aussie family couldn't attend,' a source told Daily Mail Australia about their wedding. Congratulations! A source told Daily Mail Australia at the time that their wedding was 'very spontaneous'. They added: 'Champagne and cocktail drinks were flowing, it was very relaxed' 'Champagne and cocktail drinks were flowing, it was very relaxed. Kate (Moss) brought out the rings, and really made sure it was special for him.' The ceremony was attended by no more than 15 of Jordan's closet friends. Among there was supermodel Kate Moss and her daughter Lila, Georgia May Jagger and American playwright Jeremy O. Harris. Dakota Johnson has spoken of how she had a 'wild time' with Olivia Colman while they were filming The Lost Daughter. The actress, 32, admitted she was initially nervous about meeting the Oscar winner, 47, thinking at the time: 'I was just like s**t, 'I wonder what she's going to be like?'. And now in a new interview with ELLE, in which Dakota graces the front cover in a striking brown patterned suit, the Fifty Shades star talked all about her friendship with Olivia. Dakota Johnson has spoken of how she had a 'wild time' with Olivia Colman while they were filming The Lost Daughter (pictured in September at the Venice Film Festival) Dakota told the publication: 'Well, I was just like s**t, "I wonder what she's going to be like?" But we loved each other, and she's a wild time. 'She's so maternal and embracing and always wants to hang out and drink wine and talk.' The actress also formed a close bond with Maggie Gyllenhaal. The Lost Daughter is the feature film directorial debut for Maggie who also wrote the screenplay and is a co-producer. Pals: In a new interview with ELLE , in which Dakota graces the front cover in a striking brown patterned suit, the Fifty Shades star talked all about her friendship with Olivia The Lost Daughter: The film follows a woman named Leda Caruso, played by Olivia, who finds herself becoming obsessed with a younger woman and her daughter 'We went so immediately deep into the experience of being a woman, both in film and in this world. I was like: 'I'll do anything. I really wanted to follow her,' she said. Dakota spoke of how she saw herself in Maggie- parts she didn't know she had before they met. She explained how Maggie - who she dubbed a 'truth seeker' - ignited her to see parts of herself she didn't know were there after they delved 'deep into the experience of being a woman, both in film and in this world'. She's got style: Dakota cut a striking figure in a checked suit as she posed in the accompanying photoshoot Hollywood stars: Dakota spoke of how she saw herself in Maggie Gyllenhaal- parts she didn't know she had before they met (pictured in September) The film follows a woman named Leda Caruso, played by Olivia, who finds herself becoming obsessed with a younger woman Nina (Dakota) and her daughter while on a summer holiday prompting memories of her own early motherhood. The movie also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Mescal, Ed Harris and Oliver Jackson-Cohen. The Lost Daughter is out now in UK cinemas and is released on Netflix UK on New Year's Eve. Elsewhere in the interview, Dakota discussed her romance with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Elle: The February issue of ELLE UK is on sale from 6 January The actress and the musician, 44, have largely kept their four-year relationship out of the spotlight yet she has now shed light on their romance. Dakota explained how she is content keeping their romance private, admitting most of their partying happens 'inside the house.' Chris is father to Apple, 17, and Moses, 15, with his ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow and has been dating Dakota since October 2017. On their home life, Dakota detailed: 'We've been together for quite a while and we go out sometimes, but we both work so much that it's nice to be at home and be cosy and private. Most of the partying takes place inside of my house'. The February issue of ELLE UK is on sale from 6 January. Kourtney Kardashian gave fans a glimpse at her romantic night away with fiance Travis Barker on Tuesday as they returned to the site of their recent engagement. The couple are enjoying a short break in southern California suburb Montecito, just two months after Blink-182 drummer Travis, 46, got down on bended knee during a trip to the picturesque coastal community.. Taking to Instagram, Kourtney, 42, shared a handful of images and videos from the mini-break, including scenic clips of the same beach used by the musician for his surprise proposal. Romance: Kourtney Kardashian gave fans a glimpse at her romantic night away with fiance Travis Barker on Tuesday as they returned to the site of their recent engagement The TV personality - a mother-of-three - also suggested Travis was in for a treat by sharing images of a racy festive minidress, complete with matching red gloves. Black-high heeled shoes with a distinctive skull-and-crossbones cut into each heel were also highlighted, with Kourtney admitting they were a thoughtful gift from her fiance. Elsewhere Kourtney revealed an image of her black and brown personalised Goyard luggage as the couple set off for their romantic break. Making the occasion extra special, she later gave followers a glimpse at the ice cream and granola dessert they enjoyed at local Montecito restaurant Oliver's. Engagement: The couple are enjoying a short break in California suburb Montecito, just two months after Travis got down on bended knee during a trip to the coastal community Here we go: The TV personality suggested Travis was in for a treat by sharing images of a racy festive minidress, complete with matching red gloves, and black high-heeled shoes Nice view: Kourtney relaxed with a morning brew as she admired the sweeping coastal view of the Pacific Ocean The minibreak comes after sources insisted the couple are 'madly in love.' A source told People: 'She's over the moon. They're almost like high school sweethearts all over again. Neither of them ever thought they'd fall in love like this again.' Another insider said Kourtney fell for Travis because he is such a great father to his two children, son Landon, 18, and daughter Alabama, 16, from his former marriage to actress Shanna Moakler, and stepdaughter Atiana De La Hoya, 22. Festive: Other images included a shot of an enormous Christmas Tree, decorated with lights Welcome: The exterior of their Montecito bolthole was also shared on the TV personality's Instagram account Lovely: Scenic clips of the same beach used by Travis for his surprise proposal were also featured Travis is also proving to be a positive influence on Kourtney's children - Mason, 12, Penelope, nine, and Reign, seven - who she shares with former partner Scott Disick. The insider added: 'Kourtney is not only head over heels in love with Travis because he's hot and attractive but also because he's so sweet and loving towards her and her children. Their families also blended easily and nicely, and they all get along so well.' Travis and Kourtney got engaged in October in a romantic, beachside proposal at the Rosewood Miramar in Montecito, California and Kourtney's mother Kris Jenner revealed he asked her permission first. Let's go: Elsewhere Kourtney revealed an image of her black and brown personalised Goyard luggage as the couple set off for their romantic break Tucking in: She later gave followers a glimpse at the pasta lunch and ice cream and granola dessert they enjoyed at local Montecito restaurant Oliver's She said: 'They're the cutest couple. They're so in love, and they let us know that they're so in love constantly. 'He was really cute. He did that all on his own. He's a sweetheart, and they're so happy. They can't wait.' Speaking of their constant public displays of affection, she added: 'Well, you feel like they're the only two people in the room, and we almost don't know what to do with ourselves, like, I'm looking for a closet to hide in, somewhere to go. But you know, they're in that stage, and it's really, really special. And I'm so excited.' Georgia Love has weighed in on the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict. The former Bachelorette took to Instagram on Thursday to share a meme poking fun at Maxwell, who earlier in the day was convicted of luring young girls to massage rooms for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest. The meme in question showed Maxwell and Epstein looking cosy, along with the caption, 'Love is finishing each other's sentences'. Loving it: Georgia Love (pictured) has weighed in on the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited his own trial on the sex trafficking charges. Love's joke was an echo of one made by Lisa Wilkinson earlier this month. The Project host shared a meme to her Instagram Stories that took a dig at the associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. LOL: The former Bachelorette took to Instagram on Thursday to share a meme poking fun at Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured right with the late Jeffrey Epstein), who earlier in the day was convicted on five sex trafficking counts Opinion: Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) expressed her own thoughts on the Ghislaine Maxwell trial earlier this month. The Project host shared a meme to her Instagram Stories that took a dig at the associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein The meme shared by Lisa showed Epstein and Maxwell together, and reads: 'Love is finishing each other's sentences'. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at New York's Metropolitan Correction Center while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. He was 66. Maxwell, 60, will be sentenced on a date yet to be confirmed. The meme shared by Lisa showed Epstein and Maxwell together, and reads: 'Love is finishing each other's sentences' She has spent the past 17 months in custody following her arrest in July 2020. She faced a whole host of charges, which include conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts and enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. Additionally she is charged with conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor. On Wednesday, she was convicted on five of the six counts. Trial: Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at New York's Metropolitan Correction Center while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. He was 66. Maxwell, 59, is currently embroiled in Trial of the Decade' and faces 80 years in prison. Pictured in 1995 Prosecutors say Maxwell groomed three girls between 1994 and 1997 for American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They are not named in the indictment, but she allegedly targeted them in London, Florida, New York and New Mexico. She then not only facilitated Epstein abusing them, prosecutors say, but took part in some of it herself. The alleged sex abuse includes 'sexualized group massages'. Dwayne Johnson has reflected on his record-breaking year as his latest two films compete in rating wars on two of the biggest streaming platforms. The Rock is currently revelling in the success of Red Notice, which has become the most watched film on Netflix since its release last month, while Disney Plus' Jungle Cruise also topped Nielsen's Top 10 SVOD list. And in a new interview with CNN, Dwayne, 49, talked whether he'll run for president in 2024, his tequila brand booming and becoming the most followed American man on Instagram. The man to beat: Dwayne Johnson has reflected on his record-breaking year as his latest two films compete in rating wars on two of the biggest streaming platforms Having moved to the glittering lights of Hollywood after an impressive wrestling career, Dwayne was quizzed on whether politics was next on the agenda. Describing a Vanity Fair poll, which found almost half of Americans would vote in his favour, as 'humbling' The Rock doesn't believe he will make a 'good politician'. He said he still 'doesn't know a damn thing about being a politician' and 'doesn't think I have a politician gene in my DNA'. Wow: The Rock is currently revelling in the success of Red Notice, which has become the most watched film on Netflix since its release last month (pictured Gal Gadot, Ryan Reynolds) Impressive: While his Disney Plus flick Jungle Cruise also topped Nielsen's Top 10 SVOD list (pictured with Emily Blunt) The Rock elaborated: 'I feel the best position I can be in right now is to be a trusted, nonjudgmental place for people; regardless of what side of the street you live on, what colour you are, what you do for a living, how you choose to live your life, what your bank account says, whether you drive a car or take the bus. I don't care. 'None of that matters to me. Just work hard, take care of your family, be good to people, be kind to people, be straight up, honour your word and always [have] some fun along the way. And don't be an a**hole. Like I said, I don't think I'd make a good politician.' But Dwayne does have a focus for 2022- to grow his tequila brand Teremana into an international business. Run for president? Having moved to Hollywood after an impressive wrestling career, Dwayne was quizzed on whether politics was next on the agenda (pictured the White House) The Rock described how impressed he was that George Clooney sold his brand Casamigos for $1billion dollars. Not content with selling 600,000 nine-litre cases - an record for first year sales, The Rock says next year he hopes to make Termana 'a true international tequila brand'. Elsewhere in the interview, Dwayne described Red Notice as a 'holy s**t achievement' after Netflix announced over half its 214 million subscribers across the world had tuned in last month. The film features Johnson as an FBI agent who teams up with an art thief, played by Reynolds, to catch a high-profile criminal played by Gadot. Bring it on: But Dwayne does have a focus for 2022- to grow his tequila brand Teremana into an international business After its release it had racked up a total of 328.8 viewing hours in 18 days - making it the most watched film on the platform- despite terrible reviews from critics. Speaking about it's success, Dwayne said he believed it 'was critically important for myself and our Seven Bucks Company to deliver and move the streaming needle' and so it was 'a holy s*** achievement' to break Netflix records. The film has surpassed the most-watched title that was originally held by the 2018 post-apocalyptic drama Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock. Meanwhile in Jungle Cruise, the actor plays skipper Frank Wolff and stars alongside Emily Blunt and Jack Whitehall. And the former wrestler spoke of how he his two films are in a ratings war on the two different streaming platforms as he acknowledged how the industry has moved on from the world of cinema. 'I say this with great clarity, we are in a tremendous time in our Hollywood industry as we are in the eye of a massive opportunity to listen and learn what our audience and our consumers want and just as important, how they want it,' he said. Dwayne previously acknowledged the success of his latest projects on Instagram. He wrote earlier this month: 'THANK YOU guys worldwide for this insane support. 'On streaming platforms @disneyplus & @netflix - both JUNGLE CRUISE & RED NOTICE had been watched approximately 2 BILLION MINUTES in ONE WEEK. Breaking records: The film has surpassed the most-watched title that was originally held by the 2018 post-apocalyptic drama Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock (pictured) 'An amazing opportunity in our industry for our @sevenbucksprod to continue to serve our global audience first and closely pulse how the people want to enjoy our films, TV productions and other businesses across ALL platforms. 'A great time in our business to learn and listen to the consumer more than ever.' Dwayne also spoke about his huge 285million Instagram following. The Hollywood star said he has tried to keep upbeat on social media as feels he has a duty as the most followed man in America to not post 'easily triggering, clickbait stuff'. Emily In Paris star Lily Collins appeared to confirm there will be a third season of her hit show as she toyed with fans that the show could take place in Berlin. And Lily's co-stars including Samuel Arnold and Ashley Park admitted they'd love to film there with even the official account of the show giving their stamp of approval. Fans got excited after Lily reposted a picture of herself modelling for Vogue Hong Kong alongside a comment from a fan suggesting the style was more 'Emily In Berlin' and she teased in response: 'Season 3 pivot??? Who's with me?' Back again? Emily In Paris' Lily Collins sends fans wild as she appears to CONFIRM a third season Lily Collins produced the second season and starred as Chicago native Emily Cooper, who works as Savoir social media strategist despite never learning to speak or write French - much to some of her colleagues' annoyance. The reference to Berlin was undoubtedly a nod to her edgy look in the Vogue shoot - which would tie in perfectly to the Berlin aesthetic. Samuel Arnold, who plays Julian, said: 'Me always' while Ashley Park aka Mindy Chen in the series responded: 'Tres willing to check Berlin off the bucket list plz.' The official Instagram site for the series added: 'Girl I'm going wherever you are.' Yes! And Lily's co-stars including Samuel Arnold and Ashley Park admitted they'd love to film there with even the official account of the show giving their stamp of approval Excited: Fans swarmed the post to comment on the suggestion Jeremy O'Harris who plays Gregory Dupree on the show also said: 'Love this so so much. Let's go to Berghain and only wear Balenciaga.' Others like Jay Shetty, Ella Balinska and Amanda Gorman all loved the idea while fans added excitedly: 'Confirmation of the third season?' Fans are waiting to find out about season three but the final scene of series two shows the marketing whiz making a choice between a possible dream promotion at Savior's Chicago offices, or a place at Sylvie's brand-new agency in Paris. 'It's just been such a joy and labor of love': Collins produced the second season and starred as Chicago native Emily Cooper, who works as Savoir social media strategist despite never learning to speak or write French There has also been speculation it may take place in London with some reckoning Sex And The City legend Samatha Jones, who is currently working there with her new PR firm could make an appearance in a crossover. Emily in Paris has the same costume consultant (Patricia Field) and creator (Darren Star) as HBO's Sex and the City. The new Berlin angle could certainly take things in an even more unusual direction. Imogen Thomas showed off her incredible figure as she posed in a blue bikini while recently soaking up the sun in Saint Lucia. The former Big Brother star, 39, wowed in the stringy Louis Vuitton ensemble as she closed out the year by topping up her tan in the Caribbean. She relaxed in front of a four poster sun bed as she donned a white sun hat and black oversized glasses. Wow! Imogen Thomas, 39, showed off her incredible figure as she posed in a blue bikini while recently soaking up the sun in Saint Lucia Ensuring she protected her skin, Imogen could be seen heading back to her sunbed to apply a layer of cream, as she enjoyed the beautiful weather. Later, Imogen donned a floaty white shirt and toed a brown Louis Vuitton in her hand as she left her sunbed and headed back to her hotel. The television personality finished in sixth place on the seventh series of Big Brother in 2006. Beauty: The former Big Brother star wowed in the stringy Louis Vuitton ensemble as she enjoyed the sun in the Caribbean Looking good: She relaxed in front of a four poster sunbed, donning a white sun hat and black oversized glasses Keeping safe: Ensuring she protected her skin, Imogen could be seen heading back to her sunbed to apply a layer of cream, as she enjoyed the beautiful weather She shares daughter Ariana, eight, and Siera, six, with her ex Adam Horsley, who she split from in 2018 after six years together. Imogen, who now describes herself as an 'investor and content creator', recently spoke of her grief following the death of her close friend and fellow former Big Brother contestant Nikki Grahame, 38, earlier this year. Nikki's death was announced on April 9 2021 after a long battle with anorexia. Following Nikki's death Imogen paid tribute. Star: The television personality finished in sixth place on the seventh series of Big Brother in 2006, and she shares daughter Ariana, eight, and Siera, six, with her ex Adam Horsley Sad: Imogen, who now describes herself as an 'investor and content creator', recently spoke of her grief following the death of her close friend and fellow Big Brother star Nikki Grahame She wrote: 'I have no words, i miss talking to you everyday. 'I miss your funny personality. I miss your impressions. I miss you tantrums. I MISS YOU. I'm utterly broken. 'My best friend...You were special and so beautiful, you were kind it went to far and i am so sorry i couldn't save you. We all tried so hard. Grief: Nikki's death was announced on April 9 2021 after a long battle with anorexia. Following Nikki's death Imogen paid tribute Words: She wrote at the time: 'I miss your funny personality. I miss your impressions. I miss you tantrums. I MISS YOU. I'm utterly broken' 'Now you are gone too early. You had so much more to give. 'You were unbelievably strong and I take comfort in all of those memories we made those epic holidays, those crazy all dayers, just sitting at home listening to Old Skool music. 'I will cherish them for ever. My girls and i will love you and remember you always until we meet again. I'm sorry my angel.' To contact Beat, The UK's Eating Disorder Charity, call 0808 801 0677, email help@beateatingdisorders.org.uk or click here. Tribute: 'My best friend...You were special and so beautiful, you were kind it went to far and i am so sorry i couldn't save you. We all tried so hard' Sad: 'You were unbelievably strong and I take comfort in all of those memories we made those epic holidays, those crazy all dayers, just sitting at home listening to Old Skool music' Holly Ramsay continued to enjoy her sun soaked getaway in the Maldives as she prepares to celebrate her 22nd birthday on Thursday. The daughter of Gordon Ramsay, 21, posed in a leopard print bikini for an Instagram snap in yet another update from her swanky getaway. She wowed in the snaps as she posed with a green backdrop while leaning against a balcony in images that came shortly after she celebrated a sobriety milestone. Wow: Holly Ramsay continued to enjoy her sun soaked getaway in the Maldives as she prepares to celebrate her 22nd birthday on Thursday Good times: Holly captioned the snap: '22 2morrow!' [sic] In one snap, Holly raised her arm to her head to reveal a tattoo on her arm, while in another she showed off another on her side. She let her blonde locks flow over her shoulders in the make up free snaps. Holly captioned the snap: '22 2morrow!' [sic] Stunner: The daughter of Gordon Ramsay, 21, posed in a leopard print bikini for an Instagram snap Snap: Holly has been enjoying her time in the South Asian country as she posed in another snap on the beach on Tuesday Holly has been enjoying her time in the South Asian country as she posed in another snap on the beach on Tuesday. She exhibited her physique in an orange checkered bikini while framing her face with a pair of black sunglasses in the snaps. The posts comes after Holly shared her personal milestone in the form of a typed message with her 280,000 followers on Tuesday. 'Alcohol and antidepressants do not mix well at all':The posts comes after Holly shared her personal milestone in the form of a typed message with her 280,000 followers on Tuesday The influencer spoke candidly of her relationship with alcohol, including her decision to go tee-total after reaching her 'lowest point' last year. Back in May, Holly revealed she spent three months in a mental health hospital after being sexually assaulted twice when she was 18 years old. She was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression. The podcast host also explained that alcohol and antidepressants 'do not mix well at all'. Open book: The daughter of Michelin star chef Gordon, 21, spoke candidly of her relationship with alcohol, including her decision to go tee-total after reaching her 'lowest point' last year In full, Holly wrote: 'Today marks one year without alcohol. 'This is not something I thought I would ever say at the age of 21. However, by 21 (nearly 22) I never thought I would've been through half of what I have. 'I choose to take a break from alcohol because it wasn't improving my mental health - which for me, comes first.' Holly continued to explain that it wasn't a decision 'taken lightly', nor is it one that is necessarily 'forever.' Updating: The podcast host shared the personal milestone in the form of a typed message with her 280,000 followers on Tuesday 'This time last year I was at my lowest and I was scared but I made a decision to take control of what I could - and that meant removing alcohol from my life. 'It was not an easy decision, nor one that I have taken lightly. I won't say this is forever, but this is for now. Living without alcohol has helped me feel better and more present both mentally and physically. 'Don't get me wrong, I've had a year of high highs and low lows but I'm grateful I have myself the chance to work through them consciously rather mask my feelings (good and bad) with a drink. Opening up: Holly continued to explain that it wasn't a decision 'taken lightly', nor is it one that is necessarily 'forever' 'Alcohol and antidepressants do not mix well at all. And that is something, unfortunately, I learned the hard way,' she confessed. The fashion design student concluded her message: 'As with everything I have been through, it has been a learning experience and I feel lucky to be able to post this message today, to continue to spread awareness and break the stigma surrounding mental health.' Her father was among those who flooded to the comments. Close: A doting Gordon penned: '@hollyramsayy what an incredible young lady and words cant explain enough how proud you make me feel love you so much Dad '. A doting Gordon penned: '@hollyramsayy what an incredible young lady and words cant explain enough how proud you make me feel love you so much Dad '. Others chimed in with their words of support, with Emily Clarkson, daughter of former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, writing: 'You have so much power '. Fans of Holly's also left sweet comments, which ranged from 'my strong lady', 'proud of you' and 'such an inspiration.' Holly is the second eldest of Gordon and Tana Ramsay's brood of five children. If you have been affected by anything in this article, contact alcoholchange.org.uk here or call 0300 123 1110. Rapper Jack Harlow has called on a police officer in Cobb County, Georgia, to be fired for putting his hand on a woman's neck outside of his concert and has said that he wants Black women at his shows to be protected. The 23-year-old Shelbyville, Kentucky native took to his Instagram to share a video of an altercation between one of his female fans and a police officer outside of his show at the Coca-Cola Roxy. A spokesperson for the Cobb County PD told TMZ after reviewing the footage: 'The Cobb County Police Department takes any and all allegations of officer misconduct very seriously.' 'We are aware of the video snippet posted to Instagram involving our officer and a young woman outside the Coca-Cola Roxy. The incident is going through an internal review to get a full understanding of the entire incident before any potential action is taken.' At one point the woman began yelling toward the face of the cop when he extended his hand and pushed her away by the neck. Scroll down for video Troubling: Rapper Jack Harlow has called on a police officer to be fired for putting his hand on a woman's neck outside of his concert and has said that he wants Black women at his shows to be protected Taking a stand: The 23-year-old Shelbyville, Kentucky native (seen in LA earlier this month) took to his Instagram to share a video of an altercation between one of his female fans and a police officer outside of his show at the Coca-Cola Roxy She then pushed his hand away as the officer then grabbed her by the wrist and pointed in her face as she screamed 'All I wanted to do was go to a Jack Harlow concert.' The WHATS POPPIN hitmaker was obviously troubled by the clip as he wrote a lengthy caption calling for the law enforcement officer to be fired and apologizing to every woman - especially Black women - who supports him. He wrote: 'This video came to my attention a few hours ago. When I watched it I was disgusted by that cop and all I wanted to do was make something good happen for this girl immediately' Evidence: At one point the woman began yelling toward the face of the cop when he extended his hand and pushed her away by the neck Contact: She then pushed his hand away as the officer then grabbed her by the wrist and pointed in her face Harlow said that he was able to track the fan down in order to meet her and promise to give her tickets to as many concerts as her heart desires but that simply isn't enough to fix systemic issues. He continued: 'I told the world to help me identify her so I could find a way to give her a hug and give her as many tickets to as many shows as she wants. 'But that's not enough and its not a solution to a systemic issue that people who don't look like me have to face. 'The next step is identifying this police officer and getting him unemployed as fast as we can.' Assaulting a young woman and putting his hands on her neck is sickening.' She screamed: 'All I wanted to do was go to a Jack Harlow concert' Ugly scene: The officer seemingly told the woman to walk away He concluded his message by talking about his connection to Black female fans as he wants them to feel safe. Harlow said: 'I look out in the crowd every night and see black women in my front rowscreaming my lyrics, traveling to see me, supporting me, riding for me. 'I want this woman, and every black woman that supports me to know - I am so sorry. 'I want you to be protected and I want this guy to lose his job so f***ing fast. I love you. Let's find this officer.' 'I want this woman, and every black woman that supports me to know - I am so sorry': The WHATS POPPIN hitmaker (seen in San Bernardino earlier this month) was obviously troubled by the clip as he wrote a lengthy caption calling for the law enforcement officer to be fired and apologizing to every woman - especially Black women - who supports him A spokesperson for the police department later released a statement to TMZ which read: 'The Cobb County Police Department takes any and all allegations of officer misconduct very seriously. 'We are aware of the video snippet posted to Instagram involving our officer and a young woman outside the Coca-Cola Roxy. The incident is going through an internal review to get a full understanding of the entire incident before any potential action is taken.' Harlow is one of the fastest rising stars in the hip-hop world. He was recently nominated for two Grammy Awards including Best Rap Performance for What's Poppin and Best Melodic Rap Performance for his collaboration with Lil Nas X titled Industry Baby. Kourtney Kardashian shared a lot from her one-night getaway to Montecito, California this week with fiance Travis Barker. One of the things she showed off was the flirt red-and-black nightie she brought along in her fancy Goyard luggage. The couple were seen on the beach at the Rosewood Miramar Hotel, which is where Barker got down on one knee and asked Kardashian to marry him on October 17, 2021. Nice look: Kourtney Kardashian shared a lot from her one-night getaway to Montecito, California this week with fiance Travis Barker One of the things she showed off was the flirt red-and-black nightie Edgier: Ever since Kourtney started romancing Travis a year ago she has tried out a different style with darker colors like red and black The shiny black nightie had a cute accent: it looked like red gloved hands were holding the chest area. There was also a red boa sewn into the hem for a night time look. Ever since Kourtney started romancing Travis a year ago she has tried out a different style with darker colors like red and black. Often she shows off her bra peeking out from flirty dresses. Putting her body on show: Often she shows off her bra peeking out from flirty dresses When a nightie becomes a dress: The star wore this look out on the town this year And the eldest Kardashian child has also taken to her website POOSH to talk up lingerie this year. 'Lingerie on our mind but the kind thats comfortable enough to sleep in and checks out with an affordable price tag,' the copy said. 'In other words, sexy sleepwear. Save your showy lingerie for a special night (we know how much this pearl thong intrigued everyone) and refresh your bedtime drawer with a selection of our favorite sets, slips, and robes that will make you feel good before you slide under your sheets.' POOSH listed lingerie by her sister Kim Kardashian's SKIMS brand and items from Top Shop. Another nod to her new rocker look: She had these skull platforms given to her by sister Kim Kourtney documented their time in the celeb-loved coastal town - which is next to Santa Barbara and home to stars like Oprah, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - on her Instagram Story. She first showed an image of her black and brown Goyard luggage in the trunk of a black SUV, before uploading a snapshot of his feet and her feet in the sand on the beach. Making the occasion extra special, Kardashian gave a look at the ice cream and granola dessert they enjoyed at Oliver's in Montecito. This comes after sources talked to media outlets about their love. Their escape: The couple were seen on the beach at the Rosewood Miramar Hotel, which is where Barker got down on one knee and asked Kardashian to marry him on October 17, 2021 Classy gal: And she used her Goyard luggage that had her nickname KOURT stamped on front Yummy: They dined on ice cream over granola with tea and lemon at Oliver's A source told People that they are 'madly in love' adding, 'She's over the moon. They're almost like high school sweethearts all over again. Neither of them ever thought they'd fall in love like this again.' Another insider said Kardashian fell for Barker because he is such a great father. The reality TV star and the 46-year-old drummer had been friends for years before they started dating this year and friends have revealed that Kourtney fell madly in love with Travis because she loved what a great father he is to his kids Alabama, 16, Landon, 18 and stepdaughter Atiana De La Hoya, 22. A source told People: 'She fell for Travis because he's such a there-for-his-kids father. He has a huge heart.' Good guy: The reality TV star and the 46-year-old drummer had been friends for years before they started dating this year and friends have revealed that Kourtney fell madly in love with Travis because she loved what a great father he is to his kids And Travis is proving to be a great stepfather to Kourtney's children - Mason, 12, Penelope, nine, and Reign, seven - who she shares with former partner Scott Disick. The insider said: 'Kourtney is not only head over heels in love with Travis because he's hot and attractive but also because he's so sweet and loving towards her and her children. Their families also blended easily and nicely, and they all get along so well.' Travis and Kourtney got engaged in October in a romantic, beachside proposal at the Rosewood Miramar in Montecito, California and Kourtney's mother Kris Jenner revealed he asked her permission first. She said: 'They're the cutest couple. They're so in love, and they let us know that they're so in love constantly. 'He was really cute. He did that all on his own. He's a sweetheart, and they're so happy. They can't wait.' Speaking of their constant public displays of affection, she added: 'Well, you feel like they're the only two people in the room, and we almost don't know what to do with ourselves, like, I'm looking for a closet to hide in, somewhere to go. But you know, they're in that stage, and it's really, really special. And I'm so excited.' The Kardashian-Jenner family paid tribute to their ex-business manager, Angela Kukawski, after she was found 'murdered' in the trunk of a car days before Christmas in a suburb outside of Los Angeles. 'Angela was truly the best,' the family said in a statement to DailyMail.com. 'She cared about everyone of us and made things happen that were impossible. 'She will be greatly missed and we send our sincere condolences to her family and loved ones during this most difficult time.' Tragic: The Kardashian-Jenner family paid tribute to their ex-business manager, Angela Kukawski, after she was found 'murdered' in the trunk of a car days before Christmas in a suburb outside of Los Angeles; seen in 2020 Angela's boyfriend, Jason Barker, 49, was charged with murder after her body was found in the trunk of his vehicle parked outside of his relative's house in Simi Valley in Ventura County one week ago. Hours after her body was found, Barker was arrested and is currently being held at the Van Nuys Jail on a $3million bond, according to the Los Angele Police Department. 'Hardest working, most reliable, sweetest person you could ever know,' Nicki Minaj wrote on Instagram Wednesday. 'You didn't deserve this, Angela. My heart is breaking for your children. Rest in peace.' 'Hardest working, most reliable, sweetest person you could ever know,' Nicki Minaj wrote on Instagram Wednesday. 'You didn't deserve this, Angela. My heart is breaking for your children. Rest in peace' The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office filed murder charges against Barker, claiming he killed Kukawski in their Sherman Oaks home on Dec. 22, put her body in his car, and drove to a relative's home in Simi Valley. Kukawski's death was ruled a homicide. Her cause of death was listed as sharp and blunt force injuries of the head and neck and strangulation, the Ventura County Medical Examiner's office confirmed to DailyMail.com. The mother-of-five worked at Boulevard Management which specializes in 'financial management services to entertainers, athletes, and high-net worth individuals,' according to their site. Authorities were investigating what began as a missing person's case when they found Kukawski's car in the 1500 block of Patricia Avenue around 2 a.m. Thursday, police said. Kukawski maintained many high-profile clients. Along with the Kardashians and Minaj, she also worked with Kanye West, Offset and late rapper Tupac Shukar's estate. LAPD released a statement detailing the incident on Wednesday 'We are saddened and heartbroken by the loss of our colleague, Angie Kukawski,' Boulevard's Todd Bozick and Lester Knispel said in a statement to Variety. 'Angie was a kind, wonderful person, and she will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Our deepest condolences go out to all of Angie's family and friends.' The 'beloved' mother and friend is remembered by loved one as 'hard-working' and a 'straight shooter,' Variety reported. The investigation surrounding Kukawski's death remains ongoing. Barker is scheduled to appear in Van Nuys Municipal Court on Jan. 12 at 8:30 a.m. Scarlett Moffatt has vowed to embrace her body more as she revealed her list of New Year's resolutions. The former Gogglebox star, 31, took to her Instagram stories on Thursday to reveal her inspiring pledges for 2022, which included starting to dance again and spending more time at home. Scarlett, who often speaks about her battle with her body image, vowed to embrace her body and her 'boob gap' in the twelves months ahead. New Year's resolutions: Scarlett Moffatt took to her Instagram stories on Thursday to reveal her inspiring pledges for 2022, which included embracing her body more Alongside a snap of herself wearing a low-cut vest top, she detailed her body-positive resolution, writing: 'Embrace my body more. That includes my boob gap. 'I'm also going to start dancing again as it's something that fills my heart with joy.' Her list of New Year's resolutions also included spending more time at home, making sure she gives herself six days off each month and doing dry January. She said: 'My New Year's resolutions are to spend more time at home. Being self employed I am so grateful and thank my lucky stars everyday for my job. Body positive: Scarlett (pictured in February 2020), who often speaks about her battle with her body image, vowed to embrace her body and her 'boob gap' in the twelves months ahead Goals: Her list of New Year's resolutions also included spending more time at home, making sure she gives herself six days off each month 'But it makes it hard to say no to work. So I'll do this by ensuring I always have at least six days off a month.' In a follow-up post, she added: 'And to do dry January. It's been a crazy year where I've probably drank more than usual and I'm ready for a bit of detox January. 'Also me and @scottdobby now we are settled are going to post more on our House account @ourbonniebarn.' It comes after her boyfriend Scott Dobinson came down to London to spend Christmas with her. The I'm A Celeb star shared loved-up snaps of the pair and wrote: 'Thanks to my bestie and soulmate for coming down so we could celebrate in London together. Festive: Scarlett's boyfriend Scott Dobinson came down to London to spend Christmas with her 'I wasn't feeling 100% as I got the Xmas cold but the day couldn't have been more perfect.' Scarlett hasn't had the easiest year. Back in January, it was reported that her mother Betty stole 50,000 from her daughter's bank account to fund her gambling addiction. According to reports, the Gogglebox star was left 'betrayed and confused' after her mother allegedly took the money from her account. Betty, who has been working for Scarlett since her 2016 I'm A Celebrity win, is said to have become 'desperate and panicky' after losing 'thousands every week' from her online gambling habit. Dame Joan Collins felt like she was 'in jail' during the UK lockdown. The 88-year-old actress spent the early months of the coronavirus pandemic in London but as soon as international travel was permitted, she relocated to France with her husband Percy Gibson because she felt so frustrated. She said: 'I was in London for most of the time. But after the three-month period from March 2020, I went to the south of France, as I have a house there. Trapped: Dame Joan Collins, 88, felt like she was 'in jail' during the UK lockdown before jetting to the south of France three months later in June 2020 to her lavish home 'I found London difficult because I felt like I was in jail, not knowing when I was going to get out.' Joan spent a 'ridiculous' amount of time watching TV and admitted she gained weight because there was nothing to do but eat and drink. She said: 'Of course I was [in tracksuits] werent we all? I gained about half a stone. I was eating as much as possible because aside from drinking bottles of wine and polishing off chocolates what else was there to do? Loved-up: As soon as international travel was permitted, she relocated to France with her husband Percy Gibson, 56, because she felt so frustrated 'I also watched endless television it was ridiculous. I watched nine hours one day. 'I would watch the morning programmes and read all the papers, so that would take me up to lunchtime.' Despite her frustration with lockdown, the Dynasty legend thinks she has a 'happy gene' because not much gets her down. Stuck in a rut? The star said she drank wine and ate chocolate while shut away while waiting to return to normal life She said in a recent interview: 'I believe I was born with this gene of exuberance and excitement. 'I wake up every morning and get enthusiastic about my first cup of coffee and the newspapers. 'I get upset when I look at the news sometimes, but Im very lucky I dont suffer from depression or much sadness. 'I have the happy gene its just something thats inbuilt.' Madonna posed on the toilet during a holiday to an undisclosed location for her latest wacky Instagram update. The 63-year-old kept her jeans on as she sat on the pot in a picture she teasingly captioned: 'Don't try to find me...' Although she stayed mum about where she was headed she did reveal on her Insta Stories that she had 'escaped' to a snowy and picturesque locale. Let your body go with the flow: Madonna posed on the toilet during a holiday to an undisclosed location for her latest wacky Instagram update She posted a heartwarming video of herself singing with her nine-year-old twin daughters Stella and Estere in the car en route to their vacation digs. 'Nostalgia in the snow,' captioned Madonna, who adopted the girls as well as two of her other children David, 16, and Mercy, 15, from Malawi. Their song of choice was the Elvis Presley number I Can't Help Falling In Love With You, to which both Stella and Estere knew the words. Along with her four adopted children Madonna also conceived a daughter named Lourdes Leon, 25, and a son named Rocco Ritchie, 21. Off she goes: Although she stayed mum about where she was headed she did reveal on her Insta Stories that she had 'escaped' to a snowy and picturesque locale Her babies: She posted a heartwarming video of herself singing with her nine-year-old twin daughters Stella and Estere in the car en route to their vacation digs Madonna shares Rocco with her second ex-husband, British action director Guy Ritchie, and Lourdes with fitness trainer Carlos Leon. Lourdes has gone into the modeling business, recently capturing attention by landing a 90s themed photo-shoot for PAPER - and when the pictures dropped on Instagram, Madonna upstaged her daughter by posting a version of one of Lourdes' snaps with herself edited into it. Madonna's getaway comes just a month after she hit the headlines for a string of raunchy bedroom snaps she posted to Instagram. The most famous picture showed Madonna's legs and derriere protruding out from under a bed where she had spent much of her photo-shoot lolling around. Family matters: 'Nostalgia in the snow,' captioned Madonna, who adopted the girls as well as two of her other children David, 16, and Mercy, 15, from Malawi Madge drew widespread attention for that album, freeing the nipple and splaying her legs in an extravaganza that left her public rolling their eyes. 'Stop showing your a**, we've seen plenty of it with the Sex book and it was brave then. Now it's just classless and it has nothing to do with your age...,' wrote one. 'WHY MADONNA?' commented another Instagram user while a third remarked that 'This is getting kind of embarrassing now.' Mockery came in from such names as 50 Cent, who re-posted a meme of the snap that showed Madonna's rear end. So sweet: Their song of choice was the Elvis Presley number I Can't Help Falling In Love With You, to which both Stella and Estere knew the words Madge's buttocks were seen protruding from under Dorothy's house in The Wizard Of Oz as if she were the Wicked Witch Of The East. She responded to 50 Cent by accusing him of 'trying to humiliate others on social media' and he wrote: 'ok Im sorry i did not intend to hurt your feelings.' Madonna then put on a wacky filter for an Instagram video slamming him for his 'fake' apology but insisting: 'I forgive you.' Stella and Estere's father gave an interview to The Mail On Sunday in 2017 expressing shock at the revelation they were being taken from him permanently. Hitting the headlines: Madonna's getaway comes just a month after she hit the headlines for a string of raunchy bedroom snaps she posted to Instagram I was told from the start that Esther and Stella were going to a rich womans home abroad, that she would give them a good education, then return them to me, to live with me and help all of my family,' said Adam Mwale. 'Now you are telling me the adoption is permanent. That cannot be true I dont want it to be true. I am their father and I will always be their father.' He maintained: The orphanage boss told me it would be a wonderful chance for my little girls, and for their brother and sisters at home. I was told to agree with everything in court. I did not believe I would never see my girls again.' The then 40-year-old farmer, who was living in the village of Kayembe, told The Mail On Sunday: 'I was standing with my brother-in-law who signed the consent forms with me, and we just continued to believe that I would always be the twins father and they would be coming home to me.' She confirmed her split from boyfriend Tyler Cruickshank earlier this month, confessing they struggled to adapt to life in the 'public eye'. But Kaz Kamwi is dealing with her heartbreak in the best way possible as she has jetted off for a sunshine break to Dubai with her girlfriends. The Love Island beauty, 27, showed off her gorgeous curves in green bikini as she lounged poolside on Thursday. Wow: Love Island's Kaz Kamwi showed off her gorgeous curves in a green bikini as she lounged poolside in Dubai on Thursday... after her split from Tyler Cruickshank She gave a glimpse of her ample assets and toned thighs in the skimpy two-piece and accessorised the look with black shades and held a cocktail in her hands. The stunner later took to her Instagram Stories to share more holiday content as she slipped into a yellow bandeau bikini and posed up a storm. In another clip she wore a stylish white silk slip as she posed with a friend and soaked up the sun. Toned: The stunner later took to her Instagram Stories to share more holiday content as she slipped into a yellow bandeau bikini and posed up a storm It comes after earlier this month Kaz confirmed her split from Tyler, 26, confessing they struggled to adapt to life in the 'public eye.' The Islanders have vowed to 'continue supporting each other's careers' and thanked their dedicated fans for all their love since they left the Love Island villa in August. The former couple jointly shared on Instagram: 'We are extremely sad to announce that we have decided to end our romantic relationship. 'We have had a fantastic journey and we will always have a special bond between us. Stunning: In another clip she wore a stylish white silk slip as she posed with a friend and soaked up the sun Heartbreak holiday: She confirmed her split from boyfriend Tyler Cruickshank earlier this month, confessing they struggled to adapt to life in the 'public eye' 'We will continue to be very much in one another's lives and support each other in every way. 'We are so grateful that we have shared this Love Island experience with each other, and we will continue to support each other's careers. 'Life since the villa has been amazing, but it's taken time to adjust to a new normal in the public eye. 'This part of the journey hasn't been easy for us but we're learning. Glowing: She shared another radiant clip from her sun lounger and flaunted her flawless complexion 'Thank you to every single person who has supported us, we appreciate you more than you will ever know.' A source previously told MailOnline: 'Kaz and Tyler have decided to go their separate ways after giving everything to make their relationship work. 'They haven't got on as well outside of the villa as they first hoped and the pressure of their fans watching their every move hasn't made it easy for them either. 'The romance ended on good terms and they're still friends, who will support each other in the industry.' Looking good: She gave a glimpse of her ample assets and toned thighs in the skimpy two-piece Kaz and Tyler are the first couple from the 2021 final to split with winners Millie Court, 25, and Liam Reardon, 22, and runners-up Chloe Burrows, 25, and Toby Aromolaran, 22, still going strong in their relationships. Faye Winter, 26, and Teddy Soares, also 26, who came third in the competition, are also still together. Kaz was last seen with Tyler at ITV's Palooza in November, after the pair made their first official appearance together at September's National Television Awards. She's been a staple on the popular Bravo show for six years and recently hinted that her days on Vanderpump Rules may be over. But Lala Kent admitted that she's just 'rolling with the punches' when it comes to her future on reality television after a challenging season nine reunion taping weeks ago. The 31-year-old influencer noted she has conflicting feelings toward returning to the show which arguably made her a household name in the reality world. Strong as ever: Lala Kent admitted that she's just 'rolling with the punches' when it comes to her future on reality television after a challenging season nine reunion taping weeks ago Kent noted that 'nothing was off the table' when it came to her career as she doesn't 'say no to very much.' 'There are moments where I think I may have outgrown the space,' she told Page Six. 'But I kind of am rolling with the punches. If they called me tomorrow, I would have to see how I felt. I don't know what my future holds.' She added: 'I am looking for a very positive space in life right now, so thank goodness the show isn't filming right now. Or maybe I wish it were, I don't know!' Kent mentioned on her podcast recently that she hadn't felt supported by her castmates amid a tumultuous time in her life after her ex-fiance, Randall Emmett, cheated on her. 'I wish I wouldnt have said that on the podcast because even though no one reached out to me after the reunion, I feel like I discredited Katie [Maloney] and I discredited Scheana [Shay]. They have been such a support system for me since this happened,' she clarified. Rough: Kent mentioned on her podcast recently that she hadn't felt supported by her castmates amid a tumultuous time in her life after her ex-fiance, Randall Emmett, cheated on her 'There are moments where I think I may have outgrown the space,' she told Page Six . 'But I kind of am rolling with the punches. If they called me tomorrow, I would have to see how I felt. I don't know what my future holds' 'So for me to put that on the podcast and fixate on that one moment, Im not proud of that at all because they really have been incredible friends to me. And the cast has been a great support.' Lala admitted that Randall was the 'worst thing to ever happen' to her as she discussed the end of their engagement amid cheating accusations. She chatted with Instagram sensation Amanda Hirsch on Dear Media's Not Skinny, Not Fat podcast where she revealed a wide range of feelings toward the producer after years as his biggest supporter. 'I have to understand how the worst thing to ever happen or come into my life, how did they give me the best thing to ever happen in my life?,' she said, referring to their nine-month-old daughter Ocean. 'It is such a mind f***.' Gross: Lala Kent admitted that her ex-fiance, Randall Emmett, was the 'worst thing to ever happen' to her as she discussed the end of their engagement amid cheating accusations Hirsch asked if anyone had warned Lala about Randall, she quickly responded: 'I wish they f***ing would have.' The Give Them Lala Beauty boss added: 'I wish that somebody would've come to me and said, 'I'm getting DMs about your person.' No one voiced any concern for me and my relationship. 'I would give everything to turn back the clock and have someone tell me something.' In the past: The 31-year-old reality star sat down to chat with Amanda Hirsch on the Not Skinny, Not Fat podcast where she revealed a wide range of feelings toward the producer after years as his biggest supporter; seen in 2019 Kent called off the engagement in October after photos surfaced of Randall with two women in Nashville, Tennessee. 'I think my head was completely in the sand,' she recalled. 'I think I ignored a lot of things that I probably shouldn't have, but I think I ignored them, because he's good at what he does.' She added: I saw those pictures and I just knew, 'I'm going to do what I need to do to exit this relationship.'' 'I think my head was completely in the sand,' she recalled. 'I think I ignored a lot of things that I probably shouldn't have, but I think I ignored them, because he's good at what he does.' The way they were: Randall proposed to Lala during a romantic trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in September 2018 when they celebrated her 28th birthday Randall proposed to Lala during a romantic trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in September 2018 when they celebrated her 28th birthday. He gave her a six-carat diamond ring, which Lala recently discovered was a fake and had been heavily treated to change the color of the stone. 'I thank God and my [late] dad daily that I never married him,' Kent said. 'Just the thought of it sends me into a panic. If I would've gotten married, oh my God!' Model Devon Windsor, 27, stuns in a white bikini while she swam with sea turtles on a holiday vacation in the Bahamas. The new mother posted to her Instagram a series of pictures and videos of her lounging on a boat in the middle of the ocean, showing off her toned physique. 'It was a good day,' the founder of Devon Windsor swim posted to her three million Instagram followers on Thursday. She has been documenting her tropical trip on her social media, showing that her daughter Enzo and her sister, Alex, made the trip with her. In the Bahamas: Model Devon Windsor, 27, stuns in a white bikini while she swam with sea turtles on a holiday vacation in the Bahamas In the Bahamas: The new mother posted to her Instagram a series of pictures and videos of her lounging on a boat in the middle of the ocean, showing off her toned physique Devon's sister Alex has been documenting their trip on her social media accounts as well. She posted a picture with her sister on the edge of the boat and said, 'When your sister owns a swim-line and you can match everyday on vaca.' The model highlighted on her Instagram that she paddle-boarded very close to sea turtles while wearing a snorkeling mask. Devon even posted herself riding a jetboard with a life jacket and a helmet on top of the crystal clear ocean. In a selfie the model took on the boat, she wore a wide-brimmed washed denim Gucci sunhat to block out the sun. Devon also had an arm full of bracelets on and two necklaces. Boat life: 'It was a good day,' the founder of Devon Windsor swim posted to her three million Instagram followers on Thursday Blocking out the sun: In a selfie the model took on the boat, she wore a wide-brimmed washed denim Gucci sunhat to block out the sun. Devon also had an arm full of bracelets on and two necklaces The two sisters: She posted a picture with her sister on the edge of the boat and said, 'When your sister owns a swim-line and you can match everyday on vaca' Swimming with the turtles: The model highlighted on her Instagram that she paddle-boarded very close to sea turtles while wearing a snorkeling mask The new mom is back in her bikini just three months after giving birth to Enzo. The Missouri native has her own YouTube channel with nearly 70k followers where she documented her entire pregnancy and recently updated her followers on her new 'Mom Morning Routine.' The Victoria Secret alum founded Devon Windsor swim back in 2019 when she was looking for a bikini that created 'a look' instead of just being a classic bikini. The swimwear designer has expanded her brand and has even incorporated activewear pieces in the last year, Devon Windsor sport. Family time: She has been documenting her tropical trip on her social media, showing that her daughter Enzo and her sister, Alex, made the trip with her Relaxing on vacation: The Missouri native has her own YouTube channel with nearly 70k followers where she documented her entire pregnancy and recently updated her followers on her new 'Mom Morning Routine' The new mother recently went on 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. 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.' Sporting at sea: Devon even posted herself riding a jetboard with a life jacket and a helmet on top of the crystal clear ocean Georgia Love has been at the centre of controversy this year. But it appears the former Bachelorette still hasn't lost her sense of humour. The 33-year-old, who is a producer at 7News Melbourne, revealed on Thursday she had suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction at work. Oh, dear! Former Bachelorette Georgia Love, who is a producer at 7News Melbourne, revealed on Thursday she'd suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction at work 'My pants splitting open at work, just reminding me 2021 isn't quite done yet,' she captioned a photo of her zipper bursting open. Georgia then shared a close-up picture of the busted zipper, and joked it was because she'd eaten too much over the holidays. 'At what point do you realise you might've overindulged a little over Christmas? When the zipper on your pants breaks, you reckon?' she said. Bursting at the seams! 'My pants splitting open at work, just reminding me 2021 isnt quite done yet,' she captioned a photo of her zipper bursting open. She also shared this close-up picture of the busted zipper and joked it was because she'd eaten too much over the holidays Georgia's wardrobe malfunction comes after she was dropped on her face by her husband, Lee Elliott, as they tried to recreate their wedding dance last month. The couple tried to recreate the famous scene from Dirty Dancing when Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) lifts Frances 'Baby' Houseman (Jennifer Grey) up into the air. They had successfully pulled off the move on their wedding day in March, and earlier when they first met on The Bachelorette in 2016. That's gotta hurt! Georgia's wardrobe malfunction comes after she was dropped on her face by her husband, Lee Elliott, as they tried to recreate their wedding dance last month But they weren't so lucky in November when they tried to show off their party trick at a pub in Melbourne. Friends filmed the painful moment Georgia toppled over and landed flat on her face. A video shared to Instagram showed her running into Lee's arms before he lifted her up into the air - but seconds later she fell forward head first into a sofa. Balancing act: Lee held his wife in mid-air for a few seconds before they both lost balance Oh, dear! She then fell forward head first into a sofa Georgia captioned the clip: 'Disclaimer: I am okay, just a bruised leg and also ego.' Mechanical plumber Lee added: 'This still gives me PTSD!' She had earlier been pulled from on-air duties at 7News and relegated to the production desk after posting a 'racist' video on social media. Previous attempt: They had successfully pulled off the move on their wedding day in March Georgia had shared footage on Instagram in September of a cat behind the window of a Chinese restaurant, and wrote: 'Shop attendant or lunch?!' She later apologised for causing offence. Following a workplace investigation, Seven alerted staff via email that Georgia had been 'counselled' and reassigned to an off-camera role 'effective immediately'. Divisive: She had earlier been pulled from on-air duties at 7News and relegated to the production desk after posting a 'racist' video on social media Meghan King thanked her one million followers on Instagram for standing by her side as she navigated new terrain after announcing the end of her marriage to her husband of two months, Joe Biden's nephew Cuffe Biden Owens. Thank you for all your messages,' she wrote online Thursday morning. 'Thank you for holding space for me. Thank you for lifting me up. You all are good people and I appreciate you.' King seemed to be in much better spirits after she broke her silence earlier this week where she admitted she was 'rattled' following the end of her marriage to the LA-based attorney who she met online only months before. Kind: Meghan King thanked her one million followers on Instagram for standing by her side as she navigated new terrain after announcing the end of her marriage to her husband of two months, Joe Biden's nephew Cuffe Biden Owens Mom mode: Meghan headed down south to Hutchinson Island, Florida with her three children after revealing the end of her third marriage; seen on Instagram Sources told E! News that their split 'had to do with distance' as he is an Los Angeles-based attorney while she raises her three kids across the country in St. Louis, Missouri. 'Meghan cannot uproot the children from where they currently live and he lives and works in California,' the insider revealed. She shares co-parenting responsibility of twin sons Hart and Hayes, three, and five-year-old daughter Aspen with her ex Jim, who is currently engaged to her former friend Kortnie O'Connor. 'It was not a relationship rooted in that much practicality,' the insider said. 'She had hopes of being able to spend more time in California but the kids cannot just be moved.' But King completely shot down the idea that distance played into their issues when she told Page Six: 'Cuffe lived with me. We didnt have any distance.' Over: Meghan King broke her silence on Monday and confirmed she had split from her husband of two months, Joe Biden's nephew Cuffe Biden Owens She added: 'We lived together every day since the day we met. There was no Cali/MO distance. There was zero long distance whatsoever.' Her long-time Real Housewives of Orange County nemesis, Kelly Dodd, took no time trolling the mother-of-three as she paid up on a contest from October where she asked her podcast listeners to predict the end of Meghan's relationship. Dodd, 46, and her husband, former Fox correspondent Rick Leventhal, said they predicted the union would last less than a year, and hosted an 'impromptu contest' where one lucky Patreon subscriber guessed the correct time frame. Yikes: Kelly Dodd took no time trolling the mother-of-three as she paid up on a contest from October where she asked her podcast listeners to predict the end of Meghan's relationship; seen in 2019 'One of them wrote us with the winning guess of "less than six months." We're sending her a 'Rick & Kelly Unmasked' hat,' the couple, who shared a wedding anniversary with Meghan and Cuffe, said in a joint statement to Page Six. They added: 'As bad as we feel for her, neither of us is surprised. 'We actually talked about her nuptials on our Rick & Kelly Unmasked Podcast right after she tied the knot in October, and both of us predicted it wouldn't last, because of how new their relationship was and how short their engagement was.' Kelly was famously fired from the franchise earlier this year after a host of controversial issues including toasting to a super-spreader event with her friends at a bar during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a Drunk Wives Matter hat at her bridal shower and claiming in April 2020 that the pandemic was 'Gods way of thinning the herd' as she argued with an Instagram user who called her out after taking a cross-country flight. Nothing to see here: Kelly was famously fired from the franchise earlier this year after a host of controversial issues including toasting to a super-spreader event with her friends at a bar during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a Drunk Wives Matter hat at her bridal shower and claiming in April 2020 that the pandemic was 'Gods way of thinning the herd' as she argued with an Instagram user who called her out after taking a cross-country flight Her issues with Meghan clearly carried over from her Housewives days as she previously told King that her ex-husband Jim Edmond's affair with the nanny in 2019 was 'karma' and further clarified in an Instagram comment: 'I am sorry but ladies if you marry a man that has a history of cheating and a professional athlete your chances of him being faithful is very slim .. come on!!' Meghan King confirmed the end of her marriage to Joe Biden's nephew Cuffe Biden Owens in a lengthy Instagram story shared on Monday morning, just two months after the couple married in a backyard ceremony attended by the President and First Lady. The former Real Housewives of Orange County star admitted to being 'rattled' over their failed union as she shared a series remarks on social media days after it was revealed they split. 'I'm rattled. This situation is profoundly devastating,' she wrote. 'This is obviously not what I imagined when I made my vows and I'm shocked and saddened by the way things turned out. I am moving forward with my children as we privately process our pain and begin to let go of shattered dreams.' 'I'm rattled. This situation is profoundly devastating,' she wrote. 'This is obviously not what I imagined when I made my vows and I'm shocked and saddened by the way things turned out. I am moving forward with my children as we privately process our pain and begin to let go of shattered dreams' Tough time: The former Real Housewives of Orange County star admitted to being 'rattled' over their failed union as she shared a series remarks on social media days after it was revealed they split Family: She shares co-parenting responsibility of twin sons Hart and Hayes, three, and five-year-old daughter Aspen with her ex Jim, who is currently engaged to her former friend Kortnie O'Connor Sources told E! News that their split 'had to do with distance' as he is an Los Angeles-based attorney while she raises her three kids across the country in St. Louis, Missouri. 'Meghan cannot uproot the children from where they currently live and he lives and works in California,' the insider revealed. She shares co-parenting responsibility of twin sons Hart and Hayes, three, and five-year-old daughter Aspen with her ex Jim, who is currently engaged to her former friend Kortnie O'Connor. 'It was not a relationship rooted in that much practicality,' the insider said. 'She had hopes of being able to spend more time in California but the kids cannot just be moved.' But King completely shot down the idea that distance played into their issues when she told Page Six: 'Cuffe lived with me. We didnt have any distance.' She added: 'We lived together every day since the day we met. There was no Cali/MO distance. There was zero long distance whatsoever.' Weeks before their split, Meghan wrote online that the couple had slipped away for a local hotel stay to reconnect after hitting a rough patch. 'We feel like weve been married for a million years (thanks to marrying later in life and with a lot of history and, well, kids) so a two month anniversary staycation was called for,' she wrote. King had high hopes that the staycation would 'do a new marriage good,' adding, 'Please, give us more good marriage tips!' Socialite Ghislaine Maxwell will appeal against her conviction for luring young girls for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest, her brother has said. The 60-year-old, who was labelled dangerous by the prosecution, faces the rest of her life in jail for helping to entice vulnerable teenagers to Epsteins various properties for him to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004. The full indictment against Maxwell listed six charges, including conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts and conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Maxwell was also accused of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor. On Wednesday, she showed little emotion as she was convicted on five of the six counts after a three-week trial in New York. STATEMENT FROM THE MAXWELL FAMILY "We believe firmly in our sister's innocence - we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated." RealGhislaine (@RealGhislaine) December 30, 2021 In a statement Maxwells brother Kevin said: We believe firmly in our sisters innocence we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated. Lisa Bloom, who represents a number of Ghislaine Maxwells and Jeffrey Epsteins accusers, said she does not see any chance of Maxwells legal team successfully appealing against the verdict. The prosecutions case focused on the evidence of four women who said they were abused by Maxwell and Epstein. Three gave evidence using first names or pseudonyms. Jane is a television actress; Kate a former model from the UK and Carolyn a mother and recovering drug addict. The fourth was Annie Farmer who used her real name. Maxwells trial heard how she summoned 14-year-old Jane to an orgy, groped Carolyn at the age of 14 and laid a schoolgirl outfit out for Kate before a sexualised massage with Epstein because she thought it would be fun. The defendant also asked Ms Farmer to undress for a massage and left her frozen after rubbing her breasts. The court in the Southern District of New York heard Maxwell imposed a culture of silence by design at Epsteins properties, where staff were told to see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing. While the horrific abuse was going on, the jury was told how the defendant lived a life of luxury with the prosecution describing the trafficking as a means to support her lifestyle. With the fortune he made from his financial dealings, Epstein and Maxwell lived a life of luxury jetting around the world and living at the millionaires many properties around the world while bragging about being friends with high-profile figures, including former US president Donald Trump. Maxwells friends also included royalty. She had known the Duke of York since her days at university and introduced Andrew to Epstein. Maxwell was found not guilty of enticing a minor to engage in illegal sex acts which alleged the defendant coerced Jane, to travel from Florida to Manhattan so that Epstein could have sex with her. The court heard how Maxwell flew on Epsteins private planes to his properties where the abuse would happen including a ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, his house in Palm Beach, Florida, his townhouse in New York and his private island called Little Saint James. The trial also heard how she told Carolyn that she had a great body for Epstein and his friends. Jurors also heard how Carolyn had been introduced to Epstein and Maxwell through Duke of York accuser Virginia Roberts, also known as Virginia Giuffre, and that she had been in the same room while Epstein and Ms Roberts had sex. Kate said she had a schoolgirl outfit laid out for her by Maxwell before a sexualised massage with Epstein. Ms Farmer told jurors she was left frozen when the socialite asked her to undress for a massage and rubbed her breasts. Maxwells defence counsel had attempted to distance her from Epstein, but a series of photographs issued in evidence showed the close relationship the pair had, including one which appeared to show Maxwell and Epstein relaxing at a log cabin on the Queens Balmoral estate Reacting to the verdict, Ms Farmers sister Maria Farmer said both of them were sobbing with joy. Ms Roberts said she had lived with the horrors of Maxwells abuse and commended the four women who testified during the trial. She added: I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be. Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. The death was ruled a suicide. Maxwell, who has been held in a US jail since her arrest in July last year, will be sentenced on a date yet to be confirmed. The maximum prison terms for each charge range from five to 40 years. She still faces trial on two counts of perjury. Thousands of flights have been cancelled around the world as countries impose fresh restrictions to battle the threat of Omicron. The US recorded a 39 per cent rise in the seven-day average of Covid cases. Europe is also struggling with a fresh wave of Covid; this time, the Omicron variant; as the virus tears through the population. Omicron is more infectious than Delta and Alpha, that we know by now. Britain, Denmark, France, Greece and Italy have also recorded high number of new cases. All these countries are cancelling their international flights in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. Here's a quick look at the situation in 4 points. 1. FLIGHTS CANCELLED People wearing masks in US amidst fresh Omicron fear. Photo: Getty Images Around 11,500 flights have been cancelled all over the world from December 24 up till December 28, 2021, data from flight tracker agency FlightAware revealed. According to FlightAware, around 3,000 flights were cancelled on Monday (December 27) and 1,725 flights on Tuesday (December 28) and 2,871 yesterday (December 29). Cancellations of the flights started before Christmas and airlines such as Delta, United and Jet Blue have said that the Omicron variant was causing staffing issues, because of which they were compelled to cancel flights. 2. STAFFING ISSUES The US airlines have said that crew members testing positive for the virus has led to cancellations of flights. Omicron has raised the worries of the airlines because the previous Covid wave reduced the staff as air travel collapsed. The situation got better with vaccination and as people felt comfortable flying again. But it all looks grim once again as Omicron travels across the world at lightning speed. 3. BIDEN WORRIED US President Joe Biden. Photo: Getty Images American President Joe Biden on Monday said that US hospitals might be overwhelmed with the rising number of new cases, but the administration is prepared to deal with such a surge. For the US, both the Delta and Omicron variants are responsible for disrupting holiday travels, depleting hospital staff and pushing the US into another Covid wave. As the country heads into the third year of the pandemic, the seven-day average of United States reached 2,67,000 on Tuesday, as per data from the New York Times database. Rising Omicron cases have raised the concern of Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) becuase it has worsened the labour shortage, medical and travel industry. 4. OMICRON Representative image of Covid-19 virus. Photo: Getty Images The Omicron variant of the Covid-causing coronavirus, technically known as B.1.1.529, was first reported to WHO by South Africa on November 24, 2021, after the country reported rising number of cases and hospitalisation. In India, the first case of Omicron was detected on December 3, 2021. Ever since, India has been reporting a rising number of cases of Omicron even in patients with no travel history. Today, Omicron is the most rampant Covid strain in the world. The virus is now present in around 38 countries. It has caused a wave of rising cases this week in France, Europe, Britain, Denmark, Greece, Italy and USA. In each country, health officials suspect the Omicon variant as the major cause of hospitalisation. As New Year celebrations approach, flights all over the world are being cancelled amid rising Omicron fears. Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj has come out in support of Dancehall King Beenie Man amidst allegations that he disappeared from an isolation center in Ghana, after testing positive for COVID-19. On Tuesday morning, Beenie took to Instagram to not only share evidence of his negative COVID-19 test results out of Ghana, but also a statement issued via his label MD Music Group, which indicated, among other things, that the news reports out of Ghana, were utterly nonsensical. After seeing the post, Minaj, who collaborated with Beenie Man on Gun Shot, unequivocally commented, Dem too bad mind. Leave him ALONE!!!!! Cho. Beenie subsequently replied, Chro! Meanwhile, there seems to be a back and forth between the Girls Dem Sugar deejay, and health officials in the West African country, who insist that he tested positive for the virus upon his arrival and was sent into mandatory quarantine at the AH Hotel in East Legon. In an interview with Citi News, Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Asiedu Bekoe, said that Beenies so-called escape from isolation was a security issue. I think it is more of a security issue from our point of view. When he arrived in Ghana, we tested him and it was positive so we sent him into isolation, Bekoe said. I think that at a point in time, he disappeared but he came back from the Immigration (Service) after going for his passport and he was tested again and it was negative. But I do not know if that was the time he went for the concert. I am talking about the Ghana Health Service part so we didnt arrest him because the Ghana Health Service doesnt arrest [people]. According to Citi News, the Ghana Immigration Service released the entertainer to the Ghana Health Service officials and his lawyers. Beenie appeared on a number of media platforms in the country, before performing at the Bhim Concert organized by Ghanaian Dancehall artist, Stonebwoy. He departed Ghana after a 7-day stay. Veteran deejay Chaka Demus is counting his lucky stars while expressing concern about the levels of violence and aggression in Jamaica, after being confronted by a gun-toting taxi driver in Portmore St Catherine on Tuesday, who brought him face-to-face with death. Chaka Demus shared two video clips on Instagram obviously distraught and disappointed with the conduct of the out-of-control taximan. Chaka, who is one of the most jovial artists in Dancehall, captioned one post saying that based on his experience, the levels of aggression and penchant for using violence to deal with matters, need to be brought under control in Jamaica with alacrity. So a taxi driver in a pro box back gun pan mi yesterday inna portmore. Man a block up the entrance I toot my horn 2 times for him to move. Him jump out of the car with the gun in holster, style and threaten me to full me up a shot. A Ras was beside drive up and tell me to stay calm. Suppose the situation had escalated you would a hear seh mi get shot up this morning. Dont like what Jamaica becoming. No matter how man wrong dem want use might beat right. This place need some order, he noted. See more Still at a loss, as to how such a simple request could have triggered such a response from the taxi driver, Chaka Demus said that he was highly upset about the matter, as he could have lost his life, even though the taximan was wrong for blocking the entrance. Right now I vex, I really dont love what Jamaica is becoming. No order and man no matter how Dem wrong want use might beat right. Yesterday in Portmore a taxi driver was blocking the entrance of a plaza and I blow him to come out of the way 2 times. HIM DONT MOVE. Him come out of him vehicle and back gun on me. Seh him will load me up wid gunshot. IS A WILD WILD WEST THIS COUNTRY TURNING, he added. The attack is particularly ironic as Chaka Demus has, less than a month ago recorded a song titled Build Bridges, promoting unity, love and caring for each other, in the face of a divided world. In his accompanying video of the Portmore incident, an impassioned Chaka Demus spoke about his forever love for his country, but that he was heartbroken aver the attack. Me is a man weh love Jamaica to my heart. Nuff place inna di world mi guh; mi tour di whole world. An mi nuh love no weh inna di world like how mi love Jamaica. Watch dis: a nuff likkle eediat ting a gwaan inna Jamaica right yah now. Yesterday mi deh a one plaza inna Portmore; drive mi car; when mi look mi si a taxi block up di driveway. Mi blow di horn; di car nuh meck no movements. Mi guh suh: pibeep. Mi si a man come outa di taxi; di driva himself (and said) ray, ray, ray, ray battybwoy, come move di car an si if mi nuh full yuh up a shat! And back him gun, he said. In continuing to relay his story, Chaka Demus said the taximan shouted: B_ttybwoy yuh waan come move it an si if mi nuh ful yuh up a shot! A one likkle Ras a pass an a seh: dont seh nuttn to him, dont seh nuttn to him, because di Ras si seh di bwoy come outta him car wid di gun fi kill mi. Now tell me suppm; if you block up di driveway and mi a ask yuh fi jus move yuh car, das mi can pass, tell me suppm, is it right fi you come outta yuh cat wid yu gun inna yuh han a she yuh a guh full mi up a shat? Eeh? the Tease Me artiste said. Chaka Demus then posed a poignant question: Mi people what is wrong wid us? he asked. See more Chaka Demus enquiry leads back to studies conducted by the late eminent psychiatrist Professor Fredrick Hickling on anti-social behaviors, among them a joint one with Dr, Geoffery Walcott in 2013 titled Personality disorder in convicted Jamaican murderers, which found that 51 percent were diagnosed as having antisocial and inadequate personalities, two-thirds were illiterate or barely literate, and concluded that antisocial personality disorder as an aetiological precursor of homicidal violence, represents a major public health problem in contemporary Jamaica. Professor Hickling also conducted another joint study with clinical psychologist Vanessa Paisley as far back as 2011, which revealed that not only was personality disorder is prevalent in Jamaica, but nearly one million adult Jamaicans suffer from personality disorders and the islands high crime rate was linked to mental illnesses. In the study titled Population Prevalence of Personality Disorder in Jamaica, which was presented at the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture in Seattle, Washington, that year, the two clinicians noted that the rate of personality disorder approximately 40 percent in the Jamaican population is markedly higher than the internationally identified rate of six to 15 percent. Extrapolating these findings to our society, there is no wonder about the high rates of murder and violence, rape, and other sexual atrocities, and crimes such as theft and praedial larceny that are crippling our society, the two researchers noted in a joint letter to the Gleaner at the time. Professor Hickling had also said that if the findings do not influence public policy, then we are doomed to repeating the same mistakes of the last 100 years or since Independence, as many of the crime strategies employed by the security forces have failed, as this scientific aspect of the crime problem has gone unaddressed. Introspection and legislation will not solve this problem. We will continue to fail, Hickling had said. In January this year, InSight Crimes 2020 Homicide Round-Up report on Latin America and the Caribbean revealed that Jamaica had the regions highest homicide rate at 46.5 per 100,000 people with recorded killings of 1,301 in 2020. The report had also noted that United Nations considers any homicide rate of 10 per 100,000 citizens or above to be an epidemic, which effectively means Jamaica has long been in a crisis situation. As there are different schools of philosophy, there are different systems of numerology. They have the same core, but they branch out differently. Numerology independently emerged and evolved from various ancient civilizations. By arrangement God built the universe on numbers said the ancient Greek Philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. The love for numbers was ubiquitous in ancient civilizations including ancient Greece, Egypt, India, Chaldea (Mesopotamia), China. We caught up with JC Chaudhry, one of the top numerologists in India with a global following. His innovative initiatives of International Numerology Day, Indian Institute of Numerology and International Numerology Forum have generated waves among the enthusiasts of the discipline. His lifelong passion for ancient wisdom and numerology has made him to initiate the International Numerology Day on November 18. The event was inaugurated by United Nations, IGF, Chairman on Dynamic Coalition, Rajendra Gupta and was graced by numerologists from across the globe. How is ancient wisdom of numerology relevant in the modern era ? There are some elements of ancient wisdom that are eternal in nature. I call them eternal because they have stood the test of time. Like the pyramids of the Egypt, Wall of China, Ayurveda, Yoga from India, numerology which became codified in ancient Greece has successfully withstood to onslaught of time. Numerology is the science of numbers and we can analyse almost everything about any person in different field. We can come to know about the health and wealth of a person, career, about the business aspect, reasons for failures and losses in life and business and also talk about the relationships maintaining with different people and different categories. Like the ancient Greeks say number is in the substance of everything, numbers do have influence. Are there different systems of numerology ? How should an enthusiast approach the subject ? As there are different schools of philosophy, there are different systems of numerology. They have the same core, but they branch out differently. Numerology independently emerged and evolved from various ancient civilizations. Most prominent of the systems were Greek, Egypt, Chaldean (Ancient Mesopotamian), Chinese, Indian etc. There are variations the numerical value of English alphabets is different in all the three systems. So therefore, the calculations will vary.The Chinese mostly believe in Lo Shu Grid ; according to them the universe is made up of 5 elements that is the water, wood, metal, fire and earth. How do you counter those critics who say things like numerology are not verifiable? I very well understand those people. I too was one among those critics 4 decades ago. I was a Doubting Thomas who went on ridiculing which did not appeal to the narrow sceptical cynicism which we call as common logical sense. Most of the people who criticise enigmatic wisdom like numerology have not learned it in depth. They criticise for the sake of being sceptical. That is a phase everyone has to go through. From real life experiences gifted to you, you take the leap of faith. After a initial phase of being sceptical, I learned the science in-depth. After my learning in 1984, I started doing calculation of different people I use to meet in bus, train or relatives. To my wonder, my analysis came out to be almost correct based upon numbers. I have done calculations of thousands of people and 70% accuracy gave me boost for going more and more inside this. Can you share any personal experience with us ? Of course Yes, I am basically a teacher at heart, and I dont teach anything without personally verifying and validating through personal experience and experiment. Based on my qualities and events in life in past 36 years, I calculated a date which seemed to be most appropriate Date of Birth for me. Then I visited my hometown to check about the same but not got any success there, then I tried to get checked the records in different offices to get my exact Date of Birth. Finally, in the records of office of CMO Chief Medical officer of the area (Faridabad) I could find the correct date of birth, which was same as I had calculated with my experience and from that incidence I gained more confidence in this. Once I was coming back to Delhi from Haridwar in the year 1994, 80 km before the home I had intuition that there will be a yellow colour envelop in my letter box at home, which would contain my interview letter for the post of principal surprisingly when I reached home there was a yellow envelope in the letter box and letter in it and later I was selected as principal. What are the applications of Numerology in life, how can organisation and individuals benefit from it ? With the help of numerology it is possible to do the Numerology audit of the staff of any company/firm showing there by how many members are fortunate for the organisation and how many are not. Moreover, in the top managements, Numerology can be done to find if they are suitable for the post are their numbers vibrating with the owner of the company or brand of the company. My mission is to create awareness about numerology internationally and in all dimensions of excellence enhancing human life. To Connect for numerology solutions support@jcchaudhry.com&JC Nummerro App Disclaimer: No Deccan Chronicle journalist was involved in creating this content. The group also takes no responsibility for this content. Vijayawada: The tally of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Andhra Pradesh went up to 16 with a single day jump of 10 cases on Wednesday, mainly among arrivals in the state from abroad. State health authorities say that out of a total of 10 new cases of Omicron reported in the last 24 hours, most were air travellers who arrived from Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, US and the UAE and some of them were their local contacts between December 14 and 21. Four of these were women. A female aged 41, hailing from West Godavari arrived from Kuwait on December 21 and tested Covid-19 positive. The subsequent genome sequencing test found her to be Omicron positive. Similarly, a male aged 48, hailing from Guntur, arrived from high risk Nigeria on December 18. Another male aged 50 hailing from East Godavari arrived from Saudi Arabia on December 14. A male aged 28, hailing from Chittoor arrived from the US on December 21 and another male aged 22 hailing from Anantapur also arrived from the US on December 18. These apart, a male aged 45 hailing from Kurnool arrived from the UAE on December 20 while a woman aged 41 hailing from Kurnool too arrived from the UAE on December 20. A male aged 22, who is a contact of one of the infected international travellers hailing from East Godavari, a female aged 39, who was a contact of the international traveler hailing from East Godavari and a female aged 17 hailing from Anantapur tested Omicron positive. The state health authorities maintain that all the contacts of Omicron positive cases are traced, tested and their Covid positive samples were sent for genome sequencing to the CCMB in Hyderabad and the test results were awaited. Meanwhile, the health authorities have advised the general public to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour by wearing mask, maintaining social distance, washing hands regularly, avoiding group gatherings and functions in public places during the festive season to help check the virus-spread. The organisers said people who throng the event must adhere to Covid19 protocols. (Representational Image/PTI) Hyderabad: The long wait for the 82nd All India Industrial Exhibition (AIIE) is finally over. The highly billed event would be held for 45 days from January 1. The organisers said people who throng the event must adhere to Covid19 protocols. The event will be inaugurated by Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan at 5pm on Saturday, at which home minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali would be the guest of honour. AIIE general secretary Aditya Margam held a meeting with the governor on Wednesday and fixed the inaugural date, depending on her convenience. "For the last two years, it was a washout due to the Covid crisis. This year, the government has given us permission on condition that we adhere strictly to Covid19 protocols. Our security guards with help from the police will ensure no person enters the venue without a mask. We will also ensure social distance and other regulations. Sanitazires will be placed at the entrance. "This year, we got a good response from traders across India and even from Nepal for participation. Traders from Assam would be among those present. The health and tourism departments have always supported us in holding the expos," Margam said. Margam said that during the last two years, despite the Covid19 outbreak, we have never delayed payment of salaries to our 1,200 employees in 19 colleges and we extended a subsidy to 35,000 students. He said the exhibition society is getting a very good response this year from all sides. We will be accommodating more than 1400 stalls this time. "Local businessmen are eagerly waiting for innovative products display for trading purposes and would aim to grab a dealership or a good business this year. As usual I will visit exhibitions and survey the newly launched industrial products. Being a businessman, this will be a good opportunity for me," Jairaj, a businessman, said. This is time for joy for children too. "Our children enjoy the ride on the biggest giant wheel, a specialty at the event year after year. We get different varieties of dresses, bedsheets, especially the Lucknowi traditional chicken dresses that are not found in Hyderabad. After shopping, we used to order mirchi with pudina ki chutney", Sara Fatima, a resident of Chanchalguda said. Efforts are on to set up another palm oil factory in Kunchaparthy in Vemsoor mandal. (Photo:AFP) Khammam: Efforts are on to set up another palm oil factory in Kunchaparthy in Vemsoor mandal. and a mega palm oil nursery at Lankapalli in Sattupalli mandal. It will be the third oil palm factory in the erstwhile Khammam district after the ones at Apparaopet in Dammapet and Aswaraopet. Though there is huge demand for edible oil, the government is unable to supply palm oil saplings to farmers interested in taking up the crop. The making of palm seedlings is a time-taking exercise and the nurseries in the district are unable to produce them to meet the demand. The government is importing palm seedlings from Indonesia, Thailand and Mexico. It became a time-taking process to shift the seedlings from these countries through ships. The farmers came forward to raise palm oil after the government conducted awareness programmes to shift them to alternative crops from paddy. The escalating prices of palm oil prices drew the attention of peasants. The palm fruit bunch price touched Rs 19,000 in April and May 2021. Some of the farmers are getting Rs 1.5 per lakh on palm cultivation and Devarapalli Harikrishna in Mandalapalli in Dammapet mandal is a best example for it. Many of the farmers came forward to raise palm oil as part of chainging of crop pattern plan. But, the private and government nurseries are unable to supply the seedlings as per the demand of the farmers. Keeping all the problems in view in increasing palm cultivation in Telangana, the government planned to set up nurseries to raise palm seedlings on one side and establish oil palm crushing units. The government asked the Telangana State Cooperative Oilseeds Growers Federation to take up palm nurseries and oil palm units. As part of it, the officials found 70 acres of government land at Kunchaparthy in Vemsoor mandal for a palm oil crushing plant. A mega nursery for the purpose of growing palm seedlings will come up at Lankapalli. TS Oilseeds officials found land at Lankapalli and they will acquire a private land adjacent to the government land if needed. Hyderabad: The current Covid-19 situation in the state, especially after the arrival of the Omicron variant, which is already spreading in the community, renders any kind of physical containment measures useless, opined the director of public health & family welfare Dr G Srinivasa Rao here on Thursday. He said that on their part the government has done everything it can and is geared up to face any eventuality as the state heads into a third wave of Covid. Our hospitals are ready and so is our staff; we are well-stocked with medicines, have enough oxygen support and ICU beds, and home isolation kits. It is now up to the people to play their part by wearing masks, following all safety precautions and helping the government in containing the spread of Omicron, he said. He was speaking to reporters after Telangana reported five more cases of Covid-19 infections caused by the Omicron variant. It has taken the total number of cases in the state to 67. Of them, as on Thursday, 22 have recovered while the remaining persons are undergoing treatment. Of the five new cases, one has arrived from an at-risk country, while four were arrivals from not-at-risk countries. The number of people who were infected through local or community transmission continued to stay at four, as per the Covid bulletin issued by the department. Dr Rao also made it clear that the state health department will treat the Omicron variant infected cases as Covid cases. He pointed out that Telangana might even do away with separately reporting Omicron cases because it does not matter which variant a person is infected with as treatment for all Covid cases remains the same. Also, testing hundreds or thousands of samples was simply not possible in the absence of the required facilities. So the focus will be on treatment and not necessarily on figuring out which variant a person is infected with, he said. The government has acquired large parcels of land for construction of irrigation projects such as Kaleshwaram and Palamuru Ranga Reddy lift irrigation schemes and Sitarama project among others in the past five years. (Photo: Twitter) Hyderabad: The special compensation ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh is not being paid to 18-year old youth and single woman under the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package for lands acquired by the state government for construction of irrigation projects. Although the government is paying compensation and providing houses to owners who lost their lands and houses, the special compensation promised the two sections is yet to be paid. A large number of applications for special compensation is pending with the state government. The government has acquired large parcels of land for construction of irrigation projects such as Kaleshwaram and Palamuru Ranga Reddy lift irrigation schemes and Sitarama project among others in the past five years. The government announced pay special compensation for persons aged above 18 years of age and single woman in a household if they are part of displaced families, in addition to the compensation being paid to owners of lands and houses. In Sircilla, special compensation of Rs 2 lakh was promised to 800 youth, which is pending for three years. Although the Mid-Manair project works in Sircilla were completed three years ago, the displaced persons await compensation. They have been doing the rounds of the revenue, irrigation and collector offices for three years in vain. Besides, the government had promised additional compensation for loss of structure value, trees, vacant places, borewells and wells. This too is yet to be paid. The government acquired lands in nine villages in Thoguta and Kondapaka mandals in Siddipet district for the construction of the Mallannasagar project, a part of the Kaleshwaram scheme, but oustees are yet to receive special compensation. Lands were also acquired for the Kondapochamma Sagar project, also part of the Kaleshwaram scheme, in Markook mandal but no special compensation was paid. Project oustees of Gouravelli project recently attempted to block officials from undertaking project works after they did not receive special compensation. As many as 111 applications are pending with the government. The files are stuck in the district collectorates due to lack of approvals from the state government to pay the special compensation, sources said. Despair was the dominant theme in the South Asian subcontinent during 2021. It was a time of the untamed Covid-19 pandemic, stories of death and tragedy, contracting economies, rising divisiveness, armed conflict and dried-up inspiration. Can we expect 2022 to be any different? The pointers are mixed and not without any positives. For one, despite the looming spectre of a new Covid-19 strain in the form of the Omicron variant, the pandemic could reasonably be expected to ease further in the new year. The new variants, despite being highly contagious, do not appear to be as lethal as the previous strains. Responsible behaviour, tight local governmental controls and continued mass vaccination drives could dramatically reduce its impact. This decline can only have a positive impact on all economies in the region. As it is, signs of recovery are apparent in many parts of South Asia. India by all accounts is leading the revival thanks to its massive public spending on infrastructure, including big-ticket road, railway, port and airport projects. It is an effective policy that hails back to the Depression years in the United States under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. His Works Progress Administration programme led to so much spending on infrastructure that it not only put the American economy back on the rails but also served that country for decades. All this is, however, overshadowed by rising divisiveness in many parts of the region including in India, where religious intolerance shows no sign of abating. Communal and partisan conflicts are bound to be exacerbated during 2022 due to the major state elections in India as well as the run-up to the general elections in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Political life in Bangladesh continues to be violent as it approaches the 2023 polls. Local elections in the countrys rural areas during 2021 led to at least 85 poll-related killings, while at the same time the country saw yet another round of brutal communal bloodletting in October where the minority Hindu community was targeted, leading to several deaths and destroyed temples. Pakistan is more precariously placed. Like Bangladesh, it too will see polls in 2023. Recently, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans ruling party was forced to concede defeat in local polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province considered his stronghold. This defeat has been widely attributed to his dwindling popularity as voters struggle with soaring prices of goods and job losses. Pakistans decisions to keep fuelling jihad, maintain a huge military and run with Chinas Communists are proving disastrous for its finances. Reports suggest that the countrys powerful military is looking for alternatives to Imran Khan, the horse they had once backed, who must be sacrificed now that the IMF wont bail out Pakistan without stiff conditionalities. The Imran Khan government is already in a minority in the National Assembly and could easily be toppled any time the Army so wishes. The anti-India card continues to be the mainstay of key political leaders in a number of South Asian nations including Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives. They all have tended to play off China against India. This has led their fortunes into a cul-de-sac from where there are few escape routes. This is of particular concern because the subcontinent remains one of the most militarised regions in the world, with its impoverished member states spending disproportionate amounts on armaments and combatants. The principal reason for this is the historical quest of nations such as Pakistan and the regions mammoth neighbour, China, to alter territorial boundaries and suppress internal sub-nationalities. The result, not surprisingly, has been persistent hostilities that have spiked in recent times, leading to more expenditure on arms and soldiers. This trend is set to continue through 2022. Pakistan is headed for hard times and cannot afford state-of-the-art weaponry as in the past and has to rely increasingly on radicalised irregulars. The capability of these groups is limited, but is bound to keep conflict alive in places such as Kashmir and the Afghan border regions. China, on the other hand, is still on the ascendant, although it has been hit by Western economic retaliation, growing indebtedness and slowed growth. Despite this, the Communist giant continues to ratchet up its military capabilities and produce advanced weapons systems at almost breakneck speed. It is also building up formidable infrastructure in areas near potential engagement points with India. Further tensions if not conflict with India is inevitable. The Dragons shadow over the subcontinent is going to affect this region in another way. This pertains to those nations that have chosen to rely on Chinese investment to develop their fragile economies. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are two countries who now find they have no money to pay their usurers in China. While it is common knowledge that Pakistan is broke, less publicised is the dire straits that Sri Lanka finds itself in. In August 2021, Sri Lanka announced a national emergency as it ran short of an astounding $80 billion in state revenues. Overseas investors have pulled out billions from the local stock market while Covid-19 and disastrous government decisions have led to unprecedented economic contraction and plummeting forex reserves. This has caused a historic food crisis in that country. Countries that have succumbed to Chinas infrastructure development offers are bound to find themselves in tough financial circumstances in 2022 and some could even default on debt commitments. This will add to the subcontinents collective woes. The greatest threat to the subcontinents well-being, however, comes not from inter-state conflict but from the regions poisoned ecology. This region, which happens to be the worlds most densely populated, has been devastated by over-farming, over-grazing, water misuse, land degradation, deforestation and every other form of environmental abuse. Today, in most parts of the region, the air, water and land are dangerously polluted. Water shortage and shrinking arable areas constitute a huge threat, especially if they are politicised as in Pakistan, where India is being held responsible for diminishing riverine capacities. The portents, therefore, are mixed. If we continue to harbour ill-will towards our neighbours, fan divisiveness, disregard the realities of the Covid-19 conditions today and poison our environment, then the future will be no different from gloomy 2021. If, on the other hand, we act as if the people and nations of the South Asian subcontinent are not islands but part of the main, that they share a common destiny, then we can look forward to a radiant 2022, shedding memories of the grey and sullen year that 2021 was. A Surat court on Wednesday sentenced a 27-year-old man to life imprisonment "for the remainder of his natural life" in a case of rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in April this year. After the court of special POCSO judge PS Kala pronounced the sentence, the convict, Sujit Saket, got enraged and hurled his slippers towards the judge. But, the footwear missed the target and fell near the witness box. According to the prosecution, the convict, a native of Madhya Pradesh, raped and murdered the girl on April 30. The victim was the daughter of a migrant labourer. On finding the child alone, the convict kidnapped her under the pretext of getting her a chocolate. He took the girl to an isolated place where he raped her and then strangulated her to death, as per the prosecution. An FIR was lodged against the man under relevant provisions, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, at Hazira police station here. The court took into account statements of 26 witnesses examined by the prosecution. The court also considered 53 documentary evidences before pronouncing the order. Watch the latest DH Videos here: We have not thought about the silence of our most powerful people after the open calls to annihilate and exterminate Muslims were broadcast from Haridwar, Delhi, Raipur and other places. One would believe that would have created some unease in the sympathisers and legitimisers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). These influential people include the industry leaders of this country. They had taken the lead in persuading India's masses that one could do business with the RSS and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). We are also told that the industry needs peace, law, and order. So why are they keeping silent when society is torn apart? Is it because there is no relation between smooth business and social cohesion and peace? After all, we have seen the fortunes of these corporate houses rise exponentially with increasing hatred and violence in society. Could it be the case that hate and violence help capital? Also Read | As Hindu extremists call for killing of Muslims, Indias leaders keep silent Still, the question remains, why have the industry leaders who are in dialogue with the RSS not even tried to broach the issue? Is there an understanding there between them? You do your job and let us do ours? That the RSS does not mind such vile speech against minorities is not a revelation, which is evident from the fact that there is no condemnation from its side, let alone outrage. The BJP, the ruling party in Uttarakhand and in charge of the Union government, has not thought it necessary even to criticise such gatherings. When asked, a BJP spokesperson said that these are matters to be addressed by Rahul Gandhi. The BJP shrugged off the question, and the questioner shamed as to how could a nationalist party be disturbed with such trivialities. There was a time when a section of the media did expect the prime minister and the government to condemn lynchings and hate speeches. Gradually it understood that it should not be seen as indulging in negativities. Instead, it should see how the PM is dragging the nation on the path of development, prodding, flogging it as it has become habituated to a state of inertia. Moves like the GST and demonetisation were to shock it into action. The media appreciated these difficult decisions. The PM keeps shaming Indians that they, even after 70 years, have not yet stood on their feet. He is here to make them learn how to do it, how to walk. For this, he has to lift them by their ears, and he does the unpleasant task of smacking them. All this pain is worth bearing if the nation has to learn to use its feet, learn to walk and run. To keep the nation on the path of development, the man had to remain in power. And for a long time. Power in India, unfortunately, comes only through elections by conjuring a majority. In a fractious society like India, the only way to beat the divisions is to forge a broader unity. If this is to be attained, some counterpoint is needed. A pole has to be erected around which the majority would gravitate. What would be that pole? Also Read | A sinister Christmas carol It has been seen that Muslims and Christians can easily be used to scare Hindus that their numbers would deplete if the minorities are not restrained, and to do that, you need a party with a commitment to contain Muslims and Christians. It is true that nearly all political parties in India are dominated and led by Hindus, but that does not suffice. It is true that no major political party is led by a Muslim, no state is headed by a Muslim chief minister, but they still matter. It is important that they are made irrelevant politically, culturally, socially, and economically. They have to be turned into vassals of Hindus. Or this is the illusion that Hindus have because, as it turns out, Hindus themselves are being asked to behave the way prescribed by the RSS and BJP. But the pleasure of doing violence compensates for this feeling of subservience. And to do that, it is essential to have a Hindu Party with a drive and mission to discipline, tame and dominate Muslims and Christians. Only the BJP can do it. The BJP, the political arm of the RSS and supported by the armies of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and other numerous outfits, was the best bet for the impatient developmentalists. For development, you need a stable government. Not only stable but strong. Not like the one headed by a party that could allow the opposition to immobilise Parliament and not let development move fast. So, the decision was made. Those who put their money on it, quite literally, were and are amply rewarded. Land, forests, mines, utilities built with public money are being handed over to them. Banking, insurance, nearly everything is being offered on a platter. The corporates never had it so good. But much more still remains. Capital is always thirsty. The decision is, therefore, to keep the good party firmly in the saddle. Also Read | After Muslims, Christians target of Hindutva brigade: Chidambaram But elections always bring uncertainty. Human minds are unstable, and Hindus can easily forget their Hinduness to fragment into their castes. So you need something potent as a cementing factor. Nothing better than the blood of Muslims and Christians. Their blood and their tears of humiliation. The bargain was also straightforward between the corporates and the rulers. Voters cannot be left feeling deprived and powerless. The power to humiliate others, bully at will and dominate, and feel that the land belongs to you compensates for the material impoverishment. While capital fattens, Hindus feel they are on top of the world. Muslims and Christians will suffer, of course, but even if we look at it coldly, the sheer size of the Hindu market is sufficient for profits. It was not only the money of the corporates that were used. Their voice was also needed, and they obliged. After 2002, they started presenting Gujarat as a state all Indians deserved. So what if its Muslims had been pushed to the margins. The corporate leaders were quite impressed by the way Narendra Modi brazened out the pogrom of Muslims. Capital, they say, has no soul. To perpetuate itself, it needs leaders without an ethical core. Or, leaders who can embarrass those who believe in an archaic thing called soul are the ones capital needs. It was a long preparation. The man who led the Gujarati Hindus into believing that any condemnation of the pogrom of 2002 was an insult to them was gradually turned into a likeable figure. There was an aggressive campaign to accept the politics of the RSS as a legitimate viewpoint, forgetting that it meant permanent subjugation of Muslims and Christians. The industry was getting impatient with the curbs on its onward march. This impatience had to be converted into a politics of impatience. Cultural impatience, moral impatience, etc., was generated to reinforce it. The India against Corruption (IAC) movement has to be seen in this light. One must understand why corporate media, generally pro-establishment, made IAC its campaign. It was couched in a moral language. But it was to delegitimise the old regime comprehensively. Close on the heels came the elections of 2014, and the BJP secured an absolute majority. Extraordinary if we look at the past election results. It was an unambiguous Hindu vote. But the old civil hesitancy remained, and it had to be called a vote for development. It was not a worry to bother the industry that, for the first time in the history of the Indian democracy, a political party that did not hide its aversion to the minorities but had led movements to disenfranchise them in all aspects, had secured absolute power. After that, many attempts were made to present the RSS as an organisation transforming itself, making itself inclusive. It was for Muslims and other minorities to respond to it by making themselves more Indian. It was assumed that the industry would act as a brake on the violent majoritarian politics. It did not happen. The corporate world was gratified, and in return, it tolerated the politics and culture of violence. Opposition parties were blamed for being a poor alternative while the corporate money lubricated the wheels of the election machinery of the BJP. It is a bargain. The BJP is handing over the ownership of the nature of India to the corporates, they in return, are handing over the ownership of culture to the RSS. (The writer teaches at Delhi University) Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH. Check out DH's latest videos: The Bengaluru city police have decided to close all major roads for public starting 6 pm on New Year's eve on Friday, December 31. However, restaurants, pubs, hotels and other commercial establishments will be allowed to remain open. People who have made reservations in advance in these places can show cops the booking message or receipt and visit. The ban applies to major roads where crowds generally gather, including MG Road, Brigade Road, Church Street, Indiranagar, Koramangala among others. Kamal Pant, the commissioner of police also issued fresh prohibitory orders, stressing the ban on crowds gathering in public places from 6 pm Friday till 6 am on Saturday. Gathering of five or more persons is prohibited. No New Year's celebration involving large gatherings in open places or grounds will be allowed. However, celebrations inside houses and private clubs are permitted. Hotels, malls, restaurants, clubs, pubs, club houses and others are not allowed to organise DJ, events, shows, programmes, but can carry their regular business, the order cited. #NewYear All gatherings in public places R prohibited from 6pm Dec 31 to 6 am on Jan 1, 2022 in #Bengaluru. However hotels, pubs, clubs & other establishments are permitted to operate till 10 pm. Ppl who have bookings need 2 show message to cops & visit.@DeccanHerald @nkaggere pic.twitter.com/cTfEPAWHqc Chaithanya (@ChaithanyaSwamy) December 30, 2021 Commercial establishments must follow the guidelines of the government and police department, fire and emergency, pollution control board and other concerned departments, according to the order. Speaking to DH, Kamal Pant said they were going to close all flyovers from 6 pm. Policemen across the city will be on duty, and cases will be slapped on violators. Check out the latest DH videos here: Writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk, the brain behind the globally popular South Korean thriller Squid Game, says he is in talks with Netflix for a possible second and third season of the show. The survival drama, starring Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, HoYeon Jung, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Kim Joo-ryoung and Indian actor Anupam Tripathi, revolves around a contest where 456 players, all of them in deep financial debt, are brought to a secret play to play a deadly children's game for a chance to win 45.6 billion won prize. "I'm in talks with Netflix over season 2 as well as season 3," Hwang said in an online interview with Korean broadcaster KBS, as per a report in Korea Times. "We will come to a conclusion any time soon," he said. It is the first time that the director-writer has hinted at the possibility of a third season of the biggest Netflix original series after he confirmed a plan to produce another season in a media interview last month. He said the next season will feature the story of Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), the final winner of the deadly contest. The series released on September 17 and soon became a global hit for the streamer, topping charts across the world to become the most-watched Netflix series of all time. A thick layer of dust and scatterings of dried animal excrement covered the deserted intensive care unit in Amravati, a small city nestled in a far-flung, rural Maharashtra. Rows of hospital beds lay empty next to sets of unplugged ventilators on a recent afternoon and only the sound of roosting pigeons punctured the ghostly silence. The uneasy calm contrasted starkly with the chaotic scenes in early 2021 that confronted Ravi Bhushan, a 44-year-old doctor based in this cotton-growing region. Toward the end of January, Amravati and its surrounding districts began to register a number of sudden and explosive coronavirus outbreaks, just as the rest of India saw a lull after a first nationwide wave of infections. Unknown at the time, Amravatis flare-ups were the first visible warning that the SARS-CoV-2 variant now known as Delta had started along its devastating path. Within weeks, thousands of people flooded Amravatis underfunded healthcare network as the city turned into Ground Zero for what would become the most confounding version of the pathogen first identified in Wuhan, China a year earlier. Also Read | World hits record Covid cases as WHO warns over Omicron Early signs of the Delta variant Amravati was a precursor to the horrors that would grip all of India and spread globally. As January drew to a close, Bhushan was already sensing that the city of more than 6 lakh residents was becoming a petri-dish for a form of Covid-19 his team hadnt treated before. Earlier, patients symptoms improved in under two weeks, but now they were battling the virus for almost 20 to 25 days, he said. It was a nightmarish situation. Despite those first, ominous signs, what followed goes some ways toward explaining why two years into this pandemic, the world remains on the brink of economy-shattering shutdowns, with another new variant emerging out of vulnerable, under-vaccinated populations. But while South Africa acted swiftly last month to decode the heavily mutated Omicron and publicise its existence, Indias experience perhaps better reflects the reality faced by most developing countries and the risks they potentially pose. Indias hampered response was characterised by months of inertia from the Centre, and a startling lack of resources, according to interviews with two dozen scientists, officials, diplomats and health workers. Many asked not to be identified because they arent authorised to speak to the media or were concerned about talking publicly about Indias missteps. The actions India did and didnt take as Delta emerged, ultimately saddled its people and the world with a ruthlessly virulent incarnation of the coronavirus, one that challenged vaccines and containment regimes like none before it. Delta upended even the most successful pandemic strategies, snaking into countries like Australia and China with stringent Covid Zero curbs in place and effectively closed borders. Its been the most dominant form of Covid for much of this year, when more than 3.5 million people died of the virus almost double the toll during the first year of the pandemic. Multiple scientists interviewed by Bloomberg News said that the way India handled the early days of Delta fueled its rise. The variants identification was delayed because the countrys laboratories were flying blind for much of 2020 and early 2021, partly because Modis government had restricted imports of vital genetic sequencing compounds under a nationalistic agenda to drive self sufficiency, they said. There were repeated efforts to warn the administration about the new strain in early February, the scientists said, yet India went public with details of the more transmissible variant only at the end of March. Also Read | Prejudice in the time of a pandemic The charitable view is they didnt want to sound the alarm without having more conclusive evidence, said Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, a research institute with offices in New Delhi and Washington that has helped conduct some of Indias largest Covid studies. The more skeptical view is that everything about Covid has been politically managed and therefore its a question of whether they didnt want to alarm people about something happening in India for fear of stigma almost every country is trying to play this game. While the fallout from Delta has been devastating, many of its lessons are yet to be addressed. South Africas vigilance makes it an outlier, with gaping virus surveillance holes across the world, particularly in countries that have already limited means to purchase and distribute vaccines, let alone the luxury of expensive sequencing programs. More than 80 per cent of the 6.5 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes that have been decoded and then uploaded to GISAID, the international database that tracks changes in the virus, have come from Europe and North America. Given the way southern Africa was treated when news of Omicron emerged with travel curbs levied from the US to Japan there may also be limited political appetite to remedy that disparity. Tracking for Omicron vs. Delta Genome sequencing, the process used to decode the coronavirus and learn more about the rhythm of mutations, stands at the heart of the worlds attempts to defend itself from new waves. What happened with Delta shows how the absence of a strong virus-monitoring infrastructure, especially for sequencing, can turn crowded cities into spreading grounds for dangerous new variants with the potential to prolong the pandemic. Even though Omicron is quickly becoming the more dominant form of Covid in the US and elsewhere, quick action has bought time for scientists to decode the extent of its transmissibility and severity. South Africa identified and broadcast details of the new variant just weeks after seeing a spike in cases in one province. By contrast, for much of 2020, Indias efforts tracking the virus were sparse, meaning the exact origin of Delta still remains murky. To date, the country has only sequenced and shared 0.3 per cent of its total official infections to the GISAID database. Also Read | Ahead of Vibrant Gujarat Summit, state sees massive surge in Covid-19 cases India has been held back by the fact that only a handful of government laboratories and states were making consistent efforts in the first year of the pandemic to map the virus, even as millions were being infected in the countrys first wave, according to people familiar with the matter. Bhramar Mukherjee, an epidemiologist and biostatistics chair at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health, said Indias sequencing efforts were hurt by bureaucracy, politics and a sense of exceptionalism that we have conquered Covid and there is no need to worry about variants. The need to share data and samples is so key, she said. When South Africa started collaborating and sharing with the rest of the world, progress also increased like a process of contagion: exponentially. India is always protective of its own data. Inside Indias scientific agencies a lack of institutional dynamism, along with a culture of subservience to Modis government highly sensitive to commentary on its handling of the virus had taken hold, said one former official. That meant critical questions werent being aired by experts out of fear theyd derail their careers, the person said. In many cases, Indias health ministry simply wasnt listening to or making decisions based on advice coming from those expert bodies, according to this official. Attempts to ramp up sequencing in India were also critically curtailed by an inadvertent ban in May 2020 on the import of reagents, the chemical needed to fuel sequencer machines. The `Make in India campaign, Modis drive to ensure the country is less reliant on places like China, meant publicly-financed labs werent able to import items worth less than 2 billion rupees ($26.5 million) for months. India mostly uses sequencers manufactured by San Diego-based Illumina Inc. and the UKs Oxford Nanopore Technologies Plc, which run on patented reagents that cant be substituted locally. Scientists in India and abroad now provide varying dates for when Delta began circulating there. Samples retrospectively added to GISAID show at least one Delta-linked lineage in India as far back as September last year, while the World Health Organisation places its first discovery there in October. Also Read | Acute phase of Covid pandemic could end in 2022: WHO Current and former Indian government scientists say there are often errors when manually uploading information to the database and those datelines are likely to be wrong. December 2020 is when Delta was initially sequenced in India, they say. Certainly, the first person to decode the mutations wouldnt have known its full enormity at the time since not all changes in a virus are significant. Only when you begin to see spiraling outbreaks marked by similar characteristics do you realise that a variant of concern is at play, they said. But Amravati offered the clues needed to make that connection as early as January this year. India isnt the only nation where scientists have struggled to convince governments about the merits of decoding the structure of the virus. Even in the UK, which has a world-leading Covid sequencing drive that has recorded 13 per cent of all cases, there was early criticism that it was essentially an expensive academic exercise of limited real-world value. The US also reported Omicron cases much later than other countries, even though officials said the new variant was likely already in the country, a sign of gaps in its sequencing systems. Anticipating Covids evolution Some Indian scientists were already convinced by the summer of last year that the virus would morph in the country in a way that would have grave implications. But after Indias initial wave of cases subsided in October 2020, defying predictions for an explosion, officials in Modis administration were less inclined to listen to scientific concerns, the experts who spoke to Bloomberg said. The emergence of the alpha variant in the UK in mid-December 2020 reinvigorated the urgency around sequencing for some in Indias scientific community. A long-standing request by one government lab for Illumina reagents was soon working its way through several layers of Indian bureaucracy. The government had recently given the green light to launch the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium, or INSACOG, a grouping of 10 state-funded laboratories set up to help plug the large holes in Indias genomic network, and the nations scientists knew they had to act fast. Read | Covid in 2021: From worse than better to hope of vaccines Calls on Christmas Eve last year made with apologies for the festive disturbance eventually helped arrange shipments of badly needed reagents and equipment from the US and Singapore. While the import rules that stymied access to lab materials were eased in January, a shortage of flights because of global travel curbs provided the next hurdle. The scientists managed to get some of the items they needed, but it would still be weeks, and in some cases months, before many of the INSACOG labs were fully equipped. Around the same time, many Indians were convinced their country had already borne the brunt of the disease. That was also true in remote locales such as Amravati, where residents were seeking to rebuild their lives after the national lockdown that Modi -- who has styled his premiership on often authoritarian, swift and singular action -- had imposed with just a few hours notice in late March 2020. But early in 2021, Prashant Thakare, an associate professor of biotechnology at the Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, was deeply worried. He was seeing a sudden spike of infections at the testing station housed on campus, which often plays host to wandering leopards from the nearby forests. Complete families were testing positive, said Thakare, who said he rushed to notify the districts top health officials. This was not the case in the first wave, so that took us by surprise. The surge of the Delta variant The government of Maharashtra, the state where Amravati is located, was responsive, Thakare said, and sought to get a handle on the situation. But even when you have the required equipment which many labs still didnt sequencing in India was a time-consuming process. Given the countrys vastness and patchy infrastructure, some virus swabs could be 10 days old by the time they reached scientists, who would then often wait weeks for enough samples to warrant utilising their expensive-to-operate sequencing machines. The quality of many of the specimens was often also low, sometimes handled by inexpert, indifferent or harried front-line health workers. At this point, INSACOG, the sequencing consortium, was also struggling to get off the ground. Though formed at the end of 2020, many of the participating labs were months later still undergoing training and trying to source equipment. Facilities under the Indian Council of Medical Research one of the bodies most closely advising the government on Covid were refusing to share genomic data with other INSACOG partners, according to a person familiar with the matter. An early promise to INSACOG of 1.15 billion rupees from the Prime Ministers Citisen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund set up by Modi in March 2020 to provide emergency grants also failed to materialise, leaving the Department of Biotechnology to stump up the money, only 700 million rupees of which was released by the end of March 2021, the person added. Also Read | UK aims for Jabby New Year with boosters as Covid cases remain high Searching for answers in Covid crisis By early February this year, with hospitals already overflowing, health officials in Amravati knew they needed answers fast and rushed about a dozen positive swabs from the city and neighboring districts to the city of Pune. Roughly three hours drive inland from Mumbai, Pune is home to a number of research institutes studying the virus, as well as the Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., the giant vaccine maker key to Indias Covid immunisation drive. The samples needing urgent decoding were delivered to the BJ Medical College, an expansive white building adjoined to the Sassoon General Hospital, a storied state facility that had once given Mahatma Gandhi an emergency appendectomy. There, Rajesh Karyakarte took charge. The enthusiastic and jovial head of the colleges microbiology department has scientific endeavor running through his blood: a parasite discovered by his scientist father was given the family name. At the start of the pandemic, Karyakarte had convinced the college to purchase a MinION portable sequencer from Oxford Nanopore, a device weighing a pound thats around the sise of a small chocolate bar. The sequencer finally arrived on Feb. 1 of this year, and the following day Karyakarte eagerly agreed to analyze the samples from Amravati after Maharashtras director of medical education and research raised concerns about the soaring infection rate there on a weekly video call. Within two days, a dozen specimens from the region were in his care. There was just one hitch. The sequencer had yet to undergo the mandatory in-person installation by company representatives based in Indias southern tech hub of Bengaluru, who were barred from traveling during the pandemic. We were in a fix, Karyakarte said. His team scrambled to come up with a solution. One of Karyakartes doctoral students volunteered to drive the samples about 14 hours to Bengaluru, where they could be trained in person to use the Oxford Nanopore sequencer. But they soon realised the dry-ice packaging essential for keeping the samples stable would likely melt before they got there. After some detailed negotiations, Air India agreed to let them transport the virus samples in their cargo hold. On the afternoon of Feb. 8, three of Karyakartes students flew down to Bengaluru and over the next three days set about unlocking Amravatis secrets. When a state investigative team arrived in Amravati in the middle of February, they were shocked to find entire communities were falling sick. One person on that trip said they shared those concerns with Indias health secretary, the heads of national agencies, and anyone they thought had the clout to make policy changes, warning them the country was heading for very serious trouble and that the virus appeared to have mutated. Officials in New Delhi said that the information would be verified and appropriate action taken, but in the face of growing evidence of a public health emergency the response was deeply frustrating, the person said. When the raw sequenced data arrived back in Pune from Bengaluru, Karyakartes team focused on making sense of it. The Amravati samples had two curious mutations on the spike protein the key the virus uses to unlock the doorway into our bodys cells. Karyakarte presented his concerns in detail to state officials on Feb. 18. Those mutations were immune escape mutations, he said. I red flagged that. Also Read | Vaccines, boosters and variants: A year Covid kept world on its toes with surprises aplenty Revealing Delta to the world The next day, Karyakartes report was sent to the nearby National Centre for Cell Science and the National Institute of Virology in Pune for his analysis to be cross-checked. Jointly, they found B.1.617, the virus lineage that would break into three and spawn Delta. Provided with evidence of the mutations, along with what was by then a soaring case rate, the Maharashtra government locked down Amravati on Feb. 22. Thakare, whose PCR lab was among the first to pick up on the infection surge, says he was told by state authorities not to disclose Karyakartes findings, and that other health officials in the district were kept in the dark about the new variant. Calls and emails from Bloomberg to Maharashtras health minister, Rajesh Tope, werent answered. Around March 10, INSACOG filed an internal report to the National Centre for Disease Control the agency heading the consortium confirming that a new variant was spreading and was a matter of high concern, according to people familiar with the matter. There was no public pronouncement until a March 17 meeting with the chief ministers of Indias states, when Modi acknowledged the rising caseload in Maharashtra and warned of a growing national outbreak, along with the need to identify coronavirus mutations and their effects. It was only on March 24, however, that Indias health ministry confirmed the presence of the double mutation. It conferred immune escape and increased infectivity and was showing up in as many as 20 per cent of samples, the ministry said, but it hadnt been detected in numbers sufficient to explain the rapid rise of infections. A former official Bloomberg spoke to said they were flummoxed at why it took so long to make knowledge of the variant public. Two weeks in a pandemic is a lifetime, the person said. But other scientists claim it wasnt clear then that the strain was indeed the cause of what was fast becoming a nationwide jump in infections: By the end of March, India was seeing more than 60,000 cases a day, from less than 15,000 a month earlier. There was a little time lag before we associated the surge uniquely with the Delta variant, said Priya Abraham, director of the state-funded National Institute of Virology. People didnt really associate at that time this dual variant with all that was happening in the country until it became apparent that this variant was now riding the crest and being detected in many other states. N K Arora, the co-chair of INSACOG and a member of Indias Covid-19 taskforce, told Bloomberg last month that the country was still learning how to manage the pandemic in early 2021 and in hindsight it was very easy to ask why there was a delay. Officials from Modi's office, the health ministry, the department for biotechnology, the National Centre for Disease Control, the Indian Council of Medical Research and Niti Aayog a government thinktank and policy adviser didn't respond to multiple requests for interviews or comment on a detailed list of questions sent by Bloomberg. But with little action taken, the conditions were ideal for Covid to spread. A number of state elections that Modi and his party vigorously contested were allowed to proceed through March and April, with huge crowds drawn to rallies and polling stations. The Kumbh Mela, the largest religious gathering in the world, saw millions of Hindu pilgrims gathering cheek-by-jowl along the banks of the holy river Ganges in April. The result was like upgrading from a pistol to a machine gun, said William Haseltine, the founder of Human Genome Sciences Inc. who now chairs Access Health International, a New York-based think tank with offices in India. Spray a thousand bullets into a crowd, the chances youre going to get hit is a lot higher, he said. Debating pandemic policy Indias government, like many across the world, was loathe to impose fresh pandemic restrictions after the economic damage of the 2020 lockdown. Modi left those decisions to state governments, which eventually began to implement a confusing patchwork of curbs. New Delhi was also fixated on the naming of B.1.617 bristling at its initial description as the Indian variant in an echo of the governments anger almost a decade ago when antibiotic-resistant superbugs named after the capital threatened to dent the countrys image and its lucrative medical tourism industry. Case rates in India had shot up so much by mid-April that the tide of infections became impossible to ignore. On April 12, Indian scientists presented their findings on B.1.617 to the WHO. At a media briefing toward the end of that week, the agency designated it a variant of interest, though Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHOs Covid-19 technical lead, called it concerning. That same day, Indian health experts continued to downplay the threat. This variant was present from January onwards but the surge in cases that we are getting in this wave is just from the beginning weeks of March, Aparna Mukherjee, a senior scientist at the ICMR, told Bloomberg Television on April 16. We are not sure if its this variant causing the surge. By then, that debate was largely academic the strain had exploded across India, and would soon spread across the world. Kamlendra Singh, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, arrived in north India to visit family in late March. Just weeks later, he remembers it was going really nuts in India. The biologist was well aware of the dangers the virus presented, having published a number of research papers on the disease. For the rest of his trip he took precautions and limited his interactions, even though he had been double vaccinated with Pfiser Inc.s shot. After testing negative, Singh boarded a flight back to the US at the end of April. In the air, he felt a weird tiredness set in. Landing in Chicago, the professor declared his symptoms to immigration, but with his negative test results in hand they waved him through to a connecting flight to St. Louis. On the drive home to Colombia, he started to feel progressively worse. The next day Singh went to get swabbed again. His test came back positive. The entire plane was full, he remembers. Who knows how many were infected in there? Through countless trips like Singhs, B.1.617.2 the numeral 2 used to distinguish Delta from its parent started seeding itself across the world. The UKs extensive sequencing network soon picked up the variant on its soil in April and within weeks scientists there estimated that it was possibly at least 50 per cent more transmissible than the then predominant alpha strain. Still, Boris Johnsons government was slow to erect travel curbs against India as it eyed a trade deal with the country, even though by early April it had red-listed neighboring Bangladesh and Pakistan, which were reporting fewer infections. On April 14, the prime ministers office announced an India trade trip had been scaled back from four days to just one. Downing Street then canned the visit five days later and added India to its red list of banned travelers. The new measures, though, didnt take effect until April 23 and Britain soon became a hot-bed for the new strain, providing it with another springboard to spread. The variant added urgency to the UKs vaccination drive and pushed back the countrys economic reopening plans as European countries imposed their own new barriers. It also went on to spawn devastating outbreaks elsewhere, overwhelming hospitals from Kentucky to the Philippines. By mid-May, the strain had been re-labeled a variant of concern by the WHO, which by the end of that month had put in place a new naming system based on the Greek alphabet -- christening B.1.617.2 as Delta. For India, the trauma of the Delta-fueled wave was absolute. Many lost family and friends, or at least knew someone who had. Tragic scenes from hospitals, like those in Amravati, were beamed around the world, laying bare the failings of a health system that struggled to even provide basic care such as oxygen and hospital beds. It was a wake-up call thats seen the country modestly bolster its sequencing efforts, though the original plan to decode 5 per cent of all infections was abandoned as cases peaked at more than 400,000 a day in May. Twenty-eight new labs have since been added to INSACOG, a body that state scientists hope will become a permanent fixture beyond the pandemic. One facility added to that roster was the BJ Medical College in Pune. A visit in mid-October to Karyakartes large office with blue, water-stained walls found him surrounded by about a dozen doctoral students. Freshly arrived that day was a new and larger sequencer. It was fortuitous timing: While Omicron was still weeks away from making headlines, Karyakarte, now Maharashtras coordinator for genome sequencing, was worried about Indias inoculation levels, which at 42 per cent double vaccinated is well below similar-sised countries like China and Brazil, according to Bloombergs vaccine tracker. Corona has not gone anywhere, he said, as the students went off to set up the new sequencer. The tail is going to be very long. Back in Amravati, the district's chief surgeon, Shyamsundar Nikam who had a near-lethal brush with Delta himself is similarly cautious. While just a few months off retirement, he pushed for massive new oxygen cannisters to be built around Amravatis hospitals. We have to keep it ready because of that Omicron, said Nikam, who sent pictures in mid-December of the now spotless ICU unit, scrubbed clean of dust, grime and animal droppings. Recovering from Covid catastrophe Indias government is also trying to hasten the immunisation drive, though it will start inoculating those under 18 and offer healthcare workers a booster dose only next month. At a vaccine center earlier this month in Amravati, a steady crowd queued to get their shots. Around the world, while Omicron with its some 50 mutations extends its sweep, some countries seem better placed to handle what lies ahead. We were not caught with our pants down, Salim Abdool Karim, an epidemiologist who has advised the government in South Africa, said last month. We expected and we were ready for a new variant. For now, the hope is that, unlike Delta, Omicron turns out to be a milder version of the virus, one that seeks to replicate as much as possible without killing off its hosts. But with so many people remaining unvaccinated, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, the risk of more strains emerging remains, said Brian Wahl, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Less than 9 per cent of Africas population is fully inoculated. In order to stop the emergence of a new potentially devastating variant we need to make sure that the world is protected, Wahl said. That was the lesson from Delta. Have we acted on that? Thats a different question and why weve seen the emergence of Omicron. Check out DH's latest videos The Women's Action Forum (WAF), one of the oldest women's rights groups in Pakistan, has condemned Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans remarks on women, human rights and the Pashtun culture at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit earlier this month, Friday Times reported. In a press release issued on Thursday, WAF wrote, "The PM continues to misuse-abuse his public office to voice his personal regressive, misogynistic, racist views on women, Pakhtuns as an ethnic group, culture and fundamental human rights." "WAF is seriously concerned over escalating GBV [gender based violence] incidents and attacks against young girls and women," the statement added, as it decried the premier's "blatant friendly overtures towards the Afghan Taliban de facto administration". Speaking at the OIC summit hosted in Islamabad, Imran Khan had commented on Afghan and Pashtun cultural norms while attempting to sound the alarm on the situation in Afghanistan. "Every society's idea of women's rights and human rights is different," he had said, adding: "When we are talking about human rights and women's rights, we have to be very sensitive about this [cultural norms]." He gave an example on girls' schooling, a growing concern in Afghanistan, arguing that "if we are not sensitive to the cultural norms of these people [Pakhtuns], even with stipends they won't send the girls to school". WAF called on the Prime Minister to deliver a public apology, "addressed to all women, girls and Pakhtuns of Pakistan and Afghanistan". Watch the latest DH Videos here: The body of South Africa's anti-apartheid theologian, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, arrived at Cape Town's St George's Cathedral on Thursday morning, where it will lie in state for two days for mourners to pay their final respects. Tutu, a Nobel Peace prize winner widely revered across racial and cultural divides in South Africa for his moral rectitude and principled fight against white-minority rule, died on Sunday aged 90. Also Read: Desmond Tutu, South Africa's moral compass His simple pine coffin with rope handles, adorned with a single bunch of white carnations, was carried into the brown stoned-walled church that provided a safe haven for anti-apartheid activists during the repressive white minority rule. Emotional family members met the coffin outside the church entrance, where six black-robed clergy acting as pall bearers carried the closed coffin inside to an inner sanctuary. Tutu, who requested the cheapest coffin and did not want any lavish funeral expense, will be cremated and his remains interred behind the St George's Cathedral pulpit he often used to preach against racial injustice. The public will have an opportunity to view Tutu's body between 9 AM local time (0700 GMT) and 5 PM (1500 GMT) on Thursday and Friday, ahead of a requiem mass funeral service on Saturday where President Cyril Ramaphosa was expected to deliver a eulogy. Memorial services were also planned for Tutu in Johannesburg and Pretoria on Thursday. Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 in recognition of his non-violent opposition to white minority rule. A decade later, he witnessed the end of that regime and chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to unearth the atrocities committed under it. Watch the latest DH Videos here: The New Yorker magazine, a reputed publication, has claimed that it was in fact a text message, followed by a telephone call from a Pakistani number that persuaded then Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib to leave the country at the time when Taliban were entering Kabul in mid-August this year. As per the claims of the New Yorker magazine, a text message came in the afternoon of August 15, the day when the Taliban seized control of Kabul and toppled the Ashraf Ghani regime in a matter of just over two weeks after the departure of foreign forces from Afghanistan. "Khalil Haqqani, a leader of the Taliban faction named after his family, wished to speak with Mohib. He took the call from Haqqani who asked him to surrender," the magazine claimed. Also Read | Protesting Afghan women injured in Kabul stampede "Mohib called Tom West, a deputy to (Ambassador Zalmay) Khalilzad in Doha, to inform him about the call. West told him not to go to any meeting because it might be a trap," the New Yorker magazine added. Later that day, Mohib met Ghani and a diplomat from the UAE to discuss the possible evacuation plan. And at noon, it was agreed that Mohib, along with Ghani, his wife Rula and some other staff should leave for the UAE at the earliest. "Mohib's UAE contacts offered seats on an Emirates Airlines flight scheduled to depart Kabul at 4 that afternoon. President Ghani asked Mohib to escort Rula to Dubai and then join the negotiating team in Doba to finalise talks with Khalilzad and Mullah Baradar about the handover of Kabul," the revelations of the New Yorker report added. At least three of President Ghani's Mi-17s were at the palace while the fourth was at the airport. Mohib was informed that the pilots had fully fueled the helicopters because they wanted to fly directly to Tajkistan or Uzbekistan as other Afghan military pilots had used the same escape route. "The pilots refused to go to the airport with Rula as they had heard that rogue Afghan soldiers were seizing or grounding helicopters there," claimed the New Yorker. The magazine also claimed that Mohib was doubtful about the loyalty of the bodyguards if the Taliban entered the palace grounds, adding that there were inefficient means to protest against the President. It is revealed that Ghani wanted to pick up some more belongings, but because Mohib was worried that every minute they delayed, they risked touching off panic and revolt by armed guards, "Ghani climbed into a car, without so much as his passport". While this was going on in Kabul, Ambassador Khalilzad was in Doha discussing a surrender plan with Mullah Baradar. Baradar agreed not to enter Kabul and withdraw his Taliban fighters. However, when this was communicated to Ghani, he was not ready to trust Baradar or Khalilzad. "Yet this was based on assurances from Khalilzad and the Taliban, and Ghani regarded both as unreliable source," claimed the report. As Ghani flew off to Uzbekistan, his palace guards and other staffers, who had no idea where Ghani or Mohib had gone, were left with no other option but to negotiate their mercy with the Taliban. Check out DH's latest videos: India began to impose stringent rules in more cities on Thursday to prevent mass gatherings at parties and public venues ahead of new year celebrations amid a spike in Covid-19 infections. Night curfews have been imposed in all major cities and restaurants ordered to limit customers, officials said. However, state authorities were finding it difficult to limit crowding in markets, religious sites and holiday destinations as they were allowed to remain open, the officials said. India reported 13,154 new Covid-19 cases and 268 deaths in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said, with urban centres reporting a big jump. It was the highest number of daily infections since October. Also Read | Omicron is spreading in community: Delhi Health Minister Cases of infection due to the Omicron variant rose to 961 across the country. Police in the financial capital Mumbai prohibited public gatherings of five or more residents until January 7 as it recorded a sharp jump in cases with 2,510 infections, the highest daily increase since May, local authorities said. "It is being seen that social gatherings are going on in an unrestricted manner with people flouting all social distancing norms...we are trying our best to control the spread of the virus," Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said. Also Read | WHO chief worried about 'tsunami' of Omicron, Delta cases Tope said the next 48 hours were critical for authorities to prevent an escalation of fresh Covid-19 cases. Earlier this week, India accelerated vaccine distribution by approving Merck's Covid-19 pill and two more vaccines for emergency use. The Prime Minister had announced on Christmas that it will allow Covid-19 booster shots for some of its population. Also Read | Omicron will soon replace Delta as dominant global variant: Experts The emergency approvals come at a time measures are being taken to ramp up oxygen supplies and hospital beds. But an ongoing strike by thousands of junior doctors against the government has added pressure on the fragile health infrastructure. Around 13,000 junior doctors across the country are continuing with the strike to protest against delayed postgraduate admissions, said Dr Manish, President of the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association India. "We are continuing with the agitation," said Manish, who only uses one name. "If (Covid-19) cases are rising, then how is the government planning to deal with the situation without these doctors in the hospitals?" Check out the latest DH videos here: Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Wednesday voiced his concern over mixing of opinions and biases with factual reports in media, saying allowing oneself to be co-opted by an ideology or the State is a recipe for disaster. He also asked media to check trend of sermonising judgements and villianising judges. He said media professionals should also voluntarily come forward with solutions for a "menace" of "incorrect reporting" amplified by the social media, which has potential to ruin careers and lives. Maintaining that freedom of the press is a valuable and sacred right enshrined in the Indian Constitution, he highlighted "worrying" issues with the journalism due to transformation and changes. "In the race for ratings, the important journalistic tenet of verification before publishing is not being followed. This leads to incorrect reporting. The social media amplifies that incorrect news in a matter of seconds. Once published it is difficult to take back. Unlike print and electronic media, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to hold the social media platforms such as youtube accountable even after they host most derogatory and defamatory stuff which has potential to ruin careers and lives," he said. Also Read | Scribes allowing to be co-opted by an ideology is recipe for disaster: CJI Ramana He asked media professionals to follow the principles of natural justice before making adverse comments against someone who is not in a position to defend himself. The CJI also expressed his concern with another trend of "seeping of ideological stances and biases into the news story". "Interpretation and opinions are colouring what should be factual reports. News mixed with views is a dangerous cocktail. Connected to this is the problem of partial reporting, of cherry-picking facts to give it a particular colour. For instance, select portions of a speech get highlighted mostly out of context - to suit a certain agenda," he said. "Journalists are like judges in one sense. Regardless of the ideology you profess and the beliefs you hold dear, you must do your duty without being influenced by them. You must report only the facts, with a view to give a complete and accurate picture," he said. The CJI was speaking online at the presentation of RedInk Awards by the Mumbai Press Club. Justice Ramana also spoke on issue of catchy but misleading headlines given for grabbing the eyeballs. "The headline is often unreflective of the actual content of the reports. It is interpretative and imaginary. The headlines are then shared widely on social media, and become the news. The content is forgotten," he said. Justice Ramana also asked the media to have faith in the judiciary, which is acting as a "robust pillar" to further Constitutional goals despite all the constraints. "The recent trend to sermonize about judgements, and villainise judges, needs to be checked. The media must have belief and trust in the judiciary. As a key stakeholder in democracy, media has the duty to defend and protect the judiciary from motivated attacks by evil forces. We are together in the Mission Democracy and in promoting national interest," he said. Check out latest DH videos here Amid preparations for the Gangasagar Mela, and elections to four municipal corporations on January 22, Covid-19 infections have shown a sharp rise in West Bengal over the last two days, after the Christmas-weekend. Bengal registered more than 2,000 cases after nearly six months as the state reported 2,128 new infections on Thursday. It was nearly double the cases reported on Wednesday when 1,089 infections were detected, and more than four times that reported last Thursday -- 516. Also Read | Covid-19: Maharashtra, West Bengal and Delhi emerging as states/UTs of concern The state's positivity rate jumped to 5.47 per cent, from 2.84 per cent on Wednesday. West Bengal has so far reported 16,35,034 Covid-19 cases. The state also registered 12 more deaths, taking the toll to 19,757. Of 439 covid-19 cases on Monday, 204 cases were from Kolkata alone. 752 cases were registered on Tuesday, of which 382 were from Kolkata. On Wednesday, Kolkata reported 540 of state's 1,089 daily infections. The sudden and steep rise this week is a concern for state authorities, and curbs are likely to be back in smaller measures, though a section of commoners are speculating if a complete lockdown may happen sooner. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Wednesday, had hinted that steps will be taken to curtail the spread. This could leave schools and colleges closed, and containment zones may be put in place. UK Flights Suspended The state government, on Thursday, communicated to the Centre that flights from the UK to Kolkata will temporarily be suspended. In a letter addressed to Rajiv Bansal, secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, BP Gopalika, Additional Chief Secretary, States Home & Hill Affairs Department, stated: ... in view of the rising number of Omicron cases globally as well within the country, the state government has decided to temporarily and until further orders suspend all direct flights from United Kingdom to Kolkata with effect from 3rd January, 2022. Also Read | Can't impose Covid restrictions everywhere as it may impact economy: Mamata The letter added, Flights from at-risk countries, as notified by MOHFW, Government of India, will not be allowed in the state and any NOCs which have been issued stand withdrawn. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on her visit to the Sagar island in south Bengal, the venue of Gangasagar Mela, drew a parallel with the Kumbh, saying that people come from far-away areas, and it is not possible to stop them from coming. Rather, people visiting the venue should follow covid norms, she said. Check out the latest DH videos here: Amid strong demands for the repeal of the controversial AFSPA, the Centre on Thursday extended the controversial law for another six months in Nagaland asserting that the state continues to be in a "disturbed and dangerous condition" warranting the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power. The notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) comes weeks after Army personnel killed 13 unarmed civilians claiming that they mistook them for armed insurgents in an ambush. The Nagaland Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution seeking the repeal of the act. Only a few days ago, the MHA set up a panel to decide on the withdrawal of the "disturbed area" tag and the AFSPA, 1958 from Nagaland amid growing anger against killings of the civilians by the army on December 4 and 5. Also Read: Trouble for BJP in Nagaland after Oting shooting The gazette notification read, "Whereas the Central Government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of the State of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary." "Now, therefore, in the exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (No.28 of 1958) the Central Government hereby declares that whole of the State of Nagaland to be disturbed area for a period of six months with effect from December 30, 2021 for the purpose of the said Act," it added. Responding to the government notification, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted, "Modi government has pushed a hitherto peaceful northeast into an abyss of lawlessness, insurgency and chaos. The utter lack of understanding of the ethos of its people, its diversity, its concerns and attempt to annihilate democracy to usurp power has led us to the current state." The AFSPA grants special powers to the Indian armed forces in disturbed areas. It has been in force in Nagaland for several decades and it has not been withdrawn despite a framework agreement signed in August 2015 by Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM and the government. There have been demands from various quarters across the country to withdraw AFSPA from states like Jammu and Kashmir and some of the states in the Northeast. Civil society has been demanding the repeal of the Act, as it gives "blanket powers" to the armed forces. Soon after the killings in Mon district, the lone Nagaland Rajya Sabha MP KG Kenye had told DH that AFSPA was the "main culprit" and the "key element" which has "bred animosity". "It has done nothing good. It is detrimental to national interest and with such Acts, these kinds of incidents will continue to happen. This single Act has given so much power to the armed forces to commit atrocities on their own people. A debate has been going on for the past over 60 years on this. This must go to ensure that there is no recurrence of such an incident," he said. Kenye also raised the issue of repeal of AFSPA arguing that the controversial legislation has done "nothing" good but something that has brought "animosity" to all regions in the country. As long as AFSPA continues to remain in the Constitution of the country, he had said, "these will be used with impunity again" while appealing for the withdrawal of AFSPA. Earlier in October, the MHA had extended AFSPA in three districts and four police station localities in Arunachal Pradesh for six more months. In April 2018, the area under AFSPA in Arunachal Pradesh was reduced from 16 police station areas bordering Assam to eight police stations besides Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts. AFSPA was further withdrawn from four police station areas later. Watch the latest DH Videos here: China has renamed 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh in its own language to buttress its claim on the north-eastern state of India, even as the 20-month-long military stand-off along the disputed boundary between the two neighbouring nations has not yet been completely resolved. New Delhi reacted sharply, stating that Chinas move to assign invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh did not alter the fact that the state had always been and would always remain an integral part of India. The Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Chinese Government announced on Wednesday that it had standardized in Mandarin Chinese characters as well as in Tibetan and Roman alphabets the names of the 15 places in Zangnan or the southern part of Xizang (Tibet Autonomous Region), the Global Times, a state-affiliated media outlet of the communist country, reported. Beijing claims 90,000 sq kms of areas in Arunachal Pradesh of India as part of the territory of China and calls it Zangnan or south Tibet. New Delhi, however, rejects Beijings claim and says that the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. The Global Times reported on Thursday that the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Chinese Government standardized the names of the 15 places in south Tibet in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council the chief administrative authority of the communist country. Also Read | 'Indian, Chinese troops briefly engaged in face-off in Tawang sector last week' The 15 places, which the Chinese Government renamed, included eight residential places, four mountains, two rivers and a mountain pass in Arunachal Pradesh. Beijings latest attempt to assert its territorial claim came almost four-and-a-half-years after New Delhi dismissed a similar move by China in April 2017 to rename six places in the north-eastern state of India. The Global Times quoted the spokesperson of the Chinese Governments Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying in February 2020 that China had never recognized Arunachal Pradesh as a part of the territory of India. It also quoted Lian Xiangmin, an expert with the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing, stating that the Chinese Government had exercised its sovereign rights and made a legitimate move to standardize the names of 15 places in south Tibet. We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017, Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in New Delhi. Also Read | India-China stand-off: Not over yet Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact. The soldiers of the Indian Army and the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) are at present engaged in a stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) the de facto boundary between the two nations in eastern Ladakh. Though the two sides mutually withdrew front-line troops from the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso (lake) in February and from the Gogra Post in August this year, they could not yet agree on disengagement in other remaining face-off points along the LAC. The recent incursion attempts by the Chinese PLA soldiers in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh fuelled speculation about the possibility of the stand-off along the LAC in the western sector spreading to the middle and eastern sectors too. Just as its Maritime Police Law and Maritime Traffic Safety Law signalled its intent to aggressively assert its expansive claims on South China Sea and East China Sea, Chinas new Land Border Law, which will come into force on January 1, too indicates its resolve to manage its demarcated boundaries with other nations and seek settlement of the boundary disputes with India and Bhutan on its own terms. Also Read | DH Deciphers | Why is India worried about China's new border law? Its emphasis on development of villages and towns in the border areas and role of civilians in protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity clearly indicates that China would expand settlements all along its disputed boundaries with India and Bhutan. There have been reports about China building villages in areas it illegally occupied in Bhutan as well as in Arunachal Pradesh in India. The new law apparently seeks to legitimize Chinas use of the civilian settlement to buttress its territorial claims along its disputed boundaries with India and Bhutan. The Article VII of the 2005 India-China agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the Boundary Question says that the two sides shall safeguard interests of settled populations in the border areas while clinching a deal to resolve the boundary row. Check out DH's latest videos The Centre's decision to extend the stringent Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act by another six months has raised the hackles of prominent Naga outfits, which said the measure was "unacceptable" and made with the intention to "suppress Nagas for generations to come". The Centre on Thursday declared the entire state of Nagaland a "disturbed area" for six more months with effect from December 30 under the AFSPA while terming the situation there as "disturbed and dangerous". The move came days after the Union government constituted a high-level committee to examine the possibility of withdrawal of the controversial law from Nagaland. Also Read | Centre declares entire Nagaland 'disturbed area' as demand for AFSPA withdrawal continues Government of India has ignored the wishes of the Naga People...All Naga people have been pleading with the GoI and constantly pressing for repeal of the Act. Naga people don't accept it. We will go to any extent to press the GoI to repeal the Act," said K Elu Ndang, general secretary of Naga Hoho, an influential body of Naga tribes in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland. He wondered why the AFSPA was extended despite peace prevailing in the state. "As long as the Army is empowered to shoot and kill innocent people, there cannot be a peaceful environment in our land, he said, and alleged the armed forces and not the common people or Naga political groups were creating law and order problems in the state. Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO) president R Tsapikiu Sangtam said the outfit has called a meeting on January 7 to discuss the extension of AFSPA. Convenor of Global Naga Forum, Chuba Ozukum, a former president of Naga Students Federation, said protests against the law have been like "shouting in the wilderness". He said the Naga political issue would not have lingered for so long had the Centre been serious about resolving it, and claimed the killing of civilians earlier this month in Oting in Mon district by security forces was aimed at "breakig the ceasefire" but it did not succeed. Also Read | Nagaland awaits new dawn, but AFSPA extended again Now, their (GoI's) intention is not to settle the political problem. They want to suppress our people for generations to come, he alleged. Ozukum claimed the AFSPA was extended to "undermine the rights" of the Nagas. Naga Mothers Association (NMA) advisor Prof Rosemary Dzuvichu lamented the extension, saying it should not have happened amid protests by civilians and the ongoing investigation into the killings in Mon district. She insisted the extension of AFSPA was avoidable. "The measure amounts to challenging the Nagas," she said. We are shocked because this is an insult, especially to the grieving mothers, women and to all of us who have suffered under AFSPA for generations. We are the third generation to be reeling under the Act. It's time for Nagas to rethink our position with regard to the GoI, she said. AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without a warrant. It also gives certain immunities to the forces if they shoot someone dead. No senior state government official was immediately available for comments. Naga civil societies and political organisations have been demanding repeal of the AFSPA in the aftermath of killing of 14 civilians on December 4-5 by security forces. Check out DH's latest videos: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Nagaland government on Thursday started questioning a group of army men, who were part of the botched operation on December 4, in which 13 civilians were gunned down near Oting village in Mon district. Although the army refused to talk about it, sources said that a six-member team of the SIT questioned two officers and six jawans of the 21 Special Para Forces of the army at the Rainforest Research Institute in Jorhat in neighbouring Assam. The questioning will continue on Friday too, the source said. Read | Nagaland: Threads of unity amid gunfire and poll pitch The questioning began on a day the Centre extended the disturbed area tag and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in Nagaland for another six months. This was done despite strong demand for its repeal by the Nagaland government and civil society organisations. The 21 Special Para Force is stationed in Jorhat and the source said that at least 25 personnel including officers were part of the operation carried out on December 4. Six residents of Oting village were gunned down by the army team while they were returning from their worksite in a coal mine on December 4 afternoon. Seven others were similarly killed a little later when people from Oting village rushed to the site and clashed with the army team after seeing the bullet-ridden bodies. One army man was also killed by villagers. Also Read | Nagaland awaits new dawn, but AFSPA extended again The killing triggered anger and outrage across Nagaland and elsewhere and intensified demand for repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 from Nagaland. The Centre has constituted a committee to take a decision on whether the AFSPA can be withdrawn from Nagaland. Nagaland government set up the SIT to investigate the killings while the army also ordered a court of inquiry to punish those involved in the incident. A team of the army's court of inquiry visited the incident site on Wednesday for information related to the killings. Watch the latest DH Videos here: The actor assault case of Kerala witnessed fresh twists with the special prosecutor in the case submitting resignation while the police sought permission for further probe into the allegations by a film director against the accused actor Dileep. It was for the second time that the prosecutor in the case was resigning. It was learnt that prosecutor V N Anilkumar submitted his resignation to the director-general of prosecution on Wednesday. An official reaction in this regard was yet to come. Recently film director Balachandrakumar, who was a close friend of Dileep, stated that Dileep was close with the prime accused in the case. He also made certain crucial statements, following which the police approached the court seeking a further probe. The 'Women in Media' urged the government to give police protection to the film director. A Sureshan, who was initially the special prosecutor, submitted a resignation last November close on the heels of Kerala High Court declining a plea to change the trial court, additional sessions court (special-CBI) in Kochi. Also Read | Special prosecutor in Kerala actress assault case resigns The actress who allegedly suffered the sexual assault and the prosecution had earlier sought a change of trial court alleging of unfair approach of court towards her. But the HC declined the request. The actress was abducted and sexually assaulted by a gang, allegedly engaged by Dileep, to settle personal scores in February 2017 at Kochi. The gang allegedly shot the video of the assault. Dileep was arrested in this connection in July 2017 and later granted bail. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Sanju is on a mission. For weeks, she has traveled from village to village, urging farmers in India to stop burning stubble from harvested rice crops near New Delhi. As winds slow during the winter months, a poisonous haze collects over northern India. During the worst stretches, the regions air pollution can reach multiple times the global safety threshold. Stubble burning is one of the leading causes of smog. Sanju, 24, who goes by one name, is among several hundred gig workers in the state of Haryana -- all of them women -- trying to reverse that trend. She encourages farmers to spray a white substance on their fields to decompose crop residue, rather than set it ablaze. Her work forms part of one of the most ambitious attempts to eliminate stubble burning in India. Its a win-win situation for farmers, said Dhruv Sawhney, the chief operating officer of nurture.farm, a digital platform promoting sustainable agriculture that is overseeing the project. In addition to hiring on-the-ground messengers like Sanju, his group provided the decomposer for free to 25,000 farmers this year. Also Read | Stubble burning decriminalised under Air Quality Commission Act: Bhupendra Yadav Sawhney said the new organic spray, which was developed by the state-run Indian Agricultural Research Institute, has helped prevent farmers from burning over 385,000 acres of rice paddies. The low-cost bio-enzyme, called Pusa decomposer, breaks down straw and turns it into fertilizer. Over the next three years, nurture.farm plans to expand its coverage area to 5.7 million acres at an annual cost of 6 billion rupees ($80 million). Even if the company starts charging for the powder, many farmers say they would continue using it, in part because they end up saving on fertilizer costs. India, the worlds biggest grower of cotton and second-largest producer of rice, wheat and sugar, is being squeezed by a global shortage of fertilizers. I dont mind spending a nominal amount on this but it should be reasonable otherwise I will again resort to my earlier practice of burning the crop, said Anil Kalyan, 58, who used the decomposer on 40 acres of his farm. This year marked the first time in four decades he has not burned the stubble. The bio-enzyme breaks down crop residue in about three weeks on average and increases organic carbon in the soil. On some farms, crops disintegrated even faster, within about a week, an encouraging sign as more farmers use the decomposer, Sawhney said. Farmers are often blamed for northern Indias terrible air quality. Every winter, smoke from stubble burning mixes with construction dust and industrial emissions to produce a toxic cocktail that blots out the sun, grounds flights and overwhelms hospitals. The haze lingers in the regions trough-like topography for weeks. But political will to find a solution has dragged, largely because farmers lacked a cost-effective alternative. Technologies like the Happy Seeder, a machine that sows seeds while simultaneously removing straw and depositing it over the fields as mulch, are too cumbersome and expensive. There are also plants that use the straw to make ethanol, but theres not enough capacity currently. So far, farmers say, the decomposer is a promising breakthrough. Satinder Sharma, 62, who harvests wheat in Haryana, expects his yield to improve by 10 per cent this year. He spends less now on fertilizers such as urea and diammonium phosphate, a boost to his earnings. A bonus, he said, is doing his part to ensure clean air for the next generation. The decomposer will save the soil and plants next to the fields and the produce will be better for health, he said. It was a curse of nature to burn the crops and we were contributing to that. Check out DH's latest videos As protests against the Kerala semi-high speed rail project mount, the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front has triggered a fresh campaign giving communal and political colour to the protests, which is alleged to be part of a political strategy to suppress the apolitical movement against the project. CPM top leaders are alleging a political ploy to trigger a 'Nandigram' model protest in Kerala even as it was being widely accused of maintaining a double standard by objecting the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and backing the Kerala rail project. The action council against the rail project is being quite vigilant against political parties hijacking the movement of the affected people. Ever since the protests against the proposed rail project started aggravating, the ruling front leaders, especially those in the CPM, were claiming that the protests were politically motivated. Even when ordinary people staged stiff resistance and doused themselves in kerosene against demarcation of land for the project, the CPM leaders stuck to the stand. Now top leaders including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan are alleging a nexus of Congress-BJP-Indian Union Muslim League and other communal outfits against the government. Balakrishnan even alleged that a 'Nandigram' model stir of West Bengal was being planned by the opposition parties in Kerala. The Anti K-Rail Action Council leaders pointed out that the council was active over the last two years collecting data regarding the project and approaching the Green Tribunal and the Kerala High Court against it. The main stream political parties like the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the BJP offered support to it only recently, it said. State general convenor of the action council S Rajeevan told DH that the present attempts by the government to give political colour to the stir was anticipated as "the government often adopt such strategies to curb mass movements". The action council has workers, local leaders and fellow-travelers of all political parties, but not with their political tag, but with the single-point agenda of opposing the Silver Line project considering its massive adverse impacts on the ecology, he said. He also said that the main stream opposition parties were initially reluctant to join the protest owing to fear of being labeled as anti-development. But they got convinced of the ill-effects of the project only after the action council carried out massive awareness campaigns, he added. As per the DPR of the project, of the 1226.45 hectare land required for the project, 1074.19 hectare will have to be acquired from private parties. As the new year arrives, the BJP finds itself on the cusp of the most consequential cycle of state polls since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the results will tell if the road ahead in its bid for a third straight term at the Centre is getting any bumpier or a strong opposition challenge remains elusive. If 2021 marked the rare occurrence of the Narendra Modi-led government bowing to organised protests, mounted by farmers in north India against three agriculture reform laws, and the BJP's enviable election machinery coming up short against a popular regional satrap in West Bengal, 2022 will reveal if the ripples these developments caused have made impact beyond their immediate implications. And, political experts believe Uttar Pradesh assembly polls will hold the key. Also Read | PM wanted BJP-NCP tie-up for Maharashtra govt, I rejected offer: Pawar It was its massive win in the state in 2017 that had made the BJP favourites for the 2019 general elections, and some preceding setbacks in state elections, including in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, did little to dampen the tide the Uttar Pradesh results had generated in its favour. As the BJP won 312 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah had then tweeted that "at this rate we (opposition) might as well forget 2019 & start planning/hoping for 2024". His comments were mocked by many but turned out to be prescient. Uttar Pradesh will go to the polls with Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab, with the Election Commission likely to announce the dates anytime next month. Its sweeping victory in India's largest state in two back to back Lok Sabha polls has been central to the BJP winning a majority of seats nationwide. Always battle-ready, top BJP leaders have already begun touring the poll-bound states with Modi himself addressing quite a few public meetings in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, launching development projects and targeting the opposition. He has also addressed one public meeting in Goa. Home Minister Amit Shah, acknowledged for his keen grasp of Uttar Pradesh's political dynamics woven around religion, caste identity, regional peculiarities and local heavyweights besides governance issues, has been frequenting the state, as the party believes that another emphatic win there will do more than anything else to set the tone for the next Lok Sabha polls. Also Read | BJP tasks Yogi Adityanath's rival with 'placating' Brahmins in Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, too, has mounted an aggressive challenge and sought to counteract the BJP's Hindutva pitch under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by joining hands with regional caste leaders and questioning the state government's development claims. A win for the BJP, especially by a handsome margin, will also be a further boost to its ideological project, but any setback will have far-reaching impact. In Uttarakhand, the BJP is going to the polls with a third chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, at the helm in last five years. While it would have been considered an obvious disadvantage to the ruling party, infighting within the opposition Congress combined with the ruling party's strong organisation and 'Modi factor' have made the battle keen. Critics allege that lack of strong action against right-wing activists accused of giving calls for violence against Muslims at a Dharam Sansad in Haridwar in Uttarakhand, where the BJP is in power, is linked to the polls as it would like religiously polarising issues to take centre stage to beat back any anti-incumbency it may be facing in the state and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. The BJP on its part has refused to join the issue with opposition parties, and said questions about the event should be asked not from it but the organisers. Police have registered an FIR in the case. Also Read | UP elections: Development to play big on BJP's poll agenda It is also pulling out all the stops to make an impact in the Punjab polls, which was seen as a lost cause for it after its ally Akali Dal severed ties and farmers' protest intensified before it changed course by defusing the agitation with the repeal of the three laws. It has joined hands with former Congress stalwart Amarinder Singh and a splintered Akali faction, and has inducted a number of Sikh leaders, including sitting MLAs, to reach out to the community which had led the agitation against the three laws. If the Uttar Pradesh polls are being seen as a natural barometer to judge the mood of the nation, a good show by the BJP-led alliance in Punjab will showcase the party's continuing ability to adapt to defy odds. If 2021 was the year of political and governance challenges for the ruling party as the second wave of Covid convulsed the country before farmer unions marched to Delhi border, 2022 poll results will tell if people have bought into the opposition's charge of incompetence against its governments at the Centre and states in their handling of the pandemic or agri issues or their trust in the party remains intact. The BJP had cited its success in a number of state polls and bypolls after the Covid outbreak in 2020 as popular endorsement of its handling of the crisis. Besides the five states, two more states of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are expected to face the elections by the end of next year, and the BJP is in power in six of the seven states, making the stakes high for the party. This is in sharp contrast to four states and Union Territory of Puducherry polls in 2021 in which the BJP was in power in only one state, Assam, which it retained. It is also part of the government in Puducherry. While the BJP's principal national rival, the Congress, showed little sign of any revival in its fortunes through the outgoing year as it lost badly in Kerala and Assam, it was the success of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in quelling the saffron challenge in her state which has sowed seeds of possible realignment in opposition camp in taking on the BJP. What shape the opposition politics will take as it weighs its options may depend a lot on the poll tidings that the new year will bring. Check out DH's latest videos Six Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, including two Pakistani nationals, and a soldier were killed in two separate encounters between security forces and ultras in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag and Kulgam during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. Back-to-back encounters had started on Wednesday evening as security forces launched anti-terror operations at Nowgam, Anantnag and Mirhama village in Kulgam district. Six terrorists of proscribed terror outfit JeM killed in two separate encounters. Four among the killed terrorists have been identified so far as two Pakistani and two local terrorists. Identification of the other two terrorists is being ascertained. A big success for us, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said in a tweet. In the first encounter, a joint team of J&K Police, Army and paramilitary forces cordoned off Nowgam village after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in the village, reports said. As the forces tightened the cordon, the militants hiding in the area opened indiscriminate fire and tried to break the security cordon. In the initial burst of gunfire from the militants, a policeman and two soldiers were injured. The militants, however, failed to break the cordon resulting in an exchange of fire in which three ultras were killed, officials said. Two army soldiers and a policeman were also injured in the gunfight who were shifted to hospitals for treatment. However, one of the soldiers succumbed to his injuries. While the Nowgam gun battle was ongoing, another encounter erupted in neighboring Kulgam district after security forces cordoned off Mirhama village following inputs about the presence of militants, police said. As the security forces zeroed in on the target, militants opened fire. Three militants were killed after the forces fired in return, police said and added one M4, two AK rifles and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site. A police spokesman identified the slain militants as Mohammad Shafi Dar, Uzair Ahmad, both locals and one Pakistani militant Shahid alias Shahzaid. There has been a spurt in anti-militancy operations in south Kashmir in the last week leading to the killing of 11 ultras. On Sunday, five militants were killed in three separate gunfights in Shopian, Pulwama and Anantnag districts. A police officer attributed the increasing gunfights to changing weather and snow in the upper reaches of the valley. Usually, there is an increase in gunfights at this point of the year as militants abandon their hideouts in forests for the winters and return to the villages. This leads to more information gathering and more gunfights, he said. This year in 87 encounters, 168 militants have been killed by the security forces in Kashmir. Among them, 19 were foreigners, while 149 were locals. Watch the latest DH Videos here: On a day, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata witnessed a big surge in Covid numbers, the Union Health Ministry issued Covid alerts to eight states where 15 districts including Bengaluru Urban witnessed a sudden high surge in Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks as the number of fresh Covid-19 cases across the country crossed the 10,000-mark for the first time after 33 days. Besides Karnataka, other states with rising Covid numbers are Maharashtra (Thane, Pune, Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban and Nagpur districts), Gujarat (Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat), Haryana (Gurugram), Delhi, Jharkhand (Ranchi), Tamil Nadu (Chennai) and West Bengal (Kolkata). In his letter to the states on Thursday, Bhushan asked the state administration to set up containment and buffer zones, strengthen hospital preparedness and increase testing in a focused manner with a gradual rise in the share of RT-PCR among the total number of tests. The districts that saw a sudden and significant surge in the number of Covid cases in the last two weeks, were asked to take proactive action to ensure neither the transmission spreads nor the mortality increases due to late detection. Also Read | R-value exceeds 2 in Delhi, Mumbai; indicates faster spread of coronavirus: Study On average, India reported more than 8,000 cases per day last week. From December 26 onwards, the country has been reporting 10,000 daily cases, said Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry. The number was 9,000 plus on Tuesday and rose to 13,154 on Wednesday. Mumbai on Thursday reported 3,671 new cases, which is 46 per cent higher than Wednesdays figure. After seven months, Delhi recorded more than 1,000 cases 1,313, to be exact which is 42 per cent more than Wednesday whereas Kolkata reported 101 per cent jump in the cases with 1090 new cases. Among the states, the sharpest rise has been seen in Maharashtra, Delhi and Gujarat, according to the Union Health Ministry. Maharashtra that was the ground zero of the epidemic during the first two waves saw a three times jump in caseload and positivity rate between the first and last weeks of December. The number of weekly cases doubled in the last two weeks. Delhi too witnessed a five times rise in the number of weekly cases between the first and last week of December whereas, in Gujarat, the increase is nearly six times. Among the metro cities, Kolkata saw a doubling of the number of cases in the last two weeks. Also Read | R-value exceeds 2 in Delhi, Mumbai; indicates faster spread of coronavirus: Study We are seeing an uptick in the number of new Covid-19 cases, which is a part of a global upsurge, VK Paul, NITI Ayog member, said at a press conference here. Whereas the government officials refrained from describing the rise as third wave, medical experts say this would be the beginning of a new wave driven by the Omicron variant. The Omicron wave is staring India in the eye. Expectedly so, as India is not an exception in the world, said Bhramar Mukherjee, a bio-statistician at the University of Michigan, who is tracking the pandemic in India with her model. Paul, Agarwal and ICMR director general Balram Bhargava stressed on behavioural factors like wearing the masks and maintaining social distance to halt the rising wave in its tracks. But when asked about election rallies in Uttar Pradesh and other states in complete violation of such norms, they skirted the question. It is in the domain of the Election Commission and it is not the right forum to take up this issue, Paul said when asked about the rallies among rising cases. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its stance on the arrest of religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj. Slamming the saffron party, the Congress leader said the BJP did not condemn Kalicharan's controversial remarks about Mahatma Gandhi but questioned the 'protocol' over the godman's arrest. In an interaction with IANS, Baghel said his party deplored the remarks made at the 'Dharma Sansad' where Mahatma Gandhi was allegedly insulted while his assassin Nathuram Godse was praised. Hitting out at the BJP, the Chief Minister said the party cannot "establish Nathuram Godse and Veer Savarkar in the country". Read more: Kalicharan Maharaj held over remarks against Mahatma Gandhi "Mahatma Gandhi is a globally acclaimed leader and widely followed. Who knows about Savarkar in the foreign countries? The BJP has an affection for Godse... and therefore, it's raising questions on the procedures over Kalicharan's arrest," he said. On being asked if he, as a Chief Minister, expects Prime Minister Narendra Modi to criticise the religious leader's remarks, Baghel said: "PM Modi is a native of Gujarat where Mahatma Gandhi belongs to. In fact, he should have denounced the controversial comments." Kalicharan Maharaj has been charged with sedition after he was arrested from Madhya Pradesh early on Thursday for making derogatory remarks about Mahatma Gandhi. The remarks were made at an event - 'Dharma Sansad', which was organised on December 25-26 in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur. An FIR against Kalicharan was filed at Tikrapara police station in Raipur by a Congress leader Pramod Dube, who was also present at the 'Dharma Sansad'. Earlier on Thursday, Chhattisgarh police arrested the religious leader in Madhya Pradesh near Khajuraho. Kalicharan, who was a guest at the 'Dharma Sansad', allegedly abused Mahatma Gandhi and praised Godse. His arrest by the Chhattisgarh police, however, has led to a spat between the governments of two neighbouring states -- the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh, and the Congress-led Chhattisgarh government. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra called Chhattisgarh police's action a breach of inter-state protocol and has directed the top cop of the state to seek a clarification from the Chhattisgarh DGP. However, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel justified the police action, saying: "No rules were violated. Action was taken as per the prescribed guidelines." Watch the latest DH videos: Five months after being declared a Covid free district, a 25-year-old prisoner lodged at Uttar Pradesh's Etah district jail, has tested positive for Covid-19. The Etah police had arrested the prisoner on December 24 under IPC section 420 (cheating and dishonesty). Acting on a tip-off, they had arrested the accused when he returned from Delhi and put him at the Awagarh police station lock-up, officials said. Etah district chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Umesh Kumar Tripathi said they had sent the prisoner's samples for an RT-PCR test after his arrest on December 24, and he tested positive. "We are collecting samples of other prisoners, who shared the barrack with him, jail staffers and his family members," the CMO said. Jail Superintendent, Amit Chaudhary said: "After the arrest, his antigen test was conducted, but he tested negative. "He was kept in a barrack with 50 other prisoners. We have now been informed by the health department that the accused has tested positive. He was immediately quarantined in a separate room. His health is being monitored. We are taking all required measures to ensure the infection does not spread in the jail." There are 1,350 prisoners lodged at the Etah district jail, at present. Check out DH's latest videos In an unusual agitation, traders of readymade garments in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Thursday fried pakodas, prepared poha and sold vegetables to protest the Centre's decision to hike the Good and Services Tax (GST) from five to 12 per cent on their businesses. According to eyewitnesses, the traders staged their novel protest near Rajwada, a historical palace in Indore city, which is dubbed as Mini Mumbai for its textile shops. We tried to send a message that if the GST hike isn't rolled back, we are going to shut our shops and start selling pakodas, poha and vegetables," said Akshay Jain, the president of the Indore Retail Garment Association. Also Read | Garment traders in Delhi shut shops against proposed GST hike on textiles The Central government has acted against its self-reliant India stance by hiking the GST on a "swadeshi" industry, he said. The move will deal a severe blow to Indian garment makers, and enable manufacturers in China and Bangladesh to hold sway in this segment, Jain said. We don't accept this 12 per cent GST hike. Our businesses will be ruined and the move will burn a hole in the pocket of customers, he added. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday invoked Lord Hanuman during his election campaign in Uttar Pradesh to praise the Yogi Adityanath government, saying no 'bahubalis' (musclemen) are visible under his regime, but just 'Bajrang Bali'. Addressing the BJPs Jan Vishwas Yatra here, Shah alleged that general public especially "our daughters and sisters" were harassed by 'bahubali' during the Samajwadi Party government in the state. "The land was grabbed. But today in the regime of Yogi Adityanath, 'baahubalis' (musclemen) are not visible, but only 'Bajrang Bali' could be seen," he said. Read more: 'Bottles' and 'smoking pipes': Akhilesh, Yogi resort to personal attacks as UP battle heats up He also said the late BJP leader Kalyan Singh, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the Babri Mosque was demolished in 1992, had shown what "good governance" is. "Babuji (as Kalyan Singh is called by his supporters) had sacrificed his chair for Ram Janmabhoomi. Attacking SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Shah said, "As elections approach, Akhilesh does not remember Kalyan Singh, but Jinnah,. Will you vote for those who eulogise Jinnah? In his address at an event held on October 31 in Hardoi, Yadav appeared to equate Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, raising eyebrows. "Sardar Patel, Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah studied in the same institute and became barristers. They helped (India) get freedom and never backed away from any struggle," he had said. Dwelling on the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Shah said senior BJP leader Advani-ji took out a Rath Yatra for Ram Janmabhoomi, and the Samajwadi Party fired bullets (at kar sewaks) and also used sticks on them. But, it was our Prime Minister (Narendra) Modiji who performed the bhoomipujan for the Ram temple." "No matter how hard you try, a grand temple of Lord Ram touching the sky will be built in a few months," Shah said, attacking Yadav. Praising the Modi government, Shah said it has given a heavy blow to terrorist activities and "our neighboring country was given a befitting reply after the terrorist strike at Pulwama two years back". He also claimed that Bua, Babua (apparent reference to BSP chief Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) or Congress leaders cannot prevent the BJP from coming to power in Uttar Pradesh again. Watch the latest DH videos: As coronavirus cases spiral, the `R-value', which indicates how rapidly the virus is spreading, has crossed two in Delhi and Mumbai, researchers said on Thursday. Chennai, Pune, Bengaluru and Kolkata have R-value (or reproduction number) of over 1, as per the data study by the researchers of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai. Sitabhra Sinha, who led the study, said the R-value of Delhi stood at 2.54 between December 23-29, while for Mumbai it was 2.01 between December 23-28. Also Read | Should Delhiites worry about rising Omicron cases? Here's what the numbers say Both these cities have seen an exponential rise in cases. Pune and Bengaluru recorded an R-value of 1.11. The R-value of Kolkata and Chennai was 1.13 and 1.26, respectively. Since mid-October, the R-value of all these cities was over 1. What is new was the sudden rise. The fact that Delhi and Mumbai crossed the R-value 2 is quite surprising, Sinha told PTI. Delhi on Wednesday reported a massive jump in daily Covid-19 infections with 923 fresh cases, the highest since May 30 and 86 per cent up from a day earlier. The positivity rate in Delhi crossed 1 per cent after six months to reach 1.29 per cent. On December 20, 91 new Covid-19 cases had been recorded in the national capital, but the figure climbed to 923 on Wednesday. The Covid-19 positivity rate in Delhi thus jumped to 1.29 per cent from 0.19 per cent between December 23 and December 29. Similarly, Mumbai on Wednesday reported 2,510 Covid-19 cases, the highest daily addition since May 8, 2021, besides one death. Also Read | Amid surge in Covid-19 infections, India imposes more curbs Only 283 cases had been reported in Mumbai, whereas on Tuesday the financial capital of the country recorded 1,377 cases, and on Wednesday the figure went up by 80 per cent. The Reproduction number or R refers to how many people an infected person infects on average. In other words, it tells how 'efficiently' a virus is spreading. An R-value of less than 1 denotes that the disease is on the decline. Conversely, if R is greater than 1, it means the number of infected people is increasing in each round -- technically it becomes the `epidemic phase'. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Proper washrooms, adequate drinking water, 50-square-feet space for every employee in hostels, and inverters to combat any disruption in power supply these are suggestions given to the management of Taiwanese electronics firm Foxconn by the Tamil Nadu government as part of efforts to improve living conditions of its employees in its hostels. The recommendations were made during a visit by a high-level team consisting of ministers and senior officials over the weekend to a couple of hostel facilities managed by Foxconn, which is a key supplier of Apple Inc. Some of the hostels were lacking in basic amenities, including enough space for the employees to sleep at night, a member of the team told DH. Also Read | Apple places Foxconns Sriperumbudur facility on probation We saw six to nine people being housed in a small room and we told the management to ensure that a person gets 50 square feet (of) space in a room, that person said. Another member said basic rules to be followed while housing employees, especially women, in hostels were reiterated to Foxconn, which has assured to implement them. The government urged Foxconn to ensure each employee had access to four litres of drinking water a day, adequate washrooms to avoid infections and inverter facilities. It also asked the company to ensure proper security arrangements and fencing of the premises that house women. Tamil Nadu Labour Minister Ganesan C V told DH that the government planned to continue engaging with Foxconn to ensure the well-being of employees. We have given a set of suggestions to the Foxconn management, and they have assured us that they will be followed, the minister said. Check out DH's latest videos As many as 141 Mumbai residents who had not travelled abroad recently tested positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus on Thursday, the civic body said. Out of 153 persons who were found to have Omicron infection in the city, only 12 had international travel history, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. But as per the Maharashtra government's release, issued earlier in the evening, out of 198 Omicron cases reported in the state, a whopping 190 were from Mumbai. Also Read | Centre says precautionary Covid-19 dose to cut hospitalisation risk, choice of vaccine yet to be decided The difference in state and BMC statistics could not be reconciled. As per the BMC update, the tally of Omicron-infected Mumbai residents without a history of overseas travel rose to 160. The total of Omicron cases in the city rose to 290. Of 141 Mumbai residents without travel history who tested positive to Omicron, the highest 21 are from the K-west ward which includes Andheri West, Juhu and Versova, followed by the D ward that includes Malabar Hill, Mahalaxmi and Tardeo areas. Watch the latest DH Videos here: In a massive political setback for BJP lawmaker Nitesh Rane - the son of Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane, a court in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg on Thursday rejected his anticipatory bail application. Advocate Sangram Desai said that since the bail plea has been declined, they would move the Bombay High Court soon after getting the copy of the court orders. The bail rejection order was pronounced by District and Sessions Principal Judge Shirishkumar V Hande this evening after a tough legal battle between Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat and the defence team since Tuesday. Read more: Narayan Rane claims his son being falsely implicated in murder bid case Along with Nitesh Rane, 39, - who has gone "incommunicado" - the bail plea of one of his associates and co-accused Gotya Sawant, was also rejected in an assault case. However, advocate Desai said it was wrong to describe Nitesh Rane as an "absconder"- though the Maharashtra Police are now likely to step up efforts to arrest him. This is the second major embarrassment in the past five months for the Rane family - one of the prime political clans in the coastal Konkan. On August 24, the Union Minister was arrested amid high drama, before being released on bail, for his infamous "slap-slur" against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, sparking off a massive row between the BJP and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Shortly after the court verdict, the Shiv Sena erupted in celebrations, bursting fire-crackers, raising victory slogans and cheering the outcome. Known for brashness, Rane Jr. had filed the plea in the Sindhudurg court for reliefs against any coercive action against him in an attempt to murder case lodged against him in his political bastion, Kankavli. The complainant is Santosh Parab who said that some time ago, he was riding on his motorcycle when a SUV without registration plates knocked him down, a person jumped out, stabbed him in the chest, and sped off. Later, Parab, 44, complained to the police that before the assailant left, he was heard saying that "we must inform Gotya Sawant and Nitesh Rane". Based on the complaint, the Sindhudurg police registered a FIR charging Nitesh Rane and others with attempt to murder, common intent, etc, and served a notice to them. Rane Jr. subsequently responded to the notice and was questioned by the police for over two hours last Saturday. The Rane family and the BJP have alleged that the entire issue is fabricated and politically motivated to influence the elections to the board of directors of the district bank, which were due on Thursday, and the recent verbal duel between Nitesh Rane and Maharashtra Ministers Aditya Thackeray and Nawab Malik in which hens, cats and pigs were invoked. In his bail plea, among other things, Nitesh Rane said he was busy canvassing for the BJP candidates standing for the district bank polls and any coercive action would affect his work. He also assured he would be available for investigations whenever needed by the police, and contended that there was nothing to prove his involvement in the attempt to murder case, etc. Nevertheless, since the past few days, he suddenly became "incommunicado", his phone switched off, his aides denying knowledge of his whereabouts even as the police were on the lookout for him. On December 29, the Maharashtra Police even served a notice to Union Minister Narayan Rane and called him to join the probe, but the latter declined saying he was ready to engage in a video-conference call with the investigators. Questioned on his son's current bearings, the former Chief Minister flared up, saying: "I am not a fool to disclose where he (Nitesh) is." Watch the latest DH videos: A fresh political row erupted after Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen for an NCP-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government in Maharashtra after the October 2019 Assembly polls threw up a fractured verdict. Pawar referred to his meeting with the PM on November 20, 2019, at the release of a coffee table book, "Ashtavadhani" launched by The Indian Express Group's 'Loksatta' Marathi daily, and released by Bharat Force MD Baba Kalyani, as part of the NCP supremo's 81st birthday celebrations. At that time, Pawar had confirmed how Modi wanted NCP-BJP to "work together" and even offered a central Cabinet berth to his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule. "There was a discussion about an alliance... I had told the PM right in his office that it was not possible... I would not like to keep them in the dark," Pawar recalled the incident. NCP National Spokesperson and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik endorsed the statement saying it happened in Parliament House and he was also present then. Also Read | Was not ready to come back as Maharashtra CM in 1993: Sharad Pawar "Yes... There was an offer from the PM and we discussed it in our party and decided against it... Then Pawar Saheb conveyed it to the PM," Malik said. Pawar felt that the BJP offer may have come as there were frictions between the Congress-NCP at that time, but the Shiv Sena had come forward for the three-party alliance which was ultimately sworn-in as the Maha Vikas Aghadi government headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on November 28, 2019. On whether the NCP chieftain -- just three days after his meeting with PM -- had 'sent' his nephew Ajit Pawar to form the 80-hour long, two-legged government sworn-in early morning with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as the CM, Pawar quipped: "If that was so, then I would not have left the job incomplete!" Reacting, Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that there was "complete transparency" at that time when the three parties were finalising the nitty-gritties of the government formation with nail-biting political suspense. "We all were aware of who's talking what and with whom... We even had knowledge of what was happening on the Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar front... Later, he and other MLAs returned to the fold," said Raut with a sly glint. "The BJP had made this offer, but we know about it... In fact, they were desperate to come to power at all costs and ready to join hands with any party... But they did not succeed," Raut added. However, in a guarded response, Leader of Opposition (Council) Pravin Darekar said that certain things may have happened owing to political exigencies at that time, but wondered "why the issue was being raised now". The BJP suffered one of its biggest political setbacks in November 2019 when it failed to take along Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on the issue of power-sharing and virtually called him a 'liar' publicly. Simultaneously, there were backdoor efforts to woo Thackeray, even through middle-of-the-night phone calls from central BJP leaders, attempts to lure away Sena-NCP legislators, etc. Pawar recalled that Thackeray changed his position as "the BJP did not honour what was agreed upon between them", and finally the NCP decided to back the Sena chief as the CM. Giving full marks to Modi for putting in a lot of hard work to complete any task, attention to the administration, strongly implementing policies in his own style, Pawar said "if the problems of the masses are not solved, there will be no impact, which is where he lags". Regarding the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Pawar predicted a '50-50' chance and the manner in which the PM has announced many projects indicates the BJP could face a serious situation there. Check out DH's latest videos Overturning a family court's order, the Gujarat High Court has said that a woman cannot be forced to cohabit with her husband and establish conjugal rights with him even by a court's decree. The high court also observed that the first wife may decline to live with her husband on the ground that the "Muslim law permits the polygamy, but has never encouraged it". "The Muslim law, as forced in India, has considered polygamy as an institution to be tolerated, but not encouraged, and has not conferred upon the husband any fundamental right to compel his wife to share his consortium with another woman in all circumstances," it further observed in a recent order. The HC cited the Delhi High Court's recent order, which said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) should not remain a mere hope in the Constitution. The Gujarat HC's division bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Niral Mehta said that the decision in a suit for the restitution of conjugal rights does not depend entirely on the husband's right, and the family court should also consider whether it would make it inequitable for it to compel the wife to live with her husband. The bench said this while allowing a plea filed by a woman challenging the July 2021 order of a family court in Banaskantha district of Gujarat, which had directed her to go back to her matrimonial home and perform her marital obligation. The couple's 'Nikah' was performed on May 25, 2010, at Palanpur in Banaskantha and they had a son in July 2015. As per the plea, the woman, a qualified nurse working at a civil hospital, took her son and left her husband and in-laws in July 2017, after they compelled her to migrate to Australia and take up a job there. The woman in her plea said she was against the idea and hence, left her matrimonial home with her son. The high court quoted order XXI rule 32(1) and (3) of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) and said "no person can force a female or his wife to cohabit and establish conjugal rights. If the wife refuses to cohabit, in such a case, she cannot be forced by a decree in a suit to establish conjugal rights". As per the woman's husband, she left home "without any lawful ground". When persuasion to bring her back failed, her husband moved to the family court, which passed a decree for the restitution of conjugal rights in favour of the husband. The HC observed that the family court arrived at the conclusion "based on the conjecture that being a working woman, she could not come up with her household responsibilities and therefore, thought fit to walk out of her matrimonial home on a lame excuse of being harassed by her husband and other family members". "Our notions of law in that regard have to be altered in such a way as to bring them in conformity with the modern social conditions," the high court observed. "Nothing has been shown to us in the form of any rule or otherwise which compel the courts to always pass a decree in a suit for restitution of conjugal rights in favour of the husband," it said. If a court feels that the husband, who has filed such a suit, is himself unworthy or has some ulterior motive, it may refuse him assistance altogether, the bench said. The HC questioned whether it would be right to allow such a suit in favour of a husband even when he has meanwhile married another woman while his first wife was away, simply "on the ground that a Muslim under his personal law can have several wives, at a time up to a maximum four". The HC said a wife may decline to live with her husband on the ground that the Muslim law permits polygamy, but has never encouraged it. The HC cited a Delhi High Court order of July 7, 2021, on the Uniform Civil Code, in which it observed that the UCC should not remain a mere hope in the Constitution. While expressing regret over the conflicts in the society due to differences in various personal laws, the court observed that in modern Indian society, which is gradually becoming homogeneous, the traditional barriers of religion, community and caste are slowly dissipating. "The youth of India belonging to various communities, tribes, castes or religions who solemnise their marriages ought not to be forced to struggle with issues arising due to conflicts in various personal laws, especially in relation to marriage and divorce," it said, quoting the order. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Once during a Lok Sabha debate, Atal Bihari Vajpayee said, "Lagta hai ghari ki sui ghoom ke usi jagah laut aayi hai (It appears the hands of the clock have come back to the position from where we all started with)." The sentence aptly applies to Nagaland and its story of insurgency. After decades perhaps, Nagaland has made it to the front pages of the national dailies and also international news headlines. But sadly, yet again, for the wrong reasons. The year 2021 will go down in the memory with heartbreaking stories of the killings of innocent Nagas. The policymakers are again either clueless or, like the 1960s and 70s, yet again engaged in a never-ending cat and mouse game. The state government under the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Naga People's Front (NPF) combine has rekindled the old demand for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). It has remained enforced in the state since 1958. But it can do precious little beyond this. Also Read | Centre declares entire Nagaland 'disturbed area' as demand for AFSPA withdrawal continues On December 30, 2021, the AFSPA was extended for six months, and the Home Ministry gazette notification stated that Nagaland is disturbed and is in a dangerous condition. However, the Centre has also set up the AFSPA review panel. There is a state government SIT (special investigation team), and the army has ordered its mandatory court of inquiry into the Oting shootout of December 4 that claimed 14 Naga lives. On December 5, one Assam Rifles personnel also died. However, these numbers are ugly reminders of yesteryears and should instead open up the space for taking effective corrective steps. If there is any clear message from the Naga hills in 2021, the diagnosis should not become worse than the malady. N Kitovi Zhimomi, the convener of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), an umbrella body of Naga militant groups, is understood to be keen for the final solution agreement at the earliest. Reportedly, Zhimomi told a Delhi functionary who is in the know of things, "We Nagas are more than sincere this time. Let us have the peace pact at the earliest. Further delay will result in more Oting type blunders and bloodshed". That is perhaps another message of the calendar year 2021. The Nagas who agree with this version say that the AFSPA or army deployment-related issues could die a natural death only if there is a permanent solution to the Naga insurgency issue that started around the 1940s. When there is a problem in a tree, cutting down branches cannot help, said one senior NNPG functionary contacted from Delhi. "Let us get at the root. The AFSPA is only a branch. The problems of army deployment can be eradicated when we ink the peace pact. Nothing more, nothing less," he said. Now, as the tumultuous year comes to an end, it is worth pointing out that Nagaland also made news with its supply of Bhut Jolokia, or ghost pepper, to London during the year. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about it. The Naga handicrafts and handlooms have a special demand across the globe. Sources say the proposed peace pact, among other things, will try to ensure more investments, especially from the private sector, to promote the tourism and hotel industry and also set up other industries. However, there is perhaps a need to take more 'pragmatic' steps to augment private and corporate investments in Nagaland and other parts of the northeast. Minute studies reveal that the elephant in the room is the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act 1873, which relates to the Inner Liner Permit (ILP) regulations. Under the ILP provisions, 'outsiders' to Nagaland and a few other states cannot enter beyond the demarcated line without a license paper strictly for a week or less. Students' organisations and others have always suggested that the ILP norms be strictly implemented. However, it ought to be appreciated that as a constitutional tool, the ILP or, for that matter, the BEFR Act have failed to check the 'influx' of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Like other northeastern states, the Bangladeshi immigrants have allegedly 'found a place' to stay and thrive in some parts of Nagaland. But some approaches towards the entire issue have only discouraged corporate investment. Power generation projects have in the past lingered due to land compensation issues, and other natural resources have not been used. The year 2021 should finally perhaps put an end to the use of romanticised labels such as 'hotbed of extremism' for the state. Nagaland awaits the new dawn. It is too keen to welcome 2022 with peace and tranquillity. Everyone should do their bit. (The writer is a New Delhi based journalist.) Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH. Check out DH's latest videos A Johnson & Johnson booster shot provided strong protection against the Omicron variant, greatly reducing the risk of hospitalization, according to a clinical trial in South Africa. The study, which compared more than 69,000 boosted health care workers with a corresponding group of unvaccinated South Africans, found that two shots of the vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization from Omicron by about 85%. In comparison, another study in South Africa found that two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization by about 70%. Although the US Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as a booster shot, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that other vaccines be preferred. The CDC raised concerns about rare but life-threatening blood clots that have been linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Also Read | Covaxin shows robust safety, immunogenicity in 2-18-year-olds: Bharat Biotech reveals clinical trial data But the authors of the new study, which was published on a preprint server and has not yet been peer-reviewed, said that the results were important for vaccination efforts in Africa, where the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a mainstay of Covid public health efforts. As the continent braces for a wave of Omicron cases, a second dose of the vaccine could prevent a surge of hospitalizations. In a different clinical trial that ended in September, when delta was still the dominant variant worldwide, Johnson & Johnson found that the second dose of its vaccine given eight weeks after the first greatly increased its efficacy. In the US arm of the trial, efficacy against mild to severe Covid-19 rose to 94%, compared with 74% for one shot. Across trial sites in 10 countries, the vaccine protected all volunteers against severe disease. Read | Covaxin only vaccine option for children in 15-18 years age group: Centre Those results prompted South Africa to launch a trial in November among health care workers who had already received one dose of the vaccine between six and nine months earlier. When the Omicron variant began surging across South Africa in late November, the researchers running the trial began tracking how boosted health care workers fared against the variant, finding that it worked well. This result was somewhat surprising, given that antibodies taken from people who had received one dose of the vaccine failed to block Omicron from infecting cells in laboratory experiments. Also Read | Covid-19 booster dose vaccination: How to register, eligibility, what experts say Its possible that the booster shots raised antibodies to protective levels. And while antibodies help the body fend off infections, they are just one of many parts of the immune system. Certain immune cells help fight Covid by attacking virus-infected cells. In a study posted online on Tuesday, South African researchers found that immune cells taken from people who received Johnson & Johnson vaccines recognized Omicron-infected cells almost as well as they recognized cells infected with other variants. Its possible that in addition to raising antibodies, Johnson & Johnson booster shots also increase the army of immune cells that can wage war on Omicron. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Being infected with Omicron may enhance immunity against the Delta variant of coronavirus, suggests a small study by researchers in South Africa. The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, was first identified in November this year in South Africa and Botswana. The variant has been shown to be highly transmissible and have extensive evasion of neutralising antibody immunity elicited by vaccination and previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Infections from the variant are rapidly expanding worldwide. Also Read | Not allowed to board due to Covid curbs, block MB Road in Delhi The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, posted on the pre-print repository MedRxiv, enrolled 15 previously vaccinated and unvaccinated people who were infected with the Omicron variant. The scientists used plasma, a blood product that contains antibodies, from the participants to test the ability of the antibodies to control both Omicron and Delta in the lab -- a so-called 'neutralisation' test. They measured this close to when the participants had symptoms, and again around two weeks later. Also Read | Omicron is spreading in community: Delhi Health Minister The results show a developing antibody response to Omicron, with neutralisation increasing 14-fold over this time. However, the team also observed that the participants developed some enhanced immunity against the Delta variant, with Delta neutralisation increasing 4.4-fold. The researchers also show that vaccinated participants were able to mount a better neutralising response against Delta, while the response in unvaccinated participants was more variable. "The increase in Delta variant neutralisation in individuals infected with Omicron may result in a decreased ability of Delta to re-infect those individuals," said Professor Alex Sigal, from Africa Health Research Institute. Also Read | Amid surge in Covid-19 infections, India imposes more curbs "If Omicron does prove to be less pathogenic, then this may show that the course of the pandemic has shifted -- Omicron will take over, at least for now, and we may have less disruption of our lives," Sigal, who led the study, added. The authors of the study noted that along with emerging data indicating that Omicron, at this time in the pandemic, is less pathogenic than Delta, such an outcome may have positive implications in terms of decreasing the Covid-19 burden of severe disease. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Kannada organisations have withdrawn the 'Karnataka Bandh' scheduled to be held on 31 December following the state government's assurance to the leaders of Kannada organisations on Thursday. Holding a meeting with the leaders of Kannada organisations in Bengaluru, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was successful in convincing the Kannada organisations to withdraw their bandh call. Addressing the media after the meeting with the leaders, Bommai said, "We had a long meeting with the leaders of Kannada organisations and discussed various issues. We have reiterated that the state government will always support the Kannada activists to safeguard the interests of the state and requested them to withdraw the bandh as it would severely impact the traders and other industries. Responding to our request, they have withdrawn the Karnataka Bandh. All trade and transport activities will remain as usual on Friday. Asked whether the government has given any word on the major demand of banning Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) activities in Karnataka, Bommai replied, "I have already made our (state government) stand clear. We also explained to them the legal options that we are exploring currently and they were convinced by it." Vatal Nagaraj, President of the Kannada Organizations Federations said, "The Chief Minister has appealed to withdraw the bandh and he has assured us of all the help in the interest of the state and language in the coming days. Hence we have withdrawn the Karnataka Bandh scheduled to be held on 31 December." Meanwhile, the Pro-Kannada activists led by Praveen Kumar Shetty of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike had a tough time in convincing Vatal Nagaraj to withdraw the bandh initially. Nagaraj was reportedly hellbent on continuing with the Bandh regardless of the support. However, with CM Bommai holding talks with the Kannada leaders, the confusion over the bandh was cleared. Watch the latest DH videos: Generous Derry Tesco shoppers have been thanked after helping to donate more than 1.5million meals-worth of food to help charities feed people during Christmas and the winter months. During the twice-yearly Tesco Food Collection, which ran in all Tesco stores in the North and the United Kingdom from November 18 to 20, customers were asked to donate long-life food to support FareShare and the Trussell Trust. Stores reported that customers had given the highest volume of food donations to support local charities since the start of the pandemic, providing 1.57million meals during the campaign, with shoppers in Derry donating 5400 meals. The donations will help foodbanks in the Trussell Trusts network provide emergency parcels and help FareShare supply thousands of frontline charities. Tesco has once again topped up all customer donations with a 20 per cent cash donation to the two charities, to support them in their work feeding people in communities across the North as well as the United Kingdom. Meabh Austin, Development Manager at FareShare Northern Ireland, said shoppers donations would make a huge difference to the frontline charities they supplied. She said: The Food Collection is so important to FareShare because donations of long-life items means we are able to compliment the fresh food that we receive year round from Tesco with staples like rice, tinned vegetables and tea and coffee. Thank you to every single Tesco customer that donated to the food collection this year your generous donations will help us to continue supporting local charities and community groups that are helping to feed people in need this winter. Emma Revie, Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust, said the donations would help provide food to people facing impossible decisions this Christmas. She said: Throughout 2021, communities across the UK have stepped in to provide vital support to people at food banks, left without enough money for the essentials. This emergency lifeline is only possible due to the incredible compassion and generosity of Tesco customers, including those in Northern Ireland, during the Tesco Food Collection. Right now, people near you are making impossible decisions between staying warm or buying food as food banks in our network face providing 7000 emergency food parcels to people in crisis every day this month. Its not right that any of us are forced to a charity for the essentials, but we continue to be truly humbled by how much people are willing to give and so we thank you for your continued support while we work in the long term to build a future without the need for food banks. Claire de Silva, Head of Community at Tesco thanked all those who took part. She added: At this time more than ever, we are hugely grateful for the support of all our customers in Northern Ireland who have donated in store for making this the biggest collection of long-life food in our stores since the start of the pandemic. We know this will make a really significant difference to local people this winter. Subscriber content preview By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. New Mexico Indigenous leaders are concerned about a proposed multimillion-dollar transmission line that would cross what they consider sacred lands. The transmission line planned by the U.S. government would bring more electricity to Los Alamos National Laboratory as it looks to power ongoing operations and future missions at the northern New Mexico complex that include manufacturing key components for the nation's nuclear arsenal. . . . Subscriber content preview RENO. Nev. (AP) A state District Court has overturned the Reno City Council's denial of a new housing development and ordered the City Council to approve the controversial project. Council members had cited concerns over fire danger, hillside cuts and traffic when the Mortenson Ranch was rejected last March, but Judge Kathleen Drakulich ruled last week that the council's 6-1 denial was an abuse of discretion and without substantial evidentiary support. . . . Subscriber content preview Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge] Live music hasnt been played at the OK Hotel in 20 years, though it now has a viaduct-free view. The iconic OK Hotel, now an apartment building at 212 Alaskan Way S., recently sold for over $5.2 million, according to King County records. The seller was Triad OK LP, which acquired the property in 2002 for almost $1.6 million. . . . Subscriber content preview WOODINVILLE The Chrysalis High School building, at 15900 Woodinville-Redmond Road N.E., recently sold for $10 million, according to King County records. The seller was Black Dog Properties LLC, which acquired the property in 2014 for $5.5 million. The buyer was WLC Holdings LLC, associated with a pair of Woodinville investors. Public records indicate a loan from Mountain Pacific Bank. . . . The Health Service Executive (HSE) is reportedly considering a ban on the sale of tobacco in order to eliminate smoking in Ireland. According to The Irish Times, a complete ban on the sale of tobacco, as well as a reduction in the number of outlets permitted to sell such products are two of the strategies being explored by the HSE. The news follows just a month after New Zealand's government said that it would introduce a law next year that would see anyone born after 2008 unable to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime. Another option reported by the newspaper that the HSE are considering is making the major tobacco companies pay for massive health costs shouldered by the State caring for people who are sick or dying as a result of nicotine addiction. Surveys are to be conducted early next year, which will in turn factor into a report for the Tobacco-Free Ireland Strategic Programme Plan 2022, which is a government policy which demands that the prevalence of tobacco smoking in Ireland be less than 5 per cent by 2025. The research is to explore levels of public support for banning or severely limiting the sale of tobacco products, possibly to pharmacies only. It should be noted that Tobacco products are defined as anything containing tobacco for inhaling; this excludes nicotine products such as e-cigarettes. Statistics: A study published on the website ERJ Open Research, noted that between 1995 to 2015, teen smoking decreased from 41 per cent in 1995 to 13.1 per cent in 2015, while SimSmoke modelling suggested that the 5 per cent 2025 target was achievable in this group. However, in 2019, current smoking (smoked in the past 30 days) increased overall from 13.1 per cent in 2015 to 14.4 per cent in 2019, with the increase being greater in boys than girls (16.2 per cent versus 12.8 per cent). The authors wrote: "We saw an increase in current cigarette smoking associated with an increasing use of e-cigarettes." It concluded that this trend, if allowed to continue, could prove detrimental to the Tobacco-Free Ireland plan, adding. People in Dundalk and surrounding areas are asked to consider giving blood at either of two blood donor clinics taking place in the town next week The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) are holding a clinic at Colaiste Chu Chulainn, Marshes Lower, Dundalk on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th January 2022. The clinic on Monday runs from 11.00 am to 3pm with the clinic on Tuesday taking place from 3.45pm to 8pm. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all clinics are appointment slot based. Call 1800 731137 for an appointment. For all clinics the IBTS have introduced appointment slots that prioritise regular donors who have made appointments. They say they will limit the number of appointments for donors presenting at the clinic every 10 minutes, and manage the subsequent flow of donors throughout the clinic. Eligible donors for upcoming clinics will be sent a text message, including their donor ID number, detailing how they can contact them to make an appointment to donate. The IBTS urge donors to call them to make an appointment to guarantee their registration slot, and to ensure they collect enough blood at each clinic. New and returning donors are also welcome to call to make an appointment for any upcoming clinics. To find out more about giving blood during the pandemic, and to find out if you are eligible to give blood, please see here. The left-affiliated All India Students Association (AISA) held a protest at the UGC headquarters in Delhi against the alleged UGC-NET Hindi paper leak in Haryana's Kurukshetra. Several AISA activists and students gathered at the headquarters raising slogans for an immediate repeal of the National Testing Agencys tender on examinations. In a memorandum submitted to the Additional Secretary of the UGC, the students said, All India Students Association would like to stress the demand for an independent enquiry into the recent trend of paper leaks in general and the Hindi UGC-NET paper that was leaked in Kurukshetra. READ ALSO : A tale of two burning effigies: AISA, ABVP students of DU protest with fire, but for different reasons The students believe that NTA, a private entity, should not be allowed to conduct NET examinations and instead, the UGC should take over. The memorandum reads, "The UGC NET that is being conducted by the private and autonomous NTA must be conducted by UGC once again under full answerability to the public. The examination of NET examination for Hindi must be conducted once again at the earliest possible date." The renowned Pasteur Institute in Paris has conducted a study about possible scenarios due to the Omicron variant. The study concludes that most probably there will be 80% fewer severe cases when compared with the Delta variant. Nonetheless, Omicron is deemed to be 70% more contagious than Delta. The study predicts that as Omicron spreads most Covid-19 cases will show mild symptoms Based on this assumption, the variable is Omicrons degree of contagiousness. According to the study, if it is just slightly higher than Deltas, in France there will be 1,7700 hospital Covid-19 related admissions every day. By contrast, if contagiousness is moderate, there might be peaks in the number of hospital admissions in France: it is likely that there will be 2,700 hospital admissions of Covid cases a day if stringent restrictive measures are not implemented. According to the Pasteur Institute, if the French adopted social distancing measures daily hospital admissions would go down to between 1,400 and 1,900. Finally, in a very high contagion scenario the peaks could reach 4,400 hospital admissions a day, unless stringent measures are implemented, and could even go down to 2,700 if authorities implemented the most rigorous measures. The importance of the third vaccine The study stresses that the third vaccine, also known as the booster jab, is essential as it is very effective. According to the Pasteur Institute, those who have had the third dose show 85% protection against Omicron and 95% against the Delta variant. As for protection against hospitalisation (for severe cases) it is 95% for both variants. By contrast, people with two doses have a good degree of protection against the Delta variant (80%) but low against the Omicron one (55%). Nonetheless, it is high for preventing severe cases requiring hospital admission (95% for Delta and 90% for Omicron). Scientists estimate that if 1.2 million booster doses are given every day (and not, as is the case now in France, only 800,000) hospital admissions might go down by between 9% and 17%. According to the Pasteur Institute in January there might be many infections, but in most cases symptoms will be mild. However, it warns that this might cause widespread absence from work, which may affect the normal functioning of society. For the time being, the data about the severity of the Omicron variant are rather encouraging. Data from South Africa and Scotland suggest a 70-80% reduction in the risk of Omicron-related hospital admissions, as compared with Delta, whereas the data from England point to a 50-70% reduction. Nevertheless, this reduction in the hospital admission risk may be partly linked to the lower severity of Omicron when compared with the Delta variant, but also to the fact that Omicron affects more those previously infected or vaccinated, and therefore less exposed to more severe symptoms. Taking into account this record of prior infection or vaccination in analyses so as not to overestimate the severity reduction is therefore necessary, the study points out. Visiting restricted across healthcare settings Visiting restrictions are being introduced at hospital and care setting due the current community spread of Covid-19 and staff sickness. Manx Care says from New Year's Eve all outpatient appointments will be cancelled except for those which are clinically urgent. From Tuesday 4 January, all appointments, where clinically appropriate, will be converted to telephone appointments wherever possible. This will be for an initial period of two weeks. If you have not been contacted by Manx Care, please attend your appointment as normal. All those affected by the changes will be contacted by a member of the Manx Care team. In a statement, Manx Care said: "Although we have been able to facilitate visiting across our hospitals and care settings for several months, the significant increase in levels of Covid-19 in the community, and subsequent impact on our staffing levels across Manx Care, mean we have made the difficult decision to suspend visiting across our hospitals and some social care settings for an initial period of two weeks (with the exception of Learning Disability residential settings)." "Please note that where permitted, and in exceptional circumstances only e.g. when the patient is receiving end of life care, following assessment and agreement from the clinical team, essential visitors may be permitted. More information on what constitutes an essential visitor, and precautions that must be taken if visiting, will be available on the Manx Care website from tomorrow morning." Residential Care Homes for older people will also be impacted by this change, closing to non-essential visitors for an initial period of fourteen days from 8am tomorrow. The homes affected are operated by Adult Social Care, and include: Reayrt Ny Baie Douglas Southlands Port St Mary Cummal Mooar Ramsey Langness/Gansey Port St Mary Thie Meanagh/Sweetbriar Douglas Reayrt Skyal Ramsey Manx Care CEO, Teresa Cope, said: We understand that these changes may be difficult for those affected. However, this is a temporary measure which we have put in place to protect our community, and we will be regularly reviewing the situation. Kim Kardashian's business manager, Angie Kukawski, was found dead inside a vehicle in her Sherman Oaks home. The Los Angeles Police Department reported that Kukawski had been reported missing for days before police went to an address in Simi Valley on December 23. On that day, they discovered the business manager's lifeless body inside a car in the aforesaid area. The official findings added that Kukawski's 49-year-old boyfriend, Jason Barker, was the culprit behind the horrifying homicide. The Simi Valley Police Department and the Los Angeles Department have since arrested and charged him with her murder. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County inmate intake filing revealed that he was held on a $2 million bond before raising the bail to $3.07 million. He is scheduled to appear before the court on Jan. 12, 2022. According to police, Barker murdered Kukawski at her Sherman Oaks home before putting her body in the car. He eventually drove it to the Simi Valley and left her there. A news outlet then confirmed that she was murdered using a knife. His boyfriend also reportedly killed her due to the suspect's desire to cause extreme pain toward her "for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion and for a sadistic purpose." Colleagues, Former Partners Heartbroken Following Angie Kukawski's Passing Following the confirmation of her death, her former colleagues paid tribute to her and thanked her for sharing her capabilities to other celebrities other than Kim Kardashian. Todd Bozick, a member of her firm, penned a statement to Variety, saying, "We are saddened and heartbroken by the loss of our colleague, Angie Kukawski. Angie was a kind, wonderful person, and she will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Our deepest condolences go out to all of Angie's family and friends." READ ALSO: Prince Andrew Trying Hard To Clean His Name By Making Unbelievable Attempt Against Virginia Giuffre's Case The Kardashian-Jenner clan also penned a joint message as they bid goodbye to the person who helped expand their businesses. "Angela was truly the best. She cared about everyone of us and made things happen that were impossible. She will be greatly missed and we send our sincere condolences to her family and loved ones during this most difficult time," they said. Aside from the Kardashians, she previously worked for several celebrities, including Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. Kukawski also served Tupac's estate for years. READ MORE: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Divorcing Before 2022? Royal Couple Had THIS Nasty Fight That Affected Relationship [Report] The Morning Show is more than just an incredible Apple TV+ series. It has also proved an incredibly useful program that, through the fateful and intricate process of creating the well-informed show, uncovered a real sexaul assault scandal. While doing research for The Morning Show allegations against Good Morning America producer Michael Corn were uncovered. Back in 2017, The Morning Show writer, Jay Carson, was doing research for the program. He spoke with Kirstyn Crawford, a producer on ABC News, in order to try to develop a scandalous plot line for the show. Crawford, however, alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by her boss two years before. Carson then took this story to George Stephanopoulos, who brought it to the higher ups. Crawford officially filed a law suit against Michael Corn this past August. According to The Hollywood Reporter: The longtime executive sexually assaulted her in 2015 in an Uber while the two were covering the Oscars. The suit also claims Corn created a toxic work environment and that both ABC and Walt Disney Co. failed to investigate her allegations against Corn when they were first brought to the company's attention in 2017. Corn officially resigned from ABC News back in April of 2021. Prior to the lawsuit in August, Corn was set to take on the role of President at Nexstar's NewsNation. After the suit was filed, however, Simone Swinkle was chosen to replace him in the role. We are so glad that The Morning Show was able to help a real case come to light - and may it be the gift that keeps on giving in that respect. Europe is once again seeing a surge of Covid-19 cases, which has in some parts been compounded by the emergence of the new Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa. Some countries have taken steps targeting the unvaccinated, while programs are also being rolled out in several nations to vaccinate young children. The spread of the more transmissible Omicron variant of coronavirus has also triggered a flurry of flight cancellations, hampering Christmas plans for many Europeans. Thousands of flights were cancelled because of crew members calling in sick with Covid-19. In France, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Monday (27 December) that people will need a vaccination pass to enter restaurants, bars, and museums. Until now, French citizens have only needed to show proof of a negative test to enter gyms, restaurants, cultural institutions, and domestic flights and long train journeys, but from mid-January, this will no longer be enough. This new measure was announced just as a new record was reached on Tuesday (28 December) with 179,807 new infections reported over the previous 24 hours the 100,000 daily case threshold had only been crossed for the first time on 25 December. Also Italy has further tightened its restrictions, barring unvaccinated from public spaces and enforcing mask-wearing outdoors. Outdoor New Years Eve celebrations have been banned, and nightclubs will be closed until 31 January. A daily record of nearly 44,600 new cases was reached in the last 24 hours on Thursday, as well as 168 deaths. Spain, Belgium and Greece have also introduced new restrictions, including closing down cinemas, theaters, and other indoor recreational activities as Omicron spreads. Updating pandemic figures for the first time in four days, health authorities in Spain reported 214,619 new cases late on Monday (27 December), bringing the 14-day national caseload to a pandemic record level of 1,206 new infections per 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, as also the United Kingdom has seen another record rise of daily Covid-19 cases, with 138,831 reported in England, Scotland and Wales alone, a leading scientist said the Omicron variant was not the same disease we were seeing a year ago. Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, told BBC that Omicron appears to be less severe and many people spend a relatively short time in hospital, and high Covid death rates in the UK are now history. There were also calls from some scientists for the period of self-isolation to be cut. Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said people with Covid should eventually be allowed to go about their normal lives as they would with a common cold. Your support helps Excelsio to keep delivering open content. A small contribution is so valuable for us. Four people were injured when a fire erupted on at Exxon's complex in Baytown, Texas, one of the largest refining and petrochemical facilities in the United States. Hong Kong pro-democracy media outlet Stand News shut down after police raided its office, froze its assets and arrested senior staff on seditious offences. Police said it does not rule out future arrests. Hong Kong pro-democracy media outlet Stand News shut down on Wednesday after police raided its office, froze its assets and arrested senior staff on suspected "seditious publication" offences, in the latest crackdown on the city's media. Soon after the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown in 2020, ad industry across the world started reporting record number of leaders leaving their jobs. The exodus at the top continued even in 2021 and the trend was dubbed as great resignation. India too witnessed many top-level exits this year across domains. While changed market dynamics and consumer behaviour posed new challenges and opened up new opportunities in the digital domain leading to a reshuffle at the top, giants like Dentsu underwent consolidation resulting in a massive rejig. The I&B ministry also experienced change of guards. Here is e4ms pick of top 12 changes at the top: Government Anurag Thakur Young BJP leader from Himachal, Anurag Thakur assumed the charge of the information and broadcasting ministry this July after a Cabinet reshuffle. Thakur took over from Prakash Javadekar who is credited with bringing OTT and digital news platforms under the regulatory framework. Apurva Chandra IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre Apurva Chandra, who moved to central deputation a few years ago, took over as the new MIB secretary, replacing Amit Khare this August. Chandra was the labour secretary before and had served as chairperson of governing body of ILO as well. Digital Vijay Subramaniam Vijay Subramaniam quit as the Director and Head of Content at Amazon Prime Video in September, ending his four-year stint with the platform. He spearheaded content strategy at a time when the OTT platform was focussed on strengthening its local content and regional language play, and premiered several direct-to-digital films amidst the pandemic. He has not announced his next move yet. Manish Maheshwari On December 15, former Twitter India Head Manish Maheshwari put in his papers to work on an ed-tech venture. Maheshwari, who had been transferred to the US in August this year, shared the development in a tweet. Maheshwari said he is partnering with Tanay Pratap of Microsoft. Gulshan Verma Gulshan Verma signed off as Disney+ Hotstars SVP & Head, Advertising in the middle of the year and joined Mukesh Ambanis JioAds as CEO in August. Reliance Jio, with 315 million mobile subscribers, is building an ad platform which will now be spearheaded by Verma. Shouneel Charles In November, Shouneel Charles quit Times Network as Executive Vice President and Business Head Digital after serving the company for five years to join the AdTech company Outbrain as managing director, India. Sandeep Balani In September, Sandeep Balani quit as Outbrains Head of India after serving for four years to join Jio Platforms. In his new role, he will be responsible for building supply for Jio Platforms across e-commerce, gaming, OTT and news. Amit Malhotra Amit Malhotras exit as HBO Maxs Managing Director for Southeast Asia & India is perhaps the last reshuffle in the Indian digital agencies this year. News of his exit came this Tuesday. His further move is unclear so far. According to media reports, HBO Max International Head Johannes Larcher will be directly involved in the affairs of Southeast Asia and India markets following Malhotra's exit. Tejinder Gill After his five-year-long association with Truecaller as Vice President - Global Sales (South Asia, MENA, Sub Saharan Africa), Tejinder Gill quit the company this May to join The Trade Desk as General Manager. Rajeev Dhal Rajeev Dhal, the then Chief Revenue Officer of ZEE5, left the ZEEL-owned video streaming platform in September. He joined Singapore-based data collaboration platform provider Aqilliz that operates in SE Asia, India, and Middle East with plans to expand across Europe and US next year. Nikhil Gandhi Nikhil Gandhi, who joined TikTok as its India head in October 2019 and was elevated as Head Middle East, Africa, Turkey & South Asia, parted ways with the company in May 2021. He joined MX Media, the company that owns and operates OTT platform MX Player and short-video platform MX TakaTak, as COO in August. Myleeta Aga Netflix Director - Content SEA, Australia Myleeta Aga was perhaps the first big digital leader to quit this year. Based in Singapore, Aga joined Netflix in December 2019. Aga's departure follows an internal realignment of the Southeast Asia and Australia content teams. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) The Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate dipped overnight, but has since regained its footing to trade within a narrow range. At time of writing the GBP/AUD exchange rate is at around $1.8607, which shows little change from this mornings level. Pound (GBP) Exchange Rates Subdued as Figures Show Further Bad News for Hospitality Sector The Pound has remained subdued today as a record-high rise in Covid-19 cases and falling trade throughout December continues to place pressure on the currency. The UK reported 129,471 cases on Tuesday, coming just a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that no new measures would be introduced before the New Year. Johnson has warned however that further restrictions may be necessary if data indicates that the Omicron variant is placing undue pressure on the countrys health service. This uncertainty is likely to continue to keep pressure on Sterling, with any rumour of further restrictions a potential cause of a fall. In news that may bring a further blow to the Pound, figures collected by trade body UKHospitality have shown that sales in the weeks leading to Christmas were down by as much as 60% compared with 2019. Guidance on working from home and meeting up with groups over Christmas is thought to have contributed to the decline. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: Restrictions must be kept to a minimum and must be lifted as quickly as possible to help an already beleaguered sector or many will simply not survive and those who do make it through face a return to 20% VAT in April. The Pound may also see further headwinds from Brexit today, as EU Vice President Maros Sefcovic has warned that threats by the UK to enact Article 16 enormously disruptive and that doing so would have serious consequences. Negotiations between the UK and EU are ongoing, and further disputes between the two parties could cause Sterling to fall. Australian Dollar (AUD) Exchange Rates Restrained as Country Sees Record Surge of Covid-19 Cases The Australian Dollar (AUD) has remained muted today as a record surge in Covid-19 infections threatens to derail the countrys planned reopening, and places pressure on AUD. Data on Tuesday reported 11,264 new Covid-19 cases across the country despite a vaccination rate of 90% in the over-16s. The rise in cases, thought to be largely fuelled by the recently discovered Omicron variant, has hit the already struggling hospitality and travel sectors particularly hard as thousands of workers have had to isolate. The ongoing rise in infections is likely to continue to undermine confidence in the Australian Dollar, as well as ongoing disputes between state leaders over the reintroduction of mask wearing and other restrictions. The Aussie may also see a dip as iron ore prices have seen a fall this week. Its thought that demand among investors has weakened as Chinas curbed steel production may create surplus in the new year. There are also concerns over Chinas struggling real estate sector which is a key driver in the export of iron ore. Property Giant Evergrande has missed another of its debt deadlines despite announced support measures for the real estate sector from the Chinese government. Local Covid-19 outbreaks and lockdowns in the country may also keep the commodity under pressure. GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Forecast: 2022 With no significant data for either country this week, its likely that both currencies will continue to be affected by the ongoing rise in Covid-19 cases. The Pound could be driven down if further UK restrictions are announced, with additional downward momentum provided if Brexit negotiations continue to be unproductive. The Australian Dollar may also see downward movement should Covid-19 cases continue to rise and further measures are reintroduced, particularly if there are further disputes between state heads over the countrys international borders. When 19-year-old Holly Hay accepted a job offer at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q in 1974, she didnt expect to spend the rest of her professional life at the iconic San Antonio-based restaurant chain. But nearly half a century after she clocked in for the first time, Hay, now 67, has officially retired. Her exit was honored with a lunchtime celebration. Theyre just really good people, Hay said of her colleagues. She added shell be in touch with some for years to come. People dont realize how wonderful they are. One of six children, Hay was born in Washington, D.C., but moved to the San Antonio area before she turned 1. She presumably saw Bill Millers memorable signs around town, but she was not a frequent customer by any means. I remember my dad took us to eat there one time, but other than that, I wasnt really aware of it, Hay said. Hay was studying to become a nurse at St. Philips College in 1974 when her father died. In the wake of the tragedy, Hay dropped out of school and began looking for work to help her mother make ends meet. That was how she came to work at Bill Miller, then a much smaller operation. Several years later, the man she now calls her husband appeared in her drive-thru for the first time. He was accompanied by his 5-year-old sister. The two became regulars, developing a rapport with Hay. Eventually, Hays husbands sister asked him to invite Hay to Fiesta. Neither Hay nor he thought anything would come of it, but swiftly they were proved wrong. We didnt have any intentions of dating, but we went out that night and hit it off, Hay said. They dated for a year and a half before marrying in 1978, even making a pit stop at Bill Miller on their wedding day, according to a Bill Miller Facebook post. Then, Hay said, I just kept working. While Hay has held multiple titles at Bill Miller, including store manager, catering representative and executive administrative assistant, she particularly enjoyed caring for Bill Miller matriarch Ila Faye Miller, who died at age 88 in 2008. When Miller became too old to drive safely, Hay stepped into the role of chauffeur, ferrying Miller to and from social events and appointments. I would pick her up and take her to get her hair done or take her to church. Shed go have Bible study or go play games on a certain day of the week, Hay said. And if she wanted to go to museums or movies, whatever she wanted to do, thats what I would go and take care of for her. In the 47 years since Hay began working at Bill Miller, she has seen the company, not to mention the world itself, undergo radical changes. Ordering systems have been digitized, cooking methods have been refined, new store locations have opened and CEOs have come and gone. However, she said many of the faces she sees day in and day out remain familiar. Some of her colleagues have been there as long as Hay. For example, Norbert Zuniga retired around the same time Hay did after 48 years with Bill Miller. Zuniga started his career as a 17-year-old store employee and ended it as the companys director of operations, according to a Bill Miller Facebook post. Bill Miller has seven employees who have been there longer than 40 years. This is my second home, Hay said. Ive been here so long I know all these people. Ive known them for years. We have a lot of long-term employees, people that have been here 20, 30 years, so its like a big family. But when Hay walked out of her office on South Santa Rosa for what will perhaps be the last time, she was likely thinking of a different family: her own. Now that she has left the workforce, she plans to spend more time with her 2-year-old and 8-year-old grandsons. caroline.tien@hearst.com The omicron variant has led to a surge in positive cases across Texas, and some hospital regions are seeing numbers of COVID-19 patients that rival last winter. The variant, which is now known to be more transmissible than delta and the original virus strain, has also led to the states highest rate of positive cases with more than 1 in 5 COVID-19 tests reading positive. In Texas, the positive case rate surpassed 10 percent by mid-December, which put the state in a red zone, a rating for which federal officials encourage more restrictions to limit the viruss spread. More than a week later, the rate has more than doubled, reaching its highest point yet with a 22.3 percent positivity rate. The high positivity rates havent yet translated into more deaths or dramatic numbers of hospitalizations in Texas, but some states that saw a surge in COVID-19 cases in November and early December are near or have surpassed record hospitalizations from the virus. Michigan, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire reached their highest hospitalization rates in December, according to CNN, however, the number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in Texas hospitals is still far below the surges seen during the winter of 2020 and this past fall. On Tuesday, the Austin American-Statesman reported that the Austin area will be returning to Stage 4, which recommends that unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people avoid nonessential activities, including indoor dining and shopping. Experts that the Texas Tribune spoke with are seeing an increase in COVID-19 patients in hospitals and anticipate they will rise. But this more infectious variant is having a major impact on hospital staffing, said Dr. James McDeavitt, the executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine. The difference with this surge is because this is so infectious and everyone is getting sick, everyone is calling out sick, McDeavitt said. Its not as much about the number of people in the hospitals its more about the number of health care workers who they themselves are getting sick and need to be isolated. And with many hospitals recording persistent nursing shortages, even if there are available ICU beds, they might not have anyone to staff their departments. Statewide, roughly 1 in 14 hospital patients are being treated for COVID, but the number is a lot higher in hospitals serving the El Paso area and the Texas Panhandle, where at least 1 in 6 hospital beds are occupied by a COVID-19 patient. The higher rate of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the Amarillo area is attributed to lower vaccination rates, a lingering delta surge and resistance to social distancing measures, according to Dr. Rodney Young, the regional chair of family and community medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Amarillo. About 90 to 93 percent of our hospitalized patients are unvaccinated, Young said. That number is closer to 98 percent for critical care, and around 60 percent for those on ventilators. The increasing number of cases in the community also have affected the states elder care and Texas criminal justice facilities, where infected staff and visitors can transmit the virus into areas where people often live more closely. The number of active COVID-19 cases at assisted living facilities in the state has more than doubled over the past two weeks, but the 124 active cases registered on Monday are a fraction of the more than 900 measured this time last year. Were at the beginning stages of this wave; were really still watching it, said Carmen Tilton, vice president of public policy with the Texas Assisted Living Association. Im not seeing in the data a wildfire of cases in assisted living facilities in Texas. Tilton, whose organization advocates on behalf of assisted living facilities across the state, noted that the best defenses against the virus are adhering to mask policies, screening and testing that can identify cases early on and limiting contact between positive staff, resident or visitors. We are going to see outbreaks because when you have high levels of community spread in the surrounding community, youre going to have a positive case, Tilton said. You cant hermetically seal these buildings. Positive cases are again on the rise in the states prisons, according to Karen Hall, the deputy chief of staff for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. We have seen an increase just as we do when we see an increase when the community cases rise, Hall said. Not as drastic, not as drastic as with the original outbreak or with the delta (variant). Hall noted that the largest number of cases over the weekend came from prisons in Anderson and Fort Bend counties, which both have seen an increase in cases over the past two weeks. Vaccination rates for about one-third of the states correctional facilities are above 70 percent for both prisoners and staff. And for another half of the facilities, vaccination rates are above 50 percent. The weekend also led to an increase in positive cases among youth and staff members at the states juvenile correctional facilities, with 37 children in Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities having tested positive for COVID-19. Thats more youth cases than the agency registered over the past nine months and the largest single-day positive rate since the summer of 2020. I think we know that anytime were moving into the holidays, anytime that we have new variants out there, theres a higher risk of infection and spread, said Brian Sweany, the TJJD spokesperson. The agency also recorded 23 positive cases among staff that weekend, including 10 at the McLennan County campus where all but one of the youth cases originated. The agency speculates that these are omicron cases, due to how quickly the virus is spreading but how mild the cases are. The sharp increase in positive cases has been at a level most communities had not yet seen in the pandemic, including in the Houston area, where they went from several hundred two weeks ago, to more than 5,000 average daily cases, according to Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, president and CEO of Harris Health System. So far, that crazy increase in the number of cases has not equated to a crazy increase in hospitalizations, Porsa said. They are going up, but they are not going up proportionally to the number of cases. Disclosure: Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center have been financial supporters of the Texas Tribune. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. For decades, Richard Solis was the go-to guy for San Antonio theaters in need of inventive prop designs. He created a 26-foot-long, 10-foot-tall purple dragon puppet for a production of Shrek at Magik Theatre, the childrens troupe that he helped found. His designs for the Woodlawn Theatre included Audrey II plant puppets for Little Shop of Horrors and the elaborate headdresses worn by the drag queens in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He was an actor, too, and when he played the Ghost of Christmas Present in a staging of A Christmas Carol at Villa Finale a few years ago, he provided his own wreath of holly for the costume. Solis died Wednesday morning after becoming sick with COVID-19 for the second time in three months. He was 51. Richard was one of those people that would never say no as long as he could handle it, said Ariel Rosen, the daughter of Magik founder Richard Rosen, who considered Solis family. He would be building props for Magik all day and wake up in the middle of the night to build them for a high school production for no money. He did it out of the love of his art and the love he had for making theater. Solis posted on his Facebook page about his diagnosis on Dec. 20, then wrote a few long posts on Dec. 22 about being hospitalized, sharing how ill he felt, how scared he was that he might die, and how angry he was with people who refused to take the virus seriously. According to the posts, he was vaccinated. Solis partner, Henry Lozano Jr., was at his side when he died, along with Solis mother, brother and stepfather. A Gofundme account has been set up to help cover Solis medical and funeral expenses. I dont know where theyre going to have the service, said Angela Hoeffler, a fellow Magik veteran who was friends with Solis for 30 years. Where do you fit all the people who are going to want to pay tribute to Richard? On ExpressNews.com: Greg Hinojosa, influential SA actor and director, dies at 57 Solis, a San Antonio native and alumnus of Burbank High School, first got involved with Richard Rosen via the Illegitimate Childrens Theatre, the forerunner to Magik. Rosen came to think of Solis as a son, he said, though things did not begin warmly. He walked in, a 20-year-old boy, had an earring coming out of his nose and an earring coming out of his ears, Rosen said. He walked in to audition, and I turned to someone and said, That guy will never work for me that was how prejudiced I was then. He refused to leave. And so the next day, we said, why dont you sell tickets on the phone do something. And he did, and he did it well, and the rest is history. Solis was part of the core group that launched Magik in 1994. He worked as an actor and also learned how to design and build props. He always credited Greg Hinojosa, a fellow Magik founder who died in April, with giving him a solid foundation for his design career. Solis also taught himself a lot of techniques. It took me a long time to say I was a designer, he said in a 2013 interview with the Express-News. For a long time, I did not know what stage craft was. Solis tended to work with humble materials. He was especially fond of repurposing old signs, turning them into sheep for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and all kinds of things for The Cat in the Hat. For Little Shop, he built the Audrey II puppets with masking tape, plastic bowls from Dollar Tree, H-E-B bags, makeup sponges and other everyday items. Solis left San Antonio from time to time to work in other cities he toured with the Dallas Childrens Theater for a year and relocated to Houston in 2002 to work with several companies. In 2011, he was invited to come home to appear in Magiks revival of Phantom of the Alamo, a spoof written by Rosen for which Solis had originated the title role. When Rosen asked him to stick around and rejoin the company, he did. Rosen respected Solis skills as a designer and as an actor. The best thing you can do is have somebody take your character that you put on paper and make them bigger and make them fuller and make them real people, he said, noting that Solis did that time after time. Solis left Magik in 2017, about a year after Rosen retired. He spent time touring with Disney on Ice and worked for about a year as an actor educator at the San Antonio Zoo. Then he went back to school to get his teaching certification, becoming an art teacher for elementary school students at the IDEA Ewing Halsell school. On ExpressNews.com: Killer puppets for Little Shop made from scratch He also continued working as a freelance designer and acted every time the opportunity arose. Diane Malone directed Solis in productions of The School for Scandal and Taming of the Shrew at Classic Theatre, as well as in that Villa Finale production of Christmas Carol. He spent all those years at Magik as an actor, playing everything from kids to animals to grandpas, so he was quite an accomplished actor, Malone said. Plus he was a props artisan. He could just do anything. It really is a loss. Malone said she was glad so many companies recognized his talents and asked him to design for them. Word got out: If you need something special, hes the one to go to, she said. Solis kept in touch with his Magik friends, and he reunited with many of them for a Zoom production of Phantom of the Alamo last year by Richard Rosen & Company, a new troupe. Being around these people that were your family at one time is such a happy, wonderful thing, but it's a sad thing, too, he said in an interview about the show. Sometimes I felt I just wanted to cry, not because I was depressed or sad, just overwhelmed. His death, coming just eight months after Hinojosas, has made a difficult year that much harder for the Magik Theatre family. Greg and Richard were so close, Ariel Rosen said. Thats one of the things that I keep trying to remind myself, is that somewhere theyre laughing and saying sassy thing to each other. Solis is survived by Lozano, his mother, Josie, and brother Andrew. Funeral services are pending. dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN The Safe Outdoor Dog Act goes into effect on Jan. 18. It closes the loophole that required animal control officers and law enforcement to wait 24 hours before helping a tethered dog in distress, outlines proper protection from the elements, requires dogs to have access to drinkable water and prohibits the use of chain restraints. In 2015, the Texas Humane Legislative Network (THLN) began its effort to update Texas Health and Safety Code to ensure humane treatment for dogs tethered and left unattended outdoors. The previous law failed to outline proper humane care for these dogs, failed to ban chains that can injure dogs, and required a 24-hour waiting period before law enforcement and animal control officers could help a dog in distress. Law enforcement and animal control officers wanted this law updated. Usually when law enforcement needs something to enforce a law already on the books, its not so controversial, said Stacy Sutton Kerby, director of government relations for the THLN. But trying to close these loopholes became challenging, and it took seven years for the Texas Legislature to pass the bill, which they did in May. Everyone was elated, says Kerby. But Governor Greg Abbott vetoed the bill. Kerby said calls flooded her office from people wanting to know what they could do. She encouraged them to politely, respectfully but persistently, call their legislators and the governors office and share their support of the bill. Thanks to that public pressure, Kerby says, the bill got reintroduced into a third special session in October. We had 30 days to get it passed again, she said. The Safe Outdoor Dog Act, co-sponsored by a veterinarian, passed the legislation in October, 91 to 19. What I love most about the final vote count is that even though six amendments were brought that night to try to undermine SB 5, the final vote margin was the biggest the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act had ever gotten, says Kerby. It was a long quest just to get a piece of health and safety code changed and was far more dramatic than we ever expected. But that sheds light on how hard it can be to pass animal welfare laws in a state as large and diverse as Texas. She said that some folks opposed the bill because they felt the government should not regulate how they handle their dogs. But the bill had the support of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, the Texas Animal Control Association, and law enforcement. If you want more information on this new law or need resources (a doghouse, fence repairs, etc.) to comply with the law, visit thln.org. Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist, and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories, and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Just a year ago, the long-planned Alamo makeover nearly unraveled. Some of the projects key fundraisers resigned after the Texas Historical Commission denied a permit to move the Alamo Cenotaph a few months earlier. Then a report from the state auditors office in January recommended the Texas General Land Office and city of San Antonio revise or wind down a long-term lease regarding management of the city-owned Alamo Plaza as part of the historic mission and battle site. Then officials announced a reset in March and installed a few new leaders who helped put together a new plan. The city amended the 2018 lease in April to require the Land Office and nonprofit Alamo Trust to have a design in place and funding identified for a museum and visitor center by 2026. Since then, the $400 million project has recovered. Alamo officials completed two outdoor exhibits in the plaza in 2021 and hope to wrap up construction in late 2022 of a nearly $20 million, 24,000-square-foot exhibit hall and collections building that will house some of the 400-plus artifacts donated by rock star Phil Collins. On ExpressNews.com: Expert says the Alamo has been the most successful mission in Texas The recent dedication of the palisade exhibit, a partial reconstruction of a fortification built by Mexican soldiers in 1835 and expanded by Texians and Tejanos, underscores progress now occurring in the project driven by city, county and state leaders, along with philanthropists, scholars and people who simply love the Alamo. Tennessee-based filmmaker and historical consultant Gary Foreman, who has lobbied for a safer, improved Alamo since he was nearly hit by a taxi in front of the Alamo Church in 1982, said San Antonio is finally scratching the surface on one of the founding sites of Texas, recognized by many around the world for the siege and battle for Texas independence in 1836. Foreman believes the story of the Alamo can be told accurately and vividly, informing visitors of the entire 300-year recorded history of the site. But its the siege and battle that draw visitors, he said. If thats what brings them here, do it well, and the rest of the story can be told, Foreman said. When people in San Antonio finally realize what makes this place unique, they will go along with defining 1836. If you cant do 1836 really, really well, none of the other periods will do well. For a state feeling its way out of a pandemic, 2021 was a year of truces and compromise at the Alamo. With a decision firmly in place that the massive 1930s Cenotaph will be repaired but not moved, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Land Commissioner George P. Bush stopped feuding and have stood together in support of the project since March. Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who also endorses the plan, told a crowd of nearly 200 people at the dedication that the Alamo is a birthplace of the citys heritage. Jessica Phelps /Staff photographer While our culture and our history are diverse and range over more than three centuries, most of the world immediately recognizes this place in San Antonio for the 13 days of siege in 1836, Nirenberg said. The project is certain to continue stirring debate, rankling both historical traditionalists and revisionists, as it seeks to portray Mexican perspectives on the battle and the role of slavery in the Texas Revolution while interpreting the sites recorded origins as the first permanent Spanish-Indigenous mission in San Antonio. After the battle, the Alamo was a U.S. Army depot and a commercial center before being recognized as a historic site. Three of seven downtown lunch counters that racially integrated during the civil rights movement in March 1960 were in the plaza; the rest were on nearby Houston Street. Foreman said theres not a more appropriate boundary for the Alamo to interpret than the palisade, which links the mission era to both sides of the war between Texas and Mexico. The Alamos most famous defender, David Crockett, was positioned there, along with others among the 31 Tennesseans in the garrison who were rifle marksmen. The young Alamo commander, William Barret Travis, reported in a letter to Gen. Sam Houston early during the siege that Crockett was seen at all points animating the men to do their duty. Thats why Travis assigned Crockett to the palisade, Foreman said. If this is the weakest point of the fortress, lets put the man there whos going to buoy the spirits of those who are behind the walls, he said. The temporary exhibit, made of untreated cedar, is in the same vicinity and alignment as it would have been when constructed in 1835. But even though the exhibit shows one row of cedar posts, a debate on whether it had two rows, with dirt packed in between, may never be settled, said Kristi Miller Nichols, the Alamos on-site archaeologist. Jessica Phelps /Staff photographer Because the archaeology is never conclusive as to the actual construction, it gives us a footprint. But we dont know what it physically looked like, she said. I dont think theres going to be archaeological evidence thats going to fully give us a firm view of what it looked like. But were going use both archaeology and archival data to help inform how we do things in the future. During the dedication, Ernesto Rodriguez, the Alamos senior curator and historian, read a letter that Crockett, a former Tennessee congressman, wrote to his family in early 1836, shortly after arriving in Texas. I had rather be in my present situation than be elected to a seat in Congress for life. I am in hopes of making a fortune yet for my self and my family, he wrote. Do not be uneasy about me; I am among my friends. On ExpressNews.com: Alamo project officials trying to discern truth in slavery debate Hope Andrade, an Alamo Trust board member and chair of the six-member Alamo Management Committee, said the palisade exhibit is yet another milestone in the Alamo plan, and there are more to come. The project team is working on permanent exhibitions that will tell the story not just of the Battle of the Alamo, but of more than 300 years of history here, Andrade said. Jessica Phelps /Staff photographer Other changes for the project during 2021 include: Museum & Visitor Center Although the plan previously considered demolishing the 1882 Crockett and 1921 Woolworth buildings, Alamo officials showed conceptual images in May that incorporate those structures into a 100,000-square-foot, $140 million museum. The targeted completion recently was delayed by one year to 2026. The design team of Gensler/GRG has structural engineers studying the buildings on the west side of the plaza for adaptation. Lists of historians serving as museum consultants and members of a newly activated museum planning committee have been posted on the Alamo website, thealamo.org. Parade route Rather than moving, the route of two major Fiesta street parades will remain on their traditional path south along Alamo Street, passing directly in front of the Alamo Church. The section of the route thats in the mission-fort footprint will be treated as a reverent zone with limited or no seating. A previous version of the plan would have permanently re-routed the parades to Bonham Street, behind the Alamo grounds, then west on Crockett Street, passing the church from the side by the Menger Hotel. Cenotaph The city is developing a repair plan for the 56-foot-tall memorial to the fallen Alamo defenders in consultation with the Alamo Trust and the Texas Historical Commission. Experts believe rainwater seepage into the monument has caused cracks and displaced some of its marble exterior panels. The city recently secured a permit from the commission to place a low chain barrier around the monument, but plans to surround it with landscaping and lighting after repairs are made. Delineating the Alamo footprint Rather than lowering the historic footprint in the plaza and surrounding it with a handrail, as previously planned, Alamo officials currently intend to mark the outline of the mission with surface pavers, low walls and exhibits. Alamo officials also plan to have a recirculating water feature to represent the location of a historic mission-era acequia. Church and Long Barrack An archaeological exhibit is set to open in the Long Barrack in early 2022. In April, an extensive yearlong moisture-monitoring study of the church will be completed to help with a long-term strategy to preserve its delicate limestone walls. A conservation team is working on repairs to the church ceiling and mortar in the walls of both mission-era structures. Traffic A section of Alamo Street permanently closed June 1. The city intends to allow horse carriages and VIA Metropolitan Transit and hop-on/off tour buses to travel north on Alamo, then turn west on Commerce. Permanent traffic closures on sections of Houston and Crockett in and near the plaza are planned to enhance pedestrian safety. A previous proposal to add a northbound lane to Losoya has been eliminated. Citizen committee The Alamo Citizens Advisory Committee, a diverse 30-member group, including nine who crafted the projects vision and guiding principles in 2014, continues to provide feedback to the management committee and public officials on the project. Public meeting agendas and other information on the group are posted on the citys website. Questions and comments may be sent to alamoplan@sanantonio.gov. shuddleston@express-news.net All local universities except one plan to begin the new semester as scheduled with students learning in-person, despite COVID-19 cases skyrocketing in San Antonio this week. The exception, Trinity University, announced it would wait to start classes until Jan. 31. Classes were originally scheduled to resume Jan. 12. The university released a statement explaining that the extra two weeks of break will allow students and staff to receive booster shots and avoid individuals returning to campus during a surge in COVID-19 cases. Spring Break dates will not be impacted, officials said, which was a concern students expressed on Twitter after the announcement. As of Thursday, the University of Texas at San Antonio, University of Incarnate Word, St. Marys University, Our Lady of the Lake University, and the Alamo Colleges plan to begin classes as scheduled and in person, but many of them are monitoring the situation and could make changes later. Our Public Health Task Force continues to evaluate conditions on a regular basis in close coordination with UT System and state and local health officials, said Joe Izbrand, the chief communications officer at UTSA. Our spring semester begins on January 18th and currently remains on that schedule. There have been no changes impacting students at this time, but there is a possibility that could change as the need arises, said Kristi Wyatt, a spokesperson for Alamo Colleges. For now, both the largest public university in the area and the community college network will operate as normal while continuing to encourage students to get vaccinated and boosted, test regularly, wear masks indoors, and quarantine as necessary. St Marys University will open campus as planned on Jan. 3. Officials plan no changes but are reminding students of the need for mask-wearing, COVID-19 testing requirements for unvaccinated individuals, and for quarantining if warranted. Face masks are required in indoor settings at Trinity, St. Marys, Our Lady of the Lake and University of the Incarnate Word. At UTSA and Alamo Colleges mask-wearing is strongly encouraged. Vaccinations are required for employees at the University of the Incarnate Word but not for students. OLLU and St. Marys do not require vaccination but require regular testing for those who are not vaccinated. The Alamo Colleges require testing for staff and faculty, but for students, testing is voluntary. UTSA requires testing only for those students and staff who have symptoms or have been exposted to COVID-19. Rice University, a private university in Houston, has gone a step farther and is requiring all students and staff to get their booster shots. Rice is starting classes as scheduled on Jan. 10, but all will be virtual. Rice intends to return to in-person classes on Jan. 24, unless the situation in Houston deteriorates substantially or new information suggests that is inadvisable, president David Leebron wrote. These booster shots are critical, because in light of the rapid spread of the omicron variant, it probably will not be possible to maintain the full quarantining policies we have previously implemented, wrote Leebron. claire.bryan@express-news.net Fish came raining down on an East Texas city on Wednesday. Residents of Texarkana reported fish free falling into their backyards and onto streets across the city during and after a strong storm that swept through the city, according to the Texarkana Gazette. Some areas of the city experienced only a few fish falling from the sky, while others saw up to 30 fish fall at once. In a Facebook post, the city told residents the rare occurrence was not a joke. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonios first freeze expected New Year's weekend The city also took the time to explain that small water animals have been known to drop from the sky during and/or after a strong storm. The storm Texarkana experienced on Wednesday also included hail. "Animal rain is a phenomenon that occurs when small water animals like frogs, crabs, and small fish are swept up in waterspouts or drafts that occur on the surface of the earth," the Facebook post says. "They are then rained down at the same time as the rain. "While its uncommon, it happens, as evidenced in several places in Texarkana today." Cherie Williamson, a 35-year-old resident of Texarkana, said she was shocked when her husband told her it was raining fish. "I thought he was lying," she told the Express-News. "I went outside and it smelled so fishy." She then took a photo of one of the fish outside of her home next to her hand to show its size. The Gazette said some of the fish silver and white in color were 6 to 7 inches long. Malak.Silmi@express-news.net When a politician fails to use his platform to help his constituents, it is mute testament to his lack of leadership. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has remained silent in the midst of the latest COVID-19 health crisis the rapid spread of the omicron variant. When he has referenced vaccines our strongest tool to protect against serious COVID-19 illness it is usually to push back against mandates, focusing instead on personal responsibility. He ended the statewide mask mandate in May, a foolhardy move as the virus spreads across the state. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported more than 10,800 new cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, the highest daily number since October, and health experts say the omicron variant accounts for 90 percent of the new cases. The number of hospitalizations in Texas, 4,431 as of Tuesday, was also the highest since October. There is going to be a pretty impressive surge, and I think it could really pick up, Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director at the Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development at Baylor College of Medicine, recently told MSNBC. Abbott, who recovered from the virus with the help of the vaccine, has not budged in the midst of this surge, only saying, Were moving forward with life as we know it. The trouble with that statement is that life as we know it has become a nightmare, with almost 75,000 Texans, as of Tuesday, dying of the disease since the pandemic struck, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Views & Voices: Editorials, columns and commentary, delivered to your inbox And it will get worse; the state health department shared an alarming warning Monday that five of its regional infusion centers, including the one in San Antonio, have run out of the only monoclonal antibody that is effective against the variant. The centers are expecting more antibody in January. But Abbott didnt bother to retweet the health departments stunning message. He has been so intransigent that he would not even answer reporters who asked if he received a booster. Instead of remaining silent, he should be encouraging Texans to get vaccinated, something even former President Donald Trump has been doing, although he got booed by some of his supporters in Dallas earlier this month. Trump said it again in a Dec. 21 interview with the Daily Wires Candace Owens, calling the vaccine one of the greatest achievements of mankind and adding, if you take the vaccine, youre protected. The results of the vaccine are very good. Yet Abbott is silent, with only 61 percent of Texans 5 and older vaccinated, as of Tuesday. Texas needs a leader who acts like they care about Texans health. As a single mom of a newborn, I struggled. Every dollar counted. I needed to afford a stable, safe home for my son; and for me, that meant going to college. Paying for expenses rent, utilities, a car, food, child care was hard enough, and adding the cost of college to the mix made it nearly impossible. Although I went to community college first, and received some financial aid and scholarships, the costs still mounted. Just being able to pay tuition when I was struggling to make ends meet was a huge relief, but the costs of college only begin there. I was nervous to read the syllabus for each class, not because of the rigor of the work it outlined, but because of the cost of textbooks. I always worked one or two jobs, but it was never enough, so I would either delay paying rent or utilities to pay for books, or I would try to go without textbooks. Out of desperation, I created a system. I would identify one person from each class on whom I could depend on to lend me their textbook. Then, as soon as I could get my hands on the book, I would head to the library to make copies of the pages I needed. Not some of my best moments, and even the cost of copies was a burden. Every part of college is expensive, making it impossible for many. I went to college in the early 2000s, and it was expensive, but costs have increased significantly since then. In 2021-22, average estimated costs range from $18,830 to more than $55,000 per academic year for college students. On average, two-year college students now spend more than $1,400 on textbooks and materials over an academic year, according to the College Board. A college employee recently told me that not having a ride to campus can be the difference in a student staying in school or dropping out. Thats also true for many of the costs of living while in college including books. Textbooks can be so costly, it, too, can be the difference between a college student and a college dropout. But that wont be true for thousands of students at the five colleges in the Alamo Colleges District, at least for a short time. For the next two semesters, all students will have access to free book rentals. On ExpressNews.com: Those expensive textbooks? Theyll be rent-free at San Antonios community colleges One of the most encouraging parts of this change is that it was born out of listening to students and faculty. In a Dec. 1 news release about the new Barnes & Noble Education Inc. free textbook rental initiative, Mike Flores, chancellor for the Alamo Colleges District, said the change came from faculty and focus groups discussions. This decision embodies Alamo Colleges Districts value of students first, its mission of empowering (its) diverse communities for success and its vision to become the best in the nation in student success and performance excellence. Instead of settling for the status quo, administrators listened to students and innovated. On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: Aspen Prize reflects SACs service to community To fund the textbook rental program for spring and summer 2022, Alamo Colleges officials plan to invest up to $17 million from Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund grants. Alamo Colleges District serves more than 100,000 students per year; 76 percent are people of color and 70 percent rely on financial aid and scholarships, according to the district. Its too often that our students go without the textbooks they need to succeed due to financial difficulties, Flores said. We know through our faculty and focus group discussions with our students that many of them either go without textbooks during their studies, or even have to take on an extra shift at work to cover the cost of their course materials. Views & Voices: Editorials, columns and commentary, delivered to your inbox Now, more than ever, students need support. Helping students succeed by providing the tools they need is what all colleges and universities should do. How do we make this change permanent for Alamo Colleges and beyond? Nancy.Preyor-Johnson @express-news.net Our educators say this school year has been harder than any other. Staff members are on the front line, providing a safe place for our students our babies who have experienced tremendous anxiety, trauma and loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this challenging time, we owe our students a quality education the chance to accelerate learning so their opportunities in life are not diminished. A ton of effort and financial investment is going into helping our students and their families, and our heroic teachers and support staff. None of that stopped when Pedro Martinez, our previous superintendent, left in September to accept a job in Chicago. For San Antonio Independent School District board trustees, one of the our main priorities in the new year, for our 45,000 students and almost 8,000 staff members, is finding our next great superintendent. On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: Expand the free rental of college textbooks Josie Norris /San Antonio Express-News We understand finding a new leader is a crucial decision. The day after Martinezs announcement of his departure, board member Patti Radle and I met the districts top 30 leaders for tacos and conversation. We assured them that everything was going to be OK. It will be better than OK. Our interim superintendent, Robert Jaklich, known as Dr. J., is the kind of leader I hope to be. He sees everyone. On Wednesday mornings, Dr. J. arrives before everyone so that from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., he can greet staff at the door. Hes kept his leadership team intact. A great guy whos worked hard for kids for such a long time, he stepped up to help us temporarily; he has no intention of applying for the full-time position. Finding a superintendent who sees everyone our students and their families, and our staff will be important for our district. We are looking for a leader who will listen and work well with all stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers and community members. We need a superintendent who is bold, innovative and willing to put our students our babies first. On ExpressNews.com: Commentary: We need to examine the foster care system We hope to name our next great superintendent as early as May. Although this will be a huge transition in our district of 45,000 students and almost 8,000 staff members, it is also an exciting time. We have heard loud and clear that our community cares deeply about getting this next hire right, and we promise to work in partnership with the many stakeholders who make up our 79 square miles of greatness to find our next great leader. Christina Martinez is the San Antonio Independent School District board president. Well, that was weird. Much of the past 12 months felt as though 2021 came about by looking at the political insanity of 2020 and thinking smugly: Hold my beer. The storming of the Capitol? A second Trump impeachment? Sen. Ted Cruz going hard at Big Bird? Infrastructure Week actually happening? Many of the years political developments defied belief. As usual, a smattering of people and events managed to rise above, or sink below, the baseline chaos. These notables deserve to be commemorated and, in some cases, subpoenaed for their roles in making 2021 so very memorable. Donald Trump was deemed ineligible to compete, as he continues to operate in a political reality all his own. On ExpressNews.com: Lowry: Edward O. Wilson shared the miracle of bugs Biggest Pain in the Butt Sen. Joe Manchin Its not simply that the West Virginia Democrat spent the year obstructing his partys legislative goals. Or that he wasted weeks claiming to be scrounging for Republican buy-in on voting rights legislation. Or that he apparently regards his constituents as a bunch of slacker welfare cheats. Its that he insisted on being such a pious, pompous, pointlessly destructive prat about the whole thing. Manchin should take his houseboat, his coal-company money and his folksy pretensions and blow them out the tailpipe of that Maserati he was seen tooling around in. Most Perplexing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema We get it: The Arizona Democrat does not want to be seen as a line-toeing party drone. But what she does want remains a mystery to most Americans. Her maverick-without-a-cause shtick ticked off many Democrats, including voters back home, and spawned a Saturday Night Live parody. Worst Vacation Planner Sen. Ted Cruz When a storm left millions of Texans shivering in the cold and dark in February, the Republican lawmaker and his family promptly fled to a luxury resort in Cancun. The social media backlash was swift, shaming Cruz into a quick return home. Biggest Loser Andrew Cuomo And just like that, the former New York governors brand went from pandemic rock star to alleged serial harasser. Mouthy and handsy turns out to be a bad combo. Biggest Fashion Icon Sen. Bernie Sanders The Vermont curmudgeons puffy-coat-and-mittens ensemble set a new standard for inauguration chic. Saddest Holiday Poser Rep. Thomas Massie Nothing screams season of peace and crisis of masculinity quite like a middle-aged Kentucky Republican arming himself and his family for the annual Christmas card pic. Biggest Glow-Up Rep. Liz Cheney The Wyoming Republican once was best known as the warmongering, torture-loving, anti-gay-rights older daughter of the most sinister vice president of modern times. Now, shes going all-in as her partys fiercest champion of American democracy. Most Destructive Tucker Carlson It does not matter whether the Fox News host believes the poison hes peddling or if hes just a fame-hungry, money-grubbing opportunist. With his COVID nuttiness, Jan. 6 incitement nonsense and general MAGA conspiracy-mongering, Carlson may have done more this year to endanger America, and Americans, than almost anyone else. Most Problematic Presidential Relative Hunter Biden A SoHo gallery debut of his paintings with list prices running into six figures seriously? Has the presidents younger son learned nothing? Biggest Suckers Republican National Committee It apparently agreed to pay up to $1.6 million of Donald Trumps personal legal bills which tells you all you need to know about the state of the party. New York Times Most Contemptible Mark Meadows The former White House chief of staff has defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. For this, the House voted to recommend holding him in contempt of Congress, referring the matter to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. Most Maligned Gov. Brian Kemp Refusing to help Trump steal the 2020 election landed the Georgia Republican on the former presidents enemies list. Now, Kemp is facing what is expected to be a bloody, expensive primary challenge from Trump flunky and former Sen. David Perdue. This may be Democrats best electoral news in months. Biggest Winner Glenn Youngkin The Republican governor-elect of Virginia thrilled his party by disrupting the states steady drift into the blue column. More impressive, he provided a possible blueprint for other Republican candidates by flirting with Trumps election-fraud lies while keeping the former president at enough of a distance not to scare off moderate voters. Most Overanalyzed Vice President Kamala Harris Is she dazzling the political world? No. But cut the woman some slack. Shes the vice president by definition a secondary position and by tradition a kind of crappy one. One of her predecessors, John Nance Garner, once colorfully dismissed the job as not worth a bucket of warm piss. Harris may be a historic figure, but lets dial back our expectations a smidgen. Most Delicate Tightrope Walker Gov. Ron DeSantis Pretty much everyone assumes that the Florida Republican wants to be a White House contender in 2024, but he needs to avoid looking so eager or popular that he piques the envy and ire of a certain former president. Coolest Dad Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg The baby pics of the twins are cute and all, but Secretary Pete really deserves props for taking parental leave and unapologetically defending the practice against attacks from sneering conservatives. Most Thankless Job Sen. Chuck Schumer The Senate Democratic leader wakes up every morning knowing he has few tools with which to manage a restive progressive base, an unpopular president, zero margin for Democratic defections, an obstructionist Republican minority and Joe Manchin. Most Spineless Rep. Kevin McCarthy Desperate to become House speaker if his party wins control of the House next year, the Republican leader has been frantically sucking up to MAGA world. Not only has he slunk down to Mar-a-Lago to kiss Trumps ring, he also has taken to basically shrugging off his more unhinged colleagues most vile trolling. Paul Gosar posting an anime of himself killing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Joe Biden? No harm intended. Lauren Boeberts anti-Muslim rantings? Why all the fuss? Such inspiring leadership. Greatest American Hero Police officer Eugene Goodman As MAGA zealots rampaged through the Capitol on Jan. 6, Officer Goodman of the Capitol Police lured invaders away from the Senate chamber, where lawmakers were huddled. This man more than earned his Congressional Gold Medal. Most Desperate for Attention Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Can someone at Fox News offer the Georgia Republican her own show already? Its not as if she has a lick of interest in legislating. Biggest Lie There was no mass election fraud. Donald Trump lost. Deal with it. Happy New Year, all. Heres to a more boring 2022. FAIRFIELD Thursdays distribution of at-home testing kits has been canceled due to a shipping delay, officials said. Test kit distribution is delayed per the Governor's Office, the town wrote on its website. No test kit distribution will happen in Fairfield on 12/30. We will post when we have more information. On Wednesday night, Gov. Ned Lamont put out a statement announcing the delays. Due to shipping and warehouse delays outside of the state of Connecticuts control, our states anticipated shipment of COVID-19 at-home rapid tests are currently delayed from arriving in Connecticut, Lamont said. My staff and multiple state agencies have spent the past several days working around the clock to accelerate the movement of our tests through what is clearly a shipping and distribution bottleneck on the West Coast amid unprecedented international demand for tests. Fairfield is set to get about 7,7000 tests to distribute to residents. I am sorry to have to share that we were notified an hour ago by the Governor's office that the COVID test kits have not yet arrived in the state, Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said in a statement late Wednesday. I am very frustrated as I am sure you are too. It would have been helpful if the test kits were in the state before towns and cities were asked to set up distribution sites. She said they didnt know when to expect the test kits. The Emergency Management Team will work as quickly as we can to distribute the tests as soon as we receive them, Kupchick said. WASHINGTON (AP) Presidents and former Senate colleagues are lauding longtime Majority Leader Harry Reid for a political legacy that included an expansion of health insurance coverage for millions of Americans and helping secure an economic aid package and banking overhaul following the 2008 financial crisis. They are also recalling a politician whose blunt and combative words often antagonized his political rivals, and sometimes his allies. The Nevada Democrat's abrupt style was typified by his habit of unceremoniously hanging up the phone without saying goodbye. Reid, 82, died Tuesday at home in Henderson, Nevada, of complications from pancreatic cancer, according to Landra Reid, his wife of 62 years. President Joe Biden said in a proclamation that the U.S. flag will be flown at half-staff at the White House and other federal buildings on the day of Reid's internment. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak issued a similar order for his state. The flag at the U.S. Capitol has already been lowered. Reid's family has not yet announced memorial service plans. Biden called Reid one of the great Senate majority leaders in the country's history. He was a man of action, and a man of his word guided by faith, loyalty, and unshakeable resolve," Biden said in the proclamation. Over a 34-year career in Washington, Reid thrived on behind-the-scenes wrangling. He served as majority leader during the presidency of a Republican, George W. Bush, and a Democrat, Barack Obama, a chaotic period that included a crippling recession and the Republican takeover of the House after the 2010 elections. Reid retired in 2016 after an accident left him blind in one eye. He announced in May 2018 that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was being treated. In many respects, his legacy is tied to Obama's. In a letter to Reid before Reid's death, Obama said he wouldn't have been president without Reid's support. As different as we are, I think we both saw something of ourselves in each other a couple of outsiders who had defied the odds and knew how to take a punch and cared about the little guy," Obama said. Republicans cited Reid's toughness and tenacity, while also noting they disagreed with him on many issues. The nature of Harrys and my jobs brought us into frequent and sometimes intense conflict over politics and policy, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But I never doubted that Harry was always doing what he earnestly, deeply felt was right for Nevada and our country." Former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he and Reid "disagreed on many things, sometimes famously. But we were always honest with each other. In the years after we left public service, that honesty became a bond." Reid was born in Searchlight, Nevada. His father was an alcoholic who died by suicide at 58. His mother was a laundress in a bordello, Reid grew up in a small cabin without indoor plumbing. He hitchhiked to Basic High School in Henderson about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from home, and that's where he met the wife. At Utah State University, the couple became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The future senator put himself through George Washington University law school in the District of Columbia by working nights as a U.S. Capitol police officer. At 28, Reid was elected to the Nevada Assembly. At 30, he became the youngest lieutenant governor in Nevada history. Elected to the U.S. House in 1982, Reid served in Congress longer than anyone in Nevada history. After his election as Senate majority leader in 2007, he was credited with putting Nevada on the political map by pushing to move the states caucuses to February, at the start of presidential nominating season. Reid steered hundreds of millions of dollars to Nevada and was credited with almost single-handedly blocking construction of a nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain outside Las Vegas. Reids moderation meant he was never politically secure in his home state or entirely trusted in the increasingly polarized Senate. Democrats grumbled about his votes for a ban on so-called partial-birth abortion and the Iraq War resolution in 2002, something Reid later said was his biggest regret in Congress. He also voted against most gun control bills. In 2013, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut, he dropped a proposed ban on assault weapons from the Democrats gun control legislation. The package, he said, would not pass with the ban attached. Reids Senate particularly irritated members of the House, both Republicans and Democrats. When then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., muscled Obamas health care overhaul through the House in 2009, a different version passed the Senate and the reconciliation process floundered long enough for Republicans to turn it into an election-year weapon. They used it to demonize Pelosi and cast the legislation as a big-government power grab. Obama signed the measure into law in March 2010. But voters, angered by the recession and inspired by the small-government tea party, soon swept Democrats from their House majority. Reid also took action in 2013 to change the Senate's filibuster rules and lower the threshold for advancement to 51 votes for most executive and judicial nominees, but not Supreme Court picks. McConnell went further when Republicans were in the majority, lowering it to 51 votes for Supreme Court nominees too, and enabling Republicans to install three of President Donald Trumps high court choices over Democratic objections. In his final months, Reid spoke in favor of eliminating the filibuster altogether, calling the Senate a legislative graveyard" and no longer a deliberative body. The filibuster has become an anti-democratic weapon wielded by the minority to silence the will of the people," he wrote in the Las Vegas Sun. ___ Kellman, an Associated Press writer now in Jerusalem, covered Congress for the AP during Reids time as Senate majority leader. Ritter reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in New York and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this report. GARLAND, Texas (AP) Dallas-area police have charged a 14-year-old with capital murder in a triple killing at a gas station and are warning that the boy is at large, armed and dangerous. Police in Garland are seeking Abel Elias Acosta and said Wednesday that they have evidence showing he was the gunman who left three teens dead and wounded a fourth at the suburban gas station's convenience store Sunday. Acosta is the son of Richard Acosta, 33, who turned himself into police Monday and is also charged with capital murder for allegedly acting as a get-away driver in the shooting, police said in a statement. A juvenile court has issued an order to take the younger Acosta into custody, police said, and authorized them to publicly release his name. Prosecutors will determine whether the teen is charged as a minor or an adult, said Lt. Pedro Barineau. The Associated Press does not typically name juveniles suspected of a crime but is doing so in this case because authorities said he is a threat to public safety. Police released a photo from social media Wednesday of a boy holding a gun who they said is Acosta. Acosta is not the 14-year-old who Garland police arrested Monday as a suspect in the shooting and then released to his family the next day, said Barineau. That teenager, who police have not identified by name, is not the shooter but remains a person of interest" in the investigation, he said. Police described the younger Acosta as a light-skinned Hispanic boy with dark hair and brown eyes. He is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and about 125 lbs., they said. The shooting was captured on surveillance video. It shows a shirtless boy or man with a handgun approaching the gas station store while crouched. He swings open the door and starts shooting from the doorway. Police previously said the shooter fired more than 20 rounds from a .40-caliber pistol before fleeing in the Dodge Ram pickup driven by Richard Acosta, who they said also brought the gunman to the gas station, Those killed were 14-year-old Xavier Gonazalez, 16-year-old Ivan Noyala, and 17-year-old Rafael Garcia, according to police. A 15-year-old who was a cook at the store was taken to the hospital following the shooting and was expected to survive. Investigators believe the shooting was a retaliatory attack on one or more of the people in the store, Barineau said. An attorney for the elder Acosta, who is being held on a $1 million bond, could not be immediately identified. In the weeks leading up to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, a handful of Americans well-known politicians, obscure local bureaucrats stood up to block then-President Donald Trumps unprecedented attempt to overturn a free and fair vote of the American people. In the year since, Trump-aligned Republicans have worked to clear the path for next time. In battleground states and beyond, Republicans are taking hold of the once-overlooked machinery of elections. While the effort is incomplete and uneven, outside experts on democracy and Democrats are sounding alarms, warning that the United States is witnessing a slow-motion insurrection with a better chance of success than Trumps failed power grab last year. They point to a mounting list of evidence: Several candidates who deny Trumps loss are running for offices that could have a key role in the election of the next president in 2024. In Michigan, the Republican Party is restocking members of obscure local boards that could block approval of an election. In Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the GOP-controlled legislatures are backing open-ended reviews of the 2020 election, modeled on a deeply flawed look-back in Arizona. The efforts are poised to fuel disinformation and anger about the 2020 results for years to come. All this comes as the Republican Party has become more aligned behind Trump, who has made denial of the 2020 results a litmus test for his support. Trump has praised the Jan. 6 rioters and backed primaries aimed at purging lawmakers who have crossed him. Sixteen GOP governors have signed laws making it more difficult to vote. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed that two-thirds of Republicans do not believe Democrat Joe Biden was legitimately elected as president. Its not clear that the Republican Party is willing to accept defeat anymore, said Steven Levitsky, a Harvard political scientist and co-author of the book How Democracies Die. The party itself has become an anti-democratic force. Republicans who sound alarms are struggling to be heard by their own party. GOP Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming or Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, members of a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, are often dismissed as party apostates. Some local officials, the people closest to the process and its fragility, are pleading for change. At a recent news conference in Wisconsin, Kathleen Bernier, a GOP state senator and former elections clerk, denounced her partys efforts to seize control of the election process. These made up things that people do to jazz up the base is just despicable and I dont believe any elected legislator should play that game, said Bernier. In Georgia, an election bill signed this year by the GOP governor gave the Republican-controlled General Assembly new powers over the state board of elections, which controls its local counterparts. The law is being used to launch a review of operations in solidly-Democratic Fulton County, home to most of Atlanta, which could lead to a state takeover. The legislature also passed measures allowing local officials to remove Democrats from election boards in six other counties. In Pennsylvania, the GOP-controlled legislature is undertaking a review of the presidential election, subpoenaing voter information that Democrats contend is an unprecedented intrusion into voter privacy. In Michigan, the GOP has focused on the states county boards of canvassers. The little-known committees power was briefly in the spotlight in November of 2020, when Trump urged the two Republican members of the board overseeing Wayne County, home to Democratic-bastion Detroit, to vote to block certification of the election. Michigan officials say that if boards of canvassers dont certify an election they can be sued and compelled to do so. Still, that process could cause chaos and be used as a rallying cry behind election disputes. Theyre laying the groundwork for a slow-motion insurrection, said Mark Brewer, an election lawyer and former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. The most prominent Trump push is in Georgia, where the former president is backing U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who voted against Bidens Electoral College victory on Jan. 6, in a primary race against the Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. He rejected Trumps pleas to find enough votes to declare him the winner. Trump also encouraged former U.S. Sen. David Perdue to challenge Gov. Brian Kemp in the GOP primary. Kemp turned down Trumps entreaties to declare him the victor in the 2020 election. In Nevada, multiple lawsuits seeking to overturn Bidens victory were thrown out by judges. A suit aimed at overturning his congressional loss was filed by Jim Marchant, a former GOP state lawmaker now running to be secretary of state, and it too was dismissed. The current Republican secretary of state, Barbara Cegavske, who is term limited, found there was no significant fraud in the contests. In Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Democratic governors have been a major impediment to the GOPs effort to overhaul elections. Most significantly, they have vetoed new rules that Democrats argue are aimed at making it harder for people of color to vote. Governors have a significant role in U.S. elections: They certify the winners in their states, clearing way for the appointment of Electoral College members. That raises fears that Trump-friendly governors could try to certify him if he were to run in 2024 and be the GOP nominee as the winner of their states electoral votes regardless of the vote count. Additionally, some Republicans argue that state legislatures can name their own electors no matter what the vote tally says. But Democrats have had little success in laying out the stakes in these races. Its difficult for voters to believe the system could be vulnerable, said Daniel Squadron of The States Project, a Democratic group that tries to win state legislatures. The most motivated voters in America today are those who think the 2020 election was stolen, he said. Acknowledging this is afoot requires such a leap from any core American value system that any of us have lived through. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Jim Marchants lawsuit was aimed at overturning his own congressional loss; and to correct the spelling of Raffensperger. THURSDAY, Dec. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have confirmed that some white-tailed deer in Texas have COVID-19. The scientific community has been alarmed by the prospect of deer becoming new hosts for COVID since July, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture found antibodies in white-tailed deer in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. The new study suggests that deer should not be overlooked as a possible source of SARS-CoV-2 infection among people as well as domestic and wild animals, according to researchers. They are still trying to learn how COVID is transmitted between people and animals. "The one thing we know best about SARS-CoV-2 is its unpredictability," said study author Douglas Watts, professor of biological sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso. "Therefore, the transmission of the virus from infected deer back to humans, while not likely, may be possible," he said in a university news release. Watts and his colleagues studied blood samples collected from deer of various ages in Travis County, Texas, during the first two months of 2021. More than one-third of the samples showed evidence of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. They found a significant prevalence among deer that were 1.5 years old. The researchers said this indicates that the disease is rampant among one of the most abundant wildlife species, particularly among males. The 37% antibody prevalence seen in this study is similar to the 40% reported in deer in the other states. The findings raise many questions about infection and transmission of the virus among wild and domestic animals, according to lead author Pedro Palermo, manager of the UTEP Border Biomedical Research Center's Biosafety Level 3 Infectious Disease Research Program lab. The new findings were recently published in the journal Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19 and animals. SOURCE: University of Texas at El Paso, news release, Dec. 23, 2021 (The Center Square) Georgia Senate Republicans plan to take up a series of issues that have been hot topics in 2021 when the new legislative session starts. Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan, R-Carrollton, said Senate Republicans will focus on protecting personal data, free speech on social media platforms, critical race theory, workforce development and public safety during the upcoming legislative session, which starts Jan. 10. In 2022, we plan to continue our trend of being at the forefront of policy issues facing Georgians, Dugan said Tuesday in a tweet. Legislative proposals must be reviewed and approved in both chambers of the General Assembly before they can be sent over to Gov. Brian Kemp for final approval. One of the top priorities for the Legislature is the state budget, which it is obligated to pass before the 40-day session ends March 31. Public safety has been a pressing issue in the past several months as the state saw a rising trend in crime. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who presides over the Senate, has announced a proposal giving Georgians tax credits for donating to their local law enforcement agency. House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, also announced a $75 million legislative proposal in July to increase law enforcement resources and jobs. Law enforcement and judicial leaders have called on legislators to implement reforms. Many of Dugans priorities announced Tuesday have been at the forefront of other legislatures or plastered in national headlines. Republican legislators in several states have proposed bills in 2021 that would allow constituents to seek civil action if their social media posts are censored or apps are removed from the marketplace. Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana and South Carolina are among states that have called for regulation of social media censorship. Critical race theory also was on the legislative agenda in many states in 2021. Dugan said he plans to eliminate divisive critical race theory in the states education systems and state agencies. The theory is centered around the idea that race is a social construct used to oppress people of color. It was developed by legal scholars in the late 1970s and 1980s, concludes racism in America is systemic. Critical race theory gained new notoriety in response to the 1619 Project, a New York Times multimedia piece that connects slavery to capitalism. I look forward to sharing more details about these policy proposals soon and working with the House to accomplish these important goals, Dugan said. Everythings political nowadays. The beer you drink, the food you eat, the mask you wear (or not), along with realistically the movies you see. Some would say that due to Hollywoods near monolithic Lefty-ness, just seeing a film is a political statement. Such a view is an overstatement. While some filmmakers beat us over the head with political imagery, not all of them do. Some entertainers recognize (paraphrasing Michael Jordan) that Republicans buy movie tickets too. One perhaps surprising example here would be George Clooney with his latest. Though the actor, director and producer has never kept his politics quiet, he happily kept them out of the new film he directed, The Tender Bar. The Tender Bar is the film adaptation of the 2006 J.R. Moehringer memoir. Born to a radio DJ father who had very little interest in him, and a mother whose work struggles forced a move home to her fathers run-down house in Manhasset, J.R. found father figures in the Dickens, the bar run by his Uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck). Clooneys film covers J.R. (played as a youth by Daniel Ranieri) from the time of the move to Long Island right up to the late 80s, after J.R. (played as an adult by Tye Sheridan) has graduated from college. J.R.s mother (played by Lily Rabe) has expansive hopes for her son, and the hopes are plainly rooted in her own failures that brought them back to dads house. The time of their return is important mainly because her vision includes J.R. attending Yale. J.R. is ultimately accepted, matriculates, and proceeds to have a great time. The expectation about how the Yale years would be filmed were political in nature. Since J.R. comes from the theoretical wrong side of the track to New Haven in 1982, I expected t-shirts bashing Ronald Reagan, campus protests, along with an effort by Clooney to expose the bad (Yales allegedly entitled rich kids) versus the good; as in scholarship students like J.R. Thankfully Clooney didnt go that route. Though J.R.s roommates are ethnic (Jimmy is Asian, Wesley is black), Clooney doesnt ethnicize them. Thank goodness. He just presents them as young college kids. Upon meeting in their shared dorm room, Wesley tells his roommates that as Yalies, we three need to go get f-ed up. And so they do. Better yet, Clooney conveys so much optimism through Wesley. No doubt this could be how he was written by Moehringer in the memoir, or by William Monahan in the script, but directors have a lot of leeway to shape the story theyre telling. Clooney in particular. But instead of politicizing J.R.s black roommate, Clooney instead chooses to communicate how lucky they all are through Wesley. Wesley explains that hes a lucky sperm kid. His ancestors, in addition to being fast had super-genes that made it possible for them to survive the myriad life-ending viruses that killed off so many, so early. By extension, so is J.R. a member of the lucky sperm club. Hes at Yale after all. Wesleys optimism is clearly an antidote to the pessimism born of the bad deal J.R. has in his neer-do-well father. Wesley seems to be telling his friend to not play the victim. While it would be easy to explain away lifes failings on an absentee father (in the film J.R.s father makes exactly that point), Wesleys cheerful countenance throughout is a sign of how lucky they all are. No excuses. While at Yale, Wesley also introduces J.R. to Sidney, a beautiful, well-bred, lower upper middle class girl who comes from a grand house in Wesport, CT, and who takes a short-term shine to J.R. Sidneys black mother is particularly snooty, but thankfully here Clooney doesnt go the class warfare, class struggle route. It would have been easy to, obviously. Instead, J.R.s years-long love of Sidney thats not returned is rooted in problems not with his background, but because he expresses no ambition to move up from his background. This is an important distinction. Which brings us to Uncle Charlie. Hes in many ways the surrogate father to J.R., and an honest one. He sees what Sidney is looking for. Rather than telling J.R. what he wants to hear, he tells him that Sidney keeps in touch with him to see if hes going to do something with his life. J.R. doesnt shape up fast enough, it seems, because Sidney marries someone else. Rather than feed his nephew feel-good lies, he tells the wannabe writer to rein in his drinking. Uncle Charlie never went to college, but his father (J.R.s grandfather) went to Dartmouth. As explained in the film, Charlie didnt have the money for college. You see, in that era it wasnt just about getting in. It all speaks to the damage government money has done to a college degree. It used to be that attainment of one signaled achievement over long odds, including tough financial odds for those of limited means. Government money has robbed of meaning what was once very meaningful. What about the education? Charlie is a reminder that people educate themselves without regard to whether they attend school. Hes got a closet groaning with books that hes devoured. Charlie is highly learned, without being educated. Which is the point. People who choose to be knowledgeable will be. The value of college isnt now, nor was it then about the learning. It was overcoming obstacles. Government idiotically took away the obstacles, shrinking college in the process. The Tender Bar doesnt end sad or wildly happy, which is encouraging. J.R. doesnt win the hand of Sidney, his stint with the New York Times doesnt result in a job offer as a reporter, either. Still, J.R. decides to move to New York where Wesley has an apartment for them. Hell be a writer. Charlie tells him hell need a job to be a writer. So true. Optimism, hard and soft truth in The Tender Bar, but no politics. For that we should be thankful in an age when everything is political. Predictable as the tides, the redistricting season across the country invites waves of litigation on the grounds of partisan gerrymandering. Despite the Supreme Courts decision to end partisan gerrymandering at the national level, lawsuits grounded in state law allege gerrymandering of Congressional maps in states such as North Carolina and Ohio. Of the litigation so far, Ohio is an interesting case given how quickly the process dashed the hopes of reform activists. National and state outlets proclaimed in 2018 that the redistricting reform issue passed by voters would bring fairness to redistricting, and created a mandate that could end gerrymandering. Yet within three years, the process hailed to end gerrymandering produced maps that the Princeton gerrymandering project graded at an F for partisan fairness and a C for preserving geographic areas of interest; lawyer and elections law professor David Pepper noted the Congressional plan as crashing through (democratic) guardrails into outright lawlessness in their brazen partisan skew. As of this writing, the Ohio State Supreme Court is listening to arguments on whether redistricters engaged in a partisan gerrymander. These critiques appear to be at least valid in their methodology, and form the basis of a lawsuit by the ACLU against the redistricting plan for its undue partisanship and violation of traditional geographic redistricting principles. The evidence brought to bear by the plaintiffs adheres to the best practices within redistricting research and litigation. While critics are correct that the Ohio redistricters violated the spirit of Issue 1 in creating a gerrymandering and shutting the public out, the problem arises in the loose letter of the law by which the maps shall be judged. By ignoring the technical criteria and constraining mechanisms beforehand to adjudicate a gerrymander, reformers rely too heavily on ineffectual public opinion and judicial discretion to make up for their own shortcomings. These pitfalls by Ohio redistricting reformers are illustrative of similar failings across the nation and speak to the need for future efforts to minimize the need to rely on good faith by clearly defining their standards and procedures in law and statute. Redistricting reform and good government groups across the nation advanced state level changes to the law to decrease their reliance on litigation at the national level following the 2010 redistricting cycle. These reform efforts relied on voters to bypass state legislatures in the states of Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah in 2018 alone. These efforts ranged from specific requirements to take the power to redistrict away from politicians altogether in states such as Missouri, to Ohios backup politician commission and general standards for fairness. Voters in Ohio enacted Issue 1 via a constitutional amendment that essentially sets a series of deadlines that allows the legislature, then politician commission, followed by the legislature again, to pass Congressional maps with bipartisan majorities. Failure to secure the votes of the minority party (i.e. Democrats) will result in a four-year limited map, after which a new map must be passed mid-decade. Regardless of the bipartisan support, the amendment requires that the general assembly shall not pass a plan that unduly favors or disfavors a political party or its incumbents, in addition to not unduly split governmental units, giving preference to keeping whole, in the order named, counties, then townships and municipal corporations via compact districts. Importantly, elected office holders must open their work to the public and facilitate public engagement of proposed maps, language that arose following secretive redistricting bunkers employed by politicians during the 2010 cycle. As noted above, the challenged Congressional map does not hold up to traditional conceptions of a fair map. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project simulated 1 million potential maps and found that while neutral maps would be expected to elect between six and eight Democrats out of 15 districts, the proposed map would result in only three. These outcomes arise in a state where 53% of voters sided with Trump in 2020. The map does so while splitting counties and other municipal boundaries numerous times over. Further, the public found the extent of partisan bias and boundaries split despite efforts by the politician commission and assembly to keep such information hidden via the release of a grainy PDF image in place of standardly accepted shapefile or block assignment tables. Additionally, public produced maps qualify better both on partisan composition via proportionality and adherence to geographic municipal boundaries required by the amendment. Overall, it is reasonable to conclude that the Ohio Congressional map does not live up to the intention of a fair map. Terrible as some might view the Ohio Congressional map, the outcome was entirely foreseeable. Redistricting bodies constrain gerrymandering bodies only if they are staffed by non-legislators. Whereas legislators have a vested interest to ensure that their party and selves secure reelection, non-legislators tend to pursue less partisan goals. Non-legislative bodies create over 70 percent of the competitive seats for Congress. Political scientists Jamie Carson, Michael Crespin, and Ryan Williamson find that independent commissions and courts draw districts consistently more competitive than those drawn by legislatures. While implementing these independent commissions via ballot initiatives and referendums are difficult to say the least, states without these commissions routinely see courts redistrict in place of legislatures regardless. The secret is that if legislatures fail to redistrict in time for candidate filing deadlines, a backup court must redistrict in place of the legislature. These failures to redistrict in time lead courts and backup commissions to redistrict 20% of all Congressional maps. During the 2000 and 2010 redistricting cycles, 81% of these court and commission drawn maps exhibited a lack of political bias, compared to only 42% for legislative and politician commission drawn maps. The threat of non-biased maps implemented via courts and independent commissions can incentivize legislatures to constrain their behavior. However, the Ohio amendment effectively eliminates this threat by ensuring a politician commission and then the legislature again redistricts should an initial bipartisan effort fail. A notable penalty takes the form of maps lasting only four years should they be passed on a party line vote. However, this is a blessing in disguise, as it allows elected office holders to update maps for population and partisan shifts, thereby re-solidifying a gerrymander that might otherwise start to break apart in the eighth year of the decade. Should Ohio and other states seek to implement redistricting reform, they need a credible threat for violation of the letter of the law. In Ohio and numerous other states, the only threat is after politicians finish redistricting and outside groups sue the map as a partisan gerrymander. Reliance on courts to adjudicate in turn presents another conundrum for Ohio. Ohios Constitution article XIX section three notes that courts shall include no other changes to the previous plan other than those made in order to remedy those defects should they intervene in redistricting. The text implies that courts are legally bound to a minimal number of corrections as guided by the state constitution and related statutes. While the constitution does provide fairly detailed criteria on the number of splits permitted in counties and municipalities given population, the amendment passed in 2018 only prohibits undue partisanship. The constitution nor associated statutes provide any criteria on how to precisely measure such partisanship in maps nor the threshold in which the partisanship becomes unduly burdensome. The language, or lack thereof, means that it is up to the discretion of courts entirely to determine such thresholds. Given the required minimal remedy, it is reasonable to expect for the state supreme court to make the geographic fixes within the split municipalities and counties, ensure that the map is technically not worse than the previous version, and then call it a day. Such actions would follow actions by the U.S. Supreme Court in correcting technical population deviations as opposed to gerrymandering issues in Vieth v. Jubelirer, and the Wisconsin state supreme court voting to make minimal changes to electoral maps. Had reform activists simply adopted an approach to make it more difficult to redistrict in time, Ohio might have gone the way of Kansas in 2011, where delays led the state supreme court to pass a map that departed from the majority partys wishes via a higher number of competitive districts. Due to hope in good faith behavior on the part of legislators and party leaders, reformers might have created a situation where the status quo might have been better. The experiences of Ohio can be seen throughout the most recent redistricting cycle. Wisconsins supreme court already noted its intent to make minimal, if any, changes to proposed maps. Maryland Democrats ignored an advisory redistricting commission to advance a disproportionately beneficial Democratic Congressional map given that they are not legally bound to listen, and have the votes to override a gubernatorial veto. Likewise, the Illinois Democratic governor reneged on promises to pursue a bipartisan redistricting plan and signed off on a party line Congressional map that advances the interests of Illinois Democrats. While these developments are disappointing, they are expected. Until credible threats as implemented in law constrain the overly partisan behavior of reelection-seeking politicians, there is little hope for meaningful redistricting reform. To hope for good faith behavior from office holders who directly benefit from gerrymandering is to set oneself up for disappointment, regardless of party. John Curiel is an assistant professor of political science at Ohio Northern University. A scheme investing in Welsh upland sheep farming has launched a new initiative to support farmers in assessing the impact rams with high genetic merit can bring to a commercial hill flock. The Hill Ram Scheme, led by Hybu Cig Cymru Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) has recently welcomed two farmers on to the scheme as Commercial Performance Flocks. The aim is to demonstrate the value of using sires with high genetic potential and monitoring the performance of the flock on farm. Monitoring performance will assist with future selection decisions in hill flocks. Two farms are now part of this initiative and they will compare the lambs of a performance recorded hill ram with an unrecorded stock ram. This important element aims to evaluate the value of recording flock performance and the benefits of genetic improvement on a commercial sheep flock. Ian Rickman farms Llandovery Whiteface ewes in Bethlehem near Llandeilo with his family. The farm is around 200 acres with common grazing rights on the Black Mountain. Mr Rickman has previously performance recorded sheep on the farm and high index crossbred rams are used on ground sheep. He said: Being a Commercial Performance Flock on the Hill Ram Scheme will allow me to investigate the benefits of purchasing a high index ram and putting them to test in a commercial hill flock setting. My long-term aims are to produce faster finishing and heavier lambs off grass, without compromising the ewe flock. Rhodri Jones and his family farm at Brynllech, a beef and sheep farm in Llanuwchllyn. The farm rises from 900 feet at the farmyard to 1,650 feet at the top of Mynydd Brynllech which is an enclosed mountain on the farm. Generations of hill sheep breeding at Brynllech has meant that the Meirionnydd Welsh type thrives on the farm and is specialised to the local area. He said: The Hill Ram Scheme has encouraged local breeders to start performance recording and this has increased the availability of high index rams. "The performance recorded ram we purchased from a local breeder was in the top 1% of the breed for his muscle depth Estimated Breeding Value (EBV) which was one of the key areas we wanted to focus on. We are excited to compare the performance of the rams and evaluate the carcass grades that are produced from both rams and look forward to increasing the quality of prime lambs whilst retaining the type and hardiness of the sheep. Sean Jeffreys, Red Meat Development Programme Officer for HCC, said both flocks were keen to improve the growth rates and quality of the finished lambs. Whilst growth rates and carcass grades are crucial to increase productivity, the flocks have also had to consider maternal and fat depth traits to ensure the stock can thrive in their individual environments. We look forward to see the results from this initiative which will further support the work carried out by the Hill Ram Scheme. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Abbotsford, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 29, 2021) - Gatekeeper Systems Inc. (TSXV: GSI) (OTC Pink: GKPRF) (FSE: 1GK) ('Gatekeeper' or the 'Company'), a video and data solutions provider for public transportation and smart cities, reports its financial results for fiscal year ended August 31, 2021. Key Business Highlights for Fiscal Year August 31, 2021: Launched AI-enabled Automatic Lane Enforcement (ALE) solution for traffic lane violations; Developed CLARITY, an industry-first integrated video and school bus operating platform; Launched a new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based video management solution designed to store and manage school bus video data and announced first customer deployment; Appointed Colin Sutherland and Corey Muirhead as independent directors; Signed numerous new contracts including a 5-year agreement with the 8 th largest school district and a US $2M contract with No. 1 bus dealer in U.S.; largest school district and a US $2M contract with No. 1 bus dealer in U.S.; Named a Top 10 Tech Company in 2021 TSX Venture 50; and Installed approximately 5,000 intelligent mobile data collectors, increasing total installations by the Company to now be approximately 40,000. Financial Highlights for Fiscal Year August 31, 2021: Revenue was $17,231,080 which compares to $20,316,576 for the same period in the previous year. Revenue variance was primarily due to a $6.3 million contract which was completed in November 2020. Approximately $4.74 million of this contract was billed during the fiscal year 2020 and approximately $1.56 million was billed during the fiscal year 2021. Revenue recognition details relating to this contract were announced in press releases dated July 9, 2020, and November 10, 2020; Gross profit was $7,515,984 which compares to $8,348,810 for the same period in the previous year; Gross margin as a percentage of revenue was 44% which compares to 41% in the previous year; Operating profit $713,633 which compares to $2,052,758 for the same period in the previous year; and Cash flow generated from operating activities was $4,141,853, and at August 31, 2021 the Company had cash of $3,601,034, working capital of $9,022,267, no borrowed-money debt, and approximately 90.3 million shares outstanding. Management Commentary "For the fiscal year 2021 we made significant progress in developing and launching new product solutions that we expect will deliver significant future revenues, all while continuing to achieve operating profitability," commented Doug Dyment, President and CEO. "We are strategically investing in our AI and video analytics capabilities to develop smart city products such as ALE, which we recently launched as a solution to help cities improve passenger safety and alleviate traffic congestion as we emerge from the pandemic. We've now installed approximately 40,000 mobile data collectors on school buses and transit vehicles, which form the foundation layer of our Platform-as-a-Service business mode. Video and data solutions are now a requirement in public transportation, and I'm very excited for our future as we build out Gatekeeper as a data company helping to protect people in transit." Financial Summary For the years ended August 31, 2021 August 31, 2020 August 31, 2019 August 31, 2018 Revenue $ 17,231,080 $ 20,316,576 $ 13,726,313 $ 7,850,933 Cost of Sales $ 9,715,096 $ 11,967,766 $ 7,622,185 $ 3,661,863 Gross Profit $ 7,515,984 $ 8,348,810 $ 6,104,128 $ 4,189,070 Gross Margin Percentage 44% 41% 44% 53% Expenses $ 6,802,351 $ 6,296,052 $ 6,482,996 $ 5,584,266 Operating Income (Loss) $ 713,633 $ 2,052,758 $ (378,868 ) $ (1,395,196 ) Net Income (Loss) for the year $ 108,068 $ 3,535,007 $ (285,827 ) $ (1,323,277 ) Earnings (Loss) per share - Basic $ 0.00 $ 0.04 $ (0.00 ) $ (0.02 ) Diluted $ 0.00 $ 0.04 $ (0.00 ) $ (0.02 ) Total Assets $ 14,401,634 $ 15,601,937 $ 9,249,093 $ 7,894,272 Total Non-Current Liabilities $ 670,287 $ 815,395 $ 101,608 $ - Total Liabilities $ 3,301,803 $ 4,764,064 $ 2,331,195 $ 873,817 Total Shareholders' Equity $ 11,099,831 $ 10,837,873 $ 6,917,898 $ 7,020,455 Full details of the financial reports and operating results for the year ended August 31, 2021, are described in the Company's consolidated financial statements with accompanying notes and related Management's Discussion and Analysis, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. About Gatekeeper Systems Inc. Gatekeeper is a leading provider of intelligent video and data solutions designed to provide a safer transportation environment for children, passengers, and public safety personnel on multiple transportation modes. The Company uses AI, video analytics, thermal cameras, and mobile data collectors to inter-connect public transit assets as part of intelligent transportation systems in a Smart City ecosystem. The Company's Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) business model is an enabling transformation to a video and data solutions provider for intelligent transit and Smart Cities. www.gatekeeper-systems.com Contact Information: Douglas Dyment President & CEO ddyment@gatekeeper-systems.com (604) 864-6187 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions, both general and specific, which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. For more exhaustive information on these risks and uncertainties, the reader should refer to the risk factors described in the management's discussion and analysis for the year ended August 31, 2021. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our expectations as of the date hereof. We disclaim any intention and assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to obtain a better understanding of our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company undertakes no obligations to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur, unless required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108652 Quetzal Capital Plc ("Quetzal" or the "Company") Financial Fox Smart Investing Webinar Quetzal Capital is pleased to announce that the co-founders of TAP Global Plc will be joining the panel of the weekly live Financial Fox Smart Investing Webinar on Thursday 30 December 2021 at 11 am.Dave Carr, Chief Executive Officer of TAP, and Arsen Torosian, Chief Strategy Officer, will be joining the 'Crypto Special' event hosted by Cassiopeia Services founder Stefania Barbaglio, with regular panellists Clem Chambers, CEO of ADVFN and Online Blockchain, and Zak Mir, CEO of Lift Global Ventures, a commentator at Vox Markets. Quetzal announced an investment of 1.5m in to TAP via a convertible loan note on 3 December 2021. The Company also holds a call option to acquire the entire issued share capital of TAP pursuant to the terms of any Sale and Purchase Agreement being reached following the exercise of the call option. Anyone registering on the below link can attend live and ask questions 'in person" : https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hxvf256SRKCx8HEADVaNvw or via chat directly on the Financial Fox Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/financialfoxtv About TAP Global: The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement. Enquiries: Quetzal Capital Plc Fungai Ndoro: +44 (0) 203 813 0175 AQSE Growth Market Corporate Adviser Peterhouse Capital Limited Guy Miller / Mark Anwyl Tel: +44 (0) 207 469 0930 About TAP: TAP Global is a leading regulated fully integrated Crypto-Fiat exchange service provider with and associated neo banking platform. TAP Global's mission is to create a seamless and fully regulated bridge that links fiat banking, traditional assets and crypto markets (including mainstream crypto currencies such as Bitcoin, ETH, NFTs and other upcoming Defi protocols). Built on its exchange foundation, TAP Global also offers consumer and corporate crypto-fiat banking services and Defi Yield products. Tap Global is one of only a handful of operators which are fully regulated. TAP Global is licensed and regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission under the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) with license No. 25532. It is an innovative and fully integrated provider of fiat banking and crypto settlement. TAP Global was founded by Arsen Torosian, a serial fintech entrepreneur and David Carr who has launched numerous fintech products over the last 17 years. TAP's Website can be accessed at the following link: https://www.tap.global/gb-en BEIJING, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, SENSORO, an IoT and artificial intelligence unicorn company from China, announced the release of a new ESG solution brand named "SENSORO SOLUTION". The program aims at climate monitoring, ecological protection, livelihood improvement, animal welfare, garbage classification and other applications. Its smart city benchmark case has been built in Yichang, Hubei Province. SENSORO is relying on its independent research and development capabilities in the AIoT field to implement the modern service concept of sustainable development, which contributes to the digital and intelligent development of China's urban and rural areas. Technology Rooted in Reality with Multiple Values As a city-level data technology service provider, SENSORO has received repeated attention from the capital market, and also attracted many research scholars, doctors, and other talents to join. Through independent research and development, the team has created an end-to-end, integrated IoT and AI technology and product system, including smart sensing terminals, IoT communication base stations, chips and edge computing servers, and a global data visualisation service platform. SENSORO ESG smart solutions have been implemented on a large scale in Yichang, Hubei Province. It has played a role in many areas, including COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control, weather monitoring and early warning, Yangtze River ecological protection, care for vulnerable groups, grassroot-level inclusive medical care, animal welfare protection, garbage classification. SENSORO is harnessing the power of the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence to direct urban construction towards a new stage of low-carbon, energy-saving, high-efficiency and intelligence, using revolutionary smart data solutions to add vigor and vitality to traditional industries and economic development. Technological Innovation Services for Real Technology is people-oriented. Dazhong Tao, a local resident in Yichang, Hubei Province, where SENSORO's digital service is located, was deeply moved. He said, "These high technologies have provided us with enormous convenience in our everyday life, making our lives more secure. For example, we can easily access health service." SENSORO CEO Tony Zhao also said,"Our hope is to use ESG as a guide to offer more digital solutions for the environment, society and governance. We are willing to work with partners in various industries to build a more environmentally friendly, safer, livable and smart city. Furthermore, we have already witness such changes taking place now. Changes will continue to happen in the future." Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1717698/SENSORO_SOLUTION_applied_25_provinces_China.jpg The "Europe Frozen Food Market, Forecast, Impact of COVID-19, Industry Trends, by Product, Category, Growth, Opportunity Company Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The European Frozen Food Market is expected to reach US$ 124.1 Billion by 2027. As per this research study, the European Frozen Food Industry will grow with a CAGR of 5.15% from 2020-2027. The rising popularity of ready-to-eat foods is also propelling the European frozen food industry. Customer tastes and preferences altering in response to lifestyle changes are one of the key drivers of European market expansion. The established urban and regional sectors, in particular, have played a significant role in popularizing this tendency. Another crucial consideration for the growth of the European Frozen Food market is the increasing regulation regarding frozen food safety and measures taken by major manufacturers. In the European region, the demand for frozen food in the UK has risen dramatically due to a rise in living standards and the shift to a more convenient lifestyle. The tight government restrictions to preserve product quality, certifications/labels, and make products more appealing are bolstering the expansion of this market. The frozen food business in Germany is expected to be a significant growth driver in the region. The rise of the German frozen food business is fueled by rising demand for frozen meat and seafoods. The European Frozen Food Market Size was worth US$ 87.3 Billion in 2020. COVID-19 Impact on Europe Frozen Food Market Size Since COVID-19 began, the frozen food industry has seen steady growth. The primary reason for this growth is that people have gravitated towards foods with longer shelf lives. Furthermore, sales of frozen foods in the European region, especially frozen ready meals, have increased, as consumers are stockpiling food products. Frozen foods also appealed to customers as it helps them avoid cooking when they cannot visit restaurants in lockdown. Challenges faced by European Frozen Food Industry The growth of the European frozen food industry has been hampered by rising fresh food consumption. Besides, there is also a misconception about frozen food that it leads to adverse side effects, such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. The European frozen food market is expected to grow slowly due to high maintenance and shipping expenses. The lack of appropriate supply is one of the most serious issues confronting the frozen food sector. The report provides comprehensive details about Europe Frozen Food Industry across the following segmentations: Product Market breakup from 5 viewpoints Frozen Ready Meals Frozen Fish and Seafood Frozen Meat and Poultry Frozen Fruits and Vegetables Others Product Category Market breakup from 3 viewpoints Raw Material Half- Cooked Ready-To-Eat Country Market breakup from 6 viewpoints U.K Germany France Italy Spain Rest of Europe Distribution Channel Market breakup from 4 viewpoints Supermarkets Hypermarkets Convenience Stores Online Channels Others All companies have been covered from 3 viewpoints Overview Recent Developments Revenues Company Analysis General Mills Kellogg's Company Cargill Nestle For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1bde87 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/20211230005128/en/ Contacts: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Craftport Cannabis Corp. (CSE: CFT) ("Craftport" or the "Company") today announced the voting results from its annual general and special meeting of shareholders held on December 29, 2021 (the "Meeting"). A total of 7,253,500 common shares of the Company, representing 35.624% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company, were voted in connection with the Meeting by shareholders and proxy holders. All of the matters put forward before the Company's shareholders for consideration and approval, as set out in the Company's management information circular (the "Circular") mailed on December 7, 2021, were approved by the requisite majority of votes cast at the Meeting. The results are set out below. Each of the directors listed as a nominee in the Circular were elected at the Meeting to serve as a director of the Company until the Company's next annual shareholders meeting. The detailed results of the vote for the election of directors held at the Meeting are set out below. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5589/108659_982ad52e34d5f8de_002full.jpg At the Meeting, Craftport shareholders approved the appointment of Manning Elliott LLP as the Company's auditors for the 2022 fiscal year and authorized the board of directors to fix its remuneration. Craftport shareholders also approved the renewal of the Company's 10% rolling stock option plan. A report of voting results on all resolutions voted on at the Meeting will be available on the Company's SEDAR page at www.sedar.com. Separately, the Company is announcing the resignation of Jin Kuang as the Company's Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Kuang is assuming the position of the Company's Corporate Controller. Mike Cosic, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, has assumed the position of Interim Chief Financial Officer as the Company actively searches for a new CFO. About Craftport Cannabis Craftport Cannabis is a Canadian cannabis licensed producer based in British Columbia. The Company intends to focus on the Canadian premium craft cannabis recreational market by utilizing an asset light model based from it's Peachland facility. It intends to leverage legacy roots and know how in order to introduce unique genetics and strains to the Canadian market. For more information about Craftport Cannabis, please refer to information available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the CSE website. Mike Cosic Chief Executive Officer Craftport Cannabis Corp. mike.c@craftportcannabis.com 416-723-2103 The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "intends", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including the risk factors discussed in this news release and in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com and on the CSE website. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108659 NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) COVID-19 booster shot has provided strong protection against the Omicron variant, and reduced the risk of hospitalization, as per preliminary results from the South African Phase 3b Sisonke study. The study results showed that a homologous (same vaccine) booster shot of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S) demonstrated 85 percent effectiveness against COVID-19-related hospitalization. The study showed that the Johnson & Johnson booster reduced the risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 among healthcare workers in South Africa after Omicron became the dominant variant. When a booster shot was administered six to nine months after a primary single dose, vaccine effectiveness increased over time from 63 percent at 0-13 days, to 84 percent at 14-27 days and 85 percent at 1-2 months post-boost. Separate analysis of the immune response to different vaccine regimens demonstrated that a heterologous booster (different vaccine) of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in individuals who initially received the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine generated a 41-fold increase in neutralizing antibody responses and a 5-fold increase in CD8+ T-cells to Omicron by four weeks following the boost. A homologous boost with BNT162b2 generated a 17-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies and a 1.4-fold increase in CD8+ T-cells by four weeks following the boost. Both neutralizing antibodies and CD8+ T-cells were higher four weeks after the boost with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine than with the BNT162b2 vaccine. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX JOHNSON & JOHNSON-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 30, 2021 / iMetal Resources, Inc. (TSX.V:IMR) (OTC PINK:ADTFF) (FRANKFURT:A7V2) ("iMetal" or the "Company") is pleased to release the results of its Annual General Meeting of shareholders which was held on December 20, 2021, at its corporate offices located at Suite 550, 800 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C. All matters submitted to the shareholders for approval, as set out in the Company's notice of meeting and information circular, were approved by an overwhelming majority of votes cast. At the meeting, the shareholders re-elected the following directors: Satvir S. Dhillon; Johan Grandin; Scott Davis; R. Timothy Henneberry; Approved the reappointment of Davidson & Company LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, as auditors of the Company, and ratified the existing incentive stock option plan of the Company. Shareholders also approved a potential consolidation of up to 20 for 1, to be implemented at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Following the meeting, the Board of Directors resolved to proceed with a consolidation on the basis of five (5) old shares for one (1) new share. The Company currently has 51,370,372 common shares outstanding and, following completion of the consolidation, it is expected that the Company will have approximately 10,274,074 common shares outstanding. The Company will provide further details regarding the consolidation, along with the effective date, as soon as they become available. Completion of the consolidation remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. "On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Company's shareholders for their continued support throughout the past year," commented Saf Dhillon, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company. About iMetal Resources Inc. A Canadian based junior exploration company focused on the exploration and development of its portfolio of resource properties in Ontario and Quebec. iMetal is focused on advancing its Gowganda West Project that borders the Juby Project, an advanced exploration-stage gold project located within the Shining Tree area in the southern part of the Abitibi greenstone belt about 100 km south-southeast of the Timmins gold camp. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Saf Dhillon President & CEO iMetal Resources Inc. saf@imetalresources.ca Tel. (604-484-3031) Suite 550, 800 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 2V6. https://imetalresources.ca 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 may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. 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 or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include results of exploration, variations in results of mineralization, relationships with local communities, market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under the applicable laws. SOURCE: iMetal Resources, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/680179/iMetal-Announces-Successful-Results-Of-The-2022-Annual-General-Meeting KANSAS CITY and TORONTO and LONDON, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning cybersecurity solutions providers Fishtech Group ("Fishtech") and Herjavec Group ("Herjavec") are pleased to announce their merger, backed by funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (the "Apax Funds"). The two innovative companies will operate as a single entity under a new brand to be announced in early 2022. The Apax Funds will hold a majority stake in the new company while Robert Herjavec, Founder & CEO of Herjavec Group and star of ABC's Emmy award winning ratings giant "Shark Tank," and Gary Fish, Founder and CEO of Fishtech Group, will each maintain significant equity in the new business. The deal brings together the complementary strengths of both organizations, resulting in an industry powerhouse with a broad, holistic suite of best-in-class managed detection and response capabilities (MDR), professional services, and identity offerings with a global perspective to address enterprise customers' increasingly complex information security needs. Joining the forces of Herjavec, a market leader in cloud and tech-enabled co-managed SIEM, with Fishtech, a market leader in enterprise MDR, will allow the new company to provide customers with unparalleled security and cloud expertise, driving security maturity as a competitive differentiator via advanced technology and services across the industry landscape. At the time of the merger, the new organization brings together more than 600 security professionals operating out of 6 security operations centers (SOCs): Kansas City, Toronto, London, Ottawa, Arkansas, and Bangalore. The combined company will have one of the largest managed security engineering teams under one roof - entirely dedicated to delivering innovative solutions to enterprise clients. Robert Herjavec, founder of Herjavec Group, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the combined entity. Gary Fish, founder of Fishtech Group, will serve as Chairman of the Board. They will actively work to continue their track record of customer-focused success. The financial terms of the transaction (which is subject to applicable regulatory approvals) are not disclosed. Founded in 2003 and acquired by the Apax Funds in February 2021, Herjavec has been recognized as one of the world's most innovative cybersecurity firms and is currently ranked as the #1 MSSP in the world (Cyber Defense Magazine 2021 Top 100 MSSPs List). Fishtech was founded in 2016 to bring security to the cloud while identifying vulnerabilities and introducing next-generation solutions to help organizations minimize risk. "We're exceptionally proud of our results to date and even more excited about the growth to come," said Gary Fish, CEO of Fishtech. "We're honored that so many organizations trust Fishtech to be their managed solutions provider. With complementary offerings from Herjavec, we will transform the security industry globally." "We could not be more thrilled to join forces with industry pioneer Gary Fish, whom I have known for decades," said Robert Herjavec, CEO of Herjavec Group. "We are very impressed by Fishtech's MDR offerings and its proprietary platform built on Google Chronicle, which we consider highly differentiated. Jointly, we want to double down on the investment behind this market-leading solution and strengthen what are already deep partnerships. Having built one of the strongest tech teams in the industry and a leading portfolio of services, our customers will benefit from enhanced operations, getting stronger as we help accelerate their digital transformation." "We are truly excited by the combination of Herjavec and Fishtech," said Rohan Haldea, Partner at Apax. "By putting together two best-in-class organizations, we are confident that the combined platform will become an undisputed leader in cybersecurity services in the enterprise segment and have an opportunity to redefine the market category." The Apax Funds, in partnership with the newly formed company's management team, will help build on the companies' impressive growth rates to date by enhancing international expansion efforts, continuing to invest behind differentiated technology and augmenting the talented team with additional threat intelligence and identity resources. Polsinelli serves Fishtech Group as legal counsel and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Herjavec Group and Apax Funds. Momentum Cyber is serving as financial advisor to Fishtech Group and BKD, LLP as tax advisor in connection with the transaction. About Fishtech Group Fishtech Group is a leading current-generation service provider enabling secure business transformation. Fishtech's experienced cybersecurity professionals plan, produce, and implement innovative solutions that ensure security and success. Fishtech focuses on threats so you can focus on your business. Founded and led by CEO Gary Fish, Fishtech Group includes the Security-as-a-Service division CYDERES (Cyber Defense and Response). Visit Fishtech.Group or contact us at info@fishtech.group. About Herjavec Group Robert Herjavec founded Herjavec Group in 2003 to provide cybersecurity products and services to enterprise organizations. Herjavec Group has been recognized as one of the world's most innovative cybersecurity operations leaders, and excel in complex, multi-technology environments. Herjavec Group has expertise in comprehensive security services, including Advisory Services, Technology Architecture & Implementation, Identity & Access Management, Managed Security Services, Threat Hunting & Management, Digital Forensics and Incident Response. Herjavec Group has offices and Security Operations Centers across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and India. For more information, visit HerjavecGroup.com or contact at info@herjavecgroup.com. About Apax Apax Partners LLP ("Apax") is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For nearly 50 years, Apax has worked to inspire growth and ideas that transform businesses. The firm has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of more than $60 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech, Services, Healthcare and Internet/Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For further information about Apax, please visit www.apax.com. Contacts: Jennie Hanna, jennie.hanna@fishtech.group and Aaron Jamieson, ajamieson@herjavecgroup.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1717715/Herjavec_Group_Shark_Tank_Star_Joins_Forces_with_Cybersecurity_V.jpg Vancouver, British Columbia and Rehovot, Israel--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - BioHarvest Sciences Inc. (CSE: BHSC) (OTC PINK: CNVCF) ("BioHarvest" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the following year-end shareholder partner letter from CEO Ilan Sobel. Dear friends, It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity at the end of the year to summarize for our shareholder partners the major accomplishments of what has been an inspiring and transformative first full calendar year for me as CEO of BioHarvest Sciences. I will also include my own forward-looking thoughts for how we are envisioning the year ahead, in which we expect to trigger an acceleration of revenue growth, a game-changing expansion of our product lineup, as well as regulatory work and clinical studies that will provide a clear roadmap to continued global growth. Our vision is to drive human utility value: making a fundamental and positive change to our consumer's overall health and wellness. 2022 will be a year in which we not only open new doors as we further scale and commercialize our products, but also open minds to the significant potential that our platform technology has to drive this fundamental improvement in health and wellness on a global scale. In accordance with BioHarvest's vision and its biotech journey, I am extremely proud to share below the team's 2021 achievements grouped by key areas: Science & Technology, Operations, Sales, Finance and Environmental & Social Governance. 2021 Achievements Science & Technology In August 2021, we announced the historical creation of the Amalgamated Trichomes Coral Structure (ATCS). Why was this so important? Because the way to deliver full spectrum cannabis is to grow the trichomes, which are the mini factories of the cannabis plant where all cannabinoids, flavonoids and terpenes are produced. These trichomes are delicate components of the plant which can be vulnerable to the shear forces applied by the motion of the liquid media in the bioreactors. This new coral structure protects the trichomes during their growth in such a way that has enabled us to move from lab-scale creation of the trichomes towards larger scale bioreactors. We announced on December 8 that we were the first company in the world to grow a significant amount of cannabis biomass "without growing the plant", creating biotech and Cannabis industry history. With three different strains under development, we have now produced over 10 kilograms of biomass. The news has generated significant media interest (which I will detail below), and it has also introduced our science to thousands of new investors, science fans, and cannabis enthusiasts. It has provided a firm launch point for 2022, and there is more to come: I have challenged our marketing team to have the accompanying video viewed 1 million+ times, and we are already at 250,000+, so please stay tuned to our upcoming media placements! Through our continued research, we added a new functionality claim for VINIA, which reduces the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, enabling VINIA to have one more important reason to appeal to the millions of consumers concerned about their cardiovascular health. Operations I am so proud that our new 20 Ton per year production facility was completed on schedule, passing the ISO audits in September 2021, despite significant global supply challenges. We received GMP certification from Israel's Ministry of Health in November and we are currently working hard to execute the biological technology transfer, so we can commence production. Our Science, Advisory and Executive teams are critical for executing our biotech vision. This year we were honored to add both significant brain power and experience to each group with the addition of Colonel Chris Hadfield (space and aeronautics), Dr. Dennis Goodman (cardiology), Steven Lehrer (biotech), and Scott McCune (consumer marketing) to our Advisory Board. David Tsur (pharmaceutical and biotech) has joined the Board of Directors. Kobi Rosenzweig (VP operations) and Jarred Turner (VP of E-commerce) have joined the executive team. Building a world class company requires world class people - I am so pleased that each of these industry experts has joined us on our journey. Sales Israel Sales - This time last year we were energized by the spectacular VINIA Israel ecommerce launch in Q4 2020, which established a sales momentum that we have been able to successfully maintain. Throughout 2021, we continued to grow revenue in this market, at 10% sales growth quarter on quarter, for the first 3 quarters of the year, and accordingly have increased full year guidance on two occasions. VINIA US Market launch - May 2021. While this highlight is only one of many from 2021, it represented a giant leap forward for BioHarvest Sciences. We created entirely new operational units to facilitate the workings of a successful North American e-commerce business, including Marketing, Fulfilment, Customer Success, and global supply. We also added the required thought leadership with committed staff and external partners to bring us their expertise and drive from Launch Day forward. Sales performance in the U.S. pilot program has been extremely encouraging with us crossing the US$100,000 sales orders per month mark very early in the launch, with 89% of sales being subscription packages generating monthly recurring revenue, and an average sales order value of US $80 per transaction. We have been humbled by the feedback from our consumer base - as of this week, new VINIA users have submitted 350+ verified reviews, with a 4.8/5 rating, which is best in class from a performance perspective when benchmarked versus industry norms. We look forward to scaling our US launch as soon as we bring our new 20 Ton per year manufacturing facility online and to adding significant customer count to a base that already exceeds 11,000 customers across USA and Israel. B2B Sales - our Batory sales and distribution partnership continues to add significant value for the business. We have successfully expanded our partnership with "Designs for Health Inc" who in 2021 formulated VINIA into 3 new products which are now commercially available including "NRF2 Modulator", "Senolytic Synergy" and "Bergavin". We are currently engaged in a number of strategic discussions with giants of industry and look forward to converting additional major B2B partnerships in 2022. Finance Investors have reacted positively to the company's achievements throughout 2021. The share price increased ~130% from the beginning of the year to reflect a recently reached market capitalization of ~$200 million. Strong treasury - In 2021, we raised a total of $9.4 Million CAD in two successful private placements, plus $4.6 Million CAD in exercised warrants. In 2021, we have significantly increased the investor base. As the company continues to perform well against its biotech vision and increases revenues substantially, the prospects remain high for 2022 to further increase that base and to add more institutional investors. Given the 2021 achievements record and the 2022 prospects listed below, we believe that BioHarvest presents a very attractive investment opportunity. Environmental & Social Governance I trust that our community of investor partners understands how deeply we are committed to making BioHarvest Sciences a role model for other companies to follow as it relates to our ESG credentials and delivering continuous improvement across key identified metrics. In July, we became the first Biotechnology company that produces cannabinoids to publish an ESG Sustainability report. This initial report was our first, and there are more to come. As the Globe and Mail reported on Dec 28. 2021, our BioFarming technology can reduce land requirements for nutrient growth by 95%. Investors are welcome to access the complete ESG report here. We are a company committed to diversity in the workplace and understand the power of diversity to help create competitive advantage. We are very proud of the fact that 55% of our workforce is female and that our entire R & D team is female. Importantly, as a company that understands the power of experience, we have more than 45% of our workforce above the age of 50 years old. This provides us with a wealth of brain power, people maturity and a unique sense of drive and commitment to make the world better for our children and grandchildren. Our December media coverage on cannabis R+D has generated a wave of commercial inquiries, which is fantastic, and we are committed to responding to every contact. I want to reassure investors that we will consider every commercial opportunity, but I do want our community to understand that our first priority will be to supply cannabis ingredients for medicinal applications in line with our commitment to be a purpose driven company. We do not envision replacing recreational suppliers, or artisan growers - we will focus on providing fingerprint consistent ingredients for products that require the highest levels of cleanliness and consistency. Media Coverage This year, we partnered with two very established public relations firms (Boldt and Thunder-11) to help introduce us to both Major news media and the cannabis community, and it has paid huge dividends in "earned" media coverage. For the portion of our community that follows early-stage companies, this major media interest will be mind blowing, as small companies will rarely make the news cycle. Our North American news coverage is spiking here at the end of 2021, which establishes a fantastic launching point for the New Year. Forbes.com: Dec 8 - Producing Cannabis Biomass Without Growing A Cannabis Plant - How One Company Is Doing It. The Globe and Mail: Dec. 28 - Canadian-Israeli biotech company growing nutrients for Earth and beyond The Houston Chronicle: Dec. 27 - Bowie Singing Astronaut developing protein pills for real space travel CannabisTech.com: Dec. 23 - How to Grow Cannabis Without Growing a Plant The Jerusalem Post: Dec. 29 - An astounding 2021 for Israeli tech could bring pivot Looking Forward to 2022 This coming year will see us "land" and "expand", plus drive further impact in existing programs. We expect to be selling our first cannabis-related products in 2022 upon completion of our final scale up phase and regulatory approvals. For VINIA, we are planning a step up in aggressive US marketing and will continue to push forward on the regulatory approval of VINIA in the EU and UK. As a science-based company, we always want to expand our science-based credentials, so we intend to fund additional clinical trials on VINIA, cannabis, and our olive cell product which is next in our polyphenol/antioxidant pipeline. At some point in the first half of 2022, we will likely announce the next plant-based vertical which we believe we can disrupt with our proprietary platform technology, adding one more significant validation on how we can bring the power of the plant to the people. Investors can also anticipate the 2022 launch of our first cannabis products and the significant scaling of VINIA. I expect these two products to generate market-moving revenues in 2022, but they are just the start. We will also join the space race as the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sir Richard Branson work to make "space settlements" something of a reality by 2030. We will work closely with our new advisory board member Colonel Chris Hadfield to start the process to assess how we can use our proprietary platform to help solve two major challenges which exists for space settlements - sustainable food supply and reducing the effects of ionizing radiation on oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Our entire team is so thankful that you have been part of this stage in our growth phase, and we are very proud to partner with you on our biotech journey. We are inspired by your support and the deep sense of "purpose" that you share with us on the BioHarvest Sciences team. That primary purpose is to drive Human Utility Value, and to drive a transformational positive change in the Health and Wellness of hundreds of millions of people. Our team is laser focused on executing the 2022 plan, and we intend to make 2022 a year to remember. For a video reel of this year's major announcements, click here. Happy New Year and may your 2022 be filled with only good health and blessings. Warmest wishes, Ilan Sobel, Chief Executive Officer BioHarvest Sciences Inc. About BioHarvest Sciences Inc. BioHarvest Sciences Inc. (CSE: BHSC) is a fast-growing Biotech firm listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange. BioHarvest has developed a patented bio-cell growth platform technology capable of growing the active and beneficial ingredients in fruit and plants, at industrial scale, without the need to grow the plant itself. This technology is economical, ensures consistency, and avoids the negative environmental impacts associated with traditional agriculture. BioHarvest is currently focused on nutraceuticals and the medicinal cannabis markets. Visit: www.bioharvest.com. For further information, please contact: Dave Ryan, VP Investor Relations & Director Phone: 1 (604) 622-1186 Email: dave@bioharvest.com Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Youtube Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release might include forward-looking statements that are based on management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. There is no assurance that we will achieve our objective of making our products available in multiple markets including bio-space and exposing our technology to different verticals. In particular, there is no assurance that the Company will be able to leverage its technology platform to successfully provide essential nutrition and active ingredients for space exploration. There is no assurance that the Company will be successful in expanding its technology to broader medical applications or conduct clinical trials to validate the efficacy of the Company's products for new forms of medical treatments. There is no assurance that the ability to produce a commercial sized biomass will result in the Company entering into commercial production of Cannabis. There is no assurance the Company will be able to successfully convert the exiting 2 tons/year VINIA facility to a Cannabis production facility in H1, 2022. There is no assurance we will be able to commercialize our first Cannabis products in the first half of 2022, and there is no assurance the Company will be able to add new verticals or build additional plants elsewhere. Clinical trials are subject to risks of significant cost overruns and lengthy delays with no assurance they will confirm desired results. Even where desired results are obtained government approvals for treatments take considerable time and cannot be guaranteed. There is no assurance the BioFarming technology will make a significant impact on multiple verticals of life -science based businesses in general or in the bio-space industry. There is no assurance that we will achieve our objective of being a leading supplier of Cannabis. There is no assurance that the Israeli market results for Vinia will translate directly into the U.S. markets which may depend on different consumer preferences and more substantial marketing expenditures and resources. There is no assurance that strong sales metrics experienced to date will result in future demand for VINIA. Markets for nutraceuticals are unpredictable and subject to changes in consumer tastes and trends as well as economic factors beyond our control. Delays and cost overruns may result in delays achieving our objectives obtaining market acceptance and regulatory approvals for geographic expansion is subject to risk and cannot be guaranteed. Projected sales of Cannabis will require the company to obtain production and / or export licensing which cannot be assured. There is no assurance we will trigger an acceleration of revenue growth or a game changing expansion of our product lineup. These things are subject to uncertainties including the uncertainty of continuing market acceptance of our products and market acceptance of new products which are subject to changing consumer preference and access to marketplaces. There is no assurance we will achieve additional major B2B partnerships in 2022 as this is subject to acceptance of our products by businesses and their customers. There is no assurance that we will increase our investor base or add new institutional investors as this is subject to our meeting investment criteria of investors and conditions affecting equity markets generally. Continuing outbreaks of Covid variants may cause delays or other impacts to business plans and /or impact equity markets in 2022. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and actual results may be affected by a number of material factors beyond our control. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. BHSC does not intend to update forward-looking statement disclosures other than through our regular management discussion and analysis disclosures. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108664 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Blue Thunder Mining Inc. (TSXV: BLUE) (OTCQB: BLTMF) ("Blue Thunder" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of C$1,607,500. The Offering consisted of the sale of 18,625,000 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of C$0.04 per Unit, and 17,250,000 flow-through units of the Company (each, a "FT Unit") at a price of C$0.05 per FT Unit. Each Unit comprised one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant offered by way of the "accredited investor" and "minimum amount investment" exemptions under National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions in all the provinces of Canada. Each FT Unit comprised one common share of the Company that qualifies as a "flow-through share" for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and one warrant. Each common share purchase warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of C$0.07 for a period of 36 months from closing. The shares and warrants issued under this Offering are subject to a mandatory hold period of four months plus one day from the closing date, expiring on April 30, 2022, and the Offering remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Directors and officers of the Company (the "Insiders") participated in the offering and subscribed for 3,125,000 Units in the aggregate, for proceeds of $125,000, which constitute "related party transactions" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 respecting Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") and TSX Venture Exchange Policy 5.9 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. The Company did not file the material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing date of the Offering as the details of the Offering and the participation therein by the Insiders was not settled until shortly prior to the closing of the Offering, and the Company wished to close the Offering on an expedited basis for sound business reasons. The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements available under MI 61-101. The Company is exempt from the formal valuation requirement in section 5.4 of MI 61-101 in reliance on section 5.5(a) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the transaction, insofar as it involves the Insiders, is not more than 25% of the Company's market capitalization. Additionally, the Company is exempt from minority shareholder approval requirement in section 5.6 of MI 61-101 in reliance on section 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the transaction, insofar as it involves the Insiders, is not more than 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The net proceeds raised from the sale of the FT Units will be used by the Company to fund exploration on the Company's Muus Gold project while incurring Canadian Exploration Expenses, that qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures", as those terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada), to be renounced to subscribers in the Offering, effective December 31, 2021. "We are very encouraged by the enthusiastic support for the financing and are eminently grateful for the participation of so many of our loyal shareholders. Our Muus Gold project is among the largest land assemblages near the Chibougamau Gold District in Quebec, along the same major structural trends as IAMGOLD's Nelligan project to the east.*" Jean Francois Metail, President Pursuant to a finder's fee agreement with Red Cloud Securities Inc. ("Red Cloud"), the Company paid a commission to Red Cloud equal to 8.75% of the gross proceeds for the number of Units it placed from the sale of the Offering, payable in the form of 1,863,750 common shares of the Company, valued at $0.05 per common share. In addition, the Company issued to Red Cloud 1,596,000 finder's warrants to acquire that number of Units equal to 7.0% of the aggregate number of Units and FT Units sold to identified parties, exercisable at any time from the closing date to the day prior to the date that is 36 months following closing. A cash commission equal to 1% was also paid to PI Financial Corp. for the number of Units it placed. The following table sets out the principal purposes, using approximate amounts, for which the Company currently intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering: USE OF PROCEEDS Estimated Costs Corporate Expenditures Management and consulting fees $150,000 General and administrative $200,000 Professional fees $275,000 Regulatory fees $30,000 Various and unallocated $90,000 Total Projected Corporate Expenditures $745,000 Project Expenditures Drilling and/or to be defined $310,000 Artificial intelligence and machine learning $175,000 Geophysical work $175,000 Geochemistry work $125,000 Mapping, trenching, and other field work $77,500 Total Projected (Flow-Through) Expenditures $862,500 Grand Total $1,607,500 *[see press release IAMGOLD:IMG - December 16, 2021 - Assay Results]. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by John Langton (M.Sc., P.Geo.) of JPL GeoServices Inc., who is independent of Blue Thunder and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Blue Thunder Blue Thunder (TSXV: BLUE) (OTCQB: BLTMF) is a gold exploration company that controls 100% of one of the largest land positions near the Chapais-Chibougamau gold district of Quebec, a historic camp with significant historical production and major recent discoveries. The Muus Gold project is underlain by the two major regional trends hosting IAMGOLD's Nelligan and Northern Superior Resources' Lac Surprise projects to the south and IAMGOLD's Monster Lake project to the north, with excellent highway and road access. The Muus Gold project covers approximately 51,000 hectares in five separate blocks of prospective ground in the eastern part of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt and is considered particularly prospective for gold mineralization, as a series of prominent ductile and brittle fault-sets transect the Property, including the Guercheville and Fancamp deformation zones, both of which are associated with numerous past and currently producing precious and base metal mines in the District. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Chad Williams, Executive Chairman and Director Blue Thunder Mining Inc. 401 Bay Street, Suite 2704, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2Y4 (647) 848-1009 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary 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 TSXV 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. This news release contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in the Chibougamau District in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits, and the results of any mining thereof, on adjacent or similar properties, are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties or any potential exploration thereof. 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/108668 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 30, 2021 / RooGold Inc. (CSE:ROO)(OTC PINK:JNCCF)(Frankfurt:5VHA) ("RooGold" or the "Issuer") is pleased to reflect on a very successful 2021. RooGold spent 2021 amassing a portfolio of complementary properties located in New South Wales (NSW) Australia. NSW is one of the most prolific gold territories for exploration and production since the 1850s. It is the second largest gold producing area in Australia with a gold endowment exceeding 3,160 tonnes. The New South Wales resources sector is vibrant, with world class deposits, a highly skilled workforce and a well-earned reputation for safe, responsible and innovating mining practices. KEY PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS Southern Precious Metals Ltd. (SPML) The Company acquired a 100% interest in SPML, and its subsidiary, which held 100% interests in the Malebo and Solomons Properties in NSW. Through this acquisition, the Company welcomed key shareholders Dr. Chris Wilson and Dr. Quinton Hennigh. Dr Wilson is a commercially-driven exploration geologist with over 30 years of experience in area selection and prospect generation, target generation, and the design and management of large resource definition drilling and pre-feasibility programs. He has worked in over 75 countries, on most commodities and deposit styles from grassroots through resource definition to feasibility. He spent 10 years with Ivanhoe Mines (IVN), including being Exploration Manager for Mongolia where he was responsible for an exploration portfolio of over 127 licences, spanning 11 million hectares. More recently Dr. Wilson has been involved in resource to mine to production reconciliation studies, project valuation and fatal flaw analysis. Dr. Hennigh has been an integral figure in Australian junior exploration for many years. His advisory role in Kirkland Lake Gold's (KL) acquisition of the Fosterville gold mine in Victoria Australia lead to a dramatic increase in shareholder value as Kirkland Lake's shares rose from $6/share in 2015 to over $75 in 2020. Dr. Hennigh's Novo Resources (NVO) has also made a major discovery in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. As founder, then its CEO and currently Chairman, he has led them from a junior explorer to a producer. In addition, through his role as lead geo-technical advisor at Crescat Capital LLC, a Denver Colorado based hedge fund with a focus on junior precious metals investments, he consults for various prospective junior mining companies such as current high-flier, NewFound Gold Corp (NFG), of which Quinton is a Director. RooGold Limited (Private Co.) Through its acquisition of private company RooGold Ltd., RooGold Inc. (Public Co.) acquired nine (9) large resource exploration land packages in NSW, with the majority being past producing. The acquisition significantly added to the Company's land position in NSW with an expanded array of potential targets in a proven mining friendly jurisdiction. Properties being acquired from RooGold Ltd. have hosted historical high-grade gold and silver production, but have limited exploration work conducted on them in modern times. The Properties provide diversity in terms of the deposit types and are controlled by renowned regional structures and contacts. One of these structures is the well-recognized Peel-Manning fault system. The Properties have had a combined total of 93 historic precious metals mines and prospects. Highly lucrative production grades of up to 384 g/t Au and 1,200 g/t Ag have been recorded on these historical mines. The Properties represent a very unique proposition: they possess a rare combination of having large exploration potential along with strong indications pointing towards the presence of high-grade mineralization through the significant historical mines and prospects. Aussie Precious Metals Corp. (APMC) The Company acquired two large historically producing land packages in NSW. The addition of these properties complements one of the properties acquired from RooGold Ltd. which covers the northern portion of the Copeland goldfield, located approximately 65km south-east across the same mineralized system as the two APMC properties. The first of the two properties is known as Trilby (ELA 6237) comprising of 215 km2 and is located in the western portion of the New England orogenic terrain. The area spans a 35km long section of the serpentanized Peel-Manning Fault system within the eastern boundary of the New England orogenic terrain. The area includes the Trilby historic gold mine, consisting of swarmed meta-hydrothermal quartz veins with visible gold noted. The geological setting is highly prospective for Listwanite associated gold mineralization. The Peel-Manning Fault zone is significantly gold endowed to the north (Bingara Alluvial field) and the south (Nundle gold field) of the application area. Hard rock gold lode deposits are also abundant across the fault site. Hence, the potential for significant listwanite associated orogenic precious metal deposits are considered viable exploration targets. The second property is known as Lorne (ELA 6234) comprising of 102.5 km2, which is located in the western portion of the New England orogenic belt. The area spans 12 strike kilometres of the significantly gold mineralized regional Peel-Manning fault system. Mineralization is of an orogenic or lode gold type and is characterized by quartz veins which may host high grade gold shoots. The area includes twenty-eight past producing gold mines and prospects. Historical production and prospecting records define a 1 km wide, 7.5 km long gold trend. Historical hard-rock production grades of up to 15 g/t Au are cited on the NSW MinView website. The historic mines include the past producing Marquis of Lorne orogenic gold-antimony mine, with over 500 m of historical underground workings and historic estimated reserves of 50,000 oz Au. Historic drill hole intercepts of up to 5 g/t Au over 5m are recorded across this zone from 5 drill holes, according to NSW government archive records. CONSOLIDATED PROPERTY PACKAGE (13 CONCESSIONS-1,380KM2 -137 HISTORIC MINES & PROSPECTS) With the culmination of these acquisitions, RooGold Inc. now has 9 highly prospective gold and silver properties (5 gold and 4 silver) from private company RooGold Ltd., 2 gold properties from Southern Precious Metals Limited ("SPML") and 2 more gold properties from Aussie Precious Metals Corp ("APMC"). RooGold Inc. has a district scale land package in NSW composing of 13 concessions spanning ~1,380km2 and is home to 137 historic mines and prospects. NSW is prolifically mineralized with multiple metallogenic belts relative to other Australian regions and remains largely unexplored outside of the main camps. The region has a considerable gold endowment exceeding 100 Moz and silver endowment exceeding 1Boz. CLOSING OF NON-BROKERED FINANCING On October 4, 2021, the Company closed a non-brokered private placement of $2,632,500. One of the key investors in the round was Crescat Capital LLC. RooGold entered into a Strategic Shareholder Agreement with Crescat Capital LLC whereby Crescat's Investment Team and its Geological and Technical Director, Quinton Hennigh, will act as advisors to RooGold management.. Proceeds of the Financing will be largely deployed towards the exploration work program on the Company's NSW portfolio of properties. RooGold's NSW exploration will be centered on highly focused and priority driven work programs. The initial focus will be on the three properties located on the Peel Manning Fault - Trilby, Lorne, and Gold Belt. MARKET AWARENESS EFFORTS On November 8, 2021, the Company announced the engagement of Cascade Ventures Ltd. ("Cascade") for corporate consulting services for a term of 12 months. Cascade has been engaged to help coordinate a market awareness program for the Company through investor relations planning and budgeting, communications strategies, campaign development and management, and corporate positioning. To that end, as a result of comprehensive discussions through the later part of the year, it is the expectation of Cascade that multiple Investor Relations groups will be engaged in Janaury to collectively tell the RooGold Inc story as the company strives to increase shareholder value throughout 2022 and beyond. PARTING THOUGHTS "I firmly believe we are executing the necessary steps required for RooGold to become a successful and global exploration company. 2021 has been a year of transformational acquisitions and I am very excited to further explore these properties, while driving awareness to our story," stated Mike Mulberry, CEO of RooGold. "Looking at 2022, our plan is to continue building out a best-in class management team to execute on our strategy and to engage proven resource story-tellers to help us tell our compelling story to the markets," continued Mr. Mulberry. About ROOGOLD ROOGOLD is a Canadian based junior venture mineral exploration issuer which is uniquely positioned to be a dominant player in New South Wales, Australia, through a growth strategy focused on the consolidation and exploration of high potential, mineralized precious metals properties in this prolific region of Australia. Through its announced acquisitions of Southern Precious Metals Ltd., RooGold Ltd. and Aussie Precious Metals Corp. properties, RooGold commands a portfolio of 13 high-grade potential gold (9) and silver (4) concessions covering 1,380 km2 which have 137 historic mines and prospects. For further information please contact: Michael Mulberry T: 778-855-5001 info@roogoldinc.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan","expect", "project", "intend","believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similarwords, or statements that certain eventsor conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although the Issuer believes that the expectations reflected in applicable forward-looking statements are reasonable, therecan be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subjectto risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in such statements. NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SOURCE: RooGold Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/680197/RooGold-Year-End-Review Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSXV: APN) (WKN: A2JNFG) ("Altiplano" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the construction phase at the El Penon processing facility to support the Farellon Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (Cu-Au) mine located near La Serena, Chile. The Company is pleased to report that the magnetic separator and dewatering equipment have arrived at the El Penon processing facility. In preparation for the installation, the civil work for the four concrete platforms required to support the construction and integrate the equipment into the final processing circuit has begun. CEO Alastair McIntyre comments, "The arrival of this important equipment highlights APN's commitment to integrate our production activities with our processing operations while focusing on environmentally friendly methods to leverage our bottom line." Magnetic Separation The magnetic separation process uses the magnetic properties of the magnetite mineralization found within the material mined at Farellon. Magnetic iron is recovered by processing the tailings generated from the Cu flotation through a series of three magnetized drums. This process attracts and traps the magnetic mineralization within the circuit (Figure 1). The iron concentrate collected from the drums will be processed further using a disc filter to remove the water. The process will produce a concentrate expected at > 61% Fe with a moisture content of less than 15%. The full magnetic separation and dewatering process is expected to recover 82% of the water which can be reused in the milling and flotation process. Figure 1. Magnetic Drum To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4303/108635_d98eab9ad4fc8a61_001full.jpg Drying Process for Final Tailings Concentrates produced by the flotation process will be pumped to a conditioning tank where flocculant will be added to thicken the solution. In this equipment, the solids will decant and compress within their own weight (Figure 2). The resulting precipitated solids are raked to avoid blockages, while the excess water is recovered as overflow and reused in the circuit. Using a high pressure flow, the solution is pumped to a chamber press filter and passed through concave plates to dry the concentrate and recover the water (Figure 3). After each cycle, the plates are opened and the solids are removed and collected for sale. The same circuit is also used for the tailings generated from the copper flotation and the tailings from the magnetic separation processes. Final tailings will be stored in dry stock piles for removal. Figure 2. Illustration of the Thickening Process To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4303/108635_d98eab9ad4fc8a61_002full.jpg Figure 3. Chamber Press Filter To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4303/108635_d98eab9ad4fc8a61_003full.jpg Figure 4. Equipment Arrives on Site To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4303/108635_capture.jpg Altiplano has generated greater than US$7.2 million from the recovery and sale of approximately 3.6 million pounds of copper with an average grade of 1.74% Cu (2018 Q1-2021 Q3). Cash flow has been re-invested into equipment, underground drilling, expanding underground development, enhancing ventilation to increase productivity and capacity, and the commencement of the permitted El Penon fit-for-purpose mill and flotation plant located 15 km from the Farellon site. About Altiplano Altiplano Metals is a growing gold, silver, and copper company focused on the Americas. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets that include an operating copper-gold-iron mine, development near term producing gold-copper projects, and exploration land packages with district-scale potential. Altiplano is focused on creating long-term stakeholder value through developing safe and sustainable production, reinvesting into exploration, and pursuing acquisition opportunities to complement its existing portfolio. Management has a substantial record of success in capitalizing on opportunity, overcoming challenges and building shareholder value. Altiplano trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange trading under the symbol APN and the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol A2JNFG. John Williamson, B.Sc., P.Geol., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this document. Altiplano is part of the Metals Group of companies, managed by an award-winning team of professionals who stand for technical excellence, painstaking project selection and uncompromising corporate governance, with a proven ability to capitalize on investment opportunities and deliver shareholder returns. www.metalsgroup.com ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD /s/ "John Williamson" Chairman For further information, please contact: Alastair McIntyre, President and CEO. alastairm@apnmetals.com Tel: (416) 434-3799 Jeremy Yaseniuk, Director jeremyy@apnmetals.com Tel: (604) 773-1467 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 release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify any historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the issuer is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Farellon mine was previously in production dating back to the 1970's with a reported historical production (to a depth of 70 m) yielding approximately 300,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.5% copper and 0.5g/t gold. This material was processed locally and sold to ENAMI. Altiplano is relying upon past production records, underground sampling and related activities and current diamond drilling to estimate grade and widths of the mineralization to reactivate production. The decision to commence production on the Farellon deposit is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with any production decision. 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 or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, 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. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108635 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - NEO Battery Materials Ltd. (TSXV: NBM) (OTCQB: NBMFF) ("NEO" or the "Company") is pleased to share a review of 2021 related to the advancement of the Company's patented and proprietary silicon anode active materials for electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries. Overview of NEO Battery Materials Ltd. NEO Battery Materials Ltd. is a company that focuses on the anode material of the 4 core battery materials: 1) Anode, 2) Cathode, 3) Separator, and 4) Electrolyte. The Company is advancing a proprietary nanotechnology to produce Silicon Anode Materials through a low-cost, single-step manufacturing process. With accelerating efforts to replace parts of graphite with silicon in the anode material, the silicon anode active materials market faces a significant growth potential of 70-80% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years, reaching a market size of approximately $5B CAD. NEO Battery Materials offers a cost-competitive silicon anode material technology that 1) increases the battery run-time through improving the energy density with silicon, 2) ultra-flexibility characteristics that enable structural durability and robustness, and 3) ultra-fast charging capability through enhancing the wettability of silicon particles with its nanocoating layers. NEO has secured a strong management team and lithium-ion battery experts from former LG Chemical, the second-largest battery manufacturer in the world through LG Energy Solutions, and Samsung SDI, the fifth-largest battery manufacturer in the world, enabling the fast-tracked advancement of NEO's silicon anode materials in South Korea Product & IP (Intellectual Property) Developments Established a 2 - Track Silicon (Si) Anode Material Development Process: 1) Silicon Microparticles and 2) Silicon Nanoparticles Selected to innovate with silicon microparticles due to the significant cost savings for raw material input cost compared to silicon nanoparticles, which microparticles are on average 8 to 10 times cost-effective than nanoparticles - Silicon (Si) Anode Material Development Process: 1) and 2) Successfully launched 3 Silicon Microparticle Anode Material Products named NBMSiDE with the trademark pending approval through the Korean Intellectual Property Office Each NBMSiDE product retains unique nanocoating materials and characteristics that enable the silicon microparticles to perform as an anode material named with the trademark pending approval through the Korean Intellectual Property Office To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4661/108655_f0656fb914baaa0b_001full.jpg Expanded NEO's patent portfolio from 3 issued or pending in February 2021 to 5 issued or pending patents at the end of December 2021 Semi-Commercial Plant Developments Upscaled pilot plant facility design with a capacity to produce 10 tons per annum by a 12-fold to a semi-commercial plant facility capable of producing 120 tons of NBMSiDE per annum The capacity expansion was enabled through the optimization of NEO's low-cost, single-step manufacturing process that precludes the need for expensive engineering environments to a semi-commercial plant facility capable of producing tons of NBMSiDE per annum Located in South Korea, the 2nd largest battery manufacturing country in the world, the conceptual design of NEO's semi-commercial plant was completed, progressing to the review stage for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Contract The site approval process is underway by the local provincial government in which the semi-commercial plant will be situated Business Developments Increased the non-disclosure agreement ("NDA") count from 2 in March 2021 to approximately 20 NDAs which include globally established industry players in the battery cell manufacturing, materials manufacturing, and automotive industries Completed the establishment of the wholly-owned South Korean subsidiary, NEO Battery Materials Korea Co., Ltd., for flexibility of operations in South Korea and creating relationships with battery manufacturers and government entities Signed a Letter of Intent with the University of Toronto and an Undisclosed Global OEM for a research consortium on the R&D and scale-up of electric vehicle (EV) battery material technologies Formed a licensing agreement and collaborative development agreement with the Yonsei University of South Korea for the development and advancement of NBMSiDE manufacturing and nanocoating material technologies for high-performance EV lithium-ion batteries Secured talented Scientific Advisors and In-House Researchers excelling in the field of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for application in electric vehicles: Addition of 7 Scientific Advisors, 2 Senior Research Engineers, and 2 Semi-Commercial Plant Project Managers Mr. Spencer Huh, President and CEO of NEO, expressed, "2021 was a highly special and historical year to NEO. We hold great confidence and belief that we will be among the advanced and crucial components of the supply chain for the promising lithium-ion battery industry in the coming years. We expect that 2022 will be another decisive year to achieve important and noticeable milestones related to the commercialization and performance improvement of NBMSiDE. On behalf of management and the board of directors, we would like to thank all our team and our valued shareholders for a great 2021. We will move forward at full capacity to maximize our shareholders' value in 2022, and we wish you the best happy new year." About NEO Battery Materials Ltd. NEO Battery Materials Ltd. is a Vancouver-based company focused on battery metals and materials. NEO has a focus on producing silicon anodes materials through its proprietary single-step nanocoating process, which provides improvements in capacity and efficiency over lithium-ion batteries using graphite in their anode materials. The Company intends to become a silicon anode active materials supplier to the electric vehicle industry. For more information, please visit the Company's website at: https://www.neobatterymaterials.com/. On behalf of the Board of Directors Spencer Huh President and CEO 604-697-2408 shuh@neobatterymaterials.com This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, the effectiveness and feasibility of technologies which have not yet been tested or proven on a commercial scale, competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in our recent securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and we caution against placing undue reliance thereon. We assume no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108655 She replaces Martin Ariel Atlas, nominee director representing Rhone Capital. Rhone Capital is losing one seat on the Board after its shareholding dropped below 15% Following the appointment of Barbara Borra, the number of independent directors has risen from 4 to 5 (out of a total of 12) The Board of Directors of Fluidra, the global leader in equipment and connected solutions in the pool and wellness sector, has appointed Barbara Borra as a new independent director to replace Martin Ariel Atlas. This appointment will be subject to ratification at the Company's next General Shareholders' Meeting. This change on the Board follows Rhone Capital's sell down in September, decreasing its shareholding below 15% to 11.5%. This drop below 15% implies that the number of nominee directors from Rhone Capital on the Board falls from 4 to 3, in line with the Shareholders Agreement. Since January 2019, Barbara Borra is the President and CEO of the Home Solutions Division at the Franke Group. She joins the Board of Directors of Fluidra after 35 years of international experience that has included senior management posts at Whirlpool, where she worked for 10 years, the most recent of which was Vice-President of operations in China. Previously, she held other international roles in different countries during her time at Rhodia and General Electric. Barbara Borra earned a Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from INSEAD. Barbara Borra is currently a member of the Supervisory Board at Randstad, a listed Dutch company leader in HR services. About Fluidra Fluidra S.A. (FDR: SM), is the global leader in equipment and connected solutions in the pool and wellness sector. It is currently listed on the Ibex 35, Spain's benchmark stock market index and on the FTSE4Good Index Series, a benchmark index in terms of sustainability. Fluidra can be highlighted for its wide range of innovative products and services, all of which are available in the 45-plus countries in which it operates. The company owns a portfolio of some of the industry's most well-known and trusted brands, including Jandy, AstralPool, Polaris, Cepex, Zodiac, CTX Professional and Gre. To learn more about Fluidra, visit www.fluidra.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211230005179/en/ Contacts: Press contacts: Sarah Estebanez, sestebanez@tinkle.es, +34 636 62 80 41 Xana Pena, xpena@tinkle.es, +34 674 73 47 82 Laura Gil, lgil@tinkle.es, +34 673 631 814 Carlos Jaramillo, cjaramillo@tinkle.es +34 664 11 18 01 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Pantera Silver Corp. (TSXV: PNTR) ("Pantera" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that diamond core drilling has started at its Nuevo Taxco Silver Project ("Nuevo Taxco") located in the Pregones Mining District of Guerrero State, Mexico. The Nuevo Taxco Silver Project is approximately 40 kms northwest of the municipality of Taxco which is historically known as the "Silver Capital of the World". The first phase of this maiden exploration drill program will be for up to 2,000 meters. Drilling will follow up on geological work completed by IMPACT Silver (TSXV. IPT, "Impact") on the Nuevo Taxco Silver project in 2013 which identified and sampled twenty-one (21) high grade silver veins (see below "Nuevo Taxco Property Highlights"). Drilling will be completed in stages of approximately 500-600 metres per stage with each stage being assayed and analyzed before commencing the next stage of drilling. Drill holes will be from approximately 50 to 150 meters in depth. Commenting on the start of drilling, Pantera CEO, Jay Roberge stated, "We are very pleased to commence drilling and to apply modern geological science to the rich history of this very prospective target area. Our staged approach to drilling has been proven effective by other programs in the region and is the preferred strategy for advancing the project. We are grateful to be given the opportunity to work in this historical district of Mexico, and for the strong support and assistance of the local communities." Nuevo Taxco Property Highlights Twenty-one (21) high grade veins mapped and sampled within a ~135 hectare area of the property. All have substantial width and mapped lengths run from 150 to 800 meters and remain open along strike and depth. Over 395 samples taken to date have returned assays ranging from 100g/tonne to over 1,000 g/t Silver including three (3) samples (1,430, 1,230, 1,100 g/t), one hundred and nineteen (119) grading over 100 g/t Silver including eighteen (18) samples between 500-900 g/t Silver and ninety-two (92) between 100- 499 g/t Silver. Permitted maiden drill program is focussed on priority targets within the area historically prepared for drilling by Impact (~135 hectare area). The entire ~1,100 hectare property is considered substantively unexplored offering additional upside exploration potential. Qualified Person and NI 43-101 Disclosure Carlos Cham Dominguez is a "qualified person" within the meaning of the NI 43-101, and is responsible for the technical information disclosed in this news release. Mr. Dominguez is a member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists and a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) No. 11760. About Pantera Silver Corp. Pantera Silver Corp. is a mineral exploration and development company committed to enhancing shareholder value by advancing a diverse portfolio of mineral projects through collaborative partnerships and highly experienced technical teams. Pantera will continue to seek out and secure high-quality, unencumbered projects through research, staking and strategic acquisitions. Throughout the process, our mission is to help maintain prosperous communities by exploring for and discovering resource opportunities that build lasting relationships through honest and respectful business and environmental practices. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Jay Roberge" CEO/Chairman Pantera Silver Corp. panterasilvercorp@gmail.com www.panterasilver.com Neither 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. Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for release publication, distribution or dissemination directly, or indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States. This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual financial results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Pantera Silver Corp disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108658 The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) has criticized the adoption of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act by the United Stats Congress, which bars all imports from China's Xinjiang region, and urged the country to stop spreading harmful rumors.China's solar industry has condemned the adoption of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, calling it slander designed to help American companies compete in the booming sector. The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) argued there is no evidence of any forced labor in the region, which is home to about 50% of the world's polysilicon ... 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) - After moving to the downside early in the session, the price of gold turned higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The price of gold for February delivery climbed $8.30 or 0.5 percent to $1,814.10 an ounce after falling as low as $1,796.20 an ounce. The turnaround by the price of the precious metal was partly attributed to a pullback by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note giving back ground after ending the previous session at its highest closing level in over a month. Gold prices moved higher despite a modest increase in the value of the U.S. dollar, as the U.S. dollar index is inching up by 0.2 percent. In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report unexpectedly showing a modest drop in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended December 25th. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 198,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 206,000. The slight pullback surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 208,000 from the 205,000 originally reported for the previous week. A separate report from MNI Indicators growth in Chicago-area business activity picked back up in the month of December. MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer rose to 63.1 in December from 61.8 in November, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the business barometer to inch up to 62.0. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Castle Peak Mining Ltd. (TSXV: CAP) ("Castle Peak" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that further to its news releases dated April 27, 2021 and October 1, 2021, it has settled an aggregate $442,419.18 of debt owed to Allan Green and Candel & Partners SAS (the "Creditors") by the issuance of an aggregate 29,494,612 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $0.015 per share. The common shares issued to the Company's Creditors are subject to a hold period in British Columbia expiring on May 1, 2022. For further information, please contact: "Iyad Jarbou" Chief Financial Officer Tel: 604.362.7685 Email: iyadj@castlepeakmining.com Website: https://castlepeakmining.com/ FORWARD-LOOKING AND OTHER CAUTIONARY INFORMATION Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain 'forward-looking information' and 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This release may contain statements that are forward-looking statements and are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by law. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's filings that are available at www.sedar.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities being offered 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, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdictions in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Any offering made will be pursuant to available prospectus and registration exemptions and restricted persons to whom the securities may be sold in accordance with the laws of such jurisdictions and by persons permitted to sell the securities in accordance with the laws of such jurisdictions. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108747 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Argo Gold Inc. (CSE: ARQ) (OTCQB: ARBTF) (XFRA, XSTU, XBER: A2ASDS) ("Argo Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed a non-brokered private placement through the issuance of 2,916,700 flow-through common shares ("Flow-Through Shares") at a price of $0.12 per Flow-Through Share, for gross proceeds of $350,004. In connection with the issuance of the Flow-Through Shares, the Company paid a finder's fee equal to $28,000.32. The securities issued are subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the date of closing of the financing. The financing was subscribed to by a long-term institutional shareholder of the Company. The gross proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Flow-Through Shares will be used to incur eligible "Canadian Exploration Expenses" ("CEE") that are "flow-through mining expenditures" (as such term is defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act") related to the Company's mining projects. The Company will renounce such CEE to the purchasers of the Flow-Through Shares with an effective date of no later than December 31, 2021. About Argo Gold Inc. Argo Gold is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company, focused on gold exploration at the Uchi Gold Project in the Red Lake District. Argo Gold recently added the Talbot Lake Gold Project to its portfolio; (Argo Gold news release June 11, 2020). The company is also a 100% shareholder of the Hurdman Silver-Zinc Project containing over 2 million ounces of silver. Information on Argo Gold can be obtained from SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Argo Gold's website at www.argogold.com. Argo Gold is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (www.thecse.com) (CSE: ARQ), (OTCQB: ARBTF) and (XFRA, XSTU, XBER: A2ASDS). For more information please contact: Judy Baker, CEO (416) 786-7860 jbaker@argogold.ca NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available. Not for dissemination in the United States of America or through U.S. newswire services. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108758 Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (OTCQB: GZDIF) (FSE: G6H) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of a first tranche of a private placement, originally announced on October 6, 2021, (the "Offering") by the issuance of 600,000 Units (as defined below) and 2,500,000 FT Units at a price of $0.05 per Unit and per FT Unit for gross proceeds of $155,000. Under the terms of the Offering, each Unit consists of one common share of the Company ("Common Share") and one non-transferable warrant ("Warrant"). Each FT Unit consists of one Common Share issued as a flow through share for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and one half of one Warrant. Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.075 per Common Share until the earlier of: (a) 30 days following the issuance of a news release by the Company that the trading price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is at or greater than $0.10 per Common Share for 10 consecutive trading days; and (b) December 30, 2023. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Units for general working capital, and the proceeds from the Units and FT Units on exploration of its Greenwood and Robocop mineral projects in British Columbia. In connection with the Offering, the Company paid cash finder's fees totaling $7,500 and issued 120,000 Finder Warrants (with the same terms and expiry date as the Warrants) to registered dealers. The Common Shares and any Common Shares issued on exercise of the Warrants and Finder Warrants will be subject to restrictions on trading until May 1, 2022 in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. Following closing of the Offering, the Company has 96,385,180 Common Shares issued and outstanding. The Offering is subject to Final Acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. A Director and Officer of the Company subscribed for an aggregate of 600,000 Units representing gross proceeds of $30,000. The purchase of such Units is considered to be a related-party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"),but is exempted from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation and to obtain minority approval, as the purchase of securities does not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing of the Financing because the details of the participation therein by related parties of the Company were not settled until shortly prior to closing of the Financing and the Company wished to close on an expedited basis for business reasons. ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC. Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange, with 90 million shares issued, focused on developing its over 160,000 acres of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by a highly experienced junior resource sector management team, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from early exploration stage through to feasibility stage. On behalf of the Board, GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC. Brian Testo, CEO, President For further information, please visit our website at www.grizzlydiscoveries.com or contact: Chris Beltgens Corporate Development Tel: 604 347 9535 Email: cbeltgens@grizzlydiscoveries.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Caution concerning forward-looking information This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information and statements address future activities, events, plans, developments and projections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information and statements are frequently identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and similar terminology, and reflect assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management of Grizzly in light of its experience, current conditions, expectations of future developments and other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Grizzly's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information and statements and accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed thereon. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to the availability of financing; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and obtaining requisite permits; political, economic and other risks; as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. Grizzly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements except as may be required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108750 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Precipitate Gold Corp. (TSXV: PRG) (OTCQB: PREIF) (the "Company" or "Precipitate") is pleased to announce the closing of its non-brokered private placement of 22,454,333 units of the Company for gross proceeds of C$2,179,390 (the "Offering"). Further to the Company's news releases dated December 7, 2021, and December 20, 2021, the Offering consisted of two parts: flow-through ("FT") units at $0.10 per unit, each unit consisting of one flow-through common share and one-half of a warrant, each whole warrant exercisable at $0.15 per share for 24 months; and non-flow-through ("NFT") units at $0.09 per unit, each unit consisting of one non-flow-through common share and one-half of a warrant, each whole warrant exercisable at $0.15 per share for 24 months. Jeffrey Wilson, Company President & CEO, stated, "We are pleased to complete this important offering. Investor demand from supportive existing shareholders and new investors alike, allowed the Company to upsize and oversubscribe the offering to facilitate a more aggressive and sustained exploration campaign for the Newfoundland projects in 2022. Meanwhile, the additional non-flow-through dollars, when combined with the existing treasury, provides a healthy working capital to keep the Company moving forward with a view to leveraging value from our projects in the Dominican Republic. We appreciate the support from investors and look forward to an active and prosperous 2022." The proceeds from the Offering will be used for exploration and development of the Company's mineral property interests in Newfoundland, Canada, and for general working capital purposes. The gross proceeds from the issuance of all flow-through shares will be used to incur Canadian Exploration Expenses ("CEE"), and will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" under the Income Tax Act (Canada), which will be renounced to the purchasers of flow-through shares with an effective date no later than December 31, 2021 in an aggregate amount no less than the proceeds raised from the issue of the flow-through shares. The Company paid commissions to finders under the placement consisting of aggregate commissions of C$56,984 cash, 194,444 NFT Units, and the issuance of 825,600 finder's warrants. Each finder's warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share of Precipitate until December 30, 2023. All securities issued or issuable under the offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day following the date of closing, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws in jurisdictions outside of Canada. Final closing of this Offering is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. About Precipitate Gold Precipitate Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on exploring and advancing its mineral property interests in Newfoundland Canada and the Dominican Republic. The Company has entered into an Earn-In Agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation, whereby Barrick can earn a 70% interest in the Company's Pueblo Grande Project by incurring US$10M within six years and producing a qualifying Pre-feasibility Study. Precipitate is also actively evaluating additional high-impact property acquisitions with the potential to expand the Company's portfolio and increase shareholder value, in other favourable jurisdictions. Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.precipitategold.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Precipitate Gold Corp., "Jeffrey Wilson" President & CEO For further information, please contact: Tel: 604-558-0335 Toll Free: 855-558-0335 investor@precipitategold.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Offering Disclosure Statements The Offering is available to investors in reliance on exemptions from the prospectus requirement set out in (i) National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions, (ii) BC Instrument 45-534 - Exemption from Prospectus Requirements for Certain Trades to Existing Security Holders; and (iii) BC Instrument 45-536 Exemption from Prospectus Requirement for Certain Distributions Through an Investment Dealer and the corresponding blanket orders and rules in the other Canadian jurisdictions that have adopted the same or a similar exemption from the prospectus requirement (collectively, the "Investment Dealer Exemption"). The Investment Dealer Exemption is available in each of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick to a person or company who has obtained advice regarding the suitability of the investment from a person registered as an investment dealer in such person's or company's jurisdiction. As required by the Investment Dealer Exemption, the Company confirms there is no material fact or material change relating to the Company that has not been generally disclosed. Certain insiders of the Company may acquire securities under the Offering. Any participation by insiders in the Offering would constitute a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). However, the Company expects such participation would be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the Units subscribed for by the insiders, and the consideration for the Units paid by such insiders, would not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities 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. This press release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. This forward-looking information reflects Precipitate Gold Corp.'s ("Precipitate" or the "Company") current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Company and on assumptions it believes are reasonable. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Precipitate to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the exploration concessions may not be granted on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the concessions acquired by the Company may not have attributes similar to those of surrounding properties; delay or failure to receive governmental or regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation affecting mining; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; conclusions of economic evaluations; and lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals. There is no assurance the Company will be successful in closing the Offering on the terms outlined above, or at all; and there is no assurance the proceeds of the Offering will be allocated or spent in the manner set forth above. Although Precipitate has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Precipitate does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108651 Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTCQX: RAFFF) ("Raffles", "RFG", the "Company" and together with its subsidiaries collectively as the "Group") wishes to ensure that it continues to keep all of our shareholders updated on the affairs of the Company, and as such the Board is today releasing an update on Raffles' status of finalizing the Group's year-end financial statements. As disclosed in the RFG's news release dated 21 December 2021, RFG had successfully retrieved certain financial information that would be crucial in finalizing its audit financial statement. Today RFG wishes to update our shareholders that, despite our management's efforts in supplementing the necessary information to the Group's Auditor to expedite the audit for the aforesaid financial information, they notified RFG that they are unable to proceed and complete the audit until they return from the holiday in early January 2022. Therefore, RFG expects the audit cannot be completed until January 2022 whereas RFG will work with the Group's Auditor to pursue filing the Annual Filings as soon as they are available. On the other hand, the audit on the only operating subsidiary of RFG, Raffles Financial Private Limited. ("RFP"), which is performed by another auditor in Singapore, is completed and its audit report[1] is issued to the Board. RFG believes RFP's audited financial information is relevant information for our shareholders to understand the financial performance of Raffles. Therefore, although the Group's audit is still pending, the Board wishes to present the following management discussion and analysis of the key financial performance of RFP to our shareholders with reference to the RFP's audit report. Overall Performance of the Group's Major Operating Subsidiary Comparative Summary of Key Financial Metrics for the financial year ended June 30, 2020 ("FY2020") and 2021 ("FY2021") are as follows; FY2021 S$ FY2020 S$ Revenue 4,999,880 8,866,672 Other income 9,161,901 5,849 Other losses and allowance - net (6,139,767) - Administrative expenses (977,346) (1,340,476) Income tax provision (849,980) (1,326,415) Fair value gains - equity investments 265,208 - Total Comprehensive income 6,459,896 6,205,630 The Company's major and only operating subsidiary RFP is the sole business operating unit and revenue contributor of the Group. In FY2021, RFP recorded a revenue of S$4,999,880 which was derived from three major service segments, namely (i) Re-structuring and Corporate Finance Advisory service with service fee amounting to S$2,000,000 rendered at a point in time; (ii) IPO and Global Fund Raising Advisory service with service fee amounting to S$2,000,000 rendered over time, and (iii) licensing service with licensing fee amounting to S$999,880 rendered over time. The revenue decreased from S$8,866,672 in FY2020 to $4,999,880 in FY2021, which was attributable to (i) the COVID-19 pandemic which caused travel restrictions and shutdowns that delayed and suspended the delivery of RFP's advisory and licensing services, and created difficulties for RFP in serving clients in most of the major cities RFP was operating including, among others, China, Hong Kong and Singapore, and (ii) suspension in licensing service with several PRC clients who were contracted with in FY2020. Other income of S$9,161,901 pertained mainly to an intercompany dividend received from a subsidiary of RFP. Other losses and allowance (net) were largely attributable to a waiver of an intercompany loan receivables from a subsidiary of RFP and a write-off of certain receivables with slow repayment as per the repayment schedules. Whereas receivables have been written off, RFP continues to urge debtors for faster repayment. Where recoveries of receivables exceeds the written-off amount, the excess will be recognised in profit or loss as an income in the current financial period. The overall decrease in administrative expenses in FY2021 over FY2020 was mainly due to the stringent cost control measure RFP put under the COVID-19 pandemic and decrease in corporate and listing exercises related expenses compared with FY2020. The total comprehensive income for the year increased from S$6,205,630 in FY2020 to S$6,459,896 in FY2021. The management has uploaded the full audit report to the Company's website for shareholders' information. Shareholders may access the report at https://www.rafflesfinancial.co/newsroom. About Raffles Financial Group Limited RFG is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the stock symbol (CSE: RICH), the Frankfurt Stock Purchase under the stock symbol (FSE: 4VO) and the OTC Markets under the stock symbol (OTCQX: RAFFF). RFP is the operating subsidiary of Raffles Financial Group Limited Please visit www.rafflesfinancial.co for more information. RFP (a wholly owned subsidiary of RFG) is an exempt corporate finance advisory firm, registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which provides public listing advisory and arrangement services. RFP serves as advisor for family trusts, family offices and investment funds. For more information, please contact: Dong Shim, CFO 604-283-9853 OR Monica Kwok, Investor Relations Phone: +65 6909 8765 Email: monica@rafflesfinancial.co Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in Canadian securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. [1] The audited financial statements in the audit report of RFP are the separate financial statements of RFP prepared in accordance with Singapore Financial Reporting Standards. RFP is exempted from preparation of consolidated financial statements as it is a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation of Raffles Financial Group Limited which produces consolidated financial statements available for public use. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108759 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Satori Resources Inc. (TSXV: BUD) ("Satori" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its private placement offering for gross proceeds totaling $2,144,050. The Company issued 7,154,737 flow through common shares at a price of $0.19, and 5,231,000 common shares at a price of $0.15 per share. The proceeds from the issuance of flow through common shares shall be used for exploration activities that qualify as Canadian Exploration Expenses under the Income Tax Act (Canada), and proceeds from the issuance of common shares shall be used for working capital. In connection with this closing, the Company paid cash finders' fees totaling $89,901.00 to eligible finders. All of the securities issuable in connection with the offering are subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day after date of issuance. Officers and directors of the Company subscribed for 865,000 common shares, for gross proceeds of $134,350 (7%), which resulted in related party considerations pursuant to TSX Venture Exchange Policy 5.9 and Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Satori relied on the exemptions contained in section 5.5(a) of MI 61-101 for an exemption from the formal valuation requirement and Section 5.7(a) of MI 61- 101 for an exemption from the minority approval requirement as the fair market value of the securities distributed under the offering, insofar as it involved interested parties, did not exceed 25% of Satori's market capitalization. ABOUT SATORI RESOURCES INC. (TSXV: BUD) Satori is a Toronto-based mineral exploration and development company whose primary property is expanding the resource at the past producing Tartan Lake Gold Mine Project, located in the prolific Flin Flon Greenstone Belt, Manitoba. The Tartan Lake Project (2,670 Ha.) is located approximately 12 kilometres northeast of Flin Flon, Manitoba, and includes the Tartan Lake Mine (1986-1989) which produced 36,000 ounces of gold before the mine was shut down due to, in part, the price of gold falling below USD$390. Remaining infrastructure includes: an indicated resource estimate of 240,000 ounces averaging 6.32 g/t Au (see news release February 23, 2017), an all-season access road, grid connected power supply, mill, mechanical, warehouse and office buildings, tailing impoundment and a 2,100 metre decline and developed underground mining galleries to a depth of 300 metres from surface. Gold mineralization is associated with anastomosing quartz-carbonate veins hosted in east-west striking, steeply dipping shear zones up to 30 metres in width. The veins vary from several centimetres to several metres in width and gold grades vary from 1.0 to +100 g/t. Satori believes the mineral resources of the project are currently limited by drill coverage. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Boyle, B.A., LL.B. President and Chief Executive Officer Satori Resources Inc. (416) 904-2714 jennifer@capexgroupinc.com Mr. Pete Shippen Chair, Satori Resources Inc. (416) 930-7711 pjs@extramedium.ca 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. CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release of Satori contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Satori's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108767 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2021) - Founders Metals Inc. (TSXV: FDR) ("Founders" or the "Company") announced today that it will not be in a position to file its audited annual financial statements, management's discussion and analysis and related certifications for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2021 (the "Annual Statements") on or before the filing deadline of December 29, 2021, as the Company's auditors are unable to complete the Annual Statements by the filing deadline through no fault of the Company. Accordingly, the Company has requested the issuance of a management cease trade order under the provisions of National Policy 12-203 Cease Trade Orders for Continuous Disclosure Defaults ("NP 12-203") so as to permit the continued trading in the Company's common shares by persons other than insiders and employees of the Company. The Company is working closely with its auditor, and expects to complete and file the audit of the Annual Statements by January 31, 2022. The Company confirms that it intends to satisfy the provisions of section 4.4 of NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as the Company remains in default of the financial statement filing requirement. Such report will disclose any material changes to the information in this release; all actions taken by the Company to remedy the default; particulars of any failure by the Company to fulfill these provisions; any subsequent defaults of the Company requiring a default announcement; and any other material information concerning the affairs of the Company not previously disclosed. The Company is not be subject to any insolvency proceedings nor is there in other material information concerning the affairs of the Issuer that has not been generally disclosed. About Founders Metals Inc. Founders Metals Inc. is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing the resource potential of the Elmtree Gold Project in northeastern New Brunswick. The road-accessible project consists of three expansion-ready gold deposits and numerous additional exploration targets. Founders is a member of the Metals Group of companies, an award-winning team of professionals who prioritize technical excellence, careful project selection, and uncompromising corporate governance. The team has a recognized ability to capitalize on investment opportunities and deliver shareholder returns. For further information, please contact: Nick Stajduhar, Director Telephone: +1 (780) 701-3216 Email: nicks@fdrmetals.com FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of the word, "will" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information relating to the anticipated date for filing the annual financial statements for the year ended August 31, 2021 and related management's discussion and analysis. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. The Company cautions the reader that the above list of risk factors is not exhaustive. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws, or as otherwise may be disclosed in this news release. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. 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. Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108709 On December 9, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered video remarks titled "Promoting True Democracy for a Better Future of Humankind" at the 14th Bali Democracy Forum held in Indonesia. Wang Yi said, rafflesia in Bali is the world's largest blossom, and can only grow in the tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia. Just as plants are unique to the land they grow on, democracy, as a major fruit of human progress, is also rooted and nurtured in the history, culture, ethnic traditions and social environment of the countries concerned. Our forefathers' tireless pursuit of democracy over thousands of years of human history has been aimed to, all in all, find better systems and political structures so that humanity could be free from war, hunger and poverty, live happy lives, and enjoy equity and justice. As we meet, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage our societies, and the international landscape is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. How to properly perceive, practice, improve and develop democracy is indeed a "question of the century", a question that bears on the future of humankind. Wang Yi said, some regard Western democracy as the only correct answer. They seek to forcibly transplant and impose it onto the whole world. Some attempt to take one country's model as the criterion, provoking tension between different political systems and ideologies and creating division and confrontation in the world. None of these is true democracy, but fake democracy using democracy as a cover. Democracy is a common value of humanity. Democracy is not a special right reserved to a certain country, but a right for the people of all countries. The key criterion for whether a country is democratic or not is whether its people are truly the masters of their own fate. Wang Yi said, since its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has been upholding the banner of democracy, setting as its goals to found a New China where the people are the masters of their own fate, and taking as its obligation to realize true and effective democracy in China. Through a century of exploration and experimentation, the CPC has led the Chinese people in finding a new form of democracy that suits China's national conditions, one that President Xi Jinping described as the whole-process people's democracy. It centers on the interests of the people. We have integrated all the links of democracy, including democratic election, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic oversight, to ensure that the Chinese people can voice their concerns effectively and thoroughly in every step of the way, and the Chinese people's wills are reflected to the fullest extent. At the same time, it features a full set of institutional procedures and full participation and practice by the people. We seek to bring out the best of both election democracy and consultative democracy and integrate all elements of democracy - process and outcome, procedural and substantive, direct and indirect. Our democracy has distinctive Chinese characteristics, and at the same time, it has also enriched humanity's political civilization. Wang Yi said that countries have different ways to achieve democracy. There is no single correct form of democracy for others to worship, and no democracy is superior to others. We have full confidence in our democracy, and we also fully respect other countries' democracy. We will not export our democracy. We are ready to have dialogue and exchanges with others on an equal footing, learn from other civilizations, and provide useful experience to other countries as well. Wang Yi stressed that democracy is not only a way of domestic governance, but also a principle in global governance. We need to vigorously advocate the spirit of democracy in state-to-state interactions, actively promote the correct approaches such as respect for sovereignty, equal-footed consultation, solidarity and cooperation, and make unremitting efforts for greater democracy in international relations. Wang Yi put forward the following three suggestions: First, we need to respect national sovereignty and defend the basic norms of international relations. The preaching of "human rights superseding sovereignty" and willful democratic transformation of other countries did not bring about stability or prosperity. They put countries into chaos and rubble, displaced their people, and caused many refugee crises. We must learn a lesson, resolutely uphold the central role of the United Nations, defend the authority of the UN Charter, and oppose acts that undermine sovereignty or interfere in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of democracy or human rights. Second, we need to advocate consultation on an equal footing and promote democratic concepts with Asian features. Asia, with a time-honored history, has the tradition of embracing diversity, and cultivated the democratic culture of consultation. Asian, African, and Latin American countries made a call of justice for global democratic governance at the Bandung Conference. China and ASEAN set a fine example of joint consultation and contribution for shared benefits in the international arena. We should actively advocate consultation as equals and make it an important part of more democratic international relations. Third, we need to uphold solidarity and cooperation and jointly tackle global challenges. Forming small groups and circles in the name of democracy in fact tramples on the spirit of democracy and is turning back the wheel of human history. In this globalized era, democratic governance is by no means creating a small yard with high fences, decoupling or cutting off supply chains. Nor is it pursuing protectionism or confrontation through alliance. Rather, democratic governance should be upholding free trade, strengthening connectivity, seeking mutual benefit and win-win results, and making globalization fairer, more equitable, and beneficial to all. Wang Yi emphasized that the true meaning and value of democracy will ultimately prevail and continue to be enriched. While China further develops and refines democracy at home, it will firmly uphold principles for more democratic international relations, and remain a builder of world peace, contributor to global development and defender of the international order. China advocates true democratic spirit and will, together with countries around the world, create a better future for humanity. Established in 2008, the Bali Democracy Forum is an essential platform for countries in the Asia-Pacific region to hold dialogues and exchanges on democracy. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and officials, experts, and scholars from other countries attended the forum themed "Democracy for Humanity: Advancing Economic and Social Justice during the Pandemic". iQOO already confirmed that it will introduce the iQOO 9 series that will include the iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro on January 5th. Today, it has confirmed that the iQOO 9 Pro will feature a 2K Samsung E5 AMOLED curved screen with LTPO 2.0 technology, support for 10bit color, peak brightness is 1500nit, variable refresh rate of 120Hz and 1000Hz touch sampling rate. Th iQOO 9 Pro will feature ultrasonic 3D fingerprint sensor with a large 578mm area, so the efficiency is higher and faster than the optical fingerprint scanner. The teaser also shows a metal frame. The iQOO 9 will feature a FHD+ 120Hz flat AMOLED screen and lacks the ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. This week the company confirmed that the iQOO 9 Pro will pack a 4700mAh dual-cell battery with support for 120W ultra-fast flash charging and 50W wireless flash charging. It will feature a 120W gallium nitride mini charger that will weigh just 35 grams, making it 26% smaller than the older 120W chargers. iQOO already confirmed that it will be powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 flagship SoC and will feature a large 3926mm stacked waterfall VC three-dimensional heat dissipation system, LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. We should know more details about the iQOO 9 series in the coming days before they go official next Wednesday. Source Delhi, NCR, Dec. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fintech is growing at a high rate in the United States due to changing business models and the increasing emphasis on boosting customer interaction to boost revenue. Additionally, the increasing digitization of businesses and growing investment in fintech companies offer lucrative growth opportunities to the market. A recent study conducted by the strategic consulting and market research firm BlueWeave Consulting revealed that the United States fintech market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.1% during the forecast period of 2021-2027. As customers have realized the advantages and ease of fintech, the US economy accounts for 57% of the global market. Fintech businesses in the United States received $59.8 billion in investment in 2019 from M&A, VC, and PE deals, totaling 1,144. Changing business models, growing emphasis on boosting customer interaction to boost revenue coupled with the increasing digitization of businesses, and growing investment in fintech companies offer lucrative growth opportunities to the market. Furthermore, structured government regulations regarding digital payment methods, banking, and credits are also anticipated to drive the growth of the United States Fintech market in the forecast period. However, high risks associated with data privacy and cybersecurity in the fintech platforms may act as a major restraint. The growing need for improved client interaction is likely to fuel advanced technologies in the Fintech industry, such as artificial intelligence (AI). Fintech firms are increasingly turning on AI-based virtual support to handle customer problems and effectively engage with clients. Chabot helps organizations save money while also improving client satisfaction. Robo advisers and automated customer support are two of the most common AI solutions that help improve customer experience. Growth of the E-Commerce Industry is Propelling the United States Fintech Market With the growth of the e-commerce industry, the fintech market in the United States also benefits from significant growth opportunities. Financial technology continuously supports and improves online payment systems that ensure higher levels of security. Consumers who are more digitally aware and active are becoming more willing to adopt fintech into their everyday lives. The number of people using online mobile phone payments & digital-only banks has risen dramatically, as per analysis, the overall transaction value in the digital payment market was US$ 880 billion in 2018. Many fintech companies, such as PayPal, Stripe, TransferWise, Venmo, etc., offer digital payment services both to businesses and consumers. As more and more Americans rely on e-commerce platforms to acquire daily-use products, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, the digitization of their daily lives contributes to the growth of the fintech market. Request For Free Sample Report @ https://www.blueweaveconsulting.com/report/united-states-fintech-market/report-sample Increasing Number of Fintech Startups is Driving the United States Fintech Market The fintech market in the United States is booming with start-ups in various sectors such as banking, healthcare, education, etc. With the increasing number of start-ups, consumers will have access to a wide variety of services and platforms. Fintech start-up, for instance, Brex, offers corporate cards for credit lines and corporate lab expenses. Another platform called Varo acts as a digital bank for individuals, offering financial services, including savings accounts, money transfers, cash withdrawals, etc. Thus, with the growing number of start-ups, the United States fintech market is also set to grow. US Government Support Fintech Technologies Fintech is supported by the US government, which regulates financial products and services for consumers. This typically involves supervising the contracting process and information delivery. The government regulates financial products and services under a two-tiered structure. In some other cases, government agencies and quasi-regulatory, non-government entities establish general norms and regulations. The factor mentioned above leads to the growing fintech adoption trend in the United States. United States Fintech Market - By Deployment The United States fintech market is segmented into cloud and on-premise based on deployment. The cloud segment accounts for the largest market share as it allows businesses to store and manage data remotely and with higher security. It also provides small and medium-sized enterprises opportunities for expansion while eliminating the need to establish physical hardware setup for services. Moreover, cloud service companies like Amazon Web Services, Alibaba Cloud, etc., also give the cloud segment significant opportunities in the United States market. Impact of COVID-19 on United States Fintech Market The United States fintech market witnessed a tremendous boom after the emergence and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. As physical stores and the distribution of products were restricted, it resulted in a significant increase in e-commerce sales and the use of digital payment platforms during the period. Moreover, fintech platforms provided assistance and resilience to small and medium-sized businesses by supporting their adoption of remote working scenarios and their move toward digital financial services during the global health crisis. Last but not least, Fintech companies also provided lenders and borrowers with platforms for short-term loans and financial assistance to keep up their business during such difficult times. For more information please visit press release: https://www.blueweaveconsulting.com/press-release/united-states-fintech-market-forecast-to-grow-at-a-cagr-of-10-1-by-2027 United States Fintech Market - Competitive Landscape The leading players in the United States fintech market are Stripe, Klarna, Kraken, Chime, Plaid, Robinhood, Brex, Carta, Three-way tie, Square Inc., and other prominent players. Robinhood is the most well-funded fintech start-up in the United States, with $5.6 billion in total disclosed equity funding. During the pandemic, the San Francisco-based stock trading app witnessed a surge of retail investors, fuelled by both pandemic-induced investor boredom and the recent GameStop short squeeze. The market is highly consolidated among industry giants such as Chime, Plaid, Brex, etc. Stripe, primarily a payment processing software and application, holds a dominant market share. The market players invest heavily in expanding their fintech services beyond payment and insurance and are targeting emerging areas, including blockchain and cryptocurrency, digital lending and credit, etc. Additionally, the number of fintech start-ups such as Clyde, Digit, MANTL, etc., are emerging with great potential and giving tough competition to established players. More partnerships and fintech start-ups are projected to emerge in the future, particularly with the SaaS model. Other leading players are likely to enter the Fintech market and develop their offerings, benefiting customer platforms and data access. Financial institutions and fintech start-ups must be prepared to compete with internet giants like Google, Facebook, Apple, and others who are looking to expand their reach into the financial services sector, including payments, credit, insurance, and deposits. The banking industry will soon witness new developments due to effective partnership and collaboration with technology. Dont miss the business opportunity of the United States fintech market. Consult our analysts to gain crucial insights and facilitate your business growth. The report's in-depth analysis provides information about growth potential, upcoming trends, and statistics of the United States fintech market. It also highlights the factors driving forecasts of total market size. The report promises to provide recent technology trends of the United States fintech market and industry insights to help decision-makers make sound strategic decisions. Furthermore, the report also analyses the market's growth drivers, challenges, and competitive dynamics. Recent Development In November 2021, PayZen, a healthcare fintech startup, announced to have raised USD 15 million in a Series A round led by SignalFire and other prominent investors. This investment is aimed towards expanding the care now, pay later model for hospitals and patients in the United States. Scope of the Report: Attributes Details Years Considered Historical data 2017-2020 Base Year 2020 Forecast 2021 2027 Facts Covered Revenue in USD Billion Product Service/Segmentation By Service Propositions, By Application, By Deployment Please Find Below Some Related Report About Us BlueWeave Consulting provides comprehensive Market Intelligence (MI) Solutions to businesses regarding various products and services online and offline. We offer all-inclusive market research reports by analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data to boost up the performance of your business solutions. BWC has built its reputation from scratch by delivering quality inputs and nourishing long-lasting relationships with its clients. We are one of the promising digital MI solutions companies providing agile assistance to make your business endeavors successful. Contact Us: BlueWeave Consulting & Research Pvt. Ltd +1 866 658 6826 | +1 425 320 4776 | +44 1865 60 0662 info@blueweaveconsulting.com https://www.blueweaveconsulting.com/ London, United Kingdom, Dec. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK), (OTCQB: TEKCF) the UK intellectual property investment group focused on creating valuable products from investing in university technology that can improve peoples lives, is pleased to announce that Salarius U.S. subsidiary MicroSalt Inc. (MicroSalt) has appointed Rick Guiney as CEO. Rick has more than 35 years of experience in the food industry, including 30+ years as President & CEO of Classic Snacks, Inc., where he pioneered the ground-up development of the business and transformed it into a market-leading direct distribution company in the food industry. Classic Snacks was included on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Company List, and quickly became a nationwide snack food packager and distributor to airlines, restaurants, hotels, country clubs, bars, taverns, and retail private label customers. Rick also served as Foodservice Business Manager for Quorn Foods in the United States. Im thrilled to be joining this successful, rapidly growing enterprise as it enters what I believe to be a significant period of accelerated growth. MicroSalt is committed to making an impact on cardiovascular disease by reducing excess sodium consumption. The recently announced FDA sodium reduction guidelines, the placement of our low-sodium full-flavour SaltMe! Chips with the largest supermarket in the U.S., and the receipt of two international awards (P&G Alumni Star Entrepreneur Award and the GHP Fitness & Nutrition award, for the best low sodium salt in 2021) all point to the same conclusion: the need and market for MicroSalt is both immediate and global, said Rick Guiney, CEO of MicroSalt. We are very excited about the future potential of MicroSalt and the positive impact it can make by enabling better for you snacks with reduced sodium. We want to express our gratitude to Victor Manzanilla for his leadership of MicroSalt during its formative stage, and we are glad that he will continue to guide the company as a member of its expanded board of directors, said Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D., CEO of Tekcapital. About Salarius Ltd. and MicroSalt, Inc. Salarius, is the developer and manufacturer of a proprietary low-sodium salt called MicroSalt. We are passionate about improving peoples lives by providing the best low-sodium salt, based on the mechanical transformation of the salt particle itself. MicroSalt, Inc., Salarius U.S. operating subsidiary, aims to revolutionize the food industry with its patented better-for-you salt, that delivers the full-flavour experience of salt with roughly half the sodium. MicroSalt is all-natural, non-GMO, and Kosher. Additionally, the ultra-small particle size enhances product adhesion, which reduces waste and provides improved flavour consistency. MicroSalt and SaltMe are registered trademarks of MicroSalt Inc. To learn more about MicroSalt please visit https://Salarius.co /. To learn more about SaltMe! snacks please visit https://saltme.com/ . Tekcapital owns 97.2% of the share capital of Salarius Ltd. and approximately 87% of the share capital of MicroSalt Inc., its U.S. subsidiary. About Tekcapital plc Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed discoveries that can enhance peoples lives and provides a range of technology transfer services to help organisations evaluate and commercialise new technologies. Tekcapital is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com . Forward Looking Statements & Disclaimer This press release is for informational purposes only. The information herein does not constitute investment advice nor an offer to invest and may contain statements related to our future business and financial performance and future events or developments involving Tekcapital that may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "look forward to," "anticipate" "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "will," "project" or words of similar meaning. We may also make forward-looking statements in other reports, in presentations, on social media, in material delivered to customers, stakeholders and in press releases. In addition, our representatives may from time to time make oral forward-looking statements. Such statements may be based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Tekcapitals management. Please note that these are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and factors, including, but not limited to those described in various disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of Tekcapital may vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements express, as at the date of this release, the Companys plans, estimates, valuations, forecasts, projections, opinions, expectations or beliefs as to future events, results or performance. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys control, including those associated with COVID-19, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. No assurance is given that such forward looking statements or views are correct or that the objectives of the Company will be achieved. Further, valuations of Companys portfolio investments and net asset value can and will fluctuate over time due to a variety of factors and this could have a material negative impact on the Companys financial performance. Tekcapital neither intends, nor assumes any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which may differ from those anticipated. Washington, D.C., Dec. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, filed a Supreme Court amicus brief in Apartment Association of Los Angeles County, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, et al. NCLA finds disturbing the recent trend, epitomized by this case, of lower courts deferring to states and cities in their flimsy justifications for substantially impairing landlord-tenant contractual obligations. The Supreme Courts immediate intervention is required to rescue the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution from oblivion and ensure that it serves its original purpose during the COVID-19 pandemic response and hereafter. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, the City of Los Angeles imposed an eviction moratorium and gave tenants up to a year after the emergency ends to repay their back rent interest-free. The national emergency caused by COVID-19 has led several states and cities to interfere with residential leases. But the Contracts Clause was specifically designed by the Framers of the Constitution to prohibit states from altering contractual obligations or preventing parties from enforcing their contractual rightsespecially during emergencies. The Supreme Court has historically struck down contractual interference unless the state law has certain limiting characteristicswhich were absent hereto protect the parties vested interests. During the pandemic, very few courts have applied the Contracts Clause as if it imposes any restraint on state or local laws. In fact, many courts treat the Contracts Clause as a dead letter, leaving the enforceability of contracts to the vagaries of state law. Over the years, the Supreme Court has identified several factors that tend to show when an impairment would upset the contracting parties legitimate expectations. Although many lower courts have ignored these indicators, the trial court below rightly recognized that Los Angeless new rule substantially impaired residential leases in the city. The Ninth Circuit erred on appeal by skipping this analytical step altogether. Courts like the Ninth Circuit have upheld state laws that substantially impair contractual obligations because they claim they are bound to defer to a states opinion as to what counts as substantial. Faced with legal challenges to states emergency responses, many courts have misapplied Supreme Court precedent and declared that courts must accord substantial deference to the States conclusion that its approach reasonably promotes the public purposes for which it was enacted. But deferring in this manner to a states self-interested decision to impair a contract renders the protections of the Contracts Clause meaningless. L.A. unfairly rewrote residential leases and forced housing providers to shoulder their tenants costs, as well as the entire risk of default. The Ninth Circuits deference to that decision effectively wrote the Contracts Clause out of the Constitution. This Court should grant the petition and reverse the Ninth Circuits dangerous decision. NCLA released the following statement: Throughout NCLAs pandemic litigation, weve seen multiple courts be all too willing to defer to states decisions to rewrite private contracts, despite what the Contracts Clause says. These lower courts think theyre taking their cues from the Supreme Court. Unless and until the Supreme Court steps in to clarify its precedent, the Contracts Clause wont provide any constitutional protection against state interference with residential leases and other contracts in most of the country. Jared McClain, Litigation Counsel, NCLA ABOUT NCLA NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLAs public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans fundamental rights. ### Washington D.C., Dec. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for an undetermined amount of imported meat and poultry products from China. A recall was not requested because FSIS has been unable to identify and contact the importers. The total amount of ineligible product is undetermined because the investigation is ongoing. The products subject to the public health alert and labels are listed here. The meat and poultry products do not identify an eligible establishment number on their packaging and were not presented to FSIS for import reinspection. These products are ineligible to import into the U.S., making them unfit for human consumption. The problem was identified through an investigation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). FSIS will continue working with CBP and APHIS on the ongoing investigation. Retailers who have purchased the products are urged not to sell them. Consumers who purchased the products should not consume them and need to dispose of them properly. Consumers are asked to dispose of the products by double bagging them to reduce the possibility of animals accessing the products. USDA cannot confirm whether the products were properly heated to control pathogens that affect domestic livestock. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider. Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or live chat via Ask USDA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages at Ask USDA or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/. Mission Viejo, California, United States, Dec. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leonhardt Ventures LLC, an innovation and venture creation company focused on the convergence of bioelectrics and biologics for organ regeneration, announced today that additional pre-clinical supporting data for the expression of the S100A1 protein was submitted to a patent application filed earlier this year. S100A1 is a member of the S100 family of calcium-binding proteins and is a critical lead regulator of cardiac performance and vascular biology. In cardiomyocytes, S100A1 is known to substantially improve Ca2+ handling and contractile performance. Additionally, S100A1 targets the cardiac sarcomere and mitochondria, reducing pre-contractile tension and enhancing oxidative energy generation. S100A1 is documented to have a stimulatory effect on the health of endothelial cells, including endothelial NO production by increasing endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity. Emphasizing the pathophysiological relevance of S100A1, myocardial infarction in S100A1 knockout mice resulted in the accelerated transition towards heart failure and excessive mortality compared to wild-type controls. Furthermore, mice lacking S100A1 displayed significantly elevated blood pressure values with abrogated responsiveness to bradykinin. Conversely, numerous small and large animal heart failure studies showed that S100A1 overexpression results in superior survival in response to myocardial infarction, indicating the high potential for future S100A1-based therapeutic interventions. S100A1 is a promising novel therapeutic agent for treating heart and cardiovascular disease that warrants further study. Leonhardt Ventures has exclusively licensed this patent-pending technology for the application of use in heart regeneration to BioLeonhardt LTP www.bioleonhardt.com. BioLeonhardt has planned a new round of large animal studies at the California Medical Innovations Institute in North San Diego County for the first quarter of 2022. The studies will include S100A1 bioelectric protein expression along with klotho, follistatin, IGF1, SDF1, PDGF, and other bioelectrically-controlled regeneration promoting protein expressions combined with daily delivery, via a catheter system, of a mixed composition of muscle stem cells, bioelectric pre-treated PRF, secretome from amniotic sourcing and selected exosomes. Leonhardt Ventures is also researching the S100A1 technology platform for other applications of use including, bladder regeneration working with BladderCell LTP, www.bladdercell.com and B-Alive, www.b-alivestim.com, and nerve regeneration applications, including recovery from spinal cord injury, working with the SpineStim product development team.www.spine-stim.com Separately, Leonhardt Ventures has exclusively licensed patents pending for klotho-expressing mesenchymal stem cells in combination therapies for organ regeneration including, heart regeneration, which will be added to the next round of large animal studies. "Optimal results of bioelectric signaling stimulation for S100A1 expression in porcine heart tissue using RT-qPCR was achieved with 30 minutes stimulation using a square, biphasic waveform at 50%, 1.0V, and 75HZ frequency, resulting in a >275% increase in S100A1 expression over baseline," stated Sejal Chaudhari, Leonhardt Ventures' assigned lead scientist on this S100A1 lab stimulation study. "Over a decade ago, S100A1 was identified as a prime contributor to improving heart contractile performance. For the first time, this patent and data establish a bioelectric method to increase S100A1 delivery to the heart instead of being limited to direct injections alone. This could make delivery more sustainable and practical for future therapeutic strategies. We look forward to sharing the results from our upcoming large animal study next spring." stated Dr. Leslie Miller, Chief Medical Officer. About Leonhardt Ventures LLC: Since 1982, the Leonhardt team has developed innovations for organ regeneration and recovery with over 800 related patent claims issued, pending, in process, optioned, or licensed. Over 600,000 patients have been treated with Leonhardt inventions to date. The company is currently incubating and accelerating 38 organ and purpose-specific applications for its core IP in the areas of 1) Heart and Cardiovascular, 2) Brain, 3) Cosmetic and Personal Care, 4) Major Organ Regeneration, and 5) Cancer. See www.leonhardtventures.com for more information. The Leonhardt team has led an extensive series of world-first achievements, including the first patented predictably-compliant cardiovascular balloon catheter, PolyCathTM, in the 1980s, the first muscle stem cell repair of a heart in a large animal in 1988, the first biological pacemaker implantation in a large animal in 1990, the first percutaneous heart valve in 1991, a pre-clinical large animal study of the first vibrational energy device for preventing blood clots in 1993, the first clinical percutaneous repair of an aortic aneurysm in 1995, the first bioelectric organ regeneration paper published in Circulation in 1999, the first non-surgical muscle stem cell repair of a human heart in 2001, and the first-ever successful clinical placement of an aortic stent-based circulatory assist pump 2019. About Leonhardt's Launchpads: Leonhardt's Launchpads by Cal-X Stars Business Accelerator, Inc. is a majority-owned and controlled subsidiary of Leonhardt Ventures LLC that serves as an innovation and startup launch accelerator primarily for Leonhardt Ventures LLC inventions. The accelerator typically receives 9% seed-stage equity with a dilution floor at 9% and holds pre-emptive right to acquire up to 20% ownership in any accelerator portfolio organ or purpose-specific Licensable Technology Platforms (LTP's) or startups right up to graduation or exit, whichever may come first. Graduation from the accelerator occurs upon completion of first in human studies. See www.calxstars.com Warnings and Disclaimers: Product is not yet proven safe or effective. Forward-looking statements subject to change without notice. Patents issued may be invalidated. Patents pending may not be issued. Patents optioned or licensed may not be maintained. Company, via accelerator business model, shares resources in all forms across multiple entities. Company lacks sufficient resources to bring products through clinical studies and to market. Company utilizes off-the-shelf devices and components to speed development time when possible. Timelines are subject to change even by years or decades. Company is attempting to do in organ regeneration what no other company or organization, even those with substantially higher resources, has been ever able to achieve. As an investment, this has to be regarded in the highest risk category for total loss. Innovation and startup accelerator statistics worldwide indicate an approximately 4% rate of blockbuster success amongst portfolio startup entries in the best of the best accelerators. Company has a small staff to maintain over 50 websites with over 10,000 pages of materials, and it is highly that likely certain pages have outdated information at any given time. If you have any specific questions, please email us to get the most up-to-date information. Priorities constantly change, and resources are re-allocated by business design based on expressed acquisition interest from potential buyers/strategic partners and other opportunity drivers. Contact: Brian Hardy Director of Marketing (424) 291-2133 brian_fizzpopmedia@customers.prdistribution.org For the original news story, please visit https://prdistribution.com/news/leonhardt-ventures-announces-filing-of-patent-for-bioelectric-s100a-expression-for-organ-healing-2.html Vancouver, Canada, Dec. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new generative NFT collection called Crypto Pharaohs is being released by Next Decentrum. The first of its kind, the project is inspired by the history and legacy of pharaohs in ancient Egypt. The company stated that they are committed to enabling access, empowering users, and unleashing an ever-evolving future through collaboration. Check out their website: https://cryptopharaohs.world/ Along with publishing collectable artworks on blockchain for collectors around the world to enjoy, their goal is also to create a new revenue stream for some of the top museums in North America and around the world. Next Decentrum Technologies Inc (Next Decentrum) announced a partnership with DAF, Digital Access to Finance (DAF), to launch several NFT projects inspired by Egyptian art and culture. This will allow for greater access and appreciation of one of the oldest civilizations while bringing some world-class artifacts into the metaverse! In 2019, over 12.6 million visitors came to Egypt and broke records for the highest number in the history of cultural exhibitions at a time when France was welcoming 1.42 million people with the Tutankhamun Paris exhibition within 6 months! Egypt is home to one of the worlds richest cultures. There is much for everyone to discover and enjoy. Said Hussein Hallak, CEO of Next Decentrum. Through this partnership with the DAF team, we aim to bring Egyptian history, culture, and art to the metaverse by using NFTs, AR and VR technology. For centuries, people have been fascinated with ancient Egypt. This fascination manifests itself in literature and architecture alike; its also an inspiration behind many films that portray this fascinating culture! Digital collectibles have seen a rise in popularity leading to a surge in NFT sales to $13.7B, according to Reuters, sparking massive interest and causing many to look at NFTs as the way forward for blockchain mainstream adoption. The rapid growth of the NFT market and the rising interest in the metaverse represent a unique opportunity to cultivate a global audience who want to own a piece of Egypt. Said Hatem Kandeel, Founder and CEO of DAF. Through this partnership with Next Decenturm, we plan to launch multiple projects in collaboration with Egypts top artists and museums . The teams of Next Decentrum and DAF have been working closely together for the past few months. The collaboration between Next Decentrum and DAF has already resulted in the launch of Crypto Pharaohs, an iconic collection of digital collectibles (NFT) inspired by ancient Egypts culture. The two companies will be working with museums, cultural organizations and artists to create digital collectables that put Egypt into the hands of collectors from around the world through: Introducing ultra-rare NFTs inspired by Egyptian history, art & culture. Collaborating on special events or media campaigns in order bring awareness about this growing sector. Increasing participation rates specifically within the MENA region starting off at home Cairo! For more information, check out: https://cryptopharaohs.world/ Disclaimer: The information provided on this page does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other sort of advice and it should not be treated as such. This content is the opinion of a third party and this site does not recommend that any specific cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held, or that any crypto investment should be made. The Crypto market is a high risk, with high-risk and unproven projects. Readers should do their own research and consult a professional financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Contact Info: Name: Hussein Hallak Email: Send Email Organization: Next Decentrum Technologies Inc. Address: Suite 1400 - 128 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1R8, Canada Phone: +1-604-719-5125 Website: https://nextdecentrum.com/ New York, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Nanotechnology Services Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06193716/?utm_source=GNW The global nanotechnology services market is expected to grow from $158.98 billion in 2021 to $172.89 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $228.27 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 7.2%. The nanotechnology services market consists of the sales of nanotechnology services and related goods by entities (organizations, sole traders, and partnerships) that engage in conducting research and experimental development in nanotechnology. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included. The main types of nanotechnology services are research and development, information tracking, technology scouting, standardization, regulation briefings, and others.Research and Development is a process that aims to create new or enhanced technology that can provide a competitive edge at the business, industry, or national levels. The services are used by various industries including pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, food and beverages, IT, and others. The different providers include large enterprise and small and medium enterprise. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. The high cost of nanomaterials is expected to limit the nanotechnology services market.Nanoparticles are tiny particles that are smaller than the width of a strand of hair and it can be found in a wide range of products from drug-delivery devices to high-definition televisions. For instance, one milligram of gold nanoparticles costs about $80 and for a gram of gold nanoparticles, it is around $80,000.Nanotechnology is an expensive area of research and only developed nations have the resources to invest in it. The high cost of nanomaterials negatively impacts the nanotechnology services market as it discourages the end-users to seek services. The rise in investments from government and companies in the field of nanotechnology contributed to the growth of the nanotechnology services market. For instance, the investments under the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a US government initiative for the research and development of nanoscale projects involving 20 federal and independent agencies in 2019 was $1.4 billion. Cumulatively, the USA government has invested $27 billion from 2001 to 2019. In 2019, Nano Media Group has developed a dedicated nanotechnology investment platform to promote outstanding technology in order to speed enterprises entry into global markets through impact investments. The portal, Invest In Nano, debuted with a 2020 programme that would kick off a mission to connect breakthrough nanotechnology companies with investors. The rise in investments from government and companies in the field of nanotechnology drove the nanotechnology services market. The countries covered in the nanotechnology services market are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK and USA Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06193716/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ New York, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "HR Advisory Services Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06193709/?utm_source=GNW The global hr advisory market is expected to grow from $81.45 billion in 2021 to $87.32 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $109.83 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 5.9%. The HR advisory market consists of the sales of HR advisory services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that provide advice on human capital matters and/or offerings revolving around the HR function.HR advisory services are generally used by two types of clients those aiming to improve their HR function by redesigning HR processes and those undergoing transformations such as mergers and acquisitions to ensure the new human capital is trained. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included. The main types of HR advisory services are compensation consulting, benefits consulting, human resources management consulting, actuarial consulting, strategic consulting, and others.Compensation consultants are professionals in the implementation and design of compensation programmes, with the purpose of generating the right incentives for employees. They also advise businesses on compensation trends and current pay rates for specific job categories. The various types of services include integration & deployment, support & maintenance, and training & consulting and are used by IT services, manufacturing, financial services, mining and oil and gas, construction, and others. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. The use of data-driven tools and analytics for employee engagement is a major driver contributing to the growth of the HR advisory services market.Employee engagement refers to a workplace approach that results in appropriate conditions for all the employees of the company to give their best performance every day by abiding by the values of the company with an enhanced feeling of their well-being. Professionals in human resource management are relying on data analytics and AI for key decisions.For instance, Genpact, an American professional services company, analyzes employee data, segments and categorizes it to find patterns such as at what age, salary range, or experience level, employees leave the organization. Predictive analytics is used to identify employees who are at high risk of voluntary attrition and interventions are designed to re-engage them. Further advances in data-driven tools and analytics are expected to drive the HR advisory service market. Organizations across the globe are focusing on creating a digital workplace using cloud services and AI, which is gaining significant popularity in the HR advisory market.The digital workplace is a modern concept using digital transformation to align technology to achieve organizational goals with operational efficiency. Cloud services and AI are important parts of the digital workplace helping in removing geographic barriers for improved collaboration, increased productivity and employee engagement, improved decision making, and also in optimizing costs.For instance, in 2019, IBM stated that AI has replaced 30% of IBMs HR staff, help employees to identify new skills training, education, job promotion and raises. Also, with 95% accuracy, IBM artificial intelligence can forecast which people will leave a job. Cybersecurity threats for the human resource department is a major factor hindering the growth of the HR advisory services market.A cybersecurity breach is costly and equally destructive for all organizations - big or small. According to Heimdal Security, cyber-crimes costs the global economy $100 billion every year and $17 million in the USA alone.HR professionals maintain extremely private and sensitive information such as social security number, date of birth, address, and bank details. In addition to this, according to the Forrester Analytics Global Business Technographics Security Survey 2019, 52% of enterprise network security decision-makers experienced at least one data breach in the last 12 months, and 44% of breaches were caused by employees who intentionally or not, exposed sensitive data to data thieves or hackers. Companies rely on their HR department and do not outsource HR services because there is a risk of losing important employee data in availing external HR services, thereby restraining the growth of the HR advisory services market over the coming years. In March 2020, Aon Plc, a London-based global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resource consulting and outsourcing, acquired Willis Towers Watson (WTW), the UK-based risk management, insurance brokerage, and advisory company, for $30 billion.The acquisition will strengthen Aon Plcs expertise in cybersecurity, intellectual property, climate change, and health solutions. The combined entity would work together in risk, retirement, and health businesses. Willis Towers Watson (WTW) is a London-based company that helps clients around the world in 140 countries in global advisory, HR consulting and software, broking, and other solutions. The countries covered in the HR advisory services market are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK and USA. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06193709/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Dublin, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Fire Alarm Equipment Market Outlook, 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Global Fire Alarm Market Outlook, 2026 provides an in-depth market analysis of the Global Fire Alarm industry. This report covers the detailed insights of the equipment based on product category- Conventional Fire Alarm Panels, Addressable Control Panels, and others. It also includes insights along with the value analysis of the fire alarm market. The report also mentions the competition of leading companies that are involved in the manufacturing of fire detection equipment. The report is classified into 5 regions and 19 countries, along with their local rules & trends. The market is expected to show a YOY of 14.41% in the year 2021 and by the end of the forecasted period, the overall market is to cross a value of USD 6176 Million. The conventional fire alarm system uses one or more circuits that are connected to parallel-connected wired sensors. One end of the device is wire connected, while another is connected to the control panel. The conventional fire alarm segment led the market, with the main advantage of these being cost-effective for the smaller space. On the other hand, in an addressable fire alarm system, all the fire and smoke detection devices are connected as well as the central control monitoring center. The information directs the response team to allocate their efforts immediately. The addressable control panel is likely to be growing with an anticipated CAGR of 5.55%. The use of fire alarms is high in the commercial segment when compared to industrial and residential applications. The commercial segment in 2020 was at a value of more than USD 1600 Million. Through the forecasted period, the application of fire bells in residences is to grow with an anticipated CAGR of 5.09%, which is expected to be slightly more than the commercial application segment. The global market is led by North America which encountered a historic CAGR of 1.16%. The sound & frequencies of the fire alarm differ across the region. In North American countries, this device is known as the horns, and the tone is either continuous or set to a code. Whereas, in Europe, it sounds more like a siren with an alternating frequency. The sounders can be set to certain frequencies and tones, depending on the country and manufacturer of the device. By the end of the forecasted period, Latin America, along with Middle East & Africa is to contribute to nearly 15% of the share. The prominent players in the global market are targeting more towards their expansion in Asia and Latin America. The local players focus on launching newer products to meet the growing local consumer needs. In addition, the leaders in the market are acquiring and collaborating with top companies in the market to enhance their offerings in the market and expand their customer base. Major companies mentioned in the report: Gentex Corporation, HOCHIKI Corporation, Napco Security Technologies, Inc., Nittan Company, Ltd., Halma plc, Robert Bosch GmbH, Honeywell International, Inc., Siemens Building Technologies CONSIDERED IN THE REPORT Geography: Global Base year: 2020 Historical year: 2015 Forecasted year: 2026 REGIONS COVERED: North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa ASPECTS COVERED IN THE REPORT Market Size by Value for the period (2015-2026F) Market Share by Product Type (Conventional fire alarm panels, Addressable control panels, and Others) Market Share by Application (Commercial, Industrial, Residential) Market Share by Region Market Share by Country This report would help you answer the following questions: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Fire Alarm Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Fire Alarm Market during the forecast period? 3. Which region outstands in the Global Fire Alarm Market? 4. Which are the segments to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Fire Alarm Market? 5. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Fire Alarm Market? 6. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Fire Alarm Market? 7. What are the major companies in the Global Fire Alarm Market? Companies Mentioned Gentex Corporation HOCHIKI Corporation Napco Security Technologies Inc. Nittan Company Ltd. Halma plc Robert Bosch GmbH Honeywell International Inc. Siemens Building Technologies For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jpyx4r New York, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Solar Electricity Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06193691/?utm_source=GNW Ltd., Tata Power Solar, First Solar Inc., Trina Solar Limited, Yingli Solar, ReneSola, Motech Industries Inc., Abengoa Solar S.A., Acciona Energia S.A., Bright source Energy Inc., Esolar Inc., Gintech Energy Corp., Kaneka Corp., Sunpower Corporation, Verengo Inc., RGS Energy, JA Solar, GT Advantage Technologies, Hanwha Q Cells, SolarCity Corporation, JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd., Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. and BHEL. The global solar electricity market is expected to grow from $46.79 in billion 2021 to $57.25 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.4%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $125.57 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 21.7%. The solar electric power generation market consists of sales of solar electric power and related services.It is used in various forms to support the electricity needs of homes or businesses. The solar electric power generation industry includes companies that operate facilities which produce electricity from solar energy.The electricity from solar energy is produced by the conversion of solar energy in photovoltaic (PV) cells, which generate voltage and current at their terminals when exposed to sunlight. The electricity produced is then supplied to electric power transmission systems, which are used to move large quantities of power from generating facilities to substations, and to distribution systems, which are used for short distances to transport electricity to customers locally. The main types of technologies in solar electric power generation are photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power systems.A photovoltaic (PV) system is made up of one or more solar panels, an inverter, and other electrical and mechanical components that use the Suns radiation to generate power. The different solar modules include monocrystalline, polycrystalline, cadmium telluride, amorphous silicon cells, others and is used in various sectors such as residential, commercial, industrial. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the solar electricity market in 2021.Western Europe was the second largest region in the solar electricity market. The regions covered in the global solar electricity market are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. Rising investments from government organizations contributed to the growth of the solar electric power generation market.The market has enhanced from increased government spending on advanced solar panel research and development. For instance, according to the world economic forum (WEF) 2020, global investment into renewable energy reached $282.2 billion last year. Rising investments from government organizations in research and development of electricity generation through solar energy drove the market. Artificial intelligence is being used increasingly to meet the rising demands of the solar power market.Artificial intelligence is the machinery simulating processes of human intelligence, particularly computer systems. Expert systems, natural language processing (NLP), speech recognition and machine vision are common AI applications.The use of machine learning through micro grid controllers and artificial intelligence (AI) are the latest solar energy technology solutions that help to adapt to the growing business needs. These technologies continue to evolve to meet the rising needs of the solar industry and the businesses use it as an energy-efficient source.Additionally, new software developments are helping in shaping the future of companies that are applying artificial intelligence and machine learning in solar energy technology. For instance, in 2019, in India, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), released a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which recognized artificial intelligence (AI) as one technology that the country could use to adopt renewable energy in a cost-effective manner and increase the efficiency of existing solar power sources. This can be used in charging large scale batteries and to meet on-demand power. The decline in economic growth is expected to limit the growth of the solar electric power generation market.Decrease in investments due to economic slowdown led to a decrease in the solar power installations. This is adversely affecting the market growth in several parts of the world.For instance, the economic crisis in Europe has prompted previously supportive European governments to decrease solar energy subsidies. Another such instance is in India, in 2019, where slowing economic growth and subsequent lack of investments are impacting the renewable energy sector, including the solar sector. The Indian Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) had set a target of 8.5 gigawatts of solar installations for the (2019-2020) financial year of which the sector installed only 3.5 gigawatts of solar installations until October 2019, representing 41% of the planned deployment per year. The economic slowdown decreases the investments thereby impacting the market negatively. In July 2021, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), an India based automotive manufacturer acquired 31% share in ReNew Sunlight Energy (RSEPL) for $1.6 billion. By acquiring RSEPL shares, M&M will be able to become an exclusive user and use RSEPLs solar energy. As a result, RSEPL has signed an electrical supply deal with the company. ReNew Sunlight Energy (RSEPL) is an India based solar electric power generation company. The countries covered in the solar electric power generation market are Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Russia, UK, USA and Australia. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06193691/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Dublin, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Automotive Ducts Market Size, Share, Trend, Forecast, & Competitive Analysis: 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today's automotive ducts market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period of 2021 to 2026. The report estimates the short- as well as long-term repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the automotive ducts market at the global, regional, as well as country levels. Also, the report provides the possible loss that the industry will register by comparing pre-COVID and post-COVID scenarios. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for the market participants as well as investors in the identification of low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as formulate growth strategies. Automotive is among the industries that are highly subjected to the changing economic conditions and purchasing power of individuals. In 2019, the automotive industry experienced its biggest ever decline in automobile production since 2010, mainly due to economic downturns in various key countries. The industry challenge got exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, severer than that caused by The Great Recession (2008-2009) (Automotive production plummet during the Great Recession: -12.1% YoY 2008-2009 and The Great Lockdown: -16.7% YoY 2019-2020). The COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading with new strains affecting the recovery trajectory in several parts of the world. Most of the major countries are squandering money to raise their vaccination rate in order to bring normalcy. The developed economies are well ahead in the race and are aiming to fully vaccinate their people by late 2021, whereas the developing nations, especially densely populated ones like China and India, are planning to fully vaccinate their people by late 2022. The demand for ducts in the automotive industry in the coming years is principally reliant on the recovery trajectory of automobile production, which, in turn, is dependent upon the normalcy in the market conditions, especially devastated by the pandemic. In the long run, the automotive ducts market is subjected to grow at a promising CAGR over the next five years to reach a milestone figure of US$ 1.7 billion in 2026. Several factors may collectively rejuvenate the demand for automotive ducts in the coming years. Among several factors, expected recovery in vehicle production supported by an increase in disposable income, increase in motorization rate, etc. shall remain the biggest growth factors. Other noticeable drivers are the increasing penetration of SUVs in the overall vehicle production and stringent regulations regarding carbon emission reductions and fuel efficiency enhancements in major markets. Automakers are increasingly incorporating advanced lightweight parts or systems to address stringent government regulations. Such a trend is also imprinting a great impact on ducts as automakers are demanding lightweight yet durable ducts. Both, reinforced and non-reinforced plastics, are the perennial choices of tier players for the development of lightweight automotive ducts. Segment Analysis Automotive Duct Market Share by Vehicle Type The automotive ducts market is segmented based on the vehicle type as passenger car, LCV, and M&HCV. Passenger car is likely to remain the most dominant vehicle type and is likely to witness the highest growth over the next five years. Increasing motorization rate and reasonably higher production of passenger cars than commercial vehicles are the key factors behind its dominance. LCV, another major segment, is also subjected to record a modest recovery in the post-pandemic market developments. Automotive Duct Market Share by Application Type Based on the application type, the market is segmented as HVAC ducts, under-the-hood ducts, and others. HVAC ducts are likely to remain the most dominant application type and are likely to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period, whereas under-the-hood ducts are likely to remain the second-largest application type over the same period. HVAC ducts are largely made with plastics (polypropylene or polyethylene plastics). Instrumental panel duct is considered to be the biggest application of ducts in an automobile, which is located in the HVAC area. Other major HVAC ducts generating a noticeable demand are roof ducts, console ducts, and pillar ducts. Automotive Duct Market Share by Material Type Based on the material type, the market is segmented as plastic ducts, foam ducts, and other ducts. Plastic ducts are likely to remain the most dominant segment and are also expected to experience the fastest growth during the forecast period. Key plastics used to make ducts with or without reinforcements are Polyamide (PA), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). Foam ducts are likely to remain the second-largest segment till 2026. Automotive Duct Market Share by Process Type Based on the process type, the market is segmented as blow molding, injection molding, thermoforming, and others. Blow molding is likely to remain the most dominant segment over the next five years. Blow molding is the most economical process for producing plastic ducts. Also, the equipment cost is lower, and the manufacturing cost per duct is lower than that of ducts manufactured through the other processes (thermoforming and rotational molding). Automotive Duct Market Share by Pressure Type Based on the pressure type, the market is segmented as low-pressure ducts and high-pressure ducts. Low-pressure ducts include HVAC ducts, such as instrumental panel ducts, console ducts, roof ducts, and pillar ducts; and some under-the-hood ducts, such as clean air ducts and dirty air ducts; and ducts covered under the others segment, such as radio cooling duct and brake ducts. High-pressure ducts are majorly used in under-the-hood application areas. Regional Insights In terms of region, Asia-Pacific is estimated to maintain its unassailable lead in the global market with China being the engine's propeller. The regional dominance is due to the high production of passenger cars and LCVs to meet the rising indigenous demand and increasing vehicles' export. The region is the largest SUV producer with China being the leading country, which further elevates the demand for HVAC ducts in the region. Europe and North America are also projected to generate sizeable demand for automotive ducts during the forecast period. Germany, France, and Russia are known for their advanced technologies in the automotive industry. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Automotive Ducts Market Overview and Segmentation 2.1. Automotive Ducts Market Segmentation 2.2. PEST Analysis 2.3. Supply Chain Analysis 2.4. Industry Life Cycle Analysis 2.5. Market Drivers 2.6. Market Challenges 3. Automotive Ducts Market - The COVID-19 Impact Assessment 3.1. Automotive Ducts Market Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 3.2. Pre-COVID vs Post-COVID Assessment 3.3. GDP Loss vs Market Loss (US$ Million) 3.4. Market Scenario Analysis: Pessimistic, Most Likely, and Optimistic 3.5. Market Segments' Analysis (US$ Million) 3.6. Regional and Country-Level Analysis (US$ Million) 4. Competitive Analysis 4.1. Market Concentration Level 4.2. Regional Competitive Dynamics 4.3. Market Share Analysis 4.4. Key Information regarding Leading Players 4.5. Product Portfolio Analysis 4.6. New Product Launches 4.7. Strategic Alliances 4.8. Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5. Automotive Ducts Market Trend and Forecast by Vehicle Type (2021-2026) 5.1. Segment's Analysis 5.2. Passenger Car: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 5.3. LCV: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 5.4. M&HCV: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 6. Automotive Ducts Market Trend and Forecast by Application Type (2021-2026) 6.1. Segment's Analysis 6.2. HVAC Ducts: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 6.3. Under-the-Hood Ducts: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 6.4. Others: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 7. Automotive Ducts Market Trend and Forecast by Material Type (2021-2026) 7.1. Segment's Analysis 7.2. Plastic Ducts: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 7.3. Foam Ducts: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 7.4. Other Ducts: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 8. Automotive Ducts Market Trend and Forecast by Process Type (2021-2026) 8.1. Segment's Analysis 8.2. Blow Molding: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 8.3. Injection Molding: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 8.4. Thermoforming: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 8.5. Others: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 9. Automotive Ducts Market Trend and Forecast by Pressure Type (2021-2026) 9.1. Segment's Analysis 9.2. Low-Pressure Ducts: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 9.3. High-Pressure Ducts: Regional Trend and Forecast (US$ Million) 10. Automotive Ducts Market Trend and Forecast by Region (2021-2026) 11. Strategic Growth Opportunities 12. Company Profile of Key Players (Alphabetically Arranged) 12.1. ABC Technologies Inc. 12.2. Bolton Plastic Components Ltd 12.3. Continental AG 12.4. Cornaglia Group SpA 12.5. Hutchinson SA 12.6. INOAC Corporation 12.7. Kyoraku Co. Ltd 12.8. MAHLE Group 12.9. MANN+HUMMEL Group 12.10. Nihon Plast Co., Ltd. 12.11. Rochling Group 12.12. Sekiso Co. Ltd. 12.13. Sogefi Group 12.14. Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. 12.15. Trocellen GmbH For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ogyze7 Acquisition of one of only two vertical licenses in Minnesota, including an operating cultivation facility and five open retail locations Expands production capacity and scales distribution capabilities while broadening access to medical cannabis products for Minnesota patients Increases national presence to 15 states; 73 open retail locations nationwide CHICAGO and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Thumb Industries Inc. (Green Thumb) (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF), a leading national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and owner of RYTHM, Good Green and incredibles branded cannabis products, today announced it has closed on an acquisition of LeafLine Industries (LeafLine). As one of only two licensed cultivators in the Minnesota medical cannabis market, LeafLine is licensed to grow, process and dispense cannabis directly to patients. We are excited to enter the Minnesota medical market and broaden access to cannabis products for Minnesota patients, said Green Thumb Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ben Kovler. We look forward to caring for LeafLines existing patients while ensuring a seamless transition. And looking ahead, we are ready to begin providing patients access to high-quality flower and edible products, both of which have been recently approved. As we kick off 2022, Green Thumb is thrilled to welcome over 100 new team members, a new state and five new retail locations. The acquisition of LeafLine includes a cultivation facility and five open and operating retail locations in Eagan, Hibbing, St. Cloud, St. Paul and Willmar. Green Thumb will also maintain the opportunity to open up to three additional retail locations in the state. With the acquisition, Green Thumb has cannabis operations to serve over 50% of the United States population, including in: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia. With a population of nearly six million people, Minnesota began medical cannabis sales in 2015 and currently has only about 29,000 registered active patients according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The state currently has 17 qualifying conditions, including chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder and seizures. Products available include vape, tinctures and topicals, with flower and edibles coming later in 2022. Green Thumbs presence in Minnesota will further enhance and support the medical cannabis patient community through its high-quality branded products and experiences. About Green Thumb Industries: Green Thumb Industries Inc. (Green Thumb), a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer, promotes well-being through the power of cannabis while giving back to the communities in which it serves. Green Thumb manufactures and distributes a portfolio of branded cannabis products including Beboe, Dogwalkers, Doctor Solomons, Good Green, incredibles and RYTHM. The company also owns and operates rapidly growing national retail cannabis stores called Rise. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Green Thumb has 17 manufacturing facilities, 73 open retail locations and operations across 15 U.S. markets. Established in 2014, Green Thumb employs approximately 3,600 people and serves millions of patients and customers each year. The company was named to Crains Fast 50 list in 2021 and a Best Workplace by MG Retailer magazine in 2018, 2019 and 2021. More information is available at www.GTIgrows.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains statements that we believe are, or may be considered to be, forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this document regarding the prospects of our industry or our prospects, plans, financial position or business strategy may constitute forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as may, will, expect, intend, estimate, foresee, project, anticipate, believe, plan, forecast, continue, suggests or could or the negative of these terms or variations of them or similar terms. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that these expectations will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements. Further information on these and other potential risks that could affect the Companys business and financial condition and the results of operations are included in the Risk Factors section of the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and elsewhere in the Companys filings with the SEC, which are available on the SECs website, at www.sedar.com or at https://investors.gtigrows.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this document, which reflect managements opinions only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to any forward-looking statements. Investor Contact: Media Contact: Andy Grossman Grace Bondy EVP, Capital Markets & Investor Relations Corporate Communications InvestorRelations@gtigrows.com gbondy@gtigrows.com 310-622-8257 517-672-8001 Source: Green Thumb Industries New York, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Military Airborne Platform Energization Growth Opportunities" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06193759/?utm_source=GNW In response to the new green policies and the need to enhance capabilities and efficiencies, defense operators are turning to new power sources and energization mechanisms.At present, the commercial sector is driving research into batteries. Hence, defense companies must rely on them for solutions to meet the energization demands of military departments. This study looks at the different technologies that will impact energization, analyzes the factors driving this shift, and identifies the resultant emerging opportunities.It provides the following: An outline of the general trends and the drivers and restraints in the airborne energization space An analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the defense industry and the airborne energization space An analysis of the main technology segments in airborne energization, which are: o Propulsion o Fuel o Batteries A few key case studies An examination of the major technology areas that will impact the defense industry and the segments likely to benefit from these technologies Author: Ryan Pinto Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06193759/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ HACKENSACK, N.J., Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zen, a premium plant-based pudding brand, has a new line of pudding that is more adult-focused and more indulgent - chocolate and vanilla coconut milk-based pudding. In addition, Zen will be launching chocolate hazelnut, chocolate peanut butter, and chocolate oat milk puddings at the beginning of 2022. "More and more people are choosing to consume plant-based dairy alternatives, becoming so popular that almost all traditional dairy products can now be found in a dairy-free version. Brands are releasing new innovations focused on indulgent desserts, organic products and sustainable packaging, such as glass. Zen is targeting all of these trends with our new line, which has been specifically designed to shift the refrigerated dessert category," said Bruce Goria, Zen VP of Marketing. The refrigerated and frozen desserts category is now following suit by offering more plant-based premium products in high-end sustainable packaging. The category, which is "made up of refrigerated pudding, mousse, gelatin and parfaits, saw dollar sales increase only 1.4% to $729.9 million during the 52 weeks ending June 17, 2018" (Orlando, 2021), is poised for growth with these new entrants. Zen is based in South Hackensack, New Jersey, and has been selling pudding for more than a decade with its chocolate almond milk pudding. Packaged in plastic cups, with a four-pack sleeve, its configuration is familiar to those consumers of Snack Pack and Jell-O. Zen's almond milk chocolate pudding is the number one item in the refrigerated pudding/desserts category in natural food stores, according to SPINS - as of 5/16/21, and is primarily targeted towards kids. Zen's newest products are more premium targeting adults, indulgence, and sustainability. The chocolate and vanilla coconut puddings are sold individually in 4.5 oz recyclable glass jars. Each pudding is made with simple, clean ingredients while still having that rich and creamy mouthfeel. Zen pudding satisfies consumers' indulgence without them feeling guilty for having a treat. Each spoonful is a smooth and creamy experience. Escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life, even if it is just for a moment. Find your Zen moment. Visit www.TryZen.com Orlando, Brian. "Retail Sales Data." Plant Based Foods Association, 7 Apr. 2021, https://www.plantbasedfoods.org/retail-sales-data/#:~:text=Retail%20Sales%20Data%20Plant-based%20food%20sales%20surpass%20%247,growth%20of%20plant-based%20foods%20is%20transforming%20the%20marketplace. CONTACT: Bruce Goria VP of Marketing 201-299-0500 ext. 42 bruceg@dorasnaturals.com 21 Empire Blvd. South Hackensack, NJ 07606 www.tryzen.com Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Pune, India, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global HVAC rental equipment market was estimated to value USD 4.9 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6 % during the forecast period, as per a detailed study by Quince Market Insights. The surging demand from the food and beverage companies is one of the foremost drivers of the HVAC rental equipment market. Extensive opportunities in the food and beverage industry play an important role in the growth of the market. Additionally, surging disposable incomes of people, mainly in Asia Pacific are propelling the market growth. Get Sample Copy of This Report @ https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/request-sample-69649 The emerging trend in the HVAC rental equipment market is surging strict rules on the use of refrigerants in Europe. In several economies across the globe, the increasing demand for manufactured refrigerants for use in air conditioners is a key concern. These refrigerants are a vital source of greenhouse gasses contributing to global warming across the globe. Increasing rules and procedures are being laid down by governments of different countries about the permitted level of particulate matter in indoor air. This is expected to boost manufacturers to accept hygienic air filtration procedures in their manufacturing services, thus supporting the market development. Rising consumer consciousness about the importance of consumption of pure and safe food together with growing instances of food-borne infections is set to trigger the demand for HVAC rental equipment from food & beverage industries. Increasing the risk of health hazards caused due to abrasive and hard dust particles in the raw materials required for primary and secondary crushing, material transfer, and injection during construction and infrastructural development activities is propelling market demand. Factors such as surging commercial and residential construction activities, the enforcement of favorable rules, and surging construction of data centers will propel the market growth. On the other hand, low preference for rental services is the major factor that is limiting the market growth. The outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in health emergency, and it had an exceptional effect on businesses. As HVAC system uses new technology to kill airborne viruses, like COVID-19, in an office building, many industries and business are expected to benefit from HVAC rental equipment over the forecast period. By Product Based on the product, the market for HVAC rental equipment market is segmented into fiberglass filter, pleated filter, electrostatic filter, carbon air filter, HEPA, pocket. The carbon air filter holds the fastest-growing segment in the forecast period. The growth of the market is attributed to carbon filters being extremely operative for removing VOCs, controlling odors, and can be applied as a pre-filter for use in industrial and commercial purposes. By Material Based on material, the market for HVAC rental equipment market is segmented into fiberglass, synthetic polymer, carbon, and metal. Carbon segment is projected to be the fastest growing segment during the forecast period. This is on account of high demand from end user, and technological advancement in the field. By Application: Based on application, the HVAC rental equipment market is segmented into residential, non-residential, and industrial. The residential application of HVAC rental equipment is the fastest-growing segment in the years to come. The growth of the segment is attributed to residential filters market being temporally consolidated in nature led by the presence of several companies with significant market share. The foremost companies in the market hold a key share in the market. The key companies of the market are HVAC RENTALS (Canada), Johnson Controls (Ireland), Ingersoll Rand (U.S.), Raytheon Technologies (U.S.). The companies are implementing several strategies comprising new product introduction, mergers, and acquisitions to increase market share and to improve the global footprint in the market. Enquiry Before Buying This Report @ https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/enquiry-before-buying/enquiry-before-buying-69649 By Region Asia Pacific is estimated to become the fastest growing segment during the forecast period. This is on account of as most of the projects are underway in Asia Pacific economies, such as Australia, India, and China. Asia Pacific has huge benefits of high demand. This is also attributable to the regions huge populace. China's booming manufacturing industry is a key catalyst for the regions high demand. In the forecast period, the HVAC rental equipment market will experience high development as the requirement for equipment increases in the region on account of fast paced growth. In addition, surging customer spending on luxury goods is augmenting the air condition demand, which should further drive the demand for HVAC rental equipment market. Also, growing awareness among the populace about the air pollutant index is further driving the product demand. Key Market Strategies of the Industry Participants of HVAC Rental Equipment Market October 2020, Tonnies Group (Germany), had signed a contract with Camfil Group (Sweden). In this contract, Camfil Group would be accountable for providing the CC 6000, CC 2000, and ProSafe HEPA H14 filter in Tonnies Group's meat processing factory. This agreement acquisition would allow the company to further upsurge its share in the market. September 2018, United Rentals, (U.S.), declared the acquirement of BlueLine Rental, which has 114 localities in North America. Some Major Findings of the Global HVAC Rental Equipment Market Include: Profiles of major market players operating in the global HVAC rental equipment market include Aggreko (U.K.), Ashtead Group (London), Brookfield Business Partners (Bermuda), HVAC RENTALS (Canada), Johnson Controls (Ireland), Ingersoll Rand (U.S.), Raytheon Technologies (U.S.), Herc Rentals (Bonita Springs, FL), United Rentals (U.S.), and Reliance Comfort LP (Canada). Impact of COVID-19 on the global HVAC rental equipment market. For more details on this topic, please visit report titled, HVAC Rental Equipment Market , by Product (Fiberglass Filter, Pleated Filter, Electrostatic Filter, Carbon Air Filter, HEPA, Pocket), Material (Fiberglass, Synthetic Polymer, Carbon, Metal), Application (Residential, Non Residential [Commercial, Office, Institution, Healthcare], Industrial [Food & Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Construction, Livestock]), Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America) in-depth analysis along with the table of contents (ToC). Buy Now Full Report @ https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/insight/buy-now/hvac-rental-equipment-market/single_user_license Contact Us: Ajay D Quince Market Insights Pune India Phone: US +1 208 405 2835 UK +44 1444 39 0986 APAC +91 706 672 4848 Email: sales@quincemarketinsights.com Web: www.quincemarketinsights.com Browse Related Reports: Global HVAC Contained Server Market, by Form Factor (Below 20 U, 20 to 40 U, Above 40 U), End-Use Industry (Banking, IT & Telecom, Manufacturing, Retail, Education, Healthcare), Region Market Size & Forecasting (2016-2028) https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/industry-analysis/global-hvac-contained-server-market HVAC Filters Market, By Product (Fiberglass Filter, Pleated Filter, Electrostatic Filter, Carbon Air Filter, HEPA, Pocket), By Application (Residential, Non Residential [Commercial, Office, Institution, Healthcare], Industrial [Food & Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Construction, Livestock]), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America) - Global Market Size, Share, Trends & Forecasting to 2030 https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/industry-analysis/hvac-filters-market HVAC Equipment Market by System Type (Central, and Decentralized), Business Type (New Construction, and Retrofits), and End user (Residential, Commercial, and Industrial) And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, And South America) Market Size And Forecasting (2021 To 2030) Minneapolis, MN, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- The Good Clinic, a leading operator of primary care clinics that combine technology with relationship-driven, personalized healthcare services, today announced the opening of its fifth and sixth clinics in Maple Grove and Eagan, Minnesota. Todays expansion helps us get closer to our goal of covering the four corners of the Twin Cities metro area with the services people desperately need right now: COVID-19 vaccines and testing and seasonal flu shots, to name a few, said Brad Case, president of The Good Clinic. With our Maple Grove clinic serving the northwest metro, and the Eagan clinic to the south of the Twin Cities, we are giving prospective clients more and better opportunities to access convenient, empathetic, whole-person primary care so they can reach their wellness goals in 2022 and beyond. The Arbor Lakes Clinic is located in downtown Maple Grove on Main Street. With over 250 businesses in the Arbor Lakes Main Street development, the concept for this area is a classic American main street design that encourages pedestrian and business activity, is accessible, and intended to serve people of all ages and abilities. The Vikings Clinic is located just outside the new Minnesota Vikings training facility in Eagan, Minnesota at Viking Lakes, a 200+ acre mixed-use master development. The Good Clinic is inside the retail center conveniently located at the entrance to the complex. Like all the clinics, there is ample free parking to ensure ease of access for our clients. The Good Clinic intends to launch a network of tech-forward clinics in accessible locations, with nurse practitioners operating as the primary healthcare provider on site. With the new Maple Grove and Eagan locations, The Good Clinic has opened six Minnesota clinics in 2021. The first four clinics are located in Northeast Minneapolis, Eden Prairie, St. Louis Park, and St. Paul, Minnesota. The company is currently evaluating and negotiating leases to build out additional sites in Minnesota and Colorado in 2022. For additional news and information about The Good Clinic, go to www.thegoodclinic.com. The Good Clinic, LLC, a Mitesco Company (www.MitescoInc.com) The Good Clinic, LLC (www.thegoodclinic.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitesco N.A. LLC, the holding company for Mitescos North American operations. The Good Clinic plans to build out a nationwide network of clinics using the latest telehealth technology with the nurse practitioner operating as its primary healthcare provider. Today, 23 states facilitate nurse practitioners practicing to the full scope of their skills and training. The executive team at The Good Clinic includes several vital executives who brought Minute Clinic (previously known as Quickmedix) to scale, acquired by CVS in 2006. Media contact: Carol Schuler, Schuler Publicity tel: 612-281-7030 email: carol@cschuler.com RIMOUSKI, Quebec, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Puma Exploration Inc. (TSXV: PUMA, OTC: PUXPF), (the "Company" or "Puma") is pleased to announce that, further to the closing of its brokered C$5M private placement announced on December 17, 2021, it has closed a non-brokered private placement ("the Offering") of hard dollar units (the "Units") for total gross proceeds of C$922,200. As part of the Offering, the Company issued 2,305,500 Units at the price of C$0.40 per Unit, with each Unit comprising one common share and one-half common share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at C$0.65 per share until December 30, 2023. Two (2) Insiders of the Company acquired a total of 70,500 Units in the Offering (the "Insider Participation"), which is considered a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company intends to rely on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in Sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(1)(a), respectively, of MI 61-101 in respect of such Insider Participation. In consideration of their services, Finders received a cash commission of $17,570 and were issued 26,425 non-transferable compensation warrants. Each compensation warrant is exercisable into one common share of the Company for $0.40 for 24 months from the date of closing of the Offering. The net proceeds from this Offering will be used for general working capital purposes. The Offering is subject to regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). All securities issued and issuable in the Offering are subject to a hold period of four months and one day from closing. Following the holiday break, Puma's technical team will be back on site in early January to finalize preparations for its fully-funded 10,000-metres drilling program on the Williams Brook property. The Company's proposed 2022 exploration strategy and program are outlined in its December 21, 2021 news release. ABOUT PUMA EXPLORATION Puma Exploration is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company with precious metals projects in early to advanced stages located in the Famous Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC) in New Brunswick, Canada. The Company is committed to its DEAR strategy (Development, Exploration, Acquisition and Royalties) to generate maximum value for shareholders with low share-dilution. Connect with us on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn Visit www.explorationpuma.com for more information or contact: Marcel Robillard, President, (418) 750-8510; president@explorationpuma.com Mia Boiridy, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Development, (250)575-3305; mboiridy@explorationpuma.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve several known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Puma to be materially different from actual future results and achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made, except as required by law. Puma undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the quarterly and annual reports and in the documents submitted to the securities administration. BRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adyton Resources Corporation (TSX Venture: ADY) is pleased to announce the appointment of David Irvine to the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director with effect from December 31, 2021, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company also announces the appointment of existing Directors Sinton Spence and Tim Crossley as the Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO, respectively. The new Board consisting of existing Board members Sinton Spence and Tim Crossley and new appointee David Irvine, will govern the company on an interim basis as it restructures its Board and executive team. New Chairman Sinton Spence said, I am honored to be asked to be Chairman of a company that has so much potential. Since the listing of Adyton in February 2021, we have undertaken two very successful drilling campaigns most recently on Feni Island where the company reported a very significant copper intercept (refer announcement dated 1 December 2021) and earlier on Fergusson Island (Gameta and Wapolu deposits) where the company reported a significant increase in its mineral resource inventory (refer announcement dated 14 October 2021). Despite these successes, we share the frustration of all shareholders about the companys share price. As a long-term PNG resident and participant in the countrys mineral sector, I am excited by the opportunity to restructure and reposition Adyton and continue these successes with the objective of achieving market valuation at multiples that reflect our resources compared to our peers and the companys prospects for further advancement and growth. I am an absolute believer in the quality of the geology of Adytons projects. Interim CEO Tim Crossley said, Like Sinton I am an absolute believer in the geology of our assets and look forward to restructuring and positioning Adyton for continued success and better value recognition by the market. Mr Crossley said he had also met with Chief Geologist Rod Watt who having coordinated and managed the exploration programs prior to Adytons listing and over the last 9 months is also an absolute believer in the geology and has advised he wishes to stay involved in whatever capacity the new Board desires. For further information please contact: Tim Crossley, Chief Executive Officer E-mail: tcrossley@adytonresources.com Phone: +61 7 3854 2389 ABOUT ADYTON RESOURCES CORPORATION Adyton Resources Corporation is focused on the development of gold and copper resources in world class mineral jurisdictions. It currently has a portfolio of highly prospective mineral exploration projects in Papua New Guinea on which it is exploring for copper and gold. The Companys mineral exploration projects are located on the Pacific Ring of Fire which hosts several world class copper and gold deposits. Adyton was formed by a reverse takeover transaction completed with XIB I Capital Corporation on February 17, 2021, and commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ADY on February 24, 2021. Adyton is also quoted on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the code 701:GR. For more information about Adyton and its projects, visit www.adytonresources.com. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3646a34c-ad39-4dd5-8fe9-23572b2f84d8 Forward looking statements This press release includes forward-looking statements, including forecasts, estimates, expectations, and objectives for future operations that are subject to several assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Adyton. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology. Forward looking statements in this news release include plans for additional drill testing, the intention to prepare additional technical studies, the timing of additional drill results, and the preparation of a resource upgrade in Q3 2021. The forward-looking information contained herein is provided for the purpose of assisting readers in understanding management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking information are based on management of the parties' reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses, and opinions, which are based on such management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Such factors, among other things, include: impacts arising from the global disruption caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, changes in general macroeconomic conditions; changes in securities markets; changes in the price of gold or certain other commodities; change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); discrepancies between actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of and changes in the costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information represents managements best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual future results may vary materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements or information. Adyton Resources Corporation undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES (All figures in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated) TORONTO, Dec. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Q-Gold Resources Ltd (TSXV: QGR, OTC: QGLDF, FRA: QX9G) (Q-Gold or the Company) is pleased to announce it is initiating a non-brokered flow-through financing (the Offering). The Offering will consist of up to of 9,090,910 flow-through units (within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada)) priced at $0.11 per flow-through unit (the Offering Price) for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000. Each flow-through unit will consist of one flow-through common share of the Company and one-half non-flow-through share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.20 for a period of 24 months following the closing date of the Offering. The Offering is expected to close on or before January 1, 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the TSX Venture exchange. The proceeds of this Offering will be used exclusively for mineral exploration activities on Q-Golds properties in the Mine Centre region. The securities issued under this Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period. The Company may compensate persons who act as finders for the Offering in accordance with the rules of the TSX Venture Exchange. This press release is not an offer of common shares for sale in the United States. The common shares may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an available exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") and applicable U.S. state securities laws. Q-Gold will not make any public offering of the securities in the United States. The common shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws. About Q-Gold Resources Ltd. Q-Gold Resources (TSXV: QGR, OTC: QGLDF, FRA: QX9G) is a publicly traded Canada-based mineral exploration company targeting high-grade gold and silver discoveries in multiple jurisdictions. Q-Gold is currently exploring for gold at the past-producing Foley Gold Mine in Mine Centre, Ontario and for silver at the Surupana Property in the silver-rich altiplano region of Peru. For further information, contact: Evan Veryard Chief Executive Officer +1 416 571 9037 evan.veryard@qgoldresources.com Website: www.qgoldresources.com Cautionary Notes Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding the Offering, the Companys work plans, the Companys exploration plans and budgets for the Surupana Property and the Foley Gold Mine and the Companys beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. In particular, the company cautions that the completion of the proposed acquisitions cannot be predicted with certainty, and that there can be no assurance at this time that the proposed acquisitions will be completed in the manner noted above or at all. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, as well as other factors beyond the Company's control. The Company does not undertake to update any forward looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities 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. 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. Northvolt has assembled the first battery cell at the newly commissioned Ett gigafactory in northern Sweden. The cell is the first to have been fully designed, developed and assembled at a gigafactory by a homegrown European battery company. The first cell of Northvolt Ett represents a milestone which Northvolt has been working towards since the gigafactory was announced in 2017. The cell is of a prismatic cell format and came off the cell assembly line on 28 December. Commissioning and upscaling of the factory will continue through into 2022, when the first commercial customer deliveries will be made. The battery cell was developed at Northvolt Labs, Northvolts industrialization factory in Vasteras, Sweden, which has been in production since early 2020. In the coming years, production capacity at Northvolt Ett will increase towards 60 GWh per year to fulfill more than $30 billion worth of contracts Northvolt has secured from key customers, including BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar. To these customers in the automotive, industrial and energy storage sectors, Northvolt Ett will deliver cells of varying formats with commercial deliveries beginning in 2022. Presently, Northvolt Ett in Skelleftea employs over 500 people, representing 56 nationalities. Tesco is launching the UKs first commercially used fully electric heavy-duty freight articulated (tractor-trailer as opposed to rigid) trucks. Two new 37 tonne DAF CF Electric trucks will transport food and other products from Wentloog rail terminal outside Cardiff to Tescos distribution center in Magor, Wales, in partnership with logistics and international freight forwarding company FSEW. The tractor configuration of the DAF CF Electric features a VDL 210 kW nominal / 240 kW (peak) motor that delivers 2,000 Nm of torque and a 350 kWh (315 kWh effective) battery pack that supports a range of up to 220 km / 137 miles and can fast charge at 250 kW. These first two trucks will replace around 65,000 diesel-fueled road miles, removing 87.4 tonnes of CO 2 e per year. To power the new service, FSEW has installed charging points at its site in South Wales that provide enough energy to power these large vehicles for 100 miles before needing to charge again. FSEW will own and operate the charging infrastructure, and manage the goods arriving by rail to Cardiff on behalf of Tesco. Up to 48 cages of goods, made up of predominantly non-chilled food and clothing, will be transported per load. At around 30 miles each way, the Wentloog - Magor journey is an ideal location to understand the potential and range of these trucks for use throughout the UK and elsewhere in Tescos fleet. By demonstrating that electric HGV transportation is commercially viable, this service will contribute to encouraging wider investment in technology and innovation that will support the haulage sectors efforts to reduce emissions and air pollution. It will also contribute to Tescos efforts to achieve net zero emissions in its own operations by 2035, and FSEWs work to replace more than 40 diesel vehicles with low-carbon alternatives and switch to fleet-wide zero-emissions transport operations by 2025. Heavy goods vehicles make up around 16% of the UKs domestic transport emissions; addressing this can play a significant role in delivering the UKs net zero ambitions. FSEW is a logistics and international freight forwarding company which also counts Hoover Candy, Amazon, and Ford amongst its customers. NEW ORLEANS (AP) Sandra Jaffe, who co-founded Preservation Hall in New Orleans, introducing countless people to jazz through the intimate French Quarter venue over six decades, has died. Jaffe died Monday, her son Ben Jaffe, creative director of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, said on the halls Facebook page. No cause of death was given. She was 83, news outlets reported. Jaffe and her husband, Allan, were jazz fans in their 20s when they stopped in New Orleans in 1960 during what their son described as a Kerouac adventure that had taken them all the way from Philadelphia to Mexico City. They stopped off in New Orleans and, like others before and after, found themselves swept away in the beauty, romance, excitement, mystery, freedom, history, and charm of the city, he wrote in the announcement. Days after arriving, they came across a French Quarter gallery where owner Larry Borenstein held informal concerts featuring local artists. Borenstein introduced the couple to some of the jazz musicians, many of whom were elderly, according to the hall's website. Ultimately, he offered the Jaffes the space to continue the concerts as a business, marking the founding of Preservation Hall. The hall was the first fully integrated music venue in the South, according to an obituary written by Ben Jaffe that appears on the website. He said Sandy Jaffe was arrested once for violating segregation laws still in force at the time. Allan Jaffe, who died in 1987, also played sousaphone in the house band and recruited musicians while Sandra Jaffe typed up nightly schedules and collected admission fees, The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate reported. She even threw out the occasional rowdy customer. Sandra Jaffe stopped working at the venue after her two sons were born but returned after her husband died, the newspaper reported. Over the decades since the Hall was created, countless locals and tourists have descended on the tiny venue to hear a rotating cast of musicians. Concertgoers line up outside to snag one of the bench seats inside the rustic interior where the musicians and audience share an intimacy more akin to a living room than a performance hall. Children often sit on the floor directly in front of the musicians, who alternate between playing music and telling stories of jazz or answering questions from the audience. The crumbling plaster walls, worn hardwood floors and random assortment of paintings add to the simple, wholesome ambiance and provide a sharp contrast to the daiquiri-serving, neon lights-flashing atmosphere on Bourbon Street just a few houses down. In 1963, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was created as a touring organization that brought music to audiences far from New Orleans. An associated foundation promotes jazz education, supports elderly jazz musicians, and works to preserve Preservation Hall's collection of photos and other archival material. Like other music venues in New Orleans, Preservation Hall was shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic. It reopened in June but is now closed again for a few days amid a nationwide resurgence of the virus. Sandra Jaffe was on hand for the reopening in June, hugging local musicians who showed up to play. __ Follow Santana on Twitter @ruskygal. BEIRUT (AP) Bahrain appointed on Thursday its first ambassador to Syria in more than a decade, the island nation's state news agency reported, the latest sign of a stepped-up outreach to Damascus by Gulf Arab countries. The decree by Bahrains King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa came as more Arab countries are improving relations with Damascus nearly 11 years since the outbreak of Syria's civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and destroyed large parts of the country. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The U.S. government has approved California's overhaul of the nation's largest insurance program for low-income and disabled residents, officials said Wednesday, a decision that among other things allows Medicaid money to be spent on housing-related services as the most populous state struggles with homelessness and a lack of affordable housing. CalAIM California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal intends a more comprehensive approach that improves the "entire continuum of care across the program that California calls Medi-Cal, according to the California Department of Health Care Services. Starting with the new year Saturday, California will among other things expand what had been a limited whole person care pilot program" to eligible Medi-Cal members statewide. Were making Medi-Cal, which provides health care to one-third of all Californians, the most comprehensive, robust such program in the entire country, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. Aside from covering one of every three Californians, Medi-Cal covers more than half of school-age children, half of births in California, and more than two of every three patient days in long-term care facilities, officials said. The goal of the new approach is to prioritize prevention and address underlying societal conditions, particularly in populations that have had fewer health care services and faced structural racism in health care, said California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. Californias Medicaid program offers government-funded insurance to people 50 and over and 25 and younger regardless of their immigration status. California has the nation's largest Medicaid program. Medi-Cal benefits will not change. But what are known as enhanced care management services can now include a care coordinator under Medi-Cal managed care plans. The coordinator can help Medi-Cal members find doctors, schedule appointments and set up medical transportation. The coordinator can also help members understand their medications, secure mental health services, and locate and apply for community-based services such as housing subsidies or food assistance. The goal here is to extend supports and services beyond hospitals and health care settings directly into communities that need it most, said Tina Rivera, interim director of Sonoma Countys Health Services Department. The state is shifting four programs Medi-Cal Managed Care, Dental Managed Care, Specialty Mental Health Services, and Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System into one coordinating authority. Officials said that is intended to simplify and align the programs while standardizing benefits and enrollment. The program also expands certain dental benefits statewide, including efforts to spot risk factors for dental decay in children and provide silver diamine fluoride for kids and other high-risk populations. The state promises under the new system to better coordinate programs under one managed care plan for older residents who are eligible for both Medi-Cal and Medicare. The federal approvals also renew a statewide funding pool for care provided to Californias remaining uninsured residents, such as those served by public hospitals. Those 21 public health care systems include just 6% of California's hospitals, but they said they provide 40% of hospital care to the remaining uninsured and 35% of hospital care to Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Erica Murray, president and CEO of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, said that funding pool "gives public health systems flexibilities to deliver the right care in the right setting to the uninsured. The new approvals also restore coverage of chiropractic services for Indian Health Service and tribal facilities, coverage that had been eliminated in 2009. California expects approval from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services early next year to expand services for adults and youth involved in the criminal justice system before they are released from incarceration, so they continue receiving those services in the community. Another pending waiver would allow Medi-Cal reimbursement for some traditional healers and natural helpers for Native Americans and Alaska Natives. ___ This version has been updated to delete an incorrect reference to Medicaid services for the first time formally including substance abuse treatment, including short-term residential treatment when needed. WINFIELD, Ala. (AP) Homes and buildings were damaged and trees were blown down as a line of intense thunderstorms rolled across several Southern states, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. In the west Alabama town of Winfield, Wednesday's storms damaged buildings in the downtown area, authorities said. Building walls collapsed and roofs were lying in roads, Winfield Police Chief Brett Burleson told WBRC-TV. Downtown Winfield is a dangerous area," the Marion County Sheriff's Department said in a statement on social media. There are confirmed live power lines down." Police ordered people to stay out of the downtown area as officers and sheriffs deputies worked to assess the damage in the town, located about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Birmingham. If you dont have to come down here, dont," Burleson told WBRC. There are lines down, glass in the road, nails. In northeastern Alabama's Etowah County, an emergency manager reported that a pole barn was destroyed and at least two homes damaged. In south Georgia, a crew from the National Weather Service planned to survey damage in Bainbridge after a likely tornado" swept through the town, the weather service's Tallahassee, Florida, office said. The weather service typically surveys damage before confirming that it was caused by a tornado. The Georgia storm damaged the roof and sign of a convenience store, uprooted a tree and damaged a carport, the town's public safety office said in a statement. The storms prompted tornado watches and warnings Wednesday for parts of several states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, but it wasn't immediately known whether twisters caused the damage in Alabama. The threat of severe weather persisted Thursday, with several strong storms threatening parts of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina as the system moves east. More storms are expected in the region Friday and Saturday, the national Storm Prediction Center said. The Southern storms come as residents in the Pacific Northwest endured bitter cold and unseasonably frigid weather in the waning days of 2021. Heavy snow halted travel on a large portion of the main east-west highway across Washington state for more than eight hours Thursday and also snarled traffic in the Seattle and Portland, Oregon, metro areas. Authorities closed about 80 miles (129 kilometers) of Interstate 90 over the Cascade Mountains due to near zero visibility and adverse road conditions. The highway was closed from about 4:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., though most vehicles were required to have chains. In California, snow brought traffic to a halt on a major highway high in the mountains north of Los Angeles early Thursday as the last in a series of December storms that walloped the state moved through. The section of Interstate 5 was shut down before dawn, the California Highway Patrol said. Mudslides, debris flows and rock falls caused localized problems on many other roads. The city of Malibu tweeted that firefighters and lifeguards brought 22 people to safety from a flooded campground near Leo Carrillo State Beach. To the north, residents in mountain communities were digging out, with reports of major tree and power line damage in places including Foresthill and the Nevada City area, both northeast of Sacramento. Thousands of residents remained without power, with warnings that some could be without lights and heat for another week. FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Four sets of Kentucky House incumbents split equally among Republican and Democratic lawmakers would be placed into the same districts under a redistricting plan unveiled by House GOP leaders Thursday. Under the proposed map, two sets of rural GOP lawmakers on opposite ends of the state would be paired with each other in newly drawn districts. Two pairs of urban Democrats would be placed into the same Louisville districts. Those incumbents would face off in the 2022 spring primary, if the proposal wins legislative approval and the lawmakers decide to seek reelection. The new boundaries for the 100-member chamber also would create two additional districts where the majority of voters would represent ethnic and racial minority populations, House Speaker David Osborne said. The long-awaited remapping plan revealed by Osborne comes days before lawmakers convene next week for the start of their 2022 session. Redistricting looms as the top priority in the opening week. Redistricting plans for congressional and state Senate districts havent yet been revealed. Republicans hold supermajorities in both Kentucky legislative chambers. Top House Democrats responded that the timing of the plans release was an attempt at fake transparency. They said it gives Kentuckians little time to review the new boundaries and to offer input. Noting that the new boundaries will be in place for a decade, House Democratic leaders Joni Jenkins, Derrick Graham and Angie Hatton said in a joint statement, The last thing we should be doing as a legislature is rushing something so important and so long-lasting. The leaders said they will review the map with their Democratic colleagues and discuss whether the GOP proposal meets legal and constitutional guidelines. The Democrats also said they are preparing an alternative redistricting plan. Redistricting bills will be put on a fast track. Legislators are likely to be in session on Saturday, Jan. 8, to wrap up the work and send the new maps to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, Osborne said. Lawmakers also plan to consider legislation in those opening days to extend the filing deadline for candidates, which is now Jan. 7. Under the House plan, the new boundaries would double the number of districts from two to four where the majority of voters would represent ethnic and racial minority populations, Osborne said. Also under the plan, two other districts would have increased minority influence, he said. The new House district map would not divide any precinct in the state, he said. We tried to draw districts as compactly as we possibly could, Osborne said at a news conference. The redistricting plan complies with legal and constitutional requirements, he said. Their supermajority status in the General Assembly puts Republicans in full control of the once-a-decade redistricting process. Their lopsided majorities also created complications due to population losses in many rural counties in eastern and western Kentucky represented by GOP lawmakers. Trying to fit those pieces back together in consideration of that population loss was very difficult and resulted in a lot of change, Osborne said. After months of work preparing the new boundaries, the speaker expected some pushback. I understand that there will be criticisms of it," he said. "Im sure that some of our own members have criticisms of it. If the plan remains intact, two GOP House incumbents from eastern Kentucky Reps. Norma Kirk-McCormick and Bobby McCool would be placed in the same district. The same would apply to two Republican members from western Kentucky Reps. Lynn Bechler and Jim Gooch Jr. On the Democratic side, Reps. Mary Lou Marzian and Josie Raymond would be paired in the same district, as would Reps. McKenzie Cantrell and Lisa Willner. ___ Associated Press writer Piper Hudspeth Blackburn in Frankfort contributed to this report. LAS VEGAS (AP) Las Vegas isn't canceling or scaling back plans for big New Years gatherings amid concerns about the rapid spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19, regional public safety and elected leaders said Wednesday. More than 300,000 visitors are expected in town for events including a New Years Eve fireworks show on the Las Vegas Strip that was canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of ticketholders also are expected at a multi-stage outdoor music event beneath a canopy light show at a downtown casino pedestrian mall called the Fremont Street Experience. If youre sick, stay at home. If youre indoors, wear a mask, said Michael Naft, a Clark County commissioner who stood with Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and police, fire and communications center officials to outline restrictions including bans on glass and metal containers, coolers, strollers, backpacks, purses and luggage. We encourage everyone to look out for one another, take personal responsibility and proactively take actions to limit the spread of COVID-19, Naft said. The safety talk came on a day that a coronavirus surge driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant pushed new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. to the highest level on record, at more than 265,000 per day on average. The previous mark was 250,000 cases per day last January, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University. Paris, London, Berlin and New York are among cities that have scaled back or called off New Years festivities, and airlines have canceled thousands of flights amid staffing shortages blamed on the virus. Chicago officials said this week their fireworks show was still on, despite Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzkers warning during a news conference that, Omicron and delta are coming to your party. In Las Vegas, regional health officials on Wednesday reported 2,201 new coronavirus cases the biggest increase in one day since last Jan. 11 and 15 new deaths. New cases and deaths have been trending up, and the number of people hospitalized in Clark County with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 has also jumped. The countys 14-day test positivity rate, representing a percentage of people tested for COVID-19 and found to be positive, reached 10.1%, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The World Health Organization goal is 5% or less to relax mitigation measures. The Southern Nevada Health District reported 68.2% of Las Vegas-area residents have had at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, and 55.8% are fully vaccinated. Goodman, a vocal critic of Nevada mask mandates and restrictions on crowd sizes in the first months after business closures were enacted in March 2020, wore a mask Wednesday but removed it to remind the media that the biggest Las Vegas events will be outside. We are saying people (can) feel comfortable to be mask-free, the mayor said. But individually, if you have an issue or youre concerned, wear your mask. Its a question of respect. Last year, even though fireworks were canceled, thousands of revelers still congregated on casino-lined Las Vegas Boulevard to ring in 2021. This year, the National Weather Service predicts a chilly Friday night with temperatures near freezing on the Strip beneath mostly clear skies and winds that are not expected to prevent fireworks. The eight-minute choreographed pyrotechnic display will be shot from atop eight resort properties bracketed by The STRAT tower and the MGM Grand hotel, accompanied by a soundtrack airing on two FM radio stations in Las Vegas. Clark County Undersheriff Christopher Darcy invoked lessons learned about police, fire, ambulance and communications cooperation since a lone shooter in October 2017 rained gunfire for 10 minutes from a high-rise hotel into a Las Vegas Strip concert crowd. Fifty-eight people died that night, and hundreds were injured. At least two other deaths were later attributed to the mass shooting, which remains the deadliest in modern U.S. history. Darcy said about 1,200 police officers will be assigned in the Las Vegas Boulevard area, where roads will be closed and hotels also have thousands of security guards. Several hundred officers will be assigned to the Fremont Street district. A curfew requires anyone under 18 in both areas to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. We encourage folks to take the proper precautions be that vaccinations or the wearing of face coverings and to do all the things you can do to protect yourself, the police official said. He added revelers should arrange transportation that does not involve driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Wear warm clothes and comfortable shoes, said Deputy Clark County Fire Chief Warren Whitney. Stay hydrated, and be prepared to do a lot of walking. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority pointed in a statement to the fireworks being visible on and off the Strip and around the Las Vegas valley. We encourage revelers to take the proper health and safety precautions before they arrive and while they are in Las Vegas, follow the indoor mask mandate and seek medical care if they are feeling unwell, the statement said. GREENWICH A plan to distribute thousands of free at-home COVID-19 test kits to town residents on Thursday afternoon was abruptly canceled, but a number of disappointed residents turned up anyway. In a statement released Thursday morning, the town of Greenwich said delivery of the 500,000 COVID test kits to Connecticut had been delayed. Therefore, it is with great disappointment that we must cancel the distribution plans that we organized for Thursday, December 30, Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo said in the statement. It is my hope that the state will have these test kits in hand before requiring municipalities around the state to announce distribution plans. By Thursday evening, the plan to get a half-million at-home COVID-19 tests kits to state residents before New Years Eve appeared unlikely after Gov. Ned Lamont acknowledged an issue with the deal made to purchase the kits from a California company. A number of residents drove to Grass Island Park, hoping to get the at-home test kits, but they came away emptyhanded. I dont have a computer or any of that, so I depend on my son. He said, Theyre giving out testing kits at Grass Island at noon. And Im a typical senior citizen so I got here at 11, Greenwich resident Barbara Tasca said just past noon on Thursday. It is disappointing. But its OK, if they get them in then Ill be back. Maria Severo was another frustrated test-seeker. Yes, it was disappointing, she said. I wanted one just in case. Severo said she was also hoping to procure several tests for elderly neighbors on her block. Severo, who works at Greenwich High School, took it upon herself to wave off dozens of motorists who drove down Shore Road, unaware that the giveaway had been canceled. She estimated that she had seen about 100 cars driving down the road in search of the tests. Signs indicating the distribution had been canceled were scant or hard to see at the town park. I thank residents in advance for understanding that this is a situation beyond our local control. Residents should continue to check the Town website (www.greenwichct.gov) and local media for updates on when these test kits will be available, Camillo said. But it was not clear Thursday evening whether the test kits would be available. Greenwich had been slated to receive 8,010 free at-home COVID-19 test kits from the state. The initial plan had been to hand them out on a first-come, first-served basis at two drive-thru locations: at the Greenwich Senior Center for residents age 60 and up only and at Grass Island Park for residents of all ages. That plan is now on hold. Infection rate On Thursday, Connecticut set another new record for the infection rate, as just over 20 percent of new COVID-19 tests came back positive. The latest figures showed that 7,704 new cases were found among 37,891 tests for a positivity rate of 20.33 percent, more than 2 percentage points greater than the previous pandemic high that was set on Wednesday. There has been an overwhelming demand for tests during the holidays with highly transmissible COVID-19 variants, including omicron and delta, sweeping across the state and the nation. Town Director of Health Caroline Baisley said last week that the omicron variant of COVID-19 was raging in Greenwich, and she urged residents to wear masks. Camillo reinstituted a mask requirement in all town-owned buildings, including town hall, the civic centers and the libraries, regardless of vaccination status. Masks are also required in schools. Staff Writer Robert Marchant and Photographer Tyler Sizemore contributed to this story. Samantha Taitano, executive director of Mane'lu, describes the benefits of their youth mentorship program for kids and adults alike. Mane'lu is aiming to recruit 50 mentors in the coming weeks, and will host a "Mentors Night Out" event on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, from 3 p.m. to sunset at the To Creative spirits on Guam are dauntless, and the volume, quality, and depth of what they have achieved in yet another year plagued by a global pandemic and limited accessibility to gatherings is remarkable. The Guam Museum reopened in August, and curator Michael Lujan Bevacqua shared insights with us on their permanent exhibit, I Hinanao-Ta Nu Manaotao Tano-I CHamoru Siha: The Journey of the CHamoru People. In October, VIBE intern Miwa Gudmundsen also reported on the musuems visiting exhibit, The Spirit of Budo. Reporters Anne Wen and Ron Rocky Coloma took us inside the hearts and minds of CHamoru masters to celebrate their work preserving and teaching CHamoru culture. In their series on the CHamoru masters, they covered Master of Dance Frank Rabon, and Master of Carving Greg Pangelinan. In keeping with the cultural traditions of Guam, we gave readers an in-depth look into the tradition of Santa Marian Kamalen and her Kamareras through interviews with Laura Souder, Geri Gutierrez, and Hannah Arroyo. We were thrilled to tie the past to the present in a feature on the creatives behind the Guam Fashion Collective, who debuted their first look book this fall. Their collections celebrate CHamoru cultural practices such as weaving and natural materials alongside global, contemporary influences. The Guam Conservatory of the Arts opened their doors this fall with a pilot program featuring ballet and drama classes, as did Dear Tree Learning Center and Art Studio. We covered both organizations in their early days, and look forward to seeing what they bring to our community in 2022. The Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities opened their new gallery in Hagatna with an exhibit titled Our Place, Our Time, Our Resilience, featuring the work of many local artists, and we featured Dawn Lees Reyes show Mystical Places at Castro Art Gallery in Tumon. Guams performing artists stayed busy as well, and we took you inside Futurebounds live streamed underground dance competition, as well as Breaking Wave Theatre Companys annual production centered on mental health, Unspoken; Volume III, Reaching Across. Guam International Film Festival shared local and international films with us in its 11th year, and we featured insights from GIFF leaders as well as filmmakers nominated for Best Made in the Marianas. Kantan Hereru A Blacksmiths Song, won in that category a tender moment for director Sean Lizama, who was able to chronicle the work of his father, CHamoru Master Blacksmith Francisco Corned Beef Cruz Lizama, before he passed this year. The food and beverage scene on Guam continues to delight, and we captured stand outs in our stories featuring the opening of Antigu Brewing, Savage Sandwich Companys donburi bowls, the Korean buffet at Taste in the Westin, Primo Pizzakayas quarterly menu changes, our craft cocktails series, The Happiest Hour video series, and more. 2021 was a year rich in creativity, arts, and appreciation for the beauty of local culture. Heres to 2022 taking us further into the wonders of all that Guam has to offer! A spike in reported COVID-19 cases is expected after the New Years holiday weekend due to holiday gatherings and limited testing over the next few days, officials said during a Department of Public Health and Social Services press briefing Thursday. (We) expect on Tuesday we are going to see quite a bit of a spike. Its based on our three driving forces, which are our holiday gatherings, our travel cases and our limited testing, said Public Health data analyst Vince Campo. He said this will be similar to the Christmas holiday weekend, when testing was closed on Friday and Saturday. More cases than usual, 43, were reported the following Monday. One of the biggest problems that we have currently with these cases is whats called a holiday hopper, which Campo said is someone who jumps from social group to social group and can spread the virus. An example would be someone who attends New Years gatherings on the same night with different groups of people, such as a work party, family party and a party at a house. The spread can be mitigated if people are vaccinated and everyone has booster shots, social distancing is practiced and hands are sanitized. New cases Public Health on Thursday reported 35 new cases of COVID-19 from 660 specimens analyzed Dec. 29, with nine cases identified through contact tracing. Guam had 19,566 officially reported cases of the virus, with 270 deaths. There are 337 cases in active isolation, according to a Joint Information Center news release. The CAR Score has jumped to 3.1. Community COVID-19 testing at the old carnival ground in Tiyan will resume to six days a week, from 8 to 11 a.m. starting Jan. 3 to increase accessibility in consideration of the holidays, in preparation for the return to school and returning travelers, the release stated. COVID-19 clinic operations at the University of Guam Field House have ben extended due to increased demand for COVID-19 booster shots and pediatric vaccinations. It will be open Jan. 3-15, the release stated. While walk-ins are accepted, appointments will be expedited; make an appointment at tinyurl.com/vaxguam. Omicron testing Campo announced a shipment of 10 COVID-19 samples was sent Dec. 20 to the Hawaii State Laboratory for testing to see if the omicron variant is present on Guam. Another batch of samples from Guam will be sent Jan. 3. Now we are shipping them to Hawaii instead of to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so the results will have a faster turnaround time, said Campo. He said the lab told Public Health sequencing results should be ready in about two weeks. During the briefing, Public Health spokeswoman Janela Carrera said a shipment of the Pfizer vaccine is expected to arrive Friday. Virus exposure Public Health reported the majority of virus exposure in the last 14 days was from household transmission, at 65.3%, followed by 22.4% in the community and 12.2% at the workplace. The majority of exposure from travel is 74% from the continental U.S., 11% from Hawaii, 5% from Japan and 11% from other places. Campo said much of the travel from the states is because of people visiting family over the holiday season. Frank Ko James San Nicolas was found not guilty on all charges of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman in January 2020. A jury spent almost two full days in deliberations after a two-week-long trial to determine that San Nicolas was not guilty of two charges of third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct after a woman accused him of rape. After reading about the verdict, San Nicolas could be seen embracing his attorney, Joaquin Jay Arriola Jr., while family members watching the stream of the trial in a different courtroom cried tears of joy. Arriola said he and San Nicolas were grateful to the jury and the court for allowing San Nicolas a fair trial in a very, very difficult case. Tun Ko San Nicolas has now been cleared of these charges, and hed like to move on and continue his work, Arriola said. Accused In June 2020, a 23-year-old woman accused San Nicolas of raping her in January that same year. The woman knew San Nicolas after she sought his services as a spiritual healer, or suruhanu. The woman met San Nicolas at Tanguisson Beach to camp out before they went to his Yigo residence, charging documents state. San Nicolas was accused of telling the woman she needed to remove her clothing so he could give her a massage as part of the spiritual healing, documents state. The woman removed the clothes from her upper body, however refused to remove her shorts. San Nicolas used force to pull down her shorts and underwear and touched her private parts before pulling down his own shorts, documents state. The woman said she didnt want to have sex, but San Nicolas forced himself onto the woman and told her, This is good. The spirits would want this, according to the charging documents. Later, San Nicolas allegedly said he wouldnt be able to provide spiritual healing services to her if she told anyone what happened. Months later, the woman made a report to police. Proceedings Since being charged in June 2020, San Nicolas, who was employed as a police officer with the Port Authority of Guam, lost his job due to the conditions of his release. He was required to remain under house arrest, PDN files state. The effects of the pandemic also had an impact on the court proceedings, as San Nicolas case was one of many to be pushed back. An indictment was one of the proceedings in particular to be delayed, according to PDN files. Without a preliminary examination or indictment establishing probable cause that he committed the crime and should be indicted for it, hes lost his job, because hes been under house arrest conditions imposed by the court, Arriola said at a hearing in October 2020. Mental health During the two-week trial, the womans mental health issues dominated the argument between Arriola and prosecuting attorney Christine Tenorio from the Office of the Attorney General. It was revealed in trial that the woman had stayed at Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center around the time of the incident, but Arriola and Tenorio argued whether the piece of information should be relevant in determining San Nicolas guilt. Tenorio argued that the woman testified she verbally objected to San Nicolas pulling her pants down while giving her a massage. Tenorio said the woman would not have had a clear memory and would have acted erratically if she had been experiencing a mental health episode, but even if she had, her resistance would be enough. What if she was in a state of psychosis? Does that mean that no one in a state of psychosis is ever raped? Tenorio asked the jury in her closing arguments. Arriola, however argued the womans mental state at the time is relevant to how she remembered the incident, because the encounter could have been consensual. Arriola also brought up the fact that the woman sought out San Nicolas on multiple occasions afterward. An argument can be made she was eager to see him... She went out of her way to see him, Arriola said. The trial for the suspected murderer of former Humatak Mayor Daniel Sanchez has been postponed. The trial for Joyner Scott Sked was scheduled to begin next week. Its been postponed to the end of January because her attorney, Terrence Timblin, told the court he wanted to make a motion. Timblin said the Guam Police Department never confiscated Rudy Quinatas shorts. Quinata is Skeds co-defendant in the case. Timblin doesnt know yet what his motion will be, but said believes this fact, which he recently discovered, will hurt his case. Skeds trial now is scheduled to begin Jan. 26, with Quinatas to follow right after. Complaint Sked and Quinata are charged with murder in connection with the death of Sanchez. Sanchez was found dead in Quinatas home in April. Police said Sanchez had-blunt force trauma to his head and stab wounds on his body, documents state. When Quinata was located and detained for questioning about the death, he told police: Joyner did it, documents state. Sked was located later with the help of a witness who gave Sked a ride after the alleged murder. The witness said Sked made elaborate statements about stabbing, shooting and killing a person, charging documents state. Sked also said she stabbed Sanchez while Quinata kept beating on him. Michael Lujan Bevacqua is an author, artist, activist and the curator for The Guam Museum. Haiti - News : Zapping... 900 people murdered in Haiti in 2021 According to the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) around 900 people were murdered in the country from January to November 2021. FLASH : Final of the Christmas carol contest Thursday, December 30, 2021, from 3:00 pm as part of the end-of-year festivities, the Ministry of Culture invites you to the grand finale of the Christmas carol interpretation competition at the Kiosque Occide Jeanty, Place des Heros de Independence, Champs de Mars. Covid : Embassy of Haiti in Washington closed The Embassy of Haiti in Washington D.C. will close its doors on December 30, 2021 following the upsurge in COVID cases in the Washington D.C. area.The regular activities of the Embassy will resume on January 3, 2022. Collaboration between entrepreneurs and the diapsora The diaspora engagement event, initiated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) held in New York City created opportunities and spaces for Haitian leaders and entrepreneurs to engage with the diaspora. USAID believes that strengthening collaboration and organization between the Haitian community living in the United States and Haitian citizens will lead to increased opportunities and stability for Haitians. USAID looks forward to continuing to work with the diaspora for the advancement of Haiti. Did you know ? 2% of the territory in Haiti is covered with forests or fruit trees, a figure that contrasts with the 42.8% of the territory of our Dominican neighbor ... Funeral of Me. Mehu Milius Boy: The funeral of Me. Mehu Milius Boy, Counselor at the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Litigation (CSC/CA), who died on December 24 at the "Boston Medical Center" https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35566-icihaiti-obituary-death-of-a-csc-ca-adviser.html were organized on Wednesday, December 20 in Boston according to the wishes of the family. A delegation made up of the President of the Court, Councilor Fritz Robert St Paul and Councilors Nonie H. Mathieu and Marie Neltha Fetiere attended the funeral. In addition, an official tribute ceremony will be organized in his honor, on January 11, 2022, at the headquarters of the CSC/CA institution in Haiti, informs Me Rogavil Boisguene, President a.i. See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35598-icihaiti-obituary-note-of-sympathy-from-the-senate.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35566-icihaiti-obituary-death-of-a-csc-ca-adviser.html HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2021/12/29 | Source Actors Tae In-ho, Lee Tae-sung, Park Chul-min, Hwang Suk-jung and Ko Sang-ho heralded the birth of new characters in "Ghost Doctor". Advertisement tvN's new Monday-Tuesday drama "Ghost Doctor" which will premiere at 10:30 PM on January 3rd, is a medical story that takes place when two doctors with extreme background and skills share their bodies. "Ghost Doctor" released the stills of Tae In-ho (Han Seung-won), Lee Tae-sung (Jang Min-ho), Park Chul-min (Ban Tae-sik), Hwang Suk-jung (Mrs. Kim) and Ko Sang-ho (An Tae-hyeon) on the 29th. Tae In-ho, who plays the role of Han Seung-won in the drama, is Ko Seung-tak's cousin and the head of the hospital's administration. He was close to Ko Seung-tak when he was young, but as he grew up, he gradually became resentful at the way Ko Seung-tak became so successful. Lee Tae-sung, who plays the role of Jang Min-ho, is a cold-blooded man who uses his father's condition to become a group successor and plans to show evil among the evil of plotting some kind. In particular, attention is being paid to Han Seung-won and Jang Min-ho as they are said to be reborn as partners to empower each other. Park Chul-min plays the role of Ban Tae-sik, a cardiothoracic surgeon who is always small when standing in front of Cha Yeong-min (Rain). He is timid but he is a natural doctor who knows what to do and what not to do as a doctor. Park Chul-min offers a different kind of fun with his unique savory acting. Ko Sang-ho, who plays the role of Ahn Tae-hyeon, is Cha Yeong-min's loyal junior thoracic surgeon fellow who has endured all kinds of hardships and humiliation. However, Cha Yeong-min, who has become a ghost, will be at a crossroads in his choice. Finally, Hwang Suk-jung, who plays the role of Mrs. Kim is the only person who is possessed by Tess (Sung Dong-il) as a cleaner at the hospital. She meets various people in the hospital, including Cha Yeong-min, Ko Seung-tak, Jang Se-jin (UEE) and Oh Soo-jeong (Son Na-eun), giving bitter words and advice from time to time. By William Schwartz | Published on 2021/12/29 The ensemble romance film "A Year-End Medley" was released in theaters and on the domestic streaming service TVing this past December 29th. The movie has drawn attention for its very large cast, consisting of many major stars in minor roles. One such actor is Lee Dong-wook, who is currently appearing in "Bad and Crazy" on tvN as a corrupt cop with a heroic yet psychotic alter ego. In "A Year-End Medley" he plays the hotelier Yong-jin. Advertisement The role of a young and rich rich hotel owner is a very familiar one to Lee Dong-wook. This is actually his third role fitting that description. Lee Dong-wook was also similar roles in the television drama "My Girl" from 2005 and "Hotel King" in 2014. But this iteration of the role for Lee Dong-wook will be more about his personal life than business success, with his story in the omnibus dealing with the longtime manager of his hotel played by Han Ji-min who has long harbored romantic feelings for him. Elsewhere, Kang Ha-neul will play against type as Jae-yong, an obnoxious hotel guest. Director Kwak Jae-yong has said in interviews that Kang Ha-neul has been an excellent influence on set, getting along well with crew and even mentoring younger co-stars. But on-screen, Kang Ha-neul relentlessly pesters a hotelier played by "Yoona" over the phone. The performance is particularly noteworthy because the two characters do not often meet in person, exhibiting chemistry largely by voice. Lastly, Choi Soo-min will play the mother of Han Ji-min's character. Choi Soo-min is best known as a voice actress whose work appears in various cartoons. Director Kwak Jae-yong recruited her for the role through Choi Soo-min's son Cha Tae-hyun, who was in Kwak Jae-yong's first big hit "My Sassy Girl" from 2003. The importance of every story, however small, is a big theme that the cast and crew of "A Year-End Medley" is hoping will resonate. Written by William Schwartz Published on 2021/12/29 | Source Documentary "Alpinist - Confession of a Cameraman" are available to order on DVD with English subtitles from YESASIA. "Alpinist - Confession of a Cameraman" (2019) Directed by Kim Minchul, Lim Il-jin Advertisement Synopsis The film is a record of the 4 Himalayas expeditions participated by the late mountain film director Lim - from 2009 to 2013. Mountaineer Kim Hyungil becomes a celebrity upon summiting the Pakistani 'Spantic' without the aid of supplemental oxygen or Sherpas, but is killed in his subsequent climb of the notorious 'Cholatse'. Mountaineer Seong-ho is also killed during an expedition of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen led by Kim Chang-ho. In of 2018, Lim is also killed along with the entire expedition to Mt. Kim Chang-ho. This posthumous film by Lim was completed with the aid of his last interview. Billy CHOI Release date in Korea : 2020/02/27 DVD with English subtitles Order from YESASIA Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help Published on 2021/12/29 | Source Actors Gong Yoo and Kim Tae-ri are discussing the appearance in Kim Eun-hee-I's new work. Advertisement On the 29th, Management Forest, an actor-sharing agency, was offered a new work by Kim Eun-hee-I on Expo News. "Nothing has been decided at all", they said. Kim Tae-ri's agency Management mmm said, "It is just of the proposed works". Kim Eun-hee-I's new work "The Demon" will be aired on SBS in 2022. Earlier, writer Kim Eun-hee-I received great love for presenting "Sign", "Ghost - Drama" and "Three Days" on SBS. Kim Eun-hee-I's new work, which visits SBS for the first time in about eight years, is raising public expectations. If Gong Yoo and Kim Tae-ri appear, it will be their first work with writer Kim Eun-hee-I. The two actors Gong Yoo and Kim Tae-ri will also work together for the first time. The public is reacting enthusiastically to the news of the new work of the two. Gong Yoo debuted in 2001 with the KBS drama "School 4". Since then, he has played active roles in various dramas and films such as "Screen", "Biscuit Teacher And Star Candy", "Coffee Prince", "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God", "My Tutor Friend", "Finding Mr. Destiny", "Silenced", "Train to Busan", "SEOBOK" and recently he came through with the Netflix series "The Silent Sea" which was released on the 24th. Kim Tae-ri, who made her face known with Park Chan-wook's films "The Handmaiden" appeared in the films "1987: When the Day Comes", "Little Forest" and "Space Sweepers". For dramas, she made a strong impression with "Mr. Sunshine" and will appear in tvN drama "Twenty-Five Twenty-One" which will air in 2022. Meanwhile, Kim Eun-hee-I's new work "The Demon" is scheduled to air in 2022. by Carla Jenewein Chinook Red Cross blood drive organizer The Chinook Community will be hosting a blood drive on Tuesday January 4th, 2022 at Wallner Hall (330 Illinois) from Noon - 6 p.m. during a time of great need for donations. This is serious. The Red Cross is experiencing the worst blood shortage in over a decade, American Red Cross said on its website. The dangerously low blood supply levels have forced some hospitals to defer patients from major surgery, including organ transplants. Your donation is desperately needed this holiday season. Please schedule an appointment to give now. Donors of all blood types are needed. Appointments are highly encouraged by the American Red Cross. You can go online at redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-733-2767 (1-800-REDCROSS) to schedule an appointment. Or you can call Carla at 406-357-8506 and please leave a message if I do not answer. Walk-ins are welcome, however available appointment slots for walk-ins are limited so making an appointment will ensure you will be able to donate. Parental consents for those 16 or 17 years of age can be picked up at the high school office any time before the drive, as well as at the registration table at Wallner Hall the day of the drive. Consider a Power Red Donation: During a Power Red donation, you give a concentrated dose of red cells, the part of your blood used every day for those needing transfusions as part of their care. This type of donation uses an automated process that separates your red blood cells from the other blood components, and then safely and comfortably returns your plasma and platelets to you. With just a little extra time at your appointment, you can donate more red cells and increase your impact on patients in need. It typically takes approximately one hour. Red cells from a Power Red donation are typically given to trauma patients, newborns and emergency transfusions during birth, people with sickle cell anemia, and anyone suffering blood loss. Power Red is for type O, A negative or B negative donors. You would donate every 112 days, up to 3 times per year. You must be in good health and feeling well. Male donors must be at least 17 years of age, at least 51 tall and weigh at least 130 pounds. Female donors must be at least 19 years of age, at least 55 tall and weigh at least 150 pounds. The short amount of time it takes to donate can mean a lifetime to a patient with a serious medical condition. We urge eligible donors to join us in the selfless act of giving blood. We are looking forward to seeing you at Wallner Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 4. More Jewish super-talents ... ADAM SANDLER is a talented actor-comedian who has starred on television and in many movies. He, of course, is Jewish and born in Brooklyn like me! His ancestry is Russian like me! At the age of 6, he and his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he grew up. (Not like me.) As a teenager, Adam attended the Jewish youth group BBYO. He graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in Manhattan. Of course, he became famous as a member of the Saturday Night Live comedians. (That's where I first saw him and became a fan!) And I was surely a... Dr. Morton Arthur Diamond, FACC, FACP, beloved father of Dr. David and Orly Diamond of Winter Park, passed away peacefully at his home in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, on Dec. 16, 2021, aged 83. Born in Monticello, N.Y., on June 17, 1938, to the late Paul and Ann Diamond, he was raised in the Village of Wurtsboro, population 300, where the extended Diamond family, having immigrated from Nezhin, Ukraine, resided since the purchase of the family farm by his grandfather (Solomon Diamond) on Lincolns birthday, Feb. 12, 1912. He was immensely proud of his rural upbringing and formatively shaped by the closeness created by the arduous, long labors toiling on the family farm (and later commercial laundry), praying in the tiny village synagogue, and attending grade school in a three-room wooden schoolhouse built in 1782. A full scholarship afforded Morton the opportunity to attend Cornell University, Class of 1959, where he was president of the Cornell Debate Association. With boyhood dreams of becoming a country doctor, he then went on to complete his medical degree at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in 1963. Morton arrived in Indianapolis, Indiana, in June 1963 to begin his medical internship at Indiana University School of Medicine. Through extended family, arrangements were made on the day of his arrival to have dinner at the home of Irving and Frances Goldman. Their daughter, Louise, was assigned the task of picking up this young, handsome doctor. They were married on June 21, 1964. On the first day of his internal medicine residency, he was drafted and subsequently commissioned as 2nd Lt., U.S. Navy Medical Corps. Following initial training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, he was then deployed to Vietnam. The horrors he experienced as battalion medical officer profoundly shaped him. Upon his discharge from active duty in 1966, he returned to Indianapolis to compete his internal medicine residency, and then his two-year cardiology fellowship. While in training, he authored medical articles in two of Americas most prestigious medical journals: Circulation and Journal of Clinical Investigation. In July 1970, the family moved permanently to South Florida, where he embarked in the private practice of cardiology (and was generally thought Broward countys first board certified cardiologist); concurrently, he began volunteer academic teaching at University of Miami. Morton had a storied career as a clinician, adhering to the highest ideals of humanity and compassion, while doing pioneering research in cardiac ultrasonography. He variously served as chief of Internal Medicine, chief of Cardiology, and chief of the Medical Staff at Hollywood Memorial Hospital. In 1994, he transitioned to full-time academia as a professor and medical director of the Physician Assistant Training Program at Nova Southeastern, where Morton continued to teach until his death. In three decades at Nova, he was a respected and popular faculty member, was awarded Faculty Member of the Year on several occasions, published six books, and nurtured a whole generation of clinicians. Through his diagnosis in 2002 with stage IV Agent Orange-related non-Hodgkins lymphoma and, in 2018, with Agent Orange-related soft tissue sarcoma, his good humor, wisdom, and generosity never faltered. He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Louise Diamond; children Regine Diamond and Michael Cardillo, Dr. David & Orly Diamond, and Michele Diamond and Cristy Boyd; and grandchildren Yael, Shira, Ari, Sophia, Aviva, and Joseph Diamond. He would remark that he was the product of loving family, a small village, and a few great teachers. He loved his country, he loved G-d, and he loved his family. (JTA) Shimon Peres will soon receive a major honor for a non-New Yorker: the late Israeli prime minister will have a New York City street corner named in his honor. The intersection of West 95th Street and Riverside Drive will be renamed Shimon Peres Place after the New York City Council approved nearly 200 new street names last week to honor various people. The news was reported by Patch. Peres, who died in 2016, served three times as Israels prime minister in addition to serving as president of the country from 2007 to 2014. In 1949, he and his wife Sonia and their young dau... (JTA) A Muslim civil rights leader who stirred outrage when she said polite Zionists like Jewish federations are not your friends continued her critique of Zionists as she announced that she is going on a sabbatical. I am still in the middle of a prolonged Zionist onslaught, wrote Zahra Billoo, director of the San Francisco office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in a Facebook post on Sunday. She added that she believes there is an Islamophobic, pro-Israel campaign to place moles in our organization and others. Anti-Defamation League CEO... Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric gives a speech during in Santiago, Chile on Dec. 19, 2021. ( JTA ) - Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old left-wing lawmaker who has been sharply critical of Israel and Chilean Jews who support it, was elected president of Chile in a landslide victory this weekend. Boric, who came to fame as a student leader, won with 56 percent of the vote, 12 points over his conservative rival, Jose Antonio Kast, a right-wing pro-Israel politician. The election left many Chilean Jews feeling uneasy because they had to choose between Boric, who has encouraged Chilean Jews to lobby for Israeli territorial concessions, and Kast, a right-wing pro-Israel politician whose fat... (JTA) Students at a Washington, D.C., elementary school were instructed by a staff member to reenact scenes from the Holocaust Friday, according to The Washington Post. When the third-grade students asked why the Germans killed Jews, the staff member said it was because the Jews ruined Christmas. The student at Watkins Elementary School were supposed to be working on projects in the library Friday when the staff member told the students to reenact scenes from the Holocaust. The woman reportedly told one student, who is Jewish, to play the role of Adolf Hitler and to pretend to com... ST. PETERSBURG, FL A recent story involving a third-grade teacher who made their students simulate episodes of the Holocaust has rightfully sparked comment from around the nation. The incident, which involved a staff member having their students mimic digging mass graves and shooting their peers, highlights the need for proper educational materials surrounding the Holocaust. Students, especially those at a young age, need to understand the atrocities of the Holocaust in a responsible way that teaches them how to recognize and understand that hate is never the answer. Simulations are b... (JTA) The U.S. State Department has included extensive reporting on West Bank settler attacks on Palestinians in its annual terrorism report, a sign of how seriously the Biden administration is treating the phenomenon. The 2020 report on terrorist violence, released Thursday, includes three paragraphs reporting settler violence, the most it has included in years. The attacks have become a point of contention between the Biden administration and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, disrupting efforts by both sides to keep relations on an even keel. Violent attacks by... Uwe Mader with the Torah scroll fragments he handed over to the city of Gorlitz, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021. BERLIN (JTA) - A German Protestant minister has handed over segments of a long lost Torah scroll to the city of Gorlitz in southeast Germany, 83 years after his father, a town policeman, came into possession of them. While it is not unheard of for German non-Jews to turn over religious objects that have been lost or hidden since the Nazi period, the Torah scroll fragments took an unusually circuitous journey before coming to light last week. The Torah had not been seen since Kristallnacht, the pogrom against synagogues and Jewish property in German-speaking lands on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938... Miriam Cahn in front of some of her artwork. (JTA) - A Swiss-Jewish artist has asked the Zurich Art Museum to return her paintings due to concerns that the museum features works bought for below-market prices from Jewish refugees in dire circumstances in the years leading up to and during the Holocaust. Miriam Cahn, 72, made her wishes known publicly this week, the Tachles Swiss-Jewish newspaper reported. "I no longer want to be represented at the Zurich Art Museum and would like to withdraw all of my work from it. I will buy them back at the original price of the purchase," she wrote in a letter obtained by Tachles. Cahn, a feminis... The Jewish Pavilion has added a new marketing director, office manager and receptionist to its organization. The new marketing director at the Jewish Pavilion, Alicia Lovejoy, participated in the year-long Momentum journey to Israel in November 2021. Momentum transformed her life and inspired her to bring Jewish values and practices home to her family. Alicia wanted to continue her spiritual and cultural journey in Central Florida upon returning. The Momentum community trip leaders from the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and SPARK Orlando inspired her to lead with her talents. When t... (JNS) Leaders of the Zionist Organization of America warned supporters to be vigilant against what they believe to be increasing anti-Israel positions from leaders, and the trend of encroaching tolerance for anti-Semitic rhetoric masked as anti-Zionism, during the organizations annual gala on Sunday. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the gala was held as a webcast, highlighted by video addresses from leaders and activists in the ZOA, as well as politicians such as former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The event was hosted by Jewish Iran... (JNS) Looking back at 2021 in the hope of having something sensible to say about the past year, I found myself musing on a perennial question. Is history a story of progress, in which greater numbers of human beings become healthier, happier, more affluent, more tolerant and more educated with each year? Is it a story in which we learn from our past errors and those of our predecessors in order to not repeat them? Or is history a series of random cycles, in which health, happiness and wealth are at best fleeting experiences in a world where the same ills return to overcome us, regardles... As the holiday season concludes with this evenings New Years celebrations and tomorrows recovery, the same old problem of 2021 confronting the Jewish people is carried over into 2022, namely global antisemitism. As we move into the new year, virulent antisemitism continues to grow unabated here in America and throughout the world. How long must we deal with the endless and meaningless apologies for the use of antisemitic tropes, for physical attacks on Jewish citizens and for attacks against Israel based on knowingly false accusations that Israel is an apartheid state, an oppressor... (JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts announcement on Sunday evening of additional steps to confront the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus illustrates how easily government policies can be inherently contradictory. Even when giving the benefit of the doubt to hysterical health authorities and refraining from the natural inclination to suspect ulterior motives for fanning the flames of a crisis its hard not to be disdainful of the double-speak surrounding anything coronavirus-related. This isnt exclusive to Israeli decision-makers, of course. No, the hysteria... (JNS) To the casual observer of news from the Middle East, it would appear that the biggest story coming out of Israel lately is what some outlets are describing as a surge in settler violence against Palestinians. According to BTselem, an anti-settler group that is nonetheless treated as if it is an impartial and objective source by Western publications, the number of attacks by Jews living in West Bank settlements on neighboring Arabs is allegedly up by nearly 50 percent in the previous year. In this telling, radical Jews motivated by nationalism-inspired hatred for Arabsa... Appointment 30 December 2021 Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta welcomes Maximilian Schillik as its new Director of Rooms. Making the move from Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa, Maximilian brings an exciting international flair to the Hotel and is looking forward to further elevating the guest experience at this vibrant urban retreat. In his new role, Maximilian will oversee several departments, including Concierge, Front Office, Housekeeping and Spa. His ultimate vision is to ensure a sublime guest experience - "the most enjoyable in all of Jakarta!" - and create a sanctuary of elegance amid the hustle and bustle of the Indonesian capital. Born in Munich, Bavaria, young Max spent his childhood between Germany and Italy, straddling two distinct cultures. Inspired by his parents' superb hosting skills, he learned the value of setting a beautiful table, keeping a well-stocked pantry and wine cellar, and creating an "atmosphere" for guests. After studying law for a few years, Maximilian realised that his true passion lay in hospitality. He officially made his foray into the world of hotels as a management trainee at Seehotel Uberfahrt in Bavaria. In 2011, he joined a luxury hotel brand and steadily climbed the ranks, moving from front office supervisor in Munich to managerial roles across China, Germany and Myanmar. In 2019, he joined the Four Seasons family in the Maldives, coming on board as Director of Rooms. Appointment 30 December 2021 Spanning from the East Coast to the West Coast, Adora Manalo's illustrious career brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience to the property. Most recently, she was the Hotel Manager of the iconic Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel. Manalo has led teams with such notable brands such as Montage Hotels & Resorts, Trump International, and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, having held the position of Director of Residences at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown on the pre-opening team. Her connection with owners and residents and assisting them with their homes led her to a career in hospitality, where her skills translated into leading Rooms and Operations teams. Appointment 30 December 2021 Creative and inquisitive from a young age, Nico Mamon grew up in a positive and passionate environment. A mix of his organised and focused father and his eternal-optimist people-person mother, he was fortunate to travel extensively as a child, developing a curiosity for diverse cultures and communication channels along the way. He cut his sales teeth at Four Seasons Hotel Macao on non-Chinese speaking international group business while learning day-to-day Cantonese to adapt to the culture and connect to the people. Four years later, Mamon became the property's Associate Director of Sales, mastering large corporate accounts, preferred partners and international groups, retail and luxury business. Author Dr. Robert O'Halloran is a professor and the director of the School of Hospitality Leadership at East Carolina University. He earned his doctorate from Michigan State and has taught courses in planning and development, financial feasibility and food and beverage operations. His publications include numerous articles, and case studies. Dr. O'Halloran has developed and presented workshops and seminars across the U.SA. and in over thirty-five countries around the world. His hospitality industry operations background includes management and training positions with The Harborside Inn on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Jolly Roger Restaurants Inc., in California, and Pannell Kerr Forster, a management and consulting company in Los Angeles and Boston plus other positions. Dr. O'Halloran has served on professional advisory boards including the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association, the North Carolina's Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism Board, the American Hotel & Lodging Education Foundation, the Certification Commission of the Educational Institute of the America Hotel and Lodging Association (Chair), and the Training and Education Advisory Council of AH&LA. Previously he served on state and local boards in Tennessee, Metro Memphis, and New York. He is author and or co-author of over one hundred articles, columns, cases, in professional and academic journals and publications. More about Robert OHalloran Opinion Article 30 December 2021 The legal environment of the hospitality industry is forever evolving and changing. Given specific hospitality industry events and circumstances, industry professionals need to view the law, policies and regulations across the industry -- and beyond -- with particular attention to social, political, environmental, and human needs and their responsibilities and obligations. Advertisements The past few years have been framed by COVID-19 concerns and efforts to sustain, recover and transition back to a new normal. In this author's opinion, things won't go back to how they were pre-COVID-19, and the operating and legal environment will adapt to a changing environment across all aspects of business. Hospitality / Hotel Law Topics The legal environment in all business sectors is adapting to new challenges. In the service industries, consumer rights protection as it is related to tourism and hospitality is an important issue for overall society and includes the right for proper quality of service, and the right to receive services in compliance with the requirements of the legal regulations (Adamenko et al, 2020). The hotel industry, as part of the greater hospitality and tourism industry, responded in a variety of ways to COVID-19 and its impacts on society, business and all aspects of the travel and tourism industries in general. In responding to an unprecedented crisis, new legal considerations have arisen and continue to emerge. For example, Andrew Hogenson, a lawyer at the St. Louis office of Lathrop GPM noted that "A temporary closure touches on virtually every area of law relevant to the operation of a hotel: labor laws; regulatory laws (federal, state and local); agreements with lenders; franchise, management and license agreements; general debtor-creditor relationships; tax law; and insurance law,"(Perkowsky, 2021). Responding to the COVID-19 crisis, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), quickly organized and offered guidance, advisory notices and research for owners and operators across the country. The AHLA Safe Stay effort helped to set the direction for operators to handle and manage issues in the pandemic. For example, the AHLA effort examined meetings and events, indoor air quality check lists, and Safe Stay property signage and vaccine fliers. Safe Stay program efforts also included education courses and created an advisory council that focused on employee and guest health, employee safety, cleaning and disinfecting products and protocols, and included the creation of an enhanced industry-wide hotel cleaning checklist, and guest check list. AHLA quickly reacted to the crisis and also as is the norm, included legal disclaimer. Hospitality business programs are not law schools but focus on the management and control of hospitality businesses. From the perspective of a higher education hospitality business school, it is standard operating procedure to offer a course in hospitality and or hotel law. As part of hospitality businesses operations, managers need some knowledge of their legal environment to manage and exercise reasonable care in their regular management routines. A review of hospitality business curriculums notes courses in lodging, food service, meetings and events and tourism. Additionally, traditional business disciplines, i.e., accounting, finance, marketing, management and management information systems and business law are offered and applied to hospitality industry scenarios. Hospitality Law courses include topics such as labor laws, franchising, risk management and insurance and more. Hospitality law textbooks and or course syllabi organize legal topics under headings that may include prevention, government, hospitality business operations, contract law, human resource law, and hotel operator legal responsibilities (Adapted from Barth and Barber, 2017). The topic of hotel law is often introduced using what is referred to as the STEM process, "select, teach, educate, and manage" (Barth and Barber, 2017). This process is logical from an educational perspective, but a lot of material for students to absorb in a semester. The premise here is that students will not be legal experts but should be able to relate knowledge of their legal environment to planning, management and control of their hospitality operations. For faculty, we can set the tone for operating with ethical procedures and decision making. While personal ethics and the law are not always the same, they are clearly linked. From the education perspective, hospitality management curriculums need to note the importance of federal, state and local regulations. Under more specific headings content would include ethics, government regulations, federal, state, and local, immigration and employment, agency relationships, franchising, the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), management contracts, immigration, payroll, discrimination, liability, food and beverage concerns and the management of, and reactions to crises. The latter brings us to the current COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on hotels and the hospitality industry. Multiple and diverse topics are included in hospitality law courses. These courses due to the changing legal environment are constantly being updated to include current issues. For example, in most states, business owners have a duty to exercise "reasonable care" to protect their patrons and customers from being injured. While there are no published decisions specifying what constitutes "reasonable" care during the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitality business owners should, and most did, implement various safety protocols to protect themselves from future COVID-19-related liability claims (Adapted from Dial, J. 2020). Legal Topics in Coursework Many legal topics are regularly included in course-work but students are not immersed in the topics as they would be in a law school. A hospitality law course could have descriptors and goals as reflected below, which come from our school's curriculum. Knowledge: Identify the four essential components that must be present to create a valid contract. Describe responsibilities of a manager/owner regarding employee selection and discrimination in the selection process. Discuss the types of legal duties required of a hospitality operator. Identify the four essential components that must be present to create a valid contract. Describe responsibilities of a manager/owner regarding employee selection and discrimination in the selection process. Discuss the types of legal duties required of a hospitality operator. Think: Identify basic principles of law and their applicability in a hospitality context. Assess the theories of bailment to be able to implement policies that limit potential legal liability. Identify basic principles of law and their applicability in a hospitality context. Assess the theories of bailment to be able to implement policies that limit potential legal liability. Value: Demonstrate responsibilities of reasonable care to protect the best interests of their stockholders, employees, the guests and clientele, and the greater community. Demonstrate responsibilities of reasonable care to protect the best interests of their stockholders, employees, the guests and clientele, and the greater community. Communicate: Analyze and assess a situation according to legal theory and develop, implement and evaluate prevention techniques. Analyze and assess a situation according to legal theory and develop, implement and evaluate prevention techniques. Lead: Recognize ways to manage their business in a legal and ethically and morally responsible manner. (Adapted from Master Syllabus, HMGT 4244, Hospitality Law, School of Hospitality Leadership, College of Business, East Carolina University.) Additionally, in the sampling of legal topics below are topics that are often discussed in hospitality business coursework including hospitality law courses and introduced as significant parts of hospitality content. Hotel Property Development: Real estate law, leases etc. Real estate law, leases etc. Human Resources: Employee selection, discrimination in the selection process, ADA verification of eligibility to work, employment relationships, workplace discrimination and sexual harassment, Family and Medical Leave Act, uniform services employment and reemployment rights act, compensation, overtime pay, tipped employees, benefits; the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, unemployment claims, posting opportunities, workplace surveillance. Employee selection, discrimination in the selection process, ADA verification of eligibility to work, employment relationships, workplace discrimination and sexual harassment, Family and Medical Leave Act, uniform services employment and reemployment rights act, compensation, overtime pay, tipped employees, benefits; the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, unemployment claims, posting opportunities, workplace surveillance. Lodging: Your responsibilities as a hospitality operator to guests, accommodating guests, guest privacy, responsibilities to non-guests, removal of guests, liability for guests' property. Your responsibilities as a hospitality operator to guests, accommodating guests, guest privacy, responsibilities to non-guests, removal of guests, liability for guests' property. Food and Beverage: Your responsibilities when serving food and beverages, serving food, foodborne illness, truth-in-menu laws, serving alcohol laws. Your responsibilities when serving food and beverages, serving food, foodborne illness, truth-in-menu laws, serving alcohol laws. Hospitality Law: Franchising, management contracts, conference services contracts, liability, safety and security issues, human trafficking, crisis management programs. There are obviously many more topics and legally related issues to be explored. The Changing Legal Hotel Environment: Issues and Content The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the hotel industry like no other event in history. The pandemic has also raised several legal issues that hoteliers need to consider when and if closing their hotel is required, which may include furloughing or laying off staff and applying for government assistance in accordance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Perkowsky, 2020). In the hiring process, identifying what managers can do and cannot do will assist in the uniformity and consistency of processes. These topics relate directly to the standard operating procedures for human resources activities and are keenly important in our service environments. As a young manager, I appreciated company policies and rules as providing the guidelines for company procedures and basically just doing my job correctly. However, what also became clear was that policies and rules that a company created were not necessarily laws. As we plan for the recovery and move forward to create new operating norms in the lodging business, we must consider and anticipate the unexpected. Crisis and risk management has long been discussed and having a crisis plan is recommended regularly. For our students, we, need to make sure they understand that a crisis plan is a significant part of managing their legal environment. A course in business or hospitality law will not make managers legal experts. The consideration for managers is when is it necessary and appropriate to include legal representation and input in planning and operating lodging operations. As the lodging industry has grown and matured, its processes and business practices have become more sophisticated and therefore more complicated. Issues like branding and logo protection, franchising and management contracts are complicated and have multiple provisions that impact owners, operators, and guests. For example, as a young manager, I received correspondence from a law firm representing a well-known operator/competitor in the region. The letter stated we were to cease using the logo we (the company) were infringing and or violating their brand. As the manager, I was the representative of the company that owned the operation, and immediately shared this notice with headquarters office. My employer, apparently, in its processes and creation of this brand, did not adequately research existing brands. Ultimately, the logo being used needed to be changed. I was not an expert in brand infringement and needed to call in legal expertise at the corporate level. In hospitality business education we see and encourage creativity in our students, but creativity and the creation of brands requires legal homework. The point is, that many activities and actions in lodging and other hospitality businesses can be viewed as normal operating procedures without consideration of their legal environment. We don't want to be frozen by legal concerns, but we need to be thoughtful. Additionally, lodging safety and security issues, are front of mind in the current environment. COVID-19 has pushed the guest and employee safety to heightened levels. Previously discussed Safe Stay procedures from the AHLA, as I see it, have and will become current and sustaining standards. For example, meeting planners will likely ask for details they can share with their groups about sanitation and safety processes and procedures in their hotel venues. Lodging employees will also continue to insist on safe and sanitary working environments. Given the staffing issues in the hospitality industry today, legal issues have been noted concerning mask mandates, requiring employees to have received the COVID-19 vaccine etc. There are currently multiple business sectors and government entities struggling with issues arising from required employee vaccinations. Perceived health risk, as noted by Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt as far back as 1984 can result in perceived job insecurity (PJI) (Adapted from Greenhalgh & Rosenblatt, 1984). It could be argued that perceived risk continues to plague hospitality recruiting noting COVID-19. Due to working in hospitality high-contact environments, front line employees can be at high risk for COVID-19 infection. It is noted that PJI has both affective (emotional reactions of individuals to potential adverse changes) and cognitive (undesirable changes perceived by individuals) components (Jiang & Lavaysse, 2018). Therefore, operators must provide, a safe and secure workplace and be held accountable for that environment. The lodging and hospitality business sectors will continue recruit and select qualified employees. The labor market is challenging as other service sectors, retail, healthcare etc. have aggressively recruited furloughed or separated hospitality employees. The challenge for the industry is luring these former employees back. Also of note, is that the hospitality industry is a global business sector and has long struggled to attract and retain the best qualified people. Many sectors of the hospitality industry have long recruited international professionals. United States based organizations must support these hiring efforts in the form of assisting potential employees in obtaining work visas. This effort has never been easy and is increasingly difficult in a COVID-19 legal environment. The global pandemic has impacted border crossings and immigration. The restrictions on international travel etc. have complicated global hiring efforts. The recruiting question, that is, is it reasonable to hire an international candidate instead of a work eligible citizen? One response from the lodging industry has been the lack of qualified applicants. For example, this author has previously provided evaluations to law firms asking for an educational assessment of international candidate's qualifications for management positions at US hotel company locations. The assessment of educational equivalency involves the comparison of a USA based hospitality business curriculum with international education and experience. Working with the Law One of the pressing issues for hospitality businesses (and hospitality business program graduates) is recruitment hiring. Given the number of layoffs, furloughs and business closings since the pandemic began, most lawsuits related to employees are hiring claims center around what, if anything, was promised to former employees, questions asked during the screening process, and the basis for hiring decisions. It is important for employers to keep these issues in mind as they bring employees back to work. Ekelman et al, (2021) noted, must an employer rehire its former employees before considering new applicants and can an employer legally hire an applicant and reject a former employee who was laid off? The answer is yes, but they urge that operators should review hiring and recruitment plans and identify best practices when evaluating applicants. They also state that the most important step an employer can take to ensure its hiring decisions are fair and lawful is to train interviewers and decision makers. Conclusion In the COVID-19 crisis era, there is no individual blame that can be assessed and/or assigned for the pandemic and its impact on lodging operations. It is questionable if the COVID-19 crisis could have been prevented. However, going forward, hotels owners and operators can plan for whatever the next crisis will or might be and be prepared. A plan to operate legally, effectively, and efficiently will put controls in place to help protect a hotel business. Additionally, using all the resources available, e.g. Safe Stay guidelines, are arguably a "reasonable care" effort in creating a safe environment. Ultimately this strategy will help a hotel regain market share. Education is a critical step toward understanding the law and its relationship to hospitality businesses. For hospitality business programs, hiring and placement of our graduates continues to be a key issue. Hospitality business education can reinforce the importance of fairness and impartiality in managing lodging and hospitality operations and therefore guide students and graduates to operate in an ethical and legal manner with all its stakeholders. Education of the law related to hospitality can reinforce purpose, consistency, impartiality, best practices, and documentation (Ekelamn et al, 2021). As a former hospitality industry manager and now a professor I recall hearing legal language like exercising "reasonable care" and "necessary and appropriate" from enabling legislation for things like concession operations in national parks. Currently we hear about "apparent agency" in franchising and leasing scenarios etc. This is notably a limited framework and no amount of lawyer TV will provide additional context. Most hospitality faculty are not lawyers (some are), but our role in this important area needs to the creation of an awareness of issues, policies and legislation, and potential impact on operations and liability. Therefore, focusing on the continuous monitoring of the changing hospitality business legal landscape. References Angela Angie Kukawski, a business manager that worked with Nicki Minaj, the Kardashians, and more, was reportedly murdered last week in Los Angeles. Kukawski worked at Boulevard Management in Woodland Hills, working with Kanye West, Offset, Tupac Shakur's estate, and more over the years. She was fifty-five at the time of her death. According to a report from Variety, Kukawski's boyfriend was arrested as a suspect following her murder on December 22. The forty-nine-year-old man, named Jason Barker, is being held on a $2 million bond. Kukawski's deceased body was reportedly found in a car trunk north of LA in Simi Valley. The suspect allegedly transported the body from Van Nuys on December 23. Kukawski was a mother-of-five. She was known among industry professionals as a "hard-working straight shooter." "We are saddened and heartbroken by the loss of our colleague, Angie Kukawski," said Boulevards Todd Bozick and Lester Knispel in a joint statement. "Angie was a kind, wonderful person, and she will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Our deepest condolences go out to all of Angies family and friends." Not much else is known about the circumstances surrounding her death. We will keep you updated as more information is released to the public. We send our deepest condolences to Angie's family, her friends, loved ones, and anybody who worked with her. [via] Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer (Bloomberg) -- U.S. regulators are planning to clear Pfizer Inc.s Covid-19 booster shot for younger adolescents on Monday, expanding access at a time when researchers have found that an additional vaccine dose provides better protection against the widely circulating omicron variant. The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to grant emergency-use authorization for people ages 12 to 15 years old to receive a third dose of the messenger RNA vaccine, which Pfizer developed with partner BioNTech SE, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A booster shot is also expected to be authorized for children ages 5 to 11 who have immune deficiencies, the newspaper said. Houston doctors called federal health officials decision to halve the number of days a person with COVID-19 must quarantine a realistic concession to what Americans are willing to tolerate nearly two years into a pandemic that is once again setting daily records for new cases. The new guidelines, announced by the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, require people with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID to isolate for five days, followed by another five days of diligent mask-wearing around others. Previously, the CDC had recommended a 10-day isolation period. This absolutely follows the science, said Dr. Linda Yancey, an infectious disease specialist at Memorial Hermann. It better follows the course of the infection. CANT FIND A COVID TEST?: Heres what to do. In a statement, the CDC said its new guidelines reflect studies showing COVID is most likely to be transferred from person to person within the first day or two, before the infected person even knows they are sick. Once symptoms emerge, the person remains likely to spread the virus for another two to three days, officials said. Those first five days account for 85 to 90 percent of all COVID transmissions, according to the CDC. Yancey welcomed the reduced isolation period, calling it scientifically sound and easier to follow at a time when many are fatigued and overwhelmed. Many people were not willing or able to isolate for the recommended week-and-a-half, anyway, she said. Dr. Hana El Sahly, a Baylor College of Medicine virologist, said the reduction in quarantine time reflects an emerging consensus that the highly transmissible omicron variant may cause less severe disease than previous COVID strains. She called it a compromise between reducing the transmission to others and maintaining the socioeconomic fabric in a surge that is characterized by milder illness than its predecessors. The move comes as omicron spreads through the community faster than any previous strain, sickening essential workers at high rates. Hundreds of Houston-area nurses and other hospital workers are becoming infected with COVID, leaving hospitals overburdened and understaffed. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky defended the agencys decision Wednesday amid fears the reduced isolation time would accelerate omicrons spread. Responding to critics who said the move is economically motivated, she pointed to studies showing that less than a third of all infected people quarantine as recommended. We wanted to make sure we had guidance, in this moment when we are going to have a lot of disease, that could be adhered to, that people were willing to adhere to and that spoke to when people were maximally infectious, Walensky told CNN on Wednesday. On HoustonChronicle.com: Only 15 percent of Houston 5- to 11-year-olds have COVID shot. Under the new guidelines, anyone who has received their booster shot is not required to quarantine after a negative test, but is being asked to wear a mask indoors for 10 days after a COVID exposure. Boostered people do need to quarantine if they test positive with a breakthrough infection. In instances where an infected person is unable to quarantine, the CDC called it imperative they wear a well-fitted mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure. The CDCs updated isolation guidance threads the needle of reducing spread and getting people back to work to earn paychecks and provide the services everyone needs, Dr. David Persse, Houstons chief medical officer, said Wednesday evening, adding, There are no perfect solutions in a pandemic. El Sahly, of Baylor, said masks should not be underestimated as a barrier to COVID transmission. Masks should fit snugly against the sides of your face, with no gaps. They should completely cover your nose and mouth, and have a wire on the nose portion to prevent air leakages, which will reduce the potential for viral spread of infectious particles. Wearing a surgical mask underneath a cloth mask, or double masking, is recommended in riskier settings to ensure a snug fit, especially for people with beards. While protection varies based on the fit, fabric and age of the mask, some evidence suggests head straps or ties are better than ear loops, which can cause gaps at the cheeks. Masking works remarkably well, El Sahly said. Much of the attention has been focused on the reduction in isolation time, but not on the well-fitted mask wearing, which is highly effective at reducing transmission, even in high risk settings. nora.mishanec@chron.com Elizabeth Johnson is a CPA-turned-stay-at-home mom and her husband, Chad, is an engineer right-brain people who know what they know and, more importantly, know what they dont know. When they moved back to the Houston area six years ago, they wanted to be in The Woodlands and found a home that fit their family. They knew their house wasnt necessarily stylish or completely functional but had no idea how to go about changing it. So they got excited when they saw an item up for auction at a charity event: a consultation with interior designer Caron Woolsey of CW Interiors. Their quick consultation turned into a bigger job as Woolsey helped the couple work through updates and new furniture and accessories for much of the first floor of their home. Throughout the pandemic, home remodelers and interior designers have been busy, a trend thats expected to stay strong throughout the new year. Everyone seems to want things lightened, brightened and made more comfortable. We started small, thinking we were going to change the carpet in the primary bedroom and maybe the carpet in the formal dining room, Elizabeth said. It was in the early days of COVID, and we started talking about everything, the kitchen and a bar, adding wood floors. The project took just six weeks, since it was the front end of the pandemic and you could still get furniture and materials quickly. Both Elizabeth, who soon will be 48, and Chad, 48, agreed that some of their furniture should stay, but other changes paint, hardware, lighting, furnishings and accessories could make a big impact, even in small doses. Their style is fed by their small-town upbringings hes from Elk Mountain, Wyo., and shes from a small town north of Kansas City where nothing was ever very fancy, and everything was practical and functional. A simpler and more subtle farmhouse style was their goal. The couple, married 16 years, met years ago when they were out of college and living in Houston; they then lived in a series of other cities before moving back six years ago with their three daughters Emma, now 14; Claire, 10; and Molly, 8. They painted everything walls and cabinets and changed flooring throughout. Carpet and ceramic tile flooring are gone, replaced by wood floors and rugs. The rugs were a lesson for Chad, who wondered why he should spend money on beautiful wood floors then cover them up with rugs. It seemed like a crazy concept to me to get rid of carpet to put wood down and then put rugs on them, Chad said, laughing as he admitted defeat. I lost that fight. Now he appreciates their form and function. Not only do they add color and texture to a room, they also help define living spaces and, for anyone walking barefoot, they make a home much more comfortable. At the front of the Johnsons home was a foyer with a typical oak banister. Conscious of the couples budget and the extent of work ahead, Woolsey urged them to paint it white balusters and a black handrail a much less expensive alternative to refinishing. Shag carpet on the stairs was replaced with carpet with a neutral herringbone pattern. A lantern-style chandelier and a pair of sconces in matte black finish the space. An antique dresser that was already there was accessorized with a blue and white ginger jar, a small lamp and a plant. Every space needs chinoiserie, even if its just one piece and small, Woolsey said of the finishing touches. A study at the front of the home was dark and dreary, with stained-wood built-in cabinets, brown walls, wood-tone window blinds and 12-inch, builder-grade floor tile. The homes new wood flooring was extended into this study, and its built-in cabinets are now painted white and styled beautifully with things that matter, instead of being filled to the brim with anything and everything. Once again they got a rug to fill much of the room, and an old leather chair and ottoman live here, too. A rustic, antiqued brass light fixture looks perfect hanging from the center of the room, but it was the subject of a lot of wrangling. Originally, the room had a ceiling fan, fixtures that men generally like and interior designers generally try to replace. They may be great for creating a breeze on a veranda or outdoor pavilion, but they can be an eyesore indoors. Chad wanted to keep the fan, and Woolseys job was to change his mind. Elizabeth really wanted a light fixture for the study, but Chad saw zero reason for it. I said, What if we could find the most rustic light ever? and he said hed consider it, Woolsey said. I had to make him a partner in the decision instead of saying this is what you need to do and why. She finally found one that was more rustic, with an aged finish, and he agreed. Its rough-hewn, and he loved it because it showed craftsmanship, Woolsey said, noting that it works well with the much-lived-on chair and ottoman, plus mementos such as an animal skull from Chads hunting days and the cornet he played in junior high school. The kitchen update was more cosmetic, with new paint and hardware for the cabinets, a new sink and lighting over the island and above the sink. While the perimeter cabinets are white, they opted for Restoration Hardwares Light Silver Sage, a pale blue-gray, for the island. They replaced brown stone counters with white quartz and a butcher block top for the island. In a project full of saves and splurges, the wood counter was a major save. Because it didnt cost much, the couple knew that if they tired of it quickly or didnt like the way it held up, they could easily change it later. You can see the laundry room from the kitchen, and its builder-grade tile flooring and orange-brown counters were an eyesore. Now it has tan-gray print floor tile thats much more attractive and counters similar to those in the kitchen. Small changes made the primary bedroom more livable, replacing a sofa that ate up too much room with a small bench made of wood and sisal, and adding decorative pillows, art and plants. Chad hated to get rid of that sofa because it and a couple of other pieces of furniture came with the house as deal sweeteners when they were negotiating the price. To get rid of them felt like a crazy move losing something he worked hard to get. Woolsey felt like the spacious room had great light, but you couldnt appreciate any of it because the sofa ate up so much room and was never really used. A few new things in the dining room freshened up a space that everyone who comes in the front door sees. They already had a china cabinet and a white table, so Woolsey brought in new chairs and a light fixture, mixing black and white with natural fibers, as they did in the kitchen. A pair of upholstered hostess chairs mix with four wood chairs painted black and two more chairs that are a combination of black metal frames with wooden seats. The chandelier has a black-matte cage with natural fiber wrapped around its stems. The Johnsons are the first to admit that if they had to select chairs on their own, all eight would match exactly. But Woolsey wanted to achieve the farmhouse look they preferred, delivered in more subtle ways, such as the casual mix of black and white and touches of natural fibers. In the formal living room, the Johnsons had sofas that they liked, so Woolsey finished the room with everything else, a rug, tables and accessories that include a mirror, lamp and sconces. In Woolseys initial presentation to the couple, she suggested big changes to the powder bathroom, a boring box with brown walls and an ugly light. Knowing the couple was more than a little afraid of color, she suggested adding white paneling to the lower part of the walls and installing Thibauts lively Honshu wallpaper (in the Robins Egg colorway) above. A new pedestal sink with a farmhouse-style faucet, a pretty mirror and a two-globe light fixture finish the room into a little jewel box. When Woolsey first mentioned wallpaper to the Johnsons, they had a deer in the headlights expression, she said. She assured them it wouldnt be old-fashioned wallpaper and its color and pattern would be offset by the paneling. Were pretty dorky. Im an engineer and shes an accountant, but we love our house now, Chad said. We can let the kids and the dog run around and not feel like theyre going to mess it up. Its amazing to walk through the house and think this is ours. Their daughters love the changes, too, and are urging their parents to get started on updates for the second floor, where their bedrooms are. Claires 11th birthday is coming up, and shes already asked for a new paint color and bedding. I enjoy sitting in the house now, Elizabeth said. Its so pretty, and I love it instead of sitting there thinking I should change it. diane.cowen@chron.com FIRST DAY HIKES Brazos Bend State Park: Starting at 8 a.m., the park will lead a 1.2-mile hike along its 40 Acre Lake Trail. First Day Hike stickers will be available while supplies last. Educational stations along the path highlight the park's various ecosystems and wildlife. Visitors can touch various animals skins and see a hatchling alligator. Day-use fee: $7 per person for ages 13 and older (12 and younger free). 21901 FM 762, Needville, 979-553-5101. Huntsville State Park: Join the park volunteers for a morning hike on the 7-mile Chinquapin Trail, one of the park's most popular trails. Visitors should meet behind the Nature Center and be ready to leave at 9 a.m. The trail is categorized as "challenging." At 2 p.m., volunteers will lead a 2-mile hike on a combination of trails. At 3 p.m., there will be a 3-mile hike. All hikes start behind the Nature Center. 565 Park Road 40 W., Huntsville, 936-295-5644 Sheldon Lake State Park: To participate in the First Day Hike program, visit the park anytime between 9 a.m. and noon. Check in with a ranger in the Pond Center to sign up and get started hiking. After your hike, visit the ranger station to log your miles, snap some photos and pick up your First Day Hike goodie bag. All trails are ADA accessible and this event is for all ages. Contact Sarah.Landuyt@tpwd.texas.gov with questions. No preregistration is necessary for this park. 14140 Garrett, 281-456-2800 BIRD COUNTS Buffalo Bayou: Join the Christmas Bird Count along Buffalo Bayou on Sunday, Jan. 2. The Buffalo Bayou count is one of the few in the area set in an urban environment. The count circle centers on the Houston Audubon's Edith L. Moore Sanctuary and extends from Memorial Park to beyond Texas 6; from the Southwest Freeway at West Belt to FM 529 near Jersey Village. Join in the fun and help the group eclipse the high count of 132 species. Organizers say it is possible to see up to 15 species of sparrows on this count, including the elusive Henslow's and grasshopper sparrows. Other "Special Birds" seen over the past several years have been: hooded merganser, American bittern, solitary sandpiper, American woodcock, common ground-dove, black phoebe, Couch's kingbird, red-breasted nuthatch, spotted towhee, eastern towhee, rusty blackbird, purple finch and pine siskin. Participants can join as Field Observers or Feeder/Yard Watchers. Because so much of the Buffalo Bayou count is residential, "those who stay at home and observe their feeder, yard and/or neighborhood are important to the count and greatly increase the efficiency." Contact compiler Adam Wood, birdsondabrain@gmail.com, Galveston: The West End of Galveston Island contains great birding habitats, including Houston Audubon's Dos Vacas Muertas Sanctuary. The count will take place Monday, Jan. 3. The compiler is Kyle O'Haver, kyle.ohaver@tpwd.texas.gov; the co-contact is Cynthia Hughes, cynhuz@att.net. Lake Houston-Humble: On Monday, Jan. 3, local bird guides will help enthusiasts identify and document all kinds of species. There are three meeting locations: 7:45 a.m. at Jesse Jones Nature Center, 20634 Kenswick; 9 a.m. at Alexander Deussen Park Senior Center, 123030 Sonnier; and 4 p.m. at Edgewater Park, 202 Hamblen. Contact Alicia Mein-Johnson at amein@hcp4.net for additional information. Hundreds of area hospital workers are becoming infected with COVID-19, hospital administrators say, as the highly transmissible omicron variant spreads through the community. As a result, nurses are taking on more patients and where there arent enough nurses, unoccupied beds arent being used. Other hospitals are delaying elective surgeries and are asking the state to provide assistance with staffing. Many administrators and public health experts believe the infections among health care workers occurred outside of hospitals as people used masks less often and traveled for the holidays. Throughout town there is a staffing crunch, said Dr Luis Ostrosky, infectious disease expert at UTHealth Houston and medical director of epidemiology at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. Health care workers are members of the community as well, and with omicron going like wildfire, health care members are being affected and every health institution in Houston is experiencing staffing issues at this point. Not only are many hospitals now operating with fewer workers, their emergency rooms are quickly filling up as the omicron variant infects a larger number of people. About 1,350 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Houston, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Such figures were last seen during the surge caused by the delta variant. On HoustonChronicle.com: Omicron's wave of breakthrough infections spurs rush for COVID tests, vaccines in Houston Roberta Schwartz, executive vice president of Houston Methodist said COVID patients are filling the hospitals emergency rooms at levels not seen since July. Youre just dealing with greater numbers, Schwartz said. If you have twice as many people (contracting COVID) with half the hospitalization rate you still have an equal number of people in the hospital. At the same time, she said, health care workers are unavailable. The number of Houston Methodist employees testing positive for COVID jumped to more than 700 this week from 550 last week, Schwartz said. As a result, the hospital chain cant staff as many beds as it would like, leading to longer wait times for incoming patients, she said. We are still managing, and we are still treating everyone who is coming in the door, Schwartz said But in some cases, people are waiting in the emergency room longer than I would like. Harris Health Systems hospitals are facing similar issues, said CEO and President Dr. Esmaeil Porsa. About 350 staff members were infected or exposed to COVID as of Tuesday. This is happening now in the background of a severely limited workforce in our health care system, Porsa said. We have a high vacancy rate in nursingand on top of that we have a workforce that is becoming infected with COVID. Very soon we are going to be coming to the point where we are not going to be able to provide high quality, safe care. Harris Health, which could soon move workers from its community clinics to its hospitals, warned the governor that it will soon need staffing assistance from the state and county. Some clinics, however, are feeling the strain of staffing shortages as well. Gloria Aguilar, a medical assistant popped in and out of rooms Wednesday at Hillcroft Physicians PA clinic in southwest Houston, where a steady stream of patients checked in, concerned they might have COVID. Already, 70 patients had been seen at the clinic, and 12 more sat in the waiting room. Normally, Aguilar would be one of seven medical assistants there, but five were out because of a positive COVID test or exposure to the virus, according to the clinics medical director, Dr. Forough Farizani. Im literally doing the job of three or four (medical assistants) at the same time, Aguilar said. Im doing it all, back and forth, back and forth. UTMB Health, anchored by the John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, had to close beds and assign more patients to each nurse. Elective surgeries that require a bed for recovery are being delayed, said Dr. Gulshan Sharma, vice president and chief medical officer, for UTMB Health. About 400 of UTMBs employees including 200 of the systems 4,000 health care workers tested positive for coronavirus, more than double the number who tested positive during the delta surge. On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston surpasses 300,000 COVID cases as omicron brings yet another surge Postponing elective surgeries is just one example of how the staffing shortages fueled by breakthrough infections are affecting the hospital's operations, Sharma said. There is not a dedicated COVID staff or non-COVID staff. Patients still continue to have heart attacks or stroke complications from their chronic diseases, and they show up to our (emergency rooms), Sharma said. But our (emergency room) volume is up by almost 50 percent compared to last week. Hoping to reduce workforce shortages related to COVID, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shortened the quarantine isolation period for asymptomatic people to five days. The adjustment was made around the time flights were being grounded because of outbreaks among airline crews. Health care workers with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic can return to work after seven days with a negative test, and that isolation time can be cut further if there are staffing shortages, the CDC says. Houston hospital administrators, including those at Houston Methodist and Harris Health, said theyve cut the return-to-work time to five days. Testing shortages, meanwhile, are making it more difficult to determine a workers status. Sharma said to be able to test negative after seven days, people would likely need an antigen rapid test, which indicates whether someone is infectious or not. With so few antigen tests available, UTMB has been using PCR tests, which is a more sensitive test and can still come back positive even if the person isnt contagious. There is nobody who is going to be negative in seven days to return to work. They will still be shedding virus, Sharma said. Im just not sure how that particular change will help get the workforce back into our operations. Julian Gill contributed to this report. A Houston police officer discharged his weapon early Wednesday morning while responding to a domestic disturbance in southwest Houston, according to Houston police. The shooting happened around midnight at the 9100 block of Kindlewood Drive where police said they responded to a residence for a reported family disturbance involving a weapon. According to Wednesdays news release, when officers arrived at the scene a witness told them Basel Al Rifai, 22, was armed with a gun and holding his wife inside of the home, not allowing her to leave. ODESSAWhen students in Bernadette Barragans neuroresearch science class at George H.W. Bush New Tech Odessa put on their virtual reality gear, they put themselves smack in the middle of mouse brains and they share in research being conducted by scientists at the University of South Florida. USF medical engineering professor George Spirou and post doctoral researcher Dakota Jackson worked with eight of Barragans students. The idea to develop citizen scientists in Odessa came about through Ector County ISD Chief Innovation Officer Jason Osborne. Jason initially had this idea of using virtual reality in education and the bookend notion to that was this notion of the citizen scientist, Spirou said. That resonated with what we were thinking, which is if you engage people at a young age that would be a way to get away from the kind of dull textbook presentations that turn people off and get them right into actually the big questions and a sense of the excitement. Jackson said he had a similar experience in high school making products like shampoo in a chemistry lab through the U.S. Education Departments GEAR UP program. Ive taken those experiences and I was working from that perspective and I very quickly realized for them it wasnt about the individual details and whether or not they were familiar with them, it was all about the process of science, Jackson said. So it was as inspirational to watch them as it was for me to go through that process when I was like 15 or 16 to learn to just learn to flex my intellectual muscles. Spirou said working with high school students is something they want to try again. They were able to appreciate whats happening in the third, fourth, fifth month of gestation in a human because theyre watching the equivalent in a mouse that we had imaged. Jackson said the questions he got from students prompted him to do some research himself. All in all, I thought it was a really beautiful example of learning classic neurobiology in a context thats using very modern technology, very engaging, and the students really seem to enjoy it, specifically because of that VR component, Jackson said. Jackson added that it was refreshing to speak to an audience unaccustomed to using scientific jargon. This meant that he and Spirou introduced the concepts from a very fundamental level. It didnt take long for these students, because of their tenacity and curiousness, to very quickly get to the point where we were talking about cutting edge when it comes to neurobiology topics, Jackson said. Barragan said some of the students also liked the data aspect of the project and created spreadsheets. Abigail Murrillo, a 17-year-old senior, said the experience has given her an in-depth look at what a neuroscientist is. She saw neuroscience and the science field as something that was out of reach. But now, being involved in this internship it kind of seems like a possibility of something that I could be particularly interested in. I really enjoy the process of research how being curious and trying to figure out a solution, or an answer to a specific thing, Murillo said. Octavio Garcia, 17, a senior at New Tech, said for him its a nice change of pace instead of just a computer screen and paper. It was using something that we really never used before, which was VR and what made it more special because it made it easier to understand, Garcia said. For Angela Aguirre, 18, a senior who wants to be a psychiatrist, Seeing the biological standpoint of how the brain works and the complexities makes me open my mind to more understanding why some people may be some way. From a school district perspective, Osborne noted that students have become an extension of a university by providing valuable scientific data analysis through their virtual reality platform, SyGlass. We realize that when students engage in authentic and hands-on experiences, they become more vested in their learning journey, Osborne said in an email. ECISD has partnerships with 24 universities and is in the process of creating a partnership with the Marine Biological Laboratory located in Woods Hole, Mass., Osborne said. We are hoping that through this partnership students will have a chance to assist in marine biological research with scientists located around the world. Under the partnership with USF, Osborne said both Dr. Spirou and Dr. Jackson met with students on a weekly basis and taught them college graduate level techniques in neuroscience research. There is potential for this teaching and learning method to be more broadly utilized going forward and provide more choices for students. A woman died and a man was injured after two people shot them outside their residence Wednesday night in the Fifth Ward, Houston police said. Authorities arrived after 11:35 p.m. in the 3500 block of Gillespie, south of Interstate 10 near U.S. 59. An ambulance took the two to the hospital, where the woman died, police said. The man is expected to survive. Elliot Spagat, STF / Associated Press The White House is requesting the Supreme Court review a decision regarding a polarizing Trump-era border policy that forces some migrants seeking asylum to wait for their immigration hearings in Mexico. The decision in question mandated the continuation of the Migrant Protection Protocols program, informally known as remain in Mexico. The Biden administration earlier this month started sending back migrants to Mexico to restart the program. The wait is over. No, not for your Spotify Wrapped. We did that already: You cried yourself to sleep listening to Olivia Rodrigo and your moods were bold and wistful, whatever that means. This is your 2021 Wrapped, where we remind you about everything that happened in the last 12 months, likely prompting you to exclaim: That was this year?! and Wow, I had blocked that out. It wasnt all bad, though: COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out, there were some really funny memes on the internet and yeah, thats about it. Lets take a look at your 2021 Wrapped! You spent 365 days living in 2021. Thats 8,760 hours, or 525,600 minutes. Wow! Congratulations, you gave up 0 New Years resolutions this year. Thats because you didnt make any. For 5 days, you were hopeful that there were better times ahead after an awful 2020. This feeling ended on Jan. 6, when supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, highlighting our countrys deep divides and demonstrating how close we are to complete societal collapse. Jose Luis Magana/AP Your thermostat went down to 48 F after the power went out during the February freeze. You also read 3 books by candlelight amid the lack of internet and cell service, had 2 broken pipes in your home, boiled 24 gallons of water during the boil-water notice, and hate-read 17 articles about the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Elizabeth Conley/Staff photographer ULTIMATE PREPPER LIST: 12 things we wish we'd had during Houston's winter storm You received $1,400 in stimulus checks from the federal government, for your trouble. It didnt pay for much, but stimmies is fun to say. Youve had 3 needles stab your arm. Like the majority of Americans, you received two shots of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine; you also got your booster before years end. Each time, you chose your left arm because youre right-handed, but forgot how much cozier it is to sleep in the fetal position on your left side. Either way, you cant win this game. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Top pandemic nicknames: The panny The panini The panaderia The panoramic The Panera Bread You learned about the deaths of 57 famous people. You were sad about 25 of them, weren't sad about 7 of them, had to Google 14 of them, and felt nothing either way for the rest. Regardless of your allegiances, this math probably works out. For 3,642 minutes this year, you totally forgot about humanitys viral demise while engaging with the various memes-du-jour and funny happenings on the internet. If it hadnt been for Sen. Bernie Sanders inauguration mittens, Zoom cat lawyer, the Ever Given container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, Nicki Minajs cousins friends testicles and many other 2021 main characters you may not have made it through this year. IM NOT A CAT: Texas lawyer caught in Zoom filter mishap during judicial court hearing Screengrab from YouTube/394th District Court of Texas Your heart broke 3 times watching the Houston Astros scrappily stay in the World Series until Game 6, before ultimately losing against the Atlanta Braves. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Top food moods: Peanut butter straight out of the jar on day 4 of the February freeze The baked feta pasta that went viral on TikTok The homemade bread at the back of your freezer from 2020s prolific baking spree Dipping a Slim Jim in queso and calling it a charcuterie board The stew that you seasoned aggressively and yet has no flavor oh wait, you have COVID You aged another 45 years in 2021 while watching the Friends reunion and the Sex and the City reboot, seeing Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck get back together, learning that children born in 2000 can legally drink now, and realizing how old you were when the pandemic started. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images Your family ate a combined 1,860 black eyed peas on New Years, and it clearly was not enough to bring us luck in 2021. Do better for next year. We reached the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet in COVID-19 variants. Omicron ruined the holidays this year as cases of the highly infectious variant continue to spread throughout the country. Does the pandemic end when we run out of letters in 2022? In the fall, clarity. At Christmastime, bureaucracy and cowardice. Two months ago, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously recommended that Gov. Greg Abbott issue a posthumous pardon of George Floyd, the Black man who grew up in Houstons Third Ward and was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis last year. It was a rare and welcome move, not least because Floyds conviction on a minor drug possession charge had been based on the sworn testimony of disgraced former Houston Police Officer Gerald Goines, who has since been indicted on two counts of felony murder and fired from the department. But as the holidays approached, and with it the traditional time for governors to grant clemency, Abbott had refused to say whether hed issue the pardon, which had drawn supporters across Texas, including this board and Harris Country District Attorney Kim Ogg. That all changed the day before Christmas Eve, when Abbotts office finally broke its silence. Abbott would not be issuing the pardon, the office explained, because he no longer could: The week before, the pardon and parole board had sent a letter to his office explaining that it had rescinded its recommendation. Since Texas law only lets a governor act on a recommendation from the board, Abbott would not too bad, so sad be able to consider a pardon for Floyd. This curious chain of events raised questions for both the governor and the pardon board, but neither has seen fit to explain their decision in any detail. We sought comment from the governors office. We called the boards chief of staff. And we spoke to the personal assistant to the boards chairman, former Lubbock County Sheriff David Gutierrez. None answered our questions. Instead, the board released a letter Gutierrez sent to Abbotts general counsel on Dec. 16. It explained that he had grown concerned about the sheer number of pardons the board had recommended this year, and initiated a review of every case. What he found, he wrote, was that the board had strayed from its normal rules in 25 such cases, Floyds included. So, he told the governor, the recommendations were rescinded. Did Abbott help convince Gutierrez to reevaluate the petitions? Did Gutierrez consult with the rest of the board, and did they vote on the matter again? (After all, vote in favor of the pardon had been unanimous just two months ago.) And finally, how exactly, did the boards recommendation in the Floyd case stray from its norm? Allison Mathis, the public defender who first petitioned the pardons board for clemency for Floyd, told us Tuesday that she still hasnt been told what was wrong with her application, or whether theyll reconsider a new request. In fact, she first learned of the about-face from a reporter. If Abbott did arrange for appointees on the board to take the tough decision off his plate, then he should be ashamed. Texans deserve a leader who looks them in the eye and tells them straight out what they think and why. Its also a set back for the larger effort at police reform. Sure, many who have felt calls for reform go too far have winced at the way Floyds death has become a rallying cry for systemic changes to policing in this country. But no amount of misgivings over the calls to defund the police should allow any of us to rest easy with the fact that Floyd died in a way that no person in America, or anywhere, should ever die unarmed, handcuffed, and with his neck pinned to the ground by the knee of a racist officer who ignored repeated pleas by Floyd that he could not breathe. Minute after minute, until Floyd stopped pleading, and stopped breathing. It isnt only those with spotless records who deserve justice. George Floyd should be alive today. Abbott cant change that. But he still has the opportunity to show that being tough on crime doesnt require being blind to justice. He should encourage the board to send him a new recommendation for clemency in the case of the late George Floyd. Then he should grant it. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller touted in a Facebook post to his 839,000 followers that he has received former President Donald J. Trumps endorsement in his re-election campaign. Miller an early and vocal supporter of Trump since the early days of his 2016 campaign is running for his third term as the states agriculture commissioner. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Brian Hazard looks back at a year of promoting his independent album Independent recording artist, author and teacher Brian Hazard shares how he promoted his 12th album this past year. A guest post by Brian Hazard of Passive Promotion. Im exhausted. My 12th full-length album Mages was released on December 3, and Ive been going nonstop since October. The album promotion was a series of five distinct campaigns, not counting two singles releases over the same time period. Im going to break it down into bite-sized chunks and perhaps draw a conclusion or two. Buckle up, because this is going to be a biggun, serving as both an overview of the album launch and a table of contents for upcoming posts. Laying the Groundwork Id been releasing singles every few weeks since the beginning of 2020, but the album promotion started in earnest with three surveys I put out to my patrons, mailing list subscribers, and social media followers. The survey results told me what formats to release the album in, what to bundle it with, and what rewards most interested potential patrons. With some help from Kay Speranza of Email Gypsy, I completely rewrote my 7-email welcome series in preparation for the Tunespeak Giveaway Tunespeak hosted a raffle to give away four prizes in a drawing. It ended last Friday, and theyre in the process of confirming the winners. Over the two months that the raffle was live, entrants generated thousands of Spotify streams and YouTube views, plus hundreds of mailing list signups. Ill be writing a separate article on Tunespeak with all the details soon, so stay tuned! Make Room for Mages Sale My garage was not happy. It was filled to the gills with CDs already, and I was about to order another thousand. The Make Room for Mages Sale was pitched as a way to clear out the cupboard under the stairs in order to, as the title suggests, make room for the Mages CD. I discounted everything in my shop by 50% with the coupon code mages. Make Room for Mages net sales I wouldnt call it a rollicking success, but I netted $543 selling about 85 CDs. The biggest seller was my all CDs bundle. As you can see, the vast majority of sales occurred on the final day. I feel like a nag sending out those last chance emails, but they always pay off! Patreon Special Offer CD sales come and go, but support from my patrons has been stable and reliable for nearly five years. My offer was simple: become a patron at the $3 level or higher before midnight November 8, and Ill include your name on the CD. Heres the final result, taking up one of the eight panels on the Digipak: The offer brought in 13 new patrons, bringing me to 171 patrons total, pledging $780 per month. Pre-Order Campaign And now, the main event. I had five new items for sale, including one premium offering: a laser-engraved 128GB USB flash drive containing my entire 641-track discography. Thats everything Ive ever released, plus three upcoming 2022 releases! I also had a new t-shirt design, and of course the CD: The final two items were swag collections: an $8 goodie bag of stickers, a coaster, and a magnet, and another $10 bundle with a keychain, pin, and holographic sticker. Here are total sales over the two-week pre-order period: And heres the breakdown by product (I left some stragglers off at the end): The biggest ticket item was the $149 combo of the USB discography, t-shirt, and CD. Many chose to just get the USB discography for $129, which already includes the album. I previously released another USB discography way back in 2011. For those buyers, I offered a $50 discount code on the new one, which explains the mathematical discrepancy in the totals. That $6470 looks pretty sweet until you factor in my costs: $2484 for 1000 CDs (including design), $1102 for 50 USB flash drives, and $611 for 40 t-shirts, for a grand total of $4197. That leaves an actual net profit of $2273. Ive still got over 900 CDs and a half dozen USB flash drives, the latter of which are sure to sell eventually. Dungeons single release My fans and I all deserved a break from buy, buy, last chance! (which would return soon enough). The single release and accompanying AMV served that purpose nicely:https://www.youtube.com/embed/R_mVRdtuiO4?feature=oembed Single releases have their own promo template, which I hope to detail in an upcoming post! Black Friday Offer If Id waited until Black Friday to open pre-orders, they wouldnt have shipped before Christmas. Still, I wasnt going to let Black Friday go by without making some kind of offer! My Depeche Mode tribute album has always been the best entry point for new fans. Last year I released an updated version of it with three new tracks. My offer was a slightly tweaked version of 2020s free + s/h funnel. Instead of simply offering the CD for free, I provided five options, from free all the way to full price. This one is still going! Ill be writing about it separately in the near future. Release Day Release day just so happened to be Bandcamp Friday. What a coincidence, right? I didnt really do much besides my usual single release stuff. Where I could pitch the entire album, I did. Where I could only pitch one track, I went with the focus track that Id selected on Spotify for Artists one of the three that hadnt already been released as a single. Happy Birthday to Me I normally let my birthday go by without as much as an acknowledgment, but this year I had an idea. What did I really want for my birthday? For people to hear my new album, of course! So that cost was no object, I made the album name your price on Bandcamp for the weekend. To date, Ive sold 42 units of the album on Bandcamp for a total of $267. The birthday offer pushed it up to #8 on the synthwave charts, but my off-Bandcamp pre-order campaign sabotaged any chance of it gaining serious momentum on the platform. Conclusions & Future Plans That was a ton of work! All the while, I still had my regular content calendar to fulfill, including new songs for patrons and new podcast episodes, not to mention studio work for clients. Hence the exhaustion. In many ways, the campaign was a success. I built hype around the album, generated solid streaming numbers, gained some new patrons, and made a profit selling merch. You might also call it an abject failure. I didnt even sell 100 CDs. The only thing that stopped me from losing money was the USB discography, and thats not something I can repeat with each album cycle. In hindsight, the smarter play wouldve been to make the USB discography the sole merch drop alongside a digital-only album on Bandcamp. That wouldve generated thousands of dollars with minor fuss and zero storage issues. Granted, I wouldve felt guilty! The majority of my patrons collect CDs, and their support is what allowed me to pay for them in the first place. For some, their support may even be contingent on physical releases. Theyd certainly understand if I made the release digital-only (like last time), but theyd be disappointed. Im not ready to swear off CDs entirely, but I cant keep manufacturing them by the thousands. Ive been reluctant to settle for CD-Rs, but at the very least, Im confident I could sell 100 in jackets. Brian Hazard is a recording artist with over twenty years of experience promoting his eleven Color Theory albums, and head mastering engineer and owner of Resonance Mastering in Huntington Beach, California. His Passive Promotion blog emphasizes set it and forget it methods of music promotion. Catch more of his promotional escapades in his How Im Promoting My Music This Monthemail newsletter. Share on: Medical Matters Weekly Returns for Second Season BENNINGTON, Vt. Southwestern Vermont Health Care's (SVHC) Medical Matters Weekly with Dr. Trey Dobson welcomes Larry Cole, a former police detective and COVID-19 survivor, as their first guest of the program's second season at noon on Jan. 5. Cole contracted COVID before vaccines were available. He spent 18 days as an inpatient at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in the early days of 2021. He will share his experience, including his continuing struggle with COVID symptoms. The show is produced with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can see Medical Matters Weekly on Facebook at facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington . The show is also available to view or download a podcast on www.svhealthcare.org/medicalmatters After the program, the video will be available on area public access television stations. On CAT-TV, viewers will find the show on channel 1075 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 1:30 p.m. Monday, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 a.m. Friday, and 7 p.m. Saturday. GNAT-TV's Comcast channel 1074 airs the program at 8 a.m. Monday, 9 p.m. Wednesday, and 1 p.m. Saturday. Medical Matters Weekly is an interactive, multiplatform, guest-driven, medical-themed talk show hosted by Dr. Trey Dobson. It provides a behind-the-scenes perspective on health care and the interesting personalities that drive positive change within the industry and its surrounding professions. Topics include behavioral health, food insecurity, equitable care, and the opioid crisis. The show is produced in partnership with Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV) and is broadcast on CAT-TV, Greater Northshire Access Television, Facebook Live, YouTube, and podcast platforms. Name: Geoff Forsyth Organisation: PCI Pal Job title: Chief Information Security Officer Date started current role: September 2016 Location: Ipswich and London Geoff Forsyth is the Chief Information Security Officer at PCI Pal, where he is responsible for the overall information security and regulatory compliance of the organisations global services, including legal compliance, IT systems risk analysis, incident response planning and business continuity management. As a Fellow of the British Computer Society, Forsyth has spent over 25 years working with internet and telecommunications services. What was your first job? I began my career as an apprentice engineer at the Electricity Board, in spite of my fathers advice to go to university before starting my career. How did you get involved in cybersecurity? Ive been a keen gamer ever since I bought my Sinclair ZX Spectrum in 1982. I began exploring the computer code that powered computer games as a way of discovering hacks that would provide me with additional powers or lives so that I could continue playing for longer. That led to a life-long interest in coding, ethical hacking and cybersecurity. In the 1990s I changed career from engineering to computing and moved into my first cybersecurity role in 2000 when I became CTO of an internet start-up and had to protect our network and software against online attacks. I have an enquiring mind and am constantly learning more about the latest vulnerabilities and fixes. What was your education? Do you hold any certifications? What are they? After completing my engineering apprenticeship at the Electricity Board, I took an engineering degree through a day release scheme when I was in my twenties. I had to work one day each weekend for four years to pay back the time. I hold a Bachelor of Engineering, BEng, and Certificate of Engineering, CEng. Im also a Chartered IT Professional, CITP. Explain your career path. Did you take any detours? If so, discuss. I began my career as an electrical engineer, but also had a personal interest in coding and gaming. In the 1990s I switched from engineering to computing, this culminated with a role as CTO at an internet start-up in 2000. The security element of my role increased as the company grew and added more networks and services which needed to be protected against hackers. When the company created a new CISO role, I took the opportunity to move into that role and build a team of specialists who were dedicated to cyber security, data privacy and breach prevention. I have an enquiring mind and am fascinated with the way that new technologies can create amazing new opportunities, but also open up fresh risks, so you always have to be thinking a few steps ahead. Its like a never-ending game of chess. It keeps things fresh as youre always learning something new. Was there anyone who has inspired or mentored you in your career? I have to thank my Dad for encouraging me to get my degree. If I hadnt had that advice I may have never gone to university and discovered my passion for computing, which provided the grounding for my career in cybersecurity. What do you feel is the most important aspect of your job? In addition to the technical aspects of my role, education is vitally important. All employees need to think about security, not just the techies. We have a company mantra: Security is job zero. Vigilance is everyones responsibility. We hold regular staff webinars and training to keep everyone updated and involved in maintaining security. We also run social engineering and phishing simulations, to maintain awareness of the types of ploys that cybercriminals will use in a real attack. A key aspect of security awareness training is to ensure that there is a no-blame culture in the organisation. People must feel comfortable to speak up if they suspect that their company device is infected with malware, if they have clicked on a link, or if they have given sensitive information over the phone thinking that they were speaking to a colleague or customer. Our whole mission is to enable secure financial transactions in contact centres and to provide merchants and government entities with a way to accept payments without having to handle or store sensitive information such as credit card or bank details. This provides merchants with the peace of mind that they are taking extra precautions on behalf of their customers and that, if their systems are comprised, there is no sensitive payment data for cybercriminals to steal. Knowing that my work helps businesses and government organisations to maintain the highest levels of payment security, without impacting their customer experience is a huge motivator.# What metrics or KPIs do you use to measure security effectiveness? We run regular training and phishing simulations to measure the effectiveness of our human firewall. Where this reveals gaps in colleagues knowledge or understanding we swiftly update their training. Is the security skills shortage affecting your organisation? What roles or skills are you finding the most difficult to fill? We havent been impacted by the security skills shortage. Cybersecurity is constantly changing how do you keep learning? I keep learning because Im a techie at heart and I love the ins and outs of coding. I find it fascinating how technological development in one area can create an unforeseen vulnerability in another area, so Im always keen to learn more. Theres a constant, if this, then that aspect to cybersecurity, which really appeals to me as a life-long gamer and problem solver. Cybersecurity is fun if you have an enquiring mind. I also like the fact that cybersecurity draws on a diverse, global community of people working together to solve problems and make new (and old) systems more secure. Working for the greater good gives me a real buzz. What conferences are on your must-attend list? The PCI SSC Community meetings are a must on my annual agenda and you can usually find me in attendance at PCI London. Looking ahead to 2022, our virtual conference Payments: The Future of Security and CX is an accessible option for those managing payments and customer service. Im particularly looking forward to contributing to the agenda with our many partners, customers and industry specialists. What is the best current trend in cybersecurity? The worst? The best current trend in cybersecurity is the introduction of AI machine learning which help to automate routine aspects of security incident and event monitoring, freeing up security staff to focus on anomalous activity and out-of-band patching. In terms of the worst trend in cybersecurity, remote working is a double-edged sword. Its been wonderful for enabling companies to carry on serving customers during the pandemic, but its also increased the cybersecurity risks because so many employees are working outside of the traditional firewall and company controls. PCI Pal works with hundreds of contact centres to ensure that they are able to handle payment information securely. At the start of the pandemic, they had to scramble to get their staff set up to work from home, with IT teams quickly implementing new remote access systems for their colleagues while they were adjusting to working from home themselves. In some cases, the priority to keep the lights on resulted in rushed, poorly implemented systems that left home devices vulnerable to hackers, which could then be used as a conduit into company networks. In addition to the external threats, working from home without the usual monitoring systems provided an opportunity for some contact centre employees to steal personal data. What's the best career advice you ever received? Be prepared for every eventuality and keep an open mind, as there is always something new to learn. What advice would you give to aspiring security leaders? Keep learning: Learn to delegate. Learn to listen. Learn to communicate. Select the right people for your team, then trust them to do a good job. You cant stay on top of everything if you micromanage. Dont work in a security silo as that can create an us and them situation in your organisation. Get buy-in for security from all staff, from the senior management team onwards and speak about security in business terms such as its impact on customer relationships, company reputation and brand value. Good security awareness and practices are important throughout the company, regardless of the role performed. Learn to think like a hacker. What is most valuable to them. What are they looking for? Where are they likely to look? What tactics might they try? Cybersecurity professionals often comment that they have too much to do with too little resource, but taking basic steps, training your colleagues, entrusting and empowering your team members, and helping everyone in the organisation to understand their own responsibility for security can significantly improve your organisations security. Use the cloud. The major cloud service providers have spent millions on their security systems. Finally, learn from your peers, everyone is facing the same battles. Back in 2005, I started listening the Security Now podcast, presented by Steve Gibson GRC and hosted by the broadcaster Leo Laporte. Each week, they discuss security stories in the news and steps that organisations can take to avoid being breached. Its still going today and Ive found it to be a really good resource over the past sixteen years. What has been your greatest career achievement? I have been extremely fortunate to have had many great moments throughout my career but I would say my involvement with PCI Pal and seeing how the organisation is flourishing is my greatest achievement. Looking back with 20:20 hindsight, what would you have done differently? I suppose the only thing we might have done differently is moving to the cloud earlier to enable us to scale internationally sooner. My biggest advice to other organisations is to let the cloud take the strain after all, these companies have spent millions on security and have well-resourced teams to maintain them. In 2016, we wanted to start our global expansion, beginning with a launch into the US market. However, we realised that we couldnt serve organisations based in the US because all of our infrastructure was hosted in private data centres in England. We initially considered installing clones of our UK platform in the US, but this would not have allowed us to scale globally, so we had to completely change our approach. The solution was to migrate our telephony systems to VoIP and move into the public cloud. We had to upskill and learn about modern cloud technologies and the latest security methodologies, working with third party security companies and compliance experts to design, build and deploy a highly robust, secure and scalable cloud platform on the Amazon Web Services platform. Weve subsequently been able to introduce our platform in Canada, Europe and Australia. The last two years have been a rollercoaster for companies because of the pandemic. Due to talent shortages, attracting the best candidates and recruiting people for the right roles has been a significant challenge for businesses of all sizes. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic preventing people from physically going into work, this has not stopped the recruiting process and we have seen many trends arise in hiring over the past year. Technological advancements and the rise of new social media networks (hello, TikTok!) have helped pave the way for new methods of mass recruitment. What's even more exciting is the introduction of the 'Metaverse', which is poised to radically change the way we socialize and interact with one another in the near future. Curious about what 2022 has in store for recruiters and hiring managers? Here are five trends we expect to see in the upcoming year. Increased Focus on Diversity and Inclusion Workplaces that prioritize hiring employees of diverse backgrounds and inclusion have statistically proven to be safer, happier, and more productive. Diversity incorporates the makeup of unique individuals defined by a few social categories, such as gender, race, age, and more. But how exactly is hiring getting more diverse? Businesses are looking into using artificial intelligence (AI), workplace assessment, and training Human Resources staff to remove unconscious bias in their recruitment process. Increased Incentives and Referral Programs With talent scarcity on the rise in several key sectors, some companies are finding it difficult to find and secure top talent. While some companies may have a Medieval version of a referral program already in place, we predict 2022 will see a dramatic increase in high-value incentive programs. This strategy can be particularly useful because candidates are essentially 'pre-screened' by the employee who is referring their friend or someone they know. Also, using a referral program creates trust among your team because they're helping grow the organization and creates even more touch-points and connections for them internally. A Cross-Industry Shift to Hybrid Employees The uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic has kept a lot of companies from moving back into the office. Some have created a hybrid environment allowing employees to work both remotely and in the office a couple of days of the week. Many businesses are continuing to hire for remote or hybrid work. Hiring virtually allows employers to access a larger talent pool and attract more potential candidates to apply with the incentive of increased flexibility. Return to Hiring Internal Candidates With access to talent being the number one concern for 2022, we predict internal candidates will be a massively tapped resource in the coming year. There's no getting around it -- hiring internally is simply a much easier and cost-efficient way to retain talent. While there are some drawbacks, hiring managers should look closely at the current talent pool within their organization to better understand how to use this resource effectively with a market increase in internal promotions and sharing employees with internal teams. Start by asking employees what their current pain points are that they want to address, as well as what opportunities they see can help the future of your business. If you know how your employees feel, you create an environment of trust, which benefits your organization's future success. Focus on Employer Branding and Social Issues Does your company have a strong mission statement? Does it cater specifically to diversity and inclusion? In today's job seeker's market, candidates are thoroughly researching a company's reputation before they even consider applying. Applicants want to ensure the job they are applying for are aligned with their values, especially Gen Z. In fact, a report by Washington State University states that some 83 per cent of Gen Z employees reported that they want to work for an organization where they can make a positive impact on the world. Today, Lo & Sons is an in-demand brand of bags and accessories made to make travel easier and more enjoyable. The brand is helmed by two of its co-founders, Jan and Derek Lo. But before the business was led by the sons, it sparked to life as the solution to a problem faced by the brand's third co-founder, and still-active chairperson: their mother, Helen Lo. As a frequent flier, Helen had been frustrated by a lack of adaptable luggage options. Her choices were limited to fashion or function--one at the expense of the other. Rather than compromise, she collaborated with Jan and Derek to design the options she desired. In 2010, at age 65, Helen combined her passion for travel and talent for detail to reinvent what luggage could be for travelers like her. Here, the first-time entrepreneur discusses adding a more dynamic quality to a once-stagnant category, doing things the hard way to make sure things are done the right way, and building a brand legacy rooted in her three P's: profit, people, and the planet. When Lo & Sons launched, the luggage category was already saturated with options. The world didn't seem to need another luggage brand. Why did you create this one? The idea for the brand started back when I was spending a lot of time traveling with my [late] husband. I was retired at the time, and he was traveling a lot for work. The biggest problem about traveling with him was that he refused to check luggage. He would go on trips for two or three weeks at a time with only a carry-on. As you can imagine, going on a trip that long with just a carry-on was quite challenging for a woman, but I would always figure out a way to do it. At the same time, I had some neck and back problems, so traveling light had actually become a priority for me for multiple reasons. The TSA limits everyone to one carry-on roller bag and a "companion bag." If you want to carry a small purse, that's considered a companion bag. To me, that was an issue--I needed more than that. So, basically, I started out with this one specific question: "Where do you find a companion bag that's purse-like in style but functions as luggage?" Despite all of my traveling, despite searching department stores everywhere, I couldn't find the bag I needed. Go to the luggage section of a department store and you'll see what I mean. You'll find all these companion bags that function well but don't look good. Or maybe you'll come across bags that are big but, when you open them up, there's just one big hole with no pockets or way to organize anything. So what I saw in the market just wasn't sufficient for what I needed. I needed a companion bag that was light, looked like a purse, and provided organization--yet I couldn't find anything like this. I told Jan and Derek about my problem, and they said to me, "Well, you know what you want. Why don't you create your own bag?" And that's how things got started. Beyond creating a great bag, we wanted to make traveling and dealing with luggage less complicated. We wanted to make it easier and less stressful. We imagined a dynamic bag that you could carry directly into a meeting after hopping off a plane, rather than having to make a detour to your hotel room to change bags. How did you go about designing that first bag and forming industry relationships? What was the learning process? When we were making the first prototype, we spent about four months out of the first year at the factory. I wanted to be there on the ground so I could test the bag and relate to it. I wanted to know first-hand that it worked for me, and if not, to explain in person what needed to change. One advantage we had early on was that the factory owners we chose to work with could design, fabricate, and sell bags to wholesalers. They could do all of that, which allowed us to focus on the product and the brand. Another advantage was that the factory designer took an interest in us--and especially in Jan and Derek, because he was impressed by how hard they worked. We sat in the factory working on the initial design every day for the first three weeks, watching them make changes, examining the prototypes, and then making more changes. The process was demanding, but it was actually quite fast because we weren't waiting weeks to ship prototypes back and forth. Before long, we were taking the prototype bags to Hong Kong and asking relatives--like my nieces, who are corporate professionals--to test them out and let us know what they thought. We sent prototypes to Jan and Derek's friends in Chicago and Beijing. With each round of feedback, people would say things like "My computer wouldn't fit" or "The straps are too wide," so we would keep iterating the design. We just kept trying to learn and be thoughtful about how the bag would be used, not just how it looked. The process of designing our bags is very time-consuming--we go to great lengths to get everything right. We learn about how people use their bags, focus on all the tiny details, and refine everything until we've delivered exactly what people are looking for. There is a real need for bags like these in the world, and nobody else is making them. Lo & Sons launched during a difficult time, not long after the Great Recession. What obstacles did you face in starting and how did you overcome them? It matters how you choose to see the world. We saw obstacles as opportunities. Were we industry outsiders? Yes. And that meant we were not stuck in the old ways of doing things. We learned early on that there were certain standards that were not ideal from the user's perspective. For example, zippers tended to be placed on bags so that it was easy to open when it was placed down. But there wasn't consideration given to the reality that many were carrying smaller bags on their shoulder--so there might be a better configuration for when a person needed to quickly access their passport to get through security without having to drop their bag. Early on, we were told that other brands don't do it this way. Well, we weren't making our bags to conform to an existing standard. We worked to set a new standard--one that added function to fashion and made the traveler the priority. In that way, being industry outsiders benefited us. Did we lack the financial resources of competitors? Yes. And as a result of the Great Recession, the industry had to make accommodations to generate revenue of any kind and to keep their lights on. Factories and suppliers that, likely, wouldn't have talked to us in better times--since we were novices doing more original, less mass, work--took a chance on us. Warehouses that likely wouldn't have supported our small-batch inventory unless we signed longer term leases had room for our products on short-term agreements. In some ways, the economy favored us. If you wait for the perfect time to launch, you'll find many reasons to delay. If you're driven to succeed, you won't let obstacles slow you down. As you look forward, what is the long-term ambition for your brand? What brand legacy are you and your sons working to build? I'd like to see us establish a travel lifestyle legacy where we make it easier for people to go places they want to be and where people think of us when they have meaningful travel experiences. I don't want people to think of us purely as a fashionable brand or an innovative brand, because we're both and more. We have grand ambitions. Being at the heart of people's travel experiences goes beyond our current product line. We want to make other products that blend into the travel lifestyle and make it easier for people to explore. I also see us being a global brand, so that when people all over the world think about going places, they think of Lo & Sons. No matter how big we get, I will always be focused on the three Ps: profit, people, and the planet. To be clear, we're not about profit for profit's sake. Profit serves everything else. As we see it, the purpose of profit is to ensure that the people and communities we work with can live well. That's why, for example, we recently partnered with the Heart of Dinner to provide meals to East Asian elders in New York City, where our headquarters is located. Also, we are dedicated to using profits to make our planet better by investing in premium eco-friendly materials, and in committing to a circular design mission. That is, we are excited to start upcycling as much of our products as we can so very little goes to waste. Profits allow us to make the very best products for our customers. Profits help us keep each of those promises and give us the opportunity to have a long-term focus. What advice do you have for entrepreneurs looking to follow their own long-term ambitions and build their own legacies? The companys standalone revenue stood at Rs5,000.6cr, up 4.4% yoy but down 6.6% qoq. Grasim Industries Ltd Q1FY20 Standalone Results Q1FY20: (Rs. in cr) Q1FY20 YoY (%) Revenue 5,000.6 4.4 EBITDA 843.7 [21.8] EBITDA Margin (%) 16.9 [565] Net Profit (adjusted) 439.5 [31.6] ***EBITDA margin change is bps View Grasim Inds Buy Reco. Price 780.4 Last updated on 27-Feb-2019 Know More ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grasim's (Standalone) numbers for Q1FY20 were broadly in-line with consensus estimates. Revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% yoy to Rs5,000.6cr. On account of higher raw material cost and operating expenses, EBITDA declined by 21.8% yoy to Rs843.7cr with 565bps yoy contraction in EBITDA margin which stood at 16.9%. During the quarter, company impaired its investment of Rs290.2cr in Aditya Birla Idea Payment Bank Limited (ABIPBL), reported as an exceptional item. Adjusting for the exceptional item, the Adj. PAT declined by 31.6% yoy to Rs439.5cr. VSF segment The Viscose Business reported net revenue of Rs2,509.1cr, up 1.2% yoy. EBIT for the segment declined 31.7% yoy with 649bps contraction in EBIT margin. The VSF business reported production and sales volume of 140KT and 138KT respectively recording an increase of 4% yoy and 5% yoy respectively. Profitability for the segment was impacted as the Chinese VSF prices saw a sharp decline of ~21% yoy and ~8% qoq. This was on account of new capacities commissioned in recent past (CY2018) and the negative impact of US China Trade War. Further, currency depreciation also put pressure on the profitability which partly offset the gains of reduction in pulp prices which is currently trending downwards. The Brownfield capacity expansion plan of 219 KTPA at Vilayat is progressing well with construction work in full swing, scheduled to be commissioned in FY21. Liva partners with over 40 retail brands and is available across 3,500 outlets in Exclusive Business Outlets and Large Format Stores in addition to many more MBOs in 250 cities of India. Chemical segment Chemical segments net revenue for the quarter declined by 4.8% yoy to Rs1,503.5cr with 12.8% yoy decline in EBIT. For Q1FY20, the production and sales volume of 238KT and 242KT respectively recorded an increase of 1% yoy and 2% yoy respectively. Production was impacted at different sites on account of water shortage and minor disruptions caused by cyclones. Softening of Caustic Soda prices globally put pressure on prices in domestic markets, which in turn led to lower profitability. The company is in the process of implementing approved capacity expansion plan from 1,147 KTPA to 1,457 KTPA at multiple locations and the same are in different stages of execution. The total capex plan of Rs7,800cr (at standalone level) is under execution for raising capacities in both the VSF and Chemical businesses, apart from ongoing modernisation capex at various plants. This capital expenditure will be incurred over FY20-22E. View Grasim Inds Buy Reco. Price 780.4 Last updated on 27-Feb-2019 Know More OPEN A DEMAT ACCOUNT & Get FREE Benefits worth 10,000 Please enter valid mobile number Please enter valid Email Open Free Account Verify your OTP Please enter valid OTP Verify Didnt receive the OTP yet? Resend Just a few steps to open your FREE Demat Account We are redirecting you. Grasim Industries Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 733.65, up by 23.95 points or 3.37% from its previous closing of Rs. 709.70 on the BSE.The scrip opened at Rs. 711 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 744 and Rs. 711 respectively. So far 29,44,453 (NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The stock is currently trading above its 50 DMA. Imagine waking up to the new year in the lap of luxury margarita in hand, scenic view ahead and the tranquility of a wellness resort. Sounds amazing, doesnt it? Tempted to turn this into a reality, we scouted the location of our dreams and found not one, but a handful of luxurious, serene and beautiful spa and wellness resorts in Abu Dhabi that have our heart! Heres the wellness wish list of dreams: Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara Anantara.com Just a two-hour drive from the capital is the Liwa Deserts vast Empty Quarter, where youll find the hidden healing oasis that is the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara. Boasting an endless view of towering, golden dunes, this luxury resort and spa offers relaxing treatments rooted in traditional Arabic rituals and exotic wellness therapies from Thailand. Thats not all, it also boasts its most in-demand treatment the traditional Moroccan hammam experience that detoxifies and nourishes the skin with scrubs and wraps infused with remedial ingredients. A rejuvenating vacation indeed! Al Wathba, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Abu Dhabi Marriott.com Infused with natural beauty and serene tranquility, Al Wathba, a Luxury Collection Hotel, is an intimate retreat inspired by classical dwellings, traditional artwork and Arabesque accessories. The hallmark Saray Spa offers a wellness journey like no other. With more than 11 treatment rooms, it includes a salt room featuring Himalayan salt-covered walls, a hammam suite with traditional treatment, an ice-cold bucket room and an exclusive snow cave among many other facilities. From couples treatments to individual massages, the exquisite wellness resort is all about letting go of the daily hustle, stepping into an exclusive natural environment, reconnecting and finding yourself again. Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara Anantara.com The lavish Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara sits on the nature reserve of Sir Bani Yas Island and is an enticing blend of luxurious amenities with rich Arabian touches and scenic views of the lush landscapes and Arabian Gulfs sparkling waters. From exploring the rare free-walking wildlife to taking in the breathtaking view of the coastline, theres a lot to keep you busy. But our favourite, of course, is the spa oasis overlooking the Arabian Gulf or a spa session at the beachfront in a private cabana. Anantara Spa is rooted in Thai culture and boasts natural and indigenous ingredients. One of their signature treatments, the Desert Islands Retreat, includes a milk foot bath followed by a gentle full-body exfoliation with desert sands. Al Seef Resort & Spa by Andalus Alseefresort.com The Al Seef Resort & Spa is Abu Dhabis first luxury resort in an all-inclusive compound at the Al Seef Village by Andalus. The Mediterranean atmosphere boasts luxurious amenities, four outdoor swimming pools and a three-storey spa centre. With plenty of wellness treatments and services, one can also enjoy city life within the resort compound. The food street Mamsha Al Seef by Andalus offers 20 outlets featuring international cuisines and retail shops. Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort Jumeirah.com Resembling a summer house, the majestic Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort is the perfect balance of understated luxury and serenity. With panoramic suites, expansive sea views and luxurious service, the resort is an exclusive experience you cannot miss. The 2700 sqm spa includes 15 treatment rooms and three outdoor pools. Indulge in wholesome treatments that combine sublime spa and dining experiences, such as the Spa Afternoon Tea an exclusive undertaking complete with the finest delicacies, mini sandwiches and sweet treats with a pot of wellness tea. Zaya Nurai Island Resort Zayanuraiisland.com Situated in the pristine waters of the Arabian Gulf, the Zaya Nurai Island Resort is a boutique private island resort with an award-winning spa and wellness centre. It offers plenty of opportunities to unwind and connect with nature. Each of the spa treatment rooms offer exquisite ocean views that are guaranteed to put you in a blissful mood. You can also unwind at the outdoor relaxation area, overlooking the serene waters of the Arabian Gulf while you sip herbal tea and soak up the surrounding beauty. Or bask in the glow of Savasana at the calming Yoga Pavilion. Found something you like? Dont wait. Plan the perfect start to 2022 and relax, restore and rejuvenate! A lot goes on in literally any WhatsApp group, especially if its members are active. From messages that may not sit well with a particular person to sometimes the wrong forward - anything can happen on a WhatsApp group, especially if you don't know all the participants personally. Now, the Madras High Court has ruled that a WhatsApp group admin is not responsible for the content that is posted on it. This means that WhatsApp group admins can't be held liable for objectionable content posted on a group. Unsplash Based on a previous hearing Earlier, the Bombay High Court had said the same in the case Kishore v. State Maharashtra. Now, the sentiment has been reiterated by Justice GR Swaminathan of the Madurai Bench at the Madras High Court. The Bombay High Court had noted how the admin of a WhatsApp group only has the power to add or remove group members and might not always know or expect the content that is posted on a WhatsApp group. Also read: WhatsApp Will Let You Upload Media As Status Update While Sharing Over DM The Court however added that if any material shows the admin being involved in the crime, they may be tried according to law. The order was given on a plea that sought to cancel a First Information Report (FIR) against the group admin after offensive messages were shared by one of the members that cause stir tensions between two communities. Whatsapp Madras High Court referred to the Bombay High Court hearing which stated that "a group administrator cannot be held vicariously liable for an act of a member of the group, who posts objectionable content unless it is shown that there was a common intention or pre-arranged plan acting in concert pursuant to such plan by such member of a WhatsApp group and the administrator." Also read: WhatsApp Beta Brings Animated Heart Emoji Just In Time For Christmas Messages Based on this, the Madras High Court judge said that if the petitioner's only role was of a group admin, then their name ought to removed from the charge sheet. whatsapp What do you think - should WhatsApp group admins be held responsible for what gets posted? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of tech and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com. Citation Rabbani, S. (2021b, December 27). Madras High Court reaffirms that WhatsApp group admin isnt liable for a members posts. Business Insider. As 2021 comes to a close, Insurance Journal is looking back on its top stories of the year. In the East region, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remained top of mind for many readers. Beyond the pandemic, readers also took interest in diversity and inclusion efforts within the insurance industry, as well as the impact of the rise of ransomware. Heres a look back on the top 10 Insurance Journal East stories of 2021: The top read story in Insurance Journals East section this year involved a topic thats been at the top of everyones minds for the second year in a row: COVID-19. In August of this year, a federal judge dismissed Amazon.com Incs lawsuit to block New Yorks attorney general from investigating the online retailers ability to protect warehouse workers from COVID-19. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn rejected Amazons claim that Attorney General Letitia James acted in bad faith by trying to police its pandemic response, and stop its alleged retaliation against workers who were unhappy the company wasnt doing more. James sued Amazon in February over its treatment of thousands of workers at a Staten Island fulfillment center and a Queens distribution center. She has accused Amazon of prioritizing profits over safety, and improperly disciplining two employees who protested working conditions, one of whom was fired. James is seeking a court-appointed safety monitor, while Amazon is seeking to dismiss her case, which is pending in a state court in Manhattan. The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department held that Uber drivers can be considered employees eligible for benefits such as unemployment insurance. The finding upheld two previous April 2019 decisions by the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board stating that Uber qualifies as its drivers employer and is liable for unemployment insurance contributions. Uber Technologies Inc operates a smartphone app that connects customers with available drivers to pick them up and transport them to their destination. Drivers are typically considered independent contractors, and as a result, lack the same protections granted to regular employees under U.S. labor law, such as health and unemployment insurance and workers compensation. In this case, claimant Colin Lowry served as a driver for Uber in its upstate New York market when he applied for unemployment insurance benefits after he stopped participating on the platform. The New York Department of Labor initially found that Lowry was an employee of Uber, making Uber liable for his unemployment insurance claim. Uber objected to the finding, but following a hearing, an administrative law judge upheld the determinations. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board affirmed, and Uber again appealed. The New York Supreme Court in its ruling found evidence to support the findings that Uber exercised enough control over its drivers to establish an employment relationship with them. This is because Uber controls drivers access to their customers, calculates and collects fares and sets drivers rate of compensation. With this in mind, the New York Supreme Court affirmed the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Boards findings that Uber has an employment relationship with its drivers, making it liable for unemployment insurance contributions. In its ruling, the court specified that while Uber also operates a separate New York City market, the December decision is limited to drivers in the upstate New York market where Lowry served as an Uber driver. East readers took interest this year in another court case decided in favor of the worker, but this time in Pennsylvania. The December case sparked debate over whether a traveling salesperson injured in a car accident after an employer-sponsored happy hour was still considered on the job at the time of the accident because he had to drive past the highway exit to his home on the way to the event. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court says that he was, and he could be eligible for workers compensation. Most of the debate in this case centers on the traveling employee doctrine, something the Pennsylvania Supreme Court says it has never specifically addressed until now. The doctrine states that when a traveling employee is injured in the course of business, they are considered on the job at the time of their injury unless their employer can prove they were acting outside of the scope of their employment. Although the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that Peters was in the course of his employment during the event, because there is conflicting testimony as to where Peters was traveling from during the accident, the case was remanded back to the workers compensation judge for additional findings consistent with the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts opinion. COVID-19 takes the spotlight once again with another top read story in the East region concerning a Pennsylvania taverns pandemic-related losses. The Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Allegheny County found that an insurer could have to pay for a Pennsylvania taverns business interruption losses after it shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic because of a two-letter word in its policy. The court ruled in favor of MacMiles LLC, doing business as Grant Street Tavern, granting insurance coverage for the taverns loss of business income during the pandemic, partly because of the word or in its insurance policy. The court found that while some courts have interpreted direct physical loss of or damage to property to require some form of physical harm to property in order for the insured to be entitled to coverage, it said these interpretations conflate direct physical loss of with direct physical . . . damage to and ignore that these two phrases are separated by the word or. Because of the word or in the policy, the court found that direct physical loss of means something different than direct physicaldamage to. The court also determined that based on the ordinary, dictionary definitions of the terms direct and physical, Grant Street Tavern could suffer direct and physical loss of use of its property without any tangible harm to property. In April, New York legalized recreational marijuana, allowing adults over the age of 21 to possess and use marijuana even in public. The legalization bill was signed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo, though legal sales of recreational-use cannabis wont start for an estimated 18 months until regulations are set. With this move, New York became the second-most populous state, after California, to legalize recreational marijuana. Legalization backers told the Associated Press they hope the Empire State will add momentum and set an example with its efforts to redress the inequities of a system that has locked up people of color for marijuana offenses at disproportionate rates. By placing community reinvestment, social equity, and justice front and center, this law is the new gold standard for reform efforts nationwide, said Melissa Moore, New York state director of the Drug Policy Alliance. Based in Washington D.C., Gallaudet University is the worlds only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students using English as well as ASL and its hoping to make a difference in the insurance industry with its risk management and insurance program. The RMI program at Gallaudet is relatively new, launching in 2015 with a donation from Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) Founder James Maguire. The Maguire Foundation and PHLY began working together in 2015 to start a summer internship for deaf students at PHLY, making it the first insurance company to hire deaf risk management insurance interns from Gallaudet University. PHLY has hired two interns from Gallaudet each summer since then. People like me who have been in the business for 40 years will be getting out of the business, and what we want to do is fill those jobs with people that traditionally havent had an opportunity to get into industries like insurance, such as minorities and people with disabilities, said Sean Sweeney, Maguires nephew and a board member at Gallaudet University. And we see this as a great way to transform society by giving people that traditionally didnt get a shot a chance to get into an industry thats stable, thats long-term and that provides high paying jobs. No time seems better than now. Pew Research Center in a recent report found that during the third quarter of 2020, about 28.6 million baby boomers those born between 1946 and 1964 reported that they were out of the labor force due to retirement. This is 3.2 million more boomers than the 25.4 million who were retired in the same quarter of 2019, the report stated. As new generations enter the workforce, expectations for the work environment are changing, Carrier Management previously reported. As a result, insurance companies are facing increased pressure to evaluate their focus on diversity and inclusion to recruit and retain young talent. The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) in February issued new guidance spelling out best practices for New York-regulated property/casualty insurers that write cyber insurance. This served as the first guidance the regulator issued on cyber insurance in particular. As part of the guidance, called the Cyber Insurance Risk Framework, DFS is calling on regulated insurers to establish a formal strategy, approved by the insurers board or other governing entity, for measuring cyber insurance risk based on the insurers size, resources and geographic distribution, among other factors. In particular, insurers are urged to take measures to manage and eliminate exposure to silent cyber insurance risk, which occurs when cyber exposures exist within a traditional property and liability policy that does not specifically include or exclude cyber risk. Former DFS Superintendent Linda Lacewell, in an interview for Insurance Journals Insuring Cyber Podcast, previously discussed how the shift online due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to new vulnerabilities that cybercriminals are exploiting. One particular example of this exploitation is the rapid rise in ransomware attacks. Also in February, The Massachusetts Appeals court found that the owner of a property where a pit bull was unleashed and unfenced did not breach a legal duty to protect a passerby from the dog, as the dog was kept on the property by the landowners tenant. This case came about after Victor Creatini said he was taking a bike ride with his dog on a leash beside him when a pit bull ran into the street and attacked his dog, causing him to fall from his bike and suffer injuries. Although Creatini suffered injuries when he fell off of his bike, he was not attacked or bitten by the pit bull. Still, he claimed that his injuries were a foreseeable consequence because the pit bull was not stored properly on the landowners property. The appeals court, however, found that while the risk of harm to passersby from a tenants dog might be a foreseeable event for a landlord in some circumstances, that was not the case in this situation. It seems February was a busy month for litigation that drew attention among Insurance Journal East readers. The Supreme Court of the state of New York, Nassau County, in February dismissed a movie theaters claims that its insurer is responsible for covering its COVID-19 related losses and that its insurance brokers were negligent in providing insufficient coverage. This came about after plaintiff Soundview Cinemas Inc., which operates a movie theater and is based in Port Washington, New York, was closed due to New York Governor Andrew Cuomos March 2020 executive order declaring a disaster emergency for the state amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. While the court is sympathetic to the economic consequences resulting from the closure of plaintiffs movie theater, the court concurs with the majority view that loss of use of the premises due to COVID-19 related government orders does not constitute direct physical loss of or damage to property that would trigger business income coverage under the policy, the decision stated. Extra expense coverage is also inapplicable, and civil authority coverage is not triggered. The insurance brokers motion to dismiss the case was granted. In a move that furthers some of its previous efforts around diversity and inclusion, The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) in March called on its regulated insurers to prioritize diversity of leadership and said it would begin collecting and publishing diversity data from insurers this year to promote transparency. These new actions were spelled out in a circular letter DFS to New York-regulated insurers and come amid a push by the department to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the states insurance industry. The announcement came following the first day of the second annual DEI Conference, co-hosted by the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) and the Life Insurance Council of New York (LICONY). Former DFS Superintendent Linda Lacewell said in remarks during the conference that DFS is in the process of building a separate office of diversity and inclusion in order to further its efforts in this area. While the insurance industrys public statements of support for diversity and DEI initiatives are important and necessary, our challenge is to move beyond words and good intentions to actions and real change, Lacewell said in the letter. Related: A retired priest who once oversaw the safety of children in a Catholic diocese in the Washington suburbs has been charged with sexually assaulting a child, Virginias attorney general announced Tuesday. A Fairfax County grand jury indicted Terry Specht, 68, of Donegal, Pennsylvania, last week on two felony counts related to sexual abuse of a child under 13, The Washington Post reported. According to the indictment, the assault took place in 2000, when Specht was chaplain and assistant principal at St. Paul VI Catholic High School. Specht maintains his innocence, Fairfax public defender Dawn Butorac said. Hes a retired priest, being put through this 21 years after the alleged event. Specht was the director of the Arlington Diocese Office of Child Protection and Safety between 2004 and 2011. In this role, he was responsible for policy and instruction but didnt oversee sexual abuse investigations or assign priests to churches, Catholic Diocese of Arlington spokesperson Amber Roseboom said. The complainant came forward in 2019, the attorney generals office said. The case is one of three church abuse investigations the office is pursuing. In 2012, Specht was accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy in the late 1990s, when he was a parochial vicar at St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax. He has previously denied those allegations and was never charged. The Diocese review board found the allegation to be inconclusive, Roseboom said. But he was placed on administrative leave in 2012 and took medical retirement. Officials have permanently removed his right to act as a priest. The Diocese of Arlington has a zero-tolerance policy for abuse and continues to be fully committed to training our clergy, staff and volunteers to identify and report suspected instances of abuse, Roseboom said. A trial is scheduled for October. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Abuse Molestation Virginia MADRID (AP) Authorities on one of Spains Canary Islands declared a volcanic eruption that started in September officially finished Saturday [Dec. 25] following 10 days of no lava flows, seismic activity or significant sulfur dioxide emissions. But the emergency in La Palma, the most northwest island in the Atlantic Ocean archipelago, is not over due to the widespread damage the eruption caused, the director of the Canaries volcanic emergency committee said in announcing the much-anticipated milestone. Canary Islands Volcanic Eruption Reminds Insurers of Challenges of Non-Modeled Perils Its not joy or satisfaction how we can define what we feel? Its an emotional relief. And hope, Pevolca director Julio Perez said. Because now, we can apply ourselves and focus completely on the reconstruction work. Fiery molten rock flowing down toward the sea destroyed around 3,000 buildings, entombed banana plantations and vineyards, ruined irrigation systems and cut off roads. But no injuries or deaths were directly linked to the eruption. Perez, who is also the regions minister of public administration, justice and security, said the archipelagos government valued the loss of buildings and infrastructure at more than 900 million euros ($1 billion). Volcanologists said they needed to certify that three key variables gas, lava and tremors had subsided in the Cumbre Vieja ridge for 10 days in order to declare the volcanos apparent exhaustion. Since the eruption started on Sept. 19, previous periods of reduced activity were followed by reignitions. On the eve of Dec. 14, the volcano fell silent after flaring for 85 days and 8 hours, making it La Palmas longest eruption on record. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the eruptions end the best Christmas present. We will continue working together, all institutions, to relaunch the marvelous island of La Palma and repair the damage, he tweeted. Farming and tourism are the main industries on the Canary Islands, a popular destination for many European vacationers due to their mild climate. Photograph: A house is covered by ash from a volcano on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. Photo credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. BERLIN (AP) Six men will go on trial in Germany next month over their alleged role in the spectacular theft of 18th-century jewels from a Dresden museum in 2019, a court said Wednesday. The Dresden state court said that the trial will open on Jan. 28, German news agency dpa reported. The suspects, German nationals aged 22 to 28, are accused of organized robbery and arson. Court dates are scheduled through the end of March. Three Arrested for Dresden Museum Theft But Jewelry Is Still Missing Van Gogh Theft Focuses Attention on Empty Museums Security During COVID-19 Crisis Prosecutors say that the men are responsible for the break-in at the eastern citys Green Vault Museum on Nov. 25, 2019, and the theft of 21 pieces of jewelry containing more than 4,300 diamonds, with a total insured value of at least 113.8 million euros ($129 million). They allegedly laid a fire just before the break-in to cut the power supply for streetlights outside the museum, and also set fire to a car in a nearby garage before fleeing to Berlin. Searches so far have not yielded the missing treasures. Prosecutors said in September that the suspects, who are all in custody, had not responded to the accusations against them. The Green Vault is one of the worlds oldest museums. It was established in 1723 and contains the treasury of Augustus the Strong of Saxony, comprising around 4,000 objects of gold, precious stones and other materials. Photograph: This photo provided by the State Art Collection in Dresden on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, shows the Jewellery Room of the Green Vault with the display cases, left, which were the part of the collection affected by the robbery on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. Photo credit: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden/David Brandt via AP. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. News of an Ohio jurys conclusion that major pharmacy chains helped fuel the opioid crisis and a 6th Circuits reversal of a finding that COVID orders caused direct physical loss topped the headlines of Insurance Journals Midwest region in 2021. Stories about Illinois biometric privacy laws piqued readers interest, as did stories on Allstates agreement to sell most of its Illinois campus and Constellation Insurances $1 billion acquisition of Ohio National. Midwest readers also gravitated towards a story about a lawsuit involving GEICO and STDs and another involving an Illinois mayor sentenced in an insurance procurement case. Here are the Top 10 Midwest Insurance Journal news stories of 2021 Just before Thanksgiving a jury in Cleveland, Ohio decided that Walmart Inc., CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. helped fuel the opioid crisis by failing to properly monitor opioid prescriptions. The jury ruled in favor of Ohios Trumbull and Lake Counties, who claimed the pharmacy chains failed to create legally mandated monitoring systems to detect illegitimate opioid prescriptions. The two Ohio municipalities are seeking more than $1 billion each from the major pharmacy chains to replenish depleted budgets for drug treatment, social services and police. A judge will hear arguments in May about the counties compensation claims. The Ohio verdict is the first in the four-year opioid litigation. Similar cases are playing out around the country. Holly Froum, a Bloomberg Intelligence, said the drug industry faces about $50 billion in exposure from state and local government suits over the painkillers. The jurys decision sounds a bell that should be heard by pharmacy companies around the country, Mark Lanier, the Ohio counties lead lawyer, said after the verdict was announced. Laws regarding proper monitoring of prescription drugs are be taken seriously and not ignored or downplayed. The companies all said they would appeal the verdict. In late September, a panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a rare policyholder win in a COVID-19 related business-interruption claim, arguing that government orders that restrict the use of a property do not constitute a direct physical loss or damage that requires coverage. The case involved the owners of Henderson Road and several other restaurants based in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida, who sued Zurich after the carrier denied their business interruption claims. U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster granted summary judgment in favor of the restaurants breach-of-contract claims, but dismissed a complaint that the carrier had acted in bad faith. In a separate lawsuit, the Ohio Supreme Court has been asked to decide whether government shutdowns can cause a direct physical loss. Why the 6th Circuit didnt wait for that decision (or certify to the Ohio Supreme Court the closely related question in Santos and Henderson) is a mystery, wrote University of Pennsylvania Law professor Tom Baker, who tracks COVID-19 litigation. Allstate Corp. is banking on the future of remote work. In late November, Allstate announced it had reached an agreement to sell the property making up the majority of its campus in Northbrook, Illinois, to Dermody Properties for approximately $232 million. The company said it is selling the property as employees have more choice about where they work and many are choosing to work from home. Allstate plans to keep a significant presence in the Chicago area, including its existing office space in downtown Chicago. The sale is expected to close in 2022. Allstate said the sale will also reduce real estate expenses and further advance its multi-year initiative to increase personal property/liability market share by building a low-cost insurer with broad distribution. One of the regions most popular features came from Insurance Journals former Midwest Editor Stephanie Jones, who profiled workers comp provider Omaha National. Since its launch in October 2017, the company has gone from $0 to $100 million of in-force premium and grown from a six-person operation to one with more than 150 employees. 2020 ended up being a great year for us. We actually grew faster than we had originally planned, said Reagan Pufall, president and CEO of the managing general agent (MGA) / insurance carrier. We had great sales success. We started working with more and more broker partners and forming relationships in states with agencies that we enjoy working with. And at the same time, weve been able to maintain one of the most favorable loss ratios in the industry. Even though were a young startup company, our loss ratio is exceptionally low. Over the summer, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company had to move into a new office building because weve run out of room where we are, according to Pufall. Five years from now, we expect to be well over $400 million in-force premium. Omaha National launched as an MGA with California as its initial target market and is now offering coverage in at least 14 states. The company had plans to continue to expand into other states, including New York later in 2021. One big advantage Omaha National has going for it is that it develops its own operational software in-house. It will allow us to perform everything we do at a higher level of effectiveness and efficiency from underwriting to policy management to claims management. Everything we do will be done in within a single application, said Pufall. And yes, at some point, our plan is to have outward facing aspects of that application that will foster great business working relationship and workflow between us and our broker partners. In one of the more quirky Midwest stories of 2021, a Missouri woman is suing GEICO after contracting a sexually transmitted disease in a car insured by the company. In her lawsuit, the woman alleges that she had a sexual relationship with the insured, a man, in late 2017 including unprotected sex in the latters 2014 Hyundai Genesis. The woman says that had been previously diagnosed with anogenital human papillomavirus (HPV), but he did not tell her about his condition or take steps to prevent transmitting the virus. The woman, who was diagnosed with anogenital HPV in 2018, sent a demand letter to GEICO seeking $1 million in February, triggering a declaratory judgment from the company. GEICO investigated the claim and found that the womans male partner told her on three different occasions that he had been diagnosed with HPV-positive throat cancer. The man also said that the two had sex in locations other than the insured car. The man was covered by a Geico auto policy and an umbrella policy that only applies if the auto policy provides coverage. In March, the woman and man entered into an agreement in Jackson County, Mo. Circuit Court awarding the woman $5.2m but limiting the partners liability to her, leaving the latter free to pursue recovery from GEICO. GEICO said it was unaware of this agreement until afterwards and has filed motions to amend and vacate the $5.2m judgment, which it argues was the result of a collusive and non-adversarial arbitration proceeding. GEICO has moved for a new trial and appealed the judgment. This spring, the Illinois Supreme Court sided with a policyholder seeking defense from its insurer for a lawsuit brought by a customer of a tanning salon alleging the insured unlawfully disclosed the customers biometric information to a third party. In the written opinion delivered in West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. Krishna Schaumburg Tan Inc., Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. explained that Krishna Schaumburg Tan Inc. (Krishna), a tanning salon and franchisee of L.A. Tan, had been sued by customer Klaudia Sekura who claimed that Krishna had violated provisions of Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (Act), which regulates the collection, retention, disclosure, and destruction of biometric identifiers and information. Krishna had collected Sekuras and other customers fingerprints. Sekuras suit alleged that Krishna violated the act by disclosing biometric information containing her fingerprints to an out-of-state third party vendor, SunLync,' without her permission. Krishna filed a claim with its insurer, West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. (West Bend), requesting a defense. West Bend filed a declaratory judgment action against Krishna and Sekura contending that it did not owe a duty to defend Krishna against Sekuras lawsuit, Neville wrote. Krishna filed a cross-motion for summary judgement, which Sekura joined seeking alternative relief. Both the trial and appellate courts found that West Bend had a duty to defend Krishna. The insurer appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, which supported the decisions of the lower courts. Illinois enacted the law in 2008; it recognizes the uniqueness of biometric identifiers such as retina or iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, palm prints and face geometry. It requires private entities to publicly disclose their policies regarding biometric information and obtain consent from individuals for the use of such information. In January 2020, Facebook agreed to pay $550 million to Illinois users of the social media site that had alleged in a class action lawsuit that Facebooks facial recognition feature violated their privacy under the Illinois law. Americas digital privacy divide is on full display in Illinois, where there is requirement to some form of public disclosure or consent to biometric screening. Because Illinois law prohibits private sector companies and institutions from collecting biometric data from unsuspecting citizens in the state or online, no matter where the business is based, data cannot be sold, transferred or traded. This has led to hundreds of David-and-Goliath legal battles against some of the worlds most powerful companies. Cases are pending against internet giants Amazon.com Inc. Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s Google, as well as brick-and-mortar corporations such as McDonalds Corp. If a company is found to have violated Illinois law, citizens can collect civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation compounded by the number of people affected and days involved. No state regulatory agency is involved in enforcement. In one of the most talked about Midwest acquisitions of the year, Canadas Constellation Insurance Holdings, Inc. acquired Cincinnati-based life and disability insurer Ohio National Mutual Holdings, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Ohio National Financial Services, Inc. for a total consideration of $1 billion. The $1 billion figure includes both member consideration and new capital infused in the business, as part of its demutualization process. The transaction includes the conversion of ONMH to a stock company and the issuance of all of its newly issued stock to Constellation. Established in 1909, Ohio National sells financial services in 49 states. As of December 31, 2020, its affiliated companies have US$41.2 billion in assets under management. Its products are issued by The Ohio National Life Insurance Co. and Ohio National Life Assurance Corp. A former mayor of a southwest Illinois town became the second area mayor to plead guilty to lying to federal agents investigating a case involving commission payments related to the placement of casualty loss and workers compensation insurance for an Illinois municipality. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois charged Tim Lowry, an insurance agent and the former mayor of Red Bud, Illinois, with falsely testifying in April 2019 to an FBI agent and an officer with the federal Southern Illinois Public Corruption Task Force that he did not pay Kevin Hutchinson, the former mayor of Columbia, Illinois, part of a commission Lowry received for facilitating an insurance contract with the city of Columbia for casualty loss and workers comp coverage. Lowry, who owned the Ackermann Agency in Red Bud, directed payment through a third party to Hutchinson in the amount of $15,854 for placement of the insurance contract with the city of Columbia, court documents state. The Associated Press reported that before he resigned Hutchinson had been serving in his fourth term as mayor of Columbia, a community of about 11,000 located on the Mississippi River about 13 miles south of St. Louis. Under Illinois law, as elected public officials both Lowry and Hutchinson were prohibited from having any direct or indirect personal financial interest in contracts with the municipalities they governed. Although Lowry could face up to five years in prison, prosecutors are recommending a sentence of one year probation, a $1,000 fine and 40 hours of community service. Lowry has resigned as mayor of Red Bud, a small community also near St. Louis. Lowrys sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 22. The December tornado that tore through Edwardsville, Illinois and caused the collapse of an Amazon.com Inc warehouse, killing six, is the focus of a U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation. 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. Six workers were killed when the warehouse buckled under the force of a devastating storm, police said. A barrage of tornadoes ripped through six U.S. states, leaving a trail of death and destruction at homes and businesses stretching more than 200 miles. Workers told Reuters that they had been directed by Amazon mangers to shelter in bathrooms after receiving emergency alerts on mobile phones from authorities. Some workers said they had mobile phones with them despite what they believed was an Amazon policy preventing them from having the phones in their possession while at work. Amazon said there was no policy preventing employees or contractors from having phones at work. Amazon said employees were directed to shelter in place at a designated assembly area at the front of the building, which was near a restroom. Related: Doctors with the American Society of Anesthesiologists are calling for a new approach to fighting the opioid crisis, one that goes beyond current efforts at restricting opioid prescribing to reducing demand and addressing the illicit opioids in medicine cabinets. To address the U.S. opioid epidemic, policies and guidelines have focused primarily on reducing opioid prescribing and restricting supply. Accordingly, opioid prescribing decreased 38% in the past decade. Nevertheless, fatal opioid overdoses actually increased 300% during that period. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 73,000 people died from an opioid overdose in the past year one person every seven minutes; the highest number on record. Increasing fatalities despite decreased prescribing has been termed the opioid paradox. In a special article published Online First in Anesthesiology, the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Editor-in-Chief Evan D. Kharasch, M.D., Ph.D., Editor J. David Clark, M.D., Ph.D., and former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H., introduced their new concept, a prescription opioid ecosystem, to combat the opioid crisis and the opioid paradox. This concept goes far beyond simple restriction of opioid prescribing, to encompass a comprehensive approach designed to shrink and better manage the pool of prescription opioids in medicine cabinets of the country. It involves immediate action to address opioid use, storage, return, and harm reduction, with a specific focus on patients and communities, they explained. Restricting opioid prescribing alone has not succeeded. According to these physicians, tight restrictions on prescriptions can take pills from people who need them while leaving illicit street supplies available. Such patients my turn to illicit supply chains, such as fentanyl, as sources of opioids, resulting in overdose, according to these physicians. Safety Council Addresses Employer Role Seventy-five percent of employers have been directly impacted by employee opioid misuse, according to National Safety Council surveys. But only 17% feel very confident that they can address the problem effectively. In response, NSC developed several resources including an employer toolkit and a one-hour eLearning course to equip supervisors and safety professionals with the ability to recognize and respond to perceived impairment in the workplace. This training covers: The importance of recognizing and responding to impairment Supervisor responsibilities when recognizing impairment Common causes of impairment (alcohol, cannabis, fatigue, mental distress and more) Common signs and symptoms of impairment The NSC original six steps to respond to potential impairment Other considerations, including: Human resources involvement, prevention laws and regulations A crucial component of the opioid ecosystem is the pool of unused prescription opioids which is available for misuse by patients, friends, or family, or for diversion. They note diversion may be well-intentioned (to help others in pain), or by theft, or by giving or selling pills to others. The size of the opioid pool is influenced not just by supply by prescription, but also by demand, that is patient need) and, importantly, by return or disposal of unused drugs, Drs. Kharasch, Clark and Adams noted. To address the opioid paradox, they propose to right-size the opioid pool by: Reducing demand The authors urge anesthesiologists and surgeons to use patient-specific regimens that provide adequate pain relief after surgery, rather than withholding needed opioids, because under-treated acute pain can result in persistent, or chronic postsurgical pain. Persistent postsurgical pain causes suffering, and, can be a risk factor for opioid misuse. For example, multimodal strategies (using two or more drugs or techniques that act by different and complementary mechanisms) may provide better pain relief and enable smaller opioid prescriptions. So too may the use of longer-lasting pain drugs for surgery such as methadone, which can result in less postoperative pain and opioid use with benefits that last for weeks to months after a single dose. Reducing leftovers Hundreds of millions of opioid pills are dispensed to patients but go unused each year. Most are just kept by patients. Few pills are safely stored, and only a fraction are disposed of or returned, to remove them from harms way. The current difficulty of returning prescription opioids contrasts markedly with the ease of obtaining them. This is illogical and unsafe, Drs. Kharasch, Clark and Adams stated. They believe that regulations should require pharmacies dispensing opioids to provide: Instructions for proper return/disposal (preferably on the label, not as a handout) Addresses/telephone numbers of disposal stations A pre-addressed, pre-paid envelope for returning unused pills in an inactivating substance (e.g., activated charcoal) Research suggests opioid buy-backs are likely to be even more successful, according to the article. Reduced dispensing The article suggests that a better approach to shrinking the pool is already possible: partial filling of opioid prescriptions. A federal law enacted in 2016, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, allows both patients and clinicians to request partial filling of prescriptions for schedule II (strong) opioids. Partial filling for schedule IIIV (weaker) drugs has been permitted for decades. Giving patients less to take home, with fewer potential leftovers, would reduce the unused opioid pool. But it would still let patients with ongoing pain, who need their full prescription, to have it fully filled and with no questions asked. A caveat about shrinking the prescription opioid supply, particularly given the number of individuals with existing opioid use disorder, is that we not repeat past unintended consequences, the authors cautioned. Shrinking of the prescription opioid pool will need expansion of programs for medication-assisted therapy of opioid use disorder. This new paradigm of an opioid ecosystem, with its various new components, offers the possibility of saving lives, improving health, and reducing costs, concluded the authors. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 55,000 members. Source: American Society of Anesthesiologists When the Food and Drug Administration last week identified the likely sources of a powerful carcinogen thats been found in a myriad of personal-care products, it was the latest development in a year of recalls that has shown the potential dangers of everyday products Americans have long assumed are safe. Benzene is a known carcinogen, linked to leukemia and other blood cancers, and traces of it have recently been identified in everything from sunscreen to antiperspirant. But determining its origin isnt a simple matter. The supply chains that bring American consumers their grooming products are so massive and complex that benzene contamination could come from any one of a number of places: a preservative, a propellant, a thickener all targeted by U.S. health authorities as possible sources. The chemical is not supposed to be used to make such products, and companies including Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble Co. and Bayer AG that have initiated recalls say they dont. Yet it has nonetheless slipped through the cracks and into several commonly used grooming products. And no one noticed until a small lab in New Haven, Connecticut, called Valisure went looking. Valisures findings that began in March set off a string of benzene-related recalls culminating in a Dec. 23 FDA request for companies to test any products at risk of contamination. The agency request highlights one of the inherent challenges in its oversight of consumer products: It doesnt conduct testing for contaminants, leaving labs like Valisure and companies themselves to scout them out. The agencys focus is on ensuring that manufacturers are following their legal requirements for good manufacturing practices and identifying and reporting unacceptable levels of benzene quickly so that these products do not reach American homes, Audra Harrison, a spokeswoman, said in an email. Valisure started off earlier this year testing liquid and gel hand sanitizers, but the benzene-related recalls of late have centered on aerosol products like certain Neutrogena sunscreens from Johnson & Johnson, Old Spice and Secret antiperspirants from P&G and Bayers foot sprays Lotrimin and Tinactin. P&G earlier this month also expanded its recall to dry shampoos and conditioners that dont require water to apply, including those sold under the brand names Pantene and Herbal Essences. Not every company that sells products Valisure found to be contaminated have conducted recalls and Valisure has tested only a small window of personal-care products. Sunscreens, antiperspirants and the foot sprays are all considered drugs by the FDA, while shampoos and conditioners are considered cosmetics. Only P&G offered any insight into its recalls, saying the propellants used by a manufacturing partner that it declined to name were to blame for the contamination. J&J didnt respond to a request for comment. Beiersdorf AG, which has pulled some aerosol Coppertone sunscreens, and Bayer declined to comment on the cause of their recalls or what theyre doing to ensure benzene doesnt taint their products again. Some companies didnt recall products even after Valisure identified benzene in them. Those include antiperspirant sprays from Walmart Inc.s Equate brand and Unilever PLCs Suave as well as a Summers Eve vaginal spray from Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. The lab also found benzene in aloe after-sun products from CVS Health Corp. The company halted sales on certain aloe products said Michael DeAngelis, a spokesman, but he declined to offer any more insight into the cause of the contamination or steps the company is taking to ensure it isnt repeated. Unilever said in an emailed statement it conducted a robust investigation of its antiperspirants and deodorants and is confident in their safety. Walmart and Prestige didnt respond to requests for comment. Aerosols are difficult to manufacture. Many are made in bomb-proof facilities since the propellants, such as butane and propane, are derived from petroleum and are prone to explode. Companies that sell the antiperspirants, sunscreens and other products to consumers may turn to specialized firms to make and fill their aerosol cans. They also rely on a network of suppliers that each provide a specific component of a product and often operate in distant countries where labor is inexpensive and regulation is lax. Aerosol manufacturers are reevaluating many aspects of their industry, including its supply chain and examining specifications for raw materials, including propellants, Alexandra Hayes, a spokeswoman for the Household & Commercial Products Association, said in an email. The lobbying group represents companies that sell and manufacture consumer aerosol products. During the manufacturing process, traces of benzene may be present in a variety of raw materials, which may include the propellant that is used to disperse contents from an aerosol can, Hayes said. While it is not intentionally added in consumer products, its exact source may be difficult to pinpoint. Consumer companies have said theyve found only small traces of benzene that shouldnt be enough to cause cancer. And the personal-care industry has been quick to stress that people are also routinely exposed to benzene circulating in the air from other sources, mostly cigarette smoke and gasoline fumes. Still, the FDA is asking consumer companies to recall anything that contains benzene levels higher than 2 parts per million. Valisure found levels as high as 6 parts per million in sunscreens and triple that in antiperspirants. Experts advise reducing exposure to the chemical whenever possible. For known human carcinogens there is no safe amount, they increase our exposure to some degree, said Peter Orris, chief of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. Reducing the amount of exposure to human carcinogens is important because were in a soup of different ones. Stephen Petty, president and founder of the consulting firm Engineering & Environmental Services Group and an expert on benzene contamination, has testified in hundreds of trials on behalf of plaintiffs suing companies. Manufacturers often claim concentrations in their products are low, he said. But if you use it a lot and on a lot of skin area, that might not matter, Petty said. It really depends on skin area and how much you use it. Valisure originally decided to test hand sanitizers for benzene after its Chief Scientific Officer Kaury Kucera learned the FDA temporarily allowed the cleansers to contain trace amounts of the chemical to fill the supply gap during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lab found benzene levels as high as 16 parts per million in hand sanitizers that had recently come on the market to make up for a shortage of name brands like Purell. Hand sanitizers that come in a gel form often rely on a thickening agent called a carbomer, one of the ingredients the FDA flagged last week that could be causing the benzene contamination. Pharmaceuticals can also rely on carbomers as a binding agent to make pills or for use in extended release formulations. The FDA also said an antifungal preservative called sodium benzoate may form benzene under certain circumstances. An online search found that many brand-name body washes and liquid hand soaps list sodium benzoate as an ingredient. When asked, the FDA declined to identify the specific types of drugs that contain carbomers or sodium benzoate. The FDA also flagged isobutene and other hydrocarbons, which include butane and propane, as a source of benzene contamination. Hydrocarbons are petroleum distillates, produced by refining crude oil, and benzene is known to be present in petroleum. Butane and propane are powerful propellants, making them hard for companies to resist, said Ghasem Nasr, professor in the School of Science, Engineering and Environment at the University of Salford in England and an expert on spray technology. In fact theyre 1,700 times stronger than compressed gases, such as nitrogen, according to Nasr. Nitrogen, an inert gas which Guinness uses to make its canned beer taste like it was just poured from the tap, is considered more environmentally friendly than butane and propane. Nasr, the founder of Salford Valve Company Ltd., invented the companys Eco-Valve, an aerosol valve that makes nitrogen more attractive as a propellant for personal-care products. Beiersdorf put out a statement earlier this month detailing its new use of the more climate-friendly aerosol valve system with its Nivea brand deodorants. Whatever the source of the contamination, the FDAs rules on benzene still arent clear. While the agency is asking companies to recall products that contain more than 2 parts per million of benzene, the international guidelines the FDA follows only allow for that amount if use is unavoidable in order to produce a drug product with a significant therapeutic advance. The FDA did not respond to a question about why they were allowing any amount in products that, as Valisure testing showed, can be made without the carcinogen. Its interesting how many aerosols did not contain benzene, Orris said. It appears they can construct these without benzene. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Winter Storm Uri, Hurricane Ida and the fallouts from each storm dominated headlines in Insurance Journals South Central region in 2021. Readers were also interested in Texas crackdown of commercial vehicles, the Texas legislatures passing of a commercial auto tort bill and the lawsuits involved with the Astroworld music festival tragedy. Heres a look back at the top 10 Insurance Journal South Central articles in 2021. The top read story in Insurance Journals South Central section concerned Winter Storm Uri, which brought snow, ice and frigid temperatures to the Southern U.S. and particularly Texas in mid-February, leaving millions without power and causing several deaths. Moodys predicted insured losses for property and casualty insurers to total in the billions of dollars, while the Insurance Council of Texas said the storm may be the costliest winter weather event in the states history. Moodys said property damage both inside and outside of homes and commercial structures will result from snow and ice on the exterior of buildings, and flooding and other water damage caused by frozen and broken pipes, inside the impacted properties. By March, catastrophe modelers and insurance industry market analysts estimated insured losses of in Texas between $10 billion and $20 billion. Hurricane Ida caused damaged infrastructures and dangerous living conditions in Southeast Louisiana, leading Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon to issue an emergency directive requiring insurers to pay policyholders evacuation expenses. Donelons order came days after Ida made landfall as the second-most damaging hurricane to hit Louisiana, behind Katrina in 2005. Donelons order was unpopular with some insurers, including State Farm, which Donelon name dropped in a Sept. 8 press conference. State Farm cant ignore my order, no insurer can. But they can challenge it in court. We expect that it will be challenged. The directive for insurers to provide coverage applied to policies in the 25 parishes listed in Emergency Rule 47, a measure issued by Donelon to protect policyholders from cancellations and non-renewals after Hurricane Ida. The 25 parishes were also listed in Gov. John Bel Edwards Hurricane Ida emergency declaration. In July, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed four measures relating to the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. House Bill 769 prevents TWIAs board of directors from voting on a rate increase if there is a vacancy on the board that has existed for 60 days or more. HB 769 also prohibits TWIA from purchasing reinsurance from a broker or insurance company involved in the execution of a catastrophe model the association uses to determine the probable maximum loss applicable for the period covered by the reinsurance. Senate Bill 1448 requires that a vote by the board to raise TWIA premium rates must pass by at least a two-thirds majority. House Bill 2920 allows for a grace period of 10 days for payment of premiums on insurance policies renewed by TWIA. House Bill 3564 prohibits the Texas Department of Insurance from rescinding a certificate of compliance for a completed or ongoing improvement for purposes of coverage under a TWIA policy after a certificate has been issued. Readers were interested in a story on Texas public safety officials inspection of more than 6,000 commercial motor vehicles that resulted in over 1,000 citations, more than 18,500 warnings and over 1,600 vehicles taken out of service for safety violations. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) inspected 6,288 commercial motor vehicles as part of International Roadcheck 2021 (May 4-6), a national inspection initiative thats held annually and aimed at enhancing commercial motor vehicle safety. The most common infractions included problems with brakes and defective tires. Other violations included failure to have the proper type of driver license for the vehicle being driven and violations of hours of service requirements. This spring, the Texas legislature passed House Bill 19, a law that proponents say will help control abusive lawsuits against commercial motor vehicle operators following accidents. The Senate passed the bill in May, followed by the House in June. The legislation went into effect on Sept. 9. The bill was written in response to a spike in lawsuits arising out of commercial motor vehicle crashes, according to Rep. Jeff Leach. Leach said the law would require a two-part trial in civil actions involving a commercial motor vehicle if requested in a motion by the defendant. In the bifurcated trial system, the driver of the vehicle subject to the civil action must be found negligent in operating an employer defendants commercial motor vehicle before the lawsuit can proceed to the second phase, which involves a claim against the drivers employer, according to a House summary of the bill. The bills proponents included Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, the Insurance Council of Texas, and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. The arrival of Tesla auto insurance into the Texas market proved to be a hit among our readers. In late January, the state insurance department approved a revised policy form submitted by Redpoint County Mutual Insurance Co. for a Tesla Insurance Program for private passenger autos. Tesla launched the program in October. The program is underwritten by Redpoint and distributed through the Tesla Insurance Services of Texas Inc. (Tesla), an MGA formerly known as Samson General Agency. Tesla Insurance on its website says its product is competitively priced and designed to provide Tesla vehicle owners with up to 20% lower rates, and in some cases, as much as 30%. Physical damage, bodily injury and liability are among the basic coverages offered by Tesla Insurance. The company says it also offers additional financial protection against theft of the car, and damage to the car for events other than traffic collisions. In addition to basic and other enhanced coverage offerings, an Autonomous Vehicle Protection Package is available. This package includes Autonomous Vehicle Owner Liability, Wall Charger Coverage, Electronic Key Replacement, and covers Cyber Identity Fraud Expenses, the Tesla Insurance website states. In November, FedNat Insurance announced it pulling out of the Louisiana and Texas markets and doubling down on its home state of Florida after two years of heavy storm-related losses. FedNats wholly-owned subsidiary, Maison Insurance Company, expects to begin non-renewing its Louisiana policies in January 2022 and its Texas policies in February 2022. FedNat acquired Louisianas Maison in late 2019 with it more than 1,300 homeowners insurance operations, mostly in Louisiana and Texas. FedNat had grown to be one of the largest homeowners insurance companies in Louisiana with more than $81 million in premiums between FedNat Insurance Company and Maison, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. However, FedNat suffered major losses when the region was battered by a series of storms including Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Ida. The impact of these significant catastrophe weather events has put a strain on FedNats capital position and further action is now appropriate, Michael H. Braun, FedNats Chief Executive Officer, said during a company earnings call. The fallout from Hurricane Ida extended into the final months of the year as Louisiana insurers were assessed $100 million to cover the cost of two regional insurance companies facing insolvency due to losses from the storm. The Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association board voted in late November to assess admitted insurers 1% of 2020 net written premiums weeks after Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon filed injunctions seeking a government takeover of Access Home Insurance Co. and State National Fire Insurance Co. LIGA said insurers will be able to recuperate the assessments over 10 years in the form of tax credits. They dont get the value of their interest income that they lost, but they do get their principal back, said John Wells, executive director of LIGA. The two carriers that went under account for 1% of Louisianas property insurance market. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon recently announced SafePoint Insurance Co. will take over the 30,000 homeowners policies from the two insolvent insurers. The Astroworld Festival crowd surge in November killed 10 people in one of the worst music festival crowd crushes in U.S. history. More than 400 lawsuits have been filed in its aftermath, including a $2 billion lawsuit by Houston attorney Thomas J. Henry is on behalf of over 280 victims. The lawsuit names Live Nation, Apple Music, performers Travis Scott and Aubrey Drake Graham, and NRG Stadium among the defendants. Live Nation promoted the event, while Apple Music streamed the music festival live. Scott and Graham were performing on stage at the time of the crowd crush. The event was hosted at NRG Stadium in Houston. The defendants stood to make an exorbitant amount of money off of this event, and they still chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put attendees at risk, said Henry. My clients want to ensure the defendants are held responsible for their actions, and they want to send the message to all performers, event organizers, and promoters that what happened at Astroworld cannot happen again. In December, medical examiners with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences in Houston announced that the 10 people died from compression asphyxia. The House Oversight and Reform Committee recently announced it has launched an investigation into Live Nation. A Texas jury awarded $352 million to the family of a former Houston airport worker who was paralyzed from the chest down after a van driver struck him on the tarmac. The award, announced on Oct. 25 in the Harris County 127th District County, marks the largest jury verdict for actual damages for an injured worker in Texas history, according to Sorrels Law, the firm representing the family of the paralyzed worker. Ulysses Cruz was on shift as a wing walker for United Airlines on the morning of Sept. 7, 2019, when he walked behind a United plane backing from the gate at Houstons Bush Intercontinental Airport. According to court records, Cruz was struck by an Allied Aviation van driven by Reginald Willis, causing Cruz to be throw the grown. Cruz hit the tarmac and sustained serious injuries. He later underwent spine-stabilization surgery following the accident, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. The jury found Allied liable for 70% of the accident and Willis 30%. Related: Floridas distressed property insurance market continued to be a top concern for readers of the Insurance Journals Southeast section in 2021. From legislative reform attempts, to struggling insurance carriers, to the collapse of a 12-story condominium building, the Sunshine State remained a cauldron of insurance-related issues in the year that is now almost over. Heres a look at the top 10 Insurance Journal Southeast articles in 2021. In January, a consultant hired by Florida insurers, tort-reform groups and state officials released a report that confirmed what many had been saying: Floridas property insurance market is spiraling towards collapse and requires immediate attention if there is any chance of protecting the market, consumers, and ultimately, the states economy. The report pointed a finger at the states litigation economy as the main contributor to insurance market woes seeing it as more of a direct cause than the many weather events Florida has suffered. The reports author, Guy Fraker, a 30-year-veteran of the Florida insurance arena, also found: Litigation frequency and severity represents an additional expense load of 17% (and rising) on all earned premiums for insurers in Florida compared with other catastrophe-prone states. The fees paid to attorneys by Florida carriers far exceed the damages paid to the insureds. In 2019 alone, Florida insurers paid almost $3 billion in lawsuit costs that translated into higher premiums for insureds. Although the volume of claims after storms is a factor in costs, claims unrelated to catastrophes account for approximately 60% of all litigation. Florida consumers are paying a hidden tax to fund the litigation that averaged about $680 per family in 2020. In May, more than 50,000 Florida policyholders had to look for a new carrier for their homeowners insurance, after three Florida-based companies were approved by the state regulator to drop the policies. The moves came just a few weeks before the official start of hurricane season and just after the Legislature approved laws designed to reduce litigation and costs for insurers. Florida lawmakers passed two bills on the last day of their 2021 legislative session that made major changes to the states auto and property insurance markets. Although many have said the property reforms did not go far enough to help Floridas market, lawmakers have said, give it time it may take two years for the law to make a difference. Some of the most significant property insurance changes came from Senate Bill 76. The law attempts to address some of the issues plaguing the states homeowners insurance market in which insurers lost more than $1.5 billion in last year. The legislation was revised significantly from its original form at the start of the session and includes: Changing the eligibility, rate glidepath and actuarily sound rate indication for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Replacing the one-way attorney fee-statute to make the recovery of attorney fees and costs contingent on obtaining a judgment for indemnity that exceeds the pre-suit offer made by the insurance company. Reducing the claims deadline on all claims to two years from the date of loss, except for on supplemental claims which will have an additional year. Requiring plaintiffs to file a pre-suit demand at least 10 days before filing a lawsuit against an insurer that includes an estimate of the demand, the attorney fees and costs demanded and the amount in dispute; disallows pre-suit notices to be filed before the insurance company to make a determination of coverage; and allows an insurer to require mediation or other form of alternative dispute resolution after receiving notice. Makes it illegal for roofing contractors or any person acting on their behalf to make a prohibited advertisement, including an electronic communication, phone call or document that solicits a claim. This section has been temporarily put on hold by a court decision, after roofing companies charged that it violated their constitutional rights to free speech. For years, Florida has been reminding motorists not to use flashing hazard lights while driving. Well starting soon, feel free to flash away but only on the highway, after a bill was passed by the Legislature. See the most-read stories from other regions: Lighthouse Management LLC has raised $65 million in capital, the company announced. The senior notes, issued in a private placement, will be used to refinance debt held by the groups managing general agent, provide growth funding for the affiliated carrier, Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp., and expand distribution to third-party carriers. TigerRisk Capital Markets and Advisory acted as placement agent in the transaction. The Foley and Lardner firm served as legal counsel. Established in 2008, the Lighthouse group includes an MGA and two insurance carriers focused on homeowners insurance in the Southeast. Lighthouse Management is licensed to write business in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The company said in a news release that it expects to write about $220 million of direct premium in 2021, through its network of 3,000 independent agencies. Topics Funding A man who dropped a gun and ran naked from police before being shot by an officer outside a church in 2017 has accepted a $525,000 settlement to end a federal lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and police officers, both sides said. Jason Funkes lawyer, Jason Newville of Minneapolis, confirmed a Las Vegas Review-Journal report about the Nov. 3 agreement and U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware IIs finding in June that Officer Mark Hatten unlawfully used excessive force against Funke when he shot the then-25-year-old in August 2017. Attorney Craig Anderson, representing the department, also confirmed the settlement in the case alleging violations of Funkes constitutional rights, the Americans with Disabilities Act and unlawful assault and battery. Anderson and police Officer Larry Hadfield, a department spokesman, declined additional comment. Newville noted Hatten was at the center of a $500,000 settlement the police department reached in 2018 with the mother of a 44-year-old man who died in December 2010 after Hatten shocked him with an electronic stun gun 10 times for more than 90 seconds during a struggle after a traffic stop. The day Funke was shot, police were summoned to a church where Funk had sought counseling just days earlier about his mental health, including feelings of suicide, according to court records. A church leader told a 911 dispatcher that Funke was sitting naked in a meditation pose with a handgun in front of him and money on the ground in front of the church. He told the dispatcher, Yeah, this man is suicidal. I talked to him; hes not making sense,' Boulware noted in his June ruling granting summary judgment on Funkes excessive force claim against Hatten. At least six police officers arrived, with a police helicopter overhead, before Funke stood, picked up the gun and began pacing. Hatten, armed with a rifle in a position near other officers, announced: Hes starting to move. Im gonna take a shot. It is undisputed that Funke had not directly or verbally threatened anyone with the gun, and that he committed no serious crime, Boulware wrote. He had not raised the weapon toward others or himself. Another officer yelled at Funke to drop the gun and he did, putting his hands in the air, and walking toward Hatten and another officer, the judge said. A K-9 officer struggled to control a police dog, which was barking and pulling at its leash when officers ordered Funke to lay on the ground. Funke ran, the police dog was released and attacked another officer, and Hatten shot Funke in the back left shoulder when Funke was about 30 feet from the dropped gun. The police dog then reached Funke and bit his arm. The parties dispute whether Funke was running to retrieve the gun or simply running away, Boulware wrote. Hatten is still employed by the Las Vegas police department, assigned to the criminalistics bureau, which includes crime scene investigations, the Review-Journal reported. Officer Aden OcampoGomez, a department spokesman, declined to tell the newspaper if Hatten was disciplined for shooting Funke and declined to comment on the settlement. Funkes mother, Theresa Funke, told the newspaper her son suffered physical and emotional scars, and that having to fight criminal charges was almost as bad. Funke was initially charged with misdemeanor indecent exposure and possession of a dangerous weapon on a school or child-care property, court records show. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon and was sentenced to probation. Essentially, he said, Im being punished for having a mental breakdown,' his mother said. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Twenty people were injured when a Greyhound bus headed to Las Vegas veered off a highway and rolled over in central Utah late Monday night, officials said. The injured passengers were taken to area hospitals with a range of minor to serious injuries but all were expected to survive, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden said Tuesday. Investigators dont know yet what caused the Greyhound bus to veer off the highway and roll over on its side about 100 yards from the road, Roden said. A snowstorm hit many parts of the state Monday night, but Roden said road conditions didnt seem too bad on the part of Interstate 70 in Emery County where the crash occurred even though pictures of the overturned bus show snow on the ground. Thirty-eight people were aboard the bus, including the driver. It had taken off from Green River, Utah and was in route to Las Vegas, he said. Greyhound officials didnt immediately return an email seeking comment about the crash. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Wildfires dominated headlines once again in Insurance Journals West region. Stories on wildfires in California, as well as efforts to aid homeowners affected by the fallout of several years of severe drought and massive wildfires, were among the most read in the region. Stories on COVID-19, of course, were among the most read, as were numerous stories on quirky lawsuits, and several stories on arrests and convictions for various types of fraud were well read. Following are the regions top 10 articles for the year. This was the most read articles of the year, and it chronicled a showdown between Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler and the insurance industry. In fact, three articles on this matter made the list of the regions 20 most read articles. Kreidler earlier in the year had issued an emergency order that prohibited insurers from using a consumers credit score to price auto, renters and homeowners coverage. In October a judge in Washington ruled in favor of the insurance industrys argument against his emergency rule temporarily banning use of credit scoring. Kreidler has been working to eliminate credit scores from insurer consideration for some time. His most recent effort failed when a bill he backed, Senate Bill 5010, was gutted by an insurance industry amendment in the Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee on Feb. 15. The American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Cos. and the Northwest Insurance Council argued that Kriedlers emergency order exceeded his statutory authority, violate the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government and could be in direct conflict with the existing statutes. In April, the groups filed a petition for declaratory and injunctive relief in Superior Court in Thurston County, which asked the court to declare the commissioners action invalid and enjoin its enforcement. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in September ordered insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 325,000 policyholders who have been affected by Northern California wildfires across 22 counties. That wasnt the first Lara had done something like that. He did it four times during the year. In early September, he issued similar orders following emergency declarations by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The September order protected 325,000 policyholders and was in addition to 25,000 policyholders who were protected in the moratorium order following the July 23 wildfire emergency in Lassen, Plumas, and Siskiyou counties. The commissioners ability to issue moratoriums is a result of a California law he authored in 2018 while a state senator to provide temporary relief from non-renewals to residents living within or adjacent to a declared wildfire disaster. Roughly three dozen pieces of California legislation at one point during the legislative year were directly related to wildfire. Several of those bills included mitigation incentives, penalties for failure to prevent fires, funding for fire prevention and firefighting, and a bill to prohibit cancellations in high wildfire risk areas. The nature of the legislation included: A bill to prohibit an insurer from canceling or refusing to renew a residential property insurance or commercial insurance policy based solely on the fact that the insured property is located in a high-risk wildfire area. A bill stating that the intent of the Legislature was to enact legislation that would increase Californias capacity to prevent and reduce the impact of wildfires, and would make related findings and declarations. A bill to impose a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for violations of certain fire-reducing provisions in state law, and impose an additional civil penalties for each acre burned by a fire. A bill to require each electrical corporation to also submit a wildfire mitigation plan to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. Cannabis legalization is a national story, considering the focus is on federally legalizing, but the subject was highly popular in the West region, where many of the nations legal states can be found. The aforementioned article was an extensive recap of Insurance Journals bimonthly Insuring Cannabis podcast. The episode featured Paul Armentano, deputy director of the cannabis advocacy group NORML, and Morgan Fox with the National Cannabis Industry Association. The two talked about federal legalization and other efforts to enable safe banking for the cannabis industry. A sweeping legalization bill known as the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act held some promise of passing before years end. The drafters of CAOA, primarily Senate Majority Leader Schumer, and Senators Booker and Wyden, were well engaged with stakeholders. Among the things not to like about CAOA were the tax structure, which starts at 10% and then it moves up to 25%, on top of state and local taxes. Another bill Fox and Armentano addressed was the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021, or MORE Act, which would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. Several stories covering the battle between the states insurance commissioner at the FAIR Plan drew great reader interest. A Superior Court judge in July upheld the California Insurance Commissioners authority to order the California FAIR Plan to offer broader coverage options to consumers. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel upheld California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Laras authority to order broader coverage options to consumers and she directed the commissioner to remove some liability coverages that have no relationship, nexus, or connection to the insured property and to resubmit his order to the FAIR Plan for immediate implementation. Lara in 2019 ordered the FAIR Plan to offer a comprehensive policy more akin to a traditional homeowners policy, in addition to its current fire-only coverage, so a homeowner who was non-renewed or could not obtain similar coverage from a standard insurer could get this comprehensive coverage from the FAIR Plan. The FAIR Plan in late 2019 sued the commissioner, arguing he had exceeded his authority. One of the final articles of the year referencing the FAIR Plan covered a new report out from the California Department of Insurance showing the number of policies written by the FAIR Plan rose for the second year to a new high. The Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, a police reform law passed last June following protests over racial injustice in 2020, meant officers can be held financially liable for any judgement awarded in the case. The new Colorado law allowing individual police officers to be sued wasnt out long before a test case came along. Four Black girls who were mistakenly detained by Colorado police at gunpoint over a suspected stolen car filed a civil lawsuit against police and the city of Aurora in February in the Arapahoe County District Court. One of the girls mother, the driver of car that turned out not to be stolen, is also a plaintiff in the case. The incident in August 2020 attracted national attention after a video of the four girls being detained was posted on social media. Aurora police apologized after the video taken by a bystander showed the girls in a parking lot with the 17-year-old and a 12-year-old lying on their stomachs with their hands cuffed behind their backs. A 14-year-old girl was lying next to the 6-year-old also on their stomachs next to the car. The traffic stop occurred in Aurora, where officers were also being investigated following the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain after he was placed in a chokehold last year. How private insurance may come into all of this isnt yet clear. It was not immediately known if the individual officers named in the lawsuit have insurance, and Aurora is self-insured and is not part of an insurance pool. State Farm announced in March it was returning $400 million to California mutual auto insurance customers due to better than anticipated claim results. The announcement came as the California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said insurers in California continued to overcharge drivers despite reduced risk of accidents during the pandemic. The State Farm dividend applies to roughly 3.5 million private passenger auto policies in California. Through the dividend, customers can expect to receive a check of 18% of premium, or averaging about $100 per policy, for the time period from June 1 to Dec. 31, 2020. State Farm is once again returning value to our California customers while remaining financially strong to keep our promises now and in the future, Tom Conley, senior vice president of State Farm said in a statement. This additional dividend is another way were making adjustments based on driving behaviors to minimize impacts and help our customers. Insurers faced pressure by regulators across the nation to return premium dollars to drivers who were likely doing less driving during lockdowns and it wasnt limited to auto. Lara issued a commissioners bulletin in April that covered premiums paid for at least the months of March and April in at least six different insurance lines: private passenger automobile, commercial automobile; workers compensation; commercial multi-peril; commercial liability; medical malpractice; and any other insurance line where the risk of loss has fallen substantially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID was, as previously mentioned, a part of numerous top stories. An article on the states difficult employment liability practices insurance arena included interviews with experts on EPLI who portrayed it as the most difficult market for that line in recent memory. Tyie Moore, area senior vice president in executive lines for Risk Placement Services, who has been writing EPLI for 20-plus years, said the last two or three years have caused her and her clients a lot of pain and anguish. Moore, who is based in Los Angeles, said problem No. 1 is that claims in California are bigger and there are more of them. In years past, many claims she saw in California were small nuisance claims that would often get settled quickly, with about one out of every 40 accounts having an EPL claim it. Now, she estimates, three to four out of 10 of her accounts have EPL claim. It costs about 260% more to resolve a claim in California than it does outside of the state, and according to a recent report from Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan, 21% of reported settlements in excess of $2 million were brought in California, as were four out of the top 10 settlements. Uber Technologies Inc. lost an early round in a lawsuit filed by the relatives of a university student who was run over and killed on a San Diego freeway after one of the companys drivers allegedly ordered her out of his car and a second driver failed to pick her up. A state court judge in San Francisco in Aprl issued a tentative ruling Wednesday that rejected the ridesharing companys claim that it had no responsibility for the death of 19-year-old Stella Yeh. The sophomore at University of California at San Diego had been drinking with friends one night in May 2018 when one of them summoned an Uber to drive her to her dorm. During the ride, she vomited on the dashboard. The driver got off the freeway and ordered her out of the car, according to court records. Yeh summoned a second Uber and was stumbling along the freeway ramp when it arrived. Rather than take her home, the second driver abandoned her, according to the complaint. A few minutes later, Yeh wandered onto the freeway, where she was hit by two cars and killed. Uber has argued that it shouldnt be held liable for the actions or inactions of the drivers because theyre independent contractors, not company employees. A scarcity of directors and officers coverage for cannabis companies was much covered in the media in the past few years. D&O was given an even bigger spotlight following a Colorado lawsuit in which two large cannabis operators and several executives were accused of illegally transporting marijuana to Arkansas. The lawsuit also invoked the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, which seeks increased damages for the plaintiff. Among the firms named was Chicago, Ill.-based Verano Holdings, which was accused in the lawsuit of illegally transporting marijuana from its home state of Illinois to Arkansas. While medical marijuana is legal in Arkansas, cultivation, sale, and possession of the drug remains federal offenses in Arkansas. Cannabis also remains a controlled substance in the eyes of the federal government. The allegations of illegal interstate marijuana shipments stem from the attempted acquisition of Verano by Phoenix, Ariz.-based Harvest Health & Recreation in a deal that fell through last year. Verano (VRNOF: OTCMKTS) is a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator that designs, builds, and operates dispensaries under retail brands Zen Leaf and MUV. Harvest (HRVSF: OTCMKTS) is a vertically integrated cannabis company and multi-state operator that has been expanding its retail and wholesale presence throughout the U.S. by acquiring, manufacturing, and selling cannabis products for patients and consumers in addition to providing services to retail dispensaries. The lawsuit was filed on March 8 in Colorado District Court. It also names dozens of executives from the cannabis companies. Related: Official guidance to UK ministers on engaging with Sinn Fein was updated four times in the lead up to the Good Friday Agreement in response to IRA activity and the partys shifting positions on non-violence. A series of memos circulated among Government departments in Northern Ireland during 1997 and 1998 show how a ban on ministers meeting directly with Sinn Fein was lifted only to be reinstated a few months later. In May 1997, the month that the Labour government came to power in the UK, new Guidelines for Contact were cleared by Secretary of State Mo Mowlam. At the time, the IRA was continuing its campaign of violence having broken its August 1994 ceasefire in February 1996. Mo Mowlam signed off on new guidance within a month of Labour coming to power in 1997 (PA) The guidelines are contained in a file released from the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. In the absence of an IRA ceasefire, contact between Sinn Fein and Government Ministers and officials will be circumscribed as follows, the document reads. Ministers will not hold meetings with Sinn Fein elected representatives or an exclusively Sinn Fein delegation in any circumstances nor will they meet, on Government property, a delegation or group which includes Sinn Fein representatives. The denial of Ministerial contact with Sinn Fein as a party is in line with the policy of the Irish Government. The guidelines said ministers could continue to participate in outside visits in Northern Ireland and Great Britain on the understanding that any contacts with Sinn Fein representatives will be incidental to the primary purpose of the visit. On such visits, it said social contact with any Sinn Fein representative should be avoided or minimised. The guidance said senior officials could meet with Sinn Fein to discuss policy issues only with the explicit approval of the appropriate Departmental Minister. It added: Contact between Sinn Fein representatives and junior officials on purely constituency matters will continue as before to avoid any accusation of disenfranchising the relevant electorate. In July of that year, the IRA declared a second ceasefire a move that saw Sinn Fein invited to participate in renewed peace talks in the autumn. Sinn Fein subsequently declared support for the Mitchell principles a set of ground rules for participating in the talks mediated by US Senator George Mitchell. The principles included commitments to non-violence and exclusively political means. This new policy has been specifically introduced on the basis that it will continue in operation for only so long as Sinn Fein remain eligible to participate in the Talks and the IRA ceasefire remains in place. These developments prompted revised internal Government guidance on September 25. In the wake of the Secretary of States announcement on 29 August that she regarded the ceasefire as unequivocal and Sinn Feins formal commitment to the Mitchell principles of democracy and non-violence on 9 September, Ministers have agreed that they would be ready to consider requests from representatives of Sinn Fein to meet Ministers and officials on their merits. Such requests from Sinn Fein should be dealt with on the same basis as requests from other parties having regard to the level of their electoral support and political representation. "This new policy has been specifically introduced on the basis that it will continue in operation for only so long as Sinn Fein remain eligible to participate in the Talks and the IRA ceasefire remains in place. The policy would therefore have to be reviewed again urgently were either of these two factors to change. Five months later, in February 1998, the position was reversed when Sinn Fein was temporarily excluded from the talks process after the IRA was implicated in two murders. Another month later, a further guidance update was issued, changing the policy once again. Following Sinn Feins return to the Talks on March 23 and reaffirmation of the Mitchell principles, the Central Secretariat guidance of 25 February 1998 on contact with Sinn Fein is withdrawn, it stated. Contacts with Sinn Fein in the context of access to Government should be dealt with according to the Central Secretariat guidance on 25 September 1997. A mechanic who was fired after calling a Polish work colleague a stupid f**king foreigner has been awarded almost 2,700 after the Workplace Relations Commission ruled he had been unfairly dismissed from his job. Dualway, a bus group based in Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, was ordered to pay the compensation to former mechanic, Luke Sutton, as a result of the finding. Mr Sutton, who had his employment terminated on April 24, 2019, by Dualway, where he had worked for two-and-a-half years, on grounds of gross misconduct successfully claimed he was the subject of an unfair dismissal. Mr Suttons lawyers claimed the companys decision to sack him was disproportionate and that Dualway had failed to consider the totality of the case including the fact that the Polish work colleague had spilled hot liquid on their clients hand. They pointed out that the Polish worker had also referred to himself as the foreigner in a WhatsApp group of which both men were members. Dualway's evidence A representative of Dualway told the WRC that the Polish staff member had made a verbal and written complaint about the incident which occurred on the companys premises on March 14, 2019. The WRC heard that Mr Sutton was suspended on foot of the complaint while an investigation into claims that he had engaged in racially abusive behaviour and ongoing issues about his attitude in the workplace was undertaken. Dualway said Mr Sutton had admitted calling his colleague a stupid f**king foreigner which he told the companys HR official was said out of shock and pain". However, he denied telling his colleague to f**k off back to Poland and also to saying to a female worker: You f**king foreign c**t, f**k off back to Poland. The WRC heard that Mr Sutton was dismissed on April 25, 2019, on grounds of gross misconduct following a disciplinary hearing as his explanations about events were not acceptable and he had admitted using racially abusive language. The company said he had also failed to show any remorse and had made no apology for his remarks. WRC rules for Mr Sutton 'with some hesitation' Notwithstanding Mr Suttons inexplicable failure to apologise for his actions, the WRC said it found with some hesitation that the decision taken by Dualway was unreasonable in circumstances which warranted a sanction short of dismissal. WRC adjudicator, Breiffni ONeill, said it could not be ignored that Mr Sutton only harassed his colleague on one occasion in the heat of the moment when he was understandably annoyed when coffee was inadvertently spilled on him. The WRC noted that no alternative to dismissal appeared to have been considered by Dualway such as suspension without pay or a final written warning. The WRC said Mr Suttons disciplinary record at the time of his dismissal was clean, despite the company claiming he had shown poor behaviour in his relations with other employees. It said the decision to dismiss the mechanic was also at odds with Dualways own bullying and harassment policy which said sanctions would be based on the seriousness of an incident. The WRC said it could not accept that the incident of harassment was at the most serious end of the scale. Noting that Mr Sutton had found alternative work very quickly, the WRC awarded him compensation of 4,452.80 but reduced it by 40% because of the contribution he made to his own dismissal to 2,671.68. Iran on Thursday announced it had launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it is unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth. The state TV report, as well as others by Irans semi-official news agencies, did not say when the launch was conducted nor what devices the carrier brought with it. However, the launch comes amid difficult negotiations in Vienna over Irans tattered nuclear deal. Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States. The US State Department, Space Force and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ahmad Hosseini, a defence ministry spokesman, identified the rocket as a Simorgh, or Phoenix, rocket. He said the three devices were sent up 290 miles. An image taken from footage aired by Iranian state television shows the Simorgh rocket on the launchpad (Iranian state television via AP) Hosseini was quoted as saying the performance of the space centre and the performance of the satellite carrier was done properly. He described the launch as initial, suggesting more are on the way. However, officials were silent on whether the launched objects had actually reached orbit. Irans civilian space programme has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, including fatal fires and a launchpad rocket explosion that drew the attention of former President Donald Trump. Iranian state media recently offered a list of upcoming planned satellite launches for the Islamic Republics civilian space programme. Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard runs its own parallel programme that successfully put a satellite into orbit last year. The blast-offs have raised concerns in Washington about whether the technology used to launch satellites could advance Irans ballistic missile development. The United States says that such satellite launches defy a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on Iran to steer clear of any 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. Announcing a launch as nuclear negotiators meet in Vienna aligns with Tehrans hard-line posture under President Ebrahim Raisi, a recently elected conservative cleric. New Iranian demands in the nuclear talks have exasperated Western nations and heightened regional tensions as Tehran presses ahead with atomic advancements. Diplomats have repeatedly raised the alarm that time is running out to restore the accord, which collapsed three years ago when America unilaterally withdrew under then-President Trump. Iran has now abandoned all limitations under the agreement, and has ramped up uranium enrichment from under 4% purity to 60% a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels. International inspectors face challenges in monitoring Tehrans advances. Satellite images seen by the Associated Press suggested a launch was imminent earlier this month. The images showed preparations at the spaceport in the desert plains of Irans rural Semnan province, some 150 miles south east of Tehran. Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space. But under Raisi, the government appears to have sharpened its focus on space. Irans Supreme Council of Space has met for the first time in 11 years. Burma Myanmar Junta Sentences NLD Leaders and Activists Ahead of New Year's Eve Top, from left, ousted Magwe Region chief minister Dr. Aung Moe Nyo and National League for Democracy central executive committee members U Thein Oo, Dr. Myo Nyunt and U Han Tha Myint. Bottom, from left, actor Lu Min, actress Eaindra Kyaw Zin and actor Pyay Ti Oo. Ahead of New Years Eve, Myanmars junta courts have been busily handing down the verdicts to detained National League for Democracy (NLD) government ministers, NLD leaders, artists and student leaders in Yangon, Bago and Magwe regions and Kachin and Shan states. At least 62 detainees and ousted leaders accused of supporting or participating in the anti-regime protests were sentenced to prison on Thursday. On Thursday, the junta court in Magwe sentenced the regions chief minister Dr. Aung Moe Nyo to 18 years in prison on six corruption charges under Article 55 of the Anti-Corruption Law. He was detained during the Feb. 1 coup and was sentenced in June to two years for incitement for allegedly publishing statements declaring the juntas State Administrative Council to be unlawful. Dr. Aung Moe Nyo is well known for his integrity and associates rejected the junta courts verdicts as trumped-up. The charges and verdict against him are ludicrous as he is a modest and a man of the highest integrity, posted Ko Kyaw Wunna, the secretary of the NLDs Central Research Committee. According to lawyers, junta courts also sentenced two other regional ministers and the former speaker of Magwe on the same day. Their lawyers said they will not appeal. According to NLD sources in Kachin State, a junta court sentenced the partys Kachin chairman and two other ousted state ministers. The detained Shan State minister of planning and finance U Soe Nyunt Lwin was sentenced to 38 years on four charges of incitement, sedition and high treason, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a monitoring group. The junta court inside Pyay Prison in Bago Region sentenced 40 detainees, including the anti-regime protesters and an ousted NLD lawmaker, to one to three years in prison, mostly for supporting and participating in protests. In Yangon, the juntas court inside Insein Prison sentenced NLD central executive committee (CEC) members U Han Tha Myint, U Thein Oo and Dr. Myo Nyunt to two years in prison for sedition. The three have been detained since the Feb. 1 coup and were charged with sedition under Article 505(b) of the Penal Code. Other CEC members detained at the same time include U Nyan Win, Monywa Aung Shin and U Kyaw Ho. NLD legal adviser U Nyan Win died in prison in July with COVID-19 and Monywa Aung Shin died in late November shortly after being released from the prison. Another CEC member and legal adviser U Kyaw Ho was sentenced last week. Verdicts on celebrities and student activists At least seven celebrities were sentenced to three years in prison for supporting and participating in the anti-regime protests. They were jailed with labor under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code. They include actress Eaindra Kyaw Zin and actors Pyay Ti Oo and Lu Min. Lu Min was seized in late February and Eaindra Kyaw Zin and Pyay Ti Oo were detained in April for participating in protests. Their detention period will be deducted from their jail terms, according to their lawyer. On Monday the Insein court sentenced the author Daw Than Myint Aung and model Paing Takhon to three years in prison. Paing Takhon was detained in April after appearing on the juntas list of celebrities wanted for anti-regime activities. Daw Than Myint Aung, who was also a member of the Yangon Region municipal government, was detained on Feb. 1 and held at the regimes interrogation center in the city for a month, before being sent to Insein. She was sentenced to three years in prison with labor for alleged incitement under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code. This week the junta courts also handed down verdicts on student leaders who were detained for anti-regime protests with minimum sentences of two years. You may also like these stories: Rohingya Without Myanmar ID Not Being Given COVID-19 Jab: Junta Myanmar Junta Troops Killed in Sagaing and Kayah Myanmars UN Ambassador to Stay On: UN Sources Burma Myanmar Juntas Worst Massacres of 2021 The remains of the vehicles in which 35 civilians were burned alive by junta forces on December 24 in Hpruso Township, Kayah State. / KNDF Myanmars military regime appears happy to intensify its atrocities against the people of Myanmar and to continue its violent suppression of both the anti-coup movement and armed resistance to military rule. Since the juntas February 1 coup, the regime has frequently committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. At least 1,382 people have been killed since the coup during crackdowns, raids, arrests, and interrogations. Those killed range from anti-regime activists to bystanders, children and students. Another 11,250 people, including democratically elected government leaders, have been detained by the junta. The military regime has used live ammunition, grenades and automatic weapons to attack peaceful anti-coup protesters, labeling them rioters. Now it is deploying helicopter gunships, jet fighters, artillery, gunboats, drones and tanks to attack the Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) civilian armed resistance groups describing them as terrorists and extremists. Regime forces have randomly killed civilians in their operations against the PDFs, massacring and burning some of them alive, while also using civilian detainees as human shields, bombarding residential areas, looting and burning down houses and committing acts of sexual violence. The Irrawaddy has highlighted 14 of the worst junta massacres committed over the last 11 months. 15 anti-regime protesters killed in North Okkalapa 15 peaceful anti-regime protesters including a pedestrian were shot dead on March 3 when regime forces sprayed bullets into a crowd of demonstrators in Yangons North Okkalapa Township. Junta forces also conducted lethal crackdowns on anti-regime demonstrations in townships in Sagaing, Magwe, Mandalay regions and Mon State. On March 3 alone, at least 29 people were shot dead by the military regime. Massacre of 50 protesters in Hlaing Tharyar Around 50 protesters were killed and several dozen injured on March 14 when regime forces conducted a cold-blooded crackdown on anti-coup demonstrations in Yangons Hlaing Tharyar Township. Trigger-happy junta troops opened fire on protesters, as well as bystanders and pedestrians in the township. A total of around 80 protesters were slain on March 14, as the junta also conducted lethal crackdowns on anti-regime protests in other townships in Yangon, as well as in Bago and Mandalay regions and Hpakant in Kachin State. The single bloodiest day since the coup The Myanmar military marked the 76th Armed Forces Day on March 27 by slaughtering around 110 anti-regime protesters across the country, making it the bloodiest single day since the February 1 coup. At least four children, ranging in age from five to 15, were among the 110 people killed in 41 locations across 10 of Myanmars 14 states and regions. Most of the victims were shot dead by trigger-happy soldiers and police during crackdowns on anti-regime protests. 80 civilians massacred in Bago Around 80 civilians including students, were massacred on April 9 by junta forces during dawn raids on the strongholds of anti-regime protesters in Bago. At 4am on April 9, over 250 regime soldiers raided four residential wards in Bago: Shinsawpu, Nantawyar, Hmawkan and Ponnasu, where anti-coup demonstrations had taken place. While trying to remove roadblocks erected by anti-regime protesters, troops opened fire with automatic weapons on civilians and protesters defending themselves with slingshots, fireworks and homemade airguns. After the raids, the regime blocked the areas for days so that wounded people could not receive medical treatment and the bodies of the dead could not be removed. 82 people were murdered in the raids, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group that compiles lists of regime killings and arrests. Over 10 villagers killed in Yinmabin Over 10 villagers were killed by regime forces on April 20 while attempting to defend themselves against raids on villages in Yinmabin Township, Sagaing Region. Junta forces used artillery against the villagers, who were armed with traditional and homemade firearms and slingshots. After the clash, regime troops arrested around 50 villagers from Wingone Village. The villagers were only released after a ransom was paid. 40 villagers and resistance fighters slain in Tabayin 40 civilians including several children were reportedly killed by regime forces in early July during a raid on villages in the west of Tabayin Township, Sagaing Region. Some 150 junta soldiers called in artillery strikes on civilian targets, firing around 40 artillery shells. During prolonged fighting, at least 18 villagers including six children and five university students were killed. Six wounded civilian resistance fighters left behind after their comrades retreated were executed with shots to the head. More PDF fighters and villagers were shot dead the following day, after returning to look for the dead and wounded. 40 dead bodies found in Kani The bodies of around 40 people including a child, a disabled person and a senior citizen killed by junta troops were found in July in the resistance stronghold of Kani Township, Sagaing Region. On July 30, the bodies of 12 detained civilians, including a 14-year-old boy, were found in Taung Pauk Village in Kani Township. Another 16 dead civilians were found scattered in the jungle surrounding Yin Village on July 11 and 12 after villagers fled junta raids on July 8. Witnesses said the victims were shot dead by pursuing junta soldiers. On July 28, seven more bodies were discovered, while five more were discovered the next day on farms near Zee Pin Twin village. 18 teenagers killed in Gangaw 18 teenagers were killed on September 9 while attempting to defend their village from a junta raid in Gangaw Township, Magwe Region. The teenagers from Myintha Village were killed by heavy weapons, while armed only with homemade firearms. During the raid, regime forces also torched more than 20 houses in the village. Five displaced civilians slain in Gangaw Five displaced civilians were killed by regime forces during raids in late November on villages and refugee camps in Gangaw Township, Magwe Region. On November 26, junta troops occupied Mouklin Village in Gangaw after seizing five villagers tending cattle outside the village. One of those seized, a 21-year-old cowhand, was killed on December 27. Five displaced villagers were arrested on the same day when regime forces raided refugee camps in the forest using four detainees as human shields and guides. The four detainees were later released, but four of the five displaced villagers arrested were killed by the junta. Local residents found their dead bodies in the forest and cremated them. 10 villagers burned alive 10 villagers, including five teenagers aged between 14 and 17, were tortured and burned alive on December 7 in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region. After a military convoy was ambushed with mines, angry regime forces opened fire on farmers, raided nearby Don Taw Village and seized 10 residents. Villagers later found their 10 charred bodies inside a farm hut outside the village. All the victims had been shot and stabbed while being forced to knee with their hands tied, according to locals. They were all burned alive, a resident said. Residents also found the body of a Don Taw woman in the farm hut. She is believed to have been killed by junta troops during the raid. Six villagers tortured to death in Tabayin Six villagers were tortured to death by junta soldiers during a raid on a village in Tabayin Township, Sagaing Region in the second week of December. After facing intense attacks from PDFs, which resulted in junta airstrikes, 120 regime forces raided Nagadwin Village in the west of Tabayin Township on December 7, while randomly shelling nearby villages. On December 11, local residents found the bodies of six Nagadwin villagers who are believed to have been tortured to death by junta troops during their deployment. Three of the six were killed while tied up. Villagers told the media that the victims were arrested while returning home. Others had been left behind by villagers escaping the raid because they were too frail to flee. Nine civilians killed by regime airstrikes Nine civilians, including two resistance fighters, were killed on December 17 by junta airstrikes that involved five aircraft on Hnan Khar Village in Gangaw Township, Magwe Region. Two helicopter gunships attacked the village using machine guns, while around 100 junta soldiers were airlifted into the village by two other choppers. Meanwhile, a military jet fighter was hovering above the village. The junta launched the attack in an attempt to kill or capture leaders of local PDFs who were meeting in the village. Two PDF members were killed in the raid. Five civilians in a vehicle passing though the village also died after being shot by regime troops. Two Hnan Khar villagers who were farming and tending cattle outside the village were subsequently executed with shots to their heads while detained and tied up. 10 civilians die in junta airstrikes 10 villagers were killed on December 23 when two junta helicopter gunships indiscriminately attacked a village in Kale Township, Sagaing Region with machine guns. The airstrikes came after a combined group from the Chinland Defense Force (Kale) and local PDFs attacked regime troops deployed at Nat Chaung Village, 24km south of Kale. 35 fleeing civilians burned alive 35 civilians including children, women and two members of the international humanitarian group Save the Children, were burned alive in seven vehicles on December 24 by the Myanmar military in Hpruso Township, Kayah State. The massacre happened after an hour-long battle between junta troops and the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force. The 35 civilians were fleeing from Moso Village and were burned alive after being tied up and left in the vehicles. Four members of the Karenni Nationalities Peoples Liberation Front were tied up and shot in the head after being captured while they were negotiating with junta forces for the release of the 35 villagers. The group had agreed a ceasefire with the former junta in 1994 and was transformed into a border guard force under military supervision. You may also like these stories: Student Activist Dies in Myanmar Junta Custody Cambodia, ASEAN and Myanmar UN Envoy Joins Her Predecessors in Myanmars Graveyard of Diplomats Burma UN Security Council Demands Answers Over Myanmars Christmas Eve Massacre The remains of vehicles in Hpruso Township, Kayah State on December 24 when 35 charred bodies were found after junta troops arrested villagers and killed and burned them. / KNDF The United Nations Security Council has called for accountability for the Christmas Eve massacre in Hpruso Township, Kayah State, in which at least 35 people, including four children and two Save the Children staff, were killed in Myanmar. Photos from a Kayah-based group showed the charred remains of bodies on burned trucks in the rural area. Security Council president Abdou Abarry from Niger said in a statement that the global body condemned the slaughter and called for the immediate cessation of all violence and emphasized the importance of respect for human rights and of ensuring safety of civilians. The statement added that members reaffirmed their support for the people of Myanmar and the countrys democratic transition. The statement stressed the need for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need, and for the full protection, safety and security of humanitarian and medical personnel. The Security Council action on Myanmar is normally vetoed by permanent members Russia and China. In the wake of the Feb. 1 coup, the council failed to condemn the military takeover as both Russia and China, which maintain close relations with the military, blocked the move and insisted it was a domestic affair. The human rights affairs minister in the parallel National Unity Government U Aung Myo Min said: It also very important that justice is done for every crime the military regime has committed. He said the lack of any rule of law in Myanmar meant the NUG was looking to the international courts to bring the junta leaders to justice. Delays in international action, however, pushed the people to take matters into their own hands, U Aung Myo Min added. The massacre happened after a battle between junta troops and the Karenni Army and the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), an alliance of resistance groups fighting the regime in Kayah State. Junta soldiers detained villagers near Moso and killed and burned them along with seven vehicles and five motorbikes. Four members of the Karenni Nationalities Peoples Liberation Front, a border guard force which agreed a ceasefire with the former junta in 1994, were tied up and shot in the head while they were negotiating with junta forces for the release of the abductees, according to the resistance group. The Security Councils condemnations echoed statements from domestic civil society organizations, ethnic armed groups, Save the Children and Myanmars envoys to the UN. The UNs Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths condemned the juntas actions and called for a thorough investigation. Armed resistance against the junta began in Kayah State in late May and nearly half of the states population of around 150,000 has been displaced by fighting. An estimated 187 people in the state had been killed by Dec. 26, said the Progressive Karenni Peoples Force. By Wednesday, at least 1,382 civilians have been killed by the junta and an estimated 11,254 have been detained with more than 8,000 still in detention. The juntas crackdowns and offensives against the civilians opposing the regime include indiscriminate shooting, launching artillery and frequent aerial bombardment. The UNs special envoy to Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, on Tuesday called for a New Years ceasefire. You may also like these stories: The Revolt Against Myanmars Junta Can Succeed Myanmar Needs People First Assistance Myanmar: From Diplomacy to Force 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. The European Union called Thursday for an international arms embargo on Myanmars junta and for toughening its own sanctions following last weeks massacre of more than 30 people. The killings took place on Christmas Eve in eastern Kayah state, where pro-democracy rebels have been fighting the military, which took over the government from the democratically elected administration in February. The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the appalling act of violence perpetrated by the military regime on civilians and humanitarian workers underlined the urgent need to hold the junta accountable. In view of the escalating violence in Myanmar, increased international preventive action is required, including an arms embargo, Borrell said in a statement. The EU also stands ready to impose further sanctions against the military regime, he added. His call for an international arms embargo echoed one Tuesday from the United States. Western nations have long restricted weapons to Myanmars military, which even during the pre-coup democratic transition faced allegations of crimes against humanity for a bloody campaign against the Rohingya minority. The UN General Assembly voted in June to prevent arms shipments into Myanmar, but the measure was symbolic as it was not taken up by the more powerful Security Council. China and Russia, which hold veto power on the Security Council as well as neighbouring India are the major arms providers to Myanmar. Myanmar has been in chaos since a military coup in February, with more than 1,300 people killed in a crackdown by security forces, according to a local monitoring group. Since the coup, the EU has imposed targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military, its leaders and entities. The bloc also halted EU financial assistance to the government and froze assistance that could be seen as legitimising the military regime. Borrell said the targeting of civilians and humanitarian actors is unacceptable and a blatant violation of human rights and international law, including humanitarian law. He called for full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to Myanmars people while demanding full protection for humanitarian workers and medical personnel. International charity Save the Children said two of its employees were among those killed in the massacre. The EU said it will continue providing humanitarian aid to the people. South Africans streamed into a Cape Town cathedral on Thursday to pay their last respects to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the globally venerated anti-apartheid icon, whose body lay in a modest pine coffin. Six Anglican clerics carried the coffin into St Georges Cathedral, where the Nobel Peace laureate once railed against white rule and was formerly archbishop, and placed it near the altar. The simple coffin, which bore a small bouquet of carnations, was in line with wishes for modesty expressed by the much-loved rights advocate before he died. In sharp contrast, typical funerals in South Africa are elaborate, expensive affairs. The tireless spiritual and political leader passed away peacefully aged 90 on Sunday. He is to be cremated, with his ashes to be buried on Saturday. Tutus body will lie in state throughout Thursday and Friday to allow as many people as possible to say their final goodbyes. Reverend Gilmore Fry told AFP that the rite had been extended to a second day over fears of a possible stampede. Ordinary South Africans of all races and ages started streaming into the Anglican church as soon as the doors opened to the public. Among them was Liz Cowan, a 65-year-old white social worker, who grew up in apartheid South Africa being told that the charismatic black cleric was a dangerous man. He was so vilified. It was only as a teenager that I realised he was a good guy, she recalled, standing in a queue reflecting a country that Tutu dubbed the Rainbow Nation. A young girl sporting a purple top paused briefly before the coffin, making the sign of the cross in the Christian tradition. Among the mourners was a woman wearing a purple Muslim veil the colour many are donning to evoke Tutus trademark clerical robes. Lucille Helleger, who heads the Anglican womens fellowship group in Cape Town, was also in the queue. He never saw you as a person of colour or any other denomination. You were all, as he always said, the rainbow people, she said. Earlier Thursday, the church held a private service for the family, including Tutus widow Leah. No ostentatiousness The coffin was opened for the family to view the body and they sang the late archbishops favourite hymn, according to Tutus successor, Thabo Makgoba. Following a private cremation, Tutus ashes will be interred inside the cathedral, whose bells have been pealing in his memory for 10 minutes at midday every day since Monday. Hundreds of people have flocked to St Georges where Tutu served as the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town for a decade until 1996 to lay flowers and sign a book of condolences. Tutu led a harrowing journey into South Africas dark past as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which exposed the horrors of apartheid in terrible detail. South Africa is marking a week of mourning for Tutu, with the countrys multi-coloured flag flying at half-mast nationwide and ceremonies taking place every day until the funeral. Tutu fought the good fight, he has finished his race, said Reverend Frank Chikane, a cleric who led anti-apartheid protests through the 1970s and 1980s and was regularly detained by the state. He spoke at a memorial service held by the Anglican Church in Johannesburg. Saturdays funeral service will be simple in line with Tutus wishes. He wanted no ostentatiousness or lavish spending, said his foundation, adding that Tutu even asked that the coffin be the cheapest available. Tutu also asked that military rites be limited. In line with Covid-19 restrictions, the numbers of mourners attending the funeral will be restricted. Weakened by advanced age and prostate cancer, Tutu had retired from public life in recent years. He is survived by his wife Leah and four children. U.S. Senator Harry Reid died on Wednesday at the age of 82 after battling pancreatic cancer. From expanding American insurance options to creating a national ALS registry, he will be remembered to a certain extent as a champion of many health care issues. This former Senate majority and minority leader representing Nevada retired in 2016 after a long political career. He is a dynamic and outspoken Democrat. This Affordable Care Act: Reid, together with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is believed to have passed a tricky Congress in March 2010 to guide the ACA to finally get the presidents signature. Reid later blocked repeated attempts by Republicans to revoke parts of the health law that expanded Medicaid, created insurance exchanges and placed value-based care implementation in the super-equipment. Suicide prevention: Reid is a champion of suicide prevention. Before this problem lacks todays awareness, he first tells the story of his father who committed suicide in the mid-1990s. In 1997, Reid proposed a Senate resolution declaring suicide as a national issue and prevention as a national priority.He also promoted the creation of surgeons in 1999 Call for action to prevent suicide report. Disease registration: In 1998, Congress passed ALS Registration Law, It created a national case database to help researchers estimate the number of new cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis each year and monitor potential risk factors for the disease, which is still difficult to diagnose in its early stages. Reid initiated the legislation, which eventually won the support of 77 co-sponsors and both parties. Abortion: Reid opposed abortionexcept in some casesin 2015, his idea was implemented.During parliament Confirmation process When serving as the former Attorney General Loretta Lynch in 2015, Senate Republicans blocked voting by including anti-abortion clauses in the anti-human trafficking bill. Reid told Republicans in the Senate at the time that he would force Democrats to vote for the human trafficking bill or allow Republicans to vote against Lynch.In the end, other congressional leaders Reach an agreement Both bills passed and Lynch was confirmed. Expansion of the Child Health Insurance Plan: Reid is in CHIP extension Include children under the age of 18 living in households with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty levela significant improvement over previous qualificationsand simplify the admissions process. President George W. Bush vetoed the scaled-down expansion plan promoted by Reid, and the senator eventually supported many amendments to the bill to provide reauthorization funding for the plan in subsequent years. South Koreas trade minister stated that as governments increasingly pay attention to supply chain resiliency and ensure access to next-generation technologies, the coronavirus pandemic has forced a fundamental shift in global trade policies. Yeo Han-koo said in an interview with the Financial Times that the traditional concentration on market access and supply chain efficiency no longer exists. The scope of our trade policy before the pandemic-basically just market opening for trade in goods and services, rules of origin, etc.-is not the trade policy we have witnessed in this new era, Yang said. Digitalization, supply chain vulnerabilities, and setting the rules of the road for emerging technologies: these are new challenges. Yeo cited the severe shortage of diesel engine exhaust in November as an example of a supply chain shock, which disturbed policy makers. South Korea relies on China for more than 97% of DEF imports. But after Beijing restricted urea exports, the countrys logistics sector faced imminent paralysis. The South Korean military was forced to airlift tens of thousands of liters of liquid from Australia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Its not even a high-tech product, but one morning when we woke up we realized that we only depend on one country. We need an early warning system to prevent these situations from developing into serious things, Yeo said. According to data from the World Bank, South Korea is the worlds eighth largest exporter of goods and services. The booming trade in chips, cars and ships is pushing the countrys economy to recover from the Covid crisis, and it is expected that this years exports and trade volumes will reach record levels. Asias fourth largest economy announced this month that it is preparing to apply Join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Comprehensive Progress AgreementAfter China applied to join a regional trade agreement, Seoul feared that it would disrupt its largest trading partner. However, it is not clear how Japan will receive the formal application from Seoul, which is expected to be submitted before the end of the term of President Moon Jae-in in May. Yeo Han-koo stated that the role of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in resolving the dispute between South Korean companies LG and SK is an example of what an active trading authority can do Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea These countries are involved in a dispute at the World Trade Organization concerning the export control imposed by Tokyo on South Korean semiconductor components in 2019, which is related to Japans occupation of South Korea during the war. All members of the CPTTP must approve any new entrants to the agreement. Yang admitted that we have not really had the opportunity to have an in-depth dialogue, but insisted that the responsibility for improving the relationship lies solely with Tokyo. It was Japan that implemented these export control measures. Since then, South Korea has corrected all the problems raised by Japan, he said. So now it is Japans turn to put forward a more positive and constructive position to see how we can solve this problem. In addition, Yang insisted that Seoul would not choose sides in the US-China dispute. The previous balance of US-China relations has been broken, so now everyone is re-adjusting to find a new balance, Yang said. He added that South Korea and the like-minded government do not want this conflict to cause more serious chaos in the world economy. Its not just South Korea. Many countries in the region are facing similar situations. Seoul has worked closely with the Biden administration to implement Washingtons priorities in areas such as electric vehicles and semiconductors. Yeo praises U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai for intervening Mediation and settlement Ended the fierce dispute between the battery manufacturing subsidiaries of South Korean companies SK and LG. Respected This disagreement threatens the future of SKs $2.6 billion battery plant in Georgia, the United States, and the plans of Ford and Volkswagen to manufacture electric vehicles in the United States. Katherine Tais intervention has saved thousands of jobs and the U.S. and South Korea electric vehicle battery supply chains, Yeo said. This is an example of what an active trade authority can do. But he admitted that the United States requested detailed information on chip supply and demand, inventory and different customer groups, which made South Korean chip makers uneasy. The company is concerned that this information may reveal sensitive information related to its consumers and their trade secrets, he said. We have expressed our concerns, and the United States has also expressed understanding of this concern. Despite the unceasing allegations and issues about historical distortion, court rules in favor of JTBC's controversial drama "Snowdrop" in a case brought by a civic group. Court Rules 'Snowdrop' Can Continue Airing After Civic Group Files for Injunction Even before its much anticipated premiere, JTBC's newest drama "Snowdrop" starring Jung Hae In and BLACKPINK Jisoo has been surrounded by malicious allegations and accusations of historical distortion. With over 300,000 citizens signing a Blue House petition to pull it out of broadcast, JTBC pushed through airing. However, amid the controversy, a civic group called the Declaration of Global Citizens in Korea also filed for injunction against the network on December 22 to stop the drama's broadcast. While the Blue House hasn't responded to the national petition yet, which is required to do so once a petition surpasses the minimum of 200,000 signatures, the Seoul Western District Court dismisses the request for an injunction brought by a civic group on December 29. The court explained its decision, saying, "Even if the drama is based on historical distortion, the chances of the public blindly accepting those is low." IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Snowdrop' Continues To Receive Flak For History Distortion, Viewership Ratings Plummet It also backs up the drama that there are currently no laws in existence that protects the pro-democracy movement from historical distortion. And even if such laws exist, the content of the drama doesn't directly involve a civic group, making it difficult to argue that it infringes on the rights of the said group. In hopes to counter the allegations of historical distortion and give light to ease the public's worry, JTBC aired three consecutive episodes during the Christmas break. Moreover, the public is currently awaiting the Blue House's response to the petition regarding "Snowdrop." 'Snowdrop' Recovers from All-Time Low Viewership Ratings Due to the malicious allegations surrounding the drama, "Snowdrop" struggled in achieving high viewership ratings ever since its premiere. "Snowdrop" recorded a promising 2.9% nationwide rating during its pilot episode and kept the momentum going in the second episode, receiving a flattering nationwide rating of 3.8%. However, as the drama faces another series of backlash, the drama struggled with its succeeding episodes. It recorded a nationwide rating of 1.8% during its third episode, a 2.0% lower than the previous one. In the fourth episode, "Snowdrop" sees a new low with a rating of 1.6% nationwide. Luckily, with its latest episode, episode 5, "Snowdrop" is able to bounce back from the all-time low ratings and criticisms and records a nationwide rating of 2.7%. Though it isn't much, it is still 1.1% higher than its previous episode. "Snowdrop" aims to continue receiving higher ratings as the drama is set to clear the air against the malicious allegations. Moreover, "Snowdrop" episode 6 welcomes the year as it will air its much awaited episode 6 on Saturday, January 1 at 10:30 p.m. KST on JTBC and Disney Plus. Follow KDramaStars for more KMovie, KDrama, and celebrity updates! KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. Lee Do Hyun and Go Min Si are once again making millions of hearts flutter as they reunite in the upcoming short-form Kdrama "Reincarnation Romance." The soon-to-be-released series is a time-loop romance that follows the story of two college students who met on a blind date. Go Min Si and Lee Do Hyun Surprise Fans with the Short Film 'Reincarnation Romance' Created by pharmaceutical company HK inno.N, the drama also pays homage to their previous Kdrama "Youth of May." In the upcoming short-form series, the 26-year-old heartthrob took the role of Jeon Sang Tae, who agreed to be a substitute date for his friend. On an unexpected blind date, he meets Kim Hwani, played by the "Jirisan" actress. "Reincarnation Romance" is slated to debut on January 3, 2022, through HK inno. N's YouTube channel, while the official trailer will be released today, December 30, at 5 pm KST on Youtube. Fans would expect different chemistry from the duo as they focus on the modern romance between the two. From Siblings in 'Sweet Home' to Lovers in 'Youth of May' To recall, "Reincarnation Romance" will be Lee Do Hyun and Go Min Si's third Kdrama together after first starring in the blockbuster K-zombie series "Sweet Home." In the Netflix series, they play the role of siblings Lee Eun Yoo, the straightforward ballet dancer and estranged sister of Lee Eun Hyuk, portrayed by Lee Do Hyun. Interestingly, from brother and sister characters, they stunned the Kdrama fandom with their spectacular chemistry in KBS' "Youth of May." Go Min Si played the feisty Gwangju nurse Kim Myung Hee, who dreams of studying in Germany for a better future for their family. In an unexpected fate, she meets the famous Hwang Hee Tae, the top student at Seoul National University College of Medicine. Like the storyline in "Reincarnation Romance," the lead stars also met through a blind date after Kim Myung Hee's friend, Lee Soo Ryun (Geum Sae Rok), ditched the date, which was initially intended for her arranged marriage. Just when the two thought that they would live happily ever after, Hwang Hee Tae's father gets in the way and attempts to kill Myung Hee. "Youth of May" gained a positive response from the viewers due to its stellar cast and intriguing storyline. Go Min Si Talks About her Experience in 'Youth of May' Gracing the cover of Vogue Korea, Go Min Si shares her thoughts in the JTBC melodrama. She revealed what prompted her to accept the offer and explained that it was because of the historical setting. "Regardless of its success, I thought that a drama like this had to be produced. The advantage of being an actor is that we positively influence others through our work and even when I'm no longer in this world, the project remains. Productions like this are valuable enough to withstand time, and I was proud to be a part of it," the actress noted. Go Min Si recently appeared in tvN's "Jirisan" and is set to star in the new movie "Smugglers." Meanwhile, Lee Do Hyun is currently starring in "Melancholia" opposite Im Soo Jung. KDramastars owns this article Written by Geca Wills Actor Lee Jong Suk has it all-great looks, outstanding acting skills and a big heart! Before the year 2021 ends, the actor makes hundreds of children happy with his generous and meaningful year-end donation. Lee Jong Suk Donates Generously to Children in Need On December 30, Green Umbrella Children's Foundation confirmed that actor Lee Jong Suk, who has consistently lent his hands to those in need, recently donated 100 million South Korean won (approximately $84,119). The actor's heartwarming act will be used to fund young people who are set to leave childcare institutions at the age of 18 to live on their own. Lee Jong Suk feels for the young people who experienced great difficulties and are preparing for independence. He said, "Due to the threat of COVID-19, I don't think independence can be obtained overnight. I hope that the children living in these institutions will grow up healthy, enjoy many great opportunities in education and career. I hope my small gesture warms the hearts of those children." IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Shin Hyun Bin Expresses Honest Thoughts on Her Prosperous Career, Her Previous and Future Dramas and More The chairman of the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation, Lee Je Hoon, expressed his sincerest gratitude to the actor for his kindness. "Young people, who are taking their first steps as an adult, are having more difficulties becoming independent due to the long-running pandemic. The Green Umbrella Children's Foundation will also do its best to guide them in becoming self-reliant," he continued. 'Big Mouth' and 'The Witch: Part 2': What to Expect From Lee Jong Suk in 2022 As he welcomes the New Year, Lee Jong Suk is also gearing up for his upcoming tvN crime legal drama "Big Mouth" with Girls' Generation Yoona which airs for the first time in the first half of 2022. The Oh Chung Hwan-directed drama follows the story of a third-rate lawyer who has a hopeless winning rate. He somehow gets involved in a murdered case that forces him to become a strongman who becomes a wiser and braver lawyer to punish the bad guys in the world full of greed and power. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS: Hwang In Yeop Talks About His Reputation as a 'Cold City Guy,' His Upcoming Drama and More Apart from that, Lee Jong Suk will also make a special cameo appearance in "The Witch: Part 2," the sequel of the award-winning 2018 mystery horror action film "The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion." With Kim Da Mi, Park Eun Bin, Jin Goo and Choi Woo Sik reprising their roles, the film will be released sometime in 2022 in theaters nationwide. It will also be available for online streaming on Netflix. Follow KDramaStars for more KMovie, KDrama, and celebrity updates! KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. SALEM, Ore. Governor Kate Brown on Wednesday ordered that flags at all Oregon public institutions be flown at half-staff in honor of former Nevada Senator Harry Reid, who died Tuesday. The order does not start immediately, but on the day of Reid's interment. "Today we mourn the loss and honor the legacy of a true statesman," said Governor Brown. "Senator Reid lived a life of service and led by example through his courageousness and tenacity. Dan and I send our deepest condolences to his family as we honor his memory." Reid's wife released a statement Tuesday announcement that he had passed away that afternoon after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 82 years old. Reid served in Congress for three decades, first winning a US Senate seat in 1986. He led the Democratic party in the Senate from 2005 until his retirement in 2017, including eight years as Senate Majority Leader. The White House issued a proclamation marking Reid's death on Wednesday, ordering that flags be flown at half-staff at all federal buildings starting on the day of his interment. Like the federal proclamation, Oregon's public institutions will fly the flag at half-staff starting that day, which has yet to be confirmed. EDIT: Governor Brown's office issued a correction on Wednesday morning, clarifying that the flag lowering would not begin immediately but on the day of Reid's interment after the White House "issued an amended flag order." MEDFORD, Ore. Since the Delta variant surge subsided over the fall, Oregon has avoided the ramp-up of COVID-19 cases seen in hotspots around the country but the latest data from the Oregon Health Authority suggests that cases are quickly beginning to mount once more. OHA's weekly report released on Wednesday covers the period from Monday, December 21 through Sunday, December 27. During that time, there was a 25% increase in cases over the previous week, in spite of a 7.1% decline in overall test results. There were a total of 136,789 tests for COVID-19 over last week. The percentage of positive tests increased to 7.4%, up from 4.8% the week before. Despite the rapid increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths dropped significantly last week. OHA reported that there were 185 new coronavirus-related hospitalizations compared to 286 the week before, a drop of 35%. This marked the lowest weekly total since the week of July 19. There were 89 reported coronavirus-related deaths last week, down from 114 reported the week before. As of Wednesday, Oregon's death toll stood at 5,640. Oregon reported 2,331 new COVID-19 cases in the state on Wednesday, the highest daily total in more than a month, and following on the heels of 1,894 new cases the day before. In mid-December, Governor Kate Brown announced the state's goal of administering one million more COVID-19 vaccine booster shots before the end of January, amid an anticipated Omicron variant surge. By the OHA's count, 166,713 Oregonians have received a booster since that challenge was issued. 833,287 more people would need to get a booster to reach the goal. More than 3 million Oregonians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 100,600 children between the ages of 5 and 11 are among them. SALEM, Ore. The practice of making booking photos, commonly called "mugshots," readily available to the public after an arrest will be effectively outlawed in Oregon starting January 1 under legislation passed earlier this year. Many county jails make mugshots available on their websites when someone is booked, or police disseminate the photos in press releases and on social media before or after an arrest, but nearly always before a conviction. Supporters of the new law argue that, particularly in the online era, these photos can stigmatize someone for the rest of their lives, even if they were not found guilty of the crime in question. House Bill 3273 was passed by the Oregon legislature in June and signed into law by Governor Kate Brown. Under the bill, law enforcement can only release booking photos under certain circumstances directly to the person who was booked, to another law enforcement agency, to the public if it will assist with the arrest of a suspect, or in an attempt to identify other suspected crimes. Law enforcement agencies could also share these photos with the Oregon state mental hospital if a defendant is admitted, share them with the victim of a crime, or release them once a defendant is convicted. The law also targets a number of "publish-for-pay" publications, usually websites or periodicals that display mugshots and charge fees for their removal. The new law requires that such publications remove and destroy booking photos of someone who requests it within 30 days, and for a fee no higher than $50. Publications who fail to follow these rules can be open to legal action, including liability for the plaintiff's attorney fees and damages of "$500 per day" after the 30-day deadline. The timeline is even shorter if the mugshot is of someone who was acquitted or not prosecuted for the crime, reduced to seven days. Penalties are also higher in these cases. HB 3273 goes into effect on January 1, 2022. It was paired with another bill signed into law that was designed to give people civil recourse for "doxing," the increasingly common practice of releasing and spreading someone's private information (even if that information is publicly available, but not widely so) to become fodder for harassment or threats. The doxing bill went into effect immediately when it was signed into law on June 15. CENTRAL POINT, Ore. Oregon State Police has launched an investigation after the discovery of a body under an I-5 overpass in Central Point on Wednesday. State troopers and emergency crews responded at 2:19 p.m. on Wednesday to reports of a deceased person along I-5 near milepost 33. Troopers arrived to confirm the discovery of an adult man's body beneath the E Pine Street overpass. OSP said that the man's identity will be released once his next of kin have been notified. His cause of death is still under investigation. The agency said that I-5 traffic was not impacted by the investigation and the roadway remained open during the response. This is a developing story and will be updated with more details as they emerge. By Laura Smith-Spark and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN (CNN) -- Prince Andrew was barely mentioned in the course of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial in New York. But the fact jurors found her guilty on five of six counts related to her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of minor girls can hardly be good news for the UK royal. Andrew faces a civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre in which she alleges she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with his friends -- including the prince -- and that Andrew was aware she was underage (17) in the US. Prince Andrew strongly denies the allegations. Oral arguments in that case are set for January 4, where attorneys for the 61-year-old prince are expected to argue for the lawsuit's dismissal. If his lawyers are unsuccessful, or the case is not settled, the royal could face a trial date between September and December 2022. The long-running allegations facing Andrew have already dramatically tarnished his public standing and he stepped back from royal duties in late 2019. US judges have also ruled that a confidential 2009 settlement agreement between Epstein and Giuffre, which may have also referenced Prince Andrew, should be released publicly next week. Maxwell chose not to testify in her own trial, saying there was "no need" since the prosecution had "not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt." As a result, she was not cross-examined about her friendship with Andrew. However, there is no guarantee she won't take the stand in an expected appeal of her conviction -- or if the civil case against Andrew goes to court. She could also choose to cooperate with the authorities -- by giving them any potentially incriminating information she may have about others -- in a bid to reduce her sentence, legal experts said. "Maxwell may now have more to say on the whole subject, following her conviction," Nick Goldstone, UK-based head of dispute resolution at international law firm Ince, told CNN, although those discussions may "take some time to play out," he added. "If Maxwell has incriminating information and evidence regarding Prince Andrew or indeed any other person who participated in unlawful conduct in association with Jeffrey Epstein, then I think the Prince and any others may well have a lot to fear from a sentence bargaining process," Goldstone in an email. "On the other hand, if Prince Andrew has done nothing wrong, he should have nothing to fear from sentence bargaining by Maxwell." Professor Felicity Gerry, a UK barrister and international legal expert, told CNN that appeal testimony from Maxwell was "unlikely as this would probably involve an examination of the trial evidence -- similar to the Cardinal Pell trial in Australia." But, Gerry said, Andrew might have cause for concern if there is sentence bargaining in Maxwell's case. "Sentence bargaining can occur if she decides to give or has given information," Gerry said. "This could implicate many people including Prince Andrew. She certainly has nothing to lose now that she is facing a significant sentence." Defendants have the most leverage to cooperate before they are charged, and that's how they work out favorable plea bargains, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said. "But it is possible in some circumstances to cooperate after conviction, though (Maxwell) will have much less leverage now," he said. "I suspect she will want to do whatever she can to reduce her sentence and cooperation is the only option now. Of course, it all depends on what information she has." The government would of course be interested if she had any incriminating information on Andrew, Toobin said -- but there's no reason to assume that she does, he added, and Andrew has denied any improper conduct. "Now that she's been convicted, she is a less valuable witness for the prosecution because she can be more easily discredited as someone just trying to reduce her sentence," Toobin said. Giuffre: Maxwell did not act alone Giuffre was not called as either a prosecution or defense witness in Maxwell's trial, but her name was mentioned numerous times in court. Attorneys acting for Giuffre welcomed Maxwell's conviction in a statement late Wednesday. "This is a great day for justice and for Maxwell's survivors. The jury's verdict vindicates the courage and commitment of our clients who stood up against all odds for many years to bring Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to justice," said US-based attorney David Boies. "They did not act, and could not have acted, alone. The scope and scale and duration of their sex trafficking crimes depending on many wealthy and powerful collaborators and co-conspirators. They too are not above the law." Giuffre also hailed Wednesday's verdict on Twitter, saying: "My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always." She also voiced her compassion for the "many other girls and young women who suffered" at Maxwell's hands. "I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be," she tweeted. One of Maxwell's accusers, who went under the pseudonym "Kate" during the trial, said during the socialite's trial that she was reluctant to disengage from contact with Maxwell and Epstein "because I had witnessed how connected they both were and I was fearful." "Kate" said she used to hear Maxwell talk to her about the socialite's friends Prince Andrew and Donald Trump. It's no secret that Maxwell, the daughter of Czech-born newspaper tycoon and former British lawmaker Robert Maxwell, who died in mysterious circumstances in 1991, moved in exclusive circles in both Britain and the United States. A now infamous photo appears to show the prince with his arm around the waist of Giuffre, then Virginia Roberts, with Maxwell in the background. In a November 2019 BBC interview, Andrew said he did not remember meeting Giuffre and suggested that a photo of the two of them may have been doctored. Legal battle Attorneys for Prince Andrew have fought hard to have the case against him dismissed. On Tuesday, they claimed that the US court handling the civil lawsuit filed by Giuffre in August does not have jurisdiction over the case. A motion filed in the US District Court in Manhattan states, "Ms. Giuffre alleges she is a citizen of the State of Colorado, the evidence demonstrates that she is actually domiciled in Australia, where she has lived for all but two of the past nineteen years." The filing also asks the court to "order Ms. Giuffre to respond to targeted written discovery requests pertaining to her domicile and submit to a two-hour remote deposition limited to the issue of her domicile." Goldstone told CNN that both the outcome and timing of the Maxwell case appeared unhelpful to Andrew. "Obviously the Maxwell verdicts are potentially very bad news for Prince Andrew, particularly as they come hard on the heels of his latest tactical move to argue a highly technical argument over a lack of jurisdiction of the New York Court to hear Ms Giuffre's claim on the basis of nationality and her current residence," he said via email. "I think it is beyond doubt that Ms Giuffre was a US citizen at the time of the alleged incidents, which are the subject of her complaint against the Prince, irrespective of her current usual place of residence." CNN has reached out to attorneys for Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Prince Andrew for comment. Giuffre brought her case under the Child Victims Act, a state law enacted in New York in 2019 which expanded the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases to give survivors more opportunities to seek justice. Goldstone said it would be "interesting to see what substantive defence Prince Andrew has to Giuffre's claims, as so far all that has been put forward are technical and evasive positions." In an earlier motion to dismiss filed on October 29, an attorney for Andrew said he "unequivocally denies Giuffre's false allegations against him." What happened in Maxwell's trial? Maxwell, 60, was found guilty in a New York federal court of five charges: sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related counts of conspiracy. She was acquitted on the charge of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Prosecutors argued Maxwell and Epstein conspired to set up a scheme to lure young girls into sexual relationships with Epstein from 1994 to 2004 in New York, Florida, New Mexico and the US Virgin Islands. Four women testified during the trial that Epstein abused them and that Maxwell facilitated the abuse and sometimes participated in it as well. Her defense, meanwhile, said she was a "scapegoat" for Epstein's actions and attacked the memories and motivations of the women who say they were sexually abused. Maxwell's lawyers are working on an appeal, attorney Bobbi C. Sternheim said. "We firmly believe in Ghislaine's innocence. Obviously, we are very disappointed with the verdict," Sternheim said outside the courthouse Wednesday, adding her team believes Maxwell still will be vindicated. Maxwell's family vowed their continued support following the guilty verdict. "We believe firmly in our sister's innocence -- we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated," a family statement said. By Lauren del Valle, Steve Almasy and Ray Sanchez, CNN (CNN) -- A jury in a New York federal court has found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty on five of six counts related to her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of minor girls between 1994 and 2004. HAPPENING NOW: Ghislaine Maxwell convicted on five of six counts: https://t.co/BF5ucZlM4Q ABC News (@ABC) December 29, 2021 Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of five federal charges: sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related counts of conspiracy. She was acquitted on the charge of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. Maxwell, who now faces up to 65 years in prison, showed no reaction when the verdicts were read. Judge Alison Nathan did not set a sentencing date. "The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done," US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "I want to commend the bravery of the girls -- now grown women -- who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today's result, possible." The jury, which was made up of six women and six men, deliberated for about 40 hours across parts of six days. Prosecutors argued Maxwell and Epstein conspired to set up a scheme to lure young girls into sexual relationships with Epstein from 1994 to 2004 in New York, Florida, New Mexico and the US Virgin Islands. Four women testified during the trial that Epstein abused them and that Maxwell facilitated the abuse and sometimes participated in it as well. Her defense, meanwhile, said she was a "scapegoat" for Epstein's actions and attacked the memories and motivations of the women who say they were sexually abused. The trial, which began November 29, alternated between disturbing testimony from sexual abuse victims and illuminating testimony about some of Epstein's connections to some high-profile celebrities. Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges, was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019 but died by suicide in prison a month later. Maxwell, his confidante and former girlfriend, was arrested a year afterward and has been held in jail since. The trial took place in federal court, which prohibits the use of cameras. Maxwell still faces two pending perjury charges related to a 2016 civil deposition. What happened at the trial The prosecution's case rested primarily on four women with personal stories of Maxwell's alleged role facilitating Epstein's abuse. Jane, testifying under a pseudonym, said Maxwell organized sexual massages with Epstein and sometimes joined in the abuse. The charges of enticing -- on which Maxwell was acquitted -- and transporting relate to testimony solely from her. Carolyn testified that when she was 14, Maxwell touched her breasts, hips and buttocks and told her she "had a great body for Epstein and his friends." The child sex trafficking count -- the most serious of all the charges -- relates to her testimony. "Kate" testified Maxwell invited her over and directed her how to give Epstein a sexual massage. She said Maxwell spoke often of sexual topics with her and asked Kate to invite other young girls for Epstein's sexual desires. The jury was instructed it could not convict Maxwell on any of the counts based solely on testimony from Kate as she was over the age of consent at the time of the events. Jurors could consider Kate's allegations in addition to testimony from Jane, Carolyn and Annie Farmer. Farmer, the only accuser to testify by her full name, said that she was 16 when Maxwell massaged her naked chest at Epstein's New Mexico ranch in 1996. Prosecutors sought to closely link Maxwell and Epstein and said her actions normalizing sexual massages were crucial to his international abuse scheme at his properties in New York, Florida, New Mexico and the US Virgin Islands. EUGENE, Ore. -- For many holiday travelers, getting through the airport to their destination and back is already a challenge. With the arrival of the December snowstorm, though, common travel issues like parking have been even more difficult. Traveler Heidi Cavagnaro has been in Hawaii for two weeks; she now has to make the trek to economy parking. "I'm very grateful that there's this covered area so that we can walk. It would be nice to have it out there, but I really like the economy lot because it's quite a bit cheaper, especially if you do long term," Cavagnaro said. Cavagnaro said while she would prefer to hop on a shuttle, especially during this cold weather, she's just happy to be home again. MORE: EXPANSION PROJECT PREPARING FOR TAKEOFF AT EUGENE AIRPORT Many travelers told KEZI they wished the Eugene Airport had a shuttle service. Assistant Airport Director Andrew Martz said they got rid of their shuttle service a few months ago and have no plans to bring it back. He said they didn't have enough staff to keep the service running, and it wasn't environmentally friendly to have a shuttle driving through the parking lots all day. With the surge in holiday travelers, Martz said the airport had to make adjustments to accommodate them. "Our parking team worked really hard; we created extra spots. We moved our employee parking to a different area," Martz said. Traveler Carl Henderson had to park in these make-shift spots after arriving on Friday when the lots were packed. "They just rounded me around to this outside lot, and I didn't have any trouble parking," Henderson said. After this busy holiday season, Martz said it's clear the airport needs more room. Martz said they have plans in place to expand their long-term parking this summer and the economy lot the following summer. SALEM, Ore. -- House Bill 2648, which goes into effect Jan. 1, will remove the prescription requirement for drugs and medicines that contain pseudoephedrine in Oregon. Oregon and Mississippi are the only two states in the country that required a prescription for such drugs. Under the new rule, a person buying medicines like Sudafed must be at least 18 years old, and they must provide a government-issued ID to the pharmacist when they pick the products up. Dr. Adam Williams -- the president Oregon Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology -- said Sudafed is one of the main drugs he prescribes to his patients. He said the change is important because it saves patients' time, money, and resources. He believes the previous rule, which has been in place since 2006, does not. "[The prescription rule] Just puts an undue burden on Oregonians and creates a cost and inconvenience for our patients to access a medicine that's very effective and helpful for treating thier symptoms," Williams said. There are still some limitations on how much you can retrieve at one time and there will also be a database to log who is buying the products and how much they're picking up. CLICK HERE to read the bill in its entirety. DRAIN, Ore. Roseburg police confirmed on Wednesday that the incident that led to a warning for Drain residents the night before was an officer-involved shooting. Residents were urged to secure their homes and shut their blinds due to law enforcement activity in the area. Police said detectives were called in to help with the shooting investigation at about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. In an initial investigation by another agency, a male suspect was shot, police said. The man reportedly ran from the area with a female associate. Numerous agencies responded to search the area, leading to the capture of both suspects. The man was taken to a local medical facility for treatment. The Douglas County Major Crimes Team continues to investigate, and there is no known ongoing threat to the public, police said. Drain resident Heather Moore lives about a block from where the activity was taking place, and took action when she heard the warning. I went upstairs, got my pistol and made sure I had it locked and loaded," Moore said. "I locked the doors, and I'm staying vigilant." Moore described seeing a large police presence. We came home from Cottage Grove, and there were three Douglas County sheriffs catty-cornered from my house," Moore said. "They were just posted up talking. Then we saw lights on the side of the house. Northern Irelands film and TV industry is going from strength to strength, with Netflix and Paramount among the latest US studios to bring projects to the region. While Line Of Duty and Bloodlands were some of the highlights of 2021, Kenneth Branaghs Belfast and the third and final season of Derry Girls are already sparking excitement for 2022. National agency Northern Ireland Screen also listed successes in animation, games and interactive content despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Belfast Harbour Studios became home to the streaming giant Netflix in 2021, while Titanic Studios was occupied by Paramount Pictures, attracting A-list celebrities for filming The School For Good And Evil and Dungeons And Dragons. Epic Viking saga The Northman, filmed at Belfast Harbour Studios at the end of 2020, is set for cinema release in April 2022. Meanwhile, Belfast, which had its Irish premiere in the city in November, has been nominated for seven Golden Globes and 11 Critics Choice Awards. It opens in cinemas on January 21. Among the highlights on the small screen in 2021 was the third series of the crime drama Marcella, starring Anna Friel, while Sunday evenings were dominated by the drama Bloodlands, featuring James Nesbitt. Bloodlands became the BBCs biggest new drama launch since June 2020 with an average 8.2 million viewers, and in Northern Ireland the first episode had a 52% consolidated audience share, making it the highest-rating BBC drama to launch locally on record. The second series is set to be filmed in early 2022. Line Of Duty returned for its sixth series and scored a ratings record, with 12.8 million viewers tuning in for the final episode to find out the identity of the mysterious H. It won the Returning Drama and Special Recognition Awards at this years National TV Awards. Comedy series Frank Of Ireland, starring brothers Brian and Domhnall Gleeson, was shown on Channel 4 in April, while The Windermere Children, based on a true story in 1945 when hundreds of child survivors of the concentration camps were taken to the Lake District to recuperate, was nominated for the Single Drama Award at the Bafta TV Awards and also for Best Single Drama at the Broadcast Awards. More recently, Dalgliesh, starring Bertie Carvel as Inspector Adam Dalgliesh, aired on Channel 5, showcasing locations across Northern Ireland, including Strangford, Armagh, Islandmagee and Ballyclare, among others. The Co Down town of Donaghadee is also enjoying time in the spotlight thanks to new police drama Hope Street, which is currently airing on BBC One Northern Ireland before going UK-wide in 2022 and US-bound on Britbox. Another police drama, Blue Lights, is in the pipeline, inspired by the experiences of serving police officers in Northern Ireland. For younger viewers, Sixteen Souths Odo, a pre-school programme that follows the adventures of an owl, aired on Channel 5s Milkshake! in the UK and on HBO Max in the US, and has been nominated for Best Pre-School Programme at the 2022 Broadcast Awards. Northern Irelands games and interactive sector also continues to thrive. Highlights included Out Of Tune Games launching its first game, Crooks Like Us, where players get to steal everything they see, and Blackstaff Games Buildings Have Feelings Too!, a city-management puzzle game. Meanwhile, the Irish Language Broadcast Fund (ILBF) supported content including Sonas Productions Iarnrod Enda for RTE One, a series about abandoned railway routes presented by former taoiseach Enda Kenny. Northern Ireland Screens Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund (USBF) also continued to support a range of content, including chef Paula McIntyres Hamely Kitchen. Throughout 2021, Northern Ireland Screen supported 344 individuals through various initiatives, including helping crew members step up to a higher grade, and Screen Academies provided opportunities for young people in animation, VFX and gaming. Northern Ireland Screen chief executive Richard Williams said there are high hopes as awards season approaches. A variety of content we supported has been selected for some of the most prestigious festivals across the world, picked up much coveted industry awards and set social media alight, he told the PA news agency. We have had two of the biggest TV dramas of the year broadcast Line of Duty and Bloodlands. There was a great sense of excitement as a whole host of A-list stars were spotted across the country as they filmed at various locations. It was a privilege to co-host the Irish premiere of Kenneth Branaghs Belfast in Belfast, with Belfast Film Festival. With the film already leading the way in the Golden Globes and hotly tipped for the Oscars, 2022 is sure to get off to a great start. The north coast will take a leading role in Robert Eggers The Northman when it is released in cinemas in April. On the small screen, Erin, Claire, Michelle, Orla and the wee English fella will return to our screens in what will undoubtedly be an emotional farewell for Lisa McGees Derry Girls. Sharjah finished with a flourish to secure a historic fourth successive victory in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown. Only Istabraq and Hurricane Fly had previously won the Grade One contest on four occasions and even that legendary pair did not manage to win four on the spin. The Willie Mullins-trained Sharjah was not even favourite when triumphing in 2018, 2019 and 2020 but off the back of winning his second Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown, the eight-year-old was the 5-6 market leader on his return to Foxrock. Ridden with plenty of confidence by the trainers son Patrick, Sharjah began to make inroads racing down the back straight, but was still only fourth rounding the turn for home. 4 victories in a row in the Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle for Sharjah 35 starts 10 wins 6 Grade 1 victories Absolute superstar@WillieMullinsNH | @LeopardstownRC pic.twitter.com/EcwTykRPIN Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 29, 2021 He briefly had to be cajoled into contention, but soon came back on the bridle before throwing down his challenge to Zanahiyr after the dolled off final flight. Zanahiyr refused to go down without a fight, but Sharjah eventually won the argument by a neck. Willie Mullins said: That was not good for the heart! Patrick said he wasnt as sharp as other years and then with the last hurdle missing, he got pushed out onto yesterdays ground and that just blunted his speed in the last furlong. He managed to do it anyhow and it was a terrific race. He definitely wasnt as sharp as other years, but when you win a race four years running, you cant expect a horse to be improving. Sharjah battles Zanahiyr at Leopardstown (Donall Farmer/PA) Hes been a spectacular horse fantastic for Patrick and Rich and Susannah (Ricci, owners). I think Rich likes Patrick riding him and hes a special horse for that partnership. In each of the past two seasons, Sharjah has gone on to disappoint in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in early February before bouncing back to finish second in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. On whether he could miss the Irish Champion Hurdle this time around, Mullins added: We might do that and go straight to Cheltenham, but Ill have a word with Rich and Susannah and see. It might be the thing to do as it doesnt seem to work for him. Coral cut Sharjah to 8-1 from 10-1 to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham at the fourth attempt, having been brought down in 2019 prior to chasing home Epatante in 2020 and Honeysuckle last season. Afghanistans former president said he had no choice but to abruptly leave Kabul as the Taliban closed in and denied an agreement was in the works for a peaceful takeover, disputing the accounts of former Afghan and US officials. Former President Ashraf Ghani said in a BBC interview that aired on Thursday that an adviser gave him just minutes to decide to abandon the capital, Kabul. He also denied widespread accusations that he left Afghanistan with millions in stolen money. Ghanis sudden and secret departure August 15 left the city rudderless as US and Nato forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years. On the morning of that day, I had no inkling that by late afternoon I would be leaving, Ghani told BBC radio. His remarks conflicted with other accounts. Former President Hamid Karzai said in an interview earlier this month that Ghanis departure scuttled the opportunity for government negotiators, including himself and peace council chairman Abdullah Abdullah, to reach an 11th-hour agreement with the Taliban, who had committed to staying outside the capital. After calling the government defence minister, Bismillah Khan, the interior minister and police chief, and discovering all had fled the capital, Karzai said he invited the Taliban into Kabul to protect the population so that the country, the city doesnt fall into chaos and the unwanted elements who would probably loot the country, loot shops. But Ghani in his radio interview with British general Sir Nick Carter, former chief of defence staff, said he fled to prevent the destruction of Kabul, claiming two rival Taliban factions were bearing down on the city and were ready to enter and wage a bitter battle for control. There was no evidence upon the Taliban entry of the rival factions that Ghani referred to. The insurgents, who in the days prior to the push into Kabul had swept over much of the country as Afghan government forces melted away or surrendered, quickly took control of the palace. According to humanitarian aid workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they wanted to speak privately and who were there at the time, the Taliban moved to protect their compounds. Still, the Taliban takeover was met with widespread fear and a deep longing by many to flee their desperately poor homeland despite the billions of international money poured in over the 20 years the US-backed governments had been in power. In the BBC interview, Ghani denied widespread accusations that he left Afghanistan with a cache of stolen money. The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John Sopko, has been tasked with investigating those allegations. Successive Afghan governments, as well as independent foreign and Afghan contractors, have been accused of widespread corruption, with dozens of reports by Sopko documenting the most egregious incidents. Washington has spent $146 billion (108 billion) on reconstruction in Afghanistan since the overthrow in 2001 of the Taliban, who had harboured al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden. Yet even before the insurgents returned in August, the poverty level in Afghanistan was at 54%. Earlier this week, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting organisation with 150 journalists in more than 30 countries, listed Ghani among the worlds most corrupt leaders. Belarus president Aleksandr Lukashenko was named the most corrupt, with Ghani, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, among the finalists for the title of most corrupt. After being told by his national security adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, that his personal protection force was not capable of defending him, Ghani said he decided to leave. Mohib, who was literally terrified, gave him just two minutes to decide whether to leave, Ghani said, insisting he was not sure where he would be taken even after he was on the helicopter getting ready to take off. Ghani did not address the rapid and swift collapse of the Afghan military in the weeks leading up to the Taliban takeover, but he did blame an agreement the United States had signed with the Taliban in 2020 for the eventual collapse of his government. That agreement laid out conditions for the final withdrawal of the remaining US and Nato forces ending Americas longest war. It also provided for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners, which Ghani said strengthened the insurgent force. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Bitterly cold. Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low -1F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Bitterly cold. Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low -1F. Winds light and variable. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A Shinhan Bank employee points at an electronic board that monitors overseas cyberattacks around the clock in a control room of the bank headquartered in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Shinhan Bank By Lee Hae-rin Paul Kwok, the general manager at Grand Hyatt Jeju / Courtesy of Grand Hyatt Jeju Two new skyscrapers appear in sight from an airplane descending to the tarmac on Korea's favorite vacation island of Jeju. Standing near the island's international airport is Grand Hyatt Jeju within Jeju Dream Tower, which opened in December of last year, the first urban integrated resort in the country. With some 1,600 rooms in two towers, Grand Hyatt Jeju is the second-largest Hyatt property among more than 1,100 across the globe and so far the biggest in Asia. Visited by over 1.3 million people within a year since its opening, the integrated resort has quickly become a leading tourist attraction of the island. Undeniably, Jeju Island has been the top beneficiary of the closure of international borders during the COVID-19 pandemic. But besides the advantage of the time of the opening, the key to the hotel's success lies in expanding customer choices, according to Paul Kwok, the general manager at Grand Hyatt Jeju. "Just 10 minutes away from the airport, the hotel provides guests the convenience to enjoy our facilities and services as soon as they touch down on Jeju Island. The centralized location of the Hyatt is close to the main traffic highway guests use to travel to other sightseeing attractions directly," Kwok told The Korea Times via email interview. The hotel is one of three major parts of the Jeju Dream Tower integrated resort, with the other two being a foreigner-only casino and a shopping mall named HAN Collection. Kwok often tells his staff that "Grand Hyatt Jeju opened the 2.0 generation of the Hyatt brand," in terms of diversity and quality of service and facilities. The integrated resort offers a wide spectrum of food and beverage services in its 14 restaurants and bars, from standard to high-end. On the top 38th floor of the building is the restaurant "Pocha," which offers a variety of street food delicacies and local liquor at reasonable prices with a panoramic view of the island. "Pocha" means small tented wagons that are used to sell street foods accompanied with drinks in Korean. Restaurant "Pocha" on the 38th floor of Grand Hyatt Jeju / Courtesy of Grand Hyatt Jeju The hotel is equipped with global star chefs in its fine dining section, diverging from traditional Asian cuisines to steak and dessert. Among the chefs are Vincent Wong from Shangri-La in the Chinese restaurant, Philippe Daue from GODIVA in patisserie, and steak specialist Burton Yi from CUT by Wolfgang Puck in Singapore, to name a few. From his experience in running landmark properties with several restaurants and bars, Kwok said he focused on "making sure high-quality food and beverages are being sourced" and "recruiting the right people for the job." "Seasonal Jeju ingredients such as Jeju black pork, Jeju hairtail fish, local abalone and assorted seafood, hanwoo beef, and hallabong tangerines are available at our 14 restaurants," Kwok explained. As a result of expanding customer choices in food and beverage services, over 770,000 people have visited its 14 F&B facilities since the opening. A corner suite with a panoramic view at Grand Hyatt Jeju / Courtesy of Grand Hyatt Jeju The panoramic view that covers the mountain, ocean, and city of the island is another of the hotel's strong assets. "Every suite should be an island landmark," Kwok often tells his staff. The rooms, which are all suites, present a broad range of scenery of Jeju through 2.7-meter-tall windows. The resort also presents a variety of regional specialties, works of Korean designers, and local lifestyle brands in its shopping mall and flea market. "Guests and visitors can shop for the latest K-fashion trends by more than 200 Korean designers from contemporary to casual outfits, shoes, jewelry and bags for men and women," Kwok added. Jeju Dream Tower integrated resort / Courtesy of Grand Hyatt Jeju In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends a meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, Dec. 28. AP-Yonhap North Korea had high-profile discussions on key policy issues for 2022 during a year-end plenary session of the Workers' Party, with senior officials, including those in charge of inter-Korean relations and foreign affairs in attendance, according to its state media Thursday. The North convened a third day of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the party's 8th Central Committee on Wednesday, during which "sectional workshops" continued from the previous day to "map out plans according to the fighting policies set forth" by leader Kim Jong-un, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Kim presided over the first- and second-day sessions of the plenary and made a report "on the orientation of the work of the party and state in 2022." The KCNA did not provide details, but it released photos of a workshop led by Kim Yong-chol, head of the United Front Department and the North's Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon, suggesting that inter-Korean relations and nuclear negotiations could have been among the agenda items. Pak Jong-chon, the North's top military official, also led a separate consultative session apparently to discuss plans for the country's weapons development and defense strategies. Details of the discussions are likely to be unveiled at the end of the plenary through a resolution, though it's unclear for how long the party gathering will continue. Previous plenary meetings were held between one and four days. The participants also discussed the country's budget for the New Year, which will be approved at its rubber-stamp legislature in February. This week's meeting has drawn keen attention from the outside world, as it may offer a clue to the reclusive regime's next step amid a prolonged stalemate in its nuclear negotiations with the United States. The North has remained unresponsive to U.S. overtures for talks after their no-deal Hanoi summit in 2019, demanding Washington first retract what it calls "double standards" and "hostile policy" against its regime. The plenary also comes as North Korea marks the 10th anniversary of Kim's rise to power. Kim officially took the helm of the North on Dec. 30, 2011, with the "supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army," 13 days after his father and former leader Kim Jong-il died. In an editorial Thursday, the North's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, touted Kim for developing its military into "the world's strongest," and called for further boosting the country's defense capabilities. (Yonhap) By Yun Byung-se Predictions are galore as to how the New Year of the Tiger will unfold. Uncertain, turbulent and contested are popular adjectives describing the world before us where worries overshadow hopes. The main sources of such apprehensions are systemic, structural and deep-rooted, while others are transitional or cyclical. At the global level, there is a broad consensus that U.S.-China strategic competition will intensify and that climate change will accelerate. If the former can rock the grand geo-economic and geopolitical chessboards in the coming decades, the latter is destined to exacerbate human living conditions on this planet. Global Trends 2040 adds that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political and security implications that will ripple for years to come. Technology and supply chain disruptions are likely to manifest more intensely. Democracy is in retreat and populism is on the rise around the world. At the regional level, ominous signs of humanitarian catastrophes, crises and armed conflicts are surfacing as witnessed in Afghanistan, Ukraine and the Taiwan Strait, leaving the door open for brinkmanship diplomacy. Plurilateral efforts toward coalition building will be strengthened in political, economic, technological and military arenas. Rogue states and autocratic regimes are seeking to turn the ongoing situations in their favor. There are nine points that draw my attention in terms of specific policy and developments which could become the litmus tests for this part of the world next year and beyond. First, how many U.S. allies and partners will join the U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics? If the number reaches a critical mass sufficient to justify the U.S. stance based on China's human rights violations, it will be a shot in the arm for President Joe Biden. Otherwise, it will not deal a decisive blow to President Xi Jinping who is seeking his third term next fall. Second, when and how will North Korea's mischievous leader Kim Jong-un resume strategic provocations? Or will it respond positively to the U.S. offer for diplomatic talks without preconditions? Official circles in South Korea claim that North Korea is refraining from strategic provocations since late 2017 when it announced the completion of state nuclear force. But this assessment is quite misleading. North Korea has test-fired lethal asymmetric weapons, such as new submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), new Iskander-class short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) and long-range cruise missiles as well as a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) a potential game changer. In the past 30 years, it has shown a pattern of making major provocations before or after the inauguration of new South Korean and American administrations. For example, North Korea test-fired a longer-range missile only two days after President Moon Jae-in took office. The next South Korean administration will start in May. Third, will President Biden adopt a "No First Use" or "Sole Purpose" policy in the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review (NPR)? Former President Barack Obama considered a "No First Use" policy twice in 2009 and in 2016 and rejected the change both times. Biden has said that he wants to "reduce the role of nuclear weapons" in U.S. strategy, implying to use nuclear weapons only in response to a nuclear attack not chemical, biological, cyber or conventional strikes, no matter how damaging. But the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia staunch U.S. allies all firmly oppose such a policy shift. They prefer to maintain calculated ambiguity. The official position of the current South Korean government is not well-known. My own humble advice to the Biden administration is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Any fix will be a strategically wrong signal. U.S. extended deterrence and nuclear reassurance will be perceived as empty words. This is the time to strengthen allied deterrence, not to weaken it. Fourth is whether the declaration to put an end to the Korean War will come before the end of the Moon government. Or will it turn out to be further wishful thinking in disregard of U.S. focus on denuclearization of North Korea as well as DPRK's pursuit of nuclear power status? Fifth is whether or not the South Korean government can join the U.S./EU-led multilateral campaign in the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and other fora against China's human rights violations. If yes, it will be in line with the spirit of the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) Leaders' Joint Statements but is likely to trigger China's retaliation which could be no less severe than was observed post-THAAD deployment. For the last three years, the Moon administration even dissociated itself from co-sponsoring the annual UNHRC resolutions on DPRK human rights violations whose repercussions would be much lesser than joining anti-China campaigns. Sixth is whether the next South Korean government will be able to join any Indo-Pacific Strategy coalitions such as the Quad, AUKUS or Five Eyes, or even reinvigorate the trilateral cooperation among U.S., Japan and South Korea. Together, these groupings constitute a new U.S. concept and policy of "integrated deterrence." How about the U.S.-proposed new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) minus China to focus on digital standards, supply chain resiliency and clean energy, among other things? China obviously will respond to such moves in one way or another. Can the U.S. block China's membership to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) when the U.S. itself cannot afford to join in the foreseeable future? Seventh, in view of the growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea and the South China Sea, what kind of a role can the Korea-U.S. alliance or U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) play in cases of regional conflicts? Should the Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty remain confined mainly to the Korean Peninsula or will it be stretched to other areas in the Pacific? The role of the USFK in the future Taiwan Strait conflict was a controversial issue in the lead-up to the bilateral understanding on strategic flexibility of 2006. Eighth, will there be a breakthrough in the history-related impasse between Korea and Japan that will pave the way for trilateral cooperation with the U.S.? Interestingly, both major South Korean presidential candidates seem to be distancing themselves from the Moon government policy and putting forth practical diplomacy as a key campaign slogan that has implications on Korea's Japan policy. Last, but not least, we should not lose sight of one real point. As both George Kennan and Richard Haass emphasized, foreign policy begins at home the impact of domestic issues on foreign affairs. This is the point where President Donald Trump and President Biden converge. The same goes for other countries as well. Upcoming election results in South Korea, Japan, the U.S. and Europe, as well as in China will have considerable repercussions on the regional and global landscape of 2022. Stay alert to the cloud of danger, but I hope that every cloud has a silver lining. Happy and safe New Year! Yun Byung-se is former foreign minister of South Korea. He is now a board member of Korea Peace Foundation and is a member of several ex-global leaders' forums and taskforces, including the Astana Forum and its Consultative Council as well as the Task Force on U.S. Allies and Nuclear Weapons Proliferation sponsored by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, left, Fair Trade Commission Chairperson Cho Sung-wook By Kim Hyun-bin Industry officials said Thursday that the country's top anti-trust regulator's decision to grant a conditional approval for Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana Airlines could have some adverse effects and weaken the competitiveness of Korea's hub airport, Incheon International Airport. Daishin Securities Analyst Yang Ji-whan told clients that the Korea Fair Trade Commission's (KFTC) position to grant a conditional OK for Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana Airlines raised concerns that the two airlines will forfeit some popular destination flight slots and transportation rights that currently overlap between the two airlines in order to ease monopoly concerns. A final decision regarding the merger will follow sometime next month. But the analyst also anticipated that because of the following reasons the absence of a larger domestic carrier having a mid- or large-sized fleet, the outstanding risk of greater benefits for foreign carriers and increased efficacy from the consumer standpoint there will be no visible changes in terms of the redistribution of flight slots. Under the law, flight rights are obtained through government-to-government negotiation and can only be distributed to local carriers. However, the flight time slots at the airport can be redistributed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which industry officials believe will mostly benefit foreign airlines, as low-cost carriers (LCCs) do not have long-distance operable aircrafts. "The reduction in business volume due to the decrease in flight operations will inevitably adversely affect job retention after the merger, and the reduction in the number of flights operated by national airlines will also weaken Incheon International Airport's transit hub function," an industry official said. "It is not clear if Korean Air can maintain full employment after the merger if the KFTC pushes through with the conditional approval." The regulator said that it is considering distributing Korean Air's forfeited flight rights to LCCs and said that it was a "misunderstanding" that the forfeited slots would go to foreign carriers. "In order for LCCs to take over Korean Air's long-distance routes, they will need to receive flight rights from the government and purchase airplanes capable of traveling long distances. It will be difficult for them to obtain the funds, having been hit the hardest from the COVID-19 pandemic," another industry official familiar with the matter said. "If the LCCs can't take over, the transport ministry could redistribute the time slots at the airport, which will inevitably go to foreign carriers." The KFTC judged the competition restrictions on 250 routes operated by five airlines, including affiliated airlines of the two companies, Jin Air, Air Busan, and Air Seoul. As a result, based on KFTC's rationale, it was confirmed that a monopoly occurred on a number of routes, including 10 exclusive routes with 100 percent market share, such as the Incheon-LA, Incheon-New York, Incheon-Zhangjiajie and Busan-Nagoya routes. The KFTC, therefore, said that certain measures will be necessary to ease the monopoly issue, by requesting a certain number of slots to be returned, and then the aviation authorities will go through the process of redistribution. For foreign airport slots, the decision will be made in consultation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in consideration of the level of congestion at the airport and the slot holding statuses of new entrants. "We received the anti-competition review report and are gathering opinions regarding the procedures to discuss with the KFTC," Korean Air said. Korean Air still needs approval from seven different aviation authorities in the U.S., China, Japan, European Union, Britain, Australia and Singapore for the acquisition to take place. It has currently received approval from Turkey, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia. It is basically over 6-12 months In another year or years It was never a real pandemic Vote View Results Nicholas Sergi had a quote from a fortune cookie propped up on his kitchen table that read giving makes you smile. Sergis friends and family describe him as a kind and caring person who was always willing to open his wallet and help everybody. Now, after Sergi died in a motorcycle accident in October 2018, members of Sergis family are using his spirit of giving and the fortune cookie quote as inspiration to help others by establishing the Nicholas D. Sergi Foundation, which helps support local organizations and programs. I dont know of anyone who kept a saying from a fortune cookie, but he kept it and it was like he put it there for us to find it, Dominic Sergi, Nicholas father, said. Thats the type of life he lived. In his memory, Sergi Foundation members recently donated $20,000 to the Walworth County Food & Diaper Bank, 205 E. Commerce Court in Elkhorn. The $20,000 will allow the food bank to purchase about 30,000 pounds of produce, said Susan Hughes, director of the Walworth County Food & Diaper Bank. That feeds a lot of people with a lot of fresh food, a lot of beneficial food and a lot of healthy food, Hughes said. Dominic Sergi is pleased that his family is able to donate to the food bank in honor of his sons memory. Were honored to be here and honored to do this, Dominic Sergi said. It makes you feel good, and isnt that what were suppose to be doing? God has helped us, and we have to help others in need. When the family started the foundation they were trying to think of different local organizations to assist, and the food bank is one of the groups that came to mind. When we started this foundation, we were like a ping pong ball. We asked, What are we going to do?, How are we going to do it? and Will we be able to function correctly?, Dominic Sergi said. We said this year that the Walworth County Food Bank is one of our main groups to help out. For Joanne Sergi, Nicholas mother, assisting others has helped her deal with her sons death. Grieving is a very difficult thing to go through but at least in our situation with Nick hes given us the greatest gift, that we could help give out to the people in the community and help make them smile, Joanne Sergi said. Hughes said the food bank works with about 500 families a month. Some of the items the food bank offers to clients include fresh produce, rice, beans, pasta, fruit, cereal, canned goods and lean meats. The food bank also provides diapers, school supplies, baby wipes, toothbrushes, soap, feminine hygiene products, baby formula and infant drinks to families in need. The food bank is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday. Were just so grateful, because we know what a difference it makes, Hughes said about the donation from the Sergi family. Dominic Sergis family and the foundation plan to continue to help support the food pantry. The food pantry is definitely on top of our list to expand our help, Dominic Sergi said. Helping out beyond the food pantry Besides the food bank, the foundation is working with officials from the Elkhorn Area School District to develop a nature and fitness trail between the high school and middle school. The trail is set to feature fitness equipment, playground and benches. They recently posted signs and repaired bridges for the trail. Several of the high school students have been involved with the project. It was nice to get the kids into it too and make them a part of it, Joanne Sergi said. The foundation has hosted community Thanksgiving dinners, meals for local churches and has helped support the Elkhorn Area School Districts Adult Meal Program, Farmer Veterans Coalition of Wisconsin and other local organizations. Were trying to work with the school kids, the needy and the homeless anybody who could use our help, Dominic Sergi said. The foundation also hosts the Family, Farm, Faith Festival each year to help raise funds for different organizations. Joanne Sergi said, in the past, the festival has been held at the Walworth County Fairgrounds, but the past two years it has been held virtually because of the coronavirus. She hopes the festival can be held at the fairgrounds during the upcoming year. Family, farm and faith, those were the three things that were near and dear to Nicks heart, Joanne Sergi said. Local farmer who was always willing to help Nicholas Sergi died at the age of 28 from injuries he sustained in the motorcycle accident. He was the owner and operator of Sergi Farms LLC in Elkhorn. Dominic Sergi said his son was a devout Christian who always carried his Bible with him. He was always in the word. When he had his accident, he had his backpack on and his Bible in his backpack, and he never went anywhere without his Bible, Dominic Sergi said. Theres a lot of biblical phrases and proverbs that are in his house. Joanne Sergi said she is honored to be able to continue Nicholas tradition of helping others through the foundation. Our mission is to help as many people as we can, Joanne Sergi said. We are learning as were going. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. UNION GROVE A Kansasville man has been accused of threatening people with a knife while allegedly being drunk, and also high on opiates and cocaine. Wayne Richard Delaney, 45, was charged with three felony counts of second degree recklessly endangering safety, a felony count of attempting to flee or elude an officer and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer and resisting an officer. According to a criminal complaint: At 11:36 p.m. on Christmas Eve, deputies were sent to Coal Miners Daughter, a Union Grove bar at 1024 Main St., for a report of a man that had a knife and was threatening to use it. A deputy saw a man approach a truck while fumbling with his keys and appearing to be off-balance. Patrons were yelling that he was the one who pilled out the knife and threatened them. He was able to get in the truck and speed away, with deputies giving chase. A traffic stop was conducted and a deputy was giving instructions to the driver, later identified as Delaney, over the PA system of his the squad vehicle. Delaney then turned off the truck and put his hands out of the window. When asked to get out of the car, he then started it up again and began driving westbound on Highway 11. The chase resumed, and Delaney eventually turned onto the 23300 block of County Line Road and parked the car. Delaney was eventually taken down and placed in handcuffs. A search of his car found a box cutter in the center console along with prescription bottles. There was an open bottle of Captain Morgan on the passenger side floor. A preliminary breath test was taken and it yielded a result of 0.13, above the legal limit of 0.08 to operate a vehicle. While walking back to the squad car, Delaney allegedly said that they would find opiates and cocaine in his blood in addition to the alcohol. A deputy went back to Coal Miners Daughter to gather statements from the patrons that were involved. Nine people said that Delaney pulled out the knife and began pointing it at people, saying he wanted to gut people. Once on the sidewalk, he threatened to gut three people while touching his blade to a persons stomach. Delaney was given a $7,500 cash bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Tuesday. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 5 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) It seemed likely that Michael Brown, 44, would die in prison. He was tried as an adult in 1995 and convicted by a jury on first-degree murder and other charges in the stabbing death of his grandparents. He was 16 but sentenced as a violent youthful offender to life plus 41 years, ensuring he would spend at least 71 years in prison. Then, in November, a state district judge amended Browns sentence making him eligible for parole in February 2024 after he has served 30 years in prison. Michael went to prison around the time that I was born, Browns attorney, Denali Wilson, 28, told the Albuquerque Journal. Thats the way were handling these cases in New Mexico, and that cant be the way we respond to harm caused by children. Wilson and other advocates for youthful offenders are pushing for legislation that would abolish life without parole for juveniles sentenced as adults. The proposed Second Chance bill would make juveniles sentenced as adults eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison. If parole is denied, the request would be reconsidered by the parole board every two years. Wilson, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, estimates that Brown is one of 75 people in New Mexico serving long adult prison sentences for crimes they committed as children. The proposal is similar to Senate Bill 247, which the chamber passed 28-11 in March 2021. The legislative session ended before the House could consider the bill. The bills co-sponsor, Democrat Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez of Albuquerque, has asked Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to include the measure in her call for the 2022 regular session. The governor's office said no decision have been made about whether to include it on the agenda. The New Mexico Attorney Generals Office voiced opposition earlier this year to some portions of the bill, citing an outcry from crime victims. Jerri Mares, a spokeswoman for the office, said victims and their families should be included in any discussions about the bill. Sedillo Lopez said a state law is needed to provide consistency to the way state judges handle serious crimes committed by juveniles. She also said the bill is not a get out of jail free card for criminal offenders. The decision to release would rest with a parole board. The measure also would also provide young offenders with incentive to change, demonstrate good behavior in prison, and reform their lives, she said, noting that she believes "children have an enormous capacity for change. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Albuquerque Journal. Srinagar, Dec 30 (PTI) Three Jaish-e-Mohammad militants, including a Pakistani national, were killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Thursday. With this, the number of ultras killed in two gunfights in south Kashmir, which broke out on Wednesday night, has risen to six. In the Kulgam encounter, three militants were killed. Also Read | Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Likely To Come With 1TB Internal Storage: Report. Upon receiving information about the presence of militants at Nowgam Shahabad in Anantnag district, security forces launched a cordon and search operation on Wednesday night, a police official said. During the searches, the militants opened fire and the security forces retaliated, leading to an encounter, the official said. Also Read | Jharkhand: Underground Palace of Naga Kingdom Excavated in Gumla. In the exchange of fire, three militants were killed. A police personnel was also injured and he was shifted to a hospital, he added. Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said the terrorists were affiliated with JeM and one of the slain militants was a Pakistani national. "Six terrorists of proscribed terror outfit JeM killed in two separate encounters. Four among the killed terrorists have been identified so far as two Pakistani and two local terrorists. Identification of the other two terrorists is being ascertained. A big success for us," Kumar said in a tweet. In the Kulgam encounter, a Pakistani national was among three militants who were killed. The other two were locals, the police said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) By Ashoke Raj New Delhi [India], December 30 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday reiterated the state's demand of GST compensation, transferring of the amounts collected as 'additional levy' from coal block companies and reimbursement of expenditure of Rs 15,000 crore made by the state government for eradication of Naxalism. Also Read | Assembly Elections 2022: EC Press Conference Today; Will Poll Dates For UP, Punjab And Other States be Announced?. Baghel, during the pre-budget meeting held here in the national capital in the presence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and finance ministers of other states, demanded reimbursement of the expenditure of Rs 15,000 crore made by the state government on the central security forces deployed in the state for the eradication of Naxalism. "A special provision should be made in the next budget for the reimbursement of the expenditure of Rs 15,000 crore made by the state government on the central security forces deployed in the state for the eradication of Naxalism," CM Baghel said in the meeting. Also Read | Xiaomi MIUI 13 Announced, Check List of Devices To Receive Stable Update. At the meeting held at Vigyan Bhawan here, the Chief Minister further said, "The state's economy has been impacted due to disruption of economic activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. On GST compensation, Baghel said that the state government will be able to spend on development programmes and schemes if the amount pending with the Centre is received. Further, Chattishgarh Chief Minister said that there has been a loss of revenue to the State due to the GST tax system while adding that the Centre should continue the GST compensation grant for the next five years. "The Centre has not made arrangements to compensate the loss of revenue of about Rs 5000 crore to the state in the coming year, so the GST compensation grant should be continued for the next five years even after June 2022," he said. Baghel also raised the concern of receiving fewer taxes from the Central Government and said "Chhattisgarh has received less share of central taxes by Rs 13,089 crore in the Union Budget of the last three years. In the coming budget, the share of central taxes should be given to the state completely." He also said that the amount of Rs 4,140 crore, which is deposited with the Centre at the rate of Rs 294 per tonne on coal mining from coal block companies should be transferred to Chhattisgarh soon. The Chief Minister said that due to the reduction of Central Excise Tax on petrol and diesel by the Centre, there will be a reduction in the amount of the state's share and also there will be a reduction in the revenue from VAT, so in future, instead of excise tax, the cess should be reduced. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday urged the Centre to reimburse to the state a sum of Rs 15,000 crore it had spent on central security forces deployed for anti-Naxal operations in the state. At the meeting of state finance ministers with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here, Baghel also asked the Centre for payment of GST compensation and transferring of the amounts collected as 'additional levy' from coal block companies. Also Read | Xiaomi MIUI 13 Announced, Check List of Devices To Receive Stable Update. During the pre-budget meeting, the chief minister said the state's economy has been impacted due to disruption of economic activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Samastipur, December 30: A FIR has been registered against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tej Pratap Yadav over allegedly hiding details of property in the affidavit filed during the Assembly elections in Bihar in 2020, the police said on Thursday. The FIR has been registered in Samastipur's Rosera police station. The RJD leader has been charged under Section 125 (a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 for hiding immovable property. Also Read | Vivo V23e India Launch Likely To Take Place in February 2022, Check Expected Prices Here. Janata Dal(United) had lodged a complaint regarding this matter with the Chief Electoral Officer. On the orders of the Election Commission and the instructions of the District Election Officer and Deputy Collector Land Reforms (DCLR), the Rosera Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) Brajesh Kumar has taken action against the RJD leader. Also Read | Earthquake in Uttarakhand: Quake of Magnitude 4.1 Hits Pithoragarh. Afterwards, a copy of the complaint was sent to the Election Commission of India, who wrote to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for investigation. After CBDT's investigation, a show-cause notice was sent to Tej Pratap Yadav by the Election Commission for giving wrong information in the affidavit. Tej Pratap was asked to reply within three weeks' time. However, after the RJD MLA failed to respond in the given time, an FIR was registered against him. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], December 30 (ANI): In a joint operation, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Chhattisgarh Police on Thursday recovered 5-kg IED from Jagargunda area in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district. The joint forces conducted searches based on specific inputs and the IED was destroyed a few minutes after its recovery, the CRPF said. Also Read | Delhi: Irate Commuters Block MB Road, Vandalise Bus Over 50% Capacity Limit (Watch Video). The troops of CRPF's 231 and 165 Battalion and Chhattisgarh Police conducted searches in deep forested Naga Tekri area in Jagargunda. "One IED weighing 5 kg approximately was recovered during search operation and by using command mechanism, it was later destroyed in-situ by Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad," said the CRPF. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Wanted BJP-NCP Tie-Up for Maharashtra Govt, I Rejected Offer, Says Sharad Pawar. The CRPF, a 3.25 lakh personnel force, is mandated to provide internal security in Naxal-hit states that included Chhattisgarh. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Itanagar, Dec 30 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Thursday urged the Centre to consider an appropriate mechanism to ensure adequate financial assistance for development of the northeastern state. Also Read | Kerala Shocker: Womans Charred Body Found At Home in Paravoor, Police Suspect Sister's Involvement. During a pre-budget meeting convened by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi, he stressed on "non-availability of funding from multilateral development banks and other international financing institutions", and requested the ministry to compensate the state through other means. Also Read | Delhi Metro Passengers Capacity Down to 200 Per Train from 2400. He appealed to the Centre to consider project-specific grants at the rate of Rs 1,500 crore per year under any window similar to erstwhile Special Plan Assistance (SPA). The deputy chief minister also proposed for "an interest-free 50-year loan at the rate of Rs 1,500 crore per year over and above the normal borrowing limits prescribed by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003" for consideration. He said the state witnessed massive development in border infrastructure in the last 5-7 years. "However, depopulation of border areas for the want of better infrastructure is a reality and poses a serious challenge...," Mein said. The state government proposed for construction of roads and drinking water facilities, strengthening of health and education infrastructure, installation of micro hydropower projects and solar streetlights in the border areas. "Once sanctioned and executed, these projects will provide much better infrastructure in the border areas and boost economic activities. This will encourage people to return to their native places," he said. The deputy CM requested the Centre for early clearance of projects which are under active consideration of the Union Home Ministry. Mein also sought flexibility for the northeastern states to design customised projects in particular sectors where the ministries concerned are not able to spend 10 per cent of gross budgetary support on their schemes and programmes in the region. "This will ensure increased capital expenditure in NE and also will not distort the allocations within the specified sectors," he said. The deputy chief minister also urged the Centre to facilitate creation of investor-friendly frameworks and a specific policy for the NE states for development of manufacturing capacity in the region to create jobs. He also requested the Narendra Modi government to set up a special task force for improving trade, connectivity and economic infrastructure in the region. Mein further appealed to it to double allocations for schemes of the North-East Council, Department of North-East Region and Border Area Development Programme. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ahmedabad, Dec 30 (PTI) A district and sessions court in Gandhinagar on Thursday granted bail to 55 workers of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including Gujarat unit president Gopal Italia, who were arrested on the charges of rioting, sexual harassment, assault and trespass 10 days ago. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates, Lays Foundation Stones of Projects Worth Over Rs 17,500 Crore in Uttarakhands Haldwani. Principal district judge N C Raval granted bail to all the 55 accused after taking into account submissions from both the sides. Other prominent members among the accused were Isudan Gadhvi, Pravin Ram and Nikhil Savani. Also Read | Electric Vehicles To Look Forward to in 2022; Tata Altroz EV, Mini Cooper SE, BMW i4 & More. On December 20, several AAP workers, including women, barged into the state BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar to register their protest over the recent leaking of a question paper of clerk recruitment exam, and clashed with workers of the ruling party. Notably, the state government has recently cancelled the written test, which was conducted on December 12 for the recruitment of government head clerks. Based on a complaint lodged by BJP leader Shraddha Rajput, the Gandhinagar police had registered an FIR on the same day against a mob of 500 people and arrested 93 persons, including members and leaders of the AAP, for creating ruckus inside the state BJP headquarters, 'Kamalam'. The AAP workers were booked on the charges of rioting, sexual harassment, assault, trespass, assault on public servants, wrongful restraint and unlawful assembly, among others. As per the FIR, AAP members used foul language, touched the BJP's women workers in an inappropriate manner and even hit them with sticks attached to their banners they were carrying during the protest. Italia and some others entered the premises from the main gate, while several AAP workers barged into the state BJP office complex from the rear side, Rajput stated in her complaint. The court had first granted bail to 28 women AAP workers. Later, 10 persons, mainly drivers of the vehicles in which AAP workers had arrived, were granted bail, while the remaining 55 were given relief on Thursday. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) A sailor of the Indian Navy developed a medical emergency in Maputo, Mozambique, on Thursday and was evacuated by the armed force's aircraft to India, officials said on Thursday. As part of Mission Sagar, Navy's ship Kesari was deployed to Maputo for delivering food aid, two fast interceptor craft and self defence equipment, the Navy officials said. Also Read | Kerala Shocker: Womans Charred Body Found At Home in Paravoor, Police Suspect Sister's Involvement. During the deployment, one Indian Navy sailor developed a medical emergency and was required to be evacuated to India for medical intervention, they added. An Indian Navy aircraft on routine deployment to the southern Indian Ocean was diverted for medical evacuation of the sailor, they said. Also Read | Delhi Metro Passengers Capacity Down to 200 Per Train from 2400. The Navy extended its heartfelt gratitude to the Government of Mozambique, neurosurgeon Sergio Fernandes Salvador, intensivist Momede Rafico Mussa Bagus and paediatric nephrologist Simple Singh, who was of Indian origin, at Privado Hospital, Maputo for their dedicated efforts in providing medical attention to the sailor and for the safe medical evacuation, they said. The medical evacuation was undertaken in close coordination and support of the High Commission of India in Mozambique, they noted. The medical evacuation once again brings out the inherent flexibility of the Indian Navy's platforms to change their roles whilst being deployed on another mission, they stated. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 30 (ANI): Maharashtra Minister Balasaheb Thorat has been tested positive for COVID-19. The Congress leader took to Twitter to inform of being infected by the virus. Also Read | Tamil Nadu Rains: Red Alert Issued in Chennai, Kanchipuram, Thiruvallur and Chinglepet in View of Heavy Rainfall. "I have tested positive for COVID-19. I am asymptomatic and taking treatment on the advice of a doctor. I appeal to all those you have come in my contact to get themselves tested. I urge everyone to wear a mask and follow all COVID-19 protocols," Thorat tweeted. Meanwhile, as many as 198 new cases of COVID-19's Omicron variant were reported today in Maharashtra. The total number of Omicron cases in Maharashtra has mounted to 450. Also Read | Bihar: Woman Gives Birth To Child Having Four Legs In Gopalganj District. Of the 198 patients reported by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), 30 are international travellers, according to the bulletin. Maharashtra has reported 5,368 fresh COVID-19 cases, a jump of 1,468 over yesterday's numbers, in the last 24 hours. The active cases in the state now stan at 18,217. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], December 30 (ANI): Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar on Thursday said that the number of active terrorists in the valley has come down to less than 200 while the number of active local terrorists have reduced to less than 100, for the first time in history. "We have been able to breach the mark of 200 terrorists in Kashmir, as it has come down to 180. For the first time in history, local terrorists have reduced to less than 100. The count is 85-86 after yesterday's encounter. So, terrorism is reducing," said IGP Kashmir said while addressing a joint press conference on the two encounters in Kulgam and Anantnag district. Also Read | Omicron Surge in Delhi: Temples Closed For Devotees Amid COVID-19 Scare in National Capital. He further said that out of 128 local militants who joined militancy this year, 73 were killed while 17 were arrested. "128 local terrorists had joined this year, out of which 73 were killed in encounters and 16 were arrested. Only 39 are active currently. The numbers are significantly down as compared to the last 2 years," said Kumar. Also Read | Upcoming Cars in India in 2022: Toyota Hilux, Tata Tiago CNG, Tigor CNG & More. IGP Kashmir further said that in December a total of 24 terrorists were killed of which 5 were Pakistanis. "In December, 24 terrorists have been killed, out of which five are Pakistanis. We have recovered two US-made M4 carbine rifles, 15 AK47s, over 24 pistols, grenades, IEDs. It proves Pakistan Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist involvement. Security forces and intelligence network is on alert," he added. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anantnag, Ashish said that the two local terrorists killed in Kulgam and Anantnag encounter have been identified as Nisar Ahmed Khande and Mufti Altaf. "Two local terrorists killed were identified as Nisar Ahmed Khande and Mufti Altaf. An M4 rifle and its seven magazines, two AK series rifles and its 2 magazines, a pistol and its two magazines, three grenades and other incriminating material recovered," said SSP Anantnag. The encounter which broke out on Wednesday evening in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag and Kulgam districts, ended this morning with the killing of six JeM terrorists including two Pakistani nationals and an army soldier. Three Jammu and Kashmir police personnel, who were injured in the Anantnag encounter, are stable now. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Sri Chamkaur Sahib (Punjab) [India], December 30 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi announced a bonanza of Rs 125 crore for 64,500 Asha and Mid Day Meal workers as a New Year gift, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) informed on Thursday. According to the release, Asha workers will get a fixed monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 and Mid Day Meal workers Rs 3,000 from January 1, 2022. Also Read | Tecno Spark 8 Pro Launched in India at Rs 10,599; First Sale on January 4, 2022. Asha workers will get an enhanced monthly fixed allowance for twelve instead of ten months, the statement said. They would also be now entitled to the facility of a cashless health insurance scheme up to Rs 5 lakh which would be done by the state government free of cost so as to cover them against the probable risk of inflicting any infectious disease while performing their duties. Also Read | Jammu and Kashmir Polices SIA Files Charge Sheet Against Hurriyat Leader Zaffar Akbar Bhat, 8 Others for Selling MBBS Seats in Pakistan. Similarly, in a major relief to nearly 42,500 Mid Day Meal workers working in 19,700 government-aided schools across the state, Chief Minister announced to enhance their fixed allowance from Rs 2,200 to Rs 3,000 per month, the release read. This hike would entail an expenditure of Rs 64.25 crore on the state exchequer. Channi also announced all the Asha workers and Mid Day Meal workers working across the state would be now entitled to full maternity leave on the pattern of other women government employees on regular basis, it added. Addressing a public rally predominantly comprising Asha and Mid Day Meal workers especially assembled here at Dana Mandi, Channi said that "it is an auspicious occasion as if all his sisters from across the state have come to his brother's home and he was fortunate to announce these relief measures for his dearest sisters." Listing the major initiatives of his government taken for the empowerment of women, the Chief Minister said that 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs, 50 per cent reservation in PRIs and ULBs, and free travel bus facilities are in league with the women-friendly decisions announced for Asha and Mid Day Meal workers. Advocating the cause for giving equal opportunities for women in society, Channi underscored the need to make them equal partners in the process of development to ensure inclusive growth in a holistic manner. He said a congenial atmosphere to excel in different fields should be provided to women so as to enable them to serve the society in different roles of politicians, civil servants, academicians, professionals, and above all public-spirited persons to the best of their capacities and capabilities. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], December 30 (ANI): With New Year just around the corner and a few months to Assembly polls in five states, former Congress president and MP Rahul Gandhi has flown abroad on Wednesday morning on "a personal visit". Recently ahead of the winter session of Parliament, he had travelled abroad for almost a month and had returned a day before the commencement of the session. Also Read | GST Annual Return Filing Deadline for FY 2020-21 Extended Till February 28, Says CBIC. "Rahul Gandhi is on a brief personal visit. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its media friends should not spread rumours unnecessarily," Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala told ANI. Although, the party has not disclosed the place of visit and the date of his return. Also Read | Gujarat Best Destination for Investment Due to Industry-Friendly Policies, Says CM Bhupendra Patel. Rahul's visit abroad comes at a time when political parties are pacing up their campaigning for the upcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, which are due next year. Rahul was scheduled to address a party rally in Moga district of Punjab on January 3 to kick start campaigning in the state, where the party is already in power. However, now it is likely to be postponed. With a delay in campaigning, it could seemingly impact the party's vote bank in the state and bring down chances of the party retaining power. It is pertinent to mention that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also planning to campaign in the state around the same time. BJP will begin the poll campaign in Punjab with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to hold a rally on January 5 in the state, according to party sources. This will be the first rally of Prime Minister Modi in Punjab after the repeal of three farm laws. BJP has earlier announced that the party will fight polls in the state in alliance with Captain Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress Party. According to sources in Congress, the rally in Punjab will not begin till Rahul's return to the country. Meanwhile, Rahul had recently campaigned for the party in Goa and Uttarakhand. In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the SAD-BJP government after 10 years. Aam Aadmi Party emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in 117 member Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could only manage to win 15 seats while the BJP secured 3 seats. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) Ahead of the GST Council meeting, several states on Thursday flagged higher tax rate on textile products from January 1 and demanded that the rate hike be put on hold. Also Read | Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge Price in India Teased by Company Official. In the pre-budget meeting chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, states like Gujarat, West Bengal, Delhi, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu said that they are not in favour of a hike in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate on textiles to 12 per cent, from 5 per cent currently, with effect from January 1, 2022. Also Read | Karnataka Urban Local Body Election Results 2021: Congress, BJP Both Claim Victory. The 46th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Sitharaman and comprising state FMs, is scheduled on December 31, with a single agenda to consider Gujarat's demand of putting the rate hike "decision on hold", as also representations received from trade in this regard. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the move to raise GST on textiles from 5 per cent to 12 per cent is not people friendly and this should be withdrawn. If a common man buy clothes of Rs 1,000, he has to pay GST of Rs 120. "Delhi is not in favour of this," said Sisodia, who is also the Delhi Finance Minister. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P Thiaga Rajan said, "It is one point agenda (for tomorrow's Council meet). It is an agenda that many states have raised. In the agenda item it says that it was raised by Gujarat but I know that many states raised it. .. It should be stalled (move to raise GST rate on textile)". Rajasthan Education Minister Subhash Garg said the Friday's GST Council meeting is likely to be on rate hike on footwear and textiles and Rajasthan does believe that rate hike on textiles should be rolled back especially when countries like Bangladesh are giving us stiff competition in such sector. The Council in its previous meeting on September 17 had decided to correct the inverted duty structure in footwear and textile sectors. With effect from January 1, 2022, all footwear, irrespective of prices, will attract GST at 12 per cent, and all textile products, except cotton, including readymade garments will have 12 per cent GST. West Bengal's former finance minister and current advisor to state Chief Minister Amit Mitra had earlier urged the Centre to roll back a proposed hike in textile from 5 per cent to 12 per cent saying this would lead to closure of around 1 lakh textile units and 15 lakh job losses. Telangana Industries Minister KT Rama Rao too had made a case for withdrawal of its proposed plan to increase GST rates. Industry too has opposed the rise in tax from 5 per cent, citing higher compliance cost especially for the unorganised sector and MSMEs besides making poor man's clothing expensive. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mathura, Dec 30 (PTI) A 51-year-old woman has tested positive for coronavirus here, a day after her husband was found infected with the virus upon his return from Uganda. Amit Jain (52) who had returned from Uganda a week ago was found infected with Covid, officials had said on Wednesday. Also Read | Delhi: Depressed MBBS Student of Maulana Azad Medical College Dies By Suicide After Failing in Exam. "On contact-tracing, his 51-year-old wife Rinita Jain was also found infected, Dr. Bhudeo Singh, the incharge of Rapid Response Team, said on Thursday. Rinita Jain has also been placed under home quarantine, he said. Also Read | COVID-19 Positive International Passengers To Isolate at Designated Quarantine Facilities at Delhi Airport. The district's Covid tally now goes up to 18 in the current phase, he said. EOM (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) IDFC First Bank on Thursday said its board has favoured the merger IDFC Ltd and IDFC Financial Holding Co Ltd (promoter group) with the bank. Also Read | Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge Price in India Teased by Company Official. The board of directors of the bank in a meeting held on December 30, 2021, considered the proposal for merger of IDFC Ltd and IDFC Financial Holding Co Ltd (promoter group) with IDFC First Bank, the bank said in a regulatory filing. Also Read | Tecno Spark 8 Pro Launched in India at Rs 10,599; First Sale on January 4, 2022. "We are, in principle, in favour of the merger, subject to the approval of the board of directors, shareholders, creditors and statutory and regulatory approvals of the respective entities," the bank said in a regulatory filing. The private sector lender said the board has constituted and authorised a committee -- Capital Raise and Corporate Restructuring Committee -- to work on the terms of the proposed merger. This will include finalisation of the scheme, valuation, hiring advisors among others. Earlier in July, the Reserve Bank of India allowed IDFC Ltd to exit as the promoter of IDFC First Bank as the five year lock-in period ended, and paved the way for a potential reverse merger between two entities. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Taipei [Taiwan], December 30 (ANI): Dismissing Taiwanese claims over Chinese warplanes incursion, China on Thursday, in a rather belligerent tone, said it sent more than 940 fighters planes for routine drills which are more than what Taiwanese authorities have said. "The PLA dispatched more warplanes to routine drills near Taiwan than the DPP authorities revealed, Chinese Defense Ministry said in response to DPP's recent claims that the mainland conducted 940 warplane sorties near the Taiwan island this year," Global Times reported. Also Read | Punjab-Origin Realtor Bob Dhillon, Scientist Lucky Lakshmanan Honoured With Order of Canada. Taiwan witnessed 950 intrusions by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) military planes into its Air Defence Identification Zone in 2021 so far, a 60 per cent increase from the previous year. Moreover, Taiwanese media reported that the island is anticipating a further rise in the number of intrusions as China has ramped up sorties over the past few years. Also Read | Imran Khan Lead PTI Government Fast Losing Popularity After Defeat in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Polls. The number of flights is expected to increase further as tensions rise over major political events on two sides of the Taiwan Strait in 2022, Taiwan News reported. Kuo Yu-jen, director of the Institute for National Policy Research, was cited by Bloomberg as warning that "China will send more military fighter planes into Taiwan's ADIZ next year with more intimidating operations." Kuo stressed that the situation in the ADIZ will need to be closely monitored because it will be a "turning point." Since mid-September of last year, Beijing has stepped up its grey-zone tactics by regularly sending planes into Taiwan's ADIZ, with most instances occurring in the southwest corner of the zone and usually consisting of one to three slow-flying turboprop planes. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades. Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war. (ANI) (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 30 (PTI) A group of 250 Hindu pilgrims from India, the UAE and the US is scheduled to visit this week a century-old shrine in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which was vandalised by a radical Islamist party last year, according to a media report on Thursday. The Hindu pilgrims will visit the shrine of Paramhans Ji Maharaaj, a saint who died at Teri village in Karak district of the province in 1919. The temple was established in 1920. Also Read | World Health Organization Warns of Tsunami of Cases From Omicron and Delta Variants. A number of Hindu pilgrims from India, the United Arab Emirates and the United States will arrive in Peshawar on January 1 to visit the Samadhi at Teri at the invitation of the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC), the Dawn newspaper reported. This is the second time that the Council has invited Hindu pilgrims from other countries so that they can see for themselves the existence of a tolerant and pluralistic society in Pakistan, Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, the PHC's patron, told the newspaper. Also Read | Robin Fransman, Dutch Economist and Outspoken Skeptic of COVID-19 Vaccines Dies From Coronavirus Complications. The Council has arranged the programme in collaboration with Pakistan International Airlines, the report said. Fifty-four Hindus from India, Canada, Singapore, Australia and Spain had visited the country last month. The group was led by Shri Satguru Ji Maharaaj Ji, the fifth successor of Paramhans Ji Maharaaj. In December last year, over 1,000 people led by some local clerics belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) instigated the villagers to demolish the temple and as a result, people led by local seminary students attacked the temple. On the orders of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the temple was restored. The apex court also ordered the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government in October 2021 to recover Rs 33 million (USD 1,94,161) from the culprits involved in vandalising the century-old shrine. Earlier in 1997, the shrine was first attacked and severely damaged, and the PHC head Vankwani had approached the apex court in 2015 seeking help to restore the holy place and restart the annual pilgrimage to the place. Pakistan Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad had celebrated Diwali this year at the temple last month to express solidarity with members of the Hindu community and to welcome pilgrims from other parts of the country. According to Vankwani, the PHC invited the chief justice only to give a message to hate-mongers that the state is determined to foil their nefarious designs. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Singapore, Dec 30: Experts in Singapore, where 170 new Omicron cases were reported on Wednesday, have warned that the new and supposedly more contagious variant is likely to replace Delta over the coming weeks to months. While Delta is still the most common variant in all continents except Africa, Omicron is spreading very quickly, said Dr Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, executive director of the state-owned Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Bioinformatics Institute here. Also Read | Taiwan Reports Another Incursion As 5 Chinese Warplanes Enter Its Air Defence Zone. Of the genome submissions sent to the Munich-headquartered Gisaid, a data science initiative that provides the shared genome platform for Covid, the Omicron strain has comprised between 7 per cent and 27 per cent of new submissions over the past month, up until Tuesday. The figures refer to all continents except Africa. "From current data, it looks like Delta will go down over time relative to Omicron," The Straits Times said quoting Dr Maurer-Stroh, who is part of the global team that maintains Gisaid. Also Read | COVID-19 Surge in UK: '90% of Coronavirus Patients Admitted in ICU Have Not Taken Booster Shot', Says PM Boris Johnson. The new variant was first detected in South Africa on November 11, and then in Botswana and Hong Kong, before it rippled across more than 110 countries, as at last weekend. Omicron is already dominant in Australia, India, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, noted Professor Dale Fisher, a senior consultant at the National University Hospital's Division of Infectious Diseases. "We are seeing a global transition from Delta to Omicron because with a greater transmissibility, the virus is fitter and has a reproductive advantage," noted Prof Fisher. But he added a caveat that the reports of Omicron rates may be biased as some countries do little gene sequencing, and those that do may be looking for a deletion in a specific spike gene to identify Omicron, instead of carrying out whole genome sequencing. Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) said on its website that from December 24, Covid-19 cases that tested positive for the so-called S-gene target failure will be categorised as Omicron. The S-gene encodes the virus's spike protein. Based on local experience, if a person tests positive for the S-gene target failure, the individual is very likely to have the Omicron variant, said MoH, noting that this practice aligns with those in other countries. Fisher said most experts in the field believe Omicron will replace Delta as the dominant strain. A South Africa study suggested that Delta may be displaced because infection with the new variant boosts immunity to the older one, Reuters reported on Tuesday. While the Delta variant has 13 mutations with nine on the spike protein, Omicron has about 50 mutations not seen together before, and 32 of them are on the spike protein. Because of its mutations, the Delta variant attaches more effectively to human cell receptors, causing it to be more infective, said Fisher. But the Omicron variant made health authorities more concerned as the virus is even "stickier" because of its extra mutations, he added. The rise and fall of new variants over time follows the laws of nature and the survival of the fittest, Fisher noted. Dr Maurer-Stroh said the environment in which two variants compete will also help determine which is more successful. "As immunity in the population increases from both vaccination and natural infection, severity goes down but even slightly better escape from the prevalent immune response can give one variant the extra edge over another," he said. "This is also what we see with different flu variants every year." Dr Maurer-Stroh said, "Because of the great benefit of vaccination including boosters, we see less severe cases." As Omicron and Delta continue to wrestle for dominance, some have wondered whether it would be possible to be infected with both strains at the same time. "This is possible but rare. And very quickly, only one variant would be the dominant infection in the body," added Dr Maurer-Stroh. International evidence indicates that the Omicron variant is likely to be more transmissible, but less severe than the Delta variant. Meanwhile, local and foreign travellers entering Singapore are each allowed to bring with them a maximum of 20 Covid self-test kits as long as they are approved for use in the country the traveller is arriving from though not authorised for use here. This has been the case since December 23, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) told The Straits Times. The HSA said it had observed an increase in personal imports of Covid self-test kits into Singapore since October. It had barred the import of some of these test kits, which have not been evaluated for quality or efficacy, as they may be resold locally. But with the reopening of borders, the HSA said it recognised the need for travellers to bring their own self-test kits to fulfil the necessary testing requirements here. The HSA has authorised 11 Covid-19 self-test kits for use in Singapore. But members of the public are reminded that the import of self-test kits through parcel post is still not allowed. Any onward supply by wholesale of self-test kits is also not permitted and will require licences and authorisation from HSA. Those infringing this can be imprisoned for up to two years and/or fined up to SGD50,000, if convicted, according to the report. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Panama City, Dec 30 (AP) Two men were given long prison terms Wednesday for killing seven young people in 2020, bloodshed that shocked this country where mass slayings are rare. Prosecutors said Reynaldo Cuadra McBean was sentenced to 50 years and Jean Carlos Hernandez was sentenced to serve 36 years for their convictions on homicide, abduction, aggravated robbery and other charges. The court found them guilty on Dec. 15. Also Read | Omicron Cases Likely to Peak by End of January, 2022, Says Anthony Fauci. Authorities have never offered a motive for the killings on July 17, 2020. Relatives found the bodies of the four women and three men between the ages of 17 and 22 near Lake Gatun after they did not return from an outing. The youths were among 13 who had gone to the lake that day. Also Read | Taiwan Reports Another Incursion As 5 Chinese Warplanes Enter Its Air Defence Zone. Five of the bodies were found in an abandoned military bunker probably dating from the time of U.S. control of the Panama Canal. Investigators said the bodies bore signs of bullet wounds. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) In the wake of theatres being seized in #AndhraPradesh, things were getting tense. It seems like the state government has now granted permission to reopen the theatres with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/Z8Ax5dEVer IANS Tweets (@ians_india) December 30, 2021 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) Toronto, Dec 30: Two Indo-Canadians -- top realtor Bob Dhillon of Calgary and clean energy scientist V.I. Lucky Lakshmanan of Mississauga -- have been honoured with the Order of Canada. The two are among 39 persons who have been honoured with the Order of Canada by Governor General Mary Simon. The award citation says Dhillon has been awarded for "his achievements in business, and for his unwavering commitment to philanthropy and higher education", and Lakshmanan for "his philanthropy and for his expertise in hydrometallurgy and business, which have greatly benefited his profession, community and Canada-India relations". SP Balasubramaniam Honoured With Posthumous Padma Vibhushan, KS Chithra Receives Padma Bhushan. Dhillon, who founded the real estate group Mainstream Equity, is the biggest landlord in Canada in the mid-segment rental market today. His group owns more than 15,000 units across the country. One of the richest Indo-Canadians, Dhillon comes from a family from Tallewal village near Barnala in Punjab. Lakshmanan is an internationally renowned clean energy scientist and innovator in sustainable development. Born in Chennai, he went to the UK for higher studies and came to Canada in 1974. He founded Process Research ORTECH which is a global leader in sustainable process technologies. It runs its laboratory and pilot plant in Mississauga on the outskirts of Toronto. He is currently the CEO of the company. Another Indo-Canadian, Pradeep Merchant of Greely in Ontario, has been appointed Member of the Order of Canada "for his long-standing contributions to his community, including his philanthropy and his leadership in the promotion of bilateral ties between Canada and India". The Order of Canada is one of the highest civilian awards in Canada, recognising outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2021 02:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The U.S. jury had found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty on five of six counts of her sex trafficking trial, putting a conclusion to the trial. The 60-year-old socialite was accused of recruiting and grooming teenagers for Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 2004, according to a Reuters report. Maxwell pulled down her face mask and poured herself a glass of water after the verdict was read. She was acquitted of one count of enticing a minor to travel across state lines to engage in an illegal sexual act. Meanwhile, Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges of his own. Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, welcomed the verdict, saying in a statement that Maxwell was convicted of "one of the worst crimes imaginable." Williams said that justice has been done, commending the bravery of the women who came forward. Maxwell's defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said that Epstein's death left an unresolved pursuit of justice and Maxwell was filling that empty chair. READ NEXT: Ghislaine Maxwell Trial Nearing Its End as Jury Starts Deliberations; Prosecutor Says She's 'Complicit' in Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Abuse of Teen Girls Ghislaine Maxwell Sex Trafficking Trial The case was widely watched by the public, being Epstein never made it to court as he was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting his trial. Maxwell left the room quickly without speaking to her lawyers after the jurors filed out of the courtroom, according to The New York Times report. Two of the women had testified that Epstein started performing sexual acts with them when they were only 14 years old. One said that Maxwell was sometimes present in the encounters, while the other noted that Maxwell had molested her directly by touching her breasts. Prosecutor Alison Moe told the jury in closing arguments that Maxwell was a "sophisticated predator" who knew exactly what she was doing. One lawyer for Maxwell, Laure Menninger, told the jury that the government wants the jury to speculate over and over, adding that Maxwell's relationship with Epstein was the "biggest mistake of her life," but was not a crime. Charges against Maxwell included conspiracy to entice minor to travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity; transportation of an individual under the age of 17 with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity; as well as, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of individuals under the age of 18, according to The Guardian report. Dave Aronberg, the state attorney in Palm Beach County, Florida, where Epstein had a luxury estate, commented on the verdict. Aronberg said that Maxwell "just got what was coming to her." He also noted how crucial Maxwell's role in luring underage girls into Epstein's life of sexualized massages and abuse. A crowd of around 200 gathered at the grand steps of the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan; all waiting for statements from those who were involved in and attended the trial. The jury rejected Maxwell's claims that her accusers were making allegations against her as a form of exploitation of position and wealth for money. Maxwell's team had also claimed that accusers were lying about her being involved in their abuse. The judge also slammed the defense's claims that she was being prosecuted as a scapegoat for Epstein's crimes. READ MORE: Ghislaine Maxwell's Trial, About to Start On Her Sex-Trafficking Charges; Maxwell's Brother Says Sister's Paying the Price After Jeffrey Epstein Killed Himself This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty in sex trafficking trial - from CBS News President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered that the flags of the United States be lowered to half-staff following the death of the Nevada Democrat Senator Harry Reid. The president ordered the flags be lowered in the White House and other agencies such as the naval vessels, embassies, and military bases, on the day of Reid's internment, The Daily Mail reported. On Tuesday evening, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat senator from New York, also ordered the flags in the Capitol to be lowered, New York Post mentioned. Schumer's orders on the Congress came after Landra Reid, Harry Reid's widow, confirmed the death of her husband. READ NEXT: Pres. Joe Biden Stays at Delaware Beach Home With No Public Events as Omicron COVID Variant Continues to Surge Pres Joe Biden Praises Former Nevada Democrat for Service; Calls Him 'Man of Action' President Joe Biden called Reid a "man of action" as he lauded the Nevada Democrat's service to the people. "From humble roots in Searchlight, Nevada, Harry Reid rose to become one of the great Senate Majority Leaders in American History. He was a man of action and a man of his word," Biden said in his proclamation. The president also noted that Reid's career in public service was "instrumental" in passing "landmark legislation" that made a difference in the lives of the American people. "His devoted service to our nation was not about power for power's sake. It was about the power to do the right by the American people," Biden said about Reid's legacy in the government. Aside from President Biden, former President Barack Obama also offered his thoughts on the passing of the Ex-Nevada Democrat. Obama said that he would not be the president of the United States if not for Reid's "encouragement and support." Meanwhile, Reid's political foe, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also commented on the death of the former Nevada Democrat. McConnell pointed out that the nature of their job usually brought them to "intense conflict over politics and policy." However, McConnell underscored that despite their arguments over politics, he "never" doubted what Reid felt was right for Nevada and the United States. Former Nevada Democrat Senator Harry Reid's Death Former Democratic Senator Harry Reid died on Tuesday at 82 years old. His death was confirmed by his widow in a statement, saying that he died "peacefully" and surrounded by his family, Today reported. Reid's wife also revealed that the Nevada Democrat's death followed his four-year battle against pancreatic cancer. "We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support from so many over these past few years... We are especially grateful for the doctors and nurses that cared for him. Please know that it meant the world to him," Landra Reid said in a statement on Tuesday. Reid served for 34 years in Washington. He was the Senate Majority leader during the presidency of Gorge W. Bush and Barack Obama. During his active years in Washington, the former Democrat senator also ushered in pushing for historic legislation such as the Affordable Care Act. He then retired from service in 2017 after an accident left him blind in one eye. READ NEXT: Kamala Harris Says 'Democracy' Is the Biggest National Security Threat Facing the U.S. This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: Harry Reid, Former Senate Majority Leader, Dies At 82 - From MSNBC After the police discovered that a family's three-week-old baby was positive for cocaine, the family of five is now missing. Mother, Newborn Test Positive with Cocaine According to Fox News, the Los Angeles Police Department released a statement regarding the ongoing search for Luis Avalos and Arely Anaya, who were reported missing with their three children. Based on KTLA 5's report, LAPD stated that the Department of Children and Family Services or DCFS called them on Monday to report an investigation connected to "general neglect and narcotics abuse involving three children." The police department was notified by social workers in LA that they were in the process of getting a court order to place the children in protective custody and were securing an arrest warrant for the parents. Luis Avalos and Arely Anaya reportedly fled Sun Valley along with their three children: 5-year-old King Anaya, 4-year-old Prince Anaya, and their 3-week-old newborn who tested positive with cocaine Legend Avalos. READ ALSO: 2 Dead in Submerged Car as California Storm Brings Heavy Rain, Flooding LAPD's Search for Missing Sun Valley Family Continues Based on the report of the International Business Times, the mother and the infant both tested positive for cocaine use on December 2, the day when the baby was born. After the discovery of the medical professionals, the DCFS was notified of the tests and contacted the parents several times throughout the first half of December. Instead of cooperating with the authorities, both Avalos and Anaya stopped responding to the phone calls of the LA officials after they became aware of the DCFS plans to remove the children from them and place them in protective custody. The organization that handled the plans for the kids informed LAPD Foothill Juvenile Detectives of their intention to place the children under custody and issue an arrest warrant for the mother and the father of the newborn that tested positive with cocaine. However, during the rescue operations, LAPD officers who arrived at the family's home in the 8900 block of Haddon Avenue on Monday failed to locate neither the parents nor the children. According to witnesses, the couple was worried about the possibility of their children being taken away from them. The witnesses stated that the couple left their home two days prior to Christmas day, with a possible destination of Reno, Nevada. "The parents no longer responded to phone calls, nor answered their door for DCFS," police said. Furthermore, the LAPD has also released images of Luis Avalos and Arely Anaya, hoping that the public could help locate and rescue the children who were suffering at the hands of their parents. No pictures of the children were released by authorities. The LA police department has requested the public to share any information or leads about the family's whereabouts and report it to the authorities by calling (818)-756-8861 and 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247) on weekends. READ MORE: Florida Police Arrested Man After Search Led to Discovery of Cocaine, Meth Bags Wrapped Around His Private Area This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Jess Smith WATCH: Police Search For Missing Family -CBS Los Angeles Mexico's health regulator Cofepris on Wednesday, authorized Cuba's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, despite the World Health Organization (WHO) not yet approving the said jab. According to Thomson Reuters Foundation, Cofepris said in a statement that Cuba's COVID vaccine known as Abdala received a "favorable technical opinion" from experts. Furthermore, the council claimed about having "sufficient evidence" that Cuba's COVID jab is "safe and effective." So far, Mexico has granted emergency use authorization to at least 10 COVID vaccines, including China's Sinopharm and CanSino, and U.S. Pfizer vaccine. However, the issuance of emergency use authorization does not necessarily mean that the Mexican government will administer Abdala in Mexico. Scientists from Cuba developed three homegrown vaccines against COVID-19. Among those three, Cuban experts claimed Abdala is among the world's most effective jab with more than 90 percent efficacy rate. Mexico is not the only country that granted authorization on Cuba's Abdala vaccine. The said vaccine is authorized in other countries, including Nicaragua and Vietnam. READ NEXT: Mexico Says Fentanyl, Meth Seizures Soar as Mexican Drug Cartels Import From China Baja California Sur Becomes Mexico's COVID Epicenter The issuance of the Mexico health regulator's emergency use authorization came as Baja California Sur became the country's epicenter of coronavirus cases. According to the latest data from Mexico's health ministry, there are 1,888 active cases in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The rate of infection in the state was reportedly 230 infections per 100,000 people. About half of the active cases in the city were reportedly from Los Cabos, located on the state's southern tip, while other cases were from La Paz, which is the state's capital. Baja California Sur Victor Castro blamed the spike in COVID cases on the influx of tourists in their state. "The hotels in Los Cabos are full and there are more infections," Castro underscored. According to reports, many of the tourists who come to Baja California Sur came from the United States, where the Omicron variant is rampant. Tourists in Mexico Can Lead to Increase in COVID Cases: Experts Say It can be recalled that Mexico does not require incoming travelers to give negative COVID-19 tests or go to mandatory quarantine. Virologist and researcher from Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi, Andreu Comas, said that family gatherings during the holidays and the entrance of travelers without presenting negative COVID-test results will heighten the coronavirus cases in the country. "All these crowds of people that are going to be in the airport these [vacation] days will develop symptoms in a few days and continue the chain of transmission," Comas underscored. Meanwhile, experts believe Mexico is on the verge of COVID's fourth wave. The director of molecular genetics laboratory from National Autonomous University (UNAM), Laurie Ann Ximenez-Fyvie, said in an interview that 28 percent of the COVID cases in Mexico are caused by the Omicron variant. However, Rodrigo Jacome Ramirez, a scientist and academic at UNAM, said that Mexico only records "fewer" cases of Omicron due to a lack of a more "robust" registration system. On Tuesday, Mexico's deputy health minister, Hugo Lopez-Gatel, acknowledged that their country can witness more COVID cases. However, the minister expressed optimism that hospitalizations and death due to the virus will not spike due to their vaccination rate. Authorities noted that more than 80 percent of Mexican adults are vaccinated against COVID-19 and that their government is now offering booster shots to people aged 60 and above. READ NEXT: 13 Migrants Feared Dead in Bloody Turf War Between Mexican Drug Cartels at Texas-Mexico Border This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: Cuba Says Abdala Vaccine 92% Effective Against Coronavirus - From Al Jazeera English Former U.S. President Donald Trump slammed U.S. President Joe Biden for not instigating a probe into the COVID origins, saying that Biden was surrendering to the pandemic and joining "China's coverup." Trump had praised his administration's COVID response, noting that he handled the pandemic "exceptionally well," according to the Newsweek report. Trump said in a recent interview with Fox News that it was "so obvious" that the virus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan. In May, Trump said that he had "very little doubt" that the virus came from a lab and jokingly told Fox Nation's host Dan Bongino that he no longer needed to use the word "potentially" when referring to the theory, according to a Forbes report. The former president continued to say that the Biden administration has continuously refused to hold China accountable for its role in the spread of the virus, which turned into a deadly pandemic. Trump further claimed that Biden failed as a president and has surrendered to the virus. He noted that the president broke his promise to the American people, which is to end the pandemic "once-and-for-all." He then suggested that Biden should be removed from office. Biden criticized Beijing for withholding critical information from the start of the pandemic after the Intelligence Community's inconclusive origins review in August. Biden said at the time that Chinese officials have "worked to prevent international members" and people of the global public health community from having access to it. READ MORE: Donald Trump Says COVID a 'Terrible Accident' That Breaks Loose From Wuhan Lab COVID Origins Intelligence Report The IC noted in August that it is divided over the exact origin of the COVID pandemic. In their unclassified report, they wrote that all agencies assessed two hypotheses are possible, with one the incident being a natural exposure to an infected animal and the other being a laboratory-associated incident. Office of the Director of National Intelligence compiled the report, which noted that the virus was not developed as a biological weapon, according to CNBC News report. The report also said that the intelligence community could not reach a more definitive conclusion unless it receives more information. Biden said that its allies would continue to pressure China to reveal more about what happened when COVID first started to spread. Meanwhile, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci had come under scrutiny during a hearing over claims that the National Institutes of Health backed gain of function research in Wuhan, China. Sen. Rand Paul asked Fauci whether the NIH had funded gain-of-function research on coronaviruses in China, which Fauci rejected the claims in June. Fauci said that the NIH has not ever and "does not now fund gain-of-function research" in Wuhan, according to The New York Times report. However, the NIH admitted in October to fund the said research on bat coronaviruses in China after Fauci repeatedly rejected the claims. NIH's principal deputy director, Lawrence A. Tabak, wrote in a letter that New York City-based nonprofit Ecohealth "limited experiment" tested whether spike protein from bat coronaviruses was capable of attaching to the human ACE2 receptor in a mouse model, according to a New York Post report. After the emergency of the NIH letter, Paul tweeted, "I told you so" is not enough to cover it. READ MORE: Growing Evidence Shows COVID-19 Leaked From Wuhan Lab, Contrary to China's Claims This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by Mary Webber WATCH: President Donald Trump suspects coronavirus outbreak came from China lab, offers no evidence - from CNBC Television Dwayne Johnson responded to Vin Diesel's plea to him on Instagram about joining "Fast and Furious'" latest installment. In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, The Rock said that he was surprised with what his co-star in the film posted on his social media, claiming that he privately informed Diesel about his plans of not coming back into the franchise. "I was very surprised by Vin's recent post. This past June, when Vin and I actually connected not over social media, I told him directly - and privately - that I would not be returning to the franchise," Johnson said in the interview. The Rock also pointed out that he also informed Universal Pictures about his plans. The "Jumanji" actor then said that the company was "very supportive" of his decisions and that they understood the "problem." Johnson did not further the specifics on the "problem" he mentioned. Although the former WWE superstar said that he was "firm and cordial" with his words during his encounter with Diesel, the actor noted that he would still be "supportive" on the casts of "Fast and Furious" and root for the franchise to be successful. "There was no chance I would return [to "Fast and Furious"]," Johnson underscored. READ NEXT: Dwayne Johnson Surprises Mom With a New Car for Christmas The Rock Calls Vin Diesel's Instagram Post as "Manipulation" As Swayne Johnson firmly reiterated that he would not come back to "Fast and Furious" as a cast, The Rock also commented on the Instagram post of his co-star Vin Diesel on Instagram, calling it an act of "manipulation." "Vin's recent public post is an example of his manipulation," The Rock said, explaining that he did not want the way Diesel brought up his children in the post, as well as the death of Paul Walker, urging the actor to "leave them out of it." The actor then noted that they spoke with each other "months ago," and they both came to a "clear" understanding. "My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible 'Fast and Furious' franchise with gratitude and grace. It's unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters," Johnson emphasized. Despite not joining the cast of "Fast and Furious" back, Johnson reiterated that he wishes success to his former co-stars and crewmembers. He also pointed out that he is "confident" in the ability of the "Fast and Furious" universe to deliver consistently to the audience. Vin Diesel's Instagram Post In November, Vin Diesel took to Instagram to post a photo of him and Dwayne Johnson to call on the actor to go back to the latest installment of the "Fast and Furious" franchise. In the IG post, Diesel called The Rock his "little brother," saying that Johnson has a "very important role to play." Diesel then called The Rock a part of his family as his children called Johnson "Uncle Dwayne," claiming that his kids and the "San Andreas" actor never failed to send "well-wishes" with each other. It can be recalled that a feed between the two actors surfaced in 2016 when Dwayne Johnson called some of his male co-stars "candy a**es" and "unprofessional." READ NEXT: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Surprises Navy Veteran Fan After He Was 'Moved' By His Story This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: Dwayne Johnson Opens Up About His Feud With Vin Diesel - From ET Canada Denver shooting spree suspect Lyndon McLeod, who shot and killed five people on Monday night, has reportedly written and published a novel. Most of the victims were connected to the tattoo industry. According to Daily Mail, McLeod's self-published novel tells the story of a character with his name that murders people at tattoo parlors as an act of revenge against the world. The 47-year-old gunman was known as an extremist with psychiatric problems and had violent material on his social media. Police killed him on Monday at the end of his shooting rampage across Denver. McLeod self-published a series of novels online from 2018 to 2020 under the pseudonym Roman McClay. One of the books features a character named "Lydon McLeod" who opens fire to a tattoo parlor in downtown Denver. The McLeod in the book goes on a six-month killing rampage that killed 46 people who had wronged him throughout his life. One of his stories also featured a character who murdered someone at an apartment complex, which is similar to the site of one of the shootings. READ NEXT: Denver Shooting Kills Five Including Suspect; Police Identifies Gunman Lyndon McLeod and Denver Shooting Lyndon McLeod posted videos online of himself that showed living an isolated life in the mountains, living out of a storage container, as well as frequently shooting guns. McLeod posted a photo of himself holding a long gun on an Instagram profile with a user handle @sanctionthebook, which has now been taken down, CBS Local News reported. He did several interviews and podcasts on YouTube five months ago, mainly about his book series. The Denver shooting suspect had already come on to the radar of police and had conducted an investigation on him twice. However, they did not find a reason to charge him. Police did not also say why there was a concern. Law enforcement sources claimed that McLeod has a history of psychiatric episodes, including being inclined to alt-right conspiracy theories online. He also shared COVID conspiracy meme that shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates talking about an "injectable nanoworm," New York Post reported. The Denver Shooting Suspect as Roman McClay Denver police Chief Paul Pazen did not confirm McLeod's pen name, which is Roman McClay. However, news outlet The Denver Post confirmed the pen name through an acquaintance of McLeod's. McLeod's family said they were devastated by McLeod's actions while mourning the victims of his attack. He named both Alicia Cardenas and Michael Swinyard as murder victims in his novels. Cardenas, 44, and Swinyard, 67, were both killed in the Denver shooting on Monday. The first book reads that "killing people nourished the soul." It also stated that the "murders were like food in the belly, like wine at rest on the tongue." The tattoo shop is also named in the suspect's novels. McLeod was seen near a Wells Fargo bank during the shooting, according to police. McLeod's novels also stated that the bank is the target of a robbery. He described banks in his book as the "largest corporate criminal." READ MORE: Michigan School Mass Shooting: Parents of Ethan Crumbley, Who Killed 4 Fellow Students and Injured 7 Others, May Face Charges This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: 5 Killed In Shootings: Books, Social Media Posts By Suspect Lyndon McLeod Include Rants And Fantasies - From CBS Denver A California man was arrested in Iowa after after he told police his intention of killing "persons in power," including President Joe Biden while driving straight to the White House. According to NBC News, authorities said in court papers Wednesday that Kuachua Brillion Xiong was arrested in Iowa after telling law enforcement officers during a traffic stop that he would "do whatever it takes" to kill government leaders on his "hit list." California Man Reveals 'Hit List' on Authorities That Includes Joe Biden, Anthony Fauci Mark Zuckerburg The "hit list" of the heavily armed California man included not only Joe Biden but also the president's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci. The sheriff's records showed that Xiong was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs since Thursday. READ NEXT: Pres. Joe Biden Signs $768 Billion Defense Bill, but Complains It Won't Let Him Close Guantanamo Bay in Cuba California Man Creates 'Hit List' on TikTok Videos, Plans to Die in White House In a criminal complaint, Secret Service Agent Justin Larson wrote that Xiong was pulled over on December 21 in Cass County and found to have an AR-15-type rifle, ammunition, loaded magazines, body armor, and even medical kits. Larson added that the 25-year-old California man had been driving from his home near Sacramento, California, since December 18 "with the intention of driving straight to the White House... to kill persons in power." Speaking with investigators, Xiong revealed that the "evil individuals he intended to kill" included Biden, Fauci, former President Barack Obama, and co-founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg. The criminal complaint also mentioned that Xiong shared to a sheriff's deputy that he disapproved of Joe Biden's government and the administration. He noted that he was traveling to Washington, D.C., carrying a "hit list" of targets he saved from TikTok videos. The complaint also confirmed that Xiong used a map application on his phone and set his destination for the White House. The California man was identified as a grocery store employee from Merced. He showed investigators a drawing of the White House grounds and specified what he perceived as the "weak spot" that he identified during his pre-attack research. "He added that if released from custody, he would immediately resume traveling to the White House... and 'do whatever it takes to complete his plan," Larson wrote in the complaint. The complaint also revealed that Xiong noted that he has no intention of returning to California to see his family because he had already decided to die while fighting "evil demons in the White House." During the traffic stop, Xiong agreed to let Cass County Sheriff's Sgt. Tyler Shiels searched his car, and he later admitted that he had a weapon and ammunition. According to investigators, there were around 100 videos on Xiong's "hit list." The Los Angeles Times reported that Xiong is set to appear in court for a detention hearing on Thursday. He was charged with making threats against a former president, which is a federal crime. READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden Orders White House Flags to Be on Half-Staff Following Ex-Nevada Democrat Harry Reid's Death This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Jess Smith WATCH: Maryland Man Threatens to Kill Joe Biden and Kamala Harris - From CNBC Television The investigation into the two police officers who responded to a call involving Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in Moab, Utah is close to wrapping up. Moab Assistant Police Chief Braydon Palmer told Fox 13 that they are preparing to wrap up and release the investigation's findings. Palmer said they have already received the Petito-Laundrie report "back from the investigative entity," and their office is now reviewing the report, findings, and recommendations. "I'm hoping early to middle of next week for that to be available for release," he noted. Moab Cops Who Responded to a Call Involving Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in Utah Are Under Investigation The Moab Police Department came under intense scrutiny after the release of the footage showing two of their officers stopping and releasing Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito on August 12. In the first body camera video, Petito was seen crying and telling cops that she slapped Laundrie after an argument. In the second bodycam footage on the same August 12 domestic dispute also released by Moab police, a crying Petito told police officers that Laundrie cut her "with his nail" after she hit him. "Well he like, grabbed me with his nail, and I guess that's why it looks, I definitely have a cut right here... I can feel it, when I touch it, it burns," she reportedly said as she rubbed her cheek. The responding officers separated the couple that night, taking Laundrie to a hotel while Petito stayed in the van they traveled in. The police officers concluded that the incident was not a crime but a mental health crisis. Petito was reported missing after a few weeks. After the police department received backlash, Moab police chief Bret Edge took a leave of absence, and the cops involved had been under investigation for their handling of the couple's dispute. READ NEXT: 'Brian Laundrie Is Still Alive,' Claims an Email in Laundrie's Estate Case as Gabby Petito's Mom Files to Collect Her Belongings From Fiance's Home Moab Police in Utah Allegedly Profited From Gabby Petito's Bodycam Video Thousands of dollars in fees have reportedly been collected by Moab police in Utah from various media organizations in exchange for Gabby Petito's bodycam footage. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the city collected nearly $3,000 in exchange for the release of body camera footage of officers pulling over Petito and Laundrie outside of Arches National Park. The amount, totaling around $2,940, was reported to be about three times what the department had expected to collect this year in records fee revenue. Based on the document obtained by The Tribune, the police department charged a $98 video processing fee to 30 media entities that requested the footage, which seemed to violate Utah law. Public record law states that agencies can only charge for the "actual costs" of providing a record. City spokesperson Lisa Church did not directly say that the decision to collect a processing fee for the footage was a mistake. But Church earlier admitted that it fell outside Moab's normal fee schedule and that the city generally tries to provide records requests from media entities for free. She told The Tribune that she did not know how the police department arrived at the $98 fee amount per request. Church further noted that even if one person were charged a fee, once a certain document is created, "everybody else should not have been charged." She said the police department released a second video from the same incident days later for no charge. Church noted that the fees that Moab police charged in exchange for the footage would be refunded. Petito disappeared on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie. The couple was traveling to Oregon when the YouTuber stopped communicating with her family in Wyoming in late August. Laundrie was named a person of interest by the North Port police in Florida after returning home on September 1 or 10 days before Petito was reported missing by her family. Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19. A Teton County, Wyoming coroner said she was strangled to death by a "human being," and the manner of death was homicide. After a month-long manhunt, the North Port police and the FBI agents found Laundrie's remains in a swampy area of Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on October 20. The partial skeletal remains were confirmed to belong to him after a review of dental records. According to the autopsy report, Brian Laundrie died of a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was suicide. READ MORE: Gabby Petito Family to Celebrate First Christmas Without Her, Takes Action to Ensure No One Else Suffer the Same This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Utah Experts Weigh in on Interaction Between Moab Police and Gabby Petito, Brian Laundrie - From FOX 13 News Utah ADP Research Institute will release the December findings of the ADP National Employment Report, ADP Small Business Report and ADP National Franchise Report on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 8:15 a.m. ET. READ NEXT: ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 534,000 Jobs in November Due to the important contribution that small businesses make to economic growth, ADP Research Institute issues the ADP Small Business Report independently of the ADP National Employment Report. The ADP Small Business Report offers detailed private sector employment data that are specific to businesses with 49 or fewer employees. Broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge, the ADP National Employment Report and ADP Small Business Report are derived from ADP payroll data representing 460,000 U.S. clients and nearly 26 million workers, and are published by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Moody's Analytics. The ADP National Franchise Report measures monthly changes in franchise employment. The matched sample used to develop the ADP National Franchise Report is derived from ADP payroll data, which represents 15,000 franchisors and franchisees employing nearly one million U.S. workers. Following the release of the ADP National Employment Report, ADP Chief Economist, Nela Richardson will provide context on the employment data and answer questions from media during the conference call. Journalists are invited to access the call by dialing: 1-800-675-6207. This is an operator-assisted conference call dial-in number and there is no passcode required. READ MORE: November 2021 ADP National Employment Report, ADP Small Business Report, ADP National Franchise Report to Be Released Next Week Covid-19 has made its way back into prisons around Ireland with the two jails in Portlaoise both managing outbreaks. The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has confirmed that it is managing four active outbreaks of Covid-19 in Wheatfield, Mountjoy in Dublin and the Midlands and Portlaoise Prisons in Laois. "The Irish Prison Service can confirm, a number of staff and prisoners have tested positive for Covid-19 in Mountjoy, Midlands and Portlaoise Prisons," said a statement. The IPS said total of seven prisoners from C Division in Portlaoise Prison have tested positive for Covid-19. It added that an Outbreak Control Team has been established and the C Division is operating on a restricted regime until mass testing of staff and prisoners is complete. There are 215 prisoners behind bars in the high security jail. The Service confirmed that one prisoner from G Division in Midlands Prison has tested positive for Covid-19. An Outbreak Control Team has also been established and the G Division is operating on a restricted regime until mass testing of staff and prisoners is complete. A total of 813 inmates were in jail at the prison on December 30. There are also problems in Dublin where there outbreaks are bigger. A total of 22 prisoners from C & D Divisions in Mountjoy Prison have tested positive for Covid-19. Outbreak Control Team is operating and a restricted regime is in place to facilitate mass testing. Given the high rate of staff positives detected in Wheatfield prison, Public Health has agreed with the Outbreak Control Team to carry out a third round of staff testing. To date, there are currently no positive prisoners in Wheatfield Prison and both physical/video visits remain in operation under strict infection control measures. Both video and physical visits remain in operation for all prisons across the estate. However, where there is an active outbreak of Covid-19, a restricted regime is implemented until mass testing is complete. The IPS say Outbreak Control Teams and prison management have implemented additional infection control measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to the wider prison population in Wheatfield, Mountjoy, Midlands and Portlaoise . The Service says it is working closely with Public Health, HSE with regard to the management of the current outbreaks including the testing arrangements of staff and prisoners if required. A statement concluded that at all points, Outbreak Control Teams (OCT) are guided by advice from local Public Health clinicians and meetings with Public Health are convened at regular intervals throughout the course of each outbreak. A Dublin woman who is a Baroness in the House of Lords had given high praise to the staff of Portlaoise hospital for the care given to her Laois-born husband. Baroness Dee Doocey was married to Jim Doocey from Mountrath. She is a British Liberal Democrat politician and businesswoman. A former Chair of the London Assembly, she was created a life peer in 2010 and is now the inaugural Chair of the House of Lords Finance Committee. She has written a public letter of thanks in which she thanked the staff of the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise for the care provided to her husband during 2021. I want to commend and thank the many staff of Portlaoise Hospital, who cared for my husband, Jim, with unimaginable dedication and warmth in the last days of his life. Jim was born in Mountrath. He was educated there, and in Portlaoise, though he left Ireland in his teens and spent the rest of his life in London. We married in 1969 and were lucky to have a son, Mark, and 52 very happy years together. Jim suffered three strokes during 2017 but he managed to live a full life for the next four years. This September, he said he would like to go to Mountrath, and we arrived for the weekend on the 30th. We spent a lovely evening with his family but he had a massive, final stroke the next day. He was rushed to Portlaoise hospital where he was put under the care of Dr John Connaughton an inspirational doctor. Expert, compassionate, direct and open, he both cared for Jim and ensured that Mark and I had clear information on his condition, however hard it was to hear. Meanwhile, the level of care provided by the nursing staff (led by Sister Preetha Thomas), the auxiliary staff and the porters was way beyond anything we could have wished for. Nothing was too much trouble for them in caring for Jim and in caring for us as we sat with him for his last hours. The people of Laois are very fortunate to have such an exceptionally good hospital on their doorstep. I know without a shadow of doubt that my husband could not have received better care from staff at any hospital the world over. Their kindness made the worst experience of our lives bearable and we shall forever be grateful. Thank you, concluded the letter. The former leader of the Labour Party is seeking government action over the presence of 43 derelict buildings in the Curragh Camp. It follows after Minister for Defence Simon Coveney promised that his Department would will spend 16.5 million. He further claimed that the govt has spent 17.5 million in recent years in order to try and resolve the issue. According to a recent report from The Irish Sun, Brendan Howlin TD said: "Our Defence Minister previously described the Curragh Camp as the flagship of our military establishment, and while many people will agree with him on that, there are issues." "The public image when visiting the camp is important and the fact that there are 43 derelict buildings is not acceptable and should be prioritised," he added. Mr Howlin also said that adequate housing and showering facilities should be provided for enlisted members of the Permanent Defence Forces. The issue of derelict buildings is not unique to the Curragh Camp: last month, a motion regarding derelict and vacant houses was voted down at the Kildare Draft Budget 2022 meeting. In related Curragh news, Kildare County Council have been urged to enforcement action over the vandalised former Curragh Post Office. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. A COVID Tsunami is threatening to overwhelm healthcare systems around the world, the WHO has warned. The stark message came as record Covid-19 figures brought by the Omicron variant were recorded globally once again. The worrying surge was illustrated by AFPs tally of 6.55 million new infections reported globally in the week ending Tuesday, the highest the figure has been since the World Health Organization declared a Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. I am highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. This is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers, and health systems on the brink of collapse. Dr Tony Holohan also issued a warning after Wednesday recorded the highest daily total for Covid-19 cases in Ireland. Every member of the public should consider themselves potentially infectious after a record 16,428 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed, the chief medical officer has said. Wednesday saw the highest daily total of Covid-19 cases, with numbers in hospital rising by 47 to 568, with 93 in intensive care, up one. A total of 22 deaths were notified in the past week, bringing the total linked to the disease to 5,912. But there was some hope as data indicated a decoupling of the number of cases and hospitalisations. We should not become complacent, top US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday. But all indications point to a lesser severity of Omicron, he said. The government is considering reducing the isolation period for Omicron cases and close contacts to five days, according to a report in The Irish Times. As a record 16,428 cases were confirmed last night, one Minister told the newspaper that a review of the isolation period will be something "on the agenda of Cabinet very early in the new year." The source added: "If numbers continue to rise at the rate they are at now, the sheer numbers of people in isolation will have a huge impact on jobs and the economy." It follows after the Centre for Disease Control, or CDC, this week reduced the number of days of self-isolation for positive Covid-19 cases from 10 days to five, so long as said cases are asymptomatic. The CDC also reduced the quarantine period for close contacts. In addition, the newspaper reported that the govt has based the potential changes on research which suggests that Omicron is a milder variant of Covid-19, yet is nonetheless capable of resulting in far more infections. Speaking on the widespread cases of Omicron throughout Ireland yesterday, Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan said: All of the latest epidemiological indicators are a cause of concern." "The Omicron variant is accelerating rapidly in the community and given the very high levels of transmission of this new variant nationwide." He added: "Every individual should consider themselves potentially infectious, and strictly adhere to the public health measures by washing hands regularly, keeping a safe distance from others, avoiding crowded places and reducing social contacts as much as possible." His sentiments were echoed by HSE CEO Paul Reid, who told RTE News that the variant is "running rife in our communities." A PROMINENT member of the Travelling community who chopped at an elderly man, with a machete has been jailed for ten years. John ODonoghue, aged 53, who has an address at Park House, Main Street, Rathkeale had denied several charges relating to a violent incident in the town four years ago. However, he was found guilty by a jury of causing serious harm to William ODriscoll following a week-long trial which took place in early November. During a sentencing hearing, before Christmas, Detective Sergeant Mike Reidy said there was a history between the pair as Mr ODonoghue is married to Mr ODriscolls niece. He said the then 74-year-old victim had returned to Rathkeale a number of days earlier, for the first time in 17 years, to attend a family occasion and gathering. He said Mr ODriscoll was viciously attacked as he crossed the road on the morning of December 16, 2017. Detective Sergeant Reidy told Lily Buckley BL, instructed by State solicitor Aidan Judge, that two black cars had pulled up and that Mr ODonoghue got out of one of the vehicles. The defendant, who was previously jailed for assaulting one of Mr ODriscolls sons, produced a machete which was about two and-a-half feet long. Ms Buckley recounted how the jury was told Mr ODonoghue, who lives away from Rathkeale for eleven months of the year, had come for the pensioner and began swinging the machete. She told Judge Patrick Meghen that all of the parties were known to each other and that identification was not an issue in the case. Witnesses described how they saw Mr ODonoghue making a chopping motion as he repeatedly struck Mr ODriscoll after he was knocked to the ground. The pensioner sustained serious injuries in the attack including a skull fracture and several lacerations to his nose, face and forearm. A medical report, prepared for the court, confirmed the injuries inflicted were serious and that the victim could have died had he suffered a brain bleed following the assault. He sustained permanent scarring as a result of the incident and, in a victim impact statement, described how people he knows are still unsettled when they see him. l live with the visible scars and mental trauma he wrote. During the sentencing hearing, which lasted for nearly two hours, Detective Sergeant Reidy described how several other individuals had prevented relatives of Mr ODriscoll coming to his aid while he was being attacked. While there was evidence during the trial that Mr ODonoghue had made threats during the altercation, he was found not guilty of that charge by the jury. In his submission to the court, Michael Bowman SC, defending, said his client the eldest of 11 siblings runs a successful business abroad and that he had helped gardai during Christmas 2020 to encourage younger members of the Travelling community to abide by the Covid regulations which were in place at the time. He made arrangements to speak with locals, he stated as he submitted more than a dozen testimonials and references to the court for its consideration. In relation to the medical report, Mr Bowman suggested the victims life was never actually at risk as he did not lose consciousness or suffer any internal bleeding. His wounds were stitched and sutured, he was released (from hospital) on painkiller medication, he commented. The barrister also disagreed with the DPPs view that the offence was at the upper end of the scale suggesting it was a bit lower. Seeking leniency, he asked Judge Meghen to note his clients personal circumstances including that he is functionally illiterate and that his daughter was due to give birth to her first child over Christmas. Imposing sentence, the judge said he was satisfied the assault was premeditated and unprovoked and in the upper range of the scale. He acted in concert with three others, it is clear he was the ringleader, he commented. The judge noted Mr ODonoghue had not expressed any remorse and he said his previous convictions were an aggravating factor. In the circumstances, he said he was not willing to suspend any portion of the ten-year sentence. ALMOST 50,000 cases were brought before the courts in Limerick over the past twelve months, the head of the Limerick gardai division has revealed. Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche has praised the incredible work being done by gardai in Limerick and says the number of prosecutions being brought before the courts in Limerick is considerably more than in Cork. The courts are extremely busy, we have up to six courts a day running in the city (plus Kilmallock and Newcastle West courts) and up to November 1, we had 39,000 cases dealt with. We expect that to end up at around 49 to 50 thousand cases over 221 court dates thats about double what it is in Cork, he told the quarterly meeting of the Limerick Joint Policing Committee. Updating members on crime trends across the division, Chief Supt Roche said the Covid-19 situation is continuing to have an impact on the figures. The figures are artificial in regards to Covid policing. There are still an awful lot of people working from home and this has reduced the number of burglaries particularly throughout the county, he commented adding that some of the policing priorities changed in the first quarter of 2021 with the easing of public health restrictions. While there has been a reduction in most categories of crime, one area of concern is domestic abuse. Its very much a national concern its up 21% (in Limerick), he said adding that Operation Faoisimh is working very effectively across the division. Our call backs are up by over 80% at the moment so nearly everybody who rings in we are able to get back to them. Its a worry and its reflective of Covid and whats going on with people being at home all the time and then different things happening with regards to schools and the abuse of drugs and alcohol which is not good, Chief Supt Roche told the meeting. Incidents categorised as domestic abuse include breaches of court orders, domestic disputes or any incident with a domestic MO. A LIMERICK-based start-up company is finding the perfect tune after being nominated for two digital awards. Huggnote, which is located in Bishopsgate in the city, has been chosen as a finalist in the digital impact category at the prestigious National Digital Awards. On top of this, its co-founder and chief executive Jacqui Meskell is in the running for the title of digital trailblazer of the year. The company, which Jacqui set up with her sister Perry, turns your thoughts into specially designed pieces of music and sends them to loved ones. Jacqui says Christmas is always a busy time for the company, and even more so during the Covid-19 period, with people not able to meet up face-to-face, and requiring a more personalised gift. Music is emotion and a powerful re-kindler of memories - capable of releasing the same hormones as a physical hug. And so knowing that our app is helping people to emotionally connect with loved ones especially over the holiday season at the end of a very difficult year is so gratifying said co-founder Perry. The National Digital Awards are designed to reward businesses, organisations, people and innovations and are held by digital commerce representative group Digital Business Ireland and the financial institution Permanent TSB. A POPULAR Limerick artist has donated a painting to University Hospital Limerick (UHL) paying tribute to the work that its front-line staff have done in the pandemic. Una Heaton, photographed, painted a picture, which was inscribed with the phrase, 'Give yourself a hug, you deserve it', in part to acknowledge the fact we've not been able to hug loved ones during the almost two-year restrictions. The painting shows a medical worker, dressed from head-to-toe in protective gear hugging a patient. In a Tweet, UHL praised Una for her "lovely gesture". Lovely gesture from local artist Una Heaton who acknowledged the dedication of our frontline workers this year with the gift of a painting. The inscription reads: 'Give yourself a hug, you deserve it.'#TeamULHG#OurHealthService@HSELive pic.twitter.com/37mU5uVF5Z UL Hospitals (@ULHospitals) December 30, 2021 Una, who put brush to easel in July, said the work done by medical staff has been "incredible". "We don't know how dangerous the whole thing is and how tiring it can be for family and friends, and they are just going about their duty and they don't know if they will be picking up the virus. They are putting their lives on the line for people's welfare," she said. "The painting shows a hug can go a long way. You cannot hug people at the moment, but you can give a virtual hug," the artist added, "I think we should have billboards all over the country saying give yourself a hug because someone else can't give one to you." The painting now hangs proudly at UHL for patients in the Dooradoyle facility. Una hopes: "It will bring a bit of humanity to people when they look back and think of what they've been through, and what we can come through if we work together." Coronavirus continued to cast its shadow over Ireland in 2021, but the year brought uplifting moments too, including Olympic triumphs and the sighting of a walrus off the Atlantic coast by a five-year-old girl. Ireland started 2021 under Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions, which were eased later in the year before rising cases brought fresh measures in November. A sign outside the Academy music venue in Dublin city centre (Brian Lawless/PA) Away from Covid, the year began with heavy rain and gales as Storm Christoph moved in. A car makes it way along a flooded road beneath a railway bridge in Bettystown, Co Meath (Niall Carson/PA) January also saw Joe Bidens links with Ireland celebrated as he was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. Doctor Catherine Hallahan with an American flag at her familys hairdressers in Ballina, Co Mayo, to mark Joe Bidens inauguration Mr Biden has ancestral links to the area on the west coast of Ireland, as well as on the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth (Niall Carson/PA) A wintry chill was felt in February, bringing ice, snow and cold winds. Sheep in the snow at Glenasmole, Co Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) Flooding hit parts of Ireland later in the month. A man stops to take a picture of floodwater at the Bishop Casey Memorial Park in Mallow, Co Cork, after the River Blackwater burst its banks (Niall Carson/PA) March brought some cheer, as a walrus thought to have drifted over to Ireland from the Arctic was spotted by five-year-old Muireann Houlihan. Five-year-old Muireann Houlihan with the walrus she spotted along the coast of Valentia Island, Co Kerry (Alan Houlihan/PA) The annual St Patricks Day festivities brought colour to the streets alongside the social distancing. People celebrate St Patricks Day on OConnell Street in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore became the first female winner of the Grand National in April, having become the first woman to win Cheltenhams Champion Hurdle the month before. Jockey Rachael Blackmore receives the Randox Grand National Handicap Chase trophy after winning on Minella Times at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool (David Davies/PA) June saw protesters descend on Dublin to demand a 100% redress scheme for homes and properties affected by bricks contaminated with mica. Protesters during a demonstration in Dublin over the mica scandal (Niall Carson/PA) Fans of James Joyce celebrated the life of the Irish writer on Bloomsday, which is observed annually on June 16, the day Joyces 1922 novel Ulysses takes place in 1904. People celebrating Bloomsday in Duke Street, Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) In June, fishermen from around the Irish coast gathered in Dublin to protest over cuts to quotas, the impact of Brexit and the EU Common Fisheries Policy. Trawlers gather outside the Convention Centre in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) The annual National Day of Commemoration, which remembers all Irishmen and Irishwomen who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations, was marked at Collins Barracks in Dublin. The event in July also marked the 100th anniversary of the truce in the Irish War of Independence between 1919-21. The Irish Air Corps perform a flypast during the National Day of Commemoration ceremony (Brian Lawless/PA) Temperatures soared above 30C in July as the country basked in a heatwave. A woman makes her way into the sea at Seapoint in Dublin on a hot summers day (Brian Lawless/PA) The summer also saw sporting success for Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics. Irish rowers with their gold and bronze medals, left to right, Emily Hegarty, Fiona Murtagh, Paul ODonovan, Fintan McCarthy, Aifric Keogh and Eimear Lambe, at Dublin Airport following their return from the Olympics (Damien Eagers/PA) Country music star Garth Brooks was the centre of attention in November as he visited Dublin to promote his much-anticipated Irish concerts next September. Country music star Garth Brooks on the roof of Croke Park in Dublin (/PA) In December, Storm Barra brought disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow to Ireland. Even as Covid-19 infections surge across Maharashtra, health minister Rajesh Tope said on Thursday that schools across the state will stay open for now. Schools students (15-18 years) should be taken in batches to vaccination centres. This will result in a high rate of vaccination. Schools will not be closed as of now," news agency ANI quoted Tope as saying. This comes a day after state minister Aditya Thackeray said that a decision to close schools and colleges would be taken after assessing the situation in Maharashtra after 15 days. The Maharashtra Health Minister during his press event also mentioned that around 4000 cases had been reported in Mumbai in a day. The day's positivity rate stood 8.48%. The Health minister urged everyone to use SGTF kits to differentiate between Omicron and Delta plus variants. He also said that vaccination drives would take place in full speed". Mumbai on Wednesday had recorded an 82% jump in cases. The finance capital recorded 2510 fresh Covid cases in a day. Authorities thereafter imposed section 144 or the CrPc in the capital city oh Maharashtra and have banned all kinds of gatherings on New Year's Eve and New Year. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. In 2018, Los Angeles-based saxophonist Sam Gendel convinced one of his favorite restaurants in Laurel Canyon, Pace, to let him play a weekly residency there. He also did the same with Mh Zh, a Greek restaurant a brief ride farther to the east on Sunset Boulevard. His intention was to blend into the background, to be part of the relaxed atmosphere. Some weeks he performed out on the sidewalk, other times inside the restaurant; some weeks he performed solo, other times he was joined by bass player Sam Wilkes. The diners present at Mh Zh those nights might not have paid attention to any of the music the two Sams conjured with only saxophone and electric bass, but there was a ripple effect to such smooth sounds. "The restaurant mood of 'jazzy restaurant vibes' was in consideration, for sure," says Matthew McQueen, who runs the Leaving Records label and dined a few times to catch the two at play. "It was an experiment for them to play within that realm of 'jazz ambiance at restaurants.' " A few months on, McQueen released some of that dinner music as "Music For Saxofone & Bass Guitar" on a small run of cassettes. Yet its appeal went beyond diners and by 2021, it had gone through a few more pressings, racked up more than 2 million plays on Spotify and appeared on the "Malcolm & Marie" soundtrack. Like all good things, such popularity begot a sequel this past summer, "Music For Saxofone & Bass Guitar More Songs." Gendel had a low-key yet bustling 2021. That's him choppin' and screwin' Laurie Anderson, adding to the new age ambiance of Carlos Nino's blissful "More Energy Fields, Current"; sounding the ghosts on Sam Amidon's ethereal folk album; and adding poignant saxophone to one of the year's heaviest rap albums, Mach-Hommy's "Balens Cho." My favorite Gendel project might have been "Mouthfeel/ Serene," a woozy duo with Josiah Steinbrick that sent his horn through so many electronics until it became a will-o'-wisp hovering in the music. There was also "Fresh Bread," more than 3 1/2 hours of loopy, catchy, surrealistic tracks from over the past few years suited for the shuffle function. Gendel's work joined other albums for a notable year in which a certain strain of jazz mingled with electronics and drew increasingly closer to a wider audience. A Pitchfork think piece meditated on albums like "Promises," the critically acclaimed collaboration between electronic producer Floating Points and spiritual jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and harpist Nala Sinephro's debut album, "Space 1.8," deeming such "soothing moods and healing frequencies" to be a new genre: "ambient jazz." Meanwhile, a New Yorker profile on Gendel and Wilkes grappled with the idea of whether they were "not primarily a jazz duo but an electronic-production team, providing listeners with not many notes but a great deal of ambiance." But rather than hand-wringing over labels, there's already a handy genre tag familiar to radio programmers, shopping malls and chiropractic waiting rooms nationwide to describe this sound: smooth jazz. Maligned as soulless, insipid, ignorable, tasteful as paste, few sounds are as instantly reviled as the genre of "smooth jazz." Just take a look at HBO's recent documentary "Listening to Kenny G," wherein director Penny Lane grapples with the legacy of poodle-haired punching bag Kenny Gorelick, the circular breathing saxophonist who balances the descriptor of "the best-selling instrumental artist ever" and "the worst musician of all time" with equal aplomb and obliviousness. The film and its talking heads likened G's music to furniture, wallpaper, masturbation, and in the words of former New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff, "a corporate attempt to soothe my nerves." But well before Kenny G's "Songbird" gently drilled into our subconscious via a million dentist offices and "Going Home" became China's unofficial anthem to leave factories or stop shopping at the mall, smooth jazz shadowed more impassioned, inspired jazz, overtaking it on the charts and in the popular imagination. Early smooth blueprints from the late 1970s, like Chuck Mangione's "Feel So Good" and Spyro Gyra's "Morning Dance," all but blocked out the light on legends like Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins and up-and-comers on New York's loft scene of the same era. By the '80s, as Chris Washburne, professor of jazz performance at Columbia University, notes in the film: "Traditional jazz had been quite marginalized economically and the opportunities for jazz musicians was dwindling." Purists scoffed as plenty of players embraced fusion or delved into jazz-funk. It was heresy to the critics, and for some jazz musicians, when pivoting to "smooth jazz" became the move to avoid obsolescence (or going back to working at a restaurant). Meanwhile, Kenny G wormed deeply into American consciousness and into your social network, unavoidable by this point in the 21st century, whether he's tooting along with Warren G, Katy Perry, the Weeknd or Kanye West. The film points out one of the most glaring issues with Kenny G as a jazz artist, his ahistoric approach to a century-old tradition, shrugging at John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, saying that their "music was never heartfelt for me." Time has a funny way of flattening out the peaks and valleys of taste, though. Ratliff laments the loss of jazz history amid Gorelick's platinum sheen, but he's also amused by the thought that there are "things about it that are so alien to us now that they're kind of cool." Such alien cool resonates now. It's a weird time and such music reflects that reality, hoping to find a way to take the edge off. Gendel and Wilkes make music that has all the wooziness and knock of a J Dilla beat, but listen to their version of the Beach Boys' ballad "Caroline, No." Gendel's playing is nowhere near as unobtrusive as say, Boney James or David Sanborn, but he and Wilkes are unafraid to embrace such smoothness. The Beach Boys song remains familiar and hummable, but not overly so; it's warm and inviting, even as it picks up in cadence and transports you to a smooth new environ. The genius of these albums lies in its mingling of "smooth jazz" with other forms. And in that, Gendel & Wilkes were not alone. Danish duo Bremer/ McCoy's contemplative "Natten" and Fuubutsushi's 4-CD box set, "Shiki," harked back to the days of ECM's icy smoothness. Vibraphonist Patricia Brennan pushed her instrument from its placid, chiming bell timbre into a head-swirling foreground on "Maquishti." For "Switched On Ra," Chicago's Bitchin' Bajas filtered the Sun Ra songbook through a battery of modular synths, moving it from outer space to the terra firma of bachelor pad listening. All of them offer up wrinkles amid their smoothness. At the start of the pandemic, there was solace to be found in the fortitude and passion of spiritual jazz, something that could sustain and embolden its listeners through the upheaval of the times, whose worries which included - but were not limited to - the coronavirus and its attendant public health crises, the George Floyd protests and the 2020 election. A letdown has followed in 2021, due to few of the above worries being ameliorated. A sense of exhaustion, resignation, disappointment, the promise of normal pushed back ever further on the horizon, has taken hold. So why turn to smooth jazz? Is it a symptom of age, resignation, a non-covid loss of taste? Or might it just be something as simple as Kenny G's shrug in the film: "I don't see anything wrong with something that's easy to listen to." Maybe we need something cool and easy right about now, music that can just dissolve into the wallpaper and houseplants without much worry. There's a nostalgia that such music conjures, not to the good times so much as to a time when it didn't feel fraught to sit in a waiting room, perusing a magazine that didn't need to be sanitized. At a time when indoor dining can seem like a bygone time, it felt like a pleasant luxury to put on "Music For Saxofone & Bass Guitar More Songs" or any of the above artists and imagine you've just finished that last forkful of the famous cedar plank salmon at Pace (or any other indoor dining experience) and pushed away from the table. You take in the ambiance of the room, the chatter of people all around you and for a fleeting instant, all feels well. Click here to read the full article. Dwayne Johnson has publicly declined Fast & Furious series star Vin Diesels request to rejoin the action franchise for its upcoming 10th mainline entry. In November, Diesel extended an invitation to Johnson on Instagram, imploring Johnson to reprise his role as secret agent Lucas Hobbs for the next entry in the series. The world awaits the finale of Fast 10, Diesel wrote. As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you dont send well wishes but the time has come. Legacy awaits. I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10! In a new interview with CNN, Johnson responded to the request, criticizing Diesel for voicing an invite on social media after the two had already reached an agreement in private. I told [Diesel] directly that I would not be returning to the franchise. I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return, Johnson explained. Vins recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didnt like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walkers death. Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding. However, Johnson went on to express his well wishes for the Fast & Furious family ahead of their next, and ostensibly penultimate, outing. My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible franchise with gratitude and grace, Johnson said. Its unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters. Regardless, Im confident in the Fast universe and its ability to consistently deliver for the audience I truly wish my former co-stars and crew members the best of luck and success in the next chapter. Johnson joined the Fast & Furious franchise with 2011s Fast Five. At first, his Agent Hobbs is an antagonist to Diesels Dominic Toretto, though Johnsons character later joins his family of physics-defying heroes. Johnson bowed out of the mainline series following his appearance in 2017s The Fate of the Furious, teaming up with Jason Statham to headline a spin-off, 2019s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. F9: The Fast Saga was one of the few success stories for theatrical releases during this past summer, grossing $173 million domestically and $721 million worldwide. Fast & Furious 10 is set to hit theaters on April 7, 2023. Diesel will return to star, while regular series cast members Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Chris Ludacris Bridges, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez are expected to buckle up for the film. F9 helmer and frequent series director Justin Lin will also return for the follow-up. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Theres much talk of the proverbial British stiff upper lip in Munich: The Edge of War, as that dignified reserve mutates into damaging caution in matters of politics, days away from the start of the Second World War. In the films opening scene, a German Oxford student criticizes his host country as being distant from feeling, but if theres some truth to his observation, this British-German co-production largely takes the same aloof tack. Immersively crafted but never emotionally involving, director Christian Schwochows handsome imagining of underground attempts to prevent war during the 1938 Munich conference flip-flops between the perspectives of George MacKays English political aide and Jannis Niewohners German turncoat, spreading its sympathies between them. The resulting historical drama is unavoidably sapped of tension by our knowledge of precisely what happened next, though its gripping enough on an in-the-moment basis. Based on a novel by wartime fiction specialist Robert Harris, the films stern, businesslike demeanor and rich period detail lend it a ring of truth, though its ticking-clock timeline is only a notch less outlandish than the wildly ahistorical remix of First World War lore in Matthew Vaughans The Kings Man. Still, war history buffs willing to suspend disbelief should be the prime target for this polished Netflix production. For MacKay, meanwhile, Munich may outwardly seem a logical follow-up to his breakout turn in the war-themed 1917, though its a surprisingly muted showcase for the star. As Hugh Legat, a dour, by-the-book Whitehall secretary plunged over his head into an urgent espionage mission, hes ultimately stuck playing the less expressive and less adventurous of the films two principal roles. Playing Paul von Hartman, a German nationalist turned undercover resistance agent, the excellent Niewohner (fresh from Schwochows other 2021 premiere, Je Suis Karl) has both the livelier character and the more gung-ho narrative arc. But its the Englishmans perspective not just that of Hugh, but Jeremy Irons dry, decent but fatally unheroic Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain that this predominantly English-language affair ultimately favors. An Oxford-set 1932 prologue briefly introduces Hugh and Paul as carousing college buddies, living it up with Pauls Jewish German girlfriend Lena (Liv Lisa Fries), before cutting to the sourer times of 1938. A workaholic seemingly long estranged from his Oxford pals, Hugh appears to have aged about 20 years in six. Ben Powers script lingers rather too long on his strained marriage to Pamela (Jessica Brown Findlay, thanklessly cast) and is slow to get to the mission at hand, as Western leaders are summoned to Munich for negotiations with Adolf Hitler (a gaunt, unnerving Ulrich Matthes), to prevent what even the most barely-informed viewer knows is inevitable. Chamberlain is peace-minded but wary of new ideas, determined to see his own stubborn strategy though. Ministerial advisors draft in Hugh to join the British contingent in Munich, and to covertly investigate intelligence offered by German allies in Hitlers employ which is where Paul, rather too long absent from proceedings, comes back into play. The old friends awkward, unexpected reunion exposes intriguing character tensions that Power and Schwochow have scant time to explore, given the urgent, ominously looming WWII-ness of it all. Though it unfolds over a generous two hours, Munich can feel dramatically cramped, restless for the miniseries form that might fit this material more naturally. It would certainly benefit from teasing out the backstory of Pauls political about-face from Nazi to radical, which would be markedly more interesting than Hughs career-versus-marriage angst. Perhaps it could even help justify the casting of the always-welcome Sandra Huller in a strangely abbreviated role as Pauls lover-conspirator in the civil service. As it is, the meat here lies principally in Hughs quiet debates of principle and political honor with Chamberlain, to whom Irons brings a melancholic, poignantly exhausted air of grace. Its easy to appreciate the restraint and intelligence with which these exchanges are written, just as there are subtle formal rewards in the films gilded, autumnal lensing and magisterial score. But theres a more impassioned, full-blooded human drama here, slipping through the filmmakers fingers a minor missed opportunity, in a story of major ones. Reviewed at London Film Festival, Oct. 13, 2021. Running time: 123 MIN. Running Time: Running time: 123 MIN. Production (U.K.-Germany) A Netflix presentation of a Turbine Studios production. Producer: Andrew Eaton. Executive producers: Rober Harris, Daniel Hetzer. Co-producer: Robert How. Crew Director: Christian Schwochow. Screenplay: Ben Power, adapted from the novel by Robert Harris. Camera: Frank Lamm. Editor: Jens Kluber. Music: Isobel Waller-Bridge. With George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons, Liv Lisa Fries, Jessica Brown Findlay, Sandra Huller, August Diehl, Alex Jennings, Ulrich Matthes. (English, German dialogue) Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Ghislaine Maxwell is guilty. Is Prince Andrew next? On Wednesday, a jury convicted Maxwell the British socialite and longtime associate of disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein of five of six charges related to sex trafficking. She is facing up to 65 years in prison. Lisa Bloom, an attorney who has represented several Epstein accusers, thinks that decision should be a warning for another famous associate of the late sex offender: I think Prince Andrew should be quaking in his royal boots, Bloom tells Rolling Stone. I think he should be concerned. Reckoning is coming for everyone who enabled Jeffrey Epstein and participated in his scheme. A jury of four men and four women, who had started deliberating on Dec. 20, convicted Maxwell sex trafficking of a minor and transporting a minor with the intent of engaging in sexual activity, as well as three counts of conspiracy; she was acquitted of one count of enticing a minor to travel across state lines. Throughout the trial, four women testified that they had been sexually abused by Epstein and that Maxwell had facilitated the abuse, as Rolling Stone has previously reported. In the wake of the guilty verdict, many across social media who had been following the high-profile case celebrated Maxwells downfall, viewing it as the uber-wealthy socialite receiving her comeuppance for decades of procuring young women for Epstein to abuse. I represent eight victims of Jeffrey Epstein, one of whom also has allegations against Ghislaine Maxwell. We are moved to tears, Bloom says. We just really cant believe it after all of these years. Shes had 60 years of freedom, and may she never walk free again. That leaves the question as to what might happen with the case of Prince Andrew, who has been accused by alleged Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre of assaulting her when she was a young woman. Giuffre has claimed that Epstein trafficked her to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was just 17. Prince Andrew has denied these allegations, saying in an interview from earlier this year that he has no recollection of ever meeting Giuffre despite the existence of a now-famous photograph of the two of them together, telling the BBC, you cant prove whether or not that photograph is faked or not. Prince Andrews defense team has been aggressively trying to get the Southern District Court of New York to drop Giuffres civil case against him. In documents filed yesterday, Prince Andrews attorney Andrew B. Brettler argued that the case should be dismissed because the court did not have jurisdiction, as Giuffre has spent the majority of the past 20 years in Australia rather than America. Giuffres lawyer told Rolling Stone that Brettlers efforts were just another in a series of tired attempts by Prince Andrew to duck and dodge the legal merits of the case Virginia Giuffre has brought against him. The defense team has also tried to block the release of court documents related to Epsteins 2009 settlement with Giuffre, which bears directly on Andrews case. Yet that argument did not succeed: On Wednesday, U.S. District Judges Lewis Kaplan and Loretta Preska in Manhattan ruled that the documents be released on Jan. 3, 2022. This is a huge setback for Prince Andrew and his defense, Florida lawyer Adam Horowitz, who has represented multiple Epstein accusers, tells Rolling Stone. He pointed out that Maxwell is mentioned 23 times in Giuffres lawsuit against the British royal. Had Maxwell been acquitted, she would have been a key witness for Prince Andrew. She could have denied all of the things that shes accused of doing with regard to Virginia and Prince Andrew. The lawsuit says that Maxwell recruited for Epstein, that she manipulated victims for Epstein, that she intimidated victims and that Virginia was actually introduced to Prince Andrew through Maxwell, Horowitz said. Obviously he can no longer call her as a favorable witness, Horowitz said. They cant call Maxwell now to refute anything. David Boies, an attorney for Guiffre, tells Rolling Stone in a statement that he sees this outcome as an opening to prosecute others who might have been involved. The jurys verdict vindicates the courage and commitment of our clients who stood up against all odds for many years to bring Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to justice, he says. They did not act, and could not have acted, alone. The scope and scale and duration of their sex trafficking crimes depended on many wealthy and powerful collaborators and co-conspirators. They too are not above the law. They too must be brought to justice. Not everyone following the case, however, feels that Maxwells downfall is a bad omen for the other men implicated in the case. The chances of Maxwell bringing anyone else down by naming names are pretty low, says one assistant US attorney, who declined to be named as he is not authorized to speak from the Department of Justice. If I was her defense attorney I wouldve said to her early on Ok, heres what happens if you get found guilty: rest of your life in prison. BUT if you have good information, and you pled guilty, I bet I can get you out in 5-10. So if she had that card, she likely wouldve played it already. Doesnt do her much benefit now. Even if any of the other cases went to trial, Maxwell likely would not make for a reliable witness, the attorney adds. [Prosecutors] just really dont need her anymore, he adds. Her credibility is gone and they probably already know whatever she can give. Regarding the guilty verdict against Maxwell specifically, attorney Sigrid McCawley, David Boies partner on the case, credits the accusers who bravely came forward. Todays verdict is a towering victory, not just for the brave women who testified in this trial, but for the women around the world whose young and tender lives were diminished and damaged by the abhorrent actions of Ghislaine Maxwell, he said in a statement. I am in awe of their sacrifice, their courage and the strength they have shown in pursuit of justice. Despite the open questions as to what this verdict may mean for Prince Andrews case, Maxwells victims, as well as their advocates, are satisfied with the result of the trial. My [soul] yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that, Guiffre said in a statement. I will remember this day always. Having lived with the horrors of Maxwells abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed. I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be. Click here to read the full article. The Sundance Film Festival is planning to offer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to eligible in-person attendees, multiple sources told Variety. Following last weeks festival mandate requiring all participants in screenings and official events to show proof of three vaccination shots, Sundance is putting resources into offering boosters on the ground in Park City, Utah. Over a series of filmmaker calls this week, international artists and producing teams were informed of the offer, two individuals familiar with the matter said. While the initiative has not yet been formally announced, the CDCs guidelines for booster eligibility say individuals must have received their second COVID vaccination at least six months prior to a booster shot. Boosters are also only available for those age 18 and older. Sundance is scheduled to run from Jan. 20 to 30 and will also mount a hybrid virtual edition. In-person gatherings have been dropping like flies from Hollywood calendars recently, as the omicron variant has stormed the U.S. This includes the Wednesday cancellation of the annual Palm Springs Film Festival, and before that, the film academys annual Governors Awards and the Critics Choice Awards (both scheduled for January). Sundance is proceeding with extreme precautions. Individuals familiar with the festival pointed out that the smattering of cancelled events are largely splashy gala celebrations where guests eat, drink and double-kiss all evening. Having banned food and drink and mandated masks for the duration of film screenings, Sundance remains confident it can mitigate omicron risks, said the insiders. Sundance has partnered with the company PandemSafe to offer free tests to all participants at vaccine verification and testing hubs around the festival campus this year. Employees, volunteers and on-site contractors will be required to be tested upon check-in at the event, and they will be encouraged to test once every subsequent 48 hours. Creatives, press and industry are also required to be tested within 48 hours prior to arrival or upon arrival. Additional testing is required for attendance to a slate of private events. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. One thing that probably all sides of a divided nation can agree on: Ted Nugent, for better or worse, is almost certainly never getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And the right-wing rocker says hes fine with that , claiming hed just as soon not be part of a hall that includes members he considers unworthy a list that stretches to include Madonna, Patti Smith, Grandmaster Flash and ABBA. Who does Nugent think should be in the Hall of Fame, besides himself, if the judges were a little more discriminatory? Styx and Triumph, of course. The thought of a pioneering hip-hop artist in the Rock Hall of Fame so upsets him that, in the interview published on KNAC.com, Nugent says its tantamount to urinating on the graves of rocks original pioneers. What a middle finger to the real heroes of rock n roll and rhythm and blues to put in those other people, he says. Grandmaster Flash? Really? Why dont we go down to Chuck Berrys grave and piss on it? Insisting its nothing personal, Nugent says,Im not angry that Im not in there because Im having so much fun that its stupid. But, he asks, Why isnt a band like Triumph in there, but Grandmaster Flash is? Thats just dishonest! Why are Patti Smith, ABBA and Madonna in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, but not Styx? Are you kidding me?! You can only explain that is that the people who made those decisions are just plain rotten people! The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame should genuflect to Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters (and) the Funk Brothers How dare you put Grandmaster Flash, ABBA and Madonna in that? Nugents disdain for Democratic politicians and entertainers who fail to take as rightward a stance as his inevitably comes up throughout the interview. He cites KIss Gene Simmons as someone I love immensely as one of the true great musical entrepreneurs of all time. but also my critical thinking responsibility must address that he dropped his independent thinking intellectual ball when he sided with the illegal, unfounded, tyrannical decrees from punks like Fauci and Joe Biden regarding masks and experimental shots, when he has always stood up for his mother who survived Auschwitz. He defied the truth, logic and commons sense of the Nuremberg Trials. So Gene, I love you I can help you because you had a hiccup.' Kyle Rittenhouse? A hero, naturally. Yes, I am sending Kyle Rittenhouse a lifetime supply of proper ammunition. It turns out according to Tucker Carlson, Kyle and his mother are big fans of mine. Kyle, his mother and possibly Tucker are hoping to meet up with me in my ranch in Texas for a little deer-hunting campfire and maybe a little lesson on tactical upgrade, so when evil is attacking you can neutralize it, hopefully forever. Nugent also addresses some of the stories that have circulated about him over the years, like the claim that he was a hypocritical draft dodger. He traces that back to an interview with High Times magazine in which he contends that he fooled the dirtbag reporter by bringing up details about escaping the draft that were actually true of his drummer at the time, K.J. Knight. Heres the big question how stupid, soulless and dishonest would one have to be to take information from a publication titled High Tims to condemn someone? One of the worst crimes of mankind is to falsely accuse. Its a false accusation. He also defended accepting a Purple Heart from a veteran, despite not having served in the military. When a U.S Marine sniper forces you to close your hand around a Purple Heart that they earned by telling me that they believe that Ive earned it by fighting for the freedom that their buddies died for, I can only humbly bow my head and accept the gesture. I continue to serve for America unofficially every day of my life. Nugent has a new album coming out in February, Detroit Muscle, via Pavement Music. He claims he sent a copy of the pro-gun single Come and Get It to Beto ORourke and Joe Biden with a note if they want to take away our First and Second Amendments that they make a knock at my door first. Id love to help inform their thought process. Thats a cocky statement but you can go ahead and quote me on that Thank God for the great people at Pavement Music in 2021. They heard the song and said, Whoa. Thats the real McCoy! Nugent is on fire and the band is on fire.' Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Kolten Parker/San Antonio Express-News New Braunfels will start the year with the addition of a Hawaiian restaurant. L&L Hawaiian Barbecue is adding a Texas outpost to its network of more than 200 restaurants throughout the country. The San Antonio location of L&L broke the news of the New Braunfels location on Saturday, December 25. The social media announcement shows the New Braunfels storefront just about ready to welcome customers. During Wednesdays COVID-19 media briefing, the increase of active cases and recent rise in breakthrough cases may be evidence that the Omicron variant is in Laredo, despite the city waiting for sequencing confirmation. We are seeing an increase of cases in our city and our sister city of Nuevo Laredo and from the national, state information, and the local medical observations in clinics and hospitals and specifically the breakthrough cases; there are indications that the omicron variant is already here, Laredo Health Authority Dr. Victor Trevino said. However, Emergency Coordinator Fire Chief Guillermo Heard, Laredo Health Department Director Dr. Richard Chamberlain and Trevino have emphasized there is no need to panic as the full dose of the vaccine and booster shot still provide high protection. According to Chamberlain, with the citys 10-day formula, there are currently 529 active cases reported. Three additional deaths were also reported on Wednesday for a total of five deaths in the month of December. The rise has been attributed to the recent holidays and a reported increase in residents seeking out testing. He said with more testing done, there will be more positive cases. Furthermore, both Chamberlain and Trevino referenced the recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changes to the isolation guidelines. The agencys changes reduced the isolation period from 10 days to five days, but the health experts believe that continuing the 10-day isolation guidelines is what will work best. It is important to note the omicron variant has had a significant impact on the vaccinated community as 85 breakthrough cases were reported last week. According to the CDC, the new variant has reduced the efficacy of a two-dose mRNA vaccination to 35%. However, a booster shot improves its efficacy to 75% and both reduces the risk of severe symptoms, hospitalization, and death. As a medically underserved community, there are serious concerns over the limited hospital personnel and the lack of therapeutics available that work against the variant. While there are currently no state of Texas Assistance Requests pending, it was reported that the monoclonal antibody treatment is not effective against the new strain and the recently FDA emergency authorized Pfizer COVID-19 Paxlovid (Oral Antiviral Treatment) is still unavailable in the community. We also anticipate that the peak is not yet here, and we will see more cases in January after the holiday gatherings and increased traffic, Trevino said. With this in mind, Trevino, Heard and Chamberlain issued their recommendations to the public to protect themselves against the new variant. They recommend wearing masks indoors and in crowded areas, to get the full dose of the vaccine and the booster shot. Furthermore, several mitigation efforts are in discussion, primarily those that revolve around prevention. Heard said the city will be conducting more vaccine clinics throughout the community and increasing the number of sites. Some of these vaccination locations include Mall del Norte, the TAMIU Student Center, The Outlet Shoppes, Laredo International Airport, Loves Travel Stop and the Laredo Health Department. Testing sites include the McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Library, the Laredo College Building P-4, Independence Hills Regional Park, TAMIU International Breezeway, Zaragoza Pedestrian Walkway and the City of Laredo Fire Department Administration Center. Additional information and sites are available through the city website, which will also provide updates on upcoming clinics. And while still in the discussion phase, Trevino said he and city officials began to talk about a reduction of capacity in certain areas throughout the city. I do want to assure the public that we have been through this challenge before and we will get through this also, he added. The vaccines have been a game changer, but we cant carry the load of the unvaccinated people. Please get vaccinated and (get the) booster and if you know somebody that is not vaccinated, try to plead with them to do so because we are in this together. As for the pediatric population, Chamberlain said the number of cases is stabilized among those particular age groups and is consistent with the number of cases for adult age populations. Trevino added that while outpatients have been treated and show no increased risk to pediatric patients, there will most likely be an increase in cases across all age groups. Answering an inquiry regarding false positives for rapid testing, Trevino said rapid tests are antigen tests focused on the height of the infection. Testing too early or too late may result in different results when using rapid testing; thus he recommends to repeat the test three to five days afterward. In light of this, he recommends PCR testing as well, as it is more indicative of infection. Lastly, with the return to school in the second week of January, the recommendations are consistent with the city in general. With a heightened alert of the omicron variant, health experts recommend wearing masks on campus, keeping sick children at home and continuing the sanitation procedures at each campus building and vehicle and most importantly, to receive the vaccine. The city and the school districts will be meeting prior to the return of the students for additional recommendations. The Wednesday COVID briefing was the first after the citys vaccination efforts helped bring the COVID situation to a downward trajectory. As the city advisory levels operate in four stages, the higher the level the more frequent COVID updates are expected. Currently, the 529 active cases put Laredo at the red level (an advisory level indicative of over 277 active cases). As of Dec. 28, the city reports there are 20 patients hospitalized and 12 in the ICU. With the omicron variant reducing the efficacy of the two-dose vaccine, breakthrough cases rose. According to the city, a cumulative breakthrough case count shows 1,859 cases, with 108 cases hospitalized and 22 deaths. As for the age groups, the most affected is seen to be the 20 to 29 population, followed by the 10-19 and 30-39. cocampo@lmtonline.com Courtesy /Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Highway Patrol Officers arrested an individual for human smuggling following a high-speed pursuit Tuesday ending just outside of Rio Bravo, according to a release from the Department of Public Safety. In the incident in question, a Highway Patrolman encountered a Ford SUV on U.S. 83 in Webb County before the suspect allegedly started a high-speed pursuit in south Laredo. The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results Newly enforced public health guidelines allied to mixed messages from government bosses are threatening to derail the public's confidence in tackling the rise in Covid case numbers. Fine Gael Cllr Paraic Brady issued the stark warning, adding the worsening crisis and curfew placed on hospitality could lead to a spike in public order incidents over the festive period. The youngsters have lost faith in the mixed messages that have come from government, he said. The problem is the pubs will be opening earlier which means the youngsters will be going out earlier and then on to house parties after the pubs have closed. The former chair of the Dublin Mid Leinster HSE Health Forum expressed his own concern over whether many of the county's younger populous would heed the advice of public health and government officials. These people were told to go out and get vaccinated and that things would return to normal, but for whatever reason the vaccines haven't proven as effective as expected, but the mixed messages (from government) hasn't helped. Cllr Brady's two HSE forum members, chairperson PJ Reilly and Paul Ross both urged the wider public to double down on their efforts to limit socialisation levels over Christmas. Cllr Ross admitted the recent onset of the Omicron variant had blindsided people, insisting it was now, more important than ever that the wider public limited their social interaction as much as possible. Things have got to a critical juncture again, added Cllr Reilly. It's very important that people pay attention to the regulations and reduce the level of intermixing with each other as much as possible. Longford native Joe Murray is preparing to host a special online event to honour of his friend, the legendary South African humanitarian and anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu, who passed away last Sunday at the age of 90. Tonight's (Thursday, December 30) Celebration of the Life of Desmond Tutu event is being organised by Afri, an Irish peace and human rights organisation led by Mr Murray. Archbishop Tutu was the organisations patron for almost thirty years, after it hosted his first visit to Ireland 1984. Since then, Afri hosted the revered human rights leader several times, including in 1991 when he led the annual Afri famine walk in Doolough, County Mayo. Afri helped lead the Irish campaign against apartheid and arranged for the Dunnes Stores strikers, who refused to handle South African fruit, to meet Tutu in London while on his way to collect the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. This meeting famously helped internationalise the campaign against apartheid, and the Irish campaign was later recognised by Nelson Mandela and others. The online event place online on Thursday, December 30 from 8-9pm and several hundred people in Ireland and internationally are registered to attend. It is being hosted by County Cavan author and activist Ruairi McKiernan and speakers and performers will include Dunnes Stores striker Mary Manning, Northern Ireland based South African poet Nandi Jola, and South African activist and MASI spokeperson Bulelani Mfaco, who is a resident at the Knockalisheen direct provision centre. Speaking in advance of the event, Carrickboy man, Mr Murray says it will be an important moment of reflection for one of the true great giants for peace and justice in the world. He was an incredible human being and I feel privileged to have known him over so many years. He was a person who walked his talk and overcame huge adversity to continue spreading a message of hope in the world. "He radiated a great warmth and humanity and was never afraid to smile yet he never shied away from the issues. He campaigned on many issues including LGBT rights, against the oppression of the Palestinian people, and stood up for those campaigning against Shell in Mayo. "He also opposed militarism, including the horrendous weapons industry, which the Irish government has now decided to get involved in. "Desmond Tutu's message is more important than ever and it is vital we honour him but also to act on this message by continuing to be courageous and hopeful, even when the odds are against us. It is for us now to continue his great legacy." Registration for the Celebration of the Life of Desmond Tutu event is free and information can be founded on Eventbrite.ie or at www.afri.ie Crime, Health & Wellness By Chris Boyle Published: December 30 2021 Governor Kathy Hochul signs legislation by Senator Anna M. Kaplan and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) and State Senator Anna M. Kaplan (D-North Hills) into law, S.4516C/A.7536B, that would explicitly make the falsification of COVID-19 vaccination records a crime. The new law takes effect at a critical moment in the State's battle against coronavirus, as the world deals with a sharp rise in new COVID cases due to the omicron variant, adding new urgency to the effort to ensure every eligible New Yorker is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In a release announcing the signing of this legislation and other measures, Governor Kathy Hochul said "We need to make sure we learn the lessons of the pandemic so we don't make the same mistakes twice. These new laws will help us improve our response to the pandemic now, crack down on fraudulent use of vaccination records, and help us better understand the areas of improvement we need to make to our health care system so we can be even more prepared down the road." Senator Anna M. Kaplan said "With the omicron variant putting our community at greater risk and threatening the progress we've made recovering from the pandemic, countless employers, schools, small businesses, and communities are relying on genuine proof of vaccination status as a tool to keep their spaces safe from COVID transmission. It's never been more urgent that we protect this process from fraud so that the health and safety of the public isn't compromised by bad actors using fraudulent vaccination cards or passports. The 'Truth in Vaccination' law will serve as a strong deterrent to prevent people from lying about their vaccination status, protecting public health, and ensuring our economic recovery can move forward. I'm grateful for Governor Hochul's leadership in combating this crisis, and I'm thankful for my partnership with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz to get this critical law passed through the legislature." Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said: Vaccine requirements work. The data is clear. However, when we have a preponderance of fake vaccine records, that lulls New Yorkers into a false sense of public health safety and undermines the protections that vaccine requirements provide to everyone. This law will help ensure that New Yorkers are as safe as they can be from this virus while going to work or patronizing a business, and I thank Governor Hochul for making the right choice to sign it. Thank you as well to my legislative partner on this effort, State Senator Anna Kaplan, who has been a strong fighter for this sensible policy on vaccination. In the months since government and private industry began instituting COVID-19 vaccination mandates, there has been extensive reporting on how fake vaccine card sales have skyrocketed, with numerous high profile examples of professional athletes, high-ranking NYPD officers, FDNY & Sanitation workers, and medical facility staff attempting to circumvent public health and safety regulations through use of counterfeit cards and fake digital passports. Anti-vaxx web forums have also spread tips for how to create fake cards. As these crimes have proliferated across the country, federal authorities have scrambled to address the growing crisis. In New York, The District Attorneys Association Of The State Of New York (DAASNY) has issued a letter of support for the "Truth In Vaccination" law, with J. Anthony Jordan, DAASNY President, and Washington County District Attorney, saying "this legislation sends a powerful message that New York State will not tolerate fraudulent vaccination cards, whether on paper or electronically. This legislation will add to the tools that prosecutors already rely on to investigate and prosecute these crimes." The "Truth in Vaccination Law," S.4516C/A.7536B, will: Explicitly make it a crime to create a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination card by amending the legal definition of a "written instrument" to explicitly include a card provided to a person by a vaccine provider indicating the date a person received vaccination against COVID-19 as well as the type of vaccine and its lot number. Explicitly make it a crime to create a fraudulent COVID-19 Vaccination Passport by amending the penal law to create a crime of intentionally altering computer material to indicate that a person received a vaccination against COVID-19. The new law takes effect immediately. (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers on AIM in London on Thursday. AIM - WINNERS Galileo Resources PLC, up 18% at 1.15 pence, 12-month range 0.78p-2.30p. Enters into a joint venture with Statunga Investments, for the development of the Luansobe copper project in Zambia. Under the joint venture agreement, Galileo will pay USD400,000 via two payments by February 20, which will give it a 75% stake in the Zambian joint venture, which will work on completing a project feasibility study for Luansobe. The project has an estimated mineral resource of 5.5 million tonnes at 1.6% total copper and 0.5% acidic soluble copper. In addition, the company will issue 5.0 million shares to the owners of Statunga Investments. Licence over the project comprises a small-scale exploration licence with a four-year term expiring February 15, 2025, and covering an area of 918 hectares. Eurasia Mining PLC, up 5.4% at 23.40 pence, 12-month range 15.00p-36.50p. Progresses its strategy within the hydrogen and ammonia markets following the securing of a number of agreements set to aid project development. The Russia-focused mining and mineral exploration company said they had signed a joint venture agreement with H4Energy Joint-Stock Co to develop hydrogen and ammonia projects at its Kola and Sakhalin projects. Support for the development of the projects was secured from the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia - Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, Yury Trutnev. AIM - LOSERS UniVision Engineering Ltd, down 15% at 0.72 pence, 12-month range 0.72p-2.70p. Sinks to 12-month low as a dispute with a subcontractor held back progress on a major contract, resulting in higher costs that more than halved profit. For the six months that ended September 30, reports pretax profit dropped 64% to GBP142,000 from GB394,000. The Hong Kong-based CCTV and surveillance system company said that a dispute with a subcontractor over the value of work related to its Mass Transit Railway Corp contract was responsible for the fall. MTRC is the company's largest customer, with UniVision providing replacement work on CCTV systems and installing CCTV system for numerous railway lines in Hong Kong. Believes that the sub-contractor performing installation works as part of the contract has under-performed tasks. This, the company noted, had resulted in major delays in the MTRC project and also increased costs, as Univision deployed its own resources to complete the outstanding work. Also records impairment of GBP634,000 related to billings to MTRC for a maintenance contract. It took no such hit a year before. President Energy PLC, down 17% at 2.08 pence, 12-month range 1.68p-2.70p. Spin off Atome Energy starts trading in London. Atome raised GBP6 million in its initial public offering with an option for GBP3 million more. Shares were sold in a placing and via PrimaryBid at 80 pence each, giving Atome a market capitalisation of GBP26 million on admission. Shares trading at 83.15p in mid-morning. Atome said it is the first London Stock Exchange listing focused solely on producing green hydrogen and ammonia, with projects in Iceland and Paraguay. By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Thursday launched what it claims to be the world's first generic version of Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 treatment. Pfizer's oral therapy Paxlovid was granted emergency use authorisation by the US Food & Drug Administration last week. The Bangladesh-based generic drug maker noted that Bangladesh's Directorate General of Drug Administration on Thursday also granted emergency use authorisation, which is to treat mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in patients 12 years and older. Pharmaceutical firm Beximco noted the antiviral pill showed almost 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalisations and deaths in high-risk patients, while recent test data from Pfizer suggests the drug retains its effectiveness against the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Beximco will market the Paxlovid generic under the brand name Bexovid, initially in Bangladesh only. "Having previously introduced the world's first generic Covid-19 treatments of remdesivir and molnupiravir, we are pleased to add this breakthrough therapy to our portfolio," commented Beximco Managing Director Nazmul Hassan. "It is further testament to our commitment to making affordable treatments accessible as soon as possible. As data continues to emerge demonstrating the effectiveness of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir against the the fast-emerging Omicron variant, we believe that Bexovid has the potential to be a powerful tool in combating the ongoing pandemic." Beximco shares were up 5.5% at 114.50 pence each in London on Thursday. Last Wednesday, the US FDA authorised Pfizer's anti-Covid pill after a surge of cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant and a period that saw Americans struggle to find tests. At the time, President Joe Biden promised to invoke a law that would help Pfizer ramp up production quickly. The US has spent USD5.3 billion procuring 10 million courses of the treatment, with the first 265,000 to be delivered in January and the rest by late summer. The EU's drug regulator has already approved Pfizer Covid pill for emergency use by individual member states struggling with the new wave of the disease. Merck & Co Inc has also developed a similar anti-coronavirus pill, given the green light by the US FDA last Thursday. While both treatments were found to be generally safe in clinical trials, more potential concerns have been raised about Merck's pill, called molnupiravir. The FDA has not authorised Merck's pill for people under 18 because it may affect bone and cartilage growth. The FDA has stressed in the past that both the Pfizer and Merck pills should complement, rather than replace vaccines, that remain the frontline tool in the fight against the coronavirus. On Wednesday, the WHO warned a Covid "tsunami" threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems, as record surges fuelled by the Omicron variant dampen New Year celebrations around the world once again. By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Sharecast News) - European shares held gains at midday on Thursday, taking a cue from Wall Street's sixth successive positive session. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.13% in early deals after finishing flat on Wednesday. Volumes were thin as traders prepared for market closures in Italy, Germany, and Spain on Friday, while Paris and London will trade for half a session, before the New Year break. Fears about the severity of the Covid Omicron variant have continued to fade, although case numbers globally are soaring and countries such as the UK have found themselves with testing kit shortages, despite assurances that supplies were plentiful. US shares received a boost from better-than-expected retail sales data and unseen fall in US crude oil and gasoline inventories. "A dearth of heavy-duty data releases globally this week continues to leave markets driven by sentiment and by sentiment, I mean omicron headlines," said OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley. In equity news, airline shares followed their US counterparts lower as Omicron fears caused flight cancellations. Wizz Air, Ryanair and IAG were all lower. Siemens Gamesa rose after reaching a supply deal for wind turbines in Sweden. Mobile Streams PLC - London-based mobile content provider - Reports a pretax loss of GBP1.0 million for the year ended June 30, narrowed from GBP1.6 million the year before. Firm booked GBP953,000 in the previous year on the derecognition of subsidiaries, an expense which did not repeat in the recent period. Full-year revenue totalled GBP395,000, down 38% from GBP636,000 the year prior. Attributes this to challenging trading conditions in Argentina, which equated to 58% of revenue. Believes that its LiveScores service and Streams Data offering could create significant opportunities. Says the main focus for this year will be growing and developing the product and sales pipelines for these businesses. Current stock price: 0.37 pence Year-to-date change: up 62% By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Pharma C Investments PLC - New Jersey-based early-stage investor in the medical cannabis industry - Reports that Chief Executive Chana Greenberg will leave her role with immediate effect. Greenberg has held the role since the company's float on London's AQSE Growth Market in May. Current Chief Business Development Officer Toby Shillito will take over Greenberg's responsibilities as acting chief executive. The company also plans to appoint an additional non-executive director in the early part of 2022, it stated. Pharma C focuses on investment opportunities in the medicinal cannabis sector, mainly in the UK, Europe and Israel. Current share price: untraded at 0.41 pence Year-to-date change: down 41% from 0.7p IPO price By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Savannah Energy PLC - Africanafocused energy company - Plans to raise around USD65 million through the issue of new shares priced at 19.35 pence each. The bookbuild will see the company place approximately 21% of its issued share capital. Savannah Chief Executive Andrew Knott said the expected USD65 million raise is intended to progress its planned acquisitions of ExxonMobil Corp's and Petronas's assets in Chad and Cameroon. On December 13, Savannah announced it had signed separate share purchase agreements to acquire assets from Exxon Mobil and Petronas for a combined value of USD626 million. Current stock price: 19.35p Year-to-date change: up 41% By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) (COLLECTIVELY, THE "UNITED STATES"), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR NEW ZEALAND OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO MIGHT CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OR BREACH OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW 30 December 2021 ATOME ENERGY PLC ("ATOME" or the "Company") Admission to Trading on AIM First day of dealings ATOME has received the prestigious London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark ATOME Energy (AIM: ATOM), the international company focused on green hydrogen and ammonia production, sales and marketing with current projects in Iceland and Paraguay, is pleased to announce that its entire issued ordinary share capital will today be admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Market ("Admission"). Dealings will commence at 8:00 a.m. today, Thursday 30 December 2021, under the ticker "ATOM" (ISIN: GB00BP4BSM10). The Company's SEDOL is BP4BSM1. The Company's Admission Document can be viewed at the website of the Company at www.atomeplc.com. ATOME, as the first and currently only company solely focusing on being a producer of green hydrogen and ammonia to have its shares traded on the London Stock Market, offers investors access not only to potential upstream manufacturing of green hydrogen and ammonia but also through its established in country contacts and shareholder base to the all-important downstream offtake market. The Directors believe that ATOME has through its carefully planned and implemented business model a significant opportunity to fast track and be at the forefront of the international development of green hydrogen and ammonia as future fuel. Green hydrogen and ammonia are an essential part of the matrix of renewable energy sources to decarbonise the global economy where they can address hard to abate carbon footprints of industries such as heavy transport, marine and steel and concrete manufacturing as well as enabling the large-scale production of green fertilisers. As such they have been referred to as the swiss army knife of energy providing multiple solutions in sectors where renewable alternatives such as rechargeable batteries have no answer. In addition to being a valuable part of the armoury in decarbonisation, with the recent significant increase in the prices of fossil fuels which are still used to generate over 95% of hydrogen current production, ATOME's green projects are expected to have significant potential end market cost benefits; one example being in agriculture where ammonia a key component in fertilisers has doubled in price over the last twelve months to over US$1,000 per tonne due directly to the substantial rise in the cost of natural gas. The Company has accordingly selected its projects to take advantage of available low-cost pure green power in sufficient amounts so as to build businesses of scale in fiscally benign countries with not only domestic demand but which are also located within international trading blocks. ATOME has targeted commencement of production for the first part of 2024 and expects to benefit in the future from the projected reduction in the price of electrolyser and other manufacturing equipment used in the production process combined with the advent of new technologies offering greater economies with an increasing number of suppliers coming into the market providing greater choice and competitive tension for the benefit of purchasers of such equipment. Key points Successful fundraise of up to 9 million at 80p per share sufficient in the opinion of the Directors to progress ATOME's projects up to formal commitments on plant procurement and infrastructure investment and the entry into formal power purchase agreements (the "Final Investment Decision" or "FID") without any further additional funding, which the directors believe will be a significant value creation catalyst for ATOME 6 million has been raised through the Placing and PrimaryBid Offer. The balance of up to 3 million will be made available at the placing price only if the Directors determine it is needed by way of the Standby Equity Facility Agreement from the investment fund of Peter Levine, the Chairman and significant shareholder which facility has been granted at no direct or indirect cost to ATOME FID targeted to be reached by end H1 2022 with first potential production targeted for the first part of 2024 ATOME has qualified and been recognised as one of the select number of public traded companies contributing to the global green economy by receiving the London Stock Exchange's prestigious Green Economy Mark, supporting ATOME in communicating the Company's green credentials to investors and other stakeholders, whilst highlighting the mission of ATOME to support the transition to a net zero economy and meaningfully mitigate the impacts of climate change Oliver Mussat, the CEO, formerly the Chief Investment Officer for Global Energy at IFC, part of the World Bank Group, heads an experienced green management team The locations of ATOME's projects in Iceland and Paraguay have been strategically selected for their readily available adequate supply of low-cost stable baseload green energy and significant established domestic-end markets with export potential in the two large multi-national trading zones of the EU and Mercosur countries In Iceland, ATOME through its 75% owned local subsidiary, Green Fuel ehf, which is targeting first hydrogen and ammonia production in 2024 utilising up to 100 megawatts ("MW") geothermal power from the National power supplier and benefiting from Green Fuel's local management, in country knowledge, technical expertise and commercial downstream end market contacts as well as the potential of export markets in the EU and EFTA countries In Paraguay, ATOME through its wholly owned subsidiary ATOME Paraguay is targeting the supply of green renewable electricity of up to 250 MW of power from Itaipu, the second largest hydroelectric dam in the world by output with conditional arrangements in place with Itaipu's Technology Park to locate ATOME's main production facility adjacent to the dam near the intersecting border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. ATOME using its established local management base and in country experience has as part of its business plan the development of the downstream domestic market by engaging with shipping, trucking, fertiliser, retail fuel and commodity trading companies as well as benefiting from Paraguay's membership of the Mercosur multi-national trading organisation Strong and supportive significant shareholder base including the energy entrepreneur Peter Levine, Schroders Fund Management and Trafigura, one of the world's largest commodity traders, energy offtakers and logistics companies Further information is available at ATOME's website at www.atomeplc.com and by following ATOME on Twitter @atomehydrogen. Oliver Mussat, CEO of ATOME Energy, commented: "Today marks an important milestone for both ATOME and the London market's place in the transition to a green economy. ATOME is the first dedicated and currently only company targeting green hydrogen and ammonia production to have its shares traded on London Stock Market, with both commodities expected to play a key role in the decarbonisation of future energy supply. "We are proud of the award of London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark. This prestigious classification represents our commitment as a company to meaningfully mitigate the impacts of climate change and is a clear message to our investors and other stakeholders of the commitment of ATOME in supporting the transition to net zero. "We have assembled a green-focused Board whose complementary skills and experience across the energy value chain demonstrate that we can deliver these projects. Both Board and management made a material contribution to the fundraise and are thus fully aligned with our new investors. I would like to thank the Board, along with our advisers and significant shareholders including Peter Levine, our Chairman, Trafigura, one of the world's leading commodity, energy and logistics companies, and fund manager Schroders for their continued guidance and support. "With the funding secured, ATOME is in a position to rapidly progress its projects in Iceland and Paraguay towards Final Investment Decision (or FID) in both countries. The projects both plan to deliver green energy using mature technology and low-cost baseload power which is available on-tap in both locations. Our projects have government support and accessible markets which need green hydrogen and ammonia to reach their net zero targets, and ATOME is positioned to capitalise on this. "We have an exciting road ahead as nations implement decarbonisation strategies with green hydrogen and ammonia at their heart. We look forward to updating shareholders on ATOME's progress during 2022 with increasing newsflow as we move towards FID, commencing with a live Investor Meet presentation to which all shareholders, analysts and prospective investors will be invited at a date to be announced in January." For more information, please visit https://www.atomeplc.com or contact: ATOME ENERGY PLC +44 (0) 20 7016 7950 Nikita Levine, Investor Relations nikita.levine@atomeplc.com Beaumont Cornish (Nominated Adviser) +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 Roland Cornish, Michael Cornish finnCap (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 7220 0500 Christopher Raggett, Tim Harper SP Angel (Joint Broker) Richard Hail, Caroline Rowe +44 (0) 20 3470 0470 Tavistock (Financial PR and IR) +44 (0) 20 7920 3150 Simon Hudson, Rebecca Hislaire, Charles Baister atome@tavistock.co.uk Capitalised terms used in this announcement and not separately defined shall have the meaning given to them in the Company's Admission Document. Notes to Editors ATOME Energy Plc is an AIM listed company targeting green hydrogen and ammonia production with up to 350-megawatt projects in Paraguay and Iceland, through its subsidiaries ATOME Paraguay, which is wholly owned, and Green Fuel ehf, in which ATOME Energy holds a 75 per cent interest, respectively. ATOME has commenced operational planning, sourcing and negotiations with green electricity suppliers, equipment providers and offtake partners, including signed memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements in place with key parties including national power companies, to use electricity generated from existing geothermal sources in Iceland and hydroelectric power in Paraguay. Both sites are located close to the power and water sources and export facilities to serve significant domestic and then international demand. The Company has a green-focused Board which is supported by major shareholders including Peter Levine, Trafigura, one of the world's leading commodity and logistics company, and Schroders, a leading fund manager. Important Notices This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction, nor shall it (or any part of it), or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, or act as any inducement to enter into, any contract or commitment whatsoever relating to any securities. Recipients of this announcement who intend to purchase or subscribe for shares in the Company are reminded that any such purchase or subscription must only be made solely on the basis of the information contained in the final Admission Document relating to the Company. This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities in the United States or to US Persons. Shares of the Company may not be offered or sold in the United States or to US Persons without being registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("U.S. Securities Act") or an available exemption from such registration. The Company does not presently intend to register any securities under the U. S. Securities Act and no public offering of shares is being or will be made in the United States or to US Persons. The information contained in this announcement is not for publication or distribution in, into or from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa or New Zealand or any other jurisdiction where to do so might constitute a violation or breach of any applicable law ("Restricted Territories"). Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of Restricted Territories securities laws. This announcement (and the information contained herein) does not contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale, or solicitation of an offer to purchase securities, in the Restricted Territories where such an offer or solicitation would be unlawful. No money, securities or other consideration is being solicited and, if sent in response to the information contained herein, will not be accepted. Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's nominated adviser and is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority. Beaumont Cornish's responsibilities as the Company's nominated adviser, including a responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or the proposed admission of the Enlarged Share Capital to trading on AIM. SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP ("SP Angel"), which is a member of the London Stock Exchange and which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as broker to the Company in connection with the Placing and is advising no one else in relation to the Placing and will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for advising any other person in relation to the Placing or otherwise. finnCap Limited ("finnCap"), which is a member of the London Stock Exchange and which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as broker to the Company in connection with the Placing and is advising no one else in relation to the Placing and will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for advising any other person in relation to the Placing or otherwise. For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of the Group's websites are not incorporated by reference into, and do not form part of, this announcement. Forward-looking statements Certain statements in this announcement are or may constitute "forward-looking statements", including statements about current beliefs and expectations of the Directors. In particular, the words "envisage", "projects", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "should", "plan", "intend", "will", "would", "could", "target", "believe" and similar expressions (or in each case their negative and other variations or comparable terminology) can be used to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this announcement and include statements regarding the Board's expectations of external conditions and events, current business strategy, plans and the other objectives of management for future operations and estimates and projections of the Group's financial and operational performance. Though the Board believes these expectations to be reasonable at the date of this announcement, they may prove to be erroneous. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, achievements or performance of the Group, or the industry in which the Group operates, to be materially different from any future results, achievements or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement in this announcement speaks only as of the date it is made. Save as required by law or regulation or the AIM Rules for Companies, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to any forward looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to any change in the Board's expectations or in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement. Any forward looking statement in this announcement based on past or current trends and/or activities of the Group should not be taken as a representation or assurance that such trends or activities will continue in the future. No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or to imply that the earnings of the Group for the current year or future years will match or exceed the historical or published earnings of the Group -ends- Spain's tourism minister, Reyes Maroto, has once more stressed that Spain is a "safe destination" and has expressed her hope that the current wave of infections caused by Omicron will decrease quickly. At a Thursday press conference, Maroto stated that Spain "is considered to be one of the safest countries" and that this stems from the "responsibility" displayed by the great majority of the public who have been vaccinated. She highlighted the fact that the country is now in the middle of the booster vaccine phase and is also giving children the vaccine. "We have achieved this, despite the many criticisms and doubts from those who reckoned that it (the vaccination programme) would take years." Maroto called for people to be cautious when interacting, adding that there is safe travel in Spain, which is allowing a balance to be maintained between containment of the virus and recovery from economic crisis. On Omicron, she pointed to experience in countries such as South Africa and Germany, where "it is being seen that cases begin to decline in a rapid way". Manchester Center, VT (05254) Today Variably cloudy with snow showers. High 26F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. About one inch of snow expected.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 8F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. The topic of Indian History has become one of the most talked-about matters in recent years. While Bollywood films are often accused of distorting history, which is termed as Cinematic Liberty by some filmmakers, in recent times, Bollywood celebs history lessons have courted massive controversies. Recently, actor Naseeruddin Shah found himself in a bit of a soup when he called Mughals 'refugees'. A video clip has gone viral on social media where Naseeruddin Shah is talking to The Wire and saying, The so-called atrocities of the Mughals are being highlighted all the time. We forget that the Mughals are people who have contributed to the country. They are people who have left lasting monuments in the country, who have left the tradition of dancing, music, painting, literature. Mughals came here to make this their homeland. You can call them refugees if you like. Mughals came here to settle. They Contributed to India's Culture, Music and Left lasting Legacies. You can call them refugees: #naseeruddinshah to Karan Thapar #2DaysToBirthMonth #FitBharat pic.twitter.com/vncc9m8qij Dr. Priyanshi Mishra #__ (@Priyanshi135) December 30, 2021 No points in guessing, the veteran actor is trending on Twitter and is at the receiving end of a lot of trolling. Naseeruddin Shah Instagram But he isnt the only celeb whose history lessons have created controversy, here is a look at the list of 5 others in recent times: 1. Kangana Ranaut Calling Indias Freedom Struggle Bheekh Kangana Ranaut Instagram In November 2021, Kangana Ranaut attended the Times Now Summit and during a discussion, called Indias 1947 Freedom Struggle against British a Bheekh. A video clip from the event went viral on social media where she was heard saying, Woh azaadi nahi thi, woh bheek thi. Aur jo azaadi mili hai woh 2014 mai mili hai (That wasnt freedom, those were alms. We got real freedom in 2014.) , , , , , ? pic.twitter.com/Gxb3xXMi2Z Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) November 11, 2021 The actress was slammed by many celebs and politicians including Swara Bhasker and Varun Gandhi. 2. Manoj Muntashir Calling Mughals Glorified Dacoits Manoj Muntashir Instagram In August 2021, lyricist Manoj Muntashir courted controversy when he posted a video on his Twitter account where he called Mughal emperors like Humanyun, Akbar and Jahangir as glorified dacoits. ? Choose Your Legacy And Your Heros! Relwasing today at 5 PM on YouTube/Manoj Muntashir pic.twitter.com/Xi9Mq1GGSf Manoj Muntashir (@manojmuntashir) August 24, 2021 The lyricist was slammed by many Bollywood celebs including Neeraj Ghaywan, Richa Chadha and Mayur Puri. 3. Kabir Khan Calling Mughals Original Nation-Builders Kabir Khan Instagram Around the same time as Manoj Muntashir was being slammed for calling Mughals 'dacoits', filmmaker Kabir Khan too received flak for calling them nation builders. In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Kabir Khan said that he cannot respect films that demonise Mughals. He said, I find it hugely problematic and disturbing because what really makes me upset is that it's being done just to go with the popular narrative. I can understand when a filmmaker has researched something and a filmmaker wants to make a point... Of course, there can be different viewpoints. If you want to demonise the Mughals, please base it on some research and make us understand why; why they were the villains that you think they were. Because if you do some research and read history, it's very tough to understand why they have to be villainised. I think they were the original nation-builders, and to write them off and say they murdered people... But what are you basing it on? Please point out the historical evidence. Please have an open debate, just don't go with the narrative that you think will be popular. 4. Saif Ali Khan Saying No Concept of India Before The British Kareena Kapoor Khan Instagram Weeks after the grand success of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, Saif Ali Khan, who played the antagonist Udaybhan Singh Rathore, was asked about his take on the polarizing politics of the film. Agreeing that the politics in Tanhaji was questionable, he told Film Companion, For some reason, I didnt take a stand maybe next time I would. I was very excited to play the role because its a delicious role. But when people say this is history; I dont think this is history. I am quite aware of what the history was. Dear @ajaydevgn & @omraut, your colleague is deriding your film just after it became a monstrous hit pic.twitter.com/NuiTaxr1Gn iMac_too (@iMac_too) January 19, 2020 He further added, I dont think there was a concept of India till perhaps the British gave it one. I dont think there is really any constructive point in arguing about loudly, provided you yourself know why youre doing it. 5. Swara Bhasker Saying Mughals Made India Rich Swara Bhasker Instagram Back in 2019, Swara Bhasker courted controversy when she reacted to a tweet saying, Mughals made India rich.. #history #fact. The original tweet mentioned an article that talked about Mughals coming to India as conquerors but living as Indians and not colonists. Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah is often in the news over his political views and for passing controversial statements in the public domain. He has now stirred a controversy after he called Mughals 'refugees' and people on social media are pissed with him for his statements. A video of Naseeruddin Shah is doing rounds on social media, in which he can be heard saying that Mughals have influenced art and culture in India. In an interview with Karan Thapar of The Wire, he said, "The so-called atrocities of the Mughals are being highlighted all the time. We forget that the Mughals are people who have contributed to the country. They are people who have left lasting monuments in the country, who have left the tradition of dancing, music, painting, literature. Mughals came here to make this their homeland. You can call them refugees if you like. Heres the video: After Naseeruddin Shah made this remark, the actor is being brutally trolled on social media. People are calling him an anti-nationalist and they are brutally bashing him. One of the users wrote, Historical joke of the century - Mughals were refugees. PS. They want the same status of Mughals for Rohingya's in India. #naseeruddinshah needs to go back to school." Here are the reactions: Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter A while ago, Shah was in the news for slamming the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. He also bashed Indian Muslims who were celebrating the rule of the Taliban. In the video, Naseeruddin Shah said, Even as the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan is a cause for concern for the whole world, there are celebrations among some sections of Indian Muslims. This celebration of the barbarians is no less dangerous. Heres the video: He was bashed for it and in an exclusive interview with NDTV, Shah clarified what he meant by Hindustani (or Indian) Islam and also about the rise of propaganda films in Bollywood. He also spoke about how the three Khans have always chosen to stay mum on international or national issues. He told NDTV, They also being financed, also promised a clean chit if they make movies which are propaganda, to put it bluntly. In Nazi Germany also this was attempted. Filmmakers who were outstanding, world-class, were rounded up and asked to make films propagating the Nazi philosophy. The kind of big-budget films that are coming. The big ones cannot disguise the jingoistic agenda. He had added, It's not an ordinary time. There is an atmosphere of bottled hate just waiting to be released. People are waiting to take offense to anything. If people had listened to my first statement carefully they would have realized there is nothing to get their knickers in a twist about. What I said was perfectly reasonable because the history of the Taliban tells us to be wary, no matter how many promises they may now make for moderation, which I dont think they will live up to." What do you have to say about his statements? Let us know in the comments section below. Indians are really taking over the world! Listen! I think you really didn't have to tell us that we Indians aren't talented. I mean, for all the bad things that are often said about our high population, one thing is for certain. We do have a lot of intelligent and massively talented people amongst us, who often have to go through a lot of grinds to actually be recognized worldwide. Be it actors, sportsmen, businessmen, yoga gurus or tech people, there is really no shortage of big names who are popular worldwide, because of their achievements. Reuters Now, adding another name to that list would be a name that most of you wouldn't have heard before. (And I say this with no disrespect!) For all the people who didn't know, after Google and Twitter, Elon Musk's Tesla also has an Indian at the helm of operations in one of the important departments. Youtube/Tesla Ashok Elluswamy is the one Indian, who now heads the Autopilot Team for Tesla, making him join the likes of other Indians like Sundar Pichai of Google and Parag Agrawal of Twitter. Twitter Twitter/Sundar Pichai Another important element of this is exactly how Ashok got the job at Tesla. The interesting thing about this is that Elon himself shared this information on Twitter. Reuters Ashok was actually the first employee to be hired for Tesla's Autopilot team, with Elon actually using Twitter to ask people to apply for the role back in 2015. Here's what Elon Tweeted back in 2015. Ramping up the Autopilot software team at Tesla to achieve generalized full autonomy. If interested, contact autopilot@teslamotors.com. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2015 "Ramping up the Autopilot software team at Tesla to achieve generalized full autonomy. If interested, contact autopilot@teslamotors.com." Elon tweeted. Now, of course, the tech genius must have gotten a lot of applicants for the role considering the grand scale at which Tesla and SpaceX operate, however, it was Ashok who eventually was on the team. And guess what? I think he's done well for himself since then, going on to become the actual head of the time he was recruited for in the space of six to seven years. This is what Elon tweeted just recently. Ashok was the first person recruited from my tweet saying that Tesla is starting an Autopilot team! Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2021 "Ashok was the first person recruited from my tweet saying that Tesla is starting an Autopilot team!" Elon tweeted. Just wow! It's a really proud achievement for Ashok as well as the rest of India. I mean, it's not every day that you get praised like that from a person of Elon's capacity. What's next? Indians on the moon and Mars? Stay tuned and we'll give you the updates as and when they come! Gov. Whitmer solidifies anti-fraud measures to protect unemployed workers Gov. Whitmer solidifies anti-fraud measures to protect unemployed workers Executive order and directive formally establish Unemployment Fraud Response Team and UIA tools resulting in current 0.57% fraud rate - over 3 times lower than before the pandemic December 29, 2021 Media Contact: Nick Assendelft, 517-388-3135 Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2021-16 today permanently establishing the Unemployment Insurance Fraud Response Team which solidifies the coordination among state departments and law enforcement partners to identify, investigate and prosecute individuals who steal jobless benefits intended for Michigan workers. The governor also issued Executive Directive 2021-14 directing the Unemployment Insurance Agency to continue to use new technologies, integrate stakeholder expertise, partner with community organizations to educate potential UI claimants, and prioritize enforcement of UI fraud cases through the Response Team. "It's extremely important that we continue to push back on bad actors who look to take advantage of a vital safety net resource for out-of-work Michiganders," said Gov. Whitmer. "While we are seeing increased success in identifying and stopping fraudulent claims, we cannot let up. We owe it to workers to make sure this jobs resource is available when they need it the most. Today's action ensures the Unemployment Insurance Fraud Response Team continues to have the expertise and tools necessary to ramp up our efforts to prevent bad actors from defrauding the system." A new report prepared by Deloitte released today found UIA, now under new leadership, prevented nearly $43.7 billion in benefits in imposter fraud or intentional misrepresentation by the applicant. The report also determined between Oct. 3, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, UIA's anti-fraud efforts cut the rate of cases involving imposter fraud and intentional misrepresentation to only 0.57%. For comparison, the US Dept. of Labor (DOL) shows Michigan's average pre-pandemic fraud rate was 2.01% from July 2017 through July 2020 and the federal agency has estimated that the fraud rate during the pandemic could be much higher than the 3% national average. "Our diligence in identifying fraudulent claims proves that we now have effective processes to identify criminals who steal benefits from unemployed workers and Michigan taxpayers," said Julia Dale, UIA director. "We will use all the sophisticated tools available to us - and pursue new opportunities and partnerships - to continue aggressively fighting unemployment insurance fraud." Today's report looked at federal and state UI benefits programs launched to help workers affected by COVID-19. It defined likely imposter fraud as claims filed by an apparent bad actor to fraudulently extract funds. The report defined likely intentional misrepresentation as claims filed by a legitimate claimant who appeared to be misrepresenting their eligibility for benefits. A November 2020 Deloitte report documented steps UIA had taken to enhance its fraud risk management capabilities to address identified vulnerabilities in the unemployment system. The report did not include cases of intentional misrepresentation. Many of those and subsequent measures to prevent fraud are solidified in today's executive directive: Detect anomalies to identify questionable claims for additional review using UIA's Fraud Manager software. Fraud Manager analyzes claims at filing and certification, flagging irregularities or other suspicious patterns. Continue using tools provided by the Integrity Data Hub to identify foreign IP addresses, suspicious email domains, multi-state claims and other tip-offs to fraud. Michigan was one of the first states to join the initiative. Implement daily reviews of all claim activities and establishing procedures to resolve matters for victims of identity theft who need to file a new claim. Continue implementing protocols that streamline workflows by detecting fraudulent claims activity in bulk. Continue following procedures to resolve matters for victims of identity theft in real time. Identify theft victims must be empowered to file legitimate claims and access resources available to them to protect their identity. Retain experts, as needed, to counter criminal attacks on the UI system, analyze fraudulent unemployment activity, and clear legitimate accounts. Create partnerships with community organizations to educate potential UI claimants on eligibility requirements and improve accessibility for disadvantaged communities. Prioritize enforcement of UI fraud cases through the Unemployment Insurance Fraud Response Team created by Executive Order 2021-16, which continues the work of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force created by Attorney General Dana Nessel. Develop operational metrics to track objectives and key results. In addition, the UIA will: Modernize its current IT system. A new claims processing system that is agile, robust and secure will allow for quicker response to economic changes and provide more internal control over touchpoints with our customers. Launch an aggressive staff training regimen to address knowledge and skills gaps to better allow the agency to pivot in times of crisis and move resources fluidly to address growing issues. Identify opportunities for procedural changes or creating new procedures that will increase agency efficiency not only in current processes, but in recognizing emerging trends that need to be addressed. Focus on a human-centered, plain language approach with customers by making sure correspondence isn't confusing, requests by the agency are clear, and missteps can be avoided when dealing with customers. Marshall resources, processes and stakeholder partnerships to identify potential fraud cases and deploy new technologies to supplement existing identity proofing tools. Plan for UIA's participation in the DOL's Tiger Teams anti-fraud initiative, tapping multi-discipline experts including fraud specialists. Integrate the National Association of State Workforce Agencies' (NASWA) Integrity Data Hub, which identifies high risk claim indicators, into UI fraud detection and prevention processes. Create partnerships with community organizations to educate potential UI claimants on eligibility requirements and improve accessibility for disadvantaged communities. Collaborate with DOL and NASWA to track trends and emerging fraud schemes perpetrated by multi-state criminal enterprises. UIA's What is Fraud webpage details its anti-fraud actions and how you can prevent fraud. The creation of the Fraud Response Team builds on the efforts of Attorney General Nessel's previously established Michigan Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force. The work of the Task Force, which was first announced in June 2020, has resulted in 54 Michiganders being charged with UI fraud by either state or federal authorities - in some cases netting millions of dollars - with 37 cases pending. Nine people have pleaded guilty or been convicted and three have been sentenced. Those accused of facilitating fraud include five UIA employees or contract workers. "I applaud Gov. Whitmer's action to ensure bad actors continue to be identified through the Unemployment Insurance Fraud Response Team," said Nessel. "Michiganders currently out of work should not have to worry that the benefits available are being exploited by criminals, which is why our task force has remained focused on rooting out fraud. I look forward to working with our agency partners to support this new endeavor." The COVID-19 pandemic has been an extremely difficult period for the UIA as the agency faced enormous challenges beginning in March 2020. Despite these challenges, the UIA has paid over $39 billion in benefits to more than 3.3 million workers, with over 99% of eligible claimants receiving benefits. Besides organized fraud schemes, the agency also faced: Unprecedented Number of Claims : The agency received 77 times more claims that it did in an average week before the pandemic. In the spring of 2020, the volume peaked with a high of over 388,000 claims in a single week, compared with just 5,000 claims before the pandemic and a previous all-time weekly high of 77,000 during the Great Recession. : The agency received 77 times more claims that it did in an average week before the pandemic. In the spring of 2020, the volume peaked with a high of over 388,000 claims in a single week, compared with just 5,000 claims before the pandemic and a previous all-time weekly high of 77,000 during the Great Recession. Implementing New and Complex Federal Programs : In addition to traditional state unemployment benefits, the agency has had to quickly build and administer several new federal UI programs created by Congress that required the state to allow individual to self-certify their own qualification. : In addition to traditional state unemployment benefits, the agency has had to quickly build and administer several new federal UI programs created by Congress that required the state to allow individual to self-certify their own qualification. Transitioning Staff to Remote Work: Under extremely difficult circumstances, nearly the entire 650+ UIA staff was quickly transitioned to remote work to ensure service to UIA customers continued during the worst global pandemic in over a century. Incomparable levels of sophisticated, international criminal actors exploited the pandemic with new technology tools and previously stolen information to file fraudulent claims. In May 2020, the U.S. Secret Service warned of an international criminal ring committing large-scale fraud against state unemployment programs across the country. In June 2020, DOL warned that the pandemic created a perfect storm for criminal activity across the country and nearly every state has been a victim of fraud schemes. Emerging reports from states across the country reveal billions of dollars in fraudulent claims were lost to criminal activity. Today's Deloitte report estimates that out of a potential $52.2 billion in attempted fraudulent claims between March 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, an estimated $2.7 -$2.8 billion was paid to claims involving likely imposter fraud and an estimated $5.6 - $5.7 billion was paid to claims involving likely intentional misrepresentation fraud. The bulk of payments were federally funded through the various Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programs. The report also estimated that state-funded UI claims totaled only 2.9% of the total amount identified. With over 97% of imposter fraud and intentional misrepresentation claims coming from federal jobless programs, there was minimal impact to the state's unemployment trust fund. "It's extremely disheartening that bad actors have defrauded the much-needed benefits intended for hard-working Michiganders and the scale of their actions is stunning," said UIA Director Dale. "We have been successful over the past year in limiting the percentage of cases that are fraudulent to less than 1 percent, but we will never stop fighting for our workers." If you suspect you are a victim of fraud of identity theft, report it through Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM). Go to Michigan.gov/UIA for information on preventing fraud or identity theft. Claimants with questions about their accounts can call UIA Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday; employers can call 1-855-484-2636. Or go to Michigan.gov/UIA. MDHHS and MDE send letter to school superintendents; urges schools to take measures upon return from winter breaks FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 30, 2021 MDHHS Contact: Chelsea Wuth, 517-241-2112 MDE Contact, Martin Ackley, 734-358-4145 MDHHS and MDE send letter to school superintendents; urges schools to take measures upon return from winter breaks LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Michigan Department of Education (MDE) are sending a letter to superintendents urging schools to reinforce actions that can help alleviate the risks associated with this COVID-19 pandemic - particularly in anticipation of the highly transmissible omicron variant. Implementing prevention measures will protect students, teachers and staff, and will help maintain in-person learning. The guidance is intended to keep school buildings open and allow students and staff to return to school safely after winter break. MDHHS continues to reinforce that vaccination remains the best public health measure to protect Michiganders from COVID-19. Children ages 5 and up are eligible to be vaccinated. Schools should encourage all who are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and booster dose, and where possible host vaccine clinics to facilitate access for students, families, teachers and staff. The most effective way to prevent transmission within school buildings and reduce prolonged disruptions to in-person learning is to layer multiple prevention strategies as recommended by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Our priority has remained keeping students safe," said MDHHS director Elizabeth Hertel. "Children ages 5 and older now can get vaccinated. In addition to vaccination, we strongly recommend universal masking for students, teachers and staff. We have the tools to keep Michiganders safe, and we must continue to use them." The CDC and MDHHS strongly recommend universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors (age 2 and older), regardless of vaccination status. As Michigan remains in high community transmission, universal indoor masking is a critical prevention strategy for all school districts to allow students to maintain in-person learning. Mask use has been proven to substantially reduce transmission in school settings. MDHHS also recommends regular testing in all school settings. Frequent testing can help identify infected people, including those without symptoms who may be contagious, so measures can be taken to prevent further transmission or outbreaks. To support schools that incorporate COVID-19 testing into their safer school prevention plans, MDHHS is offering rapid antigen testing to K-12 schools through the MI Safe Schools Testing Program. To take advantage of this program, schools and school districts should follow this process when submitting rapid antigen test orders. Schools can participate in the MI Backpack Program, which offers free at-home COVID-19 tests to students, their families, teachers, and school staff. School districts interested in participating in this program can fill out this form. As omicron variant cases are anticipated to increase in Michigan, it is important for all schools to review their planned activities for events and gatherings. MDHHS advises modifications to planned activities during and after school where the ability to maintain social distancing between people who live in different households cannot be maintained. Large gatherings (involving 100 or more people) should be held using remote technology or postponed, if not essential. Large gatherings would include events with large numbers of people from multiple households such as conferences or meetings, sporting events, and concerts. Wearing masks, washing hands often, maintaining social distance wherever possible, and getting staff and students vaccinated all remain important safety measures. All prevention strategies provide some level of protection, and layered strategies implemented at the same time provide the greatest level of protection. If you have any questions or concerns, please email MDHHS-COVIDTestingSupport@michigan.gov. For more information, visit Michigan.gov/Coronavirus. To find a vaccine, visit VaccineFinder.org. ## 2021 Accomplishments Countdown: High-Speed Internet 2021 Accomplishments Countdown: High-Speed Internet FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 29, 2021 Contact: press@michigan.gov 2021 Accomplishments Countdown: High-Speed Internet Governor Whitmer counts down to 2022 by highlighting administration's progress on 10 kitchen-table issues that makes a difference in people's lives LANSING, Mich. - The Whitmer-Gilchrist administration is counting down the last 10 days of 2021 by celebrating Michigan's progress on 10 fundamental kitchen-table issues. Today we celebrate progress Michigan has made on expanding high-speed internet. "High-speed internet is critical to education, employment, and daily household functions," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "I am proud of the actions we have taken at the state level to expand high-speed internet to over 18,000 homes and businesses and win hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants for rural broadband, telehealth, and remote learning. We will continue working to ensure every family, community, and small business has a reliable, affordable connection that meets their needs and helps them participate in our economy." "Access to affordable high-speed internet is a necessity in our professional, personal and social lives," said Susan Corbin, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity director. "We are making significant investments and are committed to removing barriers in high-speed internet availability, affordability and adoption for disproportionately impacted communities of color, those in rural areas, and low-income households. These investments will increase opportunities to get connected so we can boost online learning, healthcare and economic opportunity for all Michiganders." Getting Things Done Governor Whitmer believes every family and business in Michigan deserves access to a reliable, affordable high-speed internet connection that meets their needs. She wants to close Michigan's digital divide by expanding broadband, driving down costs, and boosting digital literacy. High-speed internet enables communities to develop and attract jobs and businesses. It expands economic opportunity for families, enhances educational experiences for students, and allows for remote access to key healthcare services. To ensure Michigan takes advantage of every opportunity for progress, the Governor launched the Connecting Michigan Task Force and the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office to coordinate the state's efforts. Together, these programs have leveraged millions in state and federal funds to give families and businesses access to high-speed internet. Key Numbers Set a state goal to provide 100% access to high-speed internet and 95% adoption by households during the next five years, while continually investing in higher quality access. Provided high-speed internet access to more than 18,000 homes and businesses , generating between $28.1 and $35.5 million in annual economic benefits to consumers. Invested: Additional high-speed internet accomplishments can be found here. "For the past decade, the community leaders in northern Michigan have known that the lack of high-speed broadband has been the number one deterrent to economic development, therefore making the expansion of high-speed broadband their number one priority," said Tom Stephenson, Broadband Solutions Manager, Connected Nation. "In my opinion, 2021 was a good year for broadband in northern Michigan with several service providers and the rural electric co-ops building out fiber optic networks capable of bringing gigabit speeds to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in rural areas where high-speed broadband did not exist. Based on the data and meetings I have participated in; I see that pace increasing to around 100,000 homes and businesses in 2022 and will continue for the next two to three years with the lack of material and trained labor being the restricting factor. As these networks are being built out, I see for the first time our rural community leaders now able to focus on other key issues such as affordable housing, childcare, and transportation." "As a Rural resident for over 40 years, I have tried to keep up with communication through personal computers, tablets, and smartphones," Pauline Bedwell, Richmond Twp. Planning Commission. "However, my area has watched the advances in internet connectivity pass us by, only to make use of high-speed internet at our jobs, schools, and libraries. Connecting to high-speed internet in our homes will be a long-awaited game changer. My rural neighbors and I are really excited about the upcoming opportunities a fast, reliable internet connection provides. Finally, we will have a connection that will allow us to work from home, attend online school, participate in telehealth services, facetime family and friends, and stream our favorite shows. I applaud the Whitmer-Gilchrist administration's sustained efforts to connect rural areas of the Upper Peninsula." "The nation is on the cusp of taking great strides to close our digital divide," said Eric Frederick, executive director of Connected Nation Michigan. "Michigan will have the opportunity to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in federal resources to ensure every Michigander has an affordable high-speed internet connection, a device to connect to it, and the knowledge of how to leverage that technology to improve their quality of life. The idea of an office within state government dedicated to this issue has been around for quite some time. When dedicated staff, capacity, and proper resources are in place, the Michigan Office of High-Speed Internet will be able to efficiently, effectively, and transparently administer new federal investments to create a more digitally equitable Michigan." ### WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) President Joe Biden warned Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the U.S. could impose new sanctions against Russia if it takes further military action against Ukraine, while Putin responded that such a U.S. move could lead to a complete rupture of ties between the nations. The two leaders spoke frankly for nearly an hour amid growing alarm over Russia's troop buildup near Ukraine, a crisis that has deepened as the Kremlin has stiffened its insistence on border security guarantees and test-fired hypersonic missiles to underscore its demands. Further U.S. sanctions "would be a colossal mistake that would entail grave consequences, said Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, who briefed reporters in Moscow after the Biden-Putin phone conversation. He added that Putin told Biden that Russia would act as the U.S. would if offensive weapons were deployed near American borders. White House officials offered a far more muted post-call readout, suggesting the leaders agreed there are areas where the two sides can make meaningful progress but also differences that might be impossible to resolve. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine and made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine. Putin requested the call, the second between the leaders this month, ahead of scheduled talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials Jan. 9 and 10 in Geneva. The Geneva talks will be followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council on Jan. 12 and negotiations at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna on Jan. 13. White House officials said Thursday's call lasted 50 minutes, ending after midnight in Moscow. Biden told Putin the two powers now face two paths: diplomacy or American deterrence through sanctions, according to a senior administration official. Biden said the route taken, according to the official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, will "depend on Russias actions in the period ahead." Russia has made clear it wants a written commitment that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO and that the alliance's military equipment will not be positioned in former Soviet states, demands that the Biden administration has rejected. Biden told Putin a diplomatic path remains open even as the Russians have moved an estimated 100,000 troops toward Ukraine and Kremlin officials have turned up the volume on their demands for new guarantees from the U.S. and NATO. White House officials said Biden made clear that the U.S. stands ready to exact substantial economic pain through sanctions should Putin decide to take military action in Ukraine. Putin reacted strongly. He "noted that it would be a mistake that our ancestors would see as a grave error. A lot of mistakes have been made over the past 30 years, and we would better avoid more such mistakes in this situation, Ushakov said. Russia's demands are to be discussed during the talks in Geneva, but it remains unclear what, if anything, Biden would be willing to offer Putin in exchange for defusing the crisis. Draft security documents Moscow submitted demand that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. The U.S. and its allies have refused to offer Russia the kind of guarantees on Ukraine that Putin wants, citing NATOs principle that membership is open to any qualifying country. They agreed, however, to hold talks with Russia to discuss its concerns. The security proposal by Moscow has raised the question of whether Putin is making unrealistic demands in the expectation of a Western rejection that would give him a pretext to invade. Steven Pifer, who served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in the Clinton administration, said the Biden administration could engage on some elements of Russia's draft document if Moscow is serious about talks. Meanwhile, key NATO members have made clear there is no appetite for expanding the alliance in the near future. The U.S. and allies could also be receptive to language in the Russians' draft document calling for establishing new consultative mechanisms, such as the NATO-Russia Council and a hotline between NATO and Russia. The draft treatys proposed bar on any NATO military activity in Ukraine, eastern Europe, the Caucasus, or Central Asia is an overreach, but some measures to limit military exercises and activities on a reciprocal basis might be possible, Pifer, who is now a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, wrote in an analysis for the Washington think tank. Biden and Putin, who met in Geneva in June to discuss an array of tensions in the U.S.-Russia relationship, are not expected to take part in the January talks. Last week, Russia test-fired Zircon hypersonic missiles, a move Russian officials said was meant to help make Russias push for security guarantees more convincing." The test was the first time Zircon missiles were launched in a salvo, indicating the completion of tests before the new missile enters service with the Russian navy next year and arms its cruisers, frigates and submarines. U.S. intelligence earlier this month determined that Russian planning was underway for a possible military offensive that could begin as soon as early 2022, but that Putin had yet to determine whether to move forward with it. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines Security and Defense Council, said Thursday his country believes there is no immediate threat of a major Russian invasion. Our experts say that the Russian Federation just physically cant mount a big invasion of our territory, Danilov said. There is a time period needed for preparations. The U.S. military has flown surveillance flights in Ukrainian airspace this week, including a flight Thursday by an Air Force E-8C JSTARS aircraft, according to Chuck Pritchard, a spokesman for U.S. European Command. That plane is equipped to provide intelligence on ground forces. Russia has denied any intention of launching an invasion and, in turn, has accused Ukraine of hatching plans to try to reclaim control of territories held by Moscow-backed rebels by force. Ukraine has rejected the claim. At the same time, Putin has warned that Moscow will have to take adequate military-technical measures if the West continues its aggressive course on the threshold of our home. Last month, Putin voiced concern that NATO could potentially use the Ukrainian territory for the deployment of missiles that would be capable of reaching Moscow in just five minutes and said that Zircon would give Russia a comparable capability. As Biden prepared for the talks with Putin, the administration also sought to highlight its commitment to Ukraine and drive home that Washington is committed to the "principle of nothing about you without you in shaping policy that affects European allies. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Past military incursions by Putin loom large. In 2014, Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and seized the territory from Ukraine. Russia's annexation of Crimea was one of the darker moments for President Barack Obama on the international stage. The U.S.-Russia relationship was badly damaged near the end of President George W. Bush's administration after Russias 2008 invasion of its neighbor Georgia after Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered his troops into the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Biden, who is spending the week in his home state of Delaware, spoke to Putin from his home near Wilmington. The White House distributed a photo of the president speaking to the Russian leader from a desk lined with family photos. ___ Vladimir Isachenkov reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Dasha Litvinova in Moscow, Robert Burns in Washington and Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report. BRADLEY, Ill. (AP) Authorities were searching Thursday for two people believed to have been involved in the fatal shooting of one police officer and wounding of another at a northern Illinois hotel. The two Bradley police officers were shot late Wednesday while speaking to people in a room at a Comfort Inn along a highway in Kankakee County, the county sheriff's office said. The officers were taken to nearby hospitals, where one died and the other was listed in critical condition and undergoing surgery, said the Bradley Police Department. The county coroner identified the slain officer as Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, 49. Illinois State Police identified the other as Officer Tyler J. Bailey, 27. An arrest warrant was issued for 25-year-old Darius D. Sullivan of Bourbonnais, and the sheriff's office posted a Facebook request for the public's help in finding him, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous. Police also obtained a Kankakee County arrest warrant for Xandria A. Harris, 26 of Bradley, but her role in the shootings wasn't clear. The police department said in its news release that it was also searching for what it described as a person of interest believed to have been involved, though it didn't release any identifying information about that person. The officers were at the hotel to investigate a report of dogs that were barking in an unattended vehicle in the parking lot, the sheriff's office said. They found the room where the vehicle's possible owner was staying and were shot while talking to the people in that room, it said. Mike Watson, the mayor Bradley, a village of roughly 16,000 people about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Chicago, said the wounded officer had been transferred to a Chicago-area hospital, the (Kankakee) Daily Journal reported. Rittmanic's body was transported early Thursday in a police procession from the Riverside Medical Center to the Kankakee County morgue, and officials later lowered the flag at Bradley Village Hall to half-staff. A procession from the morgue to a funeral home in nearby Bourbonnais was planned for Thursday afternoon. This is a very sad and tragic day for the Bradley village family. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family members of all involved, Watson said. Rittmanic, who lived in Kankakee, joined the Bradley Police Department in 2007 and was promoted to sergeant in 2014, said Lt. Philip Trudeau, a department spokesman. She previously spent seven years as a deputy with the Iroquois County Sheriffs Department, he said. A $10,000 reward was being offered for information leading to Sullivans arrest, WLS-TV reported. The hotel shootings came hours after a sheriff's deputy was fatally shot while responding to a motorist assist call on a highway near Mill Shoals, which is in southeastern Illinois and roughly 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Bradley. The Wayne County Sheriffs Office said Deputy Sean Riley responded to that call at around 5 a.m. Wednesday. He was found dead by a second officer who later arrived at the scene, and the deputys squad car was later found abandoned on I-64, police said. Authorities arrested a Kentucky man suspected in that attack and a carjacking in Missouri. Photograph by Fred Stoneall, from the collection of the Gunn Historical Museum / Contributed WASHINGTON The Gunn Historical Museums Washington History Club at Night will hold a hybrid program in the Wykeham Room of the Gunn Library, and online on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 25. A lively group conversation, moderated by long-time Washington resident Dimitri Rimsky, will discuss Washingtons notable citizens from the past; those remembered fondly in our hearts and minds, who contributed so much to our community and forever shaped our towns history. Bring your favorite stories and memories to share, members said in a statement. Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media CROMWELL Due to a shipping and warehouse delay, as stated by Gov. Ned Lamont, COVID-19 at-home test kits have not been shipped to the state of Connecticut as planned. We extend our sincere apologies to all Cromwell residents as the town is forced to cancel our planned drive-thru distribution, Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore and Public Health Coordinator and Emergency Management Director Salvatore Nesci said in a joint statement Thursday. MIDDLETOWN Shipping delays have forced local health officials to cancel the planned distribution of some 6,000 at-home COVID test kits earmarked for Middletown. They were to be given out Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at both Middetown High School and Macdonough Elementary School. That changed with the governors announcement Wednesday that the first set of 500,000 two-pack kits, which also contain N95 masks, was expected to be delivered by plane. However, theyre being held up in California. With the delivery uncertain, municipal officials sent out messages overnight letting residents know some distribution events Thursday would be canceled. In Middletown, Acting Health Director Kevin Elak is hopeful the city will get its allotment of 6,030 by early next week, however, a date and time are not yet set. A lot of people are disappointed that this didnt work out, he said Thursday. In a perfect world, the kits would come in time and wed be ready. Supplies will be divvied up into 4,000 for the general public, with 2,000 reserved for first responders, essential businesses, and community organizations with a high need for additional testing supply, the health department said. In neighboring Cromwell and Durham, health officials made the same decision, pushing off their Thursday giveway to an undetermined date. Gov. Ned Lamont spoke about the issues happening on the West Coast. Due to shipping and warehouse delays outside of the state of Connecticuts control, our states anticipated shipment of COVID-19 at-home rapid tests are currently delayed from arriving in Connecticut, he said. Health officials are recommending that each two-pack kit be used on one person when they suspect they may be positive, and a few days later to confirm the results with a second test. While these additional testing supplies are a step in the right direction, Mayor Ben Florsheim said in a release, there is no question that we need more supply to meet the demand that this uptick in COVID-19 spread is creating and, even more importantly, to prevent the next wave from getting this bad. For more information, visit MiddletownHD on Twitter or the health department website at middletownct.gov. NEW YORK (AP) Drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals contributed to the opioid crisis, a suburban New York jury ruled Thursday in one of few verdicts so far among thousands of lawsuits nationwide over the painkillers. A separate trial will follow to determine what Teva will have to pay in the case, in which New York state and two Long Island counties took on a swath of drug companies. In Thursday's verdict, a Suffolk County jury found the drug company played a role in what is legally termed a public nuisance but had lethal consequences an opioid use epidemic linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. in the past two decades. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and others misled the American people about the true dangers of opioids," James, a Democrat, said in a news release. Today, we took a significant step in righting the wrongs this country has collectively experienced over the last two decades. Israel-based Teva, which makes medications using the powerful opioid fentanyl, said it strongly disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal. The plaintiffs presented no evidence of medically unnecessary prescriptions, suspicious or diverted orders, no evidence of oversupply" by Teva and didn't show that Teva's marketing caused harm to New Yorkers, the company said in a statement. It is also arguing for a mistrial, based on various issues. The price of Tevas U.S.-listed stock fell after the verdict was announced, ending down 6.3% at $7.90. Around the country, state and local governments, Native American tribes, unions, school districts and others have sued the drug industry over the painkillers. New York's lawsuit, filed in 2019, targeted several opioid producers and distributors, companies that buy medications in bulk and sell them to pharmacies. The suit accused drug companies of breaching their legal duties to profiteer from the plague they knew would be unleashed. The state and counties said that drug manufacturers collaborated to mislead people and downplay the serious risks of opioid addiction, and that drug distributors skirted systems meant to limit orders for painkillers. Teva is known for making generic drugs, but the lawsuit focused on Actiq and Fentora, two brand-name fentanyl drugs approved for some cancer patients. Teva repeatedly promoted them more broadly for other types of pain, in a deceptive and dangerous marketing strategy, the lawsuit said. They try to say theyre selling legal products. The only problem is: Theyre selling them illegally, lawyer Hunter Shkolnik, who represented Nassau County, said at a virtual news conference Thursday. The jury saw that what theyre doing is wrong. Teva said Thursday it continues to focus on increasing access to essential medicines to patients and believes a national settlement of opioid issues is in patients' best interest. New York said the conduct of the various opioid companies named in the suit cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in addiction treatment bills and other expenses. Lawyers for the counties suggested the Teva could be held liable for tens of billions of dollars, or more, in damages. The numbers are staggering, what it has cost our communities and what it will continue to cost our communities" in emergency services for overdose victims, drug rehabilitation programs and more, Suffolk County's lawyer, Jayne Conroy, said at the virtual news conference. Teva was the sole manufacturing defendant left in the suit after others settled, most recently Allergan Finance LLC in December. The various settlements have netted New York up to $1.5 billion. The trial started months ago. The jury began deliberating Dec. 14, taking some days off for Christmas. Elsewhere, only a few opioid cases have gone to verdicts to date, with no clear consensus on outcomes. An Oklahoma judge ruled against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson in 2019, but the states supreme court overturned that decision in November. A week earlier, a California judge in ruled in favor of drugmakers including Teva. Then, late last month, a federal jury in Cleveland sided with two Ohio county governments that had claims against pharmacy chains. Some observers thought the California and Oklahoma rulings doomed the idea of using state public nuisance laws to pursue opioid suits, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who is following the litigation nationwide. But now were really seeing that thats not true, at least in some places, Tobias said. He suggested Thursday's ruling could reinvigorate such suits. A trial has been completed but a judge has not yet ruled in a West Virginia case, and a trial is ongoing in Washington state. Thousands of other cases are in the process of heading to trial. There have also been settlements. Some of the biggest industry names such as distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson and drugmakers Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals have reached nationwide settlements with a cumulative value potentially well over $30 billion. Most of the money is being directed to fight the epidemic. But most of those deals have not been finalized, and there has been one very big reversal. In mid-December, a federal judge rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharmas sweeping deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids. ___ This story has been corrected to show that a jury, not a judge, decided the case in Cleveland. Associated Press writer Deepti Hajela contributed to this report. South Korea's top diplomat on Wednesday said his country and the U.S. "effectively have agreed" on a draft declaration of a formal end to the Korean War. The two allies have shared views on "the importance of the declaration," and were now considering ways to make progress in consultations with North Korea, said Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong at an end-of-year news conference. "Our government views that an end-of-war declaration is a crucial step that we must go through in the process of achieving complete denuclearization and a lasting peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula," Chung said. "Our government views that an end-of-war declaration provides a very useful opportunity to resume dialogue in a current deadlock in talks with North Korea." The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice agreement between China, North Korea and the U.N. Command. The agreement was intended to end hostilities and to eventually bring about a "final peaceful settlement." Chung's comments come weeks after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the U.S., North Korea and China agreed "in principle" to declare a formal end to the Korean War. Moon's presidency ends in May and his administration has sought to fulfill his campaign promise of bringing the war to a close. Moon told reporters during a press conference Dec. 13 that a formal declaration was "not an ultimate goal" but a possible step to generate "significant dialogue momentum" with North Korea. State Department spokesman Ned Price in a press briefing Tuesday reiterated that the U.S. harbors "no hostile intent" toward Pyongyang and is "prepared to meet without precondition." "We hope the DPRK will respond positively to our outreach," Price said, referring to North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Pyongyang has said little recently about a possible end-of-war declaration. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior official in the ruling party, described the possibility as "interesting" and a "good idea" in a September statement. "We have discussed the end of war declaration at several opportunities in the past since we have appreciated the necessity and meaning of the [declaration], which can be the beginning of the establishment of a system to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula," Kim said in a statement through the state-run Korean Central News Agency. Critics of the declaration have voiced doubt about whether it would build relations with the communist regime. Former Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris, a retired admiral who once led U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the Pacific Fleet, questioned how North Korea would change after a formal end to the Korean War. "It's not a peace treaty -- the armistice will still be extant," Harris told a discussion panel in November. "Our treaty obligations to defend South Korea will still be extant. And North Korea's missile, nuclear and conventional capabilities will still be extant." This story originally appeared on Stars and Stripes. How to use the mindat.org media viewer Click/touch this help panel to close it. Welcome to the mindat.org media viewer. Here is a quick guide to some of the options available to you. Different controls are available depending on the type of media being shown (photo, video, animation, 3d image) Controls - all media types Zoom in and out of media using your mousewheel or with a two-finger 'resize' action on a touch device. Use the mouse or your finger to drag the image or the view area of the image around the screen. < and > at the left and right hand side of the screen move forwards and backwards for the other images associated with the media you selected. Usually this is used for previous/next photo in a gallery, in an article or in search results. Keyboard shortcuts: use shift + the left and right arrow keys. < and > in the bottom center are used for switching between the photos of the same specimen. 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The 3D images can be viewed in several ways: - without any special equipment using cross-eyed or parallel-eyed method - with stereoscope - with anaglyph glasses. - on a suitable 3D TV or monitor (passive 3D system) For details about 3D refer to: Mindat manuals: Mindat Media Viewer: 3D To enable/disable 3D stereo display of a compatible stereo pair image press the 3 key. If the left/right images are reversed on your display (this often happens in full-screen mode) press the 4 key to reverse them. Controls - photo comparison mode If a photo with activated comparison mode is opened in the viewer, the button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "Comparison mode settings" menu. Several layouts are supported: slider and side by-side comparison with up to 6 photos shown synchronously on the screen. On each of the compared photos a view selector is placed, e.g.: Longwave UV . It shows the name of currently selected view and allows to select a view for each placeholder. Summary of all keyboard shortcuts Six Ayikoo Ayikoo residents have lost their lives in a tragic accident that occurred in the Sege enclave on December 26 at about 3pm. Information gathered indicate that they were onboard a Toyota Hiace bus belonging to the Central Region Lands Commission with registration number GV 843-14. They attended the funeral of a friend's father in the Volta Region. Six deceased were Mohammed Ameen Adam popularly called 'House Party', Faisal Masour, Abubakar Sadick Ibrahim, Nasiru Ali, Mallam Lukman and Mallam Dawuda. Speaking to the Ayikoo Ayikoo Assemblyman Mr. Lamidi Alhassan, who had visited the accident scene said all the dead were part of a group of Muslims who had gone to the Volta Region to help a brother bury his father. He added that when the car got to Sege on the Sogakope-Accra stretch, the back tyre got burst resulting in the accident. "Three died on the spot while the other three died later at the hospital. The three who died on the spot bodies were conveyed by the Ghana Police when we arrived." According to the Assemblymember, the dead and injured were all rushed to the Sege and Bator government hospitals for medical attention. "I thank the Police officers who assisted us to retrieve our dead from the hospitals. As I speak, we've gotten all the bodies of the dead and they are in an ambulance heading towards Cape Coast for the necessary preparation and burial rites," he stated. Ayikoo Ayikoo is a predominant Muslim Community within the Cape Coast South Constituency. It lies along the Tantri and Petro Roundabout street. Some irate workers of the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra staged a protest on Wednesday, December 29, 2021, calling for the immediate removal of their Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This is the fourth time the workers have demonstrated over end-of-Service benefits and Tier 1 & Tier 2 insurance contributions. They allege that these contributions have not been paid since May 2019, among other concerns. They, among other things, accused the CEO, Abena Pokua Boaitey Amoah, of misapplying funds of the hotel. They also posited that the contract of the CEO expired in November 2021; hence there was no reason to renew the contract. The Local Workers Union Chairman of the La Palm Royal Beach, Mary Attoh, in an interview with the media, insisted that their CEO must not be maintained. In a separate petition sighted by Citi News, the staff gave a tall list of bad decisions taken by the CEO on procurement without regard to the technical advice from HOD which has currently caused financial loss to the hotel. Additionally, the management style of operation, according to the workers, has hampered the productivity of the hotel and is currently nearing collapse. Click here for the full petition by the disgruntled workers. In 2018, the staff demonstrated against their CEO, Abena Pokua Boaitey Amoah, demanding her removal from office. The workers, among other things, also protested her refusal to implement new salary levels, which were supposed to take effect from January 1, 2018. ---citinewsroom Oysters are a popular, if pricey, feature of many a Christmas and New Year meal in France, but their seasonal popularity also provides rich pickings for thieves. After losing three tonnes, shellfish farmer Christophe Guinot came up with a solution to help police track down the culprits. France is Europe's biggest oyster producer: 85,947 tonnes were sold in 2019, worth an estimated 398 million euros. A large majority are sold at the end of the year when families traditionally tuck into the odd dozen of plates (flat) or creuses (cupped) oysters. With high demand over the festive season, it's a busy time of year for farmers, but also for thieves. Despite gendarmes watching over oyster beds and new technologies, such as tracers camouflaged in an oyster or drones, poaching continues apace. A farmer in the Charente-Maritime region, western France, had three tonnes stolen in October/November worth some 20,000 euros. 'You've won your weight in oysters!' After another shellfish farmer, Christophe Guinot, was robbed of a similar amount, he hatched his own sleuth-like plan, inserting notes into some of the oysters which help police find the thieves. Guinot farms in the coastal lagoon of Leucate near France's border with Spain. The shellfish are reared in cages, attached to a metal frame to stop them drifting away. But they can't be watched over 24/7 and poachers take boats out to the cages and pluck them from the water. Guinot came up with an ingenious method to deter the theft. He empties an oyster shell, inserts a tiny rolled-up note, glues the shell back together and drops it into the cage. The note tells whoever opens the shell: "you've won your weight in oysters!" and invites them to claim their prize. Anyone claiming their prize can be asked where they bought the oysters, and if it was not from a place that Guinot supplies, he could get the police involved. Dissuasive effect Since putting the method in place in 2016, Guinot says there have been no new oyster thefts on his farm. "It has had a dissuasive effect," the 60-year-old farmer told Reuters. Fellow producers from the area have followed his example and also planted notes among their oysters. So far no one has claimed the prize from Guinot himself, though some had been claimed from neighbouring farms, he said. In at least some cases, the prizewinners had been sold stolen oysters, and police were alerted. Word has spread and appears to have created a deterrent effect: after 19 oyster thefts in the area in 2017, there were none in 2020, according to the French Interior Ministry. (with Reuters) A 35-year-old Nigerian who allegedly collected GHC30,000 from a businessman under the pretext of supplying him with scrap but failed has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court. Ozoemena Agbowodike, a scrap dealer told the Police that he had sent the money to his brother in Nigeria to be used in solving his pressing family issues. Charged with defrauding by pretenses, Agbowodike has pleaded not guilty. The court presided over by Mrs Patricia Amponsah admitted the accused to bail in the sum of GHC20, 000 with two sureties. The court further ordered the prosecution to file witness statements. The matter has been adjourned to January 20 next year for Case Management Conference. Prosecuting Chief Inspector John Gohoho said the complainant Ebere Chukwu Chibueze resides at Odorkor and the accused also resides in the same vicinity. The prosecution said somewhere in November this year, the accused approached the complainant and introduced himself as a scrap dealer and that doing scrap business in Ghana was a lucrative venture. Based on that, the complainant and the accused became friends. The prosecution said the accused told the complainant that since he arrived in Ghana from Nigeria, he had seen a massive improvement in his life and he wished the complainant would also transact the scrap business to enrich himself. The prosecution said the accused promised to supply the complainant with a quantity of scrap. A few days later Agbowedike collected GHC30,000 from the complainant to supply him with the scraps. Accused after collecting the money failed to honour his promise and went into hiding. On December 15, this year, the accused was arrested from his hideout by the complainant and handed over to the police. The prosecution said the accused in his investigation caution statement admitted the offence and told the Police that he sent the money he collected from the complainant to his brother in Nigeria to be used to solve his pressing family problem. GNA Three persons have been arrested in connection with a violent clash between two youth groups at Mampongten on Monday evening. The police is on a manhunt for other suspects who attacked and robbed a victim of the clash. Ibrahim Abubakar reports, relative calm has returned in the area after the police intensified patrol. Three days after the violent clash, life has returned to normal in Mampongten. But even with the relative calm, residents fear of renew attacks. The police has beefed up security in the area. The Kwabre East Municipal Security Council has been engaging leadership of the communities to bring an end to the attacks. 3news.com 30.12.2021 LISTEN The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has, through a press statement dated Wednesday, 29 December 2021, confirmed that an incident happened at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra on Tuesday, December 28 but was silent on calling it a bomb scare as captured in a widely circulated video on social media. In th video, passengers at the Arrival Hall were seen ducking and then a loud explosion was heard within seconds. The GACL statement said the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has started investigating the matter. It confirmed that at around 9 pm on Tuesday, an unattended [to] bag was sighted at the Arrival Hall of Terminal 3. The Base Ammunition Depot Unit of the Ghana Armed Forces was immediately brought in to conduct a preliminary assessment of the bag and its contents, the statement noted. It said: The bag was subsequently taken away for further investigations, the outcome of which will be made public. The company apologised for the disruption in the arrival facilitation process when the incident occurred. classfmonline.com 30.12.2021 LISTEN Family of the late Instagram American model, Tyger Booty, who was mysteriously found dead in a hotel room in Accra is demanding an autopsy of the deceased to be done in the United States. The family debunked claim that the deceased died out of overdose of drugs, saying that the deceased neither drink nor take drug. We dont trust Ghana health authorities will do a good job so we want the autopsy done in the United States, sister of the American Instagram model, Julie Williams said by adding that they found it surprising that her sister has found herself in Ghana. She believes that there is more to the story as being told and want the autopsy done outside Ghana because they heard Ghanaian officials can be corrupt. The hotel authorities in Abelenkpe, a suburb of Accra noticed Tyger Booty has not been out of her hotel room for some days and informed the police who helped to break into the hotel room where they found the model dead. Reports says she was flown into the country by a mysterious Ghanaian billionaire for a 'paid vacation', which we assume is code for something far more egregious. However, the cause of her death is yet to be established although initial rumours the media claimed she might have had a drug overdose or committed suicide. Meanwhile, the US Embassy was said to have given the family assurance of helping find the cause of the death. The Tesano police are currently investigating with assistance from the Police Headquarters in Accra. DGN online 30.12.2021 LISTEN The Women of Power and Transformation Inc (WOPAT) on Wednesday, December 29, 2021, officially launched a new initiative aimed at creating one billion successful women entrepreneurs across the globe. The launch was held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) in Ghana with an international audience joining in via Zoom from other parts of the world. Speaking at the launch, Prof. Michelle Walker-Davis who is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of WOPAT disclosed that her outfit is determined to work with other partners to create the billion successful women entrepreneurs by 2030. She said through the initiative, WOPAT will target women that want to be in leadership, women that have an idea of business but do not know how to get it started, or have started but dont have the money to sustain it. Through various interventions, these women from parts of the world including Ghana will be resourced to make their lives better through entrepreneurship as well as other ventures that could include going into nonprofit organisations. According to Prof. Michelle Walker-Davis, although funds are not ready at the moment, her outfit is working to ensure already available funds are made accessible to help women. We dont have a pool of money that is sitting there but we have a pool of money that we know is accessible. I know that there is $850,000 in free money out there so Im going work like hell to see that we access that and put them in our application for our women, the WOPAT Founder told the media at the launch. The successful entrepreneur further indicated that through her latest initiative, she is hoping to have businesses and successful women such as Oprah Winfrey and Meghan Markel come on board to extend a helping hand to uplift their fellow women. We are really looking for businesses to support one another to come in with their millions and billions of dollars and then we are going to other successful women for them to give back. "We have a plan and a strategy that will work. We are not worried about the money. The money will come, Prof. Michelle Walker-Davis noted. Asked whether setting out to create a billion successful women entrepreneurs is not a dream too big, Prof. Michelle Walker-Davies answered, It is achievable. It is already being done. We serve a big God and we cannot think small. If we are going to change the value of women it must be done on a massive scale and so we cant look at it through our eyes. We have to look at it through Gods word. Gracing the launch at the AICC, Founder and President, Women in Leadership International (WILI), Rev. Nana Yaa Tina Owusu-Prempeh pledged to work to support the initiative. She said she has no doubt that through the initiative from WOPAT, lives will be changed through the empowerment of women. We are going to unleash a phenomenal financial empowerment to women in this country. We are going to make sure that women who are ready to work are empowered with small money to start their businesses. We can change lives and we will do it one person at a time, Rev. Nana Yaa Tina Owusu-Prempeh stressed. The launch in Accra was attended by traditional leaders including a King and a number of Queens led by the Nungua Okpoi Gonno, Nana Oye Adesey Omanyesane III. In Ghana, WOPAT also wants to work with The Ministry of Education, Employment, Tourism, as well as Gender, Children, and Social Protection to make its dream come to pass. After a successful launch in Ghana, WOPAT is set to have another launch in India on January 10, 2022. Women and women groups looking to benefit from the initiative as well as organisations and businesses interested in supporting WOPAT to create the one billion successful women entrepreneurs can contact WOPAT through [email protected] or visit www.wopat.org. The Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has urged factions in the recent Bawku chieftaincy impasse to abide by a Supreme Court ruling on the matter to allow peace to prevail in the area. It also urged all stakeholders in the dispute to desist from actions and pronouncements that could further escalate tensions and violence in the area. There have been renewed fights between the feuding factions amid reports of gunshots, causing some deaths and destruction of properties. The Ministry, in a statement signed and issued by Mr Ebenezer Kojo Kum, the Sector Minister, on the instructions of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, on Wednesday, said claims that Bawku did not have an overlord and attempts to install a new Bawku Naba ran contrary to the already determined position by the Supreme Court on the matter. "The status of the Paramount Chief of Bawku has been settled by the Supreme Court of Ghana in the celebrated case in April 2003. "Indeed, the judgements of the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land are meant to be complied with and not subject to the opinions of any individuals or group to pick and choose whether to abide by the judgments or not," the statement said. It noted that until or unless a decision of the Supreme Court was varied or set aside, that decision was binding on all persons. The statement said per the list of members of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs with its Regional House at Bolgatanga, the Paramount Chief of Bawku and the current occupant of the skin was Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, who was enskinned on April 24, 1984 and thus became the President of the Kusaug Traditional Council. "It is our expectation that all parties will abide by the decision of the Supreme Court and let peace prevail in Bawku," the statement said. It assured of Government's resolve to ensure that persons holding offices legitimately were uninhibited from performing their roles and functions, adding that the security agencies had been authorised to take all necessary steps to ensure that law and order was fully enforced and that any persons in breach of the peace would be brought to book. GNA With the year winding to a close, President Akufo-Addo has backed down from the initial target to vaccinate 20 million Ghanaians before the end of 2021. He now views the end of the first quarter of 2022 as a more feasible target. That 20 million target, we may not (be able to) reach (it) this year. But we believe by the end of the first quarter next year, we would have attained (it), he said in a Q&A with Forbes Africa on December 23. The 20 million target is expected to cover Ghanas adult population and the President feels that in itself gives us all the immunity we need. So it is a really important target. President Akufo-Addo also reiterated the governments commitment to producing its own vaccines. We are in the process of creating a national vaccine institute led by very capable and world-class Ghanaian scientists, and we are hoping that by next year, it will be up and running, so we can find strong capabilities to find vaccines for our people. Ghana currently has 2.6 million fully vaccinated persons out of its over 30 million population. There are concerns that Ghana has a growing problem of vaccine hesitancy. The government declared the final month of 2021 as the month of vaccinations to counter these concerns. This was accompanied by vaccine mandates like the directive to all persons to be vaccinated on arrival at the Kotoka International Airport before they can be permitted to enter the country. The vaccine hesitancy concerns come as Ghana is contending with a fourth wave of COVID-19 following the emergence of the Omicron variant of the virus. On December 19, Ghana had 3,165 active cases of the virus. This figure stands at 9,534 cases as of December 25. In all, Ghana has had 141,295 confirmed cases of the virus with 1,287 deaths. ---citinewsroom President of the National Prophetic and Charismatic Council, Archbishop-elect Elisha Salifu Amoako, has advised prophets to abide by the directives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, on prophecies that can cause fear on panic. The Police, in a statement weeks ago, reminded religious groups that their rights to religion, freedom of worship and free speech were subject to the respect for the rights and freedoms of others according to the law of the country. The Police said it was a crime for a person to publish or reproduce a statement, rumour or report, which was likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace without any evidence to prove that the statement, rumour or report was true. It noted in a press statement that over the years, communications of prophecies of harm, danger and death by some religious leaders had created tension and panic in the Ghanaian society and put the lives of many people in fear and danger and that anybody found guilty under those laws could be liable to a prison term up to five years. We, therefore, wish to caution all Ghanaians, especially religious groups and leaders to be measured in their utterances, especially how they communicate prophecies, which may injure the right of others and the public interest. Archbishop-elect Salifu Amoako, in a response, said prophecies were products of spiritual engagements where God revealed His intentions about individuals and nations to prophets who had the mandate to reveal them according to God's instructions. He added that God in some instances could instruct prophets to speak about a pending danger, which could befall the nation but agreed circumspection was necessary. GNA 30.12.2021 LISTEN NPP Youth Alliance in Diaspora are calling on the party's disciplinary committee to suspend, Henry Nana Boakye, John Boadu, Chairman Wontumi and the entire planning committee. According to them, it's very shameful and disgraceful to the party, the president and the country for the president to sit in before his vice. In an interview with Daily Ghanaian Guide, Owusu Afriyie the speaker of the NPP Youth Alliance in Diaspora said, "I don't see the reason why anytime NPP create issues during their conferences, simply because the people are not truthful to the party." Mr Owusu noted that "they have disgrace Nana Addo just because they want to uplift Bawumia, He doesn't carry any weight upon all what technique they go for Alan will still win primaries." The trade minister, Alan Kyeremanten wasn't present at heroes park in Kumasi during the conference that according to Diaspora saves the beauty of the conference. "Organisers of the conference expected Alan Kyeremanten to be present to humiliatingly watch the political drama they deliberately staged to tell how popular the Vice President is in the party, but he did not attend". "Propaganda headlines that accompanied the disgraceful Bawumia hyping New Patriotic Party National Delegates Conference held in Kumasi" "The choice of venue and the entire event was deliberately organised and stage-managed to project the vice president. Diaspora said over 4000 delegates willing to join the trade minister to the conference of with his team need to act wisely to put things in place for the whole program to gain it glory". Mr Owusu Afriyie accuses four (4) MPs in the Ashanti region of supporting the vice president strongly, he advised Bawumia should listen to the voice of Akwesi Platt Junior, Kofi Akpalu and other professors that Alan stands tall among all the candidates. 30.12.2021 LISTEN Founder of the Ghana Union Movement (GUM), Christian Kwabena Andrews, popularly known as Osofo Kyiri Abosom has lambasted President Akufo-Addo and his government over the decision to impose the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) on Ghanaians. According to the leader of the third-largest opposition party in the country, Ghanaians must rise and reject the new levy. We shouldnt accept this at all, Osofo Kyiri Abosom who is also the head pastor of Life Assembly Worship Centre told TV3 in an interview. He said instead of the government imposing E-Levy on Ghanaians, it should focus on creating employment. Give people work to do, employment, instead of taxing those who are poor already," he added. For the sake of peace in Ghana, Osofo Kyiri Abosom insists that President Akufo-Addo withdraw the controversial E-Levy. I am entreating Nana Addo and his ministers, for peace and harmony to reign in this very country, he needs to come out and tell Ghanaians that the e-levy matter, he has removed it from Parliament, the GUM Founder shared. The newly introduced Electronic Transaction Levy is seeking to tax all electronic financial transactions that will exceed GHS100. When approved by Parliament, Ghanaians who transact over GHS100 a day will be charged with a 1.75% electronic tax. The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Kwesi Ofori, has said the Inspector General of Police (IGP), COP Dr George Akuffo Dampare has worked hard to change the negative perception about the Ghana Police. He said the IGP would continue his work to ensure that the service becomes better than what it is currently. Speaking on 2021 Year In Review on TV3 Wednesday, December 29, he said the Service is now witnessing True leadership from the Police, the new Inspector General of Police has done a lot to change the negative public perception and he is still working on it assiduously to make sure that we succeed. It is recalled that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo also commended Dr Dampare for the work he has done so far since his appointment. Mr Akufo-Addo said he felt vindicated for appointing him due to the good work done so far. He has so far vindicated my decision to appoint him, President Akufo-Addo said on Friday October 1. Dr Dampare in his Christmas and New Year Message to personnel of the Service reiterated the resolve of his administration to transform the Ghana Police Service into a world-class institution and the most respected organisation in Ghana. To this end, he assured personnel of his availability and that of leadership to listen to all concerns and ideas to make this possible. He consequently, warned those who engage in misconduct and unprofessionalism to desist from those acts particularly in 2022 for us to regain the trust, confidence and respect of the public. The senior-most police officer, who started his official duty on Sunday, August 1 , eulogised officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in the past year. The Police Administration will do what is required to support their surviving families. Let us continue to keep them in our prayers. He also commended all active officers for your courage, patriotic selflessness and unalloyed dedication towards the maintenance of law and order. We are proud of you and we will not take you for granted, we recognise that your efforts contribute greatly to the peace and security of this country. Dr Dampare and some members of the Police Management Board (POMAB) spent Christmas eve in the Tema region on night foot patrol. ---3news.com 30.12.2021 LISTEN No country in the world is without challenges. Only when speaking out regardless of citizenship, colour or history we all as humans and nations can benefit and improve on the words and suggestions of our fellow human beings. Ghana is seen as the heaven of stable democracy and the most blessed country in Africa enjoying peace among the richness of its natural resources. They only see a Ghana they want to see pushing aside the shortfalls of the nation ignorant of the dark sides the country has increased upon by time faster and faster. Freedom of Speech has become a challenge for locals yet foreigners only complain behind closed doors about the disturbing news making its rounds in the public domain. Foreigners want no trouble with any authorities but go about their legal or illegal activities under the radar of potential problems. They know without a good relationship with the authorities substituted by bribes and promises to help to connect them to greener pastures their life in Ghana would not be possible. What is said and thought about Ghana really will never touch public ears unlike Ghanaians speaking out their true mind in their world. Foreigners want to extort the natural resources from Ghana in big volumes at little cost paying the high price of keeping their mouths shut. When they smile into Ghanaian faces they do not show their true and honest faces matching the Ghanaian mentality to prefer smiling sweet lies for the sake of peace in the country over dealing with the bitter truth, the only way forward. Foreign Diplomats are trained not to possibly offend their host countries by using honest clear language but beating around the bush giving their hosts wrong information and advice. A good friend is an honest friend with loving open eyes to see and a sharp mouth to talk his analytic mind with better suggestions in his words. Foreigners on the other hand are safer from being harmed and potentially killed by locals as even they know this would cause more harm internationally to them and the country unlike when they attack or kill one of their own. The consequences of this overall dishonesty are obvious in the way White people in Germany and beyond over the past few years have seen Ghanaians rushing to their nations in numbers for greener pastures and not out of passion and love for them. Openly they discuss that more and more Ghanaians are about to come, come from natural resources-rich and most blessed country. What they think about Ghana and Ghanaians in their own native countries they would never speak out in Ghana in public. Whites in that regard can be seen as hypocrites scared of potential repression but not as loving friends. NB: Emirates has now taken a clear stand by cancelling flights from Ghana which should make us all proud! Ugandan rights activists have called for the release of prominent novelist and government critic Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, arrested in Kampala by armed men, according to his lawyer. "Armed men claiming to be from the Uganda Police Force" broke into Kakwenza Rukirabashaija's home on Tuesday, his lawyer Eron Kiiza said, adding that he had been on the telephone to his client at the time. "I heard them threaten to break his legs," Kiiza told AFP. An outspoken critic of President Yoweri Museveni's government, Rukirabashaija had recently been scathing of Museveni's son Muhoozi Kainerugaba a general who many Ugandans believe is positioning himself to take over from his 77-year-old father describing him as "obese". Muhoozi retorted on Twitter: "I want the arrest of Kakwenza Rukira to be a lesson to all those who think they can abuse me on social media and walk away scot free." Plain clothes officers It was not immediately clear who arrested the award-winning author, who wrote on his Facebook page: "Men with guns are breaking my door. They say they're policemen but are not in uniform." There was no immediate comment from Ugandan police. According to Kiiza, witnesses saw Rukirabashaija being bundled into a van known as a "drone", which is associated with abductions of government opponents in Uganda. Writer of courage Rukirabashaija won won this year's PEN Pinter Prize's International Writer of Courage award, which is presented annually to a writer who has been persecuted for speaking out about their beliefs. He is best known for his 2020 satirical novel "The Greedy Barbarian", which describes high-level corruption in a fictional country. He has been repeatedly arrested since its publication and said he was tortured by military intelligence while being interrogated about his work. At that time, he was accused of breaching Covid-19 social distancing regulations, inciting violence and promoting sectarianism. The writer described his time in detention as "inhumane and degrading" in his most recent book "Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous". Earlier this month the United States placed sanctions on the head of Uganda's military intelligence unit, Abel Kandiho, accusing him of "leading interrogations of detained individuals" targeted for their political views. Crackdown on dissent Uganda has suffered a series of crackdowns aimed at stamping out dissent, with journalists attacked, lawyers jailed, election monitors prosecuted and opposition leaders violently muzzled. The country's best-known rights lawyer, Nicholas Opiyo, who fled to the United States this year, criticised Rukirabashaija's "violent unlawful arrest" and called for his release on Twitter. The opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has condemned Rukirabashaija's arrest and urged his release. (with AFP) Founder and Leader of the Prophetic Chapel Hill, Prophet Nigel Gaisie has said he will go head with his prophecies no matter the revelations on 31st night. He said he is not a coward to be intimidated by the warning that has been given by the Police against the publication of death prophecies. According to him, he has been instructed by his God to deliver His message as it is. I read in somewhere that you have to bring material evidence whether the prophecy. Who has ever dreamt and have material evidence of your dream. The greater component of prophecy is dream. What they are saying doesnt wash but for me we will have a way. We will cross, I will prophesy in all confidence, there will not be any shadow on that, I will speak the mind of God. Personally, I am not one of the cowards, I have been called by God, I have an assignment and whoever is coming after the church is making a big mistake, he told TV3 in an interview. The Police has cautioned Religious leaders in Ghana to be measured in their utterances, particularly the way they communicate prophecies, ahead of New Year Eve's services. We want to caution that under Ghanaian law, it is a crime for a person to publish or reproduce a statement, rumour or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace, where that person has no evidence to prove that the statement, rumour or report is true, the police warned in a statement issued on Monday, December 27. It is also a crime for a person, by means of electronic communications service, to knowingly send a communication that is false or misleading and likely to prejudice the efficiency of life saving service or to endanger the safety of any person, the statement signed by Superintendent Alexander Obeng, the Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, added. A person found guilty under these laws could be liable to a term of imprisonment of up to five years. Friday's services across the nation will be the first since Inspector-General of Police Dr George Akuffo Dampare took office. He had met religious leaders over prophecies deemed to cause fear and panic in the nation. That meeting was precipitated by a fake gun attack on popular musician Shatt Wale , who had later indicated he took that action as a result of a prophecy by the Founder and Leader of New Life Kingdom Chapel, Bishop Stephen Kwesi Appiah, on an Accra-based radio station before the Monday, October 18 incident. The man of God, popularly known as Jesus Ahuofe, was arrested and later granted a GH100,000 bail . The police admitted that they are not against prophecies especially in a country where the centrality of God is in the live of many. There should be no apprehensions, therefore, about undertaking the various activities. We ask only that everyone keeps within the law and is mindlful of the welfare of each other. ---3news.com Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, Executive Director, Africa Alliance for Christian Advocacy (AACA), has rallied Church leaders and religious stakeholders to support the efforts of the Police to respond to religious excesses. He said it was only prudent to support the police, who have initiated measures to forestall the unpleasant, misleading theologies and religious abuses in the name of prophecies, which had created panic and fear in the public. Such prophecies have also frustrated the Christian public testimony and threatened religious harmony. "Over the years, in the name of religion, some Human rights have been abused and we have found instances where specific names of key personalities had been mentioned to die within the year and, therefore, we must as key stakeholders in the religious domain support this novel effort of the Ghana Police Service without any doubt," he said. He said the Constitution, which provided liberties for the church to operate freely without any hindrance or interference, also guarantees the right to privacy to every Ghanaian irrespective of creed or status and that must not be lost on religious leaders as they make preparations to usher in the new year with religious and spiritual activities. Speaking in an interview with the GNA on a recent statement by the Police on careless 31st Night Prophesies, Reverend Opuni-Frimpong, a former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, described the call by the Police as apt. He said it was a subtle reminder of the constitutional right within the existing framework of the laws of the country and nothing new and, therefore, imperative for all stakeholders to give their maximum support. Some pastors and prophets have become notorious for wild prophecies, including those that bordered on the rights and security of persons and which political party was ordained by God to win during elections. On the concerns of others on why the Police had waited until now or not invited previous offenders, he stressed, "why we have waited till now is a legitimate question, but what is wrong yesterday is certainly not right today and it's only prudent to implement measures to address it at a point." GNA The Bono Regional Council of Elders of the New Patriotic Party has ordered the party in the region to revoke the suspension of Maxwell Mahama, the Sunyani East Communications Officer, with immediate effect. Mr Mahama, an outspoken member of the NPP in the region, was suspended from the party on March 6, 2021, for gross misconduct. But, the party in a letter signed by Mr James Kofi Kyereme, Bono Regional Council of Elders, and made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, said, the suspension of Mr Mahama as communication officer or officer of the party and member is settled and should be lifted. Copies of the letter were sent to the National Executive Committee, National Council Of Elders, the Bono Regional Secretariat, Sunyani East Constituency Executive Committee and Sunyani East Constituency Council of Elders of the NPP. Mr Frank Musah Damtarl, the Sunyani East Constituency Chairman of the party, has earlier petitioned the Council to resolve the impasse in the supreme interest of the Party. The letter expressed the Council's gratitude to Mr Kwame Baffoe, the Bono Regional Chairman of the NPP, and the regional executives for the maximum cooperation during and after the settlement processes. The Council of Elders shall continue to work hand in hand with the Regional Executives in ensuring peace and harmony in all the constituencies to enhance the fortunes of the NPP in Election 2024, it stated. It, therefore, advised every member to promote, and defend the good name and image of the NPP in the region, promote unity, remain truthful, and abide by and publicly uphold the decisions of the party. GNA As part of the effort to reduce unemployment among the Youth in the Ayawaso North Constituency of the Greater Accra Region, the Zongo Caucus Coordinator of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Siddique Abubakar Suleiman has sponsored skill training for over 20 youth in Closed Circuits Television (CCTV) installation. The beneficiary youth drawn from all branches within the Constituency were trained on how to install, repair and service a CCTV camera. At a short ceremony for the passing out of the youth who benefited from the training, Mr Siddique Abubakar Suleiman, who is a youth activist pledged his full support for the development of the youth of the Ayawaso North enclave. He further assured to help the beneficiaries register companies in their names so they could provide professional technical services to persons who need CCTV in their homes and offices. The registration of companies, he said would legalise their businesses and as well enable them to bid for competitive contracts. He added that, with a registered company, the beneficiaries would be able to train other youth while serving as experts to the general public. He however advised the youth to take the business serious and desist from involving themselves in criminal activities. Juan Martin Gonzalez CabaAas 30.12.2021 LISTEN The triumph of Boric in Chile is not only a political and geopolitical earthquake in fact is a triumph with high symbolic content in the region: It is the triumph of an alternative political force in the cradle of neoliberalism in the region, the first laboratory of the Chicago School in South America, a market dictatorship and minimum state imposed on violence by Augusto Pinochet in a military coup in 1974 and consolidated as a neoliberal democracy in the 1990s, under a supposed "centrist consensus" between post-Pinochetist conservative forces and the traditional Chilean left (la Concertacion, which had former presidents Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet as top exponents). A supposed democratic consensus that in practice didnt changed the economic, social and political structures inherited from the military dictatorship. This result seems to throw away that so-called Myth of Chilean Exceptionality: the archetype of the ideal neoliberal state, which for years inspired the discourses of the liberal right-wing forces of South America, a model of economic growth with a minimum State and high entrepreneurial freedom, under an alleged aura of social and political stability, the (neo) liberal order to be emulated throughout the region. But that order has been broken in Chile. First the 2011 student protests (in which Boric participated) would give a preview of the movements that were brewing in the roots of Chilean society. Finally the breaking point would be the 20192021 protests (el estallido) - with similar protests throughout South America with a clear anti-neoliberal and status quo emphasis - would lead to the election of a reformist constitutional assembly and now this December as a result of the election of Gabriel Boric as president, a clear revisionist of the neoliberal paradigm in his country. Such a rupture could not have been explained more concretely than by Boric himself in his speech as elected president: "an economic growth which is based on deep inequality has feet of clay. Such events are cause for illusions, justified or not, not only in Chile, but throughout the region for those who preach an alternative model of society to the neoliberal paradigm. Gabriel Borics resounding triumph on December 19 has sparked debate about a possible "Second Pink Tide" in South America, to some extent the outcome of this election - as well as that of Pedro Castillo in Peru and Arce in Bolivia - have given new vigor to this idea, which while debatable, the fact that Borics victory is a breath of fresh air for the besieged progressive governments after two years of pandemic and a turbulent and volatile international scenario for some time now cant be denied. The 2019 wave of protest in South America and the electoral defeat of Mauricio Macri in Argentina the same year added to the Covid 19 pandemic and its effects on the region extended for more than a year (the dramatic drop in approval levels of the Bolsonaro administration in Brazil as a paradigmatic example) seem to converge in a single diagnosis: the neoliberal paradigm in South America (and Latin America) is in crisis. This terminal crisis is already evident. But the alternative forces to this paradigm have not yet been able to assert their bases. So a long and laborious post-neoliberal process is foreseen. Following a quote from Gramsci, times of crisis are those where: the old is dying and the new cannot be born yet. Progressive governments with post-neoliberal paradigms of the first Pink Tide could not consolidate Counter-Hegemony within their countries (institutional and cultural structures of neoliberalism) nor counterbalance the influence of the United States at regional level through joint action. In geopolitical and institutional terms, virtually all the processes and organizations of regional integration in South America and Latin America are now standstill. Both historical regional organizations (such as MERCOSUR) and those driven by the progressive Pink Tide: CELAC, UNASUR, It will be the challenge of Boric as well as the next leaders who will emerge from the electoral cycle in 2022 in the region to re-enact, revitalize the regionalism of La Patria Grande. The political process that in 2022 will be able to map out more precisely future regional trends in this regard will be the presidential election in Brazil in October, where today Lula da Silva has a wide advantage according to most public opinion polls. Lulas victory -the alternative forces to the neoliberal project and the unipolar alignment to the US, now represented by the Bolsonaro administration in Brazil- , would be the necessary change to turn the tide regionally and provide the political strength required to revitalize the regional unity project. From 2022 onwards, a new convergence between the governments of Argentina, Brazil and Chile would allow to relaunch the postponed ABC platform (Argentina, Brazil, Chile) proposed by Peronism in the 50s. The ABC project and Continentalismo are both strategic concepts of the geopolitical doctrine of Peronism. And in such doctrine they are the basis for the realization of the South American Union. Such a union would allow the consolidation of an autonomous continental pole that would counterbalance the influence of the great powers in the region, still valid ideas in an increasingly multipolar and complex world, in which new competences, debates and paradigms emerge. * Juan Martin Gonzalez Cabanas The war between the two forces of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha and Hope Uzodinma continues to move from one new stage to another. It looks like they hate each other's moral and ideological views so they just disagree with each other perhaps inwardly, subconsciously, and outwardly. Is it ever acceptable to wish another person dead? No. But I will not be surprised if by way of imagination, Uzodinma and Okorocha have not periodically wished each other death. We will never know how much hatred they have for each other. Only God knows. I dare say, for far too long the Imolites have suffered from this untreated divide affecting the State. The inhabitants of Imo state, know, in their minds who has created a culture of corruption, like across Nigeria, they know many Nigerians with public power will wield it for private gain. In general, the pattern of abusing powers for personal or political gain has reached an alarming level that hasn't been seen in recent history and will have long-lasting consequences for the future of Nigerian democracy. The personal and political war between Uzodinma and Okorocha is largely an institutional problem, rather than a cultural one, as it is reflective of a nation where everyone shows their own power and showcase who is more safeguarded by extended power or influence. If truth be told, Nigeria is yet to act as a democracy and as a country founded on the rule of law with guaranteed fundamental rights. In a real democracy, accountability, which refers to the processes and structures that hold the inhabitants and public officials legally responsible for their actions and that impose sanctions if they violate the law is almost fictional. Any good observer of the Nigerian affairs will not be perturbed that the police invaded a church, jumped to the altar, interrupted sermons, and shot indiscriminately, and arrested Uche Nwosu, the son-in-law to former Governor Rochas Okorocha, who was doing thanksgiving service for his late mother. Do not be surprised that a so-called police investigation could be carried out but end up in oblivion, like many others because the police is subordinate under an Inspector General (IG) that is under the thumb of the Presidency. Even when a good attempt is made to probe a matter, under the psychology of the order from above the police and its senior officials will instantly act in service to the interest of the master than to the rule of law. In a weak or deficient institutional democracy, it is always about show me I show you or do me I do you, type governance, meaning, a system in which those with power make up their own rules and use personal influence to go against each other. In a society propelled by persons in power, use politicized security agencies to cater for their selfish interests, the rule of man prevails. On a psychological and political note, I have been an observer of these two interesting personalities in Imo State. They both appeared likeable persons. Now, let us dig dipper. Okorocha to me, acts as a stand-up comedian governor in a solo manner. As a comic executive, he engaged in an endless need to get attention, and he did it with pride, impunity, and indifference, and sometimes with generosity. Okorocha tends to appreciate aggressive humor, when he supposedly dismissed workers, sometimes refused to pay workers/contractors, engages in demolition of markets, ignores court orders, and have gotten vindictive with competitors he disliked, and he is known to destroy peoples houses. Humorously, he appears as one who expresses authoritarian, venal, and dictatorial might. Okorocha made his sister the commissioner for happiness, he made his son-in-law Deputy Chief of Staff to the Imo State Government from 2011 to 2013, commissioner for Lands from 2013 to 2015, and Chief of Staff from 2015 to 2019. I am referring to Uche Nwosu who after been placed under arrest, was dragged out of the church, stripped half-naked, handcuffed, and flown in a private jet to a police unit in Abuja, as if there are no police stations and investigators in Imo State. Okorocha, as part of his apparent delusional approach to power, made his sister serve as deputy chief of staff and commissioner. He gave a ministerial position to his daughters father-in-law. His fantasy extended to building and acquiring properties that included schools, hotel, hospital, estate, and others. As part of his humorous poetics, he bult the Eastern Palm University, allegedly with state funds money but personalized it. After leaving office, he ignored governments order by breaking into his wife's sealed Royal palm spring estate and got arrested. At least for some hours. Is the case currently in court, keeping waiting? To hold on to all his power and wealth, he finds his aggressive fantasies becoming actualized in aggressive behaviors. He has been known to use his thugs and aides to beat up top officials, and even a police officer was once pounded into a coma for delaying in opening the gate to the state government house. His last huge fantasy was when he anointed his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, to succeed him as governor, it all crashed. In a video clip, as a sitting governor, he said The salary of a Governor is N750,000/month. So, if you dont have a second office and you dont have something else to do, you must steal; excuse me. Every political office holder who does not have a second office must steal." A video that is now continuously used for anti-corruption education globally. Okorochas unpleasant competitor, Uzodinma, a long-time federal Senator, who was declared by the Supreme court as the winner of the governorship of Imo State held in 2019, would come in with what I call the Uzodinma Reality. Since Uzodinma assumed office, Okorochas aggressive humor and romantic powers, have faced a set of multiple Uzodinma s consequential medicines. Okorochas world through executive powers of governor Uzodinma and the law has fallen, at least for now, and he knows that he is in deep stressful trouble. I do worry about his health. There are nightmares rattling and pounding him. Everything he now associates with, including his very close supporters are affected. Okorocha is now tasting revenge fantasies but with realism. Using the powers of the courts, Uzodinma, is recovering properties of the state apparently looted by Okorocha and his family members. Uzodinma, has returned lands said to be forcefully taken from the owners by Okorocha. Reality hit Okorocha gravely as his Eastern Palm University, by court order was renamed Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University (KOMU). Uzodinma, knows that Okorocha is not apparently delusional enough to think he has continued power. Uzodinma, with the power of the law and influence, is bent on bringing down the cold-blooded and malicious acts of Okorocha, a man who now appeared as driven by wounded personal pride and wobbly energy. In a non-institutional democracy like Nigeria, where who pass you or personalized democracy dominates, Uzodinma, is more covertly and overtly supported by the powers that be, with a small handful, on Okorochas side. Although, Okorocha is clearly and forcefully pushing back in exasperations. Nigeria, Imo Sate cannot continue this way. Those with personalized power boldly undermine democracy and the rule of law with recklessness. Nigeria is a country where persons patently unfit for public office get power due to corruption and habitual dishonesty. It is difficult to say anything is institutionally correct in Nigeria, including the presidency, police, and the judiciary as each operates generally, not according to the rule of law, and not for the full interest and fate of the Nigerian democracy. The air is filled with so called leaders who are always waging war against the rule of law, ethics, and morality. In the Nigeria society, rule by position, whereby an occupier of government is considered above the law. The rule of law, which implies that everyone in society is bound by the law, including the government is under duress and dismissal. As for the Imolites, majority feel worn out by the amount of political stress in the State, constantly unsure about the future in terms livelihood and personal security. It is a fair to say that these two warring men are lovely Imolites, who have done some good things for the people. Today one is a politically wounded Senator, and the other is a Governor under public test. If they are alive their bitter poetical relationship will continue but let us hope they will be thinking more in the spirit of institutional democracy. And focus on developing the state, enhancing governance, and pushing to help the people of Imo environment out of impoverishment, hardship, insecurity and assist in providing lifesaving surroundings. On the larger side, those who abuse public power, occupy position for personal advantage, exploit tribal loyalty to advance personal gain, and pursue parochial interests need to be more open to the psychology of trustworthiness and competence. In the absence of these inner qualities, all of us will continue to experience poor governance, painful poverty, infrastructure deficit, a deteriorating economy and protracted insecurity. May God/Allah give us good thinking men and women filled with the psychology of commonsense and rationality. John Egbeazien Oshodi who was born in Uromi, Edo State in Nigeria, is an American based Police/Prison Scientist and Forensic/Clinical/Legal Psychologist. A government Consultant on matters of forensic-clinical adult/child psychological services in the USA; Chief Educator and Clinician at the Transatlantic Enrichment and Refresher Institute, an Online Lifelong Center for Personal, Professional and Career Development. A former Interim Associate Dean/Assistant Professor at the Broward College, Florida. The Founder of the Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi Foundation, Center for Psychological Health and Behavioral Change in African settings. In 2011, he introduced the State-of-the-Art Forensic Psychology into Nigeria through N.U.C and the Nasarawa State University where he served in the Department of Psychology as an Associate Professor. A Virtual Professor at the ISCOM University, Benin of Republic. Founder of the Proposed Transatlantic Egbeazien University (TEU) of Values and Ethics, a digital project of Truth, Ethics, Openness. Author of over 40 academic publications/creations, at least 200 public opinion writeups on African issues, and various books. He specializes in psycho-prescriptive writings regarding African institutional and governance issues. John Egbeazien Oshodi wrote in via [email protected] Charlatan priests and prophets have preyed on their Ghanaian victims for a long time. These false prophets and frauds have employed great shrewdness and guesswork and combined them with trickery. They have used deceptions and socio-psychological manipulations to make themselves rich and powerful. Discerning Ghanaians should have asked: Why can't God speak at any time to people, but only on New Year's Eve? It is a shame the Christian community has to wait for the Ghanaian police to intervene to save us from the falsehoods of the "professional" prophets. That is an indictment against the whole Ghanaian Christian community. What is the role of Christianity in public life? Why does it have to take the police to issue such restraint against falsehoods coming from supposedly Christian pulpits every New Year's Eve, wrapped in the cloak of prophecy from God? What are groups like the Christian Council of Ghana doing when the church's integrity is at stake? The false prophets continue with their trade every year because they know many Ghanaians, educated and uneducated, are Biblically illiterate. Also, they know that other Christian groups that are supposed to know better do not hold them accountable by repudiating them in public. Why aren't some Christians challenging the falsehoods of these charlatan prophets in public? Many societies in antiquity, including the Jewish people, instituted the death penalty for false prophecy because of its profound implications. As Christians, we sin by omission when we don't denounce falsehoods as Amos did to Amaziah (Amos 7). The prophecies given by the charlatan prophets in Ghana have grave psychological and social implications. How would you feel or do if someone told you that you would die next year? You can either ignore it if you are emotionally strong or seek the service of the "professional" prophets to intervene spiritually on your behalf. Their goal is first to place you under spiritual bondage so they can manipulate you. With the politicians, the purpose of these prophecies is to obtain financial gains, favors, and political and financial inducements from them. Why don't they warn the politicians about their corrupt practices and the exploitation of the poor as the Biblical prophets did? A prophetic utterance in Christianity is a direct word from God about the situation at hand through the mouth of one of his people. Unlike the "guesstimations" we hear from many Christian ministers in Ghana, prophecy is a declaration of future events, such as no human wisdom can forecasta declaration dependent on knowledge of human affairs that can belong only to the omniscient God. Also, contrary to the idea that prophecy is an irresistible compulsion, there is no hint from the New Testament that it is so. The Apostle Paul teaches some prophets to keep quiet while others are given a chance to speak (I Corinthians 14:29). Therefore, the gift of prophecy and its mode of communication involves the use of the mind. The interpretation and the manner of communicating that prophecy are at the discretion of the prophet. True prophets can therefore wait and speak to the affected people in private rather than making a public display of their trade. The prophet is not only to deliver his message with wisdom but also with pathos. In his excellent book "The Prophets," the Jewish scholar Abraham Herschel writes, "The task of the prophet is to convey the word of God. Yet the word is aglow with the pathos. One can't understand the word without sensing the pathos. The prophet should not be regarded as an ambassador who must be dispassionate to be effective." Though prophetic gifts continue to appear in the church, they have become increasingly suspect because of their abuse, especially among Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians. The Didache laments over bogus and self-seeking prophets. Unlike the cessationists who think the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased after the canonization of the Scriptures, I believe prophecy is meant to continue in the church. But because of the danger of abuse and its subjective nature, people who aspire to be prophets in the church must be guided by the Scriptures and their prophetic words judged. The Bible urges Christians to test all prophecies. In I John 4:1, the apostle writes, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world." The test of the true prophet is that his prophecy will be brought to fulfillment according to God's purpose (I Kings 22: 26 28; Jeremiah 28). "But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, 'How may we know the word which the LORD has not spoken? Now listen to the Lord's response When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, and if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you need not be afraid of him." Deuteronomy 18:20-22. Deuteronomy 13:5 also commands that a false prophet be put to death. This is because false prophets can quickly turn believers away from the true God by their false prophecy. They can also bring people under spiritual bondage and psychologically manipulate them. Many of these false prophets practice sorcery and divination and use socio- psychological manipulations on their victims. Evidence from the Scriptures suggests that prophecy must meet specific criteria for it to be credible. First, the event prophesied must be beyond the power of men to foresee. Second, the prophecy must come before the event. Third, the prediction in the prophecy must be unique to the event and must come to pass. Fourth, the communication of the prophecy must be unambiguous and unmistakable. And fifth, the moral character of the prophet himself provides another checkpoint (Jeremiah 23:14). However, the last criteria criterion has limitations, for no true prophet except Christ was sinless. Notwithstanding, the prophet must have impeccable character by human standards. Therefore, it is fair to judge people's prophecy from a Biblical standpoint since they are presumed to speak for God Almighty. A closer look at the Old Testament prophecies reveals that most prophecies of God were about these three things: One, the exploitation of the people by the leaders, second, idolatry, and third, adultery. Biblical prophecies were not that concerned about who would get sick or die even though there were times when God, through the prophets, asked some kings to put their house in order before dying or were told about their deaths as punishments for their idolatry: worshiping of pagan Gods. Therefore the kinds of prophecies about political parties and prominent personalities without any rebuke from God about their evil deeds are suspect and must be treated with the contempt they deserve. France has limited the number of people who can attend concerts and other public events in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19. But people are calling out hypocrisy in the exceptions, especially for political rallies ahead of the upcoming presidential election. Fairs, conventions, zoos and amusement parks will not be affected by limits on public gatherings, which was announced Monday and has had artists calling foul, pointing out that political meetings are also exempt. "We are making a distinction between static gatherings and places where there is movement, said Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, junior minister for tourism and SMEs, on RMC radio on Thursday, referring to fairs and conventions. Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Monday a three-week limit of 2,000 people for indoor gatherings and 5,000 people outdoors, starting on Monday, 3 January. No limits on political meetings Political rallies are exempt, constitutionally, as the government cannot limit attendance. Several candidates are planning their campaign launch events mid-January less than four months before the first round of France's presidential election on 10 April 2022. The exemption even if legally required is raising artists' hackles, some of whom have ironically declared themselves candidates in order to perform for more people. Health Minister Olivier Veran on Wednesday told lawmakers that the government is not creating double standards as it is legally not allowed to limit attendance. Some candidates say they will voluntarily limit numbers, including the ruling LaRem party, and the mainstream right-wing Les Republicains, whose candidate Valerie Pecresse cancelled a large public event on the11th of December a few days after announcing she was running, and held a smaller one instead. Socialist candidate and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has already been requiring a health pass of attendees to her events, and the Green party has anticipated smaller, outdoor gatherings or online events, Marine Tondelier, spokesperson of EELV candidate Yannick Jadot, said on RTL radio. Extreme candidates But on the extremes, the issue is more contentious. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, will launch her campaign on 15th and 16th of January with a convention in Reims, and has no intention of limiting attendance, her spokesperson Sebastien Chenu told Europe 1. For hard-right France Unbowed candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who has planned a rally in Nantes on the 16th of January, it would be problematic to limit numbers, according to lawmaker Eric Coquerel, speaking on RMC radio, adding that the party will not apply the government's oppressive measures. And extreme right candidate Eric Zemmour, who launched his campaign with a 15,000-person rally north of Paris, will not modify any plans for the next four months. Lawmakers on Wednesday passed a measure allowing for organisers to require a health pass for attendees of political meetings, as part of the debate underway over a new law that will require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, cinemas, museums and other public venues. (with AFP) 30.12.2021 LISTEN Mothers and newly born babies at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) have been compelled to sleep on bare floor due to the lack of beds at the facility. A visit to the facility by DGN Online saw mothers breastfeeding their babies on the bare floor while receiving treatment. The maternity ward of the hospital which takes about 50 patients has only 22 beds at the ward. The situation has forced mothers who go there to seek medical care to resort to lying on the bare floor. Madam Fuseini Nusurat, a mother told DGN Online that the lack of beds situation is a worry to mothers especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. According to her, mothers and babies can be infected with diseases due to mothers lying on the bare floor. Because mothers are lying on the bare movement in the ward is very difficult and also due to the movement dust and other things can affect the mothers and the babies. Another mother, Sulemana Nafisah told DGN Online that lying on the floor gives them waist pains and other health challenges. She expressed worry that her baby may be infected with diseases even though they are in a health facility where their health should be guaranteed. The floor is cold and my baby is lying on the floor so he can be infected with some diseases. The mothers appealed to government, philanthropists, NGOs and other institutions to come to the aid of the Tamale teaching hospital and provide them with beds to enhance health delivery. Madam Adam Zenab , a Senior Midwifery Officer at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, told DGN Online that they have no choice than to allow the mothers lie on the bare floor due to the lack of beds in the ward. We are not happy to see nursing mothers on the floor but we are just tied up we don't have enough beds here. According to her, the facility is overwhelmed with women who visit the facility to deliver their babies and called on government to expand and provide beds to be able to hand the numbers at the maternity ward. The Tamale Teaching hospital is a referral facility for the five regions of the north and some parts of Oti region. SDGs The Sustainable Development Goal three (SDG-3), of which Ghana is a signatory, is about ensuring healthy lives and the promotion of the well-being of all at all ages. The SDG-3, estimates that by 2030, global maternal mortality ratio should reduce to less than 70 per 100,000 live births, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality to as low as 25 per 1,000 live births and achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. ---DGN online At least four people were killed on Thursday when heavily armed fighters from the Al-Shabaab jihadist group raided a town near Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said. The attack came with the troubled country in the grip of an escalating political crisis pitting the president against the prime minister. The attackers, armed with machine guns and RPG rocket-launchers, raided the town of Balcad, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Mogadishu, police and witnesses said. Four people, including two members of the security forces, were killed and eight others wounded, police officer Abdullahi Mohamed told AFP by phone. The militants targeted government security checkpoints in the early morning raid "to terrorise the public", said Mohamed. "The situation returned to normal now and the government forces are in full control," he added. Map of Somalia locating the town of Balcad. By Vincent LEFAI (AFP) Witnesses said the Al-Qaeda linked jihadists managed to enter some parts of the town, which lies along a road north of the capital linking Mogadishu to rest of the country, before they were repelled. "There was heavy fighting but the fighters later pulled back and the situation is quiet now," said one resident, Hussein Abdikarin. Another witness, Shamso Ali, said they were woken by heavy blasts and the sound of machine gun fire as the militants entered the town. "We were shocked to see this happening but thanks to God, we remained at safety inside our houses until the fighting was over," he said. Al-Shabaab issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. Delayed elections President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble are locked in a festering feud over long-delayed elections in the Horn of Africa nation. The president, better known as Farmajo, this week announced he was suspending the premier, who in turn accused him of an "attempted coup". Indirect elections for the lower house of parliament were supposed to have been completed this month but only a fraction of the 275 seats have been filled. Relations between the pair have long been frosty, with the latest developments raising fresh fears among international partners that the government could be distracted from its fight to quash the jihadist insurgency. The international community including the United States has voiced alarm about the crisis, with Washington calling for the rivals to refrain from "escalatory actions and statements". Al-Shabaab has been waging a violent campaign against the country's fragile government since 2007 but was driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 after an offensive by an African Union force. But the insurgents retain control of vast rural areas of Somalia, from which they frequently launch deadly attacks in the capital and elsewhere against civilian, military and government targets. The extremists last month claimed a deadly car bombing near a school in Mogadishu that killed eight people and injured a number of students. The militants also claimed two attacks in September that together killed 17 people. Tens of thousands of Sudanese protesters defied a security lockdown Thursday, braving tear gas and chanting "no to military rule" as they marched in rallies demanding a transition to a civilian government. Demonstrators reached within a few hundred metres (yards) of the presidential palace, the headquarters of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan who seized power on October 25, before troops, police and paramilitary units launched multiple tear gas canisters into the crowd. "The revolution continues," protesters shouted, beating drums and waving flags. Pro-democracy activists have kept up a more than two-month-long campaign of street demonstrations against the army's takeover, despite a crackdown that has seen at least 48 people killed in protest-related violence, according to the independent Doctors' Committee. Security forces deployed in strength across Khartoum, using shipping containers to block the Nile bridges that connect the capital with its northern suburbs and its twin city Omdurman. Sudanese demonstrators on December 30; at least 48 people have been killed in protest-related violence, according to the independent Doctors' Committee. By - (AFP) The bridges were blocked off for the last protests on December 25, when tens of thousands took to the streets. Those rallies were also broken by tear gas -- as well as charges by police wielding batons and firing into the air. Some 235 people were injured during those protests, according to the Doctors' Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. On Thursday, protesters demanded that soldiers "go back to the barracks", carrying those injured from inhalation of the tear gas. Bridges blocked, phones cut Map of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. By ClAa PACULIER (AFP) New surveillance cameras were installed on the major thoroughfares for Thursday's protests, and for the first time, authorities also cut all phone lines, both international and domestic. Web monitoring group NetBlocks reported mobile internet services were cut from mid-morning, limiting the ability of protesters to encourage supporters or to broadcast live footage of the rallies. Witnesses reported similar anti-coup protests in Madani, south of the capital, and the cities of Kassala and Port Sudan in the east. Burhan, who held civilian leader Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok effectively under house arrest for weeks, reinstated him on November 21 under a deal promising elections for July 2023. But protesters said the deal had simply given a cloak of legitimacy to the generals, who they accuse of trying to reproduce the former regime of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir, toppled in 2019 following mass protests. "Signing with the military was a mistake from the start," one protester said, accusing the generals of being "Bashir's men". 'Respect free speech' A Sudanese demonstrator sits atop a traffic light as thousands protest against the army in the capital Khartoum on December 30. By - (AFP) The US embassy appealed for restraint, reiterating "its support for peaceful expression of democratic aspiration, and the need to respect and protect individuals exercising free speech," a statement said. "We call for extreme discretion in use of force and urge authorities to refrain from employing arbitrary detention." Activists have condemned sexual attacks during December 19 protests, in which the UN said at least 13 women and girls were victims of rape or gang-rape. The European Union and the United States issued a joint statement condemning the use of sexual violence "as a weapon to drive women away from demonstrations and silence their voices". Sudan still has no functioning government, a prerequisite for the resumption of international aid cut in response to the coup. Over 14 million people, a third of Sudan's population, will need humanitarian aid next year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the highest level for a decade. An Accra Circuit Court has adjourned to January 4, 2022 the case of Bishop Stephen Kwasi Appiah, popularly known as Jesus Ahoufe, the Founder of Newlife Kingdom Chapel. He allegedly prophesied that dancehall musician, Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr., also known as Shatta Wale, would be shot and killed on October 18, this year. Meanwhile prosecution has been ordered to file its disclosures and witness statements for a case management conference. The accused had earlier been granted bail in the sum of GH100,000 bail with three sureties, all should be gainfully employed. The sureties are also to deposit their Ghana Cards at the Court Registry. Bishop Appiah is to report to the police twice a week - Mondays and Thursdays. He has denied the charge of causing fear and panic. Prosecution has been led by Chief Inspector Dennis Terkpetey, while Martin Kpebu represented Bishop Appiah. The Bishop was arrested on Tuesday, October 19, 2021, at the premises of Accra FM, three weeks after his prophecy of death over Shatta Wale. Shatta Wale, who was arrested for faking a shooting incident, said in a Facebook post that his action was necessitated by the prophecy. GNA 30.12.2021 LISTEN Former Emir of Kano and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, HRH Mohammed Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has commended Ghana's Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for his efforts at spearheading Ghana's acclaimed digitization drive. The renowned cleric, banker and economist, who is in the country at the invitation of the leadership of the Muslim community to participate in a special end-of-year Quran recitation and prayers for sustainable peace in Ghana and the sub-region, called on the Vice President on Wednesday morning in Accra. Speaking at the meeting, Sanusi Lamidor, who was Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria before ascending the throne as Emir (King) of Kano, praised Dr. Bawumia for his good works, including leading Ghana's digital reforms and payment systems. "Your Excellecy, I have heard so many good things about your work in Ghana," Sanusi Lamidor told Dr. Bawumia. "Your digital work I am aware of because I happen to be on the global board of MTN and we have an operating office in Ghana so we get reports in Johannesburg on what is happening in different countries, so we do know what is happening in the digital space, FinTechs and so on within Ghana," he added. The revered banker also commended Ghana's Central Bank for leading the way in digital payment systems, adding that Ghana's success story has been partly due to the enormous experience of Dr. Bawumia in banking and digital payment regulations. "I must say I am jealous because the Bank of Ghana has gotten ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Fintech and others. "We all started with banking modules, but I think you quickly realized it was limited and you broke off. But I am happy the central bank of Nigeria is on now, the roles are being reversed and we are now copying from Ghana. "Im sure that (Ghana's digitization drive) was largely due to your input and experience from central banking and regulation of digital payments." The renowned banker and economist is also a revered Islamic cleric with the title Khalifa. He is the spiritual head of the Tijaaniya Order in Nigeria. Watch video below: 30.12.2021 LISTEN The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Kwesi Ofori, has revealed that the most dangerous criminal networks in Ghana have been disbanded owing to the intelligence work by the police. He also revealed that robberies have been nipped in the bud in the country following the deployment of special anti-robbery squad to robbery-prone areas in Ghana. He attributed these to the hard work of the current Inspector General of Police , COP Dr George Akuffo Dampare . ACP Kwesi Fori told TV3s Komla Adom on 2021 Year In Review, Wednesday December 29 that the Police will scale up its work in 2022. Robberies in this country have been nipped in the bud , talking about the Bono East the northern corridor that leads to the five northern regions, and Afram Plains area where robbers attack market women and so forth. We have been able to send special anti-robberies squad to assist the various regions and this formula has really worked, it has created desirable security in the aforementioned areas and we have been able to dismantle most of the dangerous criminal networks through public co-operation, intelligence-led operations among others. It is our hope that come 2022 the Police may move to another level, he said. He further indicated that the current IGP has worked hard to change the negative impression about the Ghana Police. The Service is now witnessing True leadership from the Police, the new Inspector General of Police has done a lot to change the negative public perception and he is still working on it assiduously to make sure that we succeed., he said. ---3news.com The Attorney Generals Department has initiated processes to recover state funds in the Venture Capital Case currently before the High Court. A High Court and an auctioning firm are expected to auction two Estates of Daniel Duku, former Chief Executive Officer of Venture Capital Trust Fund. To this end, an advertisement of the auctioning of Duku's two estates (5 and 6 bedroom Residential Property) at Adjiringanor in Accra have been published in Graphic Showbiz newspaper. The auctioning is slated for January 4, next year (2022), an advertisement of the auctioning in the Graphic Showbiz had indicated. The auctioning is to be carried out in accordance with the orders of the High Court (Land division) and same supervised by the Registrar of the Court. State is selling Duku's Estate to defray his debt. Daniel Duku, a former Chief Executive Officer of Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) and three others, were ordered to pay about GHS18.5 million restitution to the State. They are yet to do so, a year and two months after a court's order. Checks at the VCTF by the Ghana News Agency indicated that Duku has paid GHS1 million out of the GHS15 million. Irene Anti Mensah, an accomplice, and a former Executive Assistant to Duku, has paid GHS1, 430,000 out of GHS1.5 million leaving a balance of GHS70, 000. Frank Aboagye Mensah, also an accomplice, and Irene Anti Mensah's husband, has paid GHS430, 000, leaving a balance of GHS 765,000. Duku, Irene, Frank and Lassey, had pleaded guilty to various charges, including causing financial loss to the Republic, before an Accra High Court in July 2020. The Court presided over by Justice Anthony Oppong, a Court of Appeal Judge, ordered them to pay the restitution of about GHS18.5 million to the State, following an agreement they had with the Attorney General (AG) per Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (459). In line with the said agreement, the Court imposed a fine of GHS500,000 on Duku and further ordered the seizure of his assets, which he acquired during his tenure in office as the CEO of VCTF. The Court also fined Irene and Frank GHS100,000 each. The four were given seven days to pay some percentages of the amounts and after three months of conviction, pay the rest. Per section 35 of the Court's Act, 1993 (459) the Court is obligated to impose a custodial sentence on convicts who are unable to pay restitution within a given period. In April 2020, the State charged Duku and five others for causing financial loss to the State of over GHC42.8 million in the VCTF scandal. Four out of the six accused persons pleaded guilty. On December 1, this year, an Accra High Court asked state lawyers to come formally with an application to invoke section 35 of the Court's Act in relation to three accused persons in the Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) scandal. Accused: Irene Anti Mensah, Frank Aboagye Mensah and Richard Lassey were to pay about GHS 18.5 million restitution to the state. At the High Court on December 1, this year, Mrs Frances Mollen Ansah, Principal State Attorney, informed the Court that they would like to come under Section 35 of the court's act in respect of three persons. The Court however asked the state to come formally with an application and same should be served on the accused so they could respond. Two persons, Kofi Sarpong, a former Investment Officer, VCTF, and Charity Opoku, aka Charity Ameyaw, an Accountant, VCTF, pleaded not guilty and are standing trial at an Accra High Court. The matter has been adjourned to January 14, 2022. Kofi Sarpong, a former Investment Officer, VCTF, and Charity Opoku, aka Charity Ameyaw, an Accountant, VCTF, pleaded not guilty and are standing trial at an Accra High Court. Mr Yaw Owusu Brempong, the current Chief Executive is under cross examination. GNA 30.12.2021 LISTEN The Adenta Divisional Police Command in collaboration with the Ghana Medical and Dental Council, on Thursday arrested a man for allegedly Practising as a Medical Doctor for the past 35 years without qualification. The man, Samuel Kwabena Owusu was arrested in a swoop when he was about to start an abortion on a woman at his residence at the Adenta Newsite. Speaking to the media, the Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Eric Winful said the police had a tip-off by the personnel from the Ghana Dental and Medical Council that Mr Owusu was operating without any valid medical licence. He said a lady from their outfit was set as a bait to pretend to seek the services for an abortion from his clinic. He said when all was set for the abortion, the police detectives from Adenta Command, swooped on the fake Doctor when he was about administering an injection on the lady. The Adenta Police Detectives collected drugs and other medical gadgets from his clinic. Some of the items retrieved included; Sphignomamometers, Manual Vacum Aspirator, Forceps, Disposable syringes, Sterilized water for injection, Thermometers, and other unspecified medical drugs. Speaking to the media after his arrest, Mr Owusu said he had been practising for the past 35years and had his training in Nigeria for four years. He admitted charging between 300 and 500 Cedis for an abortion. Mr Owusu also claimed he worked with the Oyoko clinic at Adenta, when a new management came into office, he was sacked for lack of genuine medical documents. He said he then moved to settle at the Adenta Newsite and continued with his "nefarious practices". The Adenta Commander said after full investigations, he would be prosecuted in court. GNA The Greater Accra Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has reviewed its earlier directive, which bans all beach operations during the Christmas and New Year festivities in the region. Consequently, the ban, issued on Friday, December 24, 2021, has been lifted, beginning Thursday, December 30, 2021. The decision to review the ban was taken at the Council's meeting held on Thursday, December 30, 2021, with operators of beaches along the Greater Accra Coast. A statement issued in Accra and signed by Mr Henry Quartey, Greater Accra Regional Minister, said entry to the beaches would be allowed for only persons who show proof of vaccination. It said vaccination points would be mounted at all beach facilities to give the covid-19 jabs to unvaccinated persons before entry. Beach operators shall ensure strict adherence to all COVID-19 safety protocols, it said. The statement said as much as possible, operators must ensure that entry points were separated from exit points to avoid overcrowding. It said operators of beaches were to ensure that they collaborate with the Ghana Health Service, the Ghana Police Service and their respective Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to ensure strict adherence and enforcement of this directive. Emmanuel Tagoe, a beach operator, commended the Council for listening to their plea and pledged they would ensure strict adherence to the protocols. GNA The Community Practice Pharmacy Association (CPPA) has called the security agencies to intensify surveillance in communities to avert the constant armed robbery attacks on its members. The association says, out of the numerous cases it has recorded and reported to the police, none of the perpetrators have been brought to book. It indicated that with the most recent attack on December 20, 2021, in Kromoase near Aburaso in the Ashanti Region, a pharmacist sustained injuries after the robbers absconded with a huge sum of money and other valuable properties. Addressing the media, the National Chairman of the association, Dr. Emmanuel Ireland said despite the unresolved crimes meted out to their members, the attacks should be a wake-up call on the police to act steadily in protecting them, so they can offer quality services to their public. It has come to the notice of the leadership of the Community Practice Pharmacists Association that a number of our Community Pharmacies and Pharmacists have been attacked and robbed by armed robbers. For us to continue providing these critical pharmaceutical services to our communities and the country at large, we call on the Inspector General of Police Dr. George Akuffo Dampare to instruct his men to as a matter of urgency investigate all reported cases of robbery against Community Pharmacists and Pharmacies, to provide security and patrol services to Community Pharmacies in the country, and we are ready to collaborate with the police to protect life and property. He further charged community pharmacists to be vigilant and install CCTV cameras in their pharmacies. While calling on the law enforcement agencies for intervention, we seize this opportunity to advise all Community Pharmacists around the country to be more vigilant and security conscious during the Christmas and new year season. Install CCTV cameras for surveillance, report any robbery attack to the police with very significant evidence. Recounting his incident to Citi News after robbers attacked his pharmacy, Adu Koffie, a pharmacist said this should be treated as a matter of urgency. This case where the robber or robbers came in when he was there, and I told you that on one occasion they came and locked down my staff in the toilet. So, assuming they came and they were ruthless. They could have shot everybody, and I believe I would equally have been a victim. So, I believe that we are all not secured despite all the security. What if they attacked my security guy at the gate before they get to the pharmacy? We are all not secured, but we are praying to God for protection and that the police should also protect us. They should patrol our shops. So, if they can also help, they should support us and let our kids also be of interest to them, I believe it will go a long way to be of benefit to us. About CPPA Community Practice Pharmacists Association is the practice group of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH). It has a total membership of about 3,500 Pharmacists across the country, employing over 20,000 people. This includes Pharmacy Technicians, Medicine Counter Assistants, IT personnel, accountants, auditors, drivers and other support staff. A Community Pharmacy generally dispenses your prescribed medications, providing you with quality health services, which includes but are not limited to the provision of drug information, clinical interventions, medication reviews, health screening, treatment for minor ailments, counselling on your medications and lifestyle modifications, and general pharmaceutical care as well as documenting and preventing adverse drug reactions to the public. citinewsroom 30.12.2021 LISTEN China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are all near neighbours in the region. All four can share common regional ties both in terms of their geographical proximity, development journey and through more recent ties through membership of the regional trade bloc. Sri Lanka differs in that it is an island economy and has been utilizing this in terms of developing and redeveloping its maritime facilities in international trade and commerce. Long known, even to the ancient Greeks as a maritime hub in South Asia, its redevelopment, with Chinese financial assistance through the Belt and Road Initiative of its West coast Colombo Port is poised to hasten a reset in regional maritime trade capabilities. To the East, its Hambantota Port, Airport and Free Trade Zone are beginning to attract clients looking at servicing East Asia and towards ASEAN, China, and ultimately the CPTPP. Sri Lanka, which previously looked West to India, the Gulf and East Africa, now has a dual face looking East. With its Northern Port of Jaffna to be renovated and developed later in the decade, Sri Lanka will ultimately end up with Ports serving the Bay of Bengal to the North with onward passage possible into Central Asia. Bangladesh also joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2017 and its location in the Bay of Bengal gives a strategic position in Southeast and South Asia. It shares borders with ASEAN and India, has free trade agreements with numerous ASEAN nations, China, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and is utilizing these geographic and trade advantages. Bangladesh is moving forward. It is going to be a next South Asian next miracle. At present, Pakistan is the only South Asian country showing its full-scale strategic significance to the region at this moment. Its foreign policy has shifted towards geo-economic from geo-strategy. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Gwadar Port have added huge extra regional value in this regard in terms of infrastructure and capacity, with the significance of this still poorly understood. However what CPEC does is connect Chinas Western Xinjiang Province to the Arabian Gulf in addition to giving access to Central Asia. Some connectivity still needs to be completed, but this will happen in the next two years. Should the Afghanistan situation settle down it will further boost Pakistans infrastructure use. It is pertinent to understand that Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are all active participants in Chinas Belt & Road Initiative. Sri Lankas Hambantota and Colombo Ports are considered as epicentres of Chinas BRI in South Asia. Sri Lankan ports can be used a regional maritime hub between South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa. That in turn gives an additional important connectivity route via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor from Pakistans Gwadar through to Central Asia. Pakistan and Central and Western China. Sri Lanka and Pakistan therefore have an opportunity to increase their maritime capabilities and work together in maritime trade, investment, science and technology, and culture through enhancing these connectivity opportunities. Sri Lanka has an FTA with Pakistan and is negotiating one at present with China. It also has an FTA with Singapore. However, given the developing maritime connectivity Sri Lanka would also gain by entering discussions with Pakistan (Central Asia access), Russia (Eurasian Economic Union access), Mauritius (access to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement) and consider how it could leverage itself into the CPTPP countries in East Asia and Asia Pacific as a longer-term aim. The Pakistan connectivity is certainly growing. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Sri Lanka in February this year, interestingly hosted also by Russian businessmen. During his visit to Sri Lanka, Khan focused on Pakistans connectivity with Sri Lanka, its existing use of Karachi Port and the additional Central Asian options that Gwadar provides. Pakistans Muslim community are well positioned to provide Islamic packaging for these markets, which Sri Lanka as a Buddhist nation is less able to provide. There are motivations for both to do so Pakistan is conduits for opening new trade corridors for Sri Lankan made products, an increasing share of which will be from Chinese invested JVs and Sino-Lankan ventures. China will want market access to Central Asia and that means via CPEC. During the visit of Sri Lanka, Khan commented that Pakistan is allocating land to Uzbekistan for warehousing and export services, and that the same facility can also be provided to Sri Lanka. Uzbekistan is a rapidly developing Central Asia nation and although landlocked, can access other regional markets that open these up for Sri Lankan made products. Uzbekistan is surrounded by five countries: Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the north-east, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest. Collectively the Central Asian nations have a GDP (PPP) of US$1 trillion, a projected post-covid growth rate of about 5-6% and a population of some 73 million. Its average GDP (PPP) per capita is four times higher than Sri Lanka meaning the region is a wealthy market for Sri Lanka to target for exports. Bangladesh can also benefit from using Pakistans Gwadar port for the same reasons, with a GDP per capita base seven times less than the Central Asian average. Maritime connectivity is key. Bangladeshs Chittagong, Payra, Mangla ports can be connected with Pakistans Gwadar port and CPEC including Karachi, Port Qasim and Keti Bandar via Sri Lankas Colombo and Hambantota Ports to create a quadrilateral access and distribution hub. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed recently between the Port Authority of Thailand (Rawang Port) and the Chittagong Port Authority of Bangladesh. Chittagong-Ranong port connectivity could boost SAARC-ASEAN trade if connected to Gwadar port and CPEC via Sri Lankas Colombo and Hambantota ports. The whole regional would benefit, not just some specific countries. Sri Lankan traditional tea, apparel, rice, and agricultural industries, together with up-coming machinery and industrial manufacturing industries such as auto tyres can be mixed with Bangladeshi apparel, medicines, fruits, and vegetables along with its upcoming IT services and electronic sectors. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both import goods such as cotton from Pakistan, Central Asian States, Western and Central China and even Russia. Pushing this existing trade however requires a holistic trilateral effort. If Sri Lanka and Bangladesh can make better use of CPEC, they can take part in the development process in Afghanistan with Pakistan, China, Russia, and Iran. The South Asian SAARC, regional trade bloc may also be revived through these activities. Intra-regional and international tourism can also become a platform for services growth. Religious tourism is a growing sector, with Bangladesh, Pakistan and to some extent Sri Lanka more tolerant than neighbouring India, where religious differences are currently being politically exploited in favour of the Hindu mainstream. However, Pakistan has many historical Buddhist sites such as the ancient civilizations of Gandhara and Takhsila. These would be of interest to Sri Lankans. Sri Lanka meanwhile has historical places important in Muslim culture such as Adams Peak and the ancient Dewatagaha Mosque. As regional states, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should be examining a revival of connections with Pakistan and China. The Belt and Road Initiative has and is being built to promote such interconnectivity. South and Southeast Asian Governments and businesses should be examining how best to exploit it. Chinese investments may be accelerated. Pakistans well-connected Gwadar Port has brought a new dream for the South Asian region. This massive Port is not only for Pakistan but also for all other regional States. Chinese Investment has accelerated the pace of aspirations in this regard. Chinas multibillion dollar project the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is linked with the Gwadar Port. This excellent Port creates some sort of possibilities and potentials for the entire South Asia, South East Asia, Central Asia, Western Asia, Eurasia, East Asia and Middle East. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh can reach Western China, Central Asia, and Pakistan easily through this Port. Pakistans Gwadar Port has a very strategic significance. China and Pakistan are working together to transform the Gwadar Port into a regional hub. Using the Gwadar Port, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh can easily access the emerging markets of Central Asian states, Western part of China, Pakistan, even Afghanistan and the Western Asian states. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both import goods such as cotton from Pakistan, Central Asian States, Western and Central China and even Russia. Pushing this existing trade however requires a holistic trilateral effort. If Sri Lanka and Bangladesh can make better use of the Gwadar Port and the CPEC, they can take part in the development process in Afghanistan with Pakistan, China, Russia, and Iran. The South Asian SAARC trade bloc may also be revived through these activities. Intra-regional and international tourism can also become a platform for services growth. Religious tourism can be a growing sector amongst Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi products can be exported from those regions easily. The raw materials for the apparel sector (cotton) can be imported easily from Pakistan, China and Central Asian states. In this case, the business relations among Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, China and other Muslim countries will be strengthened. Sri Lanka-Bangladesh-China-Pakistan (Quadrilateral) ties will be further bolstered. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan And China's Quadrilateral Co-operation In The Region could reflect the greater regional quadrilateral understanding. Sudanese security forces shot and killed four protesters Thursday as tens of thousands of demonstrators defied a security lockdown and severed communications to rally against military rule, medics said. Pro-democracy activists have kept up a more than two-month-long campaign of street demonstrations against a military takeover in October. The crackdown has now seen at least 52 people killed in protest-related violence, according to the independent Doctors' Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. On Thursday, security forces killed with live rounds four protesters in Omdurman, twin city of the capital Khartoum, and wounded dozens, they said. "We call on doctors to come to the Arbain hospital in Omdurman because the putschists are using live rounds against protesters and preventing ambulances from reaching them," they added. Their plea was posted on social media accounts of Sudanese living abroad as authorities had severed domestic and international phone lines. Sudanese demonstrators on December 30; at least 52 people have been killed in protest-related violence, according to the independent Doctors' Committee. By - (AFP) Web monitoring group NetBlocks said mobile internet services were also cut. Saudi television Al-Arabiya said several of its journalists had been wounded in an attack by security forces on its Khartoum office. Another Saudi channel, ASharq, also reported that security forces prevented its reporters from covering the anti-military rallies. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of protesters braved tear gas chanting "no to military rule" as they marched in rallies in several part of Sudan demanding a transition to a civilian government. 'Revolution Continues' Map of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. By ClAa PACULIER (AFP) Earlier in the day, demonstrators reached within a few hundred metres (yards) of the presidential palace, the headquarters of top General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan who seized power on October 25. Troops, police and paramilitary units launched multiple tear gas canisters into the crowd. "The revolution continues," protesters shouted, beating drums and waving flags. "No to military rule" and "soldiers back to the barracks", they chanted in Khartoum and Omdurman. Security forces deployed in strength across the capital, using shipping containers to block the Nile bridges that connect the capital with Omdurman and other suburbs. The authorities also installed new surveillance cameras on major thoroughfares for Thursday's protests. Witnesses reported similar anti-coup protests in Wad Madani, south of the capital, and the cities of Kassala and Port Sudan in the east. Burhan, who held civilian leader Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok effectively under house arrest for weeks, reinstated him on November 21 under a deal promising elections for July 2023. A Sudanese demonstrator sits atop a traffic light as thousands protest against the army in the capital Khartoum on December 30, 2021. By - (AFP) Protesters said the deal had simply given a cloak of legitimacy to the generals, whom they accuse of trying to reproduce the former regime of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir, toppled in 2019 following mass protests. "Signing with the military was a mistake from the start," one protester said, accusing the generals of being "Bashir's men". 'Respect free speech' The Nile bridges were also blocked for previous protests on December 25, when tens of thousands also rallied. About 235 people were injured during those protests, according to the Doctors' Committee, and tear gas fired at demonstrators. The US embassy appealed for restraint, reiterating "its support for peaceful expression of democratic aspiration, and the need to respect and protect individuals exercising free speech," a statement said. "We call for extreme discretion in use of force and urge authorities to refrain from employing arbitrary detention." Activists have condemned sexual attacks during December 19 protests, in which the UN said at least 13 women and girls were victims of rape or gang-rape. The European Union and the United States issued a joint statement condemning the use of sexual violence "as a weapon to drive women away from demonstrations and silence their voices". Sudan still has no functioning government, a prerequisite for the resumption of international aid cut in response to the coup. More than 14 million people, a third of Sudan's population, will need humanitarian aid next year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the highest level for a decade. Sudanese security forces shot and killed four protesters on Thursday in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital Khartoum, according to medics, as thousands demonstrated against military rule. The country has been in limbo with no functioning government since a coup on 25th October. "We call on doctors to come to the Arbain hospital in Omdurman because the putschists are using live rounds against protesters and preventing ambulances from reaching them," the pro-democracy Doctors' Committee said announcing the three deaths. Tens of thousands of Sudanese protesters defied a security lockdown Thursday, braving tear gas and chanting "no to military rule" as they marched in rallies demanding a transition to a civilian government. Demonstrators reached within a few hundred metres of the presidential palace, the headquarters of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan who seized power on 25 October, before troops, police and paramilitary units launched multiple tear gas canisters into the crowd. "The revolution continues," protesters shouted, beating drums and waving flags. Pro-democracy activists have kept up a more than two-month-long campaign of street demonstrations against the army's takeover, despite a crackdown that has seen at least 52 people killed in protest-related violence, according to the independent Doctors' Committee. Elsewhere, Saudi television Al-Arabiya said several of its journalists had been wounded in an attack by security forces on its Khartoum office. Another Saudi channel, ASharq, also reported that security forces prevented its reporters from covering the anti-military rallies. Security forces deployed across Khartoum, using shipping containers to block the Nile bridges that connect the capital with its northern suburbs and its twin city Omdurman. The bridges were blocked off for the last protests on 25th December, when tens of thousands took to the streets. Those rallies were also broken by tear gas -- as well as charges by police wielding batons and firing into the air. Some 235 people were injured during those protests, according to the Doctors' Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. Communications cut On Thursday, protesters demanded that soldiers "go back to the barracks", carrying those injured from inhalation of the tear gas. New surveillance cameras were installed on the major thoroughfares for Thursday's protests, and for the first time, authorities also cut all phone lines, both international and domestic. Web monitoring group NetBlocks reported mobile internet services were cut from mid-morning, limiting the ability of protesters to encourage supporters or to broadcast live footage of the rallies. Witnesses reported similar anti-coup protests in Madani, south of the capital, and the cities of Kassala and Port Sudan in the east. Burhan, who held civilian leader Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok effectively under house arrest for weeks, reinstated him on 21 November under a deal promising elections for July 2023. But protesters said the deal had simply given a cloak of legitimacy to the generals, who they accuse of trying to reproduce the former regime of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir, toppled in 2019 following mass protests. "Signing with the military was a mistake from the start," one protester said, accusing the generals of being "Bashir's men". Sexual abuse reported The US embassy appealed for restraint, reiterating "its support for peaceful expression of democratic aspiration, and the need to respect and protect individuals exercising free speech," a statement said. "We call for extreme discretion in use of force and urge authorities to refrain from employing arbitrary detention." Activists have condemned sexual attacks during 19 December protests, in which the UN said at least 13 women and girls were victims of rape or gang-rape. The European Union and the United States issued a joint statement condemning the use of sexual violence "as a weapon to drive women away from demonstrations and silence their voices". Sudan still has no functioning government, a prerequisite for the resumption of international aid cut in response to the coup. Over 14 million people, a third of Sudan's population, will need humanitarian aid next year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the highest level for a decade. (with AFP) The three Senior High School students, who were arrested over the burning to death of a Bolt driver at Sekondi, have been charged and remanded into Police custody by a Sekondi District Court. They are Patrick Baidoo, 18, Joseph Lord Nii Adjei Oninku, 17 and Adolf Eshun, 18 years. The first accused person, Adolf Eshun, was charged with abetment of crime to wit robbery. The other two, Patrick Baidoo and Joseph Lord Nii Adjei Oninku, were slapped with four charges of conspiracy to commit crime, attempted robbery, causing unlawful damage and murder as well as attempt to commit crime to wit robbery. They would re-appear in court on Tuesday, January 14, 2022. Police Inspector Jennifer Acheampong, the prosecutor, told the court presided over by Mrs Catherine Obiri Addo that on Wednesday, December 22, Eshun ordered a Bolt for Baidoo and Oninku. She said it later emerged that the two burnt the driver, who was identified as AB1 Okyere Boateng, a Naval Officer. She said they poured petrol on the deceased and set him ablaze when he refused to hand over the car key to them. Inspector Acheampong said the driver sustained burns on his face and several parts of his body and later died at the 37 Military Hospital. She said the suspects confessed to committing the crime after their arrest. GNA Some producers and consumers of sachet water in Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District have expressed reservations over the new prices. The stakeholders have denounced the prices, saying they were too high, citing general economic hardship. According to them, it was unacceptable for a country with more water bodies than many around the world to buy water at exorbitant prices. The prices announced by the National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers is yet to take effect in the area, four days after the effective date; Monday, December 27, 2021. The Association said in a statement on Friday, December 24, that: Iced sachet water will be retailed at 40ps, and a bag of sachet water should sell at GHC4.50 for retail trucks and GHC6.00 by mini retail shops. Contrary to the directive, the commodity sells between GHC2.50 and GHC3.00 and retailed by mini shops at GHC3.50 and GHC4.50 in the area. A sachet of water, also known as pure water still sells at 20 pesewas and 50 pesewas for three. In separate interviews with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), some water producers observed that even though the increment had become necessary due to the incessant rise in production cost, it should be marginal. Mr Charles Kwabla Awudza, the Manager of Nobel Hills, a sachet water company in Ajumako Kokoben, said the situation could negatively affect the pure water market. I am expecting an increment but not that much. I don't think GHC6.00 for a bag of water is okay; it's too much. It will really kill us. In fact, the water will sell at 50 pesewas because the sellers will complain about not having the 10 pesewas change, he said. He suggested that a bag should be retailed at GHC4.00 maximum adding that for us, we are still selling at the old price because we normally sell our water below the general market price". Mr Awudza called for government's intervention to help stabilise water prices through fuel price stabilization, obecause whenever the price of fuel shot up, it had a rippling effect on prices of other commodities. Mr Noah Dunyo, the Supervisor and Engineer of Blue Wave, a sachet water company at Ajumako Asasan, said the increment was too much and that customers were already complaining about it. Now we are selling at GHC3.00 and so if it is GHC3.50, I think it will be okay. GHC4.50 is too much, he said, adding that it would be difficult to achieve a standard price in the area due to competition. Some consumers who spoke to the GNA called for the immediate rescission of the new price and queried why a sachet of water should be sold at 40 pesewas. GNA The Nkwanta North District Assembly in the Oti Region has on Thursday, 30th December 2021, presented a physical Cash of 48,740, five (5) deep freezers and iron sheets to the people with disabilities in the District. The items were procured from the Districts share of the Disability Fund, which is dedicated to providing financial assistance to empower PWDs to undertake sustainable economic ventures. It is to make them financially independent and to improve their living conditions. Medical bills, apprenticeship, and school fees of some of the PWDs got support at the ceremony. The beneficiaries were made up of people with physical challenges, hearing and speech impaired, visually impaired, intellectually challenged and those with multiple disabilities. Mr Nawugma Kidignang William, the District Chief Executive, urged the beneficiaries to take proper care of the items, make good use of the money and invest them into productive ventures to help uplift their standards of living and welfare. "Government has a lot of this to do with this money but has decide to offer you this, please make good use of them" He said the Department of Social Welfare would conduct regular monitoring to ensure that the beneficiaries used the items for the purposes for which they were granted. Mr John Nankan, District President PWDs, advised the beneficiaries not to sell the items nor use the monies for other needless things but to use them to enhance their businesses, pay their fees and living standard. He appeals to the Ghana health Service (GHS) to get a different measure to vaccinate people with disabilities. He explained most of the vaccination centers are not accessible by PWDs. In all, the District Assembly has distributed cash with items worth GH 58,740.00 to 49 Persons With Disabilities. Story by Evans Manasseh The late Okyeame Baffour Osei Akoto 30.12.2021 LISTEN We have come across two different narratives on the history of the UP tradition and we deem it necessary for the clarification of the many distortions they each contain. One is by the Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Hon. Habib Iddrisu and another by an anonymous writer titled Complete Distortion of History. It is worthy to note that, the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and the Ghana Congress Party (GCP) had both not fared well in their respective general elections; 1951 and 1954. It therefore led to the disband of the two parties respectively and consequentially, because, they respectively could not provide a solid and hopeful opposition to the Kwame Nkrumah led CPP government. The UGCC led by Dr. J.B Danquah in the 1951 elections won only two (2) seats against the thirty-four (34) seats of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP). Combined, the opposition parties bagged a popular vote of 6,337 representing 10.22% against 59,535 of the CPP representing 89.78%. Dr. K.A Busia was the founder and leader of the GCP, it was formed in May 1952 and S.D Dombo was the leader of the Northern Peoples Party (NPP), it was formed in 1954. After the 1954 general elections; out of the 6 political parties that contested, GCP recorded 1 seat and a popular vote of 32,168 (4.55%), Northern People Party recorded 15 seats and a popular vote of 68,709 (9.72%) and CPP recorded 72 seats and a popular vote of 391,817 (55.44%). The founder and leader of NLM was Okyeame Baffuor Akoto. It was formed on 19th September, 1954, when over 40,000 people led by Okyeame Baffuor Akoto gathered at the source of the sacred Subin River in Kumase, the capital of the historic Asante empire for the inauguration of the party through a rally, pouring of libation and a slaughtering of a sheep. It is instructive to note that, during the planning and formation of NLM, neither Busia, Danquah nor the elite class had a hand in it. They all requested to join after the inauguration and other events of the party turned out to be highly successful; the rally was given a huge publication by The Pioneer due to its success. The NLM was commenced with a seed income of Okyeame Baffuor Akoto. There is no other founder and leader of NLM apart from Okyeame Baffuor Akoto. The likes of K.A Busia, Victor Owusu, R.R Amponsah, Joe Appiah, J.B Danquah, among others were all accepted by Okyeame Baffuor Akoto into the party after they realized that the NLM would serve as a more formidable opposition to the CPP due to the financial, traditional and social influence of Baffuor Akoto. Despite Okyeame Baffuor Akoto being the founder and leader of NLM, he didnt contest in the 1956 elections due to his position as the Chief Linquist of the Asantehene. K.A Busia who contested on the ticket of Baffuor Akotos party, NLM was made the leader of parliament for the opposition parties by Baffuor Akoto after negotiations between Okyeame Baffuor Akoto and S.D Dombo concluded on it. Eight months after the inauguration of NLM, on May 30, 1955, John Baidoo, the CPP member of the Legislative Assembly for Atwima-Nwabiagya Constituency, was killed in a car accident. The event therefore presented itself as an opportunity for the NLM to assess its political influence on the national terrain through a by-election. The NLM presented B. F. Kusi and the CPP presented B.K Kuffuor. Due to the fierce nature of the contest, the entire CPP bigwigs including Kwame Nkrumah, Kofi Botsio, among others, moved to Nkawie to campaign. The CPP, as well, employed all the political machinations to foster for a victory, yet, on 15 July, 1955, B.F. Kusi won a resounding victory over the CPP's B. K. Kufuor; polling 3,998 votes to Kufuor's 1,758. This victory therefore presented and positioned NLM as the most formidable opposition and best possibility for a successful challenge to Nkrumah's government within the existing constitutional framework. In a public message to Nkrumah after the by-election victory, Baffuor Akoto summarized the Executive's new-found faith in its electoral abilities: "My supporters and I have won our first victory, the forerunners of many more and crushing victories. We have defeated you and your supporters and will continue to defeat you whenever This singular speech which was widely published underscores who was the founder and leader of the NLM. The first general elections contested by the NLM was the 1956 elections. Out of the about 6 political parties that contested, CPP recorded 71 seats and a popular vote of 398,141 (57.10%), Northern Peoples Party recorded 14 seats and a popular vote of 72,440 (10.39%) and NLM recorded 13 seats and a popular vote of 145,657 (20.89%). From a comparative analysis of the above statistics, it proved that, after the 1956 elections, the NLM was the most formidable opposition to the CPP as rightly predicted by most political pundits after its inauguration. NLM had a support base twice that of the Northern Peoples Party and only a seat less than it. The Avoidance of Discrimination Bill was presented to the Assembly on December 9, 1957. In anticipation of the passage of the Bill, the opposition parties under the chairmanship of Okyeame Baffuor Akoto agreed to fuse into a single party called the United Party (U. P). On 3rd November, 1957, the United Party was inaugurated in Bukuom Square. In fact, members of the Northern People Party, which was the second most formidable political party after NLM per popular vote, among the other smaller political parties, agreed to join the coalition because of the financial, traditional, political and social influence of Okyeame Baffuor Akoto. Note: Days before the inauguration of the NLM, the leader of the Muslim Association Party (MAP), Bankole Awooner-Renner spoke to a large crowd in Kumase, declaring that NLM had the full support of his party: The Kotokos had now arisen to join Islam to fight the common foe. We want to assure the Kotokos that whether it rains or snows, shines or otherwise, we shall stand firmly by your side. Due to CPPs frantic efforts to consolidate power, by the time the Republic of Ghana was inaugurated on 1st July, 1960, only four Northerners from the Northern Peoples Party; S. D. Dombo from Jirapa-Lambussie, Abayifaa Karbo from Lawra-Nandom, Jato Kaleo from Wala South and B. K. Adama from Wala North, resisted Nkrumahs pressure and remained in UP and on the non-government benches in the National Assembly. All the four hailed from the North-West (Upper West Region). The rest all crossed carpet to join the CPP. Baffuor Akotos NLM continued to remain the nucleus and anchor of the UP, and held its fortress until the Tradition under Progress Party (PP) won power in 1969. In furtherance, while Okyeame Baffuor Akoto, S.D Dombo and JB Danquah suffered jail terms for their resistance of Kwame Nkrumahs oppression, Busia went into exile while the likes of Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, J.A Braimah, among other party giants crossed over and enjoyed heartily under Nkrumahs government. The above facts therefore find it erroneous when any talks about the UP tradition and totally downplays the significance of the key personality, Okyeame Baffuor Akoto at the centre of the formation, sustenance and existence of the tradition. Dr. Mohammed Jabir Janda 30.12.2021 LISTEN The offices and studios of Maranatha Television have been destroyed by fire on the 15th December, 2021. The building which has the networks' television station located in the heart of Nungua-Addogonno, a suburb of Accra, was burnt to ashes. The cause of the fire is unknown. The owner of the Maranatha Television sttaion, Bishop Noble Francis Afotey Odai, disclosed that the incident was disturbing. He said they were having their usual program dubbed "global prayer hour" when the incident ocurred. According to him, they quickly vacated the premises for safety. Bishop Odai expressed joy to the fact that all the 30 people within the premises at the time were safe. "We have been servicing our equipments regularly and I don't know why such a thing could happen to us," he stated. The Bishop noted that the fire ravaged the entire building. We had mentioned in Wednesdays closing report that Nifty and Sensex looking for cues. On Thursday, the indices opened lower and ended flat. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 984 stocks advanced, 1,050 declined, and 48 remained unchanged with advance decline ratio of 0.94. The trend of the major indices on Thursdays trading are given in the table below: Nitin Spinners has committed to invest Rs 950 crore for expanding capacity at its spinning unit. It will add another 1.51 lakh spindles to current 3.32 lakh spindles, knitted fabrics capacity will be expanded by 2500 mtpa (metric tons per annum) taking total capacity to 11,000 mtpa. Cantabil share closed on 5% upper circuit on account of heavy volumes. The stock has given more than 100% return in 1 year. Kalpatru Power Transmission has secured orders worth Rs 1,560 crore, the stock ended 4.85% higher. Delta Corp closed 4% lower after Goa government announced 50% entry limit in casinos. NTPC share closed with 2.65% gain after it announced plans to sell stake in NTPC- Renewable Energy Limited which is expected to be listed next year. Fortis Healths arm has sold an asset in New Delhi to KLJ Plasticizers for Rs 111 crore. Granules India has received USFDA nod for its amphetamine mixed salts used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. RBL Bank wrote-off Rs 300 crore loan in seven months after sanctioning it, which led to RBIs intervention. The stock closed 9% down. Rane Holdings stock closed 6% higher after it sold 1% stake in joint venture (JV) Rane TRW Steering Systems Private Limited to ZF Automotive JV LLC, USA for Rs 20.16 crore. 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: In a bizarre case reported from Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan, police have had to conduct an identification parade of donkeys at a police station after 70 donkeys went missing and their owners lodged complaints of theft in the district in Khuiyan town area. In the meantime, police found 17 donkeys and conducted their identification parade. However, their owners said they were lookalikes of their animals and refused to take them. Earlier, soon after the complaints were registered, the police allegedly preferred to sit on them. However, a protest staged by the owners and CPI(M) workers at the police station on Tuesday evening forced the police to go in search of the missing donkeys. While conducting this search, the police caught 15 donkeys and brought them to the police station, but their owners refused to take them as the animals did not respond to their names. The owners said that the names of some donkeys were Chintu, Pintu and Kalu and when they called them by these names, none of these animals responded which proved that they were not their animals. The owners staging a sit-in asked the police to leave the donkeys from where they had brought them and again asked them to get their own animals. They said that the donkeys are their means of livelihood. They informed that the price of a donkey is about Rs 20,000 and 70 stolen donkeys means it is a theft of Rs 14 lakh. The owners said that the donkeys carry loads and their means of livelihood ended after their donkeys were stolen. Khuiyan police station SHO Vijendra Sharma told the media, "We have formed teams to trace these animals." CPI (M) leader Mangej Choudhary said that the reason they have to stage a sit-in is that complaints of missing animals are rising by the day. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. Mumbai Police on Thursday issued prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for the city till 7 January 2022. Due to this order, New Years celebrations, parties in any closed or open space, including restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs, resorts and clubs, would be prohibited from 30 December 2021 to 7th January next year. The order issued by Chaitanya S, deputy commissioner of police, says, Any person contravening this order shall be punishable under section 188 of Indian Penal Code 1860 in addition to the penal provision under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 and National Disaster Management Act 2005 and other legal provisions as applicable. Mumbai on Thursday reported 3,671 fresh COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours. Mumbai has 11,360 active patients, and the recovery rate stands at 96%. At presently, 88 buildings have been sealed in the city. Over the past six days till 29 December 2021, the overall growth rate of COVID cases in Mumbai stands at 0.14%. On Wednesday, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) banned New Year celebration programmes and gatherings in any closed or open areas in the city. While clarifying that there is no night curfew on 31st December, Iqbal Singh Chahal, municipal commissioner of BMC, says, Curfew doesnt mean we are shutting down everything post 9pm. We have only restricted crowding at public places such as beaches, parks, and at Marine Drive. December 30, 2021 Talks Between Putin And Biden Continue Later today U.S. President Joe Biden and Russia's President Vladimir Putin will have another video call. The Russian side had requested the call. Putin obviously wants to keep the pressure on the U.S. to agree on the two draft treaties Russia had offered. He is helped in that by China who's Foreign Minister Wang Yi again emphasized Russian-Chinese cooperation: On global governance, China and Russia have demonstrated our sense of responsibility. The two countries firmly upheld the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law. We jointly opposed interference in other countries internal affairs, unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. Our efforts have helped build a bulwark supporting the practice of true multilateralism and upholding international equity and justice, showing the world how major countries should behave. We are convinced that as long as China and Russia, as two major countries, stand together shoulder to shoulder and deepen coordination hand in hand, the international order will not fall into disarray, justice in the world will not collapse, and hegemonism will not win. A preview of the video call from Russia, by Valdai International Discussion Club Research Director Fyodor Lukyanov, is positive: "High-level impetus is needed ahead of the diplomatic negotiations. In fact, at this time, diplomacy fully depends on efforts at the top level. In the past, diplomats used to prepare an agenda, and then heads of state held meetings but now its vice versa: first heads of state reach some agreements and then diplomats make preparations," he pointed out. According to the expert, since the United States did not reject Russias proposals on security guarantees right away, it means that Washington is willing to give a number of concessions. "Clearly, there is an array of positions that are unacceptable and will not be accepted, but this is what talks are for, they are meant to discuss the entire range of things and figure out where the parties can agree," the analyst went on to say. ... According to him, the United States cannot accept all of Russias proposals because its not appropriate for Biden "to engage in a conversation only on the Russian set of proposals." "He needs to make some proposals on his own part, and then negotiating skills will be what matters," Lukyanov emphasized. I agree that it the U.S. will make a few offers but it is unlikely that the U.S. will agree to the Russia's core demands as it would end its plans to surround Russia to eventual disable it as a competing super power. The U.S. will try to stretch out the talks and will come up with its own mishmash of proposals for solely that purpose. Putin's call is likely designed to prevent that. Russia had set a rather strict time limit of a few weeks. Putin will emphasize that. It is also possible that Putin will hint at some of the 'military technical measures' which Russia had said it would implement should the U.S. not agree to the necessary measures that enhance Russia's security. Russia's most important request is to end NATO expansion. The U.S. will have to accept that in some formal way to prevent an escalation. I doubt that it will do so right away. To set a frame for the talks there was some recent unofficial bluffing from the Russian side: Russias new S-550 air defense system, said to be capable of hitting high-altitude spacecraft and missiles, including hypersonic types, has passed trials and is already in service, TASS has reported. The Moscow news agency quoted a source, which it said is close to the Defense Ministry, who described the S-550 as an absolutely new mobile strategic missile defense system, which is unparalleled anywhere in the world and capable of striking spacecraft, warheads of intercontinental ballistic missiles and hypersonic targets. The S-550 air defense system has successfully completed state trials. Its first brigade has already been placed on combat duty, they continued. That is obviously nonsense. The beginning of the development of the S-550 was only announced in mid November: Russia is developing an advanced, never-before-seen S-550 missile system, the Defense Ministry announced Tuesday. Reports suggested the model is a revival of a late Soviet project shuttered in a deal with the United States. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the orders came from President Vladimir Putin at a recent meeting with military top brass. Even Russia can not develop, test, produce and field a new air and space defense missile in just 6 weeks. The TASS piece is bollocks. Russia has live tested the S-500 missile in July and reportedly fielded a limited number of those. A S-550 fielding is years out. The U.S. is bluffing too: A US Air Force E-8C Joint STARS battle management plane has made its maiden flight over eastern Ukraine for a reconnaissance mission to gather information about the situation on the ground, an American official has revealed. Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, US European Command spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Russ Wolfkiel explained that the aircraft flew on Monday with permission from Ukrainian authorities and did not cross the border of the Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk Peoples Republics (LPR), which are currently run as unrecognized states by separatists demanding independence from Kiev. The frontier area is the site of a war between the forces and the Ukrainian military. Wolfkiel did not reveal the aircrafts exact route or its scouting information but told CNN that the Pentagon routinely operates aircraft in the Black Sea region. The operational range of the Russian S-400 air defense missile is 400km. The U.S. plane will likely have stayed far away from the Russian and Belorussian border to keep out of their reach. Talks between Russia and the U.S. will begin on January 10 on the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers. Talks with NATO and with the OSCE will follow a few days later. So far U.S. foreign policy under Joe Biden has been a continuation of the policies pursued under Trump: If the Biden administrations second year is going to be more successful than its first, it will need to take more risks and accept more short-term criticism to advance U.S. interests abroad. Engaging with Russia to defuse the crisis over Ukraine will be controversial in Washington and in some allied capitals, but it is necessary to reduce tensions and avoid worse outcomes. ... What the Biden administration must not do is simply maintain Trump-era policies for the next three years because they are afraid of the political backlash from hawks that are going to attack them in the harshest terms no matter what they do. The U.S. policy of putting out sanctions left and right has continued under Biden. I doubt that he and the people behind him have the will and the energy to change course. They would have to fight with Congress to get to an agreement with Russia. I therefore expect only little results from the upcoming talks. The U.S. position will only change if and when Russia makes some really obvious moves and puts Washington DC under an imminent threat. A few hypersonic set up in central or south America should do. Posted by b on December 30, 2021 at 17:27 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page NEW YORK (AP) The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epsteins palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings faithfully in attendance each day of the trial as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another. She faces the likelihood of years in prison an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold Maxwell accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epsteins teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse. The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019. During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epsteins homes a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case. A housekeeper testified he was expected to be blind, deaf and dumb about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul. Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries Britains Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump who flew on Epsteins private jets. Elizabeth Williams/AP Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a black book that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading massages. There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion onetime girlfriend, later employee. But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages. Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Annie Farmer, a psychologist who chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years. They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwells behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams. They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if shed had fun and told her: You are such a good girl. Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epsteins Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as a pyramid of abuse. Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at his Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. Elizabeth Williams/AP Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. I was frozen in fear, she told the jury, adding that assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse. Maxwells lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward. I was scared, she said, choking back tears. I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didnt want anybody to know any of this about me. The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epsteins New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her. Maxwell, 60, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers. Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify. The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, one of Maxwells lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwells legal team questioned whether the accusers memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epsteins estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a University of California Irvine professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. She said memory can be contaminated by suggestions made by an interviewer, particularly law enforcement or the media. Maxwells family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where shes been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense. Before Maxwell was taken from the courtroom, defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim asked that arrangements be made to give her a coronavirus booster shot, saying infection rates were rising dramatically at the lockup. The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury. Lawsuits involving the abuse allegations also continue, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months. MOUNT VERNON Two Grafton residents died Wednesday when their pickup truck and a semi-trailer truck collided in Jefferson County, according to authorities. Terry Stromski, 73, and his wife, Kathy Stromski, 70, of Grafton died in the crash on Interstate 57 about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. BOSTON (AP) Haseena Niazi had pinned her hopes of getting her fiance out of Afghanistan on a rarely used immigration provision. The 24-year-old Massachusetts resident was almost certain his application for humanitarian parole would get approved by the U.S. government, considering the evidence he provided on the threats from the Taliban he received while working on womens health issues at a hospital near Kabul. But this month, the request was summarily denied, leaving the couple reeling after months of anxiety. He had everything they wanted, said Niazi, a green card holder originally from Afghanistan. It doesnt make any sense why theyd reject it. Its like a bad dream. I still cant believe it. Federal immigration officials have issued denial letters to hundreds of Afghans seeking temporary entry into the country for humanitarian reasons in recent weeks, to the dismay of Afghans and their supporters. By doing so, immigrant advocates say, the Biden administration has failed to honor its promise to help Afghans who were left behind after the U.S. military withdrew from the country in August and the Taliban took control. It was a huge disappointment, said Caitlin Rowe, a Texas attorney who said she recently received five denials, including one for an Afghan police officer who helped train U.S. troops and was beaten by the Taliban. These are vulnerable people who genuinely thought there was hope, and I dont think there was. Since the U.S. withdrawal, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received more than 35,000 applications for humanitarian parole, of which it has denied about 470 and conditionally approved more than 140, Victoria Palmer, an agency spokesperson, said this week. The little-known program, which doesnt provide a path to lawful permanent residence in the country, typically receives fewer than 2,000 requests annually from all nationalities, of which USCIS approves an average of about 500, she said. Palmer also stressed humanitarian parole is generally reserved for extreme emergencies and not intended to replace the refugee admissions process, which is the typical pathway for individuals outside of the United States who have fled their country of origin and are seeking protection. The U.S. government, meanwhile, continues to help vulnerable Afghans, evacuating more than 900 American citizens and residents and another 2,200 Afghans since the military withdrawal. The state department said it expects to help resettle as many as 95,000 people from Afghanistan this fiscal year, a process that includes rigorous background checks and vaccinations. Many of them, however, had been whisked out of Afghanistan before the U.S. left. Now, USCIS is tasked with this new wave of humanitarian parole applications and has ramped up staffing to consider them. The agency said in a statement that requests are reviewed on an individual basis, with consideration given to immediate relatives of Americans and Afghans airlifted out. And while USCIS stressed that parole shouldnt replace refugee processing, immigrant advocates argue that isnt a viable option for Afghans stuck in their country due to a disability or hiding from the Taliban. Even those able to get out of Afghanistan, they say, may be forced to wait years in refugee camps, which isnt something many can afford to do. Mohammad, who asked that his last name not be used out of fear for his familys safety, said his elder brother, who used to work for international organizations, is among them. He has been in hiding since the Taliban came looking for him following the U.S. withdrawal, Mohammad said. On a recent visit to the family home, Taliban members took his younger brother instead and held him more than a week for ransom, he said. Now, Mohammad, a former translator for U.S. troops in Afghanistan who lives in California with a special immigration status, is seeking parole for this brother, too. He hopes a conditional approval letter can get them a spot on one of the U.S. evacuation flights still running out of the country. I can provide him housing. I can provide him everything," he said. Let them come here. Immigrant advocates began filing humanitarian parole applications for Afghans in August in a last-ditch effort to get them on U.S. evacuation flights out of the country before the withdrawal. In some cases, it worked, and word spread among immigration attorneys that parole, while typically used in extreme emergencies, might be a way out, said Kyra Lilien, director of immigration legal services at Jewish Family & Community Services in Californias East Bay. Soon, attorneys began filing thousands of parole applications for Afghans. When the U.S. immigration agency created a website specifically to address these applications, Lilien said she thought it was a sign of hope. By November, however, the agency had posted a list of narrow criteria for Afghan applicants and held a webinar telling attorneys that parole is typically granted only if theres evidence someone faces imminent severe harm." A few weeks later, the denial letters began arriving. Lilien has received more than a dozen but no approvals. Once the U.S. packed up and left, anyone who was left behind has only one choice, and that is to pursue this archaic refugee channel, she said. It is just so angering that it took USCIS so long to be clear about that. Wogai Mohmand, an attorney who helps lead the Afghan-focused Project ANAR, said that the group has filed thousands of applications and that since the U.S. troop withdrawal, has seen only denials. The despair has led some immigration attorneys to give up on filing parole applications altogether. In Massachusetts, the International Institute of New England is holding off filing new applications until it hears on those that are pending after receiving a flurry of denials. Chiara St. Pierre, an attorney for the refugee resettlement agency, said she feels clients like Niazi are facing an unwinnable battle. For Niazis fiance, they had provided copies of written threats sent to the hospital where he works as a medical technician and threatening text messages he said came from Taliban members, she said. It wasnt enough. A redacted copy of the denial letter provided by St. Pierre lists the USCIS criteria released in November but doesnt specify why the agency rejected the application, which had been filed in August. For now, Niazi says her fiance is living and working far from Kabul as they weigh their options. They could potentially wait until Niazi becomes an American citizen so she can try to bring him here on a fiance visa, but that would take years. He cant wait that long. Its a miracle every day that hes alive, Niazi said. Im feeling like every door is closing in on him. ___ Taxin reported from Orange County, California. December 2021: "No need for cold and snow, west-central Illinois." January 2022: "Hold my beer." A winter storm moving into the Midwest is putting west-central Illinois in its sights, bringing with it bitterly cold temperatures and the potential for several inches of snow at the start of the new year. The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cass, Morgan, Sangamon, Schuyler and Scott counties through Saturday. Wind chills of zero to minus 15 are possible Saturday night into Sunday morning. Temperatures in the single digits to teens are expected to begin warming again Monday. The bigger question mark is whether the storm will bring snow, rain or a mix of both to the Jacksonville area. "There is also potential for accumulating snow Friday night into Saturday evening, but the exact location and amounts are uncertain at this point," according to the weather service. Forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Lincoln said the track was still not known Wednesday but it was closing in on south-central Illinois. If the trajectory holds, it could mean more snow for this area. It it shifts north, it would be more of a mixed precipitation. Meteorologists at AccuWeather are predicting from 2 to 4 inches of snow in Jacksonville between late Friday and Saturday night, tapering to about 1 to 2 inches in Carrollton, and switching to more of an ice-and-rain mix to the south. That could make things messy for those ringing in the new year Friday night, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. This forecasted winter storm is slated to arrive in the Midwest at a time when holiday travel is at a peak. It is with that in mind that we remind all travelers to monitor road conditions and only travel during a winter storm if it is absolutely necessary, Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau said. Tate-Nadeau recommends being prepared for whatever winter might bring by having emergency items at home and in vehicles. For the house, those should include food, water, a flashlight and spare batteries. For cars, blankets and extra clothes, jumper cables, sand or kitty litter, a first aid kit and a backup phone charger are essentials, according to the state agency. Unless travel is absolutely necessary, emergency officials say it is best to stay off the roads when a storm hits. For those who must venture out, real-time road conditions across the state are available online at gettingaroundIllinois.com. Hindu religious leader held for insulting Gandhi in India View Photo NEW DELHI (AP) Indian police on Thursday arrested a Hindu religious leader for allegedly making a derogatory speech against Indias independence leader Mohandas Gandhi and praising his assassin. Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu extremist during a prayer meeting in the Indian capital in 1948, because he was considered sympathetic toward Muslims during the partition of the Indian subcontinent by British colonialists in 1947 into secular India and Islamic Pakistan. Kalicharan Maharaj was arrested in central Madhya Pradesh state on Thursday for allegedly promoting hatred between religious groups in a speech earlier this week, the Press Trust of India news agency cited police officer Prashant Agrawal as saying. According to media reports, Maharaj said Gandhi destroyed the country salutations to Nathuram Godse, who killed him. He will be formally charged in court after the police complete an investigation. If convicted, he can be jailed up to five years. Attacks by Hindu hard-liners against Muslims and other minorities have intensified after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, and won a landslide reelection in 2019. The opposition is also demanding the arrest of several saffron-robed Hindu religious leaders for making highly provocative speeches against Muslims at a closed-door religious parliament, known as Dharam Sansad, earlier this month in the northern holy city of Haridwar. They called on Hindus to arm themselves for a genocide against Muslims, according to a police complaint. Police in Uttarakhand state, which is ruled by Modis nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, said they were questioning suspects. No arrests have been made. Muslims comprise nearly 14% of Indias 1.4 billion people. By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press Boat with 120 Rohingya refugees disembarks in Indonesia port View Photo LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia (AP) A group of 120 Rohingya Muslims disembarked from a boat that had drifted for days off Indonesias northernmost province of Aceh and was towed by a navy ship into port, officials said Friday. The refugees wooden boat was reportedly leaking and had a damaged engine. Efforts to rescue its passengers, who are overwhelmingly women and children, began after Indonesias government on Wednesday said it would allow them to dock because conditions on the boat were so severe. The broken-down boat was towed by a navy ship early Thursday from its location about 53 miles (85 kilometers) off the coast of Bireuen, a district in Aceh, toward Krueng Geukueh seaport in neighboring Lhokseumawe, a coastal town in the North Aceh district, said navy western fleet command spokesman Col. La Ode M. Holib. High waves and bad weather hampered the rescue operation, and the navy ship was moving 5 knots (5.7 miles) per hour to keep the towed boat from capsizing, Holib said. The boat docked safely just after midnight Friday. Authorities used buses to move the Rohingya refugees from the port to a nearby warehouse, providing temporary shelter amid heavy monsoon rains. The refugees will all be tested for the coronavirus, Holib added. The boat was first sighted by local fishermen on Sunday about 60 miles (96 kilometers) off the coast of Bireuen, said Badruddin Yunus, the leader of the local tribal fishing community. He said fishermen provided food, water and clothes to the passengers, including 60 women, 51 children and nine men, who said they wanted to go to Malaysia and had been at sea for 28 days before the boats engine broke down. Videos obtained by The Associated Press from the Indonesian navy showed the refugees wooden boat packed with dozens of members of the Rohingya ethnic community floating at sea. Women and children onboard cried out for help as the navy ship approached their boat, and officers in an inflatable boat were delivering food and other supplies to them. The United Nations refugee agency said it was ready to assist Indonesias government and local community in preparing for the Rohingya, including establishing a quarantine process in line with international public health protocols amid the pandemic. More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a clearance operation in response to attacks by a rebel group. Myanmar security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands of homes. Groups of Rohingya have attempted to leave the crowded camps in Bangladesh and travel by sea in hazardous voyages to other Muslim-majority countries in the region. Muslim-dominated Malaysia has been a common destination for the boats, and traffickers have promised the refugees a better life there. But many Rohingya refugees who land in Malaysia face detention. Although Indonesia is not a signatory to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention, the UNHCR said that a 2016 presidential regulation provides a national legal framework governing the treatment of refugees on boats in distress near Indonesia and to help them disembark. These provisions have been implemented for years, most recently in June when 81 Rohingya refugees were rescued off the coast of East Aceh. ___ Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report. By RAHMAT MIRZA Associated Press State Capitol In Sacramento View Photo Sacramento, CA Several new laws starting next year are the first of their kind in the nation, while others may make it hard to bring home the bacon. Voter-approved rules for the pork industry kicking in Jan. 1 are setting the nations toughest living space standards for breeding pigs. That has prompted concerns about possible shortages of bacon and other pork products along with job loss. With legal challenges failing in the courts, opponents are making last-minute calls to delay the new regulations until 2024. Proponents argue that fear is exaggerated since the state is continuing to allow the sale of pork processed under the old rules for a while even after the law takes effect. Other laws that will be enacted are designed to shield those seeking abortions, protect protesters from police, accelerate the approval process for housing projects, further ease criminal penalties to reduce mass incarceration. In partnership with the Legislature, weve advanced hundreds of new bills this year to make meaningful progress on an array of issues that matter deeply to Californians across the state, said Governor Newsom. He added, As we head into the new year, I look forward to our continued work to expand opportunity for all Californians. Marking national firsts are the states minimum wage reaching $15 an hour, protecting warehouse workers from quotas, mandating hourly wages for garment workers, requiring gender-neutral store displays. Live updates: South Korea extends social distancing rules View Photo SEOUL, South Korea __ South Korea says itll extend the toughest social distancing rules for another two weeks to try to lower critical cases and guard against the omicron variant. The government said Friday the current restrictions such as a four-person limit on private gatherings and a 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes will continue until Jan. 16. Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol says South Koreas daily caseload has recently dropped to the 5,000s from the previous 8,000s thanks to the current distancing guidelines enforced two weeks ago. But he says the number of critically or seriously ill patients remains above 1,000. Kwon says the omicron variant also continues to spread throughout South Korea and that its difficult to prevent it from becoming the dominant strain in South Korea. On Friday, South Korea added 4,875 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the national tally to 630,838. Health authorities said theyve also confirmed 269 new cases of the omicron variant, taking the countrys total to 894. ___ HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: US children hospitalized with COVID in record numbers U.S. health officials press nursing home workers to get booster shots New COVID-19 cases in US soar to highest levels on record Do at-home COVID-19 tests detect the omicron variant? Canadian provinces adopt restrictions amid daily case records ___ Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic ___ HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY: NEW YORK A coronavirus surge has upended plans to hold a major nuclear treaty conference at the United Nations next month, with participants agreeing Thursday to postpone the meeting days before its scheduled start. After nearly two years of pandemic delays, delegations from around the world were due to converge Tuesday on U.N. headquarters to take stock of the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty, a pillar of nuclear arms control. But organizers are now penciling in an Aug. 1 start date, according to an email Thursday from the U.N. disarmament office to entities involved. The conference was initially scheduled for spring 2020. As coronavirus cases spike again in the U.N.s host city of New York and a growing number of staffers are sick or or quarantined, the world body told the conference leader Monday that it couldnt accommodate a big gathering now. The NPT is the worlds most widely ratified nuclear arms control agreement, with 191 participating countries. Nations without atomic weapons committed not to acquire them and to allow verification that nuclear energy programs werent morphing into weaponry. Countries that had nukes when the treaty was signed the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China agreed to move toward eliminating them. ___ TORONTO Quebec is reimposing a nighttime curfew beginning New Years Eve, and Ontario has delayed the resumption of school by two days as several Canadian provinces report new highs for COVID-19 infections. Quebec Premier Francois Legault says the curfew will be in effect 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. as of Friday night and will run for an indefinite period. Quebec imposed a pandemic-related nightly curfew last Jan. 9 and did not lift the measure until May 28. It has been the only Canadian province to order a curfew over the coronavirus. In Ontario, classes had been scheduled to resume Monday but that has been pushed back to Wednesday. Officials say that will give schools time to provide N95 masks to staff and deploy more HEPA filter units. ___ HONOLULU Hawaii set an all-time record for new coronavirus cases on Thursday as the state of about 1.5 million people reported nearly 3,500 new infections. The daily total of new cases reported by health officials was 3,484, topping the record of 2,205 cases set the day after Christmas. The state was averaging just over 100 new cases a day at the beginning of the month. The latest surge came about two weeks after the first omicron variant case was confirmed in Hawaii. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said there would be no new restrictions on Oahu over the New Year holiday. He said people should take personal responsibility to curb the disease. ___ SANTA FE, N.M. New Mexico is running short of free at-home rapid tests to detect COVID-19 infections as the state struggles with the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The company that runs the states program said Thursday that the states supply of tests was overstretched. The announcement came hours after Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wrote that residents could order a testing kit today. By afternoon all available tests have been shipped and Vault Health was offering paid testing instead. The state reported an additional 2,209 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 26 additional deaths. ___ NEW ORLEANS Louisiana is setting records for new COVID-19 diagnoses, and the states omicron variant surge is just beginning, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday. Thursdays 24-hour total of 12,467 new cases was more than a third above Wednesdays 9,378, Edwards said during a news conference livestreamed on Zoom. He said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesdays figure was itself a state record, topping 7,548 set in August, during the delta variant surge. Edwards says the number of people hospitalized with the virus has risen 268% since Dec. 17, to 762. The governor said he would not mandate masks unless such an order is needed to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed. But he said people should heed masking recommendations from both the CDC and the state Department of Health. Wearing a mask is a minor inconvenience compared to being in a hospital struggling to get oxygen or watching a loved one struggling to get oxygen, he said. He and other state and hospital officials around south and central Louisiana repeatedly urged everyone to take precautions such as getting vaccinations and booster shots. ___ JACKSON, MISS. Mississippis Supreme Court chief justice issued an emergency order Thursday allowing judges to postpone jury trials through mid-January because of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolphs order also allows courts to use teleconferencing, videoconferencing and electronic filing to limit in-person contact in courts. Felony plea, felony sentencing and probation violation hearings can be conducted remotely. The order is an extension of safety regulations that were already in place. Emergency Administrative Order 25 is the fourth emergency order issued by the chief justice since August which allows judges to postpone jury trials. In his most recent order, Randolph cited the recent uptick in cases especially the highly contagious omicron variant. As of Dec. 14, there were 575 new COVID-19 confirmed infections in Mississippi. Approximately two weeks later, the number of confirmed cases increased more than eightfold, to 4,885 cases, Randolph said. ___ SACRAMENTO, Calif. With a new and more infectious coronavirus variant sweeping California, attorneys representing inmates say violations of health orders by prison staff risk a repeat of the outbreaks that killed dozens in the first year of the pandemic. The most recent statistics show large percentages of employees who are required to be tested twice weekly arent doing so, and most face no consequences. Corrections officials say they are updating those figures but have not yet provided new data. Officials are temporarily shutting down admissions to Wasco State Prison in the San Joaquin Valley where there have been more than 150 new infections in the past two weeks. Starting Monday, officials say inmates statewide must be fully vaccinated to have in-person or family visits, unless they have approved religious or medical exemptions. The actions come as new cases soar across California and state models predict a gradual increase in hospitalizations and intensive care admissions over the next month. ___ SEATTLE A Seattle-area medical system says it will soon limit COVID-19 testing appointments at its community testing sites because of an astronomically high positivity rate. The Seattle Times reports UW Medicine said Thursday appointments will be limited to only those with symptoms or known exposures. Of UW Medicines 12 community testing sites, nine will soon start limiting appointments. Three will close temporarily. The positivity rate is measuring more than 40% at some South King County testing sites and the high rate is slowing scientists ability to parse out which samples are actually positive. ___ MADRID New coronavirus cases have hit the tenth daily record in Spain, with an unprecedented 161,688 new confirmed infections as the fast-spreading omicron variant takes the reins. According to figures released by Spains Health Ministry, Thursday was the second day in a row when new cases soared over the 100,000 mark. The 14-day contagion rate, which informs policymakers response to the pandemic, rose to 1,775 new cases per 100,000 residents nationally. Thats up from 1,508 the day before. The northern Navarra region recorded more than twice the national average. Spanish officials have taken pride in a successful vaccination rollout that has led to more than 80% of the countrys 47 million people having gotten two vaccine doses. On Thursday, health officials announced that 80% of those 60 and older had already received a booster shot. ___ MIAMI Florida is seeing a sharp rise in coronavirus infections as the omicron variant rages through the state. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 58,000 new cases for Wednesday and revised its tallies to add thousands of cases to the daily counts of previous days, setting new pandemic records. The new CDC estimate raises the 7-day average in Florida to more than 36,400 new cases. The number was at around 26,600 at the peak of the summer surge in August, which was fueled by the delta variant. In Miami-Dade County, where cases have been concentrated, one out four people is testing positive for the virus. Because of the surge, Miami-Dade County Public Schools is requiring all employees, volunteers and visitors to wear face coverings at schools starting Monday. Students will be strongly encouraged to wear them. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in November a measure that prevents school districts from imposing mask mandates for students. ___ COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio hospitalizations for COVID-19 have hit a pandemic record high for the second day running. State data shows 5,466 people in the hospital with COVID-19, or one of every five patients. Gov. Mike DeWine and hospital administrators around the state say the vast majority of those in the hospital are unvaccinated. Ohio Department of Health data out Thursday also shows coronavirus cases remaining at historic levels. Nearly 20,000 new coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, just below the record set Wednesday. The case surge has created long lines outside health clinics and at pop-up sites as thousands seek out testing. The governor has ordered a total of 2,400 members of the Ohio National Guard into hospitals to help overwhelmed staff. ___ JERUSALEM Israel has approved a fourth vaccine dose for people most vulnerable to COVID-19, becoming the first country to do so as it braces for a wave of infections fueled by the omicron variant. The director general of the Health Ministry, Nachman Ash, announced the decision at a press conference late on Thursday. He says the decision is based on early research, and that officials will consider expanding the administration of a fourth dose to more of the public as they assess the situation. Israel was among the first countries to roll out Pfizers coronavirus vaccine a year ago and began freely offering boosters last summer. But it still saw a wave of infections blamed on the delta variant, and officials have warned of another driven by the fast-spreading omicron. Earlier Thursday, Israel received its first shipment of pills that treat the worst effects of COVID-19. Israel currently has more than 20,000 active patients, including 94 who are seriously ill. At least 8,243 people have died from COVID-19 in Israel since the start of the pandemic. ___ By The Associated Press SD committee investigating AG subpoena crash investigators View Photo SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) South Dakota lawmakers on Wednesday subpoenaed law enforcement officials and crash investigation documents as they weigh whether the states attorney general should be impeached for his conduct in a fatal car crash. After meeting behind closed doors in executive session for two days, a House committee tasked with recommending whether Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg should face impeachment charges unanimously approved the subpoenas in a brief public session Tuesday. The committee made of seven Republicans and two Democrats indicated it will reconvene in January to hear from those who investigated the crash. House Speaker Spencer Gosch, a Republican, said that as the committee sifted through the crash investigation file, questions arose and we issued subpoenas to get our questions answered. The attorney general, a Republican elected to his first term in 2018, pleaded no contest in August to a pair of misdemeanors in the crash that killed Joseph Boever. The 55-year-old man was walking along a rural stretch of highway in September 2020 when Ravnsborg struck him with his car. Ravnsborg first reported the crash as a collision with an animal. He has insisted that he did not realize he had killed a man until he returned to the scene the next day and discovered Boevers body. The committee subpoenaed Secretary of Public Safety Craig Price, who oversaw the investigation, two agents from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which assisted in the investigation, a crash reconstruction expert, and a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper. They also subpoenaed crash investigation documents, including from the Hyde County States Attorney, which brought charges against Ravnsborg. A spokesman for Ravnsborg did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gov. Kristi Noem, a fellow Republican, has called for Ravnsborg to resign, and Price, her cabinet secretary, has said he believes the attorney general should have faced a charge of manslaughter. The governor gave Gosch a copy of the crash investigation, which lawmakers reviewed during their private meeting. But Gosch said the committee was also subpoenaing the documents to make sure they received a complete record of the investigation. We spent a good, two long days going through a very big file and we are by no means all the way through that, said Rep. Jamie Smith, a Democrat who has previously called for Ravnsborgs ouster. He said the committee wanted to be as transparent as possible in its investigation but decided to initially meet in private because the crash investigation file contains personal information that does need to be redacted. Lawmakers planned to meet in executive session on Jan. 17 to discuss what material should be redacted from the crash investigation, but Gosch said he planned for the testimony from law enforcement officials to happen in a public hearing. If the investigative committee recommends impeachment charges be brought against Ravnsborg and a majority of the House were to approve the charges, Ravnsborg would then face a trial in the Senate. It would take a two-thirds majority of the Senate to convict and remove him from office. I dont anticipate this being a quick process, Smith said. This is a ton of information to go through. By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press A 2-year-old Alaska boy has been killed by his guardians months after his father strangled his mother, authorities said. Steven Melovidov Jr. and Sophie Myers-Melovidov killed the boy in their home on a remote island in the Bering Sea and attempted to mislead investigators, authorities said. They were charged with first-degree and second-degree murder and fourth-degree assault. Pleas of not guilty were entered for them during court hearings Thursday. Earlier this month, the toddler, Joshua Rukovishnikoff, was medevaced from St. Paul Island to Anchorage with a serious head injury, according to state troopers. The boy died at an Anchorage hospital, and an autopsy was conducted. Both of the suspects made statements to investigators that proved to be false after further investigation, said Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel. The childs mother, Nadesda Lynette Rukovishnikoff, was killed in September on St. Paul Island, and the couple became his guardians in October, McDaniel said. McDaniel said he didnt have details about the custody arrangements. The mothers husband, Joshua Rukovishnikoff, strangled her and was indicted in her death, according to the Alaska Department of Law. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges, according to court records. The Alaska Public Defender Agency, which represents him, declined to comment on his case Thursday. A judge on Thursday appointed a public defender to represent Melovidov, 31, and Myers-Melovidov, 28, at their arraignments. The Public Defender Agency declined to comment after the hearings. Its likely attorneys from another agency will be appointed later. Melovidov repeatedly stuck Joshua in the head, which resulted in a brain bleed and ultimately resulted in Joshuas death, a trooper said in an affidavit filed in court. On Dec. 11, St. Paul Police received a call for a 2-year-old boy having seizures, the document said. The couple told investigators the boy fell at home. An autopsy showed at least five separate head injuries, consistent with homicide, the affidavit said. Additionally, there were multiple suspicious bruises on Joshuas genitals that were not consistent with medical treatment, the document said. The document included various text messages between the couple, where they discussed what they told authorities, a fear of going to jail and deleting their messages. In one exchange, Melovidov and Myers-Melovidov texted about scanning the boys head at the hospital. Gees and weve been hitting his head. Please delete our texts now, Myers-Melovidov wrote, according to the affidavit. In requesting $250,000 bond, Assistant Attorney General Sam Vandergaw told the judge hes concerned about how the couple discussed deleting text messages and how ship traffic in St. Paul could make it easy for them to flee on a boat. Judge Gregory Miller granted the bail request and ordered that the couple have no contact with their 8-year-old daughter. The daughter is not a victim but a potential witness, Vandergaw said. According to the affidavit, the couple instructed the girl to lie to investigators about what happened in the home. According to an obituary for the toddlers mother, he has a sister who was 16 when their mother died. She listened to the hearings by phone and declined to comment when the judge asked if she wanted to say something about bail. Melovidov and Myers-Melovidov participated in their arraignments by phone from jail. Melovidov said he works in custodial maintenance. Myers-Melovidov said she doesnt work and receives financial support from her husband and an annual check from an Alaska Native regional corporation. By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) Two flight nurses and two pilots were the people killed when an airplane crashed and burned near San Diego earlier this week, acquaintances and authorities confirmed. The Learjet 35A went down in poor weather just after 7 p.m. Monday in an unincorporated area of El Cajon east of Gillespie Field, where authorities said it was scheduled to land. The twin-engine jet was registered to El Cajon-based Med Jet LLC, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. A request for information was sent to an email listing for the company. Acquaintances identified two of the victims as flight nurses Tina Ward and Laurie Gentz. On Wednesday, the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office identified two other victims as Douglas James Grande, 45, and Julian Jorge Bugaj, 67. All four worked for Aeromedevac Air Ambulance, according to the El Cajon-based company. The loss of our friends has left us an indescribable void, Medevac said in a Facebook post Wednesday. To both us and their families they are unsung heroes, dedicating their lives caring for others in need throughout our community. Another Facebook posting Tuesday by the Oceanside Firefighters Association said that Ward was one of the crash victims. She was married to retired Oceanside Fire Chief Joe Ward. We are shocked and saddened by this devastating news and are keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time, the association said. Also on Facebook, the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics identified Getz as president of the local union chapter and said she died along with the flight crew. The plane, which had made an earlier flight to Lake Havasu, departed John Wayne Airport in Orange County and was approaching Gillespie Field in El Cajon, about 78 miles (125.5 kilometers) to the south, when it crashed. Nobody on the ground was hurt. The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating but didnt immediately release any information. National Weather Service data described fog and mist at Gillespie shortly before the crash. Radio communications between the jet and the airfield recorded by LiveATC.net indicated that trouble happened suddenly. The pilot canceled an instrument flight rules approach to one runway and requested a switch to another runway using visual flight rules. After the switch was granted and new instructions were given, the pilot asked that the field lights be turned up and was told they were already at 100%. The pilot suddenly exclaimed three times and screamed. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) A judge on Wednesday temporarily halted Californias plans to speed the potential prison release dates for repeat offenders with serious and violent criminal histories under the states three strikes law. California corrections officials had filed emergency regulations to boost good conduct credits for second-strike inmates serving time for nonviolent offenses who are housed at minimum-security prisons and camps. Their daily credits were to have increased from half off their sentences to two-thirds off their sentences starting with the new year Saturday. Twenty-eight of Californias 58 district attorneys moved to block the rule. A Sacramento County judge imposed a temporary restraining order barring the change until a hearing next month. The prosecutors argued that it would apply to those convicted of, among other things, domestic violence, human trafficking, animal cruelty and possession of weapons by inmates who have previous convictions for serious and violent felonies. California has a narrow definition of what constitutes a violent crime. Prison officials said they are reviewing the judges order and will proceed with other portions of the regulations that were not blocked. Many of these so-called nonviolent second-strikers have long and violent criminal histories including repeat felony domestic violence convictions, sexual assaults and gun violence, said Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. She led the effort and is running for state attorney general on a law-and-order platform. The prosecutors did not oppose related changes in how good conduct credits are awarded to inmate firefighters. No one is contesting good conduct credits for fire camp work, but sneaking in another class of individuals with serious and violent criminal histories goes too far, Schubert said. Corrections officials responded in a statement that their primary mission is public safety. As part of that mission we will continue to ensure incarcerated people who are making efforts towards their own rehabilitation by maintaining good behavior and participating in programming and rehabilitative opportunities are afforded the chance to earn credits for their efforts, they said. By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) Another blast of snow halted travel on a large portion of the main east-west highway across Washington state for more than eight hours Thursday and also snarled traffic in the Seattle and Portland, Oregon, metro areas. Authorities closed about 80 miles (129 kilometers) of Interstate 90 over the Cascade Mountains due to near zero visibility and adverse road conditions. The highway was closed from about 4:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A storm that moved in overnight dumped up to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in parts of Seattle and even more outside the city. Snoqualmie Pass east of Seattle, which is what I-90 runs over, saw more than 9 inches (23 centimeters) of new snow, according to the state transportation department. I-90 closed again Thursday afternoon when an SUV crashed into a tanker carrying sulfuric acid on near Cle Elum, state transportation officials said. No injuries were reported and the freeway reopened Thursday evening with a detour while crews worked to clear the collision. In the Portland area and southwest Washington state, up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of new snow was possible. Temperatures in western Washington and Oregon were hovering around the freezing mark, considerably warmer than the past several days when the mercury hit the single digits in some areas after extreme cold air from Canadas Fraser River Valley blew in Sunday. Airflow from the Pacific will blow in on the weekend and cause temperatures to rise to more seasonable highs in the 40s Fahrenheit (4.4 Celsius). In Southern California, drenching rains fell and snow brought traffic to a halt on a major highway early Thursday as the last in a series of December storms that walloped the state moved through. The Grapevine section of Interstate 5 high in the mountains north of Los Angeles was shut down due to snow and ice before dawn, the California Highway Patrol said. The storm brought widespread worries about flooding and debris flows from wildfire burn scars in the region. Northern California was finally mostly free of storm warnings, but chains were required on major highways through the Sierra Nevada due to icy conditions. Residents in higher foothill and mountain communities were digging out, with reports of major tree and power line damage in places like Foresthill and the Nevada City area, both northeast of Sacramento. Thousand of residents remained without power, with warnings that some could be without lights and heat for another week. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, authorities announced Thursday, without saying whether any of the objects had entered Earth's orbit. It was not clear when the launch happened or what devices the carrier brought with it. Iran aired footage of the blastoff against the backdrop of negotiations in Vienna to restore Tehrans tattered nuclear deal with world powers. An eighth round had been underway this week and is to resume after New Years holidays. Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States. The U.S. military did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday's announcement from Iran. The State Department, however, said it remains concerned by Iran's space launches, which it asserts pose a significant proliferation concern" in regards to Tehran's ballistic missile program. Ahmad Hosseini, a Defense Ministry spokesman, identified the rocket as a Simorgh, or Phoenix, rocket that sent up the three devices 470 kilometers (290 miles). The performance of the space center and the performance of the satellite carrier was done properly, Hosseini was quoted as saying. But hours later, Hosseini and other officials remained silent on the the status of the objects, suggesting the rocket had fallen short of placing its payload into the correct orbit. Hosseini offered a speed for the satellite carrier that state-associated journalists reporting on the event indicated wouldn't be enough to reach orbit. Iran's civilian space program has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, including fatal fires and a launchpad rocket explosion that drew the attention of former President Donald Trump. Iranian state media recently offered a list of upcoming planned satellite launches for the Islamic Republics civilian space program. Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard runs its own parallel program that successfully put a satellite into orbit last year. Hosseini described the launch announced Thursday as initial, indicating more are on the way. Television aired footage of the white rocket emblazoned with the words, Simorgh satellite carrier and the slogan We can shooting into the morning sky from Irans Imam Khomeini Spaceport. A state TV reporter at a nearby desert site hailed the launch as another achievement by Iranian scientists. The blast-offs have raised concerns in Washington about whether the technology used to launch satellites could advance Iran's ballistic missile development. The United States says that such satellite launches defy a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on Iran to steer clear of any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Space launch vehicles incorporate technologies that are virtually identical to, and interchangeable with, those used in ballistic missiles, including longer-range systems, the State Department said late Thursday. The United States continues to use all its nonproliferation tools to prevent the further advancement of Irans missile programs and urges other countries to take steps to address Irans missile development activity. Iran, which long has said it does not seek nuclear weapons, maintains its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have a military component. Announcing a rocket launch as diplomats struggle to restore Tehran's atomic accord keeps with Tehran's hard-line posture under President Ebrahim Raisi, a recently elected conservative cleric. New Iranian demands in the nuclear talks have exasperated Western nations and heightened regional tensions as Tehran presses ahead with atomic advancements. Diplomats have repeatedly raised the alarm that time is running out to restore the accord, which collapsed three years ago when Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the deal. From Vienna, Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani told Iranian state TV that he hopes diplomats pursue more serious work to lift sanctions when nuclear talks resume next week. He described negotiations over the past week as positive. Washington, however, has thrown cold water on Tehrans upbeat assessments. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters earlier this week that its really too soon to tell whether Iran has returned with a more constructive approach to this round. Iran has now abandoned all limitations under the agreement, and has ramped up uranium enrichment from under 4% purity to 60% a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels. International inspectors face challenges in monitoring Tehran's advances. Satellite images seen by The Associated Press suggested a launch was imminent earlier this month. The images showed preparations at the spaceport in the desert plains of Irans rural Semnan province, some 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of Tehran. Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space. But under Raisi, the government appears to have sharpened its focus on space. Irans Supreme Council of Space has met for the first time in 11 years. ___ DeBre reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report. In the weeks leading up to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, a handful of Americans well-known politicians, obscure local bureaucrats stood up to block then-President Donald Trumps unprecedented attempt to overturn a free and fair vote of the American people. In the year since, Trump-aligned Republicans have worked to clear the path for next time. In battleground states and beyond, Republicans are taking hold of the once-overlooked machinery of elections. While the effort is incomplete and uneven, outside experts on democracy and Democrats are sounding alarms, warning that the United States is witnessing a slow-motion insurrection with a better chance of success than Trumps failed power grab last year. They point to a mounting list of evidence: Several candidates who deny Trumps loss are running for offices that could have a key role in the election of the next president in 2024. In Michigan, the Republican Party is restocking members of obscure local boards that could block approval of an election. In Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the GOP-controlled legislatures are backing open-ended reviews of the 2020 election, modeled on a deeply flawed look-back in Arizona. The efforts are poised to fuel disinformation and anger about the 2020 results for years to come. All this comes as the Republican Party has become more aligned behind Trump, who has made denial of the 2020 results a litmus test for his support. Trump has praised the Jan. 6 rioters and backed primaries aimed at purging lawmakers who have crossed him. Sixteen GOP governors have signed laws making it more difficult to vote. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed that two-thirds of Republicans do not believe Democrat Joe Biden was legitimately elected as president. The result, experts say, is that another baseless challenge to an election has become more likely, not less. Its not clear that the Republican Party is willing to accept defeat anymore, said Steven Levitsky, a Harvard political scientist and co-author of the book How Democracies Die. The party itself has become an anti-democratic force. American democracy has been flawed and manipulated by both parties since its inception. Millions of Americans Black people, women, Native Americans and others have been excluded from the process. Both Republicans and Democrats have written laws rigging the rules in their favor. This time, experts argue, is different: Never in the country's modern history has a a major party sought to turn the administration of elections into an explicitly partisan act. Republicans who sound alarms are struggling to be heard by their own party. GOP Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming or Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, members of a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, are often dismissed as party apostates. Others have cast the election denialism as little more than a distraction. But some local officials, the people closest to the process and its fragility, are pleading for change. At a recent news conference in Wisconsin, Kathleen Bernier, a GOP state senator and former elections clerk, denounced her partys efforts to seize control of the election process. These made up things that people do to jazz up the base is just despicable and I dont believe any elected legislator should play that game, said Bernier. LOCAL CONTROL Berniers view is not shared by the majority of the Republicans who control the state Legislature in Wisconsin, one of a handful of states that Biden carried but Trump wrongly claims he won. Early in 2021, Wisconsin Republicans ordered their Legislative Audit Bureau to review the 2020 election. That review found no significant fraud. Last month, an investigation by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty came to the same conclusion. Still, many Republicans are convinced that something went wrong. They point to how the nonpartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission which the GOP-led Legislature and then-Republican governor created eight years ago to run the states elections changed guidance for local elections officers to make voting easier during the pandemic. That's led to a struggle for control of elections between the state Legislature and the commission. We feel we need to get this straight for people to believe we have integrity, said GOP Sen. Alberta Darling, who represents the conservative suburbs north of Milwaukee. Were not just trying to change the election with Trump. Were trying to dig into the next election and change irregularities. Republicans are also remaking the way elections are run in other states. In Georgia, an election bill signed this year by the GOP governor gave the Republican-controlled General Assembly new powers over the state board of elections, which controls its local counterparts. The law is being used to launch a review of operations in solidly-Democratic Fulton County, home to most of Atlanta, which could lead to a state takeover. The legislature also passed measures allowing local officials to remove Democrats from election boards in six other counties. In Pennsylvania, the GOP-controlled legislature is undertaking a review of the presidential election, subpoenaing voter information that Democrats contend is an unprecedented intrusion into voter privacy. Meanwhile, Trump supporters are signing up for local election jobs in droves. One pastor who attended the Jan. 6 rally in the nation's capital recently won a race to become an election judge overseeing voting in a rural part of Lancaster County. In Michigan, the GOP has focused on the states county boards of canvassers. The little-known committees power was briefly in the spotlight in November of 2020, when Trump urged the two Republican members of the board overseeing Wayne County, home to Democratic-bastion Detroit, to vote to block certification of the election. After one of the Republican members defied Trump, local Republicans replaced her with Robert Boyd, who told The Detroit Free Press that he would not have certified Bidens win last year. Boyd did not return a call for comment. A similar swap replacing a traditional Republican with one who parroted Trump's election lies occurred in Macomb County, the states third most populous county. The Detroit News in October reported that Republicans had replaced their members on boards of canvassers in eight of Michigan's 11 most populous counties Michigan officials say that if boards of canvassers dont certify an election they can be sued and compelled to do so. Still, that process could cause chaos and be used as a rallying cry behind election disputes. Theyre laying the groundwork for a slow-motion insurrection, said Mark Brewer, an election lawyer and former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. The states top election official, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, warned: The movement to cast doubt on the 2020 election has now turned their eyes ... to changing the people who were in positions of authority and protected 2020. TRUMPS RETRIBUTION That includes Benson. Multiple Republicans have lined up to challenge her, including Kristina Karamo, a community college professor who alleged fraud in the 2020 elections and contended that the Jan. 6 attackers were actually antifa activists trying to frame Trump supporters. Trump has been clear about his intentions: He is seeking to oust statewide officials who stood in his way and replace them with allies. We have secretary of states that did not do the right thing for the American people, Trump, who has endorsed Karamo, told The Associated Press this month. The most prominent Trump push is in Georgia, where the former president is backing U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who voted against Biden's Electoral College victory on Jan. 6, in a primary race against the Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. He rejected Trump's pleas to find enough votes to declare him the winner. Trump also encouraged former U.S. Sen. David Perdue to challenge Gov. Brian Kemp in the GOP primary. Kemp turned down Trump's entreaties to declare him the victor in the 2020 election. In October, Jason Shepherd stepped down as chair of the Cobb County GOP after the group censured Kemp. Its shortsighted. Theyre not contemplating the effects of this down the line, Shepherd said in an interview. They want their pound of flesh from Brian Kemp because Brian Kemp followed the law. In Nevada, multiple lawsuits seeking to overturn Biden's victory were thrown out by judges. A suit aimed at overturning his congressional loss was filed by Jim Marchant, a former GOP state lawmaker now running to be secretary of state, and it too was dismissed. The current Republican secretary of state, Barbara Cegavske, who is term limited, found there was no significant fraud in the contests. Marchant said he's not just seeking to become a Trump enabler, though he was endorsed by Trump in his congressional bid. I've been fighting this since before he came along, Marchant said of Trump. All we want is fair and transparent elections. In Pennsylvania, Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who organized buses of Trump supporters for Trump's rally near the White House on Jan. 6, has signaled hes running for governor. In Arizona, state Rep. Mark Finchem's bid to be secretary of state has unnerved many Republicans, given that he hosted a daylong hearing in November 2020 that featured Trump adviser Rudolph Giuliani. Former news anchor Kari Lake, who repeats Trump's election falsehoods, is running to succeed Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who stood up to Trump's election-year pressure and is barred from another term. Elsewhere in Arizona, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, who defended his office against the conspiratorial election review, has started a political committee to provide financial support to Republicans who tell the truth about the election. But he's realistic about the persistence of the myth of a stolen election within his party's base. Right now, Richer said, the incentive structure seems to be strongly in favor of doing the wrong thing. HIGH STAKES RACES FOR GOVERNOR In Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Democratic governors have been a major impediment to the GOP's effort to overhaul elections. Most significantly, they have vetoed new rules that Democrats argue are aimed at making it harder for people of color to vote. Governors have a significant role in U.S. elections: They certify the winners in their states, clearing way for the appointment of Electoral College members. That raises fears that Trump-friendly governors could try to certify him if he were to run in 2024 and be the GOP nominee as the winner of their state's electoral votes regardless of the vote count. Additionally, some Republicans argue that state legislatures can name their own electors regardless of what the vote tally says. But Democrats have had little success in laying out the stakes in these races. It's difficult for voters to believe the system could be vulnerable, said Daniel Squadron of The States Project, a Democratic group that tries to win state legislatures. The most motivated voters in America today are those who think the 2020 election was stolen, he said. Acknowledging this is afoot requires such a leap from any core American value system that any of us have lived through. New Year's Day 2022 welcomes a slew of new laws taking effect in the Lone Star State, including making it easier for third-party apps to deliver alcohol and new laws to prevent animal cruelty. Also beginning New Year's Day is a new a tax break for places of religious worship and new protections for residents living in flood-prone properties. The 87th Texas Legislature approved the 23 measures during its regular session this year, which ended in May. Here's a look at some of the most notable bills becoming law in the new year: Taxation rules and exemptions Among the measures taking effect Saturday is House Bill 1197, which increases the maximum period that certain land owned by a religious organization for the purpose of expanding a place of religious worship or constructing a new place of religious worship may be exempted from property taxation from from six years to 10 years. Authors of the bill, which was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, said it was meant to benefit smaller congregations, according to the Dallas Morning News. Another measure related to taxation is Senate Bill 794, which exempts homestead taxes for veterans who are considered totally disabled by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. HB 115 exempts taxes of certain property owned by charitable organizations and used in providing housing and related services to people experiencing homelessness. To qualify, the organization has to have existed for at least 20 years if its located in a county and two years if in a municipality. Meanwhile, HB 2535 prevents tax assessors from including any improvements made to a property for the use of personal food consumption. For example, if a homeowner has added a chicken coop or rabbit pen, those structures may not be included in the annual appraisal. Flood-prone property disclosures Also included in the list of bills is HB 531, which will require landlords to inform prospective rental property owners if a property is located in the 100-year floodplain or if the home has flooded in the last five years before signing a lease. The notices would be disclosed on the lease, according to the bill's text. Under previous Texas law, landlords were not required to tell tenants if a place flooded in the past. Issues surrounding residents uninformed about their homes being prone to flooding came to head following Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Under the new law, if landlords fail to notify them, tenants can terminate their lease if their property becomes flooded or damaged as a result of flooding. The new law only applies to leasing agreements signed on and after Jan. 1, 2022. Long-term care facility websites Another law, HB 3961, will require websites of long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, to post information regarding the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, which advocates for resident rights and "help protect the quality of life and quality of care of anybody who lives in a nursing home or an assisted living facility," according to Texas Health and Human Services. The measure addresses concerns that sprung up during the pandemic when facility closures isolated residents from loved ones, the Dallas Morning News reports. Law enforcement funding requirements Also taking effect is Senate Bill 23, which requires counties with more than 1 million residents to hold an election before reducing funding of a law enforcement agency or reallocating funding or resources from one law enforcement agency to another. The bill was authored in response to calls to defund the police last year. Supporters of the bill say it ensures voters have input in public safety decisions while opponents argue it takes away local government control. Melissa Phillip /Staff Fireworks displays are beautiful, but if you're a pet owner, you know that New Year's Eve can be a perilous night for our pups. As San Antonio prepares to ring in the new year, the City of San Antonio shares tips on how to prepare anxious pets for the loud spectacles. Generally, you're going to want to keep your pet at home and away from outdoor fireworks displays. Preferably in a closed space indoors. "A closed off area inside your home can be a blessing for a pet nervous [with] all the noise and commotion associated with the festivities," reads a press release from the City of San Antonio. "Some pets get destructive when theyre frightened so be sure to remove anything your pet could destroy. Try to provide some toys to occupy your pet. Fresh food and water are a must and a treat or two wouldnt hurt either." Courtesy of SAPD A bag of bones found on the 9800 block of Fredericksburg Road is not connected to missing 3-year-old Lina Sadar Khil, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said in a press briefing on Thursday, December 30. Lina was last seen at a playground at her family's apartment complex on the 9400 block of Fredericksburg Road on December 20. McManus said a volunteer group discovered the plastic bag of bones in a wooded area, not far from where Lina went missing. He said officials don't know if the remains are human or animal but because the bones appear old, they do not believe it's not related to Lina's case. The two most powerful people overseeing Texas electric grid sat next to each other in a quickly arranged Austin news conference in early December trying to assure Texans the states electricity supply was prepared for winter. The lights are going to stay on this winter, said Peter Lake, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, echoing recent public remarks by Gov. Greg Abbott. Two weeks earlier, Abbott had told Austins Fox 7 News he can guarantee the lights will stay on. The press conference from Lake and the chief of the states independent grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, came at the governors request, according to two state officials and one other person familiar with the planning who were not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. It was 150 percent Abbotts idea, said one of the people familiar with the communication from Abbotts team. The governor wanted a press conference to give people confidence in the grid. For months, Abbott has been heavily involved in the public messaging surrounding the power grids winter readiness. In addition to the press conference, he asked a major electric industry trade group to put out a positive public statement about the grid and has taken control of public messaging from ERCOT, according to interviews with current and former power grid officials, energy industry trade group representatives and energy company directors and executives. The messaging has projected a level of confidence about the grid that isnt reflected in data released by ERCOT or echoed by power company executives and energy experts who say theyre worried that another massive winter storm could trigger widespread grid failures like those that left millions of Texans without power in February. Abbott has also met one-on-one with energy industry CEOs to ask about their winter readiness but in meetings that happened weeks after he made his public guarantee about the grid. Youd think he would have asked to meet with us before saying that, one person involved in the energy company meetings said of Abbotts guarantee. Ten months after the power grid failures caused hundreds of deaths and became national news, an election year is approaching and Abbotts two top primary challengers and his top Democratic challenger have been harshly criticizing the governor over his handling of the power grid. A political move It might be a good political move, but its just a political move, Peter Cramton, an energy markets expert and former ERCOT board member who resigned after the storm, said of Abbotts promise. Its not surprising. His fate is on the line. So this is a sensitive political issue now. For many Texas energy officials and experts, the line has blurred between Abbotts executive leadership on the power grid and his 2022 reelection campaign. By promising the lights will stay on, hes betting that Texas wont experience widespread extreme weather this winter and the grid will work the next time freezing weather hits. The Governor is deeply engaged with the new commissioners at the PUC and the new leadership at ERCOT as they work to improve the Texas electric grid, Abbott spokeswoman Renae Eze said in a statement. The House and Senate passed substantial reforms this year, and Governor Abbott is working to ensure those reforms are properly implemented so that the grid provides stable and reliable power for the state. Lake, who was appointed by Abbott and whose agency oversees ERCOT, said he has met frequently with the governor since summer. Hes super focused on it and wants to know whats going on, Lake said in an interview. A majority of power companies have spent money since February preparing their equipment for extreme winter weather, but some say the grid wont be ready if another storm as powerful as Februarys strikes this winter because lawmakers didnt require gas companies which supply fuel to more than half of the states power plants to be weatherized immediately. What Im uncertain about is the gas supply, Cramton said. Thats the big question. ERCOT goes silent When Brad Jones took over as ERCOTs interim CEO in the spring after the previous CEO and many board members resigned after the grid catastrophe he began by promising that ERCOT would be more transparent with the public and state leaders. My guarantee to you is that we intend to communicate more clearly than weve done in the past, Jones said during his first public hearing with lawmakers. To remove industry jargon, to speak to you in ways that all of us can understand. In recent months, however, ERCOT has been nearly silent on social media and its leaders have barely spoken publicly. People familiar with ERCOTs operations say the organization has needed to receive approval from the governors office for most of its public communications, a stark contrast to how the grid operator did business in the past. Every spring and fall, ERCOT releases a report assessing potential scenarios for the grid during more extreme weather. And the organizations technical experts typically brief reporters on the assessment to help translate complex electricity jargon into plain language that the general public can understand. This fall, that briefing never happened. Instead, ERCOT simply posted its assessment for this winter to its website on a Friday afternoon in November. The report concluded that the Texas grid is still vulnerable to blackouts during severe winter weather, even with the new preparations. We just made a mistake on that, Jones said about not conducting the briefing. Another biannual report, the Capacity, Demand and Reserves report, contains a multiyear forecast of peak electricity demand and generation resources expected to be available. The assessment is released every May and early December. But the report was not released as usual this year because the governors office was still reviewing it, according to people familiar with the delay. It was released Wednesday. As November turned to December, Abbotts team asked the Association of Electric Companies of Texas to put out a positive statement about the power grids readiness for winter, according to four people in the energy industry. The association was the industrys public face in the aftermath of the storm, testifying before lawmakers and lobbying on behalf of major power companies. On Dec. 8, the same day as Lake and Jones news conference, the association released its statement. The message stopped short of making definitive claims about the lights staying on this winter but went into detail about preparations at power plants and transmission and distribution facilities. It also thanked Texas leaders and the Legislature for their efforts during the past session to strengthen the resilience of the grid, as well as AECTs member companies for their efforts to prepare for this winter for the benefit of Texas consumers. Abbott and CEOs Nearly three weeks after promising the lights wouldnt go out this winter and after Lake echoed him in the December press conference Abbotts team arranged for several energy companies to meet with the governor. Such meetings are not uncommon, but the timing was curious to some involved, as well as to power grid officials and political scientists. The mid-December meetings included Calpine, Kinder Morgan, NRG, Vistra and Energy Transfer Partners whose CEO, Kelcy Warren, gave $1.1 million to Abbott immediately after this years regular legislative session. Abbott asked the CEOs detailed questions about their expectations for the coming months, their companies readiness for winter and whether they feel ready for another severe winter storm, according to people in the meetings. It was literally, like: If we have another (Winter Storm) Uri, are yall going to be ready? said a person involved in one of the meetings. We said, Yes. He said: Tell me why, what is different? Companies that spoke to the Tribune said they laid out to the governor how they had been preparing their facilities for winter. Calpine CEO Thad Hill said in a written statement the governor was doing his direct due diligence ensuring the grid would be reliable this winter. NRG CEO Mauricio Gutierrez welcomed the opportunity to highlight our companywide winter-readiness efforts to meet the energy needs of our growing state, NRG said in a statement. Vistra CEO Curt Morgan, who has criticized the states natural gas producers for not adequately preparing for extreme winter weather, told Abbott that Vistra has invested more than $50 million to further harden its power generation fleet in Texas, focused on learnings from Winter Storm Uri, Vistra said in a statement. Still, some wondered why Abbott didnt gather information from the energy CEOs before promising the lights would stay on during the next winter storm. If it were truly about executive leadership and government transparency, then you wouldnt get what almost amounts to a slogan: I guarantee, said Stephanie Martin, a scholar of political communication at Southern Methodist University. Youd get a meaningful articulation of whats behind the guarantee. Disclosure: The Association of Electric Companies of Texas (AECT), Calpine and Southern Methodist University have been financial supporters of the Texas Tribune. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Yves here. This article makes explicit something thats not hard to infer from coverage of Covid strain on hospitals: in the first wave, the limiting factor was physical capacity, in particular beds. Now the constraint more often is manningwhich is harder to measure well and can be stretched in the short term. By Greg B. Smtih (gsmith@thecity.nyc). Originally published at THE CITY on December 29, 2021 With hospitalizations for COVID patients rising rapidly, the number of available beds at several city-run hospitals has dropped to levels that could trigger a suspension of elective surgeries. The state Department of Health has the power to impose this restriction on hospitals with low numbers of available beds in regions experiencing a high rate of COVID hospitalizations. Areas averaging more than 4 new COVID patients per 100,000 population each day over a seven-day average trigger the departments potential intervention. On Sunday New York City passed that threshold, with the average number of new patients with COVID entering city hospitals hitting 4.76 per 100,000 over the previous seven days, according to the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. On Monday, that rate rose even higher to 5.48 new COVID patients per 100,000, city data show. Both are well above the 4 new patients per 100,000 cutoff. The state Health Department told THE CITY on Wednesday that so far the influx of COVID patients has not yet triggered the imposition of an elective surgery suspension. Agency spokesperson Erin Silk wrote in an emailed response, New York City does not currently meet either of the gate criteria to be included in the elective surgery guidance. She did not specify those criteria. On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio mentioned the 4.76 rate from Sunday but did not mention the newer data. He conceded that the rate was very high, but insisted that hospitals within New York City have the situation under control.Thank God, because of all the actions that have been taken, all the vaccination, our hospitals are handling the situation well, he said. Strained Nurses Health care workers see the situation as more dire. On Wednesday, nursing union officials expressed concerns that with the rising number of COVID hospitalizations, staffing has again reached inadequate levels reminiscent of spring 2020, when health care workers struggled with overwhelming COVID patient caseloads. What good is a physical hospital bed if there is not a nurse to take care of the patient occupying that bed? said Pat Kane, an RN and director of the New York State Nurses Association. At a time when COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing and our health care system is once again coming under enormous strain due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, health systems and policymakers should meet the challenge by staffing safely and protecting the frontlines. Kane said the union is very concerned that federal and state agencies and hospital administrators are instead cutting corners on staffing levels, infection control, and other health and safety measures exactly when we need to protect health care workers and our patients the most. The patient squeeze appears to be hitting public hospitals the hardest. The seven-day average bed capacity data for Tuesday show overall, New York City hospitals reported 26% of beds available. In contrast, five of the 11 hospitals run by the citys Health and Hospitals Corporation register bed availability rates of 15% or lower, state figures show. Over the last few days, several public hospitals have reported bed availability at or below 10% the level Gov. Kathy Hochul Wednesday labeled the danger zone. The most recent single-day figures suggest the situation is growing more urgent. On Tuesday, Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn dropped to the 7% mark, while Kings County in Brooklyn reported a 9% open bed capacity. That same day Elmhurst in Queens one of the hardest-hit hospitals when the pandemic first arrived in spring 2020 hit the danger zone mark of 10%. The state hospital capacity data does not make a distinction between COVID and non-COVID patients but federal stats suggest COVIDs growing role. U.S. Centers for Disease Control reporting for the week ending Dec. 26 show 11% of all hospital beds in Brooklyn and Queens occupied by COVID patients, 8% in The Bronx and Staten Island and 7% in Manhattan. As of Tuesday, 3,178 people were hospitalized with COVID in New York City, according to the state health department up from about 1,000 in mid-December. HHC spokesperson Stephanie Guzman said the agency is ready to rearrange staffing and add beds if required. Were expediting safe discharges and utilizing our level-loading to ensure capacity is manageable by the second, she wrote in an email. Additionally, were prepared to scale up necessary capacity on an ongoing basis, which we havent had to do just yet. Guzman said that the 10% capacity standard is of current beds as theyre equipped. As a reminder, we tripled ICU capacity in the early days of the pandemic and have mechanisms to flip that switch even faster two years into the pandemic. Michael Lanza, a spokesman for the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said the agency supports the States efforts to preserve hospital capacity for serious illness, particularly those with severe COVID-19. The department is working with the Greater New York Hospital Association to coordinate efforts across all city hospitals to provide support as we collectively work to end this wave, Lanza added. Short on Gear Hospitals are also grappling with a state requirement to keep at least a 60-day supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) on hand. Hospitals must report their supply level to the department on the first Tuesday of each month. In November and so far this month, more than 20 hospitals reported being out of compliance with that rule, according to records obtained by THE CITY via Freedom of Information Law. Two are in the city: The public Woodhull Hospital in East Williamsburg, and University Hospital of Brooklyn, part of the SUNY Downstate state-run hospital system. Woodhull is also short on beds: On Monday, Woodhull reported a 7-day average of available beds of 10%. Guzman said because all 11 HHC hospitals operate under the same management, Woodhull can obtain whatever PPE it needs from a central storehouse serving all city-run medical centers. We function as a health system of 11 hospitals and utilize central stockpiles to ensure our healthcare workers have the proper PPE while on the job, she said. We remain within the states requirement. Dawn Skeete Factor, a spokesperson for SUNY Downstate, said, One factor that may be contributing to the spike in hospitalization rates is the ease with which the Omicron variant spreads. A high percentage of patients admitted to hospitals in New York City for non-COVID related issues test positive for COVID. This result requires the same intensive response all COVID specific patients receive. The number of new COVID patients arriving daily in New York City hospitals is nowhere near what it was when the pandemic first peaked in the spring of 2020, when the 7-day average of new admissions hit 1,667 on April 4. After the city locked down, that number dropped precipitously, then rose again in the winter of 2020 with the arrival of the Delta variant to peak at 385 on Feb. 10. This past Thanksgiving, city hospitals were averaging about 53 new COVID patients daily, but then came the arrival of the highly contagious Omicron variant. The hospital admission numbers have since dramatically risen, reaching a 7-day average of 332 as of Tuesday. One pattern remains constant: People who are unvaccinated are about 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID infections than people who are fully vaccinated. (Natural News) Americas decline and eventual collapse into the ash heap of history are proceeding apace, as even now our elite medical schools once focused solely on science-based practice using the latest techniques are becoming nothing less than propaganda centers for the Marxist far-left, which is using absurd wokeness to push racial division that will lead to the destruction of our multicultural nation. Case in point: Mount Sinais Icahn School of Medicine. Suddenly, being woke is more important than teaching the next generation of physicians how to take care of people without bias. As reported by City Journal, administrators at the school published an article last year that talked about the institutions long-running cultural change initiative which appeared in the once-prestigious journal Academic Medicine. The piece claims: We have to go out there and seek the truth, part of which is accepting that, if we are White, we are a big part of the problem. We are part of the reason that structural racism imprisons and oppresses people of color every day, everywhere they go, and no matter what they do. Mind you, there are plenty of white apologists on the left, even though few if any of them really have anything legitimate to apologize for (if they feel they must, then maybe they are the real racists, right?). But when statements like this are made, they are made on behalf of all white people, including those of us who dont have anything to apologize for and are sick and tired of being accused of it. Youve heard African-Americans complain about being stopped by police for the offense of driving while black? Well, being stopped by the leftist culture cops for living while white is pretty much the same thing and equally offensive and annoying. In any event, City Journal continued: The Icahn School of Medicine recently announced an Anti-Racist Transformation in Medical Education (ART in MedEd) program, designed to guide other medical schools through their own version of the schools culture transformation initiative. If Icahns own efforts are any indicator, these schools will receive a crash course in how to insert concepts like white fragility, microaggressions, and white supremacy culture into medical education. According to the Academic Medicine article, Icahn achieved its own transformation in part through Chats for Change, a series of monthly activities that spark conversations centered on racism and bias. Chats for Change, the article notes, covered topics like My Micro-Aggressions: Received and Delivered, White Fragility, and Roots of Racism. Recently, the talks have become even more blatantly ideological, having been redesigned to include braver and safer content, such as: What is Critical Race Theory, and whats the big deal?; What are white supremacy culture characteristics intended to achieve?; What is the existence and significance of whiteness? Just to remind you, this garbage is being taught by a noted medical school; if it catches on and it is then the next generation of physicians is going to be taught to be naturally resentful and suspicious of their white patients, and thats a huge problem. Perhaps most telling is the chat on White Supremacy Culture, which is, according to a description, the forbidden fruit,' City Journal noted, citing the materials (and notice how this is presented as an accepted fact, that white supremacy culture does exist and that no laws or constitutional amendments passed over the past two centuries has made any progress at all toward the founders vision of equality). Take a bite and it will give you more knowledge and power than those who are hoarding that power are willing to share,' the materials continue, as cited by the outlet. The ultimate goal of the conversation is to determine whether there are ways we can help our colleagues and leaders embrace this conceptof the pervasiveness of white supremacy, presumablywithout feeding too much into their fragility and right to comfort.' Make no mistake, this stuff is pure poison in a multicultural society. But when this BS propaganda is presented to medical practitioners as something to be considered when treating white patients, our downfall as a viable country is assured. Read more content like this at Propaganda.news. Sources include: City-Journal.org NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Whatever the FBI started out to be, it has turned into little more than an entrapment agency used by its top officials to justify more power and bigger budgets so they can further terrorize American citizens with whom they disagree politically. The most recent case in point is the alleged kidnapping plot against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, which just happened to have taken place as pushback against hers and other Democratic leaders ultra-restrictive COVID-19 lockdown policies was reaching a crescendo last summer. Lawyers for five men arrested in the plot Adam Fox, 38, Barry Croft, 46, Kaleb Franks, 27, Daniel Harris, 24, and Brandon Caserta, 33 have petitioned a federal court to have all charges dropped because they believe it is obvious the bureau set them up in a phony plot, and for purely political reasons. Their clients face up to life in prison if they are convicted. When the government was faced with evidence showing that the defendants had no interest in a kidnapping plot, it refused to accept failure and continued to push its plan, they wrote in their court filing. American Wire News reported further: According to the Detroit News, the 20-page dismissal was filed in court on Christmas night, with attorneys claiming that the FBI and federal authorities took advantage of disdain for Whitmers strict lockdown policies regarding the COVID-19 pandemic to create the plot. The dismissal was filed with U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker, a George W. Bush appointee. The attorneys argued that if he grants their request, then the governments case would fall apart along with all remaining charges, which are linked to the original conspiracy allegation. The filing also comes amid several other irregularities with the case, including the fact that one of the lead FBI agents, Robert Trask, was arrested earlier this year and charged with domestic violence before being fired from the agency and after he was convicted on a misdemeanor. Also, agents used an informant named Stephen Robeson, even though hes got a lengthy criminal history including a guilty plea in a firearms-related offense that got him released from custody after making a deal with prosecutors. Essentially, the evidence here demonstrates egregious overreaching by the governments agents, and by the informants those agents handled, says the dismissal filing ahead of a March 8 trial date. The government initiated this case, despite the fact that it knew there was no plan to kidnap, no operational plan, and no details about how a kidnapping would occur or what would happen afterward, lawyer Scott Graham wrote. He noted further that informants, of course, not only contacted the defendants face to face but also coaxed, persuaded, cajoled, played on sympathies, cultivated friendships, took advantage of the defendants financial conditions, and suggested that the offense they proposed would further a greater good. In all, the attorneys noted, there were a dozen informants involved in the plot, who recruited, agitated and funded the scheme. The FBI asserts that the men, who allegedly belonged to a group called the Wolverine Watchmen, plotted and trained to carry out the kidnapping plot. But their lawyers argue that they had no financial means to do so. The evidence here demonstrates egregious overreaching by the governments agents, and by the informants those agents handled, they argued. So while the defendants had no interest in profit, a factor weighing in their favor herethe governments exploitation of its virtually unlimited resources, poured into its investigation, further underscores entrapment as a matter of law. The FBI is no longer a real federal law enforcement agency; its just a political enforcement organization for the deep state. Read more stories like this at PoliceState.news. Sources include: AmericanWireNews.com DailyMail.co.uk (Natural News) The New York Senate is now preparing to vote on a bill that would allow the forcible removal of COVID-positive individuals who are potentially dangerous to the public health. The Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has allowed some states (particularly California and New York) to expand draconian laws, mandates and other impositions that threatened the autonomy and basic rights of their citizens. New York lawmakers now appear to be taking steps to create an Orwellian society, with quarantine camps for COVID-positive individuals. The bill in question, called the New York State Assembly Bill A416 will be voted on in the next legislative session on January 5, 2022. It stipulates several changes regarding how the pandemic is being handled. some of the new rules include the removal and detention of cases, contacts and carriers who are or may be a danger to public healthin the event that the governor declares a state of health emergency due to an epidemic of any communicable disease. It also stipulated that the governor or any of his delegates may order the removal or detention of a person or persons identified by name or by a reasonably specific description of the individuals or group being detained. Finally, it also mentioned that individuals targeted for forced quarantine shall be detained in a medical or other appropriate facility or premises designated by the governor. The individuals mentioned in the stipulations who could be forcibly removed from their homes dont have to test positive for COVID-19 either: they could simply be people in contact with a COVID-positive person. Forced detention could still get worse The bill also stated that the governor or his or her delegee may, in his or her discretion, issue and seek enforcement of any other orders that he or she determines are necessary or appropriate to prevent dissemination or transmission of contagious diseases or other illnesses that may pose a threat to the public health. It further gives the governor of New York the right to require an individual who has been exposed or infected to complete an appropriate, prescribed course of treatment, preventative medication or vaccination. However, the bill clarified that forcible administration of any medication is not permitted without a court order, which then calls into question how easy it will be for state officials to acquire such orders. (Related: New York rapidly turning into a miserable, enslaved vaccine police state.) These types of bills are concerning as it allows medical mandates to become the norm, giving the state the right to demand that a private person can take measures against their will. COVID requirements come into force following surge of omicron variant While the Bill is pending, New COVID vaccine requirements have also come into force as infections continue to surge in New York. Beginning Monday, workers from around 184,000 businesses in private sectors are required to show that they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and are then given 45 days to show proof of their second dose. Children aged 12 and over are now required to show proof of full vaccination to access dining areas and many extracurricular school activities. The city is also introducing vaccine mandates for private-sector workers, the first to take such action in the U.S. State employees have been mandated to take the jabs earlier this year. Vaccines are now made available to all New Yorkers aged five and older, and children under this age group will have to prove that they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to enter public venues. With the forced mandates in place, 71.5 percent of the citys population have already been fully vaccinated, while 20 percent have not yet received a single dose. New York state confirmed a record of 49,708 new infections on December 24 and 36,454 new cases recorded the day after. Watch the video below to learn more about how New York City is establishing itself to be the next Orwellian society: This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. Get more updates about how the government is handling COVID-19 at Pandemic.news. Sources include: NaturalHealth365.com NYSenate.gov BBC.com (Natural News) The New Zealand government recently announced that patients admitted to the hospital for severe Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases can be euthanized, in accordance with the nations End of Life Choice Act (ELOC Act). The Act, which was only legalized following a 2020 referendum, states that a person who has a terminal illness that is likely to die within six months may die by euthanasia. However, eligibility for both euthanasia and assisted suicide is determined by the attending physician and an independent medical practitioner. In conducting euthanasia, doctors will receive a government fee of $1,000 plus expenses for each person that they euthanize. The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed that patients with COVID could be euthanized by lethal injection under the law. This includes patients who are considered to be dying of the disease or those who are suffering greatly from its effects. A terminal illness is most often a prolonged disease where treatment is not effective, the MOH stated. There is nothing concrete about the phrase most often, however, and its inclusion in the context seems to suggest that the MOH considers the definition of terminal illness to be subjective and open to interpretation. Further, the MOG thinks that medical practitioners are the ones who can make the decision whether or not a condition is considered terminal. Anti-euthanasia group #DefendNZ noted that based on the vague interpretation, it is reasonable to suggest that COVID-19 could be classified as a terminal illness based on the prognosis of the patient and the subjective judgments of the doctors and medical practitioners involved. This feels like weve been sold one thing, and been delivered another, #DefendNZ spokesperson Henoch Kloosterboer said. (Related: New Zealand transforms into a tyrannical regime in pursuit of COVID Zero.) The MOH said that eligibility for assisted dying is determined on a case-by-case basis, and therefore the ministry cannot make definitive statements for the patients. In some circumstances, a person with COVID-19 may be eligible. However, despite the controversy, only 96 of New Zealands 16,000 doctors said that they will participate in assisted dying, and all but one of the hospices have indicated that they will not permit such action. US, UK condemn euthanizing COVID patients The ELOC Act 2019 is considered to be one of the most extreme euthanasia laws in the world with easily circumventable safeguards. A professor of palliative medicine in the U.K., Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, said that New Zealands euthanasia law contradicts the fundamental purpose of medicine to heal the sick. It is bizarre that a country which has been trying to protect [its] citizens by closing down completely from a virus from which people can fully recover is now suggesting that these patients should be killed by their doctors. It turns the ethos of medicine on its head, she said. She also noted that one cannot predict death 100 percent, so it is necessary to support patients while they are dying, and leave the door open in case they are part of the group that defies all odds and recovers completely. The American College of Physicians condemned euthanasia in 2017, arguing that assisted suicide is neither a therapy nor a solution to difficult questions raised at the end of a persons life. They suggested that the principles of euthanasia underlie the responsibilities of medicine on other issues as well as the physicians duty to provide care based on clinical judgment. Control over the manner and timing of a persons death has not been and should not be a goal of medicine. However, through high-quality care, effective communication, compassionate support, and the right resources, physicians can help patients control many aspects of how they live out lifes last chapter. the ACP stated. The government endorsement of assisted suicide for COVID patients remains questionable as the mild omicron variant, which is now the most prevalent case of COVID, does not cause terminal illness, nor could it kill anyone within six months. Watch the video below to learn more about the New Zealand governments action for severe COVID cases: This video is from the Free4eva Media channel on Brighteon.com. Read more about government action during the time of COVID at Pandemic.news. Sources include: InfoWars.com LiveAction.org (Natural News) NATO has been one of the most successful military alliances in the history of the modern world, having successfully faced off against the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact that went defunct when the USSR collapsed in 1990. For some reason, however, the alliance remains intact today though in reality, it is a shell of its Cold War self and truth be told, there is little confidence in many defense circles that should one of its members fall under attack say from a well-armed nuclear power like Russia that Europe would allow itself to be plunged into war for a third time in a century. That said, the alliance has endured, with member countries having sent forces to Iraq and Afghanistan to claim token participation, with many having sent small contingents mainly to large bases that were well-protected from the small forces of local Taliban. And yet, for some reason, the powers that be namely the United States refuse to let go of this anachronism while still pretending that it is relevant when the alliances usefulness has long since passed. This brings us to Ukraine, whose leaders have long sought membership in the alliance as a bulwark against Russian aggression, which has flared again in recent weeks after President Vladimir Putin sent around tens of thousands of troops to Ukraines eastern border, some say in a move to support anti-Kyiv rebels. Ukraine has long been in Moscows sphere of influence, and it could be that Putin is prepared to take the country over or at least a large portion of it to prevent it from becoming a NATO member. And in fact, Putin has drawn that red line, according to The Epoch Times: Russias Foreign Ministry published a document Dec. 17 of demands its made to the United States and NATO. Tensions have mounted in recent weeks over Ukraine, where Russian president Vladimir Putin has reportedly amassed more than 100,000 soldiers. According to the Russian News Agency TASS, Putins proposal calls for the United States to take measures to prevent further eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and deny accession to the Alliance to the former USSR republics. In addition, Putin doesnt want the U.S. to build military posts in former Soviet client states that are not currently NATO members and to refrain from using those countries to launch military operations. In response, Putin offered to hold back from deploying his military and weaponry in areas where it could be perceived as a threat to NATOs security, except when such deployments take place on Russian soil, TASS reported. But Moscows proposal has been criticized by a number of security organizations in Washington, D.C., including the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which noted last week that Putin is simply trying to revive the Cold War by redrawing the lines of Europe. The Biden administration and NATO should reject any negotiations that involve taking away the right of states to choose their own security arrangements, the national security think tank noted. In addition to U.S. officials, NATO leaders have also largely rejected Putins proposal. Earlier this month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that U.S. will not compromise on having Ukraine join NATO, while U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland earlier this month called Putins proposal unacceptable. Others, meanwhile, want the Biden regime to meet with Putin at a negotiating table though it cant be Biden himself because its obvious his mind is gone and his family is compromised. The Epoch Times adds: Anti-interventionists argue that Russia has much more to lose than the United States when it comes to Ukraines admission to NATO, since Russias naval base in Sevastopol is a key factor to it being able to maintain status as a global power. Russia has always maintained a red line against Ukraine joining NATO Russias deputy foreign minister reportedly threatened military action earlier this month against NATO if Ukraine is admitted due in large part to security concerns over this warm-water port. The fact is, we lack the interest and will to defend Ukraine and Georgia sufficient to make threats to do so credible, said Defense Priorities policy director Benjamin Friedman in response to Russias proposal. Admitting Ukraine and Georgia into NATO would raise questions about whether other NATO commitments are equally unserious and therefore do more to erode existing NATO commitments than meaningfully extend them, he added. Putin doesnt have the will or the economy to sustain a world war and is only really interested in resurrecting influence over historically Russian spheres. NATO should not have anything to say about that and in fact, NATO countries would not risk nuclear war to stop Putin anyway. Thats what this really boils down to NATOs ability to continue as a Euro-centric security alliance. See more stories like this at WWIII.news. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) A Moscow court slapped Google with a fine of almost $100 million on Friday, Dec. 24, for corrupting minors with content containing porn, propaganda and transgenderism. The fine of 7.2 billion rubles ($98 million) is record-setting, compared to previous fines imposed on U.S. social media companies. However, the immense fine also aims to send a forceful warning to violators. Russia has repeatedly accused Google of ignoring its laws on obscenity. This dramatically escalates its continuing battle against major U.S.-based Big Tech companies. State media regulator Roskomnadzor has ordered the removal of pornographic materials aside from posts that supposedly promotes drugs and suicide. Kremlin officials and Roskomnadzor have accused Google with bolstering politically rebellious messaging with the intention of stirring up protests in backing jailed dissident Alexei Navalny. This isnt the first time that Google has clashed with Russian authorities over content laws. Last May, Russias media regulator threatened to slow down the speed of Google if it failed to remove 26,000 cases of unlawful content, which it said connected to drugs, violence and extremism. President Vladimir Putin has already launched the so-called sovereign internet that will give the government more jurisdiction over what its people can access. (Related: Russia slams cheating Google with new anti-trust charges.) Russia has also blamed Big Tech for being a secret hand of U.S. foreign policy inside Russia and promoting dubious content like transgenderism among Russian youth. Sexually explicit and corrupting data being offered to minors is illegal under current Russian law. The Moscow Times, giving its comment on how the court arrived at this high figure, said that the Moscow magistrates court made the decision under a legal clause that allows courts to impose between five and 10 percent of a companys turnover, according to RIA Novosti, Russias state-run news agency. Well study the court documents and then decide on next steps, Google said in a press statement given to the AFP. Facebook, Twitter also fined Facebook, including its parent company Meta, and Twitter are also facing symbolic fines over related charges of failing to take out content. Meta has been slapped with a 2 million rubles ($27.1 million) fine while Twitter was given a fine of 3 million rubles ($40.6 million) after authorities began controlling its services. Facebook and Twitter recommendation algorithms promoted social disharmony in Russia and were warned by Russian authorities that they will be shut off based on current law according to an earlier report from GreatGameIndia. Kremlin state authorities, however, are not expected to totally block the three social media platforms because of their huge popularity among the Russian public since this may cause a massive backlash. A secret blacklist of dangerous individuals and organizations was recently leaked in Facebook and it showed over 4,000 entries of individuals sanctioned by the U.S. as terrorists, historical villains, cartels, militia groups, and dissidents. An accidentally unsealed court document has also shown that the U.S. government is secretly directing Google to give data on anyone typing in certain search terms. There are already fears that keyword warrants endanger innocent Web users who may be charged with serious crimes. Meanwhile, FactCheck.org, an independent fact-checker website, has been revealed to be backed by the same $1.9 billion vaccine lobby organization that it was assumed to check. FactCheck.org headed by former CDC director FactCheck.org is a Facebook partner whose articles are employed to suppress critical voices on the social media platform and the site is led by a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director. Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pronounced that Facebook has attacked Australia and that the government will not be bullied by Facebooks threats. Other countries from the world have united in starting a global war against the threats from Big Tech. Follow TechGiants.News for more news related to Big Tech companies, and how nations are pushing back. Sources include: GreatGameIndia.com BBC.com (Natural News) If you are under 65 and have white skin, the MacArthur Medical Center (MMC) in Irving, Tex., will not give you monoclonal antibodies for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19). Because young and middle-aged white people are considered less at risk than pretty much all other demographics when it comes to the Fauci Flu, MMC believes that only non-whites, the obese and the immunocompromised should be eligible for the infusion. The MMC website explains that in order to qualify for monoclonal antibody treatment, a patient must meet at least one of the following criteria: Pregnancy High-risk ethnicity group (Hispanic or black) Older age (65 or older) Obesity or being overweight (i.e., BMI greater than 25 kg/m2) Chronic kidney disease or diabetes Immunosuppressive disease Currently receiving immunosuppressive treatment Heart disease High blood pressure Chronic lung disease Sickle cell disease Neurodevelopmental disorder Open discrimination against whites is a civil rights violation The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) issued a similar guide sheet containing suggested eligibility requirements for monoclonal antibodies. In it, basically anybody who is not white qualifies. These are just suggestions aimed at assist[ing] providers with clinical decision-making and do not supersede federal requirements, which currently do not make any reference to race. Sadly, some practices are implementing these suggestions as rules. A circulating video (watch below) shows a Texas hospital health care worker telling a white man that he cannot receive monoclonal antibodies because of the color of his skin. Denied medical service because of my race. pic.twitter.com/FgtO3oiSPG Harrison Hill Smith (@Harrison_of_TX) November 13, 2021 So Im not going to be able to get it today because I dont qualify? What if I smoke or vape? What if I were black or Hispanic? Then Id be able to qualify? the patient asks the black health care worker. Yup, she responds. Im being denied medical service because of my race? the man asks a second time just to confirm. Thats the criteria, the health care worker affirms, claiming that the research backs only darker-skinned people receiving monoclonal antibodies. What I do is go around make sure everyone meets the criteria, she goes on to explain. Thats the criteria that was set forth. If you were 65, youd be good, but nope, youre healthy and youre healthy and no medical conditions. So research shows you should be able to fight off COVID. It turns out that despite being a red state, Texas fully supports this discriminatory policy. The man found this out the hard way after he called the Texas Department of Health and Human Services (HHSC) State Infusion Hotline to file a complaint. African American and Hispanic are high-risk ethnicity groups, so that would be a qualifier, the man was told by HHSC. If this were the other way around and only white people were allowed to receive monoclonal antibodies, the backlash would be off the charts. Whats actually ridiculous is the healthy folks, of any race, with no medical history and frankly even though with medical problems should all be given either ivermectin, or plaquenil as many others have with excellent results, wrote a commenter at BizPacReview. The monoclonal antibody treatment actually can be dangerous for many and set off a cascade of multi-system organ failure, especially anyone with kidney issues. Another wrote that the powers that be are engaging in discrimination as part of their campaign to spark a race war. By the looks of it, this person seems to be right on the money. In other words, Get to the back of the bus!' wrote yet another, hearkening back to the day when Rosa Parks was told to sit in the back of a bus because of her dark skin. The latest news about the Chinese Virus can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: BizPacReview.com MacArthurMC.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) People who have strong views against vaccination often referred to as anti-vaxxers are actually better informed than those who have been vaccinated. Ulrike Guerot, a German political scientist and founder of the think tank European Democracy Lab. Guerot demonstrated this by citing MAT-conducted research, which looked at tweets from anti-vaxxers with extreme caution. In Germany, where the study was based, around 70 percent of the qualified population is vaccinated: Among those, nearly half said they took the jab as part of a mandate to work or move around without restrictions. On the other hand, those who werent vaccinated were more knowledgable and will never be convinced to get the shot. Guerot has expressed her concerns that mandatory vaccinations will soon be introduced in Germany and Austria, warning that a sorting process is now in progress. You only invite the people to your home for spaghetti and wine who are on the same page when it comes to [the coronavirus], she added. She also decried the disparagement of lateral thinkers, or those who think differently than the majority, as opposing ideas should be part of the democratic process. This has created a chilling effect, wherein those critical of policies for the coronavirus are now afraid to speak out. This resulted in a completely closed ceiling of opinion: The measures are good and whoever speaks against it is a corona denier and on top of that, right-wing, Guerot explained. This is a very dangerous development. In an effort to end the discrimination against anti-vaxxers, she co-authored a manifesto that shifts the focus back to the main goals of the pandemic response. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the goals have been shifted further and further. First, it was about the protection of risk groups, now control instruments are being created to exclude unvaccinated people from public life. Who guarantees that this will end when the danger has been averted? the manifesto started. They also questioned how digital vaccination passes will work, pointing out how the criteria for ending the health emergency. They also questioned how long the digital passports will be retained, or if they will soon collect other data that limits peoples participation in society. (Related: Study finds most highly educated Americans are also the most vaccine hesitant.) Most educated are vaccine-hesitant Another study showed that the most educated people are the most vaccine-hesitant and are the least likely to get their jabs, but instead of listening to them, there had been much debate on how to get them to get their doses. Others succumb to shaming, bribing, persuading or treating them as victims of mis- and disinformation campaigns. This does not apply only to COVID, but vaccinations in general. A study in 2019 found that parents who dont vaccinate their kids tend to be more affluent and are better educated. This is because they are more cautious about the information they find online. The government in Austria is now hunting down vaccine refusers in the city of Linz. These hunters get paid almost $40,000 a year for checking whether or not people who are out of their homes are vaccinated. The unvaccinated will have to pay a fine or get prison time for up to a year as their punishment. Vaccine refuser hunter jobs are open for Austrian citizens who are fully vaccinated or fully recovered from COVID-19. Research papers and studies also show how COVID vaccine mandates are not backed by science and good public health practices. Instead, they demonstrate that these mandates provide no overall health benefit to the community. One of the top doctors in Ontario has warned that double-vaccinated individuals are a threat to the triple-vaccinated, and advised those who have not yet received their booster shots against celebrating with their elderly loved ones. Watch the video below to learn more about how vaccines are affecting people. This video is from the Kla.TV English channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: GreatGameIndia.com 1 GreatGameIndia.com 2 CoronaAussoehnung.org ABCNews.go.com GREENWICH Of the 8,000 free at-home COVID-19 test kits earmarked for the town, Greenwich officials plan to set aside a portion of them for seniors. Though the town initially expected to distribute tests Thursday afternoon, Gov. Ned Lamont announced widespread delays in the testing supply chain Wednesday evening, introducing uncertainty into the testing timeline. Greenwich Police Capt. Mark E. Zuccerella said the hope was to proceed as planned, but said it was contingent on the state receiving the shipment by 5 a.m. Thursday. If they get the shipment, we have a plan to go and get them so they can be distributed as planned, Zuccerella said. If they arrive, the kits, which each contain two tests, will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday at two drive-thru locations: at the rear entrance of the Greenwich Senior Center on Bruce Place and at Grass Island Park on Shore Road. The kits, which each contain two tests, will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday at two drive-thru locations: at the rear entrance of the Greenwich Senior Center on Bruce Place and at Grass Island Park on Shore Road. The Senior Center will give out test kits only to residents age 60 and older. The Grass Island location will hand out test kits to residents of all ages. Proof of Greenwich residency will be required by showing either a valid Connecticut drivers license or a 2021 Greenwich parks pass. There is a limit of two test kits per household. With 8,010 at-home kits available from the state and 63,518 residents in town, it is imperative that there is prioritization for those most in need of tests, First Selectman Fred Camillo said Wednesday afternoon. That includes the towns seniors and residents who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, Camillo said. The goal was to distribute of test kits will start statewide on Thursday, with each municipality handing out its own supply. The state is expecting to receive an initial batch of 500,000 test kits, which the Connecticut National Guard will divvy up for municipalities to hand out. One million more are expected to be sent out statewide in January, according to Lamont. The states distribution of at-home tests aims to flatten the omicron curve as COVID cases have surged in the state, according to Lamont. As of Dec. 28, there were 445 active COVID cases in Greenwich, an increase of 260 cases since Dec. 21, town officials said on Wednesday. Also, Greenwich Hospital reported it was treating 32 COVID-positive patients on Wednesday. Town Director of Health Caroline Baisley said last week that the omicron variant of COVID-19 was raging in Greenwich, and she urged residents to wear masks. The positivity rate hit 14.98 percent in Connecticut on Tuesday, a new high, as a surge of COVID-19 infections continued in the days after Christmas. That rate was about 4 percentage points higher than the previous record set since the state launched broad testing efforts. Tests, vaccines Greenwich Hospital continues to offer drive-through COVID testing by appointment only. Appointments can be made online at https://covidtesting2.ynhhs.org/. The appontments are limited to priority populations, including people who are having procedures at Greenwich Hospital, health care workers, first responders and anyone with symptoms of COVID who has an order from a licensed independent practitioner. Camillo also urged residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and to get booster shots when eligible. With this surge in numbers, which we expect will continue through the New Years holiday and the return to school next week, I strongly urge everyone to get vaccinated and boosted, he said. Those COVID patients who are vaccinated experience much milder symptoms than the unvaccinated patients. Unvaccinated patients account for about three-quarters of all hospitalized patients. Under recently revised guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Protection, if an at-home test for COVID yields a positive result, that person should isolate for five days, if asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others. The CDC has also said there is no need to obtain a follow-up PCR test. Last week, Camillo reinstituted a mask requirement in all town-owned buildings, including town hall, the civic centers and the libraries, regardless of vaccination status. Masks are also required in schools. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com Film Critic Chuck Koplinski is The News-Gazette's film critic. His email is chuckkoplinski@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter (@ckoplinski). AP Hundreds of homes, a hotel and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated in wildfires outside Denver AP A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks Among similar-sized U.S. cities, Champaign's 16 homicides by firearm were the second-most nationally in 2021, behind only Trenton, N.J. Urbana's nine tied for sixth-most, matching the totals of Atlantic City, N.J., and the Atlanta suburb of East Point, Ga. The COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) is a worldwide initiative working to ensure fair, equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country that participates. COVAX is a collaboration between Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO) with UNICEF. COVAX: Ensuring global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines Play The COVAX solution promises the greatest likelihood of success in achieving this goal as it can provide the largest and most diverse portfolio of COVID-19 vaccine candidates. the Gavi Advance Market Commitment for COVID-19 Vaccines (Gavi Covax AMC) is a binding contract, providing a mechanism to stimulate suppliers to invest products in low-income countries. As such, it supports high-risk populations in low-income countries (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), as part of the new COVAX Facility. COVAX is one of the four pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, an initiative begun in April 2020. ACT was formed by the WHO, the French government, the European Commission, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which aims to bring together governments, businesses, civil society, scientists, philanthropists, and global health organizations. The ACT Accelerator aims to raise financial support for accelerated research and development, production, and globally equitable access to COVID-19 tests, therapies, and vaccines. The four pillars include: Vaccines (COVAX) Diagnostics Therapeutics Health Systems The goals of COVAX In its inception, COVAX planned to deliver 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021, particularly in low-to-middle income countries. This represents roughly 20% of the vaccine needs of participating countries. Over 90 low-income and middle-income countries will be eligible to receive 1 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at low (estimated at 1.60 USD) or no cost through this mechanism. Participating countries include the majority of the G20, including China. COVAX achievements to date By the end of August, 330 million doses had been released for delivery, with 230 million being delivered to 142 of the participating economies. According to Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the key COVAX milestone of two billion doses released for delivery is now expected to be reached in the first quarter of 2022. A further 1.1 billion doses are expected to become available for delivery between September and the end of 2021. This is the equivalent of approximately 1.4 billion doses available for 2021 In the latest update to this scheme, on the 23rd of September at the global COVID-19 summit, the United States contributed an additional 500 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to be delivered through COVAX beginning in 2022. This brings the US total doses to be provided through COVAX to nearly 1.1 billion doses. Moreover, Sweden has provided an additional 2.1 billion SEK (~243 million USD) on top of the 285 million USD It has pledged to COVAX AMC. Several countries also pledged additional dose donations for countries around the world, including through the COVAX facility. These include commitments from the European Union, as well as Denmark Sweden, and Japan. These are hoped to total 500 million doses by mid-2022. Image Credit: vovidzha/Shutterstock.com COVAX supply forecast: September 2021 Of these 1.4 billion doses, approximately 1.2 billion will be available for AMC participants. Best amounts to 20% of the population cover, or 40% of the adult population in all 92 countries part of the AMC except India. The supply of COVAX is expected to continue to expand into the first quarter of 2022, reaching it also of 2.6 billion doses available full supply by the end of March. However, according to the forecast, a reduction in the number of doses is expected relative to 2021 for three major reasons: A reduction in export, particularly from the Serum Institute of India (SII), which is a key COVAX supplier Challenges in scale-up at manufacturing sites that supply COVAX IN particular supply of the AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccines The timing and probability of application, and regulatory approval for candidates produced by Novavax, SII-Novavax, and Clover, with WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) or approval by regulatory authorities required for supply to COVAX participants The supply forecast is expected to evolve, as it will be regularly updated based on the best information from manufacturers come up with a further analysis by Gavi and UNICEF. The September supply forecast notes that should the export ban from India be lifted, and (J&J) returns to its earlier commitments for 2021 supply, additional doses could become available to COVAX at the end of 2021. As such, COVAX partners have issued an urgent call to action for the lifting of export restrictions, for manufacturers to deliver on their commitments, and provide transparent updates on queues and delivery schedules. COVAX partners have also called for countries who have achieved high coverage of a vaccine uptake to give up their place in the queue to COVAX and the LMIC participants it supports. Moreover, to increase volume, shelf-life, and lead times for vaccines, acceleration, expansion, and systemization of dose donations are expected which will allow countries to prepare to receive rollouts. References: UNICEF. Global leaders commit further support for global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and COVAX A joint statement from COVAX partners (23 September 2021). Available at: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/global-leaders-commit-further-support-global-equitable-access-covid-19-vaccines-0. Last accessed October 2021. CEPI. COVAX: CEPI's response to COVID-19. Available at: https://cepi.net/covax/0. Last accessed October 2021. CEPI. COVAX Global Supply Forecast. Available at: https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/covid/covax/COVAX-Supply-Forecast.pdf. Last accessed October 2021. WHO. COVAX. Available at: https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax. Last accessed October 2021. Further Reading In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers determined the neutralizing antibody (nAb) levels against various strains of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus disease 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in sera collected from individuals with varying degrees of immunity against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Emergence of the Omicron variant In late November 2021, a novel highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 variant, Omicron (B.1.1.529) was identified in Botswana and South Africa. The Omicron variant is distinct compared to the SARS-COV-2 Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants of concern (VOC) due to the presence of about 30 amino acid mutations in the spike (S) protein region. Moreover, the immune evasion by Omicron against the therapeutic monoclonal antibody and vaccine-induced immunity has led to an increase in COVID-19 cases even in the vaccinated population. Previous studies of Omicron in individuals with different immunity levels suggested that the antibody neutralization of the B.1.1.529 variant is about 40-fold lower than compared to the SARS-CoV-2 original Wuhan D614G strain. The study In the present study, the authors determined the nAb levels against the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan, Delta, and Omicron variants in about 30 sera obtained from three groups of participants. The Omicron variant was isolated from a two-dose Moderna-vaccinated individual returning to Belgium from South Africa using the QIAamp Viral RNA mini kit. It was then amplified using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and correlated with a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sequence from Belgium by BLAST+ software. Group one had 10 sera samples collected from hospitalized convalescent patients infected with the SARS-COV-2 Wuhan D614G strain between February 21, 2020, and March 27, 2020. The samples were collected after a median time of around 25 days since the onset of the symptoms. In group two, t 10 sera samples were collected from individuals without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and around 28 days post BNT162b2 booster vaccination. The participants had a 21-day gap between the first and second vaccine dose and a seven-month interval between the second and third vaccine dose. Similarly, group three had 10 sera samples collected from convalescent BNT162b2 booster-vaccinated individuals. These participants were pre-infected with the SARS-COV-2 Wuhan D614G strain between March 24, 2020, and June 11, 2020, and received three doses of BNT162b2 vaccine with a 21-day gap between the first and second vaccine dose and an 8-month gap between the second and third vaccine dose. The nAb capacity against various SARS-CoV-2 variants in the three patient groups was tested using a whole-virus neutralization assay where the cytopathogenic effect (CPE) was determined microscopically. The ReedMuench method and Mann-Whitney test were used to calculate and compare nAb titer among the SARS-CoV-2 variants. Results The results indicated that group one participants had the lowest nAb responses independent of the SARS-CoV-2 variant tested, whereas group two participants had a significantly higher level of nAb against the SARS-CoV-2 wild type (WT) Wuhan, Delta, and Omicron strains. While the participants of group three had the highest nAb titers that lowered the number of infected wells by 50% (NT50) values against all of the variants under investigation, the nAb levels against the Omicron variant were not statistically different between groups two and three. The NT50 levels for the Delta and Omicron variants across the three groups showed a declining trend; however, the Omicron variant had a significantly higher decline compared to the Delta variant in these groups. This decline in nAb titer for all variants was most pronounced in group one; furthermore, there was a significant decline in NT50 against Omicron in groups two and three compared to the Wuhan and Delta strains in these groups. The hybrid immunized participants of group three had a higher level of nAb against the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan and Delta variants; however, they did not have a statistically significant difference in nAbs for Omicron compared to the three-dose BNT162b2 vaccinated participants of group two. Conclusions The present study was in line with previous studies on the neutralizing ability of the Omicron variant, stating that Omicron escapes naturally acquired and vaccine-induced immunity. The study findings confirmed that significant antibody neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron was induced by three doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine. The vaccine-induced neutralization of Omicron in groups two and three were higher compared to antibody neutralization in group one. Group three samples had significantly high levels of nAb titers against the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan and Delta variants; however, significant differences in nAb titers were not observed against the Omicron variant in groups two and three. The study findings highlight the need for a rapid booster vaccine campaign to prevent COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant since the neutralization of Omicron by the two-dose BNT162b2 vaccine is not effective in controlling the spread of the infection. *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 omicron variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus quickly spreads throughout the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., region, Johns Hopkins Medicine reminds those seeking COVID-19 testing that emergency rooms are for emergencies only. Seeking testing at an emergency room without an urgent or emerging medical need diverts critical, life-saving resources from people who are truly experiencing an emergency. This request follows an increase in the numbers of people asking for COVID-19 testing in the emergency rooms at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and other Johns Hopkins member hospitals: Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital, Sibley Memorial Hospital and Suburban Hospital. Anyone experiencing COVID-19 emergency warning symptoms should go immediately to the nearest emergency room or call 9-1-1. Those symptoms, as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are: Trouble breathing Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion Inability to wake or stay awake Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips or nail beds, depending on skin tone The Maryland Hospital Association and the D.C. Hospital Association recommend that in the absence of emergency warning symptoms those seeking COVID testing should: Check the Maryland Department of Health for nearby testing locations (covidlink.maryland.gov/content/testing). Make an appointment with their doctor or go to an urgent care facility. Buy a rapid antigen kit at a local pharmacy and test at home. Johns Hopkins Medicine urges people not to call the emergency department for medical advice. Staff members in these facilities are unable to take phone calls. Children and staff who repeatedly test negative for COVID-19 after contact with someone who has the illness can safely remain in school if universal masking programs are in place, according to a new "test-to-stay" study report from the ABC Science Collaborative. The finding provides a safe alternative to quarantining people who have been exposed to COVID-19 and enables schools to remain open without interruptions. This research will be used by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to consider revising its guidelines on quarantine for schools across North Carolina. The research, coming as the country faces the omicron variant, provides a more practical and focused approach to the "test-to-stay" protocols that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently endorsed, which require testing of anyone within three feet of an infected person at school despite both parties being masked. ABC Science researchers have raised concerns that this widespread "test-to-stay" approach is likely to overwhelm resource-limited schools and result in insurmountable logistical hurdles. By contrast, the ABC Science Collaborative's focused "test-to-stay" approach only requires testing if at least one of the exposed individuals is unmasked. This focused approach reduces testing by about 80%. The transmission is still very low at 1.7% and testing volume is such that most schools can complete the testing at each school, thereby serving more vulnerable children. The focused 'test-to-stay' protocol substantially reduced student absences from school after in-school exposure to COVID-19, keeping more kids in school and on a consistent educational routine." Danny Benjamin, MD, PhD, Study Co-Chair of the ABC Science Collaborative and Distinguished Professor, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Duke University "Our research has taught us that 'test-to-stay' is a focused, practical way for children to avoid being out of the classroom after an exposure and can be a win-win strategy for keeping our children and schools safe without overwhelming the system," Benjamin said. North Carolina schools and school districts were eligible to participate in the ABC Science study if they had a universal masking policy and approval from their local board of education and local health department. Individuals at participating schools were eligible if they were identified as a close contact by the local health department and were required to quarantine following an in-school, unmasked COVID-19 exposure. These individuals could participate in "test-to-stay" if they were asymptomatic and consented to participate in the "test-to-stay" research study. Close contacts were given the option to quarantine according to local policies. Participants in the study were given a SARS-CoV-2 rapid test at school when they were identified as a close contact and received testing every other day up to four times during the first seven days after the known exposure. Participants remained in school if they tested negative and were asymptomatic. A positive COVID-19 test or the development of symptoms on any day after exposure required isolation according to state public health guidelines. Over the course of a six-week duration, more than 880 tests were performed among more than 360 participants. "There were no instances in the ABC Science Collaborative 'test-to-stay' study where an exposed child became infected and went on to infect other children or adults within the school building," said Kanecia Zimmerman, M.D., co-chair of the ABC Science Collaborative and Test-to-Stay principal investigator, and a pediatrician at Duke University School of Medicine. "Implementation of 'test-to-stay' reduced missed days of school during quarantine by more than 90%, saving 1,628 days of in-person learning over the course of the study." This research was funded in part by the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Underserved Populations (RADx-UP); National Institutes of Health; the Trial Innovation Network, which is an innovative collaboration addressing critical roadblocks in clinical research and accelerating the translation of novel interventions into life-saving therapies; and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* pre-print server, a team of researchers investigated P323L in RNA polymerase (NSP12) and D614G in the spike (S) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to understand the selection pressure at these two mutation sites. NSP12, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase complex, is composed of both viral and host cell proteins. The mechanism behind the selection pressure acting on the P323L mutation in humans and non-human primate animal models is unknown. The authors speculated that the P323L mutation in the NSP12 polymerase complex alters interactions with the host cell proteome, thus facilitating SARS-CoV-2 replication. Therefore, they cultured viruses in cell lines from the original host species speculating this might drive the selection, providing a mechanism to identify candidates for the original zoonotic event(s). The SARS-CoV-2 with D614G S mutation was first identified in February 2020, and by May 2020, ~80% of sequenced viruses contained this mutation. The SARS-CoV-2 Pango lineage B.1 and sub-lineages containing the D614G mutation also had potentially linked mutations, including C14407U in NSP12 that conferred a P323L mutation. However, A.19 and A.2.4 lineages had the D614G mutation but not the P323L mutation. Therefore, it is not entirely clear whether the P323L mutation in NSP12 confers a fitness advantage and is subject to selection pressure. The study In the present study, samples from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients were sequenced to analyze both the dominant viral genome sequence and minor variant genomes before and during the occurrences of D614G/P323L mutations in the UK to understand the dynamics of the within-host selection pressure for the P323L variant. The researchers analyzed the SARS-CoV-2 population in humans when the two mutations became part of the dominant viral genome sequence. In addition, a lineage B SARS-CoV-2 with 323L and 614G in the minor variant population was studied in two non-human primates - cynomolgus (Macaca fascicularis) and rhesus (Macaca mulatta) macaques to review the mild COVID-19 observed in most humans. Longitudinal sampling indicated that while the 323L mutation became part of the dominant viral genome sequence, 614G could not. Reverse genetic analysis of the P323L variant with a 614G mutation revealed that the P323L variant grew with a larger plaque phenotype providing a selective advantage to the D614G mutation in the S protein. Overall, this indicated that an emerging dominant sequence (and a new variant) could be predicted by an analysis of minor variant genomes. Results The analysis based on the study model suggested rapid selection of P323L in NSP12 and D614G in the spike protein within humans. Infection with a SARS-CoV-2 variant having a mutation in the minor variant genome under the selection pressure would have seen an increased proportion of this genome as the infection progresses until the minor variant genome became the dominant viral genome. However, this would not have happened if transmission occurred early during the infection. Under strong selection pressure, the viral population being transmitted would have mutated as part of the dominant viral genome which would have persisted during further infections. In addition, due to the founder effect, there might have been the sudden emergence of a mutation in the dominant genome sequence. In the primate model, the SARS-CoV-2 variant used for infection was an isolate close to the original Wuhan strain which had the P323 mutation in NSP12 and the D614 mutation in the S protein of the dominant consensus sequence. At the minor variant genome level, the frequency of 323L in NSP12 was 0.03%, and that of 614G was 0.02%. The sequence analysis also indicated that some animals showed a dominant viral genome sequence containing 323L in NSP12, but not necessarily 614G in the spike protein. Recombinant viruses that differed at codon 323 in NSP12 with the D614G mutation in the S grew with a smaller plaque morphology than a version with only 323L mutation in NSP12. Other determinants of plaque size are in vitro growth rate, evasion of antiviral responses, and cell to cell fusion. Conclusions The study findings suggest that, in some cases, tracking the distribution and frequency of SARS-CoV-2 minor variant genomes at a population level would help in predicting the emergence of a new dominant viral genome sequence. When combined with intensive computations requiring higher quality samples and sequencing data, researchers may also be able to predict a newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant quickly. It may also aid in the rapid evaluation of medical countermeasures and non-pharmaceutical interventions against these variants globally. *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. Infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 can trigger an immune response that lasts well beyond the initial infection and recovery-;even among people who had mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, according to Cedars-Sinai investigators. The findings are published in the Journal of Translational Medicine. When people are infected with a virus or other pathogen, their bodies unleash proteins called antibodies that detect foreign substances and keep them from invading cells. In some cases, however, people produce autoantibodies that can attack the body's own organs and tissues over time. The Cedars-Sinai investigators found that people with prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have a wide variety of autoantibodies up to six months after they have fully recovered. Prior to this study, researchers knew that severe cases of COVID-19 can stress the immune system so much that autoantibodies are produced. This study is the first to report not only the presence of elevated autoantibodies after mild or asymptomatic infection, but their persistence over time. These findings help to explain what makes COVID-19 an especially unique disease. These patterns of immune dysregulation could be underlying the different types of persistent symptoms we see in people who go on to develop the condition now referred to as long COVID-19." Justyna Fert-Bober, PhD, research scientist, Department of Cardiology, Smidt Heart Institute and co-senior author of the study To conduct their study, the Cedars-Sinai research team recruited 177 people with confirmed evidence of a previous infection with SARS-CoV-2. They compared blood samples from these individuals with samples taken from healthy people prior to the pandemic. All those with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection had elevated levels of autoantibodies. Some of the autoantibodies also have been found in people with diseases in which the immune system attacks its own healthy cells, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. "We found signals of autoantibody activity that are usually linked to chronic inflammation and injury involving specific organ systems and tissues such as the joints, skin and nervous system," said Susan Cheng, MD, MPH, MMSc, director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute and co-senior author of the study. Some of the autoantibodies have been linked to autoimmune diseases that typically affect women more often than men. In this study, however, men had a higher number of elevated autoantibodies than women. "On the one hand, this finding is paradoxical given that autoimmune conditions are usually more common in females," Fert-Bober said. "On the other hand, it is also somewhat expected given all that we know about males being more vulnerable to the most severe forms of COVID-19." The research team is interested in expanding the study to look for the types of autoantibodies that may be present and persist in people with long-haul COVID-19 symptoms. Because this study was in people infected before the advent of vaccines, the researchers will also examine whether autoantibodies are similarly generated in people with breakthrough infections. "If we can better understand these autoantibody responses, and how it is that SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers and drives these variable responses, then we can get one step closer to identifying ways to treat and even prevent these effects from developing in people at risk," Cheng said. (Newser) It's been more than a year since QAnon received any direction from Q, the otherwise nameless online account whose conspiracy theories the movement was built on. But QAnon appears undeterred, the New York Times reports, evolving rather than fading away like its leader. It's so far survived Q's disappearance, the 2020 presidential election loss, and predictions that didn't come true. New conspiracies and predictions take hold, as evidenced by the trek hundreds made to Dallas in November to see John F. Kennedy Jr. return to life and declare himself a candidate to be former President Trump's running mate in 2024. Many waited for weeks. story continues below The movement hasn't exactly gone underground, but it may have gone deeper into the nation's political and social systems. Media Matters counts more than 40 candidates for national office in 2022 who have publicly backed QAnon, though they may have toned down the rhetoric. Omar Navarro has endorsed the lie about Hollywood moguls being child traffickers, but the California Republican said he no longer posts about QAnon, partly to avoid being kicked off social media. "I'm running a campaign for Congress," he said, "so I need to focus on issues that matter more, like the economy or business other than" QAnon. QAnon could be emerging more pervasive and influential. It's "leaving behind the iconography of the Trump era and becoming a conspiracy of everything," a conspiracy researcher said. More than ever, said Mike Rothschild, followers are free to choose their own conspiracy theories to spread. That's what worries Jitarth Jadej, who used to be a follower. He sees a more decentralized, professionally produced organization growing, albeit largely out of sight. And he doesn't see it collapsing soon, per Politico. Nor does Logan Strain, another conspiracy researcher. "This is something that were just going to have to live with in the general political world in the United States," Strain said, "for at least a generation." (Read more QAnon stories.) (Newser) A California man who injured a bandmate and killed the man's wife during an argument over the 2016 election will be in prison for the next eight presidential elections. John Kevin McVoy Jr., 40, was sentenced to 35 years to life Monday for the Jan 10, 2017, murder of Susan Garcia, who was shot while holding the couple's 2-year-old son, the Press-Telegram reports. Prosecutors said McVoy shot Victor Garcia and his wife in their North Long Beach home after Garcia teased him for supporting Hillary Clinton. Two other members of garage band Under the Faultline were also present. story continues below During the trial, McVoy's lawyer, Ninaz Saffari, argued that he had brought the Colt .41-caliber revolver to band practice because he was afraid Garcia would attack him when he told him he was leaving the band. McVoy told the jury that when he arrived at the home, Garcia was drunk and making racially charged comments about Barack Obama, whose farewell speech was on TV. McVoy said he fired the gun after Garcia threatened him with an object he thought was a knife but turned out to be a can opener. He said the gun went off again, fatally injuring Susan Garcia, after another band member grabbed his arm. Prosecutors said McVoy deliberately fired at both victims. A jury found McVoy guilty last month of murdering Susan Garcia but not guilty of attempting to murder Victor Garcia and the child, the East Bay Times reports. McVoy was sentenced to 15 years to life for the murder, plus a 20-year firearms sentencing enhancement. Victor Garcia, who spent months in a coma after the shooting and still struggles to perform many tasks, told the court Monday that his family has been destroyed. "I wanted to grow old with her and raise our children," he said. "She will never be able to see the fine young man my son is growing up to be." He added: "My son not only lost his mother, but also part of his father." (Read more Election 2016 stories.) (Newser) The man who killed five people during a shooting spree in Denver and nearby Lakewood, Colo., had written books previewing the rampage, police say. Lyndon James McLeod, 47, who was shot and killed by a police officer Monday, wrote one novel using the pen name Roman McClay in which a character named Lyndon poses as a police officer to get into a building near Denver's Cheesman Park to kill everyone at a poker party hosted by a character named Michael Swinyard. On Monday, police say, McLeod killed a 67-year-old named Michael Swinyard at a home near Cheesman Park. In a second novel also written as McClay, Alicia Cardenas is named as one of Lyndon's victims, as is the tattoo shop she owns. The real 44-year-old Alicia Cardenas was killed at her tattoo shop along with another woman, Alyssa Gunn, 35, on Monday. Gunn's husband was injured. story continues below McLeod was the lease holder for a tattoo shop Cardenas took over before moving it to its current location, where she was killed. Victim Danny Scofield, 38, was killed at another tattoo shop in Lakewood. Police say McLeod knew most of his victims, but not the fifth one, Sarah Steck, 28. He'd had dealings with the Hyatt House hotel where she worked and was killed, however. A motive has not yet become clear; it's not known whether the shootings were related to McLeod's links to the tattoo industry. Police say he had extremist views and had been "on the radar of law enforcement" last year and earlier this year, CNN reports. (Read more Denver stories.) (Newser) New Zealand health officials are reeling after a British DJ set to play a New Year's Eve music fest left his required self-isolation before getting the results of a final COVID test back. He subsequently tested positive for omicron, the country's first community case of the variant. The Sydney Morning Herald reports Robert Etheridge, aka DJ Dimension, arrived on Dec. 16 in New Zealand, where he was required to complete 10 days of isolation before heading out to mingle with the public: seven days of quarantine at a hotel, followed by three additional days of self-isolation. Etheridge finished his weeklong hotel quarantine, during which time he produced three negative COVID tests, and took a fourth test on Christmas Daythe ninth day of his isolation period. story continues below But he didn't wait to see how that test came out, instead choosing to visit various bars, restaurants, and clubs in downtown Auckland on Dec. 26 and 27, the New Zealand Health Ministry says, per Deutsche Welle. On Dec. 27, that test came back positive. Chris Hipkins, the nation's COVID-19 response minister, said what Etheridge had done was "disappointing," adding, "With omicron, we don't have it here, we don't want it here, and our tolerance is very low." New Zealand has kept its COVID case count relatively small compared with other nations, with about 14,000 cases in total and just over 50 deaths. In a Wednesday Instagram post, Etheridge said he was "extremely sorry" and "devastated" for what had transpired, apologizing to "members of the public, event organizers and close contacts." He says he had no symptoms during his isolation period and that he's been working with Auckland's health service to do contact tracing. Stuff notes that Etheridge is one of the few foreigners that's been given multiple border-crossing exemptions since the pandemic began in March 2020 due to his entertainer status. "Never in a million years did I think anything like this would be a reality in a country that I love so much and that has always made me feel so welcome," he lamented in his post. (Read more New Zealand stories.) (Newser) Record-high temperatures in Alaska over the holiday weekend doesn't mean locals have pulled out their bathing suits. In fact, Fairbanks and other areas are now experiencing what Alaska Public Media calls a "weather roller coaster," with snowstorms followed by heavy rains that are wreaking havoc across the state. The BBC notes that even though the island of Kodiak enjoyed a record-smashing 67 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, other places have plunged into a deep freeze, including Ketchikan, which saw one of its coldest Christmas Days on record, with a Saturday low of negative 0.4 degrees. story continues below Rick Thoman of the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy tells Reuters that this time of year in Alaska is usually a dry, cold one that brings "fluffy" snow to the state's interior. Not so this time around, thanks to what experts tell the BBC is a burst of warm air from Hawaii that's bringing more moisture to the region. That's translated to heavy snow followed by torrential rains, which in turn has led to an "Icemaggedon" that leaves dangerous thick sheets of ice clinging to roadways. The state's Department of Transportation and Public Facilities explains that when air temperatures are mild but road temps are subzero, ice "binds" to the roads' surface, and it's "extremely difficult" to remove once it's done so. Thoman tells the BBC that ice will likely stick around till March or April. The erratic weather has led to road shutdowns, business closures, and power failures; in Delta Junction, snow caved in the roof of the city's only grocery store. Thoman points to climate change and tells Reuters he's not completely surprised by the warm and wet weather of late, as it's been increasingly trending this way in Alaska for the past 20 winters. The outlet cites a recent study that predicts Arctic regions will see more winter rain than snow by 2060 or 2070. "A warming, moistening world has put our thumbs on the scale to make this more likely," Thoman says. (Read more Alaska stories.) (Newser) After years of failures, Iran said Thursday that it had successfully launched three research devices from its satellite-carrying Simorgh rocket. The Iranian Space Agency launch was confirmed by the country's defense ministry, though it's not clear whether the satellites actually reached orbit, Deutsche Welle reports. The country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has its own space program, put a satellite into orbit last year. Defense ministry spokesman Ahmed Hosseini said Thursday that the rocket had launched the satellites at an altitude of 290 miles. story continues below This was done as a preliminary launch, Hosseini said, per Reuters. "God willing, we will have an operational launch soon." President Ebrahim Raisi, the hardline leader elected in August, is apparently trying to step up Iran's space program: The country's Supreme Council of Space met last month for the first time in 11 years. The US has condemned previous Iranian launches and attempted launches, accusing Iran of using its space program as cover for missile development. The latest launch comes as negotiators are meeting in Vienna in an attempt to revive the Iranian nuclear deal, the AP reports. (In 2013, Iran said it had sent a monkey into space.) (Newser) Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty on five out of six charges Wednesday, including the most serious, sex trafficking of a minorand Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for one of the four accusers who testified, called it a "towering victory" not just for the four, but "for the women around the world whose young and tender lives were diminished and damaged" by Maxwell's "abhorrent actions." "For too long their voices were ignored and discounted and their characters impugned and disgraced, but no more," McCawley said, per the Washington Post. Prosecutors said Maxwell recruited and groomed underaged girls who were sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein, and sometimes took part in the abuse herself. More: What happens now. After the verdict, Maxwell was taken back to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where she has been held since July 2020, reports Reuters. She faces up to 65 years in prison, but no sentencing date has been set. She will be tried at a later date on two perjury counts for allegedly lying about her role in Epstein's sexual abuse. Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019. story continues below Key moments from the trial . The Guardian looks back at key moments from the 60-year-old's monthlong trial, including harrowing testimony from an accuser who said she was 14 when the abuse began. She said Maxwell groped her breasts and told her she had a "great body for Epstein and his friends." Prosecutors worked to show that Epstein and Maxwell had a romantic relationship as well as a business one. . The Guardian looks back at key moments from the 60-year-old's monthlong trial, including harrowing testimony from an accuser who said she was 14 when the abuse began. She said Maxwell groped her breasts and told her she had a "great body for Epstein and his friends." Prosecutors worked to show that Epstein and Maxwell had a romantic relationship as well as a business one. Family is launching appeal. Maxwell's siblings said Wednesday night that they firmly believe in their sister's innocence, ITV reports. "We are very disappointed with the verdict," they said in a tweet. "We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated." Maxwell's siblings said Wednesday night that they firmly believe in their sister's innocence, ITV reports. "We are very disappointed with the verdict," they said in a tweet. "We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated." Prosecutors might seek deal. Legal analysts at CNN say prosecutors might seek a deal with Maxwell before sentencing, offering a reduced sentence in return for helping hold others involved in the abuse accountable. "I think prosecutors have a real obligation to dig all the way down to the bottom and bring anyone else who may have been part of this to justice," says former federal prosecutor Elie Hong. Victim speaks out . Annie Farmer, the only one of the four accusers to testify under her full name, said she was "relieved and grateful" after the verdict, the Guardian reports. "She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom," Farmer said. "I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law." . Annie Farmer, the only one of the four accusers to testify under her full name, said she was "relieved and grateful" after the verdict, the Guardian reports. "She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom," Farmer said. "I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law." What the verdict means for Prince Andrew. The BBC looks at the implications of the verdict for the prince, who is being sued by Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre. The trial did not hear evidence that the British royal was involved in wrongdoingbut now that Maxwell has been convicted, his closeness to the British socialite over the years will not help his case. In a statement released through her lawyers after the verdict, Giuffre said: "I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served." (Read more Ghislaine Maxwell stories.) (Newser) A cleaner at a Florida zoo who wasn't supposed to be near the tiger enclosure was seriously injured after he entered a restricted area, authorities say. Police say a Malayan tiger at Naples Zoo grabbed the man's arm after he "traversed an initial fence barrier" after the zoo had closed for the day and reached through another fence, ABC reports. "Preliminary information indicates that the man was either petting or feeding the animal, both of which are unauthorized and dangerous activities," the Collier County Sheriff's office said in a statement. story continues below The sheriff's office said the first deputy at the scene "kicked the enclosure and tried to get the tiger to release the mans arm from its mouth but the deputy was forced to shoot the animal." The wounded tiger, an 8-year-old male named Eko, retreated to the back of the enclosure after it was shot, the sheriff's office said. The zoo later confirmed that Eko had died. The zoo said the cleaning service the man works for was hired to clean restrooms and the gift shop, not animal enclosures. Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers confirmed that the injured man had arrived via medical helicopter. Ekothe zoo's only tigerwas welcomed as "a great ambassador for his species" when he arrived in February last year, the New York Times reports. In a blog post, the zoo noted that Malayan tigers are critically endangered, with fewer than 200 left in the wild, and said it hoped that when guests see him, "they fall in love and want to learn how they can do their part to save his cousins in the wild." (Read more tigers stories.) (Newser) Like a lot of outlets, the BBC brought on legal analysts to discuss the guilty verdicts of Ghislaine Maxwell. Unlike a lot of outlets, the BBC invited attorney Alan Dershowitz to discuss the casewithout disclosing Dershowitz's own deep ties to it, reports Mediaite. Not only was Dershowitz a former attorney for Jeffrey Epstein, but he has been accused of sexual abuse himself by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the woman who has similarly accused Prince Andrew. Dershowitz and Giuffre are currently locked in legal fights over her accusations, none of which was mentioned when Dershowitz appeared on the network identified only as a "constitutional lawyer." The network has since apologized after furious criticism, notes the Guardian. story continues below The interview "did not meet the BBCs editorial standards, as Mr. Dershowitz was not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst, and we did not make the relevant background clear to our audience," says the BBC statement. "We will look into how this happened." During the interview, Dershowitz attacked the credibility of Giuffre and noted she was not called as a witness in the Maxwell case. The BBC presenter did not challenge him or point out his conflict of interest. "Shocked," tweeted human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher in a typical reaction. "Utterly bizarre decision & does the audience a disservice." (What's next in the Maxwell saga.) (Newser) A Chicago woman ended up in the Mile High Quarantine Club after she tested positive for COVID-19 on a flight between Newark. NJ, and Iceland. Marisa Fotieo told the Today show Wednesday that she went to the bathroom and took a rapid test when her throat started to hurt during the Dec. 20 Icelandair flightand ended up staying in the bathroom for the next four hours after it came back positive. A TikTok video she recorded of her "VIP quarantine quarters" has been viewed more than 4 million times. story continues below Fotieo says she took five rapid tests that all came back negative in the days before she flew with her father and brother. She tells WZZM that because the flight was too full for her to sit away from other passengers, she decided to isolate herself in the bathroom after speaking to "amazing flight attendant" Ragnhildur "Rocky" Eiriksdottir. "Rocky was so sweet and brought me water and snacks and told me that would be my own little space," Fotieo says. Her father and brother took their flight to Switzerland after they landed in Reykjavik and tested negativebut for Fotieo, what was supposed to be a layover turned into a 10-day hotel quarantine. Fotieo says the same flight attendant who made her bathroom isolation easier made her quarantine in the Red Cross Humanitarian Hotel over Christmas a lot more bearable. Rocky "sent me a little Christmas tree with lights to dangle around it, a note, a warm dinner, and presents to open on Christmas Day," Fotieo says. Her quarantine ends Thursday, and she says her father and brother will be returning to Iceland so they can have a few days exploring the island and seeing the northern lights together. (Read more COVID-19 stories.) (Newser) In 2008, Linda Greenhouse, a New York Times reporter who had covered the Supreme Court for almost 30 years, assessed the court's place in the nation in an essay. "The court is in Americans' collective hands," she wrote. "We shape it; it reflects us. At any given time, we may not have the Supreme Court we want. We may not have the court we need. But we have, most likely, the Supreme Court we deserve." Greenhouse's views have changed since then, she writes in a new opinion piece in the Times, as has the court. Now, she writes, the country deserves better. story continues below The justices don't represent the views of the majority of Americans because they weren't chosen by a majority of Americans. Six justices were picked by Republican presidents, only three of whom received a majority of the popular vote when they were elected. The GOP leanings of small states and realities of the Electoral College mean that the three justices named by former President Donald Trump were confirmed in close votes by senators representing less than half of the US population, Greenhouse notes. The result is a court whose majority view isn't the nation's. For example, polls regularly show Americans want to leave Roe v. Wade alone, but the court's illogical handling of the Texas law suggests that's not the way it's headed, writes Greenhouse. "We now have justices apparently untroubled by process and precedent, let alone appearances." With their life tenure, these justices could "capture the court for the next generation and freeze in place a legacy the American people never chose," she says. That leads Greenhouse to an updated answer on that rhetorical question from 2008: "Is this the Supreme Court we deserve? It is not." (Read the full piece here.) (Newser) The getaway driver for a teenager who shot to death three teenagers at a Texas convenience store on Sunday was his father, police said. Richard Acosta, 33, and his son have been charged with capital murder, ABC News reports. The father turned himself in and is being held on $1 million bond. But his son, 14-year-old Abel Elias Acosta, is on the run. Garland police asked for help. "He is armed. And he is dangerous," said Police Lt. Pedro Barineau. "We need the public to step up and turn him in. We need to get him off the street." story continues below Acosta drove his son to the gas station store, police said. Surveillance video shows him inside just before the shooting, per the Dallas Morning News. The shooter is then shown getting out of a pickup in front of the store, crouching at store windows, opening the front door, and firing at least 20 times with what police said was a .40-caliber handgun with an extended magazine. The video shows he then got into the pickup, which drove away. In addition to the three teenagers slain, a 15-year-old was wounded and is hospitalized. All four teenagers shot were in a taco restaurant just inside the front door, per WFAA. Police said Ivan Noyola, 16, or Rafael Garcia, 17, or both, were targeted. The wounded teenager and Xavier Gonzalez, 14, were bystanders. "All he was going to do was go buy food for the family and come back home," said Gonzalez's uncle. "That was it and he didnt make it." Crime Stoppers has posted a reward of as much as $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the 14-year-old Acosta. (Read more multiple shooting stories.) Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here This aerial photo shows Moore Hall and Bartlett Hall, left and center, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The residence halls may get updates to plumbing, heating and electrical systems, under the governor's fiscal 2023 budget. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has highlighted Bahrains parliamentary strides and achievements across all fields, stressing the Kingdoms resolve to continue the march of modernisation and attain further progress and prosperity. HM the King also hailed the culture of democracy and human rights, highlighting Bahraini womens achievements and contributions to development and decision-making as well as political participation, chairing the Council of Representatives and holding top positions locally, regionally and internationally. This came as His Majesty received yesterday, at Al Safriya Palace, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) President Duarte Pacheco, currently on a visit to Bahrain, and hailed his efforts to develop this international institution and enhance cooperation with parliaments and national assemblies. HM the King commended the role of IPU in serving international security and peace and supporting causes for stability, prosperity and development. He noted the IPU role in fostering the culture of human rights and coordinating stances with parliaments worldwide, lauding fruitful cooperation between the legislative branch and the union. Pacheco expressed thanks and gratitude to HM the King for his keenness in supporting parliamentary life in Bahrain. He hailed the Kingdoms efforts to promote human rights, foster civil and political rights, disseminate gender equality and develop restorative justice. The IPU head praised Bahrains democratic and human rights strides in light of the wide-ranging development led by HM the King to consolidate the values of peace, coexistence and tolerance and support pluralism and dialogue. Bahrain can handle challenges amid sudden spike in number of COVID-19 cases: Dr Cheriyan Bahrain can handle challenges amid sudden spike in number of COVID-19 cases: Dr Cheriyan TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Amid increasing panic following a rise in the number of COVID-19 patients, a renowned authority in medicine and leading doctor in the Kingdom has dismissed fears of progress in the fight against the pandemic getting undone. Dr George Cheriyan, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of American Mission Hospital said the outright battle against COVID-19 in the Kingdom remains a success although there are challenges to be addressed frequently. Dr Cheriyans views attain immense significance in light of new daily cases exceeding 300. As of now, the Kingdom has a little over 2,000 active cases. The scientific world has made great progress in their fight against the COVID-19. The medical community has established tracing and tracking methodologies along with treatment modalities, which are well in place. There is no starting again from square one. This time, the physicians are very well positioned to handle the challenges. They are well-equipped to provide a range of treatment services. Speaking on the emergence of new variants, Dr Cheriyan said booster shots are the only remedy. COVID-19 booster shots have proved to be the most effective way to stop severe Omicron variant symptoms in South Africa and the United Kingdom, where a maximum number of cases were reported. Dr Cheriyan said fully-fledged research is ongoing to put standard drug therapies in place. Treatment with Sotrovimab has been found to decrease the risk of disease progression for high-risk patients suffering from mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection. Sotrovimab binds the spike protein in turn blocking the virus from getting attached before entering human cells. The process stops the virus from replicating in the body. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrain is keen to strengthen legislative cooperation and partnerships with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) that support development plans and programmes. Shura Council Chairman Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh yesterday received IPU President Duarte Pacheco. Al Saleh praised the pivotal role played by the IPU in organising global parliaments meetings and stressed the great outcomes of exchanging expertise, learning the best parliamentary practices, and strengthening bonds between members of parliaments. The Shura head welcomed the convening of the meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 2023, praising the high potentials that Bahrain possesses for hosting and organising various international conferences. Pacheco praised the high-level development witnessed by the Kingdom that confirmed the continued progress and praised the high potential of Bahrain in hosting IPU 2023 meetings. He expressed appreciation to the chairman for his interest in enhancing IPUs international role. Legislative achievements Al Saleh expressed pride in the Kingdoms democratic march under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, which has achieved multiple and advanced legislative achievements regionally and internationally. The chairman stressed that since HM the Kings reform project and the legislative branch has been keen to build parliamentary cooperation to consolidate common denominators between peoples and states and work according to the principles and values of coexistence and tolerance. He referred to the close cooperation between the legislative branch and the government headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, which contributed to the national achievements in the Kingdom Bahrain to prioritise plans, policies for benefit of citizens in public and private sectors Bahrain to prioritise plans, policies for benefit of citizens in public and private sectors TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan has highlighted the governments keenness to develop plans and launch policies aimed at stimulating the growth of the labour market. This comes as the ministry yesterday held a ceremony to honour outstanding workers and entrepreneurs, in the presence of representatives of workers trade unions and several officials. Humaidan cited the Cabinets adoption of the Economic Recovery Plan. It would set the development priorities during the coming period, the foremost of which is the creation of promising job opportunities, make Bahrainis the first choice in the local labour market, create 20,000 jobs for nationals, and train 10,000 Bahrainis annually until 2024. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com A female student from the University of Bahrain won the Excellence International Award in the 20th Chinese Bridge competition for Chinese language and culture for foreign university students. Siraj Hussain, representing the Department of Architecture through the Confucius Institute at the university, outperformed about 70,000 Chinese language learners from around the world. Around 125 winners from 101 countries represented their countries to compete in the final round on 22 September. The prizes for the final round were announced on 30 October. Siraj is the first contestant from the Kingdom of Bahrain to participate in the Chinese Bridge semi-finals from the Asian continent. She completed the Chinese Knowledge Quiz by answering questions online and submitted a three-minute Chinese-language video clip, which was shown on China Central Radios short video platform, and registered 8.038 million views. Siraj thanked her teachers at the Confucius Institute for helping combine her specialisation at the university with her personal interests, and present classical or heritage architecture in Bahrain to a global audience in the Chinese language. She also discussed the characteristics of classical architecture in Bahrain and China. The Confucius Institute pointed out that Siraj was a good and distinguished representative of cultural exchange. The Center for Language Exchange and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education in China offered Siraj a scholarship to learn Chinese for one semester, and this scholarship is valid for three years. We expect the student to seize this precious opportunity to study the Chinese language, learn more about the concepts of architecture and architectural design patterns in China, and return with some of the beautiful charms of China to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Institute said. The Chinese Bridge competition for Chinese language and culture is a large-scale international competition sponsored by the Cooperation Centre for the Exchange of Chinese and Foreign Languages of the Chinese Ministry of Education. This year, the regional competitions were held during the months of June and July, and about 7,0000 university students from all over the world took part. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com As part of the Government of Bahrains ambitious Economic Recovery Plan, the Industrial Sector Strategy (2022-2026) was revealed today at a press conference at the Isa Cultural Centre. Speaking at the conference, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, HE Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani, affirmed that the Strategy is a major pillar in the Economic Recovery Plan and will contribute towards achieving economic growth. He explained that the Economic Recovery Plan mandates the development of the production and services sectors in the Kingdom, of which the Industrial sector is an essential component. This, the Minister affirmed, comes as part of various initiatives put forth to achieve economic development, as part of the visions of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. HE Alzayani added that the Industrial sector continues to receive support from the Government, headed by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, as part of the overall Bahrain Economic Vision 2030. The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism listed the main objectives of the Industrial Strategy (2022-2026). He noted the strategic goals focus on increasing the sectors contribution to the overall GDP, increasing national origin exports, as well as creating additional job opportunities, supported by adapting the Fourth Industrial Revolution, implementing Circular Carbon Economy, encouraging investments in digitalisation, and improving regional supply chains. The Minster added that the targeted industries as part of the strategy, include the downstream industries in aluminium and petrochemicals, as well as renewable energy sectors including blue and green hydrogen, which will contribute towards the Kingdoms commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2060. The Minister affirmed that the strategy will also focus on food, pharmaceuticals, and micro-electronics. HE Alzayani stressed that the Industrial Sector Strategy is based on five main pillars, which include promoting local industries, investing in infrastructure, improving investors experience, providing career guidance for Bahrainis, and updating legislations. With regards to promoting local industries, the Minister highlighted several initiatives within the strategy, ranging from launching programs to encourage large factories to purchase products and services from local small and medium factories, providing industrial incubation and acceleration opportunities for SMEs, improving regional import and export supply chains through Export Bahrain solutions, developing the Made in Bahrain trademark, and launching the Industrial Excellence Award to encourage competition amongst the factories. The Minister went on to add that investing in infrastructure is key and will be achieved through dedicating areas to promising industries, improving amenities and services to industrial areas, intensifying inspections on industrial districts, encouraging the use of renewable energy, and setting up an Industrial Innovation Centre to promote the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. As for the third pillar of the strategy, the Minister highlighted that the government is working on facilitating procedures to improve investors experience. He explained that the government is re-evaluating current procedures and will launch a unified electronic system as the main platform serving investors in the field, along with easing procedures regarding acquiring licenses and providing services through relationship management, to customized solutions for various encountered issues. HE Alzayani explained that the fourth pillar involves directing nationals professionally through the provision of various educational and vocational training opportunities in the field. A company that operates a network of addiction treatment centers has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle allegations that it charged the Massachusetts Medicaid program for unnecessary urine drug testing that was illegally performed at the company's own lab, officials said Thursday. CleanSlate Centers, which operates more than 80 facilities in 10 states including 18 in Massachusetts, will pay $3.2 million to the state and $1.3 million to the federal government, the company and the state attorney general's office said in separate statements. As we face a worsening opioid crisis in Massachusetts, its important that treatment centers follow the rules and not cut corners to increase their bottom line, state Attorney General Maura Healey said. Our resolution with CleanSlate will bring millions of dollars back to the state and implement the oversight needed to protect patients and prevent these violations from happening again." Tennessee-based CleanSlate, which includes former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy on its board of directors, denies any wrongdoing, liability or violating any laws, CEO Greg Marotta said in a statement. We have chosen to settle this case due to the severe economic impact a prolonged legal battle would have had on the thousands of individuals and families we serve," he said. CleanSlate has served nearly 40,000 Massachusetts residents since 2009, and wants to focus on its primary mission. We will continue to work relentlessly with the Commonwealth to provide access to mental health and addiction treatment," he said. We are committed to moving forward from todays resolution to help more Americans reclaim their lives. In its original federal lawsuit filed in October 2020, the Massachusetts attorney general's office alleged that CleanSlate and its former owner charged MassHealth, or companies that manage care for its patients, $54 million. The state did not determine how much of that billing was fraudulent. The state alleged that CleanSlate required some patients to submit to a variety of urine drug tests, some of which were medically unnecessary, causing false claims to be submitted to MassHealth. The state also said CleanSlate clinicians were directed to refer laboratory work to its own Holyoke laboratory, a violation of federal and state self-referral statutes. The original complaint also alleged that the former owner engaged in practices that led to backdating of prescriptions for Suboxone a drug used to treat opioid addiction resulting in the submission of false claims. The settlement not only resolves the state's federal lawsuit, but a whistleblower suit brought by a former CleanSlate employee, the attorney's general's office said. Danbury area residents woke up to disappointing news Thursday after the state informed local leaders of the indefinite delay of 500,000 at-home COVID-19 test kits promised earlier this week. And towns quickly began to pivot from their distribution plans. They canceled drive-thrus, told local volunteers to stand by, and have asked anxious residents for patience. On Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont sent mayors and first selectmen across Connecticut scrambling to pull together mass distribution plans for thousands of at-home kits, only to inform them Wednesday night that the kits would not be arriving on time. The state initially cited supply chain delays, before clarifying that the agreement with their supplier had actually fallen through during a press briefing Thursday night. Lamont said the state was still working to deliver tests to municipalities, but added that in hindsight, they should have initially told municipalities off record about the purchase order. I think we got a little ahead of ourselves, to tell you the truth, he said. Leaders were only told on a call Wednesday night that the kits, which were supposed to be loaded onto an airplane headed for Connecticut last night, were still sitting in Los Angeles. This news was followed up by what one first selectman characterized as a vague 8 a.m. email Thursday saying the kits still had not shipped. Despite the delay, Danbury officials said theyre still ready to hand out kits at Western Connecticut State Universitys Westside campus as soon as they arrive. The city saw 558 cases just last week, according to state data. Were ready once the product comes, said Matthew Cassavechia, emergency management director. We have a team ready to go get the product and be able to distribute it very quickly and in a safe, efficient manner. Pivoting after an indefinite delay Some leaders were more frustrated by the delayed testing announcement than others. New Milford has decided to hold off on new plans until the tests are actually loaded into trucks and headed for town. Initially, the town planned to begin a drive-thru distribution on Thursday. The town had already filled up every time slot a couple hours after posting it online. On Wednesday night, Mayor Pete Bass and Health Director Lisa Morrissey began sending out emails letting residents know their appointments have been canceled for now. Were going to be reassessing it as soon as we make sure we actually have those test kits in our hands, Mayor Pete Bass said. I just kind of wish that they didnt rush this. Bass added that he wished the state had only alerted leaders once the kits were ready and waiting at Bradley Airport. A lot of the municipalities really scaled up and were working hard because they wanted us to get them out before New Years, he said. Brookfield First Selectman Tara Carr echoed Basss frustration with regards to the time and effort that went into plans that are now being changed and altered. Its been tough because its a holiday and were asking for volunteers, she explained. Brookfield hit a COVID case rate of 99.7 cases per 100,000 residents Thursday the second highest case rate in the Danbury area behind Ridgefield. Carr said it was unfortunate that there wouldnt be enough test kits to equitably distribute them to her residents once they arrive. Brookfield is expected to get 2,250 kits with two tests per kit. In a town of 17,500 people, its not even scraping the surface, she said the towns allotment. Several residents have called the first selectman saying theyre homebound and unable to come to the high school to pick up a kit when they are distributed, which Carr said pulled at her heartstrings. In Bethel, First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker waited to announce final plans this week after a staff member with connections to the Connecticut National Guard informed him the kits did not appear to be en route yet. I held off on my announcement and Im glad I did, Knickerbocker said Thursday, as other towns were emailing residents and posting announcements about distribution cancelations. Praise amid delays Despite the disappointing delays, Knickerbocker praised the governors consistent communication throughout the pandemic. Danbury Mayor Dean Esposito said he appreciates the states efforts to get the kits. We don't want to condemn the state, he said. The efforts of the state have been very positive in my opinion. Theyre trying to do everything possible to move forward with providing the test kits and, unfortunately, logistics is falling into place where it's not getting here as expected. Julia Pemberton, Reddings first selectman, wants to get the kits distributed before school starts back up next week. Since the estimated arrival update was vague on Thursday morning, she said she would likely go ahead and cancel plans for a New Years Eve distribution. If the kits do come in, we will scramble to put together a distribution, perhaps as early as this weekend, she added. It was a valiant effort to get us those kits within 48 hours, and if we have to wait another 48 hours, its another 48 hours. Pemberton said she was still enthusiastic about the plan. As much as Im disappointed we cant hand them out tomorrow, I know it wont be much longer than that. Additional reporting by reporter Julia Perkins Connecticuts infection rate set a new record Wednesday when 17.78 percent of new COVID-19 tests came back positive, topping the high set Tuesday by nearly three percentage points. The state reported Wednesday that 7,520 new COVID-19 cases were identified from 42,295 tests and the positivity rate was the highest single-day measure since widespread testing started in the spring of 2020. While state officials have often cautioned that the positivity rate of new COVID-19 tests is just one metric to weigh in the pandemic, hospitalizations also surged by a net of 150 patients for a total of 1,113, the highest single-day census since Jan. 13. Hospitalizations are nearing the peak seen during last winters surge, well before vaccines were broadly available to residents. According to figures from the state, 73.9 percent of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated, down from 79.4 percent on Tuesday. Both the single-day rise in cases and hospitalizations reported Wednesday were two of the highest recorded since the early onset of the pandemic, state data shows. When asked about the latest metrics, Pedro Mendes, director of UConn Healths Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, said: This is really a big wave coming. My preliminary forecasts indicate that the peak of hospitalizations might be higher than January 2021, maybe getting close to April 2020. This is a good time for people to wear N95 masks indoors and get boosters. Kevin Dieckhaus, chief of UConn Healths Division of Infectious Diseases, was in the middle of rounds Wednesday evening. Its going to be a long night, he said. This is kind of reminiscent of the bad old days. Dieckhaus said the latest surge does have some elements of what we were dealing with early in the pandemic, though there are differences. Its the same but different, he said. There is an echo of March 2020. While there is the same sense of urgency about all of this in terms of the caseload, like we experienced back in March Dieckhaus said there are no PPE shortages, and less of a concern for the personal safety of doctors and nurses. Im fully vaccinated so I do feel a level of protection seeing patients, he said. But staffing issues are adding some pressure, Dieckhaus said: Were starting to have to move and be flexible with staffing to make sure everything is being covered. At Stamford Hospital, the number of coronavirus patients has nearly doubled over the last week or so and numbered 50 on Wednesday afternoon, according to Director of Infectious Diseases Dr. Asha Shah. About half of those patients are vaccinated, Shah said, though each of the hospitals four COVID patients on a ventilator in the intensive care unit were unvaccinated. The good news is that many [of the hospitals patients] are not requiring ICU-level care, Shah said, adding that most patients are showing less acute symptoms and require shorter lengths of stay. The sharp rise in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations despite broad vaccination efforts. As of Wednesday, 78.5 percent of Connecticuts eligible population was fully vaccinated. For those eligible for a booster, 41 percent had received an additional dose, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though the positivity rate has spiked to record levels and hospitalizations are nearing highs seen last winter, Gov. Ned Lamont has been resistant to reinstate core mandates used early in the pandemic to limit the spread of the virus. Lamont has said recently that he has no plans to reinstate a universal indoor mask mandate, leaving that discretion to local leaders, who he argues have a better understanding of COVID-19 in their community. The administration did not react to the high COVID numbers Wednesday. Instead, the state has launched an effort to distribute 1.5 million at-home test kits, with two tests each, and 6 million N95 masks to Connecticut residents. On Wednesday, Lamonts office said the shipment of tests to the state had been delayed. When asked to comment on the possible trajectory of the current wave, Dieckhaus said Looking in a crystal ball is potentially problematic but we do have some information that we can work from. In South Africa, where the omicron variant was first identified, the increase in cases was very rapid but did not last as long as with previous variants. It was a much more rapid increase than the delta wave or the alpha wave, then started to come down in a little more of a rapid fashion, Dieckhaus said. The wave, rather than a sustained wave is likely to be a high peak but a shorter duration. NEW FAIRFIELD A Tuesday night traffic stop led to weapon and drug charges for a Danbury man and an ongoing search for the driver of the vehicle in which he was riding. Troopers stopped a vehicle for speeding in the area of Route 39 and Knollcrest Road around 8 p.m. State police said initial contact with the driver and passenger led to further investigation, during which the passenger abruptly exited the vehicle and attempted to flee the scene on foot. Following a brief struggle, police said the passenger Guido Bruno Alves, 20, of Danbury was taken into custody and found to be in possession of an illegal handgun and a controlled substance. State police did not specify the type of illegal substance found. During the struggle to apprehend the passenger, authorities said the driver fled the scene in the vehicle, traveling north toward Sherman. State police did not provide any information on the description of the vehicle or driver. Alves was transported to Connecticut State Polices Troop A barracks in Southbury, where he was processed and charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and resisting/interfering with an officer. He was held on a $200,000 bond and scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday at state Superior Court in Danbury. This incident remains under investigation, state police spokesperson Trooper First Class Sarah Salerno said Thursday morning. A man killed on Christmas night when he was struck by a vehicle has been identified as a retired U.S. Army Ranger who served 10 deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Prescott Valley police reported on Wednesday. The pedestrian was identified as 38-year-old Samuel Robles of Prescott Valley. He had recently retired as a first sergeant and relocated to Yavapai County. The most popular classic Timbit in Canada over the past year was the Chocolate Glazed by a wide margin. Birthday Cake and Honey Dip were neck and neck for second and third place, Old Fashioned Plain was fourth and Sour Cream Glazed was in fifth. When it came to Timbiebs the new lineup of Timbits flavours developed in collaboration with Justin Bieber it was very close, but Chocolate White Fudge emerged as Canada's top pick. When looking at the top classic Timbits regionally, Chocolate Glazed came first in the West, Ontario and Quebec. The Atlantic provinces were the outlier where the Old Fashioned Plain was the most popular Timbit. "It was such a huge year for the Timbits platform, not only for the big 45th anniversary but with our work with Justin to collaborate on Timbiebs, which have been a massive hit!" said Tim Hortons Director of Culinary Innovation Chef Tallis Voakes, who worked with Justin on developing the Timbiebs recipes. "Justin told us the Chocolate Glazed was his favourite classic Timbit so I'm not surprised it ended up officially being Canada's favourite as well." Timbits through time There have been dozens of different Timbits flavours in the 45-year history of Canada's perfect treat. Here are just a few of the Timbits flavours from the past decades (including a few limited-edition offerings that weren't available in most restaurants) : Apple Fritter Banana Cream Filled Cherry Cake Chocolate Marble Chocolate Peanut Crunch Chocolate White Coconut Churro Cinnamon French Toast Cotton Candy Cruller Lemon Cake Old Fashioned Cinnamon Sour Cream Chocolate Sour Cream Cinnamon Spiced Apple Filled Timbits around the world Tim Hortons keeps growing across more than a dozen countries around the world and has developed a number of unique Timbit flavours to reflect local favourites. The following are some Timbit flavours that have been served at different Tim Hortons restaurants globally: Apple Pie Boston Cream Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake Dulce de Leche Matcha Pistachio Red Dates Salted Egg Yolk ABOUT TIM HORTONS In 1964, the first Tim Hortons restaurant in Hamilton, Ontario opened its doors and Canadians have been ordering Tim Hortons iconic Original Blend coffee, Double-Double coffees, Donuts and Timbits in the years since. Over the last 55 years, Tim Hortons has captured the hearts and taste buds of Canadians and has become synonymous with serving Canada's favourite coffee. Tim Hortons is Canada's largest restaurant chain operating in the quick service industry with more than 4,000 restaurants across the country. More than a coffee and bake shop, Tim Hortons is part of the Canadian fabric and guests can enjoy hot and cold specialty beverages including lattes, cappuccinos and espressos, teas and our famous Iced Capps alongside delicious breakfast, sandwiches, wraps, soups and more. Tim Hortons has more than 4,800 restaurants in Canada, the United States and around the world. For more information on Tim Hortons visit TimHortons.ca SOURCE Tim Hortons For further information: Please reach out to [email protected] WASHINGTON (AP) Federal health officials on Thursday pressed nursing home workers to get their booster shots amid a spike in COVID-19 cases among staffers and a concerning lag in booster vaccination for residents and staff. The omicron variant "is lightning fast, and we can't afford another COVID-19 surge in nursing homes," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a livestreamed appeal to the industry. You know that. I know that. Higher numbers of COVID cases would likely once again have a devastating impact on our loved ones ... and we know we just have to work doubly hard to keep them safe." Nursing homes are a testing ground for President Joe Bidens assertion that the United States is much better prepared to handle a surging virus than it was last winter. Although residents are a tiny proportion of the population, they represent a disproportionate share of Americans who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year the advent of vaccines brought the virus under control in nursing homes and allowed them to reopen to visitors. But that return to normalcy could be in jeopardy as omicron pushes COVID-19 cases to new highs for the nation. Cases among nursing home staffers jumped to 10,353 for the week ending Dec. 27, a rise of nearly 80% from the previous week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Staff deaths increased to 58, tripling from the previous week. Among residents, who are more heavily vaccinated, cases went up slightly and the data showed no increase in deaths. With medical experts advising that a booster shot is critical to defend against omicron, Becerra said only 57% of nursing home residents and 25% of staff and have gotten boosters. That's clearly behind a booster rate of nearly 66% among people age 65 or older and about 45% for adults of all ages, according to statistics from the White House. We've got to change that, Becerra said. The administration is urging some 1,400 federally funded community health centers across the land to partner with local nursing homes in a renewed vaccination campaign. Nursing home workers were supposed to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 under an earlier order issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which required staff at health care facilities that receive government money to get their shots. That directive got ensnared in litigation and the Supreme Court has set a special session next week to hear arguments on it, along with the much broader Biden administration vaccine mandate for workers at larger companies of all kinds. Together the orders would affect about 100 million employees. Once again nursing homes are really the ground zero, said Harvard health policy professor David Grabowski, who has tracked the impact of the pandemic on residents and staff. How well we do in combating this virus can often be discerned by just looking at the nursing homes. Grabowski said the Biden administration is right to raise the alarm now. We see this time and time again: When staff (infection) rates go up, resident rates go up, he explained. Staffers unwittingly bring in the virus from surrounding communities, a common trigger for nursing home outbreaks. Vaccines enabled nursing homes to weather the delta variant surge earlier this year, and timely booster shots should go a long way toward blocking omicron. The more vaccines and boosters we have, the more lives we are going to save over the course of the winter, Grabowski said. But some states are already seeing trouble. COVID-19 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes have almost doubled in the past week, and officials say that indicates the state is probably heading into another major surge of virus cases and hospitalizations. There were 63 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes Monday, about twice the number reported last week, state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers wrote in a midweek memo to Mississippi hospitals and health care providers. Along with other data, that points to very rapid growth of COVID-19 infection and transmission...we have now entered our 5th wave of COVID-19 in the state, Byers wrote. One of the major nursing home industry groups is backing the administration's push on boosters. The American Health Care Association said in a statement it's asking members to "double down on their efforts to get as many residents and staff fully vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible. ___ Associated Press writer Leah Willingham in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report. HAMDEN A moratorium on cannabis establishments will give Hamden time to develop applicable zoning regulations before the highly anticipated industry comes to town, according to officials. The Planning & Zoning Commission approved the measure Tuesday, following the recommendation of Mayor Lauren Garrett, who announced she is establishing a task force to draft cannabis-related ordinances. The state of Connecticut is going to start issuing (cannabis) licenses in 2022and then people will be able to apply to the town for cannabis-related uses, said Timothy Lee, the attorney who advises the commission. The point of the moratorium is to give the town some additional time to research the cannabis issue and then to prepare zoning regulations regarding its use. Without a moratorium or established zoning policies, Garrett said. those seeking cannabis permits from the town would be able to apply for the permit whose use was most similar. For example, someone seeking to grow cannabis might be subject to standard farming regulations, she said. Because we dont have the ordinances in place to regulate the growth, distribution and sale of cannabis, what would happen is it would default to whatever was most similar, Garrett said. We dont want to issue permits until they are specific in cannabis. On July 1, recreational marijuana for people 21 and older became legal in Connecticut, thanks to a bill Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law on June 22. The state expects to start accepting cannabis business licensing applications early next year, according to Kaitlyn Krasselt, director of communications for the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. We expect it to be in early 2022, but the Social Equity Council needs to vote one more time on the income and residency requirements, she said. The council was developed in order to make sure the adult-use cannabis program is grown equitably, and ensures that funds from the adult-use cannabis program are brought back to the communities hit hardest by the war on drugs, according to the state website. Its tasks include determining what income and residency requirements give applicants social equity status. Under state law, half of all licenses issued through a lottery must go to social equity applicants. Once the council issues that final approval, then it will be 30 days after that that applications will start to be available, Krasselt said. So far, at least 35 Connecticut municipalities have enacted moratoriums on cannabis establishments, according to the state website, which shows 13 towns have outright prohibited them. Meanwhile, nine municipalities have approved related regulations, the data indicates. The list may not be comprehensive because it incorporates only what is reported to the state, Krasselt cautioned. In Hamden, Tuesdays Planning & Zoning Commission debate primarily centered around whether the moratorium should last six months, as the administration suggested, or a year. Advocates for the longer duration like commission member Joseph McDonagh said it would prevent the commission from having to extend the moratorium, ensuing the town has enough time to draft regulations. Extending moratoriums has proved a hassle in the past, according to McDonagh. We had a moratorium on multifamily because we were trying to figure out how to deal with affordable housing, he said. It took us more than six months. We had to extend the moratorium, and we had all sorts of very angry developers. Others on the commission expressed concern that the process would take too long if the moratorium lasted a year. I would not support a one-year moratorium because I think that that would just put us way too far behind any sort of market on this, Paul Begemann, a commission member, said during the meeting. McDonagh told the New Haven Register he was not asserting the process would take a year. But if it takes longer than six months, he said, a one-year moratorium saves the commission from having to extend it. At the meeting, he said it would be easier to end the moratorium early than to extend it, and his view won out. Hamdens next step is to convene a task force that will advise the commission on which regulations it should adopt. The panel will include two members of the Planning & Zoning Commission, two members of the Legislative Council, one police department representative and four mayoral appointees, according to a release from the mayors office. meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com ORANGE - A decorative copper relief recovered from the now-closed Southern New England Telephone Co. and a box of old black-and-white SNET publicity photos found deep in storage at the Orange Historical Society building, were all the inspiration OHS president Ginny Reinhard needed for her latest project. Reinhard and her crew - who are asking for the publics help are putting together a display on the history of SNET - which has ties to Orange - and of the telephone, which had its beginnings with inventor Alexander Graham Bell as a rectangular wooden box with a transmitter inside. Related: New Haven was the birthplace of the modern telephone I would never have thought about it but now we have this important piece of history, Reinhard said, referring to the relief and photos. It will be interesting, especially for young people, to understand how phones evolved. While they have the framework for the history exhibit, the Historical Society is in search of telephones and are hoping local and area residents will search their closets, attics or basements for pieces that can be used in the exhibit. Reinhard can be contacted be emailing ladyjanegcr@snet.net or calling 203-988-5104. We do have a wall phone. Were just looking for more phones. The older, the better, she said. Well take whatever we can get. The phone has evolved so, that many of the phones one might not think of as too old - phones that readers remember using - such as the Trimline, Princess models will be included in the display. The oldest phones include the desktop cradle phone, rotary dial candlestick and candlestick telephones. So far, they have one wall phone marked Edwards 1872. They also have a telephone book from 1908 with one page for Orange. The society has an established old phone exhibit on the first floor of its Academy building, but that wont be disrupted, Reinhard said. The new display will be on the second floor in the societys research center. Reinhard said most young people have no conception how the phone evolved from its earliest incarnation to a four- inch piece of metal you hold in your hand. Reinhard said in the early days having a phone was considered prestigious, and the bigger the better, unlike today where people generally believe more compact is better. But just like today, the frenzy was there to create a better phone, she said. Telecommunications roots run deep in this area. The worlds first commercial telephone exchange was opened in New Haven with 21 subscribers in January 1878, designed and built by George W. Coy of Milford. In those days of simple wooden telephones, those making calls were connected by people working a switchboard. The connection with Orange began in those earliest days and in 1938 the Orange Exchange was incorporated into the New Haven Exchange with 288 telephones in Orange. Reinhard obtained the copper relief depicting three-dimensional images flowers, leaves, and swirls of various kinds from her sister who ran across it about 15 years ago in front of the old SNET building on Chapel and State streets in New Haven. It was rolled up on the ground - the workers were planning to sell it for copper - but someone at the site said she could have the piece. The relief, about 9 feet, is framed and hanging in the research center. The building isnt alive, but this piece is alive, Reinhard said. Its a very important piece of history. Everything that was made back in the day meant something. Reinhard said they also discovered when cleaning the back of a crowded area in the OHS building a box of 8-by-10 black-and-white photos from around about the 1960s that appear to be staged SNET publicity photos and included images of linemen, offices, employees and even some phones. Reinhard said she believes they were donated to the Historical Society many years ago. The exhibit fell into our lap, she said. The box of photos came out of the back by happenstance. While Reinhard loves her tales of the old days, she also calls technology and communication of today, fantastic, marveling at how she can talk to her niece in Switzerland on a cell phone while shopping at Big Y. In 1886, there were 1,165 telephones in New Haven, and about 5,600 in total in Connecticut, according to an unsigned 1947 company letter in the SNET collection at the Dodd Center. By 1947, there were 600,000 telephones in the state 80,884 of them in New Haven, the letter said. In 1882, it merged with the Interstate Telephone Co. of New York to form Southern New England Telephone, which became a subsidiary of SBC Communications of San Antonio in 1998. SBC acquired AT&T and took that companys name. It later sold its Connecticut lines to Frontier Communications. In 1998, when SBC Communications took over and moved communications headquarters to San Antonio, a large collection of the SNET history, including all the details about the first switchboard and telephone directory, were donated to the Dodd Research Center, which has the largest business collection in the state. Along with the donation was a substantial grant to help organize and preserve the records. PHENIX CITY, Ala. (AP) Alabama law enforcement officials claim a Georgia woman charged in her 5-year-old daughters death had accepted payment to let a man have sex with the child. An arrest warrant included in court records claim Kristy Siple agreed to accept payment from someone for having sexual intercourse and sodomy with her minor child. Authorities arrested Siple this week and charged her with murder and human trafficking in connection with the death of her daughter. It was not clear from court records if she has an attorney who could speak on her behalf. The body of Kamarie Holland, 5, was discovered at an abandoned house in Phenix City, Alabama, earlier this month after she had been reported missing in Georgia by Siple. In a tearful interview with WTVM-TV before her arrest, Siple, who also goes by the last name Hoskins, said she had nothing to do with her daughter's death and disappearance. Im a mommy. I did not have nothing to do with this, said Hoskins told the station. She was my life. I lived for her daily. She was my only girl. I have 3 boys and her. Jeremy Tremaine Williams, 37, is also charged with capital murder in the girls death. Siple had told police that when she woke up at 5:50 a.m. on Dec. 13 that her daughter was gone and the front door of their Columbus, Georgia, home was open, Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor said earlier this month. The girls body was found later that night at an abandoned home in Alabama, he said. Taylor said that Williams once lived at the home where the girls body was found. HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Lou Barletta, an illegal-immigration hawk and former congressman running for governor, said Wednesday he would take a harder line against the federal government's yearslong practice of bringing unaccompanied minors found by the Border Patrol to various facilities in Pennsylvania and other states. Some Republican governors have protested the practice this year and are looking for ways to block it in their states. In the past decade, the number of unaccompanied children found at the border has jumped dramatically, expanding the need for the federal government to place the children throughout the United States while they pursue their cases in backlogged immigration courts. Barletta, a Republican vying for the partys nomination in a big primary field, said he would stop the practice in cases where the state doesn't know the medical and criminal backgrounds of the minors, who must be 17 or under to be in the resettlement program. It would stop when Im governor of Pennsylvania because I also recognize the danger and the risks of putting people into our schools without having any idea what the background of that person is, Barletta said in an interview. Barletta pointed to a newly unveiled platform by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as something he supports. One aspect is legislation to prohibit state and local agencies from doing business with any private entities that facilitate the resettlement of illegal aliens from the southern border. Another is a regulation that prohibits the licensing of agencies that provide services to unaccompanied migrant children unless the state consents to it. Weeks earlier, DeSantis highlighted reports that the 24-year-old suspect in a stabbing death posed as a teenager at the border in order to cross as an unaccompanied minor. Barletta also said he would refuse to allow the migrant children into Pennsylvania schools, unless they met vaccine requirements that apply to all students. In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services flew migrant children into Wilkes-Barre-Scranton International Airport, the agency said late Tuesday. Its statement followed days of inaccurate reports by local politicians and others about the flights. The department has released little other information about the minors, prompting protests from Barletta about the department's lack of disclosure and silence about it from Gov. Tom Wolf. More flights are scheduled to arrive at the airport Thursday and Friday, Barletta said. Wolf, a Democrat who's constitutionally barred from running for another term, hasn't objected to the flights or the department's practices. In a statement, Wolf's office said immigration questions should be directed to the federal government and suggested that Barletta and others are pulling a political PR stunt. Still, the flights are not unusual. The department's Office of Refugee Resettlement has housed more than 350,000 of the migrant children across the country and in every state in the past seven years, according to its figures. More than 5,800 of them came to Pennsylvania, spanning the presidential administrations of Democrat Barack Obama, Republican Donald Trump and now Democrat Joe Biden. In South Carolina, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster banned foster care and group homes there from taking in migrant children. One of Barletta's complaints that states dont know enough about the migrant children being brought there echo those of DeSantis and Republican officeholders in Tennessee. There, Republican Gov. Bill Lee refused a request by the Biden administration to house migrant children in Tennessee National Guard facilities. Children are typically released to sponsors, usually parents or close relatives, and aided by local charitable organizations. While in the department's custody, the children receive vaccinations under a catch-up schedule for those who are behind and sponsors are given a copy of the childs medical and immunization records compiled during their time in custody, the department said. They are tested and vaccinated for COVID-19, it said. As mayor of Hazleton for more than a decade, Barletta gained national prominence for accusing the federal government of failing to enforce immigration laws. Barletta said his experience on the House Homeland Security Committee taught him that U.S. border authorities dont have the time or resources to thoroughly investigate migrant children's backgrounds. "You literally do not know who that person is or what their background is, or their age, so if they say theyre a minor, we don't really know if theyre a minor, Barletta said. ___ Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/timelywriter. WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol says the Supreme Court should let stand an appeals court ruling that the National Archives turn over documents from former President Donald Trump that might shed light on the events leading up to and including that day. In a filing with the court Thursday, lawyers for the committee argued that it is within its jurisdiction to seek the information. Although the facts are unprecedented, this case is not a difficult one," the lawyers said in the filing, adding, This Courts review is unwarranted, and the petition for a writ of certiorari should be denied. The lawyers said, however, that if the court nonetheless believes a review is warranted, the Congressional Respondents respectfully request that the case be resolved expeditiously. The nine-member congressional committee is investigating not just Trumps conduct on Jan. 6 when he told a rally crowd to fight like hell shortly before rioters overran law enforcement officers but also his efforts in the months before to challenge election results or obstruct a peaceful transfer of power. Trump has attacked the committees work and continued to promote unfounded conspiracy theories about widespread fraud in the election, even though Joe Bidens victory was certified by all 50 states. His claims have been rebuked by courts across the country. In suing to block the National Archives from turning over documents, Trump's lawyers have said the committee has "no legitimate legislative purpose for seeking them and granting access to the records would damage executive privilege for future presidents. Last week Trumps lawyers asked the Supreme Court to hear arguments on his claim that executive privilege prevents the release of the documents, describing the committee as engaged in meandering fishing expeditions. The committee says the documents, including presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts and handwritten notes, are vital to its investigation into the deadly riot at the Capitol aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Supreme Court could decline to hear the appeal. Such action would mean the ruling Dec. 9 by the federal appeals court is the final word on the matter. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit tossed aside Trumps various arguments asserting executive privilege, saying Congress has a uniquely vital interest in studying the events of Jan. 6. That panel also placed emphasis on Biden's determination that the documents were in the public interest and that executive privilege should therefore not be invoked. The question now is whether at least four justices agree to hear the case. The court has six conservative jurists, including three appointed by Trump, and several issues have arisen since Trump's lawyers filed their original petition that might be of interest. On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported that the House committee had agreed to defer its attempt to get some documents, at the request of the Biden administration. The White House was concerned that releasing all of the Trump administration documents sought by the committee could compromise national security and executive privilege. The agreement to keep some Trump records away from the committee is memorialized in a Dec. 16 letter from the White House counsels office. It mostly shields records that do not involve the events of Jan. 6 but were covered by the committees sweeping request for documents from the Trump White House about the events of that day. While the agreement focused on specific concerns, the potential narrowing of the documents requests is an acknowledgement that it was broad. That point forms a foundation of the court filing to the Supreme Court by Trump's lawyers, where the words broad, overly broad, strikingly broad and hopelessly broad are sprinkled throughout. It is a point that Trump noticed as well. In a statement following the disclosure of the agreement, the former president said the committee had just dropped a large portion of their request for my records and documents a very big story and the action also changes the entire complexion of their request. On Wednesday, Trump's lawyers sent a supplemental request asking the court to look into an interview that committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., did with The Washington Post. During the interview Thompson indicated the committee is looking into Trump's actions the day of the insurrection to determine if it can recommend the Justice Department open a criminal investigation. The Trump filing argues that such action is outside the committee's legislative purpose. It cannot embark on what is essentially a law enforcement investigation with the excuse that it might legislate based on information it turns up in the course of the exploration, the filing said. In the submission Thursday, lawyers for the committee addressed that question, acknowledging that its involvement must have legislative intent. The records could inform numerous pieces of potential legislation" they wrote, such as efforts to reform and amend the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and "enhance the legal consequences for a refusal by the Executive Branch to timely and appropriately respond to attacks on Congressional proceedings. They also said the records could have an effect on efforts to enact or enhance laws to prevent Executive Branch officials from enlisting the Department of Justice, or other federal resources, to support false claims about an election. Trump's attempts to limit investigations against him have had mixed results with the Supreme Court. The court earlier this year refused to stop his tax records from going to a New York prosecutors office as part of an investigation. It did prevent Congress last year, while Trump was in office, from obtaining banking and financial records for him and members of his family. SRINAGAR, India (AP) Six suspected rebels and an Indian soldier were killed in two separate counterinsurgency operations in disputed Kashmir, police said Thursday. The killings came during a surge in the government's offensive against anti-India rebels in Kashmir, which is divided between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and claimed by both. Fighting erupted after government forces cordoned off two southern villages in Anantnag and Pulwama districts Wednesday night in search of militants reportedly hiding there, police said. Six militants were killed in the two incidents, police said. Three soldiers and one police officer were also injured, and one of the soldiers died later at a hospital, officials said. Police said in a statement that two of the slain suspected militants were Pakistani nationals but offered no evidence. It said three of the dead, including a Pakistani, were involved in an attack on a police bus in the outskirts of the regions main city of Srinagar on Dec. 13 in which three police officers were killed and 11 others wounded. According to government records, at least 168 militants, 34 civilians and 30 Indian troops have been killed this year in the Kashmir Valley. Rebels in Indian-controlled Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels' goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict. ___ This story corrects that one police officer was injured, not two. 5 1 of 5 Minor Memorial Library / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Minor Memorial Library / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Minor Memorial Library / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 5 of 5 ROXBURY The Minor Memorial Library will welcome Dr. Gil Harel, presenting Opera in the Baroque Period at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 19 on Zoom. Scholars agree that opera came into existence sometime around the early 17th century. As such, it is a distinct creation of the baroque period, the library said in a statement. With elaborate sets, costumes, lighting, acting, dancing and singing, it has remained one of and perhaps the most ambitious genre in the standard canon of western art music. DENVER (AP) Maryland repealed its half-century-old Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights. Washington state reformed use-of-force policies and created a new agency to investigate when officers use deadly force. And California overcame objections from police unions to make sure officers fired in one jurisdiction couldn't be hired in another. Those are some of the far-reaching policing changes passed this year in response to the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But the first full year of state legislative sessions since his death sparked a summer of racial justice protests produced a far more mixed response in the rest of the country. A number of states implemented incremental reforms, such as banning chokeholds or tightening rules around use of body cameras, while several Republican-led states responded by granting police even greater authority and passing laws that cracked down on protesters. The state action on both sides of the debate came as Congress failed to implement policing reforms aimed at boosting officer accountability. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed the U.S. House without a single Republican vote and then collapsed in the evenly divided Senate. Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents more than 356,000 law enforcement officers, said he thinks it's still possible for Congress to pass police reform, but perhaps only after another deadly case captures the nation's attention. Sadly, the only thing we know for sure, it will be a tragedy that will precipitate change, Pasco said. He said the trend of states passing their own policing measures depending on their politics is creating more divisions in an already fractured country. Partisan leanings were in play in Maryland, which 50 years ago became the first state to pass an officers' bill of rights that provided job protections in the police disciplinary process, measures that eventually spread to about 20 other states. This year, it became the first to repeal those rights after lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly overrode the veto of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. They replaced the bill of rights with new procedures that give civilians a role in police discipline. Democratic lawmakers also united to pass other reforms over Hogan's objections or without his signature, including expanding public access to police disciplinary records and creating a unit in the state attorney general's office to investigate police-involved deaths. Other states can use this legislation as a blueprint for creating meaningful police reform, said Rashawn Ray, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institute. In Washington state, an ambitious series of reforms will ban police from using chokeholds and no-knock warrants, create a new state agency to investigate police use of deadly force and change the threshold for when officers can use force. Some law enforcement officials have said they are not clear about what theyre required to do, which has led to discrepancies about how to respond to certain situations. California created a statewide certification system for officers, in part to prevent police fired in one jurisdiction from getting a job somewhere else. The bill stalled in the legislature last year and struggled to gain support again this year in the face of opposition from police unions. It passed after it was amended to allow for the option of an officer's license being suspended as a lesser punishment and to include other safeguards. This is not an anti-police bill. This is an accountability bill," said Democratic state Assemblywoman Akilah Weber, who carried the legislation in that chamber. "Without any accountability, we lose the integrity of the badge, and the bond with the community is broken. California also required the state attorney general's office to investigate all fatal shootings by police of unarmed civilians, specified when officers have a duty to intervene to prevent or report excessive force, and increased the minimum age to become a police officer from 18 to 21. The state reform bills passed in 2021 are important because they help promote accountability for police, which can shift officer behavior as long as the changes are enforced, said Puneet Cheema, manager of the Justice in Public Safety Project at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. To try to prevent violent encounters with the police in the first place, she said governments need to limit what police are asked to do such as whether or not they should respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis or make certain traffic stops. That is a longer-term shift that will lead to the broadest changes in police violence and the role that police play in peoples lives, Cheema said. Even some states with divided governments were able to agree on certain reforms. In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, signed a partial ban on no-knock warrants approved by the Legislature, where Republicans hold veto-proof supermajorities. The bill was passed after months of demonstrations over the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in her Louisville home during a botched police raid last year. It permits no-knock warrants if there is clear and convincing evidence that the crime being investigated would qualify a person, if convicted, as a violent offender. Many protesters and some Democratic lawmakers had sought a full ban, but the law does not prevent cities and towns from banning the warrants completely. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, signed a bill passed by the Republican-led legislature that creates a public database where anyone can check whether an officer's certification has been suspended or revoked. It also creates another confidential database showing cases in which an officer kills or seriously injures someone that is only accessible to law enforcement agencies. In Louisiana, the Democratic governor and lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Legislature placed new restrictions on the use of chokeholds and no-knock warrants, required detailed policies for body camera and dash camera use, boosted law enforcement agencies minority recruitment efforts and required anti-bias training. They also agreed to require suspension or revocation of a police officers state certification if the officer committed misconduct. Some states controlled fully by Republicans moved in the opposition direction and expanded the rights of police officers or cracked down on protesters. In Iowa, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds introduced measures at the start of this years legislative session to ban racial profiling by police and establish a system to track racial data for police stops. But lawmakers dropped those sections of her proposal and instead passed the Back the Blue Act, which Reynolds signed in June. The law makes it harder to sue and win monetary damages from police accused of misconduct, made rioting a felony and provides legal protection from lawsuits for the driver of a vehicle who might strike a protester. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill that increased penalties for blocking roadways and granting immunity to drivers who kill or injure rioters. It was prompted by an incident in Tulsa last year in which the driver of a pickup truck drove through a crowd gathered on an interstate as part of a protest against Floyds killing. In Ohio, people attending a rally who are accused of violating an anti-riot law could be targeted with a provision normally used against terrorist activity under proposed GOP legislation. Florida also passed a law cracking down on violent protests that had been championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, but a federal judge has blocked it from taking effect, calling the law vague and overbroad. ___ Associated Press writers Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Don Thompson in Sacramento, California; and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report. Nollywood actress, Victoria Inyama, on Thursday, chided Pastor Funke Adejumo of Agape Christian ministries for attacking women during he... Nollywood actress, Victoria Inyama, on Thursday, chided Pastor Funke Adejumo of Agape Christian ministries for attacking women during her sermons. The actress took to her Instagram page to share a sermon where Adejumo warned women against speaking ill of their husbands in public. Reacting to the sermon, Inyama wrote, Madam Preacher. Almost all your attacks are on Women. The fact that you wear the trousers in your marriage doesnt mean you should keep attacking women. You only talk about what the woman should or should not do always. I cant even place your husbands face. Are you home long enough to do all you preach? Because I see you in different countries most times. Marriage is a union between two people. Theres no Perfect . I would love to hear your husband preach about you if he ever does. She also cautioned the cleric against enabling abuse saying, And stop enabling abuse. Only bad behaviour needs to be hidden. See post below: The President, Muhammadu Buhari, met with former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday. Jonatha... The President, Muhammadu Buhari, met with former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday. Jonathan who arrived at the Villa about 03:00 pm was received by the President into a closed-door meeting. Although the details of the meeting remain undisclosed, it is likely connected to his work as Special Envoy of the Economic Community of West African States where he is leading mediation talks even as Mali remains under military rule following the August 2020 coup that ousted President Ibrahim Keita. On Monday, December 27, Malis military-dominated government launched a four-day national forum on returning the country to civilian rule. The forum, according to Malis transitional president, Colonel Assimi Goita, will make an unflinching assessment of the state of the nation and draw the best lessons from it. Jonathan, who is also part of the West African Elders Forum, was in The Gambia three weeks ago to curtail election-related crises, as Gambians voted in the countrys December 4, 2021, presidential election. Nigerian rapper, Olamide Adedeji, has revealed why he didnt respond to rants by Ghanaian rapper, Shatta Wale, against Nigerian artistes. ... Nigerian rapper, Olamide Adedeji, has revealed why he didnt respond to rants by Ghanaian rapper, Shatta Wale, against Nigerian artistes. According to him, saying nothing about the rant would hurt more than telling Shatta Wale how he felt. Olamide had earlier taken to Twitter to announce the concert of his signee, Fireboy, which was scheduled to hold on January 2, 2022. He tweeted, Only thing weh matter pass right now. The Fire concert Jan 2nd. (sic) Commenting on the tweet, a fan asked him, Shatta Wale matter no concern you? (sic) In response, the rapper wrote, Telling someone how you feel does not hurt as much as saying nothing at all. Shatta Wales rant on Sunday, where the rapper threw shades on Nigerian artistes after selling out a Ghanaian stadium. They said I wont be able to fill my own stadiums, I dont need any Nigerian artiste to sell out Ghanas stadium, f**k Nigerian artistes, the rapper had said. On Monday, Shatta Wale also took to his Twitter page to blast Nigerians, telling them to be grateful to Ghana for supporting Nigerian artistes. Nigerian comedian, Jephthah Bowoto, popularly known as Akpororo, had earlier slammed Nigerian artistes for keeping mum over Shatta Wales rants. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Occasional snow showers. High 23F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.. Tonight Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low -3F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. If you're ready to get crafty in 2022, find unlimited access to thousands of online art and craft classes that you can watch any time, anywhere, through a service at the Jefferson Parish Library called CreativeBug. Since the classes never expire, patrons can start and stop projects at your own pace. No pressure, just possibilities! Patrons have an all-access, no-boundaries pass to explore thousands of classes. People of all skill levels can work alongside instructors to learn craft techniques. To access CreativeBug, go to the librarys website, then click on the Databases tab at the top of the page. Then go down the left-hand side of the page to locate CreativeBug. Videos are produced by renowned artists and creative experts. Instructors bring a lifetime of practice, passion and proven teaching methods, including the following: Crochet: 84 videos that explain this art form in basic, how-to terms, to more complicated and whimsical projects such as how to make crochet fruits and vegetables, or a fish mobile. Knitting: 145 tutorials that explain basic knitting principles and types of yarn, to projects about creating place mats, hats, socks, dishcloths, and pet clothing. Sewing: Almost 300 tutorials about making dresses, smocks, tunics, pants, aprons, shirts and other forms of clothing, even lingerie. Other videos include instruction: how to drape; understanding textiles and mood fabrics; how to make bias tape; pleats, gathers and finishing details; and many others. Quilting: More than 100 tutorials including free-motion quilting tips and tricks; paper-pieced quilts; hand-stitched applique quilts; how to chain piece fabric; how to sew mitered corners; and numerous videos for beginners. Other topic areas include Art and Design (344 videos), Paper (234 videos); Jewelry (51 videos); Food and Home (169 videos); Holiday and Party (182 videos): and Kids (192 videos). Also, the volunteers, activists, and teachers who think the arts deserve to be shared with everyone give a percentage of the librarys subscription dollars to nonprofits in art education. WWII DISCUSSION GROUP: Cory Graff, curator at The National WWII Museum, will discuss the people who powered Americas wartime aircraft industry at 7 p.m. Jan. 6, at the River Ridge Library, 8825 Jefferson Highway. STORY TIME: The staff at the Old Metairie Library, 2350 Metairie Road, is going through the alphabet with storytimes for kids up to 7 years of age. The first story time (with craft) occurs at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 11. It focuses on the letter A: Alligators and Crocodiles. The second session, a week later, focuses on the letter B: Bath Time, and so on. Large groups should call (504) 838-4353 for an appointment. ANNE RICE PASSING: Anne Rice was one of the most influential authors of her time, and not just for her gothic tales. We have 194 books, 117 eBooks, 71 DVDs, 43 eAudiobooks, 11 audio discs of her work. Some of the more unusual items: "Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles: An Alphabettery"; "Anne Rice's Unauthorized French Quarter Tour"; and "Haunted City: An Unauthorized Guide to the Magical, Magnificent New Orleans of Anne Rice." COMPUTER CLASSES: Receive free computer training at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie, and the West Bank Regional Library, 2751 Manhattan Blvd., Harvey. Seating is limited, and online registration is required. Visit the Computer Classes page at www.jplibrary.net/training and click East Bank Regional Schedule or West Bank Regional Schedule. Upcoming Metairie classes include: Microsoft Word 1: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 5. One-on-One Instruction: 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 6. Introduction to the internet: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 6. Basic Computer Skills: 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 8. JPL Digital Content: 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 8. Microsoft Excel 1: 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 10. Beginner Computer: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 11. One-on-One Instruction: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan.12. One-on-One Instruction: 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 13. One-on-One Instruction: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 13. Upcoming classes in Harvey include: Basic Computer Skills: 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 7. Basic Computer Skills: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 7. Microsoft Excel 1: 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 11. Microsoft Word 1: 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 21. Microsoft Word 2: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 21. Chris Smith is manager of adult programming at the Jefferson Parish Public Library. A woman in the French Quarter is pacing on a street corner, screaming at no one in particular and looking menacing to passersby. She may be suffering from mental illness, even in the throes of a psychotic break with reality. Until very recently, calling in law enforcement could spell trouble for her and others who needed a mental health intervention. Since 2015, nearly a quarter of all people killed by police officers in America had a known mental illness. Thats according to data compiled by The Washington Post after analyzing all fatal police shootings over seven years. In the past, police academy training often did not include dealing with mental health issues. For a non-mental health professional, it can be difficult to distinguish the underlying reason for combative behavior, whether it's substance abuse, PTSD, schizophrenia or a host of other psychological disorders. Unless the situation is de-escalated, it can disintegrate rapidly. The New Orleans chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is trying to change these frightening statistics by advocating for the mentally ill and seeing that local police departments have the tools they need. One such tool is being tested now in New Orleans. Our Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program, now a pilot program in the 8th District covering the French Quarter, the CBD and Treme, connects police officers with teams of case managers and peer support specialists who can step into a problematic situation and get people the help they need, said Joseph Bodenmiller, executive director of NAMI New Orleans. The key to the success of this program is NAMIs partnership with the New Orleans Health Department and NOPD," said Bodenmiller, who holds a masters degree in clinical social work. "Our teams walk through the district, connecting with the people who need help. Now, at least in the pilot program area, calling the police about a person in a mental health crisis means that a mobile crisis support unit can be dispatched. The team arrives in a van, not a squad car. The point is to provide appropriate mental health interventions, as opposed to arrest and incarceration. Mental health issues have increased across many sectors of society during the nearly two-year pandemic. For many folks whose offices have closed, social interaction with their peers is gone. The entire concept of social distancing has led to feelings of isolation, depression, anxiety and even suicide. And now, according to Bodenmiller, the problem is so acute that finding a mental health professional can mean a months-long wait to be seen. NAMI focuses not only on the patient, but on the caregivers surrounding them, through family support groups where they learn about brain physiology, medications, and warning signs and symptoms. Its the kind of support Rhonda M. Lee wishes had been available to her when she was a 12-year-old whose mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after years of puzzling and troubling behavior. When my mother was in one of her manic phases, no one in the house slept because she was bouncing off the walls, remembered Lee, whose personal account, For the Love of Bipolar, looks at mental illness through the eyes of a child. A few years into her diagnosis, my dad left, leaving me to take care of my 5-year old brother and my mentally ill mother. My mothers sister tried to help, but she wasnt living with us, and most of my relatives were afraid of my mother, who could at times be abusive." At the age of 17, Lee had to have her mother committed. "She was a danger to herself and others, and I knew she needed long-term psychiatric help," Lee said. It took a while to regulate her mother's medications, but today she is doing well. When she needed a kidney transplant years ago, Lee donated one of hers. Advocating for people with mental illness and increasing awareness of the problem takes boots on the ground, and that costs money. NAMI New Orleans is funded through programs that are sometimes able to bill Medicaid, through government entities like HUD, and through private fundraising. To that end, NAMI New Orleans, serving Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, will hold its annual walk Jan. 8 in Armstrong Park to raise money along with awareness of mental health issues. All proceeds go toward resources for people affected by mental illness, said Liz Yager, director of development for NAMI in New Orleans. Local sponsors include Iberia Bank/First Horizon, Friends Alliance Housing, Beacon Behavioral Hospital, Rotary Club of New Orleans, River Oaks Hospital, Patio Drugs, Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, Healthy Blue and UMC/LCMC Health, Yager said. Da Truth Brass Band will lead the walk, starting at 10 a.m., with second-lining throughout the one-mile path. Registration is free, but walkers are given a page online where friends and family can sponsor their walk. Go to namineworleans.org and sign up to support a cause thats become more important than ever before. Dont want to walk? NAMI welcomes donations through the website. Email Leslie Carde at lesliecardejournalist@gmail.com Those experiencing mental health issues can call NAMI at (504) 896-2345, and the nonprofit's mental health navigation team will connect them with the appropriate resources. +3 Novelist mines her experience with mental illness to craft a psychological thriller for UNO Press Writer Amy Crider never had any connection to New Orleans until lightning struck twice within six months. +11 New Orleans Career Center offers a fast track to professional goals for ambitious high schoolers If Dr. Alice Geoffray had been able to project herself 50 years into the future, she would have seen her name etched into the evolving New Orl If you think 2021 was weird, brace yourself for 2022. As weve seen so often in the past, its the things we cant anticipate that truly make each year something to remember. Herewith, a look at events we know will make political headlines next year. Jason Williams Trial Barely a year after taking office as New Orleans new district attorney, Williams will stand trial himself on criminal charges. He faces 11 federal income tax charges in a trial set to begin Jan. 24. The pandemic may push his trial date back, but soon enough the citys top prosecutor will find himself seated at the defendants table. The U.S. Senate Race Democrat Luke Mixon, a decorated combat veteran making his first bid for public office, will take on Senator Soundbite (aka Republican incumbent John Neely Kennedy) in what promises to be a lively contest next fall. Redistricting As happens every 10 years, most of our elected leaders once again will get to choose their voters. State lawmakers, local council members and school board members will draw most of the district lines, not only for themselves but (in lawmakers case, at least) also for Louisianas congressional delegation, the Public Service Commission and the state Supreme Court. +3 Clancy DuBos: The Top 10 (plus two) political stories of 2021 Clancy DuBos takes his annual look back at the Top 10 Political Stories of the Year. The New Council and the Returning Mayor Second-term mayors inevitably face restless, independent City Councils. Term-limited Mayor LaToya Cantrell has no returning allies on the incoming council, but theres lots of room for agreement on major issues facing the city. It will be a test of leadership and flexibility for Teedy as well as council members who aspire to be mayor themselves. Runup to the 2023 Governors Race Most of the jockeying will occur among Republicans who want to succeed John Bel Edwards. Attorney General Jeff Landry has already staked out his claim to the far-right, wingnut vote. Keep an eye on Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, Treasurer John Schroder, Congressman Garret Graves and Senator Bill Cassidy. Some or all of them will make their moves in 2022. Where to Put a New City Hall? Now that the City Council has put the kibosh on Cantrells plan to relocate City Hall in Armstrong Park, whats the next Big Idea for a new seat of city government? And will the mayor squeeze another extension out of FEMA for submitting a plan to spend the $39 million in federal funds dedicated to repairing Municipal Auditorium? Utility Regulation Entergy New Orleans faces massive costs to rebuild and harden its transmission network and its aging distribution system in New Orleans after decades of failing to modernize them. Meanwhile, storms are getting stronger. Fights Over Covid and CRT Right-wing culture warriors in the Legislature will continue to challenge Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards authority and leadership, especially if Louisiana faces more spikes in Covid infections. Theyll also feed racist parental hysteria by raging against the absurd notion that K-12 schools are teaching kids Critical Race Theory (which is only taught in some law and graduate schools). And those are just the stories we know about. Stay tuned. NEW YORK (AP) The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein's palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein's teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse. James Gill: William Barr didn't bring Jeffrey Epstein to trial. What about Ghislaine Maxwell? Two days after Jeffrey Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in a Manhattan jail last August, Attorney General William Barr gave a speec As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. Afterward, she could be seen pouring herself water as one of her attorneys patted her back. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings faithfully in attendance each day of the trial as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another. No sentencing date was set. The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019. During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epstein's homes a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case. A housekeeper testified he was expected to be "blind, deaf and dumb" about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul. Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries Britain's Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump who flew on Epstein's private jets. Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a "black book" that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading "massages." There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion onetime girlfriend, later employee. But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages. Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth, psychologist Annie Farmer, chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years. They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwell's behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams. They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if she'd had fun and told her: "You are such a good girl." Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epstein's Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as "a pyramid of abuse." Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at the Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. "I was frozen in fear," she told the jury, adding that assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse. Maxwell's lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward. "I was scared," she said, choking back tears. "I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didn't want anybody to know any of this about me." The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epstein's New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers. Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: "The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify." "The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did," one of Maxwell's lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. "But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein." Maxwell's legal team questioned whether the accusers' memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epstein's estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Maxwell's family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where she's been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense. Before Maxwell was taken from the courtroom, Sternheim asked that arrangements be made to give her a coronavirus booster shot, saying infection rates were rising dramatically at the lockup. The recent surge threatened to derail the trial itself as U.S. District Court Judge Alison J. Nathan prodded jurors to work quickly to avoid the potential of a mistrial caused by sickened jurors. The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury. Lawsuits loom, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months. A New Orleans-based luxury toothpaste company aiming to harness the dental benefits of chocolate is at the center of a bitter feud among its four founders, culminating in a lawsuit by three of them alleging their colleague, the former CEO, pilfered more than $1 million from the firm by fraudulently claiming lavish personal spending as business expenses. Theodent, which was one of a wave of promising New Orleans start-ups launched a decade ago, was based on a breakthrough finding: that theobromine, a purine alkaloid derived from the cacao plant, is more effective at protecting tooth enamel than fluoride, the other compound known to build enamel, without the latter's toxicity. Three of Theodent's founders had a hand in the original research that discovered theobromine's properties over the last few decades. Tetsuo Nakamoto, a dentist who emigrated from Japan in the 1960s and earned a doctorate from MIT in nutritional biochemistry before joining the LSU School of Dentisty faculty in the late 1970s, collaborated with William "Skip" Simmons, a University of New Orleans geology professor, in the 1990s on work that resulted in the first patented cacao-based product to strengthen enamel. Arman Sadeghpour, who had come as a child to New Orleans from pre-revolutionary Iran in the mid-1970s with his parents, both medical doctors, sought out Nakamoto as supervisor for his doctorate at Tulane University when his program was cut in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Sadeghpour's research under Nakamoto built on earlier findings that theobromine produced harder enamel than fluoride. Another of the founders, Joseph Fuselier, an assistant professor in the Peptide Research Labs at the Tulane School of Medicine , came on board as an expert in commercializing intellectual property. Though Nakamoto, Simmons, and Fuselier, as majority owners of Theodent, are now suing Sadeghpour, their lawsuit acknowledges that they all agreed to make him CEO from the outset and to give him wide latitude to run the company until they fired him in August 2020. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Jefferson Parish, also grants that things went well for Theodent in the early years. "Theodent sold its first tube of toothpaste in 2012 and by 2016 the company was approaching $1 million in annual sales," it says. The product range includes Theodent Classic and Theodent Kids. Though the latter sells for quadruple the price of typical toothpaste brands, at $16 a tube, it is carried by major retailers including Walmart, Whole Foods, and CVS. But it was Theodent 300, which retails for about $124 a tube, that garnered most attention, particularly when it was taken up by Gwyneth Paltrow and put on her "GOOP Outrageous Gift Guide" five years ago. Since then, it has found its way into exotic upmarket retailers around the world, including Harrod's department store in London, and some of the more extravagant shops in Dubai and other cities of the Middle and Far East. Still, the lawsuit says worrying signs were accumulating, including Sadeghpour's persistent refusal to move operations from his parents' home on 8th Street in Metairie, a few blocks from the Lakeway business complex, to offices rented in the BioInnovation Center on Canal Street. When the board members would meet at Sadeghpour's house on Wednesdays, they started to get uneasy about the fact the company's sales stagnated after 2018 at the $1 million mark. "We started wondering why we weren't growing more, why we had $1 million in revenues but we couldn't afford to hire more people," said Fuselier in an interview. "We wanted him to move this business out of his kitchen but he refused, and no one was going (to the BioInnovation Center offices)," Fuselier adds. "It seems he wanted to have the convenience of walking down his stairs in his robe at his leisure and have his assistant go to the Whole Foods and get him breakfast every morning." The lawsuit complains of Sadeghpour's "gross misuse of company funds." Some expenses were fraudulent, the suit alleges, because Sadeghpour made consistent efforts to conceal what he was doing by, for example, producing false accounts. The expenses of the company seemed to eat up all of its revenue, though there didn't appear to be any marketing efforts, client visits, or advertising. The lawsuit says the other board members noticed an accumulation in Sadeghpour's home of Japanese pottery and other high-end art. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up When a third-party CPA was hired to audit the accounts in 2020, the board members were astonished at the spending. There was $10,000 spent on Japanese pottery in 2018 alone and thousands of dollars more the following year; $3,000 on a gun sight; $5,000 on incense. In 2019, $40,000 was expensed for meals, on top of $20,000 allocated to "office kitchen" expenses. "For a young company like Theodent, this represented a substantial portion of the company's revenue," the lawsuit says. "Sadeghpour's management was literally eating away Theodent's profits." The lawsuit also alleges these expenses were covered up by being mislabeled. For example, $2,000 of perfume was categorized as a "research and development" expense; a $3,000 pre-Christmas buying spree of Burberry clothing was "a company event", and so on. Other standout expenses included a CPAP machine for sleep apnea, which retail for about $1,000; $56,000 spent on travel in 2019, including trips to Mexico and Miami; architectural expenses related to a Gravier Street building Sadeghpour owns with his father. Sadeghpour firmly disputes the allegations. "We will vigorously defend against the ill-founded allegations in the suit and will take all other appropriate action necessary to respond to this unfortunate and wasteful effort," he said via text message. New toothpaste derived from cocoa extract heralds sweet potential for N.O. Is chocolate good for your teeth? Probably not, but a certain extract of cocoa might be. "We were surprised and disappointed to learn that three Theodent board members: Joseph Fuselier (Tulane University), Tetsuo Nakamoto (LSU School of Dentistry), and William Skip Simmons (University of New Orleans), who have benefitted handsomely -- and continue to benefit from (my) creation and years of effort filed a lawsuit to gain some purported leverage of advantage," he added. Sadeghpour's lawyer, Christopher Ralston, declined comment on specific allegations and said that he expects to make a full rebuttal once they have been formally served. In the lawsuit, the CPA hired to go over the books in 2020 says the abuses are among the worst she's seen. "I've worked as a CFO and consultant for many years and have yet to see a more blatant misuse of funds than I see in working with the Theodent financial reporting," Valerie Butt, owner of VAB Financial Healthcare in Portsmouth, Virginia, is quoted saying. "Arman set up a system without any semblance of controls. He used the Theodent corporate assets as if they were his personal ATM." Fuselier said that after being sacked last year, Sadeghpour has "held hostage" much of Theodent's intellectual property, including its websites, while they tried initially to resolve the dispute and recover funds through arbitration. That effort started in the spring but broke down in December. "We were like a family and this has come as a shock," Fuselier said. "None of us wanted to develop a $1 million company; we wanted and expected to develop a $1 billion company. This thing that Arman has done to this company is just reprehensible. We've now just got to push past this and try and develop the company the way it was meant to be." Dan Centner, the lawyer for Theodent, said he has shared their evidence with local and federal law enforcement in hopes they will consider a criminal case. "After talks broke down, at this stage we are proceeding on parallel tracks," he said. "We've reached out to state and federal authorities and put information in front of them in the hopes they'll act upon it." Newly infected COVID-19 patients have two new treatment options that can be taken at home. But that convenience comes with a catch: The pills have to be taken as soon as possible once symptoms appear. The challenge is getting tested, getting a prescription and starting the pills in a short window. U.S. regulators authorized Pfizer's pill, Paxlovid, and Mercks molnupiravir last week. In high-risk patients, both were shown to reduce the chances of hospitalization or death from COVID-19, although Pfizer's was much more effective. WHO SHOULD TAKE THESE PILLS? The antiviral pills arent for everyone who gets a positive test. The pills are intended for those with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are more likely to become seriously ill. That includes older people and those with other health conditions like heart disease, cancer or diabetes that make them more vulnerable. Both pills were OK'd for adults while Paxlovid is authorized for children ages 12 and older. WHO SHOULDN'T TAKE THESE PILLS? Mercks molnupiravir is not authorized for children because it might interfere with bone growth. It also isn't recommended for pregnant women because of the potential for birth defects. Pfizer's pill isn't recommended for patients with severe kidney or liver problems. It also may not be the best option for some because it may interact with other prescriptions a patient is taking. The antiviral pills aren't authorized for people hospitalized with COVID-19. WHAT'S THE TREATMENT WINDOW? The pills have to be started as soon as possible, within five days of the start of symptoms. Cough, headache, fever, the loss of taste or smell and muscle and body aches are among the more common signs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a website to check your symptoms. Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist at Duke University Hospital, advises getting a test as soon as you have symptoms of COVID-19. Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up If you wait until you have started to get breathless, you have already to a large extent missed the window where these drugs will be helpful, Wolfe said. WHERE CAN I GET THE PILLS? You'll need a prescription first from a doctor or other authorized health worker. The U.S. government is buying the pills from Merck and Pfizer and providing them for free, but supplies will be limited initially. They'll be shipped to states where they will be available at drugstores, community health centers and other places. Treatment lasts five days. Some pharmacists may be able to administer a quick COVID-19 test and prescribe the pills all in one visit. They already do this in many states for flu or strep throat. WILL THE PILLS WORK FOR THE OMICRON VARIANT? The pills are expected to be effective against omicron because they dont target the spike protein where most of the variants worrisome mutations reside. The two pills work in different ways to prevent the virus from reproducing. ARE THERE OTHER OPTIONS FOR NEW COVID-19 PATIENTS? Yes, but they aren't as easy to use as a pill: They are given by IV or injection, typically at a hospital or clinic. Three drugs provide virus-fighting antibodies, although laboratory testing suggests the two arent effective against omicron. British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline's antibody drug appears to work, and officials say they are working to increase the U.S. supply. The only antiviral drug approved in the U.S., remdesivir, is for people hospitalized with COVID-19. ___ AP Health Writer Matthew Perrone contributed to this report. Follow Tom Murphy on Twitter at @thpmurphy. ___ 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. Melissa Towles noticed something was off with her son Jakes reading skills in kindergarten. In first grade, his teacher told her that after Christmas break students would be expected to read tests by themselves, something he couldn't do. And when he began virtual learning during COVID, he struggled to complete worksheets that should've been simple and he couldn't read easy words in a book. Scouring the internet, Towles, of Madisonville, came across a checklist for dyslexia. It sounded familiar: a speech delay when Jake was young, and an inability to rhyme or say the ABCs and all their sounds. After he was diagnosed with dyslexia, Towles enrolled Jake in Louisiana Key Academy, a charter school in Baton Rouge for dyslexic students. In the last year and half, Jakes reading has improved 100%, his mother said, and his confidence has soared. He likes to say that everyone at LKA is just like him, Towles said. Pending approval by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Jan. 18, Louisiana Key Academy could open a second location in St. Tammany Parish in time for the 2022-2023 school year, making it the first charter school in the parish. A third-party evaluator commissioned by the Louisiana Department of Education recommended that BESE approve the charter application. Usually a charter application would be approved by the parish school board after review from a third party that assesses the need. But St. Tammany Parish schools Superintendent Jabbia told BESE in October that a page of the Louisiana Key Academy application was incomplete and he asked BESE to make the school reapply the following year. Laura Cassidy, the founder and chair of the Louisiana Key Academy board and the wife of U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, told BESE that a technological error caused the incomplete application. The time allotted for the local school board to vote had expired so the application defaulted to BESE, which will have the final say on whether it will be allowed to operate in St. Tammany. Jabbia told BESE there isn't a need for the charter in St. Tammany. I appreciate what Louisiana Key Academy does for students with dyslexia but in St. Tammany we address dyslexia across our district in all 55 schools, not just 1st through 8th grades, he said, noting that no other charter has ever applied to open in St. Tammany. On Wednesday, Jabbia declined to comment further through a district spokesperson. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up If approved, the school would open with about 100 students in first through fourth grades, said Jessica Stubbs, a St. Tammany dyslexia therapist and the prospective principal for the school. A grade will be added each year until the school reaches 8th grade. Charter schools are tuition free and publicly funded but independently run. Though St. Tammany does not have any charter schools, surrounding parishes do, particularly Orleans Parish, which is all charters. Stubbs said she and other dyslexia therapists have noticed a need for specialized instruction for students with dyslexia on the north shore. "We work with as many as we can and we have long waiting lists, but we just can't meet the need," she said. Experts agree that about 20% of students have dyslexia, Stubbs said. Dyslexia is a "baffling or unexpected difficulty in reading for individuals who have the intelligence to be a much better reader," Stubbs said. People with dyslexia have different neurological functions to learn and process information, which can make typical learning strategies futile. The goal is to identify dyslexia in students as young as possible to prevent the learning gap from becoming too large, Stubbs said. Louisiana Key Academy says its teaching strategies stem from the National Reading Panel's five focuses: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary development and comprehension, and will include 90 minutes of reading instruction a day. Stubbs said dyslexia therapists as well as teachers without added dyslexia training are encouraged to apply. Each teacher will be trained to understand and teach dyslexic students. Some teachers could be recruited from the pool of existing dyslexia therapists on the north shore who tutor students. Another St. Tammany parent, Dana McArthur, told BESE at the October meeting that her now-third-grade son read pamphlets to her after three weeks at Louisiana Key Academy -- something he hadn't done before. Having this school on the north shore would be fantastic and its something that is desperately needed," McArthur told the board. While paratroopers seem to be particularly keen on the extremely light weight of the Sur-Ron Light Bee X, the electric motorcycle's silent operation also offers certain tactical advantages in comparison to traditional bikes with an internal combustion engine. Working For Notebookcheck Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! English native speakers welcome! News Writer (AUS/NZL based) - Details here Besides regular consumers, military forces around the world are also slowly but surely starting to consider the utilization of electric vehicles. While most military vehicles continue to use internal combustion engines due to their hefty weight, two recently launched trials are now set to explore the advantages of electric motorcycles for military use. According to various reports, the British as well as the Australian Army have both begun equipping some of their members with the Sur-Ron Light Bee X, whose civilian variant is also marketed as the Sur-Ron Firefly in some countries and is priced at around US$4,200. The military version of this electric off-road motorcycle weighs just 103 pounds excluding the battery, but it still manages to deliver 8 horsepower and can reach a top speed of 45 miles per hour. The projected range of up to 60 miles should also be sufficient for many military use cases, and despite its low weight, the Sur-Ron Light Bee X can carry a load of up to 220 pounds. Understandably, sustainability is not exactly paramount to these electric motorcycle trials. But for paratroopers of the UK's 16 Air Assault Brigade, the low weight of the Sur-Ron Light Bee X appears to be an immense advantage when airdropping from airplanes and helicopters, while the completely silent idling also makes the electric off-road motorcycle tactically superior for reconnaissance missions. For more details on this exciting military experiment involving the Sur-Ron Light Bee X, we recommend the comprehensive report by a reporter who experienced the electric bike trial of the British Army first hand. Buy the Pulsar Plus Level 2 Electric Vehicle Smart Charger on Amazon The governor said he's grateful to Hoosier health care workers for remaining on the job and continuing to do their best despite a seemingly never-ending onslaught of COVID-19 patients who could have kept themselves out of the hospital by getting the COVID-19 vaccine. "There are not enough eloquent words in the English language for me to say 'thank you' to those individuals who complete shift after shift after shift, who have been doing this for going on two straight years now," Holcomb said. "I know how tired you are. You're making a huge difference." Box said the Indiana National Guard also has dispatched six-person teams to some two dozen hospitals across the state on two-week renewable deployments to help alleviate staffing shortages among medical personnel and hospital support staff, particularly as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are expected to increase in the weeks ahead. "I do believe that this is going to get better and go down. I'm still very optimistic about that," Box said. "But I think we have some high numbers to go through in the next four to eight weeks." U.S. Steel has installed a bald eagle cam at one of its steel mills that lets people watch the majestic birds around the clock. Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel received permission from the Pennsylvania Game Commission to install a live camera monitoring the nest of a family of bald eagles at Mon Valley Works Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. The steelmaker has taken steps to protect the birds since they were first noticed at the mill three years ago. U.S. Steel added more security, posted signs and installed trail cameras. Our employees have enjoyed watching the birds, and we wanted to find a way to share their activity with the broader community, said Don German, Irvin Plant manager. We are honored to have the bald eagle, a symbol of American pride, living and thriving comfortably at our facility. Steelworkers named the eagles Irvin and Claire. The couple built a nest in 2019 and hatched an eaglet the following year. They had more eaglets this year. U.S. Steel brought in PixCams to broadcast live footage of them cultivating their nest. After three years, the United States government is switching from blanket tariffs of 25% on steel imports from the European Union to tariff-rate quotas. Section 232 tariffs will remain in place on most steel imports from the rest of the world, save for Canada and Mexico, but an exception was carved out for Europe amid record steel prices and profits. Steel consumers lobbied for years for the duties to be lifted or relaxed. The shift is a result of a U.S. and EU agreement reached in October. The agreement allows 3.3 million tons of steel imports before tariffs kick in. It was determined that level would allow U.S. steel mills to operate at an adequate capacity utilization to remain viable and keep steelworkers employed. "We are particularly gratified that (President Joe Biden's) proclamation emphasizes that only steel melted and poured in the EU will benefit from this alternative arrangement," said Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute. "Proper implementation and enforcement of the (tariff-rate quotas) will be crucial to preventing another steel import surge that would undermine our industry and destroy good-paying American jobs." MOSCOW (AP) Russian authorities on Thursday designated a member of the Pussy Riot punk group, a satirist and an art collector as foreign agents, part of efforts to stifle dissent. The Justice Ministry applied the label to Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a Pussy Riot member who became widely known for taking part in a 2012 protest inside Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral after which she spent nearly two years in prison. Journalist and satirist Viktor Shenderovich and art collector Marat Gelman were also handed the label along with several other people. The foreign agent label implies additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations that can discredit recipients. Russian authorities have applied the designation to scores of media outlets, civil society groups and individuals, ratcheting up pressure on those who are critical of the Kremlin. Those designated as foreign agents are required to add a lengthy statement to news reports, social media posts and other materials specifying that the content was created by a foreign agent. HOBART The sound of gunfire erupted near the Southlake Mall's food court Thursday morning, prompting officers to sweep through the building searching for what police said was initially reported as an active shooter. The Hobart Police Department confirmed no active shooter and no reported gunshot victims were found upon further investigation. The mall was immediately put on lockdown, and multiple agencies converged around the area to assist. Police systematically searched and cleared out the mall, ensuring all customers and staff exited safely. "At this time there is no evidence anyone was struck by any of the gunfire," Hobart police Lt. Ronald Russo said. "Officers determined approximately five shots were fired, causing damage to some glass and other building fixtures within the mall; but again, no person was believed to have been struck by any of the gunfire." The mall will be closed for the remainder of Thursday and will reopen Friday. No arrests or suspects identifications have been released, and the incident remains under investigation. EAST CHICAGO The temperature may have been in the low 30s, but it got warmer Wednesday at the Salvation Army Community Center, thanks to Helping Hands. With help from corporate backers, the philanthropic group donated $11,135 to the center. In addition, First Midwest Bank provided gifts for the East Chicago centers Christmas distribution. We felt this center had the greatest need, said Cal Bellamy, representing Helping Hands and the Salvation Army of Lake County advisory board. Two years ago, Helping Hands donated $10,000 to help families served by the Salvation Armys three Lake County sites at Munster-Hammond, Gary-Merrillville and East Chicago. Were grateful to have this amount, said Capt. Gloria Pelayo, who, with Capt. Jessica Martinez, is director and pastor of the East Chicago center. It means we wont have to cut services. The East Chicago center is the only one of the three Lake County sites to offer hot meals five days a week. The site director noted that the center is completing its Christmas toy drive, serving 147 families. Three toys and two pieces of clothing went to each of the 350 children from those families and another 60 to youths from local schools. FOUNTAIN COUNTY A SWAT team and negotiators were called after a man with a warrant out of Porter County barricaded himself in a house Wednesday, police said. Just after 4 p.m. multiple agencies attempted to serve an active felony arrest warrant for 42-year-old Brandon Crockett, of West Lebanon, at a residence at 106 North Sixth Street in Attica, Indiana, according to a release from the Indiana State Police Lafayette District. Crockett had two active warrants, including one from Porter County for failure to appear for dealing methamphetamine, police said. The second warrant was issued from the Indiana Department of Corrections for a parole violation. Indiana State Police, Fountain County Sheriffs Department and Attica Police Department arrived at the residence and officers surrounded the house and made announcements. One person exited the house and two people inside a vehicle on the property also exited. However, Crockett barricaded himself inside the residence and refused to come out, police said. The hotel clerk, 28-year-old Sarah Steck, died of her injuries Tuesday. Steck graduated this year from Metropolitan State University with a bachelors degree of fine art in communication design. She was known among her co-workers at the hotel for her infectious laugh and love of kittens, art and music, The Denver Post reported. Soon after the shooting at Cardenas' shop, McLeod forced his way into a residence that is also home to a business. City records show it is licensed as a tattoo shop. He pursued the occupants through the building and fired shots, but no one was injured, Clark said. Then he shot and killed Swinyard near Cheesman Park, Clark said. Later, Denver police chased the vehicle believed to have been involved in the shootings, and an officer exchanged gunfire with McLeod, Clark said. McLeod was able to get away, fleeing into Lakewood, after gunfire disabled the officer's cruiser, he said. Just before 6 p.m., the Lakewood Police Department received a report of shots fired at the Lucky 13 tattoo shop. Danny Scofield, 38, was killed there, Lakewood police spokesperson John Romero said. Scofield was a father of three, according to a site raising money for his family. MOSCOW (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that a new pipeline to Germany has been fully filled with natural gas, noting that it could help quickly reduce soaring European energy prices. The $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline is currently awaiting approval from Germany and the European Union, and officials warned that a decision won't come in the first half of 2022. The first of its two links was filled with gas in October, and Russia's state-controlled Gazprom natural gas company reported Wednesday that it had completed filling the second one to make it fully ready for operation. Putin pointed at surging energy prices in Europe, adding that Nord Stream 2 could help quickly stabilize the markets. This new additional route will certainly help stabilize prices on the European markets, Putin said at a meeting with energy officials. It would undoubtedly impact prices on the spot market, and consumers in the countries that use the Russian gas will immediately feel it. BRADLEY Authorities were searching Thursday for two people believed to have been involved in the fatal shooting of one police officer and wounding of another at a northern Illinois hotel. The two Bradley police officers were shot late Wednesday while speaking to people in a room at a Comfort Inn along a highway in Kankakee County, the county sheriff's office said. The officers were taken to nearby hospitals, where one died and the other was listed in critical condition and undergoing surgery, said the Bradley Police Department. The county coroner identified the slain officer as Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, 49. The other officer's name has not been released. An arrest warrant was issued for 25-year-old Darius D. Sullivan, and the sheriff's office posted a Facebook request for the public's help in finding him, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous. The police department said in its news release that it was also searching for what it described as a person of interest believed to have been involved, though it didn't release any identifying information about that person. Others in the Republican-dominated Legislature, however, want to go further. Republican Rep. Bob Morris of Fort Wayne said he has heard many complaints about closed school board meetings and limited opportunities for the public to engage in school decisions. Many constituents have told me they have no idea what these school board members stand for, who theyre with, where theyre at, Morris said. If they have a party affiliation and theyre registered in a certain party, then that needs to be behind their name. Looking at the politics involved on these school boards, politics are everywhere. We should have partisan races. Former state schools Superintendent Jennifer McCormick, who was elected to the position as a Republican in 2016 but has since switched parties, said further inserting politics into local school boards is a really bad idea that came as a reaction to heated exchanges at scattered meetings. kaitlin roberts Tell me where we are? katrin bennhold So were in the center of Frankfurt, just across the street from the court house where Franco A. is going to be tried today. archived recording Franco A. Hes accused of stockpiling weapons and planning significant acts of violence. Attacks against prominent politicians while posing as a Syrian refugee. The case of Franco A. is one that has gripped and perplexed the nation for the best part of four years, and he went on trial today on suspicion of planning to carry out several terror attacks. There he is. [german speech] archived recording If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. katrin bennhold Were trying to get into the courtroom. We might be asked to turn off in a second. [interposing voices] katrin bennhold See you on the other side. - The trial of Franco A. started in May, 2021. Hes the only person from a nationwide far-right network standing trial for plotting terrorism. Only a limited number of reporters are allowed in, and no one can record the proceedings. But long before Franco A ever walked into the courtroom, he talked to me. From The New York Times, Im Katrin Bennhold. This is Day X. Over the course of a year, I interviewed Franco several times along with producers Lynsea Garrison, Claire Toeniskoetter and Kaitlin Roberts. We agreed to meet at his apartment in Offenbach, a city just outside of Frankfurt, where he was awaiting trial. And each time, wed set up on either side of his dining room table. Franco claimed he wanted to give us what he called the full picture. And yet, in our interviews, he was often evasive and dodged questions about his case. As weve reported out the story, weve wrestled with whether to air our interviews with Franco at all. But Franco is the first active duty soldier in Germany to stand trial for plotting terrorism since World War II, at least as far as anyone Ive talked to remembers. And given the danger of far-right infiltration, not just in Germany, but around the world, we wanted to show what the threat of the far-right can look like today. Francos 32 years old. He wears a ponytail and a vest. Hes well-spoken, and is fluent in English and French. Hes got a gigantic bookshelf in his living room, with the Bible, the Quran, and a copy of the German constitution. He kind of looks like an art student, and he claims he doesnt have any far-right views. But the evidence Ive obtained over the past year paints a very different picture. In voice memos that police found on his phone, Franco praises Hitler, he argues that immigration has ruined Germanys ethnic purity, and he advocates for destroying the state. He stole ammunition and explosives from the military, and he stashed them in his basement. And, of course, theres that loaded gun he hid in the bathroom at the Vienna Airport, which was one of the first things that I asked him about. Something happened? franco a. Yes, something happened, exactly. What do you know what happened? katrin bennhold Youve said that you found a gun. franco a. Yeah. katrin bennhold What happened? franco a. Yes. katrin bennhold Or is that not true? franco a. Do you think its credible? Do you think its true? katrin bennhold Why dont you tell the story first, and then lets talk about whether its credible. franco a. Still its katrin bennhold This is your version. franco a. Yeah. katrin bennhold Yeah. franco a. Yeah. So we go there. We have been drink. Well, no, no, no. Im mixing up things now. We met together at these nice cafes down in Vienna. katrin bennhold Franco claimed he found the gun one night when he was out drinking with friends in Vienna. franco a. to relieve myself. katrin bennhold He said he peeled off from the group to pee in some bushes on the side of the street. franco a. weapon lying on the floor. katrin bennhold And there it was. On the ground. franco a. I took it, and it was a pistol. I took it. katrin bennhold So he said he put it in his coat pocket, and then he said he forgot about it. He told me he only remembered it in the security line at the airport the next day, and then hid it in a panic. He said he only went back to retrieve it so he could turn it in to the police. And by his own admission franco a. The thing is, it doesnt seem to be credible at all. katrin bennhold its not a credible story. franco a. Im aware of that. katrin bennhold Prosecutors believe hed bought the gun several months earlier in Paris. Its a vintage French handgun. It was the pistol of choice of German officers during the Nazi occupation of France. It was unregistered and couldnt be traced. They also say he was in illegal possession of several other weapons, including a G3 combat rifle, which still hasnt been found. Where are the guns? franco a. I dont know where whatever guns are. katrin bennhold And when I asked Franco about these guns franco a. I cant listen, I cannot answer your question now. katrin bennhold he was cagey. franco a. But if ever there is something like guns, then its in the context of being ready for protecting first your relatives, and then all the others who are in need. katrin bennhold He claimed that if he ever did have weapons, it was only to be able to protect his family in a crisis situation. Like, did you hide them somewhere? franco a. I have no weapons. I have no ammunition. I have nothing. OK. katrin bennhold Yeah. franco a. Yeah. katrin bennhold He has since admitted in court that he in fact did have these guns. He said he got rid of them, but he refused to tell the judges where the guns are now. Prosecutors believe that Franco wanted to use them to kill. And they have evidence that they say points to several possible targets. franco a. There was this thing with Claudia Roth, where they started accusing me of having planned a terror plot against politicians. katrin bennhold They have handwritten notes about Claudia Roth, a member of the Green Party, and one of the vice presidents of the German parliament. franco a. It was like a pocket calendar where I wrote about where I really mentioned the name Claudia. I couldnt even remember it. katrin bennhold What did you write about her? When I asked Franco about these notes franco a. Well, it was something like I had learned about her katrin bennhold He repeated some disinformation about her thats popular in far-right circles. franco a. she had Identified with a saying that goes, Germany never again. Or Germany die, you dirty piece off of excrements. And for a politician who was serving German interests, I couldnt understand that. And at that point, when I read that, I got angry about this, and I wrote down her name, and katrin bennhold Claudia has said, never again, as in, never again Auschwitz. But she didnt say, Germany die. franco a. So and then they took this some kind of like an intention of doing whatever harmful action against her, which is not the case at all. katrin bennhold I recently learned that in this pocket calendar where Franco wrote down Claudias name, he also wrote, People like you suck our people dry. You have to pay. And, Locate where she is. I also asked Franco about the Jewish activist Anetta Kahane, and the fact that in the summer of 2016, Franco visited the parking garage of her office. One reason why Anetta Kahane comes up a lot is that you were actually in her parking garage, taking pictures. franco a. The thing is that about this point, because its a very sensitive point, actually I would love to talk about this freely. But because there is nothing, theres absolutely just nothing. katrin bennhold But could you say why you went? Just why? franco a. If ever I went. I never said that I went. katrin bennhold But I think people know that you were there, because you took pictures and your phone was taken, and so franco a. Yeah, there are pictures on my phone, but then this doesnt prove that I was there in some way. Thats the situation. Yeah. So katrin bennhold So youre disputing that you were there? franco a. I just dont talk about it. Yeah. If I talk about this, I can just talk about it in hypothetical terms, yeah? Then this person would have gone there, and this day probably the person wouldnt have been there. Otherwise, he would have talked to her. Maybe there were some workers who were there. katrin bennhold Franco said that hypothetically he just wanted to talk to Anetta. And then he launched into another kind of defense. franco a. Even if this was true, which is not, definitely not, then it would be if ever. At worst it would, be the preparation of an assassination. Where is the state endangering? This persons not even a politician. How can this be terrorism? This must then be just a murder or a prepared murder. katrin bennhold He claimed that planning to kill or even killing Anetta shouldnt constitute an act of terrorism. franco a. You can prepare as many and as much and as long murders as you want. They cannot give you a trial for this. katrin bennhold But the law is very clear on this point. Killing or planning to kill Anetta would constitute an act of terrorism if its inspired by a larger political aim. And prosecutors say Franco had that aim. What did you want to talk to her about? What did you want to ask her? franco a. We cannot talk about this. I can only talk in conjunctive if ever. katrin bennhold What might you have asked her if you had gone there? franco a. For instance, what does she mean when she says that this is bankruptcy of the eastern regions of Germany, that there are not enough Black minorities? katrin bennhold Franco referred to an interview in 2015 where Anetta agreed with the idea that eastern states should take in more of the refugees that were coming into Germany at the time. She said eastern regions were struggling because the population was shrinking, and they would benefit from immigration. franco a. Whats wrong with a country or with a part of a country where there are white people living? katrin bennhold The idea of a diversifying Germany came up often in our interviews. franco a. I welcome in my country anybody who has a different culture. katrin bennhold And while Franco claimed he didnt believe in racial hierarchy, he also said things like franco a. We have migration for 1,000 years, everyone will look the same and everything will be the same. katrin bennhold mixing races and cultures will eventually erase them. franco a. This is not diversity. This is a loss in diversity. Its obvious. katrin bennhold Its in these moments that Franco revealed himself as part of a larger phenomenon among the far-right. They call themselves the new right. Instead of skinheads and swastika tattoos, they often look more like Franco, with his ponytail and vest. Instead of screaming out racial slurs at rallies, they speak with an intellectual veneer, calling themselves ethno pluralists. They use terms like the great replacement and remigration, and they talk about culture more often than race. Its all part of what intelligence officials say is a deliberate rebranding, an attempt to make racism acceptable to the mainstream. But when you break it down, its essentially the same ideology that was promoted by the Nazis. Francos ideology is a central part of the case against him and thats where the voice memos that the police found on his phone come in. Theyre kind of like an audio diary, recorded when Frank thought no one would ever hear them. I actually obtained the transcripts of them. Theyre mostly from 2015 and 2016, when over a million refugees were coming into Germany. I asked him about them. There is one on March 7, 2015. You were talking about how Americans were pushing race mixing, theyre controlled by Jews. And finally, Hitler is above all things, above everything, you say. Hitler was a creator of honest work. Everything that makes Hitler bad is a lie. How do you explain this? franco a. So you must know that it was in a joking mode. katrin bennhold In these memos, Franco describes a global Jewish conspiracy to weaken white European nations. This is you saying America controlled by the Jews wants to bring everything under a world order. franco a. No, its not true. katrin bennhold Well, you do say that here. franco a. OK, we come to that, we come to that. katrin bennhold And that world leaders like Chancellor Angela Merkel are in on the plot. And you call this a war. franco a. Well, a war between what we saw. Between this globalizing. Well, no, we go too far. katrin bennhold And, as in any other war, he suggests violence is justified. You do talk about violence is an option. It has to be an option. franco a. Yeah, because, of course. katrin bennhold Because where these criminals are today, they are only there because theyve murdered time and time again. So lets not hesitate. Not to murder, but to kill. In other words, lets not hesitate to kill. So you are saying we are in a situation, a war, a confrontation. In one of the memos, he calls out to the French, the British, the Americans, the Italians, the Swedes, the Poles, the Russians to stand against the enemy. You say that we have to do this. We have the God given right and the constitutional right to do this. You end with, all together now, the time has come. He says, All together now, the time has come. franco a. Dont talk about my views, please. The thoughts that I once had, that I might have in the future, that I have now, are not even necessarily point of views. Its just all work in progress, and everything evolves. katrin bennhold In the end, Franco explained these voice memos by saying they were supposed to be private, and he was just working through ideas. Theyre not views, he claimed. Just thoughts. Its for the judges hearing Francos case to decide whether these thoughts were going to lead to something violent. But Im left wondering, where did these thoughts begin, and how did someone with this mindset rise through the ranks in the military in Germany of all places? Why didnt anyone stop him? [soft piano music] kaitlin roberts So this is where you grew up. katrin bennhold Has the driver been to Offenbach before? Does he know the city? [speaking german] katrin bennhold Small city, a lot of foreigners, he says. [speaking german] katrin bennhold In all of Germany there are a lot of foreigners, he says, but particularly here. katrin bennhold In the course of reporting this story, I spent a lot of time in Francos hometown, Offenbach. Its an old working-class city just outside of Frankfurt. speaker Where you can see its quite diverse. We are a bit of everything. katrin bennhold And its one of the most diverse cities in Germany. speaker You can see the whole life in our city. katrin bennhold Immigrants and their children have long been the majority here. [interposing voices] katrin bennhold When Franco grew up here in the 90s he went to school with a lot of kids who had an immigrant background. Francos own father came from Italy. Years later, Franco would describe the program that brought his dad to Germany as a deliberate plot to mix races. He said he himself was a product of this perverse racial hatred. But people he went to school with didnt see any of that coming. I called several of his old classmates and teachers. speaker We would never have the idea of him being right wing, at all. katrin bennhold And most of them were shocked when Franco appeared in the news back in 2017. peter I was a teacher in the Schiller School since 1988. katrin bennhold One of his teachers remembers him particularly well. His name is Peter. He taught Franco for three years in middle school. [speaking german] Peter was part of a generation of teachers would come of age after the 1968 student movement. When young people asked their parents, how was Auschwitz possible? He would often bring Auschwitz survivors into his class to tell their stories. Its one of the ways Germany has tried to prevent Nazi ideology from ever taking hold again. By teaching that history with brutal honesty and in forensic detail. Peter said Franco was a good student, and what stood out to him was Francos willingness to question everything. So how did someone from such a diverse city and tolerant city like Offenbach, and a school like the Schiller School, how did someone like that become radicalized? As far as how Franco came to hold far right views, Peter says he doesnt understand. But he wonders if maybe it started with his grandfather who he said was close to Franco. Francos grandfather died in 2005. But I was able to find out a few things about him. He was a member of the Nazi party. I found his membership card at the National Archives. He joined in 1939. I also visited his grave, and carved into the stone where Norse runes that were popular among the SS, the Nazi partys elite forces. When I spoke to Francos mom, she told me that her father and Franco had been close. They all lived in the same apartment building, and Francos own father left when he was young. I asked her about the copy of Mein Kampf police found when they were investigating Franco, and she said it originally belonged to her father. Franco denies that his grandfather was a big part of his life, but he acknowledges that they had spent time together, and that his grandfather would tell him stories about his adventures in the war. In one voice memo from 2015, Franco recounts standing by his grandfathers grave and thanking him for his guidance. I dont know for sure what influence his grandfather had on Franco, but the shadow of German history is long, and the way its embedded in so many German families, it can lay dormant for a generation, and then come alive again. Whatever set Franco on his far right course, it was early. He was only 17 when in the privacy of his diary, he began contemplating different ways to change the course of German history. He wrote, one would be to become a soldier, and gain an influential position in the military so that I can head the German armed forces, a path that I can very well imagine, and that I also think I would be able to do successfully. That would be followed by a military coup. All historically significant leaders made their way to the top with the help of the military for example, Napoleon Bonaparte, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Adolf Hitler, and to a certain extent, Alexander the Great. Franco showed me this diary entry. He said these were just the musings of an immature teenager. But a couple of years after he wrote that, in 2008, Franco joined the German military. Its a military unlike any other in the world. After the war, the Allies banned Germany from having a military altogether. But 10 years later, as the Cold War was heating up, it was resurrected and instilled with new core principles. Traditions and symbols from the Nazi era, like swastikas and runes, were taboo. Soldiers were required to swear an oath on the new Democratic Constitution, and they were taught not to blindly follow orders, but to follow a moral compass defined by the Constitution. This became known as inner guidance. They werent just soldiers. They were citizens in uniform. Franco excelled in the military. He was quickly selected as one of only a handful of German officer cadets to attend the prestigious Saint Cyr Military Academy. Its like the West Point of France. Franco spent five years abroad, and as part of his military training, he also attended some of Europes best universities. He started studying things like nationalism and world politics, and he told me he wasnt satisfied with conventional explanations for things like 9/11, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So he decided to go and search for answers himself. Sometimes online. At the end of 2013, he submitted a masters thesis, titled Political Change and Strategy of Subversion, in which he publicly laid out his far right worldview for the first time. I have a copy of it. In his thesis, Franco writes about powerful elites who were secretly acting to weaken society in order to maximize their control. He points to big sweeps of migration as one of the ways they do that. He writes that the downfall of great civilizations has always been the dilution of racial purity. That migration was a form of genocide, and that Europe and the West were next in line if they didnt defend themselves. The French commander of the military academy was appalled. He immediately flagged it to Francos German superiors. He told them that if this was a French participant, we would remove him. The German military commissioned an historian to review the thesis. After three days, he concluded that the thesis was not an academic qualification paper, but a radical nationalist racist appeal. Franco was summoned for questioning by a military attorney, who told him that his thesis was not compatible with the German Constitution. Franco defended himself by saying that as the second best student in his class, he felt pressure to create something great. And in the end, the military attorney came to the conclusion that Franco had become a victim of his own intellectual abilities. No one informed the office thats in charge of monitoring extremism and the German military. Franco was allowed to submit a new thesis, and by the time he returned to Germany, it was as if nothing had happened. His superior in Dresden described him as a model German soldier, a citizen in uniform. A few months later in 2015 Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany would take in hundreds of thousands of refugees who had come to Europe from Syria and Afghanistan. Its around this time that Franco would join a chat network run by a special forces soldier with the nickname Hannibal. And in this network, he found other soldiers and police officers with far right views. They were preparing for civil unrest, for the breakdown of social order, for something they called Day X. Franco was preparing too. He showed us his prepper cellar. franco a. We have electric generator. katrin bennhold The same place he had stashed stolen ammunition and explosives. franco a. And this is where actually this book, Mein Kampf, was. katrin bennhold And his grandfathers copy of Mein Kampf. franco a. And these are these cowboy matches. katrin bennhold We saw stockpiles of food and medicines. franco a. Machetes I might have them here. katrin bennhold And a machete hed strategically hidden. franco a. Ammo for the air gun. katrin bennhold You cant kill people with that. franco a. Well, maybe no, actually not. katrin bennhold The particular branch of Hannibals network that Franco belonged to, the Southern branch, had actually written out a plan for Day X. It says the plan would be activated 12 hours after the national cell phone network was down, or four hours after the people who run the network had declared a state of emergency. It gives precise geocoordinates for a place to gather, and the idea was to take people from there to a safe house. What the plan called a group hideout. franco a. Then you can use it as a radio. katrin bennhold It also lists a radio frequency to communicate on, and to distinguish between friends and enemies. Group members were given a code and told to wear a special patch. The police later found one of these patches at Francos house. But prosecutors argue that Franco wasnt just preparing for a crisis. He wanted to trigger one. In December 2015, as Germanys immigration office was totally overwhelmed with the influx of refugees franco a. I put on racks. katrin bennhold Franco disguised himself. franco a. I made my beard a bit black. I blackened my beard with shoe polish. katrin bennhold He put shoe polish in his beard. franco a. And I did a bit of darkening cream in my katrin bennhold And his mothers makeup on his face and hands. franco a. Gave me a form to fill in. katrin bennhold In broken English, he told a police officer in his hometown, that he had fled the war in Syria and lost his papers along the way. He was photographed and fingerprinted. Soon after, he qualified for benefits and housing, and eventually was granted the status to live and work in Germany. He had created an entirely new identity for himself. And as he was living this double life, splitting his time between the military base and the housing hed been given as a refugee, none of Francos military superiors reported any suspicious behavior. Instead, he was being considered for a promotion to platoon leader. Prosecutors believe Franco was planning an attack that was meant to be blamed on his fake refugee identity and create a national backlash against immigrants. Franco told me the whole fake refugee stunt was an undercover investigation of chancellor Merkels migration policy. He said hed planned to publish a report. He never did. But its actually become his main line of defense in court. What his lawyers have argued is that Chancellor Merkels immigration policy endangered national security. franco a. And against the will and the good of the German people. katrin bennhold Franco gave me this argument too. franco a. Am I serving the right ones or not? katrin bennhold He said that as a soldier who swore an oath to protect the Constitution franco a. You need to put into question the way katrin bennhold he was doing what he was trained to do. franco a. This is what we are supposed to do as officers, this is why we are officers. katrin bennhold And following his inner guidance. franco a. In order to keep the standards high. katrin bennhold Franco argued that he was protecting the state. katrin bennhold You know, I think one of the sentences that stand out the most katrin bennhold But in his voice memos, he advocates for destroying it. katrin bennhold The state, and this is everybody who contributes to destroy this construct of a state does something good. I mean, thats a call to arms. Laws are null and void. I mean, how is that defending the Constitution? katrin bennhold When I asked him about this, he had no answer. This is what infiltration looks like. People in uniform who say theyre defending their country, and at the same time, they see themselves at war with the very values theyre supposed to protect. Whatever the outcome of Francos trial, it represents something much bigger than the terrorism case against him. Because, while his case is exceptional, some of his views arent. katrin bennhold Oh, there we are. I think thats it. katrin bennhold In the months leading up to Francos trial, I finally got some answers about how serious the threat of far right infiltration really is. katrin bennhold Theyre already waiting for us, look at that. Theyre going to shut us off immediately. [speaking german] katrin bennhold We all know that lifting weights can build up our muscles. But by changing the inner workings of cells, weight training may also shrink fat, according to an enlightening new study of the molecular underpinnings of resistance exercise. The study, which involved mice and people, found that after weight training, muscles create and release little bubbles of genetic material that can flow to fat cells, jump-starting processes there related to fat burning. The results add to mounting scientific evidence that resistance exercise has unique benefits for fat loss. They also underscore how extensive and interconnected the internal effects of exercise can be. Many of us pigeonhole resistance training as muscle building, and with good reason. Lifting weights or working against our body weight as we bob through push-ups, squats or chair dips will noticeably boost our muscles size and strength. But a growing number of studies suggest weight training also reshapes our metabolisms and waistlines. In recent experiments, weight workouts goosed energy expenditure and fat burning for at least 24 hours afterward in young women, overweight men and athletes. Likewise, in a study I covered earlier this month, people who occasionally lifted weights were far less likely to become obese than those who never lifted. But how weight training revamps body fat remains murky. Part of the effect occurs because muscle is metabolically active and burns calories, so adding muscle mass by lifting should increase energy expenditure and resting metabolic rates. After six months of heavy lifting, for example, muscles will burn more calories just because they are larger. But that doesnt fully explain the effect, because adding muscle mass requires time and repetition, while some of the metabolic effects of weight training on fat stores seem to occur immediately after exercise. And so the city is carrying on, kind of. It still plans to hold a limited Times Square New Years Eve ball drop, even as the chairman of the City Councils Health Committee urged Mr. de Blasio on Wednesday to cancel the celebration as Rome, Paris and Tokyo have done with theirs. (The midnight fireworks in Prospect Park in Brooklyn have been canceled already.) Mayor-elect Eric Adams took the celebration plan a step further, announcing on Wednesday that he would take the oath of office in Times Square shortly after the midnight ball drop. But a survey done by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce found that 20 percent of the 109 businesses that responded have closed temporarily during the holidays. And many businesses that remain open are hemorrhaging money. Ive probably lost about $1 million in the last three weeks, said Michael Dorf, founder of City Winery, a restaurant and music venue with locations in New York and other cities. Kitchens are open, the food is being ordered, but theres nobody coming in, so the losses are continuing because were fully employed. Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, which represents thousands of restaurants and nightclubs, said that the long lines to get tested were themselves causing staffing headaches. Many workers, he said, were waiting on line hours to get test results that took days to get back, forcing them to miss shifts. Even so, he said, were still in a much better place compared to last winter, when everything was shut down. He added, Nearly two years into the pandemic, I think many people recognize we need to balance these complex risks and live our lives. On Broadway The Music Man and Six are newly closed, after cast members, including Hugh Jackman, the star of The Music Man, tested positive. Four other shows just announced they are closing for good early next year, a rapid testing van is parked outside the theater where Winnie the Pooh is playing, and more and more roles are being played by understudies. FRONT PAGE An article on Tuesday about Saudi Arabias efforts to become a cultural capital described imprecisely the size of its population. Saudi Arabias population is about 35 million, not 22 million, which refers only to its citizens. ARTS An article on Monday about Joan Didion movies to stream described incorrectly Mission San Juan Bautista in California, where Ms. Didion and John Gregory Dunne were married and where a scene in the movie Vertigo is set. The couple did marry under the same bell tower from which Kim Novaks character in Vertigo leaps to her death; although the mission has a tower, the one in the movie was added using studio effects. SCIENCE TIMES An article on Tuesday about testing for sickle cell disease misstated the affiliation of Dr. Richard Olney. He is chief of the Genetic Disease Screening Program at the California Department of Public Health, not head of a program at the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation. OBITUARIES An obituary on Monday about Archbishop Desmond Tutu erroneously credited him with a distinction. He was the first Black Anglican bishop of Johannesburg not the first Anglican bishop. A man who worked for a cleaning service at the Naples Zoo in Florida was seriously injured on Wednesday when a tiger bit his arm after he went into a restricted area and reached into the animals enclosure, the authorities said. The first sheriffs deputy to arrive at the zoo kicked the tiger enclosure and tried to get the animal to release the mans arm from its mouth but was forced to shoot the Malayan tiger, the Collier County Sheriffs Office said. The zoo said that the 8-year-old tiger, named Eko, which it acquired in December 2019, had died. The man, later identified as 26-year-old River Rosenquist of Naples, Fla., was taken to a hospital by Collier County emergency medical services, the sheriffs office said. A spokesman for Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, Fla., confirmed on Wednesday that it was treating a patient who had been bitten by a tiger but said he could not release any further information. President Biden will talk to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Thursday afternoon about the grinding crisis at the Ukrainian border, White House officials said, the second time in a little over three weeks that the two leaders will speak directly about what Washington sees as Moscows effort to redraw the map of Europe. Mr. Putin requested the call, the officials said. His desire to speak directly with Mr. Biden again set off speculation in Washington and Europe about whether Mr. Putin was trying to de-escalate a situation largely of his own creation, or whether he was seeking a response to a series of demands about Russian security concerns that, if left unfulfilled, may provide him with a pretext to initiate the military action he has threatened in Ukrainian territory. The call will follow three weeks of furious behind-the-scenes negotiating, much of it between Mr. Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts. On Wednesday, to prepare for the call, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and with his British, French and German counterparts. American officials said it was part of an effort to make clear that the United States would not negotiate about the future of Ukraine or borders in Europe behind the backs of the regions leaders. But Mr. Putin clearly wants to deal primarily with the United States and its leadership, much as the Soviet Union did during the Cold War. He is likely to push Mr. Biden for answers about a proposed treaty in which Moscow demanded assurances that Ukraine would never join NATO which would bring Western troops and missiles even closer to Moscow and that the alliance would not place offensive arms in the former Soviet states. It appears to be tailor made for the conspiracy murder trial of three men who were recently charged in two terrorist bombings in Indonesia in 2002 and 2003 that killed more than 200 people. Lawyer James R. Hodes, who represents the lead defendant, Encep Nurjaman, who is known as Hambali, said that even at the current court, access has been far from open. Public viewing at Mr. Hambalis arraignment in August was strictly controlled by the military, which decides which reporters, law students or human rights advocates can board a Pentagon charter plane to travel to the base. The military also controls access to two remote video sites inside the Pentagon or at Fort Meade in Maryland. Ive observed trials in Mongolia that were more transparent than this, Mr. Hodes said. To be sure, some secrets have been declassified, particularly in the death-penalty cases, which have been mired in pretrial hearings for about a decade. A medical expert recently testified in open court about the post-traumatic stress of a prisoner who was waterboarded by the C.I.A. in 2002. Previously, the doctors descriptions of the trauma would have been consigned to a classified session that excluded both the public and the prisoner. Separately, the intelligence services permitted open court discussion of something that defense lawyers had known for years: Under a secret agreement, the C.I.A. requisitioned nine F.B.I. agents and temporarily made them agency operatives to interrogate prisoners in a network of black sites where the C.I.A. used torture in its interrogations. The agreement is still classified, but the intelligence agencies last month permitted its existence to be known. But the new courtroom reflects a trend toward what appears at times to be a peculiar pick-and-choose transparency. For example, for 17 years the military routinely took visiting journalists to the detention facilities where most captives are kept, but required them to delete photographs that showed cameras, gates and other security procedures. Then, the military undertook a consolidation that moved Mr. Mohammed and other detainees who were held by the C.I.A. from a secret site to the maximum-security portion of those once showcase facilities and declared the entire detention zone off limits to journalists. The goal of creating partisan fairness cannot so negatively impact Black communities as to erase us from the space, said Adam Hollier, a state senator from the Detroit area. They think that they are unpacking, because that is the narrative that they hear from across the country, without looking at what that means in the city of Detroit. Republicans were also discussing possible challenges to the new maps. We are evaluating all options to take steps necessary to defend the voices silenced by this commission, Gustavo Portela, a Michigan G.O.P. spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday, without elaborating on whose voices he meant. The G.O.P. advantage in Michigans Legislature has held solid for years even as Democrats carried the state in presidential elections and won races for governor and U.S. Senate. In 2014, Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat, won the seat formerly held by Carl Levin by more than 13 percentage points. Yet in the same year, Republicans in the State Senate expanded their supermajority, winning 27 of 38 seats. So great a divergence between statewide and legislative elections is often a telltale sign of a gerrymandered map. And a lawsuit in 2018 unearthed emails in which Republicans boasted about packing Dem garbage into fewer districts and ensuring Republican advantages in 2012 and beyond. But the new State Senate map would create 20 seats that President Biden would have carried in 2020 and 18 that former President Donald J. Trump would have carried, giving Democrats new hopes of competitiveness. The new maps offer no guarantee that Democrats will win either chamber, however. And in a strong year for the G.O.P., which 2022 may be, Republicans could retain their advantage in the Legislature and could also come away with a majority of the states new 13-seat congressional delegation. The congressional map includes three tossup seats where the 2020 presidential margin was less than five points, and two more seats that could be competitive in a wave year, with presidential margins of less than 10 points. Two current Democratic representatives, Haley Stevens and Andy Levin, were drawn into the same district, setting up a competitive primary in the 11th District. Both declared their intention to run on Tuesday. The cost of office maintenance dropped significantly in the pandemic when workers went remote, as companies saved money on services like cleaning and security, as well as perks like dry cleaning and endless pantry snacks. But as employees begin to head back to offices, the cost of running the workplace is increasing. By December, about 40 percent of workers in the United States had returned at least part time, although the Omicron variant has put a chill on return-to-office plans. And developers still expect that employees will be back on-site in the long run, even if hybrid work becomes more common. CP Group, which owns and manages 32 office buildings, mostly in the Southeast and Southwest, has bought $1.2 billion of office space since May, a wager that staffs will return. More robust air filtration and newly installed outdoor spaces are among the items that will add to developers costs when more employees return. New cleaning practices may make those services more expensive, and landlords are offering new amenities to lure tenants back. The police in Singapore charged a man after he was accused of allowing another person to use his proof of vaccination to dine at a bar. The authorities said that the man, Kiran Singh Rughbir Singh, 37, duped an employee at the bar to let Utheyakumar Nallathamby, 65, enter in September, according to Channel News Asia and other local news outlets. To enter a bar in Singapore, visitors must be fully vaccinated or show a negative test result obtained less than 24 hours before. The 65-year-old was allowed to enter the bar after presenting Mr. Singhs record on Singapores vaccine and contact tracing app, TraceTogether, showing he had been fully vaccinated. If convicted, Mr. Singh, a Malaysian national, could be jailed for up to five years, fined or both. The authorities had also planned to charge Utheyakumar Nallathamby, but he could not appear in court because of medical issues, according to news reports. BRISTOL, Conn. Crowds grew increasingly frustrated and unruly as wait times stretched for hours at a coronavirus testing site here that is run by Genesys Diagnostics, an Oakdale-based company. Some were getting out of their cars to ask how much longer it would take others were arguing with the staff. We opened at 12, and when we came, this place was already flooded, said Xavier Quintana, a specimen collector who estimated that there were close to a thousand cars packed into two parking lots. People were growing panicked, Mr. Quintana said, and the staff could not keep up with the demand. Only a few people were working out of a small trailer set up in one parking lot. Then, a woman who said she was waiting in line called the company shortly before 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, threatening to shoot people at the site. Across Europe, records for new coronavirus infections are falling by the day as the Omicron variant tears through populations with a swiftness outpacing anything witnessed over the past two years of the pandemic. Like the United States, which recorded a new high in daily cases on Tuesday, European nations are struggling against an onslaught of infections from a virus that shows no sign of going away. Britain, Denmark, France, Greece and Italy all set records for new daily cases this week, and in each country, health officials suspect that Omicron is driving the infections. While there are early indications that the variant might be milder than previous versions of the virus with vaccinations, boosters and previous infections all offering some protection against serious illness and death the surge of infections is sowing its own chaos, as people scramble to obtain tests, businesses grapple with staff shortages and New Years festivities are thrown into question. In England and Northern Ireland on Wednesday, there were no P.C.R. test appointments available to book online, and around midday, many people reported that none were available to order online through the British governments health services. People are showing up at pharmacies to pick up quick lateral flow tests, according to industry representatives, but are often leaving empty-handed. Staring down a rise in coronavirus cases that the health authorities have linked to the Omicron variant, Saudi Arabia will require people visiting stores, malls and restaurants to show proof of booster shots starting on Feb. 1. The kingdom, as part of its effort to get its 35 million residents inoculated against the virus, already mandates proof of vaccination for those wishing to enter public places. The move announced this week is an extension of a mandate the kingdom issued early this month when it said that starting in February, Saudi residents would no longer be considered fully vaccinated unless they had received a booster at least eight months after their second dose, and that they would need proof of a booster to enter government facilities, attend events and fly. Citizens, residents and visitors are required to show scannable QR codes confirming their vaccination status through the governments Tawakkalna app, which Saudi Arabia originally rolled out last year to help track coronavirus infections and has remade into a vaccine passport. Seal Team, a cartoon from Greig Cameron and Kane Croudace, is an 80s surf shirt come to life, a neon assault of screeching metal guitars and bellowing inanity. Radical, dudes make that pups since the leads are hotheaded seals who form a squadron to defend their colony from a shiver of sharks. Sounds fictitious, but National Geographic once documented such a counterattack off the coast of South Africa, albeit without any shouts of Kiss my tail fin! The animals reluctant commander is a military-trained pinniped named Claggart (J.K. Simmons), who was traumatized when his mine recovery mission went awry. (He bit the wrong wire because hes gasp! colorblind.) For what its worth, the United States Navy Marine Mammal Program prefers sea lions to seals, but this kiddie flick probably wouldnt have been greenlit without the pun in the title, even though a seals physicality is inexpressive and unimpressive. The characters are distinguishable only by girth and pompadour, and, during a Rocky-esque training montage, the seals master push-ups but struggle to give a thumbs-up. In phone interviews, three people Lisa Lucas, the publisher of Pantheon Books; the writer Lucy Sante, a onetime Strand colleague of Mr. McFalls; and Nancy Bass Wyden, the Strands owner all referred unprompted to the reliability with which, when visiting Mr. McFall, theyd encounter a line of other people hoping to speak to him. Mr. Behrle, who also once worked at the Strand, said he would approach the line and ask if anyone needed help. People would decline, he said. They waited for Ben. Ms. Lucas made a habit of heading to the Union Square area of Manhattan to visit the Strand and chat with Mr. McFall every Saturday she was in town. Hed always be sifting through a pile of used books, she said. A Barthelme book, a DeLillo book, Colson Whitehead, Murakami wed have conversations about whatever he had in his hands. Mr. McFall could gossip or banter without looking up from the books he was working through. He sometimes surprised people by halting a conversation, departing wordlessly and returning with a book that he would say his interlocutor had to read. He was known to stash books under his desk if he thought they were perfectly suited to any of his regular customers. Following his death, Mr. McFall will not have a successor as hegemon of fiction; his duties, like most others at the Strand, will be shared. Ben never had an official position, said Paul Secor, a retired Strand book buyer who was Mr. McFalls colleague for most of his tenure. Bens title was Ben. Image All Day Is a Long Time, by David Sanchez (Mariner, Jan. 18) This coming-of-age debut follows David, a teenager on Floridas Gulf Coast, as he battles drug addiction, dips in and out of jail and eventually, falls back on his love of reading to find solid ground. Image Anthem, by Noah Hawley (Grand Central, Jan. 4) A cast of teenagers defend against a number of adversaries from a widespread mental health crisis years after the outset of the coronavirus pandemic to a malevolent man resembling Jeffrey Epstein in this new thriller from Hawley, known for his work on TV series such as Bones and Fargo. Biden and Putin talk about tensions over Ukraine President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, held an important phone call on Thursday, speaking for the second time in less than a month about the crisis at the Ukrainian border. News of the call, which was requested by Putin, set off speculation about whether Putin was trying to de-escalate a situation largely of his own creation, or whether he was seeking a response to a series of demands that, if left unfulfilled, may provide him with the pretext for military action in Ukraine. Putin was likely to push Biden on a proposed treaty in which Moscow demanded assurances that Ukraine would never join NATO and that the alliance would not place offensive arms in the former Soviet states. The discussion follows weeks of negotiating. Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, spoke with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, along with his British, French and German counterparts, in an effort to make clear that the U.S. would not negotiate a new European map with the Russians. The year ahead As we prepare to enter the third year of the pandemic, we have been hoping for more normality and less Covid disruption by now. Case counts are soaring to all-time highs in some parts of the world, and 2022 is shaping up to be just as uncertain as the last 12 months. That said, weve made huge strides against the coronavirus this year. There are now multiple vaccines that offer powerful protection against the worst effects of Covid, as well as remarkably effective treatments for those who become infected. Next year will bring more advancements, too, and Ill be here to keep you updated on the science, and to gather the information and advice you need to live your best life during the pandemic. Today, in the last Coronavirus newsletter of the year, Im taking a look ahead. I spoke to Times reporters about some of the big pandemic issues theyll be tracking in 2022. Heres what they said. At a time when most policies aimed at helping parents, especially women like paid parental leave and child care support are stalling out or facing resistance, the bans on salary history have been far less controversial, often garnering bipartisan support, said Andrea Johnson, who has pushed for these laws through her work at the National Womens Law Center. This issue really resonates with people at a gut level, she said. The bans are still so new that its hard to really judge how much has changed. Massachusettss law, the first in the country, went into effect in 2018. There is some preliminary research showing that pay for women who change jobs has increased slightly in states with the bans. But other research shows less promising results. Before these laws were passed, women were underrepresented in high-wage jobs. That didnt change, said Ethan Rouen, a professor at Harvard Business School, who looked at data in one state that passed a ban and wound up not publishing his research because he didnt see any significant change. What is clear: The bans shifted the culture of salary negotiation, along with a growing willingness among Gen Z and millennials to talk more directly about money and demand better working conditions, and a job market where labor finally has a bit of an edge. Also, there is a growing awareness, especially among women, that negotiating pay is crucial. Several job hunters in their 20s and 30s said they had never been asked for their current salary. When it comes up, and it still does, it remains a tricky question. One 29-year-old Manhattan woman said she still felt guilty for revealing her current salary to a recruiter who asked. She got nervous in the heat of the moment. When she said the number, in the low $100,000s, the recruiter said the company could match it. This woman felt instant regret. Maybe they would have gone higher? She said her parents had even scolded her for sharing her salary. Other candidates say that when this has happened to them, they respond by mentioning that the practice is no longer allowed. And in Case You Missed Them Eric Kim spent nine months of the pandemic at home with his mom. Here, he writes about the lessons he learned watching her make kimchi, jjigaes and the other foods of his childhood in Atlanta. In July, Christina Morales traveled to Surfside, Fla., to meet with restaurateurs who were feeding rescuers, survivors and the families of the missing after the deadly collapse of a condominium complex. Priya Krishna described how a store-bought food container can contain multitudes. Victoria Petersen told the effervescent tale of how dozens of soda-shop chains and independent soda shacks have opened from Idaho to Utah to Arizona, an area of the Mountain West sometimes called the Mormon Corridor. Eric Asimov detailed how some winemakers pivoted at the beginning of the pandemic to focus on direct-to-consumer sales. In Maine, Melissa Clark profiled several sea scallop farmers. While looking for ways to diversify beyond lobster, they stumbled on one of the most environmentally beneficial types of aquaculture. Yewande Komolafe told how Thanksgiving allows her to embrace the treasured recipes of her friends and chosen family. Brett Anderson traveled to Butte, Mont., to see how one of the nations oldest Chinese restaurants, Pekin Noodle Parlor, was coping after the loss of its longtime owner, Danny Wong. The anime feature Poupelle of Chimney Town, the first directorial film from Yusuke Hirota, takes place in a metropolis where the sky is always dark from smoke. The residents are policed by cloaked officials called inquisitors, who make it their business to suppress dissenters, particularly civilians who propose that there might be a world beyond the nearby ocean or the blotted-out firmament. In this dystopia, animated in a way that suggests a steampunk Chutes and Ladders, Lubicchi (voiced by Antonio Raul Corbo), a lonely boy who works as a chimney sweep, makes his first friend: a garbage man that is, a creature made out of trash whom he names Poupelle (Tony Hale). (The name is similar to poubelle, which is French for trash can.) Poupelles origins are murky, but in a pre-title sequence, he appears to arrive from the stars, where Lubicchis father (Stephen Root), who disappeared, always urged his son to look. But the attorney generals office notified the ethics panel last week that before collection of profits could occur, the commission would need to include an explicit finding that Mr. Cuomo had violated the law and would also need to include an accounting of what sums were owed, and why. That finding could only come after an investigation and hearing process where both sides could present evidence. The commission has moved to open such an investigation, but its conclusion could take years. Commissioner Gary Lavine, a Republican appointee who initiated the move to claw back the book profits, defended the commissions legal strategy and accused Ms. James of intentionally shirking responsibility. I believe that the A.G. does not want to be involved, he said. Since it was established, JCOPE has shirked responsibility and failed to take meaningful action on any issue regarding ethics, and this is just the latest example, Fabien Levy, a spokesman for Ms. James, responded. There are rules and laws in this state, and in stark contrast to JCOPE, the attorney generals office actually follows and enforces those laws universally, not only when expedient. In its letter, the attorney generals office said that the commissions order was premature and directed the panel to exhaust its own collection activity efforts before referring the matter again. The attorney general offices stance puts it in an odd alliance with Mr. Cuomo, who has continued to accuse Ms. James of leading a politically motivated investigation against him. Last week, Mr. Cuomos spokesman, Richard Azzopardi, said that Ms. Jamess efforts were deployed as a political springboard to remove Governor Cuomo so she could run for office. The inquiry led to a report on Aug. 3 that concluded that Mr. Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women; a week later, Mr. Cuomo resigned as governor. Ms. James declared her candidacy for governor in October, but withdrew this month, saying that she wanted to continue her work as attorney general. It is not at all surprising that the lawlessness of JCOPEs latest unlawful action is being recognized as just that, said Jim McGuire, Mr. Cuomos lawyer, who added that the commission had violated fundamental constitutional rights and flagrantly exceeded its statutory authority. Mr. Vance said he is hopeful about Mr. Braggs policies but is not convinced that they will be effective in reducing crime, particularly in the face of a sharp rise in murders and shootings that began last summer. Alvin Bragg is a smart, experienced former prosecutor who I believe cares about public safety as much as anybody, he said. It remains to be seen whether going leaps and bounds further than we have gone in our time will result in continued lower crime rates. Mr. Vances conviction integrity unit, his critics say, exemplifies his strengths and failings. Set up in 2010, it was one of the first such units in the country. It helped the office assess new cases, leading to dozens of post-arrest dismissals. And in November, its work led to the exoneration of two men who had spent 20 years in prison for the 1965 murder of Malcolm X. But the unit has been criticized for having done far less than it could have. Mr. Bragg, while campaigning in the Democratic primary, said it appeared to exist in name only and vowed to start a new one explicitly devoted to freeing the wrongfully convicted. Mr. Bragg will be the first Black Manhattan district attorney, and critics of the office hope he will address the harms they say it does to Black people, who continue to be prosecuted disproportionately. Public defenders who faced Mr. Vances prosecutors and assistant district attorneys who worked for him said in interviews that his office still treated defendants harshly. Jarvis Idowu, a three-year veteran of the office who helped draft its policy to stop prosecuting fare evasion, said that the leadership there talked a lot about how important diversity was. Heres everything you need to know about how to watch the New Years Eve events. What time does the celebration start? The celebrations will kick off at 6 p.m. in Times Square. Visitors wont be allowed into the viewing areas until 3 p.m., hours later than in past years. Whos performing in Times Square? Several musical acts are slated to perform, including KT Tunstall, Karol G and Journey. There will also be a presentation from the Sino-American Friendship Association, a nonprofit group, featuring a Chinese martial arts showcase and a dance performance. The rapper LL Cool J was scheduled to perform, but he dropped out Wednesday after announcing he had tested positive for Covid. The singer Chloe Bailey also canceled on Wednesday, though she did not explain why. And last week, Phish, which typically performs on New Years Eve blocks away from Times Square at Madison Square Garden, postponed all of its upcoming in-person shows to April. Its New Years Eve show will be livestreamed for free starting at 8:30 p.m. on the bands YouTube channel and website. How can I watch the ball drop from home? Several TV networks will be hosting live New Years Eve specials from Times Square. Ryan Seacrest will anchor ABCs Dick Clarks New Years Rockin Eve, while Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will kick off CNNs event. On NBC, Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager will run coverage in New York until 10 p.m. After that, the singer Miley Cyrus and the Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson will take over from Miami. Fox canceled its live special in Times Square last week over Covid safety concerns and have not yet announced what programming will take its place. The constitutional right to abortion has never been more fragile than it is heading into 2022. The Supreme Court has allowed S.B. 8, Texas drastic and clearly unconstitutional ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, to remain in place for months, making Roe v. Wade virtually a dead letter in the state. Even worse, a Supreme Court decision thats expected this summer is likely to either gut Roe or overturn the precedent altogether, paving the way for total abortion bans in about half the states around the country. If the high court refuses to uphold abortion rights for all Americans and with Congress hopelessly stalemated over legislation that would codify a federal right to abortion, the Biden administration can and should act boldly to protect abortion access. But it will require some outside-the-box thinking and a willingness to experiment with tactics that may well fail. If President Biden supports abortion as a critical right, as he has suggested, then he and his administration must take risks and get creative in pursuit of that goal. The anti-abortion movement has repeatedly pushed the envelope without fear of defeat. Its time for activists and politicians who support abortion rights to do the same. To be sure, the Biden administration has taken important, if measured, steps to protect and expand abortion access. The Justice Department sued Texas over the states six-week abortion ban, adding the weight of the federal government to the cause. And most recently, the Food and Drug Administration permanently removed some of the medically unnecessary and cumbersome restrictions it had imposed on mifepristone the only F.D.A.-approved drug for terminating a pregnancy. In at least some states, providers will be able to mail abortion medications directly to their patients or call the prescriptions in to a certified pharmacy and can meet remotely with prospective abortion patients via telemedicine. But the administration can do more. There are obvious actions the president can take, such as nominating judges who have defended reproductive justice and speaking out for abortion rights from his bully pulpit. Beyond those efforts, his administration has many other creative options it could pursue. This combination of the old and new Democratic Party has left the Biden coalition in a holding pattern. What might look at first like problems with individual politicians is in fact several structural problems at once: the counter-majoritarian institutions in American government; the fuzzy balance of power among different forces within the party; and the difficulty of energizing a diverse set of interests around common goals. Negotiating with pivotal senators who are more conservative than much of the rest of the party isnt a new thing under Mr. Biden its also the story of the New Deal. Roosevelt had to deal with several conservative Southern Democrats. Today, Mr. Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona are actually in line with many recent Democratic proposals, but they can still extract concessions that dont necessarily reflect the bulk of the partys priorities. Nationalized party politics make it more difficult for these senators to cultivate a local, personal brand. As a result, they have to work harder to draw media attention to their performances of political independence and willingness to push back against the president and congressional leaders. Because its harder for them to distance themselves from the national party brand, theyre harder to negotiate with. The second change is the emergence of a strong and cohesive left wing within the Democratic Party. Its true that the party is more uniformly liberal than it has been in the past. But this means different things. The so-called Squad and the rest of the Progressive Caucus bring both a more economically left perspective and a different vision on issues like race and criminal-justice reform. The presidential candidacies of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren showed that theres solid support for moving to the left on economic issues even if its not a majority of the Democratic coalition. In addition to appeasing the more conservative wing of the party, the Biden coalition also features tensions between this new progressive faction and more traditional liberals represented by members like Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Its likely that a smaller, patchwork Democratic coalition is here to stay for a while. This means that they will still face some of the same problems Presidents Roosevelt and Johnson did like risk-averse party members and vocal campaigns against expanding the welfare state but without a key tool for getting things done: large majorities (or the possibility of regularly picking up Republican votes on major legislation). When I left the daily Supreme Court beat back in 2008, the Week in Review, as The Timess Sunday Review section was then called, invited me to offer some reflections on nearly 30 years of writing about the court, its cases and its members. The long essay ran under the headline 2,691 Decisions, a number based on an editors calculation of how many decisions the court had issued during my time on the beat. I ended it with an observation about the vital dialogue between the court and the country. This was my conclusion: The court is in Americans collective hands. We shape it; it reflects us. At any given time, we may not have the Supreme Court we want. We may not have the court we need. But we have, most likely, the Supreme Court we deserve. A friend who recently came upon that article challenged me. Do you still think we have the Supreme Court we deserve? she asked. Actually, sadly, my answer now is no. Its not that I think the country simply deserves a Supreme Court that happens to agree with me; I was finding plenty to disagree with back in 2008. Justice Samuel Alito had taken Justice Sandra Day OConnors place in early 2006, wrenching the closely divided court to the right. In June 2007, Justice Stephen Breyer, during an impassioned oral dissent in a highly charged case on what measures public school systems can take to maintain racial diversity, lamented that it is not often in the law that so few have so quickly changed so much. Nonetheless, Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy and David Souter were still on the bench in 2008, proving every day that to be a Republican-nominated Supreme Court justice was not necessarily to be a handpicked conservative spear-carrier in the countrys culture wars. (The three were chosen by Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush respectively.) It had not occurred to anyone then that a hostile Senate in 2016 might keep a presidents Supreme Court nomination bottled up for 11 months without even a hearing, nor that a supine Senate would do a subsequent presidents bidding four years later and bludgeon a nomination through to confirmation while millions of Americans were already casting early ballots for president. The church, at its best, stood vigil, making a case for a better way to be human than a utilitarian ethic that used our shared trauma to justify exploiting other suffering Black people. It argued that the same God who opposes institutional racism travels all the way down to personal evil, resisting the ways that we harm one another. By arguing for both societal change and personal transformation, Watch Night suggests that justice and righteousness are not so easily separated. Juneteenth, which recently became a federal holiday, remembers that news of the Emancipation Proclamation did not reach all of the enslaved right away. There were some who knew that freedom was on the horizon and those who had no idea of the momentous changes shaking American society. It was the work of those who knew about the newfound freedom to contend for those who could not fend for themselves. We are not free until everyone is. Each New Years Eve reminds us that the work is never finished. Douglass knew that. He said, The slave having ceased to be the abject slave of a single master, his enemies will endeavor to make him the slave of society at large. Because of his prophetic imagination and the painful lessons of history, he saw that something like Jim Crow was on the horizon. He knew that law and custom would endeavor to return us again and again to servitude. What is the solution to that ever-present threat? Douglass said, The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Each generation of Black folks has taken up this watch keeping, guided by a moral compass that transcends the limited imagination of the powerful. We have done so out of respect to the generations whose vigils filled with prayer, thanksgiving and sanctified dissatisfaction won us the freedoms we now enjoy. Its been years since I attended a Watch Night service. I miss them. A largely white university experience, my wifes military service in Japan and graduate studies in Britain took me far from the Black churches that kept watch. I spent too many years with those who do not remember the deadly slave ship, the dehumanizing auction block or the daring midnight escapes to the North with God as the only hope. Now that I am back in a Black church in the United States, Im looking forward to introducing my children to the practice of keeping watch, after the Covid pandemic allows our local church to resume its full schedule of services. Hopefully, Watch Night will connect them to a heritage too precious to lose. On the edge of those New Years Eves at church, time felt thin. We seemingly stepped inside history, if only for a moment, to join with the great cloud of witnesses that lauded Black freedom and mourned those slaves who died before freedom came. Too many New Years Eve gatherings know only celebration. They do not know how to lament the lives lost or how to inspire the commitment that comes from honoring their legacies. Those parties are too free of our histories. There are a number of New Years resolutions on the horizon. I am sure we will fail at most of them. But I hope that we do not fail to take up the responsibilities handed to us by our ancestors. We must in 2022 take up the watch so that the coming generation might inherit a more free and just society. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. michael barbaro Hey, its Michael. This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and hearing whats happened in the time since they first ran. [die rolling] speaker Ive got 16. sarah mervosh How old are you? You dont want to say? [LAUGHS] speaker Yeah, Ill tell you. sarah mervosh OK. speaker 95. sarah mervosh 95. OK. Youve got a good group here. zita husick I thought it was 96. speaker Well, how should you know? zita husick Because I was to your birthday party when you were 95. speaker 1 95, right. speaker 2 Right. Last year. zita husick You missed 96. You didnt have no party. speaker 1 Maybe Im 100. speaker 2 [INAUDIBLE] 3. zita husick You never know about us old people. One. Roll them. [interposing voices] [music] michael barbaro Today: We return to the Good Shepherd Nursing Home, which allowed us inside just as it was emerging from a year-long lockdown in February, to see how life has changed for its residents. Its Thursday, December 30. staff Hello? zita husick Hi. sarah mervosh Hi. zita husick Hi, Sarah. sarah mervosh Hi, are you Miss Husick? zita husick Im Zita. sarah mervosh Zita. sarah mervosh Earlier this year sarah mervosh Its so nice to talk to you. sarah mervosh in February, I met a woman named Zita Husick, who lives at the Good Shepherd Nursing Home in Wheeling, West Virginia. zita husick Im going to be 96 next month. sarah mervosh No. No, youre not. 96. zita husick Yeah. sarah mervosh I dont believe that. zita husick Oh, yes, I am. [LAUGHTER] sarah mervosh I talked to Zita over FaceTime. [machine beeping] sarah mervosh There was some medical equipment beeping in the background. zita husick They always tell me I look younger because I act young, and I dont dress like an old lady. And I like to gamble. Im a gambler. So and I was married for 53 years. I waited till I was 30 because I was having a good time, and I didnt want to settle down. [LAUGHS] And we didnt have no children. I didnt have no time for that. sarah mervosh So tell me about what life has been like during the virus, during Covid. What has zita husick Well sarah mervosh your life been like? zita husick we were stuck in our room. And weve been just sitting in our rooms. We used to go out in the hallway but then they quit wasnt allowed because they didnt want us to be close to one another. So it was pretty boring sarah mervosh Were you eating your meals and your zita husick It was boring. sarah mervosh Where were you eating your zita husick It was boring because all I did was sleep and watch TV. [music] sarah mervosh What did you watch? zita husick Whatever was on. I loved to watch theyre showing wedding gowns, all these older women getting married in white. I was surprised. Well, in my time, you werent allowed to get married in white unless you were supposed to be a virgin. Now sarah mervosh [LAUGHS] Times have changed, Zita. I dont know what to tell you. zita husick They even have children there, and theyre still dressed in white. [LAUGHS] staff All right, Betty Lou. Its your turn. sarah mervosh Hi, Betty Lou. Can you hear me? betty lou leech Yeah, Im here. sarah mervosh Yeah. staff Can you hear her? betty lou leech Yes. staff OK. sarah mervosh OK. sarah mervosh I also met Betty Lou Leech sarah mervosh Hey, happy birthday. betty lou leech I was born in 24, so you figure it out. sarah mervosh Born in 24, OK. betty lou leech Yeah. sarah mervosh who was about to turn 97. sarah mervosh What has been the hardest part of the last year for you? betty lou leech What? staff Whats been the hardest part of this whole last year? betty lou leech I think the hardest part is missing your family. I had a rough time at first. My sister was here, and she passed away. That was the hardest time I had. And its been, I dont know, quite an adjustment. staff She passed away at the very beginning of this pandemic, didnt she? betty lou leech Yes, she didnt go through staff And you werent able to go to the funeral. betty lou leech No, I wasnt able to go to the funeral [INAUDIBLE] sarah mervosh Im so sorry. betty lou leech But sarah mervosh Her sister didnt die of Covid. But because of Covid, she couldnt grieve with her family, or even see much of them. betty lou leech And I do miss my daughter so very, very much. You dont know what it is, how happy it is and how joyful you are when you do see them. But we talk, oh, maybe two or three times a day. And we always talk every night. We say goodnight to each other every night. And she calls in the mornings, and then were OK. sarah mervosh What are you looking forward to most when things change, and youre able to get back to some normalcy next week with activities? betty lou leech Well, for one thing, Im looking for the dining room to open. I love the dining room. They always have it decorated beautiful. The girls down there took care of you. And you get to see people. And thats important to see people. And I really miss the dining room a lot. And Ill be the first one there. [music] sarah mervosh Thank you so much, and I will hopefully see you on Monday. betty lou leech All right, thank you. sarah mervosh A few days after I talked to Zita and Betty Lou, I get in my car and head to West Virginia. sarah mervosh So its a little before 9 a.m. on Monday morning, and Im here at Good Shepherd Nursing Home. And we are about to go inside and hopefully talk to some residents and staffers as they begin to open up for the first time amid the pandemic. Theyre not doing visitation, so well be probably among the only people in there who are not working there. Whoo, its cold out here. sarah mervosh When I get to Good Shepherd sarah mervosh Yes, good. Is this the right entrance? staff Yeah. sarah mervosh OK. sarah mervosh I get my temperature taken. staff Yeah. 97.5. sarah mervosh I get a rapid Covid test. staff You dont have no cough, sore throat, been anyone around sarah mervosh Im wearing an N95 mask, and they give me P.P.E. I have goggles and gloves. sarah mervosh And that rustling you hear is my gown, P.P.E. sarah mervosh And they ask me to wear a medical gown over my clothes. And then I go inside. This is the first day in nearly a year that the nursing home is having group activities again. I had planned to start my day in the chapel, where they were having mass. But then while mass was going on, I heard this commotion happening outside in the hall. So I sneak outside to see whats happening. sarah mervosh Hi, Betty Lou. betty lou leech Hello. sarah mervosh Im Sarah, from The New York Times. [interposing voices] sarah mervosh Yes, I talked to you on FaceTime. betty lou leech I thought so. sarah mervosh How are you feeling? I see that youre sitting right in front of the betty lou leech Oh, its the most exciting day to be in there. speaker Aw. betty lou leech I love it in there. sarah mervosh And I see its decorated sarah mervosh And in the hallway, I find Betty Lou, who is right outside the dining room. Shes dressed up, her hair is curled, and shes wearing a bracelet her daughter had given her. sarah mervosh And you look really nice today. Did you get sarah mervosh Shes ready to be the first one inside the dining-room doors for lunch. betty lou leech Whoopee! speaker [LAUGHS] betty lou leech Yippee. I shouldve brought my camera down. speaker You should have. [laughter] sarah mervosh We head into the dining room. [interposing voices] speaker This is Bettys favorite spot. sarah mervosh And one by one, people start trickling in. ^betty lou leech ^: Hey, youre sitting at my table today. speaker Yeah, Im here. betty lou leech How about that? speaker Sherry, what would you like sarah mervosh The residents are chatting amongst themselves. betty lou leech [INAUDIBLE] you look pretty good today. speaker Oh, thank you. betty lou leech Did everyone go? We have really missed this. speaker Oh, everybody has I heard, yeah. sarah mervosh And Im walking around the dining room getting to know people. sarah mervosh yellow earrings. speaker Oh, this is Avon. sarah mervosh Avon earrings. speaker [LAUGHS] sarah mervosh You get dressed up to come to the dining room. speaker I do. And so does everybody else. Dont let them kid you. Here, today oh, were all ecstatic about this, because this is the first time weve been down here for, like, six or eight months. We have not been out of our rooms. sarah mervosh Even though most of the residents and staff have been vaccinated, the nursing home is still social distancing. There are two people at a table instead of the usual four. Many people are wearing masks. Still, theres a moment when I see two friends who cant help but reach across the table and grasp each others hands. [music] [chatter] sarah mervosh As Im watching this scene unfold, what stands out to me is the simplicity of it all. speaker 1 Oh, this is just lovely. speaker 2 Thats right. Its beautiful. sarah mervosh It isnt some big, emotional reunion. But its something as simple as saying, how are you? To a friend, or being able to ask, how do you like the soup? These small, ordinary moments of connection that so few of us have had this year. speaker 1 in time. Everything takes time. But you know what? Were all bouncing back, everybody. speaker 2 I know. Absolutely. speaker 1 Yes, [INAUDIBLE] [music] michael barbaro Well be right back. staff Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the penny auction. Is everybody ready to bid? Yes. sarah mervosh At about 2 oclock, everyone begins to gather for what had been one of the most popular activities before the pandemic, a penny auction. staff Are you all excited to be back here for the penny auction? Yeah, all right. sarah mervosh All of the residents get pennies, which they can use to bid. staff 10 pennies in a cup. sarah mervosh And theres a big table at the front of the room where a bunch of auction items are set up. There are cookies and quilts and a stuffed Snoopy. staff Youve got to raise your hands [INAUDIBLE] sarah mervosh And all around, residents are spread out in a maze of socially-distanced wheelchairs. Betty Lou is there sarah mervosh Hi, again. sarah mervosh and so is Zita. sarah mervosh Zita, hi. Its Sarah from The New York Times. speaker How many sarah mervosh And eventually, we get started. staff All right, here we go. OK, were all ready. Is everybody ready? Can everybody hear me back there? sarah mervosh The first item up is a handbag with a few things in it a body spray, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a ladys deodorant. staff Going once, twice. You got it, Peg. Three pennies! [APPLAUSE] sarah mervosh Then theres a light-up St. Patricks Day necklace. staff There you go. speaker Oh, thats nice. Thanks. staff Ill put it on you. speaker Put it on me. staff Look at that. speaker Oh, it squeaks. Im blinking. [LAUGHS] staff Next I have sarah mervosh But the hot-ticket item? staff who likes cheese balls? speaker We all like cheese balls. staff We like cheese balls. sarah mervosh A giant tub of cheese puffs. staff Do I hear six? Marcy. Do I hear seven? Zita. Do I hear eight? Betty. Do I hear nine? sarah mervosh And Betty Lou, whos been awfully quiet so far, decides to go all in staff Betty, take a bow. [cheering and applause] betty lou leech Ive been waiting for that. Ive been waiting for that. interposing voices Aw sarah mervosh and ends up taking home the prize. betty lou leech Im not going to give anybody any. sarah mervosh So Betty, you spent all your pennies on cheese puffs? Those are a good snack. betty lou leech Im done. sarah mervosh Are you happy with your purchase? betty lou leech Oh, yeah. sarah mervosh [LAUGHS] staff Thank you all for coming down for the auction today. Were so lucky you guys did this today. Thank you, and let it continue! speaker Whoo! staff See you all later! [APPLAUSE] sarah mervosh And as the day goes on, I realize theres one person I still need to talk to. And thats Don Kirsch, the administrator of the nursing home. Hes the one who gave the orders to shut down last year, and hes also the one who ultimately gave the OK to come out of lockdown. sarah mervosh OK, I see you wrote this down. So just some thoughts. donald kirsch Yeah. sarah mervosh And as we sit down, he pulls out a statement that hes typed up on a piece of paper. sarah mervosh Do you want to just maybe read this for the audio, in your own voice, or read parts of it? donald kirsch Tragically, we experienced a coronavirus outbreak in November of 2020, infecting 20 residents, resulting in five resident deaths. We are (CHOKING UP) broken-hearted by this loss of life. These individuals and their loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers each day. sarah mervosh This is a really been an emotional time this past year. And so tell me why, when you were talking about what youve been through, you got a little choked up. Tell me more about that. donald kirsch Well, Sarah, its been the greatest challenge of our careers. And Im not only speaking for myself, but for all of our staff. Wheeling is such a tight-knit community. We know each other. A lot of us have grown up together. And we have the pleasure of taking care of individuals in the time in their lives, other than childhood, possibly when they needed others the most. sarah mervosh And how long have you been the administrator here at Good Shepherd? donald kirsch This June, itll be 40 years. sarah mervosh And in those 40 years, have you ever experienced anything like this? donald kirsch No. As I said, this has been the greatest challenge of a lifetime. sarah mervosh Are there days that stand out to you, during the pandemic, as being pivotal? donald kirsch Two days have stood out. When we began to see what was happening throughout the state of West Virginia, I had made the decision on March 11 to close the facility to outside visitors. The other day that stands out to us was December 23 of last year when our residents received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine. I felt, for the first time in all of those months, that we might have the chance of having the upper hand against this virus and that we might be able to begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility for these individuals and a tremendous sense of accountability to them and to their family members. So theres been a tremendous number of sleepless nights, a tremendous amount of praying to God for an answer. And I hope were at that point right now. I will be so much more happy, Sarah, when their family members are able to come in and see their loved ones again. Theres no substitute for a one-on-one visit and that love and affection that cannot come through an electronic device. [music] sarah mervosh Well, thank you so much for your time, Mr. Kirsch. I really appreciate it. donald kirsch Its Don. Its Don, OK? sarah mervosh Don. OK, that sounds good. Well, well be here for bunco later. donald kirsch Did anyone did your parents explain bunco to you? [LAUGHS] sarah mervosh I think Zita explained donald kirsch Oh [LAUGHTER] Yeah, shes something, isnt she? sarah mervosh She said something about dice and getting to 23. donald kirsch Right, yeah. sarah mervosh Im not really sure. Maybe Ill have to have her explain it again tonight. [LAUGHS] donald kirsch OK. Well, Sarah, thank you. sarah mervosh Thank you, Don. OK, take care. donald kirsch pleasure. Thank you. sarah mervosh Around 7 oclock, I head to the final event of the day, [die rolling] sarah mervosh A dice game called bunco. sarah mervosh Whos in charge? Is Zita in charge? speaker Its Zita. [CHUCKLING] sarah mervosh Betty Lou and Zita are there, along with three others. Theyre sitting around a table, and they each have a small cup of cheese puffs in front of them. Betty Lou had brought her auction winnings to share. [die rolling] speaker 1 Oh, she won bunco. [interposing voices] speaker 2 She won bu speaker 1 You won, Jean. speaker 3 I did? speaker 1 Yeah. speaker 2 You won bunco interposing voices You won bunco. sarah mervosh As the day draws to a close, I think about what this time at Good Shepherd tells us about the return to normalcy after the pandemic. There may have been an off switch at the beginning. But I realize, there will be no on switch, no one instant when everything goes back to normal. But more and more, we may find moments of healing and togetherness, a shared coffee over lunch, a dice game with friends. speaker OK, girls. It was really nice playing with change. sarah mervosh Betty Lou, what did you think? Lunch and penny auction and bunco. betty lou leech Oh my gosh. Its been a busy day. [CHUCKLES] Goodness sakes. sarah mervosh How do you feel at the end of the day? betty lou leech How I feel today? sarah mervosh Tonight, right now. betty lou leech Right now, I feel very happy about today. Well, its nice meeting you. sarah mervosh Nice meeting you. zita husick Do you think youll ever come back this way? sarah mervosh Yeah! I think probably one day. speaker See you tomorrow. interposing voices Goodnight! See you tomorrow. sarah mervosh Goodnight, Betty Lou. So good [interposing voices] zita husick see you tomorrow. speaker Very nice. zita husick Oh, thanks for listening. sarah mervosh Thank you, Zita. It was such a pleasure. I loved getting to know you, and Im so glad we got to play bunco. zita husick Yeah, yeah. sarah mervosh Yeah. michael barbaro After the break, Daily producer Stella Tan gets an update from Good Shepherd. stella tan Hey, this is Stella. Sarah just had a baby, and shes out on leave. So a few weeks ago, I got in touch with Good Shepherd to see whats been going on since she visited. I found out that after that initial period of starting to open up in February, theyd actually had to cycle in and out of lockdowns periodically throughout the year. And in light of that, I really wanted to check in on how Betty Lou was doing. [phone ringing] stella tan So I called her. stella tan Hello? staff Is this Miss Stella? stella tan Hello, nice to meet you. betty lou leech This is Betty Lou. stella tan Hi, Betty Lou. betty lou leech Hello. stella tan Its a real pleasure to meet you. betty lou leech Its nice meeting you, too. Speak a little louder. stella tan OK, Ill get closer to the microphone. Hows this? betty lou leech Yes, better. stella tan Is it OK if I ask you some questions about what life has been like at Good Shepherd since February? betty lou leech Yeah, you can ask me some questions. stella tan Great. Well, lets start with just today. How are you today? betty lou leech This is a good day, a happy day. My daughter just came in to visit me because theyre letting our family come in our room to see us. Before, we had to meet them downstairs for an hour stella tan Oh, I see. betty lou leech and talk [INAUDIBLE]. But now its all open, and theyre coming back and seeing us. stella tan And how does that feel? betty lou leech Oh, its hard to express. Happy, sad, crying. Happy because youre so happy to be able to say hello in your own room tone. stella tan And why sad? betty lou leech I dont know. Its sad to think that we went through so much. Our daughters and family they encouraged us and called us. And its all excitement and emotions. And I dont mean sad-sad. stella tan Right, I understand. betty lou leech Yeah. stella tan I understand. Can I meet your daughter? betty lou leech Yeah, just a minute please. speaker Come around to the side here. judy Oh, youll know that Im her daughter because everybody says, I know who you are, because you look just like Betty Lou. [laughter] stella tan You do! judy Yeah, this is the first time Ive got to see her in her room. [LAUGHS] stella tan Wow. judy Its so nice. Its wonderful. betty lou leech Its definitely its hard to express how happy it makes you. Everything is looking up today. Were just looking upward. stella tan Yeah. Betty Lou, did you ever finish that big tub of cheese puffs that you won at the penny auction in February? [laughter] betty lou leech Yes, and many more. Everybody ate them. stella tan Oh, good. Well, I wont take up any more of your time. I know your daughter is there, and Im sure you want the time together. So betty lou leech I thank you so much for talking, because its nice to know that people out there do care for you besides people here. speaker Mm-hmm. Thanks, Stella. betty lou leech Thank you very much. stella tan Thank you. betty lou leech All right. stella tan Bye-bye. betty lou leech All right, bye. [phone ringing] stella tan I also talked to Don donald kirsch Hello? stella tan to see how he was feeling, as a nursing-home administrator, given all the changes in the pandemic since the beginning of the year. stella tan I wanted to get your thoughts, as the administrator. donald kirsch I just want to say, at the onset, that somewhat surprisingly, of the two years that we have been dealing with this pandemic, that this year has been more difficult than the last. And the reason it was more difficult was, when the variants started coming along, particularly the Delta variant, we had a high level of anxiety as to whether or not the vaccines that our residents and staff received would work against any variants that might come along. So in the back of our minds, we were always questioning ourselves. What if the vaccine is not effective against these variants? What will we be facing? So we spent quite a bit of this year worrying about that. stella tan Mm. Whats in your mind as youre thinking about what lies ahead for Good Shepherd next year? donald kirsch Well, Ive already told my staff, Im 64 years old. Ill be retiring in two more years. I told them that if this is still going on, that Im not leaving (CHOKING UP), because I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to our residents, their family members, and certainly our staff. And what would it say if, in the middle of this, I just got on my horse and rode off into the sunset? Because my concern is, this is never going to end. Were going to be dealing with this in one form or another. [music] I guess maybe the only thing I can compare it to is being awake during a nightmare. There may be peaks and valleys. There may be successes and failures. But you never know what the next day is going to hold. You never know when the next variant is going to come, how contagious and how deadly its going to be. And from my perspective, I dont see any end to this. stella tan The week after Don and I spoke, the Omicron variant was identified. There was one more resident I had planned to speak with zita husick March the 15th. Next month, Ill be 6 actually, its stella tan Zita Husick. zita husick 96. I always want to say 69 [LAUGHS] Ill be [INAUDIBLE] 96. Im a party pooper. I like this [INAUDIBLE] stella tan But a few days before we were supposed to talk, Good Shepherd reached out to let me know that she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. zita husick [INAUDIBLE] I like to have a good time. stella tan She was 96. [music] michael barbaro Every scenario is different, said Dr. Samir Sinha, the director of geriatrics at the Sinai Health System and University Health Network in Toronto, who helped created the tool Mr. Lee used. Its like being about to call Dr. Fauci and say, You know, Tony, I am going to this event, this is the situation, what do you think? The calculators can ease anxiety in different ways. Kelly Guillemette, 52, a retiree who lives outside of Toronto, found out that events she thought were high risk actually werent. The app made me say, Maybe I am causing myself excess anxiety in my own head? she said. I was having a really, really hard time trusting the outside world. Some people have even incorporated these calculators into their day-to-day lives. I am using it for every decision I have to make when I leave the house, said Alison Bergstom, 44, who lives in Cambridge, Mass., and is getting a masters degree in data science and analytics. She uses a calculator created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that assesses the risk of being with other people inside. Before Thanksgiving, she used a calculator to assess her risk in going to Costco. To consider how big the store is, how many people will be there, are people going to be wearing masks, are people going to be eating samples, she said. I changed my entire schedule around when it said the risk was high. I went Monday morning as soon as it opened so it was less busy and I could go in and out. She also crunched numbers before going to a hair appointment. The app asked how many people would be there and what they would be doing. I realized people would be talking loudly because the hair dryers would be on, she said. It showed the risk was quite significant so I decided not to do it. But AirTags present a uniquely harmful threat because the ubiquity of Apples products allows for more exact monitoring of peoples movements, said Eva Galperin, a cybersecurity director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who studies so-called stalkerware. Apple automatically turned every iOS device into part of the network that AirTags use to report the location of an AirTag, Ms. Galperin said. The network that Apple has access to is larger and more powerful than that used by the other trackers. Its more powerful for tracking and more dangerous for stalking. Apple does not disclose sales figures, but the tiny $29 AirTags have proved popular, selling out consistently since their unveiling. An Apple spokesman, Alex Kirschner, said in a statement that the company takes customer safety very seriously and is committed to AirTags privacy and security. He said the small devices have features that inform users if an unknown AirTag might be with them and that deter bad actors from using an AirTag for nefarious purposes. If users ever feel their safety is at risk, they are encouraged to contact local law enforcement who can work with Apple to provide any available information about the unknown AirTag, Mr. Kirschner said. Police could ask Apple to provide information about the owner of the AirTag, potentially identifying the culprit. But some of the people who spoke with The Times were unable to find the associated AirTags they were notified of and said the police do not always take reports of the notifications on their phones seriously. After a Friday night out with her boyfriend this month, Erika Torres, a graduate music student in New Orleans, was notified by her iPhone that an unknown accessory had been detected near her over a two-hour period, moving with her from a bar to her home. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday raised its Covid-19 warning level for cruise ships to 4, the highest, and issued a blunt warning: Avoid cruise travel regardless of vaccination status. The move came as the number of outbreaks on ships has grown in recent weeks, causing some ports to turn away ships. Last week, dozens of people on a Royal Caribbean International ship tested positive after it set sail from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and a Carnival Cruise Line ship returned to Miami on Sunday after positive tests among a small number on board. Calling the C.D.C.s decision perplexing, the cruise industrys trade group, Cruise Lines International Association, said in a statement that the number of cases onboard made up a very slim minority of the total population and that the majority of cases were asymptomatic or mild in nature, posing little to no burden on medical resources onboard or onshore. Before the C.D.C.s warning on Thursday, Royal Caribbean Group, one of the biggest cruise companies, said its ships had carried 1.1 million guests since it had restarted U.S. operations in June, with 1,745 people testing positive. While the majority of passengers had mild or no symptoms, 41 people were hospitalized. Several studies found that around 20 percent of U.S. patients who had emergency care were treated by someone outside of their insurance network, including emergency room doctors, radiologists or laboratories. Any of those providers could send patients an extra bill after the fact, and some medical groups did so routinely. Such bills are now illegal. There is one important exception. What does the law mean if I need an ambulance? The new law does not prevent ambulance companies from billing you directly for their services if they travel on roads. It does offer protections against surprise bills from air ambulances. Ground ambulances were left out of the recent legislation because legislators determined they would need a different regulatory approach. Congress established a commission to study the issue and may consider reforms. Eleven states prevent ambulances from sending out-of-network medical bills. Patients who live in the other states are quite likely to get a bill in the mail if they require an ambulance. Research shows as many as half of people who need an ambulance receive such a bill, though the amount is not always large. What does the law mean for routine hospital procedures? For scheduled services, like knee operations, C-sections or colonoscopies, its important you choose a facility and a main doctor that is in your insurance plans network. If you do that, the law bars anyone else who treats you from sending you a surprise bill. This also addresses a large problem. Surprise bills from anesthesiologists, radiologists, pathologists, assistant surgeons and laboratories were common before. If, for some reason, you are having such a service and you really want an out-of-network doctor to be part of your care, that doctor typically needs to notify you at least three days before your procedure, and offer a good faith estimate of how much you will be charged. If you sign a form agreeing to pay extra, you could get additional bills. But the hospital or clinic cant force you to sign such a form as a condition of your care, and the form should include other choices of doctors who will accept your insurance. People should really, really think carefully before they sign that form, because they will waive all of their protections, Ms. Kelmar said. She recommended that patients skip right to the part of the form that lists covered alternatives. People waited near Times Square early Friday in anticipation of the New Years Eve festivities. The subdued atmosphere caused by the pandemic on what is usually a giddy holiday was evident at the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan on an unseasonably warm last day of 2021, as New Yorkers said goodbye to one difficult year and steeled themselves for another. Many of those in the modest crowd perusing stands stocked with plants, vegetables, baked goods and other items did not appear overly concerned about the virus: At least half were not wearing masks, but were holding them in their hands or tucking them under their chins instead. Still, their comments told a more nuanced story. Bruce Perry, 72, of Coney Island, browsed the markets offerings while heading to Paragon Sports on the squares north side. The Omicron variants prevalence had dampened his New Years Eve mood. Im a little depressed, he said. Im tired of wearing this mask every day. He added that he had just started to feel comfortable being outside without it. But I know we got to wear it with everything going on, he said. Weve got to learn to live with it. Mr. Perry, who is vaccinated and has gotten a booster shot, said he had been careful to avoid large crowds and had recently canceled a trip to Atlanta to visit his two daughters and three grandchildren. Ill just have to wait, he said. I dont want to get sick, and I dont want them to get sick. Hopefully 2022 will be better, he added. It doesnt look like its getting any better. George Martin was also on the squares north side, playing Nat King Coles Nature Boy and Maria from West Side Story on his trumpet as a few passers-by dropped dollar bills in his small gray duffle bag while wishing him a Happy New Year. Image George Martin playing in Union Square Park on Friday. Theres a lot of confusion right now about Omicron, but what are you going to do? he said. Lock yourself in your room? Life is too short. Credit... Chelsia Rose Marcius A 71-year-old retiree who lives on Manhattans Upper East Side and busks in the parks several days a week, Mr. Martin said he was sure 2022 would bring its share of problems, but that was no reason to stop living. Theres a lot of confusion right now about Omicron, but what are you going to do? he said. Lock yourself in your room? Life is too short. Soph Ehrlich, 27, a social worker, said they were weary of the pandemic and frustrated by how it had affected the poor families they work with. Still, Mx. Ehrlich, who grew up on East 15th Street and now lives in Oakland, Calif., said the sense of community that had developed over the past 12 months was encouraging. Im tired, but I dont feel hopeless. Mx. Erlich said. I have trust in people to take care of one another. In Brooklyn, the mood was also muted outside Woodhull Hospital Center, a city-run facility straddling the Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods where the line to get a P.C.R. test ran along a fenced-in driveway. Sulphina Bennett was among those who were waiting. Ms. Bennett, 39, said she had gotten sick with Covid-19 in January and had gotten vaccinated after that. So when a rapid test came back positive after she spent Christmas with her parents, she decided to get another opinion. Im doing this just to make sure, Ms. Bennett, wearing an overcoat and floral-print mask, said from her place near the front of the line. She said she had been waiting for 90 minutes. Ms. Bennett said she felt like she had a mild cold. But she was not taking her symptoms lightly. A colleague died of Covid earlier in the pandemic, she said. Another had it now. Its like all of us are getting it one by one, she said. The wait for tests was about 30 minutes at a city-run health clinic in a parking lot next to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Fort Greene. Those who were waiting included Stacey Campbell, Adam Szlachetka and their 2-year-old daughter, Noa, who started prekindergarten in September. This is the first time shes had to specifically test for school, Ms. Campbell, 39, said. I dont know if its going to be regular but we did get an email saying, Every child, get a test before coming back on the 4th. She said that tests for herself and Mr. Szlachetka, 42, were precautionary. Weve been lucky, Ms. Campbell said. Both are vaccinated and neither has gotten the virus. But word that Ms. Campbells mother had been exposed to someone who was infected threw a scare into the familys Christmas, setting off a frantic round of testing and online reading. We were waiting til the last minute to see if my mom could come for Christmas, Ms. Campbell said. We all made it. Her and her husband had to eat in the hallway. Other than that, she added with laugh, we were all together. As for New Years plans, Ms. Campbell said, Were going to make a champagne cocktail and get tested and feel good about that. And hope for a better 2022. By 4 p.m., those intent on welcoming the new year at or near this years scaled-back version of the traditional Times Square New Years Eve celebration had begun to gather. Several hundred people stood on the south side of police barricades at 38th Street and Seventh Avenue, waiting to enter the section where the festivities would be held or lingering to get a distant look as the night unfolded. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:18 - 0:00 transcript Colorado Wildfire Burns Hundreds of Homes and Forces Evacuations The authorities are urging tens of thousands of people across parts of Boulder County, Colo., to leave as quickly as possible as the grassfires continue to burn. Todays been a harrowing day in Boulder County with two significant fires fueled by dry conditions and very high winds. We currently have thousands of individuals in the south part of our county and in the areas of Superior and Louisville whove been evacuated. We know that there are structures, both homes and businesses, that have been burned and lost. Were speaking about hundreds of structures. The Marshall fire was reported just after 11 oclock a.m. at South Foothills and Marshall Road. Over the course of the day, this fire ballooned and spread rapidly east. Its currently reported to be at about 1,600 acres. It spread through Superior and parts of Louisville and unincorporated Boulder County. The Vista Hospital and many care facilities in the area have been evacuated. At this point, we only have one reported injury: a minor injury to an officers eye from windblown debris. Its too early to tell if we have any fire-related casualties. We have no fire-related casualties reported currently. However, Id like to emphasize that due to the magnitude of this fire, the intensity of this fire, and its presence in such a heavily populated area, we would not be surprised if there are injuries or fatalities. The authorities are urging tens of thousands of people across parts of Boulder County, Colo., to leave as quickly as possible as the grassfires continue to burn. Credit Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times Fast-moving wildfires in Colorado swept through suburban areas near Denver on Thursday, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in Boulder County and burning at least 500 homes, a shopping complex and a hotel, the authorities said. The wildfires came unusually late in the year for Colorado, where severe drought conditions in recent months have set the stage for such blazes to easily spread. As the sky above Boulder County turned orange on Thursday, ash swirled in the wind and buildings were engulfed in flames. The local authorities announced evacuation orders for Superior and Louisville, and for some residents of Broomfield and Westminster. All of those communities lie between Boulder and Denver, the state capital. Traffic was heavy in some areas as residents fled approaching flames. Its really smoky, and there are some areas where its been hard to breathe outside, and you can see flames depending on where youre at in the city, Emily Hogan, a spokeswoman for Louisville, said on Thursday. The situation is continuing to evolve rapidly and we want everyone to be prepared to take action, if needed. Gov. Jared Polis declared a state of emergency, allowing the state to tap emergency funds and to deploy state resources, including the Colorado National Guard. He said wind gusts of up to 110 miles per hour had pushed the fires with astonishing speed across suburban subdivisions. This fire is, frankly, a force of nature, Mr. Polis said at a news conference on Thursday. For those who have lost everything that theyve had, know that we will be there for you to help rebuild your lives. The fires started on Thursday morning, officials said, and more than 1,600 acres had burned by the evening. The specific cause was unclear as of early Friday morning. Though a number of small blazes burned through Boulder County, some converged into two larger ones that state authorities named the Marshall and Middle Fork fires. The Marshall unleashed the most damage. Sheriff Joe Pelle of Boulder County described the fires on Thursday as a horrific event. He said he believed both of the main fires had been caused by downed power lines and said he would not be surprised if there were deaths or injuries. As of Thursday night, only one minor injury had been reported: a police officer who got debris in his eye. As several communities were warning their residents to prepare to evacuate on Thursday night, the National Weather Service reported good news: The high wind warnings in the Boulder area had all been canceled, even though some gusty winds remained. The police in Broomfield lifted an evacuation order for the city just before midnight local time. The three communities where evacuation orders were still in place early Friday have a combined population of more than 150,000, including about 116,000 people who live in Westminster. The fires left thousands of people anxiously wondering if their homes would survive the night, and disrupted essential services across several counties. Avista Adventist Hospital, a 114-bed hospital in Louisville, said on Thursday that it had evacuated its intensive care units and its emergency department, moving patients to two other hospitals. Staff members were sheltering in place and nearby roads were closed, the hospital said. And Xcel Energy, a utility company with millions of customers in Colorado and other states, said on Thursday afternoon that high winds had caused outages in the Boulder area. The company said it was also intentionally cutting power in some areas because wildfires had affected its natural gas infrastructure. As midnight neared, the company said it was ending the controlled outages but that its crews would work overnight and into Friday to restore power to other homes. The latest surge has caused a concerning rise in hospitalizations among children. But early data suggests that Omicron appears to be causing milder illness for children, similar to findings for adults. And hospital officials and physicians have said that nearly all children hospitalized with Covid-19 were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. Children can better withstand coronavirus infections, but in rare instances can still become very sick and even die. At least 1.8 million adolescents between 12 and 15 years old have tested positive for the virus, according to the C.D.C. A series of studies published on Thursday by the agency underscored how important vaccination can be for children and adolescents. In one study spanning July through early December that examined hundreds of adolescents in Arizona, researchers said two doses of the vaccine reduced the risk of infection by 92 percent. Two other C.D.C. studies showed that there were few serious side effects reported among 5- to 11-year-olds who had received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and that pediatric hospitalizations occurred mostly among children who had not been fully vaccinated. One recent South African study showed that the effectiveness of Pfizers vaccine against severe illness and hospitalization was about 70 percent after two doses, against Omicron in particular. Pfizer-BioNTechs vaccine is the only of the three federally authorized coronavirus shots that is approved for use in people under 18. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions vaccine advisory committee is planning to meet by the middle of next week to weigh in on whether to recommend the changes in the F.D.A.s booster policy. If the committee agrees with the F.D.A.s authorizations, Dr. Walensky is expected to promptly endorse the revisions. The year 2021 was one of emotional whiplash. There was anticipation for vaccines, followed by confusing rollouts. Then, we saw some hope as many Americans were inoculated, only to find new variants, a tumultuous news cycle and widespread confusion around the bend. The good news is that people across the country including experts, public figures and kids started talking more openly and helpfully about the importance of mental health. Here at Well, we offered tools to stay balanced in the face of so much stress and anxiety. As the year comes to a close, weve collected the top pieces of advice from our most popular mental health stories to help you carry calm and clarity into 2022. 1. Give your feeling a name. Back in April, Adam Grant had already called it; he said, Languishing might be the dominant emotion of 2021. People certainly knew they were feeling some kind of way, but it wasnt burnout or depression or even boredom. Languishing is the neglected middle child of mental health, Dr. Grant wrote. Its the void between depression and flourishing the absence of well-being. He provided some tips to cure languishing, but the powerful first step Dr. Grant proposed was simply naming the feeling. Doing so gave us a clearer window into what had been a blurry experience, he wrote, and a socially acceptable response to the question: How are you? The concept of anos viejos comes from European influence, Professor Gonzales said, adding that unlike European cultures, which experience time with a beginning and an end, Andean cultures conceive of time as continuous. But rituals to expel epidemics or ailments are prehistoric and Indigenous, Professor Gonzales said. Maria Belen Calvache, a specialist in politics and traditions in Ecuador, said in an interview that there are historical records in Ecuador that show that Indigenous populations, specifically the people from Otavalo, would burn a doll symbolizing a feudal leader during the celebration of the solstice in December, March and June. She added, They were burned as a symbol of regeneration. The first anos viejos as we know them today were burned along the Andean sierra in major Ecuadorean cities like Quito and Guayaquil in the 19th century, historians explained. The burnings were the climax of a 10-day Catholic celebration marking the end of the year, running from Dec. 28, the Day of the Innocents, to Three Kings Day, on Jan. 6. During those days, people wore masks and costumes on the streets. On Dec. 31, large rag dolls representing drunken old men were carried through the streets by masked people dressed in white to represent their weeping widows, Ms. Calvache explained. Because the drunks didnt leave wills, the widows would roam about asking for money. At midnight, the rag doll would be burned, and a humorous testament where different things are left to the mourners is read, Ms. Calvache added. Those things were usually satirical omens or wishes for prosperity. For a fundamentally working-class society, end-of-the-year celebrations were an opportunity to forget about sorrows through parties, said Alfonso Ortiz Crespo, a historian and architect from Ecuador. It was a time to make fun of the other not only civil authority, but also make fun of the neighbor, the friend and the relative, or the political enemy. In the BBC interview, Mr. Dershowitz said that Ms. Maxwells trial undermined the credibility of Ms. Giuffre, and her case against Prince Andrew, whom she has also accused of sexually abusing her when she was still a minor and he was a guest of Mr. Epstein. Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, denies that claim. Ms. Giuffre did not testify at Ms. Maxwells trial. And Mr. Dershowitz speculated that the prosecutors had concerns about Ms. Giuffres credibility. The trial of Ms. Maxwell, the former companion to the disgraced financier Mr. Epstein and the daughter of a British media mogul, was widely seen as the courtroom reckoning that Mr. Epstein never had. The omission of Mr. Dershowitzs connection to the case ignited criticism online over conflict of interest. Sarah Churchwell, an American professor at the University of London, was among those weighing in. The BBC never explained his connection to the case, Professor Churchwell wrote in an email. At no point did the BBC journalist challenge Dershowitz or even mention his conflicts of interest although he himself had just raised them, more than once, she wrote. There is a real risk of a regional increase, said Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri, the incident manager for Covid-19 for the Pan American Health Organization, a division of the World Health Organization. Covid-19 cases have also been steadily increasing in Bolivia, with signs of a potential uptick in Uruguay and Paraguay. Even though South America is in the middle of summer, when people spend more time outdoors, the holidays also bring an increase in travel. And there has really been a decrease in the implementation of social distancing measures, Dr. Aldighieri said. In Argentina, both the Delta variant and the highly infectious Omicron variant are circulating, officials said, although Delta remains predominant. Omicron has been detected in 25 countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean, but it will be weeks before its potential impact across the region becomes clear, Dr. Aldighieri said, adding that genomic sequencing is limited in many countries and Omicron will be coexisting with other variants. MEXICO CITY Mexicos government announced this week that it would let cruise ships dock at its ports, even if passengers have tested positive for the coronavirus, and also allow asymptomatic travelers to disembark on its shores. The announcement came after two cruise ships with Covid-19 outbreaks were refused permission by Jalisco state authorities in the last week to disembark passengers or crew at Puerto Vallarta, a popular tourist destination on Mexicos Pacific coast. Our country maintains its policy of solidarity and fraternity, as well as the principle of non-discrimination towards all people, the government said in a statement. The health and tourism authorities remain attentive to provide the necessary medical assistance to those who visit us. The announcement from the federal government contradicts Jaliscos local authorities and is typical of Mexicos laissez-faire attitude toward foreign visitors during the pandemic. The Latin American nation is among the few in the world to have imposed no restrictions or testing requirements for travelers. And they were not capable of defending me, he added. Two different factions of the Taliban were closing in from two different directions, Mr. Ghani said. And the possibility of a massive conflict between them that would destroy the city of five million and bring havoc to the people was enormous. The decision to leave was frenzied, he said, and he was not given more than two minutes to get ready for the flight out of the country. More than three months later, he is well aware of the criticisms from many corners that he abandoned his nation when he was needed most. My life work has been destroyed, he said. My values had been trampled on. And I have been made a scapegoat. But he once again defended his actions. I had to sacrifice myself in order to save Kabul, he said. The Taliban took full control of Kabul hours after Mr. Ghanis escape and the collapse of his security forces. Three days later, Mr. Ghani resurfaced in the United Arab Emirates, where he has been living since then. A leaking boat packed with more than 100 Rohingya refugees was towed ashore in Indonesia on Friday, days after the government reversed an earlier decision to turn the stranded vessel away. The reversal was a rare instance of good news for a mostly stateless ethnic minority whose members have been fleeing persecution in Myanmar and poverty in Bangladesh for years. Hundreds of other Rohingya have died trying to make similar journeys. Fishermen spotted the vessel on Sunday off the coast of Aceh Province, the northwest tip of the island of Sumatra. Rights groups later said that 120 people were stranded on it, mostly women and children, and that they had been at sea for about a month. Their engine exploded, the boat leaked, there were strong winds and big waves, Badruddin Yunus, a local fisherman and community leader, said by telephone as the boat was being towed to land on Thursday evening. The other problem is that there are so many children on board. Nickel is vital to electric car batteries, but extracting it is dirty and destructive. A plant with a turbulent history in New Caledonia is about to become an experiment in doing it better. GORO, New Caledonia From the reef-fringed coast of New Caledonia, the Coral Sea stretches into the South Pacific. Slender native pines, listing like whimsical Christmas trees, punctuate the shoreline. The landscape, one of the most biodiverse on the planet, is astonishingly beautiful until the crest of a hill where a different vista unfolds: a gouged red earth pierced by belching smokestacks and giant trucks rumbling across the lunar-like terrain. This is Goro, the largest nickel mine on a tiny French territory suspended between Australia and Fiji that may hold up to a quarter of the worlds nickel reserves. It also poses a critical test for Tesla, the worlds largest electric vehicle maker, which wants to take control of its supply chain and ensure that the minerals used for its car batteries are mined in an environmentally and socially responsible fashion. Teslas strategy, the largest effort by a Western electric vehicle maker to directly source minerals, could serve as a model for a green industry confronting an uncomfortable paradox. While consumers are attracted to electric vehicles for their clean reputation, the process of harvesting essential ingredients like nickel is dirty, destructive and often politically fraught. Because of its nickel industry, New Caledonia is one of the worlds largest carbon emitters per capita. And mining, which began soon after New Caledonia was colonized in 1853, is intimately linked to the exploitation of its Indigenous Kanak people. The legacy of more than a century of stolen land and crushed traditions has left Goros nickel output at the mercy of frequent labor strikes and political protests. It is not frivolity or a casual disregard for potential danger so much as fatigue and a determination to press on in a modern, bustling city of three million people. The United States government has said that Russia has plans for an invasion, but that there is no indication that President Vladimir V. Putin has decided to execute them. Definitely the situation is very dangerous, and it is escalating, but at the same time, we are living in this situation for seven years, Hanna Shelest, the editor in chief of the academic journal Ukraine Analytica, said at a panel discussion this month, referring to the continuing war in the east pitting Ukrainian troops against Russian-backed separatists. From the inside it looks less dangerous, probably, than from the outside, she said. That is the basis of crisis psychology: The person in the accident usually is less afraid than people who are watching. The relatively calm atmosphere can also be traced to a decision by President Volodymyr Zelensky not to put the nation on a war footing with public announcements about conflict. Doing so would admit that opposition political parties who have been sounding the alarm for months were right all along. It is also seen as an effort to prevent panic, even as the government has stepped up military training for civilians to resist a possible invasion. At least 61 percent of Indians have received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine, and 43 percent have received two, according to the Our World in Data project. Still, experts worry that a massive surge fueled by a highly transmissible variant in a country of 1.4 billion people could overwhelm the health system. At the height of Indias devastating second wave in May, at least 4,000 Covid-19 patients were dying each day because of crippling shortages of oxygen, hospital beds and medicines. Dr. Rachna Kucheria, a public health expert and founder of DocGenie, a telemedicine start-up, said in an interview with the broadcaster NDTV that although Omicron showed signs of being less severe than previous variants, there could still be problems if it generated a larger overall number of cases. When this happens in a pandemic, any country, in most countries, systems will get overwhelmed quickly, she said. Even more concerning, experts say, is that the rise in cases again coincides with a state election season. Voting is scheduled to begin next month in five states including Uttar Pradesh, the most populous in the country, and massive crowds attended rallies held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposition parties on Thursday. Early this year, huge election rallies including many unmasked people, and the governments politicization of virus science, were blamed for helping the virus spread during the second wave. On Thursday, some state governments confronted the possibility of a third wave, reopening Covid-19 war rooms and considering tighter restrictions to curb the spread. The South African government said Thursday that data from its health department suggested that the country had passed its Omicron peak without a major spike in deaths, offering cautious hope to other countries grappling with the variant. The speed with which the Omicron-driven fourth wave rose, peaked and then declined has been staggering, said Fareed Abdullah of the South African Medical Research Council. Peak in four weeks and precipitous decline in another two. This Omicron wave is over in the city of Tshwane. It was a flash flood more than a wave. The rise in deaths over the period was small, and in the last week, officials said, marginal. Some scientists were quick to forecast the same pattern elsewhere. When they heard the acceleration of THOME'S vehicle, two (2) Pennsylvania State Police Troopers exited their cruiser and approached the suspect. They heard the acceleration of THOME'S engine, witnessed her actively drive into the marked police cruiser, and saw her tires spin. The distance between the State Police and THOME measured approximately twenty (20) feet. Interviews of the troopers involved revealed they feared multiple outcomes. The State Police could not see the North Lebanon Township Officer; they did not know if he was inside or outside of his patrol vehicle as THOME accelerated. THOME could continue to ram the Officer's cruiser; she could reverse and run over any officers on scene. Given the totality of THOME'S violent, reckless, and dangerous actions on the evening in question, the State Police drew their service weapons and fired upon THOME. The Lebanon County Detective Bureau (LCDB) commenced an investigation at the direction of DA Graf that same morning. During the investigation, the LCDB worked closely with the State Police and other police departments involved. THOME'S autopsy revealed her toxicology results. At the time of her death, THOME was under the influence of the methamphetamine; her blood also contained amphetamines. The intoxicants in her system are stimulants which typically cause irrational thought and erratic actions. - Most of us will never know what it feels like as a police officer, faced with an immediate situation that requires action. Law enforcement involved in this case committed the most serious human act they took a life. However, they did so in the face of an extremely fast-paced, tumultuous, and dangerous situation. They did so believing it necessary to save their fellow officers and themselves. They did so knowing the use of deadly force is necessary in only the gravest of situations. The totality of THOME'S actions, the realities of the situation, and the split seconds which required the troopers to act all prove this shooting was justified, said DA Hess Graf. Inquiries regarding this Release should be directed to the Office of the District Attorney at (717)-491-3102 or pgraf@lebcnty.org. ( Attachment 14 Page 2 of 2 Rev. OW08/02 PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE PENINSURIA GOO: CR Captain D. Michelle Turk Commanding Officer Troop M Bethlehem 2930 Airport Road Bethlehem, PA 18017-2149 Telephone: 610-861-2026 Fax: 610-807-3300 October 28, 2008 District Attorney James B. Martin Lehigh County Courthouse 455 W. Hamilton Street Allentown, Pa 18101-1614 Dear Mr. Martin: It is with a deep sense of pride that I nominate Trooper Jay D. Splain, Troop M, Bethlehem for the "Lehigh County Police Officer of the Year Award. I believe Trooper Splain has exemplified, through his actions, the professional standards highly regarded by the Pennsylvania State Police. In Lehigh County where so many law enforcement officers have distinguished themselves, it is difficult to determine which officers are deserving of this prestigious award. However, I believe Trooper Splain's actions in an incident that occurred on July 16, 2007, have made him eligible for this award. Specifically, on this date Trooper Splain, Trooper Eric D. Dimler, and Trooper Geraldo Martinez were dispatched to a residence in Washington Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, to investigate a report of a male subject threatening his life and the lives of others in the residence with a firearm. Trooper Splain was advised of the subject's history of mental disease, and he was armed with at least one rifle. Trooper Splain was also informed that a mutual friend was still inside, whose safety could be at risk. Therefore, a decision to enter and attempt to establish communication with the subject was made. A search of the ground floor was initiated. Trooper Splain encountered a long hallway and assumed a tactical position and announced his presence. At that time the subject's friend appeared and informed Trooper Splain that there was "a big problem. After the friend was safely removed from the residence, the subject appeared at the far end of the hallway. Trooper Splain immediately noticed the subject holding an Uzi submachine gun underneath his chin. The subject began to advance down the hall towards Trooper Splain and Trooper Dimler. The subject ignored repeated orders from An Internationally Accredited Law Enforcement Agency The famous Trembling Rock of Huelgoat forest, in northeastern France, is a 7-meter-long, 137-tonne block of granite that anyone can move with their own hands, as long as they know how to push it. The forest of Huelgoat is home to numerous large boulders and geological wonders, but Trembling Rock is by far the most popular of them all. The oblong boulder is so large and heavy that no human could ever hope to move it by themselves, and yet anyone, regardless of how skinny or weak they are, can gently rock it up and down just by pushing on the right spot. Left perched atop a much wider rock base in a unique position, Trembling Rock can make even the most feeble person on Earth look like the strongest person in the world. Also known as Logan stone, Trembling Rock is one of the main reasons so many people visit Huelgoat. The forest is home to many interesting landmarks, but none compare to Trembling Rock in terms of popularity. After all, how many of them can help you look like the strongest person in the world? Weighing no less than 137 tonnes and standing taller than any human, Trembling Rock should not budge, regardless of how hard anyone pushes it, but because of its precarious position, the impossible is made possible. Barry Kluger December 30, 2021somewhere off the coast of Costa Rica. I am writing this on day 6 of a 10-day quarantine on the Seabourn Ovation. Its not just an inconvenience to be isolated, it brings on a lot of anxiety. It has spurred my songwriting abilities: "Isolation is lonely, I know you get my gist. So bring me a martini with an Omicron twist." It is so very easy for the cynics or those who think cruisers are an elite exclusionary class to dismiss the terrible hardship of cold lobster or soggy risotto. To them, I say: "Step back and think like a person, thrown into a situation beyond your control." It is so terribly lonely to be quarantined, especially when traveling with someone you have been with for over 30 years and have never spent more than one week apart. I have done week trips away but If one were on the other side of the world or away from you, the "out of sight" adage kicks in. But when someone you love is two decks away, well, not so easy. The medical office called and said they are reviewing the guidelines and would like to get me out sooner! I told them I have developed Stockholm Syndrome where I have bonded with my captors and fellow prisoners and dont want to leave, if they don't mind. But this crisis is very real. Cruise lines did not create COVID-19 but its up to them to do the right thing. Seabourn has gone far and beyond what is required. I am not talking about the free food, spirits etc that one thinks they feel obligated to do. I am talking about the "wellness checks" done in the form of phone calls, room service deliveries that go beyond their normal guidelines (one restaurant that is not "take out" became one during my stay), games, puzzles and even needlepoint, of which I was trying to figure out how to put together a rope to shimmy down for an escape from isolation. This situation is new for cruise lines and we are all going through the learning process; Seabourn, the CDC, and passengers. In our rush to get back to a new normal, there are obstacles thrown in our way and cruise lines are sometimes learning alongside us. They are not looking to profit at the expense of their loyal customers. This COVID-19 outbreak and the Delta and Omicron variants have changed the playing field, day by day, hour by hour. To paraphrase author John Steinbeck, "The best laid plans of mice and men are soon torn asunder." I have gotten emails from Seabourn president Josh Leibowitz who reached out during this difficult time of separation anxiety. His support has shown why Seabourn is a star brand; its not just about the food or the linens, its about the soul, the heart and the compassion. Im a retired PR guy and while I know how to spin positively, I also know how to confront those who are bad actors or dont do the right thing. This company is doing the right thing and we are all learning along the way. Advice for those who are quarantined? 1) Wake up, shower (and shave) every morning and put on day clothes. 2) Open all the blinds, make the bed, clean the tables so its a suite, not a sick room. 3) Use the phone as much as possible to speak to family and friends on the ship. 4) Do not be afraid to ask guest services for something. They know your predicament. 5) Limit drinking. While fun, it adds to depression and magnifies the situation. 6) Do a few sit ups. 7) Watch HGTV as the news is often depressing. Remember this: the experts are the scientists; the rest of us, crew and passengers alike, are living in a new world where we cope, travel down a path, then find we have to reverse direction. It aint easy. *** Barry Kluger, who ran his own firm for more than 20 years, is a retired crisis communications executive. THE Shannon to Dublin pipe project, part of which will run through Offaly, has entered another public consultation phase. This 13 week consultation period began on Tuesday, December 14 last and will finish on March 14 next. People can view Irish Water's plan for the pipe project on www.water.ie and at Local Authority Planning Counters. Irish Water says it will hold Webinars in January and February, details of which will be provided on www.water.ie Submissions can be emailed to nwrp@water.ie or posted to National Water Resources Plan, Irish Water, PO Box 13216, Glenageary, Co Dublin. Irish Water says all the public's submissions will be reviewed and responded to as part of a post consultation report. The plan will be adopted in 2022. Following this, a further round of public consultation on the pipe project will take place during 2022. Irish Water points out that, "The timeline to submit a Planning Application to An Bord Pleanala is subject to the enactment of new Abstraction Legislation." Irish Water estimates that 40% more treated water by 2044 will be needed in the Greater Dublin Area and Midlands in order to "address current shortfalls with our supplies and to provide a sustainable and resilient water supply which can support housing and commercial growth". It points out that The Water Supply Project Eastern and Midlands Region (WSP-EMR), is an essential project to meet the long-term water supply requirements to 2050 and beyond in a sustainable manner. The project comprises of an abstraction of water from the lower River Shannon at Parteen Basin near the southern tip of Lough Derg, with a new water treatment plant nearby at Birdhill. Treated water will then be piped 170km to a termination point reservoir at Peamount in County Dublin, connecting into the Greater Dublin Area. The project will also facilitate options to reinforce supplies of treated water to communities from Tipperary to Louth including Newport, Borrisokane, Cloughjordan, Mullingar, Carlow, Portlaoise, Navan and Drogheda. The project has already gone through extensive non-statutory public consultation and there will be a further round of non-statutory public consultation before a Strategic Infrastructure Development Planning Application is submitted to An Bord Pleanala. Cllr Seamus Morris in Nenagh told the Midland Tribune that he remains resolutely opposed to the project. The matter is of considerable interest and concern to local councillors in both Tipperary and Offaly. During a recent meeting of Birr Municipal District Cllrs John Clendennen and Peter Ormond said they wanted to meet with a representative of Irish Water and discuss the project in greater detail. They complained of a "lack of clarity" about the matter. They were told by Director of Services Stephane Duclot that it is planned to invite Irish Water to a full meeting of Offaly County Council to discuss the matter. While many councillors say they are opposed to the pipe, Cllr Morris says he's aware that their views could of course change. "In their own mind," he remarked, "Irish Water and, to be honest, most politicians of the state, think this project is a done deal (because it has been given statutory status in the National Development Plan)." The councillor said he was calling on all councillors in both Tipperary and Offaly to make their true positions known, 'to either lie down and do nothing or get ready to take on Irish Water in 2022'. "I think it behoves every right-thinking councillor in the region to oppose this because I firmly believe this project is environmental vandalism and has the potential to permanently destroy Lough Derg and the river Shannon unnecessarily." HRCHTMLField1 Federico Villegas Ambassador Federico Villegas is a lawyer and career diplomat, and entered the foreign service of Argentina with honours in 1993. He was appointed Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva in March 2020, after being Ambassador of Argentina in Mozambique since 2016, where he opened the Embassy of Argentina. In Argentina, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was first desk officer for disarmament, chemical weapons and international security issues (19931995) and then twice Director General of Human Rights (20052007 and 20122015). He coordinated the project with the OHCHR to elaborate the first National Plan against Discrimination and the establishment of the Center for Public Policies on Human Rights of Mercosur and the International Center for Human Rights of UNESCO, both based in Argentina. He represented his country before the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and the Global Action Against Mass Atrocities Crimes (GAAMAC). Abroad, previous to his posting in Mozambique, he was Alternate Representative to the Southern Common Market and the Latin American Integration Association in Uruguay (20082011), in charge of small and medium-sized businesses, social and political issues of the regional integration process and approval of regional structural cooperation projects. He was also Alternate Representative to the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. (19952003), in charge of human rights, cooperation for development and civil society issues. Mr. Villegas holds a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, cum laude, from Georgetown University (1998), and was selected as United Nations Disarmament Fellow in 1994 and Young Leader of the Americas in 2004. He undertook intensive training on human rights at New College, University of Oxford (1999) and the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France (2001). Mr. Villegas was Assistant Professor of International Law at the national universities of Rosario and Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has published and lectured at the national and international levels on disarmament, human rights, international security and cooperation for development issues. During 2020 and 2021, he was President of the 6th Conference of the Arms Convention Treaty (ATT) and the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Both states were already deemed high risk, which already stops all travel into WA except for those with exemptions granted by WA Police. A large fire has engulfed a property at a marine workshop that has spread to a neighbouring property at Fern Bay in Sydneys inner west DENVER (AP) A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks. The writings are part of the investigation into what led Lyndon James McLeod to carry out the shootings, which took place in less than an hour Monday at several locations around the metro area, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said Wednesday. McLeod, 47, knew most of the people he shot through business or personal relationships, police have said. Four of those shot were attacked at tattoo shops. In addition to those killed, two other people were wounded, including a police officer who shot and killed McLeod after being hit. In the first novel, written under a pen name of Roman McClay, a character named Lyndon stalks a poker party held by a character named Michael Swinyard and gains access to a building near Cheesman Park by posing as a police officer. He then fatally shoots everyone at the party and robs them before fleeing with his dog in a van. In Monday's attack, Michael Swinyard, 67, was fatally shot at a home near Denvers Cheesman Park, police said. In his second novel, which also features a character named Lyndon, McClay names Alicia Cardenas as a victim. The book also mentions the tattoo shop she owned, Sol Tribe. Alicia Cardenas, a 44-year-old tattoo artist, was among his first victims in Monday's rampage. She was killed at her tattoo shop, along with another woman, Alyssa Gunn, 35. A man who was also wounded there is expected to survive, police said. He was identified by friends and customers as Gunns husband, James Maldonado, a piercer there. That shop is less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from a tattoo shop that McLeod was listed as the... A year after Britain's new trade pact with the EU was sealed, UK exports to the bloc have plunged. With unfinished business around fisheries, Northern Ireland and financial services, what's next for Brexit? His comments come after China complained to the United Nations about his internet satellite project. "Not being able to recruit from the whole of Europe when we've been used to doing that for many years previously is really at the root of where the challenge exists," a London hotel manager told Euronews. Human rights advocates are calling on Canada to intervene and provide diplomatic aid to Cantopop star and Canadian citizen Denise Ho, who was arrested Wednesday alongside six journalists in Hong Kong. Mourners are paying their respects to late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose body is now lying in state at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town. The iconic anti-apartheid leader was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Liverpool terror attacker Emad Al Swealmeen died from the explosion caused by the improvised device he manufactured with "murderous intent", a coroner has ruled. The American lawyer spoke to the British broadcaster about the verdict in the Ghislaine Maxwell case, but his connections to the case were not made clear. Sky News 30 Dec 2021 The coffin carrying the body of Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been returned to a morgue after lying-in-state in St George's Cathedral.. The case was the first of its kind, targeting every point of the prescription opioid supply chain, from manufacturers to pharmacy.. NYTimes.com 30 Dec 2021 The Dutch leader of a religious cult started abusing a 13-year-old girl in 2006 and until 2020, when she was rescued during a police raid, the court said. Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is likely to visit India in the second week of January, according to government sources. This will be his first visit to India since assuming office earlier this year. Deuba had last met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Glasgow last month on the sidelines of the COP26 summit. Boris Johnson has praised the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for saving "many millions of lives" as the UK marks becoming the first country to approve the COVID vaccine exactly one year ago. With Florida and Texas seeing an influx of new residents, the congresswoman said it is "wise" to bar Democrats who move to red states from voting temporarily. Ron Filipkowski, a criminal defense attorney in Florida, wasn't surprised by the violence at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Now as he continues to track Trump's base online, he warns their conspiracy theories could endanger school board members. A record low number of UK firms are set to have fallen into administration in 2021 despite the heavy toll of the pandemic, according to industry experts. Britons wanting to return to their homes in EU countries after spending Christmas with friends and relatives in the UK will be able.. Sky News 30 Dec 2021 The Government is seeking urgent clarification after France banned UK nationals from travelling by car across the country to homes in other European Union states. Former England striker Ian Wright has hit out at the disrespect tinged with racism which he feels is shown by some to the Africa Cup of Nations. Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin have spoken about the Russian troop build-up near Ukraine during their second call in recent weeks. Associated Press photographers describe their experiences during a year marked by the pandemic, the impact of climate change, immigration, the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and the attack on the US Capitol. (Dec. 30) Nearly a week after celebrity business manager Angela "Angie" Kukawski was found dead inside a vehicle in Simi Valley, police announced the arrest of her boyfriend on suspicion of murder. #angelaangiekukawski #homicide #boyfriend #kardashians #simivalley The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual... Two former senior editors arrested in a Hong Kong police crackdown on a pro-democracy media organisation were charged on Thursday with sedition-related offences, national security authorities said. Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will engage in another difficult phone call where the leaders may or may not reach a compromise regarding Ukraine. The United Kingdom's public broadcaster, the BBC, has acknowledged it breached its own editorial standards with a live TV segment that aired after the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict.Maxwell, a close associate of billionaire paedophile... Upworthy 06 Jan 2022 Former Washington and Broncos running back Clinton Portis was sentenced to six months in federal prison and six months of home.. The county attorney prosecuting the case of two southeast Iowa teens charged with murder in the death of their high school Spanish.. Upworthy 29 Dec 2021 Kamarie Holland's mother has been charged with criminal murder and human trafficking after she was discovered dead two weeks ago. HNGN 30 Dec 2021 Taiwan software company Octon recently attendedHealthcare Expo Taiwan 2021exhibition with ASUS and Intel displayed mobile medical carts. Using StarMed Telemedicine Communication Platform that combines IM, audio, and video communications, and integrates with various medical diagnostic devices to provide a set of tools for medical professionals, as well as a StarCare Smart Healthcare System suitable for various healthcare organization and entities, realizing contact less healthcare environment to improve quality and efficiency Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the family and loved ones of Archbishop Desmond Tutu who died aged 90 on Sunday, 26 December. In a telegram sent to Archbishop Peter B. Wells, Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the Pope said he was saddened to learn of the Archbishops death. Mindful of his service to the Gospel through the promotion of racial equality and reconciliation in his native South Africa, his Holiness commends his soul to the loving mercy of Almighty God, the telegram reads. The Pope invokes the divine blessings of peace and consolation in the Lord Jesus upon all who mourn Archbishop Tutus passing in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Archbishop emeritus of Durban shared some of his recollections of the late Archbishop Tutu. On an occasion like this it is normal to want to recount memorable incidents from the life of one we had come to know, respect and like, because of the human being, the person that he was first and foremost. In this case, warm, friendly, most approachable, and rather mischievous! Then come the memories arising from significant deeds that he had done, significant by their very nature, or by the impact they had on you as a peer and colleague. A third set of memories is most definitely linked to the political role which the man played, particularly in relation to the future development of the country and nation. In the case of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, I would like to dwell on the third set of memories, his role as a Church Leader, committed to addressing the crucial issues that were shaping the South Africa that the majority was aspiring to become an independent, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist nation and country. I remember him at his fiery best leading protest marches and demonstrations against apartheid in general or against a particularly abhorrent new direction that the government was taking. But I also remember the fire with which he spoke as he pleaded with the different leaders of the Liberation Struggle to reconcile their differences for the greater good of the nation! One such example was his convoking of all Black leaders at Bishops Court to engage with the Church Leaders towards a common approach summed up in the aspiration referred to above! Most of all I recall the life-saving role played by Archbishop Desmond Tutu during the Funeral service of Chris Hani. I dont think the country had ever been closer to a spark that could have triggered a civil war than that occasion. Archbishop Tutu simply focused on mourning a life needlessly lost, and called for prayers and dignified mourning to foster peace and quiet reflection rather than inflame an already volatile situation. He simply repeated his pleas for peace and calm as the best way to testify to the peoples fallen hero, Chris Hani. But I also remember Archbishop Desmond Tutu as a Church Leader deeply committed to the ecumenical movement, working perseveringly to bring the Churches closer together in order to increase their effectiveness in narrowing the political, economic and especially social divide which threatened to drive our people even further apart. As I share these thoughts and memories, I am fully aware of the human grief that Archbishop Desmonds passing has brought to his widow Leah, to his Family and Friends, but also to his Anglican Brothers and Sisters. And so I pass on to them my heartfelt condolences and sympathies. May he rest in peace. In his Urbi et Orbi message on Saturday, 25 December, in Saint Peters Square, Pope Francis expressed the joy of this day when God shows us through the birth of Jesus the way of encounter and dialogue so that we might know it and follow it in trust and hope, something needed more than ever in our troubled world. The Holy Father recalled how in this time of pandemic, the capacity for social relationships is sorely tried and on the international level too, there is the risk of avoiding dialogue, the risk that this complex crisis will lead to taking shortcuts unsuitable to the resolution of conflicts. Pope Francis listed one by one the situations of conflicts and suffering in the different geographical areas of the various continents and among the peoples. By the coming of Jesus, the Person of the Word made flesh, into our world, the Pope explained, God showed us the way of encounter and dialogue. Indeed, he made that way incarnate in himself, so that we might know it and follow it, in trust and hope. The previous evening, celebrating Christmas Eve Mass on Friday, 24 December, in the Vatican Basilica, the Pope in his homily recalled how in the darkness, a light shines, an angel appears, announcing to the Shepherds To you is born this day a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Telling them how to find the God who has come down to earth, the angel directs them to the child wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Pages 4-5 Dialogue Between Generations, Education and Work: Tools for Building Lasting Peace is the theme of the Holy Fathers Message presented on Tuesday morning, 21 December, in the Holy See Press Office for the 55th World Day of Peace, which will be celebrated on 1 January 2022. The following is the English text of Pope Francis message. Dialogue Between Generations, Education and Work: Tools for Building Lasting Peace 1. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace (Is 52:7). T he words of the prophet Isaiah speak of consolation; they voice the sigh of relief of a people in exile, weary of violence and oppression, exposed to indignity and death. The prophet Baruch had wondered: Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies, that you are growing old in a foreign country, that you are defiled with the dead, that you are counted among those in Hades? (3:10-11). For the people of Israel, the coming of the messenger of peace meant the promise of a rebirth from the rubble of history, the beginning of a bright future. Today the path of peace, which Saint Paul VI called by the new name of integral development,1 remains sadly distant from the real lives of many men and women and thus from our human family, which is now entirely interconnected. Despite numerous efforts aimed at constructive dialogue between nations, the deafening noise of war and conflict is intensifying. While diseases of pandemic proportions are spreading, the effects of climate change and environmental degradation are worsening, the tragedy of hunger and thirst is increasing, and an economic model based on individualism rather than on solidary sharing continues to prevail. As in the days of the prophets of old, so in our own day the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth2 constantly make themselves heard, pleading for justice and peace. In every age, peace is both a gift from on high and the fruit of a shared commitment. Indeed, we can speak of an architecture of peace, to which different institutions of society contribute, and an art of peace that directly involves each one of us.3 All can work together to build a more peaceful world, starting from the hearts of individuals and relationships in the family, then within society and with the environment, and all the way up to relationships between peoples and nations. Here I wish to propose three paths for building a lasting peace. First, dialogue between generations as the basis for the realization of shared projects. Second, education as a factor of freedom, responsibility and development. Finally, labour as a means for the full realization of human dignity. These are three indispensable elements for making possible the creation of a social covenant,4 without which every project of peace turns out to be insubstantial. 2. Dialogue between generations to build peace In a world still gripped by the pandemic that has created untold problems, some people attempt to flee from reality, taking refuge in their own little world; others react to it with destructive violence. Yet between selfish indifference and violent protest there is always another possible option: that of dialogue. Dialogue between generations.5 All honest dialogue, in addition to a correct and positive exchange of views, demands basic trust between the participants. We need to learn how to regain this mutual trust. The current health crisis has increased our sense of isolation and a tendency to self-absorption. The loneliness of the elderly is matched in the young by a sense of helplessness and a lack of a shared vision about the future. The crisis has indeed been painful, but it has also helped to bring out the best in people. Indeed, during the pandemic we encountered generous examples of compassion, sharing and solidarity in every part of the world. Dialogue entails listening to one another, sharing different views, coming to agreement and walking together. Promoting such dialogue between generations involves breaking up the hard and barren soil of conflict and indifference in order to sow the seeds of a lasting and shared peace. Although technological and economic development has tended to create a divide between generations, our current crises show the urgent need for an intergenerational partnership. Young people need the wisdom and experience of the elderly, while those who are older need the support, affection, creativity and dynamism of the young. Great social challenges and peace processes necessarily call for dialogue between the keepers of memory the elderly and those who move history forward the young. Each must be willing to make room for others and not to insist on monopolizing the entire scene by pursuing their own immediate interests, as if there were no past and future. The global crisis we are experiencing makes it clear that encounter and dialogue between generations should be the driving force behind a healthy politics, that is not content to manage the present with piecemeal solutions or quick fixes,6 but views itself as an outstanding form of love for others,7 in the search for shared and sustainable projects for the future. If, amid difficulties, we can practise this kind of intergenerational dialogue, we can be firmly rooted in the present, and from here, revisit the past and look to the future. To revisit the past in order to learn from history and heal old wounds that at times still trouble us. To look to the future in order to nourish our enthusiasm, cause dreams to emerge, awaken prophecies and enable hope to blossom. Together, we can learn from one another.8 For without roots, how can trees grow and bear fruit? We need only think of care for our common home. The environment, in fact, is on loan to each generation, which must then hand it on to the next.9 We ought to esteem and encourage all those young people who work for a more just world, one that is careful to safeguard the creation entrusted to our stewardship. They go about this with restlessness, enthusiasm and most of all a sense of responsibility before the urgent change of direction10 required by the challenges emerging from the present ethical and socio-environmental crisis.11 On the other hand, the opportunity to build paths of peace together cannot ignore education and labour, which are privileged settings and contexts for intergenerational dialogue. Education provides the grammar for dialogue between generations, and in the experience of labour men and women of different generations find themselves able to cooperate and to share expertise, experiences and skills in view of the common good. 3. Teaching and education as drivers of peace In recent years, there has been a significant reduction worldwide in funding for education and training; these have been seen more as expenditures than investments. Yet they are the primary means of promoting integral human development; they make individuals more free and responsible, and they are essential for the defence and promotion of peace. In a word, teaching and education are the foundations of a cohesive civil society capable of generating hope, prosperity and progress. Military expenditures, on the other hand, have increased beyond the levels at the end of the Cold War and they seem certain to grow exorbitantly.12 It is high time, then, that governments develop economic policies aimed at inverting the proportion of public funds spent on education and on weaponry. The pursuit of a genuine process of international disarmament can only prove beneficial for the development of peoples and nations, freeing up financial resources better used for health care, schools, infrastructure, care of the land and so forth. It is my hope that investment in education will also be accompanied by greater efforts to promote the culture of care,13 which, in the face of social divisions and unresponsive institutions, could become a common language working to break down barriers and build bridges. A country flourishes when constructive dialogue occurs between its many rich cultural components: popular culture, university culture, youth culture, artistic culture, technological culture, economic culture, family culture and media culture.14 It is essential, then, to forge a new cultural paradigm through a global pact on education for and with future generations, one that commits families, communities, schools, universities, institutions, religions, governments and the entire human family to the training of mature men and women.15 A compact that can promote education in integral ecology, according to a cultural model of peace, development and sustainability centred on fraternity and the covenant between human beings and the environment.16 By investing in the education and training of younger generations, we can help them through a focused programme of formation to take their rightful place in the labour market.17 4. Creating and ensuring labour builds peace Labour is an indispensable factor in building and keeping peace. It is an expression of ourselves and our gifts, but also of our commitment, self-investment and cooperation with others, since we always work with or for someone. Seen in this clearly social perspective, the workplace enables us to learn to make our contribution towards a more habitable and beautiful world. The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected the labour market, which was already facing multiple challenges. Millions of economic and productive activities have failed; short-term workers are increasingly vulnerable; many of those who provide essential services have an even lower public and political profile; and in many cases, distance teaching has led to a deficit in learning and delays in completing programmes of study. Furthermore, young people entering the job market and recently unemployed adults presently face bleak prospects. In a particular way, the impact of the crisis on the informal economy, which often involves migrant workers, has been devastating. Many of the latter are not even recognized by national legislation; it is as though they did not exist. They and their families live in highly precarious conditions, prey to various forms of slavery and with no system of welfare to protect them. Currently only one third of the worlds population of working age enjoys a system of social protection, or benefits from it only in limited ways. Violence and organized crime are on the increase in many countries, impinging on peoples freedom and dignity, poisoning the economy and hampering the development of the common good. The only answer to this is an expansion of dignified employment opportunities. Labour, in fact, is the foundation on which to build justice and solidarity in every community. For this reason, our aim should not be that technological progress increasingly replace human work, for this would be detrimental to humanity. Work is a necessity, part of the meaning of life on this earth, a path to growth, human development and personal fulfilment.18 We need to combine our ideas and efforts in order to create the solutions and conditions that can provide everyone of working age with the opportunity, through their work, to contribute to the lives of their families and of society as a whole. It is more urgent than ever to promote, throughout our world, decent and dignified working conditions, oriented to the common good and to the safeguarding of creation. The freedom of entrepreneurial initiatives needs to be ensured and supported; at the same time, efforts must be made to encourage a renewed sense of social responsibility, so that profit will not be the sole guiding criterion. In light of this, there is a need to promote, welcome and support initiatives that, on all levels, urge companies to respect the fundamental human rights of workers, raising awareness not only on the part of institutions, but also among consumers, civil society and entrepreneurial entities. As the latter become more and more conscious of their role in society, the more they will become places where human dignity is respected. In this way, they will contribute to building peace. Here, politics is called to play an active role by promoting a fair balance between economic freedom and social justice. All who work in this field, starting with Catholic workers and entrepreneurs, can find sure guidelines in the Churchs social doctrine. Dear brothers and sisters, as we seek to combine our efforts in order to emerge from the pandemic, I renew my thanks to all those who continue to work with generosity and responsibility in the areas of education, safety and protection of rights, in supplying medical care, in facilitating meetings between family members and the sick, and in providing economic support to the needy and those who have lost their jobs. I continue to remember the victims and their families in my prayers. To government leaders and to all those charged with political and social responsibilities, to priests and pastoral workers, and to all men and women of good will, I make this appeal: let us walk together with courage and creativity on the path of intergenerational dialogue, education, and work. May more and more men and women strive daily, with quiet humility and courage, to be artisans of peace. And may they be ever inspired and accompanied by the blessings of the God of peace! From the Vatican, 8 December 2021 1 Cf. Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio (26 March 1967), 76ff. 2 Cf. Encyclical Letter Laudato Si (24 May 2015), 49. 3 Cf. Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti (3 October 2020), 231. 4 Ibid., 218. 5 Ibid., 199. 6 Ibid., 179. 7 Cf. ibid., 180. 8 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit (25 March 2019), 199. 9 Encyclical Letter Laudato Si, 159. 10 Cf. ibid., 163; 202. 11 Cf. ibid., 139. 12 Cf. Message to the Participants in the 4th Paris Peace Forum, 11-13 November 2021. 13 Cf. Encyclical Letter Laudato Si (24 May 2015), 231; Message for the 2021 World Day of Peace: A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace (8 December 2020). 14 Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti (3 October 2020), 199. 15 Cf. Video Message for the Global Compact on Education: Together to Look Beyond (15 October 2020). 16 Cf. Video Message for the High Level Virtual Climate Ambition Summit (13 December 2020). 17 Cf. John Paul ii, Encyclical Letter Laborem Exercens (14 September 1981), 18. 18 Encyclical Letter Laudato Si (24 May 2015), 128. After the General Audience on Wednesday, 22 December, the Holy Father made an appeal for urgent and concrete political action to tackle migration issues. The Popes reiterated appeal comes in the wake of yet another migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean that saw at least 160 people drown in the stretch of sea between Libya and the Italian island of Lampedusa. The following is a translation of the Holy Fathers appeal. During my visit to Cyprus and Greece, I was able to once again personally touch wounded humanity in refugees and migrants. I also noted how only some European countries are bearing most of the consequences of this migratory phenomenon in the Mediterranean area, while in reality, it demands the shared responsibility of all, from which no country can exempt itself because it is a human issue. In particular, thanks to the generous openness of the Italian authorities, I was able to bring to Rome a group of people I met during my journey: some of them are here among us today. Welcome! As a Church, we will take care of them during the coming months. This is a small sign that I hope will serve as a stimulus for other European countries, so that they might allow the local ecclesial communities to take care of other brothers and sisters who are in urgent need of being relocated, accompanied and integrated. In fact, there are many local Churches, religious congregations and Catholic organizations that are ready to welcome and accompany them toward a fruitful integration. All that is needed is to open a door, the door to the heart. Let us not fail to do so this Christmas. Since I began working at Espresso Milano, I have enjoyed learning more about the regulars who come through. Whats really neat is when they tell me that they either met at Milano or have spent time there regularly over the years. The latter is true for Jody Bunce of Midland, Donna Jacobs of Essexville and two more of their friends. These ladies all worked at the Midland County Health Department. Bunce worked as a family planning nurse practitioner; she enjoyed helping people a great deal. There was a good staff, but I liked helping the patients, she said. Jan Crozier, who lived in Midland at the time, was the nurse supervisor who coordinated the family planning clinic. After Crozier retired, Judy Smith, who was also living in Midland, stepped into that role. Smith oversaw the immunization, international travel and STD clinics as well. Donna Jacobs commuted to work from Essexville. She was the supervisor of a home care program. This was a fantastic group to work with, Jacobs said. Jacobs worked in childrens special health care. She carried out home visits for pregnant mothers and new baby visits; she also provided health education in schools. Jacobs served on community education boards and helped to plan county-wide baby showers as well. Bunce began visiting Espresso Milano in 1993. I started coming when you opened I am a big coffee fan, she said. Also, as Health Department staff meetings would take place at the Strosacker building on Main Street, the ladies would stop at nearby Milano to get coffee on the way. After Bunce retired almost seven years ago, all four ladies continued to meet at Milano on Friday mornings. I enjoyed the camaraderie, Bunce said. They might discuss books, talk about their children and grandchildren, or cover issues of the day. We would solve the worlds problems, Jacobs said. While they met for coffee and for each others company, they stopped at Milano for several other reasons as well. I like the environment and the fact that the staff are personable, Jacobs said. And that you always knew that Jody (Bunce) wanted a green mug. A tried and true Michigan State fan, Bunce prefers her drinks in the medium-sized green mug. I always get the skinny mocha with whip in a green cup, Bunce said. Sometimes I try the Caramel Kiss, the Pumpkin Patch Latte or other drink specials. Jacobs usually has hot chocolate. As the friendship between the four of them grew, they would also meet for dinner or to attend an event at the Midland Center for the Arts. Eventually, Crozier and Smith moved out of the area. But Bunce and Jacobs continue to visit Milano on Fridays. Bunce said she enjoys the artwork; Jacobs likes the atmosphere. Espresso Milano is welcoming. It represents a lot of people people in suits or in everyday attire all sorts of people, Jacobs said. Its on my weekly calendar. The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Andrew Mullin. Friday, Dec. 24: 9:41 p.m. -- A deputy responded to a Larkin Township roadway for a report of a male walking in the roadway creating a traffic hazard. The deputy located a 22-year-old male who was walking home from work. The deputy gave the male a ride home. 3:35 p.m. -- A deputy spoke with a 38-year-old male in the lobby of the Law Enforcement Center. He was upset about people talking about him but he wouldn't elaborate on who it was or what they were saying. 2:34 p.m. Officers responded to a suicidal subject on Fournie Street. 2:24 p.m. A deputy was sent to a house for a report of abandoned ducks and chickens. It was reported there were some dead chickens and they had not been cared for. The deputy only found living healthy chickens with food. The complainant clearly hadn't witnessed what they claimed due to a lack of prints in the snow. The deputy contacted the owner. The owner stated that they already moved the ducks and other animals to their new house. They were still caring for the chickens until they were able to get them moved over with the rest of the animals. 1:10 p.m. Officers responded to an animal bite on Fitzhugh Street. 12:17 p.m. A deputy followed EMS who was transporting a 30-year-old male inmate to the hospital. Once at the hospital, a corrections deputy arrived, and the inmate was turned over to them. A short time later, the inmate was returned to the Midland County Jail by the corrections deputy. 12:17 p.m. Officers responded to a hit and run crash on Joe Mann Boulevard. 11:39 a.m. Officers responded to a two-vehicle crash in the area of Swede Avenue and Eastlawn Drive. 10:38 a.m. -- A 29-year-old female had child custody questions. The female was advised to contact Friend of the Court to work out her custody issues. 8:13 a.m. A deputy was dispatched to a Midland Township location for an unoccupied vehicle in the ditch. The vehicle suffered either no damage or minor superficial damage. The vehicle was tagged with yellow caution tape and a 24-hour removal notice. Deputy attempted contact at the registered owner's house, and a female matching the description of the owner peeked through a window but refused to answer the door. 2:17 a.m. Deputies were dispatched to an attempted suicide at a Jerome Township residence. A 30-year-old Byron male attempted to commit suicide. The male was transported to MyMichigan Medical Center by EMS and a mental petition was completed. 1:00 a.m. A deputy responded to a Lee Township roadway for a report of a car unattended in a ditch. Contact was eventually made with the 33-year-old driver, who had lost control on the ice. There was no damage to the vehicle. The male was subsequently arrested on a felony drug warrant. He was transported and lodged at the Midland County Jail without incident. 12:19 a.m. Deputies were dispatched to a Jerome Township trailer for a verbal argument between a 30-year-old Byron male and his wife while visiting relatives. Both parties said that they were all set and the deputies advised both parties how to prevent future issues. TRAVERSE CITY -- Honor Bank announced two promotions this month, along with the addition of a local banker as vice president of commercial lending. Traverse City Union Street Branch Manager Jess Ashmore was promoted to vice president on Dec. 23. Ashmore has been with Honor Bank since the fall 2018 after spending several years with other local financial institutions. She is a regular community volunteer and member of the Traverse City Optimist Club. We are so grateful for the success at our Traverse City Union branch, thanks to Jesss investment of her heart, soul and professionalism the last several years," said Honor Bank Vice President of Retail and Marketing Dixie Hoeh in a news release. "She has thoughtfully grown relationships with customers, and built a solid team who is growing under her leadership. Hoeh said Ashmore has taken on new responsibilities and "isnt afraid of new challenges. We cant wait to see where Jess will take Honor Bank next. Thank you and congratulations." On Dec. 23, Help Center Manager Amanda Brown was promoted to assistant vice president, according to a news release. Brown began her career with Honor Bank as a customer service representative in 2015, according to a news release. In late 2020, she was promoted from branch manager of the Lake Ann branch to help center manager, wherein she led the new team to both launch and establish the Honor Bank Help Center in 2021. We are thrilled to announce the promotion of Amanda Stacy to assistant vice president, help center manager," said Hoeh in a news release. "We are so pleased with the success of our new help center that launched earlier this year. Amanda has built an awesome team of customer-focused professionals. We are grateful for her leadership and tenacity through these challenging times. On Dec. 9, Honor Bank announced the expansion of its Commercial Lending Team with the hiring of long-time local business lender, Cory VanBrocklin, vice president. VanBrocklin joins Honor Bank with over 20 years of banking experience in northern Michigan. We are excited to have Cory join Honor Bank. He brings tremendous experience to our already world-class team of commercial lenders. We value his strong commitment to the community, which dovetails perfectly with the banks culture, said Honor Bank President Norm Plumstead in a news release. In addition to his banking experience, VanBrocklin has been involved in community service initiatives over the years, particularly in the areas of community youth support and education, according to a news release. Honor Bank has been serving businesses and people in northwest Michigan since 1917, with offices in Bear Lake, Benzonia, Buckley, Copemish, Honor, Lake Ann and two in Traverse City. For more information, visit myhonorbank.com. Michigan's new representative district maps are set to be official, and Huron County's districts will see some changes. The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission approved new district maps for the state's congressional seats, the state Senate, and state House of Representatives this past Tuesday. There were five Congressional maps, six state senate maps, and four state representative maps to choose from. Due to the results of the 2020 census, Michigan is set to lose one seat in Congress in the upcoming 2022 election. Huron County will now be part of the 9th Congressional district, along with all of Sanilac, Lapeer, St. Clair, the majority of Tuscola, and the northern halves of Oakland and Macomb counties. Its current congresswoman is Republican Lisa McClain. The 25th state Senate district will remain mostly the same, with all of Huron, Sanilac, St. Clair, half of Tuscola, and part of Macomb counties. It is currently represented by Republican Dan Lauwers. Huron County will now be in the 98th state representative district, along with most of Sanilac and Tuscola and parts of Lapeer counties. Huron's current district, represented by Republican Phil Green, is made up of itself and Tuscola county. Huron County Republican Chairman Doug Henne said that the new maps are all messed up and there are going to be lawsuits from the state Republicans in the future. "They didn't listen to the communities of interest they have to," Henne said. "There's going to be lots of legal action incoming." The Michigan Republican Party had been in charge of drawing district maps in 2011, which a federal three-judge panel ruled in 2019 constituted an illegal gerrymander. Huron County Democratic Chairman Charles Henry said that overall, it looks like the commission accomplished its goal of making the districts more level in terms of bias and less gerrymandered. Despite that, he does not see much of a change of who gets elected to represent the districts Huron County falls under. "It's still early to get a true impact of what's happened," Henry said. In regard to any lawsuits against the new districts, Henry does not see them going anywhere considering that the structure of getting the maps approved required a consensus among the Republican, Democratic, and independent members. The commission was established by Michigan voters in 2018 so that redistricting would be in the hands of Michigan citizens, not the state Legislature. It is made up of 13 Michigan citizens, of which four are Democrats, four are Republican, and five unaffiliated with either party. They are charged with drawing new state districts to determine representation in both state Legislature chambers and the U.S. House of Representatives. Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - The UN health agency chief expressed optimism during a press briefing on Wednesday that 2022 may be the year the world ends the acute stage of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libyan Prime Minister Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba, said that his government did well in 2021 to restore security, sustain stability and overcome long-standing obstacles, which now belong to the past This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions It's being reported this afternoon that Apple has inched closer to ending more than eight years of litigation over claims it stiffed thousands of its retail employees in California for time spent undergoing security checks of their personal belongings, according to Courthouse News Service. The report noted that "Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted preliminary approval to a $29.9 million settlement in an eight-page order issued Tuesday night. The deal aims to compensate 14,683 current and former employees who worked at 52 Apple stores in California from July 2009 to December 2015, when Apple ended its bag-check policy for employees, aimed at preventing theft. Lead plaintiff Amanda Frlekin sued the Cupertino-based technology giant in 2013, claiming it illegally withheld pay from workers who had to spend five to 20 minutes on average waiting for managers and security officers to search their bags and verify their Apple devices before they could leave for lunch breaks or at the end of shifts. Apple agreed not to oppose class lawyers' request to deduct at least 25% in attorneys' fees from the settlement fund, something Alsup identified as a cause for concern in his ruling." 'Our court of appeals has held that this is a red flag indicating a potentially collusive settlement,' Alsup wrote, noting he previously told both sides that such agreements should be avoided so the question of attorneys fees can be left up solely to the judge. On average, class members will receive about 20% of the maximum they could get if they won at trial, according to Alsups ruling. A final settlement approval hearing is scheduled for July 7." For more details, read the full Courthouse News Service report. Below is a copy of the Judge's eight-page ruling. ORDER RE MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS SETTLEMENT by Jack Purcher on Scribd Emirates Airlines has extended the initial 48-hours ban for flights from Accra to Dubai indefinitely. Emirates flight suspension from Accra to Dubai effective December 27, 2021, is now extended until further notice, the airline said in its urgent broadcast sent to trade partners on Tuesday, December 28, 2021. The airline, however, said Dubai to Accra flights will, however, continue for passengers holding confirmed bookings and meeting the entry requirements for Accra. The carriage of passengers to and from Abidjan has also been suspended. The suspension of flights, AviationGhana sources say, is linked to the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases recorded on outbound flights arriving in Dubai from Accra and Abidjan. On Monday, December 27, 2021, Ghana officially entered its fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a record number of positive cases recorded. The countrys active cases now stand at 8,554. Source: Aviationghana.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Wearing masks even outdoors will be mandatory in Paris starting on Friday, French authorities have announced, as the country struggles to come to grips with an Omicron surge. France is leading Europe in new infections, with a record 208,000 new cases confirmed over the previous 24 hours on Wednesday. That figure was preceded by a previous daily record of 180,000 new cases on Tuesday. "I wouldn't call Omicron a wave anymore, I would call it a tidal wave," French Health Minister Olivier Veran told lawmakers on Wednesday. Veran said that at the current rate, two people in France test positive for Covid-19 every second, noting that the situation in hospitals was worrying. The mandate will apply from Friday to everyone over 11 except those inside vehicles, cyclists, users of two-wheeled transport like scooters and those doing sport, Paris police headquarters said in a statement. Paris had previously mandated mask-wearing outdoors in August 2020. Frances Labour Minister Elisabeth Borne announced Thursday that working from home was now obligatory, with companies facing a fine of up to 1,000 per employee for companies that do not comply. Beyond France, record numbers of new cases were registered on Tuesday and Wednesday in Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta while the average number of daily Covid-19 cases in the United States hit a record 265,000, according to John Hopkins University. The previous US record was 250,000 cases per day, set in mid-January. Source: France 24 Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that Ghana may reach its COVID-19 vaccination target of 20 million by the end of the first quarter next year. According to the President, although access to vaccines has been growing, the country will not be able to meet the 20million target for vaccinations that it had set for this year. The Ghana Health Service (GHS) had as of December 28, 2021, vaccinated 8, 458,155 people since the COVID-19 mass vaccination programme started in March 2021. Speaking in an interview with Forbes Africa, the President said meeting the important 20million target would bring Ghana's 30 million population closer to reaching herd immunity. "Access to vaccines has been growing. I think by the end of this year, projections are that we would have received some 15 million vaccines. That 20 million target we may not reach this year but we believe by the end of the first quarter next year, we would have attained," President Akufo-Addo said. "And the significance of it is that in a population of 30 million people if we are able to vaccinate 20 million, it means we are vaccinating the entire adult population of Ghana and that in itself gives us all the immunity we need so as a target, it is a really important target. We are also taking some long-term decisions". Intolerable position The President added that it was intolerable that Ghana had to beg other nations for vaccines to vaccinate its people. President Akufo-Addo said the African continent should have learnt from the Ebola crisis and recognized the need to be able to produce vaccines domestically. "The pandemic is affecting your population and you are not in a position to assist your population because you are having to beg other people to give you what they have, is not a situation that we can live with. We should have learned our lessons from the Ebola crisis but out of this crisis, we have to recognize the need to have our own domestic capabilities to produce our own vaccine," he said. He also stated that Ghana was in the "process of creating a national vaccine institute led by very capable and world-class Ghanaian scientists and we are hoping that by next year it will be up and running so we can find strong capabilities to find vaccines for our people". Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video As South Africa celebrated the life of anti-apartheid hero Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died on Sunday, one of his daughters recalled the day he saved a young man from being burned alive by an angry mob as one of her proudest memories. In 1985, the country was in a state of emergency as banned liberation parties, including the now ruling African National Congress, sought to ratchet up political pressure and overthrow white-minority rule. At a funeral in July of that year on the outskirts of Johannesburg, archived video footage shows Tutu, clearly visible in his purple clerical robes, stepping in to push back against angry young mourners who were beating and kicking a defenceless man curled up in the foetal position on the dusty ground. Accused of being an apartheid collaborator, the man is doused with petrol and is moments away from being necklaced the term used to describe having a tyre placed around your neck, doused with flammable liquid and then set alight. The intervention of Tutu and other clergy save the man. To see that and to see him going in. There were so many things striking about it, Nontombi Naomi Tutu, one of four of Tutus children, told Reuters outside the family home in Cape Town. One was that he had the courage to go into the crowd and say: No, this is not how we do it. But, the other is that those young people listened There was still that respect for Daddy and the other clergy That is my proudest moment, that whenever I think what made me proud of Daddy that is the thing that I always go to, she said. Tutu used the pulpit to preach against the repressive white-minority regime in South Africa, which came to an end in the 1990s, and regularly spoke at the funerals of young activists killed by the states security apparatus. Nontombi, 61, a reverend herself and who bears a striking resemblance to her larger-than-life father, also fondly remembered family road trips from Alice in the Eastern Cape to Swaziland where she and her three siblings attended school. He was a regular father. The one thing I have to say, as much as Ma was the disciplinarian, it was when Daddy would say something like: I am so disappointed. That hit, it was really hard and that was what we never wanted, to disappoint Daddy, because it took so much to disappoint him, Nontombi said. To accommodate mourners wishing to visit St Georges Cathedral to pay their final respects, Tutus remains will lie in state at the cathedral for an extra day on Thursday, in addition to Friday, a statement from the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said. The archbishop, who didnt want any lavish spending and requested the cheapest coffin available, will be cremated privately and his ashes interred in the cathedral, the Foundation added. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The combination of Delta and Omicron variants is driving a dangerous tsunami of Covid-19 cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief has said. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' words came as the US and countries across Europe reported record new cases. France reported Europe's highest ever daily figure for the second day in a row, at 208,000 cases. And the US has reported a record average of 265,427 cases a day over the last week, according to Johns Hopkins. Denmark, Portugal, the UK and Australia have all also reported record-breaking figures. Poland reported 794 Covid-related deaths on Wednesday, the highest number in its fourth wave of the pandemic. More than three-quarters of these were unvaccinated people. Studies suggest that Omicron - which has quickly become dominant in numerous countries - is milder than the Delta variant, but far more contagious. It is believed to be driving the surge in cases, with French health minister Olivier Veran telling reporters he would "no longer speak of a wave when it comes to Omicron" but a "tidal wave". However, Dr Tedros warned it was the "twin threat" of the two variants that was behind the overall caseload. "This is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers, and health systems on the brink of collapse," the WHO chief added. At the moment, some 900,000 new cases are being reported around the world every day, Reuters news agency reports. Several wealthy nations have launched booster drives to give third doses of Covid vaccines, including the UK where 57% of people over 12 have now received three jabs. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Base Ammunition Depot Unit of the Ghana Armed Forces were on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 called in to remove an unattended bag from the arrival hall of Terminal 3, Kotoka International Airport. Confirming the incident which made the round on social media on Wednesday morning, the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) said the unattended bag was sighted around 9 pm. The GACL statement added that the bag was taken away for further investigations. "Management of Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) can confirm that on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at around 9pm, an unattended bag was sighted at the arrival hall of Terminal 3, Kotoka International Airport," the statement said. "The Base Ammunition Depot Unit of the Ghana Armed Forces was immediately brought in to conduct preliminary assessment of the bag and its contents. The bag was subsequently taken away for further investigations, the outcome of which will be made public". The GACL also apologised for the disruption in the arrival facilitation process during the period. "Management of GACL wishes to apologize for the disruption in the arrival facilitation process during the period and assures the travelling public of its commitment to ensure their safety and security at our airports," the statement said. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Emirates has apologized to the selected African counties over the travel ban placed on them to Dubai. The airline said they regret any inconvenience that has been caused by the decision. Affected customers do not need to call us immediately for rebooking. Customers can simply hold on to their Emirates ticket and when flights resume, get in touch with their travel agent or booking office to make new travel plans, Emirates said. Emirates regrets any inconvenience caused. In order to receive the latest updates on their flights, customers are also advised to ensure that their contact details are updated by visiting Manage Your Booking. The decision has attracted concerns from some citizens of Africa. For instance, Member of Parliament for North Tongu in Ghana, Samuel Okudzeto appealed to Ghanas President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to suspend his planned trip to the Dubai Expo on March 18 2022 as part of the protest. The opposition lawmaker described the travel ban as most discriminatory and senseless decision that has been taken which must be met with strong opposition from Africans. However, in a tweet, Mr Ablakwa said Ghana, Angola Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Cote DIvoire and Ethiopia do not have an active case and hospitalization anywhere near UK, France, Italy, USA, and India whose citizens are all allowed, rightly so if I may add, to travel to and transit to through Dubai. Source: 3news Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Head of Vodafone Ghana Foundation, Reverend Amaris Nana Adjei Perbi, has been honoured as an Extraordinary Philanthropist at the 2021 National Philanthropy Awards held at the Best Western Plus Accra Beach Hotel. Reverend Amaris Nana Adjei Perbi for over two decades has shown great commitment to addressing some of Ghanas compelling humanitarian needs and improving the living standards of citizens. Under his leadership, Vodafone Ghana Foundation, the charity arm of Vodafone Ghana has carried out series of sustainable initiatives that drive social change, improve peoples lives and solve pressing social needs. His citation reads, This recognition is made out to you in appreciation of your continued practice in the philanthropic space for the past 25 years and counting. For your distinctive contribution to leading several initiatives and reforms which impacts the philanthropic space nationwide, your over 15 years of experience in continuity, management, social investment and sustainability in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) giving back to the community and impacting lives. Society remains indebted to you for the exemplary services for the common good. The Ghana Philanthropy Awards was conceived and instituted by the Business Executive Magazine Limited to honor and reward persons and organisations engaged in humanitarian activities, charitable projects, assist victims in times of crises and disasters, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in various categories. Recently, Reverend Perbi won the Innovation Champion of the Year for his exceptional generosity and propagating charitable developmental projects in Ghana at the Sustainability & Social Investment Awards. An initiative to create awareness, encourage companies, CSI/CSR foundations, NGOs and other implementing agencies in delivering high impact CSI/CSR projects that align with Governments focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and to also adopt a multi-stakeholder approach that leads to excellent outcomes. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President of the National Prophetic and Charismatic Council, Archbishop-elect Elisha Salifu Amoako has advised his fellow prophets to abide by the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, on prophecies that can cause fear and panic. Archbishop-elect Salifu Amoako was concerned about the fact that prophets could be in danger should they flout the directives of the Inspector General. The Police, in a statement weeks ago, reminded religious groups that their rights to religion, freedom of worship and free speech were subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others according to the law of the country. The Police said it was a crime for a person to publish or reproduce a statement, rumour or report, which was likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace without any evidence to prove that the statement, rumour or report was true. It noted in a press statement that over the years, communications of prophecies of harm, danger and death by some religious leaders had created tension and panic in the Ghanaian society and put the lives of many people in fear and danger and that anybody found guilty under these laws could be liable to a prison term up to five years. We, therefore, wish to caution all Ghanaians, especially religious groups and leaders to be measured in their utterances, especially how they communicate prophecies which may injure the right of others and the public interest." Archbishop-elect Salifu Amoako in response told a team of journalists at his office that the National Prophetic and Charismatic Council was not happy with the caveat issued by the IGP and his team. To him, it did not only undermine the prophetic ministry but also strived to intimidate the prophets in the country from performing their mandate. He insisted that prophecies were not planned but rather a spiritual engagement where God revealed His intentions about individuals and nations to the prophets who had the mandate to reveal them according to Gods instructions. He added that God in some instances could instruct prophets to speak about a pending danger that could befall the nation but the directive of the Ghana Police Service regarding prophecies was an attempt to set a boundary for the prophetic office. He believed that the prophetic ministry through which God had been revealing His mindset and also exposing the evil plot of the devil about people and nations was under attack by some people who were into different ministries. He envisaged that the directive of the Inspector General Police even though was by the laws of the country, would at the same time limit the prophetic ministry and also box it to operate in a specific direction, contrary to how God operates. Archbishop-elect Salifu Amoako was of the view that the Inspector General of Police could have engaged the leadership of the prophetic ministry in a dialogue to better appreciate their ministry before issuing the communique which had created confusion in the country. He, however, wished the directive of the Inspector General of Police was withdrawn as it was rather an attack on God and not the prophets alone. Additionally, he feared that if the directive of the Inspector General of Police was encouraged, it would gradually eat into other areas of the ministry to even control the way people should pray in their churches. He, therefore, cautioned his fellow prophets to apply wisdom in their prophecies to avoid incarceration. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Founder and Leader of Anointed Chapel International, Francis Antwi, popularly called Reverend Obofour, has reacted to the warning given to men of God by the Police against the publication of death prophecies during the 31st-night occasion. In an interview with TV3, he indicated that persons at the centre of disturbing prophecies have to be invited and be told the message. If I know you are going to die I have to invite you. But there are some people they have to find anointing, they carry messages. Being a man of God you are a messenger and being a post officer. Whatever somebody has given to you is what you are going to send it out there, he said. The Police has cautioned Religious leaders in Ghana to be measured in their utterances, particularly the way they communicate prophecies, ahead of New Year Eves services. We want to caution that under Ghanaian law, it is a crime for a person to publish or reproduce a statement, rumour or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace, where that person has no evidence to prove that the statement, rumour or report is true, the police warned in a statement issued on Monday, December 27. It is also a crime for a person, by means of electronic communications service, to knowingly send a communication that is false or misleading and likely to prejudice the efficiency of life-saving service or to endanger the safety of any person, the statement signed by Superintendent Alexander Obeng, the Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, added. A person found guilty under these laws could be liable to a term of imprisonment of up to five years. Fridays services across the nation will be the first since Inspector-General of Police Dr. George Akuffo Dampare took office. He had met religious leaders over prophecies deemed to cause fear and panic in the nation. That meeting was precipitated by a fake gun attack on popular musician Shatt Wale, who had later indicated he took that action as a result of a prophecy by the Founder and Leader of New Life Kingdom Chapel, Bishop Stephen Kwesi Appiah, on an Accra-based radio station before the Monday, October 18 incident. The man of God, popularly known as Jesus Ahuofe, was arrested and later granted a GH100,000 bail. The police admitted that they are not against prophecies especially in a country where the centrality of God is in the lives of many. There should be no apprehensions, therefore, about undertaking the various activities. We ask only that everyone keeps within the law and is mindful of the welfare of each other. Source: 3news Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Bagbin has expressed appreciation to Ghanaians for their support throughout the year 2021. In a Christmas message, the Speaker said Parliament would not have made it this far, neither would I as a Speaker of Parliament, without the support of the good people of Ghana. "With the year coming to an end and the festive season upon us, this is the time to express my appreciation to all Ghanaians for the support, love, prayers and criticisms that have combined to bring us this far" he noted. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Susan Doherty has been named the new general manager of the Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (SSRAA) according to a press release. The SSRAA is a non-profit corporation which currently operates seven hatcheries in southern Southeast Alaska, including the Crystal Lake Hatchery which produces 600,000 chinook salmon and 100,000 coho salmon that are released into Blind Slough and 100,000 chinook salmon for City Creek, as well as six remote release sites. Overall, the SSRAA typically produces up to 235 million juvenile salmon for release annually, which are paid for through a... How the De Avila brothers turned their fathers dream into their reality video by Logan Nelson // produced by Jeff Kendall-Weed Mexico City, an absolutely amazing place. Mexico City is one of the oldest cities in the Americas, established in 1325 by the Aztecas. Today, its both extremely populous and prosperous. And despite the city being located at around 7500, it is also surrounded by mountains that are even higher- which translates to some great riding thats not even all that far from the airport. Yorch, Mau, their father, and Santi on a family mountain bike trip. Their father had a small bicycle guiding and clinic company nearly 20 years ago, though with how small the sport was at the time in Mexico, it was never able to grow to make a viable income. In the last few years, the brothers have reunited, and have been able to re-establish this original family business. With how much the sport has grown, all three brothers are now able to live the dream their father originally had: working full time within the mountain bike space in Mexico. Jorge (left) and Santi (right) at the familys home outside Mexico City. That red ramp we are standing on was built to be a training zone for their father and his friends to learn how to hang glide. The field beyond them was a landing zone for ultralight aircraft. Today the home has been converted to a bike park, and since we visited, has continued to expand. The youngest of the De Avila brothers, Santi, was always the guinea pig rider when the boys built a new jump. Today hes an absolutely ripping rider, and if you get a chance, give his YouTube channel a peep! Jorge, the oldest De Avila brother, commonly goes by Yorch, which is an intentional mispronunciation of the name George. And for those unaware, Jorge is the Spanish version of the name George. Yorch also has a great YouTube channel. This will be the first and last no footed can can you will see from me! Thanks to Santi for the lesson about this whole Slopestyle thing. I dont know if Im convinced that this will be in my own future though! If you cant do tricks, going high will never get old! Yorch has a full repertoire of trials techniques up his sleeve, so after sending the moon booter until various bike parts broke, we got serious and made a nose wheelie tutorial! Lets go and ride some trails, itll be great! We arent even close to the top of the mountain here. A big part of any scene is how easy it is for newer riders to fall in love with the sport, the De Avila brothers put a great deal of energy into after school classes for kids. Logan had enough energy to join them for an afternoon, and now Im wishing I had done the same! You can take the BMXer off the 20 wheels, but you cant take the BMXer out of the DadBod! On weekdays, the trails saw some traffic in the afternoons and into the evenings- it seemed normal enough. But come the weekend, WOW, the road was absolutely packed with bike-rack equipped cars and folks looking to pedal. It was reminiscent of the parking lot at Soquel Demo Forest from my hometown near Santa Cruz, CA. Theres always one that gets away- otherwise youre not trying hard enough! It would have been so cool to ride up this log, do a 180, then ride back down it, but I was never quite able to ge the 180 back to the log. Next time! Testing out a replacement rear brake after I binned it through some rocks and broke my origina. And yes, the tacos and tortas from the restaurant in the background were AMAZING! It all started at Interbike in 2015. I was working for WTB, managing international sales, and met a rowdy group of Mexican riders. The center of the crew was this fellow, Mau De Avila, who was an attorney for a TV station at the time.Mau De Avila, busy with the DadCam. Mau had just broken his finger a few days before we arrived, so he was unable to ride. However, the injured phalanx was fine to hold a MiniDV cam, and his footage is throughout the video. Thank you Mau!Mau had seen a bunch of my videos, which was pretty rare back in 2015. He and his friends had been traveling the southwest USA on a road trip of epic proportions, and due to a tumble, Mau was in a wheelchair with a lower extremity injury. Mau mentioned that I wouldnt believe just how good the riding was in Mexico City. So I got his WhatsApp, and the wheels started turningIn 2017, I was managing international sales at WTB, and visited a distributor in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. It was there that I met another crew that also mentioned great local riding- including Haitman Rivas. This inspired a second trip in 2017 to ride the 15,000 Nevado de Toluca, as well as the various trails in the forest around Ixtapan de la Sal. Fun side fact, I had first met Logan a few days before we left for this riding trip, and had no idea that hed go the whole four days of the trip without either a single shower or complaint.The 2017 trips were a lot of fun- but both were far too short. The particular trip for this video had us on the ground for merely two full days. But just two full days in Mexico can provide plenty of memories to help pass the remainder of a dreary PNW winter!I love visiting Latin America, but its also a loooong ways from home in the top left corner of the United States. Still, Ive been lucky enough to visit Puerto Rico and Costa Rica , both for episodes of this Local Loam series.Speaking of Local Loam, that series is generally all about how good advocacy groups can help build amazing mountain bike communities through excellent trails, and technically this video doesnt quite fit. The De Avila brothers run a company, the De Avila Biking Co, but NOT a formal advocacy coalition. They explained that there is a unique set of dangers in Mexico should one organize a formal political group, which is what advocacy is at its core. So theyve been able to tailor their business more to growing the sport rather than focusing purely on maximum profit. The company offers clinics and after school programs for kids, as well as bike rentals and guided rides designed to introduce locals to the sport. The company is not set up to guide foreigners. I always think its interesting to see how folks turn their challenges into opportunities, and this is a great example of just that.The De Avila Bike Park is a fixture of the local scene, and I cant fathom the number of sessions these jumps have seen over the years.Umberto and Charlie took me for a run on some of their favorite trails outside Mexico City. Charlie is a long time rider, and spent many years riding solo in these mountains. In recent years, the scene has blown up, giving him a great network of riding friends. At the same time, the number of trails has also increased, and there seems to be plenty more forest to continue exploring.This is Mexico.This type of feature needs a name! Ive ridden a few of these over the years- basically a step up to ledge to step down back to the trail- but have no idea what to call them. This one flowed really nicely. Thanks to Mau for loaning me a bike when we were brake lever hunting!Anywhere in the world, mountain bikers will be mountain bikers.We spent nearly a week riding around Mexico City, mostly at the Desierto de Los Leones, and the trails had a decent amount of traffic. But come the weekend things heated up in a hurry! We saw over 100 cars at the Pluma first thing on Saturday morning. Sunday was similarly busy, too. But the trails are plentiful enough that the traffic was only really noticeable on the climbs.Trips like thismotivate me to keep making videos with content like this. AND, it's super fun to meet locals who reveal the back story behind what makes the scene what it is.Perhaps I found this story even more interesting since Im a parent myself- I cant imagine how proud Mau, Santi, and Jorges father would be if he could see what his sons have done with his initial vision of mountain biking near Mexico City. As Mau explained, the sport is great. But if we dont grow it, we risk being pushed out by other interest groups. The De Avila Biking Co has done a great of lowering the barrier of entry to the sport for Mexico City locals. The strength of the mountain bike scene isnt solely the result of the De Avila family- and they would never claim to be the sole supporters of the sport. But Im quite convinced that their efforts have gone a long way to nurture the recent growth!@jeffweed / @loganpnelson 2021 In Review: The issues of democracy, human rights and press freedom were at the center of a chain of turmoil, fake news and baseless claims that shook almost all Middle Eastern countries. However, the two developments that most greatly affected the region were the COVID-19 pandemic and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. COVID-19 COVID-19 continues to present massive challenges to a number of countries in the Middle East. Iran remains the country in the region worst hit by the pandemic, with a reported official death toll of more than 130,000. Irans political agenda has marred its response to the pandemic. Polygraph.info investigated several Iranian government disinformation campaigns. In February, Iranian cleric Ayatollah Abbas Tabrizian posted messages on his Telegram channel warning more than 209,000 followers that the COVID-19 vaccine turns people gay. Tabrizians comments came two days before the much-needed delivery of Russias Sputnik V vaccine to Tehran. Tabrizians claim was part of ongoing fake news campaigns worldwide depicting the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine as part of covert mass chip implantation and claiming the vaccine was altering peoples DNA and changing their sexual orientation. These claims have been proven to be baseless. In April, former Iranian president Hassan Rouhani accused the United States of blocking 10 million COVID-19 jabs from India, a claim that was proven false after New Delhi said that it had halted all COVID-19 vaccine shipments abroad because infections were increasing in India. In March, the global vaccine alliance GAVI had announced a delay in the delivery of both Serum Institute of India (SII) and AstraZeneca vaccines from India as the government of India battles a new wave of COVID-19 infections. In August, Mehdi Fazaeli, an official with the Iranian Supreme Leader's publications office, justified Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis ban on Western vaccines because they were not safe. However, it turned out that Khamenei did not ban the Western vaccines because of their alleged lack of safety: in fact, he had claimed in a tweet in January that the Western vaccines were meant to be tested on Iranians and contaminate other nations. Twitter removed Khameneis statements for violating its rules regarding COVID-19 disinformation. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Iraqs health ministry baselessly claimed in February that the B.1.1.7 strain of COVID-19 was more dangerous for children. The claim was not scientifically verified and the risk to children remained under investigation. In Lebanon, a combination of political instability and a COVID-19-devastated economy led the countrys Iran-backed Hezbollah party, despite denials by its leader Hassan Nasrallah, to import fuel from Iran. Afghanistan The U.S. completed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan on September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The move became the center of global and regional attention as the Taliban seized the capital Kabul and consolidated its control over the country. Polygraph.info documented and fact-checked claims made by the Taliban before and after their takeover. After U.S. President Joe Biden announced in April that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan would be completed by September 11, the Taliban launched a campaign to capture territory held by the Afghan government. During the Talibans offensive, one of its spokesmen, Mohammad Naeem, claimed it was seeking to reach a mutual understanding with the government to solve the countrys problems a claim contradicted by the Talibans military campaign to grab power. Polygraph.info extensively covered the Talibans human rights abuses. On August 17, two days after the group seized Kabul, another Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, declared that men and women have the same rights; they will be able to benefit from their rights." That claim was contradicted by the testimony of Afghan women who said they feared what would happen under the Taliban. Indeed, the United Nations Human Rights office had reported in August that Taliban already had been applying gender-based rules, some discriminatory towards girls and women: There are already reports of women having been flogged and beaten in public because they breached the prescribed rules. The Taliban hunted down journalists who exposed the groups abuses and crimes against free speech, specifically targeting women in media. On October 13, Khairullah Khairkhwa, the Talibans minister for information and culture, told Qatars Al Jazeera state news channel that Afghan women working in media faced no obstacles as long as they followed Islamic laws. He also insisted the Taliban did not shut down any newspaper or TV channel. Khairkhwa comments were misleading. The Talibans takeover of the country was followed by reports from various districts of violent acts committed against journalists. The Taliban arrested and tortured journalists, shut down radio and TV stations and ordered women to stay at home. In one incident, the Taliban threatened workers at Banno TV, which was owned and run by women, and forced it to shut down because the group did not allow women to work from an office, said Bashir Ahmad Rustaqi, Banno TVs CEO. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid claimed in July that Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters photojournalist, was killed in a crossfire. However, subsequent reports suggested the journalist was captured and killed by the Taliban. In December, Abdul Qahar Balki, spokesperson for the Talibans foreign affairs office, denied reports about abuses against former Afghan government security personnel. However, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and journalists reported that Taliban fighters were carrying out summary killings and forced disappearances against ex-Afghan government security forces, contradicting Taliban promises to pardon former government security personnel. Iran Nuclear Negotiations Polygraph.info also fact checked false and misleading claims by Iranian officials about the countrys nuclear program. Iran claimed in June that it was fully cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on its nuclear program. However, investigations revealed that Iran had actually hid vital information about its nuclear program and activities from the IAEA. In November, Irans nuclear chief Mohammad Islami falsely claimed that IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency had not seen any deviations in Irans nuclear program. That claim was debunked by Grossi himself, who said there were a number of outstanding issues on which Iran and IAEA did not agree. An Augusta man was arrested last week in connection to a domestic violence incident that occurred hours after he was released from the Aiken County detention center. Randy Lavert Carthen Sr., 37, is charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime and first-degree domestic violence. On Wednesday, Dec. 22, Aiken County deputies responded to Wire and Gun Range roads in reference to a domestic violence incident. The victim told police she had picked the suspect up from the Aiken County detention center and the suspect assaulted her in the vehicle and threatened her life, according to an incident report obtained from the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. The victim drove the suspect back to the detention center where he was arrested. On Nov. 11, 2020, Richmond County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Carthen in relation to an incident at the Circle K on Tobacco Road in Hephzibah, Georgia. Carthen was charged with three counts of kidnapping and possession of a firearm or knife during a crime. One of the victims told police Carthen entered the store, placed a 9 millimeter handgun on the counter along with a birth certificate, Social Security card and a piece of paper, and stated the military was coming to get him, according to an incident report obtained from the Richmond County Sheriff's Office. Police said Carthen told everyone to go to the back of the store, locked the doors and pointed a weapon at a victim, threatening to shoot them. It is unclear if the charges were dropped prior to Carthen's release from the detention center on Dec. 22. Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. Much cooler. High 51F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear. Low 29F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Fountain Inn is developing a plan to improve its downtown with a state Municipal Association program, and is seeking input from residents on the projects they would most like to see. The Upstate city announced earlier this month it advanced in the Municipal Association's Main Street South Carolina initiative, rising from the friend level to aspiring. The change gives Fountain Inn access to more resources, training and grant opportunities through the program, which is designed to help cities across the state preserve, improve and invest in their downtown districts. The upgrade also means the organization will work with Fountain Inn to develop a plan for improving its city center over the next one to three years. Main Street South Carolina is beginning that process by gathering input from residents on what they value most about the city's downtown, what they would like to see come to the area, and what they think needs to be improved. A 21-question, online survey is live now and includes prompts such as "what most frequently brings you downtown?" and "what three business types would you like to see downtown that are not currently present?" That survey will be available until Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. There will also be a town hall meeting on Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at the Fountain Inn Farmers Market Pavilion to gather input. There will be another meeting at 6:30 p.m. the following day at the pavilion to discuss next steps. City Administrator Shawn Bell said the plan could set goals ranging from facade improvements to focusing on attracting particular businesses to the area based on the feedback gathered from residents. "We've already have a pretty successful downtown," he said. "I think really what this is, is to try and take our downtown to the next level. My goal is for downtown Fountain Inn to become the best small downtown in the Upstate and I think this program gives us that path forward." As an aspiring member of the program, Fountain Inn staff will have access to resources like engineers and architects who work with Main Street South Carolina, Bell said. The ultimate goal is for Fountain Inn to become an accredited member of the organization by the end of a roughly three-year period, program manager Jenny Boulware told council earlier this month, joining five other municipalities in the state. Becoming an accredited member would give the city access to expanded resources and grant opportunities, as well as official signage to display downtown. Fountain Inn Public Relations Manager Kate Kizito told council a total of 32 municipalities participate in the Main Street South Carolina program on some level. The cities that participate in the program have in total seen $54 million in re-investment and created 273 jobs in their downtowns over the course of the partnership, Kizito said. Main Street South Carolina has also helped those municipalities open a total of 90 downtown businesses and complete 154 rehabilitation projects, she said. "I really think this is going to be a great thing that provides really great resources that our staff will have and also our community members will have as our downtown continues to thrive," she said. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported over 15,000 new COVID-19 cases over the Christmas holiday, including over 3,000 new cases on Dec. 29. The state also recorded 63 more deaths related to the virus. The Medical University of South Carolina's Molecular Pathology Lab also reported omicron cases are doubling and tripling every few days, accounting for 61 percent of new COVID-19 cases. Officials from the hospital say they have not seen a large increase in the number of admitted COVID-19 patients. Prisma Health, however, has seen a sharp increase in the number of admitted COVID-19 patients in the past week, said Dr. Helmut Albrecht, an infectious disease specialist with the health care system. The number of admitted patients rose to 223 on Dec. 29, Albrecht said. That number had been hovering around 100 before Christmas, he said. The vast majority of the patients, especially at the highest levels of care, continue to be unvaccinated, Albrecht said. Albrecht urged the public to get vaccinations and boosters for those eligible, even if they were infected with the delta variant as recently as two months ago. That will not provide sufficient immunity against the omicron variant, he said. People should keep the risks in mind as they consider their New Years plans and use medical-quality masks if they do go out, Albrecht said. Albrecht acknowledged that fatigue with pandemic control measures has set in after almost two years of the spread of COVID-19. The problem is, the virus is not tired of us, he said. Statewide numbers New cases reported: 1,516 confirmed, 878 probable (Dec. 24); 2,120 confirmed, 1,028 probable (Dec. 25); 2,094 confirmed, 569 probable (Dec. 26); 1,885 confirmed, 383 probable (Dec. 27); 1,129 confirmed, 365 probable (Dec. 28); and 1,950 confirmed, 1,441 probable (Dec. 29). Total cases in S.C.: 763,703 confirmed, 196,492 probable. Percent positive: 23.8 percent. New deaths reported: 10 confirmed, zero probable (Dec. 24); 29 confirmed, two probable (Dec. 25); 13 confirmed, one probable (Dec. 26); zero confirmed, zero probable (Dec. 27); one confirmed, zero probable (Dec. 28); five confirmed, two probable (Dec.29) Total deaths in S.C.: 12,633 confirmed, 1,977 probable. Percent of ICU beds filled (with COVID-19 and other patients): 76.47 percent. S.C. residents vaccinated In South Carolina, 60.1 percent of people who are eligible for the vaccine have received at least one dose, and 51.7 percent of eligible residents have completed their vaccinations. This number reflects newly eligible residents in South Carolina, including young children. The latest data from DHEC shows 11.8 percent of children ages 5-11 have at least one vaccine dose. Hardest-hit areas Greenville (301), Richland (289) and Lexington (172) counties saw the highest total numbers of new cases. What about tri-county? Charleston County had 158 new cases, while Dorchester and Berkeley each had 58. Deaths DHEC releases county-level data regarding COVID-19 deaths and the ages of those who have died from the virus on Tuesdays. According to the latest data released Dec. 29 (the office was closed Dec. 28), at least 83 people in South Carolina died from the virus Dec. 19-25, and their ages ranged from pediatric (17 and younger) to elderly (65 and older). Spartanburg County recorded 16 COVID deaths that week the highest number of any county in the state. Health officials have reported the vast majority of patients who are dying from the coronavirus at this stage of the pandemic are unvaccinated. Hospitalizations Of the 820 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of Dec. 29, 188 were in the ICU and 85 were using ventilators. What do experts say? Given the omicron variant's high transmissibility, officials from the state health agency and MUSC are continuing to urge residents to get vaccinations and boosters, continue wearing masks and social distancing. To find a COVID-19 vaccine in South Carolina, go to vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov or call 866-365-8110. Mike Fitts contributed to this report from Columbia. Kingstree, SC (29556) Today Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. Much cooler. High around 50F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Clear. Low 26F. Winds light and variable. Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. Spending an estimated $10 billion to operate the James Webb Space Telescope is such a waste to placate a group of scientists. It will really be a waste if 344 things do not happen exactly as the engineers planned. If those things do not happen, we will have the equivalent of a boat anchor in space. Astronomers are trying to look back to what they call the beginning. Even if they could look back to the Big Bang, they will have discovered nothing. Science will never be able to share with the rest of us where the substance that supposedly blew up originated. It will always be assumption, hypothesis and theory. What will the Webb telescope provide for our money if it works? Some lovely pictures of stars, galaxies and lots of scientific gibberish about dark matter and how close they feel we have come to seeing the beginning of everything. There are dozens of excellent ways to spend $10 billion. It could buy a lot of food for starving children in America. It could buy a lot of physical therapy and rehab for our wounded warriors who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. It could jump-start nations working together to clean up our oceans of plastic garbage. Not only are there numerous positive uses for $10 billion, but those scientists should turn their incredible intellects away from the stars and toward solving problems right here on Earth. M.G. SWINDALL Charleston Taxes pay for services A Nov. 21 letter to the editor was against Charleston City Councils potential property tax increase to balance the 2022 budget. According to City Council, only 42% of the properties on the peninsula pay any property taxes. The owners of most historic buildings that serve as museums pay no property taxes. Churches, government buildings and education buildings also do not pay taxes. For those who can afford a $5 million home, they ought to know what the tax base is before buying. If its a historic house, it is likely on the National Register. As soon as the city trims the budget by cutting services, as suggested in the letter, the writer may be the first to start griping. NAOMI RADCLIFF Charleston LED bulbs fight SAD In Mondays Post and Courier, there was an excellent article on coping with seasonal affective disorder. I am one of the unlucky 5% who used to suffer from this disorder. I work from home, and the light box that my husband built for me just wasnt doing the job. Instead, we purchased daylight LED lightbulbs for every overhead light in the house, and we turn them on first thing in the morning and keep them on all day in every principal room. This way, I never walk from a lighted room into a dark room. This is almost like living outside, without the risk of getting skin cancer. This really helps chase away the winter blues. The initial expense is the bulb purchase, but these bulbs are purported to last 9 years. TAMAR MYERS Johns Island Thank you for help On Nov. 30, my husband and I were at the check-out counter at the Hobby Lobby Store on Rivers Avenue when my husband passed out. Immediately, customers around us took action to help. They called 911, made a phone call for me, asked about his medical issues and took care of him until medical personnel arrived. One young woman was a nurse and she knew what to do. Her mother and a store associate kept me calm and said a prayer with me. I wish to thank all of the strangers who helped us that day, including the store manager, associates, the police, fire department, EMS, paramedics and the staff at Trident Medical Center. My husband is doing well. M.J. GILBERT North Charleston Guam managed to avoid lockdowns during year two of the COVID-19 pandemic amid a robust vaccination program, but the highly virulent delta variant of the coronavirus in 2021 led to more infections, hospitalizations and deaths when compared to 2020. One life lost to the coronavirus is too many. But Guam's 148 COVID-19-related deaths in 2021 surpassed the 122 recorded in 2020, as the delta variant made its way to homes, wedding receptions and other social gatherings during the summer. The island death toll is at 270. Health officials, however, said the 2021 death toll would have been much worse were it not for a widespread vaccination program in Guam. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. More than 129,000 of Guam's total estimated population of 153,836 people have been fully vaccinated, and nearly 39,000 have received booster shots. By most measures, the COVID-19 pandemic remained the biggest story in Guam in 2021, just as it was in 2020. Guam so far has seen nearly 20,000 officially reported cases of COVID-19 since March 2020; most of the patients have recovered fully. After emerging from the delta surges in numbers of cases and deaths, Guam now could be experiencing the lull before the storm if the omicron variant reaches the island and spreads like wildfire, as it is doing elsewhere. The number of hospitalizations on Guam had reached 100. When 2021 rolled in, there was hope of freedom from the coronavirus and recovery from the pandemic-induced economic devastation. COVID-19 vaccine was made available to most adult residents age 18 and older within the first few months of the year. It was later expanded to include those who are 16 to 17 years old and, later, to those 12 to 15 years old. In November, the vaccination expanded further to cover children as young as 5. Booster shots, however, remain available only to those 16 and older. From the onset, the federal government has been sending more than enough supplies of the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccines to Guam. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero set a goal of having at least 80% of Guam residents who are at least 18 years old fully vaccinated by the time Guam marked its 77th Liberation Day on July 21. The administration and private donors raffled off cash, six new vehicles and other prizes to incentivize more people to roll up their sleeves, just as numerous states were doing at the time. When July 21 rolled in, the administration missed its goal by a slim 1.1 percentage points, the equivalent of 1,316 adults who were not fully vaccinated at the time. It wasn't until July 29 that the administration met the goal of fully vaccinating more than 96,000 adults. That success prompted the lifting of additional restrictions, including a return to operation at 100% of capacity for restaurants, bars, retail stores and churches. Guam also lifted the mandatory quarantine for most passengers, mostly those who are fully vaccinated. With an ample supply of vaccines in hand, Guam opened its COVID-19 vaccination to American expatriates living in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region where the rate of vaccination was still low and slow at the time. Guam saw this as fulfilling its humanitarian role, while also trying to open tourism back up. The island also opened its vaccinations to foreign nationals willing and able to make the trip. The Guam Visitors Bureau launched its Air V&V, or vaccination and vacation, program, drawing hundreds of Taiwanese tourists arriving in full personal protective gear. Just when Guam thought it was on its way to business as usual by the second half of 2021, along came the delta variant, which already was wreaking havoc across the nation. It wasn't until about the middle of August when Guam received confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the delta variant had been on island for more than a month. By the time delta was confirmed in samples taken in early July, the variant had infected thousands of people on Guam. With more infections came a new round of closures of restaurants and other businesses with confirmed cases. Delta infected and hospitalized more children than did previous variants. The COVID-19 Area Risk Score reached 47.7 because of the delta variant. The raging delta variant also gave rise to cases of patients being pronounced dead on arrival at hospitals, which means people died at home, in their sleep or in an ambulance, and had died by the time they reached the hospital. It's possible most of them didn't even know they had the disease, the Department of Public Health and Social Services said. The CDC sent a team to Guam to investigate the dead-on-arrival cases, at the request of DPHSS. By early December, DPHSS reported that 85% of the dead-on-arrival cases had not been vaccinated. At the height of the delta variant's spread, the governor mandated COVID-19 vaccination for most government of Guam employees, or that they submit to weekly testing. No one so far has faced disciplinary action for failing to comply. While the mandate allowed for exemption for medical and religious reasons, few exemptions have been granted. The mandatory vaccination also covers workers in restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters, boat cruises and other activities where mask-wearing is compromised. The mandate prohibits people who can't show proof of COVID-19 vaccination from entering restaurants, bars and other covered establishments. The 2021 vaccine mandate sparked a number of peaceful protests. The chairman of the governor's Physicians Advisory Group, Dr. Hoa Nguyen, stepped down. In 2020, the peaceful protests were mostly about the mask mandate and lockdowns. By Thanksgiving, most restrictions had been lifted because of continued decreases in positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths. But just when Guam once again thought it was on its way to business as usual, along came another SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, called omicron, which may not be as severe as the delta variant but exhibits higher transmissibility. So the governor maintained the social gathering restrictions, but raised the limit from 75 to 100 people who can congregate outdoors for at least the remainder of 2021. The CAR Score had been around 1, but the holidays resulted in an increase to more than 2. Amid the roller-coaster ride with COVID-19 this year, the governor and DPHSS strongly urge members of the public to continue wearing masks, watch their distance, wash their hands frequently, and get fully vaccinated and boosted. The officials said getting fully vaccinated and getting the booster shot helps protect people from the worst impacts of the omicron variant, although scientists continue to study the variant. A licensed plumber on Thursday found no water leaks at the house of Yigo resident Stella N. Beloy, 85, who's been grappling with a water bill of more than $36,000. Lad De Leon, owner of Pacific Backflow and Plumbing, offered to help Stella Beloy after learning about the lone elderly woman's exorbitant water bill, that peaked at over $10,000 a month, a spike from her normal $28 to $29 monthly bill. Around 11 a.m. Thursday, De Leon and Yigo Mayor Anthony Sanchez visited Stella Beloy's residence so that De Leon could check the premises for any leaks and then repair them free of charge. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. "But no indication of any water leaks. So Im not sure if someone made a repair beforehand," he said. "But there are no leaks as of my findings. Because if theres a leak, the water meter will be spinning." Stella Beloy started seeing spikes in her monthly bills in December 2020. The spikes went on until March, when her bill reached more than $9,000, even though there is only one working faucet in her house. However, her bill suddenly went back to the regular $28 to $29 a month, although there were months when her bill again went up to nearly $100 or nearly $400. Stella Beloy continues paying her normal water bill rate to prevent her water from being disconnected. Guam Waterworks Authority General Manager Miguel Bordallo on Thursday said, "GWAs Customer Service Division is conducting an inspection." But he had not received a completed report and "cannot confirm any findings at this time." "As already stated, GWA will make appropriate adjustments to the account should any facts/information indicated that such an adjustment is warranted," Bordallo said in an email response. Stella Beloy's son, Eutiquio Beloy Jr., currently residing in Hawaii, said he believes "GWA made a terrible mistake," and called on the agency to reverse the charges on his mother's account and issue a public apology. Sen. Clynt Ridgell, who heads the legislative committee with oversight of utilities, on Thursday said, "If there is no leak and Ms. Beloy says she never fixed any leaks, then either she has neighbors who were stealing thousands of gallons an hour from her, or her meter is faulty." "Occams razor would suggest that it is a faulty meter. If it is a faulty meter, then her bills are false and should be corrected. GWA has a well-documented history of installing many faulty meters," Ridgell said. When Stella Beloy's story was published, dozens of residents also shared stories of how their water bills suddenly spiked by hundreds of dollars, although they were able to confirm no leaks, only to see their bills return to normal but they still had to pay the unusually high bills to prevent water disconnection. Insights If something bad happens, there has to be someone around who can take the blame for the misfortune. To judge from the front page court cases w Read more Red China is unhappy with Elon Musk. His SpaceX satellites supposedly are threatening the safety of Chinas space station. China has complained to the United Nations about two close encounters this year between SpaceXs Starlink satellites and Chinas space station. In addition, it is calling for a boycott of Tesla. According to the Washington Post, Musk has long been considered a hero in China. Tesla even received official approval to operate its Shanghai factory without a Chinese partner, which is very rare in China. But now hes an enemy of the state. I understand why, and its not primarily about the safety of a space station. China is fighting a cold (for now) war in space. Bill Gertz describes this in his book Deceiving the Sky: Inside Communist Chinas Drive for Global Supremacy. In 2007, China shot down one of its weather satellites, creating tens of thousands of high-speed metal debris that formed a deadly ring around the earth a ring that will threaten manned and unmanned spacecraft for decades. This was the opening salvo in Chinas space war against America. The goal, according to Gertz, is a capacity seriously to disrupt Americas highly wired society, which depends on satellites for communications, transportation, finance, and defense. In 2018, the Pentagon Joint Staff Directorate warned that China has built anti-satellite missiles and other weapons and will soon be capable of damaging or destroying U.S. satellites in low orbit. The same year, then-Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats warned that, in order to offset U.S. military advantages, China is increasingly considering attacks against satellite systems as part of [its] future warfare doctrine. The future may be now, or at least soon. An attack by Red China on Taiwan, a distinct possibility in the near future, could be accompanied or preceded by an attack on our satellites. If successful, that attack would limit if not cripple or ability to respond militarily because we rely on satellites to pinpoint enemy targets. I question whether Joe Biden would defend Taiwan in all events. But if China takes out our satellites, he will have little choice but to stand down. The Post alludes to the issue in the most circumspect manner possible. It states both [China and the U.S] are vying to put the first human on Mars and staking out strategic positions in space. But theres no moral equivalency here. China is the aggressor in space where, as Coats said, it sees a shortcut to negating U.S. military superiority. I hope were responding effectively to the threat and not relying on Elon Musk. Edina is one of Minneapoliss wealthiest suburbs. At one time, its public school system was considered to be among Americas best. Formerly a quintessential Republican suburb, Edina has trended Democratic in recent cycles and is now considered a firmly Democratic town. But that may be about to change. Historically, Edinas desirability was due largely to its proximity to downtown Minneapolis. But bordering on Minneapolis is no longer a virtue. The violent crime wave that has wracked Minneapolis since the George Floyd riots has come to Edina. Alpha News tells the story of the crime that rocked the tony suburb: The suspects are 16-year-old Kanye Hardiman, 17-year-old Cayden Whitmore and 17-year-old Vance Chatman all of whom are from Minneapolis and face first-degree carjacking-related charges. Edinas public schools enthusiastically teach the doctrines of Critical Race Theory, but it is one thing to philosophize about white privilege and another to be carjacked at your local grocery store. [At about] 5:00 p.m., the white SUV next went to an Edina grocery store. This is the Edina Lunds & Byerlys store, one of the countrys top grocery chains. There, the SUV pulled into a parking spot next to an adult female victim who was sitting inside her vehicle, according to an account of events from the Hennepin County Attorneys Office. Next, Hardiman and Chatman proceeded to enter the female victims passengers side doors one in the front and the back. Bystanders intervened, one was bitten and they were not effective in extracting the criminals from the womans vehicle. The accused criminals successfully took control. Chatman eventually put the female victims vehicle in reverse as he tried to flee the scene, the attorneys office reports. However, he was not able to make a clean getaway. Instead, he struck another male victim in the head with the drivers side door as he accelerated backwards, and ran over the male victims legs. Meanwhile, the woman was still entangled by her seat belt and was dragged through the parking lot as her vehicle was being driven by Chatman. What a nightmare! Suburban housewife goes shopping at an elite grocery store and gets carjacked. The violence finally stopped when a witness, who has a permit to carry a firearm, intervened and pulled out a gun. This caused the criminals to flee. Liberal voters in suburbs like Edina hate guns, but thank goodness for this permit holder. This was not Edinas only recent carjacking: This is not the only violent carjacking to occur in Edina this month. On Christmas Eve, a vehicle was taken by force, according to the police, outside the Galleria an upscale mall known for its wide selection of luxury goods. The Galleria is Minnesotas most exclusive shopping mall. Residents of Edina are furious about the crime that has beset their community. Edina leadership is aware of their new crime problem. Mayor Jim Hovland said that his suburbs residents have become angry and fearful. Appropriately so. A public meeting on crime at the Edina Country Club reportedly drew a crowd of 300. Black Lives Matter signs have been everywhere in Edina, and I suspect that if a vote had been taken on whether the Minneapolis Police Department should be defunded, it would have passed easily. But that was then, and this is now. When housewives in your suburb are being carjacked and subjected to violent assault, reality begins and leftist bulls*** ends. 2022 promises to be a great year for conservatives and Republicans, in considerable part because of the Democratic Partys essentially pro-crime posture. If violent crime threatens your community, you know whom to turn to, and it isnt the Democrats. Edina is just one of many suburbs that have trended Democratic in recent cycles when little was perceived as being at stake, but are poised to turn back to the right now that they are actually under threat. UPDATE: This comes from one of Minneapoliss richest neighborhoods, close to the Edina border. Esme Murphy is a local television personality, a staunch liberal who has been mugged by reality: Heartsick that Bryn Mawr Market in Mpls was robbed & a clerk was shot & pistol whipped. Thank God, the clerk will survive. This wave of violence is a dagger to the souls of people who make our communities so special. This is a wonderful store & I will be shopping there tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/nhf9OBFLaz esme murphy (@esmemurphy) December 29, 2021 Reality continues to intrude on liberal fantasies. The George Floyd riots that devastated the Twin Cities the week following Floyds death on Memorial Day last year werent the end of it. We had a follow-on eruption at the end of August in the heart of downtown Minneapolis when a crowd went on an incredibly destructive rampage of rioting, looting, and arson. The Center of the American Experiments John Phelan concisely recounted the events this way: In the afternoon, a man was shot dead in downtown. A little later, the suspect was located by police on Nicollet Mall between 8th Street and 9th Street and, as officers approached, he shot himself dead. As word spread on social media the story got out that police had, in fact, killed the guy, and people quickly took to the streets. To protest? Perhaps, but ransacking Target is a funny way to do that. Phelans post is full of videos documenting the festivities. John Hinderaker posted videos here on Power Line and added a comment on the coverage by the Star Tribune here. I took a look at Reid Forgraves Star Tribune story on the rampage in Emotional in Minneapolis. Forgraves story overflowed with absurd apologetics. The gist of Forgraves story was that emotions had gotten out of hand. Forgrave gave us a riot of excuses. I asked, after such knowledge what Forgraveness? Three Twin Cities men were charged by the United States Attorney for Minnesota in connection with the events that evening. Alpha News covered the indictment here. One of the three Victor Devon Edwards (here on Facebook) was convicted of the charged offenses in federal court after a jury trial this past summer. The two other defendants charged each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson. Edwards was sentenced yesterday to 100 months in prison by Judge Patrick Schiltz. That should give him some time to cool off. The press release of the United States Attorney for Minnesota brings the story up to date: A St. Paul man was sentenced to 100 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for burning, looting, and damaging stores and businesses in downtown Minneapolis on August 26, 2020. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced the defendant. According to the evidence presented at trial, on the evening of August 26, 2020, Victor Devon Edwards, 32, drove to downtown Minneapolis following a city-wide curfew to join a large crowd that had gathered following false rumors regarding police involvement in the death of a man on Nicollet Mall earlier that evening. Over the course of approximately three hours, Edwards engaged in acts of riot, arson, and other property damage and destruction in downtown Minneapolis. Edwards was captured on video surveillance participating in the rioting and looting at Saks Off Fifth and entering other closed stores and businesses that evening, including Caribou Coffee, Target Headquarters, and Brits Pub on Nicollet Mall. Edwards was captured on video surveillance helping to break into the Target Headquarters building and adding fuel to a fire set inside the building, which ultimately caused almost a million dollars in damages to Target. Edwards was then captured on video surveillance entering the nearby Brits Pub, which, shortly after he went in, became engulfed in flames. During and after his criminal activity downtown that evening, Edwards bragged about his participation in the rioting and looting. Edwards also took orders from friends for items to loot. The next morning, Edwards took a video of himself flashing a large amount of cash and saying, On the looting side. . . He also admitted that he got MK purses and money in text messages with his friends. On August 12, 2021, Edwards was convicted by a federal jury of one count of riot and one count of arson. Thats the good news. The bad news (a small piece of it, anyway) is that the Star Tribune hasnt gotten around to covering yesterdays sentencing. It hasnt gotten around to reconciling Forgraves story with the facts either. When it last touched the story, the Star Tribune noted that all three of these emotional gentlemen had felony records in Minnesota. Edwards was convicted in 2016 for third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He also has prior convictions for theft, drug possession, and child endangerment. Edwardss record must have aggravated Edwardss sentence in this case. UPDATE: The Star Tribune posted its (lame) story on the sentencing at 7:57 a.m. this morning. I wrote here about the war on grades and homework in some of Californias largest school district. Inevitably, that war is spreading. It has come to Arlington County, Virginia, for example. Naturally, there is pushback in Arlington. Surprising, perhaps, some of the pushers are liberal. Lets start by examining what the Arlington School Board is considering. Its preliminary proposal calls for the following: No late penalties for homework. No extra credit. Unlimited redoes and retakes on assignments. No grading of homework. The purpose of these changes is to level the playing field for students with fewer resources. The stated goal is more equitable grading practices. The intended beneficiaries consist disproportionately of Blacks and Latinos. According to Jay Mathews, who covers education for the Washington Post, two of Arlington Countys four public high schools draw mostly from middle-class neighborhoods. A third is a magnet school for top students. All three rank in the top 1 percent of schools nationally, as measured by participation in AP and IB exams. The fourth Arlington County public high school is Wakefield High. Half of its students come from low-income families. Yet Wakefield ranks in the top 2 percent of schools nationally under the same measurement described above. 56 percent of its students passed at least one AP exam, nearly three times the national average, according to Mathews. The Wakefield faculty must be doing something right. How do these teachers view the School Boards proposal to make a mockery of homework? They hate it. They hate it so much they wrote a letter to the superintendent of schools and the School Board denouncing it. You can read the letter here. It states, in part: As educators with decades of experience in APS [Arlington public schools], we are extremely concerned with several changes proposed in the new grading and homework policy. We believe that these changes will impact student learning and socio-emotional development and growth in a negative way. The changes, if implemented, will also result in the decline of high expectations and rigor in the classroom across all APS high schools. . . . [A]s students matriculate through high school, they. . .learn how to develop organizational, time and stress management skills and grow as responsible, civically engaged, and considerate young adults. To achieve these ends, students should be held accountable for completing their work in a timely manner and meeting deadlines that were reasonably established by their teachers. We pride ourselves on providing useful constructive criticism for our students, analyzing and reflecting on major content and skill-based assignments and providing them with exemplary work from their classmates. We do not see how this practice can continue if the timeliness of the completion is not considered in the submission and grading process. . . . Finally, given the emphasis on equity in todays education systems, we believe that some of the proposed changes will actually have a detrimental impact towards achieving this goal. Families that have means could still provide challenging and engaging academic experiences for their children and will continue to do so, especially if their child(ren) are not experiencing expected rigor in the classroom. More specifically, those families can afford to hire tutors and sign-up their child(ren) to attend enrichment activities and camps in hopes of preparing them for the college application/admission process. Students who come from families which are not as savvy or aware, will be subject to further disadvantage because they will not be held accountable for not completing their homework assignments and/or formative assessments according to the deadlines set by their teachers: such results are anything but equitableconversely, they offer our most needy students reduced probability of preparing for and realizing post-secondary opportunities. If the discussed changes are implemented, instead of holding students to high academic and personal standards, we are providing them with a variety of excuses and/or enabling them to game the system, prompting them to expect the least of themselves in terms of effort, results, and responsibility. At Wakefield, in particular, we believe these proposed changes fly directly in the face of the very pillars upon which our Mission Statement sits. (Emphasis added) A more damning indictment is difficult to imagine. So is a source more attuned to the educational needs of low-income students. The Posts Mathews, who is not a conservative, has also denounced the Arlington proposal. Like Wakefields teachers, he believes that abolishing grades on homework will hurt the neediest kids. The new grading system appears to be the brainchild of school superintendent, Dr. Francisco Duran (birthname Frank). His hiring last year had lots to do with his equity and diversity credentials. Duran seems bent on adding to these credentials by sabotaging the countys most diverse high school in the name of equity. Will the School Board let this happen? Mathews writes: Many parents who hear about the proposed changes will be astonished and enraged. One of the reasons Arlington has one of the highest percentages of residents with college degrees in the country is the quality of its schools. I cannot believe the county school board, elected by voters, would go for this. But these are strange times. Yes, they are. The maritime sector is important to Nigerias economic survival. That notwithstanding, challenges to ports administration have created circumstances of excessive delays to import/export processes, red tape, human and vehicular congestion in and around the ports, and illegal charges leading to high costs of business operations. Given the economic costs of these challenges and the losses that come with the attendant inefficiencies, estimated at a whopping $7 billion annually, the Nigerian government through the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), the Technical Unit on Government and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in collaboration with the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has since 2012 embarked on a process of reforms to address the challenges in the maritime sector. The collaboration led to the establishment of the Port Service Support Portal (PSSP) housed by the NSC and the Project Steering Committee (PSC). The PSC and PSSP have been at the forefront of the reforms in the Nigerian maritime sector for improved efficiency, better service delivery and better business environment. The efforts of the PSC have resulted in the publication of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Ports Agencies and recently publication of the Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM). The NSC is officially charged with the responsibility of leading its implementation and enforcement. Both documents have far reaching implications for operations in Nigerian Ports and Terminals. While the PSSP housed and managed by the NSC is a complaints management and Port service support solution aimed at addressing challenges of business-to-business transactions across Nigerias Ports, enabling stakeholders to submit and track the status of their complaints, enquiries and port service requests in real-time, the SOPs were intended to improve transparency and accountability in Nigerian Ports, while the NPPM is focused on reducing bureaucratic roadblocks and improving operational efficiency in the sector. Both documents and the PSSP Portal have far reaching implications for operations in Nigerian Ports and Terminals if the country is to address the estimated annual losses of some N600 billion in customs revenues, $10 billion in non-oil exports and N2.5 trillion in corporate revenues, including the drop of 38-40% in industrial capacity utilization according to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) on its part set up a Help Desk for its members as well as a Mobile App SOP Toolkit and a User Experience Diary for Clearing Agents. From June 2020 to date, the Help Desk has recorded over 271 Shipping Arrival Notifications, mostly sent by Shipping Companies, provided feedback to 36 issues raised and worked with the NSC to resolve 33 of these issues within a 1 8 hour timeframe. Overall, from 2011 to 2021, a total of 1130 incidents have been reported by Ship captains calling on Nigerian ports. Since 2020, there has been a decline in the number of reported incidents from a high of 266 incidents in 2019 to 121 in 2020 and about 36 (at the time of writing) in 2021. The implication of this is that transactions for Ship Captains using Nigerian Ports has become more transparent, predictable, and consistent. Equally, the improvements in transparency, predictability, consistency of operations at the ports for Ship Captains has led to the transformation of the Bonny Working Group formed by MACN Members to a general-purpose Tanker Working Group that engages with issues arising from ports around the world generally. The import of this development has been that the membership of MACN, consisting of 156 shipping companies responsible for 50% of global cargo-carrying capacity and 70-80% of global containerized cargo, is beginning to change its largely negative perception of the Nigerian business environment and the effects of corruption on the sectors viability. Over the long term, these incremental changes, if sustained, will contribute towards improving Nigerias position on the Ease of Doing Business rankings as well as Corruption Perceptions Index in a fundamental way that can drive investment and development in the countrys maritime sector. MACN HELPDESK ACTIVITY REPORT SUMMARY AS AT 13TH OCTOBER 2021 Total Pre-Arrival Notifications to Date: 271+ Total Cases/Complaints to Date: 36 Total Valid Cases/Complaints: 35 Total Cases/Complaints Resolved: 33 Total Cases/Complaints Closed: 33 Average Duration for Resolved Cases: 24hrs Analysis of Arrival Calls Arrival Frequency by Shipping Company Shipping Company No. Of Notification Berhard Schulte Shipmanagement (HK) Ltd. Partnership 2 BW Maritime 12 Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd 1 Frontline Ltd. 1 Hafnia Tankers 1 Intership Navigation Co. Ltd. 1 Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi AS 1 MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. 72 Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) 1 OSM Maritime Group 3 Pacific Basin Shipping HK Ltd 60 Ridgebury Management LLC 4 Scorpio Tankers Inc. 27 Seaspan Corporation 5 Synergy Marine (Europe) A/S 1 Taylor Maritime (HK) Limited 1 Teekay Corporation 37 Thome Singapore Holdings PTE. LTD. 1 V Ships 25 Wilhelmsen Ships Services AS 1 Non-MACN Members 14 No Nigerian celebrity houses controversy as conveniently as Tonto Dikeh and maybe, her ex-bestie, Bobrisky. In 2021, the 36-year-old Nollywood actress never ran short of supply of content for blogs and gossip mills alike. For six months on end, she was the toast of the Nigerian media, the gossip mill, and Instagram, where she reigned supreme. Her ex-lover, Prince Kpokpogri likened her to Helen of Troy, who was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world- best known for the part she played in causing the Trojan War. Tonto, who enjoys social media attention, did not fail in keeping fans and followers updated with every move she made in 2021 this was why Instagram felt more of her heat. As we gradually bid the year goodbye, lets look back at how the tatoo-loving and self-acclaimed King, trended non-stop for six months in 2021. June: The month of unveiling 2021 was going on normally not until the sixth month. While we were still masked due to the pandemic, the year had yet to unmask another juicy half. On June 9, Tontos birthday video posted via her Instagram page would stir up a troublesome investigation after her fans attention was drawn to her sudden protruding belly, many rumoured it was pregnancy. Sooner or later, after a series of investigations by fans, they would discover that pregnancy was far from it, rather the sudden weight gain was due to the presence of a mystery guy in her life. After two weeks of assumptions and speculations on June 27, Tonto thought it the best time to let the cat off the bag. And so, on the occasion of his birthday, Tonto thrust her mystery lover into the limelight. Of course, we now know it was none other than Prince Kpokpogri, a politician and activist from Delta State. This grand unveiling did not come singly, it automatically changed Kpokpogris status forever. The newfound lover of the celebrity became an overnight celebrity himself, as her fans followed him on Instagram out of excitement. July: Valentine in July As Tontos public love-life flourished throughout June, by July, the lovestruck lovers took things a notch higher in July. The actress bought her man a diamond bracelet worth N2.5M as a birthday gift. She also bought him a Toyota Hilux, which would later become a bone of contention between them. Anyway, the lovers continued posting loved-up pictures of gifts and moments they shared with each other. Concerned fans and friends tried to warn the actress to take her relationship away from the prying eyes of social media, but their pleas fell on deaf ears since the actress was blinded by love. Kpokpogri wasnt just a lover to the actress, he also assumed daddy duties to her son, as he attended the graduation of her son, King Andre, from Nursery school. This earned him more praises from the actress and fans alike. GistLover: The August visitor August came with problems in paradise, just when we felt that things were falling in their right places for the actress and the activist, there came an August visitor, GistLover. On August 19, the notorious anonymous blog, GistLover, claimed that was cheating on the actress with several other women and also bad-mouthed her at different fora. To buttress their claims, GistLover released an audio of a conversation allegedly between Prince Kpokpogri and another lady. Although he would try to debunk the audio, in a bid to salvage their relationship, but sadly it was already too late. September to remember This was a month the actress and her fans would certainly not forget in a hurry. On September 3, Tonto publicly announced that she was done with Kpokpogri. The lovebirds unfollowed each other on Instagram. Tonto would also delete the post she had made on the occasion of his birthday. Thereafter, she thanked Gistlover. However, kpokpogri, in a bid to redeem his image, would post an audio of the actress begging to save the relationship. But Tonto, debunked the audio, saying it was old and obsolete. Advertisements Tonto resurfaced online with more damning allegations against her ex-heartthrob. In a petition against Kpokpogri dated September 6 and addressed to the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Dikeh through her counsels in Festus Keyamo Chambers, Okechukwu Uju-Azorji, and Arinze Egbo, Tonto said Kpokpogri carefully planned his entry into her life and started to court her with a proposal to marry her. She accused him of alleged blackmail, extortion, threat to life, hacking, obtaining by false pretence and cyberstalking as against Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention) Acts 2015. The actress, in a post via her Instagram account, revealed that Kpokpogris real name is Joseph Egbri and not Prince Kpokpogri as he claims. Tonto didnt stop there. She further alleged that he has many sex tapes of every woman he has slept with, adding that celebrity dancer, Jane Mena, who is currently married to her long time boyfriend, was included. Kpokpogri, hit back saying he never promised her marriage, nor does he have the sex tapes of over 30 women on his phone as widely reported. He also apologised to Ms Menas family. He stated that it was an abomination for him, as an Isoko man, to have an extramarital affair with an Isoko woman. Trouble continues in October In October, Kpokpogri accused her of infidelity and drug addiction. The Nigerian gossip mill went into overdrive with reports that the DSS had arrested Kpokpogri but he would later debunk the report and in a matter of days, filed a petition against Tonto, requesting N10 billion compensation. The actress was also sued by Mena for alleged cyberstalking and criminal defamation of her character. She also requested N500m as damages for the malicious publications. Peace at least in November In November, Tonto set the internet agog with allegations that Kpokpogri collected her car at gunpoint and this landed him in police detention. Shortly after the actress and colleague, Doris Ogala, were seen celebrating their victory. Kpokpogri would debunk the news about the detention. He claimed he was arrested for a breach of the peace while he attempted to retrieve his SUV LX570 from the actress at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Maitama, Abuja, where she was lodged. Tonto would later retrieve her diamond watch and Hilux car from Kpokpogri. Dirty December Just when we thought the actress would be left alone to enjoy her peace, trouble came knocking again, this time, from her ex-best friend, Bobrisky. Dikeh and Transvestite Bobrisky have been at loggerhead since 2019, but this December they decided to wash each others dirty linen on social media. Both socialites rid themselves of any form of decency as they accused each other of fake lifestyles and having several escapades with Nigerian top shots. Bobrisky, on the other hand, accused his former bestie of being broke and unable to pay back N5m which he reportedly loaned her, an allegation she denied. Three states have reacted to the latest update on the performance of the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the mass vaccination campaign against the coronavirus pandemic. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency, (NPHCDA) on Wednesday released the statistics of both best and poor performing states based on the number of vaccinated residents compared to the targeted population. The latest update, which ranks Nasarawa as the best performing state, also lists some South-southern and South-eastern states as the poorest performing states on the log. Three states, Ebonyi, Enugu and Edo have reacted to the statistics. Latest ranking The NPHCDA in its ranking said Nasarawa State, North-central Nigeria, has vaccinated a total of 31.63 per cent of its targeted population in the countrys drive to vaccinate 70 per cent of the population by middle of 2022. The ranking also listed Jigawa State, North-west Nigeria, as the second on the log with 29.03 per cent, and followed closely by Ogun State in the South-west with 17.24 percent of the targeted population while another state in the South-west, Oyo, ranked fourth with 13.67 per cent. Kwara State in the North-central ranked fifth with 10.36 of the targeted population. However, apart from Osun, Zamfara, Delta, Cross River and Gombe States which ranked 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th on the log respectively, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu states are said to have performed woefully, ranking 37th, 36th, 35th, 34th, and 33rd respectively. According to the statistics, Bayelsa State has only vaccinated 0.69 per cent of its targeted population while Akwa Ibom State has only done 0.92 per cent. Imo State is said to have vaccinated 1.08 per cent while both Ebonyi and Enugu has only done 1.28 and 1.38 per cent of the targeted population respectively. Apart from Sokoto State which ranked 31st on the log, most poor performing states are found in the South-southern and South-eastern regions of the country as Abia State ranks 32nd while Edo State, which was the first to declare mandatory vaccination policy in the country, ranked 30th on the log. Reactions When contacted on Wednesday to know why their states are lagging behind in the mass vaccination campaign, both Enugu and Edo States rejected the statistics, insisting that they are doing better than captured by the NPHCDA. The Enugu States commissioner for health, Emmanuel Ikechukwu, said the ranking statistics cannot be correct. Mr Ikechukwu, who said he was surprised about the result, insisted that his states primary health care development agency is leading the process of the vaccination campaign across the state, adding that they are working very hard to get the people vaccinated. Noting that vaccination sites have been set up outside health care facilities, the commissioner said the state is also talking with traditional rulers to set up vaccination sites in palaces in towns and villages. He said; I wonder where the information you are talking about was gotten from because in Enugu State we have been vaccinating people against the pandemic since March this year. We have gone through all the phases so I wonder where this statistics you are talking about is coming from because we have almost achieved up to 90 to 100 per cent coverage with all the vaccines that have been brought to us before. So, I am wondering the measuring matrix they are using to say Enugu is among the least performing because we have gone through first phase, second phase and I think the third stage of vaccination and we have been finishing up with our vaccines in Enugu, so t is surprising. I need to know where this information came from because we have signed up to the mass vaccination with a target of 50 per cent of our people being covered. We are massively vaccinating in different places not just in the health centres. Edo Reacting to the development, the chief press secretary to Governor Godwin Obaseki, Crusoe Osagie, said he doubted the authenticity of the ranking. He said; I want to believe that we are doing well, so I doubt the ranking statistics. But I shall try to reach out to the appropriate quarters and I will get back to you soon. However, as of the time of filing this report, some hours after the pledge by the CPS, he was yet to get back to our reporter. Ebonyi accepts verdict Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, the spokesperson to Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwaze, said his state noticed the poor ranking and has since launched a massive vaccination campaign in the state. He said; The state government will be working with the local government to do a house to house vaccination of the people. We hope that by the end of January 2021 we would have reached 50 per cent of the Ebonyi population. Advertisements Mr Nwaze added that the governor has urged the people to protect themselves against the virus by going for the vaccination. Nigerias vaccination campaign The NPHCDA boss, Faisal Shuaib, had at the weekend praised Zamfara, Delta and Cross River states for making progress in their campaign efforts. Mr Shuaib added that almost 10 million eligible persons have been fully vaccinated against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the country. He said; As of December 26, 2021, in 36 States and the FCT. 9,765,729 eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination received the first dose, while 4,363,620 got the second dose (fully vaccinated). The official added that the proportion of eligible people vaccinated in the country for their first dose were 8.7 per cent, while the proportion of eligible people vaccinated for their second dose were 3.9 per cent as of December 24, 2021. He explained that vaccines were the best way to protect people from coronavirus and would save thousands of lives. Three vaccines have now been approved for use in Nigeria and the government has secured early access to more vaccine doses. The Nigeria COVID-19 vaccine rollout is a big vaccination programme in history. The goal remains to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible, he added. According to him, the NPHCDA aims to provide advice and information at every possible opportunity to support those getting the vaccine and to anyone who might have questions about the vaccination process. For the full list of COVID-19 vaccination sites nationwide, click here , he added. The executive director further said the agencys website also provides guidelines for persons that have completed two doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer Bio-NTech or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In 2021, a total of 45 journalists were killed in connection with their work, an International Press Institute (IPI) research revealed on Wednesday. Mexico, Afghanistan and India are currently the three deadliest countries for journalists to work in. Of the number, nine journalists were killed in Sub-Saharan Africa, most of whom were in the Democratic Republic of Congo, followed by Burkina Faso and Somalia. A press release issued on Thursday by IPI said the sombre tally reflects the continued risks of doing journalism and reaffirms journalist safety as a global challenge. IPI called on the authorities to end impunity for these crimes and to ensure the protection of journalists, who must be able to do their work freely and safely. The IPI global network published its yearly Death Watch on Wednesday. IPIs research showed that since the beginning of 2021, a total of 45 journalists were killed in connection with their work, or lost their lives on assignment. Specifics Of these 45 journalists, 40 were male and five were female, it said. A total of 28 were targeted due to their work, while three were killed while covering conflict, two lost their lives covering civil unrest, and one journalist was killed while on assignment. Eleven cases are still under investigation. The Death Watch includes names of journalists who were deliberately targeted because of their profession either because of their reporting or simply because they were journalists as well as those who lost their lives while covering conflict or while on assignment. IPIs list includes journalists, editors, and reporters, as well as media workers who directly contribute to news content, such as camerapersons. Since 1997, IPI has tracked cases of journalists killed because of their work either murdered or killed while doing their job. A portion of IPIs press statement is reproduced below: IPIs statistics are based on the organizations regular monitoring of attacks on journalists. In addition, IPI works closely together with its network of members and with local journalism organizations to assess whether the killing of a journalist was likely to be work-related or not. Deliberately killed Of the journalists included in the Death Watch, IPI classifies 28 as targeted due to work, meaning that there are clear indications that the victims were deliberately killed due to their profession either in retaliation for specific reporting or simply for being a journalist. The list includes independent Somali journalist Jamal Farah Adan, who was shot by gunmen on March 1. The extremist group Al-Shabaab later claimed responsibility. In July, Mexican journalist Ricardo Dominguez Lopez, owner of news website InfoGuaymas, was shot to death in the parking lot of a supermarket on his 47th birthday. These are just some of the more than two dozen abhorrent killings around the world. Some but not all journalists had received death threats before they were murdered. For instance, Shannaz Roafi, Sadia Sadat, and Mursal Wahidi worked for the independent radio and TV station Enikass in Afghanistan, which had received threats from extremist groups for broadcasting television shows. Rasha Abdullah Al-Harazi, a journalist from Yemen who died in a targeted car bomb attack while she was nine months pregnant, had received many threats in the months before her death, Khalid Ibrahim of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights told IPI. By phone she was told to stop doing journalism, he said. But we didnt know it would be this serious. In addition to the 28 targeted killings, IPI classifies 11 killings as under investigation. Advertisements This designation means that there are grounds to suspect that the journalists death may have been a targeted killing, but that more information is needed to be able to confirm this. One example is the murder of former Reuters journalist Jess Malabanan in the Philippines, who was killed on December 8 by assailants on a motorcycle while he was watching TV. As Malabanan had worked on a prize-winning Reuters production on President Dutertes drug war in 2018, there is suspicion that the killing may have been journalism-related. IPI is working closely with local journalism organizations to follow this and other cases for potential updates.In many cases, the failures of states to investigate the murders of journalists makes it difficult to assess whether a killing is work-related, requiring researchers to rely on circumstantial evidence. Determinations may be updated to reflect new information. In addition, IPI is also looking into several other cases of journalists who were killed in 2021, for which there is currently no indication of a connection to their work. Although these cases are not listed on IPIs Death Watch, IPI continues to follow them in collaboration with local media organizations. Three journalists were killed covering armed conflict, including Maharram Ibrahimov, a reporter for the Azerbaijani state news agency AzerTag, who was killed in a landmine explosion on June 4 in Azerbaijans Kalbajar region. Two journalists were killed covering civil unrest, including Burhan Uddin Mujakker, who was shot in the neck while covering a political clash in Bangladesh in which eight other people suffered bullet injuries. One Indian journalist, Arindam Das, died on assignment. Das drowned while covering the rescue mission of an elephant from a river. These deaths reflect the continued hazards of the journalistic profession. A global problem The Death Watch reveals that killings of journalists have occurred in almost every part of the world, confirming that journalist safety is a global problem that is not confined to particular regions. Asia and the Pacific was the deadliest region for journalists in 2021, with 18 killings, most of which occurred in India (6) and Afghanistan (6). Ten killings occurred in the Americas, which led the list in 2020. Seven journalists were killed in Mexico, one in Colombia, one in Guatemala, and one in Haiti. Six journalists were killed in Europe: two in Azerbaijan, one in Georgia, one in Turkey, one in the Netherlands (listed as Under Investigation), and one in Greece. Two journalists were killed in the MENA region, both in Yemen, while nine journalists were killed in Sub-Saharan Africa, most of whom in the Democratic Republic of Congo (3), followed by Burkina Faso and Somalia (both 2). Like last year, more journalists were killed in Mexico (7) in 2021 than any other country in the world. All seven cases were targeted killings. According to IPIs analysis, journalists researching local politics and organized crime, including drug trafficking, are especially at risk. Most of the targeted journalists were examining these or related topics. Another explanation for the high number of killed journalists is the level of impunity. According to ARTICLE 19 Mexico, in only one of these seven cases have suspects have been arrested. The continued high number of killings confirms Mexicos status as one of the deadliest countries for journalists to work. Despite this tragic status quo, the government there has decided to stop funds allocated for upholding the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (LPPDHP). After Mexico, Afghanistan and India are the two next-deadliest countries, with six killings each. In Afghanistan, most killings occurred in relation to the violent conflict as a result of the Talibans takeover of the country this summer. Not included in the list are two journalists who died at the airport from a bomb explosion while trying to escape the country. Of the six journalists who lost their lives in India, two were targeted due to work, like Chennakesavulu, who was stabbed to death by a suspended police officer after he discovered the officers involvement in a gambling and tobacco smuggling ring. Another two cases are classified as under investigation (potential targeted killings). One journalist was killed while on assignment, while another was killed while covering civil unrest. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, three journalists were killed because of their work, like Joel Mumbere Musavuli, director of the privately owned broadcaster Radio Tele Communautaire Babombi (RTCB), who was stabbed to death alongside his wife by militiamen who had threatened him after Musavuli had covered armed groups in one of his shows. In Burkina Faso, 43-year-old David Beriain, an experienced war reporter, and 47-year-old cameraman Roberto Fraile, were killed in an attack on a ranger patrol. The two journalists from Spain had been working on a documentary about combating poaching in the region, which is known for violent activity. Importantly, journalists were also murdered in countries with relatively high levels of press freedom, which arguably shows the global nature of the risks of doing journalism. For example, high-risk crime journalist Peter R. De Vries was shot on an Amsterdam city street in broad daylight on July 6, 2021, despite the fact that the Netherlands is considered one of the countries with the highest degree of press freedom in the world. The De Vries case is currently classified as Under Investigation on IPIs Death Watch. In Greece, crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz was shot outside his home in Athens. As of December 2021, no suspects have been publicly identified and no arrests have been made, while public information about the status of the investigation remains scarce. IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said: States must do more to solve attacks on journalists. And the international community must sanction regimes such as Saudi Arabia complicit in such killings. Sirajo Saidu, one of President Muhammadu Buharis staunch supporters on Facebook, has dumped the president. He has now declared support for a former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso. Mr Saidu, from Sokoto State, said his decision was influenced by the recent kidnap of five of his brothers by bandits. PREMIUM TIMES reported how bandits on December 12 abducted over 20 people in separate attacks on communities in Wurno Local Government Area of Sokoto State. Immediately after the abduction, Mr Saidu took to his Facebook page to announce that five of his brothers were among the 20 residents abducted. All the five men taken in our house are my brothers. The bandits didnt kill anyone in our community but they took many people in that operation alone. We are waiting for them (bandits) to call for the ransom. Please include my brothers and other victims in your prayers, he wrote in Hausa, the language he uses to communicate with his over 4,000 followers and about 5,000 friends on Facebook. Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES two days after the abduction, Mr Saidu said the kidnappers had contacted the family and family members had started contributing money to pay the ransom. He, however, did not state the amount requested. Im now for Kwankwaso Mr Saidu, who is popular on social media for attacking critics of the president and the All Progressives Congress (APC), said his reason for dumping Mr Buhari was because no one helped him and his family members to raise the ransom money. Today, being Wednesday 29 of December 2021, I, Surajo Saidu Sokoto have dumped the Buhariyya (a Hausa coinage for Buhari supporters) team and have now joined the Kwankwasiya (a coinage for Me Kwankwaso) team. Because bandits abducted my five siblings and I posted it several times but we paid the ransom money and none of them helped me, he wrote. On his Facebook profile, where Mr Buharis picture used to be, Mr Saidu has now replaced it with that of Mr Kwankwaso. Mr Kwankwaso, a former Kano governor, is a member of the opposition party, PDP. He sought the presidential ticket of the PDP in 2019 but lost to Atiku Abubakar who eventually lost in the general election to Mr Buhari. Mr Saidu had, in the past, accused enemies of Arewa, Nigerian journalists and many others of trying to sabotage Mr Buharis administration. He once wrote that he would lead the State Security Service to launch a House to House arrest of critics of Mr Buhari in Sokoto for distracting the president. His most recent post praising Mr Buhari was on Monday, December 27. He posted a picture of the president and wrote: I feel happy whenever I see the picture of Baba Buhari smiling. More Pro-Buhari Posts Even if insecurity will lead to our death in the north, well never leave Buhari. Well continue to follow him and be patient until when God bring and end to the issue. We know that a responsible person like Buhari can never cheat us his kinsmen, Mr Saidu wrote once wrote on Facebook. In history, Im the most maligned Buharis supporter whose parents are carelessly insulted on social media by Buharis critics, he said in another post, which had 175 comments and four shares. God may admit me into his Jannah (paradise) due to the level of insult on my parents because of my support for Buhari, he wrote in another post which had 223 comments and was shared 58 times. It serves him right Meanwhile, Facebook users who felt insulted by Mr Saidus earlier posts eulogizing Mr Buhari and accusing his critics of exaggerating the security situation in the North-west, have been making scathing comments on his latest post dumping the president. A popular Facebook user, Arewa Queen, shared the post and wrote So, Mr Sirajo Saidu has finally felt Baba Buharis cane Abdurahman Yunusa said, This is karma in its truest truest form. May God save your brothers. Ahmad Ishaq, who is also from Sokoto, said, No way! You must continue supporting the Buharis administration. Insecurity in North-west The kidnap of Mr Saidus brothers is not a unique occurrence. Armed persons routinely attack communities in Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna State, killing and kidnapping at will. Thousands of people have been killed or kidnapped in the North-west states in 2021 despite the massive deployment of security operatives to the area. President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed that all those who mismanaged funds meant to develop the Niger Delta through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) would be published. Mr Buhari stated this Thursday in Akwa Ibom while commissioning a hostel at the University of Uyo, his office said. Therefore, going forward, we shall ensure every recoverable kobo, is recovered for use in service of the people of this region and those found culpable shall face the Law, presidential spokesperson Femi Adesina, in a statement Thursday, quoted Mr Buhari as saying. Mr Buhari had authorised a forensic audit of the NDDC following allegations of widespread corruption at the agency. PREMIUM TIMES reported how several NDDC projects were abandoned or non-existent despite the release of millions of naira for them. The Niger Delta minister, Godswill Akpabio, had said the NDDC was treated like an ATM where officials just went to steal public funds. The hostel Mr Buhari commissioned Thursday was built by the NDDC, according to Mr Adesina. Read Mr Adesinas full statement below. NDDC FORENSIC AUDIT: PRESIDENT BUHARI SAYS EVERY KOBO WILL BE RECOVERED, CULPRITS TO FACE THE LAW President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja said the concluded forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was being reviewed, with a view to recovering every kobo that is recoverable, while those found culpable will face the law. Speaking at the virtual commissioning of the NDDC Prototype Hostel at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom, the president said it was regrettable that the special development fund of the entire region was squandered by a few for more than 20 years, leaving many in penury. The Niger Delta Development Commission needs to demonstrate that it can achieve the objectives it was conceived for and make its impact felt all over the Niger Delta Region. The lives of the people of the Niger Delta could be so much better, if the funding received by this commission since its inception, in billions of naira over the last 20 years, have been judiciously deployed in service of the people. The serial abuse, lack of delivery and what had become an entrenched institutional decay, was the reason why I called for the forensic audit. Therefore, going forward we shall ensure every recoverable kobo, is recovered for use in service of the people of this region and those found culpable shall face the Law. Consequently, I want to use the opportunity of this commissioning to direct all statutory contributors to the NDDC to remit all outstanding funds to the Commission, and to ensure this is done transparently and according to laid down procedure and process, he said. President Buhari directed that all abandoned projects that directly impact the livelihood of the people should be revived and completed. When I directed the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to institute a forensic audit of the Commission, after many representations by major stakeholders in the Niger Delta, I had also directed that all viable projects which had been abandoned, but which would impact positively on the lives and livelihoods of the people, be immediately revived and completed. President Buhari noted that the contract for the building of 1,050 capacity hostel for male and female students was awarded in 2004, and like many others, it was abandoned. This prototype university hostel consists of 1,050 bed spaces, 525 each for males and females, and is furnished to meet the needs of a university student. The complex also boasts of significant hard and soft infrastructure to ensure its sustainability and durability. The completion of this structure is equally in recognition of the importance government attaches to providing quality housing and improved education for all Nigerians. It is, therefore, another important proof that this administration is committed to satisfying the needs of the people, throughout Nigeria, and fulfilling their expectations. Government must continue in its efforts to serve the people, by providing amenities, as well as the enabling environment for scholarships, investments across all sectors, for sustenance of the environment, and overall growth of the economy. Significant part of this success story is that it could easily not have happened. The contract for this hostel was awarded as far back as 2004. It was one of many projects abandoned across the Niger Delta region, but which I directed the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, to expeditiously complete and put to use, the President added. President Buhari said across many public universities and institutions of higher learning children face accommodation challenges, while private investors were taking advantage of the gap to provide accommodation, unfortunately tasking the resources of parents and guardians. Advertisements Many of them are located far away from school premises and come with their own peculiar challenges. It is good that such an infrastructure gap is being addressed, by providing accommodation for students that would be affordable, well built, and in a secure environment, he said. The President noted that the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on his behalf, commissioned the Special Protections Unit Base 6 Barracks in Omagwa, Rivers State, which was built and donated by the Niger Delta Development Commission to the Nigeria Police Force. Firstly, and as stated at that occasion, the complex is part of a crucial component of the major reform we are undertaking with the Nigerian Police Force. While we are working to increase the number of police personnel, within set yearly targets, and re-equip personnel, both in personal gear and hardware, accommodation remains an important feature of that reform. Indeed, it showed that we can alleviate the accommodation challenges of senior security personnel in order to enhance security in the region. Secondly, this singular intervention demonstrates that NDDC understands the importance of governments effort at improving the lives and livelihoods of our police officers, in line with my directive that building of barracks for men and women of the police force should be done in collaboration with the Special Housing effort of the Family Home funds. In his remarks, Mr Akpabio said the completion of the NDDC headquarters complex and other projects clearly showed the presidents commitment to improving the livelihood of people in the Niger Delta. President Buhari is focused on development of Nigeria and the Niger Delta. The President wants to ensure that by the time he leaves office, the NDDC is repositioned to live up to the expectations of the founding fathers, he added. The Sole Administrator of NDDC, Effiong Akwa, thanked the president for always honouring the institution by commissioning three projects in a year. The three projects have one thing in common, they were all abandoned before the forensic audit, he added. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Nyaudoh Ndaeyo and the Student Union also appreciated the president for the intervention, with the presentation of awards. Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) December 30, 2021 On Wednesday, Nigeria recorded 1,355 new cases and an additional death from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is according to data released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday morning. The data shows that Lagos State, the epicentre of disease, contributed more to the new infections with 1,036 reported in addition to the report for December 28 and 29, 2021. With the new cases recorded, the infection toll from the virus in Nigeria has increased to 240,374 while the death toll now stands at 3,028 cases. The centre also revealed that 213,491 Nigerians have been successfully treated and discharged nationwide, while 23,866 people are still hospitalised. Breakdown Following Lagos State on the log is Nasarawa and Delta states with 92 and 58 cases respectively. The FCT also reported 57 cases, Edo State, 44; Rivers, 25; while Kano reported 23 cases. As Enugu recorded 11 cases, Plateau and Bayelsa States reported six and three cases respectively. The NCDC noted that Sokoto State reported that it recorded no case. The police in Zamfara State have rescued 10 kidnap victims abducted by bandits in the early hours of Wednesday. It also said it has arrested a notorious bandit along the axis. Bandits had stormed Gada community in Bungudu Local Government Area around 1 a.m. Wednesday, and killed the district head, Ummaru Bawan-Allah. Several people were said to have been abducted during the attack that lasted for hours. But addressing journalists on Wednesday evening at the command headquarters in Gusau, the State Commissioner of Police, Ayuba Elkana, said 10 of those abducted have been rescued by his men. He said a joint tactical team comprising policemen, soldiers and vigilante members swung into action, chased the bandits and rescued the abductees. Mr Elkana, who said the victims have been reunited with their families, also said among them was a one-year old baby abducted alongside her mother. The commissioner also said a notorius bandit operating in the Zurmi Shinkafi axis has been arrested. Mr Elkana said the bandit, Sani Mati, alias Mai Yan Mata, was arrested while he was leading his gang to block the road along Kokiya village to kidnap motorists. The police said he was arrested with an AK47 rifle, double magazines, three rounds of live ammunition and one boxer motorcycle. A former governor of Jigawa State, Saminu Turaki, has finally shown up for his corruption trial for the first time in years of his repeated absence from court. PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that Mr Turaki appeared at the Dutse Division of the Federal High Court in Jigawa State, on December 7, to face the 32-count corruption charge pending against him and his co-defendants since over 14 years ago. The December 7 proceedings took place before a judge who was newly assigned the case, Hassan Dikko. The re-assignment of the case to Mr Dikko followed the recent retirement of the former judge, S. Yahuza, from the Federal High Courts bench. Mr Yahuzas retirement necessitated Mr Turakis trial, which started in 2007, to start afresh with fresh plea taken by the defendants. At his re-arraignment on December 7, the former governor pleaded not guilty to all 32 counts. The judge then adjourned the matter until February 24 and 25, 2022 for trial. Trial stalled for 14 years With the recent re-arraignment of Mr Turaki and his co-defendants signalling a fresh start of the case, it means the trial has practically made no progress since it was filed 14 years ago. Mr Turaki, who served two terms as governor of Jigawa from 1999 to 2007, was first arraigned by the EFCC before Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 13, 2007, on a 32-count charge of misappropriating N36 billion while in office. Following his arraignment, he was granted bail in the sum of N100 million. In 2011, the case was transferred to the Federal High Court, Dutse after Mr Turaki successfully challenged the territorial jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Abuja to hear the case. He was subsequently re-arraigned on the same 32-count charge at the Dutse Division of the Federal High Court. Due to the repeated absence of Mr Turaki from the court, the case was stalled for years, until he ran out of luck when EFCC arrested him on July 4, 2017, at an event in Abuja. While the EFCC was trying to get a date for his trial before the court in Dutse, the annual vacation of Federal High Court judges started. EFCC was then confronted with the risk of holding the former governor in custody beyond the constitutionally permissible period. Since he was arrested in Abuja, Mr Turaki quickly filed a rights enforcement suit before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, in Abuja, seeking an order of the court to release him from the anti-graft agencys custody. The suit was opposed by the EFCC arguing that Mr Turaki would again jump bail, based on his antecedent of jumping bail granted him by the Federal High Court in Dutse in 2011, and evading the arrest warrant subsequently issued by the same court. Despite EFCCs objection, Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court granted bail to the ex-governor on conditions that he should submit his travelling documents to the registry of the court, produce two reasonable sureties residing in Abuja, and routinely sign a register to be opened at the EFCCs office every two weeks. Reluctant to release Mr Turaki as ordered by the court, EFCC sought and got the trial moved from Dutse Division of the Federal High Court to the Abuja division, which was the only division a judge was appointed to entertain all urgent cases from the entire northern region. Mr Turaki pleaded not guilty to the 32 counts again and was again granted bail by the judge, Nnamdi Dimgba. On July 18, 2017, the judge granted him bail in the sum of N500million with two sureties in the sum of N250million each. Among other bail conditions, the judge directed Mr Turaki to report to the EFCCs headquarters on the first working day of every month. The case was then transferred to the Dutse Division after Mr Turaki met the bail conditions, and Mr Dimgba signed the order for his release from custody. Since then, the case has not made any progress due to Mr Turakis repeated absence from court. Highlights of evading arrest In the many years of Mr Turaki evading trial, he attended some public events social and political but still managed to evade arrests by the EFCC. This was despite EFCC being armed with a warrant issued in May 2013 by the Federal High Court in Dutse for Mr Turakis arrest. Advertisements In 2014, Mr Turaki, who had been elected governor on the platform of the then opposition All Peoples Party (APP), but defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after his tenure, was seen to be part of the campaign trails of the incumbent Jigawa State governor, Muhammad Badaru, who was then the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2015 governorship election. On May 19, 2016, operatives of the EFCC stormed Mr Turakis house at 16 Dennis Osadebey Street, Asokoro, Abuja, but could not lay their hands on him. Mr Turaki would, in subsequent months, be seen as one of the guests at the December 2016 wedding of Zahra, a daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, at Daura, Katsina State. He had also been seen at the Bola Tinubu Colloquium, a well-attended public event in Lagos. In July 2017, Mr Turaki attended a book launch on the late Zakariya Maimalari, entitled, The First Regular Combatant, which was held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. It was at the event Mr Turaki was arrested by the EFCC. The live airing of the book launch on the TV was believed to have alerted the anti-graft agency to Mr Turakis presence at the event attended by some political leaders, leading to his eventual arrest. He was subsequently granted bail on July 18, 2017, about two weeks after his arrest on July 4. The trial has not made any progress since then until the re-arraignment on December 7, 2021, which was necessitated by the retirement of the trial judge, and the subsequent reassignment of the case to another judge. Recently, on December 25, he was in Calabar, Cross River State, alongside the Jigawa State governor, Mr Badaru, and his Kebbi State counterpart, Atiku Bagudu, to celebrate Christmas with their Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State. Charges In the 32 counts filed by the EFCC, Mr Turaki and his three co-defendants were accused of collaborating in concealing the genuine nature of a total sum of about N37billion allegedly derived from an illegal act. The offences were said to be contrary to and punishable under section 14(1)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004. The three companies named as Mr Turakis co-defendant in the case marked, FHC/ABJ/CR/86/2007, are INC Natural Resources Ltd., Arkel Construction Nigeria Ltd., and Wildcat Construction Ltd. Isa Gafai of the Legal and Prosecution Unit of the EFCC, who signed the charges, declared in the various counts that one Ahmed Mohammed, said to be culpable in the alleged crimes, was at large. Filed along with the charges was a list of 16 proposed prosecution witnesses, among whom was a former acting chair EFCC, Ibrahim Magu. Number 13 on the list, Mr Magu is believed to have played a crucial role in the investigations of the case. Governor Hope Uzodinmas administration wants to extricate itself from the controversial arrest of Uche Nwosu inside the church during Sunday service by armed police officers. The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, in a statement on Monday, condemned the police invasion of the Saint Peters Anglican Church in Nkwerre, Imo State, and said the state government will not support any form of disrespect for a place of worship by security agencies. Although there is no evidence linking Mr Uzodinma and his administration to the arrest, the acrimony between the governor and his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha who is Mr Nwosus father-in-law, and the attitude of the police during and after the incident have caused many to see the arrest as political, and the governor as being behind it. Mr Nwosu said he was neither invited by the police nor served with a warrant of arrest, a claim that is yet to be refuted by the police. Also, days after the incident, the police are yet to disclose why Mr Nwosu, a 2019 governorship candidate of the Action Alliance in Imo State, was arrested, what investigation has been done or is still being done and if he would be charged to court or not. It is Mr Nwosu himself who disclosed to reporters in Owerri that he was arrested based on a petition that he was sponsoring insecurity in Imo State. Questions the police must answer Here is one question begging for an answer from the police: was it really necessary for over 15 officers to jump into the church during Sunday service and fire gunshots in order to arrest Mr Nwosu? Mr Nwosu told reporters, They (officers) asked me to remove my clothes, handcuffed me, snapped me, made a video, and sent it to the CSO. This claim has also not been refuted by the police. So, until the police come out to say otherwise, it is assumed that the officers took photos of Mr Nwosu while he was handcuffed and wore only a singlet and then deliberately released the photos to the public. One more question, why did the police release Mr Nwosu the very day he was arrested, after such a show of force inside the church, after spending huge funds to fly him on a chartered flight from Enugu to Abuja? Is it that they just realised that they had picked the wrong person or what? Until the police provide answers to these questions, many Nigerians would continue to see the arrest as what they think it is a high and very shameful drama staged by the Nigerian Police, backed up by some powerful persons, to humiliate and ridicule Mr Nwosu and his father-in-law, Senator Okorocha. And many Nigerians think the powerful persons here are Governor Uzodinma and officials of his administration. The utterances of Mr Emelumba, the spokesperson of the Imo State Government, have not really helped matters here. Mr Emelumbas first reaction sounded celebratory something like Yeah, weve got you guys when the news of Mr Nwosus arrest broke out. This is a man who looted the commonwealth of the people of Imo state. Neither he (Okorocha) nor his son-in-law is above the law, Mr Emelumba told reporters in Owerri. A day or so after, when Nigerians began to condemn the police for the church invasion, when Mr Emelumba spoke again with reporters, he did so with some moderation. The arrest of Mr Nwosu within the church premises could have been avoided and, therefore, stands condemned, Mr Emelumba said. While government regrets the manner the arrest was made, we wish to emphasise that since it was purely a security matter, the full reason why such an action was taken will eventually unfold, and perhaps guide the public better. Government therefore wishes to appeal to those negatively affected by the action to bear with the security agencies, he added. Why Nwosus arrest is bad for police, Uzodinma The way the armed officers, all of them masked, invaded the church has got some people thinking whats the difference between the police and the unknown gunmen responsible for the several killings in Imo and other South-east states. The reckless and ruthlessly lawless mannerisms displayed by the Imo State Police Command in the vicinity of the church will make it impossible for citizens to separate terrorists from law enforcers, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria said in its reaction to Mr Nwosus arrest. Even the pro-Biafra group, IPOB, said what happened to Mr Nwosu, apparently referring to how the masked officers were firing gunshots in the church, has vindicated it on the deadly attacks and kidnappings in Imo. The security challenges in Imo and the other states could get complicated because of the actions of the police. Advertisements Also, the way Mr Nwosu was arrested could erode whatever trust the people have in Mr Uzodinma and his administration. The attack on Uche Nwosu is an attack on human rights and freedom. It also shows the disdain law enforcement has for the public. We are not a banana republic, but actions like this will surely drive us toward it, Babatope Falade-Onikoyi, a Lagos-based economist and management consultant, said in a Facebook post. VKS Group, on Friday in Uyo, received one of the most coveted media awards at the 2021 edition of Press Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Akwa Ibom State Council. The award Award of Excellence on meritorious service to the growth of Infrastructure Development in Nigeria is designed to celebrate persons and organisations who have not only excelled in their fields of endeavour but have contributed to the infrastructure development in the country, including roads and other physical infrastructure. The VKS Group, a Turkish business group based in Akwa Ibom State, has as its subsidiaries VKS Nigeria Construction Limited, Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company and Kings Flour Mill. Besides their contributions to the economic development in Akwa Ibom and Nigeria, the VKS Group is renowned for its consistent support to businesses and groups, including the NUJ, in Akwa Ibom. The award bestowed on VKS Group by NUJ is the third media award conferred on it in 2021. In April 2021, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of VKS Group, Onur Kumral was honoured by the Guardian Newspaper among Nigerias 100 most proactive, result-driven CEOs in 2020. A month later, he emerged the Chief Executive Officer of the year 2020 as bestowed by Daily Independent Newspaper. In his reaction, Onur Kumral, MD/CEO of VKS Group, said a coveted award especially the one coming from an organisation like the NUJ is not given freely, they are earned. Mr Kumral noted that the performance of VKS Group and its contributions to the growth of general infrastructure in the country is a result of the team effort of VKS staff. The VKS CEO assured that with the award, his organisation is poised to continue supporting the growth of infrastructure in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and beyond. He disclosed that the organisation has plans to facilitate media training for journalists. We in VKS Group understand that with such honour comes higher responsibilities. What this means is that we will need to consolidate these gains, double our efforts and ensure that not only do we remain ambassadors of this honour next year, we must strive to win even more through our works, Mr Kumral said. Champagne Collet releases limited-edition commemorative bottling "Cuvee n21" to celebrate 100 years. Tweet this To celebrate their centenary, Champagne Collet has produced a limited-release, commemorative bottling called "Cuvee n21" in a nod to 19(21). It is a blend of 21 of the Champagne House's best years dating back to 1961 offered at $175 SRP. Aged for 7 years in Collet's century-old chalk cellars, this wine is sourced from Grand and Premier cru vineyards that reflect the diversity of the champagne region's terroirs. It has a dosage of 8 g/1 and offers complex aromas of acacia, honey and fresh butter with very fine, elegant bubbles that reflect the specificity of the house style. Like all Collet wines, it is created to complement various fine dining and fine drinking experiences, whether served as an aperitif or paired with the most sophisticated of dishes. This spirit of the "Roaring Twenties" lives on at Maison Collet today and is reflected in its rich heritage and its elegant, Art Deco-inspired visual identity. The elegant transparency of the Champagne Collet labels gives the brand a contemporary feel and is an expression of the brand's sincerity and taste for innovation. This design universe has been applied to all the Champagne House's creations, from the champagnes' packaging, gift boxes and cases, to the decor of Villa Collet. Old Bridge Cellars has been Champagne Collet's exclusive national importer since 2017 bringing a superior selection of eight Champagne Collet cuvees to the US, all from Grand and Premier Cru vineyards: Brut Art Deco 1er Cru, Brut Original, Brut Rose, Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru, Extra Brut 1er Cru, Demi Sec, Collection Privee Brut Vintage and its tete de cuvee, Esprit Couture (2012 just released). All are available nationwide. PR contacts: Champagne Collet: Pascal Boye. [email protected] Old Bridge Cellars: Lara Abbott [email protected] SOURCE Old Bridge Cellars Related Links www.obcwines.com Spread Bubbly Cheer to 2021's Everyday Heroes As the stress of COVID variants continue, there are many people deserving of a bubble break. Mr. Bubble wants your help in saying "thank you" to our everyday heroesfrom nurses and doctors to teachers, delivery drivers and you. Mr. Bubble is offering the chance to win a year's supply of his iconic bubble bath every day for 10 days to you and anyone you'd like to nominate. Simply visit bubblebathday.com to nominate yourself or anyone who could use some relaxing bubbles for a daily chance to win a year's supply of Mr. Bubble bubble bath. For every nomination, Mr. Bubble will also donate $1 to RMHC-UM. Winners will be emailed daily. Shop Online & Mr. Bubble Will Match All Sales Mr. Bubble loves putting smiles on peoples' faces and will once again match all sales of Mr. Bubble products ordered online, donating the sales equivalent to RMHC-UM. To help bring additional cheer to the families at RMH-Oak Street in Minneapolis, Mr. Bubble will also deliver goodie bags full of bubblin' fun bath-time products. "It's time to soak away the stress of 2021 and ring in a happy 2022 with a relaxing bath full of Mr. Bubble," says Michelle Hanson, Vice President of Marketing at the Village Company. "There is no better way to celebrate National Bubble Bath Day than by sharing the joy of bubbles with our winners across the country as well as the deserving families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Mr. Bubble's hometown of Minneapolis." Celebrating 60+ years of Bath-time Bliss The idea for Mr. Bubble began in 1961 in North Dakota when Harold Schafer and the Gold Seal Company found a way to make bubble baths more affordable, moving them from department stores to drug stores. The original Mr. Bubble formula used powder bubble flakes that promised to make getting clean almost as much fun as getting dirty. The Mr. Bubble brand has been owned by Twin Cities-based The Village Company since 2008, and the signature bubble bath has been reformulated to create even more bubbles with a gentler formula. Mr. Bubble celebrates National Bubble Bath Day every year on Jan. 8th by giving away bubble bath to deserving individuals. In 2018, Mr. Bubble began partnering with Ronald McDonald House-Upper Midwest and to-date has donated nearly $50k to the organization, supporting families with seriously ill and injured children. For more information about products from Mr. Bubble, America's favorite bath-time buddy, please visit mrbubble.com. About The Village Company The Village Company (TVC) has a long and rich heritage in personal care products. Originally known as Minnetonka, Inc., TVC markets some of the country's most endearing and enduring heritage brands including Mr. Bubble, the #1 bubble bath brand in children's bath; Village Naturals Therapy and Village Naturals Bath Shoppe bath products; Soft & Dri deodorant; Dep hair gels; La Bella hair and skincare products; and Hallu bath and body line. The Village Company's brands are widely distributed through leading retailers in the food, drug, mass and beauty channels. Visit thevillagecompany.com to learn more. About Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest (RMHC-UM) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to provide a comfortable and caring home away from home that supports keeping families together and reduces stress during a child's serious illness. Founded in Minneapolis in 1979, the organization has four locations in the Twin Cities and opened a fifth location, RMH Northland, in Duluth, Minnesota in February 2021. Every year, RMHC-UM provides complimentary lodging, meals and supportive services to thousands of families navigating a child's health crisis. Additional information can be found at www.rmhc-uppermidwest.org SOURCE The Village Company DUBLIN, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Electronic Flight Bag Market by Component (Hardware and Software), End User (OEM, Aftermarket), Application, Platform (Commercial Aviation, Business and General Aviation and Military Aviation), and Region - Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The electronic flight bag (EFB) market is estimated to grow from USD 2.4 Billion in 2021 to USD 3.3 Billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2021 to 2026. Some of the major factors driving this market include reduction in aircraft weight through EFB incorporation, increase in aircraft deliveries, real-time data sharing through EFBs, and the use of EFBs for helicopters and eVTOL vehicles. The Commercial Aviation segment is projected to witness a higher CAGR during the forecast period. Based on Platform, the commercial aviation segment is projected to grow at the highest rate. The commercial aviation sector has witnessed strong growth over the last few years, driven by increasing air travel, a rise in disposable income of the middle-class population, and increased trade and tourism across the globe. Strong growth in this sector has resulted in an increased number of aircraft orders to address the increasing air passenger traffic. The Software segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Based on component, the software segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the EFB market during the forecast period. EFB software enables the independent performance of calculations required for the operation of the aircraft, the display of aeronautical charts without actual aircraft position, and the use of electronic checklists. It uses the Internet and aircraft operational communication links, displays weather information, or facilitates aircraft video camera surveillance displays. This type of software is typically used by business & general aviation aircraft or by commercial carriers with older fleets that lack advanced avionics or hardware. The Aftermarket segment is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period Based on End Users, the aftermarket segment is projected to grow the highest. Aftermarket companies offer services related to the maintenance, upgrade, or replacement of EFBs. Increasing aircraft fleet sizes is one of the most significant factors contributing to the demand for aircraft retrofitting, thereby driving the growth of the aftermarket segment. Airlines buy aircraft EFBs as per their requirements and install them in aircraft. Installation during this stage is majorly done by the supplier of aircraft systems, an in-house airline installation crew, or by a third party The North American market is projected to contribute the largest share from 2021 to 2026 Based on Region, North America is projected to hold the highest market share during the forecast period. The US is expected to lead the North American electronic flight bag market in 2021. The growth of the market in this region can be attributed to the presence of several EFB manufacturers such as Boeing (US), Collins Aerospace, (US) and Honeywell International, Inc (US), among others. These major market players continuously invest in R&D to develop EFB systems for aircraft applications with improved efficiency and reliability. Key Trends: OEM Segment to Have Higher CAGR During Forecast Period Commercial Aviation to Lead Electronic Flight Bag Market During Forecast Period Software Segment to Dominate Market During Forecast Period Asia-Pacific to Have Highest CAGR During Forecast Period Market Dynamics Drivers Reduction in Aircraft Weight Through EFB Incorporation Real-Time Data Sharing a Possibility Through EFBs Post Pandemic Driver: Increase in Aircraft Deliveries Up to 2024 Restraints Lack of Unified Global Regulatory Frameworks/Mandates High Training, Initial Set-Up Costs Opportunities EFBs for Helicopters and EVTOL Vehicles Challenges Cybersecurity Threats as a Result of Interconnected Systems Propensity for Failure Due to Software Bugs and Updates Companies Mentioned Astronautics Corporation of America The Boeing Company Thales Group Honeywell International Inc. Ramco Systems Viasat Inc Teledyne Technologies SITA CMC Electronics Inc DAC International Collins Aerospace Flightman Universal Avionics Anuvu Bytron Aviation Systems Ultramain Systems International Flight Support Apprimus Informatik Gmbh Smart4Aviation AFSYS Skypaq Lufthansa Systems Scandinavian Avionics Moving Terrain AVplaneFB For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/i9z7rv 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. 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 Operating for more than 30 years as a grower-owned organization, Yakima Chief Hops is deeply rooted within the Pacific Northwest hop community. YCH has had the opportunity to witness the amazing evolution of the hop and beer industries, as well as the talented women and men that make it happen, from field to pint. With this, they recognize not only the incredible progress in increasing diversity, but also the opportunities for continuous improvement to become more inclusive. In August 2021, YCH launched a new podcast, Bigger than Beer, with the mission of exploring new topics each year that focus on the larger picture of the craft beer community's impact, including both social and environmental initiatives. This year's Bigger Than Beer series, Women+ in the Industry, features women in the hop and brewing profession and provides a platform to share their different perspectives in the hopes of inspiring meaningful conversations and positive change. The Bigger Than Beer podcast is available on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. There are currently 12 episodes in the Women+ in the Industry series, with guests ranging from the Operations and Processing Manager at Sodbuster Farms, Alexa Weathers, to the R&D Brewer at Breakside Brewery, Natalie Baldwin. The Women+ in the Industry series will come to a close in March as they celebrate International Women's Day and the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day. The Bigger Than Beer podcast will then transition to a new topic. Yakima Chief Hops invites industry professionals and beer drinkers alike to learn more about the incredible women that make beer possible. Yakima Chief Hops YCH is a 100% grower-owned global hop supplier with a mission to connect brewers with family hop farms. Operating for more than 30 years, we have become more than a hop supplier. We are leaders of innovation, quality and customer service. We are a resource for brewers, providing solutions-based products and industry leading research. We are advocates of sustainability and meaningful social causes, working to support the environment and communities around us. https://www.yakimachief.com/ SOURCE Yakima Chief Hops Shareholders Vote Overwhelmingly in Favour of the Proposed Arrangement with Chifeng TORONTO, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Golden Star Resources Ltd. (NYSE American: GSS) (TSX: GSC) (GSE: GSR) ("Golden Star" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the voting results of its special meeting (the "Meeting") of holders ("Shareholders") of Golden Star's common shares ("Golden Star Shares"), which was held virtually earlier today. At the Meeting, Shareholders approved a special resolution (the "Arrangement Resolution") in respect of a statutory plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") under Section 192 of the Canada Business Corporations Act (the "Transaction"), involving the Company, Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining Co., Ltd. (SHSE: 600988) ("Chifeng") and its subsidiary Chijin International (Hong Kong) Limited ("Chijin"), and Kefei Investment (BVI) Limited (collectively with Chijin, the "Purchaser"), pursuant to the arrangement agreement dated October 31, 2021, as amended by an amending agreement dated November 24, 2021 (the "Arrangement Agreement"). The Arrangement Resolution required the approval of at least two thirds of the votes cast by Shareholders present virtually at the Meeting or represented by proxy. The Arrangement Resolution was approved by approximately 99.47% of the votes cast by Shareholders present virtually at the Meeting or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the Meeting. Golden Star will be seeking a final order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) with respect to the Arrangement Agreement on January 7, 2022. The Arrangement is expected to be completed later in January 2022, subject to among other things, receipt of all required regulatory, court and stock exchange approvals, and the satisfaction or waiver of conditions precedent as set forth in the Arrangement Agreement. Chifeng Shareholder Approval On December 27, 2021, Chifeng held an interim meeting (the "Chifeng Meeting") of shareholders of Chifeng in order to vote on a special resolution approving the Transaction (the "Chifeng Transaction Resolution"). The Chifeng Transaction Resolution required the approval of at least two thirds of the votes cast by shareholders of Chifeng present in person or represented by proxy at the Chifeng Meeting. The Chifeng Transaction Resolution was approved by approximately 99.99% of the votes cast by shareholders of Chifeng present in person or represented by proxy at the Chifeng Meeting, thus meeting the threshold required for approval of the Transaction. The Transaction Pursuant to the Arrangement Agreement, Chifeng, through the Purchaser, has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding Golden Star Shares. Pursuant to and upon completion of the Transaction, Shareholders will receive total consideration, payable in cash, of US$3.91 (equivalent to approximately C$4.85 as of October 31, 2021) per Golden Star Share, which equates to a total Transaction value of approximately US$470 million on a fully-diluted, in-the-money basis. Upon completion of the Transaction in later January 2022, the Golden Star Shares are expected to be delisted from the NYSE American, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange. In addition, it is expected that Golden Star will cease to be a reporting issuer under U.S., Canadian and Ghanaian securities laws following the completion of the Transaction. Advisors Golden Star has engaged Canaccord Genuity Corp. as its exclusive financial advisor as well as Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP and Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP as its respective Canadian and United States legal advisors. Canaccord Genuity Corp. provided a fairness opinion to Golden Star's Board of Directors. Chifeng has engaged Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. and First Asia Group Ltd. as its financial advisors as well as Goodmans LLP as its legal advisor. Golden Star Profile Golden Star is an established gold mining company that owns and operates the Wassa underground mine in the Western Region of Ghana, West Africa. Listed on the NYSE American, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Ghanaian Stock Exchange, Golden Star is focused on delivering strong margins and free cash flow from the Wassa mine. As the winner of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada 2018 Environmental and Social Responsibility Award, Golden Star remains committed to leaving a positive and sustainable legacy in its areas of operation. Chifeng Profile Chifeng is an international gold mining company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of approximately US$4.4 billion. It operates five mining assets, including the world-class Sepon gold mine in Laos. In 2018, Chifeng acquired Sepon before undertaking significant capital expenditures to redevelop the gold processing facility in order to double its future gold production. Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information Some statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases (including negative or grammatical variations) or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved or the negative connotation thereof. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause facts to differ materially. Such statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which Golden Star will operate in the future. Forward-looking statements may include but are not limited to, statements related to the Transaction; the anticipated timing for and the completion of the Transaction; the timing for and receipt of all required regulatory, court and stock exchange approvals; the anticipated and timing of delisting of the Golden Star Shares; the reporting status of Golden Star; the ability of the parties to satisfy other conditions to, and to complete, the Transaction; and the closing of the Transaction including the acquisition of the Golden Star Shares and payment in respect thereof. In respect of the forward-looking statements and information concerning the anticipated completion of the proposed Transaction and the anticipated timing for completion of the proposed Transaction, Golden Star has provided them in reliance on certain assumptions and believes that they are reasonable at this time, including the assumptions as to the ability of the parties to receive, in a timely manner, the necessary regulatory, court, stock exchange and relevant authority approvals; and the ability of the parties to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to the closing of the Transaction. These dates may change for a number of reasons, including the inability to secure necessary approvals in the time assumed or the need for additional time to satisfy the other conditions to the completion of the Transaction. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these times. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Golden Star to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, without limitation: risks associated with the Transaction and acquisitions generally; the Arrangement Agreement may be terminated in certain circumstances; there can be no certainty that all conditions precedent to the Transaction will be satisfied; Golden Star will incur costs even if the Transaction is not completed and may have to pay a termination fee or expense reimbursement if the Arrangement Agreement is terminated in certain circumstances; and all necessary approvals may not be obtained. Additional risks, uncertainties and factors include, without limitation: gold price volatility; discrepancies between actual and estimated production; mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries; mining operational and development risks; liquidity risks; suppliers suspending or denying delivery of products or services; regulatory restrictions (including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability); actions by governmental authorities; the speculative nature of gold exploration; ore type; the global economic climate; share price volatility; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; risks related to streaming agreements and joint venture operations; the availability of capital on reasonable terms or at all; risks related to international operations, including economic and political instability in foreign jurisdictions in which Golden Star operates; developments in Ghana that may have an adverse impact on Golden Star and/or the Transaction; risks related to current global financial conditions including financial and other risks resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic; actual results of current exploration activities; environmental risks; future prices of gold; possible variations in mineral reserves and mineral resources, grade or recovery rates; mine development and operating risks; an inability to obtain power for operations on favorable terms or at all; mining plant or equipment breakdowns or failures; an inability to obtain products or services for operations or mine development from vendors and suppliers on reasonable terms, including pricing, or at all; public health pandemics such as COVID-19, including risks associated with reliance on suppliers, the cost, scheduling and timing of gold shipments, uncertainties relating to its ultimate spread, severity and duration, and related adverse effects on the global economy and financial markets; accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; litigation risks; the quantum and timing of receipt of the proceeds from the sale by the Company of its interest in Bogoso-Prestea; risks related to indebtedness and the service of such indebtedness; and general business, economic, competitive, political, health and social uncertainties. Although Golden Star 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 future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. Please refer to the discussion of these and other factors in Management's Discussion and Analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in our annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2020 as filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forecasts contained in this press release constitute management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to their inherent uncertainty. SOURCE Golden Star Resources Ltd. Related Links www.gsr.com SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- If you purchased Atripla, Biktarvy, Complera, Descovy, Evotaz, Genvoya, Odefsey, Prezcobix, Stribild, Symtuza, Truvada, or Viread, the partial settlement of a class action lawsuit may affect your rights. Payments to eligible consumers of Atripla and Evotaz will vary based on the number of claims, but are expected to average $70.50 to $282. A partial settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit involving the antiretroviral drugs Atripla, Biktarvy, Complera, Descovy, Evotaz, Genvoya, Odefsey, Prezcobix, Stribild, Symtuza, Truvada, and Viread (the "Settlement"). The lawsuit claims that Gilead Sciences, Inc., Gilead Holdings, LLC, Gilead Sciences, LLC, and Gilead Sciences Ireland UC ("Gilead"), Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and E. R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. ("BMS"), and Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Products LP, and Janssen R&D Ireland ("Janssen") (collectively, "Defendants") engaged in a variety of allegedly anticompetitive conduct that caused certain consumers and third-party payors (the "End-Payor Class," discussed below) to pay too much for HIV medicines, specifically: Atripla, Biktarvy, Complera, Descovy, Evotaz, Genvoya, Odefsey, Prezcobix, Stribild, Symtuza, Truvada, and Viread. Defendants deny any wrongdoing. No one is claiming that any of these drugs is unsafe or ineffective. WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE? To settle all claims against it in the lawsuit, BMS has agreed not to enforce a certain contractual provision in its agreement with Gilead, involving the drug Evotaz, that the Plaintiffs allege is anticompetitive. BMS also agrees to deposit $10,000,000 into a Settlement Fund. The claims against Gilead and Janssen are unaffected by Plaintiffs' settlement with BMS, and the litigation against Gilead and Janssen will continue. If the Settlement is approved by the Court and becomes final, Plaintiffs' Counsel will seek reimbursement from the Settlement Fund for $2.5 million in costs and expenses advanced by Counsel on behalf of the Plaintiffs in connection with the litigation. Plaintiffs' Counsel will not seek the payment of any attorneys' fees from BMS or the Settlement Fund. The remainder of the Settlement Fund will be distributed to the End-Payor Class pursuant to a Plan of Allocation for which the Plaintiffs seek the Court's approval. The Settlement Agreement is available at the website, www.HIVdrugsettlement.com, and contains more details. WHO IS INCLUDED IN THE SETTLEMENT CLASSES? There are seven Settlement Classes, five of which provide for damages relief and two of which provide for injunctive relief only. The five Settlement Damages Classes are: (i) the Atripla Settlement Damages Class; (ii) the Evotaz Settlement Damages Class; (iii) the Complera Settlement Damages Class; (iv) the Stribild Settlement Damages Class; and (v) the Truvada Settlement Damages Class. The two Settlement Injunctive-Relief Classes are: (vi) the cART Foundation Settlement Injunctive-Relief Class; and (vii) the Prezcobix Settlement Injunctive-Relief Class. Generally, you are included in one or more of the Settlement Damages Classes for Atripla (brand or generic) or Evotaz if you are a consumer or Third-Party Payor ("TPP") and you purchased, paid, and/or provided reimbursement in (which includes, with respect to TPPs, the state in which you have your principal place of business) any of the Damages States for some or all of the purchase price for one or more of those drugs for consumption by yourself or your family, or, with respect to TPPs, by your members, employees, insureds, participants, citizens, residents, or beneficiaries, other than for resale, during the period May 14, 2015 through October 13, 2021. The "Damages States" are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Generally, the Settlement Damages Classes for Complera, Stribild, and Truvada (brand or generic) have the same criteria as above, except that only TPPs not consumers are members of the Complera, Stribild, and Truvada Settlement Damages Classes. Generally, you are included in the cART Foundation Settlement Injunctive-Relief Class if you are a consumer or TPP who purchased, paid, and/or provided reimbursement anywhere in the United States or its territories for some or all of the purchase price for one or more of the following drugs for consumption by yourself, your family, or your members, employees, insureds, participants, or beneficiaries, other than for resale, during the period May 14, 2015 through October 13, 2021. The drugs are: Atripla, Biktarvy, Complera, Descovy, Evotaz, Genvoya, Odefsey, Prezcobix, Stribild, Symtuza, Truvada, and Viread. Generally, the Prezcobix Settlement Injunctive-Relief Class has the same criteria as for the cART Foundation Settlement Injunctive-Relief Class, but includes only the consumer and TPP buyers of Prezcobix. Certain individuals and entities are excluded from some or all of the Classes defined above. The complete descriptions of the Settlement Classes are set forth in the full Notice and in the Settlement Agreement, which are available on the website www.HIVdrugsettlement.com or by contacting the Settlement Administrator. HOW DO I GET A PAYMENT? If the Court approves the Settlement, consumer members of the Atripla Damages Class and the Evotaz Damages Class will be eligible to receive payments from the Settlement Fund based upon the amount of their unreimbursed payments, copayments, or co-insurance payments for those drugs. You will need to submit a Claim Form, which you may obtain from the website or by asking the Settlement Administrator (information on the website) to send you a Claim Form. After the hearing scheduled for April 28, 2022, check the Settlement website, www.HIVdrugsettlement.com, to see whether the Court approved the Settlement. If the Settlement is approved, the consumer members of the Atripla Damages Class and the Evotaz Damages Class will share in a Settlement Fund of $2.5 million. The average amount paid for each valid claim for eligible consumers of Atripla or Evotaz will depend on the total number of valid claims that are submitted. For example, if 15,000 valid claims are submitted, the average valid claim, after accounting for the costs of administering the Settlement Fund, will be paid approximately $141.00. If twice that number of valid claims are submitted (i.e., 30,000), then the average valid claim would be paid approximately $70.50. The same principle applies if the number of valid claims is less than 15,000; if, for example, only 7,500 valid claims are submitted, the average valid claim would be paid approximately $282.00. Payments to eligible TPPs will be deferred until later in the litigation; you will receive further notice as to when those payments will be made. YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS Your options depend on whether you are a member of one of the Settlement Damages Classes or a member of one of the Settlement Injunctive-Relief Classes. If you are a member of one of the Settlement Damages Classes, you have the right to exclude yourself from (to opt out of) the proposed Settlement Damages Classes no later than March 15, 2022. You may also comment on or object to the proposed Settlement to the extent you have not opted out. If you are a member of one of the Settlement Injunctive-Relief Classes, you cannot exclude yourself from the Class if the Court approves the Settlement, but you may comment on or object to the proposed Settlement. To comment on or object to any aspect of the proposed Settlement, you must act by March 15, 2022. Details on how to request exclusion, comment, or object can be found at www.HIVdrugsettlement.com. The Court will hold a hearing at 1:30 p.m. on April 28, 2022, to consider whether the Settlement and all of its terms are fair, reasonable, and adequate. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND A CLAIM FORM Visit www.HIVdrugsettlement.com Call 1-877-999-2491 SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Hilliard & Shadowen LLP, and Durie Tangri LLP NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors with losses in excess of $100,000 that they have until January 18, 2022 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Owlet, Inc. f/k/a Sandbridge Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: OWLT; OWLT WS; SBG; SBG WS), if they purchased the Company's securities between March 31, 2021 and October 4, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period") and/or held Sandbridge common stock held as of June 1, 2021 and were eligible to vote at Sandbridge's special meeting on July 14, 2021. This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Get Help Owlet investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-owlt/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit Owlet and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On October 4, 2021, the Company disclosed the receipt of a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") stating that "the Company's marketing of its Owlet Smart Sock product . . . renders [it] a medical device requiring premarket clearance or approval from FDA," which requirement the Company had not obtained, and also requesting that "the Company cease commercial distribution of the Smart Sock for uses in measuring blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate where such metrics are intended to identify or diagnose desaturation and bradycardia using an alarm functionality to notify users that measurements are outside of preset values." On this news, shares of Owlet fell $1.29, or 23%, to close at $4.19 per share on October 4, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume. The case is Butala v. Owlet, Inc. f/k/a Sandbridge Acquisition Corporation, 21-cv-09016. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. SOURCE ClaimsFiler NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Instadose Pharma Corp. f/k/a Mikrocoze, Inc. ("Instadose", "Mikrocoze", or the "Company") (OTCMKTS: INSD; MZKR) and one of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virgina, Norfolk Division, and docketed under 21-cv-00675, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired Instadose securities between December 8, 2020 and November 24, 2021, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and one of its top officials. If you are a shareholder who purchased Instadose securities during the class period, you have until February 28, 2022 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. [Click here for information about joining the class action] Instadose does not have significant operations and was at all relevant times classified as a "shell" company. Instadose was formerly known as "Mikrocoze, Inc.", which was organized to sell micro-furniture for small spaces via the Internet. The Company has since pivoted its business to focus on growth and acquisition of pharmaceutical grade agricultural products. On December 7, 2020, Instadose (then still known as Mikrocoze) entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Instadose Pharma Corp., a Canadian-based cannabis producer ("Instadose Canada"), and holders of a majority of its outstanding shares for a transaction to acquire 100% of the outstanding common shares of Instadose Canada in exchange for approximately 80% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of the Company following such exchange (the "Business Combination"). The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Instadose had performed inadequate due diligence into the Business Combination and/or ignored significant red flags associated with Instadose Canada; (ii) Instadose's internal controls and policies were inadequate to detect and/or prevent impermissible trading activity by control persons of the Company; (iii) the foregoing subjected Instadose to a heightened risk of regulatory scrutiny and enforcement action; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On July 9, 2021, the Ontario Securities Commission ("OSC") announced that the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of Instadose Canada, Grant Ferdinand Sanders ("Sanders"), was charged quasi-criminally with one count of fraud in relation to his role as Chairman and CEO of Instadose Canada, which, since July 2017, had raised more than $9.4 million from investors. The OSC alleged that investor funds were diverted to the benefit of Sanders, his family, and associates, and that Instadose Canada materially misrepresented the nature of its business. Then, on October 15, 2021, Instadose Canada announced that an overwhelming majority of its shareholders voted in favor of the Business Combination, hich remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by a Canadian court. Following completion of the Business Combination, Instadose expected that its Board of Directors would consist of, among others, Sanders. Then, on November 24, 2021, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), Instadose disclosed that "[o]n November 23, 2021, the Company was notified by the SEC that it had ordered, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the [Exchange Act], that trading in the securities of [Instadose] is suspended for the period from 9:30 a.m. EDT on November 24, 2021, through 11:59 p.m. EDT on December 8, 2021." Instadose advised investors that the SEC's order specifically stated that "it appears to the [SEC] that the public interest and the protection of investors require a suspension in the trading of [Instadose] securities . . . because of questions and concerns regarding the adequacy and accuracy of information about Instadose . . . in the marketplace, including: (1) significant increases in the stock price and share volume unsupported by the company's assets and financial information; (2) trading that may be associated with individuals related to a control person of Instadose . . .; and (3) the operations of Instadose[]'s Canadian affiliate." On this news, and after Instadose's common stock began publicly trading again on December 9, 2021, the Company's stock price fell $22.61 per share, or 91.87%, to close at $2.00 per share on December 9, 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] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP Related Links www.pomerantzlaw.com NEW YORK, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Cloopen Group Holding Limited ("Cloopen" or the "Company") (NYSE: RAAS). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Cloopen 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 or around February 9, 2021, Cloopen conducted an initial public offering ("IPO") in the United States, selling 23 million American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") priced at $16.00 per ADS. Then, on March 26, 2021, just over six weeks after its IPO, Cloopen published its 4Q 2020 and FY 2020 financial results. Cloopen reported 4Q 2020 revenues of just $39.6 million, $2 million short of analysts' consensus, net losses of $46.8 million, representing a staggering 466.9% increase year-over-year, and operating expenses of $27.6 million, representing a 30% increase over 4Q 2019. Cloopen blamed a "change in fair value of warrant liabilities of . . . US$34.4 million" for Cloopen's remarkable net loss and "an increase in the provision for doubtful accounts resulting from increased in accounts receivables" for the 59.2% increase in general and administrative expenses. On this news, Cloopen's ADS price fell $2.67 per ADS, or 18.52%, to close at $11.75 per ADS on March 26, 2021. Then, on May 10, 2021, after the market closed, Cloopen filed its Annual Report on SEC Form 20-F, revealing for the first time that its dollar-based net customer retention rate for recurring solutions had hemorrhaged from 102.7% in 2019 to 86.8% by year end 2020. On this news, Cloopen's ADS price fell $0.62 per ADS, or 6.47%, to close at $8.97 per ADS on May 12, 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] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of WeWork Inc. ("WeWork" or the "Company") (NYSE: WE). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether WeWork 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 December 1, 2021, WeWork disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that "[i]n connection with the preparation of the financial statements as of September 30, 2021, WeWork Inc. (the 'Company') reevaluated its application of Accounting Standards Codification ('ASC') 480-10-S99, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity, to its accounting classification of the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption (the 'Public Shares') issued as part of the units sold in the initial public offering by the Company's predecessor, BowX Acquisition Corp. ('BowX'). The Company had previously classified a portion of the Public Shares in permanent equity. Upon further evaluation, the Company determined that the Public Shares include certain redemption features not solely within the Company's control that, under ASC 480-10-S99, require such shares to be classified as temporary equity in their entirety." Accordingly, WeWork advised that certain of its previously issued financial statements should not be relied upon and would be restated. In addition, WeWork disclosed that its management has concluded that, that in light of the classification error described above, there was a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting relating to the interpretation and accounting for certain complex features of the Public Shares." On this news, WeWork's stock price fell sharply, damaging investors. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP LAGOS, Nigeria, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- True to its vision of helping to sensitize the world about sickle cell disorder (SCD), the African Sickle Cell News & World Report through its Sickle Cell Education Centre has released the first quarterly edition of 2022. Throughout Africa, medical caregivers and otherwise savvy laymen and women are conscious of the imperative of sickle avoidance. For those who have witnessed firsthand the effects of SCD on children and adults, there's little desire to knowingly bequeath the gift of pain. African-American 'Warrior Woman' Osunfemi Wanbi Njeri's parents were aware of their status as carriers of the sickle cell gene. Proceeding on to marriage, the couple knew that via prenatal diagnosis, it was possible to avoid giving birth to a child with full-blown sickle cell. Prenatal tests in California confirmed Osunfemi only had the trait but not the disease. It was a false negative, a misdiagnosis which paved the way to the birth of a vocalist, song writer, Ifa devotee, Reiki therapist and much more! Her parents would almost certainly have got rid of the pregnancy had the results been accurate. In Africa, a similar scenario played out in the life of a medical family. Premarital genotype tests had assured the intending couple that they were both AA, ie, none carried the gene for reproducing a child with the sickle trait, talk less the disease itself. Emboldened, the couple went ahead and got married. To the couple's disappointment, three of their five children were diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia. The family sued the laboratory where the genotype tests were conducted but eventually settled out of court. On the other hand, in those days before premarital testing, it was a hit or miss whether children were born with SCD. It was in that period that Julie Coker, the 1957 Beauty Queen and one of the pioneers of Television Broadcasting in Africa got married. Ms Coker would eventually abandon her flourishing career to take care of her son who was diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia (and later leukemia, a blood cancer). Up on the forefront of sickle cell awareness in Africa, the Gabriel Adewunmi Alabi Foundation (GAAF) proves a point by taking awareness to teenagers, attempting to 'catch 'em young' before emotional attachment beclouds their better judgment later in life. Talking of awareness, there has been a change of guard at the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) with Regina Hartfield succeeding Beverley Francis-Gibson as President/CEO. Founded in 1972, the SCDAA is an amalgam of sickle cell organizations in the United States with focus on awareness and research for a cure. The first quarter edition of Sickle Cell News also xrays the life and times of Bolaji Badejo, the unlikely Hollywood actor who performed a lead role in The Alien (1979), one of the 20th Century's most celebrated films. Seven foot tall Badejo (1953 1992) lived with sickle cell anaemia. Sickle Cell Disease is the world's most commonly-inherited blood disorder. It affects all races but is more common among people of African descent. SCD is also prevalent in India and among ethnic minorities in the UK and USA. It is estimated that a fifth of the world's population carries an abnormal gene with the sickle cell gene being the most common. Free access at https://sicklecelleducationcentre.com.ng SOURCE Sickle Cell News Calgary, AB, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Top Strike Resources Corp. d.b.a. "Vencanna Ventures" (the "Corporation" or "Vencanna") (CSE: VENI) (OTCQB: TPPRF) is pleased to provide a summary of its financial results as of October 31, 2021. Selected financial information is outlined below and should be read in conjunction with the Corporation's financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the three and six months ended October 31, 2021, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Financial Highlights The following financial data is selected information for the Company for the eight most recently completed financial quarters: Quarter ended (000's) Oct 31, 2021 ($) Jul 30, 2021 ($) Apr 30, 2021 ($) Jan 31, 2021 ($) Oct 31, 2020 ($) Jul 31, 2020 ($) Apr 30, 2 020 ($) Jan 31, 2020 ($) Revenue 294 510 1 (412) 138 (78) 950 308 Income (Loss) for the period (290) 281 (301) (663) (135) (253) 713 59 Income (Loss) per share (0.00) 0.00 (0.00) (0.00) (0.00) (0.00) 0.00 0.00 Total assets 9,957 10,130 10,009 10,464 10,790 10,873 9,294 8,671 Total liabilities 1,741 1,718 2,088 2,240 1,901 1,871 76 66 As of the date hereof, a major portion of the Company's business was derived from material ancillary involvement in US cannabis-related activities. As of October 31, 2021, 27% of the Company's assets and 100% of income was directly related to US cannabis activities. The Company recorded a net income of $3,873, $0.00 per common share for the three months ended October 31, 2021, as compared to a net loss of $133,343, $0.00 per share for the three months ended October 31, 2020. Revenues for the three months ended October 31, 2021, were $294,222 (2020 - $137,699). Interest income was $118,168 (2020 - $144,635). The following changes in fair market value occurred in the quarter; unrealized foreign exchange loss $19,655 (2020 -$6,936) and unrealized loss on investments and derivative instruments of $195,709 (2020 $10,400); including a $59,500 unrealized loss on investments and a $255,159 unrealized gain on convertible debt and its related derivative. Corporate Update and Recent Developments The Company reduced the carrying value of its 60% interest in Galenas New Jersey LLC ("Galenas NJ") from $118,900 to $59,450. At the beginning of the period Galenas NJ had two active license applications outstanding including both a cultivation and dispensary application. On October 15, 2021, the state announced the successful cultivation licenses. Galenas NJ was not awarded a cultivation license. Subsequent to period end, the state announced the dispensary licenses. Galenas NJ was not awarded a dispensary license, to which the Company will reduce the remaining carrying value of $59,450. On March 12, 2021, the Company announced that it had entered into an exclusive non-binding letter of intent with Cannavative Group LLC ("Cannavative"), pursuant to which the Company will acquire all of the common shares in the capital of Cannavative in an all-share exchange through the issuance of an aggregate of 360,000,000 common shares of the Company at a deemed issuance price of US$0.05 per common share. The proposed transaction is subject to, among other things, the execution of a definitive agreement between the Company and Cannavative (the "Definitive Agreement") and customary closing conditions. The proposed transaction is subject to the acceptance of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE"), the approval of the shareholders of the Company and Cannavative, and Nevada state regulatory approval. While no assurances can be made, the Company and Cannavative remain committed to complete the transaction. Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB") On October 5, 2021, the Company's normal course issuer bid ("NCIB", the "Bid") expired. During the period of the NCIB, the Corporation purchased 580,000 of the Company's common shares ("Shares") at an average price of $0.022. On September 10, 2021, the Company approved the renewal of the Bid, commencing on October 12, 2021 and terminating the earlier of: (i) October 11, 2022, and (ii) the date on which the maximum number of Shares are purchased pursuant to the Bid. Under the Bid, the Company may purchase up to 5% of the Company's Shares. All Shares will be purchased under the Bid on the open market and through the facilities of the CSE and payment for the Shares will be made in accordance with CSE policies. The timing and extent of repurchases will depend upon several factors, including market and business conditions, valuation of Shares, regulatory requirements, and other corporate considerations. The price paid for Shares will be the prevailing market price at the time of purchase and all Shares acquired by the Company will be cancelled. The Company had 181,411,390 Shares issued and outstanding as of the re-commencement date the BID. Purchases may be suspended at any time, and no purchases will be made other than by means of open market transactions during the term of the Bid. The Corporation has engaged Independent Trading Group ("ITG") Inc. to act as the broker through which the Bid will be conducted. About Vencanna On September 24, 2018, the Corporation announced the completion of a recapitalization financing, the appointment of a new management team and board of directors and commencement of trading on the CSE. The transactions have transitioned the Corporation from an oil and gas issuer to a merchant capital firm, rebranded as "Vencanna Ventures". The recapitalized Corporation aims to be a go-to capital provider for early-stage global cannabis initiatives with an emphasis on strong management operating in state compliant jurisdictions with barriers to entry. The Corporation looks to provide investors with a diversified, high-growth, cannabis investment strategy through strategic investments focused through-out the value chain (cultivation, processing and distribution, and including ancillary businesses). Forward-Looking Statements This news release may include "forward-looking statements" which reflect the Corporation's current expectations regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Corporation, including but not limited to: the signing of a Definitive Agreement in respect of the Transaction, including the terms thereof; timing for completion of the Transaction; required approvals for the completion of the Transaction and the expected receipt thereof; the business plan of the Corporation and Cannavative, including the business plan of the go-forward entity after completion of the Transaction; the anticipated benefits of the Transaction; the market for medical cannabis in the United States; the state of the cannabis market and U.S. regulatory changes in respect thereof; the effects of COVID-19 on the operations of Cannavative and the Nevada cannabis industry, generally; and expectations regarding the business plans of such companies. When used in this news release, the words "will," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intent," "may," "project," "should," and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made by the Corporation, including expectations and assumptions concerning: the Transaction, including CSE and shareholder approvals, the execution of the Definitive Agreement in respect thereof and the satisfaction of other closing conditions in accordance with the terms of the Definitive Agreement; the future operations of, and transactions contemplated by, the Corporation and Cannavative; the impact of increasing competition; timing and amount of capital expenditures; the legislative and regulatory environments of the jurisdictions where the Corporation will carry on business, have operations or plan to have operations; the ability of the Corporation to enter into contracts with companies to provide financing on acceptable terms; conditions in general economic and financial markets; the ability of the Corporation's investments to execute on their business plan; and the Corporation's ability to obtain additional financing on satisfactory terms or at all. Forward-looking statements are subject to a wide range of risks and uncertainties, and although the Corporation believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will be realized. Any number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, changes to global cannabis laws, how the developing U.S. legal regime will impact the cannabis industry, the ability of the Corporation to implement its corporate strategy, the state of domestic and international capital markets, the ability to obtain financing, changes in general market conditions and other factors more fully described from time to time in the reports and filings made by the Corporation with securities regulatory authorities. Except as required by applicable laws, the Corporation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. SOURCE Top Strike Resources Corp. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wright National Flood Insurance Company, the nation's leading provider of federal flood insurance, has announced an agreement to acquire the flood insurance policy book from Westfield Insurance Company ("Westfield"). Wright Flood will service, administer and issue flood coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program for Westfield policyholders and agents. Additionally, Wright will also assume the servicing of Westfield's private flood business. Wright Flood has more than 40 years of experience exclusively in the flood insurance industry. It is widely recognized for its experience, claims response and long-standing commitment to partner with agents and policyholders, especially at the time of a flood loss. Wright Flood takes pride in user-friendly technology, exceptional claims reputation and providing service clients deserve. Patricia Templeton-Jones, the president of Wright National Flood Insurance Services, said she is excited about the partnership with Westfield agents. "Westfield has provided flood coverage solutions for the past 20 years for its agent partners and policyholders. We look forward to continuing their long history and providing their agents with our experience in the flood insurance industry," said Templeton-Jones. "Since the inception of the National Flood Insurance Program, Wright Flood has been a premier provider of NFIP flood coverage and private flood options for homeowners and business owners." "Wright has a well-established reputation of providing excellent service to customers and agents, especially at the time of a flood loss. We are confident customers will continue appreciating the peace of mind that comes with having flood coverage," commented Craig Welsh, Westfield's chief distribution officer. Beginning in early 2022, Wright Flood will manage Westfield's NFIP flood placements. All new policies and renewals will be issued by Wright National Flood Insurance Company, which is A.M. Best rated as A- (Excellent) for financial strength. For retail agents accessing flood coverage through Westfield, there will be minimal change in the process to continue to provide NFIP flood insurance coverage for policyholders. Wright and Westfield representatives together will be in contact with their agents. About Wright National Flood Insurance Company Wright National Flood Insurance Company, the largest flood insurance provider in the nation, offers federal, excess and private flood insurance with leading industry expertise, rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best. Wright Flood takes pride in user-friendly technology, exceptional claims reputation and providing service clients deserve. Agents and consumers may visit us at www.wrightflood.com and wrightfloodadvice.org. To find an agent, call (866) 373-5663. About Westfield Westfield was founded in 1848 by a small group of hard-working farmers who believed in the promise of the future and the power of the individual. Today, as one of the nation's leading property and casualty (P&C) companies, we remain true to their vision and are dedicated to making a positive difference in our customers' lives. Learn more about Westfield at www.westfieldinsurance.com. Contact: Rob Langrell Senior Communications Manager, Wright Flood [email protected] (727) 422-8854 SOURCE Wright National Flood Insurance Services, LLC BANGKOK, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AGRI Developments is proud to announce that is has been awarded Global Agricultural Development Company of the Year by International Investor. The award recognizes the company's unique and progressive developments as well as its contribution to the agricultural sector of the Philippines as a whole. International Investor each year awards exceptional emerging companies that have made an impact on their industries and community. The awards honour their contributions towards excellence and innovation, highlighting their key achievements during the year. "We would like to thank the panel for recognizing us, our clients, our employees and the City of Bayawan. The award is a testament to everyone's hard work not just this year but in all preceding years as well. Where we are today would not have been possible had it not been for the vision and ground work laid prior to the creation of our developments" stated Mr. van Egeraat, CEO of AGRI Developments. 2021 saw the introduction of AGRI Developments' globally acclaimed Hass Avocado development as well as the expansion of its Mango operations. Its Hass Avocado development, the first of its kind in Negros Oriental and one of the first commercially focused developments across all of Asia, has the ability to change the entire economic landscape of Bayawan City. Both developments located in Bayawan City have significantly contributed to the city and improved the local agricultural sector. AGRI Developments this year also increased their collaboration with the city through the exchange of agricultural advances and working with the Tourism Office to promote its developments as an ecotourism site. Hass Avocado Development Hass avocados are a relatively new product in Asia but consumption is quickly growing with the region containing some of the fastest growing markets in the world. Growth across Asia over the past five years has surpassed 50% annually in certain key markets, three times faster than in Europe and five times faster than the United States, the largest consumer in the world. Hass Avocado production is currently centred in the Americas with the United States and Latin American countries such as Mexico, Pure and Chile supplying the bulk of Hass Avocados sold in Asia. AGRI Developments aims to change the supply demand regional disparity. Its operations in the Philippines provide a key competitive advantage enabling it to supply the region at a lower cost as well as faster, due to its strategic location near key import markets. The Philippines is the only country currently capable of commercially producing Hass Avocados in Asia. AGRI Developments AGRI Developments is a leading private alternative asset company specializing in the agricultural industry. We seek emerging investment opportunities globally with an objective of delivering long term value in high growth developing sectors within the industry. As world population increases, the need for more investment, productive and sustainable uses of land become more urgent. Our mission is to build successful agricultural related businesses that deliver a positive impact. By 2050 Earth will need to produce 70% more food to feed an additional 2.5 billion people, whilst arable land decreases. AGRI Developments in support of the world's needs always aims to do more with less. By creating more value with less risk, by producing more crops from less land and generating more business with less of an ecological footprint. For more information, please visit: https://www.agridevelopments.com/ SOURCE AGRI Developments "The benefits of certified regenerative - nutrient-density and a healthier Earth - require extra effort and costs," said founder Blake Alexandre. "We're grateful to the growing consumer base who value and support regenerative farming." The Alexandre's 100% grass-fed dairy products (yogurt and milk) have a seasonal uniqueness. Unlike most dairy in the U.S., the products are not standardized, but have a variable milkfat percentage just as it came from the cows on the day of milking. Consumers scan the QR code on the package to learn the milkfat % for that particular container. Like all Alexandre products, the yogurts are 100% A2/A2, which refers to the beta-casein, one of the proteins in milk. For most people, A2 milk is easy to digest, as it's the same protein found in human breastmilk, sheep and goat milk. Unlike other dairy products found in U.S. grocery stores, AFF dairy does NOT have A1 protein, which can be harder for humans to digest. So now, people who thought they couldn't have dairy may enjoy it once again. "Many people who believe they're lactose-intolerant are actually A1 protein-intolerant," said founder Stephanie Alexandre. "Those folks are so happy when they find us." ABOUT ALEXANDRE FAMILY FARM As fourth generation dairy farmers with over 40 years of experience, Blake and Stephanie Alexandre founded Alexandre Family Farm in 1988 and began bottling under their brand in 2017. Along with their family, they operate the only certified regenerative organic and 100% A2/A2 dairy and mobile coop egg ranch in the United States. They have a line of 100% A2/A2 (the digestible protein) milks and yogurts, and mobile-coop nest-laid, hand-gathered eggs from hens always free-roaming on fresh green pastures. Website: www.alexandrefamilyfarm.com Social: @alexandrefamilyfarm Contact: Sharon Egan ([email protected]); Abby Oppenheim ([email protected]) SOURCE Alexandre Family Farm Amador Bioscience Completes Series B+ Round Funding. Tweet this Amador expedited its development after the company closed Series B financing in September 2021. It recently acquired Ann Arbor Pharmacometrics Group (A2PG), a premier consulting firm specializing in advanced, efficient, and high-quality pharmacometrics analysis. In collaboration with Limburg Province of Belgium and Hasselt University, Amador Bioscience has established its EU headquarters on Corda Campus in Limburg and initiated an education program to train next-generation pharmacometricians. New facilities are currently under construction in the San Francisco Bay Area (Pleasanton, CA), the Maryland/DC area (Germantown, MD) and Ann Arbor, MI in the USA, and Xiaoshan (Hangzhou) in China. All are scheduled to open in Q1 or Q2 of 2022. A new business office in central Shanghai was opened in October 2021. Funding from Amador's Series B+ financing will allow the company to strengthen its clinical pharmacology business, expand global bioanalytical services, and further improve global early clinical development capabilities. Amador also plans to develop and implement AI and machine learning tools to facilitate clinical data analysis. www.amadorbioscience.com "We are optimistic about the overall technical capability and performance of Amador Bioscience," said Mrs. Yu Zeng, Funding Partner of MSA Capital. "Amador is an excellent CRO in quantitative pharmacology and bioanalysis. As more first-in-class pharmaceutical projects launch in China, Amador Bioscience's unique technical capabilities lead to substantial increase in its client base and market potential. Meanwhile, as a global CRO, Amador Bioscience has operation sites in the US and Europe. It is an expanding global company with a broad client base, the key characteristics of MSA-invested companies. Amador Bioscience recently completed its acquisition of a leading American pharmacometrics firm, A2PG. This acquisition represents a leap for global expansion of Amador Bioscience. We trust Dr. Bing Wang and his leadership team will take full advantage of this acquisition, continue to build up the company and its business, and become a model of globalization of Chinese CROs." About Amador Bioscience Amador Bioscience, a leading partner for successful new drug development, provides global-standard translational sciences and clinical pharmacology services to clients ranging from cutting-edge biotech start-ups to multinational pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 2018 and supported by prominent institutional investors, Amador Bioscience operates in multiple sites, which include Pleasanton, CA, Ann Arbor, MI, Germantown, MD, Richmond, VA, Hangzhou and Shanghai, China, and Limburg, Belgium. For more information, visit www.amadorbioscience.com and www.a2pg.com. About MSA Capital MSA Capital is a China-based private equity firm with a global perspective, focusing on early and growth stage investments in key areas including healthcare, cutting-edge technology, internet, and consumption. Headquartered in Beijing, MSA Capital has established resident teams all over the world, including in the United States, the Middle East, and Africa. With a broad global perspective and deep international market insights, the MSA team is able to identify outstanding investment opportunities while helping portfolio companies expand rapidly into overseas markets based on local resources. About Sequoia Capital Sequoia Capital helps daring founders to build legendary companies. Partnering with Sequoia Capital, companies benefit from our unmatched community and the lessons we've learned over 49 years. As "The Entrepreneurs Behind the Entrepreneurs," Sequoia Capital China focuses on three sectors: technology, healthcare, and consumer services. Over the past 16 years, Sequoia Capital China has invested in nearly 600 companies with distinctive technology platforms, innovative business models, and high growth potentials. About GL Ventures GL Ventures focuses on early-stage innovative companies. The GL Ventures team is passionate about partnering with visionary entrepreneurs to create industry leaders that stand the test of time. GL Ventures is the venture capital arm of Hillhouse Group, and we have been investing with innovators across the world since 2005. About Co-win Ventures Founded in 2009, Co-win Ventures focuses on investment in early-stage technology-centered companies in the healthcare and technology sectors, and advocates a team culture of equality, transparency, sharing, and innovation. It has operated 17 funds with a total over RMB 5 billion and has provided funding and resource support to over 120 projects. Co-win Ventures has supported a large number of companies to stand out in their respective niche fields and helped lead more than 10 companies to successful IPOs. SOURCE Amador Bioscience Related Links www.amadorbioscience.com, www.a2pg.com SOURCE Amador Bioscience NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until February 22, 2022 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Chegg, Inc. (NYSE: CHGG), if they purchased the Company's shares between May 5, 2020 and November 1, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Get Help Chegg investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-chgg or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit Chegg and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On November 1, 2021, the Company announced its third quarter financial results, the first quarter in which students returned to campus across the United States, disclosing fewer than expected online enrollments due to the Covid-19 pandemic and failed to provide guidance for 2022. On this news, shares of Chegg fell nearly 50%. The case is Leventhal v. Chegg, Inc., No. 21-cv-09953. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. SOURCE ClaimsFiler TAIPEI, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to market competition, rapid technological advancement and the ongoing innovation of new business models, Chunghwa Telecom launched the "Rise on Together, 2021" strategic transformation plan three years ago, aiming to enhance its overall competitiveness under a customer-centric organizational structure. On the final working day of 2021, Mr. Sheih Chi-Mau, Chairman of Chunaghwa Telecom, announced that the company has completed the major part of the transformation, reporting robust financial results for 2021, and introduced the new enterprise organizational structure for 2022, which includes the headquarters, three business groups and three technological groups within the company. Speaking at the ceremony for the new management appointments, Chairman Sheih encouraged the new business group leaders by saying that the company should not only be satisfied with successful 2021 results but to also collaborate closely to elevate the company to the next level. The three-year strategic transformation launched in 2019 and is comprised of four major areas of focus, including core business, emerging business, cost optimization and upgrading of basic capabilities. With the ongoing efforts of the past three years, the transformation has enhanced the company's financial performance, which turned positive in 2020 on a year over year basis, and achieved continued growth for two consecutive years despite COVID-19 headwinds. Chairman Sheih said the organizational transformation is the most challenging but very important part of success of the overall strategic transformation. The company conducted regular, candid communications with its employees to build consensus. On July 1st, 2021, all business units in charge of the enterprise business in the company took the lead to re-organize as one business group to deliver service. Beginning in 2022, the business groups including the Consumer Business Group, Enterprise Business Group and International Business Group, as well as the technology related units including the Network Technology Group, Data Communications Business Group and Telecommunication Laboratories, also begin to operate and deliver functions. In addition, the new organizational structure also enables the headquarters to enhance its strategic planning and coordinating capabilities based on a customer-centric mindset, the expected DNA of the company to lead the change. To enable a smooth transition of the new organizational structure, the Chairman and President hosted the inaugural ceremony on the final working day of 2021, which allows the newly established Consumer Business Group and Network Technology Group to inaugurate on the first day of 2022. Combining the existing groups including the Enterprise Business Group, Data Communications Business Group, International Business Group and the Telecommunication Laboratories, the company announced the successful achievement of its milestone to deliver services and functions based on a new customer-centric structure. Going forward, the Consumer Business Group will develop consumer and home based service to satisfy the increasing demand of safe, convenient, healthy and entertaining smart life. Supported by the quality mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure of Chunghwa Telecom, the Consumer Business Group aims to be the leading smart life service provider by offering differentiated services and creating values to consumers, families, and communities. The newly-established Network Technology Group serves as the company's most valuable, reliable and trustworthy ICT infrastructure platform to meet internet demand, and is committed to building a new-generation cloud-based intelligent network with software-centric technologies. Through the action plans such as "Fixed-Mobile Convergence", "Cloud-Network Convergence",and "Open Network Architecture", etc., the Group aims to establish the common-network, common-management, clouded-site, innovative and intelligent infrastructure, and to provide the high-quality and forward-looking network services. Chunghwa Telecom is the leading telecom brand with a long, proud history in Taiwan and is also well positioned to proactively respond to the challenges ahead. Kuo Shui-Yi, President of Chunghwa Telecom, said that he expects the evolution into a customer-centric organization would continue to take root in the company's culture. In doing so, the company expects to thrive in a competitive environment under the ESG framework, and rapidly develop technologies and innovative business models to enhance digital economy as Chunghwa Telecom also aims to enable industries and businesses to be more competitive and sustainable in the 5G era. Contact: Human Resources Department Tel : (02)2344-2198 Public Affairs Department Tel: (02)2344-3252 SOURCE Chunghwa Telecom BEIJING, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 30th, 2021, DCP announced that it has officially signed the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), promising to further implement the six Principles for Responsible Investment. UNPRI is the world's leading proponent of responsible investment, with more than 4,000 signatories. It encourages its signatories to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into investment, due diligence and portfolio management to create a more sustainable environment for global financial and investment activities. As an internationally renowned private equity firm, DCP has long considered ESG impact on value creation, long-term company performance, and society as a whole since its foundation. DCP believes that highly responsible investment behavior will create value, enhance returns, build trust and confidence, and above all, contribute to a more prosperous world through positive commercial and social impact. To fully comply with UNPRI's Principles for Responsible Investment, DCP established an ESG Special Management Committee to drive a complete ESG governance framework, which carefully considers ESG factors into investment decision making. By incorporating these factors into due diligence and portfolio management, DCP applies a standardized working procedure for ESG related issues and translates ESG awareness into concrete actions. DCP values ESG factors highly within the investment analysis framework. When making investment decisions, ESG due diligence is required to be performed on each deal and systematically incorporated into its investment evaluation process. Such undertaking allows DCP to balance commercial benefit with environmental and social responsibilities. The impact of ESG factors on industry trends are also fully considered by DCP when it comes to selecting investment themes. For instance, DCP invested extensively in the food safety sector, believing it to be one of the cornerstones of China's stable economic development. Through investing and supporting a series of modernized and large-scale breeding portfolio companies, including Mengniu Dairy, COFCO Joycome, Modern Dairy and Asia Dairy, DCP promoted the development of standardized breeding and high-quality production in China's animal agriculture sector. Going forward, DCP will continue to closely follow ESG related themes which will benefit from China's "Carbon Peak & Carbon Neutrality" goals, including the rapidly growing electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors. During its portfolio management work, DCP actively encourages portfolio companies to form ESG improvement plans, create ESG performance tracking systems and establish ESG standardized operation processes. Together with its portfolio companies, DCP's operations team regularly reviews ESG related initiatives, tracks implementation status, and assists portfolio companies to ensure their commitment to sustainable development, help them realize both commercial and social benefits, and improve their sustainable development ability and core competitiveness. On the environmental front, DCP is dedicated to promoting strict compliance with national EHS requirements, driving companies to substitute traditional energy with clean energy and explore energy-saving and emissions reduction measures such as distributed photovoltaic power generation and waste heat recovery. As for social responsibility and governance, DCP actively encourages companies to participate in public welfare projects, such as national poverty alleviation. For instance, DCP's portfolio company Tonghua Dongbao Pharmaceutical launched campaigns to provide long-term free consultation and front-line doctors' training programs relating to diabetes, which benefited thousands of doctors from more than 32 provinces and spread awareness of a serious medical condition and its treatment options. DCP team is also dedicated to charity work that promotes general welfare. Through cooperation with Heart to Heart, a non-profit organization, DCP has created a support system for under-privileged children with congenital heart disease by enabling free heart surgeries. ESG and Responsible Investment is highly consistent with the Chinese national goal of green and low-carbon transformation. To achieve this objective, DCP team, together with its portfolio companies will strive for low-carbon transformation and more sustainable results. DCP is committed to the ESG investment concept, and will partner with its portfolio companies to improve operational efficiency and promote green and low-carbon transformation of the economy, while remaining dedicated to being a socially responsible partner to all stakeholders and working towards a better future. About DCP: DCP is a leading international private equity firm founded by experienced private equity investors in Greater China. The DCP team previously led KKR and Morgan Stanley's private equity businesses in Asia, with an outstanding long-term track record across multiple economic cycles. DCP is supported by a diverse group of world-class long-term institutional investors, including leading sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, endowments, family offices and funds of funds around the globe. Over the past 28 years, the DCP team has led a number of successful transactions and nurtured numerous industry leaders in China such as Ping An Insurance, Mengniu Dairy, Haier Electronics, China International Capital Corp, Venus Medtech, Dongbao Pharmaceutical, Oriental Yuhong, AAC Dairy, Xingsheng Preferred, Simple Love, Nanfu Battery, COFCO Joycome, Far East Horizon, Hotwon, Hengan Intl., Belle Intl., Modern Dairy and United Envirotech. Combining its global investment experience and extensive local network, the DCP team has accumulated deep industry knowledge and strong operational capabilities. As a disciplined and operationally focused investor, DCP is committed to building long-term, win-win partnerships with portfolio companies and support value creation initiatives. SOURCE DCP VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX) (NYSE: EQX) ("Equinox Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Francois Bellemare will be joining the Company's Board of Directors effective January 1, 2022. Mr. Bellemare is replacing Tim Breen as Mubadala Investment Company's Board appointee and will also serve on Equinox Gold's Environment, Social and Governance Committee. Mr. Bellemare is a long-standing member of Mubadala's Direct Investments platform, currently serving as Senior Vice President covering the Industrials and Business Services sector based in the firm's New York office. Mr. Bellemare has been involved in multiple aspects of the mining sector, including deal origination and execution, partnerships, project development, financing, and joint ventures across all major geographies. Prior to joining Mubadala in 2014, he was at BMO Capital Markets based in their London and Toronto offices, advising metals and mining companies on M&A and capital markets transactions. Mr. Bellemare holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from McGill University. Ross Beaty, Chairman of Equinox Gold, commented: "Francois has been closely involved since Mubadala's original investment in April 2019 and is very familiar with the Company's projects and business strategy. He will be a tremendous addition to the Board of Directors, bringing a wide range of capital markets, project development and industry experience. I welcome Francois to Equinox Gold's Board of Directors and also thank Tim for his contributions as a director." SOURCE Equinox Gold Corp. Related Links www.equinoxgold.com DUBLIN, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Europe Molecular Diagnostics Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The European molecular diagnostics market was valued at USD 3,435 million in 2020, and it is expected to reach USD 7,790 million in 2026, registering a CAGR of 8.57% during the forecast period. The COVID-19 outbreak is expected to positively impact the European molecular diagnostics market, as it involves the testing of various biological samples. This is expected to aid the diagnosis of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, as testing remains a crucial step in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Molecule diagnostics technology, such as next-generation sequencing, PCR, microarrays, etc., is increasingly adopted in the region for testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Factors, such as the increasing burden of various bacterial and viral epidemics in this region, coupled with increasing demand for point-of-care diagnostics and recent advancements in pharmacogenomics, are expected to propel market growth over the forecast period. As per the report published in 2019, HIV outcomes: Beyond Viral Suppression, around 86,000 people in Germany were living with HIV, whereas around 20% of the diseased population were living in Berlin. Additionally, according to the estimates of the British Heart Foundation, in 2018, around 7 million people were living with heart and circulatory diseases in the United Kingdom, and healthcare costs relating to the heart and circulatory diseases were estimated at GBP 9 billion each year. Thus, the heavy burden of chronic disease is anticipated to increase the adoption of molecular diagnostics in the region. Key Market Trends The Infectious Disease Segment is Expected to Hold the Major Market Share The infectious disease segment is anticipated to hold one of the major market shares over the forecast period. The segment is driven by the huge burden of infectious disease in the European region. For instance, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) represent an important public health problem in the United Kingdom. According to the Health Protection Report 2019, 447,694 new STI diagnoses were made at sexual health services (SHSs) in England. Among these, the most commonly diagnosed STIs were chlamydia (218,095; 49% of all new STI diagnoses), first episode genital warts (57,318; 13%), gonorrhoea (56,259; 13%), and genital herpes (33,867; 8%). Therefore, a rise in the prevalence of such infectious disorders is expected to fuel the market growth during the forecast period. Moreover, players in the region are expanding their regional market position by adopting various strategies, such as mergers and acquisitions, while others are developing new test methods for the diagnosis and introducing new products to retain their market share. For instance, in May 2021, Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Roche, entered into a definitive merger agreement with GenMark Diagnostics, under which Roche may acquire GenMark's molecular tests designed to screen patient samples for multiple infections simultaneously. Hence, considering all the factors mentioned above, the market is expected to witness growth over the forecast period. Competitive Landscape The European molecular diagnostics market is competitive due to the presence of almost all global players in the molecular diagnostics market. Many of these global players have their headquarters in European countries, which increases the accessibility of molecular diagnostics tests throughout Europe. Abbott Laboratories, F Hoffmann-la Roche Ltd, Hologic Corporation, Danaher Corporation, and Agilent Technologies are some of the key players present in the European molecular diagnostics market. Many of the key players also have their R&D centers in Europe, which makes the availability of various products easier in the region. Companies Mentioned Abbott Laboratories Agilent Technologies Becton, Dickinson and Company Danaher Corporation F Hoffmann-la Roche Ltd Genomic Health Inc. Hologic Corporation Illumina Inc. Myriad Genetics Qiagen NV For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/lowqxd 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 HOUSTON, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fajita Pete's, the "fresh off the grill" fajita catering and delivery concept, celebrated reaching its 25-location milestone with the opening of its Las Colinas, Texas, restaurant this month. The company's growth in 2021 has been fueled by a strong development pipeline, with multi-unit franchisees opening additional units. This opening brings the sizzling-hot brand, which was named one of QSR's Best Franchisee Deals of 2021, to a 30% unit-count growth in 2021. The company will end 2021 with six newly opened franchised units and five more under construction to be opened before the end of Q1 2022. The new DFW-area Fajita Pete's in Las Colinas opened earlier this December at 6500 N. MacArthur Blvd., Suite 110. This location will be franchisee John Gonzalez's second location, his first being in Southlake, Texas. "My first Fajita Pete's in Southlake has been a profitable and positive venture for myself and my family, and we are excited to open up our next location in Las Colinas as we continue to execute on our development agreement," said Gonzalez. "The community has been very receptive to the food and the service, and the future of this brand is very exciting." While all Fajita Pete's franchisees become interested in the brand because they're fans of the food, the concept continues to attract seasoned restaurant operators as franchisees because of its small-footprint restaurant model, which results in lower rent, utility, construction and maintenance costs. "Our success during all stages of the pandemic has proven that our business model has staying power, and we will have awarded approximately 50 new units to qualified franchisees by the end of 2021," said Fajita Pete's founder Pedro "Pete" Mora. "We've worked to perfect our efficient, catering- and delivery-centric concept over the past 13 years, and we're seeing the rewards as our franchisees open their second and third locations after positive experiences with their first unit." The brand currently plans to have over 40 operating locations by the end of 2022, with openings planned in Conroe, Sugar Land, Austin, Katy, Preston Forest (Dallas), Keller and Irving, Texas, and Denver, Colorado, among others. The company has multiple markets open for franchisee development, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and others upon request. More information is available at franchisefajitapetes.com. About Fajita Pete's Fajita Pete's is a Houston-based "fresh off the grill" fajita concept focused on a simple menu with premium-quality, handmade menu items. Founder Pete Mora envisioned a better way to serve guests by focusing on delivery and pickup, a model that has proven successful over the past 13 years. Fajita Pete's earned a spot on QSR Magazine's 40/40 List: America's Hottest Startup Fast Casuals for 2020, QSR's Best Franchise Deals for 2021, and was twice awarded first place at Houston's Fajita Festival. Fajita Pete's currently has 25 locations across Houston, Dallas and College Station, Texas, and Overland Park, Kansas, of which 23 are franchisee-owned. Markets open for franchisee development include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas. For more information, visit franchisefajitapetes.com. Follow Fajita Pete's on Facebook @fajitapetestx and Instagram @fajitapetes. Media Contact Curry Simic, SPM Communications [email protected] 817-329-3257 SOURCE Fajita Pete's MUMBAI, India, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Firstsource Solutions Limited (NSE: FSL, BSE:532809), a global provider of business process management (BPM) services and a RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company, announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire American Recovery Services, Inc. (ARSI), a nationwide legal collections network headquartered in Southern California. The acquisition enhances Firstsource's leadership in consumer debt management services by adding legal stage collections capabilities. The debt collections market is a significant part of the consumer credit ecosystem with evolving regulatory demands. Both ARSI and Firstsource are pioneers in driving best-in-class debt recovery compliance, using advanced technology and emphasizing a positive consumer experience. These shared tenets add to the symmetry of this combination. ASRI has provided legal collection services for over three decades through its nationwide partner network and in-house experts. Firstsource has earned its spot as a leader in providing high quality and responsible collection services in the early and late-stage receivables management business. By adding ASRI's deep domain expertise to their portfolio of services, Firstsource will now be able to help clients navigate the more complex legal collections process, all from under one roof. "Firstsource is a leader in consumer debt receivables management and the acquisition of ARSI adds a top-notch legal network; we can now provide a broad platform and one-stop shop to large financial institutions and the burgeoning fintech market. We are delighted to welcome ARSI to the Firstsource family," said Vipul Khanna, MD & CEO of Firstsource Solutions. "This acquisition expands our 'Digital First, Digital Now' strategy," said Arjun Mitra, president of global collections at Firstsource Solutions. "Integrating legal experts from the ARSI network throughout the US will create synergies with our best-in-class digital technology that simplifies complexities across our different business lines." "We are very excited to join Firstsource and help create a truly comprehensive global collections business," said Tom Baxter, president and CEO of ARSI Group. "Thru the merger of our people and technologies, I earnestly believe Firstsource will offer its clients unparalleled service. As a new Firstsource company, we look forward to continuing our 36-year tradition of providing world-class legal network management capabilities to assist in the debt recovery process." About Firstsource Firstsource Solutions Limited, an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company (NSE: FSL, BSE: 532809, Reuters: FISO.BO, Bloomberg: [email protected]), is a leading provider of transformational solutions and services spanning the customer lifecycle across healthcare, banking and financial services, communications, media and technology, and other industries. The company's 'Digital First, Digital Now' approach helps organizations reinvent operations and reimagine business models, enabling them to deliver moments that matter and build competitive advantage. With an established presence in the US, the UK, India, and the Philippines, we act as a trusted growth partner for over 100 leading global brands, including several Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. For more information, visit www.firstsource.com. Media Contact Mike Murray Strategic Vantage [email protected] (240) 498-0863 SOURCE Firstsource Solutions Limited FRONTERA CLOSES PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED ACQUISITION OF PETROSUD ACQUISITIONS WILL GENERATE APPROXIMATELY US$12-$15 MILLION OF ANNUAL EBITDA, INCREASE FRONTERA'S TOTAL PRODUCTION BY APPROXIMATELY 1,800 BOE/D IN 2022 CALGARY, AB, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Frontera Energy Corporation (TSX: FEC) ("Frontera" or the "Company") announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the 35% working interest ("WI") in Colombia's El Dificil block held by PCR Investments S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Petroquimica Comodoro Rivadavia S.A. ("PCR") for a total aggregate cash consideration of approximately US$13 million. The PCR transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions and approval of the transaction by the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos. Frontera also announced today that the Company has now closed its previously announced acquisition of 100% of the issued and outstanding shares in Petroleos Sud Americanos S.A. ("PetroSud"), acquiring PetroSud's 65% working interest in El Dificil block and 100% interests in Entrerrios and Rio Meta blocks. Upon completion of the transaction with PCR, Frontera will hold a 100% working interest in El Dificil block. Frontera anticipates its acquisition of PetroSud's assets and PCR's interest in El Dificil for a total consideration of approximately $40 million, including the assumption of $18 million in PetroSud debt, will generate approximately US$12-$15 million of annual EBITDA, which may grow as additional synergies are realized including potentially commercializing recent gas discoveries in VIM-1 block in a very competitive market. The Company's 100% working interest in El Dificil block combined with its acquisition of PetroSud's interests in Entrerrios and Rio Meta Blocks is expected to add approximately 1,800 boe/d of total production (1,300 boe/d through the PetroSud acquisition beginning in January 2022 and 500 boe/d when the transaction with PCR closes). The production mix consists of approximately 7.7 mmcf/d of conventional natural gas, 120 bbl/d of natural gas liquids, 260 bbl/d of heavy oil and 60 bbl/d of light and medium crude oil. Production costs associated with the acquired assets are expected to be $7.50-$8.50/boe. The Company anticipates increasing El Dificil production to 2,000 - 3,000 boe/d between 2022 and 2024. Additionally, the Company expects to increase organic production in the Lower Magdalena Valley in 2022 as it continues to ramp up production at VIM-1 block and surrounding areas. Frontera's acquisition of 100% interest in El Dificil block supports the Company's strategy to increase gas production, lowers carbon emissions and includes strategically located, high quality gas facilities. According to recent analysis by Welligence Energy Analytics, Frontera is one of the top three largest acreage holders in the Lower Magdalena Valley. About El Dificil Block: Located in an emerging core area approximately 75 kilometres from the Company's interests in La Creciente, VIM-22 and VIM-1 blocks. No exploration commitments. Producing gas fields connected to existing distribution infrastructure. Immediate opportunities to increase production. Conventional natural gas assets further balance production profile. Possible synergies could be realized due to the close proximity to Frontera's light oil assets. About Frontera: Frontera Energy Corporation is a Canadian public company involved in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage and sale of oil and natural gas in South America, including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets with interests in 40 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana, and pipeline and port facilities in Colombia. Frontera is committed to conducting business safely and in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner. If you would like to receive news releases via email as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: http://fronteraenergy.mediaroom.com/subscribe. Advisories: Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information relates to activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding the anticipated timing for closing of and receipt of regulatory approval required for the PCR transaction, the anticipated benefits of the PetroSud and PCR transactions, including their anticipated impact on annual EBITDA, anticipated future production rates, anticipated synergies and their fit within the Company's strategic plan, anticipated future production cost related to the PetroSud and PCR transactions, and expectations as to production growth in the Lower Magdalena Valley. All information other than historical fact is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information reflects the current expectations, assumptions and beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to it and considers the Company's experience and its perception of historical trends, including expectations and assumptions relating to the closing of the PCR transaction; the anticipated benefits of the PetroSud and PCR transactions; the anticipated synergies resulting from the PetroSud and PCR transactions and their impact on the Company and its financial results; commodity prices and interest and foreign exchange rates; the current and potential adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the status of the pandemic and future waves and any associated policies around current business restrictions; the performance of assets and equipment; the availability and cost of labour, services and infrastructure; and the execution of projects. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such information. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, some that are similar to other oil and gas companies and some that are unique to the Company. The actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. The Company's annual information form dated March 3, 2021, its annual management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2020, and other documents it files from time to time with securities regulatory authorities describe the risks, uncertainties, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and such factors are incorporated herein by reference. Copies of these documents are available without charge by referring to the company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Oil and Gas Information Advisories Reported production levels may not be reflective of sustainable production rates and future production rates may differ materially from the production rates reflected in this news release due to, among other factors, difficulties or interruptions encountered during the production of hydrocarbons. Boe Conversion The term "boe" is used in this news release. Boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of cubic feet to barrels is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. In this news release, boe has been expressed using the Colombian conversion standard of 5.7 Mcf: 1 bbl required by the Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy. Definitions: bbl(s) Barrel(s) of oil bbl/d Barrel of oil per day boe Refer to "Boe Conversion" disclosure above boe/d Barrel of oil equivalent per day Mcf Thousand cubic feet SOURCE Frontera Energy Corporation Related Links www.pacificrubiales.com DUBLIN, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "ADAS Market by System (ACC, DMS, IPA, PDS, TJA, FCW, CTA, RSR, LDW, AEB, & BSD), Component (Radar, LiDAR, Ultrasonic, & Camera Unit), Vehicle (PC, LCV, Bus, & Truck), Level of Autonomy (L1, L2&3, L4, L5), Offering, EV, and Region - Global Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global ADAS market is projected to grow from USD 27.2 billion in 2021 to USD 74.9 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 11.9%. Safety features are an important prerequisite for automotive customers across the world. Governments across the world have mandated the incorporation of features such as lane departure warning (LDW) and automatic emergency braking (AEB). Different types of safety features have, therefore, been developed to assist drivers and lower the number of accidents. Growing demand for safety and driving assistance systems is likely to drive the growth of the ADAS market during the forecast period The automotive industry is witnessing a rapid evolution of safety features, which is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years to provide a safer and more convenient driving experience. Major OEMs such as Toyota and Honda are launching vehicles with features such as blind spot detection, rear cross traffic, lane keep assist, forward collision warning, and automatic emergency braking as a standard. OEMs such as Cadillac, Tesla, Nissan, Honda and Audi are currently developing L3 driving systems for their upcoming models. The increasing demand for sophisticated cruise control and driving comfort features has also fueled the safety systems market. Transforming a vehicle into a self-driving one could help reduce errors caused by drivers. As per the NHTSA, the total number of fatalities due to road accidents in the US was 38,680 in 2020 ADAS could play a crucial role in reducing this number and lead to a safe, productive, and efficient driving experience. Active safety systems such as blind spot detection (BSD), automatic emergency braking (AEB), and lane departure warning (LDW) play a major role in automated driving technology today. Demand for luxury vehicles will further strengthen the demand for ADAS during the forecast period. Several economies around the world have recovered from the 2008 recession. Higher growth rates have been observed in developing countries such as China and India, among others. The standard of living has also improved in developing countries, along with a considerable rise in spending power. German auto brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi dominate the global luxury car market. The change in consumer preferences has increased the demand for better products, which has positively affected the sales of premium cars across the globe. For instance, major BMW's automotive division recorded growth in 2019, despite the slowdown in the global automotive market. The division registered a growth of 6.8% in 2019 due to increasing deliveries in the luxury cars segment. Its subsidiary, Rolls Royce, sold 5,100 units, an increase of 21.6%, compared to 4,194 units, a year earlier, while the production volume increased by 25.3%. Similarly, the group sold more BMW branded vehicles in 2019 than in 2018. Safety innovations are first introduced in the luxury and premium car segments, and this rise in sales will act as a driver for the ADAS market. North America is projected to play a major role in the ADAS market during the forecast period The North American region has been studied for the US, Canada, and Mexico. The ADAS market in the region is projected to witness significant growth during the forecast period due to the higher penetration of ADAS features in most vehicles here. North American OEMs such as Ford Motors Co., General Motors Co., and Fiat-Chrysler Automotive, along with established European and Asian OEMs such as Toyota (Japan), Nissan (Japan), Honda (Japan), Hyundai/Kia (South Korea), BMW (Germany), and Volkswagen (Germany) offer ADAS features in vehicles. The automotive industry, largely dominated by the US, is one of the most advanced. The US is considered one of the most lucrative markets for ADAS, as it has always been an innovation hub for global automakers. The country houses domestic OEMs such as General Motors and Ford as well as foreign automakers such as FCA Group, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Nissan. These OEMs invest heavily in megatrends, such as connected mobility and autonomous vehicles. Major automakers in the US offer ADAS as standard in most vehicles. According to the NHTSA, 12 OEMs already mandated AEB in 75% of their new passenger car vehicles for the period September 1, 2018, through August 31, 2019. Just 2 years ago, penetration was only 30%. More active initiatives by OEMs would further increase the demand for AEB systems in the country. The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in manufacturing and supply disruptions in North America, due to which, the automobile industry in the region has experienced a decline in demand with an uncertain recovery timeline. Additionally, OEMs have stopped production across North America, which has resulted in a decline in production as well as sales. Automotive-related high-tech tests that companies were carrying out in the region have also been suspended. For instance, self-driving technology companies, including Waymo, Cruise, and Uber, have suspended autonomous car testing that involves backup drivers. Pony.ai has paused its testing of Robo Taxi in California. This might not change the direction of the automobile industry in the region toward the adoption of autonomous driving, connected services, electric driving, and shared mobility, but the adoption rate might slow down. OEMs are likely to slow down their investment in R&D in the forthcoming quarters of 2020 to maintain revenue flow; this will also affect the intervention of new technologies in the region. Research Coverage The study covers the ADAS market across various segments. It aims at estimating the market size and future growth potential of this market across different segments such as system, component, offering, electric vehicle, level of autonomy, vehicle type, and region. The study also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of key players in the market, along with their company profiles, key observations related to product and business offerings, recent developments, and acquisitions. The ADAS market comprises major manufacturers such as Robert Bosch (Germany), Continental AG (Germany), ZF Friedrichshafen (Germany), Denso (Japan), Aptiv (UK), Valeo (France), and Magna International (Canada). Market Dynamics Drivers Stringent Vehicle Safety Regulations Growing Demand for Safety and Driving Comfort Features Demand for Luxury Vehicles Adoption of Integrated Radar and Camera Systems for ADAS Applications Restraints Lack of Required Infrastructure in Developing Countries Opportunities Emergence of Autonomous Vehicles Increasing Demand for 5G Technology for Vehicle Connectivity Rising Demand for Electric Vehicles (EV) Increasing Developments in Autonomous Shared Mobility Increasing Investments in LiDAR Startups by Automotive Giants Challenges High Cost of ADAS Environmental Constraints and Security Threats Maintaining Balance Between Cost & Quality Real-Time Image Processing in Multi-Camera Systems Companies Profiled Aisin Seiki Aptiv Blackberry Continental AG Denso Ficosa International SA Hella Hitachi Automotive Hyundai Mobis Infineon Technologies AG Intel Magna International Microsemi Corporation Nvidia NXP Semiconductors Renesas Electronics Corporation Robert Bosch Samsung Electronics Texas Instruments Valeo Voxx International Corp. Xilinx, Inc. ZF Friedrichshafen For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ods3ez 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. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) Cryptocurrency Fund: Institutional Investment 2021 Q3" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Investor interest in Ether and other cryptocurrencies surged in 2021. Ether is the cryptocurrency for Ethereum. This report looks at institutional investment in Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE). In general, institutional investors do not hold Ether directly, but invest indirectly through trusts and funds. Grayscale Ethereum Trust is a popular cryptocurrency fund through which investors gain exposure to Ether. Investment in Grayscale Ethereum Trust and other funds is an important measure of institutional interest and confidence in Ether and other cryptocurrencies. Institutional investors are companies that invest money, either for themselves or on behalf of their clients. Institutional investors include investment banks, commercial banks, hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance companies. Through the funds they control, institutional interest can exert a strong influence on market prices. Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary Introduction Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) What is Cryptocurrency? Varieties of Cryptocurrency Cryptocurrency Exchanges 2021 Infrastructure Bill and Cryptocurrency Institutional Investors Cathie Wood and ARK Investment Management and ARK Investment Management Where does the data come from? Institutional Investment Graph. Price of Bitcoin Graph. Price of Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) Graph. Holdings by Value Graph. Shares Held Graph. Number of Institutions Graph. New and Closed Positions Graph. Increased and Decreased Positions Graph. Concentration of Ownership Graph. Turnover Ratio Table. Current Holdings Table. New Positions Table. Closed Positions Table. Increased Continuing Positions Table. Decreased Continuing Positions Call Options Put Options Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Reports About Institutional Intelligence Reports Companies Mentioned Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) ARK Investment Management For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hy1jui 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 NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Haitou Global Private Credit Fund was recommended by Bloomberg based on performance in 2021 and was voted by hedge fund industry to receive Hedgeweek 2021 Best Emerging Manager - Credit Hedge Award. Fighting COVID-19 as A Team Haitou Global Private Credit Fund is a young fund, launched in October 2019 and hit by the pandemic right away. In early February 2020, Haitou Global assessed the pandemic based on in-person experience of SARS in 2003 in Beijing and first-hand information from Beijing team and concluded that it would be inevitable to spread across the globe. "The first thing we did was to protect our team," says Jerry Wang, CEO of Haitou Global and Management Partner of Haitou Global Private Credit Fund. "Our Beijing team didn't come back to the office after Chinese New Year and our New York team started remote working at home after the first case emerging in Westchester, NY." The next priority was to protect assets. Haitou Global started to reduce its risk exposure and duration and to raise liquidity. When investors redeemed a third of their commitment in three months, Haitou Global Private Credit Fund had sufficient funds to return their capital. And the third was to improve communications. "We increased communication frequency with our local partners from monthly to weekly," says Wang. "Our API system pulled in latest data on loan performance daily. We also held monthly Zoom conference calls with our investors to report fund performances." Delivering Risk Adjusted Returns In terms of performance, what can be approved is that the return has reached the target in 2020. Wang comments: "We are confident in our private credit strategy in emerging markets. We maintained our fund risk exposure on the basis of satisfying redemption requirements of customers." Haitou's assets are also under the protection of collateral and guarantee and senior-level structures, and bad debts incurred during the worst period of pandemic were paid back 100 per cent according to the protective clauses. Driving Social Impact To consolidate and improve this performance, Haitou Global is expanding into new emerging markets, such as Mexico and Pakistan, and is diversifying investment in other assets, including agricultural loans, payroll loans and small business loans. "Drivingrive social impact is embedded in our investment thesis," Wang says. "Every investment we make must make positive social impact to our communities, whether a Pakistani social bank lending to Muslim women, or an Indonesian collective lending to coffee farmers." Haitou Global will continues to strengthen research and development and operations capacity of its Beijing team, and plans to add USD50 million new capital to its private credit fund in the next three to six months. https://www.hedgeweek.com/2021/11/30/309850/haitou-global-best-emerging-manager-fund-credit-hedge SOURCE Haitou Global OAKLAND, CA and TORONTO, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Harborside Inc. ("Harborside", or the "Company") (CSE: HBOR) (OTCQX: HBORF), a California-focused, vertically-integrated cannabis enterprise, today announced the resignation of Michael Dacks from its board of directors ("Board"), effective December 31, 2021. Mr. Dacks is leaving to pursue other opportunities as Harborside prepares to reconstitute its Board in 2022, following the closing of the acquisitions (the "Transactions") of LPF JV Corporation ("Loudpack") and UL Holdings Inc. ("Urbn Leaf") to create StateHouse Holdings, as announced in the Company's press release dated November 29, 2021. "On behalf of the entire Board and management team, I want to thank Mike for his significant contributions to Harborside," said Matthew Hawkins, Chair of the Board and Interim CEO. "Since joining the Board in November 2020, Mike has played a crucial role in strengthening Harborside's competitive position. This has culminated in agreements to acquire Loudpack and Urbn Leaf to create StateHouse Holdings upon closing of the Transactions, which we expect will be a leading California cannabis company. We wish Mike the best in his future endeavors as we work to complete these transformational acquisitions." "It's been a pleasure to participate in another milestone industry transaction," said Mr. Dacks. "The bench strength, depth of experience and engagement on the Board since it was refreshed 12 months ago, is something truly rare in our industry. Once Harborside completes its pending business combination with Loudpack and Urbn Leaf to create StateHouse Holdings, the Company will be positioned to create a pre-eminent vertically-integrated California cannabis powerhouse." For the latest news, activities, and media coverage, please visit the Harborside corporate website athttp://www.investharborside.com or connect with us onLinkedIn,Facebook, andTwitter. About Harborside: Harborside, a vertically integrated enterprise with cannabis licenses covering retail, distribution, cultivation, nursery and manufacturing, is one of the oldest and most respected cannabis companies in the world. Founded in California in 2006, Harborside was awarded one of the first six medical cannabis licenses granted in the United States. Today, the company operates three major dispensaries in the San Francisco Bay Area, a dispensary in the Palm Springs area outfitted with Southern California's only cannabis drive-thru window, a dispensary in Oregon, a manufacturing facility in Oakland, California, distribution facilities in San Jose and Los Angeles, California and an integrated cultivation/production facility in Salinas, California. Harborside is a publicly listed company, trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") under the ticker symbol "HBOR" and the OTCQX under the ticker symbol "HBORF", and the Company continues to play an instrumental role in making cannabis safe and accessible to a broad and diverse community of California and Oregon consumers. Additional information regarding Harborside is available under Harborside's SEDAR profile atwww.sedar.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates, and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements with respect to future company performance, growth, profitability, competitive position, and acquisition opportunities, the completion of the proposed Transactions, timing for completion of the proposed Transactions, and the Company's corporate strategy moving forward. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as 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 materially differ from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's operations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; expectations regarding the size of the cannabis markets where the Company operates; changing consumer habits; the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives; plans for expansion and acquisitions; political and social uncertainties; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; employee relations; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on cultivation, production, distribution, and sale of cannabis and cannabis-related products in the markets where the Company operates; and the risk factors set out in the Company's management discussion and analysis for the period ended September 30, 2021 and the Company's listing statement dated May 30, 2019, which are available under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. The Company, through several of its subsidiaries, is indirectly involved in the manufacture, possession, use, sale, and distribution of cannabis in the recreational and medicinal cannabis marketplace in the United States. Local state laws where the Company operates permit such activities however, investors should note that there are significant legal restrictions and regulations that govern the cannabis industry in the United States. Cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under the US Controlled Substances Act, making it illegal under federal law in the United States to, among other things, cultivate, distribute or possess cannabis in the United States. Financial transactions involving proceeds generated by, or intended to promote, cannabis-related business activities in the United States may form the basis for prosecution under applicable United States federal money laundering legislation. While the approach to enforcement of such laws by the federal government in the United States has trended toward non-enforcement against individuals and businesses that comply with recreational and medicinal cannabis programs in states where such programs are legal, strict compliance with state laws with respect to cannabis will neither absolve the Company of liability under United States federal law, nor will it provide a defense to any federal proceeding which may be brought against the Company. The enforcement of federal laws in the United States is a significant risk to the business of the Company and any proceedings brought against the Company thereunder may adversely affect the Company's operations and financial performance. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States. The Company's 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. The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news 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. SOURCE Harborside Inc. NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES and LAS VEGAS, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CES is back and almost here. One of the most influential tech events in the world, CES 2022, will be held between 5th to 8th Jan 2022 at Las Vegas, NV. Despite COVID-19, more than 2100 tech businesses from various industries will showcase their products and services to the visitors. This event will indeed witness some life-changing technological innovations. This tech event provides a vast platform of opportunities for tech businesses to promote tech solutions with global businesses. Also, visitors can get details of the latest tech products and how they can digitalize their businesses. This time, CES focuses on various technologies like 5G & Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Automotive, Self-Driving Cars, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies & NFTs, Digital Health, Food Technology, AR/VR, Gaming, Robotics, Ai, Drones, and many more. If one cannot join in person, CES allows you to join digitally and explore the conference sessions, keynotes and engage with exhibitors. As one of the leading app developers, Hyperlink InfoSystem will participate in CES 2022 to showcase the importance of digital solutions for your business growth in this tech-savvy world. Team of Hyperlink InfoSystem with CEO, Mr. Harnil Oza, will exhibit tech solutions Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, Booth No: 9443 from 5th to 8th January 2022 in person. Hyperlink InfoSystem is a top mobile app development company headquartered in India and has offices in the USA, UK, France, UAE, Canada. The company has 10+ years of comprehensive experience in the industry and worked with more than 2,300 clients worldwide. Having a team of 450+ highly skilled developers, Hyperlink InfoSystem focuses on clients' requirements and delivers solutions with the best ROI. Their only aim is "Happy Clients" which helps them achieve more than a 97% client retention rate. They participate in some of the best tech events every year to promote their tech solutions. Mr. Harnil Oza, The CEO of Hyperlink InfoSystem said, "As per our announcement of participation at CES 2022 - the most influential tech event in the world and as one of the tech industry leaders, we are going to represent latest technologies and solutions that can fulfil every client's requirements to shape the digital world uniquely. As per our joyous experience at CES - 2019, we are excited to meet and greet each and every visitor of CES - 2022." Hyperlink Infosystem is all set to exhibit its tech solutions for global businesses at CES. Anyone with unique tech solution ideas can interact with the Hyperlink Infosystem team in-person at Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, Booth No: 9443, for an entire week from 5th to 8th January 2022. To schedule a meeting, one can drop an email at [email protected] or call at +1 309 791 4105. For more details, visit: https://www.hyperlinkinfosystem.com/ces-las-vegas.html About Hyperlink InfoSystem: Hyperlink InfoSystem is an established and popular top web & mobile app development company based in USA, UK, UAE, France, Canada with its development center in India. The company's talented team of 450+ developers offers world-class services in the areas of Custom Software Development, Mobile app & Web Development, Blockchain Development, AR & VR App Development, Game App Development, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Salesforce & much more. Since 2011, the company has successfully built 4,000+ mobile apps for more than 2,500 clients around the world. Contact Details: Hyperlink InfoSystem Harnil Oza +1-805-744-1224 [email protected] New York Address: One World Trade Center, 285 Fulton Street suite 8500, New York, NY 10007, United States Mumbai Address: Level 8, Vibgyor Towers C 62, G Block Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400098 London Address: Level 30, The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London EC3V 4AB SOURCE Hyperlink Infosystem INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Energy Systems Network (ESN) , organizer of the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) , today announced that the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) will serve as a premier sponsor of the Autonomous Challenge @ CES and that Halo powered by T-Mobile 5G has been selected as the official pace car. The IAC is preparing to make history at CES 2022 with the first high-speed, head-to-head autonomous racecar competition on Friday, January 7, 2022 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) joins previously announced Luminar as a premier sponsor of the Autonomous Challenge @ CES. TII, the dedicated applied research pillar of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), is a pioneering global research and development center that focuses on applied research and new-age technology capabilities with seven dedicated research centers. TII connects an intellectual community and contributes to building an R&D ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. TII is also providing its global expertise in automation and robotics as partner in TII EuroRacing, one of the teams competing in the Autonomous Challenge @ CES. Halo, a remote-piloted driverless car service operating on T-Mobile's 5G network in Las Vegas will serve as the official pace car of the Autonomous Challenge @ CES as 9 teams from 8 countries, representing 19 universities seek to compete. Halo will lead each set of IAC teams off of pit lane and complete a warmup lap at speeds of 65-80 mph before the start of each round. "The Indy Autonomous Challenge is working to advance tech that will speed the commercialization of fully autonomous vehicles and deployments of advanced driver-assistance systems," said Paul Mitchell, president and CEO, Energy Systems Network. "We are proud to partner with these sponsors as they work with us to push limits for the entire autonomous community, helping to increase safety and performance in not only motorsports, but across all modes of commercial transportation." IAC teams seeking to compete in the Autonomous Challenge @ CES can be found here. The Autonomous Challenge @ CES competition is scheduled to begin at 12 PM PT on January 7, 2022 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Only CES 2022 credentialed attendees and media are permitted to attend in-person. Other CES attendees can watch the live stream at http://www.indyautonomouschallenge.com and on Twitch @IndyAChallenge. The IAC will have a major presence at CES 2022, with multiple media touchpoints, including: *Transportation will be provided to and from the competition between the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS). Only credentialed CES attendees and media are permitted to attend. Media Resources: Follow the IAC using @IndyAChallenge and #IAC2022 on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Photos and videos can be found in the IAC Press Kit: Media Credentials and Interviews: Media looking to attend the competition in person and/or conduct interviews with IAC principals or teams should contact Allison Fried at [email protected]. (Only credentialed CES attendees and media will be permitted to attend in person). MEDIA CONTACTS SOURCE Indy Autonomous Challenge OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Keen Wealth Advisors, a financial planning firm based in Overland Park, Kansas, is pleased to announce the arrival of Nick Nguyen as a Paraplanner. A member of the Keen Wealth Team since October 2021, Nick assists with research and data analysis that supports the firm's Financial Planners, executes operational requests, and interfaces with its primary custodian, Charles Schwab. He also participates in the onboarding of new clients and initiates and monitors account transfers. Keen Wealth Financial Advisors Nick earned his Bachelors in Business Administration at the University of Missouri Kansas City and is currently pursuing his Masters of Science with a focus in Finance. Before joining Keen Wealth Advisors, he worked as the Administrative Secretary of Regal Nails and Shift Supervisor of BAMBU, where he had the opportunity to build and develop customer relations while providing satisfactory customer service. Nick enjoys spending time with his family and creating unique ceramic pottery in his free time. He is also a weightlifting enthusiast and enjoys the outdoors. Nick can be reached at [email protected]. To connect with Keen Wealth Advisors, please call 913-624-1841 or visit the firm's website to complete a Contact Form. About Keen Wealth Advisors As an SEC-registered investment advisory firm, Keen Wealth Advisors focuses on providing personalized financial planning designed to help people thrive before and during their retirement years. Keen Wealth Advisors was founded by CEO Bill Keen, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor and financial advisor with 28 years of industry experience. Reflecting his passion for educating others, Bill co-hosts the "Keen on Retirement" podcast and is the author of Keen on Retirement, a book focused on common steps for building a financial plan and the psychological and emotional challenges associated with retirement. Bill appears regularly on Forbes and has previously shared his thoughts with U.S. News and World Report, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, and other major media outlets. The Keen Wealth Advisors team also regularly presents educational retirement planning topics to the Kansas City community. For more information, visit https://keenwealthadvisors.com/ Media Contact Haley Crawford 913-624-1841 [email protected] SOURCE Keen Wealth Management Argo is a leading infrastructure investor based in New York with a long-term investment horizon, targeting higher quality infrastructure assets and businesses. This new partnership will strengthen LAZ's existing capabilities, contribute and sustain its strong relationships with employees and customers, and support further investment in EV charging infrastructure assets across the U.S. "We are honored to partner with the Argo team," said Alan Lazowski, CEO and co-founder of LAZ Parking. "As our first choice among best-in-class infrastructure partners, we sought a long-term investor who understood the value of our national network and our people-first culture. Argo and LAZ are aligned on our shared vision of parking as essential infrastructure, including EV charging, micro warehousing logistics and future mobility services." "We are excited to partner with Alan and his experienced leadership team in supporting LAZ's high quality infrastructure business and expanding its EV charging infrastructure network," stated Andrew Zaroulis, Senior Director at Argo Infrastructure Partners. Concurrent with Argo's investment, LAZ's previous shareholders Indigo Group S.A. through its indirect fully-owned subsidiary Indigo Infra USA Holdings Inc., Harvest Partners and Sculptor Capital Management are exiting their investments, marking the end of a supportive and successful journey. "We are humbled by the tremendous value and lifelong friendships we have created as partners," Lazowski said. Now capitalized with a long-term preferred investment from Argo, LAZ will continue to build on its 40-year track record of providing essential services to customers across the United States, with new services planned such as a nationwide network of electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor and Goulston & Storrs PC is acting as legal counsel to LAZ in connection with the transaction. White & Case LLP is acting as legal counsel to Argo. About LAZ Parking LAZ Parking is the largest privately-owned parking operator in the United States and a pioneer in digital parking technology. Founded in Hartford, CT in 1981, with four decades of experience providing best-in-class parking management and transportation services, LAZ operates over 1.2 million parking spaces across the country in over 3,200 locations in 36 states and 444 cities. Over the past decade, LAZ has led the industry with business intelligence, remote monitoring, and eCommerce solutions, and more recently, launched its Proximity On-Demand Services "LAZ PODS". Leveraging a national parking network and utilizing connected tech-enabled solutions, LAZ PODS includes EV charging, micro warehousing, and last-mile logistics, and cloud kitchens. LAZ works across various industries, including hospitality, commercial, healthcare, airports, transportation, universities, government, retail, events, residential, and shuttle services. LAZ is a people-first "Conscious Capitalism" company that believes in elevating humanity through business. For more information, visit www.lazparking.com. About Argo Infrastructure Partners Argo Infrastructure Partners is an independent fund manager with a long-term approach to infrastructure investing. Argo invests in high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services to their communities and achieve sustainable cash yields over their long operational lives. Argo's investment philosophy aims to couple sound investment return with responsible and sustainable investing. Argo manages over $5 billion in assets on behalf of its investor partners as of September 30, 2021, for more information, visit www.argoip.com SOURCE LAZ Parking NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors with losses in excess of $100,000 that they have until January 18, 2022 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Lightspeed Commerce, Inc. (NYSE: LSPD), if they purchased the Company's securities between September 11, 2020 and November 3, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Get Help Lightspeed investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-lspd/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit Lightspeed and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On September 29, 2021, Spruce Point Capital Management reported a range of allegations regarding the Company, including but not limited to, that it overstated its customer count by 85% and its gross transaction volume by 10% in pre-IPO documents; that there was "[e]vidence of declining organic growth and business deterioration through Lightspeed's IPO, despite management's claims that Average Revenue Per User ('ARPU') is increasing"; and that the Company's "[r]ecent acquisition spree has come at escalating costs with no clear path to profitability, while management pursues aggressive revenue reporting practices." On this news, Lightspeed's shares fell $13.73 per share, or 12.2%, to close at $98.77 per share on September 29, 2021. The case is Nath v. Lightspeed Commerce Inc., et al., 21-cv-06365910. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. SOURCE ClaimsFiler Highlights: US$7M earn-in to 70% ownership over approximately 4 years earn-in to 70% ownership over approximately 4 years 2,500 metre initial drill program planned to commence during Q1 2022 VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Luminex Resources Corp. (TSXV: LR) (OTCQX: LUMIF) (the "Company" or "Luminex") is pleased to announce that on December 29, 2021, it entered into a binding interim agreement (the "IA") for an earn-in and joint venture with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC"), on Luminex's Orquideas mineral concession in Ecuador. JOGMEC has the right to earn a 70% ownership interest in Orquideas by investing an aggregate US$7 million between now and March 31, 2026. Luminex and JOGMEC will work to conclude a definitive agreement in due course. Luminex will manage and operate the exploration programs for Orquideas and will receive a management fee based on expenses. Marshall Koval, CEO and Director commented: "The Company is pleased to partner with JOGMEC and is happy to see that additional drilling will be completed on this property. This earn-in agreement continues Luminex's strategy of looking for high caliber partners to de-risk its large portfolio of properties in Ecuador. With BHP drilling Tarqui now, Anglo American planning to start drilling by mid-year and JOGMEC drilling during Q1, it will be an extremely active year on the Company's copper focused projects." About Orquideas Orquideas is a porphyry copper and molybdenum mineralized system hosted in phases of the mid Jurassic Zamora Batholith. The exploration project is located 40 km south of Lundin Gold Inc.'s Fruta Del Norte epithermal gold and silver mine and approximately 15 km southwest of Luminex's Condor project, which contains epithermal gold and silver as well as gold and copper porphyry resources. The geochemical footprint of Orquideas extends northwest by southeast for 5.5 km and is 2 km wide. Initial Work Plan Luminex will work to establish trails and access to the proposed drill sites in early Q1 2022 and then commence a 2,500-metre initial drill program across five planned holes. It is anticipated that this work program will fulfill the JOGMEC earn-in commitment to 2023 (see below schedule). Summary of Key Terms Contemplated by IA The IA envisages a five period earn-in with the following expenditure schedule: Period Earn-in Commitment January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022 US$0.75M April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 US$1.25M April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 US$1.50M April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 US$1.50M April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 US$2.00M JOGMEC will have the right to accelerate the exercise of the earn-in by completing all the exploration expenditures in a period shorter than the earn-in term. JOGMEC also has the right to withdraw from the earn-in after the first period's expenditures of US$0.75 million. 70% ownership by JOGMEC will occur only after the entire earn-in expenditure has been completed; there is no phased earn-in. About Luminex Resources Luminex Resources Corp. (TSXV:LR,OTCQX:LUMIF) is a Vancouver, Canada based precious and base metals exploration and development company focused on gold and copper projects in Ecuador. Luminex's inferred and indicated mineral resources are located at the Condor Gold-Copper project in Zamora-Chinchipe Province, southeast Ecuador. Luminex also holds a large and highly prospective land package in Ecuador, including the Tarqui and Pegasus projects, which are being co-developed with BHP Group plc and Anglo American respectively. Further details are available on the Company's website at https://luminexresources.com/. To receive news releases please sign up at https://www.luminexresources.com/contact/contact-us/. Signed: "Marshall Koval" Marshall Koval, CEO and Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements or information include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future drilling and work programs at Orquideas, anticipated spending amounts and that JOGMEC will continue work past the initial earn-in period. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use of phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur or be achieved. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, the Company has made numerous assumptions including among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, the prices of gold and copper, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Although management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the business of the Company; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; the supply and demand for labour and other project inputs; changes in commodity prices; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; risks relating to inaccurate geological and engineering assumptions (including with respect to the tonnage, grade and recoverability of reserves and resources); risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters); risks relating to adverse weather conditions; political risk and social unrest; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; changes in laws (including regulations respecting mining concessions); and other risk factors as detailed from time to time in the Company's continuous disclosure documents filed with Canadian securities administrators. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. SOURCE Luminex Resources Corp. Editor's Note: This advisory was updated Jan. 3 to reflect the addition of a media teleconference Monday, Jan. 3. -- Editor's Note: Per a Jan. 2 update, Webb's sunshield tensioning will begin no earlier than Monday, Jan. 3. The timeline for deployments and NASA coverage will be updated as major deployments resume. Visit the Webb blog for the latest information. Update: NASA Plans Coverage of Webb Space Telescope Deployments WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over about the next two weeks, NASA will provide broadcast coverage, media briefings, and other updates on major deployment milestones for the James Webb Space Telescope, the world's largest and most powerful space science telescope. Broadcasts of milestone events will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website . Webb, an international partnership with the ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, launched Dec. 25 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The observatory had been folded up, origami style, to fit inside an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket for launch. Webb is now in the complex and intricate process of unfolding in space, as it travels nearly 1 million miles to its destination, the second Lagrange point or L2. Webb's deployment sequence is a human-controlled process that provides the team with the flexibility to pause, assess data, and adjust as needed. The timing and order of all milestones may therefore change. NASA will host live broadcast coverage to mark the following milestones, with specific times and dates updated as they approach: Sunshield tensioning: The full deployment of the sunshield, the most challenging element for Webb, will mark a critical milestone for the mission. This step is scheduled for completion about eight days after launch, no earlier than Sunday, Jan. 2 . The full deployment of the sunshield, the most challenging element for Webb, will mark a critical milestone for the mission. This step is scheduled for completion about eight days after launch, no earlier than . Secondary mirror support structure deployment: The support structure that holds the secondary mirror in position to focus light collected by the primary mirror is set for deployment about 10 days after launch, no earlier than Tuesday, Jan. 4 . The support structure that holds the secondary mirror in position to focus light collected by the primary mirror is set for deployment about 10 days after launch, no earlier than . Webb deployments complete: With the unfolding of the second of Webb's primary mirror wings, the Webb team will have completed all observatory deployments. This is scheduled to take place about 13 days after launch, no earlier than Friday, Jan. 7 . NASA provides regular updates on the Webb telescope blog. The public can also follow Webb's deployments online via a "Where is Webb?" interactive tracker and a Deployments Explorer. NASA Press Briefings NASA will hold the following media briefings: A media teleconference at 11:30 a.m. EST Monday , Jan. 3, summarizing the first week of Webb's deployment activities. To participate by telephone, media must RSVP by 11:00 a.m. EST Monday , Jan. 3, to Alise Fisher at: [email protected] . , Jan. 3, summarizing the first week of Webb's deployment activities. To participate by telephone, media must RSVP by , Jan. 3, to at: . A media teleconference as soon as possible after the end of the live broadcast coverage of Webb's sunshield tensioning, no earlier than Sunday, Jan. 2 . To participate by telephone, media must RSVP no later than noon EST Sunday , Jan. 2, to Laura Betz at: [email protected] . . To participate by telephone, media must RSVP no later than , Jan. 2, to at: . A media briefing as soon as possible after the end of the live broadcast coverage of Webb's final deployments. The agency will determine the timing of these briefings as the deployment milestones approach and will stream the events live on its website. NASA's media accreditation policy for virtual activities is available online. Social Media Engagement Members of the public can stay connected with the mission and let people know about Webb's deployments on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram with #UnfoldTheUniverse. Follow and tag these accounts: Additional Webb Resources: The Webb mission will explore every phase of cosmic history from within the solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, and everything in between. Webb will reveal new and unexpected discoveries and help humanity understand the origins of the universe and our place in it. For more information about the Webb mission, visit: https://webb.nasa.gov SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov MADISON, Wis., Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Newly revealed data from a first-of-its-kind research project provides a benchmark for the reach of established DEI efforts in the credit union industry and correlating impacts on business performance. Customized indexes provided to each participating organization offer a methodology that can transform how DEI is practiced not only at credit unions, but organizations across all industries. In exploring how credit unions have pursued DEI at the organizational level, Filene Research Institute Fellow leading Filene's Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Quinetta Roberson and her collaborator, researcher McKenzie Preston, have identified a new paradigm for the implementation of DEI, one that emphasizes the importance of enterprise-wide alignment and the transformational power of DEI for the credit union value proposition and overall business model. Survey results found that individual practices do not matter on their own. DEI policies and practices are best implemented in clusters or "bundles," and that an integrated, strategic approach to DEI produces the most impact for organizations. Specifically, this project discovered that three bundles drive credit union financial performance more impactfully than others: Strategy, Goals and Tracking. Credit unions employing these bundles correlated with a higher return on assets and higher net income more than credit unions who did not. Five additional practice bundles were found to support other desirable business objectives not examined in the study, such as mission fulfillment and staff attraction and retention. Participating organizations' customized indexes compare their individual responses to the credit union system as a whole and provide specific recommendations for next steps. These indexes therefore also help credit unions take a more informed and strategic approach to advancing their DEI efforts. "The research suggests that taking this bundle approachorganizing DEI efforts across different sets of practices with performance measurescan offer credit unions a measurable impact on performance," said UW Credit Union President & CEO, Paul Kundert. The project collected 304 responses to the system survey from 232 unique credit unions and system partners. This corresponds to a 4% response rate for the entire credit union system, representing approximately 25% of all credit union assets. Filene is preparing for the second iteration of the Credit Union DEI Policies and Practices Survey, launching March 2022. Two new research hypotheses will be explored to build upon findings from the 2021 project: What other success metrics do DEI practice bundles affect, beyond standard measures of financial performance such as ROA and net income? How do DEI practice bundles affect firm performanceis it from enhanced internal operations, improved services or messaging to members, both, or something else? All credit unions and system organizations are invited to participate and will receive a personalized index similar to this sample. Contact Filene's Senior Director of Research, Taylor C. Nelms at [email protected] to get more information. Generous support for the Center of Excellence for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is provided by Advantis Credit Union, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Civic Federal Credit Union, Desert Financial Credit Union, Kinecta Federal Credit Union, LGFCU, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, State Department Federal Credit Union, Suncoast Credit Union, UNFCU, University of Michigan Credit Union, UW Credit Union, and Visions Federal Credit Union. About Filene: Filene Research Institute strengthens organizations through innovative research and incubation to improve consumer financial well-being. For more information, visit filene.org and @fileneresearch. FILENE CONTACT: Holly Fearing | [email protected] | 608.661.3758 SOURCE Filene Research Institute Related Links www.filene.org Highlights: OroValle, Spain : Replenishes reserves depletion, maintains 5 Year Life of Mine, and increases total resources tonnage by 24% to 14,023 kt; Taguas, Argentina : Increases its total resources tonnage 246% to 133,626 kt, and updates NI-43-101 PEA to NPV of USD 57M ; Don Mario, Bolivia : Adds 9,151 kt to its resources tonnage based on a new NI 43-101 report on its old time tailings. TORONTO, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Orvana Minerals Corp. (TSX: ORV) (the "Company" or "Orvana") announces the filing of its annual information form for the year ended September 30, 2021 (the "AIF") and independent 43-101 report on the Don Mario Tailings Reprocessing Project, Eastern Bolivia (the "Don Mario Tailings Reprocessing Report"). The Company is also pleased to provide a summary of its updated preliminary assessment report for Taguas Project (the "2021 Taguas PEA"), which will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days from the date hereof. Juan Gavidia, CEO of the Company stated: "Fiscal 2021 has proven to be a fantastic value creation year for our shareholders, with a year-on-year 205% increase in resources tonnage, growing from 52 Mt to 159 Mt. Our persistent exploration investment is paying off spectacularly this year, allowing us to keep pursuing development of our three assets with a much larger mineral resource base". Summary of Mineral Resources & Mineral Reserves (1): Mineral Resources Category Tonnage (M t) Variance (M t) September 30, 2021 September 30, 2020 Orovalle Measured & Indicated 10.3 7.9 2.4 Inferred 3.7 3.4 0.3 Don Mario Oxides Stockpile Measured 2.2 2.2 - Don Mario Tailings Indicated 3.7 - 3.7 Inferred 5.5 - 5.5 Taguas Interred 133.6 38.6 95.0 Total 159.0 52.1 106.9 Mineral Reserves Tonnage (M t) Variance (M t) September 30, 2021 September 30, 2020 Orovalle 3.3 3.4 (0.1) Don Mario 2.0 2.0 - Total 5.4 5.5 (0.1) (1) Detailed information about Mineral Resources and Reserves as at September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020 is included in the Company's annual information forms for the years ended September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020, available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.orvana.com . Don Mario Tailings Reprocessing Report Orvana retained DGCS S.A. ("DGCS") to prepare a technical report for the Don Mario Tailings Reprocessing Project, in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary EMIPA, is the owner of the Don Mario Operation, a set of assets that includes Las Tojas ore body, and the previously mined out Lower Mineralized Zone, Upper Mineralized Zone and Cerro Felix mines, plus the Processing Plant and the Tailings Storage Facility. Operations at Don Mario were temporarily suspended in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and is currently in care and maintenance. Between April and June 2018 EMIPA executed a drilling program in the Don Mario Tailings Storage Facility, to determine the tailings resources. Two extraction methods have been considered to mining the tailings accumulated, as a mixed and escalated method. The considered methods are mechanical extraction and hydraulic extraction. The treatment considered is CIL-CIC-Flotation, to take advantage of potential synergies with the Oxides Stockpile Project. Don Mario Tailings Reprocessing Project Mineral Resource Estimate Effective September 30, 2021: Indicated Inferred Cut Off Au 000 t Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) 000 t Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) 0.7 11 0.71 5.49 0.69 - - - - 0.6 133 0.65 5.33 0.66 41 0.63 5.04 0.57 0.5 1,390 0.54 5.46 0.59 70 5 0.53 4.44 0.46 0.4 3,320 0.49 4.96 0.55 4,629 0.46 4.16 0.42 0.3 3,677 0.48 4.79 0.53 5,474 0.45 4.00 0.40 0.2 3,798 0.47 4.67 0.52 5,688 0.44 3.89 0.40 0.1 3,798 0.47 4.67 0.52 5,688 0.44 3.89 0.40 Notes: 1. CIM definitions were followed for Mineral Resources, estimated by G. Zandonai, a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101, who is an employee of DGCS S.A., and is independent of the Company. 2. Highlighted Base Case of Au 0.3 g/t Cut Off considered for mine life. 3. Numbers may not add due to rounding. The projected mine life ascends to approximately 3.8 years at a mining rate of 2.4 MT per year, considering the mineral resources estimate as at 0.3 g/t Au Cut Off. Gino Zandonai of DGCS Exploration and Mining Consulting supervised the preparation of the Don Mario Tailings Reprocessing Report, is independent of the Company and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure reported herein. 2021 Taguas PEA Orvana retained SAXUM Engineered Solutions, from his Argentina office, in cooperation with Kappes, Cassiday & Assoc. (KCA) from Reno, NV; and NCL from Chile to prepare a Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Taguas Project. The Taguas Property is host to a high-sulfidation epithermal gold-silver system hosted in altered tertiary age rhyolite volcaniclastic rocks. Supergene-oxidized gold-silver mineralization occurs on the south half of the Property. The oxide gold-silver mineralization consists of sub-vertical, northeast striking mineralized structures in an envelope of lower grade mineralization. The high-grade zones consist of relatively continuous mineralization with gold grades ranging from 0.2 g/t Au to over 4.0 g/t Au and 10 g/t Ag to over 50 g/t Ag. Oxidation extends from surface to approximately 100m 200m below surface. The present PEA refers only to this oxidized gold-silver mineralization occurring near surface in Cerros Taguas. PEA Highlights Pre-Tax NPV of US $103.7M at 8.0% discount rate at 8.0% discount rate Pre-Tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR): 27.4% After-Tax NPV of US $56.9M at 8.0% discount rate at 8.0% discount rate After-Tax IRR: 20.2% Payback Period (from start of operations): 2.9 years Initial Capital: US $141.2M LOM Capital: US $147.8M Estimated Average LOM All-In Sustaining Costs (AISC): US $915 /Au oz payable Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and there is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized. The PEA study is conceptual in nature and the PEA mine plan is based on 100% inferred resources. The projections, forecasts and estimates presented in the PEA constitute forward-looking statements and readers are urged not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Additional cautionary and forward-looking statement information is detailed at the end of this news release. PEA Key Inputs Gold Price: 1,700 US$ /oz /oz Silver Price 22 US$/oz Construction: 1 year Production: 9.2 years Waste/Processed Feed: 0.69 Mine: Maximum 14.0 Mt per year (total mined plus rehandling) Plant: 15,000 tons per day Au Recovery: 83% Ag Recovery: 42% Au LOM Production: 430Koz Ag LOM Production: 7,618Koz NPV After-Tax Sensitivity by Discount Rates Discount Rate (%) Net Present Value (USD M's) 5 79.0 8 56.9 10 44.4 15 20.2 PEA Inferred Resource Estimate of Inferred Mineral Resource for Cerro Taguas Oxides reported at 0.25 g/t AuEq Cut-off COG g/t AuEq Tonnes Mt Au g/t Ag g/t AuEq g/t Contained Metal Au koz Ag koz 0.25 55.0 0.35 12.1 0.49 619 21,429 Notes: 1. Mineral Resource estimate prepared by Mr. R. Simpson, P.Geo., of GeoSim Services Inc. with an effective date of June 30, 2021. Mineral Resources are classified using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards. 2. Gold equivalent (AuEq g/t) calculations were based on assumed metal prices of $1700/oz Au, and $20/oz Ag. 3. An optimized pit shell was generated using the following assumptions: metal prices in Note 2 above; a 45 pit slope; mining costs of $2.00 per tonne, processing costs of $5.20 per tonne, and general & administrative charges of $1.50 per tonne. All amounts are expressed in US dollars. 4. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 5. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. PEA Mining & Processing The mining method proposed for the Property in the PEA is conventional truck and shovel open pit mining. The proposed recovery process will be crushing of mineralized material at a rate of 15,000 tpd, stacking in 10 m lifts on a permanent heap leach and gold and silver recovery from the heap leach pregnant solution in a Merrill-Crowe recovery plant where gold and silver will be precipitated to produce dore gold bars. Nestor Lares, COO of SAXUM, was in charge of the Argentinian team as well to engage and coordinate the work of Caleb Cook of KCA and Carlos Guzman of NCL, and their respective teams, in the preparation of the PEA. Caleb and Carlos are independent of the Company and both qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and have reviewed and approved the technical disclosure reported herein. The PEA will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days from this news release. Once filed, the 2021 Taguas PEA will replace the previous preliminary economic assessment dated May 14, 2019 and filed on SEDAR on July 9, 2019. Orovalle Mineral Resources and Reserves SUMMARY OF MINERAL RESOURCES INCLUSIVE OF MINERAL RESERVES SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 Zone Tonnage (000 t) Grade (g/t Au) Grade (g/t Ag) Grade (% Cu) Contained Metal (000 oz Au) Contained Metal (000 oz Ag) Contained Metal (000 lb Cu) Measured + Indicated 10,340 3.62 10.15 0.47 1,205 3,373 107,586 Inferred 3,684 3.74 7.04 0.32 446 852 25,838 Notes: 1. CIM definitions were followed for Mineral Resources. 2. Mineral Resources are estimated at gold equivalent ("AuEq") cut-off grades of 2.48 g/t for Boinas oxides, 2.11 g/t for Boinas skarns and 1.96 g/t for Carles. AuEq cut-offs are based on recent operating results for recoveries, off-site concentrate costs and on-site operating costs. AuEq cut-off grades of 2.48 g/t was used for La Brueva. 3. Mineral Resources are estimated using a long-term gold price of US$1,700 per ounce; copper price of US$3.25 per pound; and a silver price of US$ 20 per ounce. A US$/Euro exchange rate of 1/1.20 was used. 4. Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves. 5. A crown pillar of 60 m is excluded from the Mineral Resource below El Valle TSF. 6. A crown pillar of 40m is excluded from the Mineral Resource below Boinas East open pit. 7. Unrecoverable material in exploited mining areas has been excluded from the Mineral Resources. 8. A no-mining sterilization zone of 10 meters below already mined stopes in Boinas has been excluded from the Mineral Resources. 9. A no-mining sterilization zone of 5 meters around waste filled stopes in Boinas has been excluded from the mineral resources. 10. Areas of mineral blocks in Carles and Boinas have been removed from the Mineral Resource report to ensure RPEEE. 11. Numbers may not add due to rounding. 12. El Valle mineral resources estimates were prepared under the supervision G. Collar, European Geologist, a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101, who is an employee of OroValle and thus not independent of the Company. SUMMARY OF MINERAL RESERVES SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 Category Tonnage (000 t) Grade (g/t Au) Grade (g/t Ag) Grade (% Cu) Contained Metal (000 oz Au) Contained Metal (000 oz Ag) Contained Metal (000 lb Cu) Proven and Probable 3,324 3.04 6.13 0.34 324 655 24,898 Notes: 1. CIM (November 29, 2019) definitions and guidelines were followed for Mineral Reserve estimation. 2. Mineral Reserves are estimated using AuEq break-even cut-off grades by zone, consisting of 3.35 g/t AuEq for Boinas oxides (D&F), 2.90 g/t AuEq for Boinas skarns (SLS), and 2.09 g/t AuEq for Carles skarn (SLS). AuEq cut-offs are based on recent operating results for recoveries, off-site concentrate costs, and on-site operating costs. AuEq factors are based on metal prices, metallurgical recoveries, metal payables, and selling costs. 3. Mineral Reserves are estimated using average long term prices of US$1,600/oz Au, US$18/oz Ag, and US$3.00/ lb Cu. A US$/ exchange rate of 1.20/1.00 was used. 4. A minimum mining width of 4 m was used. 5. Crown pillars of 75 m and 42 m are excluded from the Mineral Reserves below the El Valle TSF and Boinas East open pits, respectively. 6. A no-mining sterilization zone of 10 m below mined out stopes and 5 m around waste filled stopes has been applied. 7. El Valle mineral reserves estimates were prepared under supervision of Brian Buss, a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101, who is an independent consultant of the Company. 8. Numbers may not add due to rounding. Cautionary Statement The Don Mario Tailings Reprocessing Report and the 2020 Taguas PEA (collectively, the "Reports") follows the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Definitions Standards for Mineral Resources and Reserves (2014). The Reports have been completed in accordance with the Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. ABOUT ORVANA - Orvana is a multi-mine gold-copper-silver company. Orvana's assets consist of the producing El Valle and Carles gold-copper-silver mines in northern Spain, the Don Mario gold-silver property in Bolivia, currently in care and maintenance, and the Taguas property located in Argentina. Additional information is available at Orvana's website (www.orvana.com). Cautionary Statements - Forward-Looking Information Certain statements in this presentation constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, potentials, future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "believes", "expects", "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "are projected to" be taken or achieved) are not statements of historical fact, but are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements herein relate to, among other things, Orvana's ability to achieve improvement in free cash flow; the ability to maintain expected mining rates and expected throughput rates at El Valle Plant; the potential to extend the mine life of El Valle and Don Mario beyond their current life-of-mine estimates including specifically, but not limited to, in the case of Don Mario, the processing of the mineral stockpiles and the reprocessing of the tailings material; Orvana's ability to optimize its assets to deliver shareholder value; the Company's ability to optimize productivity at Don Mario and El Valle; estimates of future production, operating costs and capital expenditures; mineral resource and reserve estimates; statements and information regarding future feasibility studies and their results; future transactions; future metal prices; the ability to achieve additional growth and geographic diversification; the potential for discovery of additional mineral resources; future financial performance, including the ability to increase cash flow and profits; future financing requirements; and mine development plans. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, which includes, without limitation, as particularly set out in the notes accompanying the Company's most recently filed financial statements. The estimates and assumptions of the Company contained or incorporated by reference in this information, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to the various assumptions set forth herein and in Orvana's most recently filed Management's Discussion & Analysis of the Company's most recently completed fiscal year, and the latest filed Annual Information Form (the "Company Disclosures") or as otherwise expressly incorporated herein by reference as well as: there being no significant disruptions affecting operations, whether due to labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, damage to equipment or otherwise; permitting, development, operations, expansion and acquisitions at El Valle and Don Mario being consistent with the Company's current expectations; political developments in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates being consistent with its current expectations; certain price assumptions for gold, copper and silver; prices for key supplies being approximately consistent with current levels; production and cost of sales forecasts meeting expectations; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; labour and materials costs increasing on a basis consistent with Orvana's current expectations; the availability of necessary funds to execute the Company's plan; there will be no material change to the results of the preliminary economic assessment, including but not limited to the mineral resource estimation, conceptual mine plan and operations, internal rate of return, sensitivities, taxes, net present value, potential recoveries, design parameters, operating costs, capital costs, production data and economic potential; the timing and costs for production decisions; permitting timelines and requirements are achieved in a timely manner; exploration and planned exploration programs are sufficiently funded and executed in a timely manner; timing for completion of a feasibility study; timing for first gold production; processing the stockpile at El Valle in connection with the metal production catch-up program; identifying additional resources beyond the replenishment of annual depletion rates at El Valle for the extension of mine life; issuing an updated PEA for Taguas in a timely manner; completion of the infill drilling program at Taguas; making a decision on the oxides stockpile at Don Mario in a timely manner; and the Company's general objectives and strategies. A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company and its business, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors include: the potential impact of the COVID-19 on the Company's business and operations, including: our ability to continue operations; our ability to manage challenges presented by COVID-19; the accounting treatment of COVID-19 related matters; Orvana's ability to prevent and/or mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases at or near our mines; our ability to support the sustainability of our business including through the development of crisis management plans, increasing stock levels for key supplies, monitoring of guidance from the medical community, and engagement with local communities and authorities; fluctuations in the price of gold, silver and copper; the need to recalculate estimates of resources based on actual production experience; the failure to achieve production estimates; variations in the grade of ore mined; variations in the cost of operations; the availability of qualified personnel; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain all necessary regulatory approvals and licenses; the Company's ability to use cyanide in its mining operations; risks generally associated with mineral exploration and development, including the Company's ability to continue to operate the El Valle and/or ability to resume long-term operations at the Carles Mine; the Company's ability to successfully implement a sulphidization circuit and ancillary facilities to process the current oxides stockpiles at Don Mario; the Company's ability to successfully carry out development plans at Taguas; sufficient funding to carry out development plans at Taguas and to process the oxides stockpiles at Don Mario; the Company's ability to acquire and develop mineral properties and to successfully integrate such acquisitions; the Company's ability to execute on its strategy; the Company's ability to obtain financing when required on terms that are acceptable to the Company; challenges to the Company's interests in its property and mineral rights; current, pending and proposed legislative or regulatory developments or changes in political, social or economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates; general economic conditions worldwide; current and future environmental matters; and the risks identified in the Company's disclosures. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements and reference should also be made to the Company's Disclosures for a description of additional risk factors. Any forward-looking statements made herein with respect to the anticipated development and exploration of the Company's mineral projects are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this information are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future operating activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes. SOURCE Orvana Minerals Corp. Related Links www.orvana.com NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for over 11,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Centaurus Metals Ltd. (ASX: CTM;OTCQX: CTTZF), a nickel exploration and development company focused in Brazil, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Centaurus Metals Ltd. begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "CTTZF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com. Joining the OTCQX Market is an important step for companies seeking to provide transparent trading for their U.S. investors. For companies listed on a qualified international exchange, streamlined market standards enable them to utilize their home market reporting to make their information available in the U.S. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Centaurus Metals Managing Director, Mr. Darren Gordon, commented, "It is great to begin trading on the OTCQX and be joining the North American financial community at a time of unprecedented investment by the US government and industry in electrification and decarbonization. Central to this theme is the demand for low emission nickel which is exactly what Centaurus can deliver from its very large, low emission, Jaguar Nickel Sulphide Project in northern Brazil which presently has a JORC Mineral Resource of 80.6Mt @ 0.91% Ni for 730,700 tonnes of contained nickel." Centaurus Metals Ltd. has retained MCAP LLC to act as the Company's OTCQX advisor. MCAP is a US broker-dealer that provides institutional securities services and electronic market making. MCAP acted as the company's OTCQX sponsor. About Centaurus Metals Ltd. Centaurus Metals Limited (ASX: CTM) is an Australian-headquartered minerals exploration and development company focused on the near-term development of the globally significant Jaguar Nickel Sulphide Project, located in the world-class Carajas Mineral Province of Northern Brazil one of the world's premier mining addresses. In May 2021, the Company delivered a Scoping Study for the production of 20,000 tonnes per annum of nickel in sulphate at Jaguar over an initial mine life of 13 years. The study demonstrated compelling economics and very low forecast GHG Emissions of only 4.69t CO 2 /tonne of nickel equivalent. The Company recently upgraded its JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate to 80.6Mt @ 0.91% Ni for 730,700 tonnes of contained nickel which is expected to deliver enhanced economics in the Definitive Feasibility Study, due for completion by the end of 2022. About OTC Markets Group Inc. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for over 11,000 U.S. and global securities. Through our regulated OTC Link Alternative Trading Systems, the Company connects a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for their investors. OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN and OTC Link NQB are each an SEC regulated ATS, operated by OTC Link LLC, a FINRA and SEC registered broker-dealer, member SIPC. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com. Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed Media Contact: OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected] SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc. DUBLIN, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Cellulose Fiber Market - Forecasts from 2021 to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The cellulose fiber market is evaluated at US$33.003 billion for the year 2019 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.53% to reach the market size of US$48.088 billion by the year 2026. Due to the rising concerns regarding environmental degradation and climate change around the world, the companies are looking out as an alternative for petrochemical sourced fibers and are shifting towards environment-friendly and biodegradable fibers, which is increasing the demand for cellulose fibers around the world and is anticipated to propel the growth of cellulose fiber market during the forecast period. Also, as cellulose fibers are widely used in the textile and apparel industry, the growth in the textile and apparel industry around the world is providing a boost to the demand for cellulose fiber and is projected to surge the growth of the cellulose fiber market in the coming years. The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease harmed the cellulose fiber market. The pandemic led to a decline in the textile and apparel industry which negatively impacted the growth of the cellulose fiber market. Also, due to lockdowns around the world, the industries were shut down, and even where the industries were opened, there was a shortage of labor. The retail sales declined and the focus of consumers for the short-term shifted to essential items only. This led to a decline in the cellulose fiber market during the pandemic. However, the lockdown has been lifted in most parts of the world, trade restrictions have been eased, and the textile and apparel demand has increased, but the complete recovery of the cellulose fiber market is not expected to be achieved before the year 2022. The rise in demand for environment-friendly fiber. One of the key factors supplementing the cellulose fiber market growth is the increased focus of the world towards finding an environment-friendly and biodegradable fiber. As the issue of climate change, environmental pollution and sustainability have taken a storm, more and more companies are trying to shift towards a green option for fibers from the traditionally used petrochemical sourced fibers which lead to large amounts of carbon emissions in the environment. As a result, cellulose fibers are gaining demand, which is anticipated to grow further during the forecast period providing a surge to the growth of the cellulose fiber market. The recyclability of cellulose fibers provides it with an advantage over other materials. Also, cellulose fibers, due to their green properties, are being increasingly considered to reinforce and replace plastics in many applications. Cellulose nanofiber is one such material that exhibits similar properties as plastic, such as being lightweight, strong, transparent, with high barrier properties to water and gas, which is the reason why it is being seen as an alternative to plastics not just in the food industry, but also in various others industries like medicine, cosmetics, and electronics. The hunt for a biodegradable and environment-friendly fiber has prompted the increase in research and development on cellulose fibers and new fibers are being produced as an alternative to previously-used fibers. For instance, while working on finding an alternative for glass-fiber-reinforced plastics, German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) developed a material named PURCELL. The material is made up of pure cellulose and hence is fully recyclable. The constant development in researches is providing increased opportunities to replace environment-degrading fibers with environment-friendly ones, which is anticipated to propel the growth of the cellulose fiber market in the coming years. Growth of textile and apparel industry around the world. The world is witnessing significant growth in the textile and apparel industry, which is anticipated to be one of the prominent factors driving the growth of cellulose fibers during the forecast period. According to World Statistical Review 2019 by World Trade Organization (WTO), the total value of world textile exports amounted to $315 billion and apparel exports totaled $505 billion in 2018. There was an annual rise of 6.4% in textiles and 11.1% in apparel. WTO stated that it was the fastest growth seen for six years. With the rise in urbanization and the high purchasing power of consumers, there is a shift from need-based purchase to aspiration-based purchase which is surging the demand for textile and apparel. The rise in per capita income and the increase in consumer spending around the world are driving the growth of the textile and apparel industry, which is anticipated to surge the growth of the cellulose fiber market during the forecast period, as cellulose fibers are widely used in the textile industry. The textile industry has been growing rapidly in Southeast Asian countries like India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, among others, which is filling the supply gap for the increased demand for textile and apparels around the world, leading to a boost in the growth of cellulose fiber market which is projected to continue proliferating during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific to hold a significant market share. Geographically, the Asia Pacific region is anticipated to hold a significant market share due to the region being the leading manufacturer of textiles in the world. Furthermore, the North American region is anticipated to witness substantial market growth owing to the rise in research and development in the region to make new innovative fibers with cellulose. Competitive Insights Prominent/major key market players in the cellulose fiber market include Lenzing AG, Birla Cellulose, Kelheim Fibres GmbH, among others. The players in the cellulose fiber market are implementing various growth strategies to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in this market. Major market players in the market have been covered along with their relative competitive strategies and the report also mentions recent deals and investments of different market players over the last few years. The company profiles section details the business overview, financial performance (public companies) for the past few years, key products and services being offered along with the recent deals and investments of these important players in the cellulose fiber market. Companies Mentioned Lenzing AG Birla Cellulose Sateri Kelheim Fibres GmbH Tangshan Sanyou Xingda Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. International Paper Eastman Chemical Company Fulida Group Holding Co., Ltd CFF GmbH & Co. KG Sappi Limited For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/s9wdbc 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. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Manufacture of Pasta in South Africa 2021" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. While the performance of the pasta industry is influenced by the economy and financial well-being of consumers, both of which are under increasing pressure since the onset of the pandemic, pasta demand has grown as consumers stocked up on dry foods. Sales of ready-to-eat pasta meals are growing, driven by higher income consumers, but the segment still remains small. South Africa is a net importer of pasta. Some industry players say pasta importers are taking advantage of a regulatory misalignment that enables them to import pasta from the EU and other Southern African Customs Union members at lower prices than local manufacturers can offer. Between 2014 and 2020, dry pasta imports have recorded double-digit growth in all but two years and are on track to grow similarly in 2021. Exports grew by just 0.2% in 2020. An anti-dumping determination in March 2021 resulted in higher import tariffs for countries involved in dumping pasta in South Africa and neighbouring countries. Local dry pasta manufacturers operate in a price-sensitive market and face competition from subsidised low-priced imported pasta from countries such as Turkey and Egypt and EU members such as Latvia and Lithuania. The dried pasta market is dominated by Tiger Brands and Pioneer Foods, and there have been no new entrants to the market in recent years, while some small companies have closed. This report focuses on the South African pasta manufacturing industry and includes information on the size and state of the sector, trade and price statistics, the performance of major players and corporate actions and developments. There are profiles of 15 companies including the large dry pasta manufacturers Tiger Brands and Pioneer Foods, noodle manufacturers such as Nestle and local manufacturers such as FG La Pasta, MG Pasta, Pasta Factory and La Pasta Delizia. 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. Trade 4.1.2. Corporate Actions 4.1.3. Regulations 4.1.4. Enterprise Development and Social Economic Development 4.2. Continental 4.3. International 5. INFLUENCING FACTORS 5.1. Coronavirus 5.2. Government intervention 5.3. Rising Input Costs 5.4. Economic environment 5.5. Labour 5.6. Cyclicality 5.7. Technology, Research and Development (R&D) and Innovation 5.8. Environmental Concerns 6. COMPETITION 6.1. Barriers to Entry 7. SWOT ANALYSIS 8. OUTLOOK 9. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS Company Profiles F G La Pasta (Pty) Ltd Griekwaland Wes Korporatief Ltd Kellogg Company Of South Africa (Pty) Ltd Kellogg Tolaram South Africa (Pty) Ltd La Pasta Delizia Cc M G Pasta Cc Nestle ( South Africa ) (Pty) Ltd ) (Pty) Ltd Pasta Factory (Pty) Ltd (The) Pioneer Voedsel (Pty) Ltd Pronto Pasta (Pty) Ltd Sunshine Macaroni Co (Pty) Ltd Tiger Brands Ltd Unilever South Africa (Pty) Ltd Wheat Millers And Grinders (Pty) Ltd For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/o36c26 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. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com "The unique 'Valve-in-Ring' design makes it suitable for wide range of mitral valve anatomy." said Professor Mao Chen. "Most patients won't need atrial septal defect closure after transseptal puncture with 30F delivery catheter, and the probability of vascular complications is relatively low. The procedure is performed under standard DSA in conjunction with echocardiogram, which will promote the adoption of this technology. I hope that this technology can be applied to more clinical uses in the near future to benefit patients with mitral regurgitation." HighLife technology offers unique features for treating mitral valve insufficiency. Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement ("TMVR") has been trending in the field of interventional therapy of structural heart disease. Early exploratory studies have proved the safety and efficacy of this technology. TMVR is suitable for wider anatomical characteristics of mitral regurgitation ("MR"). It can reduce or even completely eliminate regurgitation and the patient outcomes are usually sustainable. Furthermore, TMVR is less invasive and can be performed on elderly or high-risk patients when compared to surgical replacement. However, the field of Mitral Valve Replacement still faces many technical difficulties, including access to the target site, anchoring and the risk of paravalvular leakage ("PVL") and LVOT obstruction. Most existing approaches are either transapical or anchoring using radial force. Transapical TMVR can lead to the weakening of the left ventricular wall muscle or even a default in left ventricular beating due to surgical incision. TMVR anchoring with radial force can result in a large valve size and difficulty in delivery, which can potentially lead to left ventricular reverse remodeling. The HighLife TSMVR system employs a unique "Valve-in-Ring" concept which can better cope with these challenges. This system separates the valve from its anchoring ring and delivers the two components through the femoral vein and femoral artery respectively. It is a simple three-step procedure. First, a guide wire loop is placed around the patient's native valve leaflets and chordae. Secondly, the anchoring ring is implanted. Finally, the self-expanding bovine pericardial valve is released through transseptal access. The delivered valve is anchored by interacting and then reaching an equilibrium position with the previously positioned ring. This allows the valve to remain in a stable position without damaging the original tissue. The procedure is relatively simple as the system is self-centering and self-aligning. The system's design helps to mitigate the risk of paravalvular leakage and effectively reduces catheter size. The procedure can be successfully completed using teleproctoring support. Peijia Medical demonstrated its capability in international collaboration and technical expertise In December 2020, Peijia Medical entered into a license agreement with HighLife SAS, a France based medical device company, pursuant to which HighLife SAS has granted Peijia Medical an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize certain proprietary TMVR products in the Greater China region. This technology transfer was completed in the third quarter of 2021. Local manufacturing with high quality standards in China has been established: the HighLife device produced by Peijia Medical passed all performance tests demonstrating substantially equivalent to HighLife SAS. From the start of the technology transfer to the first implantation in research clinical trial in China, Peijia Medical took less than one year to complete the process which demonstrated its capability in international collaboration and technical expertise. To expediate the use of this world-leading technology for the benefits of MR patients in China, Peijia Medical's consultants, Professor Nicolo Piazza and Professor Jean Buithieu from McGill University Medical Center in Canada, and the technical experts from HighLife SAS worked closely together with Peijia Medical to prepare for this clinical trial. Several training sessions involving device related and clinical practice were conducted and Cardiologists in China also actively participated in the process to ensure successful implantation. Dr. Nicolo Piazza thought highly of this collaboration and successful implantation. "I am very glad and honored to support Professor Mao Chen and his team remotely to carry out the HighLife TSMVR procedure and share my technical experience. I was also amazed by the superb technique and tacit cooperation of Professor Mao Chen and the team. I am very happy for the successful implant of the first TSMVR system in Asia. I believed HighLife TSMVR system can benefit more patients in the future, and I look forward to more vigorous development in the field of mitral valve interventional therapy." Adherence to its vision of "Devotion to the Heart, Reverence for Life", Peijia Medical strives to improve patients' quality of life through technological exploration and innovative persistence. "We have seen more studies on how TMVR technology targets the challenges stemming from the complex anatomy of the mitral valve and the severity of the disease. These continuous efforts signal the importance of TMVR therapy," said Dr. Michael Zhang Yi, Chairman and CEO of Peijia Medical. "Even though transseptal approach is a preferred route and excels in many ways, most existing TMVR technologies still employ a transapical approach. HighLife SAS is a global leader in the TSMVR technology, with promising clinical trial outcomes published in TCT 2021 and PCR London Valves 2021. Thanks to Professor Mao Chen and Professor Nicolo Piazza for their collaboration on the first implantation of Peijia's HighLife System, the successful implantation has further strengthened our confidence in treating mitral valve diseases with truly minimally invasive interventional technology. Peijia Medical will continue our dedication towards innovation, in the hopes that more Chinese patients who suffer from mitral valve disease can benefit from such technological advancements." Peijia's HighLife TSMVR system represents the state-of-the-art mitral valve interventional therapy, which will greatly improve the quality of life of Chinese patients with severe MR. Peijia Medical's belief "to place patients' lives and safety at the forefront through advancing the development of minimum invasive medical therapies at home and abroad" has never changed. SOURCE Peijia Medical Limited PHOENIX, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) ("Renren" or the "Company"), which operates two US-based SaaS businesses, Chime Technologies Inc. ("Chime") and Trucker Path Inc. ("Trucker Path"), today announced its unaudited financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2021. First Half of 2021 Highlights Except where specified otherwise, the following commentary compares results for the six months ended June 30, 2021 to results for the corresponding period in 2020, excluding those of Kaixin Auto Holdings ("Kaixin"). The Company completed its deconsolidation of Kaixin on June 25, 2021 through Kaixin's reverse acquisition of Haitaoche Limited ("Haitaoche"). Upon completion of the reverse acquisition, the Company's ownership interest in Kaixin decreased from 69.4% as of December 31, 2020 to 33.3% as of June 30, 2021 . The Company recognized a gain on the deconsolidation of US $123.7 million . For periods on and after June 25, 2021 , Renren is accounting for its retained non-controlling investment in Kaixin under the equity method of accounting. Total net revenues improved 91% to US$15.0 million compared to US$7.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 . Paying subscriptions to the Company's SaaS businesses, Chime and Trucker Path as of June 30, 2021 reached 2,100 and 59,000 respectively, representing an increase of 32% and 129% compared to June 30, 2020 . Chime's active seats, which are defined as eligible users on a paid subscription and registered to use the platform, increased to 16,100 from 6,900. Gross Margins from the Company's SaaS businesses ended the period at 84% as compared to 79% for the corresponding period ended June 30, 2020 . When compared to RenRen's consolidated Gross Margins while operating Kaixin, margins increased 67%, from 17% for the six months ended June 30, 2020 . This increase is primarily due to the deconsolidation of the Kaixin auto business which has historically operated at lower margins than the SaaS businesses. Operating loss of US$7.1 million , improved 60% from that of US$17.9 million in the corresponding period in 2020. Net loss from continuing operations attributable to the Company was US$49.7 million , compared to that of US$13.3 million in the corresponding period in 2020. Adjusted loss from operations (1) (non-GAAP) of US$2.8 million , improved from an adjusted loss from operations of US$8.0 million in the corresponding period in 2020. Adjusted net income from continuing operations (1) (non-GAAP) was US$1.9million , compared to an adjusted net loss from continuing operations of US$3.9 million in the corresponding period in 2020. The Company's cash and cash equivalents increased to US$70.6 million from US$19.6 million at December 31, 2020 mainly due to the repayment of a promissory note from a related party. (1) Adjusted loss from operations and adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations are non-GAAP measures. Adjusted loss from operations is defined as loss from operations excluding share-based compensation expenses and amortization of intangible assets, and adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations is defined as net (loss) income from continuing operations excluding share-based compensation expenses, fair value change of contingent consideration, amortization of intangible assets and pick up of loss from the equity method investment in Kaixin. See "About Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below. First Half 2021 Results The Company The following results compare the first half of 2021 to the results for the first half of 2020, excluding Kaixin. Total net revenues from SaaS and other for the first half of 2021 were US$15.0 million compared to US$7.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020, representing a 91% increase from the corresponding period in 2020. The Company's paying subscriptions at June 30, 2021 for Chime and Trucker Path increased to 2,100 and 59,000, by 32% and 129%, respectively compared to June 30, 2020. Active seats for Chime, defined as eligible users on a paid subscription and registered to use the platform, increased to 16,100 from 6,900 while total users on Trucker Path increased to 834,100 from 669,700. Gross Margins from SaaS and other were 84% in the first half of 2021 compared to 79% in the first half of 2020. Consolidated Gross Margins for the six months ended June 30, 2020 were 17% and included results of operations derived from the Kaixin business, which was deconsolidated on June 25, 2021. Operating expenses were US$19.6 million, a 19% decrease from the corresponding period of 2020. The decreased spending resulted from lower SBC which decreased to US$4.3 million in the first half of 2021 from US$9.8 million in the first half of 2020. Selling and marketing expenses were US$6.1 million, a 28% increase from the corresponding period of 2020. The increase corresponds to the Company's increased marketing and promotional activities. Research and development expenses were US$4.7 million, a 25% decrease from the corresponding period in 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in headcount and general operating expenses of the IT team. General and administrative expenses were US$8.9 million, a 33% decrease from the corresponding period in 2020. The decrease was primarily due to lower share-based compensation expense, offset by an increase in legal fees related to the proposed settlement of RenRen shareholder derivative lawsuits. Share-based compensation expenses, included in operating expenses, were US$4.3 million, compared to US$9.8 million in the corresponding period in 2020. Loss from operations of US$7.1 million, improved from that of US$17.9 million in the corresponding period in 2020. Net loss from continuing operations attributable to the Company was US$49.7 million, compared to that of US$13.3 million in the corresponding period in 2020. Adjusted loss from operations (non-GAAP) was US$2.8 million, improved from that of US$8.0 million in the corresponding period in 2020. Adjusted loss from operations is defined as loss from operations excluding share-based compensation expenses and amortization of intangible assets. Adjusted net income from continuing operations (non-GAAP) was US$1.9 million, compared to an adjusted net loss from continuing operations of US$3.9 million in the corresponding period in 2020. Adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations is defined as net (loss) income from continuing operations excluding share-based compensation expenses, fair value change of contingent consideration, amortization of intangible assets and pick up of loss from equity method investment in Kaixin. Business Outlook The Company expects to generate revenues in an amount ranging from US$32.2 million to US$34.2 million for the fiscal year 2021. This forecast reflects the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change. Deconsolidation of Kaixin Auto Holdings On June 25, 2021, Kaixin Auto Holdings ("Kaixin") completed a reverse acquisition with Haitaoche Limited ("Haitaoche"), in which Kaixin issued an aggregate of 74,035,502 ordinary shares to acquire 100% of the share capital of Haitaoche (the "Issuance"). Following the Issuance, Renren owned less than 50% of Kaixin's total outstanding ordinary shares and lost control of Kaixin. Following the Issuance, the management of Haitaoche became the management of Kaixin and obtained the right to elect a majority of Kaixin's board of directors. Haitaoche was not a related party to Renren before the Issuance. Under GAAP, loss of control of a subsidiary is deemed to have occurred when, among other things, a parent Company owns less than a majority of the outstanding common stock of the subsidiary, and is unable to unilaterally control the subsidiary through other means such as having the ability or being able to obtain the ability to elect a majority of the subsidiary's Board of Directors. Renren determined that all of those loss of control factors were present with respect to Kaixin on June 25, 2021. Accordingly, Renren deconsolidated Kaixin's financial statements and results of operations from Renren, effective June 25, 2021, in accordance with ASC 810-10-40-4(c), Consolidation, which is referred to as the "Kaixin Deconsolidation" in this press release. For periods on and after June 25, 2021, Renren is accounting for its retained noncontrolling investment in Kaixin under the equity method of accounting. Renren held 47.8 million shares of Kaixin ordinary shares, or approximately 33.3% of Kaixin outstanding ordinary shares as of June 30, 2021 and thus became a related party to Kaixin. In connection with the Kaixin Deconsolidation and in accordance with ASC 810, Renren recorded a gain on deconsolidation of US$123.7 million related to the remeasurement of its retained interest in 33.3% of Kaixin ordinary shares from cost to fair value based on the share price as of June 25, 2021. The gain is included in the income from discontinued operation, net of tax, in the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the half year ended June 30, 2021. Kaixin's results of operations for the period from January 1, 2021 through June 24, 2021, the date immediately preceding the Kaixin Deconsolidation, and for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, shown in the table below, are included in the consolidated results of operations of Renren as net gain/loss from the discontinued operations, net of nil taxes, for those respective periods, after intercompany eliminations, as applicable. For the Period from January 1, 2021 through June 24, 2021 Year Ended December 31, 2020 Year Ended December 31, 2019 (in thousands of U.S. dollars) Loss from Discontinued Operations, net of nil taxes $(10,896) $(5,320) $(69,068) RenRen Settlement On October 7, 2021, Renren entered into a Stipulation of Settlement (the "Stipulation") as a nominal defendant with respect to the consolidated shareholder derivative lawsuits currently pending in New York State Supreme Court (the "Court") with other defendants and the plaintiffs who have brought claims derivatively on behalf of Renren (the "Action"). The Stipulation contemplated (a) the Action will be dismissed with prejudice, (b) the claims brought by the plaintiffs against the defendants will be released, and (c) the administrator approved by the Court will distribute the Settlement Fund (as defined below) pursuant to the Stipulation (the "Settlement"). As the claims are brought nominally in the name of Renren, the plaintiffs purport to asset claims on behalf Renren and do not seek to impose any liability on Renren. Renren is a party to the settlement agreement but did not contribute any amount to the Settlement or any amount for the administration of the Settlement. In connection with the Settlement, Oak Pacific Investment and Duff & Phelps, LLC will contribute to a settlement fund (the "Settlement Fund"), which amount before any deduction of expenses will be the greater of $300,000,000 or the sum of (a) $38.6866 per ADS multiplied by the number of issued and outstanding ADSs as of the record date set by Renren's Board of Directors after the approval of the Settlement by the Court (the "Record Date") and (b) $0.859701 per Class A ordinary share multiplied by the total number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares as of the Record Date. However, the defendants and certain current or former Renren directors and/or officers specifically identified in the Stipulation will not be entitled to receive any of the Settlement Fund. During a hearing held before the Court on December 9, 2021, the Court announced that it intended to deny the motion to approve the Stipulation. Subsequently, on December 10, 2021, the Court issued a written order formally denying the motion to approve the Stipulation, and set a subsequent hearing on January 31, 2022. The Court rejected the procedure under the Stipulation for setting the Record Date for determining the holders of Renren's Class A ordinary shares and ADSs entitled to distributions from the Settlement Fund. The Court also stated that the proposed fee award to plaintiffs' counsel was too high. The plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal with the Court on December 15, 2021. Conference Call Information The Company will not host a conference call. Please contact our Investor Relations Department if you have any questions. About Renren Inc. Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) operates several US-based SaaS businesses including Chime, Inc. and Trucker Path. Renren's American depositary shares, each of which currently represents forty-five Class A ordinary shares, trade on NYSE under the symbol "RENN". Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of 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" and similar statements. Among other things, the business outlook for the second half of 2020 and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Renren's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Renren may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), 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 Renren'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: Renren's goals and strategies; Renren's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Renren's expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its services; Renren's plans to enhance user experience, infrastructure and service offerings. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in our annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and Renren does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. About Non-GAAP Financial Measures To supplement Renren's consolidated financial results presented in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), Renren uses "adjusted loss from operations" and "adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations" which are defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the SEC, in evaluating its business. Renren defines adjusted loss from operations as loss from operations excluding share-based compensation expenses and amortization of intangible assets, and adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations as net (loss) income from continuing operations excluding share-based compensation expenses, fair value change of contingent consideration, amortization of intangible assets, and the pick-up of loss from equity method investment in Kaixin. Renren continuously and periodically reviews its operating results and business performance. Starting from the first quarter of 2018, there was a significant impact on net (loss) income due to the material and significant noncash amount of fair value change of contingent consideration relating to the used auto dealerships of the emerging used auto business. Kaixin completed the reverse acquisition with Haitaoche on June 25, 2021, which created significant goodwill on Kaixin's financial statements and a significant portion of such goodwill was impaired as of June 30, 2021. Subsequent to completion of the reverse acquisition, Renren started to account for its 33.3% retained non-controlling investment in Kaixin under the equity method of accounting. Due to the nature of the business, Renren believes that in disclosing adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations by excluding the impact of fair value changes and pick-up of equity method investment loss derived from Kaixin's goodwill impairment and also non-cash expenses for i) share-based compensation, and ii) intangible asset amortization, RenRen more appropriately presents its results of operations, and provides investors with useful information to understand Renren's business performance. To facilitate investors' and analysts' comparative analysis, the aforesaid impact is presented retrospectively in "Reconciliation of non-GAAP results of operations measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures". Renren presents adjusted loss from operations and adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations because they are used by Renren's management to evaluate its operating performance. Renren also believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating Renren's consolidated results of operations in the same manner as Renren's management and in comparing financial results across accounting periods and to those of Renren's peer companies. These non-GAAP financial measures are not intended to be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Reconciliation of non-GAAP results of operations measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures" at the end of this release. RENREN INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED) (In thousands of US dollars) As of December 31, June 30, 2020 2021 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 19,630 $ 70,611 Restricted cash 14,457 9,234 Accounts receivable, net 474 376 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 2,196 4,495 Amounts due from related parties 764 5,328 Inventory 704 649 Amount due from subsidiary held for sale 2,255 - Current assets held for sale 48,467 - Total current assets 88,947 90,693 Non-current assets: Property and equipment, net 439 260 Goodwill and intangible assets, net 449 449 Long-term investments 53,641 127,386 Amount due from related parties- non-current 67,985 - Right-of-use lease assets 2,135 1,579 Other non-current assets 77 92 Total non-current assets 124,726 129,766 TOTAL ASSETS $ 213,673 $ 220,459 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 951 $ 925 Short-term debt 11,400 1,585 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 10,834 11,635 Short-term lease liabilities 1,409 1,304 Amounts due to related parties 697 999 Deferred revenue and advance from customers 602 1,297 Income tax payable 13,841 14,547 Contingent consideration 407 256 Current liabilities held for sale 40,962 - Total current liabilities 81,103 32,548 Non-current liabilities: Long-term debt 1,585 - Long-term lease liabilities 589 100 Long-term contingent consideration 1,652 1,041 Total non-current liabilities 3,826 1,141 TOTAL LIABILITIES $ 84,929 $ 33,689 Shareholders' Equity: Class A ordinary shares 770 806 Class B ordinary shares 305 305 Additional paid-in capital 741,130 754,771 Statutory reserves 6,712 6,712 Accumulated deficit (634,054) (567,263) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (9,706) (9,933) Total Renren Inc. shareholders' equity 105,157 185,398 Noncontrolling interests 23,587 1,372 TOTAL EQUITY 128,744 186,770 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $ 213,673 $ 220,459 RENREN INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) (In thousands of US dollars, except share data and per share data, ADS data, and per ADS data) For the six months ended June 30, 2020 2021 Net revenues $ 7,865 $ 14,992 Cost of revenues (1,618) (2,472) Gross profit 6,247 12,520 Operating expenses: Selling and marketing (4,750) (6,072) Research and development (6,198) (4,664) General and administrative (13,234) (8,875) Total operating expenses (24,182) (19,611) Loss from operations (17,935) (7,091) Other income 427 404 Fair value change of contingent consideration 557 761 Interest income 3,729 143 Interest expenses (172) (51) Total other income, net 4,541 1,257 Loss before provision of income tax and loss in equity method investments (13,394) (5,834) Income tax expenses - - Loss before loss in equity method investments and noncontrolling interest (13,394) (5,834) Income (Loss) in equity method investments, net of tax 79 (43,586) Loss from continuing operations (13,315) (49,420) Discontinued operation: Loss from operations of discontinued operation net of income tax (5,790) (10,896) Gain on deconsolidation of the discontinued operation, net of income tax - 123,667 (Loss) income from discontinued operation, net of tax (5,790) 112,771 Net (loss) income (19,105) 63,351 Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests 2,528 3,440 Net loss from continuing operations attributable to Renren Inc. (13,315) (49,655) Net (loss) income from discontinued operations attributable to Renren Inc. (3,262) 116,446 Net (loss) income attributable to Renren Inc. $ (16,577) 66,791 Net loss per share from continuing operations attributable to Renren Inc. shareholders: Basic and diluted (0.013) (0.046) Net (loss) income per share from discontinued operations attributable to Renren Inc. shareholders: Basic and diluted (0.003) 0.108 Net (loss) income per share attributable to Renren Inc. shareholders: Basic and diluted (0.016) 0.062 Net (loss) income attributable to Renren Inc. shareholders per ADS*: Basic and diluted (0.704) 2.776 Weighted average number of shares used in calculating net (loss) income per ordinary share attributable to Renren Inc. shareholders: Basic and diluted 1,058,890,544 1,082,621,413 * Each ADS represents 45 Class A ordinary shares. Reconciliation of Non-GAAP results of operations measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures (In thousands of US dollars) For the six months ended June 30, 2020 2021 Loss from operations $ (17,935) $ (7,091) Add back: Share-based compensation expenses 9,783 4,292 Add back: Amortization of intangible assets 192 - Adjusted loss from operations $ (7,960) $ (2,799) Net loss from continuing operations $ (13,315) $ (49,420) Add back: Pick up of loss from the equity method investment in Kaixin* - 47,837 Add back: Share-based compensation expenses 9,783 4,292 Less: Fair value change of contingent consideration (557) (761) Add back: Amortization of intangible assets 192 - Adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations $ (3,897) $ 1,948 * Represents pick up of net loss from equity method investment in KAIXIN AUTO HOLDINGS, in which the Company retained a non-controlling interest after deconsolidating it on June 25, 2021. During the period from June 25, 2021 to June 30, 2021, the loss picked up from Kaixin raised from Kaixin's Goodwill impairment, and excluded in from the net loss from continuing operations to get to the non-GAAP adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations. SOURCE Renren Inc. BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Scout Clean Energy ("Scout"), a Colorado based renewable energy developer, owner and operator is pleased to announce the acquisition of the utility-scale Blue Sky Solar ("Blue Sky") project from its original developer, RES (Renewable Energy Systems). The approved development plans call for the installation of a 369 MWdc solar facility to be located on 2,700 acres of land in Grundy County, IL. "We are pleased to complete another renewables investment with the team at RES," said Michael Rucker, CEO and founder of Scout Clean Energy. "The Blue Sky project is one of the largest solar projects approved to date in the PJM and is the second Midwest solar project Scout has added to its expanding renewables portfolio this year. Blue Sky is a uniquely located project enabling the supply of significant solar power to the Greater Chicago region. Blue Sky further diversifies our fleet across wind, solar and storage. Scout will close out 2021 with over 12,000 MWdc in our development pipeline and more than 1,200 MWdc of renewable projects in operation across the United States." Blue Sky received unanimous approval for a Special Use Permit with Grundy County in December 2020, under the established Grundy County Solar Ordinance. RES began land acquisition and interconnection studies on the site in 2018. The project should receive its full interconnection agreement in the third quarter of 2022. "We are excited to be working with Scout Clean Energy again," said John Rohde, CEO of RES in the Americas. "We are proud of our work in developing projects that focus on clean energy and a sustainable future. This deal and our partnership with Scout bring us closer to our vision of a future where everyone has access to affordable zero carbon energy." The Blue Sky facility will be constructed near Morris, Illinois and is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2024. Upon reaching commercial operations, Blue Sky will provide an estimated 585,000 megawatt hours of carbon-free, renewable electricity to the PJM grid each year, enough to power over 67,000 Illinois homes. "Scout expects to invest over $400 million to bring Blue Sky through construction and into operations and will support over twenty new jobs in the ongoing operations phase. The power generated from this project will enable Scout to bring the many benefits of low cost and carbon-free solar energy to central Illinois," explained Rucker. The project has a finalized and executed Property Tax Abatement Agreement in place with all taxing jurisdictions in Grundy County. It is estimated that the county taxing jurisdictions will receive $36.3 million in tax revenue over the life of the project, including $25.4 million slated to the local school district alone. "Scout has accomplished so much in the last year which is a testament to our incredible team of experienced renewable energy professionals and to the ongoing support provided by our sponsor, Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners," continued Rucker. "Blue Sky Solar is among our first utility- scale solar projects and is another major step in Scout's rapid growth as a leading US renewable energy developer, owner and operator. We expect to announce further project investments and closings of PPAs in early 2022." Scout is a portfolio company of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a specialist global investment manager focused exclusively on renewables, storage, and grid support infrastructure. About Scout Clean Energy Scout Clean Energy (www.scoutcleanenergy.com) is a renewable energy developer, owner-operator headquartered in Boulder, Colorado with over 1,200 MW of operating assets. Scout is actively developing a portfolio of over 12,000 MW of onshore wind, solar PV, and battery storage projects across 17 US states. Scout has expertise in all aspects of renewables project development, permitting, power marketing, finance, construction, 24/7 operations, and asset management. Scout is a portfolio company of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners. About Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (http://www.quinbrook.com) is a specialist investment manager focused exclusively on renewables, storage and grid support infrastructure and operational asset management in the US, UK, and Australia. Quinbrook is led and managed by a senior team of power industry professionals who have collectively invested c.USD 8.2 billion equity in energy infrastructure assets since the early 1990s, representing a total enterprise value of c.USD 28.7 billion or 19.5 GW of power supply capacity. Quinbrook has completed a diverse range of direct investments in both utility and distributed scale onshore wind and solar power, battery storage, reserve peaking capacity, biomass, fugitive methane recovery, hydro and flexible energy management solutions in the US, UK, and Australia. About RES RES is the world's largest independent renewable energy company active in onshore and offshore wind, solar, energy storage and transmission and distribution. At the forefront of the industry for over 40 years, RES has delivered more than 22GW of renewable energy projects across the globe and supports an operational asset portfolio exceeding 7.5GW worldwide for a large client base. Understanding the unique needs of corporate clients, RES has secured 1.5GW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) enabling access to energy at the lowest cost. RES employs more than 2,000 people and is active in 10 countries. CONTACT: Chad Thompson 901-331-0779 SOURCE Scout Clean Energy NEW YORK, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against ON24, Inc. ("ON24" or the "Company") (NYSE: ONTF) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and docketed under 21-cv-08744, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired ON24 securities: under Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") against (i) ON24, Inc. ("ON24" or the "Company") and (ii) certain of the Company's senior executives and directors who signed the Registration Statement, effective February 2, 2021, issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering (the "IPO" or the "Offering"). Plaintiffs allege that the Registration Statement and Prospectus (collectively, the "Offering Documents"), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 8, 2021 and February 4, 2021, respectively, including all amendments thereto, contained materially incorrect or misleading statements and/or omitted material information that was required by law to be disclosed. Defendants are each strictly liable for such misstatements and omissions therefrom (subject only to their ability to establish a "due diligence" affirmative defense) and as so liable in their capacities as signers of the Registration Statement and/or as an issuer, statutory seller, and/or offeror of the shares sold pursuant to the Offering. If you are a shareholder who purchased ON24 common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents issued in connection with the Company's IPO and ON24 securities during the Class Period, you have until January 3, 2022 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. [Click here for information about joining the class action] ON24 purports to be a leading, cloud-based digital experience platform that enables businesses to convert customer engagement into revenue through interactive webinar experiences, virtual event experiences, and multimedia content experiences. The complaint alleges that, the Offering Documents' representations were materially inaccurate, misleading, and/or incomplete because they failed to disclose, inter alia, that the surge in COVID-19 customers ON24 observed in the lead up to the IPO consisted of a significant number that did not fit ON24's traditional customer profile and, as a result, were significantly less likely to renew their contracts. On August 10, 2021, after the markets closed and in connection with announcing the Company's second quarter 2021 financial results, ON24 offered guidance for the remainder of the year. Specifically, ON24 guided to revenue of no more than $48.5 million in Q3 and $204.5 million for fiscal year 2021, missing analyst consensus by $2.7 million and $4.5 million, respectively. During the Company's analyst call held that same day, Defendant Sharat Sharan, President and Chief Executive Officer of ON24, admitted that ON24 "experienced higher-than-expected churn and down-sell from customers [it] signed up in the second quarter of last year during the peak of COVID." (Emphasis added.) He then added, "this higher churn was primarily in the first-time renewal cohort, customers who signed [] [one]-year contracts last year and who were up for renewal." Analysts at Piper Sandler & Co. ("Piper Sandler"), which rated ON24 as "overweight" in its August 11, 2021 report, likewise noted how the Company's second quarter results were "clearly more negative than [it] had anticipated," expressing concern over the fact that ON24's ARR had "stalled," due to "renewal downsizing and churn." Piper Sandler also noted how the "combination of renewal downsizing and higher SMB churn was accentuated by a material reduction in the 2H outlook for professional services." Analysts at Canaccord Genuity LLC ("Canaccord Genuity") also downgraded ON24 to hold on August 11, 2021 as a result of "the COVID tourist depart[ures]" ON24 observed during the quarter. (Emphasis added.) In its report, which was titled, "COVID renewals take a bite out of growth; ONTF in the penalty box, downgrade to HOLD," On this news, ON24's stock declined nearly 31%, falling from $32.31 per share on August 10, 2021 to close at $22.31 per share on August 11, 2021. By the commencement of this action, ON24's stock traded as low as $18.66 per share, a nearly 63% decline from the $50 per share IPO price. 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] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP The deal brings together the complementary strengths of both organizations, resulting in an industry powerhouse with a broad, holistic suite of best-in-class managed detection and response capabilities (MDR), professional services, and identity offerings with a global perspective to address enterprise customers' increasingly complex information security needs. Joining the forces of Herjavec, a market leader in cloud and tech-enabled co-managed SIEM, with Fishtech, a market leader in enterprise MDR, will allow the new company to provide customers with unparalleled security and cloud expertise, driving security maturity as a competitive differentiator via advanced technology and services across the industry landscape. At the time of the merger, the new organization brings together more than 600 security professionals operating out of 6 security operations centers (SOCs): Kansas City, Toronto, London, Ottawa, Arkansas, and Bangalore. The combined company will have one of the largest managed security engineering teams under one roof - entirely dedicated to delivering innovative solutions to enterprise clients. Robert Herjavec, founder of Herjavec Group, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the combined entity. Gary Fish, founder of Fishtech Group, will serve as Chairman of the Board. They will actively work to continue their track record of customer-focused success. The financial terms of the transaction (which is subject to applicable regulatory approvals) are not disclosed. Founded in 2003 and acquired by the Apax Funds in February 2021, Herjavec has been recognized as one of the world's most innovative cybersecurity firms and is currently ranked as the #1 MSSP in the world (Cyber Defense Magazine 2021 Top 100 MSSPs List). Fishtech was founded in 2016 to bring security to the cloud while identifying vulnerabilities and introducing next-generation solutions to help organizations minimize risk. "We're exceptionally proud of our results to date and even more excited about the growth to come," said Gary Fish, CEO of Fishtech. "We're honored that so many organizations trust Fishtech to be their managed solutions provider. With complementary offerings from Herjavec, we will transform the security industry globally." "We could not be more thrilled to join forces with industry pioneer Gary Fish, whom I have known for decades," said Robert Herjavec, CEO of Herjavec Group. "We are very impressed by Fishtech's MDR offerings and its proprietary platform built on Google Chronicle, which we consider highly differentiated. Jointly, we want to double down on the investment behind this market-leading solution and strengthen what are already deep partnerships. Having built one of the strongest tech teams in the industry and a leading portfolio of services, our customers will benefit from enhanced operations, getting stronger as we help accelerate their digital transformation." "We are truly excited by the combination of Herjavec and Fishtech," said Rohan Haldea, Partner at Apax. "By putting together two best-in-class organizations, we are confident that the combined platform will become an undisputed leader in cybersecurity services in the enterprise segment and have an opportunity to redefine the market category." The Apax Funds, in partnership with the newly formed company's management team, will help build on the companies' impressive growth rates to date by enhancing international expansion efforts, continuing to invest behind differentiated technology and augmenting the talented team with additional threat intelligence and identity resources. Polsinelli serves Fishtech Group as legal counsel and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Herjavec Group and Apax Funds. Momentum Cyber is serving as financial advisor to Fishtech Group and BKD, LLP as tax advisor in connection with the transaction. About Fishtech Group Fishtech Group is a leading current-generation service provider enabling secure business transformation. Fishtech's experienced cybersecurity professionals plan, produce, and implement innovative solutions that ensure security and success. Fishtech focuses on threats so you can focus on your business. Founded and led by CEO Gary Fish, Fishtech Group includes the Security-as-a-Service division CYDERES (Cyber Defense and Response). Visit Fishtech.Group or contact us at [email protected]. About Herjavec Group Robert Herjavec founded Herjavec Group in 2003 to provide cybersecurity products and services to enterprise organizations. Herjavec Group has been recognized as one of the world's most innovative cybersecurity operations leaders, and excel in complex, multi-technology environments. Herjavec Group has expertise in comprehensive security services, including Advisory Services, Technology Architecture & Implementation, Identity & Access Management, Managed Security Services, Threat Hunting & Management, Digital Forensics and Incident Response. Herjavec Group has offices and Security Operations Centers across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and India. For more information, visit HerjavecGroup.com or contact at [email protected]. About Apax Apax Partners LLP ("Apax") is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For nearly 50 years, Apax has worked to inspire growth and ideas that transform businesses. The firm has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of more than $60 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech, Services, Healthcare and Internet/Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For further information about Apax, please visit www.apax.com. SOURCE Herjavec Group Related Links www.herjavecgroup.com HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Throughout 2021, Tzadik Properties, LLC, an industry-leading, multifamily property management company, sold 20 properties in the Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota, Winter Haven, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Mount Dora, Eustis and Daytona Beach areas. The portfolio includes a total of 3,625 units. The 20 properties include: Tzadik Properties, LLC 200-unit Tzadik Millennium (4255 Barwood Drive, Orlando, FL 32839)* 32839)* 343-unit Tzadik Brookside (3997 Rosewood Way, Orlando, FL 32808; 5255 Cinderlane Parkway, Orlando, FL 32808)* 32808; 5255 Cinderlane Parkway, 32808)* 248-unit Tzadik Bay (1225 South Beach Street, Daytona Beach, FL 32114)* 32114)* 232-unit Tzadik Ridge (2050 S. Ridgewood Avenue, South Daytona, FL 32119)* 32119)* 119-unit Tzadik Park (1049 Brentwood Drive, Daytona Beach, FL 32117)* 32117)* 100-unit Tzadik Rose (200 Robert Street , New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168)* , 32168)* 264-unit Bella Mar (12406 N. 15th Street, Tampa, FL 33612)** (12406 N. 15th Street, 33612)** 120-unit Lago Bello (13533 Gragston Circle, Tampa, FL 33613)** (13533 Gragston Circle, 33613)** 160-unit Del Rio (5013 E Sligh Ave Tampa, FL 33617)** (5013 E Sligh Ave 33617)** 183-unit Timberfalls (2600 E 113th Ave Hillsborough County, Tampa, FL 33612)** 33612)** 119-unit North Washington (1877 19th Street Sarasota, FL 34234)** 34234)** 320-unit Kings Trail (3770 Toledo Road, Jacksonville, FL 32217)** 32217)** 173-unit Jacksonville Heights (8050 103rd Street, Jacksonville, FL 32210)** 32210)** 374-unit Lakeland Manor (929 Gilmore Avenue, Lakeland, FL 33801)** 33801)** 82-unit Brandywyne (418 19th Street SE, Winter Haven, FL 33884)** 33884)** 60-unit The Landings (102 Landings Way, Winter Haven, FL 33880)** 33880)** 18-unit Country Place (3950 Country Place, Winter Haven, FL 33880)** 33880)** 240-unit Rolling Hills (5402 Pine Chase Drive, Orlando, FL 32808)** 32808)** 132-unit Mount Dora (3001 Northland Road, Mount Dora, FL 32757)** (3001 Northland Road, 32757)** 138-unit Tanglewood (2811 Ruleme Street, Eustis, FL 32726)** "We are extremely pleased to have sold these 20 properties throughout the state of Florida," said Tzadik Properties, LLC Chief Executive Officer Adam Marcus Hendry. "The sale of this Florida portfolio shows how Tzadik Properties is continuing to evolve." About Tzadik Properties, LLC Tzadik Properties, LLC is a growing, innovative and driven real estate and property management company based in South Florida. Since its formation in 2007, Tzadik has managed more than $1 billion in apartment complexes, over 15 million square feet of commercial real estate, and more than 19,000 units in over 20 states. Through excellent management, a focus on company culture, and a tech-driven style of operating, Tzadik has established a reputation for "Building Lasting Relationships." In 2020, Tzadik acquired JM Real Estate, Inc., a full-service, commercial property management, leasing, sales and investment acquisition company that is located in Brevard County, Florida, and serves from Titusville to Palm Bay. Tzadik is also one of the largest owner-operators in South Dakota. Tzadik's CEO Adam Hendry founded L'Chaim Farm, a family-oriented farm that offers Kosher products, horseback riding lessons, after school programs for children, stall rentals, and events and party rentals. The urban farm, which is located in the heart of an orthodox Jewish neighborhood bordering Dania Beach and Hollywood, FL, is the only Cholov Yisroel Kosher Farm in Florida. For more information about Tzadik, visit https://tz-m.com or call (305) 770-6383. Editor's Note: * Properties closed December 16, 2021. Mike Donaldson with Cushman and Wakefield was the listing agent, and the buyer is Elandis. Lument provided financing. **Properties closed May 4, 2021. No listing or sales agent involved in transaction. Wells Fargo provided financing. Contact: Duree & Company, PR Consultant 954-723-9350 / [email protected] SOURCE Tzadik Properties, LLC HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce appointed LyNea "LB" Bell as President of the Hollywood Chapter effective December 1, 2021. Bell has a history of community involvement, business leadership and working with non-profit organizations. Hollywood Chamber logo LyNea Bell The Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce (SCBCC) is a business organization dedicated to improving the economic environment for the minority business community and fostering business development and prosperity, placing particular focus on economic development, community development, public policy, and membership services. Bell is an avid entrepreneur and business owner raised around a rich history in community development and growth. She has gained her insight being the daughter of Regina Bell-Roberts, a quadriplegic who raised triplets while being appointed by the Seattle Governor to the legislative wing on the Committee of Disability Issues and Employment. "I am honored to be a part of the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce and I look forward to serving the business owners within the Hollywood and surrounding communities," says Bell. "My goal is to network within our communities, successfully partnering with businesses to build strong economic opportunities that will further sprout growth. SCBCC supplies the channels of information so we as a community can gain access and provide knowledge to utilize the resources available. As business owners and leaders in our community, we must do everything to empower economic increase. My plans are to provide access to all available grants, loans, and any type of assistance available, to empower business owners to be prepared and ready to take advantage of those programs as they come." As SCBCC Hollywood President, Bell will serve the minority-owned business community of Hollywood, and the surrounding cities of North Hollywood, Inglewood, West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Burbank, Glendale & Van Nuys. To learn more about LyNea "LB" Bell, please visit her website. To learn more about the SCBCC and become a member, please visit the organization's website. More about LyNea "LB" Bell With more than 15 years of experience as a Theatrical & Literary Agent, Product Endorsement Specialist, and CEO as well as Founder of BH Talent, LyNea "LB" Bell continues to impact the industry with innovative solutions and creative ideas. Bell is known to be the first, and currently the only African American woman to launch a global search engine called GOTCONN. In a nutshell, users can search the internet without being tracked or traced. GOTCONN offers a "Your Search, Your Choice" experience. User info data stays anonymous and is never stored. Users are provided the results requested while maintaining their privacy when searching on the internet. LyNea "LB" Bell's most recent contribution to today's functioning society is the social media platform called GOT-CONNECTIONS , where people can connect. GOT CONNECTIONS FOUNDATION is a recognized 501(c)(3) launched with the vision to create outreach and literacy programs to build and restore local communities, with a global goal in mind. LyNea "LB" Bell is not slowing down and has understood the assignment. She is creating products, processes, and platforms that doesn't just serve her interest, but truly the interest of a better world. For more information, contact Michelle at [email protected] or call 323-596-7827. SOURCE LyNea Bell This UK based Blockchain technology company is looking like a strong competitor when compared to the current platforms that make up the retail trading landscape, StrikeX's range of next-generation products will change how users trade cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets and stocks. StrikeX is extremely close to releasing their crypto wallet and is set to be officially released early next year, a development certain to take the project a step closer to market domination through providing features that current market leaders are withholding for premium members or do not provide at all, StrikeX aim to create all the tools required by crypto traders & HODLers to benefit from, at no additional cost. The powerful StrikeX crypto wallet is equipped with a huge range of helpful tools like in-depth portfolio and market tracking, allowing you to monitor your portfolio's overall profit & loss over any timescale of your choosing with the combined asset charting feature. The StrikeX wallet will also offer instant fiat-to-crypto deposits and withdrawals directly to your bank account, and will be Visa, Mastercard and Apply Pay friendly, meaning buying and selling your crypto has never been this simple. The DEX will also be integrated into the wallet meaning users will be able to exchange their BSC tokens without the need to visit an external website, it's as easy as clicking on the swap icon and initiating your swaps from within the app. StrikeX also have their sights set on Cross-Chain compatibility, which means that different blockchains will be able to communicate with each other through the StrikeX wallet which is a game-changing feature, more details are to be announced soon. StrikeX are creating their own platforms to give everyone equal opportunities to trade, they believe that no matter where in the world you are or how much you have to invest, the same tools should be available to you. Many projects claim to be community-driven but none are pushing the envelope quite like StrikeX are, keep up to date using the links below: Useful links: Website: https://strikex.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/strikexofficial Discord: https://discord.com/invite/tradestrike Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strikex_official/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tradestrike YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ_gCf9-Tnr7JeoFiSkl7SQ SOURCE StrikeX Technologies Limited Related Links https://strikex.com/ DUBLIN, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Healthcare Staffing Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Healthcare Staffing Market Trends: The increasing geriatric population around the world represents one of the major factors contributing to the market growth. Apart from this, the rising awareness about the benefits of temporary staffing, job-related perks, and the availability of opportunities across different countries are among the other factors propelling the growth of the market. Additionally, healthcare staffing services are widely used on account of the increasing shortage of healthcare professionals. These services also provide travel opportunities, short-term assignments, flexible work schedules and clinical experience at different locations. Apart from this, the recruitment process via healthcare staffing is faster and allows recruiters worldwide to choose from a diverse range of candidates. This, in confluence with the growing trend of appointing travel nurses, is creating a favorable outlook for the market. Besides this, the leading market players are engaging in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities to expand their existing geographical reach and portfolio in order to increase their market share. Overview The global healthcare staffing market exhibited moderate growth during 2015-2020. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to grow at a CAGR of 5% during 2021-2026. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Healthcare staffing assists in appointing qualified and skilled healthcare professionals. It offers a diverse network of professionals, sourcing strategies and clinical expertise. It also enhances patient satisfaction by filling staffing gaps, ensuring clinician quality and increasing the hospital consumer assessment of healthcare providers and systems (HCAHPS) score. As a result, healthcare staffing services are widely being adopted in hospitals, home care companies, nursing homes, clinics, physician practices, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, schools, and healthcare software companies across the globe. Key Market Segmentation: The publisher provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global healthcare staffing market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2021-2026. Our report has categorized the market based on service type. Breakup by Service Type: Travel Nurse Staffing Per Diem Nurse Staffing Locum Tenens Staffing Allied Healthcare Staffing Breakup by Region: North America United States Canada Asia-Pacific China Japan India South Korea Australia Indonesia Others Europe Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain Russia Others Latin America Brazil Mexico Others Middle East and Africa Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being Adecco Group Amn Healthcare Services Inc. CHG Management Inc. Cross Country Healthcare Inc. Envisions Healthcare Corporation (KKR & Co. Inc.) LHC Group Inc LocumTenens.com (Jackson Healthcare LLC) Maxim Healthcare Group Syneos Health Inc. TeamHealth Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global healthcare staffing market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global healthcare staffing market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the service type? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global healthcare staffing market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8nr3um 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 WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, announced that Marc N. Casper, chairman, president and chief executive officer, will present virtually at the 2022 Goldman Healthcare CEOs Unscripted Conference on Thursday, January 6, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. (EDT). You can access the webcast of the presentation via the Investors section of our website, www.thermofisher.com. About Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue of approximately $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team of more than 100,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com. Media Contact Information: Ron O'Brien Thermo Fisher Scientific Investor Contact Information: Rafael Tejada Thermo Fisher Scientific Phone: 781-622-1242 Phone: 781-622-1356 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific Tint World Goodlettsville, TN will offer the latest in ultra-premium window tint, automotive aftermarket accessories, automotive reconditioning, and a team of experienced installers and technicians. "Brian's experience in automotive styling will make this store a must-visit destination for any vehicle styling enthusiast in the Goodlettsville area," said Charles J. Bonfiglio, president and CEO of Tint World. "Under his direction, we know we'll see nothing but success from Brian. The people in the area can expect good things from this location!" Tint World Goodlettsville, TN is located at 500 S Main St, Goodlettsville, TN 37072. To book a service or find out more about what the store offers, call (615) 549-7211 or visit them online at: https://www.tintworld.com/locations/tn/goodlettsville-117/. Tint World Automotive Styling Centers offer sales and installation of auto accessories, mobile electronics, audio video equipment, security systems, custom wheels and tire packages, window tinting, vehicle wraps, paint protection films, detailing services, nano ceramic coatings, maintenance and repair services, and more. Tint World is also the leading provider of residential, commercial and marine computerized window tinting and security film services with locations throughout the U.S. and abroad, with franchise opportunities available worldwide. About Tint World Founded in 1982, Tint World Automotive Styling Centers is America's largest and fastest-growing automotive accessories and window tinting international franchise, specializing in car and truck accessories, mobile electronics, audio-video equipment, security systems, detailing services, nano ceramic coatings, custom wheel and tire packages, maintenance and repair services, and much more. Tint World services include residential, commercial, and marine window tinting films, solar films, decorative films, safety, and security films. Tint World has locations in the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, with master franchise opportunities available worldwide. To find out more, please visit www.TintWorld.com or www.TintWorldFranchise.com. Tint World Contact: Charles J. Bonfiglio, CEO (888) 944-8648 [email protected] MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Ripley Ripley PR 865-977-1973 [email protected] SOURCE Tint World DUBLIN, Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Transit Cards Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global transit cards market grew at a CAGR of around 5% during 2015-2020. A transit card, or travel card, is a pocket-sized ticket or pass issued to the passenger to take unlimited or pre-defined bus, train or metro trips. The card is usually manufactured using polyvinyl chloride and consists of an embedded integrated circuit, a microcontroller and a secured memory chip. It is primarily used for authentication and identification in public transportation systems and are available in contact-based, contactless, dual interface and hybrid variants. In comparison to the traditionally used magnetic passes and paper-based ticketing systems, transit cards are highly reliable, convenient to use and have minimal risks of fraudulent activities. Significant growth in the transportation industry, along with the digitization of technologies used for public transportation, is one of the key factors creating a positive outlook for the market. With rapid urbanization and the increasing requirement for effective passenger mobility solutions, there is a rising demand for modern ticketing systems. In line with this, the adoption of multi-application transit cards is also contributing to the market growth. Various product innovations, such as the development of tamper-resistant transit cards that can be accessed only through a personal identification number (PIN), are acting as other major growth-inducing factors. Product manufacturers are also developing advanced contactless transit cards that can be waved over a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) for convenient passage of the users. Other factors, including an extensive increase in the global population, along with significant improvements in the existing transportation infrastructure, especially in the developing countries, are anticipated to drive the market further. Looking forward, the publisher expects the global transit cards market to exhibit moderate growth during the next five years. Key Market Segmentation: The publisher provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global transit cards market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2021-2026. Our report has categorized the market based on region, product, type and application. Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global transit cards market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global transit cards market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the product? What is the breakup of the market based on the type? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global transit cards market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being: 4G Identity Solutions Private Ltd. (Goldstone Technologies Ltd.) Beijing Watchdata Co. Ltd. Cardlogix Corporation Eastcompeace Technology Co. Ltd Entrust Corporation Giesecke & Devrient GmbH Infineon Technologies AG Thales Group Watchdata Group. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1te0yl 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. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "ADME Toxicology Testing Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global ADME toxicology testing market grew at a CAGR of around 13% during 2015-2020. Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) toxicology testing is conducted at an early phase of the drug development process to determine the safety, uptake, elimination, effectiveness and metabolic behavior of a parent compound or drug in living organisms. It is generally carried out by researchers in cell-based and in vitro assays using software solutions, devices, detectors, etc. to identify active compounds, genetic interactions and other biomolecular interactions. It helps in understanding the safety and toxicity of a drug candidate before progressing it into a late stage preclinical and clinical studies, thereby saving cost, drug discovery time and test complications. The growing prevalence of diseases is increasing the requirement of novels drugs and biological products. This represents one of the key factors escalating the adoption of ADME toxicology testing to prevent the failure of candidate drugs at late-stage clinical trials. It also helps researchers to determine the viability of these drugs necessary for regulatory approval. Additionally, one of the key trends witnessed in the market is the introduction of several guidance documents by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide instruction about ADME properties when evaluating the safety and efficacy of a drug candidate. Apart from this, the introduction of software that can calculate ADME automatically is gaining traction over conventional in vitro assays and in vivo experiments. Furthermore, due to the mass outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and a significant lack of an effective vaccine or treatment, ADME toxicology testing is being utilized to calculate the efficacy of existing drugs as an alternative treatment, which is also augmenting the market growth. Looking forward, the publisher expects the global ADME toxicology testing market to exhibit strong growth during the next five years. Key Market Segmentation: The publisher provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global ADME toxicology testing market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2021-2026. Our report has categorized the market based on region, technology, product type, method and application. Breakup by Technology: Cell Culture High Throughput Screening Molecular Imaging OMICS Technology Others Breakup by Product Type: Instruments Software Solutions Assay Systems Reagents Others Breakup by Method: In-Vivo In-Vitro In-Silica Others Breakup by Application: Systemic Toxicity Renal Toxicity Hepatotoxicity Neurotoxicity Others Breakup by Region: North America United States Canada Asia-Pacific China Japan India South Korea Australia Indonesia Others Europe Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain Russia Others Latin America Brazil Mexico Others Middle East and Africa Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being: Agilent Technologies Inc. Beckman Coulter Inc. (Danaher Corporation) Bioivt LLC Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. Charles River Laboratories International Inc. Cyprotex Plc (Evotec AG) Molecular Discovery Ltd. Perkinelmer Inc. Promega Corporation Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global ADME toxicology testing market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global ADME toxicology testing market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the technology? What is the breakup of the market based on the product type? What is the breakup of the market based on the method? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global ADME toxicology testing market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bufvn0 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. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Diamond Market Size, Trends & Growth Opportunity, By product, By Application, Region and Forecast to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Diamonds are known as the hardest material on Earth, and has long-since been recognized for its beauty as a gemstone. Some 142 million carats of diamonds were estimated to have been produced from mines worldwide in 2019. Diamonds also have a high industrial value. They are especially well regarded as a material for cutting and grinding tools due to their extreme hardness Gem quality rough diamonds are sorted by size, colour, quality and shape, and then are sold to buyers in conformity with the sales policy adopted in a rough diamond production company. Depending on the quality of the mined rough diamonds, the current state of the market, the adopted marketing policy, companies use different approaches to diamond sales: sights, tenders, auctions, spot transactions and long-term contracts. Market Drivers Since the countries are making large contribution to the market hence increasing the market demand. The millennials in the country mainly contribute to the demand for diamond jewellery. This indicates a large potential for the market to expand further. Considering the growing potential for diamond jewellery in the country, the existing industry players are making attempts to further invest and expand their target audience. Development of new diamond based industrial products, targeting customers with new jewelry design, and perforation of diamond sale through e-commerce business can create significant opportunities for the market. Market Restraints Restricting imports of rough diamonds from conflict areas can hamper the market growth due to which the embargo can tighten controls on the illegal diamond trade funding civil wars hence causing hindrance to the market. Market Segmentation Globally market is segmented into product outlook and application outlook. Product outlook is classified into natural and synthetic. The piece of natural diamonds are volatile due to the uncertainty in the supply and demand. Synthetic diamonds are mainly used for industrial applications such as cutting and drilling. Whereas application outlook is classified into jewellery and industrial. Jewellery application is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.0% from 2021 to 2027. For industrial applications, synthetic or lab-grown products have significantly higher penetration. Regional Analysis Globally, diamond market can be classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa, China and Latin America. About 96% of the global diamond production in value terms falls to the share of the market's leading countries. Europe is one of the prominent markets in the globe. Fine jewellery, particularly diamond products, is gaining prominence in the European market. In the US, China and India, 60 to 70 percent of respondents believe diamonds are an essential part of a marriage engagement. Key Players The global diamond market is largely dominated by a hand-full of companies. The top three companies - Alrosa from Russia, De Beers from Luxembourg, and British-Australian Rio Tinto - account for more than 60 percent of global diamond mine production. Other companies are Harry Winston, Cartier, Tiffany & Co. Chopard , Zales, Tacori, Inc, Buccellati, James Allen, BVLGARI, Tanishq Limited. Industry development On 11 March 2021, India was all set to become a major hub of lab-grown diamonds as it accounted for about a quarter of the estimated global laboratory grown diamonds output of 6 to 7 million crates. Key Questions Addressed: What will be the CAGR of the global diamond jewellery market between 2021 and 2027? What is the revenue of the global diamond jewellery market based on respective segments? Which are the leading companies in the global diamond jewellery market? Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Global Diamond Market Outlook 4.1 Overview 4.2 Market Dynamics 4.2.1 Drivers 4.2.2 Restraints 4.2.3 Opportunities 5 Global Diamond Market, By Product 5.1 Y-o-Y Growth Comparison, By Component 5.2 Global Diamond Market Share Analysis, By Product 5.3 Global Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Product 5.3.1. Natural 5.3.2. Synthetic 6 Global Diamond Market, By Application 6.1 Y-o-Y Growth Comparison, By Application 6.2 Global Diamond Market Share Analysis, By Application 6.3 Global Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Application 6.3.1 Jewellery 6.3.2 Industrial 7. Global Diamond Market, By Region 7.1 Global Diamond Market Share Analysis, By Region 7.2 Global Diamond Market Share Analysis, By Region 7.3 Global Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Region 8. North America Diamond Market Analysis and Forecast (2021- 2027) 8.1 Introduction 8.2 North America Diamond Market Share Analysis, By Product 8.3 North America Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Application 9.5 North America Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Country 8.5.1 U.S. 8.5.2 Canada 8.5.3 Mexico 9. Europe Diamond Market Analysis and Forecast (2021-2027) 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Europe Diamond Market Share Analysis, By Product 9.3 Europe Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Application 9.5 Europe Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Country 9.5.1 Germany 9.5.2 France 9.5.3 UK 9.54. Rest of Europe 10. Asia Pacific Diamond Market Analysis and Forecast (2021-2027) 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Asia Pacific Diamond Market Share Analysis, By Product 10.3 Asia Pacific Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Application 10.5 Asia Pacific Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Country 10.5.1 China 10.5.2 Japan 10.5.3 India 10.5.4. Rest of Asia Pacific 11. Latin America Diamond Market Analysis and Forecast (2021-2027) 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Latin America Diamond Market Share Analysis, By Product 11.3 Latin America Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Application 11.5 Latin America Diamond Market Size and Forecast, Country 11.5.1. Brazil 11.5.2. Rest of Latin America 12. Middle East Diamond Market Analysis and Forecast (2021-2027) 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Middle East Diamond Market Share Analysis, By Product 12.3 Middle East Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Application 12.5 Middle East Diamond Market Size and Forecast, By Country 12.5.1. Saudi Arabia 12.5.2. UAE 12.5.3. Egypt 12.5.4 Kuwait 12.5.5. South Africa 13 Competitive Analysis 14.1 Competition Dashboard 14.2 Market share Analysis of Top Vendors 14.3 Key Development Strategies 14 Company Profiles 14.1 Alrosa 14.1.1 Overview 14.1.2 Offerings 14.1.3 Key Financials 14.1.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.1.5 Key Market Developments 14.1.6 Key Strategies 14.2. De Beers 14.2.1 Overview 14.2.2 Offerings 14.2.3 Key Financials 14.2.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.2.5 Key Market Developments 14.2.6 Key Strategies 14.3. Rio Tinto 14.3.1 Overview 14.3.2 Offerings 14.3.3 Key Financials 14.3.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.3.5 Key Market Developments 14.3.6 Key Strategies 14.4 Harry Winston 14.4.1 Overview 14.4.2 Offerings 14.4.3 Key Financials 14.4.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.4.5 Key Market Developments 14.4.6 Key Strategies 14.5 Cartier 14.5.1 Overview 14.5.2 Offerings 14.5.3 Key Financials 14.5.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.5.5 Key Market Developments 15.5.6 Key Strategies 15.6 Tiffany & Co 15.6.1 Overview 15.6.2 Offerings 15.6.3 Key Financials 15.6.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 15.6.5 Key Market Developments 15.6.6 Key Strategies 15.7 Chopard 15.7.1 Overview 15.7.2 Offerings 15.7.3 Key Financials 15.7.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 15.7.5 Key Market Developments 15.7.6 Key Strategies 15.8 Zales 15.8.1 Overview 15.8.2 Offerings 15.8.3 Key Financials 15.8.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 15.8.5 Key Market Developments 15.8.6 Key Strategies 15.9 Tacori, Inc 15.9.1 Overview 15.9.2 Offerings 15.9.3 Key Financials 15.9.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 15.9.5 Key Market Developments 15.9.6 Key Strategies 15.10 Buccellati 15.10.1 Overview 15.10.2 Offerings 15.10.3 Key Financials 15.10.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 15.10.5 Key Market Developments 15.10.6 Key Strategies 15.11 James Allen 15.11.1 Overview 15.11.2 Offerings 15.11.3 Key Financials 15.11.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 15.11.5 Key Market Developments 15.11.6 Key Strategies 15.12 BVLGARI 15.12.1 Overview 15.12.2 Offerings 15.12.3 Key Financials 15.12.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 15.122.5 Key Market Developments 15.12.6 Key Strategies 15.13 Tanishq Limited 15.13.1 Overview 15.13.2 Offerings 15.13.3 Key Financials 15.13.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 15.13.5 Key Market Developments 15.13.6 Key Strategies For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7zcp5s 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 Beirut, Dec 30 : The customs authorities at the Beirut port have seized a shipment of oranges hiding 9 million captagon pills destined for the Gulf region, the state media reported. Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi visited the Beirut port on Wednesday and inspected the shipment shortly after its seizure while assuring that Lebanon is working seriously on halting such practices, Xinhua news agency reported. Mawlawi addressed the Gulf countries, saying that this operation proves the readiness of Lebanese security agencies to seriously combat crime and drug smuggling. On October 29, Saudi Arabia announced a ban of all Lebanese imports following an incident in which Saudi customs found 5.3 million captagon pills hidden inside pomegranates imported from Lebanon. Baghdad, Dec 30 : The Iraqi security forces killed five militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group during a three-day security operation in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, the Iraqi military has said. Yahia Rasoul, Spokesperson of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi forces, said on Wednesday in a statement that the Iraqi forces, backed by the country's aircraft, launched a major operation on Sunday morning in Himreen mountain range in the north of the provincial capital Baquba, nearly 65 km northeast of Baghdad. During the operation, the troops found 23 IS hideouts and killed five IS militants, seizing many weapons and equipment while the Iraqi warplanes conducted 14 airstrikes on IS positions in the mountainous area, according to the statement. Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Raad al-Shammari from Diyala Operations Command told Xinhua that one of the operation's goals was to track down IS militants who kidnapped Colonel Yasser al-Jourani, Head of a passport office in Baghdad, along with three of his friends several days ago while they were on a hunting trip in a rugged area in Diyala province. Al-Shammari said the Iraqi forces found two bodies during the operation which were of al-Jourani's friends, while the third is still missing, Xinhua news agency reported. Rasoul confirmed in a separate statement that al-Jourani was also killed by IS militants after IS group claimed that its militants executed al-Jourani and posted a statement and pictures on the internet showing the killing of al-Jourani. On December 26, the Iraqi security forces, backed by Iraqi aircraft, launched an offensive aimed at hunting down IS militants, destroying their hideouts and securing the mountain range of Himreen, according to a statement by the Iraqi Army. Over the past few months, IS militants have intensified attacks on Iraqi security forces in the provinces where the militants previously controlled, leaving dozens dead and wounded. The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the Iraqi forces defeated IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have since melted into urban centres, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Shanghai, Dec 30 : Two new metro lines in Shanghai commenced operation on Thursday , which brings the total length of city's metro network to 831 km, solidifying its largest in the world status, according to authorities. The opening of the two new lines will bring the total number of fully automatic metro lines in Shanghai to five, with an operating length of 167 km, ranking first in the world for the first time, Xinhua news agency quoted the Shanghai Metro as saying. The newly opened Line 14 with an operating length of 38 km is the first fully automatic metro line for eight-carriage trains in Shanghai. With 31 stations, it is expected to serve as a horizontal artery in the metropolis. The northern part of the first phase of the newly opened Line 18 extends about 21 km with 18 stations. It is expected to significantly ease the traffic pressure in the downtown area. Seoul, Dec 30 : North Korea has discussed the country's budget for the new year at the third-day session of an ongoing meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported on Thursday. North Korea opened the 4th Plenary Meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's 8th Central Committee on Monday amid expectations Pyongyang could unveil its new policy directions on the economy and foreign affairs for the new year, reports Yonhap News Agency. "A state budget assessment group for discussing the second agenda item 'On the implementation of the state budget for 2021 and the draft state budget for 2022' was organised to study a draft document," the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Participants also continued discussions on leader Kim Jong-un's report on rural development and conclusion "on the orientation of the work of the party and state in 2022" rolled out in the earlier sessions of the plenary, according to the KCNA. Members of the party's powerful political bureau guided sectional workshops and consultative sessions, the report said, without mentioning Kim's attendance. Kim presided over the first and second-day sessions of the plenary and took "important revolutionary measures" for rural development amid the country's efforts to tackle chronic food shortages and other economic woes stemming from crippling sanctions and a prolonged border lockdown. The KCNA said the participant's enthusiasm grew after "receiving the practical program" that indicates "a new path for the development", but did not provide details. It is unclear for how long the party gathering will continue as the North has not made public the exact schedule. Previous plenary meetings were held between one and four days. New Delhi/Raipur, Dec 30 : The Chhattisgarh Police on Thursday arrested Kalicharan Maharaj for allegedly using derogatory language against Mahatma Gandhi from Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho. The police had registered an FIR against the religious leader and others for allegedly making derogatory comments on Mahatma Gandhi and praising Nathuram Godse. On the complaint of former Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Pramod Dubey, the police registered the FIR under section 505(2), 294 IPC in the Tikrapara Police station. The event 'Dharam Sansad' was organised on Sunday (December 26) in Raipur. The Raipur event was orgainsed at Rawanbhata in which Sant Kalicharan Maharaj is alleged to have used derogatory words for Mahatma Gandhi and justified Nathuram Godse, who killed Gandhi. A similar incident was reported to have taken place in Haridwar during an event held from December 17 to 20. The video clippings were circulated on social media, which said that "Hindus should arm themselves like those seen in Myanmar, every Hindu must pick up weapons and conduct a 'Safayi Abhiyan'." The three-day event was organised by Yati Narasimhanand, a controversial religious leader who has been accused in the past of inciting violence. The Uttarakhand Police have lodged an FIR in the case against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, who was former Shia Waqf board chairman and recently converted to Hinduism. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Bengaluru, Dec 30 : The Karnataka Health department has directed a private hospital to return the excess amount of money collected from three Covid patients as treatment charges, sources said on Thursday. Following direction of BBMP Special Commissioner (Health), a team of officials visited the hospital and found that it has been charging in excess of the prescribed amount by the government. The hospital management has been asked not to charge in excess to the government fixed prices as it would be against the law. The families of Covid patients were also informed about the government fixed rate and asked to contact the authorities if they are charged more. Dr Trilokchandra, Special Commissioner for Health has directed all health officers and health inspectors to attend to complaints on overcharging immediately. He has also asked them to make personal visits to the hospitals under BBMP jurisdiction. The government has fixed Rs 10,000 for general ward per day, Rs 12,000 for HDU, ICU without ventilator Rs 15,000 and ICU with ventilator Rs 25,000. The hospital has collected Rs 50,816 from Rahul Kumar, Rs 2,788 from Avik Agarwal and Rs 11,967 from Nirupama Kumar. All of them were admitted to the general ward of the hospital. Bhagyalakshmi, Yelahanka Zone health officer made a personal visit to the Manipal hospital and gave directions in this regard, sources said. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Los Angeles, Dec 30 : Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson has publicly declined 'Fast & Furious' series actor Vin Diesel's request to rejoin the action franchise for its upcoming 10th mainline entry. In November, Diesel extended an invitation to Johnson on Instagram, imploring the latter to reprise his role as secret agent Lucas Hobbs for the next entry in the series, reports variety.com. "The world awaits the finale of 'Fast 10'," Diesel wrote. He added: "As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don't send well wishes but the time has come. Legacy awaits. I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10!" In a new interview with CNN, Johnson responded to the request, criticising Diesel for voicing an invite on social media after the two had already reached an agreement in private. "I told (Diesel) directly that I would not be returning to the franchise. I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return," Johnson explained. "Vin's recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn't like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker's death. Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding." However, Johnson went on to express his well wishes for the 'Fast & Furious' family ahead of their next, and ostensibly penultimate, outing. "My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible franchise with gratitude and grace," Johnson said. He added: "It's unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters. Regardless, I'm confident in the 'Fast' universe and its ability to consistently deliver for the audience. I truly wish my former co-stars and crew members the best of luck and success in the next chapter." Johnson joined the 'Fast & Furious' franchise with 2011's 'Fast Five'. At first, his Agent Hobbs is an antagonist to Diesel's Dominic Toretto, though Johnson's character later joins his family of physics-defying heroes. Johnson bowed out of the mainline series following his appearance in 2017's 'The Fate of the Furious', teaming up with Jason Statham to headline a spin-off, 2019's 'Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw'. New Delhi, Dec 30 : After focusing on housing, toilets, cooking gas, etc., in the first term, the Modi government in its second term decided to focus attention on ensuring that each rural household in the country gets piped drinking water at their doorstep: The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) launched with a motto 'Har Ghar Jal' in August 2019 aims to provide potable tap water at every doorstep in the country by 2024. Government data showed that in 2019, only 3.23 crore (i.e. just 17 per cent) out of 19.22 crore rural households had tap water connections. The Jal Shakti Ministry set out the ambitious target of providing functional household tap connection (FHTC) to the remaining 16 crore (83 per cent) households by 2024. "Reduction in drudgery of women and girls, improvement in 'quality of life', enhancement of 'ease of living', and dignity of life to rural communities," were some of the lofty aims that Modi listed out that day and often repeated by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The government claims that the Jal Jeevan Mission is being implemented in a decentralised manner following the 'bottom-up' approach, wherein the local village community, especially women, play a key role starting from planning to implementation and from management to operation & maintenance. 'Village Water & Sanitation Committee' / 'Pani Samiti' have been formed and women are also being trained to conduct water quality testing using Field Test Kits (FTKs). "As on December 25, 8.70 crore (45.32 per cent) rural households from more than 1.29 lakh villages in 83 districts are receiving tap water supply. Goa, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Puducherry and Haryana have become 'Har Ghar Jal' states/ UTs, i.e., 100 per cent rural households to have taps," them Ministry data showed. Problems on the ground However, not all is hunky-dory; issues galore at implementation level. The truly remote areas that are otherwise also outside the radar of administration are still waiting. In some, the focus is on raising infrastructure for the scheme without much thought to the location/site. Case in point Anuppur, the tribal dominated Shahdol and Umariya districts in eastern Madhya Pradesh. Around here, the JJM has reached only to those areas that are easily accessible by motorable roads. Santosh Shukla from Shahdol's Satguru Mission, an NGO working in the field of rural development, gives the example of a tribal hamlet atop a hill, Dongariya Tola, about a 100 kms from the district headquarters, Anuppur, is where people climb up and down the hills to fetch drinking water even today. "Where the officials can go or take people to showcase, the taps have reached only those areas. The real needy people are still waiting," he said. Many other places, its implementation is like any other government scheme. At several places taps don't yield water; at some places only the pipeline has been laid but no taps are there, and at some other places the taps are there, the pipelines are there but the tank from which these will get water has no connection to the source, Shukla said. Madhya Pradesh has chosen 2023 to achieve the 100 per cent target. As on date, according to the JJM dashboard, of the 1,22,27,914 households in Madhya Pradesh, as many as 45,10,061 (36 per cent) have tap water connections. Similar is the problem in remote tribal areas of Arunachal Pradesh, which too has almost 2/3rd of mountainous area. Longding and surrounding areas in eastern Arunachal Pradesh are hilly habitations that are parched for six months of a year. Lines of plastic drums dot the sides of the lanes with people complaining that there is no fixed time for the tankers. Said a government official from the area, on conditions of anonymity, "The springs that supply water in the mountain areas are all drying up fast. The villages along the rivers and rivulets still have some or the other hope, but places such as Longding, do not even fall in that category. Many residents take their clothes once a week to a riverbank that is about six kms away by road. Hygiene is a big issue." Same model for water scarce and water excess areas? Hygienic conditions due to lack of water are a matter of concern and so are due to excessive waters, i.e., floods. In places such as flood prone Bihar, especially north Bihar, where in most years it floods at least twice for long durations during monsoon, just focusing on getting the infrastructure would not help. The Bihar state government had already been running the 'Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal' scheme in 2016. The Modi government's JJM is largely based on that, of course, with certain tweaks / customisation, with a tagline 'Har Ghar Jal'. Eklavya Prasad of Megh Pyne Abhiyan, an NGO working in the water sector in that state, draws a parallel to the great learnings from the toilet building exercise carried out under the Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan in Bihar. "During the flood times, these toilets were either washed away completely or remained inaccessible due to flooding. The toilet construction should have been done keeping in mind the recurring disasters and also the fact that the facility should not just survive (the disaster) but also provide service in disaster time," Prasad said. This learning could have been helpful for the entire eastern belt, starting from eastern Uttar Pradesh, north Bihar, north Bengal, central Bengal, south Bengal and almost the entire Assam. "I have not seen any system that is disaster resilient," he said, adding, "They talk of people's behavioural change, equally important is for the government to change its behaviour and look at things differently. It is not that the government has not given a thought to these things. The main theme is, "assured tap water supply to every home in every village for the next 30-40 years." There is an emphasis on the quality of water. Places that have arsenic or fluroide or some such contaminant, those are duly provided RO-based filters with specifications supposed to be displayed. The JJM also talks of hundreds of partnerships that have made it a 'Jan Andolan', including 8.50 lakh trained women for water quality testing and 3.35 lakh village action plans prepared by villagers; committees. Major concern for Himalayan states Among the Himalayan states and UTs, Ladakh is amongst the states to catch up fast with the Mission objectives. The UT witnesses minus 30 temperature at night in peak winters and for almost all other normal times, the day time temperature runs somewhere between zero to minus five. The public taps are never shut in this cold desert as running water does not freeze. The tanks atop the houses or hotels are wrapped to keep the cold away. And overall water availability and usage has restrictions because of the freezing cold temperatures. Now with thermal coated pipes, the taps reaching one home at a time, several villages are becoming 'Har Ghar Jal' villages. While Ladakh, as yet, does not have a problem of water sources going dry, other Himalayan states such as Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh are already facing lots of problems owing to the overall water availability near the habitations. Bringing in the mountain perspective -- water scarcity hotspots, changing developmental paradigm and erratic rainfall pattern -- that matter most, Vishal Singh of NGO Centre for Ecological Development and Research (CEDAR) from Uttarakhand, asserted this scheme will be successful in the mountains, only when the sources are secure. "There is a need to focus more on source sustainability. Nature based solutions --retain, recharge, release -- are necessary rather than engineering solutions," he said. He, however, offered a point to ponder: "There is no incentive for saving water. The whole talk is about bringing water to the doorstep of the people, which is understandable. But long term sustainability needs to be regenerative and the government has offered no incentive whatsoever for people who save water and thus lessen the demand pressure." (Nivedita Khandekar can be reached at nivedita.k@ians.in) Chennai, Dec 30 : AIADMK leader and former minister Rajenthra Bhalaji, who is absconding after the Madras High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in the Rs 3 crore recruitment scam, is now being probed for his role in the sale of ghee at the milk cooperative Aavin. The Vigilance department of the milk cooperative has commenced investigation over the malpractices in the sale of ghee for making Tirupati 'laddu'. A two-day inquiry is being conducted at the milk cooperative over the purchase, sale, and recruitment in Aavin, Tamil Nadu's government-controlled milk cooperative. Tamil Nadu minister for Milk and Dairy development S.M. Naser in a statement on Wednesday said that his predecessor Bhalaji of the AIADMK had conducted several malpractices in Aavin and that the recruitment scam, held allegedly at the behest of the former minister, was only a tip of the iceberg. Naser said that the DMK government was not targeting former ministers as alleged by the AIADMK and added that the old deeds of the AIADMK leaders were backfiring on them. In another revelation, he said that when the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) conducted a series of searches and raids on the premises of former health minister and AIADMK leader, C.A. Vijayabaskar, several skeletons had fallen from the cupboard. He said that the former minister's diary had notings on the money received and distributed and the name of the former Chief Minister K. Palaniswami was also prominently mentioned in it. The DMK government assumed office in May 2021, raids were conducted by the DVAC at the residences of former ministers of the previous government. Residences and premises of five ministers were searched which included M.R. Vijayabhasakar, C. Vijayabaskar, S.P. Velumani, K.C. Veeramani, and P. Thangamani. The DMK government has also raked up the Kodanad murder and heist case in which a gang of burglars led by the former driver of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, Kanagaraj broke into the summer residence of the former CM at Kodanad on April 23, 2017, after her passing away and murdered a security guard, Om Bahadhur. However, police had charged that only a few wristwatches and an artifact of a rhino were stolen from the bungalow. Kanagaraj, wife, and daughter of another accused Sayan, an accountant of the estate bungalow died later in various incidents and the DMK had promised a detailed investigation once it assumed power. The AIADMK has alleged that the Stalin government's actions against its leaders were being done to target Palaniswami. The party raised the matter even during the last session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly. New Delhi, Dec 30 : A day after the Centre extended AFSPA in Nagaland for six more months, the Congress on Thursday tore into the BJP government saying that its "lust for power" has pushed the North East into abyss of "lawlessness, insurgency and chaos." Congress Chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said: "Modi Govt has pushed a hitherto peaceful North East into an abyss of lawlessness, insurgency and chaos." "The utter lack of understanding of the ethos of its people, its diversity, its concerns and attempt to annihilate democracy to usurp power has led us to the current state," he added. On Thursday, the Centre extended Armed Forces Special Powers Act(AFSPA) in Nagaland till June 30 next year, declaring the entire state as 'disturbed area'. The act empowers the security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant. It also gives immunity to the forces if they shoot someone dead. This comes amid the protests for the withdrawal of the AFSPA going on in several districts of Nagaland ever since an Army unit killed 14 civilians in Mon district earlier this month, mistaking them as insurgents. On December 23, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting to discuss the present scenario in Nagaland with the Chief Ministers of Nagaland, Assam and other officials of the states and the Ministry and decided to form a committee to look into the withdrawal of AFSPA in Nagaland and the committee was to submit its report in 45 days. The Nagaland Assembly has recently passed a unanimous resolution to remove this Act and it was expected that the Centre might limit the jurisdiction of the AFSPA to the border areas, viewing the huge resentment among the locals masses. Copenhagen, Dec 30 : With a record number of 23,228 new Covid-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, health officials in Denmark have urged citizens to "see as few people as possible" during the holiday season. Among the cases reported are 1,205 reinfections, or about one in every 20, according to statistics from the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) on Wednesday. With only a day to go until New Year's Eve, the Director of Denmark's Health Authority (SST) Soren Brostrom strongly urged Danes to opt for quiet celebrations on the 31st, reports Xinhua news agency. "See as few people as possible, and keep it quiet," said Brostrom at a press conference. The official did not provide more specific advice, but noted that "the entire population has lived with Covid-19 for almost two years and knows how it is transmitted". The SSI also registered 16 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the national totals to 3,247 deaths and 762,299 cases since the pandemic began. According to SSI's academic director Tyra Grove Krause, the Omicron variant is now identified in 80 per cent of positive samples. "Overall, we can say that we have a growing epidemic and an Omicron-driven epidemic," said Krause at the press conference, predicting that the epidemic would peak in January 2022. Additionally, the SSI reports that 77.6 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated, and 45.7 per cent have received a booster shot. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Bengaluru, Dec 30 : The Karnataka government has identified 31 lakh beneficiaries in the 15 to 18 age group for the first dose of vaccination and 12 lakh elderly people above the age of 60 years with comorbidities across the state for a booster dose. Sources in the health department stated that till date, the state government has vaccinated 76 per cent of the targeted population against Covid. Though jabbing 100 per cent beneficiaries still remains a top priority, the vaccination drive for 15 to 18 years will also be focused as this age segment has not received a single shot of Covid vaccine. The initiative will be taken with missionary zeal in the wake of fears of the Omicron variant and the third wave of Covid. The health department officials maintained that the number of elders might be more and they will also be covered when the special drive is taken up. Health officials revealed that the age group of 19-50 years accounts for more infections as they are required to move out from the houses. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities are taking up all required preparations for the mega exercise of vaccination of about five lakh children in the 15 to 18 age group in Bengaluru alone. The vaccination exercise will start from January 3. The authorities have collected zone wise data of children studying in private as well as government schools and colleges in the city. The authorities are ready with the required strength of staff to be deputed to schools and colleges to ensure vaccination of the school and college children. The BBMP is also planning to cover children who are not in the stream of education. NGO's help is being taken to identify children in this age group in slums and industrial areas. Along with this, the BBMP is also gearing up to administer booster doses to frontline workers and health staff who are identified as Covid warriors from January 10, according to sources. BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta has directed the authorities to give more importance to contact tracing to contain the infection. The healthcare workers have been entrusted with the work of visiting the infection-prone areas and ensuring preventive measures. December 30 : Shilpa Shetty, who celebrated Christmas with her husband Raj Kundra and children Viaan and Samisha in Mussoorie, returned to Mumbai on Thursday. The actress was spotted at the airport with her two kids, while Raj Kundra was not seen beside her. It is obvious that Raj Kundra tried to avoid photographers who were gathered at the airport. Later, he was seen waiting in the car. The businessman had covered his face in a hoodie and dark shades. However, Shilpa happily posed for pictures with Viaan and Samisha. The actress was wearing black leather pants with black polo-neck sweater and a yellow scarf. As Shilpa walked towards her car, she was asked by the paparazzi to take down her mask. Shilpa did so and posed for some photos, and later waved at them and said bas bas (that's all). When the photographers wanted Viaan to remove his mask too, Shilpa reacted and said, Woh nahi utarega (He won't take off the mask). However, by then, Viaan obliged them and pulled down the mask for a few clicks. Shilpa was also heard asking the people who had gathered there to vote for her sister Shamita Shetty who is one of the contestants in Bigg Boss 15. Vote karo yaar. Shamita k liye vote karo. Jitni chahiye iss baar, tum logo ke ashirwaad ke saath (Do vote for Shamita guys. She must win this time with your blessings). Shilpa also shares posts on her Instagram handle from time to time, and ask fans to vote for her. Meanwhile, Raj Kundra has been maintaining a low profile ever since he was released from jail on bail. The businessman was named as the key conspirator in a case related to production and distribution of pornographic content. Raj was arrested in July and walked out of jail on bail in September. Recently, the businessman said in a statement, After much contemplation, considering there are many misleading and irresponsible statements and articles floating around and my silence has been misconstrued for weakness. I would like to start by stating that I have NEVER been involved in the production and distribution of pornography EVER in my life. This whole episode has been nothing but a witch hunt. After Raj Kundra denied any involvement in the production and distribution of porn films, the actress came out in his support. The actress took to her Instagram stories and shared a quote by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill about how truth cannot be contested. The actress shared a news report about Raj Kundra calling the porn case a witch hunt, and wrote a quote by Winston Churchill, The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. New Delhi, Dec 30 : The Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) has invited a group of 250 pilgrims, including from India, to visit the country in an attempt to encourage "faith tourism", Dawn news reported. The group will visit the shrine of Paramhans Ji Maharaaj, a saint who had died at Teri village, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Karak district in 1919. "A number of Hindu pilgrims from India, the United Arab Emirates and the US will arrive in Peshawar on Jan 1 to visit the Samadhi at Teri," PHC patron Ramesh Kumar Vankwani told Dawn news. The Hindu Council has arranged the programme in collaboration with Pakistan International Airlines. "This is the second time that the council has invited Hindu pilgrims from other countries so that they can see for themselves the existence of a tolerant and pluralistic society in Pakistan," Vankwani added. Fifty-four Hindus from India, Canada, Singapore, Australia and Spain had visited the country last month. The group was led by Shri Satguru Ji Maharaaj Ji, the fifth successor of Paramhans Ji Maharaaj. Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmad had celebrated Diwali at Teri temple last month to express solidarity with local members of the Hindu community and to welcome pilgrims from other parts of the country. According to Vankwani, the PHC invited the Chief Justice only to give a message to "hate-mongers that the state is determined to foil their nefarious designs". In his speech at the temple, he had assured the Hindu community that they enjoyed the same rights as other Pakistanis. New Delhi, Dec 30 : Mumbai-based think-tank The Gateway House in its recent report "India-Russia: Energy and economic security" published days after the 21st edition of India-Russia annual summit establishes that the two countries are nothing less than natural partners for energy collaboration. India imports 85 per cent of its oil, while Russia is one of the largest exporters. An expanded bilateral investment strategy development is underway to help Russia access new markets and India meet its energy requirements. This mutually beneficial collaboration re-affirms trust between the two countries amidst complex geopolitical realities. The two states go beyond building a dialogue and are already taking active steps in promoting cooperation. In particular, the Indian investors show utmost interest in development of the Eastern Siberia. Investments in Vostok Oil, the largest "green" project, are currently being considered. Vostok Oil comprises 52 licensed areas, containing 13 oil and gas fields, including Vankorskoye, Suzunskoye, Tagulskoye, Lodochnoye fields, as well as new promising fields, unique in their reserves: Payakhskoye and Zapadno-Irkinskoye. Low unit production costs and a carbon footprint that is 75 per cent lower than that of other major new oil projects around the globe, make Vostok Oil one of the most promising upstream oil projects in the world. The resource base of the project exceeds 6 billion tonnes of oil (44 billion barrels), characterised by a uniquely low sulfur content of 0.01-0.04 per cent. The resource base matches the largest oil provinces in the Middle East or the US shale formations. The high quality of the feedstock eliminates the need for separate refinery units and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Estimated oil production at Vostok Oil is 100 million tonnes in 2030. The logistical advantage of the Vostok Oil project is the possibility to supply raw materials from the fields in two directions at once - to the European and Asian markets. Major global companies had recently joined the project: at the end of 2020, the major international trader Trafigura bought 10% of the project, and in November 2021, a consortium led by Vitol acquired 5 per cent in the project. The Vostok Oil project is being developed by the leading Russian and global oil major - Rosneft. The largest US investment bank J.P. Morgan included Rosneft in the list of the most attractive companies for investment globally in 2022. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the second largest US investment bank, included Rosneft in its global list; investment targets in the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region in 2022. The bank's analysts noted that Rosneft's shares have a growth potential of 40 per cent. The company also has one of the lowest unit production costs (about $2.6 per barrel) amid the largest reserves. Many analysts note the significant role of the Vostok Oil project in Rosneft's revaluation. Bank of America Merrill Lynch adds that if market conditions are favorable, the net present value of the project may exceed $100-120 billion. The bank's analysts have already given the project the status of a "growth driver" for Rosneft. Goldman Sachs dubbed it a "magnet for investors". Another important factor that makes Rosneft so appealing for the investors is the company's attractive dividend yield, which the analysts at J.P. Morgan expect to be 11-13 per cent in 2022-2023. Overall, the investment community appreciates Rosneft's growth potential. Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecasts the value of the company's GDR at $11.2 and Raiffeisen Bank at $11. Mumbai, Dec 30 : A fresh political row erupted after Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen for an NCP-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government in Maharashtra after the October 2019 Assembly polls threw up a fractured verdict. Pawar referred to his meeting with the PM on November 20, 2019, at the release of a coffee table book, "Ashtavadhani" launched by The Indian Express Group's 'Loksatta' Marathi daily, and released by Bharat Force MD Baba Kalyani, as part of the NCP supremo's 81st birthday celebrations. At that time, Pawar had confirmed how Modi wanted NCP-BJP to "work together" and even offered a central Cabinet berth to his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule. "There was a discussion about an alliance... I had told the PM right in his office that it was not possible... I would not like to keep them in the dark," Pawar recalled the incident. NCP National Spokesperson and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik endorsed the statement saying it happened in Parliament House and he was also present then. "Yes... There was an offer from the PM and we discussed it in our party and decided against it... Then Pawar Saheb conveyed it to the PM," Malik said. Pawar felt that the BJP offer may have come as there were frictions between the Congress-NCP at that time, but the Shiv Sena had come forward for the three-party alliance which was ultimately sworn-in as the Maha Vikas Aghadi government headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on November 28, 2019. On whether the NCP chieftain -- just three days after his meeting with PM -- had 'sent' his nephew Ajit Pawar to form the 80-hour long, two-legged government sworn-in early morning with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as the CM, Pawar quipped: "If that was so, then I would not have left the job incomplete!" Reacting, Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that there was "complete transparency" at that time when the three parties were finalising the nitty-gritties of the government formation with nail-biting political suspense. "We all were aware of who's talking what and with whom... We even had knowledge of what was happening on the Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar front... Later, he and other MLAs returned to the fold," said Raut with a sly glint. "The BJP had made this offer, but we know about it... In fact, they were desperate to come to power at all costs and ready to join hands with any party... But they did not succeed," Raut added. However, in a guarded response, Leader of Opposition (Council) Pravin Darekar said that certain things may have happened owing to political exigencies at that time, but wondered "why the issue was being raised now". The BJP suffered one of its biggest political setbacks in November 2019 when it failed to take along Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on the issue of power-sharing and virtually called him a 'liar' publicly. Simultaneously, there were backdoor efforts to woo Thackeray, even through middle-of-the-night phone calls from central BJP leaders, attempts to lure away Sena-NCP legislators, etc. Pawar recalled that Thackeray changed his position as "the BJP did not honour what was agreed upon between them", and finally the NCP decided to back the Sena chief as the CM. Giving full marks to Modi for putting in a lot of hard work to complete any task, attention to the administration, strongly implementing policies in his own style, Pawar said "if the problems of the masses are not solved, there will be no impact, which is where he lags". Regarding the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Pawar predicted a '50-50' chance and the manner in which the PM has announced many projects indicates the BJP could face a serious situation there. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in) Shahjahanpur : , Dec 30 (IANS) As many as ten persons were arrested and later released for locking up a herd of stray cattle inside a primary school in Uttar Pradesh after the animals damaged standing wheat crop. The farmers, on Wednesday, staged a protest and tried to stop the police from releasing the cattle. The incident took place in Lehrawar village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Jalalabad police circle. The cattle were discovered by school teachers who called the police. Station House Officer (SHO) of Jalalabad, Kamal Singh, reached the school with his team and saw 30 stray cattle inside the school campus. When his team attempted to open the gate, the farmers tried to stop them and demanded assurance from a senior official. The police then arrested them and later released with a warning. A woman who was also protesting against the cattle menace, said, "We just want the stray cattle to be kept out of our village as they are destroying our crops, attacking local residents, and disturbing our lives. We cannot feed them and the government should set up a shelter house for them. We want to resolve this issue at the earliest." Addressing the media, Kamal Singh said: "The school was opened after a delay of nearly an hour and most students attended classes thereafter. We have also requested the gram panchayat officials to shift the stray cattle to any nearby cow shelter." Chennai, Dec 30 : First-year student of M.A. at Presidency College, Chennai, M. Kumar ended his life by jumping before a double-decker train after sending an audio message to his friends and family, stating that he did not want to live a life given as alms by the students of Pachiyappa's college who used to insult him. Police said that there were regular clashes between students of the colleges during travel by train and bus and recently, students of Presidency College, Chennai staged a rail roko near Avadi and Hindu College railway stations as Railway Protection Force personnel detained a student after a passenger pulled the chain for celebrating his birthday on the train by cutting cake. According to police, Kumar, 21, had sent an audio message to his family and friends stating that he was unable to bear the insult meted out by the students of Pachiyappa's college, Chennai and that he did not want to live a life given as alms by the rival students. He apologised to his mother and friends and the audio clip ended with the rumblings of a train. Kumar, who returned home after attending classes on Tuesday afternoon, told his mother that he has to attend a wedding and will come back home late. Initially, Kumar's family and friends dismissed the audio clip, but when he did not return home till Wednesday morning and search was conducted, police found his body on the railway track. Thiruninravur police, which is investigating the case said that Kumar jumped before the double-decker train around 8.40 p.m., a few metres from the Thiruninravur railway station. Police have detained some students of Pachiyappa's college and are investigating the reason for Kumar's death. Hyderabad, Dec 30 : With the government set to rollout vaccination for children in the 15-18 age group from January 3, doctors have welcomed the move saying only vaccination can mitigate Covid-19 risk fully at a time when the country is witnessing a spike in new infections and faces the threat from Omicron. After more than a year and half, educational institutions have reopened for physical classes, and school going children would be eager to indulge with their peers. On meeting their dear buddies after a long gap, children would like to unshackle the restrictions that were imposed on them. And possible risks due to this can only be addressed through vaccination, say the healthcare practitioners. "We have noticed that educational institutions, especially schools and junior colleges have time and again turned into Covid-19 transmission hotspots. This is due to unregulated sitting arrangements and mixing of children with their peers without strict implementation of fundamental Covid-19 protection protocols like wearing of masks, hand sanitising, and physical distancing. While the risk of virus spreading among these groups is increasing faster, the simple means to mitigate this risk is vaccination," said Dr. Pradeep Panigrahi, Medical Director, SLG Hospitals. "India has fast reached the stage of self-sufficiency for Covid-19 vaccines. Millions of adults have already been vaccinated with near cent per cent efficacy. We doctors are confident these vaccines will be effective on children as well. While Covaxin is being made available to vaccinate children, other vaccines too might soon be made available," added Dr. Kanchan S. Channawar, Consultant Paediatrician, Kamineni Hospitals. Dr. Markandeyulu, Senior Consultant Paediatrician, Aware Gleneagles Global Hospitals described as welcome move the decision by the government to allow vaccination for teenagers (children between 15 years and 18 years). "Government network and Private hospitals must ensure the vaccination drive which is to start in the first week of January. Parents too must avoid overcrowding at vaccination centers, and this will help families stay safe in the times when the new variant of Covid-19 virus is spreading fast," he said. "India and the World might be nearing the end stage of Covid-19 pandemic! Though the new variant Omicron, is said to be spreading faster than all its previous variants, it is important people do not panic at this stage. Most children have better immunity than adults, and vaccination will make them all safe," concluded Dr. Ravi Gajula, Consultant Pediatrician, Suncity Hospitals. Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech, has already been approved by Indian drug regulator to be administered on children in their teenage years. This vaccine is believed to be formulated uniquely, and the dosage to adults and children will remain the same. Country hopes more vaccines will pass the test and be made available for children too. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, Dec 30 : Samsung has shipped 4 times more foldable devices in 2021 than last year, exceeding the three-fold market growth that analysts expected. According to the company, the consumer enthusiasm for Samsung foldables is exemplified by the success of the Galaxy Z series. "In the first month since launch, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 exceeded total accumulative sales of Samsung foldable devices in 2020," it said in a blog post late on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics revealed its first prototype of a flexible display in 2011. The company brought its foldable vision to reality with the Galaxy Fold, its first foldable device, in 2019. Soon after that came the Galaxy Z Flip. "After a decade of progress and three generations of innovation, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 brought enhanced durability and an improved user experience to foldables," said Samsung. The Infinity Flex Display and Samsung UTG enabled the world's first folding glass display. To ensure that the devices would be capable of withstanding hundreds of thousands of folds, a Hideaway Hinge mechanism was designed with Sweeper technology to help keep out dust and dirt particles. The hinge also added a new layer of functionality to Samsung foldables, allowing them to stand on their own, which makes them perfect for watching content, making video calls, or taking hands-free selfies. Samsung in 2021 released the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 -- the first foldables to receive an IPX8 water resistance rating. According to a report, the foldable smartphone shipments are predicted to grow tenfold by 2023. "Compared to the Galaxy Note20, Samsung has seen a 150 per cent increase in consumers who switched smartphone brands for the Galaxy Z Flip3, and a 140 percent increase compared to the Galaxy S21," said the company. A buyer survey conducted by Samsung revealed that a stylish design, portability, and an innovative folding form factor were the top drivers behind purchases of the Galaxy Z Flip3. As more consumers become aware of foldables' incredible potential, interest in the category will continue to grow. "With a variety of innovations set to make their way to consumers in the coming years, Samsung will continue to lead the foldables category with even more pioneering technology," the company informed. To achieve this goal, Samsung is heavily investing in R&D while openly collaborating with app developers and industry partners such as Google. In 2021, the companies announced guidelines for creating apps for large-screen and foldable devices, building on Google's work to optimise its most popular apps -- such as Gmail, YouTube, Duo, and Maps -- for foldable form factors. New Delhi, Dec 30 : The people angry over being denied to board a bus over the 50 per cent capacity limit on Thursday blocked a road in the national capital and vandalised the bus. Additional District Commissioner of Police (South District) Harsh Vardhan said some people blocked the MB road in the city and broke the glasses of a DTC bus around 10.30 a.m. in the morning. "The issue was regarding non availability of seats in the buses due to Covid related restrictions," the official said. As the things escalated, the police rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the irate commuters. Scenes of chaos could be seen and a minor scuffle between the people and the cops was also reported. The angry mob of people even resorted to stone pelting due to which the bus windowpanes were shattered. "Even yesterday the people were angry and were forcibly trying to get inside the bus, but, things turned violent today," said a conductor of one of the buses. The police said as a preventive measure five people were detained from the spot. As per latest reports, the police have dispersed the crowd and a case for violating pandemic guidelines and destruction of public property, among others has been registered at the Sangam Vihar Police station. The city is currently under a yellow alert in the wake of spike in the number of Covid cases and the fear of spread of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. Since the imposition of the new curbs, the commuters in Delhi are facing a harrowing time as long queues could be seen everyday outside Metro stations and at bus stops. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, Dec 30 : As per the report from Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Policy (DPIIT), construction sector is the third largest in terms of FDI inflow. The sector attracted USD 51.5 billion FDI from April 2020 to June 2021. The Indian real estate sector also attracted USD 5 billion institutional investments in 2020 itself, which is equivalent to 93% of transactions recorded in the previous year, and even the private equity recorded investments worth USD 3,240 million across around 20 deals in Q4 of FY 2021. Institutional investments into the real estate sector also rose 17% and private equity investments recorded 24% on-year growth in the September quarter, according to property consultants JLL India and Savills India, respectively. Blackstone, which is one of the largest private market investors in India, managing about USD 50 billion of market value in the real estate sector, is looking to invest another USD 22 billion in the next 10 years. The RBI's stand on keeping the repo-rate unchanged to 4% and reverse repo-rate at 3.35% has come as big boon for the sector. Growth in the real estate sector is a strong signal of speedy revival of the Indian economy. The second largest employer in the country is again all set to support infrastructure sector and create short-term and long-term employment opportunities. Pankaj Bansal, Director of M3M India, India's leading real estate developer and largest developer of retail space in North India, is confident of speedy revival of real estate sector post Covid slowdown, and is aggressive on FDI inflow in the sector. "The retail segment has been on the investors' radar as it is providing great investment opportunities to a wider spectrum of small to large investors. As part of NCR, Gurugram seems to be leading the retail sector. M3M India itself is today the largest developer of retail space in North India by delivering over 4 million square feet of retail space in one of the most promising growth areas of Gurugram. Overall, the Company has delivered a staggering 20 million square feet of realty space. The DPIIT report on flow of FDI in construction sector, and interest of institutional investors in real estate is very encouraging. This I believe will make the business more competitive, delivering better value to buyers and investors," says Pankaj Bansal. The real estate sector is also looking forward to the upcoming Union Budget and expecting few key relaxation in taxes to boost the sector and make it more affordable. "We are now eagerly awaiting Union Budget and expecting a dynamic favourable policy, for not just retail, but also for the housing sector. As the entire sector is focused to contribute at least 13% in India's GDP by 2025 and reach market size of USD 1 trillion, I am sure the Government must be also looking to present few essential concessions and relaxations in the Union Budget 2022," says Pankaj Bansal. The real estate is ranked third among the 14 major sectors in terms of direct and indirect or induced impact on all the sectors of the economy. Pankaj Bansal added, "Market is constantly expanding. There is tremendous growth opportunities for small and mid-level retail investors who are going to make the market more accessible to a wider audience. Even the co-living market in the top 30 cities, primarily metros, is set to grow almost double -- to about USD 14 billion from the current size of USD 6.70 billion. Boost in real estate sector, which is second largest sector in terms of employment generation, only after agriculture, will further create jobs." Going by recent report by Savills India, the real estate demand for data centres is also increasing -- by 15-18 million square feet by 2025. Moreover in the Q3 of FY 2021, housing sector stood at 62,800 units, which is an increase by 113% YoY across all the top seven cities, as compared with 29,520 units in the Q3 of 2020. In the seven cities, Mumbai accounted for 33% of total sales and NCR 16%. According to JLL Report, during the month of January -- March 2021 quarter, NOIDA accounted for 55% of the net absorption, followed by Gurugram at 38%. Delhi-NCR has also been witnessing sharp increase in demand for office space. "The ambitious 100 smart cities project by Government of India is not only going to be a great opportunity for the real estate sector, it will also pave way for many world-class developments in key emerging markets, by capable real estate developers who are exploring 'smart' and new age innovations to bring in new ways of living habitats," says Pankaj Bansal. The central government has given impetus to the sector by deciding to build 20 million affordable houses in urban areas across the country by the end of FY 2023. This is being done under the PM Narendra Modi's Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. New Delhi, Dec 30 : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel during the pre-budget meet on Thursday, demanded the continuation of GST compensation grant for the next five years and reimbursement of Rs 15,000 crore expenditure on the Central Security Forces deployed in Maoists eradication. At the meeting, held at Vigyan Bhawan here, the Chief Minister said that the state's economy has been impacted due to the pandemic. With the GST compensation, he said, the state government will be able to spend on development programmes and schemes if amount pending with the Centre is received. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and state finance ministers were also present at the meeting. According to Baghel, there has been a loss of revenue to the states due to the GST tax system. The Centre has not made arrangements to compensate the loss of revenue of about Rs 5,000 crore to the state in the coming year, so the GST compensation grant should be continued for the next 5 years even after June 2022, he said. He added that Chhattisgarh has received Rs 13,089 crore less central taxes in the Union Budget of the last three years. In the coming budget, the share of central taxes should be given to the state. He also demanded the Rs 4,140 crore deposited with the Centre at the rate of Rs 294 per tonne on coal mining from coal block companies, to be transferred to the state soon. During the meeting, Baghel gave various suggestions such as giving generous amount to the farmers and labourers through various schemes, to make the wage rate of MNREGA at par with the labour commissioner's rates, to give special incentives for production of pulses/oilseeds. The Chief Minister also pointed out that due to reduction of the Central Excise Tax on petrol and diesel by the Centre, there will be a reduction in the amount of the state's share and there will also be a reduction in the revenue from VAT. Therefore, in future, instead of excise tax, the cess should be reduced. He demanded increase in the premium limit of Rs 1,100 per family for the states which are performing better under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat). He said that this would increase the number of beneficiaries and most of the population would get the benefit. Apart from this, he also demanded establishment of International Cargo Terminal in Raipur, a campus of Central Tribal University and marketing centre under Vocal for Local Scheme in the Union Budget. Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 30 : Come what may, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is adamant that his pet project K-Rail will go forward and he is getting ready to discuss this project with an invited audience. In Delhi on Thursday, Kerala Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, who is finding it hard to meet the state's expenses, as the state coffers are practically empty and going forward with the borrowed money, also spoke the language of Vijayan. "We are going forward with the K-Rail project. We will tell the people why this is needed for our state. All the fears would be cleared," said Balagopal. If completed, it will set up a 529.45 km corridor connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod and a high speed train which will run this distance will complete its journey in around four hours and though Vijayan claims it will cost around Rs 64,000 crore, a preliminary examination by Niti Aayog says it will cost in excess of Rs one lakh crore. With Metroman E. Sreedharan describing this as an idiotic proposal, the BJP has already slammed the project, while the Congress led UDF says this is nothing but a project to pocket commission for the CPI-M and also exposed the double standard by releasing the tweet of CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechuri of staunchly opposing a similar project Mumabi-Ahmedabad bullet train, but gave the green signal to Vijayan's pet project. Meanwhile, as the first step of fire-fighting, Vijayan will be meeting an invited audience of people at Kochi and the state capital, where the project will be explained in detail, while at the other 12 districts, state cabinet ministers will do the talking. A media critic on condition of anonymity said these so called invited audience meetings is nothing but an eyewash. "Invites will be sent to only those whose political leanings are known, so there will be less questions asked and even if questions are asked, it could well be a stage-managed one. The need of the hour is not presenting it before an invited audience but let it happen in the floor of the assembly as there is going to be the upcoming budget session next month," said the critic who did not wish to be named. Bhubaneswar, Dec 30 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked District Collectors to be in regular touch with the organisations run by the Missionaries of Charity in the state. Patnaik has directed the Collectors to ensure that no inmate of such organisations suffer, especially from food security and health related distress, Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement issued on Thursday. "Wherever needed, funds from Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF) can be utilised for this purpose," he has said. This direction of the Chief Minister comes in the wake of Centre's 'refusal' to renew the registration of the Missionaries of Charity under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) for not meeting the eligibility conditions under FCRA 2010 and Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules (FCRR) 2011. Missionaries of Charity is running several leprosy homes and orphanages in Odisha. Wellington, Dec 30 : New Zealand reported 60 new cases of Covid-19 in the community on Thursday, increasing the country's overall infection tally to 13,687. Among the new infections, 20 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, 28 in nearby Waikato, one in Northland, eight in Bay of Plenty, and one each in Tairawhiti, Canterbury and the Lakes, according to the Ministry of Health. A total of 44 cases are being treated in hospitals, including seven in intensive care units or high dependency units, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying. The death toll stood at 51. To date, 95 per cent of eligible people in New Zealand have taken a first dose and 91 per cent are were fully vaccinated against Covid. A series of precautionary measures was announced last week in light of the fast-spreading Omicron variant. This included shortening the period between the second and booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine from six months to four months. Parents and caregivers will be able to book vaccinations for 5-11 year-olds from January 17. Bengaluru, Dec 30 : Actress and Tamil Nadu BJP leader Khushboo Sundar on Thursday praised the Karnataka BJP government for taking a stand to free the temples from the control of the government authorities. "It is an extremely important decision as every other religious institution is free except temples," she said. There is a similar demand before the Tamil Nadu government. "We have been keenly watching the stand of Tamil Nadu government and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. The assurance of freeing temples from state control was given during the election campaigning in Tamil Nadu," she stated. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had stated on Wednesday during his address at the BJP's executive committee meeting, held at Hubballi, that the government will introduce a new Bill to free temples from the state control. He further stated that the Hindu temples have suffered a lot under the control of state authorities and bureaucrats. Several rules and bylaws are detrimental to the development of temples. The new Bill will be brought before the cabinet ahead of the Budget Session. The temple authorities will be under the regulation of the government, but they will be able to utilise their funds for the development of temples without having to wait for the nod of the government. Khusboo also stated that she has been in Bengaluru as she is the committee member of the Prime Minister's Poshan Abhiyan, which is called 'Swasth Balak and Balika Spardha' where the malnourished children up to six years of age, who are not registered with Anganwadis are identified. This is not a political exercise and she is happy that Chief Minister Bommai gave her time on short notice. Sydney, Dec 30 : Australia's three most populated states, currently battling the country's largest Covid-19 outbreaks, have allowed New Year celebrations with slightly modified versions of their traditional fireworks displays. On Thursday, the most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) reported 12,226 new cases, 746 hospitalized patients and one related death, reports Xinhua news agency. Despite the escalating infections, the NSW government's overall message is that residents, having endured months of lockdowns this year, must now use more "personal responsibility" as they "learn to live" with Covid-19. As such, crowds are expected to pack the Sydney Harbour foreshores on Friday to watch fireworks light up the night skies in the capital city's New Year's Eve celebrations. Asked whether people should reconsider going out to celebrate, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said: "No, what I would say is, take personal responsibility, socially distance and follow the rules that are in place." However, there will be concessions made to hopefully contain a potential super-spreader event. Spectators, for example, will need to book a ticket for most of the city's viewing areas. Previously huge crowds would have freely gathered. Victoria, the second most populated state, also has the nation's second-largest Covid-19 outbreak, recording 5,137 new cases, 395 hospitalizations, and 13 deaths on Thursday. Victoria authorities are urging people to remain cautious as they welcome in 2022. The state's capital Melbourne will stage fireworks on Friday across four private "Celebration Zones" in an effort to reduce crowds and keep track of all attendees. "These Celebration Zones will allow smaller crowds to gather in a controlled setting at different ends of the city, ensuring the safest possible event," Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp told the national broadcaster ABC. Queensland recorded 2,222 new cases on Thursday, a jump of 633 over the previous day's figures of 1,589. Last year, the capital city of Brisbane cancelled its fireworks due to the pandemic. The event will return this Friday with authorities saying spectators won't have to be vaccinated but will need to check in with an app at the main viewing location. There were a record of more than 21,000 new cases recorded across Australia on Thursday, meaning the country has reported more cases in the last two days than it did for the entirety of 2020. The new caseload has thus increased to 362,691. Australia also reported 15 deaths from Covid-19 on Thursday, the highest figure in recent days, taking the country's overall toll to 2,225. Till date, 94.3 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over had received one vaccine dose and 91.3 per cent were fully inoculated, according to the Department of Health. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dhaka, Dec 30 : Bangladesh will administer 40 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines every month from January next year, a Minister has said. "We are taking the initiative to give vaccines in every ward of the country starting next month. Hopefully, we will be able to meet our targets by next May-June," Zahid Maleque, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, was quoted as saying in a report of leading local news agency UNB. Maleque said that Bangladesh has been praised by the world for tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. On the spread of the new Omicron variant, the Minister warned that vaccines alone will not contain its surge. "We have to follow the proper hygiene," he said a day after Bangladesh on Tuesday started administering Covid-19 vaccine booster shots in the backdrop of the rapid transmission of the new variant. Frontliners and the elderly will be given priority for booster shots, Lokman Hossain Miah, senior secretary of Bangladesh's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told journalists. Bangladesh began the ovid-19 vaccination drive in January to contain the pandemic that had spread across the country. The government subsequently halted administering the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine after India banned vaccine exports. In June, the vaccination drive resumed in parts of the country with the China-donated Sinopharm vaccine. Bangladesh's vaccination drive has already achieved a milestone of administering more than 100 million vaccine doses. According to the figures released on Wednesday by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), about 120 million vaccine doses have so far been administered. The Unicef said on Wednesday that it had delivered over 100 million Covid-19 vaccines to Bangladesh since June 2021. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Seoul, Dec 30 : South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday urged health authorities to come up with sustainable containment measures against Covid-19, as the nation is struggling to cope with a recent surge in the number of critically ill patients and deaths. Health authorities have sought to secure an additional 10,000 hospital beds for patients with moderate to serious cases of Covid-19 by the middle of next month, raising their total number to 25,000, reports Yonhap News Agency. "Covid-19 is not a temporary infectious disease, so securing beds, medical systems and containment systems should be sustainable," Moon told a meeting with senior officials at state and public hospitals, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon urged them to prepare for long-term measures to fight against the pandemic, Park said in a written briefing. The President has called for national university hospitals to focus their resources on treating critically ill Covid-19 patients and for the government to prepare for a scenario in which the Omicron variant becomes the dominant version of the virus in the country. South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 5,000 for the second day in a row Thursday as authorities weigh whether to extend the current social distancing rules amid concerns over the omicron variant and critical cases. The number of critically ill Covid-19 patients stood at the second highest of 1,145 on Thursday after reaching an all-time high of 1,151 the previous day. Critical cases have stayed above 1,000 for 10 consecutive days. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Manila, Dec 30 : Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday signed the nearly $100 billion national budget for 2022 to fund the country's sustained recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. "The budget is set to inspire actions that focus on building resilience amidst the pandemic, sustaining the momentum towards recovery, and continuing the legacy of infrastructure development," Duterte said during the signing ceremony at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila. The 5.024 trillion pesos budget, 10 per cent higher than the 2021 budget, will prioritise the people's health by ensuring affordable and accessible healthcare for all Filipinos, Xinhua news agency quoted Duterte as saying. To guarantee the streamlined operation of the current health system, the President said 88.9 billion pesos were allocated for the health facilities operations program and the procurement of drugs, medicines, and vaccines. The budget allotted 17 billion pesos to the Human Resources for Health Deployment Program to fund the salaries and benefits of public health personnel. He said the 2022 budget will also provide essential funding requirements to safeguard and support displaced workers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to foster socio-economic recovery. The Philippines has been grappling with the pandemic since 2020. It now has over 2.8 million confirmed Covid-19 cases, including 51,213 deaths. Jammu, Dec 30 : Two persons were killed and several others injured on Thursday in a road accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district. Police sources said a bus on way from Rajouri to Gambir Mughala met with an accident near Kakora resulting in on the spot death of two persons and injuries to several other passengers. The injured were removed to a hospital in at least five ambulances rushed to the spot by authorities soon after the accident. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajouri, Mohammad Aslam confirmed the death of two persons. "A massive rescue operation has been launched and all the injured are being removed to hospital," SSP said. Mumbai, Dec 30 : Actor Worship Khanna, who is currently seen as antagonist Vijayendra Singh in 'Meri Doli Mere Angna', is to star in upcoming web series 'Robot'. He says: "I'm excited to play a protagonist in the upcoming series, 'Robot'. I will essay the character, Anand, who is a simple and innocent guy working in an office dealing with robots. And after some twist and turn the robot (Rachel) falls in love with me. It is a very beautiful story and I'm sure my audience will enjoy watching me." The series of nine episodes also features actors such as Naveen Bawa and Vijay Patkar. The 'Kumkum Bhagya' actor looks forward to a healthy and peaceful New year. "I'm looking forward to a healthy and peaceful New year 2022. As Covid-19 is once again increasing I will choose to stay home and welcome the new year with a few of my very close friends. I wish to stay healthy and be able to work more exploring and essaying new characters." Hyderabad, Dec 30 : In the wake of theatres being seized in Andhra Pradesh, things were getting tense. It seems like the state government has now granted permission to reopen the theatres with immediate effect. The government has given permission for the closed theatres to be reopened, but the theatre owners are warned that they must fix the problems within one month, or they will face confiscation once again. A number of theatres in the state were shut down for not complying with basic guidelines. In the process, close to 100 theatres were seized during the quality checks, while a number of theatres shut down voluntarily. Several distributors, producers, and theatres owners had met with representatives of the Andhra Pradesh government earlier, seeking to resolve the issue. With big-ticket movies like 'RRR' and 'Radhe Shyam' ready to hit the screens, the film trade in AP had pleaded with the government to take necessary steps. Mumbai, Dec 30 : In a significant development, the Maharashtra Congress on Thursday urged the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to ensure that the witnesses in the sensitive Malegaon 2008 blasts case "are not pressurised, threatened or enticed". In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, Congress state Working President Arif Naseem Khan said the terror case has prominent names as prime accused, including Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Col. P.S. Purohit, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Dayanand Pandey and several others. "I have learnt that in order to save all these accused in the Malegaon 2008 bomb blast case, some organisations and individuals are threatening, pressurising and luring the witnesses to make them 'hostile' before the court," Khan said. The blast occurred in Malegaon on September 29, 2008, near a mosque when Muslims were offering prayers, and left at least nine dead and another more than 80 injured, and the subsequent probe revealed the involvement of what was called 'saffron terror groups'. Khan urged Thackeray and Walse-Patil that such groups or persons should be investigated by a high-level committee and stringent action must be initiated against them for influencing or harassing the witnesses. The case was probed by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad and later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and has a total of 495 witnesses. From these, 220 witnesses have already testified, out of which 15 have already been declared 'hostile', with the likelihood of more witnesses going against the probe agency owing to pressures exerted by some organisations and persons, Khan pointed out. The Congress leader said that Walse-Patil had assured he would do the needful in the matter in order to ensure a free and fair trial at the day-to-day hearing before a Special Court. Khan's letter assumes significance, coming a day after a witness in the case made a shocking claim that he was allegedly detained for a week by the ATS in 2008 and then compelled to name five RSS leaders, including Yogi Adityanath, who is now Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The witness, who is one of the trustees of Abhinav Bharat, a right-wing group, also contended that the ATS did not record his statement though the agency had attached his purported five-pager statement in its charge sheet filed in 2009. During the cross-examination, the witness named Adityanath, Swami Aseemanand, Indresh Kumar, a Prof. Deodhar and one Kakaji, whose names he was allegedly forced to take by one police official Chavan, DCP Shrirao and an IPS officer Param Bir Singh. Washington, Dec 30 : The deteriorating situation in reference to the rights for women in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule has prompted US President Joe Biden's administration to appoint two senior female diplomats, assigned to represent Washington in Kabul. In a release on Wednesday, the State Department said that Special Envoy Rina Amiri and Senior Advisor Stephenie Foster "bring decades of public policy, diplomatic, and advocacy experience to the Department". While, Amiri had previously served as a US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan during former President Barack Obama's administration, Foster has earlier worked for the State Department. "I welcome Rina Amiri back to the Department as the Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights, with her breadth and depth of expertise and strong track record advising governments, the US, peacebuilding organisations, and think tanks," Secretary of State Antony Blinken was quoted as saying in the release. Blinken said that Amiri will "work on issues of critical importance to me, this administration, and US national security: the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, girls, and other at-risk populations in all of their diversity". "We desire a peaceful, stable, and secure Afghanistan, where all Afghans can live and thrive in political, economic, and social inclusivity. Special Envoy Amiri will work closely with me toward that goal," he added. Regarding Foster, the Secretary of State said her "diverse public and private sector experiences, including at the Department, and her passion for advancing women and girls' safety and equality will help advance around-the-clock relocation and resettlement efforts on behalf of our Afghan allies and their families". Afghanistan is currently in the midst of severe economic and humanitarian challenges which have further deteriorated since the fall of the country to the Taliban on August 15. According to the UN, Afghan women and girls are paying an especially high price for the ongoing poverty and hunger in the country. Following the political change, secondary girls' schools have remained closed in most of the country's provinces, including Kabul. Earlier this week, the Taliban-led government's Ministry of Virtue and Vice issued a new directive that orders women who are travelling long distances by road should be accompanied by a male relative, and they should wear a hijab, to cover their head and face. The directive also banned playing music in the vehicles. It also ordered shops not to show the heads of female mannequins as it is against the Islamic Sharia law. Many human rights activists have condemned the rigid laws imposed by the Taliban. On Tuesday, Kabul also witnessed women led rally to protest against the latest travel bans imposed by the Taliban, demanding and calling on the global community to come to their rescue. "I want to tell the world, tell the Taliban to stop killing. We want freedom, we want justice, we want human rights," said Nayera Koahistani as she along with dozens of other women protest on the streets of Kabul. The Biden administration has been criticised for not prioritising the safe passage for women, rights activists and others who had been targeted by the Taliban in the past. Even though, Biden maintained that his decision to exit Afghanistan was the right thing to do; concerns over women rights and an inclusive government in Afghanistan would remain as part of Washington's demands with the Taliban, if the latyer wants global recognition. Gandhinagar, Dec 30 : The Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including state president Gopal Italia, who have been in jail for the last ten days for protesting outside the BJP headquarters here, were granted bail by a court in Gandhinagar on Thursday. "The Gandhinagar court granted bail to the 65 AAP leaders who have been in Sabarmati Central Jail since December 20. I believe, by today evening, they will be released," Pranav Thakkar, the legal counsel of AAP Gujarat, said. However, they are yet to receive the copy of the bail order, the counsel added. All of those arrested faced charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including criminal conspiracy, and sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. As many as 28 women AAP members who were accused out of the total 93 arrested, have already obtained conditional bail. These AAP members were arrested on December 20 for staging a protest outside the state BJP headquarters, 'Shree Kamalam' in Gandhinagar. They were demanding the removal of BJP leader and chairman of the Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB), Asit Vora, who, according to them, should be held responsible for the head clerk recruitment exam paper leak. The written exam was held on December 12, with 88,000 aspirants appearing for 186 vacancies. The AAP alleged that the question paper was sold in advance for Rs 8-Rs 12 lakh. While the government later annulled the exam and rescheduled it for March 2022, the police arrested 18 accused in the racket. The protest at the Kamalam led to a clash between AAP and BJP workers following which the police lathicharged the crowd to disperse the protesters. The Gandhinagar Police lodged an FIR against the AAP workers and arrested Gopal Italia, women's wing president Gauri Desai, youth wing president Nikhil Savani, senior leaders Ishudan Gadhvi, Hasmukh Patel and 500 other workers. Chennai, Dec 30 : An 11-year-old boy was grievously injured on Thursday after being hit by a stray bullet fired during a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) training session at Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu. The personnel were training at the CISF shooting range at Pasumalaipatt in Pudukottai. The Tamil Nadu police are investigating the matter and the Deputy Superintendent of Pasumalaipatti police Sivasubramanian, while speaking to mediapersons, stated that the boy was 2 km away from the shooting range at Pasumalaipatti and was at his grandparents home. He was rushed to Keeranur government hospital which referred him to Pudukottai medical college hospital. Doctors have now shifted the boy to Thanjavur medical college hospital where a team of doctors is attending on him. According to police, the bullet has pierced the boy's head and his condition is stated to be extremely critical. Locals have staged a 'road roko' agitation and demanded the shutting down of the firing range of the CISF. They have also demanded a detailed investigation into the matter and said that the reason for a boy 2 km away being hit by a bullet has to be found out and those responsible booked. Hyderabad, Dec 30 : 'RRR' actor Jr NTR recently openly discussed his depression. Despite being tagged as Tollywood's top actor, Jr NTR said he too had faced depression. During the chat, Jr NTR revealed that he was dragged into depression after he failed to come up with hits in his career. Having entered the movie industry at the age of 18, he was ignorant about how things would work for him, after facing a few failures. Jr NTR had bagged Rajamouli's 'Student No. 1', which was a super hit at that point in time. Nevertheless, the 'Janatha Garage' hero soon suffered a steep fall. At that time, as mentioned by Jr NTR he was wondering how long he would be able to maintain success since there was an inevitable fall ahead in life. "I was not unhappy because my movie didn't work. I was clueless about how my future life would go on." "I took my failure a hard way. I stopped working out, and became confused," Jr NTR said. In Jr NTR's words, Rajamouli helped him cope with his difficult situation. He said, "Rajamouli helped me introspect, which made me a better person and a better performer." Jr NTR's fans have appreciated him for publicly disclosing these episodes, which shows that mental health is no longer a taboo subject in Tollywood. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Kolkata, Dec 30 : In the midst of the Omicron scare in West Bengal that recorded 11 cases in five days, the upward graph of Covid-19 infections is keeping the state health department on tenterhooks. In the last 24 hours, the fresh Covid infections in the state have crossed the 1,000 mark - for the first time in the last 177 days. According to the latest data released by the state health department, the number of fresh Covid cases in the state is 1,089 with four districts including Kolkata, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas recording more than 80 per cent of the cases. The state administration is gearing up to meet the third wave of the deadly virus. According to data available, of the total 1,089 cases, 540 were detected in Kolkata, 145 in North 24 Parganas, 79 in South 24 Parganas and 60 in Howrah in the last 24 hours. The state health department said coronavirus claimed lives of 12 people in the same time span. In addition to that, the state recorded 11 cases of Omicron so far of which five don't have any travel history. "This is more alarming because if the people are infected by Omicron who don't have any travel history, then somewhere there is a possibility of community spreading. We are trying contact tracing to know the reason behind the spread of the disease," a senior health department official said. The state health department is gearing up to meet the challenges of the third wave of Covid. In a notification it has has asked all concerned to ramp up testing in the state to at least 40,000 per day. The health experts are of the opinion that the rapid spread of the virus is a major concern. The experts said 30,000 to 35,000 people can get infected per day within a short spell. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Jaipur, Dec 30 : In a bizarre case reported from Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan, police have had to conduct an identification parade of donkeys at a police station after 70 donkeys went missing and their owners lodged complaints of theft in the district in Khuiyan town area. In the meantime, police found 17 donkeys and conducted their identification parade. However, their owners said they were lookalikes of their animals and refused to take them. Earlier, soon after the complaints were registered, the police allegedly preferred to sit on them. However, a protest staged by the owners and CPI(M) workers at the police station on Tuesday evening forced the police to go in search of the missing donkeys. While conducting this search, the police caught 15 donkeys and brought them to the police station, but their owners refused to take them as the animals did not respond to their names. The owners said that the names of some donkeys were Chintu, Pintu and Kalu and when they called them by these names, none of these animals responded which proved that they were not their animals. The owners staging a sit-in asked the police to leave the donkeys from where they had brought them and again asked them to get their own animals. They said that the donkeys are their means of livelihood. They informed that the price of a donkey is about Rs 20,000 and 70 stolen donkeys means it is a theft of Rs 14 lakh. The owners said that the donkeys carry loads and their means of livelihood ended after their donkeys were stolen. Khuiyan police station SHO Vijendra Sharma speaking to the media said "we have formed teams to trace these animals." CPI (M) leader Mangej Choudhary said that the reason they have to stage a sit-in is that complaints of missing animals are rising by the day. New Delhi, Dec 30 : Afghanistan's former president Ashraf Ghani has defended his decision to flee the country as the Taliban closed in earlier this year, saying he did it to prevent the destruction of Kabul, BBC reported. The Taliban seized power in August after taking control of the capital. Ashraf Ghani revealed that when he woke up on August 15 he had "no inkling" it would be his last day in Afghanistan. It was only when his plane left Kabul that he realised he was going, Ghani said on BBC Radio 4's programme. He was heavily criticised and accused of abandoning the country at the time. He is now in the United Arab Emirates. Three months on, Ghani says he is willing to take the blame for some things which led to the fall of Kabul - like trusting "in our international partnership". However, he added: "My life work has been destroyed. My values had been trampled on. And I have been made a scapegoat." As the day started, Ghani recalled, Taliban fighters had agreed not to enter Kabul - "but two hours later, this was not the case". "Two different factions of the Taliban were closing in from two different directions", Ghani explained. "And the possibility of a massive conflict between them that would destroy the city of five million and bring havoc to the people was enormous." The "terrified" chief of the presidential security came to him to say that if Ghani took a stand, "they will all be killed". "He did not give me more than two minutes," Ghani said. "My instructions had been to prepare for departure for [the city of] Khost. He told me that Khost had fallen and so had Jalalabad, the report said. "I did not know where we will go. Only when we took off, it became clear that we were leaving [Afghanistan]. So this really was sudden." Ghani acknowledged mistakes were made, including "assuming that the patience of the international community would last". However, he pointed to the agreement made between the Taliban and the US under then-President Donald Trump, which paved the way for the events leading to August 15. "Instead of a peace process, we got a withdrawal process," Ghani said. The way the deal was done, Ghani added, "erased us". Centurion, Dec 30 : India signed off 2021 with a 113-run win over South Africa in the first Test at SuperSport Park here on Thursday. The win is also Indias first-ever Test victory at the venue, which is largely considered to be a fortress for South Africa. With this win, India have also taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. It took only two overs after lunch for India to wrap a memorable win. Marco Jansen began the second session by taking two boundaries off Mohammed Shami. But on the fifth ball, Shami had the last laugh as he drew Jansen to defend on the front foot but nicked behind to keeper Rishabh Pant. Ravichandran Ashwin took the first wicket by a spinner in the match, offering Kagiso Rabada flight outside the off-stump. Rabada reached out for a drive but the outer edge flew to Shami at backward point. On the very next ball, Ashwin sealed India's win in just 10 minutes of the second session as Lungi Ngidi inner-edged to Cheteshwar Pujara at backward short leg. Earlier, resuming from 94/4 under a clear bright sky, Bavuma and Dean Elgar struck crisply-timed boundaries to keep India frustrated. Shami dropped Elgar on 63 in a straightforward chance off his own bowling, further extending the wait of a breakthrough for the to'rists'. Shami's dropped chance cost India only 14 runs as the 36-run partnership was brought to an end by Jasprit Bumrah trapping Elgar plumb lbw. The left-handed batter shuffled in an attempt to flick but missed the in-ducker from Bumrah which crashed to his pads. He went for the review, but replays showed the ball hitting the stumps. Quinton de Kock smashed some boundaries while sharing a stand of 31 with Bavuma before chopping on to his stumps while trying to cut off Siraj. Shami struck in his second spell of the session, getting a length ball to straighten after pitching and take a faint outer edge of Wiaan Mulder's bat to Pant. Bavuma lost partners but continued to hit boundaries. Along with Jansen, Bavuma ensured that South Africa didn't lose any more wickets before lunch. But on resumption after the break, it took just 12 deliveries for India to breach another fortress after Gabba in the beginning of the year despite a day washed out due to rain. Brief scores: India 327 and 174 beat South Africa 197 and 191 all out in 68 overs (Dean Elgar 77, Temba Bavuma 35 not out, Jasprit Bumrah 3/50, Mohammed Shami 3/63) by 113 runs -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Chennai, Dec 30 : The Coimbatore police on Thursday arrested several activists including leaders of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK), who had staged a demonstration against the RSS for conducting a 'shakha' and camp inside a private school's premises in the city. TPDK general secretary K. Ramakrishnan, while addressing the protest said that the action of the RSS would create fear and unrest among the ordinary people of the area. Police said that the activists turned violent outside the school where the RSS was conducting its one-week orientation programme for its lower-level cadre. The programme, "Prathamik Shiksha Varg" was being conducted within the school premises from December 24 and would conclude on Friday. Ramakrishnan was forcibly lifted from the agitation area and put inside a police vehicle. He told IANS: "The RSS is an organisation that spreads hatred and mistrust among the people and the police should not have given assent for its camp in the school premises. We held the protest to make the world aware of what the RSS is doing. Our public action has made the local people understand what the RSS exactly is and what its agenda is." Police said that all the protestors were taken into custody and lodged at a wedding hall in Villankurichi near Coimbatore. Patna, Dec 30 : Seven women sustained injuries during a stampede outside the distribution unit of fertilisers in Araria district of Bihar on Thursday. The injured were rushed to hospitals of Araria where their condition is stated to be stable. Ram Pukar Singh, the Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Forbisganj range confirmed the incident which took place at 10 a.m. A stampede broke out when a large number of women were waiting for their turn outside the distribution centre in a queue, he said, adding: "They have sustained injuries. We immediately rushed them to the nearby hospitals." The farmers of Bihar face a lot of problems due to shortage of fertilisers. On Thursday, the farmers of Araria district learnt about the distribution of fertilisers at Narpatganj government high school and turned up in large numbers at the venue. As there was not adequate deployment of police, the crowd got out of control as soon as distribution of fertilisers started in the morning hours. "We have distributed the fertilisers to farmers after a brief disruption owing to the stampede," he said. Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 30 : While the tussle between the Pinarayi Vijayan government and Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan over the re-appointment of Kannur University Vice-Chancellor Gopinath Ravindran is on a high, on Thursday, the Congress party turned the table on Khan and asked him not to speak like a child. Since December 8, Khan is peeved at the way Ravindran was re-appointed, though he put his signature on it, he went on record to say that he no longer is the chancellor as he has relinquished that post, after feeling bad in the manner in which the State Higher Education Minister R. Bindhu wrote two letters to him demanding the appointment of Ravindran. Khan himself said that he forwarded a notice which he received from the Kerala High Court on the case of Ravindran to the Vijayan government as he is no longer the Chancellor. The division bench will hear the petition filed against the re-appointment on January 12. Taking cudgels with Khan on Thursday was Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan who said Khan is speaking like a child. "He (Khan) is the chancellor and it's through a Bill passed in the Kerala Legislative Assembly that the state governor was appointed as the chancellor. Now he says he has relinquished the post. This cannot happen because if he has to relinquish the post, it has to be passed in the assembly. So what he has done is against the law. A governor is not above the rule of the land and what he said is totally wrong," said Satheesan. Joining issue was Satheesan's predecessor and veteran Congress legislator Ramesh Chennithala who said what Khan should actually do is to correct the wrong he did when he re-appointed Ravindran. "Instead of doing that, what he has done now will seriously affect the smooth functioning of the Universities. By now Khan himself has said on numerous occasions about the letter written by Bindhu, who has defended her letters. What Khan should do is to see that Bindhu is removed from the cabinet," said Chennithala. Chennithala who had said he will move the Kerala Lok Ayukta against Bindhu is yet to do it as he is waiting for the answers to the RTI that he has asked the office of the Governor and once it comes he said he will do the needful. Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 30 : After several rounds of discussions between Kerala government, banking officials and the cashew industry, a onetime settlement package has been announced which will provide succour to the tune of Rs 500 crores, a state minister said. The one-time money spinning cashew industry in Kerala has been in shambles due to high cost of production, unavailability of raw nuts, and not to mention the Covid pandemic and for long they have been seeking assistance from the Pinarayi-Vijayan led Left government since 2016. The first intervention by the Vijayan government came in 2019 and since then there have been regular meetings with all concerned. State Industries Minister P. Rajiv on Thursday said this scheme would benefit those in the cashew business who have availed a loan of up to Rs 10 crore. According to the new package, interest will be waived of on all loans up to Rs 10 crores taken by the cashew industry. Besides this those who have taken loans for sums up to Rs 2 crore can close their account by paying 50 per cent of the capital. And for those who have availed loans from Rs 2 to Rs 10 crore, they have to pay 60 per cent and the accounts can be closed. Consequent to this huge one time settlement, the State Level Bankers Committee officials points out that it will provide relief to numerous people in the cashew business to the tune of Rs 500 crore. This scheme will be applicable to all those accounts which have turned NPA as on March 31, 2020. New Delhi, Dec 30: In a big blow to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, Saudi Arabia has decided to relocate its planned refinery from Gwadar port city to Hub -- an industrial township close to Karachi. The refinery had been announced during the visit of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan in February 2019 with investments worth $20 billion signed between the two nations. With no progress happening on the oil refinery, which itself was a $10 billion project, the Saudis have decided to move it to Hub. BBC Urdu reports from Pakistan that a number of officials involved in the project have confirmed that the oil refinery is being considered for construction in Hub due to infrastructural and feasibility issues in Gwadar. Reportedly, the kingdom also lost interest in the project due to a downturn in bilateral relations with Pakistan's overactive foreign policy within the Islamic world. The refinery was not just meant to produce petrol and diesel. It was supposed to be a Deep Conversion Refinery--a petrochemical complex, under which the Saudi project would also have produced lubricants. Nikkei Asia too had reported that Gwadar as a destination had infrstructure gaps. Quoting unidentified sources from the oil and gas sector in Pakistan, BBC Urdu adds that the plan to set up the refinery in Gwadar seemed unworkable. Aramco conducted a feasibility study which found that it would have to construct a new pipeline from Gwadar to Karachi to be able to transport the products from the refinery, making the project unviable. The use of tankers to ferry the refined oil products would have added to the cost of the Gwadar refinery. The alienation of the local Baloch people in Gwadar with rising attacks on Chinese nationals working on CPEC projects has given rise to an uncertain atmosphere about Gwadar as an investment destination. Experts point out that this also shows that Gwadar port--the jewel of China's CPEC and the 'Singapore of Pakistan'--has infrastructural shortcomings that have disallowed investment. CPEC projects have slowed down considerably in Pakistan. Tahir Abbas, Head of Research of Arif Habib Limited, told BBC Urdu that for any investment, the first thing to look at is whether its future outlook is positive. "After the establishment of the refinery, how will the products produced in it be consumed when the government in the country is working to promote electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles," he said. With the relocation of the refinery almost final, Pakistan is now planning to conduct a feasibility study for Hub. State oil marketing company, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), has reportedly contacted Saudi company Aramco for setting up the refinery for Hub. The relocation of the Saudi project is also a pointer to the unease over the $62 billion CPEC that exists between all-weather friends Pakistan and China. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative Bhubaneswar, Dec 30 : Five more persons in Odisha tested positive for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, taking the total number of such cases in the state to 14. "Four male and one female of 22-44 years of age have tested positive for Omicron. While four persons have returned from foreign countries -- Qatar, Congo and the UAE, another infected person has no international travel history. The person had recently visited Raipur and Hyderabad," said director of health services, Bijay Mohapatra. The health condition of all infected persons is stable, he said. Contact tracing of all these five Omicron positive persons is being carried out. So far, one Omicron positive person's close contact has tested Covid positive and his sample has been sent for genome sequencing while contacts of another two cases have found Covid negative, Mohapatra said. Moreover, reports of persons who came in contact with another two fresh cases are awaited, he informed. So far, 14 Omicron cases have been detected in Odisha. Of them, 13 are foreign returnees. One person has already been tested negative. Meanwhile, Odisha reported 225 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of cases to 10,54,606. With this, the State's active caseload rose to 1,652. The state government has also confirmed one more deaths due to Covid after an audit. So far, 8,458 persons have died due to the virus in the State. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, Dec 30 : Rajasthan's Minister of State for Technical Education Dr Subhash Garg raised the demand for special category status for the state as the cost of service delivery is higher than other states. Garg was representing Rajasthan in a pre-budget meeting with the Finance Ministers of states on Thursday at Vigyan Bhavan here, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He said that due to the investment friendly policies of the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan is emerging as one of the biggest investment hub of the country. He said that an 'Invest Rajasthan Summit' is being organised on January 24 and 25 in which 487 MoUs worth more than Rs 5 lakh crore will be signed, which is expected to provide employment to about 3,28,000 people. Garg demanded that the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project should be declared a national project soon. Along with this, 100 per cent expenditure should be borne by the Central government by sanctioning five main projects in the desert and tribal areas. By doing this the investment climate will improve in the whole state. Garg said that for the successful implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, the funding ratio of the central and state governments should be 90:10. Also, the period of recharge of the central share in this scheme should be extended by 2 years to March, 2026. He added that the state's economy has suffered badly due to the second Covid wave. In such a situation, the revenue deficit grant should be increased from Rs 4,862 crore to Rs 9,878 crore for the year 2022-23 and the grant should be continued from 2023-24 to 2025-26. He demanded that the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission should be relaxed to raise the borrowing limit to 5 per cent of the GSDP for the year 2021-22 and 4.5 per cent for the year 2024-25 from 2022-23. He said that under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the current ceiling put by the central government should be removed to accommodate maximum people in the scheme. Garg said that at present the import duty on gold and silver is 7.5 per cent and on platinum 10 per cent. This should be brought down to 4 per cent so that Indian products can compete with that of Dubai, Singapore etc. He requested that the existing basic customs duty on import of vitrified tiles should be increased from 10 per cent to 25 per cent in order to save the local mining industry which is suffering huge losses due to foreign imports. Guntur, Dec 30 : BJP's Andhra Pradesh chief Somu veerraju on Thursday demanded a change in the name of Guntur's Jinnah Tower, which is named after Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He said since Jinnah was the cause of India's division, the state government should change the name of the Tower. "How can we continue to use the name of a man who was responsible for the country's division for the tower or the area," he asked. The BJP leader said wherever there are names of anti-nationals, they should be removed. Meanwhile, BJP MLA in Telangana, Raja Singh also demanded that name of Jinnah Tower should be changed immediately by the Andhra Pradesh government. "How can you continue to use the name of a man who is responsible for the division of the country and death of many people," he asked. The MLA, who represents Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad, demanded that the tower be named after freedom fighter Abul Kalam or Gurram Jashua. Jinnah Tower in Guntur is a key landmark located on Mahatma Gandhi Road, the main artery of the city. Despite wars and conflicts between India and Pakistan, the tower stood as a symbol of peace and harmony. The tower, built in honour of Jinnah in pre-independence era, is standing tall on six pillars and opens to a dome. This tower is considered the symbol of the Islamic architecture. According to historians, the tower was built by a local Muslim leader Lal Jan Basha after the visit of Jinnah's representative Judaliyaquat Ali Khan to Guntur. Heritage activists in the past raised concern over parts of the tower crumbling due to negligence by authorities. They had called for protecting the edifice. Kabul, Dec 30 : Afghan women took to the streets of Kabul to protest against the discriminatory restrictions being imposed against them, including the recent travel restrictions on women. But shots fired in the air by Taliban security personnel led to a stampede that left a number of women protesters injured. Hundreds of women came out in Kabul to protest and express their anger against the restrictions imposed on women by the Taliban, which continue to get tougher, spreading fear of the similar impositions during the previous rule of the Taliban when strict curbs were imposed on women, barring them from their basic rights of education, employment and other basic facilities. "At least 130 women attended the protest in Kabul, and shots fired in the air by the Taliban militants trying to disperse the demonstrators prompted the fleeing protesters to fall and trample one another. Several women sustained injuries in the stampede," said an eyewitness. Another protester who got injured in the stampede said that even though she was in a lot of pain, she felt unsafe to see the doctor. "My face is injured so badly that even now when I speak with you, I am in much pain. We couldn't even go to a doctor because we don't feel safe, we are threatened," she said. "Even now I am shaking with fear as I speak with you," she added. The protesters also slammed the Taliban leadership and its militants for killing soldiers who had served under the previous government of Ashraf Ghani regime. The Taliban leadership, while promising and assuring the international community to ensure the rights of employment and other basic rights to the women of the country, have been imposing restrictions on travelling alone, barring teenage girls from going to school and directing vehicles to refrain from picking up female passengers who do not wear a headscarf. The Taliban leadership has also shut down the former administration's Women's Affairs Ministry. The ongoing restrictions being imposed in Afghanistan as law by the Taliban are being widely criticised and questioned, with many declaring them as dangerous to the nation's growth and global acceptability. "Women cannot travel alone or go to schools and colleges. This kind of retrogressive thinking is dangerous," said Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information, Fawad Chaudhry. The issue has garnered global attention, with many calling on the Taliban leadership to take realistic steps towards provision of basic rights to females as this is among the top demands, mandatory for international recognition of the new Taliban government in Afghanistan. New Delhi, Dec 30 : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its stance on the arrest of religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj. Slamming the saffron party, the Congress leader said the BJP did not condemn Kalicharan's controversial remarks about Mahatma Gandhi but questioned the 'protocol' over the godman's arrest. In an interaction with IANS, Baghel said his party deplored the remarks made at the 'Dharma Sansad' where Mahatma Gandhi was allegedly insulted while his assassin Nathuram Godse was praised. Hitting out at the BJP, the Chief Minister said the party cannot "establish Nathuram Godse and Veer Savarkar in the country". "Mahatma Gandhi is a globally acclaimed leader and widely followed. Who knows about Savarkar in the foreign countries? The BJP has an affection for Godse... and therefore, it's raising questions on the procedures over Kalicharan's arrest," he said. On being asked if he, as a Chief Minister, expects Prime Minister Narendra Modi to criticise the religious leader's remarks, Baghel said: "PM Modi is a native of Gujarat where Mahatma Gandhi belongs to. In fact, he should have denounced the controversial comments." Kalicharan Maharaj has been charged with sedition after he was arrested from Madhya Pradesh early on Thursday for making derogatory remarks about Mahatma Gandhi. The remarks were made at an event - 'Dharma Sansad', which was organised on December 25-26 in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur. An FIR against Kalicharan was filed at Tikrapara police station in Raipur by a Congress leader Pramod Dube, who was also present at the 'Dharma Sansad'. Earlier on Thursday, Chhattisgarh police arrested the religious leader in Madhya Pradesh near Khajuraho. Kalicharan, who was a guest at the 'Dharma Sansad', allegedly abused Mahatma Gandhi and praised Godse. His arrest by the Chhattisgarh police, however, has led to a spat between the governments of two neighbouring states -- the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh, and the Congress-led Chhattisgarh government. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra called Chhattisgarh police's action a breach of inter-state protocol and has directed the top cop of the state to seek a clarification from the Chhattisgarh DGP. However, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel justified the police action, saying: "No rules were violated. Action was taken as per the prescribed guidelines." Chennai, Dec 30 : The official trailer of actor Ajith's upcoming film 'Valimai', which was released on Thursday evening, set the Internet on fire with the video garnering a whopping 1.1 lakh views in less than 15 minutes of being released on YouTube. Scores of fans of the actor bought tickets just to watch the trailer of the film on the big screen. The neatly cut, high-energy sharp trailer of the much-awaited film, directed by Vinoth, gives away the fact that Ajith plays a cop called Arjun in the film and that he goes after a team of criminals who believe that their strength gives them the right to take what they want. The trailer gives a glimpse of the adrenaline pumping race sequences that the film has in store for audiences and shows Ajith explaining that strength is only meant to protect others and not for oneself. The film, which is set to hit screens for Pongal next year, promises to be an action feast and a visual treat for audiences. New Delhi, Dec 30 : A high level committee under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday approved additional Central assistance of Rs 3,063.21 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to six States, which were affected by floods, landslides and cyclones during 2021. Under this, Rs 1,133.35 crore is given to Gujarat to mitigate the impact of Cyclone 'Tauktae' this year while Rs 586.59 crore has been allocated to West Bengal for cyclone 'Yaas' which hit the state in May 2021. Similarly, Rs 51.53 crore has been allocated to Assam, Rs 504.06 crore to Karnataka, Rs 600.50 crore to Madhya Pradesh and Rs 187.18 crore to Uttarakhand against the damages caused by the floods and landslides during the South West Monsoon this year. "This additional assistance is over and above the funds released by the Centre to the States from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), already placed at the disposal of the States," officials in the Home Ministry said. On October 2, 2021, the Union Home Ministry approved the release of the second instalment of its share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) amounting to Rs 7,274.40 crore, in advance, to 23 states to facilitate them to have enough funds in their SDRF to deal with any emergency arising out of any disaster. During the financial year 2021-22, the Central Government has released Rs 17,747.20 crore to 28 states for their SDRF and an additional fund of Rs 3,543.54 crore has been released to seven states from NDRF too, officials added. They also said that in the aftermath of Cyclone 'Taukte' and 'Yaas', Rs 1,000 crore was released in advance from NDRF to Gujarat on May 20, 2021 and Rs 300 crore to West Bengal on May 29 this year. During the year 2021-22, the Central Government had deputed 22 Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) immediately after natural calamities, without waiting for the receipt of a Memorandum from the affected state governments. Kabul, Dec 30 : The New Yorker magazine, a reputed publication, has claimed that it was in fact a text message, followed by a telephone call from a Pakistani number that persuaded then Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib to leave the country at the time when Taliban were entering Kabul in mid-August this year. As per the claims of the New Yorker magazine, a text message came in the afternoon of August 15, the day when the Taliban seized control of Kabul and toppled the Ashraf Ghani regime in a matter of just over two weeks after the departure of foreign forces from Afghanistan. "Khalil Haqqani, a leader of the Taliban faction named after his family, wished to speak with Mohib. He took the call from Haqqani who asked him to surrender," the magazine claimed. "Mohib called Tom West, a deputy to (Ambassador Zalmay) Khalilzad in Doha, to inform him about the call. West told him not to go to any meeting because it might be a trap," the New Yorker magazine added. Later that day, Mohib met Ghani and a diplomat from the UAE to discuss the possible evacuation plan. And at noon, it was agreed that Mohib, along with Ghani, his wife Rula and some other staff should leave for the UAE at the earliest. "Mohib's UAE contacts offered seats on an Emirates Airlines flight scheduled to depart Kabul at 4 that afternoon. President Ghani asked Mohib to escort Rula to Dubai and then join the negotiating team in Doba to finalise talks with Khalilzad and Mullah Baradar about the handover of Kabul," the revelations of the New Yorker report added. At least three of President Ghani's Mi-17s were at the palace while the fourth was at the airport. Mohib was informed that the pilots had fully fueled the helicopters because they wanted to fly directly to Tajkistan or Uzbekistan as other Afghan military pilots had used the same escape route. "The pilots refused to go to the airport with Rula as they had heard that rogue Afghan soldiers were seizing or grounding helicopters there," claimed the New Yorker. The magazine also claimed that Mohib was doubtful about the loyalty of the bodyguards if the Taliban entered the palace grounds, adding that there were inefficient means to protest against the President. It is revealed that Ghani wanted to pick up some more belongings, but because Mohib was worried that every minute they delayed, they risked touching off panic and revolt by armed guards, "Ghani climbed into a car, without so much as his passport". While this was going on in Kabul, Ambassador Khalilzad was in Doha discussing a surrender plan with Mullah Baradar. Baradar agreed not to enter Kabul and withdraw his Taliban fighters. However, when this was communicated to Ghani, he was not ready to trust Baradar or Khalilzad. "Yet this was based on assurances from Khalilzad and the Taliban, and Ghani regarded both as unreliable source," claimed the report. As Ghani flew off to Uzbekistan, his palace guards and other staffers, who had no idea where Ghani or Mohib had gone, were left with no other option but to negotiate their mercy with the Taliban. New Delhi, Dec 30 : Delhi Police have arrested two persons for allegedly targeting divorced women through matrimonial sites and cheating them on the pretext of marriage and providing visas, an official said on Thursday. According to the official, a complaint was received at the IGI Airport police station from a woman residing in Paschim Vihar. In the complaint, the woman alleged that she came in touch with one of the accused, identified Purshottam alias Pankaj Sharma, and during conversation the man offered her a marriage proposal. The accused also informed her that he helps people who want to settle abroad immigrate. Later on, citing compelling family reasons, the accused refused to marry the victim, but promised to get her a suitable match in Canada, that too as per her requirements. On the inducement of the accused, the victim shared her credentials such as ITR, photographs and bank statements and also handed over her original passport to Pankaj. After taking her original passport, he started demanding money on one pretext or the other, and whenever she asked him about the delay, he made excuses citing Covid as the reason, the police said. Thereafter, since October 2020, the complainant transferred marginal amounts to the accused's account and even paid in cash during physical meetings. Later, Pankaj arranged for a forged and fabricated visa on her passport in a pre-planned strategy to defraud her and usurp her money. Based on the complaint, an FIR under Sections 420 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code was registered on September 2. On September 21, Pankaj was arrested from Amritsar, and the mobile phone of the accused, which contained screenshots and details of the complainant's passport, was recovered. During interrogation, Pankaj revealed that it was his consistent pattern of duping divorced women. Till now, the accused has duped more than 50 women. It was also learnt that the accused had already married thrice. Sent to police custody, the accused disclosed the names of his associates who used to provide him visa stickers. The second accused, identified as Kuldeep alias Bobby, was arrested from Rohini on December 26. The police said that following Pankaj's arrest, several other victims came forward and lodged their complaints against him for cheating them on the pretext of marriage and sending them abroad. New Delhi, Dec 30 : A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Hyderabad has awarded seven years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) to a former State Bank of India (SBI) manager, in connection with a cheating case, an official said on Thursday. The Additional Judge, CBI Cases, Hyderabad, who sentenced Praveen Singh, then Branch Manager of SBI, Research Centre Imarath Branch, in Telangana, also slapped a fine of Rs 2 lakh on him. The CBI had registered a case in April 2010 against Praveen Singh, on the allegations that the accused entered conspiracy with unknown persons to cheat the SBI in the matter of pre-maturely cancelling Special Term Deposit Receipts, embezzling the funds to his own accounts and also into the accounts opened in the fictitious names. The accused had misappropriated a sum of over Rs 4 crore. Due to the conspiracy hatched by the accused, the SBI suffered huge loss. The bank, however, detected the fraud. It had initiated a departmental inquiry to look into the matter, and later, the bank decided to approach the federal probe agency. The CBI recorded testimonies of over 100 people to gather evidence against the accused. The probe agency collected a number of documentary evidence against the accused. After recording the various statements and collecting digital and documentary evidence, the agency took the legal opinion as well on the chargesheet before it was filed. New Delhi, Dec 30 : The Congress on Thursday slammed the Election commission's statement that the entire eligible population of Uttar Pradesh would be vaccinated in time for the upcoming assembly elections. The party hit out at the ECI for not procuring data from the government on Covid-19 and share it with the political parties. Questioning the statement, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "Has the Election Commission even asked Modi Govt to share the data of Covid-19 infections, particularly the spread of Omicron, the vaccination plan and timeline and efficacy of vaccine? Has ECI shared the data with other political parties and held discussions?" "Constitutional responsibility of elections lies solely with the ECI. Instead of acting like a toothless tiger, the ECI should ask for data from the Modi Govt, share it with all parties, consult health experts -- epidemiologists, virologists & take an independent decision. Has it done so?" he asked. He said that the Commission must remember that the country wide data of Covid-19 infection, its spread & multiplication, the doubling time, the results of genome sequencing & the impact of the vaccine on Omicron is with the Modi Government, not with political parties. The Congress said that the nation had experience of first and the second waves and alleged that despite the numerous health warnings, PM Modi went ahead with 'Namaste Trump' during the first wave & carried on with huge election rallies in Bengal and Jan Ashirwad Yatras elsewhere. Even then ECI watched as a mute and complicit bystander, he said. Shiv Sena Secretary Vishwajeet Singh too criticised the EC. He said that the Chief Election Commissioner on Thursday said that 50 per cent of the state population had been vaccinated and the 100 per cent target would be achieved by the time elections will be held. "There has to be a gap of 90 days between two doses so how is it possible that everyone will be vaccinated in time for elections?" he asked. He said that the Election Commission was apparently rushing into elections and posing a major risk to the lives of millions. The Shiv Sena leader further said that only selected parties were called for a meeting with the CEC which undermined the very purpose of holding the meeting. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Sindhudurg : , Dec 30 (IANS) In a massive political setback for BJP lawmaker Nitesh Rane - the son of Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane, a court in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg on Thursday rejected his anticipatory bail application. Advocate Sangram Desai said that since the bail plea has been declined, they would move the Bombay High Court soon after getting the copy of the court orders. The bail rejection order was pronounced by District and Sessions Principal Judge Shirishkumar V. Hande this evening after a tough legal battle between Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat and the defence team since Tuesday. Along with Nitesh Rane, 39, - who has gone "incommunicado" - the bail plea of one of his associates and co-accused Gotya Sawant, was also rejected in an assault case. However, advocate Desai said it was wrong to describe Nitesh Rane as an "absconder"- though the Maharashtra Police are now likely to step up efforts to arrest him. This is the second major embarrassment in the past five months for the Rane family - one of the prime political clans in the coastal Konkan. On August 24, the Union Minister was arrested amid high drama, before being released on bail, for his infamous "slap-slur" against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, sparking off a massive row between the BJP and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Shortly after the court verdict, the Shiv Sena erupted in celebrations, bursting fire-crackers, raising victory slogans and cheering the outcome. Known for brashness, Rane Jr. had filed the plea in the Sindhudurg court for reliefs against any coercive action against him in an attempt to murder case lodged against him in his political bastion, Kankavli. The complainant is Santosh Parab who said that some time ago, he was riding on his motorcycle when a SUV without registration plates knocked him down, a person jumped out, stabbed him in the chest, and sped off. Later, Parab, 44, complained to the police that before the assailant left, he was heard saying that "we must inform Gotya Sawant and Nitesh Rane". Based on the complaint, the Sindhudurg police registered a FIR charging Nitesh Rane and others with attempt to murder, common intent, etc, and served a notice to them. Rane Jr. subsequently responded to the notice and was questioned by the police for over two hours last Saturday. The Rane family and the BJP have alleged that the entire issue is fabricated and politically motivated to influence the elections to the board of directors of the district bank, which were due on Thursday, and the recent verbal duel between Nitesh Rane and Maharashtra Ministers Aditya Thackeray and Nawab Malik in which hens, cats and pigs were invoked. In his bail plea, among other things, Nitesh Rane said he was busy canvassing for the BJP candidates standing for the district bank polls and any coercive action would affect his work. He also assured he would be available for investigations whenever needed by the police, and contended that there was nothing to prove his involvement in the attempt to murder case, etc. Nevertheless, since the past few days, he suddenly became "incommunicado", his phone switched off, his aides denying knowledge of his whereabouts even as the police were on the lookout for him. On December 29, the Maharashtra Police even served a notice to Union Minister Narayan Rane and called him to join the probe, but the latter declined saying he was ready to engage in a video-conference call with the investigators. Questioned on his son's current bearings, the former Chief Minister flared up, saying: "I am not a fool to disclose where he (Nitesh) is." (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in) New Delhi, Dec 30 : Two days ahead of China implementing new border law, the Chinese government renames 15 places of Arunachal Pradesh in its map. China's Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a statement stating that they have 'standardised' names for 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, to be used on Chinese maps. This is the second time China has renamed the names of the places of Arunachal Pradesh. Way back in 2017, China had changed names of six places. Renaming of names comes just two days ahead of implementing new border law. On October 23, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, passed a new law citing "protection and exploitation of the country's land border areas". The committee had stated that the new law will come into effect from January 1. The law is not meant specifically for the border with India. China shares its 22,457 km land boundary with 14 countries including India, the third longest after the borders with Mongolia and Russia. The new border law has 62 articles and seven chapters. As per the law, People's Republic of China shall set up boundary markers on all its land borders to clearly mark the border. The type of marker is to be decided in agreement with the relevant neighbouring state. The law further stated that People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese People's Armed Police Force will maintain security along the border. This responsibility includes cooperating with local authorities in combating illegal border crossings. The law prohibits any party from indulging in any activity in the border area which would "endanger national security or affect China's friendly relations with neighbouring countries". It includes construction of any permanent buildings by any person without authorisation from the concerned authority. Further it stated that citizens and local organisations are mandated to protect and defend the border infrastructure, maintain security and stability of borders and co-operate with government agencies in maintaining border security. The law lays path for the development of the border region. It states that People's Republic of China will take up education and propaganda to "solidify the sense of community of China, to promote the spirit of China, to defend the unity and territorial integrity of the country, strengthen citizens' sense of the country and homeland security, and build a common spiritual home for the Chinese nation" amongst citizens in the border region. The state can take measures "to strengthen border defence, support economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas, improve public services and infrastructure in such areas, encourage and support people's life and work there, and promote coordination between border defence and social, economic development in border areas". In effect, this suggests a push to settle civilians in the border areas. The law comes amid border dispute with India. Experts stated that Beijing is likely to dig in its heels at the current positions at the Line of Actual Control. India claims that China is illegally occupying about 38,000 sq km of India's territory in Aksai Chin, which borders eastern Ladakh. Pakistan ceded to China about 5,180 sq km in 1963 from the Indian territory illegally occupied by it. India and China are engaged in border disputes for the last 20 months and diplomatic and military talks are on to resolve the issues. (Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in) New Delhi, Dec 30 : Warning Pakistan Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad and Sindh province Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah of dire consequences, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Secretary General for Singh, Rashid Mahmood Soomro, has said that the party wont allow implementation of the courts order to demolish an illegally constructed mosque in Karachi, Friday Times reported. The Pakistan Supreme Court had ruled that a mosque, shrine and cemetery built near Tariq Road in Karachi were encroaching on public park land, and ordered on Tuesday that the constructions be brought down. Soomro posted a video on Twitter, which went viral by late Wednesday, daring authorities to raze the mosque. "Mr Chief Justice the mosques are not orphans... Mr Chief Minister the mosques are not orphans... If you have the courage, then show it and try bulldozing the mosque," Soomro goaded, as per the report. He warned, "We will stop you on the way [to the mosque]... If mosques are demolished, your offices will also be demolished." Khawaja Shams, the counsel for the mosque's administration, argued that the land was obtained legally through auction from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). The District Municipal Corporation (DMC) maintained that the land was still zoned for public amenities. Gulzar Ahmad had chastised the district administration for unfettered developments across the city. "What have you done with this city," Ahmad questioned, adding: "The city has been built in a way that it now needs to be rebuilt from scratch, like Poland, Germany and France were," as per the report. Chennai, Dec 30 : PMK founder-leader, Dr S Ramadoss on Thursday called upon the Tamil Nadu government to direct schools and colleges to cancel physical classes and shift to online mode due to the surge in Omicron cases in the country. Claiming that the increase in Covid-19 cases was an indicator that Tamil Nadu was on the cusp of a third wave, he called upon the government to announce night curfew as well as declaring holidays for schools as has been already done in northern states. He said even people who had taken two doses of vaccine were infected by Omicron, and the school children have not yet been vaccinated. Ramadoss said that only solution available was to declare holidays to schools and urged the government to increase vaccination and testing across the state. Gangasagar: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wave to her supporters as she depart for Kolkata after her three days visit to Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas on Thursday December 30,2021.(Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Kolkata, Dec 30 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said there will be no lockdown-like situation in the state for now. "I would like to tell you that there will not be any lockdown in the state right now. During Covid, everything was stopped and it led to a situation where the common people were the worst sufferer. The government doesn't want to walk on the same path again," the chief minister said. She, however, said the government is carefully considering every possible situation and keeping a close watch on the developments. "There was absolutely no scare of the virus for the last six-eight months and so all the hospitals and safe houses were closed in many places. We will take the decision after carefully considering every possible situation," the chief minister added. Expressing her concern over the people who are coming from Britain, she said: "People who are coming from Britain are tested Omicron positive. They are getting irritated in the testing process but they should cooperate with the government and the health department." Amid the health experts' worries about the New Year celebration, fearing the gathering of people might contribute significantly to the spread of the virus, the Chief Minister said: "How can I stop the New Year celebration programme? However, we are keeping a watch on the situation. I ask all the people to be conscious about the situation and behave rationally." She also asked everyone to behave responsibly in the Gangasagar Mela too. "I cannot stop the fair but people should be conscious," she added. On Wednesday, the chief minister had said that the state government was mulling to impose total restrictions again. Speaking at an administrative meeting in South 24 Parganas, Banerjee had dropped broad hints that the state government might impose restrictions on schools and local trains to contain the spread of the virus. During the meeting on Wednesday, she had also said that the cases were increasing and therefore, the state government might declare school holidays for some days and if necessary, the government might even close schools and colleges. New Delhi, Dec 30 : The BJP on Thursday alleged that the governance framework in West Bengal has been shred to pieces by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The remark came after West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar alleged that Vice-Chancellors were appointed in 24 universities across the state without his approval. West Bengal BJP co-incharge Amit Malviya said that there isn't a single institution in the state which Banerjee hasn't wrecked. "She (Banerjee) is temperamentally unfit to hold any public office," he said. Quoting Dhankhar's tweet, Malviya said, "The governance framework in West Bengal has been shred to pieces by Mamata Banerjee. There isn't a single institution she hasn't wrecked. The task of rebuilding West Bengal from the ruins of her destruction would be an arduous one. She is temperamentally unfit to hold any public office." Earlier in the day, Dhankhar had said that VCs in 24 universities were appointed without the approval of the Chancellor, the appointing authority, which is the Governor. "These appointments carry no legal sanction and would be forced to take action unless soon recalled," the Governor said. Dhankhar is the ex-officio Chancellor of the state-run universities. Earlier this month, Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of private universities did not attend a meeting called by the Governor. "Education scenario @MamataOfficial worrisome as no Chancellor & VC of Pvt Univ turned up for meeting with Governor-Visitor. Shocking unionism," Dhankhar had tweeted. New Delhi : Scientists develop high-performance transistor models and circuits useful for space and defense applications on December 30, 2021. (Photo : PIB/ IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi : Scientists develop high-performance transistor models and circuits useful for space and defense applications on December 30, 2021. (Photo : PIB/ IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Dec 30 : Indian researchers have developed a high-performance, industry-standard model transistor that can be used to make high-power radio frequency circuits, which include amplifiers and switches that are used in wireless transmission and are useful for space and defence applications. The high-performance industry-standard model has been made for aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN/GaN) High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) with simple design procedures. As AlGaN/GaN HEMTs can also extend the power level of solid-state microwave circuits by a factor of five to ten, resulting in an appreciable reduction in the overall chip size and cost, the standard developed can significantly reduce the development cost of the circuits and devices for transmitting high-frequency signals. "The technology is rapidly gaining popularity owing to its high performance and efficiency. It has two excellent properties - high mobility and high-power performance. These properties reduce the noise figure and complexity while designing low noise amplifiers - used in wireless transmission like mobile phones, base stations - while increasing the achievable bandwidth," a Science and Technology Ministry release said. AlGaN/GaN HEMTs have become the technology of choice for high-frequency and high-power applications like 5G, radars, base stations, satellite communications, etc. To design wideband power amplifiers, a fully robust and accurate physics-based radio frequency GaN HEMT model is of prime importance. In the current work, the team led by Prof Yogesh Singh Chauhan at IIT Kanpur developed and standardised a physics-based compact model for AlGaN/GaN HEMTs - the Advanced Spice Model for GaN-HEMTs. "The standard model for circuit design developed simplifies the design procedure for high-performance RF circuits and helps in automating the design efforts as well as brings down the overall development cost. Besides, it can accurately predict the AlGaN/GaN HEMT's behaviour in circuit design," the release said. The development of the model was partially supported by the Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST) and the Technology Development Programme (TDP) schemes of the Department of Science and Technology. The measurements facility, funded by the FIST and the TDP, is being heavily used by the ISRO, the DRDO, and others to characterise the semiconductor devices for high-frequency applications. Prof Chauhan's team measures the current, capacitance, and RF characteristics of the devices under test and uses parameter extraction tools to extract the parameters of the ASM-HEMT model for a given technology. Once the model behaviour is in close agreement with the measured characteristics, the model is validated for practical applications. The team is concurrently working on circuit design and has delivered a state-of-the-art commercial GaAs-based LNA with one of the lowest reported noise figures in the market. Ongoing efforts include LNA, and PA design based on the AlGaN/GaN material system, the release added. Nagpur, Dec 30 : Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil on Thursday said religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj has committed a serious offence. The godman was earlier on Thursday arrested from Madhya Pradesh by the Chhattisgarh police for allegedly abusing Mahatma Gandhi while praising his assassin Nathuram Godse during a programme in Raipur. A sedition charge has been slapped against Kalicharan over the alleged remarks made at a "Dharma Sansad" organised on December 25-26 in Raipur. Walse Patil said though Kalicharan has been arrested by the Chhattisgarh police, he will be taken into custody by the state police wherever complaints against him have been registered in Maharashtra. Bengaluru, Dec 30 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said a district-wise ranking would be issued in the coming days to evaluate the performance of Zilla Panchayats and its Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Addressing the Zilla Panchayat CEOs' conference at Vidhana Soudha, Bommai said that "commendable performance by Zilla Panchayats is imperative for a government to become pro-people in the true sense". "Leave your own impression through exemplary performance in your district. Implementation of government programmes and projects at the grassroots level is very important. "You have been vested with more powers with decentralisation. Use your discretion with care for the welfare of the people. The government will fully back the decisions taken in the interest of the poor," Bommai said. Sending a message against red-tapeism, Bommai said officials should have clarity in decision making. "Uncertainty is like plague. Delay tactics could cost dearly. The slackness of the officials would pile misery on the people," the Chief Minister said. He wanted the officials to introspect on their functioning and correct their shortcomings. He instructed them to strictly monitor the progress of the centrally sponsored projects like Jalajeevan Mission and Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa in his address appreciated the achievement in construction of toilets in rural areas. He has appealed to the people to make good use of them. Patna, Dec 30 : Bihar DGP S.K. Singhal on Thursday suggested girls to marry with the consents of their parents. He also said that love marriages have bigger consequences for girls in the society. Addressing a gathering as part of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's 'Samaj Sudhar Abhiyan' (social reforms campaign) in Samastipur, Singhal said: "The daughters should go for arranged marriage with the consent and blessings of their parents. We have witnessed a large number of cases where girls took decisions for marriage on their own, leading to unpleasant consequences." "We have seen cases where girls went for love marriage and then got killed, while many were also forced into flesh trade. It is the parents who have pay the price for such decisions," Singhal said. "I also appeal to the parents to pass on good values to their daughters so that they understand their feelings. Such initiatives would help achieve the goal of social reforms," Singhal added. New Delhi, Dec 30 : A senior IPS officer of the Delhi Police has been infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus, it was learnt on Thursday. The DCP, posted in the Special Cell, had gone to London for extradition of alleged international drug supplier Harvinder Singh alias Bali. "The officer tested positive on his arrival at the Delhi Airport," a Special Cell source said. On the basis of the extradition request originated by the Special Cell, accused Harvinder Singh was arrested by UK police in February 2021 and tried at Westminster Court, London. A team comprising of DCP Ingit Pratap Singh, ACP Rahul Vikram and Investigating Officer Anuj Kumar was sent to London to take his custody. "A DCP rank officer tested positive for Omicron and is under home isolation," the source told IANS, adding that the officer is currently doing better. The two other policemen are also under home isolation. Harvinder Singh is currently under mandatory quarantine after which he will be taken on police custody from Tihar Jail and further investigation will be carried out. New Delhi, Dec 30 : Leading Pakistani Islamic scholar and Darul Uloom Karachi head Mufti Taqi Usmani has tweeted against a court order to demolish the Madina Masjid on Karachis Tariq Road, Samaa TV reported. The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered the demolition of several structures constructed on encroached lands in Karachi, including the Madina Masjid, a multi-storey building near the Dolmen Mall. The court found that the mosque was constructed on a piece of land allotted for a park. Usmani said in his tweet that the order to demolish the mosque and to establish a park is "absolutely unjustified". This mosque on the Tarid Road was built 25 years ago and has been used by worshipers since then, he said, as per the report. The religious scholar said that it is incomprehensible that such a mosque should be ordered to be demolished without first hearing the people living in the neighbourhood. The court itself should review the issue immediately, he said. Usmani, who served at the Federal Shariat Court from 1981 to 1982, pioneered the concept of Islamic banking in Pakistan. Warning Pakistan Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad and Sindh province Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah of dire consequences, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Sindh Secretary General Rashid Mahmood Soomro also said that the party won't allow implementation of the court's order to demolish the mosque in Karachi, Friday Times reported. Soomro posted a video on Twitter, which went viral by late Wednesday, daring the authorities to raze the mosque. New Delhi, Dec 30 : A shopkeeper in central Delhi's Karol Bagh was on Thursday slapped a Rs 50,000 fine for violating Covid norms by opening a shop on 'Even Day', which led to a large gathering at the spot. The challan was issued two days after the Delhi government imposed a yellow alert, in view of the rising Covid cases, under which restrictions included shops selling non-essential items being only allowed to open on an "odd-even" basis. Karol Bagh's Sub-Divisional Magistrate issued the challan to Prem Singh, who runs the shop in Beedanpura area of the leading market. The SDM, accompanied by Civil Defence volunteers, were on a surprise inspection when they caught Prem Singh running the shop on day he was not supposed to. "Shop was found open on an Even Day. It was the reason behind issuing the challan. The challan was issued for Rs 50,000," said an official. Shopkeepers have to follow the odd-even alternate day operations and restrictions imposed by the Delhi government. Buyers are also being asked to follow the anti-Covid protocols. New Delhi, Dec 30 : A 19-year-old first year student of Delhi's Maulana Azad Medical College committed suicide on Thursday after failing in two of her examinations, police said. According to a police official, the deceased, identified as Divya Yadav, was found hanging from a ceiling fan of her hostel room. The police said that preliminary enquiry revealed that she had failed in two papers that were held recently. "The results were declared on December 29 and she had been depressed since then," the official said. When she did not emerge in the morning, fellow students called out to her but there was no response and the door was found bolted from inside. The hostel staff was called and forced open the door to find the student dead. A suicide note for her family was also recovered from the spot. The police took possession of her mobile phone for forensic examination. Later, the post-mortem examination was conducted and the body was handed over to her father. "Inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPc are currently underway," the official added. According to data furnished by the government in Parliament in the recent Winter session, as many as 11,396 minors died by suicide in 2020, at an average of 31 per day. The government did not furnish data of suicide by minors in the current year. Itanagar, Dec 30 : A rights body on Thursday said the Chakma and Hajong communities in Arunachal Pradesh would not cooperate with any "illegal census" of the state government. The Committee for Citizenship Rights of the Chakmas and Hajongs of Arunachal Pradesh (CCRCHAP) said that the two communities would not cooperate with any "illegal census". "Any census on them must meet the litmus test of complying with Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the 1996 Supreme Court judgment in the case of National Human Rights Commission of India vs State of Arunachal Pradesh," CCRCHAP General Secretary Santosh Chakma said in a statement. The All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) reportedly in a statement on Wednesday said that the Chief Secretary of Arunachal Pradesh has been instructed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu to conduct the census of the Chakmas and Hajongs of the state. The CCRCHAP statement said that about 95 per cent of the Chakmas and Hajongs are citizens of India by birth and they cannot be discriminated against in any manner. Further, the Supreme Court in its order of 1996 unequivocally stated while the application of any individual Chakma migrant of 1964-1969 is pending consideration, the state of Arunachal Pradesh shall not evict or remove the concerned person from his occupation on the ground that he is not a citizen of India until the competent authority has taken a decision in that behalf, the statement said. Santosh Chakma said: "The Chakmas and Hajongs reserve the right to approach the Supreme Court in case of violations of Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the judgement of 1996." There are about 65,000 Chakma and Hajong people in the state out of which about 4,500 are migrants of 1964 -1969, while the rest are the descendants and citizens by birth under the Citizenship Act of 1955. Mysuru : , Dec 31 (IANS) The members of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRSS) and Hasiru Sene staged a protest near Mysuru Deputy Commissioner's office on Thursday, urging the state government to order a CBI probe into the allegations of adulteration of Nandini Ghee -- a product of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), a government enterprise. The KRRS and Hasiru Sene are prominent organisations that take up the cause of farmers in Karnataka. The protesters asked the state government to conduct a detailed inquiry regarding the unearthing of fake Nandini ghee manufacturing units in Mysuru, Bengaluru and several other districts. The racket was busted by the Police and the Food Safety and Control department recently. The protestors alleged that insiders of KMF are involved with racketeers along with milk union officials. The protesters wanted the government to act swiftly by conducting a CBI probe into the allegations. Such measures are a must to protect the profit-making cooperative institution like milk unions across the state intact and it is also important to regain the faith of milk producers. The government should know that lakhs of farmers' families make livelihoods out of selling milk to KMF. The protesters also demanded that the Mysuru Milk Union Limited authorities withdraw their order on restrictions of sale of raw milk from milk dairies or milk procurement centres from January 2023 as it is detrimental to the interest of primary milk producers cooperative society's across the district. They shouted slogans against the authorities for being tight-lipped and not initiating any measures to curb the adulteration of Nandini ghee. The protestors demanded the government should book and punish the insiders and culprits involved in this racket. Tehran, Dec 31 : Iran's top negotiator in the Vienna talks on the restoration of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal has said that negotiations have made "good progress" in the removal of US sanctions over the past few days. Ali Bagheri Kani, also Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for political affairs, on Thursday made the remark in an address to Iranian media ahead of a New Year break in the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the remaining parties to the deal, namely China, Russia, Britain, France plus Germany (P4+1), according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Since the beginning of the eighth round of the talks on Monday, the main focus of the negotiations was on the removal of the sanctions on Iran, Bagheri Kani said. Iran discussed the verification issue in separate meetings with Enrique Mora, the Deputy Foreign Policy Chief of the European Union, and representatives of the E3 group of France, Britain and Germany, he added. The Iranian Chief Negotiator expressed hope that all sides would pursue the issue of lifting sanctions with greater seriousness following the New Year break, Xinhua news agency reported. The Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed between Iran and the P5+1 (including the US) in July 2015. In May 2018, the US government under former President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement. Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA resumed talks in Vienna in April this year. The talks are aimed at removing US sanctions against Iran and restoring the JCPOA which has been on the verge of collpase after the US unilateral exit. Khartoum, Dec 31 : Mass protests started in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other cities to demand civilian rule. According to eyewitnesses, various protests on Thursday headed to assemble at Sharwani bus station, to march to the Republican Palace. Hundreds of army soldiers have been deployed at the entrances to the bridges linking the three major cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri, most parts of which were closed by the authorities before the start of the demonstrations, said eyewitnesses. Earlier on Thursday, the internet service on mobile phones was interrupted, Xinhua news agency reported. The Sudanese Professionals Association, the body leading the protests, issued a statement on Wednesday urging the citizens to take part in protests set for Thursday. Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, declared a state of emergency on October 25 and dissolved the Sovereign Council and government. On November 21, Al-Burhan and the then removed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok signed a political declaration, which included reinstating the latter as Prime Minister, but the deal has so far failed to calm the street. Addis Ababa, Dec 31 : The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has expressed concern over the ongoing political tension in Somalia. The Chairperson of the pan-African bloc "is following with deep concern the serious current political tension in Somalia," an AU statement said on Thursday. Mahamat called for utmost restraint as he emphasised for continued engagements and dialogue between the country's President and Prime Minister in order to find a political solution to this present situation, Xinhua news agency reported. "The African Union recommits to scale up it's support towards durable peace and stable polity in Somalia," he said. Amid the growing political tensions in the Horn of Africa country, the Somali President Mohamed Farmajo had on Monday suspended Prime Minister Mohamed Roble over corruption allegations. Farmajo accused Roble of being involved in corruption and misuse of public lands in a statement, which came a day after he accused the latter of failing to steer the electoral process to a successful conclusion. Analysts say the current political rift between the two top leaders will again delay the electoral process slated to conclude by early 2022. Parliamentary elections which began on November 1 have already been suspended after only 24 out of 275 lawmakers have been elected. The country's electoral body had set December 24 as the deadline for the completion of the parliamentary elections. Srinagar, Dec 31 : Four security forces personnel have been injured in an ongoing encounter between terrorists and security forces at Pantha Chowk area in central Kashmir's Srinagar district, Jammu & Kashmir Police officials said on Friday. "In the initial exchange of fire, three police personnel and one CRPF personnel got injured and were subsequently shifted to hospital. Operation is going on," the police added. The firefight between terrorists and security forces took place after a joint team of the police and the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about presence of terrorists. As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding, they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter. My Spiritual Walk with Allah: And on my journey, I met and was tested by Jesus: a potent look into the authors key spiritual experiences. My Spiritual Walk with Allah: And on my journey, I met and was tested by Jesus is the creation of published author Ali Muhammad Kariem, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, who studied the Nation of Islam under the tutelage of his devoted father beginning in 1972. Kariem shares, Thank you for reading this book. Its been a long journey. My spiritual teacher has passed on to the afterlife. Allah has blessed my life because as time goes on, I still have many journeys, envisions to encounter with Allah and Jesus. As I received the Holy Spirit, Jesus has blessed me to go through a mental transformation that has changed my life also. Allah has given me the spiritual gift to bless his children along the way. The calling that has been placed upon my life by Allah is to feed his children spiritual and physical food. To help the orphans and men and women that dont have a place to sleep or eat. We are children and vessels of Allah who are to give back as much as we can and be blessed with his glory and holy spirit. When we praise and become holy, to Allah will our journey will be blessed, and we will see all the glory of Allahs will. This spiritual message will guide you to seek Allah as our spiritual father the creator of all worlds I asked Allah to show me his spirit and show me Jesuss holy spirit. And it took a while but when I fasted and prayed and being obedient, Allah stepped in and showed me the way to heaven and blessed me to glorify Allahs spirit and gave zakat. I became more conscious to Allahs will. And I saw the way of the Holy Spirit as Jesus was glowing and blessing my spirit. I called out and said glory and all praises to Allah. Thank you, Jesus, for your Holy Spirit and testifying and giving me a blessing from Allah. Ahman. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Ali Muhammad Kariems new book will inspire and engage readers in their faith through a reflective look back on a life lived in service to the Holy Spirit. Kariem shares a personal and thoughtful journey of faith for the enjoyment and encouragement of readers of any background. Consumers can purchase My Spiritual Walk with Allah: And on my journey, I met and was tested by Jesus at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about My Spiritual Walk with Allah: And on my journey, I met and was tested by Jesus, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. I never thought back in 1979 that Id be staying here for 42 years, nor imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have traveled around the world selling one of the best products made in the U.S. BioFit Engineered Products has announced the retirement of long-time president Ed Metzger, effective December 31, 2021. Mr. Metzger started his career with the company over 42 years ago and has served as president since 2007. He will continue his relationship with BioFit in an emeritus capacity, providing ad hoc consultation on special projects and development initiatives. Earlier this year, CFO Jim Connell was selected to succeed Metzger as the companys new president. Ed Metzger joined BioFit in 1979 as a temporary seasonal employee, subsequently serving in sales and marketing roles before being named president in 2007. During his tenure as the companys leader, BioFit enjoyed substantial market growth due to implementation and continual enhancement of new product development and lean manufacturing strategies. Over his career, BioFit transitioned from a manufacturer solely of rugged, technical ergonomic chairs and stools to a company that today is also known for award-winning seating design for specialized workspaces, with precision engineering and functionality to address the way users work and move, as well as extensive lines of cafeteria tables and carts. Summing up his career, Metzger remarked: I never thought back in 1979 that Id be staying here for 42 years, nor imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have traveled around the world selling one of the best products made in the U.S. He concluded: Im most proud of our employees and the work weve done, and so appreciative of the customers Ive served. I always strived to make our end users more comfortable and help to improve their well-being and workplaces. Headquartered in Bowling Green, Ohio, BioFit Engineered Products is an industry-leading manufacturer of LEED compliant ergonomic seating, GREENGUARD Gold certified cafeteria and mobile folding tables, book trucks, carts, and specialty products for education, laboratory, high-tech, healthcare, industrial, office and custom applications. To learn more about BioFit, visit http://www.biofit.com, call 800-597-0246 or email biofit@biofit.com. Prospective buyers can buy the 2021 F-150 XLT PowerBoost at Brandon Ford in Tampa, FL! Customers looking to buy a premium-grade full-size pickup truck can opt for the 2021 F-150 XLT PowerBoost. This rugged and high-strength model is available at Brandon Ford in Tampa, Florida. Equipped with a 3.5-liter PowerBoost Full Hybrid V6 engine, it has an impressive power output of 430 hp. Whats more, it has a torque rating of 570 lb.-ft. Whether customers want to move boats, construction material, or heavy trailers, the 2021 F-150 XLT PowerBoost is up for the job with a towing capacity of 12,700 lbs. Additionally, the hybrid engine boasts a maximum payload rating of 2,120 lbs. This engine delivers power to the wheels using a Hybrid Electronic 10-speed automatic transmission. Prospective clients who want to buy the 2021 F-150 XLT PowerBoost can visit the dealerships website at https://www.brandonford.com/ or drop by the dealership at 9090 E Adamo Dr, Tampa, FL 33619, United States to look at the available inventory. The dealership is open from Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Sundays, customers can visit the dealership from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pictured L to R: Mary Wells (DCL), Anne Tews (Director, Bloomfield Public Library), Diana Upton-Hill and Levi Good (DCL) DCL understands the importance of offering attractive, functional, and community-based places and were grateful for the opportunity to utilize the resources offered by the library. Libraries have a long history of serving local entrepreneurs and businesses. Still, some, like the Bloomfield Public Library, are taking their business services to a new level with the renovated conference rooms available for use. Dutch Country Living (DCL) understands the importance of offering attractive, functional, and community-based places and were grateful for the opportunity to utilize the resources offered by the library. In 2020 and 2021, while Dutch Country Livings new office space was undergoing significant revitalization and remodeling at the historic Fenton Building, staff regularly scheduled meetings in the Library's available conference rooms and other meeting spaces. This was essential in providing beautiful working conditions until the company was able to move into their new office space, located at 202 N Madison (the building, which features mid-century architectural details within the Bloomfield Main Street district, has a long history for citizens of the Bloomfield and Davis County who remember it as the Fenton Medical Building). As a thank you for the use of the state-of-the-art facility and meeting spaces, Dutch Country Living Founder Levi Good, Community Development Director Diana L. Upton-Hill, and Projects Grants & Program Administrator Mary Wells recently stopped by with a $2,000 donation, presented to Library Director Anne Tews. Be sure to stop by and check out all the great resources located at the Bloomfield Public Library, 107 N. Columbia Street. Dutch Country Living, a customer experience company whose popular brands include Dutch Country General Stores and Amish Made Poly, has manufacturing, warehousing, media production, and retail operations in Iowa and Missouri. With more than 60 employees, the company has continued to gain recognition as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the Midwest region. Hiley Hyundai of Burleson is Offering Online Credit Pre-approval for Auto Loans There is great news for the customers near Burleson, Texas, who are planning to purchase their dream car. Hiley Hyundai of Burleson, one of the most reliable and trustworthy Hyundai vehicle dealers in Burleson, is now offering online credit pre-approval for auto loans. No matter what the credit score of the customer is, the financial experts in Hiley Hyundai of Burleson will find customized deals through their online credit approval process. At Hiley Hyundai of Burleson, customers can avail custom payment plans that comfortably fit into their budget. The individual attention given to each customer at this dealership makes them create a personalized finance plan that will satisfy the requirements and eligibility of the customer. The finance expert will explain all the feasible options available so that customers can choose the type of financing that makes sense to them. Also, this enables the customer to choose between buying or leasing the vehicle of their choice and finalizing the deal after a mutual understanding. Customers are encouraged to check out the online inventory of Hiley Hyundai of Burleson so that they can have better clarity of the choices available at their disposal. To learn more about the financing options and vehicles available at Hiley Hyundai of Burleson, kindly visit their showroom located at 320 N Burleson Blvd, Burleson, Texas, 76028. Please do not hesitate to contact their friendly dealership staff on (817) 945-9900 if any further information is required. InVest USA, founder Michael Letts We thank and support our brave men and women who daily put their lives on the line to protect the American people. This is a great opportunity to show our support for the thin blue line!" --Michael Letts, founder InVest USA InVestUSA, a charitable organization that contributes bulletproof vests to law enforcement and other first responders who help maintain the peace, is donating 5 Active Shooter Vests to the Horry County (Myrtle Beach) Sheriffs Office in honor of Horry County Sheriff's Office Deputy Kent Grause, who died Monday, December 27, 2021, with over 35 years of law enforcement experience. The donation is to start 2022 properly in protecting those who protect us, says Invest USA CEO Michael Letts. InVest USA has donated 7500 vests to date. The donation from InVest USA will include five Active Shooter Vests to the Horry County, South Carolina (Myrtle Beach) Sheriffs Office. The contribution is in honor of the Horry County Deputy Kent Grause, who died on December 27, 2021 after 35 years of law enforcement experience. The donation ceremony is scheduled for January 1, 2022 at 11:00 am Eastern Time at the Horry County Sheriffs Office at 1301 2nd Avenue, Conway, South Carolina. Speakers will include Horry County Sheriff Phillip E. Thompson, Michael Letts, and Horry County Chief Deputy Tom Fox. Said Michael Letts, InVestUSA is honored to help protect those who protect us at the Horry County Sheriffs Office. Sheriff Thompson has served in the Sheriffs office honorably and with distinction with over 42 years of law enforcement experience. This is the second donation to the Horry County Sheriffs office. The first was almost 20 years ago. With Myrtle Beach receiving more than 18 million visitors a year, the police responsibilities are disproportionally higher than in other cities with similar populations. In a joint statement by Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson and Chief Deputy Tom Fox, it was stated, We greatly appreciate the generosity of citizens across our nation in support of InVests goal to provide ballistic vests to first responders. Vests are the armor that allows officers to return to their families at the end of their day. We thank and support our brave men and women who daily put their lives on the line to protect the American people, said Michael Letts, adding, This is a great opportunity to show our support for the thin blue line! We at InVestUSA believe that those who serve their communities should not be without the best protection and safety measures available. InVestUSA is a 501c3 non-profit organization that donates Active Shooter Vests to law enforcement agencies, fire departments, paramedics, and other first responders across America. The Invest USA motto and mission is to Protect those who protect us. Letts says that anyone in need of a vest can contact InVest at info@investusa.org 803-556-2528 or InvestUSA.org ABOUT INVEST USA: InVestUSA is a national grassroots 501c3 non-profit organization that provides bulletproof vests to law enforcement officers and first responders through sponsorship, fundraising with communities and local civic groups and churches, and education and training programs. Since 1993, InVestUSA has donated more than 7500 bulletproof vests in 25 states. The group maintains that bulletproof vests save lives, vowing to provide them to those who protect others. Michael Letts is the CEO and Founder of In-Vest USA. Media Contact Jerry McGlothlin, InVest USA, 919-437-0001, jerry@specialguests.com SOURCE InVest USA If you would like to know more about the Barton & Associates, Inc. lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. The California labor law attorneys, at Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC, filed a class action complaint against Barton & Associates, Inc. for allegedly failing to accurately pay employees' wages for all their time worked. The Barton & Associates, Inc. class action lawsuit, Case No. 21STCV43314, is currently pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here. According to the lawsuit, Barton & Associates, Inc. allegedly violated California Labor Code Sections 201, 202, 203, 204, 210, 226, 226.7, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 1198, and 2802 by failing to: (1) pay overtime wages; (2) pay minimum wages; (3) provide required meal and rest periods; (4) provide accurate itemized wage statements; and (5) provide wages when due. The lawsuit also alleges Barton & Associates, Inc. violated the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), which gives rise to civil penalties as a result of Barton & Associates, Inc.'s conduct. PAGA allows aggrieved employees to file a lawsuit to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for Labor Code violations. California Labor Code Section 226 requires an employer to furnish its employees an accurate itemized wage statement in writing showing (1) gross wages earned, (2) total hours worked, (3) the number of piece-rate units earned and any applicable piece-rate, (4) all deductions, (5) net wages earned, (6) the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid, (7) the name of the employee and only the last four digits of the employees social security number or an employee identification number other than a social security number, (8) the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer and, (9) all applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the corresponding number of hours worked at each hourly rate by the employee. Barton & Associates, Inc. allegedly failed to provide its employees with accurate itemized wage statements that complied with all the requirements of California Labor Code Section 226. If you would like to know more about the Barton & Associates, Inc. lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC are labor and employment law firms with offices located in California that dedicate their practices to fighting for employees who have been wronged by their employers due to unfair employment practices. Contact one of their attorneys today if you need help with workplace issues regarding wage and hour, wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, and harassment. -THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT- In 2022, were attending more in-person trade shows, expanding our partnerships and pursuing opportunities to provide our solutions in new markets. Mako Networks continued trending upward in 2021, experiencing its fifth straight year of greater than 40% year-over-year sales revenue growth and increasing UK/EU year-over-year revenue by more than 50%. Despite the ongoing pandemic, sales, development, finance and technical support teams were all expanded to keep pace with the companys positive trajectory. Mako team members resumed attending trade shows in person in the Petroleum and C-store, Food Service and Technology verticals in 2021. The company participated in events including IT Expo in Miami, FSTEC in Dallas and the NACS Conference in Chicago. Mako also successfully completed its 11th straight PCI audit, maintaining its position as the only network management platform in the world with a PCI DSS certification extensible to merchant networks. The Mako System continued to distinguish itself as a tailor-made networking solution for distributed enterprises and retail networks. In 2021, the companys unique blend of multi-site-oriented, secure, broadband-based, cloud-managed networking products and services continued to assist companies facing unique challenges posed by the pandemic. Because Mako rapidly delivers solutions with zero-touch deployment, customers have the advantage of centralized security and access templates controlled by corporate IT departments. Just like distributed retail locations, this setup creates secure, supportable, segmented networks at homes and remote sites without compromising productivity or security standards. Key additions to Mako technology included SFP interface versions of 7600 and 8600 devices, internal host monitoring functionality, Webhooks support, Site Wide View deployment, Provisioning API, vMako for Azure, BGP support for VPN concentrators and GeoIP firewall rules support. Over the course of the year, Mako upgraded over 15,000 existing Petroleum customer sites to EMV-capable network environments. Among Mako Networks 2021 accomplishments were: Experiencing its fifth straight year of 40%+ YoY revenue growth and growing UK/EU revenue 50%+ YoY Expanding its European presence, US sales, international development, finance and technical support teams Resuming attending trade shows, including NACS Successfully completing its 11th straight PCI audit Upgrading 15,000+ existing Petro customer sites to EMV-capable network environments Mako continued to grow its VPN Cloud Partner Program, established in 2020, by forging new partnerships with Fueland, Skupos, InComm and UK-based EdgePetrol. Mako VPN Cloud technology makes partner services available in a secure manner to current and prospective customers worldwide and continues to benefit customers and vendors. Partners deploy virtual or physical Mako VPN concentrators to make services in their environments directly available to retail locations equipped with Mako devices. The technology allows retailers to access third-party service providers using secure Mako VPN Cloud tunnels that bypasses the public Internet, maintaining compliance with PCI DSS and other security standards. Were continuing to build on the foundation that we established over two decades ago, said Simon Gamble, President of Mako Networks. As Mako evolves, were focused on enhancing existing relationships and excited about the future of the industry and our unique role in the distributed enterprise space. In 2022, were attending more in-person trade shows, expanding our partnerships and pursuing opportunities to provide our solutions in new markets. We appreciate our loyal customers and expert team for a successful year, and look forward to sharing success next year. About Mako Networks Mako Networks provides technology to build secure, easy-to-manage, scalable PCI-certified networks for distributed retail enterprises. Operating internationally from offices in the United Kingdom, US, Australia and New Zealand, Mako integrates centralized cloud management and reporting, vertical-specific SD-WAN, secure Wi-Fi, HA Fast Failover, Mako VPN Cloud, next-generation firewalls and end-to-end PCI DSS certification in one, easy-to-manage system. For more information, visit makonetworks.com. Matador Motors Offers Top-Notch Pre-Owned Minivans Customers near the Wolfforth area in Texas can now purchase the best-used minivans from Matador Motors. The finance specialists at Matador Motors are highly experienced, and they will help the prospective buyers find the right deals so that the drivers in Wolfforth can drive home their dream minivans in a hassle-free manner. Matador Motors, a premier Buy Here Pay Here dealership in Wolfforth, Texas, is offering pre-owned minivans at the right prices. They provide great financing options regardless of the customers credit. Customers can fill out a simple form on their website and check if they are eligible for online pre-approval for auto loans. Minivans currently in stock at Matador Motors are the 2009 Toyota Sienna XLE and the 2010 Honda Odyssey EX-L. The inventory gets updated frequently, so do not forget to visit their online inventory to check for the latest updates. To learn more about the minivans available at Matador Motors, kindly visit their dealership located at 214 E Hwy 62/82, Wolfforth, Texas, 79382. Matador Motors also offers other vehicle types like SUVs, sedans and trucks. Please feel free to reach out to their customer support team at (806) 833-7300 in case of any other questions or information requests. Matt Perez - Regional Vice President of the Retail Division AmeriSave allows originators to develop their business and be highly successful very fast. Matt Perez, with his previous experience as a top producing regional manager, hands-on work style, and team leadership skills aspires to make a difference in the community. Im passionate about helping families obtain the American Dream through homeownership, expresses Perez. AmeriSave Mortgage Corporation continues to adapt to meet the needs of consumers, providing them with more saving opportunities when it comes to investing in a home. The company has been able to service more customers in the first half of 2021 than the entire 2020 year. "AmeriSave allows originators to develop their business and be highly successful very fast. I believe our origination system is second to none, said Perez. We are honored to be able to continue to work with a person of Matt's talent. High level to down in the weeds, Matt excels at all levels of the loan industry. His steady leadership will serve us well in the abundant market that is the Pacific Southwest, said Leif Boyd, Head of Retail Production. Matt Perez is licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Loan Officer License/Registration #: CA-DOC250462. To learn more about AmeriSave, please reach out to Peter Schwartz at pschwartz@amerisave.com / 916-770-0053 About AmeriSave Mortgage Corporation Founded in 2002, AmeriSave Mortgage Corporation is a leading mortgage lender best known for pioneering the first truly digital mortgage experience to borrowers. For more information, visit https://www.amerisave.com/. NMLS ID #1168. Equal Housing Lender. Corporate Office: 3525 Piedmont Rd NE, 8 Piedmont Center - Suite 600, Atlanta, GA 30305. Additional licensing information may be found at https://www.amerisave.com/licensing. Licensed in 49 states and DC. Not licensed in NY. Just hours before it was set to become law, New York Governor Kathy Hochul on December 29 vetoed New York's library e-book bill. The bill is now back with the legislature, where it is tabled. The veto comes despite strong grassroots support: in June, the bill unanimously passed the New York Assembly 148-0, and passed the New York State Senate 62-1. But the Association of American Publishers' December 9 federal lawsuit seeking to block implementation of a similar law in Maryland sparked concern in the governor's office. And in her brief explanation of the veto, Hochul cited the AAP's concerns. "While the goal of this bill is laudable, unfortunately, copyright protection provides the author of the work with the exclusive right to their works," Hochul wrote. "As such the law would allow the author, and only the author, to determine to whom they wish to share their work and on what terms. Because the provisions of this bill are preempted by federal copyright law, I cannot support this bill. These bills are disapproved." The New York bill was also opposed by a cohort of powerful New York-based industry groups, including the AAP and the Authors Guild, which urged Hochul to veto the measure in a recent letter, calling the bill "an unjustified attack" that would have "a significant negative impact on the economy and jobs" in New York. "We thank Governor Hochul for taking decisive action to protect the legal framework that has long incentivized the American private sector to invest in, publish, and distribute original works of authorship to the public, in service to society," said AAP president and CEO Maria Pallante in a statement. "The bill that she vetoed was rushed through the state legislature in response to a coordinated, misinformation campaign, supported by Big Tech interests and lobbying groups that are notorious for wanting to weaken copyright protections for their own gain." At press time, the New York Library Association did not have a comment. Meanwhile, despite Hochul's veto, the question of federal preemption remains undecided. Maryland state attorneys are due to file a consolidated motion by January 14 comprising their forthcoming motion to dismiss the AAP's lawsuit against the Maryland law and their motion in opposition to the AAPs bid for a preliminary injunction. The AAP reply is due by January 28. A remote hearing is set for February 7. The AAP first filed suit against Maryland attorney general Brian Frosh in federal court in Maryland on December 9, claiming that the Maryland law is preempted by federal copyright law, among other issues. And on December 16, AAP lawyers filed a subsequent motion for a preliminary injunction, claiming the law would cause immediate and irreparable harm if allowed to take effect. The court's schedule, however, means that the Maryland law (which passed the Maryland General Assembly unanimously) will take effect on January 1, 2022 as set out in the laws textthough for how long remains to be seen. The library e-book bills come after a decade of tension in the library e-book market, with librarians long complaining of unsustainable, non-negotiable prices and restrictions on digital licenses. Specifically, the bills emerged as a response to Macmillans controversial (and since abandoned) 2019 embargo on frontlist e-books in libraries, which led library advocates to take their concerns to state and federal legislators. "This is a powerful moment for libraries," concluded a December, 2020 report on digital lending from the ALA's Joint Digital Content Working Group. "If we cannot find ways to make our digital collections robust and lasting, including a return to perpetual access as an option, libraries will never be able to meet an ever-increasing demand and provide equity to the communities we serve." Maryland became the first state to enact library e-book legislation, with its bill passing the Maryland General Assembly unanimously on March 10, 2021, and becoming law on June 1. New York followed suit, passing a similar bill in June. A handful of other states are also considering similar measures. Jungle Cruise and Red Notice star Dwayne Johnson is maintaining his vow to never appear in another Fast & Furious movie with Vin Diesel. ADVERTISEMENT Diesel took to social media in November to invite Johnson back to the franchise after the two had a falling out several years ago. But Johnson told CNN in an interview published online Wednesday that he was surprised by Diesel's post since he believed they had already settled the matter away from the spotlight. "This past June, when Vin and I actually connected not over social media, I told him directly -- and privately -- that I would not be returning to the franchise. I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return," Johnson said. He added that he consulted with his producing partners and the studio that makes the Fast & Furious movies and they were supportive of his decision. "Vin's recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn't like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker 's death," Johnson said. "Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding. My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible Fast & Furious franchise with gratitude and grace. It's unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters." Johnson and Diesel reportedly did not get along on the set of 2016's The Fate of the Furious, and continued their feud through social-media posts and interviews after the film wrapped. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Johnson starred in the Fast & Furious blockbuster spinoff, Hobbs & Shaw, in 2019. Married at First Sight Australia star Chris Jensen is engaged to be married. ADVERTISEMENT The television personality proposed to his girlfriend, Tayla Made, during a vacation at Airlie Beach in Queensland this week. Jensen shared the news Thursday on Instagram alongside a photo from his proposal. "With all my heart, it is you Tayla!! From the moment you walked into my life I saw how kind, caring and sweet you are. All of these beautiful attributes drew me in but the reason you own my heart is because you now own my daughters. The 3 of us love you Tayla and now you are family," he captioned the post. Jensen has two daughters from a previous relationship. Made confirmed the news in a post on her own account. "10000% speechless, but managed to get the word 'YES' out!!! I'm so lucky to have you, your daughters and the puppers. I love you and your family!!" she wrote. Fellow MAFS Australia alums Jesse Konstantinoff, Kerry Knight and Hayley Vernon were among those to congratulate the couple in the comments. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! "Congratulations mate," Konstantinoff wrote. "Congratulations legends!!!! Amazing news for an amazing couple. We are thrilled for you both xoxoxoxo," Knight added. "This gave me pure shivers. I'm so incredibly happy for you both. Love and light," Vernon said. Jensen was paired with Jaimie Gardner in Season 8 of MAFS Australia, a reality series featuring couples who have agreed to marry when they first meet. The pair split before decision day. The U.S. version of Married at First Sight airs on Lifetime and will return for a 14th season Jan. 5. Meghan King is feeling grateful for her fans following her split from her husband, Cuffe Biden Owens. ADVERTISEMENT The 37-year-old television personality thanked fans in a post Thursday on Instagram Stories after announcing her separation from Owens earlier this week. "Thank you for all your messages," King wrote. "Thank you for holding space for me. Thank you for lifting me up. You all are good people and I appreciate you." King and Owens recently split after two months of marriage. "I am rattled. This situation is profoundly devastating. This is obviously not what I imagined when I made my vows -- and I'm shocked and saddened by the way things turned out," King said Monday on Instagram Stories. "I am moving forward with my children as we privately process our pain and begin to let go of shattered dreams," she added. "At this time I ask for your grace and gentle kindness as I navigate this labyrinth of grief with my family." King and Owens, the nephew of President Joe Biden, married in October. King was previously married to Brad McDill and Jim Edmonds and has three children, daughter Aspen and twin sons Hayes and Hart, with Edmonds. In the wake of the split, King is spending time with her kids and her parents in Florida. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Meghan King is spending time with family following news of her separation from Cuffe Biden Owens. Photo by meghanking/Instagram In a statement Wednesday to Page Six, King denied that distance played a role in her split from Owens. "Cuffe lived with me," King said. "We didn't have any distance." "We lived together every day since the day we met," she added. King is known for starring on The Real Housewives of Orange County. She left the Bravo reality series in 2018. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Snow will taper off and end during the morning but skies will remain cloudy during the afternoon. High 31F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.. Tonight Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low near 15F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. PHOENIX (AP) A trial date next April has been set for a man charged with attempted murder and other crimes in a Dec. 14 shooting that left a Phoenix police officer critically wounded. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on Thursday entered not guilty pleas for Essa Williams and set several court dates leading up to an April 28 trial date. Williams was arrested early the morning of Dec. 14 at an apartment complex where Officer Tyler Moldovan, 22, was shot as police searched for a man seen running from a car that reportedly had been driven erratically a short time earlier. A Dec. 14 police probable-cause statement said Moldovan, 22, was placed on life support after being shot multiple times, including once in the head. and the Police Department tweeted Wednesday that he remained in extremely critical condition. Williams, who remains jailed in lieu of $3 million bond, was not present in court during his brief arraignment hearing Thursday. A Dec. 23 indictment charged Williams with attempt to commit first-degree murder, attempt to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and three counts of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. The Maricopa County Public Defender's Office, which is representing Williams, did not immediately respond to a request by The Associated Press for comment on the allegations. The probable-cause statement said police recovered the handgun used to shoot Moldovan and also found a second handgun, which had an extended magazine, in the patio where Williams had been hiding at the apartment complex. Williams has nine prior felony convictions, including armed robbery, aggravated assault and endangerment, the probable-cause statement said. Williams was sentenced to multiple prison terms in 2017 and was released in 2020, according to Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry records. Manish Swarup/AP NEW DELHI (AP) Indian police on Thursday arrested a Hindu religious leader for allegedly making a derogatory speech against Indias independence leader Mohandas Gandhi and praising his assassin. Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu extremist during a prayer meeting in the Indian capital in 1948, because he was considered sympathetic toward Muslims during the partition of the Indian subcontinent by British colonialists in 1947 into secular India and Islamic Pakistan. BALTIMORE (AP) A federal jury convicted a prominent Maryland lawyer Tuesday in a money-laundering conspiracy case, but acquitted his co-defendants. Kenneth Ravenell, 61, of Monkton, was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering, but acquitted of racketeering-conspiracy and narcotics-conspiracy charges, news outlets reported. Ravenell faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing May 14. Under the Maryland rules, his conviction will suspend his law license. The jury found attorney Joshua Treem, 73, of Columbia and investigator Sean Gordon, 45, of Crownsville not guilty of falsifying documents, obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring to commit crimes against the federal government. Treem, a former federal prosecutor, was an attorney for Lee Boyd Malvo, the teen convicted in the Washington-area sniper attacks. He began representing Ravenell in 2016 in connection with a federal grand jury investigation into Ravenells work. The charges were part of an investigation tied to a multistate marijuana operation. Ravenell was indicted in 2019 and accused of helping his drug trafficker client launder money. Prosecutors alleged that Ravenell used his firms accounts to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds and pay lawyers retained by other members of the conspiracy. Last year, an indictment alleged that Ravenell, Treem and Gordon worked together to impede an investigation. NEW HAVEN Seven arrests have been made so far in connection with school threats in New Haven and officials are hopeful the incidents have subsided, they said at a press conference Wednesday. Interim Police Chief Renee Dominguez said the New Haven schools received 19 threats in recent weeks, mostly through social media, largely between Dec. 6 and Dec. 8. All of the seven people arrested so far are juveniles, the chief said, and all but one is from Connecticut. Other cases are pending, including two arrest warrants, she said Wednesday. Dominguez credited the department, including Det. Elizabeth White and Det. Matthew Collier, for their efforts in investigating the school threats. I do think that our quick action in these cases... (is) what has been able to make these threats subside. Were seeing that all over the state, said Dominguez. Unfortunately, the kids who were doing it realize that we were taking it seriously and we were making arrests on it, as we cannot have this type of behavior closing down our schools and traumatizing our children and our teachers. Mayor Justin Elicker said the city did not care to arrest underage youths, noting the potential effects on their lives. But such threats warrant such a response, given the traumatic impact on the school community and the impact on police resources, he said. None of us want to arrest a juvenile.... the consequences of that are significant, said Elicker. But when people call in and make these type of threats, the public safety impacts are very, very significant...We want to underscore that if you do this, you will be held accountable and there will be severe consequences. A wave of threats on social media affected classes for thousands of students in Greater New Haven and beyond in early December, including in Hamden, New Haven, Danbury, Norwalk, North Haven and West Haven. Experts said in the wake of the surge that the process of making a threat of violence online can seem divorced from reality for young people, but carries real-world ramifications that should be made clear. Mike Lawlor, associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven and former undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning in the administration of then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, said Thursday that school shootings are in the zeitgeist, making it more likely that students would emulate the threat of such. The copycat phenomenon is very real, said Lawlor. (School shootings and the response to them is) the type of thing thats in the consciousness. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com BOSTON (AP) More than $4 million in state grants have been awarded to 64 municipalities across Massachusetts to help local police departments start or expand the use of body cameras. These grants are the first in a five-year, $20 million capital grant program which is expected to deploy about 9,000 body-worn cameras across the state's cities and towns. NAPLES, Fla. (AP) A sheriff's deputy shot a Malayan tiger that grabbed the arm of a man who was either feeding or petting the animal at a zoo in southwest Florida, authorities said. The Collier County Sheriff's Office said the man, believed to be in his 20s, was seriously injured Wednesday evening when he entered an unauthorized area near the tiger's enclosure at Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens. The man works for a third-party cleaning service contracted to clean restrooms and the gift shop, the sheriff's office said. News outlets reported the 8-year-old tiger named Eko later died. The zoo posted on its website that it will remain closed on Thursday. Preliminary information indicates that the man was either petting or feeding the animal, both of which are unauthorized and dangerous activities," the sheriff's report said. Investigators said they believe the tiger grabbed the mans arm after he breached a barrier fence and put his arm through the fence surrounding the enclosure. The first deputy to arrive at the scene kicked the enclosure to try to get the tiger to release the man's arm from its mouth. But the deputy was forced to shoot the animal," the report said. The man was taken to a hospital in nearby Fort Myers, officials said. His name was not released and his condition was not known Thursday. According to the sheriff's office, the tiger retreated back into its enclosure after being shot. Deputies flew a drone inside and found the tiger was not responsive. A veternarian later sedated the tiger and had planned to examine the animal, the report said. On Tuesday, the zoo's Facebook page featured a photo of Eko. The Malayan tiger is one of the smallest tiger species found throughout the southern and central Malay Peninsula and southern parts of Thailand, according to Malaysian Wildlife. It is the national symbol of Malaysia. In 2016, a Malayan tiger attacked and killed a zookeeper at the Palm Beach Zoo. An autopsy found that Stacey Konwiser, 38, died of a fractured spine, a lacerated jugular and other neck injuries suffered when she was attacked by the 12-year-old tiger named Hati. On Wednesday, the Uttarakhand High Court issued notice to the Election Commission of India seeking its response on a plea seeking postponement of the upcoming Assembly election in the state owing to the Omicron scare. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Justice Narayan Singh Dhanik heard the plea which also sought a direction to all political parties to hold their rallies virtually. Finally, it impleaded the EC as a party in the case and adjourned the hearing to January 2. Speaking to the media, the petitioner's lawyer remarked, "We had filed an application in the court that the election should be postponed or the election rallies should be held online owing to the Omicron scare. There is fear of Omicron spreading faster in physical meetings because social distancing is not being observed and nobody is wearing masks in rallies. We also urged that the Election Commission of India should be made a party to this case and they should be asked whether elections can be postponed. The court has made the Election Commission of India a party and the matter will be heard on Monday." During the EC's visit to Uttarakhand on December 24, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra had assured that the EC will take all possible steps to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Addressing a press briefing, he said, "Today morning, I asked the Chief Secretary as to how many Omicron cases have been detected in this state. I was told that only one case has been detected in this state till now. I also told you the steps being taken by the Commission to manage COVID-19. We will take a constitutional position (on the possibility of deferring polls) and take action when required". Omicron scare The B.1.1.529 variant of COVID-19 was first detected in South Africa from a sample collected on November 9. As infections steeply increased in the country in recent weeks, it reported this variant to the World Health Organization on November 24. Two days later, the UN health body designated it as a Variant of Concern based on the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution and named it 'Omicron'. While studies are underway to assess its transmissibility, severity of infection, the performance of vaccines and diagnostic tests, and effectiveness of treatments, the UN health body has advised physical distancing, wearing of masks and vaccination. In India, persons arriving from Europe, Countries in Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong and Israel have to get tested on arrival and observe home quarantine for 7 days. In order to curb the movement of people, the Uttarakhand government has imposed a night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am. People often share their weird and interesting experiences that they have had with Google Maps. These stories get viral on the internet as netizens love to know the incredible stories like this one, which is making the rounds on the internet. A man named Alfred claimed that Google Maps told him to "drive into a tree" when he was hopelessly lost on Twitter. The man goes by @CallMeAlfredo on Twitter is from Accra, Ghana. He claims that he was following online directions when he became completely lost in the jungle. According to Daily Star, he then started following orders from Google map, which told Alferd to drive into a tree. He shared the Tweet by writing, "Not Google maps leading us into the bush and having the audacity to say turn left. Into the mango tree?" Not Google maps leading us into the bush and having the audacity to say turn left. Into the mango tree? Alfred (@CallmeAlfredo) December 27, 2021 Netizens shared their experience Alferd shared the tweet on December 27 and since then it has received more than 900 likes and around 260 Retweets. It also invited a huge number of comments where people shared their weird experiences with Google maps. One Twitter user wrote, "I'll never forget the day we used Google maps to travel to Calabar by road. Before we knew it, we were in one village with a dead end. Google maps said we should continue going." Another person commented, "That is because you were using Infinix " I'll never forget the day we used Google maps to travel to Calabar by road. Before we knew it, we were in one village with a dead end. Google maps said we should continue going M. (@mxndxyluv) December 27, 2021 That is because you were using Infinix COME ONLINE (@GideonAryee5) December 28, 2021 Yes. Why, don't you have faith? Kay (@_KwekuAM) December 27, 2021 Several others used different emojis to share their emotion. One guy reported that he was in Ghana's Volta Region, on his way to a resort, and asked Google Maps for directions, which told him to travel into the jungle, where there was no road. He then called the resort and requested directions, which provided him with directions to the location. ... My innnn THE CROP_SCIENTIST (@OsumanIbrahim_G) December 28, 2021 Ekow Bansah (@Bra_Kow) December 28, 2021 Benny Ways (@Benny_Ways) December 27, 2021 Tragic case from Google map Google maps can sometimes lead to a tragic accident like this one which made the news last year. Google Maps ended up directing two young Russians to an abandoned path, where their car eventually broke down, according to Autoevolution. There was no cellular signal and while trying to deal with the extremely cold weather, the driver eventually died, freezing to death, while the passenger was discovered by medical crews with some critical injuries. Image: Pixabay, @CallmeAlfredo/Twitter In a major development from Jammu and Kashmir, security forces have recovered arm's and ammunition in Aglar area of Zainapora Shopian in a joint operation from a residential house. This comes shortly after the J&K security forces on Wednesday confirmed the killing of three JeM terrorists in Kulgam. Speaking in a joint press conference with the Indian Army, Kashmir IGP Vijay Kumar said that the two local terrorists and one Pakistani militant were killed by the armed forces in an encounter. The forces informed that no collateral damage was reported. On Wednesday, security forces gunned down three terrorists in the Mirhama area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district. The forces also undertook another encounter in the Anantnag district. The joint security forces killed a total of six terrorists of proscribed outfit JeM killed in the two separate encounters. Speaking about the success of the encounter, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that the terrorist outfit has suffered huge losses this year inflicted by the Indian Army. The IGP Kashmir asserted that the operations that underwent on Wednesday have brought down the number of local terrorists in the region. He also informed that the terrorists in the region have now been reduced to 85-86. Furthermore, the officer added that this is the first time, the number is being lowered to below 100. He further stated that the forces are ready to provide bodies of the killed terrorists if Pakistan make claims. 6 terrorists neutralised in less than 24 hours On December 26, the security forces had eliminated a total of six terrorists in two separate encounters. The back-to-back anti-terror operations happened in J&K on Saturday. While one encounter took place in Shopian, the other one happened in Pulwama district in a span of just two hours. According to Jammu and Kashmir Police, the two terrorists gunned down in Shopian belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The two terrorists were eliminated based on the inputs regarding the presence of terror activities in the area received by the forces. The encounters carried on to Saturday evening and the terrorists were brought down within 24 hours of the first firing. Four more terrorists were neutralised in the anti-terror operation at the Tral area in south Kashmir's Pulwama. As the political fight between political parties in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh continues, the Chhatarpur Superintendent of Police has claimed that MP Police was not informed before Hindu religious saint Kalicharan's arrest in Khajuraho. This comes after Raipur Police arrested Kalicharan Maharaj from Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho for an alleged inflammatory speech insulting Mahatma Gandhi. The Chhatarpur SP said, "According to protocol, an indication is usually provided concerning any arrest but it wasn't given in this case. But, it's not the right time to say if the decision is wrong". BJP leader says protocol not followed in Kalicharan's arrest A BJP leader told media persons that the arrest of Kalicharan was not done as per protocol. According to him, after registering the FIR, a notice is given, and then an arrest is made. Even if any police team arrives in Chattisgarh to make an arrest then police here in Madhya Pradesh are informed. He then accused Chahatisgarh police and government of not being active in arresting people who disrespect Lord Ram, Sita, or abuse the Brahmin community. Kalicharan Maharaj arrested from Khajuraho On Thursday, December 30, Religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj was arrested from Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho as a police case was filed against him for using an expletive against Mahatma Gandhi. According to the recent update, Kalicharan is being brought to Raipur. Raipur Superintendent of Police, Prashant Agrawal said, "Kalicharan Maharaj was staying in a rented accommodation near Bageshwar Dham, 25 km from Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. Raipur Police arrested him at 4 am today. By late evening, the police team will reach Raipur with the accused". Three different teams of Raipur Police were sent to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi in search of Kalicharan. Chattisgarh Police have informed that Kalicharan Maharaj has been arrested and charged with sedition. During the investigation, on the basis of evidence, sections 153 A (1) (A), 153 B (1) (A), 295 A, 505 (1) (B) have also been included. As per the ANI report, the Madhya Pradesh government has stated that Chhattisgarh's Congress govt has violated the interstate protocols by arresting Kalicharan Maharaj without informing Madhya Pradesh police. Earlier on December 28, Kalicharan Maharaj during a speech at Dharma Sansad had said, India was cut into two parts in front of our eyes. Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan were already separated. Bangladesh and Pakistan got separated in front of our eyes by them. They used politics to separate these parts from India. That Ha**mi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi destroyed India. I bow down to Nathuram Godse Ji, who assassinated the Ha**mi. (Image: Republic) Amid the recent speculations over Chinese investment in the island nation, both India and Sri Lanka are working on developing an understanding to have certain 'red lines' which none of them would cross, said Sri Lanka envoy Asoka Milinda Moragoda on Wednesday. Speaking in a virtual interactive session organised by the Gandhinagar-based Rashtriya Raksha University, Sri Lankas High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda said that a dialogue with the Indian government holds significance for the development of trust and understanding between both countries in concern to China's presence in the island nation. Further speaking on it, he said that no security presence from the Chinese government is there in Sri Lanka and also India has never told it to reject Chinese investments. "Given the context of a power play in Sri Lanka, the presence of the Chinese footprint can be seen as a different perspective. However, our dialogue with India is important for building trust and understanding each other and maybe have some sort of red lines which both sides will not cross", he said. Adding more to China's investment, Moragoda said that China as being one of the biggest investors in the world today is vital for Sri Lanka. "As long as the investment does not create any strategic issues in India, we will continue to entertain the investment", he added. Chinese intervention draws a major jolt to India's investment plans in Sri Lanka What seemed to be a major jolt to India's investment plans in Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksha government had earlier scrapped a deal signed with the Indian government for developing the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port in collaboration with India and Japan. However, later the deal was scrapped stating that it will be a wholly-owned container terminal of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and it would instead develop the West Container Terminal (WCT). Later, the contract was clinched by the Chinese government adding much displeasure for India and Japan. Speaking on this, the Sri Lankan envoy also said that the investment by a Chinese company is a commercial proposition of investment even as 70% of the 80% of cargo coming to Sri Lanka is being transshipped goes to India. Image: AP/PTI Hindu religious saint Kalicharan Maharaj has been charged with sedition after being arrested on Thursday morning for passing derogatory statements against Mahatma Gandhi. The charges were pressed on him by the Chhattisgarh Police after proper investigations and he has been booked under sections 153 A (1) (A), 153 B (1) (A), 295 A, 505 (1) (B). Earlier, an FIR was also filed against Kalicharan Maharaj Tikirapra police station in Raipur on a complaint filed by former Raipur mayor, Pramod Dubey after which he was picked up from Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho city. Speaking on the same, SP Raipur Prashant Agarwal informed that he was staying in a rented accommodation near Bageshwar Dham which is 25 km away from Khajuraho. He was arrested early hours of Thursday around 4 AM and by late evening the police team will be reaching Raipur with the accused. The previous complaint was lodged under sections 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes) and section 294 (obscene act in any public place) for using obscene words against Gandhi and provoking hate speeches against a specified religious community. Soon after that, teams of Chhattisgarh police were sent to Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to arrest the Akola-based Godman. Kalicharan Maharaj controversial remarks at Dharam Sansad On Sunday, while addressing the Dharam Sansad organised at Ravan Bhata ground in Raipur, Godman Kalicharan Maharaj was seen passing controversial remarks against Mahatma Gandhi. Apart from that, he also resorted to hateful speech against the Muslim community. Delivering his speech, he claimed Muslims of "capturing" Bangladesh and Pakistan through politics and were aided by Mahatma Gandhi. He also thanked Nathuram Godse for the assassination of Gandhi whom he claimed to have destroyed the country. Taking a step further, he also released a video standing by his previously made statements and offered salutes to Gandhi's murderer. Image: YouTube/KaalicharanMaharaj/Omkaali_Org Following the arrest of controversial seer Kalicharan Maharaj, who made derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, the owner of home-stay wherein the monk was lodged has been detained by Raipur police. Chattisgarh police made both arrests within a week of the Hindu leader's derogatory remarks passed during a speech at a Dharam Sansad held in Raipur. Raipur SP Prashant Agarwal informed that Kalicharan Maharaj was lodged in a rented accommodation near Bageshwar Dham, 25 km from Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. The Raipur Police arrested the seer at 4 am on December 30 and by noon, Chhattisgarh Police arrested the home-stay owner as well. Sources have informed that the lodge owner has been nabbed for preliminary interrogation purposes and to probe into Kalicharan's motivation or planning. 'Why is BJP govt in Madhya Pradesh upset over Kalicharan Maharaj's arrest?': CM Bhupesh Baghel Redressing the confusion between Madhya Pradesh Police and Chhattisgarh Police, CM Bhupesh Baghel said there is nothing 'unconstitutional' about the seer's arrest. The clarification came after the ruling BJP government in Madhya Pradesh and raised objections to Kalicharan's arrest that was made in Madhya Pradesh by Chhattisgarh Police. According to MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra, the inter-state protocol was breached as Chhattisgarh Police arrested the monk without informing MP Police. In fact, while speaking to Republic TV, Mishra said that his administration was apprised of the arrest via news channels and not parallel authorities. "Narrottam Mishra must explain his anger in Kalicharan's arrest? Why is BJP upset that we arrested seer?" CM Baghel asserted. Kalicharan Maharaj insults the Father of the Nation & Islam; Arrested at 4 am today The Hindu leader, while delivering a speech at a Dharam Sansad held in Raipur last week, insulted the Father of the Nation and hailed his assassin, Nathuram Godse. Kalicharan claimed that Muslims 'captured' Pakistan and Bangladesh through politics and were 'aided' by Mahatma Gandhi. 'Thanking' Godse, Kalicharan blamed the administration for being mere puppets (of the Muslims). "Islam captured nation via politics. They captured Pakistan and Bangladesh in front of our eyes. That *expletive* Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi destroyed everything. My salutations to Nathuram Godse ji for klling him. Oppression is necessary to control these people (Muslims), otherwise, they become cancer," Kalicharan had said. After his remarks created a furore across social media, the monk, took to his Youtube channel on Tuesday, to insult Matama Gandhi again. In his 8-minute video, the Akola-based godman expressed his hatred towards Gandhi and offered his salutations to Godse. Continuing his rant, Kalicharan opined that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Rana Pratap, or Sardar Patel should have been the 'Rashtra Pita' as they worked to unite the nation. He accused Gandhi of allowing the partition of India in 1947. "If I am to be punished for telling the truth, let me be hanged for it," he concluded. An FIR was registered at Tikrapara police station on the complaint of Pramod Dubey against Kalicharan Maharaj for his abuse against Gandhi and he was arrested during early hours on Thursday. The Congress partys refurbished campaign of portraying itself as a pro-women party ahead of the 2022 assembly elections is under apprehensions as the partys actions are not lining up with their words. Congress, who has been raising chants of Ladki hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon, has come under the scanner after reinstating a party member who has been accused of sexual harassment. Congress last week has reinstated Ranajit Mukherjee and made him the secretary of the three key states- Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim. 41-year-old Mukherjee was removed from his posts in the party earlier after being charged with the accusations of harassing a party worker and predatory behaviour against another colleague. However, despite portraying itself as a party working for the welfare of women, Congress hasnt been able to satisfy the demands of their party workers as the victims of sexual harassment by Mukherjee have insisted on his ouster, while the party decided to reinstate him on the position of secretary. What was the Sexual Harassment case against Mukherjee? Reportedly, Ranajit Mukherjee resigned in 2020 after former Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Gowda, chairman of the party's research department undertook an internal investigation on the accusations of sexual harassment against him. Mukherjee was also a member of the party's research department. His resignation was accepted and he was removed from his post of AICC secretary last year. During the 2018 Rajasthan assembly elections, a member of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), Congress' student wing, reported about him in writing, while another colleague in the research department alleged sexual misconduct. The NSUI member complained about the sexual harassment by Mukherjee, which he said was a consensual relationship as per reports. Another colleague, who was part of the AICC research department said that he had shown predatory behaviour. Why is the matter significant? The matter gains significance as the party has not cleared him of accusations as of now, but decided to reinstate him on a powerful position within a year. And that too when, the victims have pledged that the accused shall be evicted from the party, and he has shown a pattern of misconduct with women. As per a report by the Hindustan Times, the victims have also written to Rahul Gandhi requesting his rebuttal. On the other hand, the accused Mukherjee had pleaded that he was wrongly framed and he had been punished enough, and now the party has recognised his hard work. Empty claims by Congress? While the Congress top brass including party President Sonia Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were seen vociferously raising issues of women empowerment recently, and bashing the Union government for misogyny, the move of reinstating a sexual offender raised questions of propriety. UP state elections in charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stated that she wants to put women in a position of power, by reserving 40% seats for them in the upcoming elections, but at the same time, she is being questioned for not implementing the same in her own party. At this conjuncture, doubts are being raised, Are Congress claims only political vows? Image: Twitter/ PTI Ethiopian lawmakers have approved a bill to establish a commission for national dialogue, amid international pressure for negotiations to end the 13-month conflict in the Tigray region. The Federal Parliamentary Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor on Wednesday with 287 votes for, 13 votes against and one abstention. The commissions establishment will pave the way for national consensus and keep the integrity of the country, the bill states. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government has promised to create such a commission to establish a common ground on contentious issues. The commission, however, will not at this stage engage with the Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front or the Oromo Liberation Army, both of which are fighting the federal army and have been declared terrorist organizations by the government of the East African nation. Some government officials have said specifically that the new commission will not be engaging in talks with the Tigray organization. But the commission's creation may be an effort to respond to the international community's persistent calls for a cease-fire and inclusive dialogue to resolve the conflict, said Tsedale Lemma, CEO of Jakenn Publishing, publisher of the prominent Addis Standard media outlet. When the international community requested holding inclusive dialogue to address Ethiopias deepening crisis, there is no ambiguity on the need for such dialogue to be truly inclusive by having various stakeholders, including armed groups, be a part of the process, Tsedale told The Associated Press. The government so far has a strict policy of no negotiations with the armed groups, she said. With this as a background, its safe to say that the National Dialogue Commission is just an extension of the governments inadequate attempt at scratching the thick surface in Ethiopias otherwise multi-layered and complex political crisis, she said. The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia continues to urge its citizens wishing to leave the country to do so by taking commercial flights. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on the situation in Ethiopia, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, Ned Price, said on Wednesday. "They agreed on the urgent need for a cessation of hostilities, unhindered humanitarian access, an end to human rights abuses and violations, and a negotiated resolution to the conflict, Price said. But Ethiopian officials have continued to protest that the U.S. and other Western countries are interfering in the countrys internal affairs. These (Western) countries, especially the U.S., are supporting the Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front in addition to putting various pressures on Ethiopia, Zadig Abrha, an official within the Ethiopian Prime Minister's office, said on Wednesday. Ethiopias federal army and its allied forces recaptured swathes of areas in the Amhara and Afar region in recent weeks that were in the hands of Tigray forces since July. Ethiopias devastating war is believed to have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people and displaced millions of others, pushing hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions in the Tigray region, according to aid groups. Both sides in the conflict have been accused of committing widespread abuses, killings and sexual violence. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Ousted Somalia Prime Minister Mohamed Husein Roble on December 29, Wednesday held a telephonic conversation with the US Assistant Secretary of State for African, Affairs Molly Phee. The two discussed the political and security situation in the country, where they talked about the ongoing elections and called for credible, and rapid conclusions. The United States supported the call for an in-person National Consultative Council meeting this week focused on improving and expediting Somalias electoral process, the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price reiterated. He added that the US has been deeply concerned by the continuing delays, and by the procedural irregularities which have undermined the credibility of the process. H.E Prime Minister @MohamedHRoble today had a telephone conversation with US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee where the subject of discussions revolved around the political, security and electoral situation in the country. pic.twitter.com/8AqGKvFhqk SomaliPM (@SomaliPM) December 29, 2021 US calls to defuse political tensions in Somalia [Somalia Prime Minister] today had a telephone conversation with US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Molly Phee where the subject of discussions revolved around the political, security and electoral situation in the country, Somalia Prime Ministers office tweeted. A statement further informed that PM Roble briefed the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee about the ongoing dispute between President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and his subordinates. Roble reportedly stressed to the US official that the outgoing president does not want free and fair elections. Phee called for Somali government officials, particularly Farmajo and Roble to defuse political tensions. It is imperative that Somalias national and Federal Member State leaders swiftly conclude credible, transparent, and inclusive parliamentary and presidential elections and address concerns in an open and acceptable manner. https://t.co/oLXMNys5gf Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) December 26, 2021 US State Department stressed that it is imperative that Somalias national and Federal Member State leaders swiftly conclude credible, transparent, and inclusive parliamentary and presidential elections and address concerns in an open and acceptable manner. It categorically stressed, that the US remains committed to supporting peace and stability in Somalia and will use available tools to meet those goals. Somalia President's office has accused PM Roble of meddling with an investigation into a land grabbing case. The commander of the Somalia marine forces was also dismissed and an investigation was ordered for charges of corruption on him. Roble's office labelled the statement as outrageous," and condemned the attempt of "militarily take over of the Prime Ministers office, a move he slammed as illegal. The two politicians also traded barbs for stalling ongoing parliamentary elections that were meant to conclude by December 24. Abdirahman Yusuf Omar Adala, Somalias Assistant Information Minister accused the President of organising an "indirect coup within the African nation. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday accused Lithuanian authorities of dumping the bodies of migrants on the border between the two countries. The claim was rejected by Lithuania amid soaring border tensions between Belarus and its European Union neighbors. Lukashenko also warned that his country will stand squarely behind its ally Russia if the Ukrainian authorities launch an offensive against Moscow-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. He tried to cast the tensions over migrants as part of a purported Western plot against Belarus and Russia. Lukashenko said at a meeting with his top military brass that Belarusian border guards found the bodies of two migrants left on the border over the weekend. They put a dead body, or, probably, a person who is still alive, in a sleeping bag and toss it on the border, Lukashenko exclaimed. What an abomination! Lithuania's State Border Guard Service rejected the Belarusian claim, saying that Belarusian authorities have repeatedly tried to stage and direct beatings, the crippling or even deaths of migrants, while blaming Lithuania for such inhumane treatment. The EU has accused Lukashenko of waging a hybrid attack against it, using desperate migrants as pawns and tricking them into trying to cross into EU members Poland and Lithuania to destabilize the entire bloc. The EU says that's Lukashenko's revenge for EU sanctions imposed on Belarus after its brutal crackdown on democracy protesters. Belarusian authorities have denied the accusations and shot back at the EU, accusing it of failing to offer safe passage to migrants. IMAGE: AP (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) As discussions to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal is underway, Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Wednesday expressed hope that Iran will abandon its "negative behaviour" in the region. Voicing concerns over Iran's refusal to co-operate with the international standards of nuclear power as well ballistic missiles, he also warned that the behaviour "undermines security and stability." Speaking at Majlis ash-Shura, the King also suggested that Tehran must switch for "dialogue and cooperation" in order to ensure a stabilised regional policy, SPA News Agency reported. "Iran is the neighbouring country of the kingdom Saudi Arabia and we hope that it will change its policy and negative behaviour in the region. We hope it will switch for dialogue and cooperation. However, we are very concerned with the policy of the Iranian regime aimed at undermining security and stability in the region," King Al Saud said. The Saudi king's assertions come after the P5+1 countries, including China, Russia, UK Germany, and US together with the European Union (EU) and Iran concluded the 8th round of Vienna Talks on Monday. The discussions remained focused on the issues of "guarantees and verification" on lifting bid the US sanctions Washington returns to the accord, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had said. It is pertinent to mention that the JCPOA signed in 2015 saw limitations of sanctions on Iran in return for Tehran to bring down its uranium accumulation, which has currently on the verge to reach 60% (far beyond the threshold allowed in the agreement). However, the US, under ex-president Donald Trump opted out of the program, leading to the re-imposition of sanctions. Iran has argued that the store is only "for civilian purposes" adding that even if the Vienna Talks fail it will not aim for a concerning rise. Iran demands petroleum export permission Just ahead of the 8th round of talks, Iran insisted to revoke all US sanctions in order to secure petroleum export "without hindrance." "The most important issue for us to reach a point where, firstly, Iranian oil can be sold easily and without hindrance," Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying by Sputnik. This came after Tehran presents a draft deal, concerning the removal of "maximum pressure" sanctions imposed by the US. It is to mention that despite the sanctions, Iran has been exporting petroleum products through intermediaries, with China being it's largest customer. (Image: AP) In response to India's Rafale aircraft purchase, Pakistan has acquired a full squadron of 25 Chinese multirole J-10C fighter jets, said Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Wednesday. The minister told reporters in his home city of Rawalpindi that a full squadron of 25 all-weather aircraft comprising J-10C will attend the Pakistan Day ceremony on March 23 next year. Apparently, China has come to the rescue of its closest ally by providing J-10C, one of its highly reliable fighter jets. "VIP guests are coming (to attend 23rd March ceremony) for the first time in Pakistan, the fly-past ceremony of JS-10 (J-10C) is being held Pakistan Air Force is going to perform the fly-past of China's JS-10 (J-10C) aircraft in response to Rafale", said Ahmed. The minister, who often characterises himself a graduate of Urdu-medium institutions' to poke fun at his elite English-medium colleagues, incorrectly pronounced the name of the aircraft as JS-10 instead of J-10C. Debt-ridden Pakistan To Get $3bn From Saudi Arabia The latest acquisition of weaponry comes almost a month after the Imran Khan-led cabinet approved an agreement that would pave the way for a USD 3 billion loan from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government had previously promised to maintain a reserve of USD 3 billion at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Geo News reported. With the federal Cabinet approving the agreement, the aid will be sent by Saudi in the coming days and remain in the SBPs deposit account for a year. The SBP has finalised all arrangements and now everything is in place and the amount of the agreed deposit will be received within the next couple of days, official sources told The News. Saudi Arabia's USD 3 billion loan is not all. According to Muzammil Aslam, Spokesperson for Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Pakistan is expecting USD 7 billion over the next 60 days. These include USD 3 billion in deposits from Saudi Arabia, a USD 1.2 billion Saudi Oil Facility with deferred payments, a USD 800 million Islamic Development Bank oil facility, USD 1 billion raised through the issuance of Sukuk bonds, and USD 1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Pakistan continues to be duplicitous in the use of terror groups as proxies in its geographical pursuits, a recent report has revealed. Singapore Times made the claim based on US Country Reports on Terror 2020 and said that multiple terrorist groups continue to operate from Pakistani soil. The aforementioned terror outfits include those targetting Afghanistan including the Haqqani Network and India including Lashkar-e-Taiba. Terrorist groups continue to operate from Pakistan. Groups targetting Afghanistan-including the Afghan Taliban and affiliated Haqqani Network, as well as groups targeting India-including Lashkar-e-Taiba and its affiliated organisations and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) continue to operate from Pakistani territory, it said. Pakistan made 'limited progress' to counter terrorism The report also highlighted Islamabads inability to combat terrorism. It said that the country made limited progress on the most difficult aspects of its 2015 National Action Plan to counter-terrorism, specifically in its pledge to dismantle all terrorist organisations "without delay or discrimination. The report cited several examples including that of Masood Azhar writing a column, 'Manzil ki tara', congratulating the Afghan Taliban for its Kabul takeover. Another incident was that of the release of Omar Shiekh, who has been accused of murdering Daniel Pearl in the year 2002. While the report points out incidences from the past, a recent video shared by Lashkar-e-Taiba highlights Pakistan's excoriation of terrorism. On December 14, an inhumane video was released by Pakistan-backed terrorist outfit Kashmir Tigers (an offshoot of Jaish-e-Mohammed) that says 'more to come' suggesting the terrorist group was behind the Srinagar attack. Additionally, the video shows disturbing visuals of the attack where two police officers were martyred while at least 14 others got injured. Importantly, the released video also has a graphic of the JeM chief and the US-designated terrorist Masood Azhar with a tweet of Kashmir Zone Police's update on the attack. A statement from the Kashmir Tigers terrorist group was also included: "It was just a demo, we will strike deep in your hearts just like lightning and thunderstorm, Insha Allah, #Kashmir tigers." Notably, the video also mentions how the brutal attack took place and makes false claims on martyrs. (With inputs from agencies, Image: AP) Since the appointment of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Nadeem Anjum, there have been no images or videos of him released to the media. It has now been revealed that Anjum has given out instructions to authorities in Pakistan to not release his images or video clips to the media, stated PTI on Wednesday. Anjum was named Director General of the ISI in November following a long standoff between the civilian and military leadership in Pakistan. Anjum replaced Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, whose clip of having a conversation with a reporter in Afghanistans capital, Kabul during the Taliban takeover in August, had gone viral. Pakistans National Security Committee on Monday approved the countrys first-ever National Security Policy. While the high-level meeting was also attended by ISI Director General Anjum, the pictures and video recordings of the meeting released by the government excluded him, The News International reported. A federal minister told the newspaper that no images or videos of Anjum were released because the ISI chief had instructed the government authorities not to unveil any footage of any meeting that he attends. The report added that Anjums directions were also the same reason why there were no photos of the new ISI chief since his appointment. Ex-Pakistani official said it is basic principle of intelligence services According to a former Pakistani official, Lt Gen Amjad Shoaib (Retd.), it is the basic principle of intelligence services to stay away from the medias limelight and maintain a certain sense of anonymity. However, as per the report, Shoaib noted that there had been several instances in the past when the same principle was violated by government authorities. The ex-Pakistani official even cited an example of the Afghan war when the images of then-ISI heads, Gen Hameed Gul and Gen Javed Nasir were released to the media. Following promotion and his posting as GOC Quetta, Shoaib recalled that he was advised to stay away from the media by General Abdul Waheed Kakar who was the then Army chief. Additionally, Maj Gen Ejaz Awan (Retd.), who served in the ISI in the past, said that the Anjum appeared to be following the pattern of doing his work without bagging any publicity from the media. Ideally, Awan reportedly said, that people who head the intelligence agencies should not be known. Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI is the main intelligence agency. (IMAGE: @DifaeyPakistan/Twitter) Nearly 15 provinces in Afghanistan, including the capital city of Kabul, is facing severe power outage as 50% electric supply from Uzbekistan was suspended. As per reports from the Afghan state energy industry Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), the disruption in distribution occurred due to technical faults in Uzbekistan on December 30. However, the Uzbek Energy Ministry told Sputnik that it has not cut supplies purposefully and stressed that the issues may have been caused in the Afghan territories. The brownout came at least a month after reports of Afghanistan set to sell estates of its debtors in order to pay billions of dollars worth of power bills to Central Asian countries. A similar problem arose in October when technical problems emerged from the northern Afghan provinces and Dan Shahabuddin in Baglan. "Technical staff at Afghanistan Breshna Company are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible," DABS had said in a statement released on Twitter. As reported by ANI, at least 80% of Afghan power consumption needs are met by Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. However, Afghanistan was reeling under debt when the Taliban took over in August, thus, inheriting the responsibility to clear the power bills, which are still unpaid. Afghanistan, Tajikistan ink power agreement The Afghan state electricity board, DABS on Monday inked a power agreement with Tajikistan for 2022. As per reports by Afghan News, Chief Executive of DABS Hafiz Muhammad Amin met with the Tajik officials and chalked out the deal after two days of intense negotiations. The two sides also discussed major regional development energy-related projects including CASA 1000 and the line of 500 KW. In addition, both the nations also drew agreements on resuming stalled talks on power supply, which were halted in July due to unstable political developments in Afghanistan. According to the Breshna newsletter cited by Afghan News, the Taliban delegation promised cooperation with Tajikistan and assured that the militant forces would provide adequate security for the resumption of suspended projects. Taliban appeals for recognition Meanwhile, the Taliban government has continued its call for international recognition, seeking a positive response. Citing the long-standing humanitarian and economic crises, the Taliban caretaker government urged neighbouring countries and the West to "come together" in order to address the difficulties faced by lakhs of Afghans amid the winter months. Speaking on the 42nd anniversary of the USSR attack on Afghanistan, the Taliban government in a press release also upheld that they do not wish to interfere in political affairs of other countries and expected the same from counterparts, Khaama Press reported. (Image: Unsplash (representative) Amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over, around 21 COVID-19 hospitals have been shut down due to a lack of financial resources. While the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) suspended financial aid to Afghanistan after the Taliban reconquered the nation, a report by Pajhwok Afghan News stated that the Taliban-led governments Ministry of Public Health is concerned over the closure of more than 20 hospitals. However, it added that a number of international organisations are ready to fund some of the hospitals. Before the former Afghan government fell to the Taliban in August this year, hundreds of millions of US dollars were provided to the war-ravaged country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even former Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis administration had allocated 1.2 million dollars from the government to tackle the coronavirus. Now, with the emergence of highly-mutated Omicron variant, freezing of crucial aid, and closing of COVID-19 hospitals, Afghanistan faces a new set of humanitarian challenges as the world enters the third year of pandemic. As per the report, the United States froze nearly $10 billion assets of Afghanistan and international community aid was also suspended. Dr. Javed Hajir, a spokesman for MoPH, told Pajhwok Afghan News that following the Coronavirus outbreak in Afghanistan, the government had put together 38 hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients. However, due to lack of funds, he said that out of those 38, only 17 are operational. Nearly 50% hospitals unfunctional It is to note that Hajir did not name the hospitals which were shut down but said that active hospitals registered new COVID-19 cases and deaths. He even revealed that the ministry is in talks with several international donors to reactivate the COVID-19 hospitals in the country as nearly 50% are presently unfunctional. Hajir told the news outlet that the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) were among the organizations ready to fund some COVID-19 hospitals in Afghanistan. He further noted that IOM has already taken responsibility for funding COVID hospitals in Nangarhar, Helmand, Herat and Kandahar provinces. Meanwhile, WHO and UNICEF have agreed to fund five hospitals each, according to the report. (IMAGE: Unsplash/AP) As per the data of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which is a non-profit investigative news reporting platform for independent media outlets around the world, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, disgraced Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz and former Afghanistan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai are amongst the most corrupt leaders of 2021. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko According to OCCRP, Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, generated headlines over the past year for: Channelling state money to a series of oligarchs close to the Lukashenko family Intercepting a Ryanair passenger plane carrying a Belarusian dissident and forcing it to land in Minsk, in violation of international laws on aviation Manufacturing a border crisis with the European Union by luring thousands of refugees to the borders of the bloc Promulgating misinformation and fake cures for COVID Lukashenko enjoys unlimited power at home and sniffs at international opprobrium. Indeed, it was EU sanctions against his country that prompted his retaliation via refugees, the OCCRP opined. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad had led Syria into a horrifying civil war and is accused of stealing millions of dollars while he was in power, as per OCCRP. Last month, the Biden administration had expressed strong opposition to re-engaging with Syria's Bashar Assad after the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates met with Syrias once widely shunned president in Damascus. Former Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Drew Sullivan, a co-founder of OCCRP, said that Ashraf Ghani deserves such an award due to his corruption and incompetence. "Ghani certainly deserves an award, too. He was breath-taking in both his corruption and his gross incompetence. He deserted his people, leaving them to misery and death so he could live among the corrupt former state officials in the moral cesspool that is the UAE," said Sullivan. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan & Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz Erdogan has overseen a corrupt government that has laundered Chinese funds for Iranian oil using state-owned banks and Kurz was the leader of Austrian People's Party (OVP) who, along with nine other politicians and newspaper persons, was accused of embezzlement and bribery, stated OCCRP. Image: AP It was in December 2019, when a handful of people in the Chinese city of Wuhan fell ill in what authorities said was a mysterious pneumonia outbreak. Soon, it spiralled into one of the most lethal diseases that humankind has ever witnessed- the Coronavirus. The SARS-CoV-2 virus soon mutated, leading to the emergence of new variants including the Delta, Omicron. However, with new and more efficient vaccines in their arsenal, more and more countries have reduced the isolation time of COVID patients. Here is everything you need to know. How long are people infectious? According to health officials, an individual can be infectious for about two days before they develop Coronavirus symptoms. Meanwhile, estimates of how long a person is infectious can vary but US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that a patient with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 remains infectious no longer than 10 days after symptom onset. Those with severe illness can continue to be infected for 20 days. Most patients with more severe-to-critical illness or those who are severely immunocompromised likely remain infectious no longer than 20 days after symptom onset; however, there have been several reports of severely immunocompromised people shedding replication-competent virus beyond 20 days, according to CDC. What are varied quarantine rules in different countries? US Earlier this week, the United States (US) announced that it is slashing recommended isolation time to half from earlier ten to five days. The shortened quarantine period, according to the government, could help alleviate disruption caused by staff shortages due to increased infection. UK In the UK, National Health Service said that all people who test positive for COVID would have to isolate themselves for seven days. However, the lessened quarantine time is only allowed if there is a negative lateral flow on days six and seven. Also, all fully vaccinated close contacts of the patient who have tested positive are not required to self-isolate but those who are not vaccinated will have to quarantine for 10 days. India Indian health authorities, meanwhile, have stuck to the traditional two week quarantine period. The same rule is applicable to those diagnosed with new Omicron or the B.1.1.529 variant. France & Germany In France, the recommended quarantine period is that of 10 days while in Germany it is 14 days until a negative PCR test comes. Middle Eastern states including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel have also advised all those testing positive to isolate for 14 days. Australia & New Zealand Australia has also struck to two isolation policy. However, its pacific neighbour New Zealand has different isolation periods depending on their vaccination status. "The isolation period for fully vaccinated COVID-19 cases in the community is at least 10 days, including 72 hours symptom-free. The isolation period for partially vaccinated or unvaccinated COVID-19 cases are at least 14 days, including 72 hours symptom-free," according to a statement by the kiwi government. IMAGE: Pixabay/Unsplash Indonesian authorities have announced allowing the boat carrying 120 Rohingya refugees to land, according to AP. The authorities have taken the decision as the people on board the boat were facing severe conditions. The development has been confirmed by the head of the refugee task force at the Coordinating Ministry for Political Law and Security. Armed Wijaya, who heads a refugee task force at the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Law and Security, in a statement informed, The Indonesian government has decided, in the name of humanity, to accommodate the Rohingya refugees currently adrift at sea near Bireuen district." The decision comes after the local authorities had announced that after the boat was repaired, it would be sent to Malaysia. The authorities had intended to push back the boat into the international waters even after the United Nations Refugee Agency's calls to allow them to disembark after being adrift for days off the countrys northernmost province of Aceh. The boat includes 60 women, 51 children & 9 men Badruddin Yunus, the leader of the local tribal fishing community has revealed that the boat carrying 120 Rohingya refugees was spotted by local fishermen on Sunday, about 60 miles off the coast of Bireuen. Yunus mentioned that the people on board the boat have been given food, water and clothes. Badruddin Yunus further added that the passengers include 60 women, 51 children and nine men. UNHCR had urged Indonesia to allow landing The UNHCR in a press release on Tuesday, 28 December, had expressed concern for the safety and lives of the people who were on board the boat. The UNHCR stated that the vessel is reportedly leaking and has a damaged engine and continues to float in the sea. In the press release, the UN refugee agency urged the Indonesian government to permit safe disembarkation immediately. More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar and gone to refugee camps in Bangladesh since 2017. The Rohingya Muslims reportedly started fleeing Myanmar after the countrys armed forces had started a clearance operation in retaliation to rebel group attacks. The Rohingya refugees have been trying to flee the crowded camps in Bangladesh and travel by sea to Muslim majority countries. (Inputs from AP) The Indonesian military has recently discovered a strange and highly mysterious replica of a Chinese tank floating in the sea, according to the country's security & defence source JATOSINT. The object, which completely resembled a rusted tank, was found near an oil rig in the Natuna Sea earlier this month, as per reports. Although it eventually floated away along with the wave and water current, later on, the Indonesian Navy started searching for the object, reported Sputnik. Furthermore, a few days later, the mock-up tank was again discovered. According to reports, the object is a perfect copy of the Type 15/ZTQ-15 tank, also known as VT-5, which was reportedly made in China. Nevertheless, details on who created the strange replica tank and what purpose it served still remain unknown. Despite its inability to float, this type was allegedly considered to be used by the Chinese Marines as a combat vehicle. China putting pressure on Indonesia to stop drilling operations in Natuna sea Meanwhile, in a related development, China has appeared to be putting pressure on Indonesia to cease its South China Sea oil and gas development projects near the Natuna Islands. According to ANI, citing Nikkei Asia, the exploratory drilling operations commenced near the islands in Natuna sea, which are situated within Indonesia's inner economic zone, which has been overlapping China's significant "nine-dash line" territorial claim that encompasses much of the sea. To oppose the drilling, China has deployed coast guard ships into the region to mount pressure, according to the article, which cited Indonesian government sources. Jakarta, on the other hand, which believes there is no territorial conflict with China, has so far been mum on Beijing's objections. According to the article, Indonesia refuses to respond publicly to China's objection because it believes doing so would imply accepting the existence of a regional conflict. It is pertinent to note that China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, whereas Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, as well as Taiwan all have territorial claims that overlap. Beijing has intensified its involvement in the Natuna Islands since 2019, raising tensions with Jakarta. (Image: AP/ Representative Image) Dr Anupam Ray has been appointed as the next Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations on Disarmament, Geneva, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on December 29. Dr Anupam Ray, who is an Indian Foreign Services (IFS) officer of the 1994 batch, is currently working as Joint Secretary in the MEA. The MEA in a statement further stated that Ray is expected to be taking up the assignment shortly. Dr Pankaj Sharma, who is presently the Permanent Representative of India to the UN Conference on the Disarmament, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Mexico, the MEA informed in a statement. Dr Pankaj Sharma is an IFS officer of the 1991 batch. He took up the position of the Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN on Disarmament on 12 January, 2018. Pankaj Sharma appointed as Ambassador of India to Mexico The MEA said, Pankaj Sharma (IFS:1991), presently Permanent Representative of India to the UN Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Mexico. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. According to the MEA, Dr Sharma, who is currently serving as Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament, has previously served as the Joint Secretary and Head of the Disarmament and International Security Affairs (D&ISA) at the Ministry of External Affairs of India from November 2016 to October 2018. He had been serving on deputation to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons(POCW) in The Hague from March 2012 to November 2016. (Image: AP/Twitter/@AnupamIFS) Kathmandu, Dec 30 (PTI) Two Indians, including a 14-year-old boy, were stopped from crossing into Nepal on Thursday after they were found to have coronavirus during the mandatory testing, Border Police officials said. The two Indians were held in separate incidents, trying to cross into Nepal via the Rani Check Point in Biratnagar Metropolitan City of Eastern Nepal, officials said, adding that they had failed the Rapid Antigen Test. Both the Indians are residents of Purnia district in Bihar and they have been sent home in coordination with the Indian police, said Chief District Officer of Morang, Kashi Raj Dahal. The names of the Indians were not disclosed. The 14-year-old boy is believed to be a student of a private boarding school in Dharan Municipality in Nepal. This was the first time a coronavirus-positive Indian was found crossing the border, after the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was detected in India, officials said. The Nepalese authorities have increased vigilance in the border checkpoints after the latest COVID variant was detected in India. Nepal reported 241 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. No death was reported on the day; the COVID death toll remains at 11,590. There are 4,977 active COVID cases in the country. PTI SBP IND AKJ IND (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on December 29, held a telephonic conversation with his counterparts from Germany, France and the United Kingdom. During the conversation, the leaders expressed their solidarity with Lithuania amid the escalating political pressure and economic coercion by China, the United States State Department Spokesperson said in a press statement. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian rejected the actions of China, They highlighted their solidarity with Lithuania in the face of escalating political pressure and economic coercion by the Peoples Republic of China and rejected those practices, Ned Price said in a press statement. Furthermore, the US Secretary of State with his counterparts also discussed the importance of coordination to deter any further aggression by the Russian side against Ukraine. During the conversation, the foreign ministers reiterated their unwavering support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. In addition, the leaders expressed concern over the speed of developments in Irans nuclear program. Moreover, they had a discussion over Libyas efforts to organize elections and agreed on the importance of holding the electoral process without any delay. Lithuania closes its embassy in China On December 15, Lithuanian authorities informed that it had closed its embassy in China, according to AP. The decision of Lithuania comes amid the spat as the country has allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius. The Lithuania Foreign Ministry in the statement stated that the discussions on the technical aspects of the operations of Lithuanias diplomatic representation in China and Beijings representation in Lithuania. Furthermore, the Foreign Ministry added that they were ready to continue talks with China in order to restore the functions of the embassy. After Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open its representative office in the country, China called on Lithuania to end their ties with Taiwan. China further blamed Lithuania for reducing diplomatic ties from the ambassadorial level with the EU-member nation. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian highlighted that Lithuania needs to immediately put right its mistake of allowing Taiwan to open its representative office that China claims as its own territory. Discussions are ongoing on the technical aspects of the operation of Lithuanias diplomatic representation in China and Chinas representation in Lithuania pending Chinas decision to renew the accreditation of Lithuanian diplomats in China, the Lithuania Foreign Ministry said as per AP. Inputs from AP Image: AP Brazilian worshippers celebrated the Goddess of the Sea, Yemanja, in Niteroi on Wednesday, offering flowers and gifts into the ocean in exchange for blessings for the coming year. Hundreds of followers of the Afro-Brazilian religions of Candomble and Umbanda packed Copacabana beach, dancing and singing around a life-size statue of the deity. Many carried small boats on their heads filled with the goddess' favourite gifts - including perfume, cider, mirrors, hair combs and food. Painted blue, Yemanja's colour, the boats were then released in the ocean. It is believed that if the boats return to shore it is because the Goddess has rejected the gifts. Devotees prayed to the goddess to free the planet from the current pandemic. The tradition is also practiced by non-believers, such as Italian Caterina Trombetti who is enthusiastic about the tradition surrounding Yemanja. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) 136 cities in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia were in a state of emergency because of flooding on Wednesday due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November. In Bahia, flooding has affected more than 629,000 people. There have been a total of 24 deaths since the beginning of the month because of the rains. In Ubaira, a small city 250km away from the capital Salvador, around 2,000 people lost all their belongings because of the floods, according to the Military Police. Streets were filled with mud as the water went away and residents started assessing the damage. "Everything happened very fast, there was no time to grab anything, I lost everything, and my house was destroyed" said Maria Jose de Morais, 54 year old seamstress who saw her house fall apart during the floods. This is the heaviest period of rainfall for Bahia in the last 32 years, according to the website of the National Center for Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters, a government agency. In southern Bahia, it rained more than five times the normal amount for this time of the year. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) is looking to prepare for the rise of Omicron hospitalisation by establishing new 'surge hubs,' Nightingale. NHS has announced that there will be eight hubs in eight different locations with a capacity of 100 patients. As per the reports of Sky News, Professor Stephen Powis, who is the NHS's national medical director, stated that the NHS is currently on high alert because of the high number of COVID infections and rising hospital admissions. Professor Powis also said that they don't yet know how many people infected with the virus will require hospital treatment. He also said that work on putting these facilities in place starts immediately. These Nightingale centres will be staffed by nurses, consultants, clinicians and non-clinical personnel, and will care for people who are not healthy enough to go home but require little supervision during their COVID recovery. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said that it is essentially necessary that they prepare for all circumstances and improve capacity, according to Sky News. Building on lessons learned earlier in pandemic Chris Hopson, who is the chief executive of NHS Provider and the membership organisation for NHS trusts in England stated that they are building this on lessons learned earlier in the pandemic. He stated that they are finding extra capacity on current hospital sites that might be converted into super surge capacity if it is required, according to BBC. Royal Preston hospital, St James' University Hospital in Leeds, Lister Hospital in Stevenage, St George's Hospital in London, The William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, North Bristol Hospital, Solihull Hospital, University Hospitals Leicester are listed under Nightingale centres. Meanwhile, inconsistency in the delivery of quick lateral flow tests persisted on Thursday morning, following complaints of similar troubles at pharmacies. Slots at PCR testing centres in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland were also largely unavailable, even for NHS and other vital staff. However, home PCR tests were available for delivery. Eight million lateral flow tests to be made available The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) stated on Wednesday said that test the availability is refreshed throughout the day and that consumers should keep checking online, according to BBC. It further stated that eight million lateral flow tests will be available in pharmacies by Friday. Professor Peter Openshaw described the lack of testing availability immediately before New Year's Eve celebrations as quite alarming. (Image: Pixabay) As the British socialite and accomplice of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell was declared guilty on Wednesday, Los Angeles-based attorney Lisa Bloom, who is defending 8 victims in the Epstein case, stated that Prince Andrew should be "quaking in his boots" after this. Speaking to Daily Mail, the attorney noted that in the wake of Maxwell's conviction, the Prince's "technical objections" are not "going to fly" anymore. Her assertions come after Prince Andrew, who is accused of molestation and sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre, on Wednesday filed a petition to halt proceedings, citing the complainant's residential status. "Even if there were grounds for cross-examination, which there were, they looked to the essence of the story and they found that Ghislaine Maxwell was guilty of sex trafficking. Prince Andrew should be quaking in his boots... Because this shows that a jury is willing to come back with the guilty verdict even if that accusers are not perfect, as no human is," Bloom told the Daily Mail. It is to be noted that on Tuesday lawyers of Prince Andrew stated that Giuffre was "actually domiciled in Australia" when she filed the case. Prince's lawyer Andrew B Brettler filed a lawsuit in the southern district of New York, saying that the proceedings must be stopped until the "issue of the subject matter jurisdiction is adjudicated," The Guardian reported. Meanwhile, in an interview with BBC, Prince Andrew had admitted his friendship with Maxwell. "Recently discovered evidence suggests that the code does not have subject matter jurisdiction over this action because plaintiff Virginia L Guiffre cannot satisfy the elements of diversity jurisdiction," Prince Andrew's lawyer Andrew B Brettler said in the lawsuit. Notwithstanding that, in her complaint, Ms. Giuffre alleges she is a citizen of the state of Colorado; the evidence demonstrates that she is actually domiciled in Australia, where she has lived for all but two of the past 19 years," he added. As per Daily Mail, the hearing on the aforementioned civil suit will be heard on 4 January. It will decide whether the court will hold Prince's call or weigh Giuffre's accusations over her residential status. In case the federal court sides with the complainant, the trial of the sexual assault will go before the jury in fall 2022. Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of sex trafficking British socialite and accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell on Wednesday was found guilty of the six points of sex trafficking minors. the 60-year-old will now face a maximum of 65 years of prison. Ghislaine groomed and trafficked teenage victims to billionaire paedophile clients of Epstein. The verdict came after a month-long running trial. Following the verdict, the prime accused in Prince Andrew's case, Giuffre took to Twitter and said that she was finally "granted the justice she had yearned for." Guiffre is also one of the accusers in Maxwell as well as Epstein's cases. Nevertheless, she further stated that "I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be," she added. My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always. Having lived with the horrors of Maxwells abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed. 1/2 Virginia Giuffre (@VRSVirginia) December 29, 2021 I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be. 2/2 Virginia Giuffre (@VRSVirginia) December 29, 2021 Image: AP In a bid to terminate the controversial 'Remain in Mexico' policy, US President Joe Biden administration on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to consider hearing on the programme. The appeal comes after a federal court, earlier in December, reinstated the Trump-era policy, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP). The policy was implemented in San Diego, towns of Laredo, Brownsville and El Paso in the Texas state. The Lower Court ordered re-imposition of the policy after the Biden administration failed to follow rudimentary rule-making protocols deemed mandatory for scrapping the programme. Earlier in August, the apex US court had ruled against suspending the policy amid an ongoing litigation hearing, The Wall Street Journal reported. Biden government had "failed to show a likelihood of success on the claim that the memorandum rescinding the Migrant Protection Protocols was not arbitrary and capricious," the order said, as quoted by the WSJ. To this, the US government responded accusing the Lower Court of "overstepping boundaries" by intruding into the executive branch's discretionary powers regarding the immigration policy. As per US media reports, more than 1.7 million migrants were stopped in southern US-Mexico borders in the last fiscal year. The count exceeded a cumulative 2 years total in October this year. As per 12 News reports, citing officials, there were more than 1,64,000 thwarted crossings, a number increased by "128%" from October 2020. It is to mention that host of migrants include people from South American, Asian and Middle Eastern countries including Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Lebanon, Mexico, Nepal Tajikistan, Russia and India who have amassed along the Arizona and Texas border. The 'Remain in Mexico Policy' The 'Remain in Mexico' immigration policy was formulated by ex-US President Donald Trump's administration. Under the policy, asylum-seekers were ordered to stay in Mexico while they wait for confirmation on their immigration status. The policy was suspended for the first few months after Biden came into power and was later temporarily terminated. "MPP has been rescinded for 2.5 months and suspended for 8 months and largely dormant for nearly 16 months," the Biden administration had said after a petition was filed against the "arbitrary" and "capricious" policy. Nevertheless, it has currently been revived after the defendants failed to provide ample justifying arguments supporting the ban of the policy. Image: AP A United States Airforce spy plane JSTARS E-8 was spotted flying on a reconnaissance mission over eastern Ukraine to gather intelligence just days after Russia ordered at least 10,000 troops to return to the defence base. The sighting followed after two US Air Forces (USAF) surveillance planes were also spotted flying in the territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists just less than 40 miles. E-8C ground-surveillance plane and RC-135V signals are the first ever USAF to openly fly inside Ukrainian air space as tensions between Kyiv and Moscow are at an all time high. E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft surveillance was confirmed to CNN by Lt. Cmdr. Russ Wolfkiel a spokesman for US European Command. Planes 'stay clear' of Donbas region The network reported Wednesday that another spy plane was seen gathering intelligence about the situation on the ground, although the Pentagon did not comment on exactly what intelligence the aircraft was gathering but it flew with the permission of the Ukrainian government. The planes, however, stayed clear of the Donbas region where pro-Russian separatists caused the stir against the Ukrainian forces. Spy planes sensors are capable of gathering the military movements of both Ukraine and Russian forces up to 20,000 square miles area without entering the Russian airspace, CNN reported citing the Air Force fact sheet. This comes as Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and its escort ships to stay in the Mediterranean area rather than sailing to the Middle East as part of US military's commitment to defend the Ukrainian region, according to the network. Tensions mounted between the two countries after Russia stationed close to 100,000 troops, 1,200 tanks and military weapons on the frontier with Ukraine. US intel revealed that President Vladimir Putin plans to invade Kyiv as early as 2022. U.S. citizens should be aware of reports that Russia is planning for significant military action against Ukraine, US State Department warned in mid-December as US discussed diplomatic resolution to the conflict, threatening potential economic sanctions if Russia launched an offensive. US President Joe Biden is expected to hold a telephonic dialogue with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this Thursday afternoon, "to discuss a range of topics, including upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia," National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne told CNN. Meanwhile the US defence official told Sputnik that the United States is retaining a nuclear aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean as reports of the military invasion by Russia are being taken seriously. Moscow, which has repeatedly denied the plan of Kyivs invasion, demanded that NATO remove its military from the parts of the eastern Europe and disengage with Ukraine as it is a threat to Moscows sovereign territory. The United States will "consult closely" on efforts to deter Russian aggression and diplomatic engagements between Ukraine, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and Moscow, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. The statement came after Blinken engaged in a phonic conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Taking to Twitter, the US State Secretary "reiterated full support for Ukraine... NATO allies and partners." Reiterated full U.S. support for Ukraine in my call with Ukrainian President @ZelenskyyUa. We will continue to consult closely with Ukraine, @NATO Allies, and partners in our diplomatic efforts to deter further Russian aggression. Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) December 29, 2021 Following the meeting, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price briefed on the details of the phone call between President Zelensky and Blinken. "Secretary Blinken reiterated the United States unwavering support for Ukraines independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity in the face of Russias military buildup on Ukraines borders," Price said. Both the leaders also discussed efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine and upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia. Relations between Russia and US have widened after Moscow deployed over 90,000 trips along the eastern borders of Ukraine, sparking speculations of attack on Kyiv in the coming weeks. Recently, 1,000 Russian soldiers participated in exercises replicating enemy airstrikes in its Western Military District, Interfax reported. Meanwhile, upping his hostile rhetoric, Putin, earlier this week, blamed "aggressive westernised politics" behind escalating tensions in Ukraine. He also warned that Russia will not "sit idly" against "unfriendly steps" taken by the West. Biden, Putin to hold telephonic discussion on Dec. 30 With US-Russia-NATO security talks just around the corner, US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart are set to discuss simmering tensions in Ukraine on Thursday over a telephone call, the White House said in a statement. The second such leader-to-leader call in a month will include a "range of topics" beginning with upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia, a senior White House official informed. "The two presidents will discuss the upcoming dialogues with Russia on a range of security and strategic issues. Those include bilateral talks through the Strategic Stability Dialogue, as well as the NATO-Russia Council, and the OSCE Permanent Council meeting, all of which will take place the week of January 10th," the statement said. The talks are expected to take place adhering to the "nature of diplomacy" and reciprocity. It is pertinent to mention that the phone call precedes much-awaited security talks between Moscow, NATO and the US scheduled for January. The discussions will encompass "security guarantees" laid out by Russia. (Image: AP) On the death anniversary of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, an Iraqi interpreter who worked with the US military refuted the claims of the United States that Hussein was hiding at the time of his arrest. According to a report by news agency Sputnik, an Iraqi interpreter revealed that the politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003, was not hiding in a hole as claimed by the US government over the years. The interpreter who worked closely with the US military also revealed that Hussein was in a room at the time of his arrest. Though he acknowledged that the former president was unconscious and did not understand what he was saying nor what was happening, but added the reports spread by the US media were totally fabricated. As per the US government and the American troops involved in the operation, Hussein was arrested from an eight-foot-deep hole under a farm on 13 December 2003. "After his arrest, the situation was fabricated so that the American administration, headed by Bush, could get out (unscathed) so that the coalition he had created against Iraq would not be defeated so that the US authority would not suffer because of the attack on Iraq under the pretext of having weapons of mass destruction and imminent threat to peace," the interpreter, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons told Sputnik. Saddam was not in the condition to get inside the tunnel: Interpreter According to US military insider, he tried to reveal the secret of the operation multiple times, however, due to security reasons, he decided to remain silent until now. The interpreter stressed he wanted the world to know that Hussein was in the room, most likely praying as he was wearing a traditional Arab robe, called dishdasha, and the notion that he was cowering in a pit at the time of his arrest was fabricated. The interpreter added that the former Iraqi President Saddam was not in the condition to get inside the tunnel, as it was too narrow. He revealed that the president was too weak at the time of his arrest. "I was wearing a bulletproof vest, I took it off and was able to forcefully squeeze myself into the hole, I could also get out with difficulty. Yes, there was a hole, but the information that the president was arrested there... I'm telling you - he was in the room, he was arrested in the room," the interpreter stressed. It is worth noting that the former politician was executed on 30 December 2003, after the United States invaded Iraq on the pretext of searching for weapons of mass destruction the country was allegedly hiding. However, the existence of such weapons was never proved. (With inputs from ANI) Image: ANI US President Joe Biden will be holding a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday in a bid to discuss a range of topics, a senior US administration official said. While citing the official, CNN reported that the telephone call was requested by Putin, Biden accepted because he believes when it comes to Russia there is no substitute for direct-leader dialogues. Now, during the call, the US President will make clear to Putin that there is a diplomatic path to de-escalate tensions in the region if only the Russian leader is interested in talking. "This dialogue should and we expect will proceed on the basis of reciprocity," the administration official further added, as per CNN. The official informed that Biden plans to preview the upcoming bilateral talks between Washington and Moscow set to take place on January 10. He will also be discussing the NATO-Russia and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meetings slated for January 12 and 13. Biden will make it clear to Putin that the US will continue to coordinate closely with its allies and partners on all matters. And we will proceed on the principle of noting about them without them, the senior official added. Separately, the US National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne on Wednesday said, The Biden Administration continues to engage in extensive diplomacy with our European Allies and partners, consulting and coordinating on a common approach in response to Russia's military build-up on the border with Ukraine. President Biden has spoken with leaders across Europe, and Biden Administration officials have engaged multilaterally with NATO, the EU, and the OSCE. Horne added that officials have even held consultations with the Bucharest Nine (B-9) group of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. She went on to say that the US and its allies are committed to meaningful diplomacy with Russia. The United States is also prepared to respond with harsh, coordinated sanctions if Russia advances with a further invasion of Ukraine, she said. US prepared to provide Ukraine 'with further assistance' Further, Horne informed that the US has made plans to reinforce NATOs force posture in Eastern Europe if Russia attacks Ukraine, adding that it is also prepared to provide Ukraine "with further assistance" in a bid to help the nation defend itself if necessary. She noted that Washington has not yet seen any effort by Moscow to lower tensions. In fact, she said that the US continues to see a significant Russian troop presence in and around the border of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the phone call comes amid a time when the relations between the US and Russia have sunk to their lowest since the end of the Cold War. In recent months, the tensions between the two sides have also heightened especially as officials warned that Moscow is planning to invade Ukraine. Biden has repeatedly highlighted concerns of the US and its European allies about the increase in deployment of Russian forces surrounding Ukraine. Putin, on the other hand, has voiced rising vexation over Western military aid to Ukraine, a fellow former USSR that has tilted towards the West since a revolt toppled a pro-Russian president in 2014, and what it calls creeping NATO expansion. (Image: AP) Two senior editors are charged under colonial-era sedition laws, while five other arrestees are granted bail. Pro-democracy activist and singer Denise Ho, a former board member of Stand News, gestures as she leaves the Western Police Station after being released from custody in Hong Kong on Dec. 30, 2021, following her arrest the previous day along with six other current and former staff members of the local media outlet Authorities in Hong Kong on Thursday charged two senior editors at the now-shuttered pro-democracy Stand News with "sedition" and denied them bail, following a raid on the news website by national security police. Acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam and former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen, and the company that owns the media outlet were charged with conspiring "together and with other persons, to publish and/or reproduce seditious publications," court documents showed. They also stand accused of inciting "hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection" against the government and the incitement of "persons to violence." Four former Stand News board members including Cantopop star Denise Ho were released on bail without charge, while the seventh arrestee, Chan Pui-man, is already in custody awaiting trial on separate charges under a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing from July 1, 2020. Only Chung, 52, appeared in court on Thursday, nodding to supporters in the gallery, while Lam was in hospital. The Dec. 29 raid saw more than 200 police officers raid Stand News offices, and seven people arrested on suspicion of "sedition" under a colonial-era law. An asset freeze using powers under the national security law prompted the outlet to cease operations immediately and lay off all staff. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hit out at the raid, which came amid an ongoing crackdown on journalists and news organizations under a citywide crackdown on public dissent and political opposition ordered by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the wake of the 2019 protest movement. "The ... raid and arrest of seven senior staff at Stand News have forced yet another of the few remaining bastions of free and independent media in Hong Kong to cease operations," Blinken said in a statement. "Journalism is not sedition," he said. "We call on PRC and Hong Kong authorities to cease targeting Hong Kongs free and independent media and to immediately release those journalists and media executives who have been unjustly detained and charged." "By silencing independent media, [the Chinese and Hong Kong] authorities undermine Hong Kongs credibility and viability," Blinken said. Similar criticisms have been heard from the United Nations Human Rights Office, EU Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Peter Stano, a German foreign ministry spokesperson, Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly, Australian foreign minister Marise Payne and U.K. deputy foreign minister Amanda Milling. A spokesman for China's foreign ministry in Hong Kong rejected international criticism of the raid. "We urge external forces to stop interfering in the ... name of so-called human rights and freedom and stop meddling with Hong Kong affairs and Chinas internal affairs," the spokesman said. He accused "external forces" of supporting "anti-China forces in Hong Kong ... so that they could continue to disrupt Hong Kongs prosperity and stability." 'An all-out assault' The U.K.-based rights group Hong Kong Watch condemned the raid on Stand News. "These arrests are nothing short of an all-out assault on the freedom of the press in Hong Kong, coming just one day after Jimmy Lai and six former Apple Daily journalists received similar charges," the group's chief executive Benedict Rogers said. "When a free press guaranteed by Hong Kongs Basic Law is labelled 'seditious,' it is a symbol of the speed at which this once great open international city has descended into little more than a police state," he said. "Today, a reporters notebook has become a dangerous instrument in Hong Kong, and to write on its blank pages ideas, comments, opinions or facts could be a criminal offense," Rogers said. "Reporting the truth in Hong Kong is now a crime." He called on the U.K. government to target Hong Kong and Chinese officials "who seek to crush all dissent" with sanctions. Eric Lai, an expert in Hong Kong law at Georgetown University, said the use of colonial-era sedition clauses in the Crime Ordinance showed that Beijing doesn't see the existing national security law as sufficient to stifle dissent or opposition to the CCP in Hong Kong. "The definition of incitement is actually broader than that in the national security law, including incitement of hatred of the judicial system," Lai said. "The other reason is that the government has always talked about the need to use local law in national security cases." He said Beijing will likely restart plans for local national security legislation, shelved amid mass popular protest in 2003, during the next Legislative Council (LegCo), now devoid of any genuine political opposition following Dec. 19 elections under new rules ensuring that only pro-China candidates could run. He said the use of the colonial-era sedition law exposes Hong Kong journalists to "huge political risk." Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Zhou Xiaozheng says the ruling CCP can't tolerate public dissent or criticism, even from overseas. Authorities at China's Renmin University have fired outspoken retired professor Zhou Xiaozheng, a former director of the school's institute of sociology, RFA has learned. Zhou, 75, who has been retired for more than a decade, received a call from the university on Dec. 28, firing him from his post. "I said I'm retired, so how can I be fired?" Zhou, who currently lives in the United States, told RFA. "Just doing it by phone like that was a bit much; who are they trying to humiliate?" he said, adding that he was likely fired for "seeking truth from facts," a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expression denoting a more realistic approach to governance than was seen under late supreme leader Mao Zedong. "Renmin University's motto is 'seek truth from facts'," Zhou said. Zhou requested written notice of his "firing," but didn't receive a clear reply. Calls to the university's institute of sociology and office of the CCP committee rang unanswered during office hours on Dec. 29. Searches on the Chinese search engine Baidu for "Zhou Xiaozheng" in Chinese returned no results on the same day, while his name appeared to have been deleted from a list of retired faculty on the university's website. The move came after Zhou, who still spoke with like-minded people back in China via the social media platform WeChat, had two social media accounts shut down by government censors. "They want to block any dissenting voices, and they have denied me my right to freedom of expression and information," Zhou said. "They are clearly acting out of a guilty conscience." Zhou said he didn't believe the move could have happened without the approval of someone high up in the Chinese leadership. "This clearly came from higher up," he said. "They want to make it so that you can say something, but have no way to disseminate it." "They cut off your oxygen, cut you off from the Internet, and leave you in a vacuum, so that even if you do say something, nobody else can hear you," Zhou said. Zhou said he has never drawn down the pension that came with his university post. "I have never withdrawn a penny from the pension account opened by Renmin University," he said. "I don't want their money; I've never even looked at it." "I told them ages ago that I would donate it," he said. Zhou's sacking came after he gave an interview to RFA in June 2021, in which he described the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a criminal organization engaging in fraud, with Mao Zedong as its leader. "It has always been a one-party dictatorship, and now it's a one-person dictatorship, too," Zhou said in the interview. "There is no leadership of the CCP any more: there is only one leader, and that's Xi." Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. A fellow activist says authorities are unlikely to release Zhang Zhan because she refused to 'confess.' A Paris-based press freedom group has called for the release of award-winning citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, whose family says she is close to death in Shanghai Women's Prison. Zhang was sentenced exactly one year ago to four years' imprisonment by the Shanghai Pudong New District People's Court, which found her guilty of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). "Zhang, 38, is close to death after a partial hunger strike she has been conducting to protest her innocence," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement marking the anniversary of her jailing, which came after she reported from the front lines of the then-emerging COVID-19 pandemic in the central city of Wuhan. Zhang's family members were last allowed to visit her last month, reporting that she weighed less than 40 kilograms with a height of 1.77 meters, and couldn't walk or raise her head without assistance. "Zhang Zhan courageously risked her life reporting in Wuhan at a time when very little information was available on the mode of transmission and severity of Covid-19, and she should have been celebrated as a hero instead of being detained," RSF East Asia Bureau chief Cedric Alviani said. He called on the international community to step up political pressure on Beijing to grant Zhang her request for medical parole "and ensure that she is released before it is too late." It said several prominent Chinese journalists, editors and citizen journalists are currently at risk of death in Chinese prisons, including investigative reporter and RSF World Press Freedom Laureate Huang Qi, Swedish publisher Gui Minhai and Uyghur website editor Ilham Tohti, recipient of the Vaclav Havel Prize and Sakharov Prize. Gansu-based rights activist Li Dawei said the last family contact Zhang was allowed was in late November 2021. "I spoke to Zhang Zhan's mother on Dec. 14 or 15, and she told me she saw Zhang Zhan at the end of November, and that her condition was still the same as before," Li told RFA. "She needed support to walk around, and she was still in poor health, and she had been sent to hospital at the end of October," he said. "They wouldn't let family members read the clinical report from the hospital." He added: "Her brother doesn't seem to want to be contact with me any more. I can only guess that the family are under pressure [from the authorities], and have to comply with the authorities' demands for Zhang Zhan's sake." Under surveillance Li said he is now himself under surveillance by the state security police. "I had planned to go to Beijing on Dec. 13, but I was prevented from getting on the train by state security police and the railway police at the train station," he said. "I used to get targeted before the Zhang Zhan case, but it's even stricter now." Li says he isn't optimistic about the outcome for Zhang. "If she had changed her mind and decided to cooperate with the authorities, she could have gotten a lighter sentence, including administrative punishment or non-custodial sanctions," he said. "The government has made a huge mistake, and is in serious violation of the law, and so Zhang refuses to give in, therefore there is no way they will release her," he said. Eeling Chiu, who heads the Taiwan branch of Amnesty International, also called for Zhang's immediate release. "All she did was report on the COVID-19 situation ... which was very important, and something the public have a right to know about to prevent the pandemic from spreading," Chiu said. "She didn't break any laws." Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. The Lao Prime Minister's Office building stands in the center of the Lao capital Vientiane, March 12, 2020. The Lao government has stepped up its crackdown on corruption by expelling state employees in Bokeo province from the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party, the countrys sole political party. A state inspectors office review of investment projects this year in the northern province found that some projects were paid for by money embezzled from the state fund. One project uncovered by the review involved 17 employees and nearly 2 trillion kip (U.S. $176 million) in government money. Eight of the employees were disciplined, demoted and prohibited from working for the party. The other nine were expelled from the party, a Bokeo official said. Projects valued at less than 20 billion kip [U.S. $1.8 million] are approved by the National Assembly, and they are to promote or train village authorities or villagers in the target areas of agriculture and animal raising, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. The effort to weed out corruption in Bokeo, which borders Myanmar and Thailand, is part of a larger campaign to crack down on graft in Laos. Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh pledged to stamp out corruption, bribery, fraud and other malfeasance by state officials in a speech to the Lao National Assembly in August. He asked lawmakers and members of the public to monitor officials performance and to report wrongdoings. The countrys National Assembly is largely a rubber-stamp parliament that approves the party's decisions. The party has a constitutionally guaranteed monopoly on state power and maintains centralized control over the economy and military. Corruption is believed to exist at every level of government in Laos. It is difficult to uproot because it has become part of the countrys culture. In the past, employees who have taken bribes or siphoned off money from government projects have been demoted or transferred to other positions, not kicked out of the party. The Bokeo official said those who control the funds at the provincial level pocket about 10-20% of the money they receive from the Finance Ministry. They file false reports showing the money went to other projects in an effort to account for the discrepancies, Villagers who lose out when officials steal money from program funds want authorities to crackdown on corrupt government workers. One villager in Bokeo province told RFA that he would like bad actors to serve jail time, whereas typically they receive little more than a slap on the wrist. Another villager agreed that stronger disciplinary measures must be taken. For the problem to be resolved, corruption must come down, but it isnt, he told RFA. A third villager agreed that the government should be stricter in punishing state employees found to be corrupt. If the government intends to crack down on corruption as it said it would, then its good thing, but as we see now there are a lot of state employees who take bribes from concessions under the table, said the man, who declined to be named for safety reasons. In September, the Finance Ministry disciplined two state employees from the Tax Department in Hua Phanh province for corruption. The workers the head of the department and the deputy were demoted but did not serve any jail time. In 2020, the Office of the Inspector General and a central government anti-corruption unit investigated 650 state projects throughout Laos and found that many did not comply with government rules and regulation, resulting in nearly 1.6 trillion kip (U.S. $141 million) in lost revenue. The investigators determined that two dozen people were involved in corruption, 16 of whom were state employees. Berlin-based Transparency Internationals 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Laos 134 of 180 countries it evaluated in fighting corruption. Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. More than 16,000 are believed to have fled over two weeks from 10 villages in the region. In this photo provided by Thailand's Ministry of Defense taken during the third week of Dec. 2021, Thai soldiers receive Myanmar villagers arriving in Thailand after fleeing clashes between Myanmar troops and an ethnic Karen rebel group in Mae Sot, Tak province, northern Thailand. Thousands of people in Myawaddy township in Myanmars Kayin state have been displaced by fighting between the military and anti-junta forces over the past two weeks, officials and relief groups said Wednesday, with more than one-third having crossed the border to Thailand. The exodus began on Dec. 15, according to sources, when government troops engaged with members of the local prodemocracy Peoples Defense Force and the armed branch of the ethnic Karen National Union known as the Karen National Liberation Army in Myawaddys Lay Kay Kaw area. Since then, more than 16,000 residents of Lay Kay Kaw and the surrounding villages of Phlu Gyi, Phlulay, Rathegu, Hyeemae Warkhi, Mae Htaw Thale and Pahikalaw have fled for safety. Of those, an estimated 6,000 people have crossed the border into neighboring Thailands Tak province to escape the violence. Naw Say Say, the general secretary of the Womens League of Burma, which helps refugees along the Thailand-Myanmar border, told RFAs Myanmar Service that many of the people who have crossed into Thailand are sheltering at a cattle ranch near Mae Sot townships Mae Kot Kin village. As far as we know, there are tens of thousands of people [displaced] from more than 10 villages on the Myanmar side, she said. They are moving from place to place, and its hard to get the exact numbers. Naw Say Say added that there is a shortage of necessities like clothes, medicine, food and shelter for the refugees. Rescue workers told RFA the refugees suffered from an outbreak of cholera beginning on Dec. 20 due to lack of clean water but that the situation has since improved. Ye Min of the Thailand-based Aid Alliance Committee said his group is trying to locate a site for a more permanent camp on the Thai side of the border but is facing difficulties due to the large number of refugees who have crossed over from Myanmar. There isnt enough space for everyone because we received more than 5,000 people without any prior notice, he said. Some are now taking shelter in a barn, but the place had to be cleared up first. And then we put new tents in the open field, and it was hot. Its very hot at night as they must sleep on plastic sheets. The situation is very difficult. He said the refugees are enduring extremely unsanitary conditions with just a few toilets for thousands of people. The aid committee is working to expand facilities, he said. Refugees from Kayin state's Lay Kay Kaw area shelter along the Thailand-Myanmar border, Dec. 16, 2021. MPA Aid stretched thin A woman who is sheltering in Thailand told RFA that she fled after the military began shelling her refugee camp on the Myanmar side of the Thaungyin River. Our camp was the first to get attacked. The first shell hit the kitchen hall at the rear of the camp, and we all fled, she said. We had to cross the river as the shelling continued. It was very hard crossing the river with small children and elderly people. Even while we were crossing the river, the Burmese army was firing at us in the river from the other side. Aid groups said the refugees do not have to worry about food for the time being but expect that supplies will be difficult to secure over the long term. Most of those who fled did so barefoot [and] without any possessions, Wanlop Malai, a Thai volunteer based in Tak province, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. In the past, most of the donations were clothes. The government does not have the budget for it. We are short on food supplies, he said on Tuesday. There are about 5,000 refugees, and we need 15,000 boxes of food for three meals each day. The governor of Tak province told the international media that the number of refugees in Thailand who fled fighting in Myanmar had risen to 5,358 as of Dec. 26. He said Thai security officials are stepping up humanitarian assistance to the refugees and that medical care is being provided to the injured. Asked if Thailand would allow the United Nations refugee agency to have full access to the refugees, Tanee Sangrat, a spokesman for the countrys Foreign Affairs Ministry, told Benarnews that his government had been working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to share assessments and planning should the need arise where the Thai authorities are unable to manage the situation themselves. At present, various protection and other needs are being met by our interagency task force, and we will continue to monitor the volatile situation along our border, to address a number of concerns there, from COVID-19 to trafficking to humanitarian concerns such as this one. And we will continue to work together with UNHCR and our NGO partners to do so. Thai Prime Minister Prayut has said he will not build more refugee camps on the Thai side of the border. He told reporters on Wednesday that the refugees will have to return home when conditions improve. Refugees shelter in Kayin state's Lay Kay Kaw area, Dec. 16, 2021. MPA Fighting ongoing Fighting has continued in the Lay Kay Kaw area of Myawaddy township, with Karen National Union (KNU) officials accusing the junta of using civilian vehicles to expand its military presence along local routes in the region. Additionally, the KNU said Tuesday that hundreds of civilians have also fled ongoing military activity in the Muthe area of neighboring Bago regions Nyaunglebin township. KNU foreign affairs officer Padoh Saw Tawney told RFA on Wednesday it was not yet possible for the refugees in Thailand to return home because the military has so deployed many units in KNU-controlled areas. There will be no peace if their troops continue to enter instead of withdrawing. So, what we want to call for is a withdrawal of the troops and an end to all acts of violence against civilians, he said. The people are not running away for no reason. They were forced to flee their homes because shells and bullets were raining on their villages. [The military] cannot hide this fact from the world. Residents told RFA that fires were seen burning as recently as Tuesday evening in Lay Kay Kaw, where the military is stationed. The KNU said recently that the military began using airstrikes against Karen National Liberation Army forces on Dec. 23. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service and by Nontarat Phaicharoen in Bangkok for BenarNews. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Nearly 50 people were given lengthy prison sentences just days ahead of the new year. Nearly 50 politicians and prodemocracy activists including the head of Magway region and members of the deposed National League for Democracy (NLD) have been sentenced to long-term imprisonment by the juntas secret military tribunals in Myanmar over the past two days, according to sources. The two-day period marked one of the most severe crackdowns on the juntas opposition in the nearly 11 months since the military seized power from the NLD in a Feb. 1 coup and drew condemnation from observers. Former Magway region Chief Minister Aung Moe Nyo, 60, was handed an 18-year prison term on six counts of corruption related to projects during his tenure on Thursday, while two of his Cabinet members received terms of nine and 12 years for the same charges. The speaker of Magway regions Parliament was also sentenced to six years in prison on two counts of corruption, prosecutors told RFAs Myanmar Service. Similarly, the secretary of the NLD, which the military removed from power in a Feb. 1 coup, as well the treasurer of the partys Central Elections Committee and a member of its Central Executive Committee were all sentenced to two years in prison. The speaker of Mandalay regions Parliament was handed a five-year sentence, according to sources close to the court who spoke on condition of anonymity. Other sentences included a one-year term for a student leader and a three-year term for a former student activist who took part in protests in the 1990s. Lawyers said Min Thwe Thit, a student leader, was sentenced to one year in prison and Aye Aung, a former university student from1996-98, was given a 3-year prison sentence. Aung Moe Nyos lawyer Myint Aung told RFA that his client had no plans to appeal his sentence, which followed the conclusion of a special trial in Magway Prison two months ago, as it wouldn't make any difference. A political colleague in Magway who has worked with Aung Moe Nyo since Myanmars 1990 election told RFA that accusations of corruption were totally out of the question for the former regional chief. Its meant to break him psychologically, said the colleague, who declined to be named. Aung Moe Nyos brother, Aung Thu Nyo, called the sentencing politically motivated because he believes that his sibling was free of corruption. The military had already sentenced Aung Moe Nyo to two years in prison in June for speech that is likely to cause fear or alarm in the public, bringing his total punishment to 20 years. He has yet to face trial on two counts related to abuse of power during the countrys November 2020 general election, which the NLD won in a landslide. The junta says voter fraud led to the partys victory but has yet to provide evidence for its claims and has violently suppressed nationwide protests calling for a return to civilian rule, killing 1,382 people and arresting 8,331 since February, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Other sentences In addition to the punishments doled out to politicians on Thursday, two well-known actors Lu Min and Ye Dike were sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor each for defamation a day earlier by a court in Yangons notorious Insein Prison, according to a lawyer close to the proceedings. Lawyers also told RFA that 40 political activists detained at Pyay Prison in western Bago region were also sentenced to between one and two years in jail by a court on Wednesday evening. Political analyst Than Soe Naing criticized the military for handing out tough sentences to political activists in various prisons at a time when people preparing to welcome in the new year. Its like a warning to all democratic forces who oppose their views: that the junta will not tolerate any opposition, he said. Though amnesties are [sometimes] granted, those who could cause trouble for [the junta] will not be released. I think they will continue to detain people who stand up for democracy. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Members of the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ are forced to publicly denounce their faith in front of other villagers in Ea Lam commune of Vietnam's Phu Yen province, Jan. 15, 2020. Authorities harassed about 60 followers of the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ as they prepared to celebrate Christmas in Phu Yen province on Vietnams south-central coast, confiscating a banner and beating the pastor, members of the church in Ea Lam village said. The authorities have accused the church of wanting to overthrow the government. though church members deny the allegation. Police first assaulted and detained Y Cuon Nie, the churchs pastor and a missionary, on Dec. 22 while he was at a printing shop to make the celebratory banners. When I was at Viet Long Printers to make a Christmas banner costing 240,000 dong [U.S. $11], they came, confiscated it, and hit me on my back. They took me to the headquarters of Tan Lap towns police, saying it was not permitted, he told RFA on Monday. Authorities, who arrested Nie at 2:30 p.m. that day, did not release him until five hours later, he said. On Christmas Eve, when Nie and church members were holding a Christmas ceremony in his home, police led by Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Ngoc Dan entered and demanded that they stop. At around 10 p.m. Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Ngoc Dan came to my place and said, Stop it all! What are you doing? Who allowed you to do this? Nie said. He shouted. He did not respect the host, and he noisily disrupted our ceremony. The police official threatened Nie and took him to the Song Hinh district station for questioning. When contacted by RFA, the Song Hinh district police denied harassing the members of the church. Youd better contact the Peoples Committee, said an officer who did not give his name, referring to the provincial subordinate of the Communist Party of Vietnam. We police did not carry out any crackdown at all, he said. Not only in Song Hinh district but also in the whole country, our religious policy is very clear and favorable for religious practitioners. If they want to make complaints or petitions, they should write to the [relevant] agencies. RFA contacted To Van Giang, chief of staff of Song Hinh districts Fatherland Front Committee, an umbrella group of mass movements in Vietnam aligned with the countrys Communist Party, but he said he was busy with a meeting. He could not be reached again later in the day. Vietnams constitution mandates protection for religious freedom and states that citizens can follow any religion or none. But it also permits authorities to override rights including religious freedom for purposes of national security, social order, social morality and community well-being. The countrys Law on Belief and Religion, which went into effect in early 2018, requires religious communities to formally register their organizations and places of worship, though only organizations that have operated for at least five years can apply for registration. Once registered, the organizations are granted status as legal entities. Nie said that his religious group tried to meet the requirements for registering under the law, but that he had not received any responses from authorities during the past few years. In the meantime, police had pressured church members to renounce their religion, he said. RFA reported in January that local authorities from the Ea Lam commune and Song Hinh district forced members of the church to publicly denounce their faith in front of other villagers. A Dao, a former pastor of the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ, was arrested in August 2016 when returning from a conference on East Timorese religious freedom. He was tried and sentenced to five years in prison in neighboring Gia Lai province for helping individuals to escape abroad illegally. In September 2020, he was released to exile in the United States after serving nearly four years in prison. Authorities continued to actively persecute independent religious minority communities, including Protestant Hmong and Montagnard Christians, Hoa Hao Buddhists, the Unified Buddhists, Cao Dai followers, Catholics, and Falun Gong practitioners, said the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom about Vietnam in its annual report issued in April. Ethnic minority communities faced especially egregious persecution for the peaceful practice of their faith, including physical assault, banishment, detention, imprisonment, and forced renunciation of faith, the report said. By the end of 2020, the Vietnamese government officially recognized 16 religions and 43 religious organizations, although many groups refused to register out of fear of persecution or concern for their independence, the commission said. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. YEREVAN -- The Armenian government has lifted a ban on the import of Turkish goods that was imposed over Ankara's backing of Azerbaijan in last years war with Armenia. "A decision was made not to extend the embargo on the import of Turkish goods into the country," the Economy Ministry said on Facebook. The decision takes effect on January 1. The ban was imposed on December 31, 2020, for six months and was extended for another six months in June. It was set to expire on December 31. More than two weeks ago, the Economy Ministry told RFE/RL that a draft decision was being developed to extend the ban for another six months, but it never made it onto the government's agenda. The governments last cabinet meeting of the year took place on December 30, and the Economy Ministry issued a statement afterward in which it said that as a result of interdepartmental discussions it was decided not to extend the embargo on Turkish goods. The lifting of the ban is expected to create more favorable conditions for the export of Armenian goods. According to the ministry, the ban has had both positive and negative economic consequences. We have received many statements and requests to lift the ban on the import of Turkish goods, the ministry said in a statement. In autumn 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a six-week war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The conflict claimed more than 6,500 lives and ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire under which Armenian forces ceded territories to Azerbaijan that they had controlled for decades. Earlier this month, Turkey and Armenia appointed special envoys on mending relations. Belarus has declared a social media account of one of its oldest rights organizations extremist as the government of strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues its crackdown on dissent. Crisis In Belarus Read our ongoing coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka ramps up pressure on NGOs and independent media as part of a brutal crackdown against protesters and the opposition following an August 2020 election widely considered fraudulent. A Belarusian court in Homel, a town 300 kilometers southeast of the capital, Minsk, ruled on December 30 that material published by Vyasna on its Telegram channel is extremist. Vyasna, which was founded in 1996, documented Lukashenkas brutal crackdown on the opposition following the disputed August 2020 presidential election, publishing data on the thousands of detentions as well as cases of torture. Vyasna did not escape the postelection repression, with seven members of the organization currently behind bars. The December 30 ruling opens the door to prosecuting subscribers of the channel as well. Over the past year, Lukashenkas government has declared about 300 Internet sites and online channels -- the majority run by the opposition -- as extremist as he seeks to quash any challenge to his 27-year rule. Tens of thousands of Belarusian citizens took to the streets last year to demand Lukashenka step down following what the election, which they claim was rigged. Belarus earlier this month added RFE/RL's Belarus Service, known locally as Radio Svaboda, to its registry of extremist organizations. TBILISI -- Lawyers for former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili have expressed concerns about his health following his transfer overnight from a military hospital in Gori to a prison in Rustavi. "I do not know how extreme the situation is following his transportation," defense lawyer Nika Gvaramia told journalists on December 30. "I have to see if the prisoner is alive." Gvaramia claimed Saakashvili had been "abducted" and that his defense team and relatives had no information about his condition. Defense lawyers were hoping to meet with Saakashvili at Rustavi prison No. 12 on December 30. Georgia's prison service on December 30 confirmed that "convict Mikheil Saakashvili is in prison No. 12." A parliament deputy from the ruling Georgian Dream party, David Sergeyenko, told journalists that Saakashvili had been released from the hospital after doctors determined his health had "stabilized." Saakashvili had been scheduled to be transferred on December 27, but that move was postponed after he reportedly fainted upon being told of the order. A representative of Georgian rights ombudsman Nino Lomdzharia visited Saakashvili in the Gori hospital on December 28. Saakashvili, 54, has been in custody since October 1, when he was detained shortly after returning to Georgia from self-imposed exile. He is serving a six-year sentence after being convicted in absentia of abuse of office. He was transferred to the Gori Military Hospital on November 19 after a 50-day hunger strike to protest his convictions, saying they were politically motivated. He and his supporters have complained that he has been mistreated and "tortured" while in custody. On December 18, an independent medical team examined him and ruled that his health had been seriously compromised "as a result of torture, ill-treatment, inadequate medical care, and a prolonged hunger strike." Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on December 28 called on the Georgian authorities to treat Saakashvili, who has Ukrainian citizenship, "with respect," adding that he needs additional medical treatment. Saakashvili served as Georgias president from 2004 until 2013. With reporting by AFP The United States voiced concern on December 30 over Iran's new space launch, saying such activities use technology that can help further its ballistic-missile program. "The United States remains concerned with Iran's development of space launch vehicles, which pose a significant proliferation concern," a State Department spokesperson said after Iran announced it had launched a rocket carrying three satellites. The space launch vehicles "incorporate technologies that are virtually identical to, and interchangeable with, those used in ballistic missiles, including longer-range systems," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson also said the launch violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which backed the 2015 nuclear deal and called on Iran not to carry out work on ballistic missiles with the potential to carry nuclear warheads. Earlier on December 30, Defense Ministry spokesman Ahmad Hosseini said the rocket used was an Iranian Simorgh (Phoenix) rocket and that the payload reached an altitude of 470 kilometers. It was unclear whether any objects had successfully entered Earths orbit. Irans Tasnim news agency quoted Hosseini as saying the launch was a space research mission. He said the "performance of the space center and the performance of the satellite carrier were satisfactory." State television showed footage of the rocket launching from the Imam Khomeini Spaceport near the northern city of Semnan. The reported launch comes amid difficult negotiations in Vienna between Tehran and world powers over reviving the nuclear deal aimed at restricting Iran's nuclear program. That deal has been under threat since the United States withdrew from it and reimposed sanctions against Iran in 2018. One reason the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump gave for withdrawing from the agreement was concern that it did not restrict Irans strategic missile program. Iran has said that it is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons and that its rocket tests do not have military objectives. European delegates to the talks for weeks have warned that they are close to collapsing. In a joint statement on December 28, they said: We are clear that we are nearing the point where Irans escalation of its nuclear program will have completely hollowed out the 2015 agreement. Iran's chief negotiator at the talks, Ali Bagheri, said on December 30 that the talks had seen some progress. "Some written changes on the lifting of sanctions were established between the two parties and relatively satisfactory progress has been made over the first days of the eighth round of negotiations," Bagheri said in a video published by Tasnim. Negotiations to restore the agreement began earlier this year but were put on hold in June as the Islamic republic held its presidential election, which brought an ultraconservative government led by President Ebrahim Raisi to power. They resumed in late November, and the latest round got under way on December 27. The nuclear deal offered Iran relief from sanctions that have weighed heavily on its economy. Bagheri said on December 30 that the discussions had recently focused mainly on the lifting of sanctions. "We hope that after a few days of pause, more serious work will continue on the question of lifting sanctions," he continued. Talks are due to resume on January 3. With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP A 2018 survey in Kazakhstan indicated intolerance toward sexual minorities, with a majority saying they wouldn't want to "live next door to criminals, drug addicts, or members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community." Many Kazakh activists and experts say little has changed since then in society's attitude toward sexual minorities. The extent of homophobic abuse in Kazakhstan was highlighted last month when two organizers of an LGBT gathering were mistreated both by police and the crowd in the southern city of Shymkent. Footage shared on social media shows a male officer manhandling LGBT activist Zhanar Sekerbaeva to force her into a police car as a crowd of men watched. Some of the men in the crowd are seen helping to push Sekerbaeva. One man throws a punch at the activist's face after she is in the car. Sekerbaeva said she and fellow LGBT activist Gulzada Serzhan had traveled from Almaty to Shymkent to organize a gathering to promote the rights of sexual minorities in the Central Asian country of some 18.5 million people. They were confronted by a crowd of "about 30 men" who also shouted homophobic slurs at the women and threatened to "kill" them, Sekerbaeva said. After holding the activists for nearly eight hours at the Shymkent police station, officers sent the women back to Almaty. Police insist they acted to protect the women from the angry crowd. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and several Western diplomatic representatives, including from the U.S. and British embassies in Kazakhstan, condemned the May 29 incident in Shymkent and urged Kazakhstan to give equal rights to sexual minorities. HRW wrote that the Shymkent police's response, "targeting the activists rather than their attackers -- shows just how urgent the need is for better protection of women's and LGBT rights in Kazakhstan today." But a majority of comments on Kazakh social media supported the Shymkent police and the crowd's attitude towards the activists, with many saying they had no place in Kazakh society. Kazakhstan decriminalized homosexuality in 1998 when it abolished a Soviet-era law. But homophobia remains widespread among Muslims and Christians. Many members of LGBT communities in Kazakhstan say they hide their sexual identities from people to avoid insult, marginalization, and even violence. Pretending To Be Straight Aleksandr, a 37-year-old doctor, says he knew he was different in his early childhood. In kindergarten, he didn't like playing with boys' toys, and instead wanted to dress up dolls in the girls' group. But he quickly figured out that doing that wouldn't be acceptable for others. So Aleksandr learned to stay silent and watch others play. As he progressed through school, Aleksandr continued to isolate himself from others to avoid homophobic bullying. He eventually told his parents that he was gay. He says they were deeply upset but accepted the situation. After graduating from medical school, Aleksandr met a man who was married to a woman and wanted their relationship to remain a secret. After a few years, the man ended the relationship, something that left Aleksandr "depressed and suicidal." Since then, he's lived alone. Apart from a small circle of family and a few friends, he hasn't told anyone about his sexual orientation. Aleksandr says he believes Kazakh society doesn't accept those "who are not like everybody else." In public, Aleksandr says he pretends to be heterosexual. "At work I have a behavior 'befitting' a man. My manners, the way I speak, are 'manly' and don't give any hint that [I'm gay]." "Even as a child I honed every movement, every gesture, and intonation so that I didn't look or sound different from other boys," says Aleksandr, who works at a city hospital in western Kazakhstan. He asked RFE/RL not to disclose his full name or where he lives. Moving To The Big City Bota, 30, says she had to move from her hometown of Shymkent to Almaty after being abused because of her sexual identity. Many of Bota's friends and relatives stopped talking to her after she came out as bisexual. Bota recalls an incident when women wouldn't let her use a public bathroom and saying, "you're not allowed here." At a wedding in Shymkent, some guests threw walnuts at Bota in order to make her leave. Bota says that in Almaty she lives in relative anonymity because nobody knows her in the big city and "people just mind their own business." Transgender Threats Noa, a 22-year-old transgender man, says he has received threats both from relatives and complete strangers over his sexual identity. "My uncle threatened to rape me to 'correct' me," he says. "My aunt calls me a sick person." Noa feels he is a man who was born in the body of a woman. "I created a social-media account as a man. It was liberating," he says. "For the first time I felt comfortable. I didn't have a chance yet to present myself as a man in real life." Noa hasn't undergone gender-reassignment surgery, which has been legal in Kazakhstan since 2009, though it is a complicated and often humiliating process. The law allows transgender people to formally change their gender in their passports only after undergoing reassignment surgery. 'Western Influence' Many people in Kazakhstan believe the "LGBT rights issue" is a Western export that threatens local traditions and family values. Sultan Musakhan, a 26-year-old Kazakh student in Canada, says that homophobia in Kazakhstan also stems from "religious beliefs, patriarchal traditions, and the low level of people's awareness and education" about the topic. Musakhan, who has come out as gay, also criticizes "a lack of interest by the Kazakh government to support LGBT rights." Aigerim Qusaiynqyzy, a Kazakh social affairs expert, says Kazakhstan doesn't even have a law that protects LGBT people's rights. "The Kazakh parliament and [our] society are not ready to adopt such laws." According to Qusaiynqyzy, many people in Kazakhstan "prefer to use tradition against innovation and change, which are associated with the development of society and the protection of rights." ZHANAOZEN, Kazakhstan -- Workers at another company in the southwestern Kazakh town of Zhanaozen have launched a strike, demanding a salary increase amid a series of labor issues in the restive town. More than 100 employees at the Kazpromtekh company started the strike on July 22, making it the 11th company to be hit with labor strife in recent days. Kazpromtekh provides transportation services to the Ozenmunaigaz oil company, one of the major oil operators in the Central Asian country's energy-rich west. One of the strikers at Kazpromtekh, Beknur Zhumaqaliev, told RFE/RL that the company's workers wanted their salaries to be increased by 50 percent. "Our salaries have been the same for the last 10 years," Zhumaqaliev said. The director of Kazpromtekh, Omar Amantaev, was not available for immediate comment. Also on July 22, street cleaners at the Tazalyq-S cleaning company told RFE/RL that they joined other company employees, drivers, and loaders, who began a strike four days earlier. They are demanding a salary increase and improved working conditions. Since the beginning of July, workers at three companies linked to the oil industry in the town, as well as workers at an the ambulance center in Zhanaozen, have had employers meet their demands following strikes. The Kazakh authorities have been very sensitive to any dissent or protests in the volatile town, where police fatally shot at least 16 people while repressing protests by oil workers in December 2011. NUR-SUTAN -- Authorities in Kazakhstan have labelled all regions of the Central Asian nation as "red zones as they are facing a new wave of coronavirus infections. Health Minister Aleksei Tsoi said on August 11 that 7,657 new COVID-19 cases were registered in Kazakhstan in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total official number of infections to more than 656,000, with over 7,100 deaths. Tsoi also said that 99.9 percent of the people who tested positive had not been vaccinated against the virus. For its vaccination campaign, Kazakhstan uses mainly shots of the Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine produced either in Russia or the Kazakh city of Qaraghandy. The Financial Control Agency said on August 11 that investigations were launched against several medical personnel in the cities of Almaty, Aqtobe, Pavlodar, Shymkent, and Taraz, on suspicion of forging and selling vaccination certificates to 37 individuals. Aqmaral tries to maintain a positive attitude and not let "problems" hold her back or drive her to despair. But focusing on the positives hasn't always been easy for the 19-year-old student from Southern Kazakhstan Province. Two years ago, Aqmaral attempted suicide after a bitter fight with her parents, who wouldn't let her date a boy in her class. Aqmaral felt "humiliated" when her younger sister heard them arguing. "I believed that nobody wanted to understand me, so I tried to end my life with an overdose of some pills," Aqmaral says. Her parents discovered her in time and rushed her to the hospital. "I appreciated life when I realized that I was near death," Aqmaral recalls. "I didn't want to die." Since trying to end it, Aqmaral says that, with her family's support and many months of counseling, she has learned "to be patient" and accept problems as temporary and inevitable elements of life. Kazakhstan, an oil-rich Central Asian nation of nearly 19 million people, has one of the 20 highest suicide rates in the world at around 17.6 per 100,000 of the population. A significant portion of those attempts are by adolescents and people in their 20s. The rates are much lower among its neighbors: Kyrgyzstan (7.4), Tajikistan (4.3), Turkmenistan (5.7), and Uzbekistan (8). Suicide rates were high in Kazakhstan even before the coronavirus pandemic. But official statistics indicate that cases have increased in recent months, both among adults and the young. In the first quarter of this year, 1,625 people attempted suicide in Kazakhstan. More than 1,000 of them died. Police say they've recorded 248 suicide attempts by young people, 84 of them fatal. That far outpaces 2020, when police reported about 300 such attempts all year 144 of them fatal. Experts says that pandemic-related social isolation and uncertainties about the future have adversely affected people's mental health, potentially contributing to the increase in suicide attempts. But they point out that suicide is a complex issue, with a vast array of underlying factors. Support, Understanding Anna Kudiyarova, director of the Psychoanalytical Society of Kazakhstan, says that feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, uselessness, and social exclusion are among the factors that may contribute to suicidal thoughts. "Such feelings can cause depression," Kudiyarova says. "The person affected by suicidal behavior thinks that it's better to die than be tortured with such thoughts. For them, suicide seems like the only way out of what they think is an unsolvable problem." They need support from their family or other people close to them, who must approach the situation with understanding and patience, she warns. "Children affected by suicidal thoughts believe that their problem is unfathomable while they are small and helpless themselves, so adults need to be patient with children," says Kazakh psychologist Svetlana Bogatyreva. "Under no circumstances should their problem be ignored. Talk to them, help them to lay it all out, and convince them that the problem will be solved," she says. Aqmaral knows as much from her own experience. When she was in the hospital recovering from her suicide attempt, she felt relieved that her parents didn't criticize her. Instead, they tried to explain to the teenager that "life is not without problems" and she "needs to be patient." "Some people think it's easier to die than trying to solve their problem. Now I know, it's wrong," Aqmaral says. 'I Thought It Was My Fault' Twenty-three-year-old Tolkyn says she tried to end her own life in her late teens because she felt unable to cope with what she now knows was an unfounded sense of guilt. Tolkyn was 12 when her best friend committed suicide, and no one appeared to know the reason. Tolkyn was the last person to have seen her friend alive. Tolkyn spent years convinced that if she had stayed longer with her friend, the tragedy would never have happened. She felt guilty. She turned from an outgoing high achiever at school "into an introvert." Her school performance suffered, too. Tolkyn says she never spoke to anyone about her anxieties. She says that "other problems, such as unrequited childhood love" and her unhappiness with her own appearance, added to her anxiety in the following years. She decided that life "wasn't worth living" and tried to slit her wrist. But she regretted it the moment she saw the blood. Tolkyn survived and has since received professional help and mental support from her school and family. "They explained to me that it wasn't my fault that my friend ended her life," Tolkyn says. She wants adults to be more understanding toward children. "Adults don't even try to understand what's going on inside a child's head, what problems the child is dealing with in their thoughts," Tolkyn says. "Adults don't even consider it a problem." Experts warn that parents and teachers should pay attention to any sudden behavioral changes in children. Sense Of Responsibility Zhamal, a 30-year-old mother of three from the western city of Aqtobe, says she has thought about ending her life many times over the past five years. She says marital problems and poverty have driven her to depression. When she was expecting their third child, she learned that her husband had two other wives -- a practice that's outlawed but still surprisingly commonplace in Kazakhstan. When confronted, her husband told Zhamal to accept the situation or get a divorce. She left him and moved into a rented property, where she gets no child support from her husband. Now, Zhamal sells homemade cakes, does occasional babysitting, and shovels snow to provide for her children, who are all between 4 and 10. The money is barely enough to pay the bills. Meanwhile, she also helps her disabled mother and her younger sister, who's been diagnosed with cancer. She says it is a sense of responsibility to her children and elderly mother that is motivating her to try to change things for the better, instead of ending her own life. Zhamal is trying to learn a new skill in order to get a steady job. She's also planning to apply for social benefits and a place in kindergarten for her youngest child. She has also turned to religion to help her "get rid of suicidal thoughts for good." Instead, she says, she focuses on making a fresh start in life. Written by Farangis Najibullah with interviews conducted by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service correspondents Manshuk Asautai and Zhanagul Zhursin ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Most of Kazakhstans 130 colleges and universities are owned either by high-level officials or their relatives, an investigation by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service has revealed. Its a scenario that has developed since 1993 when post-Soviet reforms in the countrys higher-education sector first allowed private schools. Later reforms transformed most Soviet-era colleges and universities into joint-stock companies -- splitting their ownership between the state and private individuals or corporations. One prominent example of private ownership by relatives of well-connected public officials is the family of the former Education and Science Minister Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov, who is now an influential lawmaker in the upper chamber of parliament. As a long-time ally of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev, the 67-year-old Zhumagulov served as the acting chief of the ruling Nur Otan Party from its formation in 2006 until Nazarbaev formally took over its leadership the following year. Zhumagulov also served as the rector of Kazakhstans flagship Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and was deputy chairman of the lower chamber of parliament, the Mazhilis. When Zhumagulov was education minister from 2010 to 2013, he himself complained about vested interests blocking efforts to reduce the number of colleges and universities in the country. There is someone from Astana behind every higher-education institution -- lobbying interests, Zhumagulov told journalists in 2013. This exists among the deputy corps. It is in the government. It is in all central bodies. People are lobbying so that we do not cut these higher-education institutions. However, official registration documents obtained by RFE/RL list Zhumagulovs wife, Valentina Zhumagulova, and his son, Ruslan Zhumagulov, as the owners of five colleges and universities in Kazakhstan. Zhumagulovs wife also is listed as the owner of the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating. Headed by Zhumagulovs daughter, Alina Zhumagulova, that accreditation agency is one of several private firms that receive government contracts to evaluate the quality of higher-education institutions. Another notable figure with a close relative invested in Kazakhstans colleges and universities is Murat Zhurinov, the president of the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. Zhurinov was the education and science minister from 1995 to 1997 when there was a spike in the number of new private schools in the country. State registration documents list his son, Galymzhan Zhurinov, as the owner of the International Humanities and Technical University that was founded in 1998 in the southern city of Shymkent. When that school merged in February with the Mardan Saparbaev Institute, Galymzhan Zhurinov became one of the founders of the reorganized institution, the Central Asian Innovation University. Registration documents also reveal that the owners of dozens of other higher-education institutions include former aides of Nazarbaev, former university rectors with close ties to Nazarbaev, lawmakers, and the relatives of former ministry officials. Dubious, But Not Illegal There is no law in Kazakhstan prohibiting the relatives of ministers or former senior officials from owning a college or university. But Elise Ahn, an expert on higher-education institutions in Central Asia, says Kazakhstans system itself creates the perception that there is a high degree of nepotism and corruption. That perception can really serve to undermine the legitimacy of these institutions and the system as a whole, says Ahn, who heads the International Projects Office at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ahn says she views RFE/RLs investigative reports on the issue in the broader context" of Kazakh politics. There has been a lot of robust research demonstrating the connection between nepotism and corruption within the broader institutional landscape in Kazakhstan, she says. Its not just about a one-off case or even the entire sector, Ahn says. Its really about the situation for higher education in Kazakhstans broader transparency landscape. In fact, she says, an argument can be made that ministry officials and former officials from the education sector are familiar with the system and presumably would share the same ethics. On the other hand, she says, cases like the Zhumagulov familys control over the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating are seen in the West as a clear conflict of interest. That is, unless the family members recuse themselves. If you are an accrediting body, particularly in the private sector, youre essentially evaluating your competitors, she explains. There is an inherent conflict of interest there. Still, Kazakhstan does not have any conflict-of-interest laws that make the practice illegal. Ahn notes that there is a similar type of tension in Kyrgyzstan, where there has been a dramatic uptick in the number of accreditation agencies in the country with both former higher-education administrators as well as faculty. Researcher Mihaylo Milovanovitch, a founding member of the Sofia-based Center for Applied Policy, says the problem isnt limited to academic institutions in Central Asia. In a 2018 study published by the International Higher Education journal, Milovanovitch warned that conflict of interest becomes problematic when officials have a financial interest in the sector that lobbies them and for which they are responsible. Milovanovitch noted that the education ministers in Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Russia, and Ukraine all were implicated in conflicts of interest in 2016. Deputy education ministers in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine, as well as some cabinet members in Armenia and Kazakhstan have also been accused of having conflicts of interest. These ranged from having an active "for-profit affiliation" to expectations of going through the revolving door into a salaried or shareholder position at a university after leaving government posts, the study said. Milovanovitch found that for-profit affiliations with universities also were common among lower-level heads of departments in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Russia, and Serbia -- as well as among education-focused lawmakers in Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine. Transformed Soviet Legacy Before the Soviet era, there were no colleges or universities in what is now the territory of Kazakhstan. Soviet planners changed that in the mid-1920s by setting up five public institutions to kick-start a mass-education program aimed at preparing teachers and specialists. The first one created was Kirov Kazakh State University in Almaty, now known as Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. For decades it was the only classical university in Kazakhstan with multiple faculties and departments. It remains the largest university in the country and, like a handful of other Soviet-legacy schools with national status, is still owned by the state. The goal of Soviet-era planners was to prepare students who could help sustain the U.S.S.Rs objectives -- including goals such as universal literacy while also instilling a commitment to Communist Party ideology. From 1927 to 1932, central planners set up another 15 higher education institutions in Kazakhstan that expanded the focus of instruction to include medicine and agriculture. Soviet administrators continued to establish new schools into the 1970s with the aim of producing specialists to work in Kazakhstans developing industries, such as the oil and gas sector. When Kazakhstan declared independence from the Soviet Union in December 1991, there were a total of 55 state-owned, higher-education institutions in the country ranging from trade schools and colleges to universities. But those schools were disadvantaged by their Soviet legacy. Their emphasis on political ideology left them isolated from international trends in education. Most suffered from poor financing and had narrow specializations such as preparing students to become engineers or teachers. Nazarbaev argued that education was the key to transforming post-Soviet Kazakhstan into a globally competitive market economy. He and the government launched ambitious reforms they said would raise the quality of higher education to international standards -- starting with a regulatory framework. The Higher Education Law, passed in 1993, allowed private colleges and universities to operate in the country, though they still had to work under the control that the Education Ministry inherited from the Soviet era. By the 1996-1997 school year, 32 more colleges and universities had opened in Kazakhstan. Most were privately owned. At the end of 1990s, there were 114 higher education institutions in the country. The next major reform came in 2000 when legislation allowed the partial privatization of state-owned schools that had been founded during the Soviet era. That scheme transformed most of those schools -- with the exception of those deemed as national institutions -- into joint-stock companies. While the state retained partial ownership under the joint-stock reform, private individuals or companies picked up the remaining shares. In many cases, the prices paid by private interests for their shares have never been made public. The joint-stock reform led to an explosion of partially privatized schools in the early 2000s. Along with new private schools, the number of higher-education institutions jumped to about 160. But Ahn says the lack of emphasis on transparency and governance of schools brought new problems. Some schools were seen as nothing more than diploma mills that only existed to take in tuition revenue and didnt even offer actual classes, she says. People were essentially just paying for degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate level, Ahn says. The Education Ministry started looking at this dramatic increase in the number of institutions and realized that it was counterproductive to have so much competition with little-to-minimal quality assurance, she says. So in the 2010s we saw a contraction of the number of institutions operating in Kazakhstan, she explains. At one point, there was a 20 percent decrease in the number of institutions operating as these different types of entities. Recently, under President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, the trend appears to be reversing again toward the creation of more schools. In November 2020, Toqaev announced that his administration wanted to open at least 20 new institutions with a focus on science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and digital technology. Toqaev has made the opening of new [educational] institutions a priority of his administration, Ahn says, adding that a similar expansion is under way in Uzbekistan as President Shavkat Mirziyoev diversifies the higher-education system there. But Ahn says the reforms Kazakhstan really needs to implement to bring higher education more in line with international norms is to introduce structures emphasizing things like transparency and governance that permeate throughout all levels of the institutions. There are a lot of shell companies or [unknown] people, and a lack of information about the owners of some private Kazakh schools, she says. There is large-scale corruption, certainly, related to how money does and does not travel -- particularly through joint-stock companies where the finances of institutions arent quite transparent. With joint-stock companies, she says, there arent clear rules regarding governance -- rules about who can be on the board [of trustees] and conflicts of interest, she concludes. That adds another layer of complexity about trying to develop a better understanding of finances and in whose interest decisions are being made. Meanwhile, on a micro level, smaller strides are being made in Kazakhstan to establish norms on ethical practices in teaching and learning. One example is a network formed by prominent universities around academic standards -- known as the Consortia on Academic Integrity. Written and reported by Ron Synovitz in Prague with reporting by RFE/RLs Kazakh Service correspondent Manas Kaiyrtaev in Almaty Moldova is set to receive half a million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) coronavirus vaccine from the United States. The first 150,000 doses of the one-shot J&J vaccine are set to arrive in Moldova -- a country of 3.5 million and Europes poorest -- on July 12, the U.S. Embassy in Moldova said in a statement. Moldovan President Maia Sandu thanked the United States for the vaccines and said that they will help save lives, preserve the health of our citizens, and reduce the force of the pandemic. Only 305,000 people in Moldova, about 11 percent of the population, have so far been fully inoculated against COVID-19. Moldova has reported more than 257,000 infections and 6,207 deaths. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have broken ground for a giant trade and economic-cooperation hub, the largest of its kind in Central Asia, along the border of the two neighbors. The Uzbek governments press service said a groundbreaking ceremony with the prime ministers of the two countries was held on April 10 at the Gishtkoprik-Zhibek Zholy border checkpoint. "This unique project in the Central Asian region will be profitable for the two nations and contribute to the development of trade and economic ties in the region as a whole," the Uzbek government said. Kazakh Prime Minister Asqar Mamin told the ceremony that Kazakh and Uzbek officials have a goal of tripling trade between the two biggest economies in the region to $10 billion. The Kazakh prime minister's press service said the new hub will cover a territory of 400 hectares and allow some 35,000 people and up to 5,000 trucks to cross the border from both sides each day after it becomes fully operational. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has taken steps to improve Uzbekistan's ties with its neighbors since he took office after the death of autocrat Islam Karimov in 2016. During Karimov's 27-year rule in Central Asia's most-populous nation, its relations with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan were strained by disputes over transit routes, border security, water resources, and other issues. Oceansides new Fire Chief Rick Robinson may not be familiar to most residents but he is very familiar with the city. Robinson, 61, spent most of his 36-year career in Orange County but has lived in Oceanside for 29 years. He has been serving as the citys interim chief since June, after former Oceanside Fire Chief Darryl Hebert decided to retire in May. Oceanside City Council members said the the city is lucky to have Robinson. Hes very professional and experienced working in Oceanside, said Councilman Chuck Lowery. Advertisement Robinson started his firefighting career in Escondido and when he started working in Orange County, he and his wife decided to buy a home in Oceanside to remain in San Diego County. We loved Oceanside then and we love it now, Robinson said. We love our neighborhood and we love everything about the city. The Oceanside Fire Department has about 130 employees with six engines, two ladder trucks and five ambulances, including one approved by the council earlier this year. In 2013, Robinson retired from his position as a battalion chief with the Orange County Fire Authority. where he oversaw fire services for much of southern Orange County including San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Mission Viejo. His retirement didnt last long. He started working part-time, two days a week, as a fire inspector in Oceanside two years ago. I just love what I do, he said. I love the work that I do. Robinson had applied for the fire chief job in 2010, after former Oceanside Chief Terry Garrison resigned, but didnt get it, he told The San Diego Union-Tribune on Monday. Hebert was hired instead. When Hebert stepped down earlier this year, City Manager Michelle Lawrence tapped Robinson to serve as interim chief. He was offered the permanent position on Oct. 20. Robinson will be sworn in during a City Council meeting scheduled for Nov. 16. His salary will be $191,000 a year. Heberts base salary upon retirement was roughly $187,000. His Calpers retirement benefit is $12,657 a month. When he retired, Hebert said that six years as chief was long enough and that its time for someone else to lead the department. edward.sifuentes@sduniontribune.com @EdwardSifuentes Ellen Browning Scripps helped build a national newspaper chain, shaped San Diego history, and funded local scientific organizations including Scripps Institution of Oceanography. So, naturally, when Scripps researcher Greg Rouse found a novel species of microscopic marine worm on a La Jolla beach, he thought of the communitys benefactor when naming it. So far as I know, Ellen had never had a species named after her, said Rouse, who said he was inspired by a biography of the San Diego philanthropist. And given her support for Scripps, I thought it would be a nice thing to do. Microscope image of a live specimen of Trilobodrilus windansea a new worm species from Windansea beach. Trilobodrlus ellenscrippsae from off La Jolla Cove looks similar but is genetically distinct. (Courtesy Katrine Worsaae ) Advertisement The new species, Trilobodrilus ellenscrippsae, is a half-millimeter-long annelid, or segmented worm, in the family Dinophilidae. Rouse and his colleagues described the species in the issue of the European Journal of Taxonomy released April 3. They also found and named a second species, T. windansea, after the iconic La Jolla beach. Rouse, a marine biologist and curator of invertebrates at Scripps, studies the biodiversity and evolution of these marine creatures, scouting deep-sea hydrothermal vents, coral reefs, and kelp forests for new organisms. He was diving at La Jolla with a former colleague, Katrine Worsaae, when they found the tiny sand worms in sediment samples from the intertidal zone at Windandsea beach, and offshore at La Jolla Cove. Although these particular species are brand new, such meiofauna microscopic animals living in soil and sand are common. There are millions of these little creatures living in amongst sand grains, Rouse said. We dont normally know theyre there, but once you grab some sand and sieve it, theyre everywhere. The worms act as tiny cleaning crews in the beach ecosystem, gobbling up bacteria. They glide around in amongst the sand grains, and theyre eating bacteria and other micro-organisms, Rouse said. So their role would be keeping beaches clean. They dont like muddy or polluted beaches, so theyre a sign of a healthy beach. The researchers sequenced the worms DNA, and then completed the taxonomic process of describing and naming them, Rouse said. But is a tiny worm sufficient tribute to Ellen Scripps, a larger-than-life figure in local philanthropy, journalism and science? Rouse thinks that Scripps, with her lifelong love of La Jolla, would have appreciated the honor. After all, other luminaries have enjoyed such a taxonomic tribute. I named a worm after the Dalai Lama and he loved it, Rouse said. Based on what I have read about Ellen, I think she would be quite pleased to have this little creature that lived in a beach where she lived and looked out on named after her.Its all in the eye of the beholder and its beautiful when I look at it. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan For nearly three decades, Nessy Burgers in Fallbrook has built its reputation on keeping things virtually the same as the day the roadside stand opened in 1989. The burger recipe has never changed, the menu has stayed stubbornly at a dozen items, soft drinks are still served in cans and many of its employees have worked there 20 to 25 years. But one original feature that will change soon is its location. After 29 years in a 400-square-foot trailer, Nessy Burgers is moving into a permanent brick-and-mortar patio restaurant under construction next door. The new location, on the same property at 3235 Old Hwy 395, is slated to open in late summer, according to its 72-year-old owner, Charlie Webster of Fallbrook. Advertisement 1 / 7 Charlie Webster, left, stands outside the Nessy Burgers, the Fallbrook hamburger stand that his late wife, Sandra, co-founded in 1989. (Don Boomer / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 7 Charlie Webster, 72, left, and his 29-year-old son, also named Charlie, inside the permanent restaurant building that will soon replace and double the size of their 29-year-old roadside stand Nessy Burgers in Fallbrook. (Don Boomer /San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 7 A team of six work out of the small confines of the 1960s-era trailer that makes up the Nessy Burgers kitchen and customer counter during the lunch hour on Tuesday. A new permanent restaurant location will double the eaterys kitchen and prep space. (Don Boomer /San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 7 Half-pound burgers sizzle on the grill at Nessy Burgers in Fallbrook. The popular roadside stand will move into a permanent restaurant location by the end of the summer. (Don Boomer / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 7 Nessy Burgers will soon move into a permanent restaurant location nearby, but the seating for the 29-year-old Fallbrook burger stand will remain as it always has, outdoors. (Don Boomer /San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 7 Charlie Webster stands outside the Nessy Burgers, the Fallbrook hamburger stand that his late wife, Sandra, co-founded in 1989. (Don Boomer / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 7 After nearly 30 years in a temporary structure, Nessy Burgers will move into a new permanent restaurant space by the end of summer. (Don Boomer / San Diego Union-Tribune) The new restaurant will still have all-outdoor picnic table seating, but it will have indoor restrooms, a self-serve fountain drink station, a paved 12-space parking lot, two order windows and more cooking space, which might speed up service a bit, since customer lines are also a Nessy Burgers tradition. Long a favorite on local best burger menus and a cult favorite with U.S. and international travelers posting on Tripadvisor, Nessy Burgers is popular not only for its half-pound burgers but also its friendly service and catchy name. The restaurant was started by Fallbrook resident Sandra Webster and her business partner Alistair McBane, who suggested naming the spot after the Loch Ness Monster from his native Scotland. They converted a 1960s-era camping trailer into a food truck and took advantage of a brief window in time when the California Department of Transportation offered leases to kiosk-size businesses in its Park and Ride lots along state highways. Webster and McBane leased a spot in the parking lot at Interstate 15 and Pala Road. Their business plan was simple: serve with a smile reasonably priced burgers, dogs, sandwiches and sides made with quality, locally sourced ingredients. Its signature Nessy Burger, priced at $7.45, is the menu star. Meat is delivered fresh every morning and hand-mixed with Worcestershire sauce, dried onions and spices, grilled to order and served on a toasted bun with fresh onion and tomato slices, iceberg lettuce, American cheese and secret sauce, which Webster described as a housemade twist on Thousand Island dressing. On a busy weekend, more than 600 Nessy Burgers are sold, as well as 200 or so turkey burgers, 150 chicken sandwiches, 150 hot dogs, 75 steak sandwiches and 100 orders of chili cheese fries, Webster said. In 2002, Charlie Webster married the restaurants co-owner, Sandra, and in 2006 they bought out McBanes interest when he moved to Oregon. It was about that time that Sandra began showing signs of early-onset Alzheimers disease. Over time, her husband Charlie, a mortgage banker, took on more of the business responsibilities along with his son, also named Charlie. She passed away in June 2015 at age 65. The younger Charlie Webster, 29, now manages the companys social media accounts, email newsletter and online marketing. He said its very important to him to maintain traditions in her memory. We feel a sense of integrity and honor in keeping the restaurant the way my stepmother would have wanted it if she were here today, he said. In 2012, Caltrans gave Nessy Burgers six months notice to move because it was planning to expand Interstate 15 and the Park and Ride lot. With few options on such short notice, they found a strip of bare land around the corner right next door to the Pala Mesa Market on Old Highway 395. Losing their freeway visibility did cause a temporary dip in customers but it taught the Webster family how to better market their restaurant on social media and soon business was better than ever, said Kurt Diesel, who has been a consultant for the business since 2012. The customers who dine at the restaurants patio tables are a mix of construction workers who like the hearty portions, travelers passing through and visitors from other counties, states and countries who have read about Nessy Burgers online. Among the lunchtime crowd on Tuesday was Murrieta resident Frieda Amiri, who was enjoying a Nessy Burger along with her two nieces. She said shes been driving down regularly for 15 years. I like the taste of the burgers, I like the view and the atmosphere here and the people who work here are nice, Amiri said. Among those workers is 27-year-old Ayde Aguirre, who has five years under her belt at Nessy Burgers. She said she loves working hard and the fast-paced Saturday shifts fly by. She said the staff makes a habit of knowing their customers. We have a lot of people who come here every day and we know them so well we remember their orders in advance. As soon as we see them coming we start working on their food, Aguirre said. Because tradition is so important at Nessy Burgers, decorating consultant Cindy Gibson Lloyd said the front of the new restaurant has been designed to look like the old trailer. It will have the same blue-green color scheme, all-outdoor seating on a front patio and a logo sign with the big green Loch Ness Monster. As before, customers will still be able to buy Nessy T-shirts and souvenirs and pose for pictures with a wood cutout of Nessy. Despite the upcoming changes, the younger Charlie said customers can count on the same consistency and quality as in the past. Were not trying to be something were not, he said. Well always be that quirky, funky roadside stand weve always been. Nessy Burgers Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends. Where: 3235 Old Highway 395, Fallbrook Phone: (760) 712-1497 Online: nessyburgers.com pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com A new restaurant/bar named 7 Mile Kitchen opening today at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa is the latest piece of a major renovation project. Over the past year, the Sheraton and its sister property, Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa, have swapped locations on the bluffs overlooking Legoland California. Both hotels have expanded and upgraded their amenities with the Westin slated for a grand reopening in July. The rebranded Sheraton location has undergone an extensive revamp this year with the renovation of 169 guest rooms and suites, a new lobby area and the construction of a new swimming pool. Patio seating near the pool at 7 Mile Kitchen, a new restaurant at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa. (Pam Kragen/San Diego Union-Tribune ) Advertisement The restaurant 7 Mile Kitchen, which had a soft opening last week and holds a grand opening tonight, overlooks the new pool just north of the resorts lobby. The 4,500-square-foot restaurant has indoor/outdoor seating and a poolside cocktail bar. It is named for Carlsbads seven miles of oceanfront property. The menu is overseen by chef Gil Manipon, whose recent culinary credits include two years at the Grove Steakhouse at Viejas Casino & Resort in Alpine and, before that, two years at the Twenty/20 Grill at what is now Westin Carlsbad. The restaurants speciality is Neopolitan-style wood-fired pizzas that are baked at 700 degrees in an imported Italian stone oven. The pizza dough is made with imported Caputo-00 soft white wheat flour from Naples, Italy. Manipon says this ultra-fine-ground flour gives pizzas the perfect Neapolitan-style thin, crispy crust. There is also a gluten-free crust available. The pizza sauce at 7 Mile is made with dehydrated San Marzano tomatoes, fresh herbs and Spanish olive oil. Pizza varieties include carbonara, wild mushroom, shrimp and pesto, Margherita and sausage. Neopolitan-style wood-fired pizza is the signature dish at 7 Mile Kitchen, a new restaurant at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa. (Casey Figlewicz ) The menu also features appetizers, entree salads, burgers and plated entrees such as steak frites, barbecue chicken, skillet lasagna and artichoke ravioli. Most pizzas and entrees are in the $10 to $16 price range. In keeping with the Italian theme, 7 Mile also has a gelato bar featuring some custom flavors created for the restaurant by EscoGelato in Escondido. The restaurant also serves an a la carte breakfast menu with egg, pancake, French toast and quiche dishes and a full coffee bar. House mixologist Steve George makes cocktails with fresh fruit, flowers and herbs at 7 Mile Kitchen, a new restaurant and bar at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa. (Pam Kragen/San Diego Union-Tribune ) House mixologist Steve George has created a cocktail program suited to the bars outdoor location and proximity to the Flower Fields attraction. His cocktails spotlight locally grown fresh fruit, herbs and flowers, like the lavender blossom spritz and hibiscus sour. There are 10 mostly local beers on tap and 35 still and sparkling wines from California, Italy, Germany, Argentina, France and New Zealand. Happy hour, from 4 to 6 p.m. daily and all day Mondays, offers half-price deals on select burgers, pizzas, beers, wines and well drinks. 7 Mile Kitchen Where: 5420 Grand Pacific, Carlsbad Online: 7milekitchen.com pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. December 17, 2021 Informed by the latest state and federal guidance including our own public health experts, University of South Carolina leadership has developed mitigation recommendations and requirements for the Spring 2022 semester. We are maintaining the policies from Fall 2021 with updated dates. Please carefully review the plans outlined below: Spring 2022 Return to Campus COVID-19 Requirements Students with new contracts for residing in UofSC-operated housing, including the Greek Village, must provide proof of one of the following relative to their respective move-in dates: a negative COVID-19 PCR or antigen test collected no more than 7 days prior to arrival to campus proof of prior positive COVID-19 infection within the last 90 days and completion of a 10-day isolation prior to move-in date a completed COVID-19 vaccination record All returning residence hall students, students residing off campus, faculty and staff must provide proof of one of the following by Monday, Jan. 10: a negative COVID-19 PCR or antigen test collected between Jan. 3 and Jan. 10 proof of a prior positive COVID-19 infection within the last 90 days and completion of a 10-day isolation prior to move-in date a completed COVID-19 vaccination record Spring 2022 Testing Plan: The university will continue to perform free saliva-based testing to students, faculty and staff during the Spring 2022 semester. Beginning on Jan. 18, 2022 monthly required testing will resume with testing of group one. As in the fall, testing will continue in 4-week cycles with each group testing for one week. In addition to on campus saliva based testing, there are multiple locations available for testing throughout the state. Vaccinations: The university strongly encourages all students, faculty and staff to get fully vaccinated in order to protect themselves and the community. In addition, we recommend everyone complete their booster vaccination once eligible. Everyone 16 years of age and older is eligible for a booster if it has been more than 6 months after the second Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, or 2 months after the initial J&J/Janssen vaccine. Studies suggest booster vaccines increase immune response and provide added protection to Omicron variant infection. University Health Services continues to offer COVID-19 initial and booster vaccinations Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Center for Health and Well-Being. If you have recently received the vaccine, please upload your vaccine record into the MyHealthSpace portal. The portal is compliant with federal health privacy laws and your records will not be shared. For further information visit our COVID-19 Vaccine Information page. If you have already uploaded or have previously received your vaccine on campus through University Health Services, your vaccine status is already recorded. Face Coverings: Face coverings have proven effective in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and we believe they were a key to our success this fall. Due to unknowns related to the Omicron variant as we begin the spring 2022 semester, face coverings will continue to be required in the following spaces: Medical Facilities Required in the Center for Health and Well-Being, Thomson Health Center, COVID-19 testing facilities, and any other medical facility Public Transportation Required on shuttles, buses and other forms of university transportation Face coverings will continue to be required inside campus buildings, unless you are in your own residence hall room, private office or you are eating inside campus dining facilities. You are also encouraged to wear one outdoors whenever physical distancing is not possible. The above face covering requirements will remain until conditions and public health recommendations dictate a policy modification. Isolation and Quarantine: Following the most updated guidelines from the CDC and SCDHEC, fully vaccinated individuals are not required to quarantine following exposure to a positive COVID-19 infection if they are not showing any symptoms. Unvaccinated individuals are required to quarantine following an exposure to a positive COVID-19 infection, regardless of their symptoms, as per guidelines from the CDC and SCDHEC. Students, faculty and staff who test positive for COVID-19 will be expected to isolate at home to prevent the spread of illness regardless of vaccination status. All students living on campus are required to file a quarantine and isolation plan with Housing and Residence Life. Please update your plan for spring 2022; emergency arrangements will only be available under extreme circumstances. COVID-19 Dashboard: The university will continue weekly updates of the public dashboard presenting our campus alert matrix in addition to testing and vaccine data. Release of data will occur each Tuesday during the spring semester. Environmental Monitoring: The university will continue to conduct environmental wastewater monitoring to identify and rapidly respond to COVID-19 outbreaks within our campus community. International Travel: COVID-19 is surging among children across the country, leading to a spike of hospitalizations in the Northeast, thanks largely to the highly infectious omicron variant. But even though pediatric cases are not climbing in Bay Area hospitals, experts say thats likely to change. I cannot imagine how California is going to be spared, said Dr. Roshni Mathew, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Stanford Childrens Health. The state and the Bay Area are seeing a rise in childrens infections, though not hospitalizations. Mathew emphasized that even if hospitalizations do increase, it wont necessarily mean that cases are suddenly more severe. Children in the hospital with COVID typically have a range of severity. Some who have only a mild case, for example, might be admitted for monitoring if they also have other medical challenges. In New York City, where the omicron wave began before Californias, pediatric hospitalizations quadrupled this month, with 68 children admitted last week with COVID. In California, nearly 15,000 children 17 and younger tested positive between Dec. 21 and 17, a 2% increase, state data show. Pediatric cases had been rising before that, but more slowly, averaging just 8,400 new infections a week between mid-November and mid-December. Stephen Lam / The Chronicle Locally, the jumps have been far higher, with cases in children rising in San Francisco to 119 on Dec. 23, nearly double the 61 from the week before. Santa Clara County saw 211 new pediatric cases in the week ending Dec. 19, a 75% leap from the previous week, after cases had been falling. Pediatricians suddenly find themselves on the front lines of the pandemic. Its absolutely blown up, said Dr. Laurel Schultz, a pediatrician at Golden Gate Pediatrics in San Francisco. Roughly 20 children in her offices large practice tested positive over the three-day Christmas weekend alone, she said. Kids are almost universally mildly ill, with a cough, cold, runny nose, and occasionally a fever, Schultz said. But people need to treat sniffles and colds as potentially being omicron when thinking about visiting. Thats what Im worried about: grandmothers and grandfathers. And airplanes: Dont get on an airplane if you have symptoms. Coronavirus infections in people ages 17 and younger are a growing proportion of Californias total cases: 15.2% as of Dec. 23, up from 13.2% in August, and 11.9% a year ago. Its a disturbing trend, said Dr. John Swartzberg, a UC Berkeley infectious disease expert who suspects the shift is because younger people are far less vaccinated than adults. Children under 5 are not eligible to be vaccinated, while children under 16 are not allowed to get a booster shot an important weapon against the omicron variant in particular. Photos by Stephen Lam/The Chronicle But perhaps most disturbing to doctors and other experts is that only 15% of Californians ages 5 to 11 are vaccinated at all, state data shows. Even in well-vaccinated San Francisco, fewer than half of children in that age group have gotten both shots. Thats way too low, said Michaela George, assistant professor of global public health at Dominican University in San Rafael. It needs to be higher than that or kids will get sick. Which is whats happening. I worked half a day yesterday, and every call was about omicron, said Dr. Nanci Tucker at Kiwi Pediatrics in Berkeley. The pediatric surge has persuaded some reluctant parents to vaccinate their kids, said Tuckers colleague, Dr. Robin Winokur, adding that it seems most people now know at least one person close to them who has had COVID. We havent seen a lot of bad respiratory symptoms yet, but its early, she said. We all feel like theres a sword of Damocles hanging over us. We wont know how serious this is for another couple of weeks. Typically, children weather coronavirus infections more easily than adults. Even so, 42 California kids have died from the disease, including a baby this month in Solano County. Nationwide, the death rate among more than 7.5 million children infected with the coronavirus since May 2020 is just 0.01%. But thats 721 kids. And 10% of them, 70 children, died this month alone, according to the latest weekly report of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The organization also tracks childrens hospitalization from COVID in about half the states and New York City, showing an 8% increase between Nov. 25 and Dec. 23. Yet more children in the hospital with COVID does not necessarily mean that their infections are more severe, said Mathew of Stanford Childrens Health. 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. Some children admitted to the hospital for reasons other than COVID test positive under routine surveillance, she said. Others may be hospitalized with a mild or even asymptomatic infection because they have other, serious medical conditions that the coronavirus could make worse: heart or lung disease, for example, or if they are receiving chemotherapy to treat cancer. Omicrons heightened contagiousness could simply mean that these kinds of hospital admissions will increase, Mathew said. Some hospitalized children, though, are severely ill with COVID. They are generally unvaccinated, she said. Or they may have another risk factor, like obesity. Mathew said shes seen such children needing ventilators. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle As expected, parents across the country have taken to Twitter to express their fears particularly about children too young to be vaccinated. I cannot put into words how much I would rather be sitting at a bar making bad decisions with my friends than deciding whether to pull my toddler out of preschool tomorrow because of ... omicron, one father wrote. A mother name-checked a top U.S. health official to ask if she should keep her 4-year-old out of preschool until he gets vaccinated in March or until Omicron flames out? I feel that if I send him, he'll get the virus in the next week or two. Another mother referenced Dont Look Up, a new movie about a comet speeding toward Earth. You know that scene, she wrote, when theyre all eating dinner awaiting imminent planetary destruction? Pretty much exactly how it feels as a parent when you find out your kid <5 tested positive and you await imminent family infection. Dr. Christina Vo of East Bay Pediatrics said she understands how parents feel. In her practice, all the numbers are going up: testing, vaccinations and infections. Parents have been nervous the whole time, she said of the nearly 2-year-old pandemic. And yes, theyre more nervous now. Chronicle data reporter Nami Sumida contributed to this report. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov For years, Bushra Alabsi tried to shield the kids who came to her child care center on Turk Street in the Tenderloin from drug dealers or people injecting on the sidewalk. She would come down early from the neighboring apartment building, where her family from Yemen has lived since 1998, to ask people sleeping not to block the door. When a mentally ill woman came into the foyer, urinated and locked the door, Alabsi called police, but by the time they arrived, the woman was gone. For the past half year, though, the block has been relatively clean and safe, Alabsi said. The main difference came after the city funded community ambassadors under Mayor London Breeds public safety plan announced in May, she said. Alabsi said she loves the ambassadors, who respect and understand people while asking them to stop illegal activity, which has resulted in people moving to another block. She wishes there were more social workers, mental health clinics and housing to help, and criticizes the city for shuffl(ing) people from area to area, but doesnt blame ambassadors. This is bigger than them, she said. As Breed moves aggressively to address issues in the Tenderloin declaring a state of emergency, promising a service center to help people and requesting police overtime to crack down on crime a program she launched earlier this year in the neighborhood has been praised by many residents for keeping the streets safe and clean. But it also points to the challenges of trying to improve conditions while still working on long-term solutions, and has drawn criticism from some homeless people and advocates. In May, Breed announced she would pour $8.8 million over two years into the neon-green-and-black-vested ambassadors employed by Urban Alchemy, and increase police presence, in the mid-Market and Tenderloin. She promised an additional 18 officers patrolling during the day and eight at night, on top of 30 to 40 officers in a 24-hour period. These voluntary overtime shifts are about 70% full on weekdays and 30% on weekends. The department remains 22% understaffed, according to an independent consultant. Tenderloin residents say they havent noticed more police, but the department said many are plainclothes officers who have seized enough lethal doses of fentanyl this year to wipe out the Bay Area population. Extra officers made roughly 200 arrests, issued around 70 citations and deployed Narcan more than 20 times. What residents have noticed is the Urban Alchemy practitioners, as they call themselves. A majority of them are people of color who served time in prison, many who also live in the Tenderloin. Starting in June and ramping up in August, Urban Alchemy ambassadors have flooded an area of more than two dozen blocks for 12 hours every day, with about 75 on a shift. They say their focus is building relationships to help passersby, de-escalate mental health episodes or violence, stop littering and defecation, and ask people who are homeless not to block sidewalks and those dealing or using drugs to not do so in public spaces. They disposed of nearly 21,000 needles, used more than 7,700 trash bags and reversed 47 overdoses from September to November. Most community members appreciate the workers for keeping the streets calm and praise their relational approach, with longtime Tenderloin advocate Randy Shaw calling them a godsend. But some homeless people and service providers say ambassadors reflect other controversial city efforts, such as the team that clears homeless encampments, that they ask people to move while offering few sustainable solutions; and they question whether ambassadors cross legal lines by controlling public spaces. The boundaries of Urban Alchemys territory are obvious, because people using and dealing drugs crowd on opposite street corners and move in to replace practitioners when they leave at 7 p.m. Supervisor Matt Haney, who lives in the Tenderloin, said practitioners have absolutely made a positive difference, but said they often just tell people to move while not being able to offer many connections to long-term care. Ultimately we have to address the broader addiction epidemic, the deep poverty in the neighborhood, and ensure that people have access to care and that we have more solutions to address the drug dealing, he said. Organization leaders said in a statement they dont tell people what to do but ask them to treat our neighborhood with love and respect and allow others to travel freely in public spaces, and if someone chooses to move, that is their decision. Lena Miller, the Hunters Point native who founded Urban Alchemy, said ambassadors try to reconcile a difficult balance in the Tenderloin between having safe, passable streets and letting people just sit in the middle of the street because they have nowhere to go. They arent hired to solve the worlds problems, she said, but they try to refer people to services and have walked some to treatment. Breeds spokesperson Jeff Cretan said Urban Alchemy was deployed as part of a strategy to bring a positive presence to our streets in some of our most challenged areas, and they are doing that in areas where they are deployed. Their lived experience, relationships with community members, and deployment locations create a net positive, he said. The program is a critical part of the Tenderloin emergency response, he said, and the city plans to deploy more ambassadors on every block in a single continuous area. Breed has praised Urban Alchemy, which also has contracts to staff BART elevators, clean Public Works toilets, and run homeless shelters. The organization has a stated mission to transform people and places struggling with extreme poverty, mental health, addiction and homelessness through respect and compassion. For the Tenderloin plan, Urban Alchemy is receiving an $8.8 million two-year city grant administered by the Mid-Market Foundation, plus $3 million from UC Hastings. The plan was the brainchild of a working group of business associations and community benefit districts, said Steve Gibson, director of the foundation and the Mid-Market Business Association. Success to him is that sidewalks are safe and calm. Our vision has never been moving people somewhere else, he said, but to offer people a choice to stay and not use drugs, for example, or to go elsewhere to keep streets clear for families. Walking down Market Street past ambassadors picking up trash on an early December morning, Artie Gilbert, Urban Alchemys director of operations in San Francisco, said relationships are the organizations secret sauce as they try to love and respect everyone. In U.N. Plaza, a couple of people greeted Gilbert by name. 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. A disheveled young man named Jacob Robinson approached, holding his Chihuahua, Mr. Deal. His eyes pooled with tears as he told Gilbert an ambassador pushed him to the ground and kicked him after Robinson didnt move when told he couldnt stay on the sidewalk. Gilbert said no one should be assaulted and called a colleague to investigate the complaint. The ambassador who was accused told The Chronicle that Robinson had foil to smoke fentanyl, which he denied, and the ambassador said he took hold of Robinsons arms and sat him down after he elbowed the ambassador. Robinson said, A lot of the workers are really nice and helpful, but 90% of his experiences was being told to move along. Theyre just bullying homeless people, he said. Despite his complaint, he asked Gilbert for a job. The organization said it was very sorry to hear the man felt this way, with Miller saying, We dont want to bully anybody, and any complaints would be investigated, and if true, the ambassador is disciplined. A similar complaint is the focus of a civil rights lawsuit against Urban Alchemy and San Francisco by a formerly homeless woman. Her 2019 video shows ambassadors asking her to move from U.N. Plaza, where she said she was praying. One ambassador says, They want to clean this all up. Its all politics involved. The officer who arrives asks ambassadors to help me out with some sort of a park code that I can enforce here. Her lawyer, Donald Wagda, said, You cant have people working for the city going around deciding who gets to stay in public places and who doesnt. Urban Alchemy denied the allegations in a court filing. San Franciscos city attorney filed a motion to dismiss the case on the basis that the suit failed to prove the city has a policy to move people from U.N. Plaza without lawful basis. Drew McDaniel, who lives on Larkin Street just outside Urban Alchemys boundaries, said drug dealing and shootings got pushed to his block in the past six months, and hes been trying to get more ambassadors, who he said are a great presence. Hes cautiously optimistic about Breeds new plan, but worries that any solution that pushes things across an arbitrary line is no solution. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench The coronavirus surge taking hold of the Bay Area spurred on by the highly contagious omicron variant has reached the ranks of the San Francisco Fire Department, exacerbating existing staffing shortages as infected employees isolate. By Wednesday, the 1,788-person department had as many as 60 reported cases of COVID-19 for the month of December, including at least 40 active cases, said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a fire department spokesperson. Despite the recent jump in cases, he said, the departments operations have not been affected. Cases have been spread out over numerous fire stations across the city and include civilian department employees, said Mawuli Tugbenyoh, chief of policy for the citys human resources department. About 98% of fire department employees are vaccinated, on par with the vaccination rate among all city employees, Tugbenyoh said. Omicron is everywhere, and weve been pushing hard for all of our employees, including firefighters, to get vaccinated, and more recently, to get the booster shot if theyre eligible, Tugbenyoh said. Fire department employees do not regularly get tested for coronavirus at work, but all employees are required to submit a health questionnaire every day. If they answer yes to any of the questions, their questionnaire gets sent to department physicians, who then determine whether that individual needs to get tested or removed from work. Shon Buford, president of the firefighters union, said the positive cases have made for a very fluid situation within the fire department. Firefighters have been having to work extra shifts to fill in for sick or quarantining colleagues, he said. It is complicating our already dire staffing shortages, he said. Its just been a mental and physical strain on our firefighters, who are being asked to go above and beyond during the holidays, and its taking them away from their families. Baxter said the fire department has been able to maintain full staffing levels and added that the department can turn to contingency plans if cases multiply and fire department operations do become impacted. 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. Fire department employees who test positive are removed from work and required to quarantine, Baxter said. While California has adopted new quarantining guidelines that were issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, San Francisco health officials said this week that the existing guidance a 10-day isolation period for asymptomatic cases would stay in place for now. On Tuesday, city officials announced the cancellation of the New Years Eve fireworks show over concerns about the spread of COVID-19 and first-responder staffing levels. The annual spectacle is known to draw large crowds, and the omicron variant is spreading in the Bay Area at staggering rates. Omicron is impacting everyone in the community, including our public safety staff, Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of the citys Department of Emergency Management, said in a statement. Canceling this New Years Eve fireworks show not only reduces the risk of omicron exposure, but also minimizes impacts on critical safety systems like 9-1-1, allowing dispatchers to remain available to those in most critical need. Andy Picon is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon Cesar Granados, his wife, Karla Cardoso, and their adventurous cat, Minnelusa, were enjoying a peaceful Christmastime trip to San Francisco last week until the unthinkable happened. They briefly parked their sport utility vehicle in a downtown garage and became one of the latest victims of the smash-and-grab car burglaries for which the city has become notorious. Suddenly, Minnelusa was gone. The three from Anaheim had spent the afternoon of Dec. 20 trekking through Muir Woods and decided to stop for some refreshments on their way back to their hotel. Around 7 p.m., they parked in a city garage at 128 Moulton St. in Cow Hollow and decided to leave their 1-year-old tabby cat in her carrier in the back seat. We werent planning to take much time, Granados said. They put a blanket over the backpack-style carrier to keep her warm, cozy and hidden. Minnelusa, a rescue from Mexico, frequently travels with Granados and Cardoso, and the car is where she tends to feel the most comfortable, Granados said. Shes our travel companion, he said. The car was her favorite place because she could have 100% attention from both of us together. She preferred the car (over) the house. But after picking up refreshments and taking a walk around Ghirardelli Square, the couple returned to their car to find a window broken and Minnelusa missing. Thats when we encountered the heartbreaking scene ... and we just tried to compose ourselves, Granados said. Weeks in which hundreds of cars are broken into in San Francisco are not unheard of, and the areas around Ghirardelli Square, Fishermans Wharf, Japantown and City Hall are hot spots for the crime. Granados thinks that whoever stole Minnelusa and her carrier must have been trying to quickly take the largest item in the car. Other valuable belongings such as backpacks, phone chargers and a camera were left untouched. 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. Minnelusa, whom Granados described as a sweet and intelligent cat, is fond of walks on her leash and road trips. She knows a few tricks, including sitting and presenting her paw on command, he said. We miss her so much because she brought us so much joy over the pandemic, going through hard times, Granados said. My wife hasnt been working because of the pandemic, so she stayed with her all the time, 24/7. More than her best friend, I believe she was (like) her daughter. In the hours and days after the break-in, Granados and Cardoso filed a police report, placed about 200 laminated missing posters around the city, and visited countless animal shelters hoping to find her. They even went as far as Martinez and Fairfield hoping to find a shelter or person who had seen her. Minnelusa was wearing a green sweater and a harness, but no collar. She is not microchipped. Granados and Cardoso are offering a cash reward for anyone who returns Minnelusa. The couple, back in Southern California now, can be reached at 310-997-7497 or cesar1.granados@gmail.com. Andy Picon is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon As part of our ongoing reporting on the closures of local restaurants, here is a list of Bay Area establishments that have closed or will close by the end of December 2021 (one establishment is closing January 1). Notable shutterings include Hong Kong-style Richmond District restaurant Ken Kee Cafe, Santa Clara staple El Camino Mongolian BBQ and Lafayette breakfast mainstay Millies Kitchen. See Novembers list of closings here. Santa Clara favorite El Camino Mongolian BBQ closed on December 15 following a decades-long run. SFGATE first reported the closing (SFGATE and The San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently.) Owners John and Sunny Seo cited the financial downturn from the pandemic as the reason behind the closure. The couple plans to return to their native South Korea, and they hope that someone else will reopen the establishment. The restaurant had been around since 1993 but traded hands a couple of times before the Seos took it over in 2005. The barbecue spot was known for its noodle bowls and crispy egg rolls. San Francisco Richmond District restaurant Ken Kee Cafe will close for good on December 31. The owners posted a sign letting customers know of the impeding closure. Diners frequented the restaurant for its Hong Kong-style comfort fare like baked rice and noodle dishes with pork chops and beef chow fun. Little Sichuan closed in downtown San Mateo in September. In a sign outside the Chinese restaurant, the owners noted the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason behind the closure. Motorcycle-themed San Francisco coffee shop Cafe Lambretta closed for good in December. The cafe announced it on Instagram and ended its run with a closing party on December 12. Brunch destination Stacks closed its Hayes Valley outpost, as Hoodline first reported. The restaurant has been closed since the start of the pandemic and never reopened. Gastropub the Brixton is now set to take over the space. Locations of Stacks remain open in Burlingame and Menlo Park. Mill Valley Mexican restaurant Parranga has closed. The restaurant made the announcement on Instagram and served its last meal on December 19. The owners havent ruled out a comeback in the future and asked diners to watch for announcements on their Instagram. The restaurant was known for dishes like rotisserie chicken, fish tacos and churros. Borrone Marketbar, from the owners of Menlo Park institution Cafe Borrone, is officially no more. A for sale sign is up in the window of the El Camino Real business. Borrone Marketbar was born as a restaurant in 2014, closed temporarily and then reopened during the pandemic as a market with fresh pasta, prepared salads and Italian goods. Cafe Borrone remains open next door. Following a 46-year-run, Lafayette breakfast staple Millies Kitchen has closed, as first reported by Marin Indepedent Journal. Owner Eva Clement decided to retire, according to a note posted to the restaurants door. Millie Harris opened the restaurant in 1975, serving recipes inspired by her grandmothers cooking. Clement, a longtime employee, purchased it in 2014. The restaurant was known for dishes like its French toast, Santa Fe scramble and Eggs Benedict. Clement mentioned in her closing note that it would be possible for a new owner to continue the business. Mission District brunch mainstay Universal Cafe closed after 27 years. Chef and owner Leslie Carr-Avalos told The Chronicle that the restaurants lease had expired, and she wasnt able to negotiate a favorable new agreement. The business downturn caused by the pandemic had made it hard to go on as well. The restaurant was known for dishes like its soft-scrambled eggs for brunch and handmade pastas for dinner. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Hawaiian import Coconuts Fish Cafe has closed after four years in Cupertino. The East Bay Times first reported the closure, noting that the owner, Michael Phillips, said it was prohibitively expensive to keep doing business in California. The restaurant is primarily known for its fish tacos. Outposts in Maui, Kauai, and Scottsdale, Arizona, remain open. Los Altos cocktail and farm-to-table pop-up House on First will end its run on January 1. The project was a pandemic pivot for the team behind local cocktail lounge Amandine Project. The team has decided to refocus its efforts on the cocktail bar in the new year. European deli the Junket is wrapping up a 42-year run in El Cerrito on December 30. The establishment was known for its sandwiches, imported foods from Germany and Britain and beers on tap from those countries. Chronicle staff writer Elena Kadvany contributed reporting. Tanay Warerkar is the San Francisco Chronicles assistant food & wine editor. Email: tanay.warerkar@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @TanayWarerkar Several Bay Area counties are bringing back indoor masking requirements as the omicron variant continues surging across the region. San Franciscos fire department is grappling with a COVID surge of 40 cases. The omicron variant has thrown the Bay Areas fitness industry a final curveball, just as it gears up for one of their busiest parts of the year. Coronavirus cases in San Franciscos Marina District are surging above every other neighborhood in the city. Latest updates: Bay Area experts hail prospect of boosters for younger adolescents: As pediatric COVID-19 cases rise in the Bay Area and concerns mount that a surge in hospitalizations could follow, infectious disease experts hailed reports on Thursday that a third vaccine shot against COVID-19 could be approved for 12- to 15-year-olds next week by the Food and Drug Administration. We welcome approval of boosters for children, as we see that pediatric vaccinations continue to be safe and effective, said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stanfords Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital. Read the full story here. UCSFs Wachter weighs in again on COVID hospitalization: The voluble and always insightful chief of UCSFs medical department took to Twitter again on Thursday (after a marathon thread Wednesday about upbeat scenarios for the pandemics future) to discuss whats happening with hospitalizations in San Francisco. The bottom line: test positivity continues to skyrocket and there are likely a lot of asymptomatic people walking around with omicron who dont know it, but the number of patients in the hospital who test positive for COVID isnt climbing nearly as fast. Its a real bump, he writes, but still much lower than would have been expected from...test positivity surges of this magnitude. His conclusion is that with cases in South Africa falling rapidly after 4-6 weeks, it seems like a highly vaccinated city like S.F. will be able to survive a similarly short surge without being overwhelmed. Santa Cruz County boosts COVID testing capacity: Citing an overwhelming increase in testing demand, public health officials on Thursday announced plans to increase testing capacity and hours in the county. Centers in Watsonville, San Lorenzo Valley, Felton and the city of Santa Cruz will be affected starting next week. The county said that due to an increase in positive cases due to the omicron variant, many residents are seeking testing to assure their own safety and that of their families. Appointments are recommended here. For a list of testing sites and further information, click here. Things are getting bad in Florida: The Sunshine State reported 77,848 new daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, smashing a record set the day before by 66% as its death count rose by 90, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The paper said Floridas seven-day average for new cases more than doubled in a week, while hospitalizations have also doubled the steepest week-over-week increase of the pandemic. The state has only reported four COVID-related deaths during the past seven days. Floridas huge surge has propelled it in the month of December from near the bottom of the list among U.S. states in cases per capita to fourth-highest, the Sun Sentinel said. Israel approves second booster for vulnerable patients: Israel on Thursday became the first country in the world to approve the use of a fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine a second booster shot for people with weakened immune systems or other severe vulnerabilities to COVID-19. A panel had earlier also recommended the step, which hasnt been well studied, for patients including the elderly and health care workers, but those communities were left out of todays approval. Reuters reports that an Israeli hospital administered fourth shots to a test group of health workers on Monday to test whether it will improve resistance to the omicron variant. A decision on whether to expand the shots to a wider group is still pending. You might want to rethink that planned cruise: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising people even if they are fully vaccinated not to travel on cruise ships due to the surge in coronavirus cases. The agency on Thursday issued an updated Travel Health Notice raising the risk level on cruise ships from 3 to 4, the highest. Even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants, the CDC said. Avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status. If passengers choose to go anyway, the CDC recommends a booster shot and COVID test prior to departure and further testing afterward. FDA set to authorize Pfizer boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds next week: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans on Monday to widen access to booster shots for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to include younger adolescents aged 12 to 15, the New York Times reports. Authorization had been anticipated this week but was delayed by the holidays. The Times also reports that regulators could shorten the minimum wait between a second vaccine shot and a booster from six months to five. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to follow suit by mid-week. J&J booster raises protection against omicron: A new South African study found that a second dose of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen COVID vaccine among health care workers in South Africa where the fast-growing omicron variant was first identified raised protection level from 63% to 85% and helped prevent serious illness and hospitalization. Another study from the U.S. found that the J&J booster helped stimulate a strong T-cell immune response, CNN reports. J&J said in a statement that the studies underscore the continuing effectiveness of its vaccine in preventing illness. We believe that the protection could be due to the robust T-cell responses induced by the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, said Mathai Mammen, the global head of Janssen R&D. Case rates for Bay Area kids are soaring as omicron spreads. Heres what pediatricians are seeing: COVID-19 is surging among children across the country, leading to a spike of hospitalizations in the Northeast, thanks largely to the highly infectious omicron variant. But even though pediatric cases are not climbing in Bay Area hospitals, experts say thats likely to change. Read the full story here. The Marinas coronavirus case rate has surged above every other S.F. neighborhood: For most of San Franciscos pandemic lifespan, coronavirus has most deeply impacted the citys most vulnerable neighborhoods poorer communities with higher numbers of essential workers, and the most Black and Latino people. But Decembers Omicron surge has turned this trend on its head, infecting whiter, relatively young and more affluent neighborhoods at far higher rates. Read the full story here. S.F. Fire Department hit with COVID surge of 40 cases: The coronavirus surge taking hold of the Bay Area spurred on by the highly contagious omicron variant has reached the ranks of the San Francisco Fire Department, exacerbating existing staffing shortages as infected employees isolate. Read the full story here. Omicron throws Bay Area gyms, fitness centers a final curveball after tumultuous year: The fast spreading omicron variant is poised to throw the fitness industry yet another curveball going into what should be one of their busiest parts of the year, when people are drawing up lists of New Years resolutions and committing to hit the gym more regularly. Read the full story here. 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. A ray of sunshine on pandemic prospects from a surprising source: UCSF department of medicine chair Dr. Bob Wachter, who has been a consistent source of calm caution throughout the pandemic, published an unusually upbeat Twitter thread on Wednesday in which he shared his thoughts on why we could be in good shape and maybe even great shape in 6-8 weeks. Among the highlights of the 24-tweet screed: the current state of affairs is awful but signs are increasing that the highly infectious omicron variant may indeed be less virulent than earlier strains. Vaccines arent as effective at preventing mild cases but are staving off hospitalizations except among the unvaccinated, who are sitting ducks. Key therapies, including monoclonal antibodies and oral antivirals, hold great hope for immunocompromised people and others at risk of serious illness. By early February, Wachter concludes, we could be in a place where COVID is, in fact, like the flu with the vast majority of the U.S. protected through vaccines or recent infections, folks at higher risk having ready access to an oral treatment that markedly lowers their risk, and a health care system no longer stressed to the point of perilousness. Holiday gatherings now account for 40% of new COVID cases in Sonoma County: Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said today that among cases with a known source of infection, four in 10 have been traced to holiday gatherings. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen cases spike around holidays as people gather to celebrate with loved ones, Mase said. His comments came as Sonoma joined other Bay Area counties in reversing an exemption to the indoor mask mandate that had allowed known groups of vaccinated people to remain maskless in settings such as offices and gyms. The county also issued a set of guidelines to help protect people during New Years gatherings, such as keeping gatherings small and well ventilated and wearing high-quality masks. These Bay Area counties are again requiring masks in offices, gyms amid omicron surge: As COVID cases continued their sharp ascent due to the hugely contagious omicron variant, more Bay Area counties revoked mask mandate exemptions for fully vaccinated people in offices and gyms so that now everyone must wear a mask indoors in non-household settings. Read the full story here. A ray of sunshine on pandemic prospects from a surprising source: UCSF department of medicine chair Bob Wachter, who has been a consistent source of calm caution throughout the pandemic, published an unusually upbeat Twitter thread on Wednesday in which he shared his thoughts on why we could be in good shape and maybe even great shape in 6-8 weeks. Among the highlights of the 24-tweet screed: the current state of affairs is awful but signs are increasing that the highly infectious omicron variant may indeed be less virulent than earlier strains. Vaccines arent as effective at preventing mild cases but are staving off hospitalizations except among the unvaccinated, who are sitting ducks. Key therapies, including monoclonal antibodies and oral antivirals, hold great hope for immunocompromised people and others at risk of serious illness. By early February, Wachter concludes, we could be in a place where COVID is, in fact, like the flu with the vast majority of the U.S. protected through vaccines or recent infections, folks at higher risk having ready access to an oral treatment that markedly lowers their risk, and a health care system no longer stressed to the point of perilousness. COVID forces Stanford men to postpone game vs. Cal. Bears to face ASU Sunday: Because of coronavirus issues within its mens program, Stanford on Wednesday morning announced the postponement of Sundays scheduled Pac-12 opener against Cal at Maples Pavilion. Read the full story here. FDA says rapid antigen tests may be less sensitive to omicron: Omicron may challenge the sensitivity of widely used but hard-to-find home test kits meaning their ability to correctly identify positive cases early the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. Michael Mina, a testing expert and former epidemiology professor at Harvard, explained in a Twitter thread that because omicron is more contagious compared to previous variants, its infectiousness levels will be higher for an amount of virus that may be too small to detect on the first try. Mina said the problem applied to PCR tests too. Its important for people to understand that ALL tests will falter on day 1. If you feel symptoms, regardless of the test type ASSUME YOU ARE POSITIVE, he wrote. Tests should work on subsequent days as viral loads increase which is why its important for people to repeat the antigen tests, which come in packs of two, after at least one days interval. California becomes first state to report 5 million coronavirus cases: The California Department of Public Healths COVID-19 dashboard reported the new record on Tuesday after a holiday weekend delay, reports the AP. The first coronavirus case in California was confirmed Jan. 25, 2020. It took 292 days to get to 1 million infections on Nov. 11 of that year, and 44 days from then to top 2 million. The new record wasnt unexpected in a state of 40 million people poised for a surge in new infections amid holiday parties and family gatherings forced indoors by winter storms. Still, Californias case total is well ahead of the 4.4 million cases reported in Texas and 3.9 million in Florida since the pandemic began. San Francisco cancels New Years Eve fireworks show due to omicron surge: With concerns mounting as omicron sweeps San Francisco, Mayor London Breed and public health officials on Tuesday canceled the citys annual New Years Eve fireworks show on the Embarcadero. Read the full story here. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Commotion in some school districts over topics ranging from COVID-19 mask mandates to teaching about racial injustice has Indiana Republican lawmakers looking at steps they argue will give parents more sway over what happens in classrooms. Legislative leaders are touting actions that would increase transparency with parental access to classroom materials and possibly add political party identifications to what are now nonpartisan school board elections. The issues poised for Indianas legislative session that starts Jan. 4 come amid complaints among conservatives across the country about public schools. Critics argue such steps would needlessly further insert politics into local school decisions. Indiana is among 42 states where local school board elections are held without any party identification on the ballot for candidates. Although House Education Committee Chairman Bob Behning said one change being considered would give candidates the option of identifying as a Republican or Democrat. I would argue that putting an R or D behind your name does not necessarily identify exactly where youre going to be in terms of school policy, said Behning, an Indianapolis Republican. I do see some value, maybe, in allowing candidates to self identify. Others in the Republican-dominated Legislature, however, want to go further. Republican Rep. Bob Morris of Fort Wayne said he has heard many complaints about closed school board meetings and limited opportunities for the public to engage in school decisions. Many constituents have told me they have no idea what these school board members stand for, who theyre with, where theyre at, Morris said. If they have a party affiliation and theyre registered in a certain party, then that needs to be behind their name. Looking at the politics involved on these school boards, politics are everywhere. We should have partisan races. Former state schools Superintendent Jennifer McCormick, who was elected to the position as a Republican in 2016 but has since switched parties, said further inserting politics into local school boards is a really bad idea that came as a reaction to heated exchanges at scattered meetings. I think the people who will be encouraged to run are those that are going to be good soldiers for these political agendas, McCormick said. Its hard to find good people who want to do it for the right reason, and theyre out there, but its tough. And then you layer this on its a whole other layer of difficulty. Republican lawmakers in other states are pushing legislation to ban the teaching of critical race theory, which has become a catch-all term for efforts to teach that systemic racism remains a persistent problem in the U.S. Indiana legislative leaders dont appear set to go that far. Republican House Speaker Todd Huston has said he expects a bill ensuring that parents have more insight and input into the curricular materials and surveys being used in their schools. GOP state senators agree that it isnt appropriate to teach that one race is superior to another or inferior from another, but it is difficult to know whether any schools are teaching such concepts, Republican Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said. 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. If you go out amongst the schools in the state of Indiana, that definition is really, really nebulous and difficult to pin down, Bray said. So youd have to speak to what it is exactly that youre trying to stop, rather than just using the words critical race theory. Tom Simpson, a Yorktown School Board member who is president of the Indiana School Board Association, said he believed most school board meetings have remained civil as meeting attendance and participation has increased during the pandemic. In my opinion, creating potential partisan divides or putting political ideology ahead of sound educational decisions is not wise, Simpson said. Electing the best qualified people is vastly more important than their political affiliation and with few exceptions, the people have gotten it right. If voters choose to oust an incumbent and select new leadership, that process happens today without partisan elections. ___ Associated Press writer Tom Davies contributed to this report. ___ Casey Smith 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. MOSCOW (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia and Belarus will hold joint war games early next year. Putin welcomed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's proposal to hold another round of military drills, saying that they could be held in February or March. Speaking during a meeting with Lukashenko in St. Petersburg, he added that military officials will coordinate details. Putin's announcement comes amid a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that raised Western fears of an invasion. Some officials in Ukraine have voiced concern that Russia may attack the country from Belarusian territory. Russia has denied having plans to attack its neighbor, but urged the U.S. and its allies to provide guarantees that NATO doesn't expand to Ukraine or deploy its weapons there demands the West has rejected. Russia and Belarus have a union agreement envisaging close political, economic and military ties, and Moscow has staunchly backed Lukashenko amid Western pressure. That pressure intensified after a brutal crackdown on domestic protests fueled by Lukashenko's reelection to a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that the opposition and the West say was rigged. Tensions have escalated further since the summer over the arrival of thousands of migrants and refugees on Belarus border with EU member Poland. The EU has accused Lukashenko of retaliating for its sanctions by using desperate asylum-seekers as pawns and tricking them into trying to enter Poland. In a show of support for Lukashenko, Russia conducted massive war games with Belarus in September that involved 200,000 troops. In recent week, Moscow has repeatedly sent its nuclear capable bombers on patrol over Belarus in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Russian and Belarusian fighter jets jointly patrolled Belarus' air space. Last month, Lukashenko said that Belarus would be ready to host Russian nuclear weapons. 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. The Belarusian leader hasn't elaborated on what kind of Russian atomic weapons Belarus would be willing to accommodate, but noted that the ex-Soviet nation has carefully preserved the necessary military infrastructure dating back to the time of the USSR. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described Lukashenkos offer as a serious warning prompted by reckless Western policy. ___ Yuras Karmanau contributed to this report from in Kyiv, Ukraine. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) State health officials and hospital leaders in Virginia are urging people who have mild coronavirus symptoms to avoid unnecessary trips to emergency rooms. Thursday's request by the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is being made at a time when the state is entering its fifth coronavirus surge since the pandemic began. State health officials say they've documented more than 50,000 new infections since Friday. At the same time, daily COVID-19 hospitalizations jumped from 922 on Dec. 1 to 2,100 on Thursday. That's a 128% increase. Health officials said hospitals are already feeling the strain of the latest surge. And a hospital visit isn't the appropriate place to go for someone who has contracted the coronavirus and has mild or moderate symptoms, the officials said. Most people can recover at home or reach out to their primary care doctor. The Health Department added that the peak of the current surge may not arrive until several weeks after the holiday season ends. That means the surge's impact on the health care system is likely yet to be fully felt. Later Thursday, an advocacy group that represents emergency physicians sounded a more dire alarm, issuing a statement calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to declare a state of emergency and calling on the Health Department to open more testing sites. The Virginia College of Emergency Physicians said in a statement that the state's emergency medicine system is under threat of collapse because of excessive patient volume. A significant contributor to overwhelming emergency department volumes is the lack of access to COVID-19 testing and care at other sites such as primary care offices and urgent care clinics, the statement said. 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. The group said a state of emergency would offer hospitals greater flexibility to respond and enact protocols to more efficiently evaluate or treat patients. Grant Neely, a spokesman for Northam, said the administration was reviewing the request, which had just arrived Thursday afternoon. A day earlier, the governor issued a statement saying the record-setting number of new COVID-19 cases was a cause for concern, but not panic. He reiterated the importance of getting vaccinated to reduce both the likelihood of severe illness and the strain on the health care system. Jana Asenbrennerova/Special to The Chronicle A string of king tides more than 7 feet high is expected to splash over San Francisco seawalls this weekend, enough to potentially flood some low-lying areas. The first of the uniquely high tides was expected to arrive shortly before 9:30 a.m. on New Years Day, according to the National Weather Service. The waters could reach up to 7.1 feet. MILAN (AP) Italys culture minister on Thursday welcomed the return of 201 prized antiquities valued at over 10 million euros ($11 million) that had been located in prestigious U.S. museums and galleries after being illegally trafficked in recent decades. They were among thousands of antiquities seized from traffickers or returned to Italy this year in major operations that also targeted trafficking rings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. Of the 201 works returned by U.S. officials earlier this month, 161 have been repatriated to Italy while 40 are on exhibit at the Italian Consulate General in New York through March 2022. These artworks will not end up, as has happened many times in the past, all in one big museum, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini told a press conference. Instead, they will be returned to the places where they were stolen for display in museums there. This too is a great homecoming operation that will add value to our extraordinary country as a vast museum. They are artworks of absolute importance that will attract people to those places and territories, Franceschini said. The U.S. haul includes 96 pieces that had been in the collection of the Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art, including ancient pottery and amphora; a terracotta statue titled dating from the 4th century BC seized from a New York gallery; and six items returned from the Getty Museum, including a large ceramic Etruscan vessel. Most of the stolen cache was traced to the activities of Edoardo Almagia, an Italian native who was living in New York. Charges against him in Italy in 2006 were thrown out due to the statute of limitations, but a judge in Rome in 2013 ordered the seizure of all his antiquities in both New York and Naples. He remains at large in Italy, according to the Manhattan district attorneys office. One major operation secured nearly 800 objects from ancient Daunia, which was located in the Gargano peninsula in northern Puglia, while another broke up a trafficking ring of artifacts from southern Italian civilizations operating in northern Europe. Thirteen people are under investigation in that case, which led to the recovery of 2,000 artifacts. LONDON (AP) Prince Andrew wasnt on trial in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case, but her conviction is bad news for the man who is ninth in line to the British throne. With the conclusion of the Maxwell case, attention will now turn to a U.S. civil suit in which the plaintiff alleges Maxwell and long-time boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein took her to London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands to have sex with Andrew when she was underage. Andrew denies the allegations, but Wednesdays verdict shows that at least one American jury was willing to believe the young women trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell in a criminal case, where the standard of proof is higher than in civil cases. To the extent theres overlap of evidence with respect to Prince Andrews case, it certainly doesnt bode well, said Bradley Simon, a former U.S. federal prosecutor who now works as a defense attorney in complex civil cases. But, as I said, every case hinges on its own specific facts and the judges will always instruct the jury on that. Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of sex trafficking and conspiracy charges after a monthlong trial in New York. While U.S. criminal cases must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, civil defendants can be ordered to pay financial damages if they are found responsible based on a preponderance of the evidence. The verdict is problematic for Andrew because he has long been friends with Maxwell, daughter of the late rags-to-riches media tycoon Robert Maxwell. Even after Epstein was charged with sex crimes, Andrew failed to distance himself from her. Those links have already diminished the princes standing. Andrew was forced to give up his duties as a working member of the royal family after a disastrous 2019 interview with the BBC that only increased public concern about his ties to Epstein and Maxwell. The prince was widely criticized for his explanation of why he maintained contact with Epstein after the financier was accused of sexual misconduct and for failing to show empathy for Epsteins victims. Although the Maxwell trial didnt offer any sensational new allegations about Andrew, it once again reminds people about the sordid allegations and weakens his standing with the public, said Chris Scott of Slateford, a London law firm that specializes in reputational issues. It just adds credibility to the accounts of people, Scott told The Associated Press. You have a criminal court finding now in the U.S. supporting that there was the trafficking going on. In a sense, it becomes much harder for people to run the angle that this is all made up when you do have that credibility building up. So I think that that will be very problematic for him. The civil suit against Andrew was filed last August by Virginia Giuffre, who says she was 17 when she was flown to London to have sex with Andrew at Maxwells house in Belgravia, an upscale neighborhood that is home to many foreign embassies and wealthy expatriates. Other encounters with Andrew occurred at Epsteins homes in Manhattan and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to her lawsuit. Giuffre, who wasnt part of the criminal case, has described Maxwell as a Mary Poppins figure who made young girls feel comfortable as they were lured into Epsteins web. It was at Maxwells home in London that a photo of Andrew with his arm around Giuffres waist is alleged to have been taken an image that has long been central to Giuffres allegations. In the BBC interview, Andrew suggested the image had been faked. I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, he said. None whatsoever. Given the high stakes for Andrew, one question surrounding the civil suit is whether it will ever get to trial. Gloria Allred, who represents a number of Epsteins victims, told the BBC she expects the princes attorneys to file a series of procedural challenges to try to derail the case. This strategy has already been on display. Andrew initially denied that he had been legally served with court papers notifying him of the lawsuit. Then in October, his lawyers asked Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to throw out the suit, saying the prince never sexually abused Giuffre and that they believed she sued Andrew to achieve another payday at his expense and at the expense of those closest to him. Last week, they mounted another challenge, arguing that Giuffres lawsuit should be thrown out because she no longer lives in the U.S. Andrew met Maxwell while she was studying history at the University of Oxford in the early 1980s. Like her formidable and well-connected father, Ghislaine Maxwell became a master networker, building a long list of contacts in the world of wealth and power in which she grew up. After graduating, she worked for the family publishing empire in a variety of roles. In 1991, at the age of 29, she became her fathers U.S. emissary after he bought the New York Daily News amid efforts to compete with fellow media tycoon and New York Post owner Rupert Murdoch. Robert Maxwell died later that year when he fell off his yacht the Lady Ghislaine in the Canary Islands, an event some saw as an accident and others a suicide. Investors soon discovered that his wealth was an illusion: Maxwell had diverted hundreds of millions of pounds from his companies pension funds to prop up his publishing empire. Soon after her fathers death, Ghislaine Maxwell was photographed sitting next to Epstein during a memorial event at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Maxwell brought star power to her relationship with Epstein, and the two were soon attending parties with the likes of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Andrew would later invite Maxwell and Epstein to Windsor Castle and Sandringham, Queen Elizabeth IIs country estate. Ian Maxwell said Thursday that the family still believes his sister is innocent and will support efforts to appeal her conviction. We are very disappointed with the verdict, the family said in a statement on Wednesday. We have already started the appeal tonight, and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated. Andrew has in recent years sought to distance himself from Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Andrew told the BBC that he saw Epstein a maximum three times a year and sometimes stayed at one of his homes when he was in the U.S. The prince said he stopped meeting with Epstein in 2006 after he became aware of a sexual abuse investigation that eventually led to the financier serving 13 months in jail. Andrew said he had one last meeting with Epstein in December 2010 to tell him they couldnt remain in contact. It would be a considerable stretch to say that he was a very, very close friend, Andrew said. Ingrid Seiple While out in the waters near Kaena Point on Oahus northwest shore, longtime surfer Ingrid Seiple says she was charged at by a wild boar. Seiple, a personal trainer who was born and raised in Kailua, Oahu, has been surfing for more than 35 years. She tries to surf six new spots a year and this was a new spot on her list. She was watching the lineup looking for good waves when she encountered a very large black boar with long tusks. I saw something floating, I thought it was a monk seal, Ingrid Seiple told Kyle Metcalf of KJK Production in a YouTube video. I thought, Oh cute, a monk seal, and then it just looked more stiff. It didnt look round like a monk seal, so, I don't know, I was ignoring it and thought maybe it was a log. And then suddenly its face came out of the water, she added. I dont know how it had its head underwater the whole time, it was crazy, and I could see the hair off its back, but I had thought it was part of the bark of a floating log. And then it was so close and it came up and I could see its teeth. The boar, she said, had an injury to its face. It swam toward Seiple, who couldnt paddle away fast enough, so she pushed her surfboard between them. The boar bit the surfboard leaving teeth impressions on both sides. Steven Hess, USGS-PIERC Uninjured, Seiple was then able to swim safely to shore, and she last saw the boar swimming out to sea. Once on the beach, she spotted hoof prints and dog prints in the sand and said she thinks there might have been hunters that chased the pig into the water. Elevated numbers of flight cancellations were stretching into a second week as carriers scrambled to get travelers to their destinations amid a coronavirus spike that has led to staffing shortages and weather that has slowed operations. As of Thursday evening, 1,300 flights within, into and out of the United States had been canceled for the day, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. More than 700 flights scheduled for Friday already had been canceled, with more than 500 others cut on Saturday. As cancellations extended days into the future, airlines and passengers grappled with the likelihood of disruptions days into the new year. While airlines have been hit hard since before Christmas, traveler delays were extending beyond airports to include rail networks and transit agencies. In a Federal Aviation Administration statement issued Thursday - with the words "could" and "might" underlined and in bold - the agency warned of the potential for disruptions in the coming days. The FAA said it also is facing staffing shortages because of rising coronavirus infections. "Weather and heavy seasonal traffic are likely to result in some travel delays in the coming days," the agency said. "Like the rest of the U.S. population, an increased number of FAA employees have tested positive for COVID-19." The rising number of cases also triggered disruptions for Amtrak, which said Thursday it was canceling about two dozen trains between Dec. 31 and Jan. 6 in both the Northeast Corridor and along its long-distance routes - about 1.5% of scheduled service during that time. "We are continuing to monitor changing conditions and will make any further adjustments as required," the railroad said in a statement, adding that 97% of its employees are vaccinated. Staffing shortages also were hitting public transportation agencies. At the nation's airports, concerns arose about whether carriers could cope with passenger volumes during the busy holidays after high-profile breakdowns over the summer and fall. Airlines passed their first major test over Thanksgiving, but Christmas has proved to be a different story, leaving thousands of frustrated air travelers unable to return home. "This is a no-win situation for everyone," said Henry Harteveldt, an aviation analyst and president of Atmosphere Research. "Airlines have lost this week. Passengers have lost this week. And it's made worse by the fact it's happening at Christmastime and the New Year's break." While cancellations Thursday were widespread, United Airlines remained the hardest-hit among major carriers, with 198 flights canceled, about 9% of its schedule. JetBlue, which announced Wednesday it would reduce flights through Jan. 13, had 175 flights canceled. Regional carrier SkyWest also continued to be plagued by operational difficulties with 9% of its scheduled flights canceled. Delta said it expected to cancel about 250 of more than 4,000 Delta and Delta Connection flights Thursday. The airline said cancellations will probably continue through the weekend with 200 to 300 daily cancellations. "Delta people are continuing to work together around the clock to reroute and substitute aircraft and crews to get customers where they need to be as quickly and safely as possible," the airline said in a statement. Delta issued travel waivers for customers whose itineraries include Chicago, Detroit, Salt Lake City and Seattle - where storms are expected to complicate travel - and urged travelers whose plans include those cities to reschedule. Kerry Tan, an associate professor of economics and an air travel expert at Maryland's Loyola University, said that while weather is often a factor at this time of year, staffing issues have proved to be a greater challenge for carriers. "The weather aspect is out of their hands," Tan said. "What they can control is staffing, but like many companies out there, there are huge staffing issues. There are just not enough workers to meet the demand." Outside of the period following the Sept. 11 attacks, few in the industry could recall a time when so many flights had been affected for such a long duration. "It's the perfect storm," said Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents crews at American Airlines. Harteveldt noted that disruptions are not unique to the United States. According to FlightAware, more than 2,800 flights worldwide were canceled Thursday. "We're seeing airlines affected in Europe, Africa, Asia and elsewhere, so this is truly a global airline industry challenge," he said. The first signs of trouble emerged just before Christmas when airlines, citing staffing issues resulting from the more easily transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus, began preemptively canceling flights. On Christmas Eve, about 613 flights were canceled, according to FlightAware. The day after Christmas, the number had ballooned to more than 1,400. Airlines have canceled nearly 8,000 flights in recent days. In a shift that could help ease staffing shortages, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week updated its guidance on the isolation period for those who test positive for the coronavirus, saying they need to isolate for only five days rather than 10. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said data indicates that most transmission occurs early in the course of a person's illness, typically in the one to two days before symptoms appear and two to three days afterward. Health officials also recommended that those exposed get tested five days after their exposure. Delta Air Lines quickly embraced the new guidelines, which chief executive Ed Bastian had urged the CDC to update in a letter to Walensky last week. The carrier said that starting Monday, it will limit pay protection for vaccinated employees who test positive to five days, according to a memo to employees, with an additional two days for anyone who tests positive on the fifth day. The airline had previously offered 10 days of pay. The memo ties the change to new CDC guidance on isolation. The airline encouraged employees to take either a rapid or PCR test on their fifth day of isolation. The CDC guidance applies to asymptomatic people and those who are fever-free for 24 hours. The memo makes no mention of what employees should do if they are symptomatic. Southwest Airlines and other carriers said they are evaluating the CDC's updated guidance. The CDC's shift continued to generate concern among some labor groups. In a letter to executives at Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, United and other carriers, Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants - which represents crew members at 17 airlines - urged carriers to maintain the 10-day quarantine recommendation as a demonstration of "your commitment to safety and the safety of those working on the front lines." If carriers decide to embrace the updated recommendations, Nelson urged them to include other safeguards, including proof of a negative coronavirus test at the end of the five-day isolation period. Wrote Nelson: "No one should feel pressured to come to work sick." MUTARE, Zimbabwe (AP) African leaders are paying tribute to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu for his fearless campaign that helped end South Africa's brutal apartheid regime and bring democracy to the country. But many of the same leaders have remained silent about the late Nobel Peace Prize winner's support for issues they're uncomfortable with, such as his support for LGBTQ rights, democratic freedoms and environmental issues. Tutu died Sunday at age 90. His casket is to lie in state Thursday and Friday at St. George's Anglican Cathedral in Cape Town, where the public is invited to file past to pay their respects ahead of a requiem Mass and funeral on New Year's Day. A celebration of Tutu's life, featuring the music and dancing that he loved, was held this week at Cape Town City Hall. Memorial services are planned in Johannesburg and other parts of South Africa. Tutu was a true son and icon of Africa. His contribution to the liberation struggle and unwavering position to peace, unity and good governance will forever be cherished, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said without mentioning his support for the LGBTQ people who are threatened with arrest in Tanzania. Africa has lost a monument, said Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye, accused by a U.N. commission in September of human rights violations. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize 25 years after Tutu did, praised his fellow laureate as the embodiment of the struggle for liberation, even though Tutu's foundation early this year warned that the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region amounted to genocide. Revered across the continent for opposing apartheid in South Africa and helping the countrys peaceful transition to majority rule, Tutu went on to tackle some of Africa's most thorny issues and its leaders. He criticized South African President Thabo Mbeki for denying HIV/AIDS and preventing the government from distributing life-saving treatments. He lambasted South Africa's next president, Jacob Zuma, for alleged corruption. He compared a proposed law criminalizing homosexuality in Uganda to apartheid South Africas laws that banned inter-racial sexual relations. Tutu was ahead of his time, Nic Cheeseman, a politics professor and specialist in African politics at the University of Birmingham in Britain, said. Many great people have one great fight in them, then they become blinkered and support the new status quo, Cheeseman said. Tutu continued to see injustice economic, racial and sexual and understood there were more battles to be won. He did not stop with the fall of apartheid. After apartheid ended in South Africa ended in the early 1990a, Tutu urged the international community to punish the military junta of the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha with sanctions after it hanged environmental activist and playwright Ken Saro Wiwa and other activists in 1995. As evidence mounted of the killings of tens of thousands of people and displacement of many in Sudan's Darfur region, Tutu lashed out at African leaders for supporting and protecting then-Sudanese leader Omar al Bashir from an International Criminal Court warrant of arrest for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. He believed in the universality of human rights, Stephen Brown, a professor at the University of Ottawas School of Political Studies, said of Tutu. He held profound convictions no matter how risky or unpopular it could be to advocate what he believed in." Tutu repeatedly clashed with Zimbabwe's former ruler, the late Robert Mugabe, whom he said resembled a caricature of an African dictator. In turn, Mugabe dismissed Tutu for supporting gay rights, calling him an angry, evil and embittered little bishop. Africa's opposition leaders have mourned Tutu's death. A giant has fallen, tweeted Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, a constant target of harassment by Ugandas government. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor, tweeted a Tanzanian opposition party, the Alliance for Change and Transparency, repeating one of Tutus most famous quotes. Albuquerque's police chief wants a hit-and-run driver who is accused of striking a man and his young son earlier this month to surrender. The little boy, Pronoy Bhattacharya, was killed. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the state recorded its highest one-day count of confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began Thursday amid an omicron-fueled surge in the virus across the country. Arkansas reported 4,978 new cases of the disease caused by the coronavirus, surpassing the previous high of 4,304 on Jan. 1. Hutchinson said the rate of virus tests coming back positive also hit a record high at nearly one in five. He said he's directed the state health department to acquire 1.5 million test kits to be distributed with the help of the Arkansas National Guard in public places, such as libraries and local health clinics. The Republican urged people to be vaccinated and cautious in gathering on New Year's Eve, including by wearing masks. He did not announce any new restrictions aimed at stemming the spread of the virus and rejected the idea of imposing a state-wide mask mandate. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Arkansas have risen in recent days but remain well below their peak set in late summer during the surge of the Delta variant of the virus. Hutchinson said the increase in patients is nonetheless straining the state's medical resources. They are stressed in the hospitals," he said. Once again there are staff challenges. On Wednesday, an Arkansas judge struck down a state law that prevents schools and other governmental entities from requiring face masks. Hutchinson said state schools will continue in-class instruction in 2022. NEW YORK (AP) Former Weather Underground radical David Gilbert described his path from nonviolent 1960s activist to would-be revolutionary during a 4 1/2-hour hearing before the New York state parole board panel that approved his parole in October, 40 years after he served as a getaway driver in the botched Brink's robbery that left three men dead and several others wounded. The change for me came after Martin Luther King was assassinated, Gilbert told a three-member panel of commissioners during his Oct. 19 parole hearing at Shawangunk Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley. The 171-page transcript of the parole hearing was released to The Associated Press on Thursday in response to a freedom of information request. Names of individuals and some other details were redacted. Gilbert, who is now 77, told the parole commissioners that when riots erupted in cities across the U.S. following King's 1968 killing and the murders of other civil rights workers, that's the point where I abandoned the nonviolent philosophy. Gilbert and other former members of the radical Weather Underground joined Black Liberation Army militants in the Oct. 20, 1981, armored car robbery near the Hudson River community of Nyack. Brinks guard Peter Paige and two Nyack police officers, Sgt. Edward OGrady and Officer Waverly Brown, were killed in the $1.6 million holdup and ensuing shootout. Though unarmed, Gilbert was charged with robbery and murder for his role in the crime and sentenced to 75 years to life in prison. Gilbert became eligible for parole when his sentence was commuted by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo just before he left office in August. Cuomo, in announcing the commutation, said Gilberts convictions were related to an incident in which he was the driver, not the murderer. The board granted Gilbert parole on Oct. 26 and he was released from prison on Nov. 4. Commissioners cited Gilbert's sincere remorse and his groundbreaking work developing AIDS education and prevention programs in prison in approving his release. Gilbert's attorney, Steve Zeidman, said Thursday that Gilbert is grateful to the parole board and is adjusting to life outside prison. The board is to be commended for focusing on the present instead of the past, Zeidman said. Gilbert's release was championed by supporters including his son, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, but was opposed by law enforcement groups and members of the Brink's victims' families. "Former Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Parole Board should be ashamed for allowing this domestic terrorist to walk free on our streets, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said when Gilbert was granted parole in October. Theres no reason that David Gilbert should not have to face the full consequences of his heinous crimes, no matter how much time has passed. Gilbert expressed sorrow for the victims repeatedly during his parole hearing. I mean, nothing repairs the horror and damage of the crime, nothing, Gilbert said. He said nothing makes up for what the families went through, wives carrying on without husbands and children without fathers and, as you pointed out, a number of other people wounded, a whole community's sense of safety and security are shattered, so justice in that sense, there's no way to repair that or make up for that. During the hearing, which one of the commissioners said lasted four and a half hours, Gilbert went over his history as a teenage supporter of the civil rights movement and a student activist at Columbia University who grew increasingly radicalized and joined the Weather Underground, a militant split-off from the activist group Students for a Democratic Society. At the time of the Brink's robbery, Gilbert had been underground for several years living under assumed names to escape the law as his fellow radicals planned bombings of government facilities. Gilbert said his role was mainly as an educator, leading classes and discussion groups while others were building bombs. Gilbert's partner at the time, Kathy Boudin, was also convicted in the Brink's robbery and was released from prison in 2003. Chesa Boudin was a toddler when his parents were arrested. We actually dropped our son off you know, the most adorable creature in the world dropped him off at a babysitter and said we'll be back in a few hours, Gilbert told the parole board. Chesa Boudin was elected San Francisco district attorney in 2019 as part of a national wave of progressive prosecutors determined to reform the criminal justice system. He faces a recall election in June spurred by critics who say he has failed to prosecute repeat offenders and allowed them to commit more crimes. ___ Associated Press writer Michael Hill contributed to this report from Albany, New York. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) A data breach at Rhode Island's public transit agency that compromised the personal information of more than 17,000 people is now under review by the state attorney general's office, officials said Thursday. The office is reviewing this incident to determine whether the entities involved have complied with state laws regarding notification and safeguarding of personal information in their custody, Kristy dosReis, a spokesperson for Attorney General Peter Neronha, told The Providence Journal. A 2-year-old Alaska boy has been killed by his guardians months after his father strangled his mother, authorities said. Steven Melovidov Jr. and Sophie Myers-Melovidov killed the boy in their home on a remote island in the Bering Sea and attempted to mislead investigators, authorities said. They were charged with first-degree and second-degree murder and fourth-degree assault. Pleas of not guilty were entered for them during court hearings Thursday. Earlier this month, the toddler, Joshua Rukovishnikoff, was medevaced from St. Paul Island to Anchorage with a serious head injury, according to state troopers. The boy died at an Anchorage hospital, and an autopsy was conducted. Both of the suspects made statements to investigators that proved to be false after further investigation," said Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel. The child's mother, Nadesda Lynette Rukovishnikoff, was killed in September on St. Paul Island, and the couple became his guardians in October, McDaniel said. McDaniel said he didnt have details about the custody arrangements. The mother's husband, Joshua Rukovishnikoff, strangled her and was indicted in her death, according to the Alaska Department of Law. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges, according to court records. The Alaska Public Defender Agency, which represents him, declined to comment on his case Thursday. A judge on Thursday appointed a public defender to represent Melovidov, 31, and Myers-Melovidov, 28, at their arraignments. The Public Defender Agency declined to comment after the hearings. It's likely attorneys from another agency will be appointed later. Melovidov repeatedly stuck Joshua in the head, which resulted in a brain bleed and ultimately resulted in Joshua's death, a trooper said in an affidavit filed in court. On Dec. 11, St. Paul Police received a call for a 2-year-old boy having seizures, the document said. The couple told investigators the boy fell at home. An autopsy showed at least five separate head injuries, consistent with homicide, the affidavit said. Additionally, there were multiple suspicious bruises on Joshua's genitals that were not consistent with medical treatment, the document said. The document included various text messages between the couple, where they discussed what they told authorities, a fear of going to jail and deleting their messages. In one exchange, Melovidov and Myers-Melovidov texted about scanning the boy's head at the hospital. Gees and we've been hitting his head. Please delete our texts now, Myers-Melovidov wrote, according to the affidavit. In requesting $250,000 bond, Assistant Attorney General Sam Vandergaw told the judge he's concerned about how the couple discussed deleting text messages and how ship traffic in St. Paul could make it easy for them to flee on a boat. Judge Gregory Miller granted the bail request and ordered that the couple have no contact with their 8-year-old daughter. The daughter is not a victim but a potential witness, Vandergaw said. According to the affidavit, the couple instructed the girl to lie to investigators about what happened in the home. According to an obituary for the toddler's mother, he has a sister who was 16 when their mother died. She listened to the hearings by phone and declined to comment when the judge asked if she wanted to say something about bail. Melovidov and Myers-Melovidov participated in their arraignments by phone from jail. Melovidov said he works in custodial maintenance. Myers-Melovidov said she doesn't work and receives financial support from her husband and an annual check from an Alaska Native regional corporation. VALINDA, Calif. (AP) A Southern California woman who tried to get into her home through a backyard window was attacked and killed by the family's four dogs and her young son was bitten, authorities said Wednesday. The attack took place around 5 p.m. Tuesday in unincorporated East Valinda in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) Students and staff on campus at Central Michigan University must get a COVID-19 booster shot by Jan. 17, the school announced Wednesday. University community members are required to get the booster shot by then to be considered fully vaccinated, the school said. Students, staff and faculty who do not receive a booster vaccine will have to get tested weekly for the virus. CATAWBA, S.C. (AP) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will fine a South Carolina paper mill $1.1 million after regulators received thousands of complaints over a noxious rotten egg-like smell coming from the plant. The New Indy factory in Catawba has also agreed to take action to curb the amount of hydrogen sulfide it releases, the EPA announced in a Wednesday statement. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) A Texas-style abortion ban. A bill outlawing the procedure statewide if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Local ordinances, stays by judges, new lawsuits. After this frenetic year of activity on the issue, it might be difficult to keep track of exactly where Ohio's abortion laws stand as 2021 comes to a close. Here's a look: ARE ANY NEW LAWS IN EFFECT? Yes, one. Abortion opponents in Ohio scored a major victory in April, when a federal appellate court ruled the state could begin to implement a 2018 law prohibiting abortions based on a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. Similar laws remain blocked in other states, but the ruling has emboldened lawmakers to attempt the restriction elsewhere. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine bookended 2021 by signing two new abortion restrictions into law, but neither is currently in effect. A ban on the use of telemedicine for medication abortions, which DeWine signed in January, drew a constitutional challenge by Planned Parenthood, and it's been temporarily blocked by a judge. The governor signed a second abortion bill last week. It imposes criminal penalties on doctors who fail to provide medical care in rare cases when infants are born alive after an abortion attempt. But a court challenge is expected before its effective date of March 23. ARE OTHER EARLIER LAWS ON HOLD? Yes, several. Among them are: a ban on most abortions after a detectable fetal heartbeat (or flutter ) is detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy; a law requiring fetal remains from surgical abortions to be cremated or buried; part of a ban on D&E, or dilation & evacuation, abortions, the most common method used in the second trimester; and certain restrictions on clinic operations that were tucked into Ohio's two-year operating budgets back in 2013 and 2015. WHAT ABOUT OTHER BILLS THAT MADE HEADLINES IN 2021? For now, they remain in the Ohio General Assembly, whose Republican supermajorities are positioned to test some of the most far-reaching abortion restrictions in the nation next year. Among proposals stalled since introduction are: a Texas-style abortion ban that could effectively end all abortions in the state; a so-called trigger ban that would outlaw all Ohio abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court lifts current constitutional protections on the procedure; and a bill requiring doctors to tell women undergoing drug-induced abortions about a medically disputed method for potentially reversing a two-step abortion process. Such hot-button bills tend to lay quietly and then resurface suddenly during the lame-duck period, the few weeks after fall elections have been decided and before the two-year legislative session ends. It's a volatile time because lawmakers have either secured new terms or been booted by voters. In both cases, they needn't be concerned about political consequences. DIDN'T SOME OHIO CITIES IMPOSE LOCAL BANS? Ultimately, only one did. Lebanon, in southwest Ohio, became the first city in the state to outlaw abortion and declare itself a sanctuary city for the unborn in May a largely symbolic gesture, given it has no clinics performing the procedure. Nearby Mason followed suit in October, but the move drew strong pushback. Opponents mobilized to defeat two council members who had supported the ban in November's elections, and the newly constituted council repealed the ban Dec. 13. Similar efforts fizzled in Celina in Mercer County and London in Madison County. LONDON (AP) Members of Ghislaine Maxwell's family say they still believe she is innocent after a New York jury found her guilty of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement issued late Wednesday, the Maxwell family said it would support the British socialite's efforts to appeal her conviction. ST. LOUIS (AP) Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to set a hearing to discuss the mental health of a man charged with killing six people in Missouri and Kansas. The U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis filed a motion Wednesday asking for a hearing to determine if 26-year-old Perez Deshay Reed, of Bellefontaine Neighbors, is mentally competent to stand trial on federal gun charges, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) A fire damaged the front doors and exterior of Australia's Old Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday. The cause of the fire wasn't immediately clear, although a group of protesters championing Indigenous rights had been gathering outside the building. Some protesters told media the fire began as a traditional smoking ceremony that got out of control. But one witness told Melbourne radio station 3AW that he heard protesters chanting let it burn. Social media footage showed flames leaping up the doors, a thick plume of smoke rising above the building, and police dragging protesters away from the front steps. The Australian Capital Territory emergency services said they were called to the scene just before noon and found the front doors alight. The building was evacuated as a precaution and crews extinguished the blaze. Protesters had earlier lit a fire at the building on Dec. 21 and there had been daily protests outside the building for the past five days. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said it was an "absolute disgrace if the fire had been deliberately lit. This is the parliament that for so long underpinned the freedoms we have as a democracy, and made the decisions that formed us as a nation, fighting for the increase of rights and corrections to our colonial past, he said. If someone is trying to make a statement then it is a very bad one that will be received with overwhelming disgust, he added. The building was home to the federal parliament from 1927 through until 1988, when a new building was opened. The building is now listed on the National Heritage Register and is home to the Museum of Australian Democracy. The museum's website said it was closed until further notice. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Raymond Archer was on the verge of losing his home during the cold Maine winter last year when government assistance came to the rescue, and he's prepared for this season to be even more difficult. Archer, a 50-year-old construction worker who was out of work for nine months during the COVID-19 pandemic, used $1,000 in heating assistance to keep his fuel tank full last year. He said he could need the help again along with many others with rising fuel costs and predictions of a cold winter. If it wasn't for them helping me, I don't want to sound drastic, I probably would've given up last year, said Archer, who rents a home in Alfred, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Portland. Only reason I still have my house is because they helped me. For Archer and others in need of assistance as winter bears down, the news about federal assistance and heating costs is a mixed bag. The average cost of heating a home this winter is expected to be $972, which is up from $888 last year, but down from October projections of $1,056, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. The Biden administration has also more than doubled funds for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, this season. The program, which provides money to some homeowners and renters for heating costs, typically receives $3 to 4 billion and serves 5 million households. The administration added another $4.5 billion via the American Rescue Plan. But as some parts of the country are expected to have colder winters than normal, it's unclear if that will be enough. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said states such as Montana and Alaska are looking at winters that could be especially bitter. And not everyone who could benefit from LIHEAP money receives it. Some don't even know they qualify, Wolfe said. A lot of people who are eligible don't think they are eligible because they think it's just for the very poor, he said. I think that's what we'd like to do encourage families to apply even if they think it isn't going to be helpful. Eligibility for LIHEAP money is based on income. States administer the money and local agencies make it available to pay bills. The amount of money residents receive plays a major role in their quality of life over the course of the winter, Wolfe said. Rising energy costs and lack of assistance can make families choose between heating and eating, Wolfe said. Many families have been using their child tax credits to pay energy bills, Wolfe said. That benefit will expire in January unless Congress acts to extend it as part of a stalled $2 trillion social and environmental bill or other legislation. The amount of LIHEAP aid residents will receive this winter will likely add up to be not enough to cover all the bills, but it's certainly much more than we've had, Wolfe said. In Maine, people in need of aid will have access to an extra $55 million this year because of the funding boost, said Megan Hannan, executive director of the Maine Community Action Partnership, an organization that includes the LIHEAP stewards in the state. LIHEAP money is critical for many families in the mostly rural state, which has a high reliance on expensive oil heating systems. Oil heating prices are higher than gas, though both have increased this year. Gas prices are certainly high, Hannan said. Oil and gas. The rising fuel costs are arriving at a time when many low-income families are also juggling increasing housing, food and electricity expenses and the continued burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. About a quarter of Maine residents are having difficulty covering household expenses, said Alison Weiss, a spokesperson for Maine Equal Justice, an economic security advocacy group. At the national level, it's about one third. The rising expenses are the reasons low-income residents need more direct financial support from the government, Weiss said. We want to make sure everyone who is qualified for help is getting into the programs that are going to help them this winter, Weiss said. BOISE, Idaho (AP) Testing of a backlog of 1,100 rape kits first identified in a 2016 audit has been completed, Idaho State Police said. The agency in a news release Wednesday said reports on the test results have been provided to investigators and prosecutors. The agency also said any hits in the National DNA Index System have been provided to local law enforcement. The 2016 audit led to questions about local and state law enforcement treatment of sexual assault victims. The audit also led to the Idaho Legislature unanimously passing legislation that year involving processing sexual assault kits. The law had an estimated cost of more than $200,000 annually. Democratic state Sen. Melissa Wintrow, who sponsored the legislation when she was a representative, said completing testing on the rape kits was an important milestone in how the state views sexual assault victims. "It sends a really powerful message to people who are harmed this way that, Hey we are going to take these seriously, and it matters. It matters a ton, she told the Idaho Statesman. Im very relieved. Matthew Gamette, Laboratory System director of Idaho State Police Forensic Services, said the agency is leading a statewide multidisciplinary team in addressing culture change relating to investigation, prosecution, and treatment of sexual assault survivors. This is a major step in building trust among sexual assault survivors, for assisting law enforcement, and providing critical information to policymakers, said Gamette. Overall, the completion of these previously unsubmitted kits in Idaho is part of a bigger initiative to keep Idaho communities safe and combat the crime of sexual assault. Since the rape kit law was passed in 2016, he said, the state has put in place a statewide sexual assault kit tracking system and worked to ensure sexual assault survivors receive proper care. Part of that includes having specially trained nurses, and training medical providers as part of a strategy that ultimately will also help the state's criminal justice system in prosecutions. Our management and scientific staff recognized the critical importance of this work and put in exceptional effort to complete this project," said Colonel Kedrick Wills of the Idaho State Police. "I am proud of their accomplishment and what it means for solving and prosecuting crime in Idaho. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Officials with an eastern Iowa school district say students and staff at an elementary school may have been unwittingly exposed to asbestos for several month. KCRG-TV reports that College Community School District sent a letter to parents Wednesday about the asbestos concern at Prairie Crest Elementary School. Winter break will be extended for clean-up measures. CLEVELAND (AP) A judge in Ohio will consider whether to grant new trials for two people who spent years in prison on disputed child sex-related charges, which if granted will lead to a county prosecutor dismissing all charges against them. Nancy Smith, 64, and Joseph Allen, 68, were found guilty in 1994 of rape and other charges related to allegations that they both molested young children who rode Smith's Head Start bus. She allegedly would bring the children to Allen's home in Lorain. With no physical evidence tying Smith and Allen to the alleged crimes, their attorneys have said they were convicted almost solely on the testimony of four Head Start students who provided conflicting stories on the witness stand. Jurors deliberated around six hours before finding them guilty after an eight-day trial. Smith was sentenced to 30 to 90 years in prison, Allen to five consecutive life sentences plus 22 to 50 years. Unsuccessful appeals followed. They have both maintained their innocence since their arrests. Smith told her defense attorney at her and Allens first court appearance together that she had never seen him before. Lorain County Judge D. Christopher Cook said in a ruling on Wednesday he would evaluate the new trial motions on their merit while conducting an independent evaluation. He wrote that Smith and Allen have presented significant, probative evidence" on their behalf. Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson, who was elected last November after promising to reconsider Smith and Allen's cases during his campaign, has said in court he would ask Cook to dismiss the charges if new trials are granted. Smith's attorney, Mark Godsey, in a statement Thursday called it a great ruling for Smith and Allen and "the last step before what I hope and expect to be the end of their journey with this 27-year nightmare. Allen's attorney, Ricky Parsons, said we are very hopeful for a positive result. Messages were left with Tomlinson's office. Reports of child sex abuse cases were much in the public eye at the time of Smith and Allen's original trial in 1994. The parents of more than a dozen Head Start students accused Smith and Allen of abuse. Head Start is a federally funded program to help prepare toddlers and young children from low-income families for school. The charges were brought after Lorain police Detective Tom Cantu found records and other evidence, including interviews with numerous Head Start students, that led him to conclude no abuse had occurred. At the urging of a woman who filed the original police report and began contacting local news outlets, the Lorain police chief promoted Cantu, removed him from the case and assigned new detectives to investigate. In 2009, a different Lorain County judge dismissed the charges altogether when ordered by the Ohio Supreme Court to fix sentencing errors. The Supreme Court subsequently ruled Judge James Burge lacked the authority to dismiss the cases. Smith and Allen were resentenced in 2013 under a different statewide Supreme Court ruling. Their attorneys and prosecutors struck a deal to amend their sentences to lesser charges. Smith was sentenced to time served and has remained out of prison. Allen was returned to prison with a parole date in 2023. Cook freed Allen last week on a personal bond with GPS monitoring. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Police in Kansas City, Missouri, are searching for the driver who fatally struck a pedestrian on the city's east side. The accident happened around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 10500 block of East 42nd Street. Police say a man was struck by a car that fled. SEATTLE (AP) The lead lawyer in the lawsuit that forced Washington state to revamp public school funding has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a small district, saying the state is failing students due to the poor condition of school buildings. Public education is supposed to be the great equalizer in our democracy, reads the complaint filed Tuesday in Wahkiakum County Superior Court. Our state governments failure to amply fund the Wahkiakum School Districts capital needs, however, does the opposite. It makes our public schools a perpetuator of class inequality. The Seattle Times reports attorney Tom Ahearne is representing the Wahkiakum School District, which lies along the Columbia River and has fewer than 500 students. The suit said Washington is violating the state constitution by failing to ensure all students learn in safe and modern school buildings. A decade ago, Ahearn was the winning attorney when the Washington Supreme Court ruled in the landmark McCleary case that the state was failing to uphold its state constitutional duty by amply funding basic education for all students. That case upended many school districts reliance on property taxes, but stopped short of changing the funding system for building construction and improvements. Ahearn says small districts are being hurt because wealthy districts tend to vote in favor of taxing themselves for capital improvements, while poorer ones may not. Funding also correlates to property values. Because real estate in wealthy districts is worth more, its residents pay a lower tax rate than would residents of poorer districts to raise the same amount of money, according to the complaint. In the affluent Mercer Island district, for instance, the complaint says, property owners would pay 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to raise $30 million, whereas the much poorer Wahkiakum district would pay nearly $4 per $1,000 of assessed value. The state gives out grants for building improvements and will match money districts are able to raise according to complicated formulas, according to Ahearne. He noted, however, if voters dont pass a bond, you dont even get out of the gate. In Washington, school bonds must pass by a supermajority, or 60%. Benjamin King, spokesperson with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, said in an email the complaint was served to the Attorney Generals office, whos currently reviewing it. Not having learned many details of the complaint, its too soon for OSPI to comment. Ahearne said he expects the case to go the state Supreme Court and could potentially have a significant statewide impact, especially in small and rural districts. He speculates theres a good chance the court will extend its reasoning in McCleary to capital funding and side with the Wahkiakum district. He acknowledged, though, that the court might also take into account the tremendous amount of money the state has had to come up with because of the McCleary case about $6 billion a year and say I dont know if we want to give them another big bill. Former state Rep. Jim Buck is betting the case will make waves. I think what its going to do is shine a whole lot of attention on the seismic school safety issue that has been dodged for a long time, said Buck, who worked on the issue as a lawmaker and currently volunteers with Clallam County Emergency Management. LAS VEGAS (AP) A doughnut truck driver who was arrested after he drove away from hitting and killing a man walking in the street should not face charges because he was completely unaware he had struck the person, his lawyer said. Henderson resident Jeffrey Dungo was charged with failing to stop at an accident after the early Tuesday morning crash. A police report obtained by the Las Vegas Review Journal says investigators obtained video from a nearby surveillance camera that showed the 34-year-old Krispy Kreme delivery truck driver stop a distance away from the accident, get out and look at his box truck and then drive away. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) The Maine Department of Marine Resources has been granted intervenor status in a federal lawsuit brought over new lobstering restrictions intended to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a new set of rules for the lobster fishery last summer with a goal of reducing the entanglement risk for the remaining 336 North Atlantic right whales. MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexicos health safety council announced Wednesday that it has approved the use of Cubas three-dose Abdala coronavirus vaccine. The council said it had sufficient evidence the vaccine is safe and effective. LANSING, Mich. (AP) Michigan's health and education departments on Thursday urged schools to postpone or make virtual large gatherings, including sporting events, if they are not essential" as COVID-19 cases spike across the state. The recommendation, intended to keep schools open when classes resume after the winter break next week, was included in a letter to K-12 superintendents and charter school directors. Large events involve at least 100 people and include athletic competitions, concerts and meetings, said Elizabeth Hertel and Michael Rice, who lead the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education. MDHHS advises modifications to planned activities during and after school where the ability to maintain social distancing between people who live in different households cannot be maintained, they wrote, citing an expected rise in infections caused by the highly contagious omicron variant. They did not say how to assess if an event is essential. The guidance does not apply to school lunches. The top officials also reinforced vaccinations, universal masking and regular testing in all K-12 settings. At least one district, Pontiac, is switching to remote classes for at least two weeks because of the surge. For now, the state health department will not mirror new recommendations from U.S. officials reducing isolation restrictions for people infected with the coronavirus from 10 days to five. Late Wednesday, the agency said it will review supporting evidence for the guidance issued earlier in the week. It also will wait for additional information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, specifically for special populations and high-risk settings. That may come early next week. In the interim, MDHHS will retain current quarantine and isolation guidelines including guidelines for K-12 and congregate care settings, the agency said. That means students who test positive for COVID-19 should stay home for 10 days after getting sick or 10 days after the test if they have no symptoms. The state and federal recommendations, while not binding, are used by local health departments. Several have issued orders spelling out isolation and quarantine rules. Violators can face civil and criminal penalties. Norm Hess, executive director of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health, said many health departments are reevaluating their orders or recommendations for schools and the general public. Some local health departments will wait for this additional guidance, while others will move ahead based on the information they know, he said. Kent County, for instance, said it is aligning with the CDC protocols but noted the guidelines may not apply to schools, congregate settings or those working with people in high-risk groups. Ingham County adjusted its order for schools to incorporate the five-day isolation and quarantine periods. Michigan, already grappling with a surge of infections fueled by the delta variant, is bracing for omicron. It may be more mild, though data is limited. The state on Wednesday recorded case counts that shattered the record, reporting nearly 13,000 a day almost a third more than the peak set in 2020. ___ Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) A man fatally shot his 16-year-old daughter in the family's Columbus home after he mistook her for an intruder, according to what the girl's mother told police. The mother called 911 after the shooting around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday and said the father had shot at someone he thought was breaking into the house after the security system was activated, authorities said. BANGKOK (AP) When the young farmhand returned to his village in Myanmar, he found the still smoldering corpses in a circle in a burned-out hut, some with their limbs tied. The Myanmar military had stormed Done Taw at 11 a.m. on Dec. 7, he told the AP, with about 50 soldiers hunting people on foot, killing 10 people including five teenagers. A photo taken by his friend shows the charred remains of a victim lying face down, holding his head up, suggesting he was burned alive. I am very upset, it is unacceptable, said the 19-year-old, who like others interviewed by the AP asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. The carnage at Done Taw is just one of the most recent signs that the Myanmar military is reverting to a strategy of massacres as a weapon of war, according to an AP investigation based on interviews with 40 witnesses, social media, satellite imagery and data on deaths. The massacres and scorched-earth tactics such as the razing of entire villages represent the latest escalation in the militarys violence against both civilians and the growing opposition. Since the military seized power in February, it has cracked down ever more brutally, abducting young men and boys, killing health care workers and torturing prisoners. They also signal a return to practices that the military has long used against ethnic minorities such as the Muslim Rohingya, thousands of whom were killed in 2017. The military is accused of killing at least 35 people on Christmas Eve in the village of Mo So, an ethnic Karenni region. But this time, the military is also using the same methods against people and villages of its own Buddhist Bamar ethnic majority. The focus of most of the latest killings has been in the northwest, including in a Bamar heartland where support for the opposition is strong. More than 80 people have died in killings of three or more in the Sagaing region alone, including those in Done Taw, since August, according to data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, or AAPP, a group that monitors verified arrests and deaths in Myanmar. The military is also reprising a hallmark tactic of destroying entire villages where there may be support for the opposition. Satellite imagery the AP obtained from Maxar Technologies shows that more than 580 buildings have been burned in the northwestern town of Thantlang alone since September. There are similar cases taking place across the country at this point, especially in the northwest of Myanmar, Kyaw Moe Tun, who refused to leave his position as Myanmars United Nations envoy after the military seized power, told the AP. Look at the pattern, look at the way its happened.it is systematic and widespread. The military, known as the Tatmadaw, did not respond to several requests by phone and by email for comment. Three days after the Done Taw attack, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper dismissed reports of the slayings as fake news, accusing unidentified countries of wishing to disintegrate Myanmar by inciting bloodshed. Since the military seized power in February, more than 1,375 people have been killed by soldiers and police, and more than 11,200 arrested, according to the AAPP. In May, the opposition National Unity Government announced a new military wing, the Peoples Defense Force, and in September declared a defensive war. Loose-knit guerrilla groups calling themselves PDF have since emerged across the country, with varying degrees of allegiance to the NUG. An early example of the military unleashing its battle-tested tactics on majority Buddhist areas came just 23 miles up the river from Done Taw in Kani township. In July, images circulated of massacres in four small villages that Myanmars ambassador to the United Nations called crimes against humanity. Four witnesses told the AP that soldiers killed 43 people in four incidents and discarded their bodies in the jungle. We all live in fear, said a woman whose brother was killed, who like the other villagers asked to remain anonymous for safety. The armys attacks in Sagaing are thought to be the opening salvo in a campaign to stamp out resistance in Myanmars northwest, and recent troop movements suggest violence could soon pick up. Two military convoys of more than 80 trucks each with troops and supplies from Sagaing have made it to neighboring Chin state, according to an opposition group. And a former military captain, who deserted in March, told the AP that soldiers in Chin State were resupplied and reinforced in October, and the army is now stockpiling munition, fuel and rations in Sagaing. Were talking about the Bamar heartland that basically should be the core foundation of this military, said Manny Maung, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. Its telling how worried the military is of its own people. As fresh soldiers have flowed into Chin state, residents have reported troops putting down protests with live rounds and brutal beatings. A teacher in the town of Mindat said the military fired artillery into the town so the houses would shake like an earthquake, she said. She fled to India in October after her cousin, a member of the PDF, was killed by a sniper. A half-days drive west from Mindat lies Matupi, a town with two military camps that is now bereft of its young people, according to a college student who fled with her two teenage brothers in October. She said the military had locked people into houses and set them alight, hid bombs in churches and schools, killed three protest leaders she knew and left bodies in the middle of roads to terrorize people. Thantlang, a town near the Indian border, has also been emptied of its people after four months of heavy fighting, according to the Chin Human Rights Organization. Drone footage shot by the group in October and December and seen by the AP shows fires raging inside buildings and charred churches, collapsed schools and ruined homes. The footage matches fires detected by satellites and interviews with villagers. Still, there are growing signs the military's strategy of intimidation may be steeling people's resistance rather than leaving them cowed. Instead of dying fleeing, I will use my life for a purpose," said one Kani survivor. Likewise, the farmhand who told the AP about the Done Taw massacre is now defiant, vowing to take up with the PDF. I have just decided to fight until the end for them, he said. I will do whatever I can until I die or until I am arrested. _____ McNeil reported from Beijing; Jain reported from New Delhi. MADISON, Wis. (AP) One of the leaders of the Legislatures rules committee demanded Thursday that the Wisconsin Elections Commission publish emergency rules governing absentee ballot drop boxes and corrections to absentee ballot information by early February, a move that would allow the panel to kill the policies. Republican Sen. Steve Nass, the rules committee's co-chairman, wants to see regulations codifying guidance the commission gave local election clerks as the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. The guidance expanded the definition of drop boxes to include mail slots at municipal buildings and book return slots at libraries. It also stated that clerks could set up alternate sites for returning absentee ballots. Republicans are upset with the guidance because officials in Madison, a Democratic stronghold, used it to justify collecting ballots in city parks ahead of the 2020 presidential election. The GOP argues that the move opened to the door to fraud, however there is no evidence that it did. An Associated Press review of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states where former President Donald Trump is still disputing results, including Wisconsin, found fewer than 475 cases, a number so low it would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election. Some of those charged with fraud are registered Republicans or told investigators they were Trump supporters. The review found that election officials in Wisconsin have referred 31 cases of potential fraud to prosecutors in 12 of the state's 72 counties. That amounts to about 0.15% of Joe Biden's margin of victory in the state. Nass also wants the commission to develop rules codifying guidance issued in October 2016 allowing clerks to fix mistakes in witness addresses on absentee ballot envelopes. Absentee voters must get a witness to sign off on the ballot and supply his or her address on the ballot envelope. The commission said clerks could fix mistakes in witness addresses on their own without contacting the witnesses or voters. Republicans contend clerks should be required to contact the witness or voter to correct the address or discard the ballots. The guidance in both cases amounts to little more than advice from the commission and isn't binding on clerks. The commission on Dec. 1 voted to draft rules that would require drop boxes to be secure and easily accessible and that would allow clerks to correct witness addresses on their own. But the drafting process will likely take at least a year, meaning nothing would change before next year's gubernatorial election. Nass wants to the committee to vote next Tuesday on motions that would force the commission to publish the guidance as emergency rules by Feb. 3. Once that's done the committee could vote to invalidate them. It's unclear whether the Tuesday meeting will happen. Nass said in a news release that the committee's Assembly co-chairman, Republican Rep. Adam Neylon, hasn't agreed to meet yet. Neylon didn't immediately respond to a message left at his Capitol office. Asked for comment, commission spokesman John Smalley pointed out commissioners have voted to begin work on the rules. Meanwhile on Thursday, Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn declined to hold Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in contempt for not following a November court order to turn over records related to an investigation he launched into the 2020 election to liberal group American Oversight. The judge said she doesn't know how thoroughly Vos and his staff has searched for the records. She scheduled another hearing in the case for Jan. 24. Vos hired former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gabelman this summer to review the election at a cost of $676,000. He has said Gabelman holds the records in question. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina's highest court has declared there are two paths that an individual justice can take when weighing a request to be removed from hearing a case due to an alleged conflict of interest. The order, filed last week by the state Supreme Court but emailed to attorneys Thursday, applies to all cases before the justices. It allows a justice to either decide on their own or ask the rest of the court to act on a recusal or disqualification motion. Whichever option is used, the ensuing ruling is final, the order said. But this resetting of recusal procedures resulted from one of several pending legal challenges to North Carolinas photo voter identification law. The order should allow that case, delayed in the summer and while the Supreme Court grappled with whether to alter its recusal standards, to resume soon. Two of the seven justices are the subjects of a motion from lawyers seeking to block voter ID by having them disqualified from the case. One justice is Phil Berger Jr., the son of state Senate leader Phil Berger, who is a defendant in the lawsuit that challenges in part the legality of a 2018 statewide referendum that enshrines a voter ID mandate in the North Carolina Constitution. The other justice is Tamara Barringer, who as a senator voted in favor of holding the referendum on the voter ID amendment. The court's four-paragraph order would appear to ease concerns by some Republicans and their conservative allies that a majority of the court could remove Barringer and Berger Jr. against their will. Registered Democrats hold a 4-3 seat advantage. The lawsuit plaintiffs had argued that justices should not be allowed to judge their own impartiality, and that leaving a disqualification decision to colleagues was best for objectivity. In recent North Carolina history, the identified justice has usually decided on the request. Recusal denials for an individual justice have been issued by the full court on extremely rare occasions. In late September, the Supreme Court took the unusual step of asking lawyers in the case to address in court filings more than 20 questions related to recusals. Outside lawyers, professors and groups also filed friend-of-the-court briefs to weigh in. The order says the court shall assign a recusal or disqualification motion to the justice who is the subject of the motion to make a determination. The justice, however, could decline to decide on the motion themselves and instead refer the motion to the full court without their participation. A majority of the court would have to vote to disqualify the judge. Any order reporting the result of a recusal motion must indicate whether the justice or the remaining members made the decision, the order said. The North Carolina NAACP, which through its attorneys is challenging two constitutional amendments and seeking to disqualify Berger and Barringer, said in a news release that the order brings much-needed transparency to a previously opaque process for the first time in history." Justices now have a clear pathway to allow the full court to make decisions about their potential impartiality, and will be able to remove themselves when necessary from a decision-making process that can be fraught with implicit bias, the release from the civil rights group and the attorneys said. Senate leader Phil Berger and private lawyers representing him and House Speaker Tim Moore in the case had no comment, a Berger spokesperson said Thursday. The actual disqualification motion had not been ruled on as of Thursday, said Kym Hunter, an attorney representing the state NAACP. The NAACP challenges amendments put on ballots by the Republican-controlled General Assembly creating a photo ID mandate and a provision to reduce the cap on income tax rates. A trial judge struck down the amendments in 2019, declaring that since many legislators were illegitimately elected from what were previously declared as racially biased districts, they lacked the power to put the questions on the ballot. But an appeals court overturned that decision in 2020, sending the case to the Supreme Court. A law implementing the voter ID amendment remains blocked. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) It seemed likely that Michael Brown, 44, would die in prison. He was tried as an adult in 1995 and convicted by a jury on first-degree murder and other charges in the stabbing death of his grandparents. He was 16 but sentenced as a violent youthful offender to life plus 41 years, ensuring he would spend at least 71 years in prison. Then, in November, a state district judge amended Browns sentence making him eligible for parole in February 2024 after he has served 30 years in prison. Michael went to prison around the time that I was born, Browns attorney, Denali Wilson, 28, told the Albuquerque Journal. Thats the way were handling these cases in New Mexico, and that cant be the way we respond to harm caused by children. Wilson and other advocates for youthful offenders are pushing for legislation that would abolish life without parole for juveniles sentenced as adults. The proposed Second Chance bill would make juveniles sentenced as adults eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison. If parole is denied, the request would be reconsidered by the parole board every two years. Wilson, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, estimates that Brown is one of 75 people in New Mexico serving long adult prison sentences for crimes they committed as children. The proposal is similar to Senate Bill 247, which the chamber passed 28-11 in March 2021. The legislative session ended before the House could consider the bill. The bills co-sponsor, Democrat Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez of Albuquerque, has asked Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to include the measure in her call for the 2022 regular session. The governor's office said no decision have been made about whether to include it on the agenda. The New Mexico Attorney Generals Office voiced opposition earlier this year to some portions of the bill, citing an outcry from crime victims. Jerri Mares, a spokeswoman for the office, said victims and their families should be included in any discussions about the bill. Sedillo Lopez said a state law is needed to provide consistency to the way state judges handle serious crimes committed by juveniles. She also said the bill is not a get out of jail free card for criminal offenders. The decision to release would rest with a parole board. The measure also would also provide young offenders with incentive to change, demonstrate good behavior in prison, and reform their lives, she said, noting that she believes "children have an enormous capacity for change. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea on Thursday urged its 1.2 million troops to unite behind leader Kim Jong Un and defend him with their lives, as the country celebrated the 10th anniversary of Kims ascension to supreme commander of the military. The anniversary comes as North Korea is holding a key multi-day political conference in which officials are expected to discuss how to address difficulties brought by the pandemic and long-dormant diplomacy with the United States. In a lengthy editorial, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said that North Korea's military commanders and soldiers must become an impregnable fortress and bulletproof walls in devotedly defending (Kim) with their lives. It also called for building a more modernized, advanced military that serves as a reliable guardian of our state and people. The editorial said all of North Koreas troops and people must uphold Kims leadership to establish a powerful socialist country. North Korea has previously issued similar propaganda-heavy statements urging people to rally behind Kim in times of difficulties. Some experts say Kim has been grappling with the toughest moment of his 10-year rule due to the coronavirus pandemic, U.N. sanctions and his own mismanagement. On Monday, Kim opened a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers Party to review past projects and determine major policies for next year. In two days of meetings, Kim set unspecified development strategies for the countrys rural development, while participants discussed next years budget and other agendas, according to state media. Observers say North Korea will likely disclose Kims stances on relations with Washington and Seoul, the deadlocked nuclear diplomacy and the economic hardships at the end of the plenary meeting expected later this week. Despite the present difficulties, few outside analysts question Kims grip on power. Kims supreme commander post at the Korean Peoples Army was the first top job he was given after his father Kim Jong Ils death in 2011. The current leader holds a slew of other high-profile positions such as general secretary of the Workers Party and chairman of the State Affairs Commission. PANAMA CITY (AP) Two men were given long prison terms Wednesday for killing seven young people in 2020, bloodshed that shocked this country where mass slayings are rare. Prosecutors said Reynaldo Cuadra McBean was sentenced to 50 years and Jean Carlos Hernandez was sentenced to serve 36 years for their convictions on homicide, abduction, aggravated robbery and other charges. The court found them guilty on Dec. 15. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) San Francisco will now require law enforcement in certain settings and other people in higher-risk workplaces to receive a coronavirus booster by Feb. 1, the city announced Wednesday, as the omicron variant wreaks havoc across the country. The move comes more than a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state will require California's roughly 2.5 million health care workers to get their booster shots by Feb. 1 or risk losing their jobs. San Francisco's requirements which also encompass health care workers list professions that are not among the state's order. Changes to the health order affect both the city and county of San Francisco. The health order now includes booster requirements for people who work in higher-risk settings, including adult care facilities, adult day programs, dental offices, home health care workers and pharmacists, as well as workers who visit such settings, like police officers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and lawyers whose clients are in jails. The San Francisco public health department also joined other Bay Area counties in revoking exemptions to mask mandates for fully vaccinated people in offices and gyms. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, everyone must be masked indoors in non-household settings. San Francisco also will require that attendees and staff of indoor mega-events have their booster shots beginning Feb. 1. COVID-19 case rates have exploded nationwide in recent weeks, setting new records across the country. California was the first state to reach 5 million confirmed cases, according to state data released Tuesday. In San Francisco, the seven-day average case rate was 398 on Dec. 31, breaking the delta surge's peak average. On Wednesday, California had a seven-day average of more than 10,000 cases per day and 42 deaths, according to Department of Public Health figures. The San Francisco 42-page health orders language is vague and has already created confusion among the area's first responders, who strongly opposed the initial vaccine requirements. It was also not immediately clear if the booster requirements also apply to firefighters, who are also EMTs or paramedics. The San Francisco Fire Department union said it is looking into the new order to see how it might impact its membership. The mayor's office and public health department did not immediately provide clarifications Wednesday to The Associated Press. The order says boosters are required by Feb. 1 for workers such as paramedics, EMTs, police officers and other law enforcement, and attorneys who visit jails, even if they are not permanently stationed or regularly assigned to high-risk settings but who in the course of their duties may enter or work in (high-risk settings) even on an intermittent or occasional basis or for short periods." The order defines high-risk settings as care or living settings that involve many people, including general acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, residential care facilities for the elderly, homeless shelters, jails and juvenile justice centers. Working together on the most effective strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID actually requires the City picking up the phone or meeting with their employees prior to unilaterally declaring edicts or rushing to push the panic button," Tony Montoya, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, said in a statement. "It is unfortunate that 40 pages of medical jargon is emailed to us with no consideration for the many questions our members may have. We expect better from our City leaders and so should the public. Californias models predict gradual increases in hospitalizations and intensive care admissions over the next month, though the website cautions that that emerging details about the Omicron variant may increase the uncertainty of forecasts. The state is likely to have about 6,100 hospitalized patients by the end of January, up from more than 5,000 as of Wednesday. It's expected to have 400 more ICU patients, roughly 1,400, up from about 1,000 now. Thats far short of the nearly 22,000 peak hospitalizations and nearly 5,000 ICU patients last January. But the R-effective that measures infection rates is above 1 again statewide and in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California regions. It remains below 1 in the Greater Sacramento, Northern California and San Joaquin Valley regions. Anything above 1 means the number of infected persons will increase. In Los Angeles County, public health officials reported 16,510 new cases on Wednesday one of the pandemic's highest daily figures. Also Wednesday, California's U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui announced she has tested positive for COVID-19 in a break-through case. The congresswoman received her booster shot in September and said she is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms. BERLIN (AP) A man identifying himself as a German army soldier who recorded a threatening video with demands including the removal of coronavirus restrictions was arrested on Thursday, police said. The roughly one-minute clip circulating online featured the man, who said he was a staff sergeant, demanding a response by tomorrow to his calls for a lifting of restrictions and the cancellation of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for servicepeople. SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) A northern Indiana woman has been charged in the slaying of a 17-year-old girl who died days after she was shot while sitting in a car with her boyfriend, authorities said. Alexis Elizabeth Willocks, 19, of South Bend was charged Wednesday with murder and criminal recklessness. Police have issued an arrest warrant for Willocks in the November killing of Anika Henderson, 17. BLOOMFIELD, Mo. (AP) A southeast Missouri man has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a woman. The Sikeston Standard Democrat reports that 39-year-old John Clary of Bloomfield also is charged with felony murder and weapons charges. The charges were filed Wednesday. Clary is jailed without bond and doesn't yet have a listed attorney. CAIRO (AP) Sudanese security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition at protesters rallying Thursday in the country's capital and elsewhere against the October military coup. At least four protesters were killed, a Sudanese medical group said. The Sudan Doctors Committee tweeted that the fatalities took place in Khartoums twin city of Omdurman and that many demonstrators were wounded. The protests were the latest in near-daily demonstrations across Sudan despite tightened security measures and closures of bridges and roads over the Oct. 25 military takeover that upended the country's fragile transition to democracy. During the day, thousands marched in Khartoum, beating drums and waving Sudanese flags. They chanted Revolution! The military belong in the barracks! Demonstrators also hurled stones at security forces and armored police vehicles from where tear gas was fired. Similar protests took place in other parts of the country, including the provinces of Kassala and West Darfur, and the coastal city of Port Sudan. The medical group called on doctors to rush to hospitals in Omdurman to attend to the casualties, saying many were in critical condition. The committee is part of the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the mass uprising that led to the ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The association said that state-allied militias were intercepting ambulances and medics to prevent them from reaching the wounded. Thursday's protests were preceded by a disruption of the mobile internet, according to advocacy group NetBlocs, a usual tactic employed by the generals since the coup. Our position is clear; we are opposed to any negotiations, partnership or compromise with the military, said Shahinaz Gamal, a protester. We came out today to bring down this (ruling military) council and to have a civilian democratic government afterwards. Despite the internet disruption, activists posted a few videos showing masked protesters under clouds of gas. Also, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television and its Al Hadath news channel reported that Sudanese security forces raided their bureaus in Khartoum and confiscated their equipment during the protests on Thursday. They also said that two of their correspondents along with their camera crew were beaten up by Sudanese forces. The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum condemned the killing of four people and injury of dozens during Thursday's demonstrations. We also deplore the violent attacks by Sudans security services on media outlets and journalists, and urge authorities to protect the freedom of the press," the embassy tweeted. Volker Perthes, the U.N. chief's special representative for Sudan, said he was deeply disturbed by reports of the killings and attacks on the media. Credible investigations into these violations are necessary," he tweeted. All people have the right to express themselves peacefully; media have to report freely. Thursday's casualties bring to at least 52 the death toll in protests triggered by the coup, according to a tally by the physicians committee. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, a former U.N. official seen as the civilian face of Sudans transitional government, was reinstated last month amid international pressure in a deal that calls for an independent technocratic Cabinet under military oversight led by him. That deal, however, was rejected by the pro-democracy movement, which insists that power be handed over to a fully civilian government tasked with leading the transition. ATLANTA (AP) Income tax breaks for many Georgians, new requirements for physicians to be trained about avoiding sexual assault, and pay raises for some judges are among new legal provisions taking effect Saturday in Georgia. Most Georgia laws took effect on July 1, but the General Assembly delayed some, or parts of some, until Jan. 1, including provisions for annual taxes. Among measures that took effect earlier this year were Georgia's restrictive new election law, a ban on cities and counties sharply cutting police spending, three weeks of paid parental leave for nearly 250,000 state, public university and public school employees and a law that makes it a felony to steal packages from three or more different addresses. Heres a look at some new laws and provisions that begin Jan. 1: INCOME TAX BREAKS: House Bill 593 increases the amount people can earn before they start paying state taxes. The standard deduction for an individual will rise from $4,600 to $5,400, while the standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly will rise from $6,000 to $7,100. The tax cut will save individual tax filers up to $43 a year, and married couples filing jointly up to $63. The cut will reduce Georgias overall income tax collections by an estimated $140 million. Georgians may not notice it until 2023, when they file income tax returns for 2022. TEACHER TAX BREAKS: House Bill 32 gives some Georgia teachers who agree to work in certain rural and low performing schools as much as $3,000 a year off their state income taxes for five years. The break is limited to 1,000 teachers. Those who don't incur $3,000 in state income tax liability in a year can carry the credits forward for up to three years. However, the state wont pay any remaining amount in cash, as had been proposed in a previous version of the bill. JUDICIAL PAY: House Bill 488 raises pay for chief magistrates, judges in each county who handle evictions, county ordinance violations, bad check cases, warrants and some preliminary hearings. The chief magistrate in the state's least populous counties will make at least $36,288 up from $29,832, with pay rising in steps according to a county's population. At the top step, in the four counties with more than 500,000 people, judges will make at least $133,107, up from $109,426. The bill also provides pay raises for part-time judges and probate judges who also handle magistrate judge duties. PHYSICIAN SEXUAL ABUSE: House Bill 458 requires physicians, medical students, dentists and members of the state medical board to be trained about professional boundaries and avoiding sexual misconduct. Parts of the law that took effect earlier allow the Georgia Composite Medical Board to revoke or suspend a physician's license if they are convicted of sexually assaulting a patient and requires doctors to report fellow doctors who have sexually abused patients. Jan. 1 is also the deadline for the medical board to begin reporting on its handling of abuse cases. The law followed an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation chronicling doctors who abused patients but were allowed to continue practicing. JUVENILE COURT: Senate Bill 28 allows juvenile courts to consider hearsay evidence in what Gov. Brian Kemp has said is an effort to make sure all reliable information is available to the court to decide a child's best interests. The measure also requires juvenile court intake officers to get annual training. It explicitly outlaws a caregiver from placing a child in sexual servitude," outlaws emotional abuse, strengthens temporary foster care arrangements, and redefines neglect and abandonment. HEALTH INSURANCE: Senate Bill 80 sets new standards for how health insurers decide in advance on whether to pay for medical procedures. The law says prior authorization isn't allowed for emergency services or emergency ambulance transport. Insurers must decide on authorizing urgent services within 72 hours after a claim is submitted. For other services, in 2022 they will have 15 days to decide on claims, while in 2023 that falls to seven days. The law also requires insurers to publish their prior authorization requirements and to give the clinical reason a service is being denied. They also must publish yearly statistics about authorization approvals and denials, including reasons for denials and outcomes of appeals. A promised order of 3 million COVID-19 at-home tests, about 1 million of which were supposed to be distributed to the public by local municipalities and public health districts, has fallen through but Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday he expects a lot more testing to come to the state in the next 72 hours. Dr. Manisha Juthani, the states public health commissioner, said things were misrepresented to state officials by the vendor, which previously worked with the state to secure personal protective equipment earlier during the pandemic. "We were given pictures and confirmation that the product was being loaded and on the way. Those were misrepresented to us, she said, adding how the state had a contract with the vendor and a purchase agreement, but that no money exchanged hands. Lamont, a Democrat, likened the situation to the early days of the pandemic when the state struggled to obtain PPE. There are a lot of brokers in this game. Its not like you just walk into Wal-Mart and say, Heres the price. Its $7.' You put down seven and you get it, he said. Youre working through brokers and there are a lot of people putting money on the table and trucks were turning around." Lamont acknowledged state officials got a little ahead of ourselves, to tell you the truth" in first announcing the procurement. Lamont said Monday that cities and towns would start to receive allotments of the hard-to-find rapid tests beginning Wednesday. He also called up about 100 members of the Connecticut National Guard to help with the distribution. Some municipalities planned to give out the two-dose test kits as early as Thursday, but postponed those plans after getting word that the state's shipment had not yet arrived. The National Guard still distributed about 1 million N95 masks Thursday. Max Reiss, a spokesperson for the governor, said state officials began making arrangements with other vendors to obtain kits when it appeared the original deal was falling through. We're going to have a lot more testing coming in the next 72 hours and in time for schools reopening after the holiday break, said Lamont. Meanwhile, the president of the state's largest teachers union said in a message sent to members on Thursday that the Connecticut Education Association is pushing for consistent protocols and safety standards, including testing and infection monitoring, before schools reopen next week. A spokesperson from CEA stressed the union is not calling for a return to full remote learning, but the letter states that an ongoing survey of local union presidents has so far found that most so far prefer a fully remote learning option at this time, calling the current COVID situation a perfect storm. So far the state has been reluctant to allow remote options, but with a surge in the positivity rate, an increase in the number of children contracting the virus, inadequate supplies of N95 masks and at-home COVID tests, and the lack of consistent protocols regarding at-home testing, we will continue to stress the need for stronger actions to protect our school communities, wrote CEA President Kate Dias. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 1,824, an increase of 68.7%. There were 1,412 new cases per 100,000 people in Connecticut over the past two weeks, which ranks ninth in the country for new cases per capita. One in every 114 people in Connecticut tested positive in the past week, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins. New state data released Thursday show there were more than 7,700 positive cases reported to the state since Wednesday, while the number of COVID hospitalizations grew by 38 since Wednesday, for a total of 1,151. Meanwhile, the number COVID-associated deaths has grown by 83 since last Thursday, for a total of 9,160. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said his city still plans to resume in-person schooling Monday following the holiday break, noting the city has secured enough testing kits to make sure it can test essential employees, including teachers. Iline Tracey, the city's superintendent of schools, said switching to entirely remote learning is a decision that can only be made by the governor or the General Assembly. She noted that the schools have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment. In the meantime, Elicker said local officials will continue to monitor the data and will make classes remote on a case-by-case basis as they receive information about infections. Families should be prepared for the possibility that their class may go remote or even multiple classes or even potentially a school may go remote if there are so many cases or if there is a lot of staffing shortages that they need to do that," he said. NEW YORK (AP) New York City will ring in 2022 in Times Square as planned despite record numbers of COVID-19 infections in the city, the state and around the nation, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. We want to show that were moving forward, and we want to show the world that New York City is fighting our way through this, de Blasio, whose last day in office is Friday, said on NBC's Today show. After banning revelers from Times Square a year ago due to the pandemic, city officials previously announced plans for a scaled-back New Year's bash with smaller crowds and vaccinations required. While cities such as Atlanta have canceled New Year's Eve celebrations, de Blasio said New York City's high COVID-19 vaccination rate makes it feasible to welcome masked, socially distanced crowds to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Weve got to send a message to the world. New York City is open, he said. Thanks to the highly contagious omicron variant that was first identified as a variant of concern last month, new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have soared to their highest levels on record at over 265,000 per day on average. New York City reported a record number of new, confirmed cases almost 44,000 on Wednesday, according to New York state figures. Statewide, New York on Wednesday reported more than 74,000 people tested positive for COVID-19, the second day in a row that the state set a record of new, confirmed cases. More than 1,600 people were newly hospitalized statewide, pushing the number of COVID-19 hospitals around the state to more than 7,300. New York also reported 76 additional deaths. De Blasio said the answer is to double down on vaccinations and noted that 91% of New York City adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. The city's next mayor, Eric Adams, will take the oath of office in Times Square early Saturday. Adams, a Democrat like de Blasio, said at a news conference Thursday that his team is working with de Blasio's and he plans to keep much of the outgoing mayor's plans in place. January 1 is a new beginning of my administration but its not a new beginning of our resiliency," Adams said. Among the policies Adams plans to keep in place is a vaccine mandate for private sector employees that is the most sweeping of any state or major city. Adams said he, like de Blasio, would impose fines on businesses that do not comply but would try to use the fines as a last resort. Even as reported cases and hospitalizations surge, Adams has committed to keeping schools open and staving off the closures that marked the early months of the pandemic. We cant shut down our city again, Adams said. We cant allow the city to go further into economic despair. The new mayor said he and a team of advisors are studying whether to expand on other vaccine mandates. New York City currently requires teachers and staff in public and private schools to be vaccinated but de Blasio did impose the requirement on students. Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city's Commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said Thursday that city officials will decide by spring whether to impose such a requirement for students. Officials are also studying whether to require that people have received a booster shot in order to be in compliance with vaccine mandates for indoor dining, working out at gyms and other activities. Adams said he plans to roll out a color-coded system alerting New Yorkers to the current threat level posed by the virus and what safety measures are in place. The incoming mayor did not offer more details about the system. The new mayor and his medical advisors said Thursday that they plan to distribute face masks that provide more protection against the coronavirus, such as N95s, at health department sites and through community groups. The city also plans to send students home with rapid tests for use at home. We should plan and prepare for a challenging few weeks, certainly through January with respect to what were seeing for the winter surge due to omicron," Chokshi said. This is not something that were just going to take passively. This is something that we have agency over. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) James B. Tucker, an attorney who prosecuted corrupt Mississippi public officials during a 30-year career with the Justice Department, died Tuesday. He was 82. His death was announced Wednesday by the Butler Snow law firm, where he was a partner in private practice after he left government service. Tucker was retired from the firm. The announcement did not include the cause of death. Tucker earned a law degree from the University of Mississippi in 1966. After a few years of private practice in Mississippi's capital city of Jackson, he moved to Washington in 1971 to become a traveling attorney for the U.S. Justice Department. Tucker returned to Jackson in 1972 as an assistant U.S. attorney for the southern half of Mississippi. For about 20 years, he was chief of the criminal division for the district. Among the high-profile cases Tucker handled were the prosecutions of dozens of Mississippi county supervisors and private contractors in the 1980s during Operation Pretense, a probe of corrupt purchasing practices. Ray Mabus was state auditor in the mid-1980s and worked with federal authorities on Operation Pretense. He told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Tucker was that rarest of public servants he always tried to do the right thing. He went looking for public corruption. He did not duck it, said Mabus, a Democrat who served one term as governor and eight years as Navy secretary after he was auditor. It sort of offended him that people were stealing public money. In 2000, Tucker was appointed to serve as U.S. attorney for southern Mississippi. When Tucker retired from the Justice Department in 2001, then-U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran praised him. I have an enormous amount of respect and appreciation for the way James Tucker has carried out the important responsibilities of his job, said Cochran, a Republican. He was a true professional in every respect. He was completely honest and trustworthy, and he was tenacious in bringing to justice those who violated the laws of the United States. In addition to his work at Butler Snow, Tucker spent more than 20 years as an adjunct professor at Mississippi College School of Law. He was a Judge Advocate Generals Corps officer for the U.S. Naval Reserve and retired as a captain. Tucker was inducted into the University of Mississippi law school hall of fame in 2016. The U.S. attorney's office for southern Mississippi has a staff award named in his honor, the James B. Tucker Award for Superior Prosecutorial Service in Criminal Justice. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California's mountain snow holds 160% of the water it normally does this time of year, state water officials announced Thursday, marking a strong start to the drought-stricken state's traditionally wet winter season. Still, it's too early to determine whether California will see enough rain and snow in the months to come to put a dent in the drought. The state is definitely not out of the woods quite yet," said Sean de Guzman, manager of the snow surveys and water supply forecasting for the California Department of Water Resources. De Guzman spoke at Phillips Station, one of hundreds of locations where state officials make manual or electronic snowpack measurements multiple times per year. About a third of California's water supply comes from snow as it melts and flows down from the Sierra Nevada and the Shasta-Trinity mountain range in northern California. California just finished its second-driest year on record and many of the state's reservoirs that supply water for tens of millions of people are at historic lows. But several powerful storms swept through the state this month, dumping snow and causing some road closures and major disruptions. The storms made for a far more positive snow reading than last December, when water levels in the snowpack were at just 52% of the historical average. Feet of snow don't translate directly into feet of water, so state officials report both the height of the snow and the amount of water runoff it would generate. At Phillips Station, where the Thursday measurement was taken, de Guzman reported 78.5 inches (199.4 centimeters) of snow. That contains 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) of water, he said. That's 202% of the historical average for that location and 82% of what's typically there on April 1, when the snowpack hits its peak. De Guzman said the state needs strong precipitation in the next three months to get to or above the typical April average, leaving plenty of water to run down the mountains and into California's streams and reservoirs. Meanwhile, state Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth said the strong December numbers don't change the state's plea for Californians to conserve water. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a voluntarily 15% reduction in water use back in July, but the state is far from meeting that goal. State officials have warned mandatory water restrictions could be coming if conditions don't improve. We need more storms and average temperatures this winter and spring, and we cant be sure its coming," Nemeth said in a statement. So, its important that we continue to do our part to keep conserving we will need that water this summer. In 2013, California saw a wet December followed by an extremely dry January and February during the last drought, state officials noted in a news release. California is in its second acute drought in the last decade. Scientists say much of the U.S. West is enveloped in a megadrought made worse by climate change. Most of California is in a severe to extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Only a small part of northern California along the Oregon border is in what's considered an exceptional drought," the worst condition. That's down significantly from September, when 45% of the state was gripped by exceptional drought. ROME (AP) Assunta Pupetta Maresca, the widow of a Naples organized crime boss who was convicted of gunning down her husbands presumed killer for revenge, later challenged a powerful Camorra clan leader and inspired a movie about her life, has died. She was 86. La Presse news agency said Maresca died Thursday at her home in the Naples suburb of Castellammare di Stabia, the town where she was born. Maresca was known as Lady Camorra, a reference to the powerful Naples-area crime syndicate that historically has been involve in drug trafficking, extortion rackets and contraband rings. She was six months pregnant in 1955 when she wielded a Smith & Wesson in the vendetta slaying, part of a bloody turf war among rival crime clan bosses. She gave birth to to a son in jail and served 10 years of a 13-year sentence. A few months earlier, Marescas husband, Pasquale Simonetti, had been slain in the Naples crime clan feuding. While female leaders are rare in the Sicilian Mafia, women in the Camorra have played top roles. Sociologists have attributed that to a matriarchal structure prominent in Naples family life. What should I have done, let myself be killed? Maresca asked Italian reporters in connection with the 2013 airing of a TV movie about her life on a private Italian television channel. "I was pregnant. He was coming toward me with his arm extended and the pistol in his hand,'' she recounted about the slaying of Antonio Esposito, who reputedly had ordered her husband's death. In Italian law, masterminds of murders are held as responsible for killings as those who materially carry out the slayings. A local beauty contest winner, Maresca was nicknamed "Pupetta,'' or Little Doll. Prosecutors accused her of ordering the 1981 murder of a mobster who belonged to the powerful breakaway Camorra fold of Raffaele Cutolo. Four years later, a court acquitted her of the charge. ALBUQURQUE, N.M. (AP) Albuquerque police have arrested a woman sought on a warrant charging her with arson in a Nov. 29 fire at the Islamic Center of New Mexico. The arrest warrant for Isela Camarena was issued Monday and she was arrested and booked into jail Wednesday. By Bay City News The California Highway Patrol issued a silver alert late Wednesday night for a missing 77-year-old man on behalf of the Napa Police Department in the following counties: San Mateo, San Francisco, Alameda, Napa, Solano, Marin and Contra Costa. Thomas David Jordan was last seen about 10 a.m. Wednesday in Napa County, according to the CHP. He is believed to be driving a white 2017 Nissan Frontier pickup truck with California license plates 45591H2. Jordan is described at 5 feet, 9 inches tall, about 160 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a plaid, dark gray, long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. The CHP urges anyone who sees Jordan to call 9-1-1. Copyright 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Oakland International Airport passengers and employees will likely see some improvements to the airport, because it's getting $15 million in federal grant money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, said Wednesday. Some of the improvements that may be made include improved airfield lighting and paving, upgraded restrooms to allow for companion care and gender inclusiveness, and upgraded heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Safety and security will be improved, too. President Joe Biden signed the infrastructure bill on Nov. 15. Airport officials are still working with the Federal Aviation Administration on the timing and criteria for the funding, so exactly what the money will be spent on isn't clear yet. Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin posted a video on social media Wednesday urging drivers from the Bay Area and around the state to avoid non-essential mountain travel until weather conditions improve. Caltrans has reopened the main routes from the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe and points east -- Interstate Highway 80 and U.S. Highway 50 -- but roadway conditions remain challenging with heavy snow causing extensive delays and requiring tire chains. "If you must travel, make sure you're prepared," Omishakin said. He urged people who want to visit family and friends to "stay off the roads, conditions are treacherous" in a video posted on the CalTransHQ Twitter page (https://twitter.com/CaltransHQ). Homeless advocates in San Francisco on Tuesday blasted the city's recent plan to address mental health and drug use in the city's Tenderloin neighborhood. Just last week, the city's Board of Supervisors approved Mayor London Breed's proposed emergency declaration for the Tenderloin by 9-2, with Board President Shamann Walton and Supervisor Dean Preston voting against it. According to Breed, the 90-day emergency declaration is needed in order to allow the city to waive rules around contract procurement and zoning codes in order to quickly open a "linkage center" in the area to voluntarily connect people who are living on the streets and struggling with substance use and mental health issues to services. The Clayton City Council next week will discuss a request from the city's police union for COVID-19-related "hero pay" for officers, funded by the city's share of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The idea came up during the council's Dec. 7 meeting, when councilmembers expressed interest in the police union's idea and about possibly expanding it to other city employees. A staff report for Tuesday's meeting says "One of the identified categories of spending for ARPA funding is premium pay for essential workers defined as those working in critical infrastructure areas. In the case of local government, since all of our employees are considered disaster service workers and thus are essential workers, premium pay would be an eligible expense for all city employees. The Grinch might have had a harder time absconding with all of Whoville's goodies in 2021 thanks to the prevalence of porch video surveillance equipment that local police say helps solve crimes. Just take a look on any given day at neighborhood social site Nextdoor, where fliers advertising missing cats, dogs and the occasional turtle or chicken are interspersed with chilling video footage of strangers creeping around private properties. Livermore Police Sgt. Steve Goard said videos posted on Nextdoor and the Ring platform are giving officers a new tool to help make the community safer. The city of Hayward is offering a bonus digital gift card with the purchase of an e-gift card to help support local eateries and retail businesses during California Restaurant Month. Beginning Saturday, while supplies last, anyone who spends from $20 to $100 for a Together for Hayward gift card will receive a 50 percent bonus card to use at any of 39 participating local restaurants or 35 retail locations. Bonus cards are limited to three per customer and must be used within 90 days. E-gift cards can be bought at https://app.yiftee.com/gift-card/hayward--ca. A southbound train heading towards San Jose/Gilroy collided with a vehicle on the tracks in San Francisco on Wednesday evening, according to Caltrain. The collision, which occurred on 16th Street and Owens streets at 5:16 p.m., left the vehicle upright, according to a tweet from the San Francisco Fire Department. Caltrain representative Dan Lieberman said the vehicle occupant declined emergency care. The California Highway Patrol has deactivated a silver alert for a 77-year-old Napa County man who has been located. Thomas David Jordan, missing since Wednesday morning, has been located, according to a 2:33 a.m. announcement on social media by CHP officials. No additional information was provided. Oakland police are asking for help from the public identifying the driver of a light-colored BMW involved in a hit-and-run collision with a pedestrian on Dec. 6. Police released blurry images of the vehicle taken by surveillance cameras, as part of a news release issued Wednesday. Police said the pedestrian was in the crosswalk pushing a shopping cart across the street at 2:30 a.m. in the 4400 block of Bancroft Avenue when she was struck by the vehicle, which stopped and later left the scene. The National Weather Service's forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area calls for sunny skies Thursday. Highs are expected in the low 50s with overnight lows in the mid to upper 30s. Dry conditions are expected to last into the weekend with cool daytime temperatures and cold nights. A return to wetter conditions appears possible by early next week. Copyright 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Maybe its not the best idea to drive for hours just to get dinner at a ritzy Tahoe hotel during record-breaking snowfall over the past week. The Reno Gazette Journal found some arresting details of stubborn, sometimes obstinate, drivers who ignored Caltrans and California and Nevada Highway Patrol officials advice to avoid driving around Tahoe for nonessential purposes. Even as Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50 have opened up solving the key bottlenecks for most drivers flocks of tourists continue to come in, so much so that the city of South Lake Tahoes emergency operations center will remain open through New Years weekend, the Gazette Journal reported Wednesday. Some of these drivers over the past week have not only delayed key services like gas trucks and electrical repairs from getting into the area, but have seemingly putting other drivers at risk. One driver, Nevada Highway Patrol Officer Charles Caster told the newspaper, tried evading a closed-off highway, Nevada state Route 431, in order to take his wife to dinner to the Ritz Carlton in Truckee. (Caster said it wasn't clear if they made it up there at all.) ALSO READ: Without power or fuel, a Sierra community is facing a crisis exacerbated by Tahoe tourists Another had 30 inches of snow on his vehicle, a Ford Bronco. And perhaps, most baffling of all, one stopped traffic on Interstate 580 to repair a tire chain. As the Gazette Journal notes, most drivers should have four when driving through icy conditions. CHP Truckee/Handout But most, ultimately, just tried to circumvent the massive highway closures earlier this week, taking poorly maintained and less-traveled throughways directed by Google Maps. Earlier this week, Caltrans District 3 spokesperson Steve Nelson told SFGATE that the agency saw drivers trying to skirt highway closures via side streets, only to end up stranded in these back roads. And while I-80 and Route 50 have now dropped chain controls for drivers, it's certainly still worth being alert and cautious as you drive through snowy conditions. According to the ED, the seized assets are in the form of shareholdings in four Indian companies, namely, the Southern Agrifurane Industries Private Ltd, Anand Transport Private Ltd, MGM Entertainment Private Ltd, and MGM Diamond Beach Resorts Private Ltd. Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has seized assets worth Rs 293.91 crore belonging to Tamilnad Mercantile Bank's (TMB) former Chairman Nesamanimaran Muthu alias MGM Maran under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Incidentally, the three of the companies are unlisted entitites. The ED said Maran had incorporated two companies in Singapore during 2005-06 and 2006-07 and invested Singapore $5,29,86,250 equivalent to Indian Rs 293.91 crore, but the investment was made without Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) permission and non-disclosure to Indian regulators. According to the agency, the provisions of Section 37A(1) empowers it to seize Indian asset of a person who has acquired assets in foreign country or made investment outside India without the approval of the RBI while he was a person resident in India. Since the amount of foreign investment was SGD 5,29,86,250, the assets of equivalent value thereof of Rs 293.91 crore has been seized, it said. Last year, the Adjudicating Authority under the FEMA had levied a penalty of Rs 35 crore on Maran for opening a bank account in Singapore and receiving foreign exchange to the tune of US$ 68,50,000 (equivalent to Rs 28.08 crore) in that account from a foreign entity. The said payment is the consideration for facilitating and assigning the rights towards transfer of shares of the TMB in favour of Katra Holdings Ltd, consequent to a private agreement with that company. The penalty is also for failing to repatriate the said foreign exchange into India, the ED had said then. The Adjudicating Authority had also fined Standard Chartered Bank Rs 100 crore and the TMB Rs 17 crore. The ED had taken up the probe under FEMA based on reference received from the RBI to investigate advance remittances received by certain entities for purchase of the shares of the Tuticorin-headquartered TMB through escrow mechanism maintained with Standard Chartered Bank, Mumbai. Following the probe, the ED had issued show cause notice to the TMB, its directors, Standard Chartered Bank and one of its officials for contravening FEMA. In his adjudication order, the Special Director, ED, Southern Region imposed a penalty of Rs 11.33 crore on the TMB for recording in its books the transfer of 46,862 shares of the bank in the names of seven foreign entities viz. (i) RST Ltd (wholly owned by Ravi S. Trehan), Katra Holdings Ltd (wholly owned by Ramesh Vangal), GHI I Ltd (wholly owned by Rajat Gupta), Kamehameha (Mauritius) Ltd, FI Investments (Mauritius) Ltd, Cuna Group (Mauritius) Ltd, and Swiss Re Investors (Mauritius) Ltd. The above seven entitities were not approved by the RBI for acquiring the shares of TMB. A further penalty of Rs 5.66 crore was imposed on the TMB for its act of recording in its books, the subsequent transfer of 27,289 shares out of the above 46,862 shares in the names of two foreign entities - Sub-Continental Equities Ltd, Mauritius and Robert & Adris James Company Ltd, Mauritius, without the permission of the RBI. Penalty has also been imposed on the directors of the Board of the TMB, who approved the recording of the transfer of shares of the bank. The Standard Chartered Bank was held guilty of contravening FEMA for opening the Standard Chartered Bank Project Windmill (Sale Consideration) Escrow Account, without the RBI's prior permission and for allowing deposits of Rs 113 crore and for having held 1,12,151 shares of the TMB in the said escrow account. A penalty of Rs 34 crore was levied on the bank for the above contraventions. Another Rs 66 crore penalty was levied on the Standard Chartered Bank for providing collateral/guarantee/taking into custody of TMB shares and original sale deeds of land in lieu of which Standard Chartered Bank, Mauritius granted a loan of US$ 55.40 million (equivalent to Rs 221 crore) to three foreign entities viz, Katra Holdings Ltd, Mauritius, RST Ltd, Cayman Islands, and GHI I Ltd, Cayman Islands, without any special permission from the RBI. It was on the 22nd and 23rd of December, when the world was busy carrying out their daily chores, a group of young learners were exploring a new side of themselves. With the commencement of the E-summit, a collaboration between R. A. Podar Colleges Moneta- one of Indias largest financial fest and Entrepreneur Development Cell, we witnessed a new generation of learners trying to understand the dynamic nature of the word entrepreneurship and what it is like to become one. With the Inauguration ceremony of the event that took place on the 22nd of December, new doors and pathways for a successful career were also opened. The honourable guest for the ceremony, Mr Amey Katkar, the CEO, founder and the brains behind India's leading B2B Digital Marketing firm - The 4P Solutions was just the right person to push and motivate the audience about the journey they were part of and what lies ahead of it. And there began the much anticipated 2-day event of pure learning, lessons and experience. After the inauguration ceremony, E-summit kick-started with its first segment- Decoding the Art of Entrepreneurship, a seminar where the founder and chief officer of Play and Shine Foundation, a non-profit organization working at the grassroots level with students belonging to underprivileged sections of the society. The entrepreneur took it upon herself to familiarize the audience with the term social entrepreneur. The audience was very much intrigued to learn more about this and the speaker welcomed all their doubts with great enthusiasm. This much insightful session was followed by GenZ Entrepreneurs sharing their journey- the second segment. In this interactive session, the audience was presented with 3 different perspectives of 3 young entrepreneurs. The first Entrepreneur being Aditi Surve was leading the charge as a Founder and Chief Executive of an Indian-American premium apparel brand. Vansh Mehrotra, an alumnus of Jai Hindi and the founder of Finschool was the second speaker. He explained to the audience his journey of being an entrepreneur in midst of a possible pandemic. The third speaker for the day was the CEO and founder of Mauka- Sagar Menon. Mauka is an EdTech company that focuses on imparting soft skills to Indian students and professionals. This segment urged and influenced the students to consider being an entrepreneur at an age as young as 21. New day, new journey. After an informative Day 1, E-summit introduced their third segment- What's my Story? Business Tycoon shares his Success Mantra because each has his own journey. Shashwat Gopal, a business leader who has a variety of titles attached with his name shared his ideology of what it is like to be a Business Leader. As aimed, this session was not only interactive as the audience actively indulged in keeping the conversation going with their interesting question but also very candid since Mr Gopal did not hesitate to share his knowledge and understanding with the enthusiastic young learners who craved more and more information and insights. And last but not the least, the much-awaited and exciting event Think Tank knocked upon the doors. As they say, there is no innovation and creativity without failure, this event specifically demanded the creativity and innovation of the participants. With Mr Yash HC Dagli and Mr Saurabh Bajpeyee, the founders of 'JusttYou and CapitalBoat Holdings, respectively, Think Tank encouraged the future entrepreneurs to put forth their innovative start-up ideas in front of the talented and established entrepreneurs for it to be judged, intending to reward the best idea of the day with INR 5,000. As Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai took great pride in receiving it, we could sense the happiness of the 1st runner up Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai and the 2nd runner-up H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai who received INR 3,000 and INR 2,000, respectively. This was E-summits way of recognising talent and innovation and persuading them to pursue their ideas. Coming to the bittersweet moment, the closing ceremony, which marked the presence of Anubhav Dubey, the founder of Chai Sutta Bar, a chain that serves Indian Traditional Kulhad Chai on the bar table which highly resonated with the youth and is innovation at its finest. As the guest declared the H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai as the best contingent who received INR 10,000 as their prize money, the sheer joy in their voices sounded musical. E-summit turned out to be a major success and something which young learners shall always cherish but unfortunately, all good things come to an end and with a heavy heart, team E-summit would like to bid goodbye until next time because innovation never stops, does it? Mumbai and Bengaluru-based neobanking startup Jupiter has proclaimed that it has raised $86 million from investors in its Series C round, and in the process, being valued at about $711 million. The latest round has been co-led by Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital India and with US-based venture fund QED Investors also participating, alongside existing backers, such as Matrix Partners India. It also comes just a little over a month after the two-year-old firm came out of beta mode, and officially launched its services. Tiger Global joins an illustrious group of investors that have already professed strong faith in Jupiters vision and that of its founder and chief executive Jitendra Gupta and his team. Existing backers of Jupiter include Brazil-based Nubank, Global Founders Capital, Mirae Assets Venture, Addition Ventures, Tanglin VC, Greyhound, 3one4 Capital and Beenext, among others. Jupiter has already attracted over 0.5 million users within a very short span during its early access launch in July. Jupiter has partnered with Federal Bank to provide bank accounts to consumers. Commenting on the milestone fundraise, Mr. Jitendra Gupta Founder & CEO of Jupiter stated, We feel that we are in a very unique time wherein consumers are adopting technology faster than expected. Consumers are looking for a place where they can get better experience for their finances rather than just a plain vanilla banking app. Jupiter is exactly focused on providing better personal finance experience to consumers in a very personalized and contextual way. We are thrilled to welcome new investors such as Tiger Global and having more faith from our existing investors such as Sequoia Capital India and QED who have chosen to increase their interest in the Company. Commenting on the fund-raise, Alex Cook, Partner at Tiger Global stated, Were excited to back the Jupiter team as they build a next-gen consumer banking experience for India. We heard very positive feedback on Jupiter when we surveyed customers and we think they are just getting started. The company had last announced the closure of its $50 million Series B round in August 2021, which had valued the company at about $ 290 million at the time. Prior to that, it had raised $25 million across its Seed and Series A rounds, while still operating in stealth mode. Sequoia Capital India has partnered with Jiten in every venture that he has started because the firm believes in his execution capabilities, resilience, and the ability to play the long game to re-imagine the future of financial services. said Mohit Bhatnagar, MD, Sequoia India. Jupiter will use the proceeds to further set up its team and technology platform, while also preparing to launch a slew of cutting edge, consumer-facing products that have been designed to revolutionise personal banking for the new-age Indian consumer, a segment that is getting increasingly technology proficient, but still continues to face and deal with archaic banking infrastructure. Sandeep Patil, partner at QED Investors said, We are thrilled to partner with Jiten. He brings to bear past entrepreneurial success and a distinguished standing in the fintech and banking community. We are impressed by the roaring customer appeal of what he and his team are building at Jupiter and their multi-decade vision to address financial needs of Indian consumers. Executed right, digital banking services hold tremendous potential in India for increasing wealth and improving financial well-being of the middle-class. Jupiter is on a sure-footed journey to realise this potential. Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director, Matrix India said, Jupiter is off to a fast start in the nascent NeoBank space in India and were privileged to be early backers here. Their focus on consumer journeys, innovating continuously on product while maintaining the highest compliance standards with their bank partners sets them apart. We welcome QED and Tiger to the partnership & look forward to the next phase of growth. Jupiters turbo-charged growth has been built on the back of Indian consumers, who live in a world where they have reviews, ratings, and recommendations, and are beginning to shift toward better experiences. The 21st century consumer wants a smarter way of banking rather than feature-driven banking. Having received a phenomenal response from early users thus far, Jupiter is targeting having approximately 2 million users by December 2022. It is currently seeing 5,000 to 6,000 new users signing up each day, and has also recorded deposits of over Rs 100 crore in October earlier this year. Founded by fintech pioneer Gupta in 2019, Jupiter is a 100% digital bank that aims to fix whats broken in the traditional banking system, through a customer-obsessed mentality and continuous innovation, built on the back of a strong technology stack. One of Jupiters first offerings is a savings account bundled with features that aim to simplify money management. The product was co-created with a strong community of users that suggested features they wanted in a banking app. The long-term vision of the company includes, making consumer banking ubiquitous, at the same time, a delightful experience, while also positioning Jupiter as a day to day finance app for consumers. Jupiter is the second venture founded by Gupta, who had earlier co-founded, built and then sold payments platform Citrus Pay to Naspers-owned global payments giant PayU for $130 million in 2016, the largest fintech M&A transaction to have been recorded in India at the time. The 40 year-old qualified chartered accountant, then went on to be MD at PayU India, and also went on to start BNPL category in India through LazyPay, during his stint with the Naspers-owned payments giant. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Ten out of the 15 RATs are made in China. Another two are from the US, plus the one from Germany and another from Korea. Only one out of the 15 approved kits the Innoscreen COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test Device is made in Australia. Lumos rapid COVID-19 test, which is still pending approval from the TGA for use in clinical settings and at home, hit the Canadian market earlier this month and Mr Lanyon said the lack of local interest in rapid COVID-19 testing meant it had to focus its attention overseas. The company this year built a rapid diagnostics facility in Florida capable of manufacturing 120 million tests a year. We did exactly what we suggested to the government we just happened to do it overseas, he said. I guarantee you we would have had manufacturing in Australia already. We would have been producing tests in Victoria, and we would have been shipping them nationally. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said no records of meetings between Lumos and former industry minister Karen Andrews in mid-2020 were found by the Department of Industry Science Energy & Resources or the Department of Health. There was an approach to the office of the Minister for Health in September 2020, the spokeswoman added. The office indicated that as numerous unsolicited proposals were received, for reasons of probity and assessment for safety and quality, the Department uses rigorous tender and competitive processes to assess all proposals. We are not aware as to whether the company made an application under such processes as no details have been provided. Meanwhile, Brisbane-based Ellume cannot provide the kits to Australian users until mid-2022. The more than 100,000 rapid antigen test kits made every day at Ellumes Richlands factory are all headed to the United States, even as demand for the kits in Australia escalates. Ellume plans to scale up to 200,000 kits per day to the United States as American demand grows. In February 2021, the Queensland company won a $300 million contract to supply 8.5 million rapid antigen test kits to the US market. More than 100,000 COVID-19 home test kits per day are being made here at Richlands and exported to the United States by Queensland firm Ellume. The company needs Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to sell their product in Australia. Credit:Tony Moore The Queensland government in May 2020 gave an undisclosed sum to Ellume from its $50 million pot of money to improve Queenslands supply chain of essential goods. However, the company has had its sights firmly set on the US market, with Ellume yet to lodge an application with the TGA. Businesses have faced increased disruption as the explosion of COVID-19 cases has forced workers to isolate and wait several days for a PCR test result. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced this week that the federal government had purchased 6 million rapid antigen tests that would go to a national stockpile, but emphasised state governments were responsible for procuring their own RATs. NSW has ordered 50 million RATs and will distribute them for free, as will Victoria, which has ordered more than 34 million test kits. Queensland has scrapped the PCR test requirement for interstate travellers in favour of rapid antigen tests. However, Mr Lanyon said the belated interest in rapid testing leaves Australia miles behind the likes of the US and the UK, where they have been in use since last year. The solution that weve now got in Australia, while it seems new, has been in place globally throughout the pandemic. So, theres only one way to describe where we are and that is, in catch-up mode, he said. Were 12 to 18 months behind the eight-ball. Senior pharmacy association executives have warned of RAT shortages heading into the new year, particularly as state and Commonwealth governments have placed their own orders. Weve probably got the next two weeks where supplies are going to be short, demand will outstrip supply, and we will have regional outages, said Pharmacy Guild of Australia national president Terry Twomey. Around the 14th of January, we will see supply start to normalise. Thats still two weeks away. So for the next fortnight or so, theyll be difficult to get. Meanwhile, Chemist Warehouse director Mario Tascone said his company approached the federal and state governments including NSW and Victoria about a fortnight ago offering them kits for purchase. Only the Queensland government has so far accepted the companys offer. The chemist chain, which retails and wholesales the tests and has its own supplier in China, has imported about 5 million at-home kits since they were approved for use in November. It will acquire about 5-6 million more over the next few weeks to cater to soaring demand. Even on our forecasts, Omicron got us on the hop, he said, noting that governments and companies may have been reluctant to buy large volumes before the Omicron wave because they feared being left with excess stock. We did offer to help governments in the last few weeks. They are aware we have stock we can put in orders for them. Victoria has secured 34 million rapid antigen tests which the Andrews government has said will be free for its citizens by the end of January. A spokesperson for the Victorian Health Department said this was done through a tender process. This has included the establishment of a formal tender process for the supply of Rapid Antigen Tests through state purchase contracts, they said.This process is now complete. Any supplier was welcome to make a bid through that process. A NSW Health spokeswoman said that the state government had secured sufficient supply of rapid testing kits for the months ahead. The specific offer from Chemist Warehouse was for a supply of kits that would be delivered from mid-January 2022. NSW Health has already secured more than 50 million kits at competitive prices, that are all TGA approved and can be delivered in January 2022. Deliveries for February have also been secured. Looking back on 2021, it would require more space to list the exhibitions we didnt see rather than the ones we did. So many shows were cancelled, cut short or handicapped by the pandemic, its not hard to remember the highlights. The first notable event of the year was the NGV Triennial, a massive survey of international contemporary art assembled under the most difficult conditions. Of more than 100 artists or groups of artists from 30 countries, none of them could visit Fortress Australia. Works were installed by the gallery team in remote consultation with the creators. This led to no appreciable drop-off in quality, even with British artist, Faye Toogood, who rehung three rooms of the NGVs permanent collection, incorporating her additions, without leaving the UK. The Melbourne gallery had a hit with the Australian Impressionist survey, She-Oak and Sunlight, but bombed with two would-be blockbusters: French Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Goya: Drawings from the Prado Museum. Both shows were locked down almost as soon as they opened. NGV director Tony Ellwood in front of Arthur Streetons The Purple Noons Transparent Might as part of the She-Oak and Sunlight exhibition. During the first months of the year, before the big June door-slam, museums hastened to make up for time lost in 2020. The National Gallery of Australia took a punt on Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London a show it could have held over until the end of the year. Would the lure of iconic pictures such as Van Goghs Sunflowers and Rembrandts Self-portrait at the Age of 34 overcome the publics reluctance to travel while the virus still lingered? Colman, as Leda Caruso, collapses on a deserted beach on a Greek Island in the opening scene. The rest of the film takes us through how she got there - her arrival for a holiday in a comfortable private villa; her discomfort at the intrusion on the beach of a large and crass Greek American family; her fascination with one of the young women of the family, the beautiful, haunted-looking Nina (Dakota Johnson); the drama that follows when Ninas brattish daughter loses her favourite doll. This is the first feature of the wonderfully talented Maggie Gyllenhaal, and it has already appeared on a number of top 10 film lists from 2021. With a great central performance from Olivia Colman, it has depth, intelligence and a powerful seriousness of purpose. Its also unfailingly grim, which raises questions about how we respond, as an audience. The Lost Daughter is based on a novel by the Italian writer known as Elena Ferrante, whose identity remains a closely guarded secret. The film is similarly mysterious, as it delves into one womans emotions about motherhood, children and her sensations of guilt. In the 40s they would have called this a womans picture - but most of those were made by men. Leda is not a pleasant person, as she freely admits to Ed Harris, playing a long-time island resident. Shes bitter, mean, secretive and superior. Shes a professor from Cambridge, Massachusetts, suggesting she teaches at Harvard or MIT. She has two daughters of her own. Much of the film shows her struggles with those daughters when they were little. Jessie Buckley plays the younger, Leda, a free-spirited young mother, wife and scholar; her performance has more warmth, necessarily. She is playing the woman before the wounds. Why then did the film strike me as falling a tad short of its ambitions? It may simply be that those ambitions are so high. Gyllenhaal clearly loves the novel; she wants to do it justice, but there is danger in adapting a great novel. Gabriel Garcia Marquez once said that great novels are unfilmable; better to film a lesser novel more freely, he contended. The two forms have fed off each other for a century but they have fundamentally different rhythms. Novelists can take their time but a film adaptation that adopts those rhythms often dies in a ditch. Ferrantes novel is about a womans state of mind. The plot, aka the action, is minimal. That can work, but its a high bar. Loading Gyllenhaal works hard - perhaps too hard - to reflect that literary quality. She keeps Ledas feelings unknowable - allowing Colman to develop her slow burning disintegration on screen. That means we must labour for long stretches without much illumination. Gyllenhaal does reward that patience with a cracking finale, but by then some will have given up. Its hard to maintain sympathy for a woman so deeply closed, even when shes played by two great actors. There is a long and honourable tradition of films that do this, challenging our expectations and daring us to judge, but its a knife-edge for a director. Our aim is to get through those doors and to make sure that we create the foundations of our own sovereign governments. Thats always going to be an aim for us as sovereign nations to deal with a lot of the disadvantage and injustice that we suffer. January marks the 50th anniversary of the Tent Embassy. Its council has planned a three-day event towards the end of the month. Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt condemned the fire as a deplorable act and said those responsible must be held accountable. When I think of Old Parliament House, Im reminded of our first Indigenous parliamentarian Neville Bonner on those front steps and other historical moments in our democracy, he wrote on Twitter. Thats how I choose to remember those front steps. Not the scenes that unfolded today. However, Greens senator Lidia Thorpe, the partys first Indigenous representative, tweeted in support, writing: Seems like the colonial system is burning down. Happy New Year everyone. #AlwayswasAlwayswillBeAboriginalLand. The fire-damaged front entrance of Old Parliament House following a protest. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen She later deleted the tweet and the partys leader, Adam Bandt, said if the fire was deliberately lit it was unacceptable. The smoking ceremony that appeared to spark Thursdays incident was similar to those that have taken place during other protests over the past fortnight. The Old Parliament House doors were damaged slightly during one action last week. Footage of the fire at Old Parliament House was livestreamed on social media. Credit:Facebook: Ryan Harder That [smoking ceremony] is something that we had agreed with, with a lot of the members who were attending each day as part of a peaceful protest, ACT Police operations commander Linda Champion told reporters. It then became a little bit out of hand, and then ACT Police went to respond and thats when it was greatly exacerbated. Protesters livestreamed the incident, with vision showing some obscuring security cameras with paint before the fire broke out. One livestreamed video shows protesters celebrating the fire afterwards, shouting bring it down, burn you evil corporation, what we are witnessing is a lawful response to 273 years of oppression, of genocide and occupation and this is a lawful response to their criminality. Another shows two chairs and a couch on the fire, with the man filming it saying off-camera, Let it burn, let it burn. A number of protesters claimed the smoking ceremony got out of control when police used pepper spray. Protester Luke Simpson said the group was used to working with fire under control and that we dont f---ing blaze things up; we keep it just at a smoke level. [Police] were using pepper spray, spraying pepper onto the fire, he said. However, footage posted on social media shows the fire was well alight before police reached the steps. Police confirmed pepper spray was used to disperse protesters but said it was not directed at the fire and the product they used was water-based and did not contain an accelerant. Commander Champion said the investigation would examine why Thursdays protest escalated. If there is peaceful demonstrations, we fully support that. If theres any criminal activity, well be taking action, Commander Champion said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said authorities should act swiftly and people should face consequences for their actions. Im disgusted and appalled by the behaviour that would see Australians come and set fire to such a symbol of democracy in this country, he said. Their cause doesnt justify that sort of violence. Thats not how Australia works. We have a rule of law in this country and people should obey it. Protesters shared photos this week of a trespass letter posted on the door of the building earlier in the week, similar to those affixed to Government House in Melbourne during recent protests. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton last year expressed concern about the rise of sovereign citizens protesting against COVID-19 restrictions during Melbournes second lockdown. We have a rule of law in this country and people should obey it. Prime Minister Scott Morrison The Old Parliament House protest has been promoted on social media with the hashtag #takebackoldparliament by individuals and groups who also promoted disinformation about vaccines and lockdowns in remote communities in the Northern Territory last month, which was criticised by Aboriginal leaders. Firefighters were called at 11.36am and managed to get the blaze under control within 20 minutes. Several dozen protesters were involved in a stand-off with police and confrontations with media after the fire was put out, chanting long live us and stop telling lies and spoke through a megaphone about Indigenous rights and colonisation. While only the front doors, portico and facade of the heritage building caught on fire, the sprinkler system was triggered and firefighters said there was extensive water and smoke damage indoors. The fire caused substantial damage to the heritage doors, the portico and the facade of the building. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The museum will be closed for the foreseeable future while staff assess the damage and start repairs. The front doors are the original front doors from 1927. So they are an iconic part of the building. I dont know yet as to whether theyll be salvageable or not, the deputy director of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, Andrew Harper, said. Firefighters have battled a large blaze at a boat repair shop in Sydneys inner west that spread to a neighbouring property on Thursday afternoon. NSW Fire and Rescue said just after 2pm that authorities received a number of triple zero calls about a structure fire in Drummoyne. A fire at a marine workshop in Drummoyne Credit:Richard Freiha Firefighters arrived to find smoke and flames billowing out of the marine workshop on St Georges Crescent at Fern Bay. Acting Superintendent Tim Hassiotis said 12 fire trucks and 50 firefighters were on the scene working to extinguish the blaze and conducting search and rescue efforts. Unions NSW hopes a plan to provide new domestic violence protections to railway workers will set a precedent for future industrial agreements across the public sector. Unions representing rail workers are negotiating extra protections for victims of domestic violence as part of a new enterprise agreement. The protections being negotiated with Sydney Trains include a requirement for employers to regularly check the employees electronic devices have not been installed with any tracking, listening or other surveillance devices. This aimed to prevent workers being followed by violent perpetrators. The agreement also includes 10 days of paid domestic and family violence leave and the support of a nominated person at work. Training and counselling on gendered violence in the workplace would also be provided to all new employees. So, you like tens of thousands of people in NSW since Christmas have tested positive to COVID-19. Here is what the states health authorities, and doctors who manage COVID-19 cases at home through the GP network and hospital services, advise you do next. If you tested positive on a RAT, you no longer need a PCR test From mid-next week, people will be able to report positive RAT tests on the Service NSW app, which will be included in the official tally. If you test positive on a RAT test while experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or as a household contact, you no longer have to confirm with a PCR test. NSW Health believes a RAT positive is a good indicator of a COVID-19 case under these circumstances. New Years Eve celebrations will go ahead across Queensland despite COVID-19 case numbers skyrocketing. Thousands of people are expected to attend fireworks events across the state, including Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine coasts, Ipswich, Cairns, Townsville and Port Douglas, as Queenslanders ring in 2022. Fireworks will go ahead at Brisbanes South Bank this New Years Eve, after they were cancelled last year due to COVID. Credit:Glenn Hunt It will be Brisbanes first New Years Eve fireworks since 2019 after they were cancelled last year due to COVID, with an 8.30pm event at South Bank, then another at midnight. But authorities remain on high alert for potential COVID superspreader events, warning revellers to wear a mask if possible and socially distance. The only Queensland company manufacturing rapid antigen tests kits cannot respond to the domestic shortage until mid-2022, despite being taxpayer-funded. More than 100,000 kits are made every day at Ellumes Brisbane factory, with all currently exported to the US. More than 100,000 COVID-19 home test kits are made each day at Ellumes Richlands factory and exported to the US. Credit:Tony Moore A surge in Omicron cases across Australia has created a shortage of the over-the-counter kits, used for COVID-19 screening and entry to Queensland. The company plans to scale up production to 200,000 kits a day to satisfy US demand before it is in a position to supply Australia. Queenslands Chief Health Officer, John Gerrard, has sought to reassure anyone notified of a positive COVID-19 test result they will most likely be able to recover at home. The Omicron variant is spreading quickly across Queensland, now that state borders are open and authorities favour personal responsibility, particularly vaccination, over the traditional public health response. People have been urged not to present to emergency departments unless absolutely necessary, Credit:Michelle Smith On Wednesday, when 1589 new cases were confirmed, Dr Gerrard said more people had emerged from the Christmas long weekend with symptoms of COVID-19 and he expected case numbers to rise. New testing clinics have opened, but Dr Gerrard was trying to manage the flow-on impacts to the health system. There were 6368 active cases on Wednesday but so far none have required treatment in a hospital intensive care unit. An Australian Health Department spokesman said a first shipment of two million paediatric Pfizer vaccines would be distributed to clinics in time for the January 10 start date. The government aims to offer all children in the 5-11 year age group the opportunity to get a vaccine prior to school returning, he said. The slashing of the interval between the second and third vaccination doses from five to four months will make 7.5 million people eligible nationally to receive a booster shot by early January just as child vaccines commence. A further 16 million will be eligible when its cut to three months at the end of January. There are 578,000 children aged five to 11 in Victoria, with three weeks to vaccinate them before school resumes. A Victorian Health Department spokesman said the state government was planning to deliver 300,000 vaccine doses each week to support the Commonwealths program. He said 28 pop-up vaccination clinics would open in coming weeks and six state-run vaccination centres previously scheduled to close will reopen to maximise vaccine access across Victoria. The Australia Government had around the same capacity at its peak delivery of vaccines. In a best-case scenario, there will still not enough appointments to cater for the millions of adults eligible for boosters and children by the end of January. Dr McRae said the AMA was concerned a significant number of students would not be vaccinated in Victoria after hearing reports that parents had been having difficulty making appointments for their children. He said his organisation had received assurances from the federal government that child vaccines were on track, but questioned whether the aim to deliver first doses before school resumed could be realised when GPs were tasked with providing booster shots at the same time. General practices [are] already quietly overwhelmed, he said. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Karen Price said she doubted a high number of students under 12 would be vaccinated before schools returns. Thats a lot of kids to do in a couple of weeks, so I think were overly optimistic. Well be looking at later in February, she said. Everyones pretty geared up to look after the kids and make sure they get the doses, but were just waiting for those cogs to turn and get them in the process, but its going to be a little bit of a teething issue. Dr Price said GPs were holding back making appointments as it was too expensive a risk for them to do so without having secured the doses. RACGP president Dr Karen Price. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen GPs dont book patients in until the vaccines are in their fridge because while there might be supply in the Commonwealth coffers, its got to get through the supply chain to the doctors rooms, she said. Were hoping [they will arrive] in time for the 10th, but theres certainly been some worried GPS around wondering when its going to happen and being told by various, different jurisdictions that they will be delayed because of distribution issues. Dr Price said the arrival of other vaccine doses had been delayed due to Christmas and staff shortages due to the latest COVID-19 outbreak. The Pharmacy Guild of Australia lamented a lack of consultation with it and other medical bodies. Its policy by press conference, acting Victorian branch president Paul Krassaris said. Someone hasnt actually thought this through because theres only so many man-hours in pharmacy, in primary care that weve got to deliver this stuff and January is traditionally a time when people on holidays. Mr Krassaris said many pharmacists didnt want to vaccinate children, whose appointment times could take longer, especially when they were paid less than doctors per dose. We are exhausted. We cant keep going at this rate, he said. Thornbury travel business owner Jane Black hasnt been able to book an appointment to vaccinate her 11-year-old son William at either a pharmacy or her GP, who told her they werent taking appointments until they have stock. Jane Black has been unable to secure a COVID-19 vaccine for her 11-year-old son William. Credit:Justin McManus Her family is going to be holidaying on the coast for most of the summer, but is returning home for a few days on January 9, when shell have a small window to inoculate him. I feel like Wills the most vulnerable now in our family, she said. Its a real concern starting school and theres so much Omicron in the community now that I just think weve got to get the children vaccinated. Im worried about other kids, like a few of my friends children have had COVID. William said he felt stressed when hearing his mother hadnt been able to book an appointment for him. I dont want to get COVID, he said. If [friends] come into our house we can verify whos vaccinated and keep track of who we keep in contact with, whereas at a club or something theres no real way to know whove you come into contact with, it could be tens, hundreds, thousands of people. [Before COVID] if friends wanted to bring friends wed be like yeah sure thats not a problem but obviously now with COVID were a little more picky with who we actually bring into the house. Mr Waters said. Jaksha Shah is also cautious, waiting until the last minute to decide if she will go to a small house party and choosing outings that are outdoors or well-ventilated. I have a dependent child who is two-and-a-half years old and there are no vaccinations for that age group, she said That does bring a kind of level of uncertainty and nervousness. Psychologist Donna Cameron said a lot of people were nervous at the moment. This is the first time since the start of the pandemic that states have remained open with active community transmitted COVID-19 cases, which means a lot of people are still feeling unsafe when they leave the house, Dr Cameron said. Each time a rule changes and an event is cancelled, people go through a grief and loss process, this is exhausting and emotionally painful. To avoid this grief and loss process, people will just stop making plans which is not at all ideal or healthy. Finding a balance depended on personal circumstances, she said. If a person has health concerns and feels that staying at home is the best option for them, then they need to do this. If a persons mental health has suffered because they have had to stay at home, then they need to get back out into society, Dr Cameron said. If a person is undecided then small steps are recommended; start with walks on the beach or visiting a quieter cafe before taking on the big crowds at the shopping centres or popular restaurants. Loading Infectious diseases experts are split on whether self-restraint works in stopping community spread of the virus. Epidemiologist Michael Toole said relying on personal responsibility had failed to curb the spread of COVID-19 in countries like Sweden, leading to thousands of deaths. He advocated for a gradual return to harsher restrictions, starting with limits on family gatherings and travel restrictions. However, Sydney-based infectious diseases expert Robert Booy said self-restraint could help reduce the spread, but it relied on people doing the right thing. On New Years Eve that meant going up against thousands of young inebriated revellers. Many young people think theyre invulnerable and they behave in a way which thinks they could live forever and its made worse by inebriation, so I can see multiple events of super spreading occurring this weekend, he said. Professor Booy encouraged people to have a quiet celebration by gathering outdoors in small groups. He advised against event-hopping and drinking in excess, adding it led to shouting and singing, increasing the risk of COVID spread. All in all I am in favour of people acting individually responsibly and taking positive actions to limit their exposure. They dont have to deny themselves going to a New Years Eve party but they can take precautions. Elise Black, a service station worker, has worked during the entire pandemic and says it feels stressful to even contemplate leaving the house as she is worried about her mother, whom she cares for. Loading Honestly I would love to go out but the risk is too high, the last two years Ive barely gone out other than to work. Australian Hotels Association head David Canny said his industry feared people may cancel bookings at the last minute, as many did before Christmas. People will book at this stage not sure whether they are going to fill that booking, so we ask people to do that, to fulfil their obligation when theyve made a booking, he said. A good wine tasting will usually open your eyes to the magic of a particular region or variety, but now and then one blows your mind at such a level that you never forget it. Two recent back-to-back events in the heart of Margaret River wine country left indelible impressions on the senses and memory and reinforced in the barest terms why cabernet sauvignon along the 110-kilometre stretch of winding road in the South West are truly works of wonder. The scene at the 39th international cabernet tasting at Cape Mentelle last month. Credit:David Prestipino Cape Mentelle and Cullen Wines are two pioneer wineries of the region and each celebrated their 50-year anniversaries recently. But they stand miles apart as cabernet producers. The former is owned by LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) and has a swag of winemakers that contribute to its range in a meticulous manner, while Cullen is steeped in family tradition and strict biodynamic winemaking principles, where instinct, emotion and the lunar calendar drive their efforts. Their cabernet sauvignons are also wholly different in style. Australians have been told coronavirus cases will continue to surge but the country is well prepared to handle them after national cabinet agreed to a shift in managing the pandemic, including shortening isolation for COVID-19 cases and changing the definition of a close contact. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the radical changes agreed to by state and territory leaders during Thursdays national cabinet meeting, under which restrictions and testing requirements for casual contacts will be abolished. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the changes would take effect from midnight on Friday in five states and territories. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen More than 21,300 cases were confirmed across the country on Thursday and Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said cases would continue to rise, but there was now good evidence that the Omicron variant was less severe than previous strains. It is a different virus, very different from previous versions of the virus we have seen over the last two years, he said on Thursday afternoon. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has urged people to party safely on New Years Eve, with the country set to pass 20,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in a day as national cabinet considers sweeping changes to isolation and testing systems. Australias chief medical officers met on Wednesday night to discuss the proposed pandemic gear change, which includes reducing isolation for close contacts to seven days and replacing gold-standard PCR testing with rapid antigen tests in most scenarios. Health Minister Greg Hunt says COVID-19 can still be dangerous for people and they should take sensible precautions on New Years Eve. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer So far 19,677 cases have been confirmed across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania but actual case numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing and result delays that have left many relying on rapid antigen tests for confirmation. Mr Hunt said while case numbers were growing, there was strong evidence from Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom that the Omicron variant was less severe than the Delta strain of the coronavirus. In August last year, we looked on aghast as Victoria announced a record 725 cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours. How times have changed. Today, Australians have to come to terms with more than 20,000 COVID-19 notifications in a day. The true number is likely higher. This surge in cases, driven by the Omicron variant, has brought us to another crossroads in this chaotic journey: reviewing quarantine and isolation measures and definitions. The result, as has generally been the case with many aspects of this pandemic, will not be a perfect solution, but instead a potpourri of pragmatism and precaution, that will hopefully set us in the right direction. The countrys leaders have broadly agreed on changes to isolation requirements and testing. Doubtless, these changes have been prompted by the unprecedented caseload presented to us by Omicron, and the downstream implications of it, namely overwhelming our testing capacity, as well as the consignment of numerous people to isolation or quarantine. Omicron can bypass vaccines and reinfect people who have already had COVID. In fact, a non peer-reviewed study from Japan concluded that this wily variant is more than four times more transmissible than Delta. If so, this potentially makes Omicron the most infectious disease that we have ever known a mind-blowing concept. The only silver lining to this cloud of contagion, and the other reason for redefining isolation and quarantine, is Omicrons apparent reduced virulence. Also, a preprint of a study from South Africa has reported that infection with Omicron generates an immune response to neutralise Delta, the variant that enjoyed prominence for much of this year. There is science behind the move to reduce the isolation period for those with COVID-19. Most transmissions of COVID-19 occur from between two days before symptoms appear and three days after. Viral shedding does occur beyond this for a few more days but at lower levels. In other words, someone with COVID-19 released from isolation at day five or seven could still transmit it, but the risk is much lower. The caveats here are that these apply to variants before Omicron, and perhaps Omicron behaves differently. For example, early data from the US and Norway suggest that Omicron has a shorter incubation period than Delta; therefore, any rules about leaving isolation that incorporate symptom duration will need to take that into account. There are literally millions of Omicron cases worldwide now so reliable data about viral shedding will soon be available. Statistics show the SCG has become more of a spinners graveyard in recent years at Test level but former Australian tweaker Steve OKeefe is hopeful that Mitch Swepson is handed a debut next week alongside Nathan Lyon against England in Sydney. Swepson, the 28-year-old Queensland leg-spinner, was given a ringing endorsement by Australian chairman of selectors George Bailey on Thursday but will only partner Lyon at the SCG in the fourth Ashes Test if conditions suit. With just under a week to go before the New Years Test on January 5, Australia dont have a clear picture yet as to what sort of pitch will be dished up but should it resemble the typical dry SCG deck of years gone by, Swepsons chances of becoming Australian Test player No.464 will certainly increase. With all-rounder Cameron Green developing into a useful option with the ball this series, Australia may be tempted to pick just two frontline pacemen, plus Lyon and Swepson, like they often did around the turn of the century in Sydney. A 34-foot yacht dubbed the maritime version of The Little Engine That Could is on track to produce a New Years Eve fairytale in the Sydney to Hobart with overall victory over its much larger rivals. On Thursday afternoon, White Bay 6 Azzurro was sitting on top of the handicap ladder and is the current favourite to take out the Tattersall Cup. To complete a famous victory, skipper Shane Kearns must get to Constitution Dock by 7.05am on Friday. We are on course to Tasman Island and doing 7 knots. We are very confident of reaching the finish line by 7.04am tomorrow morning, Kearns said on Thursday. Hong Kong: As the days of 2021 dwindled, so did any remaining traces of democracy in Hong Kong. On Wednesday, a vocal pro-democracy media outlet one of the last openly critical voices in the city closed after a police raid. Earlier in December, the opposition was shut out from elections under a new law that puts all candidates to a loyalty test. And monuments commemorating the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were taken down. Again and again throughout the year, the citys authorities and the central government in Beijing stamped out nearly everything the pro-democracy movement had stood for. Activists fled abroad or were locked up under the draconian National Security Law imposed on the city 18 months ago. Unions and other independent organisations closed down. Protesters hold slogans reading Protest Against Totalitarian Liquidation of Stand News and Support Press Freedom in Hong Kong in Taipei, Taiwan, on THursday. Credit:AP Where once Hong Kong allowed open opposition and questioning of the governments core policies and legitimacy ... any meaningful policy debates will now take place among a small circle of government loyalists, said Kurt Tong, partner at The Asia Group and former US consul general in Hong Kong and Macao. Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was even worse than her paedophile boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein, says prominent accuser Virginia Giuffre, because Maxwell used her wealth and charm to groom victims. In an interview with US website The Cut from her home in Perth, Western Australia, Giuffre said her husband woke her on Thursday morning with news of the verdict. Virginia Giuffre, pictured here in August 2019 in New York, says her husband woke her with news of Ghislaine Maxwells conviction. Credit:AP I was shaken awake to him saying, Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!. I said, I need a cup of coffee. And then I jumped out of bed. My middle son had just woken up, and I just was so excited to tell him. My kids have seen me go through hell and back. He gave me the biggest hug and was like, Mum, you did it! and that was a melting moment for me, my kid being proud. Giuffre is currently suing Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, in a Californian court, accusing Andrew of forcing her to have sex with him more than two decades ago when she was under 18 at the London home of former Epstein associate Maxwell, and abusing her at two of Epsteins homes. New York: A 2009 settlement agreement between the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, which bears directly on Giuffres civil lawsuit accusing Britains Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, will be made public early next week. In a joint order on Wednesday (Tuesday AEDT), US District Judges Lewis Kaplan and Loretta Preska in Manhattan ordered the agreements release on or about January 3, 2022, finding no reason to keep it under seal. Prince Andrew pictured with Virginia Giuffre at the home of Ghislaine Maxwell (right) in London in 2001. Kaplan oversees Giuffres lawsuit accusing Andrew of forcing her to have sex more than two decades ago when she was under 18 at the London home of former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and abusing her at two of Epsteins homes. Prince Andrew forced Plaintiff, a child, to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will, according to the complaint by Giuffre, who was previously known as Virginia Roberts. Philipsburg Every year, the Government of Sint Maarten provides financial support for a number of its students to obtain tertiary education. The granting of Study Financing takes into account current and future labor needs on Sint Maarten. As such, research into the labor market demand is an important part of the development of the Study Financing Priority List. The list should provide the true reflection of the occupational and educational needs of Sint Maarten so that Study Financing recipients have an increased chance of being hired for a job in their specific area of study when they have completed their studies. The previous Study Financing List will expire in 2022 and so, the Department of Education has begun the necessary steps into the establishment of the Study Financing Priority List 2023-2026. As such, JS Consulting Service, represented by its Research Coordinator Mr. Julio R. Romney has been assigned to conduct research into the short to medium-term labor demand or workforce needs on Sint Maarten in order to facilitate the establishment of the Study Financing Priority List for 2023-2026. The research team began conducting interviews and focus group sessions with stakeholders as well as carrying out survey questionnaires during the months of December 2021 and will continue to do so in January 2022. A focus group session with former recipients of Study Financing will be held on January 5, 2022, at 7 p.m. at the New Government Building in rooms 1 and 2. Through this medium, I am inviting persons who received Study Financing between the period 2011 and 2020, who have returned to St. Maarten, to be a part of the Focus Group Session. The objective of the focus group is to learn about the experience of students as it relates to them obtaining Study Financing based on the SF Priority List and their experiences in gaining employment in the labor market after completing their studies. To register for participation, persons who received Study Financing between the period 2011 and 2020 who have returned to St. Maarten are asked to send a brief notification including their name and contact information to the e-mail address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . I repeat, in order to register for participation, persons who received Study Financing between the period 2011 and 2020 who have returned to St. Maarten are asked to send a brief notification including their name and contact information to the e-mail address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Refreshment will be served to all focus group participants. I encourage the community of Sint Maarten, former Study Finance recipients, and the Business Community to provide the necessary support for this research, whether it is to fill out the survey or to take part in interviews, as this information is extremely beneficial in determining Sint Maartens Labor Market needs to adequately prepare our students who are the future of Sint Maarten. PHILIPSBURG:--- MP Pantophlet believes that one of the solutions to the capacity challenges that we are currently facing is debt cancellation. Debt cancellation will make the necessary funds available to hire additional legal experts to prepare the necessary legislation where needed and for government to meet other social responsibilities. Threatening the people of St. Maarten by saying that if there is no political agreement, the loans for liquidity support would become due in April 2022, is tantamount to bullying and blackmail in its highest form. The State Secretarys reason for delaying is because the countries did not comply with conditions and because there was no political commitment for an agreement that was reached on a civil servants level between the Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean countries. The State Secretary is right, it is not up to the civil servants to decide but to give advice and prepare the legislation. The final decision lies with the governments. What I find ironic, is that the State Secretary never mentioned anywhere in his statements about the discussions that were supposed to be held in October as to whether the advice of the IMF will be followed on turning the loans into grants or gifts. What I see is constant pressure to comply and when one realizes that based on capacity the government cant comply, this will be used as a reason for bringing in their own people to run the government. I am not seeking any support for this analysis but this is how I see the agenda that is being carried out at present. Another solution is to reduce the amount of reporting government does to the Committee for Financial Supervision to twice annually, allowing the civil servants who are tasked with this to carry out their regular functions in a more structured manner. By doing so it will also allow St. Maarten to implement the necessary reforms at its own pace. The challenge with capacity is also one of a financial nature. It is a global fact that governments all over the world attract workers not because of salaries, but because of a stable income and benefits such as pension that is not always offered by the private sector. The state Secretary said that we should always think about the people who have it hard because they benefit when we do the right things. Let me try to understand, the state secretary is saying that cutting the unemployment support (SSRP) from 80% to 60% was the right thing? Is the State Secretary saying that cutting operational costs/ civil servants income by 12.5% is the right thing? Is the State Secretary saying that threatening the people of St. Maarten with defaulting on the Naf 50 million Bond if the Minister of finance had continue with the floating of the bond the right thing? Is the State Secretary saying that holding St. Maarten Curacao and Aruba hostage and trampling on the Democracy of St. Eustatius the right thing? Is the state Secretary saying that the Naf 3 million that had to be returned to the Dutch government coffers the right thing? The following is what I think are the right things; Debt cancellation, turn the liquidity support into gifts, any financial costs to the reforms should be financed by the Dutch government be it actual finances or technical assistance for starters. This is the right thing and for those who constantly state that it is their money, that discussion is for another time because we will have to go back into their history on these islands. These are capacity solutions, stated MP Pantophlet. PHILIPSBURG:--- During the Thanksgiving & National Day of Prayer Services that are held annually on the first Sunday in December following the hurricane season and the second Sunday in January respectively a monetary collection is usually gathered. Over the past few years, food baskets were distributed, and additionally, a cash amount of just over NAF 10 000.00 guilders was accumulated. Together with the Department of Culture and the participating Church organizations consisting of the St Maarten/St. Martin Christian Council, St Maarten United Ministerial Foundation, Seventh Day Adventist Church, the decision was made to distribute food vouchers in the amount of NAF 200.00 to persons in need throughout the community. Persons receiving the food vouchers will not be able to purchase alcohol, cigarettes, appliances, cash-in, or transfer the value of the vouchers. In total 55 vouchers in the amount of NAF 11, 000.00 will be distributed with the additional funding received as a donation by the management of COST PRO Supermarket. The Minister of Education Culture Youth & Sport the Honorable drs. Rodolphe Samuel invited representatives of the different Church organizations to his office to receive the 55 food vouchers and thanked them for their continued efforts to provide essential humanitarian and spiritual services throughout the community on St. Maarten. Minister drs. Rodolphe Samuel also takes this opportunity to remind the public that on January 9th the National Day of Prayer under the theme Almighty God Let Your Culture of Divine Unity Rule, will be held at the Government Administration Building at 4:30 pm taking all COVID 19 protocols into consideration and pending any unforeseen circumstances. Identity and access management in 2022 - what will the future look like? As we enter into 2022, there is still a level of uncertainty in place. Its unclear what the future holds, as companies around the world still contend with the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote working has been encouraged by most organisations and the move to a hybrid working system has become business as usual, for the majority of businesses. Some have reduced their office space or done away with their locations altogether. Following best security practices With all this change in place, there are problems to deal with. According to research, 32.7% of IT admins say they are concerned about employees using unsecured networks to carry out that work. Alongside this, 74% of IT admins thought that remote work makes it harder for employees to follow best security practices. This need to manage security around remote work is no longer temporary. Instead, companies have to build permanent strategies around remote work and security. The coming year will also create a different landscape for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Here are some key predictions for next year and what to start preparing for in 2022: The reality of SMB spending around security will hit home SMBs had to undertake significant investments to adapt to remote working SMBs had to undertake significant investments to adapt to remote working, especially in comparison to their size. They had to undertake significant digital transformation projects that made it possible to deliver services remotely, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Weve seen a shift in mindset for these companies, which are now more tech-focused in their approach to problem solving. According to our research, 45% of SMBs plan to increase their spending towards IT services in 2022. Around half of all organisations think their IT budgets are adequate for their needs, while 14.5% of those surveyed believe they will need more, to cover all that needs to be done. Identity management spending to support remote work For others, the COVID-19 pandemic led to over-spending, just to get ahead of things and they will spend in 2022, looking at what they should keep and what they can reduce their spending on. Areas like identity management will stay in place, as companies struggle to support remote work and security, without this in place. However, on-premise IT spending will be reduced or cut, as those solutions are not relevant for the new work model. Services that rely on on-premise IT will be cut or replaced. The device will lead the way for security We rely on our phones to work and to communicate. In 2022, they will become central to how we manage access, to all our assets and locations, IT and physical. When employees can use company devices and their own phones for work, security is more difficult. IT teams have to ensure that theyre prepared for this, by making sure that these devices can be trusted. Wide use of digital certificates and strong MFA factors Rather than requiring a separate smart card or fingerprint reader, devices can be used for access using push authentication There are multiple ways that companies can achieve this, for example - By using digital certificates to identify company devices as trusted, an agent, or strong MFA factors, like a FIDO security key or mobile push authentication. Whichever approach you choose, this can prevent unauthorised access to IT assets and applications, and these same devices can be used for authentication into physical locations too. Rather than requiring a separate smart card or fingerprint reader, devices can be used for access using push authentication. Understanding human behaviour Alongside this, it is important to understand human behaviour. Anything that introduces an extra step for authentication can lead to employees taking workarounds. To stop this, it is important to put an employee education process in place, in order to emphasize on the importance of security. The next step is to think about adopting passwordless security, to further reduce friction and increase adoption. Lastly, as devices become the starting point for security and trust, remote device management will be needed too. More companies will need to manage devices remotely, from wiping an asset remotely if it gets lost or stolen, through to de-provisioning users easily and removing their access rights, when they leave the company. Identity will be a layer cake Zero Trust approaches to security Identity management relies on being able to trust that someone is who they say they are. Zero Trust approaches to security can support this effectively, particularly when aligned with least privilege access models. In order to turn theory into practical easy-to-deploy steps, companies need to use contextual access, as part of their identity management strategy. This involves looking at the context that employees will work in and putting together the right management approach for those circumstances. For typical employee behaviour, using two factor authentication might be enough to help them work, without security getting in the way. How enterprises manage, access and store identity data There will also be a shift in how enterprises manage, access, and store that identity data over time For areas where security is more important, additional security policies can be put over the top, to ensure that only the right people have access. A step-up in authentication can be added, based on the sensitivity of resources or risk-based adaptive authentication policies might be needed. There will also be a shift in how enterprises manage, access, and store that identity data over time, so that it aligns more closely with those use cases. Identity management critical to secure assets in 2022 There are bigger conversations taking place around digital identity for citizenship, as more services move online as well. Any moves that take place in this arena will affect how businesses think about their identity management processes too, encouraging them to look at their requirements in more detail. Overall, 2022 will be the year when identity will be critical to how companies keep their assets secure and their employees productive. With employees working remotely and businesses becoming decentralised, identity strategies will have to take the same approach. This will put the emphasis on strong identity management as the starting point for all security planning. Linked to the close of the Mayan calendar, a variety of rumors spread regarding ways the world could end back in 2012. One popular contender was Nibiru, a supposed planet that some claimed would collide with Earth at the end of that year. But despite the buzz, there's no scientific evidence supporting the alleged planet's existence and, of course, our planet survived 2012 without absorbing a massive impact. Nibiru has been linked to NASA by various bloggers. Because of this claimed connection, space agency officials put out a statement saying that no big planet was coming to destroy Earth in 2012. What follows below is the true science and history of this supposed rogue planet, with reference to a real object, Comet Elenin, that somehow got mixed up in the whole mess. And we'll also talk about another hypothetical world that may actually exist in the far outer solar system Planet Nine. The origins of the Nibiru myth The story began in 1976, when Zecharia Sitchin wrote "The Twelfth Planet," a book which used Stitchin's own unique translation of Sumerian cuneiform to identify a planet, Nibiru, orbiting the sun every 3,600 years. Several years later, Nancy Lieder, a self-described psychic, announced that the aliens she claimed to channel had warned her this planet would collide with Earth in 2003. After a collision-free year, the date was moved back to 2012, where it was linked to the close of the Mayan long-count period. When Comet Elenin appeared in 2011, many were concerned that it was the mysterious planet in disguise, despite the fact that planets and comets appear very different under a telescope. (A comet has a gas atmosphere, called a coma, and a tail, while a planet does not.) But instead of slamming into the Earth, the comet strayed too close to the sun and broke into pieces. The leftover fragments will continue on their path to the outer solar system for the next 12,000 years, still bits of comet and not a more cohesive planet. Evidence for Nibiru? Proponents of the fictitious planet note that, in 1984, a scientific paper was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters which discussed several infrared sources with "no counterparts" that turned up in a survey of the sky. Such surveys are common in astronomy and usually involve follow-ups that individually detail the more interesting sources. In the follow-up of the 1984 survey, most of the sources turned out to be distant galaxies. None were identified as planets. Both papers are available to the public. A planet with an orbit so eccentric that it took 3,600 years to orbit the sun would create instabilities inside our 4.5-billion-year-old solar system. After only a few trips, its gravity would have significantly disrupted the other planets, whose own gravitational pushes would have changed the hypothetical world's orbit significantly. The easiest and most verifiable piece of evidence arguing against the existence of the theoretical planet can be performed by anyone: According to the information available, a planet with a 3,600-year-long orbit that was due to impact Earth in 2012 should be available to the naked eye. Easily performed calculations show that, by April 2012, it would have been brighter than the faintest stars viewed from a city, and almost as bright as Mars at its dimmest. This would have made it visible to astronomers everywhere. The most common rebuttal to this is the cry of "Cover up!" However, there are hundreds of thousands of amateur astronomers around the world, many of whom own their own telescopes. On top of that, most of the thousands of professional astronomers are linked not to the government but rather to private universities. Astronomer David Morrison pointed out in 2012 that "NASA and the government get most of their information from these outside astronomers, not the other way around." Between the amateur and professional astronomers, there are plenty of people who would have noticed a new "star" in the sky. Nothing to fear Doomsday reports across the internet frequently incite fear, but it's interesting to note they are nothing new. People have been decrying the end of the world for hundreds of years. Rumors spread like wildfire on the internet, but the same technology can make it easier than ever to delve into the scientific evidence about such events. Planet Nine All of the above notwithstanding, there may actually be a big, undiscovered world lurking in the dark, cold depths of the outer solar system. The evidence for this hypothetical "Planet Nine" has been building over the past few years, as astronomers such as Mike Brown, Konstantin Batygin, Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo have noticed weird clustering in the orbits of small objects beyond Neptune. The best explanation, these researchers say, is an unseen "perturber" very far from the sun. Calculations suggest that this Planet Nine may be about 10 times more massive than Earth and orbit perhaps 600 times farther from the sun, on average, than our planet does. Astronomers around the world are scouring the sky with powerful telescopes as we speak, trying to spot Planet Nine directly. Finally, a note about the name: Brown and Batygin dubbed the putative world "Planet Nine" because, if discovered, it would "replace" Pluto as the solar system's ninth planet. (The International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet in 2006, you probably recall.) But some researchers (and many laypeople) still regard Pluto as the ninth planet and therefore use the term "Planet X" (or "Planet Next," or "Giant Planet Five") for the undiscovered object instead. This can get confusing, because "Planet X" was also the term used for a world once thought to be responsible for supposed oddities in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. American astronomer Percival Lowell came up with this theory, and he hunted for Planet X in the early 20th century. (Clyde Tombaugh's 1930 discovery of Pluto did not validate Lowell's hypothesis, however, because Pluto isn't big enough to jostle Uranus and Neptune in the way that Lowell imagined.) In any event, Planet Nine (or Planet X, if you prefer), may actually exist, and it's not coming to destroy Earth. So, it's very different than the mythical Nibiru. Nibiru on Star Trek Into Darkness A planet called Nibiru, although not associated with Earth's doomsday, featured briefly in the 2013 Star Trek film installment Star Trek Into Darkness. The planet appears in the opening scenes as a home of savage tribesmen and a supervolcano about to erupt. The planet, covered by a red jungle and an ocean deep enough to comfortably hide the Enterprise spaceship, is a target of exploration by the crew led by Captain James Kirk. However, things quickly go awry after Spock gets stranded on the super volcano while trying to stop the eruption, prompting the Captain to break the Prime Directive, which prohibits Star Trek explorers from interacting with alien civilizations. This article was updated on Dec. 30, 2021 by Space.com Senior Writer, Tereza Pultarova. Additional resources: U.S. government insists 2012 apocalypse is a myth Unidentified IRAS sources: Ultrahigh luminosity galaxies Unidentified point sources in the IRAS minisurvey Hypothetical Planet X Myths of the Mayan Long Count calendar Rabat, Dec 28,2021 (SPS)- The Progressive Democratic Youth Movement denounced on Monday the repression carried out by the Moroccan Makhzen regime against peaceful demonstrators, announcing its intention to engage in all forms of legal struggle to defend freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate. The National Bureau of the movement said in a statement that its members were not spared by this repression. A member of the Central Committee was also heard by the judicial police about his speech at the end of a protest action and about content published in 2019. In the same press release, the movement expresses its solidarity with the unemployed, students and pupils in their actions against the decisions of the Minister of Education and their legitimate fight for the right of everyone to a job without discriminatory conditions, stressing that "the repressive approach in dealing with the problems of the Moroccan people, in particular those of the youth, will only exacerbate the situation ".SPS 125/090/TRA Tracey Yurko, the chief legal officer, corporate secretary and a partner at Westport-based Bridgewater Associates, has been appointed Make-A-Wish Connecticuts board of directors chairwoman. She has served on the nonprofits board of directors since 2017. Credited with championing diversity and inclusion, particularly among women, Yurko is the recipient of the Corporate Counsels 2020 Women, Influence and Power in Law General Counsel of the Year award. It honors individuals who have made a difference in the legal profession. She previously graduated with honors from the Johns Hopkins University, received a graduate of sciences degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Make-A-Wish Connecticut has granted more than 3,600 wishes to local children. For more information, visit wish.org/ct. Home care services agency relocates operations The Assisted Living Services, Inc., a home care services agency, and the Assisted Living Technologies, its sister senior tech device company, have relocated their Fairfield office to Westport. The new 700-square-foot office is now located at 991 Post Road in Westport. Assisted Living Services will host an official grand opening celebration in the spring. The expansion took place so that the company could better serve Connecticuts senior population. The new office offers easy access to the Westports downtown and is close to many other assisted living facilities and senior retirement communities. It also allows Assisted Living Services caregivers, and Assisted Living Technologies system installers to travel quickly to other communities in Fairfield County to keep up with consumer demand. Visit assistedlivingct.com, or call 203-634-8668 to learn more. Assisted Living Technologies was ranked on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies. Visit assistedlivingtechnologies.com for more information. New director of sales for real estate office location in Westport The Brown Harris Stevens privately owned real estate brokerage firm has announced that Alison Hewitt has joined it as its director of sales in Connecticut. The role is newly created. Hewitt will be working with 250 agents, and the firms executive team across the firms six Connecticut offices, which include a location at 56 Post Road East in Westport. Hewitt has previously been an office manager for two of the Houlihan Lawrence real estate firms locations in Connecticut. Hewitt has been a member of the Houlihan Lawrence management team since 2003. She ran the operations of the offices, and oversaw 80 of the Houlihan Lawrence firms real estate agents. Hewitt has close to 20 years of experience in the real estate industry including in the residential, and commercial areas of the business. Visit bhsusa.com to learn more. Offices closed due to holiday Weston announced all municipal buildings, including town hall, the library and the senior center will be closed on Dec. 31 due to the holiday. The transfer station will be open on Dec. 31, but closed Jan. 1. Taxes due in Weston Weston officials are reminding residents that the second installment of real estate and personal property, as well as supplemental motor vehicle taxes are due and payable on Jan. 1. Failure to pay by Feb. 1 will result in a late payment with interest of 1.5 percent per month starting with the Jan. 1 due date. The minimum interest charge is $2. Anyone who no longer has a vehicle they received a bill for, must present proof to the Tax Assessor, who can be reached at 203-222-2606. Please call 203-222-2697 with any questions. Taxpayers have several options to pay their bill. They can come in during town hall hours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., place the payment in the drop box outside the side entrance to the Town Hall, mail it, pay it online at www.westonct.gov or pay by phone at 855-844-0237. Service fees will apply. Anyone who didnt receive a tax bill should contact the tax collector or check online for payment amounts at the town website noted above. Payment online does include a fee. Failure to receive a tax bill does not excuse the taxpayer from tax and delinquent interest. President Joe Biden plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday afternoon amid tensions surrounding Russia's military buildup on the border with Ukraine. During a conversation requested by the Russian government, Biden plans to tell Putin that while the United States is prepared to proceed diplomatically, it also stands ready to respond to further incursions with economic sanctions, NATO reinforcement and assistance to Ukrainian efforts to defend itself, according to a senior administration official. The conversation will mark the second Biden-Putin call in a month. In a Dec. 7 videoconference, Biden warned his counterpart not to mount a new invasion and laid out the economic and security costs that Russia would face if the Kremlin went down that path. "The Biden administration continues to engage in extensive diplomacy with our European Allies and partners, consulting and coordinating on a common approach in response to Russia's military buildup on the border with Ukraine," National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement. She said the call would cover "a range of topics, including upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia." The planned call comes during a week when Biden has been away from Washington, splitting his time between Rehoboth Beach and Wilmington, Del., and staying largely out of public view. Russia is looking to extract security concessions from the United States and its European partners, while simultaneously threatening a new invasion of Ukraine, a U.S. partner nation that is not a member of NATO. Moscow has made several demands, saying Washington needs to provide written guarantees that NATO will no longer expand eastward, a point the White House has dismissed as a nonstarter. The Biden administration has stressed that Russia will need to begin showing signs of de-escalation before any sort of "diplomatic end game" is possible, a point repeated by the senior administration official previewing the call to reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. The official noted that the United States has continued to observe a "significant Russian troop presence" near the Ukrainian border that is not static and continues "to be gravely concerned" about what moves the Russians have been making near the Ukrainian border. The official said it was not clear why Putin had requested the call but that "it will take a high level of engagement to address this and to try to find a path of de-escalation." "I think both leaders believe that there is genuine value in direct leader-to-leader engagement, that we are in a moment of crisis and have been for some weeks now given the Russian buildup," the official said. The administration has previously warned of a variety of responses, which the official reiterated Wednesday. Those include sanctions exceeding those that were imposed in 2014, after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine; increasing the U.S. force posture in Europe; and providing Ukraine with additional material assistance to help it defend itself against a potential invasion. "We are united with our allies in our willingness to engage in principled diplomacy with Russia," the senior official briefing reporters on Wednesday said, adding that the United States is in close contact with allies and "will proceed on the principle of nothing about them without them." Those contacts included a Wednesday conversation between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a statement, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the call focused on "Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's borders, efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia." The advertised contacts also include planned meetings of the NATO-Russia Council, as well as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and talks between Russia and the United States in Geneva as part of the Strategic Security Dialogue, all expected to take place in the second week of January. United States and Russian delegations are planning to sit down for security talks Jan. 10. But the senior administration official previewing the call said, "It is not our expectation that President Biden and President Putin will participate in the session." The Biden administration has said that talks must proceed on the basis of reciprocity and that the president plans to bring up concerns that Washington has about Russia's activities in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe. Since October, Putin has massed tens of thousands of Russian troops, as well as materiel, near the border with Ukraine, and the Biden administration has said the Russian military is making plans for a new invasion. An unclassified U.S. intelligence analysis revealed by The Washington Post earlier this year found that Russia was preparing to move as many as 175,000 personnel in preparation for an invasion, though the White House has said Putin hasn't made a decision about whether to launch an offensive. U.S. officials and military analysts have predicted that if Putin decides to proceed, the offensive could take place in late January or February. The Kremlin has denied any such offensive is in the offing but has taken advantage of the situation to force long-sought, wide-ranging talks with Washington on European security issues. The White House has said the talks will take place in a variety of formats, not only bilaterally between Washington and Moscow but also through the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE. Biden administration officials have emphasized that the United States is not planning to make any deals about security in Europe without the involvement of its European allies. - - - The Washington Post's Paul Sonne contributed to this report. STAMFORD For Dr. Asha Shah, director of infectious diseases at Stamford Hospital, the best word to describe 2021 has been marathon. For Shah, who heads the department most focused on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 at the hospital, the process to get the virus under control has been a slow and often painful experience. Weve had great successes and weve had clear time periods where weve felt defeated, Shah said recently. The successes have been obvious. According to the hospitals data, the medical institution has vaccinated roughly 88,000 people, a figure equal to 65 percent of Stamfords total population. That has been a major factor in Stamford becoming one of the most vaccinated cities in the state. But the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19 over the summer, as well as the ongoing spike in cases of the omicron variant of the virus, have represented significant hurdles along the way, she said. Its just all about having stamina to get through each bump along the road, Shah said. At the end of 2021, Stamford Hospital has essentially returned to normal pre-pandemic operations, administrators said. Financially, it was a banner year, according to Kathy Silard, CEO of the hospital, as patients returned in large numbers after many had forgone treatment during the heart of the pandemic in 2020. Silard said about 95 percent of the goals laid out in the medical facilitys three-year master plan had been achieved, a sign that progress was made even as the hospital had to deal with the devastating pandemic. The challenges for 2021 were we had to continue to evolve and learn about COVID but we also had to make sure that we were continuing to execute on the strategies we had set forth for ourselves, she said. Some of those goals were to create partnerships with other organizations. One of the biggest success stories is an ongoing relationship with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Silard said. Dr. Steve Lo, a medical oncologist and co-chair of the cardio-oncology unit at Stamford Hospital, said the partnership has proven to be beneficial to both physicians and patients. While the hospital has had a partnership with Dana-Farber for around five years, the relationship became more involved around October of last year, he said. We didnt want a relationship where we just put their name on our sign and thats it, Lo said. These days, physicians from the Dana-Farber institute are collaborating with doctors at Stamford Health on treatment plans for patients. I think probably the most important benefit to our patients is that youre having input from a world-class institution, Lo said. That input can also be seen during virtual meetings where a patient recently diagnosed with cancer meets with a panel of physicians. Through the partnership, medical experts from Dana-Farber sit on those panels, which before COVID-19 were normally done in person. The caliber of the physicians who attend these ... boards are incredible, Lo said. The relationship also includes access to Dana-Farbers clinical trials. Currently, a drug-based intervention for chronic lymphocytic leukemia is being offered at the hospital through the clinical trial partnership. Patients from New Jersey and Pennsylvania have come to Stamford Hospital for the treatment, Lo said. For Stamford residents, it means the chance of cutting out long and repeated trips to medical centers that are hours away. I dont want my patient who is sick to go driving three hours into Boston to get a consultation, he said. In the world of virtual, we should be able to do it from home. In the cardiology department, a partnership with the Columbia University Irving Medical Center has resulted in specialized surgeons from that institution performing operations in Stamford every week. We can offer our patients world class cardio-surgical care right here in Stamford instead of them traveling to New York, said Dr. David Hsi, chief of cardiology. Dr. Arzhang Fallahi, director of interventional cardiology, said the volume of patients the department is seeing has returned to pre-pandemic levels. In 2020, there was a noticeable drop in cardiac procedures nationwide as elective procedures were halted, and it is believed some patients delayed treatment due to the fear of contracting COVID-19 if they visited the hospital during the worst stretches of the pandemic, he said. Now, with the advent of vaccines and the virus being more under control, operations have returned to near normal. People are coming back to see their healthcare providers, and as a result, were starting to see those patients come through, Fallahi said. As 2022 begins, Silard said the hospital will continue to work on hiring and staff retention all workers received a performance-based bonus this year. And battling COVID-19 is far from being a thing of the past. While patients still come in with the virus, some the vaccinated patients with breakout cases normally dont need serious interventions, Silard said. The sick ones are the unvaccinated ones, Silard said. That trend continues, Shah said, as only two or three of the patients at Stamford Hospital with COVID-19 by Dec. 20 were vaccinated. The other 20 or so COVID-19 patients were all unvaccinated. On the other hand, the hospital like those throughout the country is now seeing an uptick in patients with the virus: The overall number of patients in the hospital with diagnosed COVID-19 shot up from four to 22 in just two weeks, she said. Its not going away, Shah said. COVID is not going to go away. ignacio.laguarda@stamfordadvocate.com NEW CANAAN The town canceled a planned distribution of over 2,600 at-home COVID test kits on Thursday as the states shipment has been delayed. The test kits did not arrive from California by the morning as the governors office had expected, New Canaan First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said Thursday. New Canaan was to receive only enough test kits for about 500 families and the SignUpGenius app was sold out within minutes yesterday, partly because residents signed up for multiple family members rather than only one sign up per family, Moynihan wrote in an update to the town on Thursday. Those families that have received time slots for pickup of test kits will be notified by email when a new delivery plan is scheduled, which will likely be next week, he said. Moynihan said that the state health department is currently focused on hospitalization numbers and referred to a report by Gov. Ned Lamont yesterday that said 73.9% of the 1,113 currently hospitalized in Connecticut are not fully vaccinated. We therefore strongly encourage those that are unvaccinated to get vaccinated, and urged eligible residents to schedule appointments for boosters. In the same update, Moynihan reported 204 positive COVID-19 cases versus 255 cases for all of last week. However, while official case reports are down this week, we recognize that our current cases in New Canaan are higher because at home COVID-19 tests are not required to be reported, Moynihan said. The state does not require reporting of at-home tests because they are not done in a certified facility, the first selectman explained. On Wednesday, the first selectman said that he would not be instituting a mask mandate in the village, however, he cautioned residents to wear masks when attending non-family gatherings indoors due to the increased community transmission we are seeing. To date, New Canaan has had 157 break-through cases out of 16,189 fully vaccinated residents for a 0.97 percent case rate. HARTFORD A Hartford man was charged after using a fake positive COVID-19 test to avoid appearing at a bond hearing late last month, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice. On Tuesday, police charged Junior Jumpp, 31, with one count each of forgery in the second degree and fabricating physical evidence. The arrest warrant states Jumpp was out on bond after being charged in connection with several pending criminal cases. One of the conditions of his release was that he not be arrested with any other crimes, the Division of Criminal Justice, said. Jumpp was then arrested by Hartford and South Windsor police on Nov. 16 and Nov. 26. Due to these arrests and not complying with his release conditions, a judge ordered him to appear in New Britain Superior Court Nov. 30, according to the DCJ. The day before the hearing, Nov. 29, Jumpps lawyer told the judge and states attorneys office that he received a screenshot from Jumpp. The screenshot appeared to be a positive COVID-19 test notification, according to the DCJ. The judge excused Jumpp from appearing the next day. However, an investigation revealed Jumpp fabricated and forged the notification to prevent him from having to appear for the bond review, the DCJ said. For this case, Jumpp is being held on a $25,000 bond. He currently has 11 pending cases at the superior court in New Britain and one pending case at the superior court in Hartford, which will be transferred to New Britain, according to the DCJ. Jumpps second-degree forgery and fabrication of evidence charges are both felonies punishable by one to five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine, the DCJ said. He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 3, 2022 in New Britain. liz.hardaway@hearst.com GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) A man is in custody after his father's body was found in a building behind his home in Georgia. Steve Joe Andrade, 26, of Gainesville, was caught just hours after Tuesday's discovery when officers pulled him over, about four miles from the home where Esteban Andrade, 52, was found dead, the Hall County Sheriff's Office said. STAMFORD People stumble into the vaccination site at Scalzi Park looking COVID-19 tests all the time. Oscar Flores works at the clinic run by Community Health Center. While tending to people in line for a vaccination, he has to periodically let frustrated residents down easily. No, we didnt get a shipment today, he told one woman asking about their inventory. A second later, he translated the same message to a man in Spanish. Thursday afternoon, the circumstances were a little different. There actaully were supposed to be tests at Scalzi Park starting at 4 p.m., but the cargo never arrived. The city anticipated receiving thousands of COVID-19 rapid tests but the state ran into issues at the last minute. In response, Stamford officials had to cancel the citys distribution efforts previously scheduled to post up at parks across the city. This is very disappointing news, as I know many Stamford residents were hoping to access these test kits, Mayor Caroline Simmons said Thursday morning in a press release. A plan to get 500,000 at-home COVID-19 tests kits to state residents before New Years Eve appears unlikely after Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday evening acknowledged an issue with the deal made to purchase the kits from a California company. If the state, and consequently the city, do receive test kits, Stamford officials said a new distribution plan would be announced. Simmons and local health officials previously said they would prioritize testing high-risk residents and individuals that have symptoms or have had a known exposure to COVID-19 with the shipment of antigen tests earmarked for the city. In addition to the drive- and walk-through sites at Scalzi, Cummings and Kocziuscko parks, community organizations like the NAACP and Building One Community would also get tests to distribute to their clients and members, the mayor said. Not knowing that Stamfords shipment of 17,010 test kits had not arrived, Angelique Antonioli started waiting in line at Scalzi Park just before 3:30 p.m. I tested positive two weeks ago, and I just wanted to be sure I was done, the 22-year-old said. Everyone in her house had COVID, and she was eager to be done with the ordeal after a negative test. Antoniolis relatives were all vaccinated. However, she wasnt. Honestly, I was scared, she said. I didnt know what was in it. But I think I actually do want to get vaccinated after this. Libby Fatum, 84, was also hunting down tests from the elusive shipment of rapid kits. As a high-risk individual, she wanted to get an at-home test before seeing her family in the new year. They hadnt celebrated Christmas together, she explained, and after two years of relative isolation, she was eager to see them. At my age, two years is a long time, Fatum said, before giving a deflated sigh an pivoting back to her car. Stamford schools are scheduled to receive an additional 34,000 test kits a total of 68,000 individual tests on Sunday, specifically for K-through-12 schools, through a partnership with the state Department of Education. Lauren Meyer, special assistant to the mayor, told The Stamford Advocate that the latter delivery is still expected to arrive on time. We have not heard anything thus far about the school shipment, she said in an email. If we do, we will make sure to share it. Like almost every other municipality in Connecticut, Stamford is in the throes of an unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases. Stamford Health administered 3,700 tests to patients during the week of Christmas, according to hospital CEO Kathy Silard. The positivity rate was about 26 percent among those tests, up from 13 percent the week before. We already know that omicron is very contagious, although less virulent than we have seen with the previous variants such as delta, Silard said during Simmonss Wednesday press conference. At Stamford Health, contagiousness has translated into a higher amount of patients. Silard reported that there are currently a little less than 50 COVID patients at the hospital. Im happy to tell you that a lot of patients are getting discharged very quickly within a day, or two or three days, she continued. But we also have some seriously ill individuals. Silard said about 75 percent of the patients getting treatment at the hospital are unvaccinated. All the critically ill people in the ICU were unvaccinated as of Wednesday. If that doesnt speak loudly to you the importance of getting vaccinated, Im not really sure what will, she said before using the opportunity to lay out how people should approach COVID testing in the coming days and weeks. Silards approach was three-pronged. First and foremost, people exposed to COVID experiencing symptoms of the virus should seek testing promptly, she said. Exposed individuals without symptoms should wait at least five days since their contact before seeking out a test to avoid false negative results. Finally, those with no symptoms or recent exposures should hold on to any COVID tests in their possession in the event that you need them because one of those two events have occurred. veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com Published: 30 December 2021 Prices of old dwellings in housing companies rose in large towns in November According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, prices of old dwellings in housing companies rose in all the largest towns in November compared with the previous year. However, the rise in prices has calmed down in many cities relative to the early part of the year. Prices went up by 3.6 per cent in the whole country. Compared with October, prices remained nearly unchanged in the whole country. In November, four per cent more sales of old dwellings in blocks of flats and terraced houses were made through real estate agencies than one year ago. Development of prices of old dwellings in housing companies by month in large cities in 2015 to 2021M11, index 2015=100 Among large towns, prices of old dwellings in housing companies rose most in Turku and Helsinki compared with the corresponding period of last year. Since 2015, prices have gone up by 23 per cent in Turku and by 29 per cent in Helsinki. In Greater Helsinki, prices of dwellings in blocks of flats rose by 6.5 per cent and in terraced houses by 3.0 per cent from one year ago. Examined by major region, prices of old dwellings rose on the annual level most in Southern Finland in November. Prices fell in Eastern and Western Finland. Compared to 2015, prices have risen by almost 16 per cent in Southern Finland. Prices have fallen by nearly one per cent in Northern Finland and by good two per cent in Western Finland. Prices have fallen by nearly 19 per cent in Eastern Finland. Development of prices of old dwellings in housing companies by month in major regions 20152021M11, index 2015=100 Prices per square metre of old dwellings in housing companies, November 2021 1) Area Price, EUR/m Index 2015=100 Monthly change, % Yearly change, % Whole country 2,269 109.1 0.2 3.6 Greater Helsinki 4,212 122.5 0.6 5.4 Rest of the country (whole country - Greater Helsinki) 1,716 97.5 -0.3 1.8 Satellite municipalities 2) 2,257 102.1 6.5 4.5 Helsinki 5,046 129.1 0.7 6.8 Espoo-Kauniainen 3,717 113.0 -0.6 2.3 Vantaa 2,914 110.5 2.5 4.3 Tampere 2,913 118.7 -0.1 5.8 Turku 2,336 123.1 -0.5 9.2 Oulu 1,877 106.4 1.6 6.0 Total value of dwelling transactions grew by 7 per cent in the third quarter from last year 1) Preliminary data2) Satellite municipalities = Hyvinkaa, Jarvenpaa, Kerava, Kirkkonummi, Nurmijarvi, Riihimaki, Sipoo, Tuusula and Vihti Preliminary data on the total number and value of dwelling sales have been supplemented. In the third quarter, the number of dwelling sales in the whole country rose by 2.6 per cent from the corresponding period last year. The combined number of dwelling sales in large towns (Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa, Oulu, Turku) grew by around one per cent in the third quarter. Outside large towns, the numbers of sales grew by close on four per cent. In January to September, the value of dwelling sales amounted to EUR 15.4 billion, which is 27 per cent more than one year ago. In large towns, the value of sales increased by 26 per cent and in the rest of the country by 29 per cent from last year. In January to September, the value of sales compared to the value of the whole country was 46 per cent in Greater Helsinki and 61 per cent in large towns. Statistics Finland collects data on the total number and value of dwelling sales into StatFin table 12r3 . The data in the table are updated retrospectively in connection with monthly statistics as concerns old dwellings in housing companies and building permits granted. The statistics on the prices of old dwellings in housing companies are based on the Tax Administration's data on dwellings (data on ownership of dwellings in housing companies). The numbers published from data on dwellings should not be used to assess the activeness of transactions in the latest periods. When the monthly statistics on prices of old dwellings in housing companies are published for the first time, they cover approximately 60 per cent of all transactions made in the latest statistical reference month. The monthly data become revised during the following months so that the final data for the year are published in the release concerning the first quarter of the following year. Further information about data revisions can be found in separate tables. The numbers of old dwellings in housing companies sold through real estate agents are based on the data from the price monitoring service of the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies. As a rule, these data do not become revised retrospectively. Data on prices of dwellings in housing companies in different areas and by house type are available at stat.fi/til/ashi/tau_en.html. The tables also contain data on the prices per square metre at the municipal and postal code levels and on the numbers of transactions. If only a few transactions are known in the area, a couple of deviating cases may significantly affect the average price for an area and the price index. Instead of individual monthly and annual changes, the development of prices should be examined over a longer time period and not only for a particular point in time. Source: Prices of dwellings in housing companies, Statistics Finland Inquiries: Petri Kettunen 029 551 3558, Elina Peltoniemi 029 551 3088, asuminen.hinnat@stat.fi Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala Publication in pdf-format (358.5 kB) Updated 30.12.2021 Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Prices of dwellings in housing companies [e-publication]. ISSN=2323-8801. November 2021. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 7.1.2022]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/ashi/2021/11/ashi_2021_11_2021-12-30_tie_001_en.html Published: 30 December 2021 Preliminary data: Turnover of construction enterprises grew in November According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, the working day adjusted turnover of construction enterprises grew by 9.9 per cent in November 2021 compared with November 2020. Annual change in working day adjusted turnover of construction, % (TOL 2008) Turnover increased compared with the previous month According to the preliminary data, seasonally adjusted turnover in construction increased by 0.7 percent in November 2021 from October. In October, seasonally adjusted turnover increased by 0.4 per cent and in September by 1.9 per cent from one month ago. Change in seasonally adjusted turnover of construction from the previous month, % (TOL 2008) The calculation of indices of turnover of construction is based on the Tax Administrations data on self-assessed taxes, which are supplemented with Statistics Finlands sales inquiry. The monthly turnover of construction enterprises can have even large variations due to invoicing practices. The final invoice for major projects may be recorded in the sales of one month, even if the project had required the work of several months or years. The factors caused by the variation in the number of weekdays are taken into account in adjustment for working days. This means taking into consideration the lengths of months, different weekdays and holidays. In addition, seasonal variation is eliminated from seasonally adjusted series, on account of which it makes sense to compare observations of two successive months as well. The data for the latest month are preliminary and are released at a delay of around four weeks. The data may become significantly revised particularly in coming months. Source: Index of turnover of construction, Statistics Finland Inquiries: Lauri Pullinen 029 551 3043, Heli Suonio 029 551 2481, rakennus.suhdanne@stat.fi Head of Department in charge: Katri Kaaja Publication in pdf-format (236.3 kB) Updated 30.12.2021 Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Index of turnover of construction [e-publication]. ISSN=1798-5935. November 2021. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 7.1.2022]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/rlv/2021/11/rlv_2021_11_2021-12-30_tie_001_en.html Blog Archive Apr 2010 (22) May 2010 (25) Jun 2010 (8) Jul 2010 (12) Aug 2010 (18) Sep 2010 (19) Oct 2010 (29) Nov 2010 (30) Dec 2010 (18) Jan 2011 (13) Feb 2011 (21) Mar 2011 (23) Apr 2011 (19) May 2011 (31) Jun 2011 (36) Jul 2011 (46) Aug 2011 (26) Sep 2011 (12) Oct 2011 (15) Nov 2011 (17) Dec 2011 (7) Jan 2012 (18) Feb 2012 (4) Mar 2012 (12) Apr 2012 (18) May 2012 (10) Jun 2012 (21) Jul 2012 (8) Aug 2012 (15) Sep 2012 (7) Oct 2012 (17) Nov 2012 (20) Dec 2012 (10) Jan 2013 (58) Feb 2013 (59) Mar 2013 (60) Apr 2013 (98) May 2013 (135) Jun 2013 (204) Jul 2013 (293) Aug 2013 (351) Sep 2013 (363) Oct 2013 (348) Nov 2013 (374) Dec 2013 (442) Jan 2014 (547) Feb 2014 (476) Mar 2014 (526) Apr 2014 (527) May 2014 (469) Jun 2014 (408) Jul 2014 (472) Aug 2014 (522) Sep 2014 (443) Oct 2014 (472) Nov 2014 (497) Dec 2014 (536) Jan 2015 (539) Feb 2015 (520) Mar 2015 (582) Apr 2015 (658) May 2015 (679) Jun 2015 (673) Jul 2015 (728) Aug 2015 (803) Sep 2015 (923) Oct 2015 (924) Nov 2015 (802) Dec 2015 (791) Jan 2016 (782) Feb 2016 (835) Mar 2016 (929) Apr 2016 (866) May 2016 (947) Jun 2016 (1044) Jul 2016 (882) Aug 2016 (1035) Sep 2016 (967) Oct 2016 (918) Nov 2016 (854) Dec 2016 (885) Jan 2017 (879) Feb 2017 (777) Mar 2017 (896) Apr 2017 (872) May 2017 (850) Jun 2017 (851) Jul 2017 (971) Aug 2017 (1040) Sep 2017 (998) Oct 2017 (1144) Nov 2017 (1046) Dec 2017 (838) Jan 2018 (873) Feb 2018 (769) Mar 2018 (885) Apr 2018 (809) May 2018 (827) Jun 2018 (820) Jul 2018 (840) Aug 2018 (854) Sep 2018 (844) Oct 2018 (851) Nov 2018 (870) Dec 2018 (912) Jan 2019 (919) Feb 2019 (827) Mar 2019 (957) Apr 2019 (913) May 2019 (1007) Jun 2019 (935) Jul 2019 (950) Aug 2019 (936) Sep 2019 (910) Oct 2019 (920) Nov 2019 (874) Dec 2019 (908) Jan 2020 (941) Feb 2020 (849) Mar 2020 (898) Apr 2020 (848) May 2020 (822) Jun 2020 (789) Jul 2020 (819) Aug 2020 (858) Sep 2020 (841) Oct 2020 (873) Nov 2020 (812) Dec 2020 (780) Jan 2021 (765) Feb 2021 (716) Mar 2021 (819) Apr 2021 (805) May 2021 (815) Jun 2021 (824) Jul 2021 (830) Aug 2021 (832) Sep 2021 (791) Oct 2021 (754) Nov 2021 (683) Dec 2021 (693) Jan 2022 (140) The number of women shareholders or associates in companies in Romania was, at the end of November 2021, of 571,596, increasing compared to October, these having a share of 36.87% in total shareholders or associates, show the data of the National Office of the Trade Register (ONRC) consulted by AGERPRES. At the end of October, the ONRC data recorded 570,527 women, respectively a share of 36.91% in total shareholders or associates. According to centralized data, at the end of November 2021, there were 978,534 men shareholders or associates (63.13%) in the 1,102,777 active companies in Romania, Agerpres.ro informs. The total number of associates / empowered individual shareholders was, in the mentioned period, 1,550,130. ONRC statistics show that the highest number of women shareholders / associates was registered in Bucharest - 126,420 (36.01%), Cluj - 31,086 (35.79%), Ilfov - 28,328 (37.37%) and Timis - 25,959 (35.98%), and the lowest in Covasna - 3,577 (36.15%), Mehedinti - 3,797 (37.51%) and Ialomita - 4,150 (37.54%). Approximately 100,100 persons, Romanian and foreign citizens, with over 25,100 means of transportation (including 7,100 trucks) have carried out verification formalities at border crossings nationwide, in the last 24 hours, the General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs on Thursday, agerpres reports. According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, approximately 46,900 people with 11,500 means of transportation were at the entry points, while 53,200 persons with 13,600 means of transportation were at the exit points.The most crossed borders were:- Air border - approximately 41,500 persons- Hungarian border - approximately 25,600 persons and 10,900 means of transportation- Moldavian border - approximately 13,000 persons and 4,100 means of transportation- Bulgarian border - approximately 12,100 persons and 6,500 means of transportation.Moreover, 14 foreign citizens were denied entry, for not meeting legal conditions, and 12 Romanian citizens were barred from leaving the country due to various legal reasons. This year, the Royal Family organized 237 public events in the Capital, in communities throughout the country and abroad on military, diplomatic, economic, educational, social, sports, health, scientific and artistic topics, agerpres reports. In 2021, members of the Royal Family numbered 17 presences in localities in the country (Cluj-Napoca, Cernica, Predeal, Cisnadioara, Ploiesti, Chisinau-Cris, Alba Iulia, Sinaia, Horezu, Savarsin - eight times) and seven visits abroad (Great Britain, Poland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Turkey - online participation), according to the information published on the Facebook page of the Royal Family.Also, among the activities of the year that ends are mentioned 14 video speeches of the Custodian of the Crown and Prince Radu addressed to the Romanian society and on topics related to COVID-19, the Red Cross, the Royal Foundation Margareta of Romania and aspects regarding the special situation in which the Romanian society found itself in 2020 and new messages sent by Her Majesty to high dignitaries of the world and to some institutions and organizations in the country under the conditions of isolation caused by COVID-19 pandemic.At the same time, two important speeches of Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Crown, on issues related to Romania, the European Union and NATO are noted: the Royal Evening for the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Bucharest; Christmas message addressed to Romanians by Her Majesty Margareta.Crown Custodian Margareta is the most important female personality in Romania (Forbes Romania 2021).According to the source, 47 schools, high schools, universities and organizations bear royal names - in Romania and in the Republic of Moldova; 67 institutions and organizations have High Royal Patronage - in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, France and the United Kingdom; annually, eight university scholarships are personally awarded by Her Majesty the Custodian of the Crown and by HRH Prince Radu.At the end of 2021, 37 million hits were registered on the Romania Regala Ro website.All public actions of the Royal Family were covered financially by the Association Of Her Majesty's House and the Royal Family's Collection Foundation. The Government has ticked all the milestones that Romania still had to reach for December 2021 in the application of the National Recovery and Resilience Program (PNRR), the Minister of European Investments and Projects, Dan Vilceanu announced after the Government meeting. He mentioned that the Executive adopted in Thursday's meeting the Emergency Ordinance on the Water Supply and Sewerage Service Law and the Railway Infrastructure Development Strategy 2021-2025. He said that the talks on the PNRR's renegotiations had been resolved and that there were still three milestones to be met, but not by the Government, but by the agreement between the EBRD and the European Investment Fund. He explained that the Executive had seven milestones to tick in Thursday's meeting. "Today we had seven milestones that we closed and here I refer to the emergency ordinance on water supply and sewerage service Law, Law no. 241 of 2006, Railway Infrastructure Development Strategy 2021-2025. (...) Also today we operationalized the group (...) from the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization and we adopted the Government decision on approving the cyber security strategy. The memorandum on financing agreement on the financing agreement between the European Investment Fund and the Government of Romania for the creation of the venture capital fund was also adopted today," added Vilceanu. Vilceanu also said that the government decision regarding school dropout was also adopted, and the Minister of Education issued the order regarding the criteria. He also stated that a few days ago, the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity published in the Official Journal the Order on the Working Committee on Amendments and a New Law on Pensions, and the Ministry of Health published the order on the prioritization criteria for the permanence center, Agerpres.ro informs. "Also, six other objectives have already been achieved and here I make a brief review, the entry into force of the law on 5G network security, the Reform Implementation Unit at the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, cash registers at the Ministry of Finance, Tax Authority - ANAF and also the Government Ordinance on the financial flows in PNRR and, at the Ministry of Justice, the entry into force of the Government Decision on the Anticorruption Strategy," added Vilceanu. He said that these are 21 milestones that Romania had to tick by the end of the year. "I would like to make a clarification regarding the contracting of the consulting for the Pension Law: a memorandum was adopted at the last meeting, which clearly specifies the timetable for contacting this consulting. Basically, through that memorandum we assumed within the Government that the consulting will be contacted with the World Bank," said Vilceanu. What does pet insurance cover? It depends on the specific plan. Standard pet health insurance will cover most accidents and injuries. Still, you can also buy a policy that covers only routine vet visits for checkups and vaccinations, usually called wellness plans. "Things like ultrasounds, blood tests, or procedures such as MRIs or CAT scans -- they're now available [for pets]," said Dr. Jerry Klein, Chief Veterinary Officer for the American Kennel Club. How does pet insurance work? Pet insurance is a policy that comes with a monthly premium. With pet insurance, if your pet is sick or injured, you pay the bill up front and submit a claim for reimbursement. You can take your pet to a licensed veterinarian and then submit a claim to get reimbursed for issues that are covered under your pet insurance plan. What is the best pet insurance? The best pet insurance for you will depend on a combination of different elements, mainly your budget and your pet's needs. How We Found the Best Pet Insurance Companies So, if you invested $5,000 today in the Fidelity MSCI Information Technology ETF, how might that investment grow in 15 years with regular monthly contributions? This fund doesn't have a track record that long, but the index it tracks has a 15.1% return since inception in 2002. If you invested $100 per month on top of that initial $5,000 investment, with a 15.1% annual return, you would have roughly $115,000 saved by the time your child first steps on that campus. Of course, you would continue to invest for the next three years -- for the sophomore through senior years -- so by the time your child is a senior, youd have about $185,000 saved. That is enough to pay for four years of college and then some for the next kid. Of course, the past 15 years has been a strong period for stocks overall, so you shouldn't assume that you'll be able to match that 15.1% going forward. Moreover, you might have less than 15 years before your child finishes high school. Either way, you may have to contribute more per month to get there. The key is to start as early as possible. 10 stocks we like better than Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF Most companies have setup fees Most credit repair companies charge an initial fee (also called setup or first work fee) that can range anywhere between $15 to $200. This fee is used to set up your account, which may involve gathering your personal and financial information and creating a strategy plan for your particular credit situation. Credit repair companies cant charge you in advance for their services Once you pay the setup fee (if required), companies cant make any additional charges unless they prove that the services offered to you in contract are being fulfilled. Legitimate credit repair companies should include a copy of the Consumer Credit File Rights Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), credit repair companies must give you a written contract outlining their services before receiving any payment from you. The agencies must also give you a copy of the Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law, a document that is meant to inform you of your right to order credit reports and dispute inaccurate information yourself. You have the right to cancel any services without incurring any penalties within 3 business days The CROA also states that you have the right to back out of a contract within three business days without any charges or cancellation fees. This is also stipulated by the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC)s Cooling-Off Rule. Differences between debt settlement, credit repair and credit counseling As we said above, there are different ways to repair your credit. Debt settlement, credit repair and credit counseling are all in the personal finance sphere, but its important to note the key differences between the three methods. Debt settlement service Credit repair service Credit counseling service For-profit service For-profit service Non-profit, but may charge a service fee Resolves your debt and makes a deal to pay it off at a reduced amount Identifies and repairs mistakes on your credit report Provides debt and money management advice, but does not renegotiate overall debt Involves stopping debt payments until a settlement is reached. Communicates with creditors and reporting bureaus to get mistakes corrected and removed from your credit report Negotiates payment plans with creditors to protect you from debt collectors or late fees Will impact credit negatively for up to 7 years Improves credit by removing reporting mistakes Improves credit with debt management plans Hurts chances of getting loans or credit cards Increases the possibility of being approved for loans and credit cards Increases the possibility of being approved for loans and credit cards Best as a last resort Best for people who dont have the time to repair their credit themselves Best if youre having trouble making payments and need some help If youre interested in using a credit counselor, The National Foundation for Credit Counseling offers low-cost debt counseling, debt consolidation, and debt management plans. Covid-19 and credit repair Free credit reports Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax are offering access to a free credit report weekly through April 2022. Take advantage of this offer and check your reports for errors if there are any, dispute them or consider hiring a credit repair company to do it for you. Credit reporting errors during COVID-19 Its important to watch out for erroneous late payments on your credit report especially if you enrolled in a deferral program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Loan, mortgage or credit card payments shouldnt be marked as late if your lender agreed to temporarily suspend them. Contact your lender right away if you notice deferred payments are being incorrectly labeled as late on your report. If your lender doesnt resolve the issue, contact the credit reporting agencies to begin a dispute process. CARES Act protections If you obtained a forbearance on a federally backed loan during the pandemic, these are some things to remember: Forbearance, payment deferrals or pauses will not show up on your credit report and will not bring down your credit score. Student loans are eligible for suspensions on loan payments, collections, defaults, and interest rates are set to zero until at least May1, 2022. How do credit repair companies work? Each credit repair company has its own way of doing things, but most of them follow a four-step process: Free Consultation The credit repair company will walk you through the process, pull your credit reports from all three bureaus and determine if youd be a good candidate for credit repair. Limited power of attorney and written consent The companys representatives will inform you if they find mistakes in your file, and send you a written contract giving them limited power of attorney, that is, the legal right to act on your behalf. Challenge items With your legal consent, the company goes on to dispute inaccuracies with your creditors and the major credit bureaus. Inaccurate items on your credit report can include tax liens or foreclosures that dont belong to you, duplicate accounts, bankruptcies or outdated information. Once theyre notified, credit reporting agencies must then investigate within 30 days of receiving the dispute. Once they confirm these are errors, theyll remove them from your credit profile. Once theyre notified, credit reporting agencies must then investigate within 30 days of receiving the dispute. Once they confirm them as errors, theyll remove them from your credit profile. Progress reports The best credit repair companies will track your disputes progress and update you frequently on the status of each disputed item. They will usually send progress reports along with an updated copy of your credit report so you can review the changes. How to choose the right credit repair company When evaluating credit repair companies, you should compare the services they offer and their upfront and monthly fees. Consider how many items they dispute per month and if they offer any additional perks such as free consultations or personal finance tools. You can also gauge a companys reputation by reading online consumer reviews and checking whether it has any lawsuits against it. Check for Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) compliance CROA establishes clear directives that legitimate credit repair agencies should follow, and its important to ensure the company you choose is compliant in every step of the process. Companies must provide a written contract explaining in detail the services they will provide, how long it will take for them to get results, any guarantees they offer and the total credit repair cost for their services. You have the right to walk away without penalty within three days of signing the contract if it does not meet your requirements. Read customer reviews Sources like Google Reviews, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Yelp are useful starting points in gauging customer experience. They each have their own way of evaluating and ranking companies, with the BBB using an A to F grading system and Yelp offering its well-known star ratings, for example. These websites are helpful, but we recommend complementing what you read with further research after all, most people post reviews when theyre unhappy with a service, not when theyre satisfied. However, if you read multiple reviews alleging similar types of issues, you should certainly consider it a red flag. In our search for the best credit repair services, we focused on those that received mostly positive consumer feedback across multiple review websites. Check the regulatory agencies The credit repair industry is tightly regulated and must abide by the provisions of multiple federal laws aimed at the protection of consumers. One of the agencies overseeing the industry is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal organization that protects consumers from fraudulent or predatory practices by banks, lenders or any type of financial institution including credit repair companies. When searching for the right credit repair company for you, its a good idea to check the CFPB complaint database and check how many complaints if any have been filed against it. Compare fees and turnaround times Reputable credit repair companies will list their prices and services clearly, so consumers can select the right package for their needs. Turnaround time should be reasonable, and the company must keep you updated about the progress. Look for personal finance tools Besides their standard credit repair services, some credit repair agencies offer personal finance tools like bill reminders, budgeting software and credit monitoring. Additionally, they may offer one-on-one credit consultations, satisfaction guarantees and identity theft protection services. 7 Warning Signs of a Credit Repair Scam The credit repair industry has had its share of controversies and scams. Its important to recognize the red flags indicating a company or agent youre dealing with might be engaging in some questionable practices. DIY Credit Repair Credit repair companies are helpful if you can afford the service and dont have the time to dispute the items. However, its important to note that you can fix your own credit and at no cost. There are also ways to improve your credit score without the help of a credit repair agency. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA), you have the right to dispute any information you believe is inaccurate. Credit bureaus are required to investigate and delete it from your report if found to be erroneous. To start checking for errors, you can request free credit reports from the three main credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion at AnnualCreditReport.com. Once you examine your reports for any discrepancies, you can go to each bureaus website and file an online dispute. They will investigate within 30 days and, if they confirm its a mistake, will delete the negative item from your report. They might also delete items from your report if your debtor cannot validate the debt and is unable to provide evidence that the debt belongs to you. If youre up to the task, the first step is to learn its important to know how to read a credit report. Once you do, check out our guide on how to remove items from your credit report. Latest News on Credit Repair How to Build Credit Fast: Fixing a bad credit history or building one from scratch can take time, but a few key steps can speed up the process. Check out this guide to help you achieve a solid credit history faster. 7 Steps to Improve Your Credit Score Right Now: Whether youre shopping around for a mortgage, personal loan or a new credit card, having a solid credit score can get you lower interest rates. Here are seven tips to help you increase your score and improve your financial health. Freezing Your Credit Can Protect You Against Identity Theft, but Few Consumers Take Advantage: Some consumers dont freeze their credit, thinking that the service isnt free or it can negatively impact their scores. Others simply deem it unnecessary. Learn what a credit freeze is and how to request one. Why Did My Credit Score Just Drop? 6 Common Reasons: Credit score can unexpectedly drop a few points, even if you have excellent credit overall. Here we outline six of the most common factors that can lower a score. Credit Repair FAQ How to fix your credit How much does credit repair cost? How long does it take to repair credit? What do credit repair companies do? How does credit repair work? How We Chose the Best Credit Repair Companies of 2022 You can fix your credit on your own, but it will take time, effort and patience. Review each of your credit reports from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax for errors. If you find any, file a dispute with the credit bureau and contact your creditor. They are legally obligated to investigate and eliminate inaccurate information from your report, at no charge to you.Prices vary across credit repair agencies. However, companies typically charge around $20 to $150 per month, depending on the service package you choose. They may also charge a setup fee (also called initial or first work fee) that can cost up to $200.The amount of time it takes to repair bad credit depends on how much inaccurate information your report contains. Some companies estimate that it can take up to six months to see an improvement in your score. However, if your report has few errors, the process might be faster as there will be fewer disputes to process.These companies analyze your credit reports from the three main credit bureaus, pinpointing inaccurate information that may be keeping you from a good credit score. If their analysts find errors, they'll contact creditors and credit bureaus to dispute the negative items and have them removed. Some companies also offer personal finance tools and access to credit counselors.A credit repair company reviews your credit reports from the major credit bureaus for inaccuracies that may be impacting your credit score. It identifies accounts that don't belong to you or payments incorrectly marked as late, for example, and disputes the errors by contacting the credit bureaus or creditors. If the information is incorrect or can't be verified, the bureau is required to delete it. Trustworthiness The companies in our list are reputable credit repair services that have been around for over ten years and garner mostly positive customer reviews across different platforms. We looked for any history of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) violations and searched the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Database to verify any history of customer complaints or enforcement actions. Product offering A credit repair service assumes responsibility for writing dispute letters, communicating with lenders and credit bureaus and ensuring removal of each item. It helps if the standard service is complemented with other features. Multiple pricing options, additional financial tools, expert advice, and service guarantees helped companies stand out from the competition. Pricing options and service guarantees As we researched companies, we made sure that their pricing options were as varied as possible, and that their service guarantees were transparent with little to no fine print exceptions. Summary of Moneys Best Credit Repair Companies of January 2022 Its also one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. The median price of home listings in the city of Boulder has risen more than 13% over the past year to $894,900 , according to Realtor.com . Housing is considerably cheaper in Lafayette and Longmont, with median listing prices of $595,000 and $540,000 , respectively. More affordable is Carver County, Minnesota, which is home to the towns of Chanhassen and Chaska. In Carver, just 26.74% of adults reported sleeping fewer than seven hours per night. Chanhassen ranked first on Moneys 2021 Best Places to Live list thanks to its small-town feel and easy access to the big city just 20 miles away in Minneapolis. The median home listing price in Chanhassen is $549,900, according to Realtor.com. Home prices in Chaska are a little lower, with a median listing price of $429,900. During a briefing Wednesday at the Capitol, Gov. Mike Parson shot down concerns about COVID-19 testing. The state of Missouri is not short on tests, Parson said. You may have a problem getting one because of the lines or because of staffing issues, but theres no shortage of tests. Weve been prepared for that a long time. Parson, a Republican, said any blame should be aimed at Washington, D.C. There is total confusion on the federal level, Parson said, pointing to recent changes in isolation guidelines. Its just a mess. Hospitals restrict visitors For the first time in months, BJC HealthCare and SSM Health announced they will once again tighten visitor restrictions in response to the recent spike in case rates. Beginning Monday at BJC facilities, only one designated visitor will be allowed in inpatient units. Two visitors will be allowed for pediatric and obstetrics patients, and in end-of-life situations. Visitation may be restricted further in the future, the health system said. SCHOOL ISSUES Legislative Republicans could make school board elections more political, following protests in some districts over classroom mask mandates to protect against COVID-19 and teaching about racism. One proposal would give school board candidates the option to add their political party memberships to what are now nonpartisan school board elections. Some Republican lawmakers, however, want to go further and make school board races fully partisan as for most other elected offices, complete with GOP and Democratic primaries. Indiana legislators dont seem poised to join other Republican-led states in trying to ban the teaching of critical race theory, which has become a catch-all term for the idea that racism is systemic in the nations institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society. Republican House Speaker Todd Huston has said he expects a bill ensuring that parents have more insight and input into the curricular materials and surveys being used in their schools. MARIJUANA LEGIALIZATION THURSDAY, Dec. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly all countries agree: Smoking is bad, and getting people to kick the habit is a worthy public health goal. But no country has ever attempted what New Zealand is about to try: an outright ban on all cigarette sales. The plan is to let those who already smoke retain the right to keep buying cigarettes if they wish, but as of 2023, anyone under 15 would be prohibited for life from doing so, according to the island nation's associate health minister, Dr. Ayesha Verrall. And because the ban is permanent, 10, 20 or 30 years down the road -- as the population ages -- fewer and fewer New Zealanders will have any legal access to cigarettes. Vaping products would not be covered as the law is now envisioned. But Verrall made clear in a speech to New Zealand's Parliament earlier this month that the intent is to make sure young people never start smoking. With the surge in new virus cases, there has also been a surge in demand for testing. Dobbs said the state is expanding the number of available testing sites, and asked residents to be patient. There is testing available, its just not on-demand like weve had before," he said. ... That convenience might not be quite as big as it has been. But you know, this is a moment of phenomenally increased demand. So itll be a little bit of a challenge. Due to a surge in new confirmed coronavirus cases, the mayor of Mississippi's capital city has ordered the closure of city hall and other offices. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba's new executive order closing offices went into effect Wednesday. Only essential employees will continue to work in person, he said. The order will stay in place until at least next Wednesday. The infectious spread of COVID-19 through both the Delta and Omicron variants has continued and dramatically increased in the City of Jackson, with a corresponding increase in hospitalizations and death rate," the mayor said in a statement. The City of Jackson does not have the luxury of a wait-and-see approach to the continued threat. 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. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. As many as six people knew about the remains on the property, the sheriff said, and as many as 40 people have some connection to the pipeline of stolen merchandise. The sheriffs office has spent the last year trying to identify what property was stolen and where it is so it can be recovered. One of the complications for investigators is that, because Morrow is dead, they dont have a list of what is missing and have trouble proving that merchandise was, in fact, stolen. A lot of their case is being built trying to get one thief to snitch on another. Using serial numbers on the empty gun boxes, police documented about two dozen missing weapons. Police think there could be many more. Two have been recovered. Public safety agencies, including a fire department in Madison County and the Clinton County Sheriffs Department, posted warnings on Facebook for residents to remain inside and lock their doors as Tate was headed in their direction. Police eventually caught up to Tate at a home in rural Carlyle in Clinton County, roughly an hour east of St. Louis. Police said Tate broke into the home and took the homeowner and another kidnapped person hostage. Just before 1:45 p.m., the Illinois State Police SWAT team entered the home and arrested Tate. Nobody was injured. Tate was being held in the Clinton County jail, state police said. The man who was shot and carjacked in St. Peters was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, police said. It is unclear who else may have been shot during the course of the day. Area agencies, including Indiana troopers, escorted the Illinois deputys body to the morgue in Evansville, Indiana, around 9:30 a.m. Candace Shively, who served during the administration of Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, led the Childrens Division from October 2010 until she retired September 2013. The department head described Shively at the time as a strong leader. Melody Yancey stepped in as acting director for two months until Tim Decker took over. Decker had been with the department for years, most recently as director of the Division of Youth Services, a nationally recognized juvenile justice program under his watch. He ran the more complex Childrens Division for nearly five years, during Nixons last term and through Republican Gov. Eric Greitens short time in office. When Parson became governor, Julie Lester stepped up from within to fill the role on an interim basis until January 2019. She quit shortly after it was publicly announced that David Kurt was being brought in from Kansas to run the division. One year later, Kurt, as well as his leadership team, were asked to leave, apparently without explanation. CLAYTON Doug Bachman had been used to the convenience of getting his annual property tax payment receipt from St. Louis County in the mail. So he was surprised to find his 2021 tax bill included a yellow paper notice: St. Louis County taxpayers who want a paper receipt of their 2021 property tax payment have to request one in-person or print the receipt at home. Its a major shift to what theyve done before, so Im not sure many people are aware, said Bachman, 67, of unincorporated south St. Louis County. Not everybody has the ability to get online and print one out. The same yellow slip was included in all 2021 county property tax bills, county spokesman Doug Moore said. The county opted not to automatically mail out tax receipts this year as a way to cut costs, projecting an estimated $250,000 in savings, he said. But Moore said the change was also in part because the Missouri Department of Revenue does not require paper receipts to obtain vehicle license plates. NEW YORK (AP) Drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals contributed to the opioid crisis, a suburban New York jury ruled Thursday in one of few verdicts so far among thousands of lawsuits nationwide over the painkillers. A separate trial will follow to determine what Teva will have to pay in the case, in which New York state and two Long Island counties took on a swath of drug companies. In Thursday's verdict, a Suffolk County jury found the drug company played a role in what is legally termed a public nuisance but had lethal consequences an opioid use epidemic linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. in the past two decades. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and others misled the American people about the true dangers of opioids," James, a Democrat, said in a news release. Today, we took a significant step in righting the wrongs this country has collectively experienced over the last two decades. Israel-based Teva, which makes medications using the powerful opioid fentanyl, said it strongly disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal. BOISE, Idaho (AP) The Biden administration has affirmed a Trump administration interpretation of high-level radioactive waste that is based on the wastes radioactivity rather than how it was produced. The U.S. Department of Energy announcement last week means some radioactive waste from nuclear weapons production stored in Idaho, Washington and South Carolina could be reclassified and moved for permanent storage elsewhere. After extensive policy and legal assessment, DOE affirmed that the interpretation is consistent with the law, guided by the best available science and data, and that the views of members of the public and the scientific community were considered in its adoption, the agency said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday. The Biden administration's affirmation of the new interpretation came after various groups offered letters of support and opposition to the agency after Biden became president, leading to the notice in the Federal Register making clear where the administration stood. Biden has reversed Trump policy in other areas. SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) A Missouri boarding school doctor accused of several child sex crimes has been taken into custody in Arkansas. The Kansas City Star reports that 57-year-old David Smock was arrested Tuesday night in Harrison, Arkansas, not far from the Missouri border. Authorities said they considered him a fugitive for several days. However, Smock's attorney said Wednesday that his client had been returning to Missouri to turn himself in when he was arrested. He was visiting his son in Louisiana when he learned of the charges, attorney Craig Heidemann said. Smock began feeling ill on his return to Missouri and tested positive for COVID-19 at the Arkansas jail, said Heidemann, who was representing Smock on charges filed in Cedar County. Dr. Smocks concern is that law enforcement has wrongly painted him as a fugitive when in fact hes a COVID victim trying to get back to deal with these charges, Heidemann said. Six days into 2021, America ceased to be a nation in which the stability of democracy was unquestioned, and became a nation in which a sitting president and his followers might violently shake constitutional self-governance to its very foundation if they dont like the outcome of an election. The American experiment had been threatened before by the British, by the Confederacy, by the Axis powers in World War II, by al-Qaida but never in Americas history had an existential threat to democracy come from its own head of state. Thats been a sadly common story in other countries, but it was unthinkable here, until Jan. 6. History will damn President Donald J. Trump for his tragic mishandling of a pandemic that had killed 400,000 Americans by the time he was pried from office on Jan. 20, and that malfeasance is definitely damnable. But Trumps greater offense against America, the one that will likely cause more lasting damage, was his spreading of viral contempt for the sanctity of democracy. Never again can this country assume that because someone manages to reach the White House, that person can be trusted to respect constitutional norms. Even now, Trump proteges throughout Congress and in legislatures across America are working to make the will of the voters easier to discard when it doesnt go their way. Trump opened a door this year that wont be easily closed. Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. COSTA MESA, Calif., Dec. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: CETY), a clean energy company focusing on products and solutions in the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability market, announced today it has raised $650,000 from the sale of a convertible promissory note, maturing June 21, 2022, with a fixed conversion fix price of $0.06 per share, and interest of 2% interest per year. CETY expects to utilize a portion of the funds to continue making balance sheet improvements and the remainder to support the expansion of its portfolio of biomass solutions, waste heat recovery products, and engineering design services which is expected to continue to improve sales next year. CETY begins 2022 with several projects and opportunities on the horizon and is building a foundation for rapid expected growth in 2022. Chief Executive Officer of CETY Kam Mahdi said, We are grateful for the trust our new investors have in CETY. This investment demonstrates our ability to access capital on reasonable terms which is a critical aspect of our growth strategy. This additional capital will foster our expansion into biomass, heat recovery solutions, and engineering services, which I believe will result in positive results in 2022. The pricing of this investment demonstrates our believe that we are undervalued at current market prices and our new investors faith in our aggressive plans for growth and profitability in 2022. I look forward to providing shareholders with updates and further progress in the New Year. About Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. (CETY) Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, Clean Energy Technologies (CETY) a low carbon energy company delivers power from heat and biomass with zero emission and low cost. CETY designs, produces, and markets clean energy products & solutions focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy. The Companys principal product is the Clean Cycle magnetic bearing heat recovery generator, offered by CETYs subsidiary Clean Energy HRS, or Heat Recovery Solutions. The Clean Cycle system captures waste heat from a variety of sources and turns it into electricity that can be used or sold back to the grid. CETYs proven, reliable technology allows municipal, commercial, and industrial users with heat sources, such as from biomass, industrial processes, or energy production, to boost their overall energy efficiency with no additional fuel, no pollutants, and little ongoing maintenance. CETYs common stock is currently traded on the OTC Market under the symbol CETY. For more information, visit www.cetyinc.com or www.heatrecoverysolutions.com. DISCLAIMER This news release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to achieving corporate objectives, developing additional project interests, the companys analysis of opportunities in the acquisition and development of various project interests and certain other matters. These statements are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Contacts Investors: ir@cetyinc.com Contact: Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. Kam Mahdi, CEO 949-273-4990 x814 Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. 2990 Redhill Avenue Costa Mesa, CA 92626 949.273.4990 main 949.273.4990 fax www.cetyinc.com SOURCE Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. Related Links http://www.cetyinc.com Cranbrook, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 29, 2021) - DLP Resources Inc.(TSXV: DLP) (OTCQB: DLPRF)(the "Company")is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement"), whereby the Company has completed the issuance of 3,120,000 flow through units (each, a "FT Unit") at a price of $0.25 per FT Unit for gross proceeds of $780,000. Each FT Unit consists of one flow-through common share in the capital of the Company (a "FT Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Warrant Share") for a period of two (2) years from the date of issue at an exercise price of $0.40 per Warrant Share. In connection with the Private Placement, the Company issued 199,500 finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") and paid commissions of $49,875. Each Finder's Warrant will entitle the holder, on exercise thereof, to acquire one additional common share in the capital of the Company at a price of $0.25 per share for a period of two (2) years from the date of issuance. The securities offered in the Private Placement are subject to a four month and a day transfer restriction from the date of issuance expiring on April 30, 2022, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside Canada. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Private Placement for drilling on its Moby Dick and NZOU projects. Jim Stypula, CEO, stated: "We are pleased to close this over-subscribed financing and we appreciate the support of both new and existing strategic investors, including Cordillera Minerals 2021 Flow-Through Limited Partnership." Certain directors, officers and other insiders of the Company ("Interested Parties") purchased or acquired direction or control over a total of 200,000 FT Units as part of the Private Placement. The placement to those persons constitutes a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the directors of the Company have determined that the Interested Parties' participation in the Private Placement will be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 in reliance on the exemptions set forth in sections 5.5(c) and 5.7(1)(b) of MI 61-101 on the basis that, at the time the Private Placement was agreed to, neither the fair market value of the securities to be distributed in the Private Placement nor the consideration to be received for those securities, in so far as the Private Placement involves the Interested Parties, exceeds $2,500,000. The Company did not file a material change report 21 days prior to the closing of the Private Placement as the details of the participation of Interested Parties had not been confirmed at that time. Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States. About DLP Resources Inc. DLP Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration company operating in Southeastern British Columbia, and Peru exploring for Base Metals, Cobalt and Molybdenum. DLP is listed on the TSX-V, trading symbol DLP. Please refer to our web site www.dlpresourcesinc.com for additional information. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: DLP Resources Inc. Ian Gendall, President Jim Stypula, Chief Executive Officer Robin Sudo, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary Telephone: 250-426-7808 Email: iangendall@dlpresourcesinc.com Email: jimstypula@dlpresourcesinc.com Email: robinsudo@dlpresourcesinc.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the use of the proceeds raised under the Private Placement. These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, market uncertainty and that the Company will not use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that the Company will use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108646 SEWELL, N.J., Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to an increased national demand for veterinarians, veterinary specialists and skilled technicians, Rowan University is establishing the first school of veterinary medicine in New Jersey. Currently, there are only 33 veterinary schools in the United States. The Rowan University School of Veterinary Medicine will offer New Jersey's first Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, as well as additional degrees and training programs designed to shape the future of veterinary medicine and animal health care in the state. In November, the New Jersey Legislature approved $75 million in funding to construct the school's primary academic and clinical facility in Sewell. The school plans to welcome its inaugural class of 60 students in fall 2025, pending approval from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (COE). Plans for the school were announced during an outdoor event on the campus of Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester in Sewell. State and University officials joined with some furry and feathered friends (birds, goats, dogs, a bunny and a skunk) to make the announcement at the future site of the school. B-roll of the announcement is available here. "Launching New Jersey's first school of veterinary medicine at Rowan University is just the latest in a series of strides we have made in expanding and improving the quality of medical education and research over the past decade," said Senate President Steve Sweeney. "With this investment, we will be able to keep our best and brightest veterinary students in New Jersey, and we will attract aspiring veterinarians from other states to study here as well." Of the 33 accredited veterinary schools in the United States, only five are on the East Coast. In 2006, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges predicted a shortage of 15,000 veterinarians in the nation within 20 years. Applications for veterinary medical colleges have increased 6-7% in recent years and grew 19% in 2020-'21, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). With the addition of the new school, Rowan will become one of two universities in the nation to offer Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degrees. The University offers its MD program through Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and its DO program through Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine. Rowan will establish undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and internship/residency programs at the veterinary school. Additionally, an A.S. in veterinary technology to B.S. in veterinary technology pathway program will be offered in collaboration with Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester. An innovative approach Following the University's approaches to science, engineering and medical education, the new school will bring innovation in curriculum delivery, operational cost efficiency, tuition affordability and job readiness, according to Rowan University President Ali A. Houshmand. "We are creating a destination of choice for students who share a passion for animal health and who want to pursue careers in veterinary-related studies at all higher education levels," Houshmand said. "Our curriculum will emphasize developing career-ready professionals to address shortages of animal health care providers in New Jersey and throughout the United States." Rowan's Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Matthew Edson as founding dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine on June 1. "We're excited to create a veterinary school where hands-on experience, virtual reality, simulations and outcomes-based, student-centered education and assessment are integral to the teaching and learning experience," Edson said. "Continuing Rowan's innovations in experiential learning, students will have early exposure to our on-site veterinary teaching hospital, as well as external clinical sites where they will work side-by-side with faculty and practicing veterinarians. This will allow them to gain ample real-world experience to promote day-one career readiness." Degree programs In addition to the DVM degree, the following programs are under development: Graduate programs, including an M.S./Ph.D. in veterinary biomedical science in collaboration with Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, Cooper Medical School of Rowan Universities and the College of Science & Mathematics; An accelerated DVM/MBA in collaboration with Rowan University's Rohrer College of Business designed to improve training of students in veterinary practice management, business and economics beyond what will be offered as core content within the DVM curriculum; Undergraduate programs, including bachelor's degrees in veterinary studies and veterinary technology, as well as certificates and training pathways for veterinary technicians and assistants; Internship and residency programs, which will provide postgraduate educational opportunities for those who already have completed their DVM degree. The programs could lead to specialization, including specialist board certifications. Education and health care facilities The School of Veterinary Medicine's primary academic and clinical facility will be located on the campus of Rowan College of South Jersey in Sewell, near the new Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) facility. There, SOM will soon welcome 70-plus medical school students to its newest academic expansion, partnered with the clinical practices already serving hundreds of patients. Designs for a 100,000-square-foot veterinary medical complex are underway and will include academic classrooms, diagnostic and teaching laboratories, a teaching hospital, and administrative and faculty offices. The teaching hospital will provide core experiential learning to students. It also will offer animal health care services to the public, as well as specialty referral and diagnostic services to veterinary practices in the region. Accreditation The school is seeking accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. The COE is the U.S. Department of Education-approved accrediting agency for colleges and schools of veterinary medicine in the United States. Each new school must follow a series of approval steps before receiving full accreditation. Schools must adhere to 11 accreditation standards demonstrating that they offer high-quality educational experiences as outlined by the AVMA. Founding dean A licensed veterinarian in practice for more than a decade, Dr. Matthew C. Edson is founder and owner of Rancocas Veterinary Associates, a multi-doctor, mixed-animal practice located in South Jersey. He has special professional interests in miniature pig and small ruminant medicine and surgery and has lectured nationally on those subjects. A native of Eastampton Township, N.J., he is an executive board member and the immediate past president of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, a site visitor for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education, former chair of the AVMA Committee on Disaster and Emergency Issues, and former vice chair of the AVMA Practice Advisory Pilot Panel. He also has served as a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine. Licensed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, Edson earned his veterinary medical degree from Kansas State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in animal science and biology from Rutgers University and also completed training as a mobile intensive care paramedic through Virtua Health. Named a top veterinarian by South Jersey Magazine in 2017, Edson was voted "Best Veterinarian" in Burlington County by Burlington County Times readers for four consecutive years, from 2018-2021. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-first-for-new-jersey-rowan-university-to-establish-school-of-veterinary-medicine-301451640.html SOURCE Rowan University YAKIMA, Wash., Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yakima Chief Hops (YCH), the largest American hop supplier for the global brewing community, has launched a new podcast titled Bigger Than Beer. In their first season, they are featuring women+ from across the industry, from the hop farms to the taprooms, to tell their stories. Operating for more than 30 years as a grower-owned organization, Yakima Chief Hops is deeply rooted within the Pacific Northwest hop community. YCH has had the opportunity to witness the amazing evolution of the hop and beer industries, as well as the talented women and men that make it happen, from field to pint. With this, they recognize not only the incredible progress in increasing diversity, but also the opportunities for continuous improvement to become more inclusive. In August 2021, YCH launched a new podcast, Bigger than Beer, with the mission of exploring new topics each year that focus on the larger picture of the craft beer community's impact, including both social and environmental initiatives. This year's Bigger Than Beer series, Women+ in the Industry, features women in the hop and brewing profession and provides a platform to share their different perspectives in the hopes of inspiring meaningful conversations and positive change. The Bigger Than Beer podcast is available on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. There are currently 12 episodes in the Women+ in the Industry series, with guests ranging from the Operations and Processing Manager at Sodbuster Farms, Alexa Weathers, to the R&D Brewer at Breakside Brewery, Natalie Baldwin. The Women+ in the Industry series will come to a close in March as they celebrate International Women's Day and the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day. The Bigger Than Beer podcast will then transition to a new topic. Yakima Chief Hops invites industry professionals and beer drinkers alike to learn more about the incredible women that make beer possible. Yakima Chief Hops YCH is a 100% grower-owned global hop supplier with a mission to connect brewers with family hop farms. Operating for more than 30 years, we have become more than a hop supplier. We are leaders of innovation, quality and customer service. We are a resource for brewers, providing solutions-based products and industry leading research. We are advocates of sustainability and meaningful social causes, working to support the environment and communities around us. https://www.yakimachief.com/ View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-hop-supplier-launches-new-podcast-highlighting-women-in-the-hop-and-beer-industries-301451880.html SOURCE Yakima Chief Hops TICKERS: SIG; SITKF; 1RF Source: Streetwise Reports (12/30/21) Sitka Gold Corp's recently released new drill results at its RC Gold Project in the Yukon have grabbed investors' attention. Sitka Gold Corp. (SIG:CSE; SITKF:OTCQB; 1RF:FSE) may have just gone public in 2018, but the company just released drilling results from its RC Gold Project in the Yukon's Tombstone Gold Belt that have put it at the forefront of investors' minds. Chief Executive Officer and Director Cor Coe, P. Geo., said the company has been undervalued, but he believes that will change after the gold assay results from diamond drill Hole 21 located midway between Victoria Gold's Eagle Gold Mine and the Brewery Creek Mine become more publicly disseminated. Sitka Gold Corp.'s RC Gold Project Several intervals of elevated gold values were found from the surface to a depth of 220.1 m from Hole 21 at the RC Gold Project, Sitka Gold said. It was drilled into a deposit target estimated to be 2 km long by 500 m wide that is located 200 m south of any previous drilling and intersects a newly recognized structure called the Blackjack Fault. Assays found an exceptional interval of 1.17 g/t gold from 6.0 m to 226.1 m, including 50.5 m of 2.08 g/t from 120.0 m and 0.2 m of 35.70 g/t from 80.8 m. "Sitka Gold is a fairly new company," Coe told Greenshoe Radio recently. "It has not gotten the story out there yet. Not many people know that we have a diverse portfolio of quality assets that cover silver and gold and copper. But I think that's going to change rapidly, especially in light of the impressive results we just released this week." Results Point to Untapped Potential The nearest drill hole to Hole 21, Hole 2, which is 200 m to the north, also produced impressive values of 100 m of 0.82 g/t gold and an additional deeper interval of 2 m assaying 16.1 g/t, the company said. To help put these gold grades and intervals into context, Victoria Golds newly operational Eagle Gold Mine, located just 40 km east of the RC Gold Project, is an intrusion-related gold deposit that is averaging less than 0.7 g/t gold. "The huge record volume on the spike has both medium and long-term bullish implications." Tech analyst Clive Maund after Sitka Gold's stock spiked on news of drilling results "Discovering gold values of this caliber, in what is characteristically a low-grade, bulk-tonnage gold deposit target, exceeded our expectations and further reinforces our belief that this newly discovered gold-rich system has the scale and grades necessary to host an economic gold deposit of significant size," Coe said in a news release. "Visible gold was identified in 21 different sections of Hole 21 during core logging and sample preparation, providing additional evidence for the richness of this gold system." The company said it has completed just 19 holes across this 2 km by 500 m target so far, leaving much of its potential to still be discovered. Sitka Gold's stock, which is now CA$0.17, spiked from CA$0.0900 on Dec. 10 to CA$0.1900 on Dec. 13 when the RC Gold drilling results were released. "The huge record volume on the spike has both medium and long-term bullish implications," tech analyst Clive Maund said of the results. "In view of the exceptionally positive price/volume action, it is rated a Strong Buy again here, taking advantage of yesterday's dip." The company also recently closed a non-brokered private placement of 16.6 million flow through units at a price of $0.17 for a gross of CA$2.8 million. Each unit constitutes one flow through common share of the company and one half of one common share purchase warrant with each full warrant exercisable at a price of $0.23 for a period of 24 months. The proceeds will be used to follow up on the impressive results from Hole 21 at its RC Gold Property in the Yukon. Four Other Projects in the Works Sitka Gold also has four other projects it is pursuing, including in Nevada and Arizona in the United States. In Nevada, the company has the Carlin-type Alpha Gold Project at the southeast end of the Cortez Trend, about 135 km southwest of Elko. Recent results from five drill holes showed 15.24 m of 0.46 g/t gold from 333.76 m to 349 m in one hole and 3.04 m of 0.41 g/t from 196.60 m to 199.64 m in another. "Alpha Gold has come a long way from a conceptual moonshot model to a confirmed large-scale Carlin-type gold deposit model," Coe said. Coe called the company's Burro Creek property in Arizona its "flagship" property. A 2011 historical resource technical report indicates the site has 5 Moz silver and more than 100 Koz gold, according to the company. "The property was scheduled to go into production and had all the necessary permits in the early 1980s," Coe said. "But the gold price collapsed, and the company put it on the shelf." Sitka Gold also has additional Canadian properties with gold, silver and copper targets in the Coppermine River area in Nunavut and in an area 50 km east of Dawson City adjacent to the Brewery Creek Mine in the Yukon. Several catalysts are on the horizon for the company in the coming year. Results from five drill holes at RC Gold are still pending. "Exploration efforts at the RC Gold Project continue to deliver impressive results and, with only 19 diamond drill holes completed across this gold system to date, there is plenty more to discover," Coe said. "We look forward to receiving results for the remaining five drill holes and rapidly advancing this along with several other under-explored targets across this district-scale, road accessible property. [NLINSERT] Disclosure: 1) Steve Sobek compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. 2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Sitka Gold Corp. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. 3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Sitka Gold Corp., a company mentioned in this article. Five U.S. Army soldiers are eligible to receive the Medal of Honor, seen here on recipient Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady in 2019, under the recently signed National Defense Authorization Act for 2022. (Ken Star/Army ROTC) Nine U.S. Army soldiers may receive the Medal of Honor or have previous awards upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross after President Joe Biden signed the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act on Monday. The defense spending bill, which authorizes $740 billion in funds for the Department of Defense, also contained a clause that authorized Biden to present the Medal of Honor - the United States highest military award - to five soldiers. Another four additional soldiers are also eligible to have their Silver Star awards upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, the Armys second highest award behind the Medal of Honor. The provision bypasses constraints imposed by U.S. law that stipulate the awards must be made no more than five years after the deeds that earned them for the recipients. Three of the five eligible to receive the Medal of Honor served in the Korean War; the remaining two served in the Vietnam War. All five were previously decorated: Charles R. Johnson, Silver Star, Korea Wataru Nakamura, Distinguished Service Cross, Korea Bruno R. Orig, Distinguished Service Cross, Korea Dennis M. Fujii, Distinguished Service Cross, Vietnam Edward N. Kaneshiro, Distinguished Service Cross, Vietnam Johnson, Nakamura and Orig earned their awards posthumously; Kaneshiro was killed in a subsequent action, according to the Military Times. The four soldiers eligible to have their Silver Star awards upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross all served during the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in 1993, also known as the Black Hawk Down incident. They are: Earl R. Fillmore Jr. Robert. L. Mabry John G. Macejunas William F. Thetford The upgrades are not the first of their kind this year for Mogadishu veterans. In July, the Army upgraded 60 medals for Army special operators who took part in the battle, most of whom were not named publicly. Those included 58 Silver Stars and two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Representatives of Russia visit U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria in Germany on Dec. 21-22, 2021. U.S. Army Europe and Africa hosted a two-day visit by the Russians to fulfill provisions of the Vienna Document 2011. (U.S. Army) Russian government representatives toured U.S. Army training areas in Bavaria last week for an internationally guaranteed inspection, shortly after Ukrainian troops wrapped up a training exercise there with American troops. U.S. Army Europe and Africa said Thursday that it had hosted the Russian inspection team at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria for two days beginning Dec. 21. The inspection was conducted under the terms of the Vienna Document 2011, an agreement focused on disarmament, security and transparency in Europe and some Central Asian countries. Inspections have long been a routine part of that and other arms control agreements, but this one came against a backdrop of fears in the U.S. and Europe that Russia is on the brink of another invasion of Ukraine. News of the Russians presence at the U.S. installations came the same day that President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, were scheduled to speak one-on-one about upcoming talks seeking de-escalation. One senior administration official called it a moment of crisis, sparked by the Kremlins buildup of forces near Ukraine. U.S. Army Europe and Africa hosted Russian inspectors at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria in Germany on Dec. 21-22, 2021. The visit was in accordance with the Vienna Document 2011. (U.S. Army) During the Russian teams visit, U.S. officials briefed them about tenant units and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. The Army also gave inspectors an aerial tour of the sprawling Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas and Katterbach Kaserne, as well as a tour of the ranges at Grafenwoehr. On Dec. 17, the readiness center in Hohenfels said it ended a 10-day combat training exercise involving about 4,600 soldiers from Ukraine, Poland and several other former members of the Soviet bloc. Its very different and new for our company to participate in this kind of training, said 1st Lt. Andrii Tretiak, commander of the Ukrainian Mechanized Company, 92nd Mechanized Brigade, as quoted in an Army statement. It was unclear whether the Russian visit was related to the exercise. USAREUR-AF said Thursday that it could not provide further details on the visit ahead of press time because key people were out for the holidays. The inspection is the first military facility visit USAREUR-AF has hosted under the Vienna Document since 44 representatives of 28 countries descended on Grafenwoehr in September 2018. Inspection and evaluation visits allow participating militaries to check compliance with measures of the politically binding Vienna Document 2011. The provisions are intended to build mutual confidence and security in Europe and parts of Central Asia. Over 50 member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are participants in the agreement, including the U.S., Canada and their NATO allies, as well as Russia. A man chants slogans during a protest to denounce the October military coup,, in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. The October military takeover upended a fragile planned transition to democratic rule and led to relentless street demonstrations across Sudan. (Marwan Ali/AP) CAIRO Sudanese security forces fired tear gas on Thursday to disperse protesters in Khartoum as thousands of people rallied again in the country's capital and elsewhere to protest the October military coup. Despite tightened security measures and closures of bridges and roads, protesters marched in Khartoum, beating drums and waving Sudanese flags. They chanted "Revolution! The military belong in the barracks!" Demonstrators also hurled stones at security forces and armored police vehicles from where tear gas was fired. The protest was preceded by a disruption of the mobile internet, according to advocacy group NetBlocs, a usual tactic employed by the generals since the Oct. 25 coup. "Our position is clear; we are opposed to any negotiations, partnership or compromise" with the military, said Shahinaz Gamal, a protester. "We came out today to bring down this (ruling military) council and to have a civilian democratic government afterwards." Similar protests took place in other parts of the country, including the provinces of Kassala and West Darfur, and the coastal city of Port Sudan. Despite the internet disruption, activists posted a few videos showing masked protesters rallying under clouds of gas. The October military takeover upended a fragile planned transition to democratic rule and led to relentless street demonstrations across Sudan. At least 47 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in protests triggered by the coup, according to a tally by a Sudanese medical group. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, a former U.N. official seen as the civilian face of Sudan's transitional government, was reinstated last month amid international pressure in a deal that calls for an independent technocratic Cabinet under military oversight led by him. That deal, however, was rejected by the pro-democracy movement, which insists that power be handed over to a fully civilian government tasked with leading the transition. A coffin containing the remains of a Guatemalan migrant killed in a truck crash in southern Mexico, is carried to a waiting vehicle on the tarmac of La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (Oliver de Ros/AP) GUATEMALA CITY The bodies of 15 more migrants killed in a Dec. 9 truck crash in southern Mexico were flown home o Guatemala on Thursday. The remains in brown wood-colored coffins were delivered by a Mexican military C-295 transport aircraft. The coffins were unloaded at a Guatemalan base and handed over to their families. Most were expected to be buried in their hometowns Friday. "Today is a very sad day for Mexico, as we know it is for Guatemala," said Laura Elena Carrillo, the director of Mexico's international cooperation agency. "These people went looking for a dream, and today they return to rest in their own land." The Mexican government said that so far, 50 of the 56 migrants killed when a people smuggler's semi-trailer truck rolled over on a highway have been identified. A total of 25 have been returned to their homelands, with another five expected to be returned soon, it said. Of the 50 identified dead, 37 were from Guatemala, 11 from the Dominican Republic, and one each from El Salvador and Ecuador. The first four bodies of Guatemalan victims were returned earlier this month, and 18 more are to be returned later. Authorities say fingerprints have been used to identify the bodies as well as relatives' identification of their loved ones through photographs. More than 100 migrants were injured in the crash, and Guatemalan authorities say 27 of them remain hospitalized. Assistant Guatemalan Foreign Minister Eduardo Hernandez said some of those injured in the crash had resumed their trek north toward the United States despite the accident. The truck was packed with as many as 250 migrants, and survivors said that speed and weight of the human cargo might have played a role in the crash. Andrea Hunt, a teachers aide at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, is vaccinated against COVID-19 by Hospital Corpsman Janasia Spotson on March 19, 2021. (Ryo Isobe/U.S. Navy) TOKYO A surge in COVID-19 within the U.S. military in Japan added another 154 new cases at bases from Okinawa to Tokyo this week, due largely to new arrivals and holiday travelers returning to Japan. Installations that reported no cases in November suddenly had them in double digits. Yokosuka Naval Base, home of the Navys 7th Fleet south of Tokyo, reported 75 people tested positive for the coronavirus between Dec. 23 and Thursday, according to a news release Thursday. Sixty-nine were in quarantine after returning to Japan when they tested positive, according to a base news release Thursday. Three of those were unimmunized. That many new cases of the coronavirus respiratory disease are a dramatic increase at the base that last reported one case in mid-November. Yokosuka, the largest U.S. naval base in Japan, is not alone in coping with a coronavirus surge as winter closes in and travelers return from holiday trips. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, 25 miles south of Hiroshima, reported another 27 cases Thursday, bringing to 122 the number of new cases of COVID-19 in a cluster growing there since Dec. 21. The air base, home to Marine and Navy fighter squadrons, reported 80 COVID-19 cases Wednesday and 13 from the weekend. Base commander Col. Lance Lewis on Wednesday imposed a temporary mask mandate, a 10 p.m. curfew for establishments in the surrounding communities, including Hiroshima, and a ban on guests on base. By implementing these stopgap measures, we will slow the spread, keep ourselves and our host city safe, and keep us in the fight, Lewis wrote on the MCAS Iwakuni Facebook page on Wednesday. At Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, 22 people tested positive between Saturday and Thursday, according to an update on the base home page. Nine tested positive between Dec. 18 and 24. Kadena has 34 coronavirus patients under observation. The Marine Corps identified nearly 280 cases since Dec. 17 at Camp Hansen on Okinawa, a cluster that originated in a recently arrived rotational unit. Nearly half of them, 47%, have tested positive for the omicron variant, an easily transmissible version of the coronavirus, according to a report Thursday by the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. A spokesman for Marine Corps Installations Pacific did not return an email Thursday from Stars and Stripes seeking comment. Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo reported 13 new coronavirus patients between Dec. 23 and Tuesday, according to an update Wednesday on the Yokota home page. A total 24 people with the virus are under observation at Yokota. Naval Air Facility Atsugi, southwest of Tokyo in Kanagawa prefecture, reported 25 cases Thursday in a post on its official Facebook page. Base commander Capt. Manning Montagnet, in a message to the base, said those cases are entirely associated with service members arriving to take up a new duty station or returning from holiday leave. And in every case, those who have tested positive are lightly symptomatic or asymptomatic, as most are already fully vaccinated, Montagnet said in a Facebook post Thursday. The overall good news here is that these individuals who tested positive are OK, were found, and put into [restriction of movement] before any community spread. U.S. Army Japan, headquartered southwest of Tokyo at Camp Zama, reported six COVID-19 cases on Wednesday for a total of 11 so far in December, according to Army news releases. All 11 tested positive after arriving in Japan, according to the Army. Returning travelers affiliated with the military are required to quarantine 14 days at their installations or their off-base homes, provided they travel directly to and from their installations. Japan reported 313 new cases on Wednesday and two deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Its one-day high, nearly 26,000 new cases, occurred in August. The United States on Tuesday reported 377,014 new cases, according to Johns Hopkins. Its one-day high, 512,553 new cases, occurred the previous day. It reported 2,105 deaths on Tuesday, about half the 4,048 deaths recorded Jan. 13. The South Korean and U.S. flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, Aug. 23, 2016. (Ken Scar/U.S. Army) South Koreas top diplomat on Wednesday said his country and the U.S. effectively have agreed on a draft declaration of a formal end to the Korean War. The two allies have shared views on the importance of the declaration, and were now considering ways to make progress in consultations with North Korea, said Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong at an end-of-year news conference. Our government views that an end-of-war declaration is a crucial step that we must go through in the process of achieving complete denuclearization and a lasting peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula, Chung said. Our government views that an end-of-war declaration provides a very useful opportunity to resume dialogue in a current deadlock in talks with North Korea. The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice agreement between China, North Korea and the U.N. Command. The agreement was intended to end hostilities and to eventually bring about a final peaceful settlement. Chungs comments come weeks after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the U.S., North Korea and China agreed in principle to declare a formal end to the Korean War. Moons presidency ends in May and his administration has sought to fulfill his campaign promise of bringing the war to a close. Moon told reporters during a press conference Dec. 13 that a formal declaration was not an ultimate goal but a possible step to generate significant dialogue momentum with North Korea. State Department spokesman Ned Price in a press briefing Tuesday reiterated that the U.S. harbors no hostile intent toward Pyongyang and is prepared to meet without precondition. We hope the DPRK will respond positively to our outreach, Price said, referring to North Koreas formal name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. Pyongyang has said little recently about a possible end-of-war declaration. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior official in the ruling party, described the possibility as interesting and a good idea in a September statement. We have discussed the end of war declaration at several opportunities in the past since we have appreciated of the necessity and meaning of the [declaration], which can be the beginning of the establishment of a system to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula, Kim said in a statement through the state-run Korean Central News Agency. Critics of the declaration have voiced doubt about whether it would build relations with the communist regime. Former Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris, a retired admiral who once led U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the Pacific Fleet, questioned how North Korea would change after a formal end to the Korean War. Its not a peace treaty the armistice will still be extant, Harris told a discussion panel in November. Our treaty obligations to defend South Korea will still be extant. And North Koreas missile, nuclear and conventional capabilities will still be extant. President Joe Biden speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone from his private residence in Wilmington, Del., on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (Adam Schultz/The White House via AP) WILMINGTON, Del. President Joe Biden has warned Russia's Vladimir Putin that the U.S. could impose new sanctions against Russia if it takes further military action against Ukraine, while Putin responded that such a U.S. move could lead to a complete rupture of ties between the nations. The two leaders spoke frankly for nearly an hour Thursday amid growing alarm over Russia's troop buildup near Ukraine, a crisis that has deepened as the Kremlin has stiffened its insistence on border security guarantees and test-fired hypersonic missiles to underscore its demands. Further U.S. sanctions "would be a colossal mistake that would entail grave consequences," said Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, who briefed reporters in Moscow after the Biden-Putin phone conversation. He added that Putin told Biden that Russia would act as the U.S. would if offensive weapons were deployed near American borders. White House officials offered a far more muted post-call readout, suggesting the leaders agreed there are areas where the two sides can make meaningful progress but also differences that might be impossible to resolve. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden "urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine" and "made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine." Putin requested the call, the second between the leaders this month, ahead of scheduled talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials Jan. 9 and 10 in Geneva. The Geneva talks will be followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council on Jan. 12 and negotiations at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna on Jan. 13. White House officials said Thursday's call lasted 50 minutes, ending after midnight in Moscow. Biden told Putin the two powers now face "two paths": diplomacy or American deterrence through sanctions, according to a senior administration official. Biden said the route taken, according to the official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, will "depend on Russia's actions in the period ahead." Russia has made clear it wants a written commitment that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO and that the alliance's military equipment will not be positioned in former Soviet states, demands that the Biden administration has rejected. Biden told Putin a diplomatic path remains open even as the Russians have moved an estimated 100,000 troops toward Ukraine and Kremlin officials have turned up the volume on their demands for new guarantees from the U.S. and NATO. White House officials said Biden made clear that the U.S. stands ready to exact substantial economic pain through sanctions should Putin decide to take military action in Ukraine. Putin reacted strongly. Red Square and the Kremlin are seen through evening fog in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 12, 2021. Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Thursday, Dec. 30, about the Russian troop buildup near Ukraine. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP) He "noted that it would be a mistake that our ancestors would see as a grave error. A lot of mistakes have been made over the past 30 years, and we would better avoid more such mistakes in this situation," Ushakov said. Russia's demands are to be discussed during the talks in Geneva, but it remains unclear what, if anything, Biden would be willing to offer Putin in exchange for defusing the crisis. Draft security documents Moscow submitted demand that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. The U.S. and its allies have refused to offer Russia the kind of guarantees on Ukraine that Putin wants, citing NATO's principle that membership is open to any qualifying country. They agreed, however, to hold talks with Russia to discuss its concerns. The security proposal by Moscow has raised the question of whether Putin is making unrealistic demands in the expectation of a Western rejection that would give him a pretext to invade. Steven Pifer, who served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in the Clinton administration, said the Biden administration could engage on some elements of Russia's draft document if Moscow is serious about talks. Meanwhile, key NATO members have made clear there is no appetite for expanding the alliance in the near future. The U.S. and allies could also be receptive to language in the Russians' draft document calling for establishing new consultative mechanisms, such as the NATO-Russia Council and a hotline between NATO and Russia. "The draft treaty's proposed bar on any NATO military activity in Ukraine, eastern Europe, the Caucasus, or Central Asia is an overreach, but some measures to limit military exercises and activities on a reciprocal basis might be possible," Pifer, who is now a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, wrote in an analysis for the Washington think tank. Biden and Putin, who met in Geneva in June to discuss an array of tensions in the U.S.-Russia relationship, are not expected to take part in the January talks. Last week, Russia test-fired Zircon hypersonic missiles, a move Russian officials said was meant to help make Russia's push for security guarantees "more convincing." The test was the first time Zircon missiles were launched in a salvo, indicating the completion of tests before the new missile enters service with the Russian navy next year and arms its cruisers, frigates and submarines. U.S. intelligence earlier this month determined that Russian planning was underway for a possible military offensive that could begin as soon as early 2022, but that Putin had yet to determine whether to move forward with it. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's Security and Defense Council, said Thursday his country believes there is no immediate threat of a major Russian invasion. "Our experts say that the Russian Federation just physically can't mount a big invasion of our territory," Danilov said. "There is a time period needed for preparations." The U.S. military has flown surveillance flights in Ukrainian airspace this week, including a flight Thursday by an Air Force E-8C JSTARS aircraft, according to Chuck Pritchard, a spokesman for U.S. European Command. That plane is equipped to provide intelligence on ground forces. Russia has denied any intention of launching an invasion and, in turn, has accused Ukraine of hatching plans to try to reclaim control of territories held by Moscow-backed rebels by force. Ukraine has rejected the claim. At the same time, Putin has warned that Moscow will have to take "adequate military-technical measures" if the West continues its "aggressive" course "on the threshold of our home." Last month, Putin voiced concern that NATO could potentially use the Ukrainian territory for the deployment of missiles that would be capable of reaching Moscow in just five minutes and said that Zircon would give Russia a comparable capability. As Biden prepared for the talks with Putin, the administration also sought to highlight its commitment to Ukraine and drive home that Washington is committed to the "principle of nothing about you without you" in shaping policy that affects European allies. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Past military incursions by Putin loom large. In 2014, Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and seized the territory from Ukraine. Russia's annexation of Crimea was one of the darker moments for President Barack Obama on the international stage. The U.S.-Russia relationship was badly damaged near the end of President George W. Bush's administration after Russia's 2008 invasion of its neighbor Georgia after Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered his troops into the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Biden, who is spending the week in his home state of Delaware, spoke to Putin from his home near Wilmington. The White House distributed a photo of the president speaking to the Russian leader from a desk lined with family photos. ___ Vladimir Isachenkov reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Dasha Litvinova in Moscow, Robert Burns in Washington and Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report. A U.S. Army Green Beret and Bulgarian special forces members display capabilities to visiting officials in Bulgaria on Aug. 26, 2021. NATOs supreme allied commander reportedly wants the alliance to set up battlegroups in Bulgaria and Romania. (Devin Andrews/U.S. Marine Corps) STUTTGART, Germany The top U.S. military commander in Europe wants to reinforce NATOs eastern flank with multinational battlegroups in Romania and Bulgaria because of concerns about Russias moves around Ukraine. Gen. Tod Wolters, who serves as NATOs supreme allied commander and head of U.S. European Command, delivered the proposal to allied military chiefs during a recent video call, German news weekly Der Spiegel reported earlier this month. Citing information it had obtained about the plan, Der Spiegel said Wolters wants contingents in the two Black Sea countries that resemble those already established in the Baltic states and Poland. The 1,500-member battlegroups are designed to function as a trip-wire deterrent force to potential Russian aggression. When asked Thursday, NATO didnt directly address Wolters proposal, which was reported Dec. 18. Adding battlegroups in Romania and Bulgaria would be in line with more recent efforts by NATO to bolster its position around the Black Sea, a strategic waterway where Russia has been increasingly assertive. U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, NATOs supreme allied commander, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington on April 13, 2021. (EJ Hersom/Defense Department) Still, it remains unclear how Wolters plan for battlegroups in those countries will be received by alliance states. Within NATO, there is often tension between members in the east, eager for allied reinforcements and a larger U.S. military presence, and western European counterparts, like Germany, that are wary of provoking Russia. Wolters also called on allies to use satellites and other sensors to monitor for threats in the east and share findings immediately with the alliance, Der Spiegel reported. The U.S. and fellow NATO countries have said they are prepared to reinforce eastern allies should Russia launch a new invasion of Ukraine. For its part, Russia is now demanding a wide range of security assurances related to Ukraine, including a pledge that Kyiv will never be admitted to the alliance. In 2008, NATO said Ukraine would eventually be granted membership if it met a range of alliance military and political standards. But since then, Ukraines quest to join has been stalled, and allies have given no indication they are in a hurry to grant Kyivs request for speedy membership. Kremlin demands regarding NATO are expected to be at the center of discussions during a Jan. 10 meeting on Ukraine between Russia and the U.S. Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to bring up the matter up during a phone call scheduled for Thursday with President Joe Biden. For Russia, NATOs military buildup near its borders has long been a point of contention. But much of that renewed presence came about only after Russias 2014 invasion of Ukraine. The takeover of Ukrainian bases by Russian forces, Moscows subsequent annexation of Crimea and Ukraines ongoing war with Russia-backed rebels sparked NATOs largest military reinforcement since the end of the Cold War. Most of NATOs efforts since 2014 have focused on shoring up defenses around the Baltics and Poland, where U.S. troops lead a battlegroup just 50 miles from the Russian military exclave of Kaliningrad. Turkish police officers in riot gear block a street during a rally in Istanbul on June 17, 2020, as demonstrators protest an on-going government crackdown on a political movement that officials accused of links to Kurdish militants. On Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, a Turkish court indicted nearly two dozen suspects from a religious association alleging purported links to outlawed Kurdish militants. (Emrah Gurel/AP) ISTANBUL A Turkish court accepted an indictment against suspects from a religious association Thursday in a case that could have political and legal repercussions on the opposition-held Istanbul municipality. The trial against 23 people involved with DIAYDER, which stands for Religious Scholars Mutual Aid and Solidarity Association, for purported links to outlawed Kurdish militants will begin on Feb. 18. Nine of the defendants are in pre-trial detention and some are said to work for the Istanbul municipality. The court's decision follows an Interior Ministry probe announced Sunday against hundreds of municipal staff for alleged terror links. Together, the cases have prompted worries that the government could be laying the groundwork for targeting popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is seen as a possible challenger to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections scheduled for 2023. Secular opposition Republican People's Party's Imamoglu came to power in 2019 in re-run elections after Erdogan's ruling party contested his win, dealing a massive blow to Erdogan in Turkey's most important city. The opposition party has recently accused the government of mishandling the economy, calling for early elections. The 335-page indictment, accepted Thursday, said DIAYDER followed purported instruction by Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, for setting up an alternative religious structure to Turkey's official religious authority in order to garner support from religious Kurds. The indictment states that people with links to the association were employed as imams and bathers for the deceased in preparation for Islamic funerals by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. It also says some of the suspects were handing over municipal aid to families with PKK links. Turkey's Interior Ministry said Sunday it launched a "special investigation" against 557 employees of the Istanbul municipality and linked companies. They are accused of links to terror groups, including the PKK, far-left groups and the network of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the government blames for the failed 2016 coup attempt. Minister Suleyman Soylu said they had identified people with terror links among employees and argued the move was to combat terror, including in public institutions. "It's not political, it's a security issue," he said. Imamoglu, defending his 86,000 employees, called for Soylu's resignation. He said municipality staff must present official criminal records in order to be considered for employment and had asked the Interior Ministry to provide lists of suspects and information to investigate but had not heard back. Meanwhile, other opposition mayors came out in support of Imamoglu. They said "unjust and baseless claims" aimed to create suspicions on their municipalities and were part of "dirty politics." Ozgur Ozel, parliamentary group leader of the Republican People's Party, repeated calls for early elections after criticizing the indictment, which he said was based only on two secret witnesses and a convicted PKK member. He accused the ruling party of trying to replace the mayor of Istanbul with a government-appointed trustee instead of going to the polls. The deputy chairman of the ruling party, Numan Kurtulmus, told Haberturk television Monday it was the government's job to identify and reveal people with terror links as he tried to ease concerns. "There is no need to worry. ... I will say again, this has nothing to do with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayor." But Erdogan's key nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, said Thursday that Imamoglu should be sacked if terror links are proven. The government has replaced and jailed numerous elected mayors from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, the second largest opposition party in parliament, for alleged links to the PKK. The PKK, which has waged an insurgency in Turkey since 1984, is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and others. Since the 2016 failed coup attempt, tens of thousands of people have been investigated, jailed or sacked from government jobs for purported terror links. A Simorgh, or Phoenix, rocket is launched in an undisclosed location in Iran, according to the Iranian Defense Ministrys website, which posted the photo on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (Iranian Defense Ministry via AP) TEHRAN, Iran Iran launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, authorities announced Thursday, without saying whether any of the objects had entered Earth's orbit. It was not clear when the launch happened or what devices the carrier brought with it. Iran aired footage of the blastoff against the backdrop of negotiations in Vienna to restore Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers. An eighth round had been underway this week and is to resume after New Year's holidays. Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States. The U.S. military did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday's announcement from Iran. The State Department, however, said it remains concerned by Iran's space launches, which it asserts "pose a significant proliferation concern" in regards to Tehran's ballistic missile program. Ahmad Hosseini, a Defense Ministry spokesman, identified the rocket as a Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket that sent up the three devices 470 kilometers (290 miles). "The performance of the space center and the performance of the satellite carrier was done properly," Hosseini was quoted as saying. But hours later, Hosseini and other officials remained silent on the the status of the objects, suggesting the rocket had fallen short of placing its payload into the correct orbit. Hosseini offered a speed for the satellite carrier that state-associated journalists reporting on the event indicated wouldn't be enough to reach orbit. Iran's civilian space program has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, including fatal fires and a launchpad rocket explosion that drew the attention of former President Donald Trump. Iranian state media recently offered a list of upcoming planned satellite launches for the Islamic Republic's civilian space program. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard runs its own parallel program that successfully put a satellite into orbit last year. Hosseini described the launch announced Thursday as "initial," indicating more are on the way. Television aired footage of the white rocket emblazoned with the words, "Simorgh satellite carrier" and the slogan "We can" shooting into the morning sky from Iran's Imam Khomeini Spaceport. A state TV reporter at a nearby desert site hailed the launch as "another achievement by Iranian scientists." The blast-offs have raised concerns in Washington about whether the technology used to launch satellites could advance Iran's ballistic missile development. The United States says that such satellite launches defy a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on Iran to steer clear of any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Space launch vehicles "incorporate technologies that are virtually identical to, and interchangeable with, those used in ballistic missiles, including longer-range systems," the State Department said late Thursday. "The United States continues to use all its nonproliferation tools to prevent the further advancement of Iran's missile programs and urges other countries to take steps to address Iran's missile development activity." Iran, which long has said it does not seek nuclear weapons, maintains its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have a military component. Announcing a rocket launch as diplomats struggle to restore Tehran's atomic accord keeps with Tehran's hard-line posture under President Ebrahim Raisi, a recently elected conservative cleric. New Iranian demands in the nuclear talks have exasperated Western nations and heightened regional tensions as Tehran presses ahead with atomic advancements. Diplomats have repeatedly raised the alarm that time is running out to restore the accord, which collapsed three years ago when Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the deal. From Vienna, Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani told Iranian state TV that he hopes diplomats pursue "more serious work to lift sanctions" when nuclear talks resume next week. He described negotiations over the past week as "positive." Washington, however, has thrown cold water on Tehran's upbeat assessments. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters earlier this week that "it's really too soon to tell whether Iran has returned with a more constructive approach to this round." Iran has now abandoned all limitations under the agreement, and has ramped up uranium enrichment from under 4% purity to 60% a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels. International inspectors face challenges in monitoring Tehran's advances. Satellite images seen by The Associated Press suggested a launch was imminent earlier this month. The images showed preparations at the spaceport in the desert plains of Iran's rural Semnan province, some 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of Tehran. Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space. But under Raisi, the government appears to have sharpened its focus on space. Iran's Supreme Council of Space has met for the first time in 11 years. ___ DeBre reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report. A group of scuba divers prepares to exit the water after diving in the Red Sea near the Europe-Asia Pipeline Company oil jetty in Israels southern city of Eilat on Aug, 5. 2021. (Noa Siti Eliyahu/AP) TEL AVIV, Israel Israel's Environment Minister said Thursday a clandestine oil deal that would have turned a scuba divers' paradise into a waypoint for Emirati oil headed for Western markets has effectively been blocked. Tamar Zandberg told Israeli Army Radio that following a Justice Ministry opinion that her office had the authority to limit the activities of the Israeli government-owned corporation signed onto the deal, "the agreement cannot be realized." "The deal exists on paper but there is no way to realize it," she said. "They won't bring in more tankers than what the current permit allows. That is, the agreement cannot be realized." The secret deal would have significantly increased the number of oil tankers docking and unloading in the Israeli resort city of Eilat. It was struck last year between the Europe-Asia Pipeline Company, the Israeli government-owned corporation, and MED-RED Land Bridge, a joint Israeli-Emirati venture, following the historic agreement establishing formal diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Senior officials in former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government including his former energy, foreign and environment ministers said they didn't know about the deal until it was announced last year after the accords were signed at the White House. Initially hailed as a move that could cement fledgling diplomatic ties and further Israel's energy ambitions, the new Israeli government sworn in this year ordered a review. That followed an outcry from environmental groups, who warned the increased oil tanker traffic would threaten to eradicate the Gulf of Eilat's coral reefs. The decision upset investors and risked a diplomatic spat with Israel's Gulf allies. During the review, the Environmental Protection Ministry froze the company's planned expansion of operations, limiting the number of tankers allowed into the Gulf of Eilat and effectively blocking the deal. Israeli environmental groups had asked the country's Supreme Court to cancel the agreement and halt oil shipments, citing the corporation's questionable safety record and the risk posed by parking supertankers alongside Eilat's fragile coral ecosystems. The groups pulled their lawsuit earlier this month following the Justice Ministry's decision to side with the Environmental Protection Ministry. The pipeline company, known as EAPC, was founded in the 1960s to bring Iranian oil to Israel when the countries had friendly relations. Its operations are shrouded in secrecy, ostensibly for security reasons. The deployment primarily includes nurses, respiratory therapists and medical doctors, and comes at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, according to Army North, the military agency that has overseen these missions since they began in 2020. (Raekwon Jenkins/Army) An additional 65 military personnel have begun deploying to help health care facilities in Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania that are struggling to meet the demands of increased coronavirus patients, U.S. Army North said Thursday. The deployment primarily includes nurses, respiratory therapists and medical doctors, and comes at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, according to Army North, the military agency that has overseen these missions since they began in 2020. For a period all troops returned to their duty stations, but missions resurfaced in August. Once the newly deployed troops arrive, there will be about 260 service members working FEMA missions to alleviate the stress caused on some medical facilities as the omicron and delta variants of the coronavirus increase demand for care. New cases reached an all-time high this week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 431,000 were reported to the agency on Tuesday. The 65 service members called up this week are split into four new teams three 15-person teams working in Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and one 20-person team also headed to Pennsylvania, according to Army North. As U.S. Northern Commands joint force land component command, our assigned joint forces from the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force are prepared and focused on this mission and know what it takes to save lives, alleviate suffering, and defeat this pandemic alongside our federal and community partners, Lt. Gen. John R. Evans, Jr., U.S. Army North commander, said in a statement. A team arrived in Arizona on Wednesday to support Yuma Regional Medical Center in Yuma. The Michigan team also arrived on site Wednesday to support Mercy Health in Muskegon. Both are made up of Air Force personnel. In Pennsylvania, a 15-person team will support the Regional Hospital of Scranton and the 20-person team will support the WellSpan Surgery & Rehabilitation Hospital in York. They, too, are made up of Air Force personnel and will arrive on site in the coming days, Army North said. Other states receiving military support through FEMA are Michigan, Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Rose Thayer Rose L. Thayer is based in Austin, Texas, and she has been covering the western region of the continental U.S. for Stars and Stripes since 2018. Before that she was a reporter for Killeen Daily Herald and a freelance journalist for publications including The Alcalde, Texas Highways and the Austin American-Statesman. She is the spouse of an Army veteran and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism. Her awards include a 2021 Society of Professional Journalists Washington Dateline Award and an Honorable Mention from the Military Reporters and Editors Association for her coverage of crime at Fort Hood. previous coverage UK health officials prepare for omicron surge at hospitals State Sen. John C. Velis, D-Westfield, at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke. (Leon Nguyen, The Republican/TNS) HOLYOKE, Mass. (Tribune News Service) Nearly two years ago, Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe was met by the imploring eyes of staff at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, which was steeped in crisis at the start of the pandemic. What I remember most was the panic in their eyes, said Keefe, senior officer of the Massachusetts National Guard, who was dispatched to the site as the virus began galloping through the state-run home for elderly veterans. But soon, he saw a team galvanize to try to stabilize the home, whose staff also began to fall ill and call in sick in droves. By June of 2020, nearly 80 veterans had died, many alone as families were barred from the facility. In addition to the human casualties, the crisis upended the soldiers home leadership. Keefe became chairman of its board of trustees. Former superintendent Bennett Walsh, medical director Dr. David Clinton and other top staff were forced to resign. Walsh and Clinton were indicted for criminal neglect earlier this year, but a Hampden Superior Court judge recently dismissed the case. State Attorney General Maura Healey has since signaled her intent to appeal the ruling. If there was a silver lining, it was the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker moving swiftly on reforms at the home focused on staffing, leadership and improving the outdated physical structure of the building, which was faulted, in part, for the scale of the outbreak. State laws around the chain of command for the home and its counterpart in Chelsea are also in question. I see a groundbreaking in the future at some point (next) year, Keefe said, referring to the symbolic start of construction of a new $400 million home with primarily private rooms to replace the cramped triple suites, as well as modernized common spaces. I really cant wait until we can open the doors and let people in to see the good things that are happening here now. If all goes according to plan, the new facility will be built on Cherry Street next to the existing home. It is slated for completion in 2026. After Walshs ouster, the state temporarily called in Val Liptak, CEO of the state-run Western Massachusetts Hospital in Westfield, to run the Holyoke site. She returned to her original post a year ago. As trustees look for a permanent superintendent, the state appointed the National Guards Col. Michael Lazo, whom Keefe says has repaired relations with labor unions and families, and has generally helped to right the ship. While the board went through a lengthy exercise earlier this year to find a permanent superintendent complete with an outside executive recruitment agency and a subcommittee the pick went south. Rick Holloway, a veterans home administrator from Idaho, was the resounding pick by trustees, but then reconsidered after he accepted the job. Keefe said trustees will begin the process over again, but are not in a hurry to get rid of Lazo, who is pursuing his certified nursing home administrators certification. In addition to greenlighting the money for the new soldiers home in Holyoke, Baker also approved $200 million in a bond bill for expanded veterans services across the state. A legislative oversight committee held several public hearings and probed factors that may have exacerbated the outbreak at the home. An independent report commissioned by Baker and conducted by Boston attorney Mark Pearlstein yielded a report that laid much of the blame on Walsh and his team. In particular, the report found a decision to combine two dementia units, blending sick veterans with well veterans, was a catastrophic decision that ramped up the spread of the virus rather than blunting it. Two civil lawsuits have been filed by veterans and their families in U.S. District Court along with one by staff. Those complaints are all pending. On the legislative side, bills focused on the governance in the House and Senate have been making their way through committee and were recently voted out favorably by members of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs. Those virtually identical bills have been culled down to one. State Sen. John Velis, a Democrat from Westfield whose district includes Holyoke, has been at the forefront of advocating for the soldiers home since the crisis began. A U.S. Army reservist, he immersed himself in listening sessions with desperate, grieving family members and has helped usher the bills through the branches. He also is the chairman of the veterans affairs panel. He reserved his right to vote on the bill. As of right now I cant get behind the bill that has emerged from the Senate but Im hopeful well get to the point where we have something that is good for all veterans, Velis said. One facet of the bill he takes issue with is a recommendation to abolish the separate boards of trustees for Holyoke and Chelsea in favor of a new, statewide advisory council that would have authority over both sites. These are two fundamentally different homes, Velis said. Holyoke is basically a nursing home, while the population at Chelsea is diametrically different. Chelsea tends to provide housing for veterans at risk of homelessness who need other types of assistance, he said. There are policies that might be good for one and not for the other, he added. Velis also has been critical of the proposed shuffling of oversight of the homes. The chain of command is currently from the state Department of Veterans Services to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to the governors office. The Senate bill proposes elevating the Veterans Services secretary to a cabinet position and taking the health and human services layer of oversight out. We spent an inordinate amount of time talking about the medical pedigrees of the people running the homes, but this proposal takes the medical folks out of it. It feels counterintuitive to me, Velis said. He anticipates votes on the bill in the full House and Senate sometime this spring. 2021 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Tribune News Service) When Bill Burnett was drafted into the army at age 17, he knew he'd be in good company. Burnett was one of five of the "Burnett boys," a group of him and his brothers, who all served in the military at the same time. They had three older brothers who served in WWII. The Mountaineer even wrote an article about the unusual event in the early 1960s. After all, how many people can say they served in the military while four of their siblings were doing the same? "I'm just so proud of him and his service," said Mary Burnett, Bill's wife. Burnett just turned 90. Although he was the fourth of his twelve siblings, he's now the only living one. Born in Union County, Ga., Burnett's family moved to Bethel, N.C., in 1943, when he was 12 years old. They settled into the community well, though times were tough by today's standards. "There were 3 or 4 people to a bedroom," Bill Burnett said. "But we did know what being poor was." Burnett started out in the Army when he was 17 he was drafted before even finishing high school. Throughout his 22 year career in the military Burnett also served in the Navy and in the Air Force. Little did he know at the time that he would serve longer than any of his brothers. "I gave them 22-and-a-half years," Burnett said of the military. His favorite branch of the military was the Air Force, where he served as a member of the Security Police. Burnett said he spent a lot of time "walking guard" on military planes. At 90, Burnett's military career is now mostly condensed to one briefcase. That's where he now keeps newspaper clippings, certificates, photos and more. He took it everywhere in the service, and occasionally sifts through it. Though he struggled with memory loss, when he looks through all his documents, memories come back. Not even his wife Mary Burnett knows every detail of his career. In fact, she only recently found a newspaper clipping he has from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer from the early '60s. In the article, Bill Burnett was recognized for his efforts as the first on the scene when a military plane crashed shortly after taking off in Seattle. "When we got there, the flames were 10 to 20 feet high. We heard a man calling for help. He was out of the wreckage, but a tree had fallen on him and broken one of his legs. Two of us lifted the tree off of him and the third pulled him out from under the tree," Bill Burnett recounted in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The article lauded him as a hero, a crucial player in saving the lives of his fellow servicemen. But Bill Burnett has always seen his heroics a bit differently. "I'm not a hero, I was just doing what I was trained to do," he said, looking back on the event. Either way, his decades of service in three branches of the military are a point of pride for his family. Mary Burnett has pictures of them together at weddings, with Bill all decked out in his special air force garb. She said relatives often request that he wear the special outfit to honor the time he spent serving his country. Now, Bill Burnett's life is much different. He's been forced to slow down some, though he and his wife Mary Burnett will tell you he'd much rather be up and about. "I'm too young to sit still," Burnett said. (c)2021 The Mountaineer (Waynesville, N.C.) Visit The Mountaineer (Waynesville, N.C.) at themountaineer.villagesoup.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. MCALLEN, Texas (Tribune News Service) One of the last surviving women of the iconic Rosie the Riveter brigade and a lifelong Rio Grande Valley resident died Tuesday evening at age 98. Angelica "Kela" Garcia is described by her children as a lifelong patriot who had a love for adventure a love that lasted until her last days. More than that, she was a woman who instilled a strong sense of family to her eight children, 20 grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren. "My mom was really big on education both my parents were," Letty Garcia, who serves as a trustee for Edinburg CISD, recalled Wednesday. "They really pushed us all to go to school. A lot of people were migrating at the time, which is great, but they wouldn't take us because they were afraid that we would miss out on school." "We did a lot of reading," former Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia said about his mother. "She did a lot of reading to us and taught us the value of reading. Her and my dad, they worked hard all of their lives and they dedicated themselves to their kids. They always stressed education." Garcia and her late husband, Felipe, raised eight children, Ramon, Thema, Felipe, Roberto, Nora Linda, Dalila, Letty, and Romeo. The siblings described Garcia as their biggest supporter, pushing them to go as far as they could in all their endeavors and teaching them to be hardworking, honest people, they said. "Up to the very end, the days that she could still speak, she would just turn around and say, 'Family is very important,'" Dalila said. "Those were some of her last words. She was just so happy that we were all there. 'Family is what matters.' She would always preach that." Garcia was born in Tabasco, Texas, Feb. 7, 1923, and grew up in La Joya in the midst of the Great Depression. She graduated from Nellie Schunior High School in 1941 and began working for a loan company in Mission. On Dec. 7, 1941, as Garcia was leaving church, she found out about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Her two brothers, Pablo and Roberto, were soon drafted into the military and sent overseas. Wanting to do her part, Garcia decided to take the civil service exam. "In those years especially, the Mexican-American (women) never left the house," Garcia recalled in an interview with The Monitor in May 2016. "There were no jobs. Before the war it was so hard around here. We were in the depression. Finally, I convinced my mom and my dad." She was hired as an airplane machinist and sent to the Marfa Army Airfield, where she worked making screws and bolts for airplanes. "It was women, young ladies, going to Marfa, Texas," Nora Linda said. "Of course, her parents were really worried about sending out their daughter because there was no family to receive her on the other end. It was just a lot of women who were going to do a man's job." Kela, as she was lovingly called, continued her work with the Rosie the Riveter's Brigade until the end of the war, but her love for her country continued. "My mother was a Rosie the Riveter. How many people can actually say that they were part of the brigade of Rosie the Riveter," Nora Linda said. "Mom was also a very strong person, both physically and mentally," Dalila said. Even in her later years, Garcia's sense of adventure led to many trips throughout the country she loved so dearly. Among her favorite destinations was Las Vegas, a place she was known to frequent two to three times a year. "She loved to gamble," Dalila said. "She loved the Blazing 7s. Those were her machines. She loved it. And she loved scratch-offs." The sisters recalled one particular story from a few years ago about their mother traveling with her sister and their cousin in Garcia's new car to spend Mardi Gras in Louisiana. She didn't tell anyone about her trip. "Had it not been that they were involved in a minor accident, we would never have known that our mother was wherever she was at," Nora Linda said. "She was just trying to have a little adventure with her cousins." "I remember it was on Fat Tuesday because there were pictures of them where they were throwing the necklaces from the balcony," she continued. "She participated in all of that stuff. She loved it." (c)2021 The Monitor (McAllen, Texas) Visit The Monitor (McAllen, Texas) at www.themonitor.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Today there are an additional six Omicron cases to report among arrivals at the border, taking to total to date to 78. Yesterday, the Ministry of Health confirmed New Zealands first border-related case of Omicron with community exposures. The case arrived on December 16 and as required under the previous regime for international arrivals, completed a full 10 days in isolation; 7 days in a managed isolation facility and 3 days in self-isolation. They were tested on day nine but did not wait for a negative test result before self-releasing. Under the previous regime, those leaving a managed isolation facility were able to complete their three days self-isolation at home or in other accommodation, says a statement from the Ministry of Health. "The case completed their self-isolation on Waiheke Island, we understand they travelled by private car and ferry to the island. While on the ferry they did not leave their vehicle and travelled straight to their accommodation. "All international arrivals are now required to complete their full 10 days of isolation in a managed isolation facility and must return a negative day nine test before they are released. From 7 January, all travellers to New Zealand will have to have a PCR test no more than 48 hours before flying, down from the current 72 hours. "Contact tracing has identified a number of known close contacts, all of whom are being contacted and asked to isolate and test. This includes close contacts identified via case interviews and from locations of interest including Impala nightclub. "Additionally, push notifications have been sent to any person who scanned into any LOI that the case visited. These notifications include public health advice on testing and isolation. All identified close contacts are being urgently contacted by contact tracers." Whole genome sequencing of the other omicron cases at the same managed isolation facility has shown the case is not linked to others who stayed at the same facility. At this stage, there is no evidence of in facility transmission, says the Ministry. "A further interview is underway with the case this morning to determine additional locations of interest. "Testing is available on Waiheke today and additional mobile testing will be made available if required. "Anyone who attended the Hidden Lakes Festival and is concerned should ring healthline for further advice. "However, only a small number of contacts of this case attended the festival, all of whom had negative tests beforehand. The public health risk associated with this event has been assessed as low." At this stage, there are no known contacts or cases associated with Rhythm & Alps festival. As always, anyone who is symptomatic should stay at home get tested, says the MOH. "Today we are reporting a second border-related case who has been in the community. The case is an Air New Zealand crew member who worked on a flight between Auckland and Sydney on 24 December. "They were tested for Covid-19 in routine surveillance testing on 27 December. Whole genome sequencing has confirmed the Omicron variant and has also confirmed the case is linked to three other Omicron cases on the same flight. "The case was immediately transferred to a MIQ facility." The Ministry says the case is fully vaccinated. Eight close contacts have been identified, seven of whom have returned negative test results. At this stage, there are no known locations of interest. "We have been doing everything we can to prepare for Omicron and to keep it out of the community since the variant was first identified. This has included undertaking whole genome sequencing on every PCR sample taken from Covid-19 cases detected in international arrivals. "Our vaccine rollout remains our key defence against all variants of Covid-19, including Omicron. "With 90 per cent of the eligible population now double-dosed, and the booster programme underway, New Zealanders are well protected. "We want vaccinations to continue increasing and ask everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. This is also a timely reminder for people over the age of 18 to get their booster shot if it has been six months since their last vaccine dose." From 5 January, people only need to wait four months since their last dose and will be able to access a booster through walk in clinics. For a full list of vaccination centres see the Healthpoint website. The Ministry says as always, it is important to stay at home if you are sick, get tested if you have symptoms of Covid-19 and isolate until you return a negative test. Two Bay of Plenty brothers have been recognised for their services to the community and philanthropy on this years New Year Honours list. Garry Taylor and his twin brother Kevin Taylor established Taylor Bros Transport Ltd in 1966, which has grown over more than 50 years into a fleet of more than 50 trucks. The Taylor brothers have supported numerous non-for-profit organisations in Katikati and the wider district, both financially and with goods and services. Their sponsorships and donations have supported arts and culture, heritage, sport and education organisations and initiatives. They have sponsored Bay of Plenty Rescue Helicopter, Katikati Open Air Art, surf lifesaving, Tauranga Arts Festival, schools, churches, Scouts and Guides groups, Katikati Volunteer Fire Brigade, and Life Education among others. Some notable examples of works completed free of charge include the earthmoving for the Dave Hume Pool in 1973, the construction and extension of the Katikati Medical Centre in 1982 and 1997 respectively, and site works for the St Johns Centre Development Project in 2017. They have received recognition from local service clubs and both served periods as President of the Lions Club of Katikati in the 1970s. The Taylor brothers have supported the Lions Club to carry out numerous community activities and projects. Tauranga man Keith Carter is being awarded the Queens Service Medal for services to the community. Keith has been contributing to keeping Greerton community safe as a volunteer patroller since 2005. Keith was a founding member of the Greerton Night Owls - now Tauranga South Community Patrol - liaising between Police and the local community, and patrolling night hours. He would coordinate with Police to establish local crime hot spots to then arrange patrollers for those areas. With his wife Shirley, Keith attended a Community Patrols National Training Seminar in 2007, securing the first marked patrol car. He took over the local car boot sale which has run every third Saturday in Greerton since 2009, and is now located at Tauranga Racecourse. This is the main form of fundraising for the patrol group. Alongside Shirley, Keith has purchased and supplied all equipment needed for the car boot sale including all that is required for a sausage sizzle. Maureen Kathan of Tauranga South Community Patrol says she first met Keith and his wife Shirley in 2007. Members of the Tauranga South Community Patrol at Greerton Police Station. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford. My husband and I had just returned from living overseas for 30 years and wanted to involve ourselves in some local community work, says Maureen. We had seen an article in the local newspaper about something called Night Owls. Sounded interesting so we called into the local organiser of this newly formed organisation at his shop on Chadwick Road and met Keith. Maureen says it was the beginning of a long relationship working with Keith in the now renamed Tauranga South Community Patrol. From the very beginning it was obvious that this man was dedicated to improving the lives of those around him and working to make the community a safer place to live in, says Maureen. At that time he and Shirley owned the Tauranga Rug Company and were working full time. That didn't stop Keith from volunteering hours and hours of his free time into establishing a strong patrol and making it the successful patrol it is today. Since 2012, Keith has helped distribute tamper resistant screws throughout community patrols in New Zealand, an initiative with police that inserts a special screw in registration plates to prevent them being stolen. He has also organised and hosted annual tamper screw events to promote this. Keith co-chaired the national training seminar for Community Patrols held in Tauranga in 2013, with more than 300 patrollers nationwide attending. He has also been a member of the South City Bowling Club since 2008 and was President of Greerton Indoor Bowling Club between 2018 and 2020. In 2020, Keith received the Community Patrol New Zealand, Outstanding Service Award, and was awarded Life Membership of the Community Patrol New Zealand. The Tauranga South Community Patrol car at Greerton Police station. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford. Over the past 14 years I have worked closely with Keith on the [Tauranga South Community Patrol] committee and have seen first-hand the sensible, pragmatic approach he takes when working through challenges, says Maureen. His ability to inspire those around him both in his words of wisdom and his ethic of hard work is what has made him an outstanding person in the community. This honour to a humble, hard-working man is well deserved and I, on behalf of the patrol, congratulate him. Tauranga resident Shelley Payne is being made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Years Honours, for services to people with intellectual disabilities. Shelley became involved with IHC in 1995 and the Arohanui Art and Education Trust in 1999 to support her son who had complex disabilities. As the recipient of the award Shelley says she is delighted to have the opportunity to highlight the two disability services that were a huge and indispensable support during her son Ryans life and that of her family. Parents of babies who begin life with complications and disabilities that will impact their quality of life, often start out their journey ill-equipped for the everyday challenges that they will experience, says Shelley. Sometimes it felt like we needed two villages to support our family, but in reality we were very lucky to have wonderful extended family and friends who were always there for us. Shelley says that when they finally recognized that they needed more external support for Ryan, it was family-centric IHC that they chose to provide the residential service that supported him to mature into a more independent young man. I was privileged to become a member of the IHC governance body for a long period of time and change. I now count parents, staff and national managers as old and dear friends and colleagues. Shelley became President of IHC Mid-Bay of Plenty Branch in 1997 and joined the IHC New Zealand Board of Governance in 2002. From 2003 to 2015, Shelly was Vice President of IHC NZ. She has focused on supporting the self-advocacy of those with intellectual disabilities. The self-advocacy group People First New Zealand was established within IHC in 2003 and Shelley was instrumental in helping People First become an independent organisation, as well as IHC encouraging greater participation of people with intellectual disabilities in the organisation and community. Shelley also chaired the Self-Advocacy Advisory Committee of the IHC Board from 2008 to 2014. From 2003 to 2018 she was a director of IHCs service company IDEA Services Ltd, involved in finding new ways of supporting people with intellectual disabilities following the end of institutional care in New Zealand in 2006. She was a trustee from inception in 1999 and has been chair since 2003 of the Arohanui Art and Education Trust, which delivers individually tailored programmes for people with disabilities. I was also privileged to be on the founding committee of Arohanui Art and Education Centre in the Western Bay, says Shelley. I am very proud to say this trust now operates three centres twenty years on, and is a very valued and successful service with over sixty adults attending. Shelley has also supported IHC events through her hotel business in Tauranga and was made a Life Member of IHC in 2018. From a personal perspective, I became involved with IHC as a volunteer to ostensibly check them out before choosing to place Ryan in their care! I quickly came to recognize the absolute dedication and sincerity of the organization to advocate for and implement the best life possible for people with disabilities, albeit with hugely constrictive budgets and the all-too-often barriers that still exist every day, says Shelley. To receive this recognition from these two very special services is such an honour, as it is actually me who has personally gained so much from them. As some North Island regions move to the orange traffic light setting at 11.59pm, New Zealand now has found two Omicron cases that were briefly in the community, and close contacts are urgently being chased up. As a British DJ outed himself as the Omicron community case identified yesterday, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins expressed his disappointment in the musician's non-compliance with rules. Robert Etheridge, also known as DJ Dimension, went out into the community on 26 and 27 December after 10 days of isolation but before he received his final Covid-19 test result. As such, he has faced abuse online over the matter. Photo: Instagram. "I want to reiterate my apologies to those who I have inadvertently put at risk as a result of my misunderstandings," he wrote in an Instagram post. "I realise the gravity of the situation and I am deeply regretful to those who have been impacted; including members of the public, event organisers and close contacts." Etheridge had tested negative to the virus three times before while in isolation. It was also revealed today that he completed his three-day self-isolation period (after seven days in MIQ) on Waiheke Island. "We understand they travelled by private car and ferry to the island. While on the ferry they did not leave their vehicle and travelled straight to their accommodation." Race to get to close contacts The DJ was due to play at Wanaka's Rhythm and Alps festival but had been forced to pull out, along with another DJ known as Friction and artist Lee Matthews, who were considered close contacts. Fourteen people who dined with Etheridge at Soul restaurant are also considered close contacts. Eight of those people remain in Auckland, while six flew to Christchurch where they performed at the Hidden Lakes Festival on 28 December. But the Canterbury District Health Board considered the risk to be extremely low. "All identified close contacts are being urgently contacted by contact tracers," the Ministry of Health says. But the exact number of contacts is still being confirmed and identified, according to Hipkins. He told media this morning that while Etheridge was on Waiheke Island, he had drinks on the beach with neighbours, who have been told to self-isolate. Epidemiologist Michael Baker says the fact that three of the case's four Waiheke Island housemates had tested negative so far may suggest he was not infectious at the time. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone. "But again we will just have to await more of those results." However, the source of Etheridge's infection remains somewhat of a mystery because his case has not been able to be genomically linked to the other Omicron cases that were in MIQ when he was there. Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles says people should be aware that the incubation period for this highly infectious variant could be longer than what they believe. "It's just really important that we don't think that seven days [of isolation] is okay and that people are still cautious ... After receiving several negative tests, people could still be incubating the virus and that's what it shows us." Second Omicron case The Ministry of Health today reported there 60 new community cases of Covid-19 and 11 at the border. Five of the international arrivals came from Australia, two from the United Kingdom, two from Singapore, one from United Arab Emirates, and one from Ethiopia. Surveillance testing on 27 December of an Air New Zealand crew member has returned a positive result, with genome sequencing finding it is the Omicron variant. Their infection has been genomically linked to three other Omicron cases from a 24 December flight that the person worked on between Auckland and Sydney. New Zealand-based international aircrew are mostly exempt from a 14-day isolation or quarantine period as long as they meet certain conditions. So far for this case, no locations of interest have been identified, but there are eight close contacts - seven of whom have tested negative so far. The case was immediately transferred to a MIQ facility. -RNZ. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. Rumor mill: Samsung looks set to reveal the Galaxy S22 series in February. The line includes a high-end S22 Ultra model thats expected to offer both an integrated S Pen holder and 1TB of onboard storage. But no microSD card slot, sadly. SamMobile writes that it has learned one variant of the Galaxy S22 Ultra will have a massive 1TB of storage, making it the first Samsung flagship to offer the capacity since 2019s Galaxy S10+ with 12GB of RAM. However, the S10+ phone's capacity can be increased via expandable storage, something the Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to lack. It appears that Samsung has been looking at Apple and the 1TB of storage in the recent iPhone Pro 13 lineup, more than what Cupertinos Korean rival offers in its current flagships. Samsung fans will likely welcome a 1TB option, but imitating Apple by removing the microSD slot will doubtlessly anger many people. A terabyte of storage is a lot, but 8K videos, which the S22 Ultra should be able to record, will take up a lot of space. One element that users should appreciate is the rumored integrated S Pen holder. Now that the Galaxy Note series appears to have been discontinued as Samsung focuses on foldables, which have seen a lot of success this year, those who want a new Sammy phone with stylus support have been limited to the Galaxy S21 Ultra or Galaxy Z Fold 3both of which require the S Pen Pro to be bought as a separate accessory. But many believe the Galaxy S22 Ultra will finally satisfy Note lovers cravings for a handset that comes with an S Pen and integrated holder. As for the price, rumors say the base model with 256GB will cost the same $1,299 as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, so a 1TB variant could rival the Z Fold 3s $1,799 launch price. Why it matters: Intel has completed the first step of its transaction to sell its solid-state drive business to SK Hynix. The deal, if you recall, was announced in October 2020. At the time, Intel agreed to jettison its NAND SSD business, its NAND component and wafer business, and its Dalian NAND memory manufacturing facility in China for a total of $9 billion. This first phase will see SK Hynix hand over $7 billion, with Intel retaining certain IP related to the manufacture and design of NAND flash wafers. The chipmaker will be able to continue to use the Dalian facility to manufacture wafers until the final closing, which is expected to take place no sooner than March 2025. Upon final closing, SK Hynix will take over of the remaining SSD assets from Intel, including R&D employees, for an additional $2 billion. SK Hynix is rolling the assets into a new subsidiary called Solidigm, a name said to reflect a new paradigm in solid-state storage. The outfit will be led by Robert B. Crooke, who previously served as SVP and GM of Intels Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group, and will be headquartered in San Jose. Intel said it will use proceeds from the sale to deliver leadership products and advance its long-term growth priorities. With the sale, it would seem as though Intels experiment with storage tech is officially over. Earlier this year, Micron halted production of 3D XPoint, a memory technology jointly announced by Micron and Intel in 2015. Over the summer, Micron agreed to sell its 3D XPoint fab to Texas Instruments for $900 million. Image credit: PCPer LastPass confirmed that the recent password login attempt issue has been fixed. Recently, the giant password manager already messaged TechTimes for the update regarding the rumored data breach. "LastPass investigated recent reports of blocked login attempts and we believe the activity is related to attempted "credential stuffing" activity, in which a malicious or bad actor attempts to access user accounts (in this case, LastPass) using email addresses and passwords obtained from third-party breaches related to other unaffiliated services,'" said LastPass via a recent report of TechTimes. LastPass Password Issue Resolved! Sort of According to MacWorld's latest report, the giant password manager already resolved the login attempt issue that its consumers were complaining about. Also Read: How to Enjoy Internet Freedom From Unwanted Surveillance and Data Throttling But, based on the official LastPass post, the passwords of the company's consumers were not really hacked. The giant password manager explained that users only received the login attempt notifications because of the preventive activities conducted by the tech firm. LastPass added that these alerts were triggered because of their ongoing efforts to defend customers from cybercriminals and other online attackers. On the other hand, the company also provided what it is doing right now to protect its consumers' accounts. Here are other details. LastPass Ongoing Efforts Against Breaches Right now, LastPass is still making drastic efforts to ensure the safety of its consumers' password accounts. These include the following: LastPass regularly requires re-login and re-verification before users can access their accounts on their devices, especially in new gadgets. LastPass takes advantage of its recovery process, which is specifically designed to prevent unauthorized login attempts. LastPass uses various tools to alert consumers if hackers and other online attackers are targeting their accounts. In other news, T-Mobile's data recently suffered from a massive security breach, which exposed the telco company's customer information. Related Article: Samsung Galaxy Store Users Beware! These Apps are Spreading Malware on your Phone This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis For more news updates about other security threats, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The famous South Korean tech manufacturer, LG, created a new smart television display called the "OLED EX" that features a brighter output on its screens by as much as 30 percent. The question now is the capability of the OLED EX to display the so-called "perfect blacks" that turns the screen off without the "blooming" effect despite having something playing. LG OLED EX Smart TV: What Is It? LG released a report regarding the arrival of its latest display technology, namely the OLED EX. The EX stands for "Evolution" and "eXperience," hence the name of "EX." On the other hand, it was also added to the original name of the display technology called organic light-emitting diode or OLED. The OLED EX is the next generation of the OLED family from LG because it brings more color and light into the scene. The company promises 30 percent brighter screens and shades with the smart TV. Read Also: Three Apple Displays to Come from LG, Says Speculations - Is Pro Display XDR Coming for M1 Mac? LG OLED EX: Is It Worth It? However, the question now is its perfect blacks, which is something that avoids the blooming effect where a picture is on a dark background and emits a glare that strikes the eyes when on a scene with less light. Engadget says that the perfect blacks on this new television will improve, as OLED alone can solve the said problem. The OLED EX is a known upgrade by LG to the current display technology trend. LG's Focus on Smart TVs LG shut down its smartphone manufacturing focus earlier this year, and it focused itself on its strongest suits, where the company opted for the display and smart home technology. However, LG is known to be more than that. It is now one of the top manufacturers of Li-On battery packs for electric vehicles, and one of those is General Motors for the Chevrolet Bolt. However, there is rising bad blood between the two, especially with the recent issues of the battery packs that spontaneously caught on fire; GM already issued a recall for this issue. Nevertheless, LG is focused on its primary display technology production for homes and corporations, particularly with Smart TVs known for their specs and features. The company is a known brand for smart TVs, and several of its products are the top choices for e-Sporting events or the like. LG's commitment to bettering the display tech differs significantly from other companies as the South Korean aims to better it with innovations. Related Article: LG Smart TV: 325-Inch and 2,000 Pounds with 8K Display for $1.7 Million Under the DVLED Lineup This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Isaiah Richard 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A robot 3D prints a customizable vegan burger in merely six minutes, which allows its users to custom-make the composition of their vegan meat via an app on their smartphone. Robot 3D Print Vegan Burger As per the report by VegNews, an Israel-based firm that goes by the name SavorEat developed the 3D printer robot, which seeks to change how vegan consumers order their burgers. The CEO and co-founder of SavorEat Racheli Vizman said in a press release that the firm "believed that the food industry is in need of significant changes in order to remain relevant." As such, the Israeli firm went on to go the extra mile to serve a customizable burger to its vegan consumers. Vizman further noted that the firm "boldly looks at the changes of our future to challenge the status quo" at least in the food industry." The SavorEat boss touted that the 3D printer robot allows its users to express their "changing needs" due to its highly customizable feature. 3D Print Vegan Burger Customization The mobile phone app that pairs with the 3D printing robot allow its users to tweak multiple specifications of the burger that they want. The phone app options include changing the fat and protein content, the size of the patty, as well as the temperature of cooking. Not to mention that the 3D printed burger removes the cow slaughtering from the process of creating their meal. On top of that, as the patty is created from scratch, it is not stored frozen and cooked in the grill. Read Also: Humanoid Robot Ameca Could Perfectly Mimick Human-like Facial Expressions But Can it Walk or Run? 3D Printing Robot Chef According to the news story by Gadgets360 of NDTV, the Israeli food-tech company has now begun selling its robot chef to a number of businesses. Initially, the 3D printing robot chef will be rolling out to nearly a hundred food joints in Israel. SavorEat is also looking to set its foot in the United States market later on. For now, the food-tech has forged a partnership with Sodexo to test the robot chefs in universities in the US to target 47 percent of the flexitarian market. The robot chef primarily uses the expansive power of 3D printing tech, along with its plant-based nano-cellulose fiber, which is made from ingredients like potato protein, pea, and more. Thus, achieving a meat-like texture similar to a non-vegan burger patty. Aside from that, the 3D printed patty also includes coloring, flavoring, and fat to make it taste great and look like its meat as well. Related Article: Robots with Soft Grip? NUS Researchers Debut Machine with Delicate Fingers for Soft Materials This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Teejay Boris 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A Foxconn iPhone plant was forced to shut down because of some unsafe working conditions. Various government agencies are currently investigating the factory located in southern India. This is currently a serious matter for Foxconn since it is considered one of the largest partners of Apple. This giant tech firm now helps the smartphone maker assemble its iPhone models. Its reputation could be ruined if Foxconn doesn't fix the latest iPhone plant issue. According to Reuters' latest report, many women working at the factory protested because Foxconn's dorms have issues that affect their health. Foxconn iPhone Plant Shuts Down After Protests 9to5Mac reported that the living conditions in Foxconn's dormitories are horrible. The alarming conditions that the workers' experience include the absence of flush toilets, unsanitary foods, and crowded rooms. Also Read: Apple Car On The Way? Long-Time iPhone Maker Foxconn Buys Former GM Car Factory Because they are tired of the current living conditions at the Foxconn iPhone factory, more than 250 employees protested. Their activities were able to force Apple's partner to close the plant. However, it is still unclear when the factory will get back into operations. "People living in the hostels always had some illness or the other - skin allergies, chest pain, food poisoning. We didn't make a big deal out of it because we thought it will be fixed. But now, it affected a lot of people," said a 21-year-old woman working at the iPhone plant. Government Agencies Investigate the Factory Working Conditions As of the moment, the issue is still unresolved. Since this is the case, at least four government agencies are already investigating the working conditions at the plant. Meanwhile, Foxconn explained why the living conditions in the plant are still unsafe. The giant tech firm explained that they tried to meet the rising iPhone demand by ramping up production. Because of this, dormitories became too crowded. But, the giant tech firm is already making efforts to improve the factory. In other news, Verizon and Vuzix partner up for an alleged 5G AR hardware integration. On the other hand, Intel's SSD business deal with SK Hynix has finally closed. For more news updates about Foxconn and other partners of Apple, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Foxconn Says Chip Shortage Will Last Until Mid-2022 and Cause Production Delays This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Tumblr implemented some changes on its iOS app to comply with the Apple App Store guidelines last week. Recently, the social media platform has blocked more than 400 search terms to mitigate the possibility of being banned. The announcement came after a former Tumblr developer said that the App Store review process was perplexing. With that, here's everything you need to know about this report. Get to know some words that could be rejected in the app. Tumblr and Apple's Current Predicament According to a report by 9to5Mac, some search terms on Tumblr could likely result in an immediate ban. Most importantly, app developer Sreegs wrote on a blog that Apple App Store reviewers would see "porn" keywords as forbidden on Tumblr. For every update on the iOS app, the platform will need to resubmit the application as part of the review process. Moreover, the report indicated that the banned words, phrases, and even images would entirely depend on the judgment of the random reviewers. This is the reason why it is confusing to follow on the other side. Tumblr recognized the changes right away following its blog post, which pointed out the differences in recommended content and search terms. On its part, the company would align its adjustment on the App Store guidelines when users use the app on the iOS platform. The report said that for the company to remain on the App Store, it would need to "extend" the definition of sensitive content. In some cases, people would encounter the message, "This content has been hidden. This content has been hidden because of potentially suggestive or explicit content." This would indicate that a search may not yield any results at all. Related Article: Tumblr on Apple's iPhones Hides Sensitive Content-Here's Why List of Some Banned Terms on Tumblr iOS app 9to5Mac listed some keywords that could strike a ban on the App App Store. Here are some of them. Addiction Anorexia Antisemitism Bipolar Bulimia Depression Domestic abuse Eating disorder Insomnia Mental illness Misogyny Racism Sexism Sexual harassment Suicide prevention Xenophobia Apart from these terms, Forbes reported that censorship also includes violent phrases such as ACAB (All cops are bad) and other related words. The odd part here is that words like "my post," "girl," and "donate" are counted in the banned list on the Tumblr iOS app. Furthermore, the iOS version of the platform does not also welcome "reblog," "repost," and even the word "submission." Tumblr Android and Desktop App Not Affected by Restrictions The NSFW restrictions on the app might have a huge impact on iOS users, but the desktop and Android users appear to be unaffected by these changes, Forbes reported. Tumblr sees the current situation as frustrating, yet it has plans to bring "meaningful developments" for users who the selection of sensitive content has impacted. Currently, the platform is not yet sure about the exact timeline for the duration of the recent implementation. However, it mentioned that it is now working to deliver additional features that will lead to a "less restricted iOS app experience." In 2015, Tech Times reported that Tumblr launched "Web visibility" for users' privacy. This feature was useful to keep out unwanted visitors on the blog posts. Elsewhere, Tumblr rolled out "Post Plus" in the US. Those who subscribe to this feature will receive exclusive content from their valued creators. Read Also: Intel Closes First SSD Business Deal With SK Hynix | Acquisition to Continue Until 2025 This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Microsoft delays the release of Android 11 OS on its Surface Duo base model. For the past few months, this dual-screen smartphone has been left behind when it comes to Android software updates. Right now, almost all tech manufacturers are already updating their handsets with the latest Android 12 OS. But, this is the case with the original Surface Duo model. Because of this, some experts claimed that the delay of Android 11 OS on the dual-screen gadget is another reason for consumers to avoid purchasing this Microsoft smartphone. Although this is the case, the giant software developer confirmed that it is already testing the integration of Android 11 on its Surface Duo. But, Google still needs to do some verifications before the smartphone system is integrated into the handset. Why Microsoft Delays Surface Duo's Android 11 OS Update According to Android Community's latest report, the issue could be with the current staffing of Microsoft and Google. As of the moment, employees in different agencies and companies are still on vacation to celebrate New Year's Eve. Also Read: Windows Android Apps 2022: Will It Be A Success? Xbox Cloud Gaming, Other Rivals Coming Experts believe that Microsoft and Google are still short on staff since their employees are also enjoying their vacation leaves. But, this is still not the major reason since tech firms are usually scheduling the release of the software. There should be no delay if Microsoft did this since the processes would go as planned. If you are a Surface Duo, the best thing you can do right now is still wait for Microsoft's further announcements before making any conclusion. When Will Android 11 OS Arrive on Surface Duo? ON MSFT reported that the new launch date of Android 11 OS on Surface Duo is now expected to be on January 2022. However, this new schedule is still based on the rumors released by tech experts familiar with Microsoft's activities. This means that the expected launch date could still change depending on the tech firm's final decision. In other news, Microsoft will not physically attend the upcoming CES 2022. Meanwhile, new Microsoft patches were released to prevent further zero-day exploits. For more news updates about Microsoft Surface Duo and other dual-screen smartphones, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Free Microsoft Word 2021-Is This Legal? No Cracks or Other Tools Needed This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Saitama crypto platform confirmed that it passed an audit check from CertiK on Wednesday, Dec. 29. According to the latest report, the SaitaMask smart wallet is now certified for usage, making it "issue free and hacker resistant," per auditing firm. SaitaMask Crypto Wallet as 'One-Stop Shop' According to a report from ZDNET, the certification that Saitama passed would now allow users to buy, sell, and put their assets with ease. This means that they could transfer coins without exiting the mobile app. The newly-created cryptocurrency site is expected to launch in January 2022, connecting investors to fresh blockchain platform. The firm said that it would utilize various tools to help them select the best desirable choices for the investments. Saitama noted that the "Edutainment platform" will be beneficial for users who want to know more about investing and finance. Related Article: Top 10 Cryptocurrencies See BNB at 3rd Place | Solana Climbing at 5th Place What is $SAITAMA Token? In the same report from ZDNET, the audit passing of Saitama would also hint at more accessible options for the $SAITAMA tokens on the platform. At the time of writing, there were nearly 300,000 people who held the coins. The market cap for this cryptocurrency sits at $4 billion, according to a press release by Saitama. The $SAITAMA meme coin was launched on the ERC-20 Ethereum blockchain on May 31. The firm said that it would involve "smart coding" for its tokens in the crypto network. This would help the holders, especially the "loyal token" holders, safeguard their assets against crypto whales. In addition, this would avoid the risk of market price manipulation, which could result in an unexpected token sell-out. In the meantime, the auditing giant CertiK is helping PeckShield in auditing the largest exchange platform in the world, Binance. The security-centered ranking platform, which is based in New York, would review the listed tokens on the site on top of providing a comprehensive security audit. In order to protect Binance users from online threats and attacks, the "Project Shield" will serve as a solution for investors who regularly access their assets on the platform. Blockchain Wallets to Explore Before 2022 Back in September, Tech Times listed the top five best NFT wallets for investors. These include Metamask, Enjin, Trust Wallet, Math Wallet, and Alpha Wallet. For NFT fans who are currently exploring more platforms to keep their digital assets, these top recommended wallets should be on your list for this year. Meanwhile, Santa Floki saw a huge leap in its prices after Elon Musk tweeted the name of this meme coin. The tweet resulted in $0.0000005218 from $0.0000000129. In another report, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is reportedly looking forward to monitoring illegal blockchain activities by collecting crypto data from users. Read Also: Twitter Crypto Scam: 'Moon Nation CEO' Ben Todar Warns People About Scammers Impersonating Him [BEWARE] This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. When Gray Eagleson remembers the strap, it brings back horrific images of pain, suffering and humiliation in the public school system. When he thinks of money, he realizes how little of it he has since getting laid off from a public relations job. When he thinks of relationships, the painful memory of how his long-time girlfriend cheated on him with his so-called best friend surfaces. His confidence at an all-time low, he decides a trip to Ecuador, the most bio-diverse country on the planet, is exactly what he needs to take his mind off his problems. Before departing, he connects with Adriana Enrique on an internet dating site, promising to meet her on his arrival. He also helps his best friend Derrick Richmond evict some biker tenants involved in a marijuana grow-operation in one of Derrick's rental properties. During the eviction, one of the bikers, Stuart Treblecoch, aka The Strap, threatens to kill Gray for tossing biker belongings into a blazing backyard inferno. Arriving in Ecuador, he soon discovers the idyllic vacation has turned into a life-and-death struggle. The Strap is hunting him down, Adriana's behavior casts a black shadow of doubt over his optimistic expectations and he meets a Canadian woman, Abby Taylor, who wants his help evicting violent squatters who have overrun a hotel she purchased in the beach town of Atacames. As the nail-biting tension and violence ratchet up, Gray believes a visit with a shaman and an experience with the mind-altering and spiritually enlightening drug ayuahuasca is his only hope for salvation. The Strap ushers you full-throttle deep inside the exotic sights and culture of Ecuador while also exposing the very real dangers that exist. Through Gray's harrowing journey for personal redemption, survival and sanity, we discover the frailties and insecurities of the human condition and the ever-present need for companionship at the root of human nature. Available on Amazon now! Your Rights. Your Money. Many vanity presses and/or pay for hire publishing companies tell you that you have the rights to your book. Everything seems fine until you become displeased with your service or want to leave for one reason or another. Then it gets interesting. We Are Different The number one reason that we are different? We take NO royalties. We are an author services consultancy. We work for you! Have you left another publishing company only to come and find out that they will give you your book (PDF copy only), but not the cover? Ouch. You may own the rights to the book, but you may not own the cover if someone else created it for you. Your book, your files, your money. We work for you. And, if you are ready to leave us for one reason or another (a literary agent, a publishing house, or a movie deal? Or, decided to do it yourself) we are on your side. We support you and will return all intellectual property to you. Again, your book, your files, your money. We are here to make you look good! Telemachus Team: Thanks very much for getting our book published in such high style. We think the design and layout are perfect, and the cover looks great. You dealt with the legal, copyright, and registration issues in a way that made it all quite painless for us. Just as importantly, you showed exceptional professionalism, care and support as we went through the process. You were there every step of the way to accommodate our changing requirements and see that they were executed quickly and correctly. You communicated every step clearly so that we always knew where we were going. We are really looking forward to getting our sequel, Alicias Sin, to you in a few months. Thanks again, Nick and John [Read More...] Three years ago, 13 nurses who worked at the LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, filed a lawsuit against GEO Group, the private company that runs the facility, saying they got sick after years of mold and bacteria exposure at the detention center, where they work up to 12 hours a day. Court documents showed evidence of water leaks from the roof and the ventilation system over the nursing station in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, the presence of mold and moisture from condensation and a pattern of delays and lack of maintenance by the detention facilitys management. In December, however, after the latest failed attempt to find a settlement, 12 of the 13 plaintiffs were excluded from the trial that is scheduled for Jan. 31, in U.S. District Court in Lafayette. Judge David Joseph, in a memorandum ruling on Dec. 18, said there was compelling evidence the company failed to properly care for its LaSalle employees. There is also substantial evidence that the Plaintiffs developed significant health problems while employed by GEO Group and working in these conditions," he wrote. "In all, the summary judgment evidence points to the fact that GEO Group failed to treat its employees with the respect and human dignity they were due. However, he said, the expert witness that 12 employees were relying on did not meet specific qualifications to establish a link between the poor conditions and their health issues. The judge's ruling was based on a set of criteria called the Daubert standard, guidelines to determine whether an expert's methodology is valid. According to the judge's ruling, Dr. Stephanie Cave failed to find facts or methodology underlying her opinions that it was the mold exposure that made the 12 nurses sick. Joseph also wrote that the urine tests used to prove the presence of toxic chemicals lacked FDA approval and were not reliable. Beyond the urine mycotoxin tests, the Judge added, Caves opinions that the nurse's health problems were caused by mold exposure were supported by extremely limited evidence. Judge Michelle Odinet disqualified by Louisiana Supreme Court while under investigation The Louisiana Supreme Court released an order Friday that temporarily disqualified Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle Odinet from the bench a The Daubert standard When it comes to admitting or excluding experts and scientific testimonies in a federal court, the Daubert standard has been the rule of law in the United States since 1993 after the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals. In that case, two people born with serious birth defects, Jason Daubert and Eric Schuller, alleged that a drug produced by Merrell Dow called Bendectin had caused their disabilities. The Supreme Court justices ruled in favor of the pharmaceutical company because Daubert and Schullers evidence was based on in vitro and in vivo animal studies, methodologies that had not yet gained acceptance within the general scientific community in 1993. The standard was actually designed to be more flexible and welcoming of new science than the one it replaced, said Margaret Thomas, an LSU Law professor. Daubert makes the judge the gatekeeper regarding the reliability of expert testimony, said Thomas, who is an expert on the Daubert standard and did not specifically comment on the nurses case. Courts have a duty to exclude unreliable expert testimony. This rule replaced the traditional approach in which other experts were the gatekeepers: in some states, like California and New York, which still follow the old Frye approach, only 'mainstream' science that is generally accepted in the field is admissible in a courtroom. Six noteworthy court cases in 2021 in Lafayette District Court, and six to keep an eye on for 2022 As Louisiana tried to emerge from COVID pandemic and find new "normal" ways to conduct business, things began to pick up in 2021 for the 15th Critics of Daubert say that judges might have not always have enough scientific knowledge to rule on expert testimony. Dauber requires a judge to make assessments about scientific methodology using the Daubert factors, even though most judges are ill-equipped to make these assessments because judges are not trained in scientific disciplines, Luis Balart, a recent LSU Law graduate, wrote in the Louisiana Law Review. A study cited in the paper showed that judges have difficulty applying the Daubert guidelines. Of the 400 surveyed judges, only 6% could articulate a scientific opinion while 35% indicated that they did not understand the scientific meaning of falsifiability. Also, of the judges who responded, only 32% said the intent was to raise the threshold for admissibility of scientific evidence while 36% said the intent was to articulate a framework for admissibility. The study shows that judges may be confused as to what Daubert was meant to accomplish, which translated into increased difficulty in application, the paper noted. According to a 2002 RAND study, the application of the Daubert standard has resulted in more expert testimony by scientists being excluded. But this isnt based on the courts gut feeling, it is rather testing the concrete evidentiary links between the injury and the defendants behavior, added LSU professor Thomas. If there is no admissible evidence connecting the injury to the defendants action, then there is nothing to develop in the trial. Deteriorating health In the LaSalle case, the Daubert motion excluded 12 nurses because Cave was unable to sufficiently attribute mold exposure as the underlying cause of their health issues, Joseph wrote. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up GEO Groups attorneys would not comment because the matter is still in litigation. James Willeford, the attorney representing the 13 nurses, also declined to comment. Over three years of pre-trial hearings, a timeline that was prolonged by pandemic-related delays, nurses have testified that it was exposure to mold that caused the progressive deterioration of their health conditions, court documents showed. One nurse reported cardio spasms, vomiting, fatigue, cold hands, diarrhea, and migraines after beginning working at LaSalle, according to court documents. Another nurse said she did not have health problems prior to working at the facility, but then began experiencing breathing problems and upper respiratory infections afterward. As Louisiana prison population drops, private firms turn to immigration contracts for revenue Detention facilities in Louisiana that lost population and funding under Gov. John Bel Edwards' criminal justice reform measures have benefite A third nurse, who had no preexisting conditions, testified to having experienced headaches, pain in back and testicles, and to be near passing out twice a day, while in the building because of exposure to mold and bacteria. Two more health care workers said that urine tests found ochratoxin in their urines at levels higher than normal after years of work inside the ICE facility. Ochratoxin is a chemical produced by molds in the Aspergillus and Penicillium families. GEO Group admitted the presence of mold and bacteria inside the detention facility and the nursing station but rejected any correlations to the nurses health issues. Photos and videos included in court documents showed multiple episodes of flooding inside LaSalle. During a heavy thunderstorm, nurses are seen placing cloths on the floor to sop up the water. In another photo, a GEO employer is busy wiping the water away from one of the rooms inside a flooded nursing station. In a third photo, dark halos surround the HVAC ventilation system. In a fourth, the roof had multiple water incursions. In a video, water is so violently running down over the floor through the ventilation system that the nurses had to move documents and equipment to protect them, according to court documents and witness depositions. Analysis by two separate environmental testing consultants, RTC and Healthy Homes of Louisiana, LCC, proved the presence of bacteria, fungus, and mold inside the Jena facility. According to the RTC Moisture and Fungal Investigation Report on August 2019, swab tests indicated the presence of Cladosporium at the HVAC vent of Exam Room #2 and the presence of aspergillus/penicillium at the HVAC vent of the waiting room. Additional mold samples were taken by RTC in a second report the following month. Of these samples, aspergillus and penicillium counts were found in both the facilitys waiting room and nurses area. Another analysis dated November 2018 by Healthy Homes of Louisiana showed that the sample results were at a normal level in the facility except in the nurses station where the air samples indicated elevated mold spore levels of Aspergillus/Penicillium. Facility 'in disrepair' In July 2016, GEO received an $8,500 proposal from an Ohio-based roofing company, Simone Roofing, to fix 26 leaks in the roof above the LaSalle clinic. But GEO waited 12 months to approve the work, said Jim Waterford, the nurses lawyer. The clinic continued to flood, and the roof leaked with every rain. At no time did GEO professionally remediate the clinic after a flood, not even after it had received the mold test results showing Aspergillus/Penicillium dominated the air in the nurses station. According to court documents, GEO Group spent less than $20,000 in maintenance between Jan. 1, 2010, and Sept. 19, 2018. Most of the maintenance work was related to water leaks and roof repairs. The most expensive operation took place on July 25, 2017, when GEO paid $8,578.44 to Simone Roofing for repairing the 26 leaks in the roof cited by the court documents. Louisiana ICE centers ignore agency protocol on release of asylum seekers, advocates, immigrants say Hundreds of asylum seekers at the ICE detention centers in Louisiana are being forced to pay for private transportation options to get to an a But these maintenance operations did not solve other issues. A Louisiana Department of Health inspection in July 2018 reported the walls are in disrepair. The ceilings are not in good order. In an email exchange between two state health officials on Sept. 12, 2018, they reported the presence of mold at the detention center. Later that month, Sheetrock was removed from the facility, and the back of it was black and totally contaminated with mold, court documents showed. David Cole, a GEO employer and the facility administrator at ICE LaSalle Processing Center said in his deposition that he couldnt think of a specific person that ever contacted me directly about mold or, you know, their health or whatever. But Cole admitted that when the emails came out from that commander saying that there was mold ... they noticed there was moisture from the condensation, then they will go ahead and put the request in to have it looked at by maintenance. Court documents showed that both GEO and ICE were aware of the problem. An email dated Dec. 7, 2108, sent by Sam Donnell, an ICE staff member to Amber Martin, a GEO employer, with the subject Mold concerns at the Jena facility, stated: Ms. Martin, recent lab reports have indicated mold and bacteria found at the nurse station is substantially above the levels outside the facility and may be the cause of illnesses several nurses have experienced. According to the Centers for Disease Controls website, mold can cause many health effects. For some people with no medical history, the consequences are milder such as a stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, and burning eyes. But the CDC stated that people with asthma or who are allergic to mold may have severe reactions. Immune-compromised people and people with chronic lung disease may get infections in their lungs from mold. The LaSalle detention facility is one of 10 immigration detention facilities run by private companies. It is operated through an intergovernmental service agreement between ICE and LaSalle Economic Development District, a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana. LEDD contracted with GEO Group to operate the facility while the nursing staff was provided through STG International, Inc, a staff provider of trained health care personnel. Whats behind Acadianas capacity to promote the causes of possible homegrown saints? Its the crawfish, Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel quipped to a fellow bishop who asked him that question this year. But it's much more than that. Having three active causes for sainthood simultaneously in south Louisiana is rare for the United States, from where few saints have been recognized in the Catholic Church. The three candidates are the Rev. Verbis Lafleur, a priest who died during wartime service as a chaplain off the coast of The Philippines; Charlene Richard, a 12-year-old Cajun girl who died of leukemia, whose death and offering of suffering to save the souls of others was deemed extraordinary; and Auguste Nonco Pelafigue, a schoolteacher who brought area Catholics to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Those causes may well make their way to completion in "our lifetimes," said the Rev. Don Luis Escalante perhaps even in 2022. +3 It's unclear where cathedral cemetery crash will be prosecuted, who will pay for damage In the week that has followed a runaway trucks crash into the St. John the Evangelist Cathedral Cemetery, the driver who fled has been arrest "Pope Francis is anxious to point out heroic acts of charity and of helping neighbors, and pushing those for sanctification," Escalante, a postulator, or advocate for sainthood causes, said. "He can fast-track it he wants to. These are the kinds of people that he sees as good examples for our day and time." The cause for Lafleur, born in Ville Platte and reared in Opelousas, earned the approval of U.S. bishops at their semiannual meeting on Zoom in June. Bishops approved the causes for Richard and Pelafigure last month at their second meeting of the year. Anyone who goes to heaven is a saint, Deshotel said in a recent interview. The church holds up models, people who were extraordinary in virtues and or faith as models of Christian living. What is a Vatican postulator? He's here to investigate potential Acadiana saints The postulator who will present the causes for sainthood for Charlene Richard and Auguste Nonco Pelafigue at the Vatican was in Acadiana thi Such examples of Christian lives, he said, can come no matter the person's vocation or status, male or female. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up These three candidates differ markedly from one another a wartime chaplain and prisoner of war; a child dying in relative anonymity in a Lafayette hospital; and a celibate layperson who evangelized to his small-town, rural community all represented great blessings to the diocese, as do their individual causes, Deshotel said. Sainthood is a journey, and the bishop said the three saint causes moved forward have made only a part of that walk. The first is the consultation of the local faithful, which has been in process for years in Acadiana. Deshotel said he took up the mission of the three causes six years ago, when he arrived from Dallas to become bishop in Acadiana, where he grew up. A second portion of the journey is approval from the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops, which came this year. +3 For years, there was a lab school in Lafayette; here's why UL leaders want to bring it back The University of Louisiana at Lafayettes plan for a lab school on its campus took another step forward last week with action by the UL Syste Next, he said, Escalante will conduct interviews, collect documents and will present in Rome the causes for Richard and Pelafigue. Escalante visited the Diocese of Lafayette recently to collect some documents and meet with local proponents of Richard's and Pelafigues causes. Deshotel noted that Richard has drawn visitors to her home church and graves for years, even tour buses. They have been talking her up for a long time, he said. As a boy in Basile, now part of the diocese, he heard about Richards story, which was well-known on the Cajun prairie soon after her death in 1959. Escalante said other causes for American saints are in process. These include the causes of Brother Joseph Dutton, who assisted Father Damien tending to lepers in Hawaii; the Rev. Emil Joseph Kapaun, a Kansas native, Roman Catholic priest and Army chaplain who died in captivity during the Korean War; and Bishop Fulton Sheen of New York, an Illinois native who grew to national fame mostly from his preaching and work on television and radio. Deshotel said the Catholic Church does not adore saints in the way that they adore God but ask the intercession of saints in seeking prayerful favors. "We pray to the saints, ask them, because they are close to God, to intercede for us," he said. He said he had an old grandmother and aunt and would ask them to say a prayer for me" when he had an exam. "They are not idols," he said. "God raises up saints and holy people at particular times in history. God raises them up when we need great witnesses. This might be it." Community testing is being expanded in Baton Rouge as cases of COVID-19 surge and residents complain of limited access to tests, the city-parish announced Thursday. The city-parish and the Louisiana Department of Health opened a new joint testing site at the Louisiana Leadership Institute on Monday. The testing site located at the 4-H Mini Barn on LSU's campus has also been expanded to meet increase demand, city-parish spokesperson Alyssa Panepinto wrote in an email. Several other private testing sites have recently been reopened, Panepinto wrote. Testing sites can been located through brla.gov/covid. Testing sites are a "fluid situation" due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, making the city-parish's website one of the best ways to stay up to date on where community testing is located, Panepinto wrote. The testing was expanded to "alleviate some of the pressure on area emergency rooms and healthcare facilities," according to the statement. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Baton Rouge hospitals: Don't use emergency room for COVID tests, non-urgent problems Baton Rouge hospitals are urging those in need of a COVID-19 test to avoid the emergency room in response to a surge of sick people who are un Earlier this week, Our Lady of the Lake and Baton Rouge General both said emergency rooms were filling up with people seeking a test who were unable to find one elsewhere. The hospital systems urged residents experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms to avoid the emergency room because it can delay care for those in medical distress. Louisiana has reported 27,699 new confirmed COVID-19 cases this week, the most in a single week since early August at the beginning of massive wave driven by the delta variant. The latest wave comes as the highly infectious omicron variant spreads across the globe. +13 Trying to get tested as COVID surges again, some in Louisiana face long lines, shortages The omicron variant of the coronavirus is driving a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases in Louisiana, and some people trying to get tested have face At-home rapid tests have been in short supply at many drug stores around the area. Residents throughout Southeast Louisiana spoke of difficulties finding a test near them earlier this week. Students and staff in East Baton Rouge Parish public schools must continue to wear masks when they return next week from Christmas break due to rapid spread of COVID in the parish, fueled by the omicron variant. Superintendent Sito Narcisse announced Wednesday afternoon that he will continue to require mask-wearing, saying he has consulted with members of the district's Health Advisory Committee, which consists of several health professionals in Baton Rouge. East Baton Rouge schools to lift mask mandate in January if COVID stays low If the declines in COVID cases continue, students and staff in East Baton Rouge Parish public schools will no longer have to wear masks when t In mid-November, Narcisse had announced he would lift the mask mandate in January if COVID cases had continued to fall. We have continued to make all public health decisions based upon the most recently available data and based upon the advice of our health care professionals," said Narcisse in a statement. "The health and safety of our staff and students always come first. We will continue to evaluate the data and will consider optional masking at such a time when it is safe for both students and employees to do so. Narcisse said he and the Health Advisory Committee will revisit the mask-wearing rules at the end of January. Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up School staff are scheduled to return to work Monday and students return to schools Tuesday. In an email to employees Wednesday, Narcisse also announced that instead of having to gather in-person Monday for scheduled professional development, those trainings will all be held virtually, saying he's making the move "out of an abundance of caution and to mitigate the further spread of the Covid-19 virus." "All staff engaging in professional development opportunities will report to their assigned school or administrative site to participate from their respective classrooms and offices," Narcisse said. "Doing so will allow for increased social distancing and safer gatherings." The move to virtual is a change for the superintendent who insisted on several days of in-person professional development in August before the start of the school year, even as cases of the delta variant were rising fast. Gov. John Bel Edwards lifted mandatory mask-wearing indoors in Louisiana in late October. Many school districts quickly lifted their in-house mandates as a result. East Baton Rouge is one of a few school districts that have continued to require mandatory mask-wearing. Edwards has scheduled a news conference for Thursday after initially saying he wouldn't hold another COVID briefing until 2022. It wasn't known Wednesday night whether he will issue any mask orders. Veteran state Rep. Ted James, a Baton Rouge Democrat, was named as a federal Small Business Administration administrator Wednesday by President Joe Biden. James will oversee Region 6, which includes Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. It is one of 10 regional offices, which assist small businesses. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a fellow Democrat, praised the appointment and called the lawmaker "a fierce advocate for the people of Louisiana." "He has been a leader on many issues, especially criminal justice reform," Edwards said. Anger in Louisiana House: Plan to study police tactics passes but not before this fiery debate Despite angry comments at the end of the debate, the Louisiana House on Wednesday overwhelmingly endorsed a plan to study police practices sta "He has been a strong partner and he has challenged me at times," the governor added. +3 Baton Rouge lawmaker hospitalized with coronavirus; Harvey rep hospitalized briefly State Rep. Ted James, a Baton Rouge Democrat and one of the most influential voices in the area legislative delegation, said he has tested pos "Ted is never afraid to speak up for what is right and work hard for those he represents and that is why he is an excellent choice for this position," Edwards said. The lawmaker, who is an attorney, is chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. He is also chairman of the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee. James said Wednesday night he relished his time at the State Capitol. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "It is bittersweet," he said of the appointment. "I have thoroughly enjoyed the decade that I spent at the Legislature. The capitol has been my home. It was not an easy decision." He added, "But it is time to take my service to another level, still serving the people of Louisiana in another capacity." James was elected to the state House in 2011. Before that he served as a policy advisor for then Gov. Kathleen Blanco, staff attorney for the House Labor Committee and confidential assistant for Revenue Secretary Cynthia Bridges. In a statement, the White House said James and the other newly-named administrators will be critical in the rebuilding of communities damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. It said James "is driven by a deeply held desire to impact the lives of others while transforming his community." James is one of the most influential voices in the Baton Rouge area legislative delegation. Rep. Ted James drops bid to lead state Democratic Party State Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, said Wednesday he is dropping his bid to chair the state Democratic Party so he can focus on national pol Earlier he considered a run for the chairmanship of the state Democratic Party but shelved that plan. The Region 6 office that James will oversee is headquartered in Fort Worth. It has an office in New Orleans. James said he plans to spell out his goals during a press conference on Jan. 5 and will begin his new job in late January. On my TikTok, theres constantly some new Fred Schebesta that comes in and asks people to WhatsApp them about some new hot cryptocurrency project, Finder boss Fred Schebesta (the real one) says. It looks like a scam, and it almost always is, but its very hard to stop the bots. It just constantly happens. I dont accept phone calls, I dont click on emails, I dont respond to text messages anymore. Finder CEO Fred Schebesta Like Green, Schebesta has had his identity stolen and used to sign up for buy now, pay later products. Hes also had particularly ambitious scammers try to set up post office boxes in his name, tactics that have forced the founder to be very cautious when taking calls and messages. I dont accept phone calls, I dont click on emails, I dont respond to text messages anymore unless I know who you are, he says. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) generally runs a tight ship when it comes to tracking down and alerting people to scams, with its ScamWatch division tracking 18,000 different scam reports in November alone. However, the regulator admits its data on the sort of impersonation scams plaguing the crypto space is limited. Its not the most common form of these scams that we see, but its certainly amongst the ones that have been reported, deputy chair Delia Rickard says. Rickard says the regulator has a handful of case studies where victims have fallen for these scams, providing examples where high-profile crypto personalities, such as Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Tesla founder Elon Musk, were impersonated, with the scammers taking between $2000 and $6000 in cryptocurrency from the victims. Finders Fred Schebesta has had his identity stolen and used to sign up for buy now, pay later products. Credit:Louise Kennerley It is an awful lot of money to lose, she says. The whole investing theory of dont put all your eggs in one basket seems to go out the window when people get involved in crypto. She views these scams as a new-age version of the classic celebrity impersonation scam, where scammers try to lure victims into fraudulent investments with the supposed backing of a high-profile celebrity, which has become easier to pull off due to the unregulated and unpredictable nature of the cryptocurrency space. Since you can get scammers who operate on legitimate exchanges, I think its very difficult for people to know how to go about this, she says. So, therefore, they see names that they trust and think its a safer move. The ACCC hopes to inform more people about the danger of these scams, and also works closely with the banks in an effort to stop money being transferred to scammers before its too late. However, the regulators power beyond that is limited, leaving much of the action to the social media platforms that provide an avenue for these scammers to operate. In the early days of the crypto boom, this was predominantly Twitter. However, the company has taken significant steps to prevent these scams from propagating, with a spokesperson saying it was constantly adapting to bad actors evolving methods. In Australia, promotion of crypto products on Twitter is only allowed with prior authorisation from the platform. Many of these scammers have since moved to more private services such as Telegram and Discord, where they can message potential victims one-on-one. Loading A spokesperson for Discord said the company takes action against any illegal activity on its app, including banning users and shutting down servers. The business has also rolled out various scam protection tools such as suspicious link detection and services which monitor for suspicious activity from new users. Similarly, a spokesperson for Meta - Facebook and Instagrams parent company - said the business had a team dedicated to identifying and preventing these sorts of scams. While no enforcement is perfect, we continue to investigate new technologies and methods of stopping these scams and the people behind them, they said. However, the unfortunate reality of the cryptocurrency sector is that its far more difficult to prevent scams when compared to the traditional finance space, as the key tenets of decentralisation and anonymity are both what makes cryptocurrency great, but also allows scammers to thrive. Canberra. Its the simple rules that count. For the President: Get the Australian guys name right. For the PM: Dont gush or promise. The main memory of Billy McMahons White House visit is the trivia, the split in his wife Sonias gown. In the history of personal relations between Australian prime ministers and US presidents, its the gaffes and extravagances that are remembered. When things go smoothly, the cliches take over. Jimmy Carter unconsciously delivered the ultimate insult when he greeted Malcolm Fraser on the White House lawn as Australian Prime Minister John Fraser. Malcolm Fraser and Jimmy Carter, 1977. Credit:American National Archives Billy McMahon in 1971 departed from his prepared script in a White House speech to borrow a line from Shakespeare and got horribly entangled: I take as my text a few familiar words that there comes a time in the life of man in the flood of time that taken at the flood leads on to fortune. A little earlier that night, President Nixon was heard asking: Do you pronounce your name McMann? NSW reported 12,226 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and one death, as premiers and territory leaders meet with the Prime Minister to discuss redefining close contacts and seek clarity on the use of rapid antigen tests. There are 746 coronavirus patients in hospital, up 121 on Wednesday, and 63 people are in ICU. There were 97,201 tests in the 24-hour period to 8pm on Wednesday, down from 157,758 tests the previous day. The positivity rate has passed 12.5 per cent, but NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant on Wednesday said she expected numbers to jump around a little bit due to the testing backlog. Premier Dominic Perrottet with chief health officer Kerry Chant on Wednesday. Credit:James Brickwood The one death was of a Central Coast woman, aged in her 70s, who died at Wyong Hospital. She acquired her infection at Hakea Grove aged care facility, where she was a resident. The woman was not vaccinated and had underlying health conditions, NSW Health said. Healthcare workers should be mandated to have a third dose of a COVID vaccine, experts say, before Queensland is hammered by the amount of cases seen in NSW. Experts have predicted Queensland will report up to 12,000 cases by January 5, and warned a booster jab should be mandated for health workers on the frontline, as cases increased in hospitals across the state. NSW reported more than 12,200 cases on Thursday and several deaths in recent days. Victoria also reported more than 5100 cases and 13 deaths on Thursday. The slogan of an Australian government campaign, Zero Chance targeting politically persecuted Sri Lankans is: dont willingly destroy your life. The campaign, which has been running for two years, sends a blunt message to anyone getting on a boat to come to Australia, irrespective of whether they are entitled to the protection Australia is legally obliged to provide: The door is closed, dont bother trying. An Australia-bound boat of Sri Lanka refugees waits for help after drifiting into Indonesian waters. Credit:Raihal Fajri While Australias reluctance to meet its human rights obligations is not new, the Zero Chance short film competition for 2022 takes our reputation to a new and deeper level of moral depravity. It encourages Sri Lankan filmmakers to come up with videos that might deter their fellow citizens from seeking refuge in Australia via boat. Effectively, the competition proposes that every day Sri Lankans convince their neighbours to relinquish their human rights and win a digital SLR camera or a drone. The suggestion that those who have endured years of suffering may be deterred by a short film, is callous enough. The idea to recruit their fellow citizens to dissuade them from recognising their rights is morally repugnant. It urged people to check the Victorian governments website to make sure facilities are open before they go to get tested. People who have to get a PCR test because they are symptomatic or a close contact, but cannot access a PCR site are urged to isolate until they can get tested. Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp said that, despite the record case numbers, foot traffic showed Victorians had confidence to go out, given they were in one of the most vaccinated places in the world. On one Saturday in the lead-up to Christmas, foot traffic in the city was at 96 per cent of pre-COVID levels, and for the Boxing Day sales, foot traffic was on average at 80 per cent of pre-COVID rates, she said. Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp Credit:Chris Hopkins At least 10 testing facilities across Victoria were already at full capacity and temporarily closed about 7.20am on Thursday, less than 30 minutes after they opened. The closed sites included La Trobe Universitys Bundoora Campus, Monash University at Clayton, IPC Health at Deer Park, St Vincents Hospital, Springers Leisure Centre in Keysborough, Golfers Drive in Chadstone, the Bourke Street walk-in testing site in the CBD and Moonee Valley Racecourse. Listed wait times at other facilities varied between 30 minutes at sites including Hume City Council, and 150 minutes at sites including Wantirna Health and Deakin Universitys Burwood testing hub. By about midday, the list of testing sites at full capacity and out-of-action had grown to 23. Loading The wait times at other testing sites ranged from 30 minutes at 4Cyte Pathology in Sunshine, to 180 minutes at facilities including Sandringham Hospital and Melbourne Showgrounds. Under a new plan by the Victorian government, those exposed to COVID-19 will be able to pick up free rapid testing kits by showing their ID at new pop-up collection points around the state. The Andrews government secured 34 million rapid antigen test kits, which are due to arrive in Victoria in batches throughout January and be publicly available by the end of the month. Police Minister Lisa Neville said on Thursday that while the tests the government bought were not inexpensive, I understand weve been able to get a good deal. The Age has confirmed that the government plans to distribute tests through a combination of existing testing sites and pop-up locations. A senior government source with knowledge of the plans, which are yet to be finalised, said people will be asked to display basic identification such as a Medicare card and detail why they require a testing kit. Free tests will be provided to anyone who has a valid reason, including anyone who has been potentially exposed to COVID-19. Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Anthony Tassone said on social media on Thursday that phones in pharmacies across the state had been ringing off the hook since the Victorian governments announcement about free rapid antigen tests. We have not been informed how and when they will be made available to the public, he said. Pharmacies dont have free [government] stock now. University of NSW epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws said she suspected governments may want to start using rapid antigen tests for diagnosing COVID-19 cases. And if thats the case, then theyd have to ensure that they use the highest accuracy or sensitivity [test kits], and there are those, there are at least five of them that have a 95 per cent level of accuracy, she told ABC radio Melbourne. Meanwhile, a narrow national definition of close contacts and a move away from PCR tests will be central to changing the way Australia manages the COVID-19 pandemic in the future. Loading The federal government wants close contacts to be restricted to people in the same household as a positive case, and people who have spent more than four hours with a case. Under proposed changes, close contacts would only be required to isolate for seven days, rather than 14, with rapid tests on day six of quarantine and then again at day 12. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday if people were not close contacts it would be their responsibility to ensure they were not spreading COVID-19. The Australian Medical Association is also urging state and federal governments to swiftly agree to consistent guidelines for when to use rapid antigen tests at a hastily convened meeting of national cabinet on Thursday. Mr Morrison said PCR tests should be reserved for people with symptoms who were also vulnerable or worked in high-risk settings including aged care and health. University of Melbourne epidemiologist Professor Nancy Baxter said the proposed changes, particularly the redefining of close contacts, would fuel outbreaks of the virus. The optics are going to be good for a period of time - youre going to see reduced lines for PCR; youre going to see the rise in cases kind of dampen because fewer people are going to be testing; youre going to see less of a pressure on testing, she told Radio National. But its not going to change the fact that your outbreaks on fire, and youre adding fuel to [it]. It was not until several days later and only after multiple former students came forward with their own allegations that the college notified the wider Mount Scopus community that complaints have been made by a number of former students that a member of staff had previously engaged in inappropriate conduct with secondary students, in breach of college protocols and policies dealing with staff and student interactions. Following an independent investigation, the staff member no longer works at the college, Rabbi Kennard wrote on December 9. Rabbi Kennard later told staff at an end-of-year meeting that he regretted sending the initial email that failed to reveal any details of Mr Alfords alleged misconduct. There was absolutely no attempt to sweep this under the carpet, as evidenced by the fact that I went straight to the CCYP [Commission for Children and Young People], he told The Age. Mr Alford was hired at the school as a media teacher in 1997, then helped to develop what he has described as its young, innovative informal education team, a role that involved regular informal one-on-one meetings with students as well as accompanying them on camps and other activities outside of school hours. Loading Sources said he was a charismatic member of staff who was popular among students and known for having an edgy and sometimes inappropriate sense of humour. Mr Alford denied the allegations, but said it was very important that students and former students can come forward to share any concern of this nature and that they are supported to do so and have them investigated. I can say that I have never and, there has never been any finding that, I engaged in any sexual offence, he told The Age. I never engaged in any behaviour towards a student for any sexual purpose on my part. Fallout over the issue has expanded to the synagogue that Mr Alford regularly attends and volunteers at, the Blake Street Hebrew Congregation in Caulfield South. Manny Waks, the chief executive of an organisation dedicated to combating misconduct towards children in the global Jewish community, outed Mr Alford as the subject of serious allegations by multiple former students of Mount Scopus Memorial College in a letter to synagogue president Andrew Davis. The Jewish Community Council of Victoria wrote to Blake Street on December 15 expressing concern that its child protection policy was inadequate and lacked a strategy for managing complaints. In the absence of risk management strategies and safety planning, there is the potential for the protection and wellbeing of children and other vulnerable members of the community to be compromised, stated the letter, which requested a copy of a revised policy by January 31. A report has also been made to the Commission for Children and Youth by a member of the Jewish community, alleging Blake Street Synagogue failed to notify the commission within three days of becoming aware of allegations of misconduct regarding a volunteer. A spokesman for the commission said it was legally prevented from confirming whether it was investigating. Mr Davis, president of Blake Street, said the synagogue had commenced discussions with the Jewish Community Council of Victoria regarding its child protection policy, which was updated in August. In relation to this current situation, Blake Street Hebrew Congregation is taking all appropriate steps to deal with allegations that have been made against one of its members, but notes there is no suggestion that any wrongdoing has occurred in respect of Blake Street Hebrew Congregation, its activities or any of its members, he said in written responses to The Age. Mr Alford told The Age he will not attend the synagogue during the investigation. Mount Scopus is Melbournes largest Jewish school, with more than 1300 students. The high-fee non-government school is renowned for consistently achieving among the best VCE results in the state, but also champions its informal education program as a cornerstone of an education there. The initial independent investigation into Mr Alford was completed by Peta Nowacki of Working Together, a private investigator. Islamabad: Afghanistans former president said he had no choice but to abruptly leave Kabul as the Taliban closed in and denied an agreement was in the works for a peaceful takeover, disputing the accounts of former Afghan and US officials. Ashraf Ghani said in a BBC interview that aired on Thursday that an adviser gave him just minutes to decide to abandon the capital, Kabul. He also denied widespread accusations that he left the country with millions in stolen money. Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says he had only two minutes to decide if he should flee the country. Credit:AP I want to categorically state I did not take any money out of the country, Ghani told BBC Radio 4s Today program. The helicopters in our first destination were available for everybody to search. I would be delighted to have any kind of investigation, including taking a lie detector test or anything else that is important. Virginia Giuffre at her home in Perth, Australia. Photo: Stephanie Noritz This article was featured in One Great Story, New Yorks reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly. Early Thursday morning at her home in Perth, Australia, Virginia Giuffre woke up to her husband shaking the bed, saying, Wake up! Youve got to wake up! Shes guilty. As she opened her eyes, she was shocked to learn that Ghislaine Maxwell had been convicted of sex-trafficking charges and could face up to 65 years in prison for recruiting, grooming, and abusing girls alongside Jeffrey Epstein. Its a bittersweet emotion because I have been fighting for long, Giuffre said. But its definitely a relief to know that shes off the streets. After Epstein died in 2019, victims like Giuffre were robbed of the chance to face him in court. While defense lawyers used this to their advantage, painting Maxwell as a scapegoat for a dead mans sins throughout the trial, Giuffre sees the British socialite as the even bigger culprit. Shes more evil than Epstein, she told me. What Ghislaine did to so many of us is unforgivable. Giuffre is the most well-known victim in this case, and though she was not called to testify, her presence loomed over the proceedings (her name was mentioned almost 250 times and photos of her as a teenager were shown in court). The now-38-year-old says Maxwell recruited her in 2000 by dangling an opportunity to become Epsteins professional masseuse. Giuffre, who was working as a locker attendant at Trumps Mar-a-Lago spa, jumped at the opportunity. But once the 16-year-old arrived at the pink mansion in Palm Beach, it became clear she would be forced into sex with both Epstein and Maxwell, according to Giuffres depositions from a 2015 lawsuit. (In her own deposition for the case, Maxwell claimed Giuffre has lied repeatedly, often and is just an awful fantasist.) She had spent her childhood in and out of foster care, being trafficked and sexually assaulted on the streets, and figured this is what life must be about. For the next few years, she says she was ensnared in a trafficking ring, enduring repeated abuse from Epstein and Maxwell along with their powerful associates, including Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz (both men deny these claims and have not faced any charges). She escaped in 2002, when Epstein sent her on a trip to Thailand to bring home his latest trafficking recruit. There, Giuffre met a man she married ten days later, and moved to his home in Australia to start a family (when she delivered the news to Epstein, he responded, Have a nice life, and hung up). Her new chapter was interrupted five years later, in 2007, when she was pulled into an FBI investigation that ultimately ended in a plea deal with little jail time for Epstein. Since then, fighting for justice has consumed Giuffre; shes publicly told her story and remains tangled in ongoing lawsuits against Maxwell, Dershowitz, and Prince Andrew. She spoke with the Cut about the first meaningful criminal conviction in the trafficking scheme that haunts her to this day. You just woke up to some very powerful news. How are you feeling? I have been dreaming of this day for the last ten years, not knowing that it was going to come. Since the trial started, Ive been having sleepless nights, wanting to get inside of the jurors minds. I am grateful they saw Maxwell for who she is. Its a bittersweet emotion because I have been fighting for so long. Its definitely not over. There are so many more people involved with this. It doesnt stop with Maxwell. But its definitely a relief to know that shes off the streets. And that no matter how rich or how connected you are, that you can still be held accountable. What happened after your husband delivered the verdict? I was shaken awake to him saying, Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! I said, I need a cup of coffee. And then I jumped out of bed. My middle son had just woken up, and I just was so excited to tell him. My kids have seen me go through hell and back. He gave me the biggest hug and was like, Mom, you did it! and that was a melting moment for me, my kid being proud. Im very happy. Im still very shaken. I think it takes time to heal, and this justice is part of the process. Now I can start really working past Maxwell and thinking about the others who need to be held accountable. Whats it been like watching this trial unfold from afar? Ive been coping as well as I possibly can being on the other side of the world. I upped my therapy sessions. I, um couldnt help but think about it all the time, every day. I would go to bed thinking about it. I would wake up in the middle of the night and start Googling Ghislaine Maxwell to see if there had been any progress. And then trying to go back to sleep with all those things in your mind, I just I feel like some days I was just hanging on by a thread. I dream about Epstein and Maxwell a lot. Sometimes theyre abusing me; other times we could be at a movie theater. It ranges, but I always wake up wishing I didnt have to live so much in the past. Sounds like you havent been getting much rest. Ive endured worse than this before, but the case is a big deal to me. This is someone who abused me from a young age, someone who used their womanly abilities to make me feel comfortable. It wasnt like some old rich dude pulled up on the side of the road and asked if I wanted to give him a massage. I had this lady at Mar-a-Lago with this prim and proper accent ask me if I wanted to have an interview. Right, Ghislaine bucked the stereotypes of a typical predator, which made her easier to trust. The deceit hurts even more because I fell naively into her trap. I mean, she is poised. She looks sophisticated. She didnt raise any hairs on the back of my head. I was just a locker-room attendant at Mar-a-Lago who wanted to be a masseuse. Ghislaine comes to me with this amazing deal, saying, Oh my God, youre perfect. Youre exactly who weve been looking for! I told her I have no experience in massage therapy and shes like, Dont worry about that, well get you educated. Youll become a real massage therapist, youll travel the world. Youll make the money. I mean, you tell that to any 16-year-old and theyre going to jump at it. And I did. That very first night at his mansion, the abuse started to happen. The shade just went over my eyes again and I thought, This is what life must be about. Mar-a-Lago was supposed to be a new beginning for me. Tell me more about that. I know you met Ghislaine at a time when you were trying to pick up the pieces. Epstein and Maxwell took a part of my childhood that Ill never get back. I was enrolled in classes and getting my GED. I had a job and was done with living on the streets. I really just wanted something as normal as possible. Id gone through so much abuse already, youd think I would have had an amazing radar for these types of predators. But Ghislaine connected with me on a different level. She saw me reading a book about massage therapy and was able to nab me in that way. The thing about predators is they seek the vulnerable, find out what they want, and promise them a dream. Thats how they work. Cages and chains come in all different shapes and sizes. I wasnt tied to a radiator or anything, like youve seen in movies. My shackles were Epstein and Ghislaines wealth and the powerful people they knew. Epstein told me he owned the Palm Beach police department. It was all just really scary. Lets talk about your decision to tell your story publicly, first in the Daily Mail in 2011 and in other places over the past decade. It was a massive change. I was scared in the beginning, you know? I wondered, Am I doing the right thing by my family, speaking out? Whats the cause and effect here? But I knew the pros outweighed the cons. I couldnt be a good mom while knowing Ghislaine and Epstein were still out there doing exactly what theyve always done. I know youve said the choice to speak out was prompted by the birth of your daughter in 2010. I dont want my little girl growing up in a world that is so vicious. Shes nearly 12 and shes drop-dead gorgeous. Social media has made life so much easier for pedophiles. Epstein had a pyramid scheme, which really worked for him. It wasnt dirty old men bringing girls over. These girls and women were not told what was going on. Then you get there and youre stuck in it and, you know [she puts her head in her hand.] Tell me about what made you so emotional. Its not just my little girl, its about all the little girls. And boys. Its a scary world were living in right now. I trust my daughter, but I have to go through her phone at least once a week and sit down with her and ask, Who are you talking to? What are you guys talking about? Im probably extra-cautious. My kids tell me that I am. You also have two teenage sons. What impact has your story had on your kids lives? All of my family has been affected. They see what Ive talked about. They have friends that Google my name and say, Oh my God, is this your mom? Its a lot for them to carry. But now theyre teenagers. Theyre at that prime era in life where I think its important to teach them about sex trafficking, what signs to look out for. And so Im open with them. I let them watch one of my interviews. Which one? 60 Minutes Australia. The show did a really good job. Ive been speaking out for ten years, and in the beginning, the media was like, Well, this is just a story about glitz and glamour, and flying high in the sky and meeting people. It was like, Wait a second, you guys forgot to talk about the abuse. They didnt know how to tell the story. It sounds like youve really made an effort to educate your kids about your experience. I put it out there. I can sit here and talk to you, basically any adult when it comes to what Ive been through. But with my kids, its such a delicate matter. And I treat it as such. I dont want them going through life constantly looking over their shoulder thinking, Well, it happened to my mom, so it can happen to me. But I do want them to be aware that the world is a big place, and its easy to get trapped. The defense unsuccessfully tried to make the case that Maxwell was being scapegoated for Epsteins crimes. How did you view her role? She was the devils right-hand man. She made these appointments for him, she actively went out there and scouted for new girls. She was part of the sexual encounters at times. To paint herself as just the house manager is a load of crock. Youre describing how Ghislaine was also sexually abusive, in addition to the recruiting and grooming she did. Was she as damaging as Epstein? Shes definitely worse than Epstein. She used that charm, that wit, that smile to come off as somebody you want to trust. Epstein did a whole bunch of really bad stuff, acting on his sick urges. One victim said it perfectly: Jeffrey had to ejaculate like you and I have to breathe. Its organic to him [in a deposition, the accuser claimed Epstein said he needed three orgasms a day and that it was biological, like eating]. But Ghislaine facilitated it. She was the one out there bringing the girls in for him and participating in some of the sexual events. Shes worse to me, more evil than Epstein. What Ghislaine did to so many of us, its unforgivable. When Epstein died in 2019, you spoke about mourning your ability to hold him accountable. Now Ghislaine has been convicted, but what does justice look like for you? Is this enough? After Epstein passed, Judge Berman [a federal judge who was overseeing the sex-trafficking case] allowed us victims to come in and speak about what wed been through in impact statements. It was a very freeing moment for me. I immediately became good friends with the other women; theyre my survivor sisters. We use WhatsApp at least a few times a week to keep in touch. But lets just say, it wasnt just Jeffrey and Ghislaine who participated in this. Justice to me looks like holding all of these people involved in the sex ring, those who greased its wheels, named and shamed. Im sick of carrying around that shame. That shame doesnt belong to me. I think justice comes in many forms, and one area I want to change is the statute of limitations. I know youve started an organization called Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR), focused on helping survivors and eventually legal reform. What are you working on? I cant tell you how many times a day I get messages from people who say, This is happening to me. I dont know what to do. But I know you have gone through this. Im not in therapy or anything like that, so I just point them in the right direction. But theres a lot of confusion out there. People say, I want to speak out, but whats going to come from it if I cant hold them accountable? Thats why fighting the statute of limitations means so much to me [right now, its a matter of state law, with some taking effect only a few years after a sex crime]. When you rape somebody, when you traffic somebody, youre not just sexually abusing them. Youre taking a part of them that they will never get back. Youre creating scars that dont heal. Theres no statute of limitations for murder. If I could change those laws, I could wipe my brow, dust my hands off, and feel like I made a difference. Whats it been like to be so consumed by this advocacy, which is deeply tied to your trauma? How are you taking care of yourself? I hear you have a French bulldog named Juno. [She lifts Juno onto her lap.] Im exercising and Im doing yoga and taking my dog to the beach. Im doing as many things to clear my mind as possible so that I can be sharp and be focused when it matters. Junos the love of my life; we dont go anywhere without each other. Im just tired, because Ive been fighting for so long. But Ive still got that fight in me. What Im going through right now is going to help somebody out there one day, and thats my goal. Thats my focus, by telling my story over and over again. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. One Great Story: A Nightly Newsletter for the Best of New York The one story you shouldnt miss today, selected by New Yorks editors. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Batavia, NY (14020) Today Variably cloudy with snow showers. High 22F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low around 10F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Jerry lies at the feet of his trainer, a Mexican police officer, during a ceremony in Mexico City, on Dec. 7, 2016. (OmarTorres/AFP via Getty Images) 5 Slashed Bodies Found on Roadside in Southern Mexico MEXICO CITYThe slashed-up bodies of five men were found on a roadside in southern Mexico on Tuesday, authorities reported. The bodies were lying on a road near the city of Iguala in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero. The state prosecutors office said all the men had knife wounds on their faces and necks, suggesting their throats had been cut. The bodies were found in an area that has been the scene of frequent turf battles between drug gangs. There are also vigilante-style forces active in the area that is sometimes associated with the gangs. Guerrero is home to the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, farther south. Also Tuesday, authorities announced that skeletal remains found in November in the northern border state of Sonora were from 25 different people. Volunteer searchers found 14 clandestine burial pits that contained bones, some burned, and decomposing bodies in a patch of scrubland. The remains were so jumbled that it took investigators more than a month to sort out the number of bodies. The body dumping ground was discovered by volunteer search teams made up of relatives of disappeared people near a highway west of the state capital, Hermosillo. Relatives of the disappeared have to conduct their own searches in many parts of Mexico, because police are unable or unwilling to do so. Sonora has been the scene of drug gang turf battles thought to involve factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, allies of the Jalisco cartel, and a gang allied with fugitive drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero. Christmas arrived early for one Rome resident in New York who, falling ill, was separated from his four-legged best friend, Boomerbut they were reunited thanks to the kindness of a local nurse who went beyond the call of duty. The ailing 60-year-old, John Burley, had been taken to the hospital just before Thanksgiving. Unable to care for his elderly dog, Boomer was taken to the Rome Humane Society, leaving his human owner distraught. Burley had no one to care for Boomer in his absence. No oneexcept a certain nurse hed gotten to know while he was a patient at the Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Rome, which provides daily adult healthcare programs for the elderly. It was here that he first met nurse Jennifer Smith, 41, and formed a lasting friendship. He would often share photos of Boomer and talk about his furry companion. So, when Burley found himself hospital-bound without his dog, he picked up the phone. John mentioned to her that he was devastated about losing his best friend, Boomer, Kimberleigh Hare from The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Rome told Newsweek. It broke her heart to think that Boomer would be adopted by strangers and she couldnt bear to think about what would happen if no one wanted to adopt this sweet 13-year-old dog. Boomer being an older dog like her own pooch of about the same age, Smith sympathized and did what she had to do, telling Burley that she would find Boomer and take care of him. She started dialing up local shelters and soon located the canine at the Rome Humane Society. The next day, she took an early lunch and made the trip to the shelter where she found the little dog in a cage. Right on the spot, she asked for the adoption papers and said she was going to take him home. Although the dog wasnt quite ready to be released, Smith called Burley and told him that Boomer was in good hands; he would stay with her, and her dog, for as long as he needed her to. After being discharged from the hospital, Burley had to spend time in rehabilitation before returning home (he has his own apartment where he lives alone with Boomer). Naturally, he chose to stay at Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Rome, where Smith still works. On his day leaving the hospital, she decided to surprise him just before Christmas and brought Boomer to work with her. Dressing him in a festive shirt, she and Hare revealed the surprise and Burley broke into a bright smile, filled with joy upon being reunited with his best friend. Christmas came early for Burley and Boomer, but seeing them reunited was a gift for the rest, too. There are just so many worries in the world right now. If I can take one worry away from John, thats the least I can do, Smith told CNN. John seeing Boomer, thats the only Christmas present I need right now. Staff at the Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Rome informed The Epoch Times that, judging from the smiling faces, everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday weekend. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Police release tear gas into a crowd during clashes at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) 725 Arrested, 165 Pleaded Guilty to Federal Jan. 6 Charges, DOJ Says More than 725 people have been arrested in all 50 states on federal charges stemming from violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, leading some 165 people to plead guiltymostly to misdemeanor chargesthe U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday in its year-end summary. Under the continued leadership of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the FBIs Washington Field Office, the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the attack continues to move forward at an unprecedented speed and scale, the DOJ said in a statement. The Department of Justices resolve to hold accountable those who committed crimes on Jan. 6, 2021 has not, and will not, wane. The approximately 725 arrests have led 145 defendants to plead guilty to misdemeanors, while 20 pleaded guilty to felonies. Six of the felony guilty pleas involved assaults on law enforcement, the report said. More than 225 people were charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law-enforcement officers or other employees. About a third of those cases involve charges of using a deadly or dangerous weapon, the DOJ said. Some 140 police officers were assaulted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, including 80 from U.S. Capitol Police and 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department. Nearly 90 percent of those arrested were charged at least in part with entering or remaining in restricted federal buildings or grounds. Seventy-five defendants were charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon. John Anderson is seen being helped by police officers after being pepper sprayed in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (FBI) More than 45 defendants were charged with destruction of government property during the rioting, and over 30 were charged with theft of government property, the report said. At least 275 people were charged with obstructing or attempting to obstruct, influence, or impede an official proceeding. Those charges were brought because the U.S. House and Senate were in session to certify electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election when violence broke out. Lawmakers were evacuated and work was suspended during the worst violence, although the session continued after 8 p.m. on Jan. 6. Some 40 people were charged with conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during civil disorder, conspiracy to injure an officer, or some combination of those charges, the report noted. Seventy federal defendants have been sentenced for their actions on Jan. 6, including 31 who received jail or prison time. Eighteen people were sentenced to home detention. The balance of those sentenced were not incarcerated, the report said. Ten arrests were made for assaults on members of the news media or destruction of their equipment on Jan. 6, the DOJ said. The FBI still asks the publics help to identify more than 350 people believed to have committed violent acts at the Capitol, including more than 250 who assaulted police officers, the DOJ report said. The FBI has 16 videos of suspects wanted for assaults on federal officers, and one video of a person accused of assaulting a member of the news media. Photos and videos of the wanted subjects can be viewed on the FBIs Jan. 6 web page. A security guard keeps watch outside The Real Real store near Union Square in San Francisco on Nov. 30, 2021. (Ethan Swope/Getty Images) Pure Insanity: San Francisco Residents Reflect on Surge in Crime SAN FRANCISCOTo native San Franciscans, shoplifting and car break-ins are now a normal part of life in a big city. Car burglaries occur up to 74 times a day in the city and have increased nearly 200 percent since 2020. Some residents are going to extreme lengths to prevent their car windows from being smashed, like leaving their trunks open and their windows down, according to local reports. On a recent Saturday at Alamo Square Park across from the famed Painted Ladies houses, Kira Cush, a lifelong San Francisco resident whos had her car broken into multiple times, said its just something, especially if you live in this area, you need to be mindful to just not leave anything in your car. And even then, still, cars will get broken into, but you have to be super vigilant about not leaving stuff out, she told The Epoch Times. Loretta, another local resident who declined to give her last name, said suspects will usually target tourists. After her car was broken into, she placed a residential sticker on her windshield to deter burglars. Weve had people dump goods, like tourists backpacks and stuff in our neighborhood from a smash and grab, because they got whatever they wanted, and they just dumped the rest on the street, the 21-year resident said. Hot spots for car break-ins usually happen near heavily crowded tourist attractions, such as Lombard Street, Pier 39, Golden Gate Park, and Moraga Stairs. Cars and tables fill a parking lot next to a restaurant and bay cruise terminal at the Fishermans Wharf tourist destination in San Francisco on June 14, 2021. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) At the Pier 39 parking lot, a resident of 46 years could be seen driving around and yelling at tourists to find another parking location. He told The Epoch Times he decided to take matters into his own hands and visit every morning until noon to warn tourists about the car break-ins. Whats happened over the last 10 months is that this crime has escalated, from hitting cars, to robbing tourists, to robbing locals, to robbing stores. I mean, its just gotten rampant, absolutely rampant, he said. The local declined to give his name out of fear he would be identified by suspects. The cops arent going to make arrests, and the [district attorney] is not going to prosecute. Then the only way to stop this is to basically have less food for the street sharks to go after. So, you have to warn people, you have to physically warn them not to leave anything in their cars, he said. Large-scale smash-and-grab robberies have also been making national headlinesdrawing additional criticism to the citys progressive criminal reform policies. Many store owners in Chinatown have changed their hours and now lock up their shops when the sun goes down. Walgreens hired off-duty cops to guard their stores and closed five of its 53 locations. Retail shops are relying on private security guards to deter shoplifters. A security guard in Oakland was shot and killed while protecting a KRON4 News reporter. And San Francisco Mayor London Breed recently announced a local state of emergency in the Tenderloin district to counter the open-air drug market and curtail assaults in the neighborhood. 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) Crime Wave Controversy While brazen thefts at small businesses and retail stores in San Francisco have increased, drawing national headlines since the beginning of this year, some business owners told The Epoch Times theyve stopped reporting the crimes because when they call the police, they cant do anything. Some point to Proposition 47, a seven-year-old initiative that reduced some sentences from felonies to misdemeanors. Under the law, up to $950 can be stolen before its considered a felony. Even when arrests are made, theyre not held for long under the states zero cash bail policy. The California Supreme Court ruled in March that judges must consider a suspects financial ability to pay when setting bail prices, which permits the defendants to walk freely until further legal action is taken unless theyre deemed too dangerous. And in the wake of new progressive district attorneys across the country vowing to redefine criminal justice, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has taken the bulk of the blame in the eyes of locals who dont think hes doing enough to penalize criminals. Promising a more equitable justice system, Boudinwho is also facing a potential recall in June 2022defended Prop. 47 in a SF Gate column on Dec. 21, a few weeks after a string of organized retail gangs committed smash-and-grab robberies across several shopping centers including Union Square and Santana Way. Blaming legal reforms is equally misguided. Rolling back Proposition 47 would not solve the problems we are facing now. Californias felony theft threshold of $950 is still among the lowest in the country38 states have felony thresholds at or above $1,000and Texas has a threshold of $2,500, Boudin wrote. Proposition 47 also passed seven years ago and was followed by a decline in property crimes. Its passage did not prevent prosecutors from being able to hold those who commit organized retail thefts accountable; for example, all the charges in Union Square were still felonies. Even though city stats show theres been a slight decline in property crimes this year, its likely the data does not accurately reflect the real numbers when considering many business owners have stopped reporting crimes, according to a local activist. Union Square visitors look at damage to a Louis Vuitton store in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 21, 2021. (Danielle Echeverria/San Francisco Chronicle via AP) I never used to see the amount of shoplifting that we have today. Neverit is pure insanity. It is awful. Its off the charts, San Francisco resident and activist Erica Sandberg told The Epoch Times. Sandberg said one of her friends was also attacked outside of his apartment by someone who tried to stab him. Its really hard for me to say that this is normal because its not normal. But it is increasingly common, she said. According to a retail study from August, about 69 percent of retailers nationwide said they saw an increase in organized retail crime activity over the past year. Some of the potential driving factors include COVID-19 restrictions, policing, changes to sentencing guidelines, and the growth of online marketplaces for criminal activity. Perpetrators are becoming more common in an era where it is easy to evade prosecution, one retailer noted in the survey. Making matters worse, the San Francisco Police Department is significantly understaffed, with patrol units suffering the most, according to Sergeant Richard Cibotti. He told The Epoch Times the department currently loses between 5-10 officers a month to other departments or retirement. A lot of cops have felt like theyve lost a purpose, Cibotti said. Theyve gotten the job because they wanted to help people and go out and you know, make arrests and try to improve life in the community. But when they go out, and they make arrests when the people that they arrest are getting no consequences, it feels like theyve lost their purpose. He said every day around 7:00 pm, high-end retail storeslike Louis Vuittonin Union Square close for the evening. Theres also an added police presence to the area until the holiday season is over. Pedestrians walk past a Fendi store with boarded up windows near Union Square in San Francisco in Nov. 30, 2021. (Ethan Swope/Getty Images) Small Business Owner Speaks Out Michael Hsu spent one dismal morning sweeping up broken glass from the entryway of his sneaker and clothing shop, Footprint, located on the corner of Taraval Street and 27th Avenue. However, it was business as usual when his employees came to work that day. We have a smile on our face. We just have to carry on. We cant close our store. We still have to pay rent. We still have our employees, they still have to eat, so we just carry on like we normally would, Hsu told The Epoch Times. The previous night, a suspect blowtorched the front entryway before clearing the shelves of thousands of dollars in brand-name hoodies, shirts, shoes, and other accessories. No arrests were made, but some of the items were later found. Its still under investigation with the San Francisco Police Department, Hsu said. Later that same day, looters entered the shop and stole more items. It was another hit to Hsus morale. He urged his district supervisor, Gordon Mar, to set up a relief fund to help businesses recover from burglaries. Mayor London Breed joined Mar in holding a press conference at Footprint to announce the Storefront Vandalism Relief Granta $2,000 program to help small businesses whove been victimized by burglaries. That was in February. In September, Hsus store was hit yet again. This time, surveillance videobought with funds from the vandalism relief grantshowed that the suspect climbed up the exterior walls scaffolding and broke through the window to Hsus office. Thousands of dollars in goods were stolen again. Crime is there, and it seems like theres no consequences, Hsu said, adding that Prop. 47 sends the wrong message to San Franciscans. As a new father, I dont want my kid to know thatwe need to teach them the difference between right and wrong, and let them know its not okay to take anything, even if its $1. Its not okay, and thats the message that we really need to be sending out. Attendees head into the Sands Expo and Convention Center during the 2020 CES in Las Vegas, Nev., on Jan 7, 2020. (Steve Marcus/Reuters) AMD, P&G Join Others in Opting out of CES Event on Omicron Fears Advanced Micro Devices, Micro-Star International Co, and Procter & Gamble Co are the latest companies to withdraw from attending the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in person next month as Omicron cases surge. The rapid spread of the new coronavirus variant has forced individuals and companies across the United States to rethink their travels plans as they look to lessen the risk of contracting the virus. Airlines such as Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group have canceled hundreds of flights, while the surge in new infections has also threatened to derail a recovery in the cruise industry. CES, which serves as an annual showcase of new trends and gadgets in the technology industry, is expected to have more than 2,200 in-person exhibitors this year at Las Vegas. The event, starting Jan. 5, will require all attendees to be masked and vaccinated, and also offer COVID-19 tests, a spokesperson for Consumer Technology Association, the event organizer, said. Our in-person engagements will now transition to virtual in the best interest of the health and safety of our employees, partners, and communities, a spokesperson for chip designer AMD said. Several others, including U.S. automaker General Motors Co, Alphabet Incs Google, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc, Twitter Inc, Lenovo Group, AT&T Inc, and Amazon.com Inc have dropped their in-person attendance plans, saying they would not send employees out of caution over the spread of Omicron. The average number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States has risen 55 percent to over 205,000 per day over the last seven days, according to a Reuters tally. By Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru American Traitors: Academics Working for China Commentary It took a federal jury in Boston less than three hours to return guilty verdicts on all six felony counts against Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard Universitys Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Lieber, one of the countrys top research chemists according to The New York Times, lied to the FBI about his participation in Beijings Thousand Talents Program, didnt pay income taxes on money from Chinese sources, and failed to report his Chinese bank account to the Internal Revenue Service. The case against the Harvard academic was airtight. Nonetheless, members of Americas academic elite are up in arms that the Department of Justice prosecuted Lieber, and many are campaigning against law enforcement efforts. Chinas regime has bought the U.S. academic community and turned it against the United States. The conviction of Lieber is very good news, Kerry Gershaneck, author of Political Warfare: Strategies for Combating Chinas Plan to Win Without Fighting and a professor in Taiwan, told Gatestone. This case is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what needs to be done by the U.S. government to penetrate and prosecute Chinas co-option of Americas academia. The Department of Justice didnt go after Lieber for espionage or intellectual property theft. Instead, it hit him with relatively minor charges in order to obtain convictions. Yet make no mistake, Liebers activities were deeply injurious to the United States. The Harvard professor recruited U.S. talent to work in China. In 2011, Lieber had agreed to become a strategic scientist at the Wuhan University of Technologyand consequently a part of the Thousand Talents Program, an effort to attract foreign specialists for Beijing. While working on the Communist Partys payroll, Lieber was in a perfect position to spot and assess potential vulnerable students and faculty for China to recruit, Gershaneck said. For his efforts, Beijing rewarded Lieber handsomely with $50,000 per month, among other payments. Scientists around the world, identified as leaders in areas of advanced research that are strategic priorities, are targeted by a well-funded sophisticated engagement that plays on their vanity, naivete, and greed, Charles Burton, once a professor at Brock University and now a leading expert on Chinas infiltration of Canada, told Gatestone. China apparently appealed not only to Liebers greed, but also to his vanity. Before conviction, the now-disgraced scientist told the FBI that he had collaborated with China to increase his prospects of gaining Chinese support for winning a Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, Chinas allies in the United States blame the Justice Departments China Initiative, established in 2018, for Liebers conviction. Theyre accusing this law-enforcement effort of racial profiling, selective prosecution, and prosecutorial overreach. The reason people like Lieber lie is because they are afraid, Peter Zeidenberg, a Washington attorney representing researchers being investigated for China ties, told The New York Times. Its really sad. They are afraid to answer truthfully, Are you a member of the talent program? Im sure during the Red Scare, people said they were not a member of the Communist Party. A more likely explanation for Lieber lying to federal authorities is that he knew what he was doing was wrong and that he was aware that he was taking money to harm the United States. Chinas Communist Party has been engaged in decades of takingby guile, theft, and other meansscientific knowledge, know-how, and other valuable intellectual property. Lieber knew he was part of those Chinese efforts. Chinas theft of intellectual property alone injures the United States to the tune of perhaps $500 billion per year, according to John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence. Liebers efforts facilitated the loss of valuable technology on top of this staggering sum. For more than 70 years, the Chinese Communist Party has invested extraordinary effort into infiltrating and co-opting Americas academia, Gershaneck said. Academic infiltration and subversion are vital elements of the Communist Partys political warfare against the U.S., and to this end, its United Front and intelligence organizations aggressively target Americas universities, individual scholars, think tanks, and even K12 teachers and students. That effort has been successful. Im told there are thousands of professors on Beijings payroll in California universities. And China is about to put even more effort into taking over foreign institutions of higher education. Chinese ruler Xi Jinping, in a major speech in September, stressed that it is a regime priority to attract foreign professionals to transfer state-of-the-art scientific know-how to China, saying this is crucial to Chinas technological self-reliance and national rejuvenation, said Burton, the Canadian academic now at the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Xi is serious about attracting talents such as Lieber. In his September speech, Xi said he would exhaust all means to recruit foreigners. China is more eager than any period in its history for professional talent, Xi said. He delivered his words at a two-day conference on luring foreign talent, the third nationwide meeting on developing technology. The Chinese dictator established in September a two-decade timetable to become the worlds science and technology leader. He spoke about the struggle on the worlds main economic battlefield. Chinas regime believes the competition for talent is a war. In that war, Chinas military has access to all of the technology in nominally civilian Chinese institutions and companies, and the Chinese military is planning to use this tech to develop the means to kill Americans by the hundreds of millions. In Chinas official war on the United Statesin May 2019, Peoples Daily declared a peoples war on the United StatesAmericans working for Beijing, whatever their intention, are essentially traitors. Lieber, a traitor, has inflicted incalculable damage on the United States. Lieber will likely receive a prison sentence shorter than six months. From the Gatestone Institute Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Men ride their motorbikes past a closed plant of Foxconn India unit, which makes iPhones for Apple Inc, near Chennai, India, on Dec. 21, 2021. (Sudarshan Varadhan/ Reuters) Apple Puts Supplier Foxconns India Plant on Notice After Protests CHENNAIApple said it had placed the southern Indian factory of iPhone assembler Foxconn on probation after both companies found that some worker dormitories and dining rooms did not meet required standards. Apple did not explain what probation meant. When it placed the southern India plant of another supplier, Wistron Corp, on probation after unrest last year, it said it would not award that company new business until it addressed the way workers were treated. The latest action follows protests that erupted this month after more than 250 women who work at the Foxconn plant and live in one of the dormitories were treated for food poisoning. More than 150 were hospitalized, Reuters reported. The plant, which is located in the town of Sriperumbudur town near Chennai and employs about 17,000 people, was closed on Dec 18. Apple and Foxconn did not say when they expected it to reopen. A spokesperson for Taiwans Foxconn said on Wednesday that it was restructuring its local management team, taking immediate steps to improve facilities, and added that all employees would continue to be paid while it makes necessary improvements to restart operations. An Apple spokesperson said on Wednesday it had dispatched independent auditors to assess conditions at the dormitories following recent concerns about food safety and accommodation conditions at Foxconn Sriperumbudur. Apple said it had found that some of the dormitory accommodations and dining rooms, which were not on the factorys premises, did not meet its requirements and that it was working with the supplier to ensure a comprehensive set of corrective actions, adding that it will ensure its strict standards are met before the facility reopens. A senior government official familiar with the matter said Foxconn has been answering queries from the state government on amenities provided to workers. Once they get clearances from the government, workers will be inducted and the company will resume production, the official said. A second official said the reopening of the Foxconn plant in Chennai could be delayed until Monday. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Foxconn as well as 11 of its contractors including those who provide food and living facilities, were summoned for a meeting with the state government and that officials had asked Foxconn to review services provided to the workers, including power backup at the hostels, food, and water. The impact on Apple from the closure of the plant, which makes iPhone 12 models and has started trial production of the iPhone 13, is expected to be minimal, analysts have said. But the factory is strategic in the long term as the U.S. tech giant tries to cut its reliance on its Chinese supply chain amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. By Sudarshan Varadhan and Sayantani Ghosh People line up at the Histopath pre-departure COVID-19 testing clinic at Sydney International airport in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 23, 2021. (Jenny Evans/Getty Images) Australia Narrows Close Contact Definition to Overcome COVID-19 Testing Backlog Five Australian jurisdictions have agreed on a new definition for a COVID-19 close contact, which will relieve PCR testing clinics from overwhelming queues and help keep the economy running. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that from midnight of Dec. 31, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory will change their definition of a close contact and follow-up procedures. Except in exceptional circumstances, a close contact is a household contact of a confirmed case only, Morrison said. A household contact is someone who lives with a case or has spent more than four hours with them in a house, accommodation, or care facility setting. You are only a close contact if you are effectively living with someone or have been in an accommodation setting with someone for more than four hours who has actually got COVID-19. Not someone who is in contact with someone who has had COVIDit s with someone specifically who has COVID. Individuals confirmed with COVID-19 will now be required to isolate for seven days from the date they receive a positive test. On Dec. 31, the prime minister announced a further update to the new isolation rules, scrapping the previous RAT, or rapid antigen test requirement on day six of isolation for confirmed cases. If confirmed cases remain symptomatic, they should remain in isolation, Morrison said in a statement. Anyone with symptoms will continue to seek a PCR test. Under the new rules, symptomatic close contacts will be required to take a PCR test, while asymptomatic close contacts must take a RAT test, and if positive, take a PCR test. Close contacts that return a negative test, they must remain isolated for those seven days because symptoms and other things can present later, Morrison said. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison holds up a face mask as he speaks during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 22, 2021. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) The prime minister said Australians who are asymptomatic and do not fall under the definition of close contact should not go out and queue for a PCR test. You should go home, go to the beach, go and do what you want to do Follow all the normal, common sense things that you would do, he said. Monitor your symptoms, follow the COVID-safe practices, make sure you have booked for your booster, do all of those sorts of things, but there is no need for you to be in that line. Morrison said these changes would reduce pressure on testing centres, which allow people to receive their testing results faster and free up workforce to support other priorities. Free testing will only be available to people who meet the above criteria, meaning everyone else, aside from vulnerable groups, will need to purchase their own RATs at the local pharmacy or supplier. For all other casual uses, you would just like to get a test or something like that, well that is what the private market is for, Morrison said. Tasmania will follow the changes from Jan. 1, while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will make their own announcements within the coming days. I know this is a bit different to what you have been hearing over the last couple of years but dealing with Delta is very different to dealing with Omicron, and to ensure that our public health systems work as effectively to keep as many people are safe as possible, that is why we need to make this change, Morrison said. A combination of Christmas travel demand, testing requirements on domestic travellers, the emergence of the Omicron strain, and essentially free testing for residents (PCR testing is subsidised by the government), has seen hundreds of thousands of Australians line up at testing sites resulting in disruptions to the health system and travel plans. Some individuals have reported being turned away from clinics, while others have been forced to wait hours in line. Some have had to wait days before receiving their resultsforcing cancellation or postponing of travel plans. Time to break free of the winter doldrums. Lets put aside todays headlines and instead travel the world. Well spend a few days in rural India, pay a quick visit to Singapore, cross the plains and mountains of the American West by rail and on sleds driven by sails, and beat our way across the Atlantic on a steam-driven ship. Along the way well rescue a damsel in distress and face bandits, storms, and other dangers, all the while pursued by an intrepid detective for a crime we didnt commit and surviving by means of our wits and grit to win a wager. And heres the good news: We can achieve all these ambitions without leaving the comfort of home. We can sit on the sofa in the living room with a mug of steaming tea and plenty of opportunities to take a break from such escapadesmake a phone call, fix a sandwich, take a stroll around the neighborhoodif we wish to do so. All we have to do is settle ourselves and break open Jules Vernes classic novel Around the World in Eighty Days. The year is 1872, and Phileas Fogg, an English gentleman, has just made a wager with some members of the Reform Club that he can circumscribe the globe in 80 days. Fogg sets out with a servant hired that very morning, Jean Passepartout, a Parisian who boasts such talents as a former gymnast, circus rider, and tightrope walker, as well as serving as a gentlemans gentleman. Passepartout hopes to find a tranquil life in Mr. Foggs employ, yet off they go, dispatched by Mr. Foggs bet on a global trip that will sweep them and their readers through a torrent of trials and adventures. The French first edition of Jules Vernes Around the World in Eighty Days, Published on Jan. 30, 1873, published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel & Cie, Paris. (Public Domain) The Grandfather of Travel Books Danger, risk, and the possibility of death are a continual part of this race against the clock. In India, assisted by a British officer and their Parsee guide, Fogg and Passepartout rescue a young widow, Aouda, from suttee, or being burned alive on a pyre with her dead, elderly husband. In Hong Kong, Passepartout falls victim to the schemes of Mr. Fix, the detective who is pursuing Mr. Fogg in the belief that he is a bank robber. Left behind in an opium den, Passepartout eventually rejoins his master, and the four of them, including Fix at times, face other ordeals, including an attack by Sioux warriors on the American plains and a wild and desperate voyage across the Atlantic. In the Afterword to my edition of Around the World in Eighty Days (Penguin Group, 1991, revised and updated translation by Jacqueline Rogers), critic Thurston Clarke mentions some of the novels faults, but then adds that it is one of the most influential works of travel literature ever written, setting standards and establishing patterns and themes that are still followed. It decreed that any journey worthy of description had to involve some challenge, some stunt or goal. Clarke then cites such travel classics as Paul Therouxs The Old Patagonian Express, Graham Greenes Journey Without Maps, and Jonathan Rabans Old Glory: An American Voyage as derivatives of Vernes novel. After Verne, Clarke writes, it was not enough to simply to visit the remote and exotic, a writer had to return with adventures. A Quintessential Englishman Passepartout, the beautiful Aouda, and a dozen other characters in Vernes novel are all vividly drawn. We take delight in the antics and thoughts of Passepartout, applauding his ingenuity and courage, and admire Aouda not only for her beauty but also for the abundant gratitude and fierce loyalty she shows to her rescuers. Even the ever-present bulldog of a detective, Mr. Fix, intrigues us by his single-minded, though wrongheaded, devotion to his duty. But it is the enigmatic Mr. Fogg who truly captures our attention. While the others stay awake worrying in the face of some catastrophe, Fogg sleeps unperturbed through the night. When some enemy or danger confronts them, Fogg weighs the facts and circumstances, looks for solutions, and once his mind is made up as to a course of action, he never wavers in carrying out his plan. No disaster fazes him. Again and again, Verne uses cool and coolly to describe Foggs behavior when confronted by adversity. Keeping a stiff upper lip, which of course means demonstrating restraint of emotions and keeping ones head in dire situations, was an attribute especially prized by Victorian England. Rudyard Kipling, for example, celebrated this manly virtue in some of his short stories, and his poem If might serve as an instruction manual for learning this brand of stoicism. The principles advocated by this verse fit Mr. Fogg to a T. Around the World in Eighty Days immediately became a bestseller. Its amusing to think that a story told by a French novelist may have helped enhance that stiff upper lip image so valued by the English, a perception that endured until the 1960s. The Englishman Gives Away His Heart Despite Foggs unreadable face and often chilly personality, readers eventually realize that the lovely Aouda is falling in love with this man who saved her life and who always first considers her comfort and safety in the strange adventures that come their way. Passepartout wishes his master would recognize the ladys affections as he himself does, and yet we have only an inkling here and there of Foggs feelings toward her. Theres no spoiler alert needed by noting that at the novels end Fogg and Aouda become engaged. Even a casual reader would likely guess that outcome. What we fail to suspect, however, is that it is Aouda who proposes to Fogg. Here is the scene in which this occurs, as fine a piece of romance as written anywhere. Facing an enormous personal financial catastrophe, Fogg confesses that he can rely on neither friends nor relatives for help. Aouda then replies: I pity you, then, Mr. Fogg, for solitude is a sad thing, with no heart to which to confide your griefs. They say, though, that misery itself, shared by two sympathetic souls, may be borne with patience. They say so, madam. Mr. Fogg, said Aouda, rising, and seizing his hand, do you wish at once a kinswoman and a friend? Will you have me for your wife? Mr. Fogg, at this, rose in his turn. There was an unusual light in his eyes, and a slight trembling of his lips. Mrs. Aouda looked into his face. The sincerity, rectitude, firmness, and sweetness of this soft glance of a noble woman, who could dare all to save him to whom she owed all, at first astonished, then penetrated him. He shut his eyes for an instant, as if to avoid her look. When he opened them again, I love you! he said, simply. Yes, by all that is holiest, I love you, and I am entirely yours. Ah! cried Mrs. Aouda, pressing her hand to her heart. Shirley MacLaine as Aouda and David Niven as Phileas Fogg in the 1956 version of Jules Vernes classic. (United Artists) A Hidden Message Some moderns believe that such romance is dead. Others may read Around the World in Eighty Days and lament that the world no longer offers such chance for adventure and the exotic, that our air travel and electronic communications have shrunk the globe, leaving little room for discovery, daring, or great deeds. Like Miniver Cheevy in Edwin Arlington Robinsons poem by the same name, these moderns dream of Thebes and Camelot, and Priams neighbors, and curse what they consider the gray, staid age in which they were born. But are these Minivers correct? Born in 1828 and dying at age 77, Verne didnt write Around the World in Eighty Days as some nostalgic trip into the past. The places, means of travel, and events he described were contemporary to his time. Fogg sets his wager in 1872; Around the World in Eighty Days was published the following year. If we keep that idea in mind, here in 2022, we might see Around the World in Eighty Days in a different light. Vernes tale may be interpreted as a call to action. It is a reminder that we can choose to view our life as a grand and exciting excursion, a journey from birth to death meant to be experienced to the hilt. Here the challenge is not a race against time around the globe, but to comprehend and revel in the mysteries and possibilities of that world, including those in our own backyard, and to see each day as a gift to be unwrapped and explored. By regarding life as an adventure, as do the characters in Vernes story, we can make it so. Beijings 99-Year Lease of Darwin Port Poses No Security Risk: Australian Defence Department A review by Australias Defence Department has advised the federal government against overturning the controversial 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to Chinese company Landbridge, citing a lack of national security grounds. The review, initiated by Defence Minister Peter Duttonamid escalating tensions between Beijing and Canberrawas tasked with investigating with whether the Chinese-owned port posed an unacceptable national security risk and if Australia should consider renationalising it. The national security committee which commissioned the review has reportedly not received any formal recommendation from the Department of Defence for intervention from the government, according to The Australian newspaper on Wednesday. The Defence Department has yet to respond to inquiries from The Epoch Times. The revelations will likely make any plans to axe the 2015 Port of Darwins lease more politically challenging. During a visit to Darwin in April this year, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the A$506 million port deal was the sole responsibility of the former Northern Territory government since it was undertaken without federal government oversight. The PM also said he would respond as necessary if there is advice from the Defence Department or our security agencies that change their view about the national security implications of any piece of critical infrastructure. Labor Defence Spokesperson Brendan OConner on Wednesday warned the prime minister against going against the Defence Departments advice. The Port of Darwin is a critical strategic asset for Australia. Australians know this foreign privatisation deal should never have happened on Mr. Morrisons watchthats just common sense, OConner said. If the government acts unilaterally beyond Defences advice and intervenes on the Port of Darwin contract, the associated costs and fallout are on the prime ministers lap. Meanwhile, Professor Clive Hamilton of Charles Sturt University called the results of the review of the lease naive and extremely puzzling, stating it would make way for Beijing to spy on Darwins defence assets. If the Port of Darwin is not critical infrastructure, I dont know what is, he told News Corp, noting that the government still had the power to abrogate the lease. Labor Party member Luke Gosling has previously urged the government to avoid blatant double standards calling for the Darwin Port deal to be treated the same as the Victorian governments two Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) agreements, which were axed earlier this year by the Morrison governmentciting inconsistencies with Australias national interest. Officially, the Darwin Port sale wasnt badged as a BRI project. But it was undoubtedly part of it from Beijings point of view, even if not from ours, Gosling wrote in a commentary for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on Sep. 15, 2020. In response to the Port lease deal and concerns around foreign interference, the government amended the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018, giving the treasurer the power to revoke any infrastructure deals that could pose a national security threat to the country. The law, however, excludes a corporation that operates on a commercial basis, creating a loophole that could allow a group like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to instead, hijack Chinese private companies such as Landbridge to acquire key assets, Gosling added. A private company that owns critical infrastructure abroad is still accountable to Beijing, he noted. Landbridge has refuted any security risk concerns associated with its ownership of the port, warning that Australias focus on the company could impede Landbridges plan to invest $155 million into the port over the next 20 years. Warwick Smith, businessman and former Howard-era government minister told The Australian that the port agreement was a reasonably good return for what was a basically low-level piece of port area, and that many Australian top officials did not see this as a high-priority issue. Experts, however, argue that had the federal government recognised the significance of the portthe countrys front door to Asiathere would have been no chance for Chinese investment to step in to the investment void. Chinese leader Xi Jinping (L) and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Wang Huning (R) arrive at the closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 13, 2015. (Feng Li/Getty Images) Beijings Marketing Manager: Wang Huning Commentary To the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), recognized guides to action are Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era (Xi Thought), as stated in its constitution. Behind the Partys guides, Wang Huning is the pen for the Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Thought. Wang, the strategist serving three CCP leaders, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping, helped to package their thoughts as they guide Party members. Some people actually nicknamed the writings as Wang Huning Thought. Speedy Production Wang was originally a professor in International Politics. In 1995, Jiang Zemin brought him to the Central Policy Research Office (Office). He became the director of the Office and held the position for 26 years, the longest term in CCP history, until Oct. 2020. Deng Xiaoping, the second-generation leadership core of the CCP, died in 1997. In the 1997 meeting of the CCPs rubber-stamp legislature after Dengs death, Jiang Zemin touted Deng Xiaoping Theory as the only guidance for the Partys fate and future. However, in just five years, Jiang provided the Party members his own guidance, the Three Represents. It took 24 years to establish Maoism officially, considering that the CCP was founded in 1921 and was made public in 1945; it took 20 years to formulate Deng Xiaoping Theory, adding up from 1977 when Deng took power until his guidance was institutionalized into the CCP Constitution in 1997. Jiang Zemin won Dengs recognition for his contribution during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Up until 1997, Jiang would have abided by Dengs Theory. Therefore, it took only five years (19972002) to formulate Jiangs Three Represents, five years (20022007) to develop Hu Jintaos Scientific Outlook on Development, and another five years to compose Xi Thought. Mao has his unbeatable status in the CCP. None of his successors could surpass him in regarding the influence and seniority in the history of the Party. However, Jiang, Hu, and Xi beat him in the speedy production of their individual versions of the Partys guidance. In fact, these Partys guidelines are Wangs renovationsthrough packaging new phrases carrying the same old concepts of Marxism-Leninism. Xi Jinping was born in 1953. Maos series of political campaigns resulted in Xis innate cultural deficiencies from lack of education. In 1975, Xi was admitted to Tsinghua University as a worker-peasant-soldier student. That is, his admission was not based on his academic merit, but rather the class of his parents. As for his political track, from local governments in Hebei, Fujian, Zhejiang, to Shanghai and Beijing, it could only be described as mediocre. I believe there are three reasons why Xi became a CCP leader: First, his father Xi Zhongxun was a liberal veteran; second, Xi was relatively low-key; third, Bo Xilai, the other possible successor and a princeling, was too flashy. During Xis first term (2012-2017), he focused on seizing power from Jiang Zemin through the campaign of anti-corruption, refusing to serve as a puppet of Jiang like his predecessor Hu Jintao. His various talks about Marxism at the time could have been prepared by Wang Huning. After Wang became a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo in charge of ideology work in 2017, he began to intoxicate Xi with Marxism. Since then, the CCP has declared war on all believers in gods, on capitalist Hong Kong, capitalist Taiwan, and capitalist America; and engaged in wolf warrior diplomacy, domestic brutal suppression, and publicizing dare to fight and good at fighting. Youths at a rally during the height of the Red Guard upheaval waving copies Maos Little Red Book and carrying a poster of Karl Marx on Sept. 14, 1966. The Cultural Revolution set off a decade of violence and tumult to achieve communist goals and enforce a radical egalitarianism. (AP Photo) Marxisms Marketing Manager On April 23, 2018, the Politburo held a collective study session on The Communist Manifesto and its contemporary significance, which touted Marxs atheism, anti-capitalism, and philosophy of violence and struggle. On May 4, 2018, Xi made a remark on the 200th anniversary of Marxs birth: A great veneration to the greatest thinker of modern times, and a scientific theory firmly held by the CCP. I am fairly certain that Wang organized and finalized the composition of Xis address. In the Third Historical Resolution that the CCP adopted on Nov. 11, the most prominent figure was not Xi, but Marx. In the resolution, Xis name appeared 22 times while Marxs appeared 44 times. This resolution was undoubtedly composed by a writing team led by Wang. Marx declared in his Communist Manifesto: The communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. To put it bluntly, the communists aim to destroy all governments in the world with violence. It can be said that more than 170 years ago, Marx was the enemy of all states in the world. Today, more than 170 years later, Wang Huning, the chief ideological director of CCP, has become the heir of Marx. He created new phrases to package Marxs theory into the Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Thought. While the CCP welcomes its 100 years of founding, the Party keeps touting various new phrases, and carrying on as a firm follower of Marxism. Robert OBrien, then National Security Advisor of the Trump administration made a remark on June 24, 2020, reflecting the greatest failure of American foreign policy since the 1930s, was because we did not pay heed to the CCPs ideology. He stated, Let us be clear, the Chinese Communist Party is a Marxist-Leninist organization. Indeed, the CCP is exactly a regime upholding the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, for the purpose of forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions, and replacing them with communism. The 170 plus years of international communist movement finally failed when the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe collapsed in the late 1990s. But, the specter of Marx survived through Wang Hunings mind and his pen, and was infused into the guidance of Jiang, Hu, and Xi, and finally the new phrasecommunity of shared future for mankind. The community of shared future for mankind is the modern version of George Orwells 1984. Today in the 21st century, the CCP has turned the fictional story in 1984 into reality: The 1.4 billion Chinese are deprived of their freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. China has been turned into a big prison by the CCP. Wang Huning is the modern day marketing manager of Marxism, an ideology looking to carry on the mission of ruining the world. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. 2014 Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra Hector Berlioz Visiting Hungary for the first time in 1846, Berlioz wrote a piece using the unofficial Hungarian national anthem of the time, the Rakoczi March. The reception of his Rakoczi March, with a new coda and recently orchestrated at its premiere in Pest on February 15, 1846 was overwhelming. Midway through, when the music crescendoed and the opening motif was played alongside cannon-like accelerating drumbeats, the audiences patriotic sentiment soared. In the end, there was so much commotion that the performance had to stop. By the next day, the French composer had become a hero in the Hungarian media. Berlioz incorporated his Rakoczi March, after slight revision, into The Damnation of Faust that he was composing then and retitled it Hungarian March. Shen Yun Performing Arts is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Shen Yun Creations are available at ShenYunCreations.com. A Border Patrol agent organizes illegal immigrants who have gathered by the border fence after crossing from Mexico into the United States in Yuma, Ariz., on Dec. 10 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Biden Administration Urges Supreme Court to Let It End Remain in Mexico Program Department of Justice lawyers late Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to hear a case involving the Remain in Mexico program. The policy was started during the Trump administration and forces many asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are heard. The Biden administration ended it but was ordered by a judge over the summer to relaunch it. The judge said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas didnt adequately consider the benefits of the program, which included deterring some would-be illegal immigrants from entering the United States. Mayorkas came up with a new memorandum in October attempting to end the program again, but an appeals court upheld the judges ruling, asserting the memo didnt affect the ongoing case because it simply reaffirmed the termination decision that the states had been challenging all along. Biden administration lawyers in the filing Wednesday told the Supreme Court that decision was made in error. The administration wants the nations top court to hear arguments from both sides and rule on the matter. The court of appeals decision has enormous legal and practical consequences, and there are compelling reasons for the court to review it promptly, they wrote in a 45-page writ of certiorari. One argument put forththat the lower courts improperly dictated the exercise of the executives statutory discretion. By requiring the executive to engage in ongoing negotiations with a foreign sovereign over the contours of a border-wide immigration program, the lower courts effected a major and unwarranted judicial interference in the conduct of foreign policy and executive prerogative, the Biden administration said. Remain in Mexico relies upon the Mexican government agreeing to allow the United States to move asylum seekers into Mexico. After months of negotiations, the two countries reached a compromise on Dec. 2 to reboot the program. If the Supreme Court doesnt step in, the policy will stay in place unless Mexican officials stop cooperating or Congress approves funding to detain all the illegal immigrants that enter the United States, Biden administration lawyers said. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump nominee, found in August that federal law mandates immigration officers detain all illegal aliens unless there is no doubt that they are entitled to be admitted into the country. Without Remain in Mexico, the government is forced to release and parole aliens into the United States because defendants simply do not have the resources to detain aliens as mandated by statute, he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden during a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on June 16, 2021. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) Biden and Putin to Talk Thursday President Joe Biden has scheduled a leader-to-leader telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin for Thursday Dec. 30. According to a senior administration official, the call comes at the request of Russia to discuss a range of security and strategic issues. Russia has amassed troops at the border of Ukraine in recent weeks with estimates of more than 90,000 along the border and in Russian-annexed Crimea. And earlier this month, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back its military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. The United States and its allies have refused to offer Russia any guarantees, citing NATOs principle that membership is open to any qualifying country. On the call, President Biden is expected to make clear to Putin that the United States is still coordinating with its allies to impose severe sanctions against Russia should it invade Ukraine. Biden made this warning when the two leaders last spoke during a call on Dec. 7. On the upcoming call, Biden is also expected to make clear that the United States is prepared for diplomacy and for a diplomatic path forward. I think both leaders believe that there is genuine value in direct leader-to-leader engagement, that we are at a moment of crisis and have been for some weeks now, given the Russian buildup, and that it will take a high level of engagement to address this and to try to find a path of de-escalation, said a senior administration official. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday to coordinate and consult on a range of issues from the perspective of the government of Ukraine. The call comes ahead of high-level bilateral talks between Russian and the United States scheduled for the week of Jan. 10 in Geneva. These will include the Strategic Stability Dialogue, as well as the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council meeting. U.S. officials have said the military buildup, along with a spike in anti-Ukrainian activity on social media, harkens back to a similar playbook used by Putin in 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea. Officials have also said, should Russia invade Ukraine, the sanctions imposed would be far beyond what was implemented in 2014. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters in December that the United States has held intensive conversations with both the incoming and outgoing German governments on the subject of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the context of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden speaks during a video call with the White House COVID-19 Response team and the National Governors Association in the South Court Auditorium at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Dec. 27, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Biden Wants to Woke up Your Doctor Commentary The Biden administration wants to pay doctors to create office anti-racism plans that could soon bring full-blown critical race theory into your examining room. Whats that you say? You didnt hear about congressional legislation to that effect? Thats because theres no such law. Rather, the idea was pushed quietly into implementation by the blob-like federal bureaucracy that exercises primary control over the details and minutia of federal law. Despite what you may have been taught in high school government class, federal statutes dont provide the specifics that will apply once a measure becomes law. Instead, legislation merely establishes a skeleton outline, usually directing the secretary of this or that department to write the details after the measure has been approved through the arcane rule-making process. In other words, the contemporary administrative state run by the executive branch has substantial quasi-legislative authority that was never dreamed of by our Founding Fathers. There are few limitations to rulemaking other than that the regulation must be relevant to and consistent with the governing statute. But laws are often so vaguely written that doing so isnt difficult. Moreover, the promulgated rules are where the devil in the details of federal law is to be found. How do we know what has been proposed or promulgated by the bureaucrats? All ruleswhether preliminary or finalizedare published in a gargantuan volume called the Federal Register (FR). Oh good. That means we can just look them up, right? Well, sure, in theorybut good luck trying. Each year, more than 70,000 pages of very small print are published in the FR. Imagine digging through that eye-glazing text! Talk about needles and haystacks. Yes, theres a modicum of societal input in rulemaking, but its very indirect. When a new rule is proposed, time is allowed for public comments thatin theory and sometimes in factinfluence the bureaucrats who write and promulgate the rule. Bureaucrats may also attend meetings with stakeholders about the contents of proposed rules. But like everything else in Washington, this administrative process is highly political. Whether commenters have any effect on the final rule usually depends on their political clout or whether theyre allies of the sitting administration, rather than policy acumen. Needless to say, individual citizens rarely know whats going on, much less have a meaningful chance to directly participate in the process. Alright, enough dismal civics. Heres what the new rules on Medicare payments to doctorsthat begins on page 64,996 of the 2021 FR and ends on page 66031states about the anti-racism plan bonus: In Appendix 2are your eyes rolling back in your head yet?doctors are offered a percentage of their Medicare income to create and implement an anti-racist plan. Among other consequences, this means establishing an anti-racist bureaucracy within physicians offices. The plan should include a clinic-wide review of existing tools and policies, such as value statements or clinical practice guidelines, to ensure that they include and are aligned with a commitment to anti-racism and an understanding of race as a political and social construct, not a physiological one, the rule reads. In other words, the rule states quite specifically that the plan isnt about medicineand it isnt about science. Rather, it furthers naked ideology and insinuates very woke politics into the clinical setting. That isnt all. The plan should also identify ways in which issues and gaps identified in the review can be addressed and should include target goals and milestones for addressing prioritized issues and gaps. The eligible clinician or practice can also consider including in their plan ongoing training on anti-racism and/or other processes to support identifying explicit and implicit biases in patient care and addressing historic health inequities experienced by people of color, the rule reads. Think of the money to be made by leftist anti-racist trainers and organizers, which is part of the point. Moreover, the call for anti-racism could be interpreted as calling for discrimination in medical settings against people who arent of color. For example, Ibram X. Kendi, the intellectual leader of the anti-racist movement wrote in his book, How to Be an Anti-Racist, that the only remedy to racial discrimination is antiracist discrimination. This invidious thinking has seeped into the medical establishment. Consider a relevant advocacy column, Advancing President Bidens Equity Agenda, published in April 2021 in the New England Journal of Medicine. To promote equity, the Biden administration should distribute resources differentially in order to benefit groups that are persistently disadvantaged, psychiatrist Neil K. Aggarwal wrote. That would be to pit some of us against each other in our own doctors office. This obsession with differencesever more thinly slicedisnt healthy. And it isnt right. All patients should be treated equally. No patient should be considered favored or disfavored. Everyone should receive optimal care. But such equality isnt within the value system that anti-racism generallyand the new rule, specificallypromotes. Its no surprise that the Biden administration has gone woke. But the real danger against true equality isnt in the presidents speeches, but in the power of the bureaucracy swamp. Indeed, what other equity landmines are being laid quietly within the hundreds of thousands of pages of the Federal Register? Today, the bureaucrats are offering doctors a bonus to enlist in the anti-racism cause. Tomorrow, they may make critical race theory mandatory in the medical office. And we probably wont know about it until the deed is done. This much is sure: Pushing equity in health care is a prescription for tearing this country apart. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A person walks past closed Christmas market stalls on Stephansplatz on the third day of a nationwide, temporary lockdown during the fourth wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic on Nov. 24, 2021, in Vienna, Austria. (Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images) CDC Adds Sweden, Other European Destinations, to Its Highest Travel Risk Category The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday warned Americans against travel to several more European destinations, including Sweden, adding the countries to its highest-risk category for travel. In its weekly update of COVID-19 travel advisories, Malta, Moldova, and Sweden were added to the agencys Level 4: Covid-19 Very High category, which indicates more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents registered in the past 28 days. For the European hotspots, the travel warning was raised from level three to level four or very high. The destinations now join neighboring countries including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Portugal, in the CDCs highest risk category. Avoid travel to Sweden, the CDC said in its travel advisory. If you must travel to Sweden, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel. The U.S. State Department has released similar travel advisories for all countries considered level four hotspots which now also includes Suriname in South America. Argentina was also raised to level 3 or high, the CDC said on Tuesday. The category applies to destinations that have recorded between 100 and 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. In total, as of Dec. 28, almost 90 destinations were placed in the CDCs highest risk category. Sweden has banned non-essential travel from most countries outside the European Union and European Economic Area through Jan. 31, as it experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases. There is a number of exemptions to the ban based on work or studies, family connections, or urgent family reasons. Vaccinated travelers from the United States may still enter Sweden after presenting a negative COVID-19 test from any country. The CDCs move to add Malta, Moldova, and Sweden to its level four category comes days after The World Health Organizations (WHO) European head warned countries to prepare for a significant surge in COVID-19 cases as the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus spreads. Since it was detected by doctors in South Africa in late November, the Omicron variant has been reported in about 90 countries. It was designated as a variant of concern by the WHO on Nov. 26. WHO Europe head Hans Kluge told reporters in Vienna on Dec. 21 that the highly transmissible variant had been detected in at least 38 of the 53 countries in the WHOs European region and is dominant in several of them including Denmark, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. We can see another storm coming, Kluge told a news conference. Within weeks, Omicron will dominate in more countries of the region, pushing already stretched health systems further to the brink. The sheer volume of new COVID-19 infections could lead to more hospitalizations and widespread disruption to health systems and other critical services, he added. Governments and authorities need to prepare our response systems for a significant surge. CDC officials have said they dont yet have estimates of how many hospitalizations or deaths are due to the Omicron variant. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 4, 2021. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters) CDC Director: New COVID-19 Rule Based on What Agency Thought People Would Be Able to Tolerate Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky explained that the recent decision to shorten the isolation period for asymptomatic COVID-19 cases was based on what the federal government thought people would be able to tolerate. The latest CDC guidelines were released this week, shortening the 10-day isolation period to five days for individuals who are asymptomatic. Walenksy said the move really had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate, according to her interview with CNN on Wednesday. We have seen relatively low rates of isolation for all of this pandemic, she continued. Some science has demonstrated less than a third of people are isolating when they need to. And so we really want to make sure that we had guidance in this moment where we were going to have a lot of disease that could be adhered to, that people were willing to adhere to. Walensky added that the 10-day isolation guidance was conservative but noted that in the context of the fact that we were going to have so many more cases, many of those would be asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, people would feel well enough to be at work. They would not necessarily tolerate being home and they may not comply with being home, the CDC director added. This was the moment that we needed to make that decision and those changes. Walensky and other federal officials have said current data suggests Omicron appears less severe but has continued to push vaccinations, masks, and physical distancing. President Joe Biden this month announced new plans to combat Omicron, including federal reinforcements for hospitals and more testsalthough some experts have said it is too little, too late. Cruise operators took a hit on Thursday, however, after the CDC warned people to avoid them amid a growing number of outbreaks onboard. That comes as most major cruise lines such as Carnival or Royal Caribbean require staff and guests to be fully vaccinated and present proof. Since the identification of the Omicron variant, there has been an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among cruise passengers and crew reported to CDC. Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of cruise ships meeting the COVID-19 case threshold for CDC investigation, the CDC said Thursday. With the latest warning, the CDC stated that even fully vaccinated people are at risk of contracting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19, and spreading its variants. Passengers are asked to get tested three to five days after their cruise trip ends, the CDC continued, while urging them to self-monitor for COVID-19-related symptoms for 14 days. Reuters contributed to this report. A sign outside of Columbus Elementary School lets visitors know that the playground has been closed, in Chicago, on Jan. 25, 2021. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Chicago Teachers Union Polling Members Over Strike or Shift to Remote Learning The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is polling its members on whether they would back a city-wide strike or a shift to remote learning, citing the surge of the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, as students are set to return to the classroom on Jan. 3. All CTU members were asked to fill out a survey titled Possible Actions for Safety January 2022, ahead of an all-member webinar on Dec. 28 to discuss how each member and every school safety committee can contribute to this escalation in our safety campaign. In preparation for Tuesdays meeting, we are asking every rank-and-file CTU member to complete a safety survey by Dec. 27, so we know what the greatest needs are in every school and to get a sense of possible actions members are willing to take, the roughly 25,000 member union said. The union in its survey cited concern over rising COVID-19 infections largely driven by the Omicron variant. The strain is estimated to have taken over the viruss Delta variant as the most prevalent strain contributing to new COVID-19 infections, accounting for 58.6 percent of all strains actively circulating in the United States as of Dec. 25, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cases of the new Omicron variant are spiking in Chicago and around the country, the survey said. It is imperative that we return from our winter break with a plan to ensure school communities and our own safety. The CTU asked members to answer the survey to help guide the CTUs response to CPSs [Chicago Public Schools] inadequate pandemic response. It asks a number of questions, including if members believe there has been adequate testing for COVID-19 at schools or workplaces for students and staff. The poll asks members to rank on a scale of one to four how effective and responsive their school or workplace has been in implementing mitigation efforts, including contact tracing or case communication, classroom quarantines, and flipping to remote learning if there has been a COVID-19 outbreak. If COVID continues to dangerously accelerate or should staffing levels in our schools drop to unsafe levels, would you support a district-wide pause and temporary shift to remote learning? the survey asks. It also asks members what actions they would participate in to force CPS to improve its COVID safety measures. These include convening a meeting of the school safety committee on Jan. 3, flyer parents at the school or workplace in a socially distant, masked manner outdoors or via remote meeting. The survey also asks if CTU members would participate in an action at your school, e.g. a neighborhood car caravan, or participate in a city-wide action like a car caravan or outdoor rally, participate in a city-wide work stoppage. It comes shortly after CTU president Jesse Sharkey urged Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a letter (pdf) to take immediate steps to ensure that children and adults are as protected as possible in this terrifying surge upon return to the classroom. I implore you to direct your CPS team to collaborate with us over the next week and a half to ensure that our schools can reopen safely on January 3, said Sharkey. We, too, want to be in our classrooms with our students this January and we want to do so safely, with guardrails in place that protect us all. Anything less will cause unnecessary harm, and that is simply unacceptable. The Epoch Times has contacted Lightfoot and CPS for comment. Children Should Be Back in Classrooms Full-Time, Every Day: Education Secretary As public school officials across the country weigh options amid the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Thursday said students should be in classrooms learning in-person every day when possible. Appearing on ABCs Good Morning America, Cardona was asked what schools should do in response to the increasing CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus infections driven by the Omicron variant. The Omicron concern has prompted some schools to send students home early before Christmas, while other schools are considering a delay of the new school year or a temporary return to remote instructions. If youre fully staffed to provide a safe school environment, students should be in the classroom full-time every day, Cardona replied. He noted that many schools managed to reopen for in-person instructions this fall, at the peak of the Delta variant wave. Cardona then pointed to the availability of more resources and strategies for keeping schools open, as well as the harmful impact of school closures on children. We know what works, we know mitigation strategies work. Now we have access to vaccines for children as young as five. We know what to do. And lets remember our students suffer when theyre not in the classroom, he said. Cardona added that he was pleased with new guidance by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which halves the 10-day quarantine period for teachers and staff who test positive for COVID-19. He said this will help schools ease their staffing problem. Im really pleased with this, because to me, what this is going to do is allow for some of the staffing issues to go away, he said. We know that many schools couldnt open because teachers or educators were in quarantine. The fact that its shortened now allows for educators to get back to the classroom and our students to have schools open. Cardonas comments come as local and state officials rush to implement new testing requirements ahead of the 20212022 school year. In Washington D.C., public school students, teachers, and staff were told that they must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result in order to return to classrooms. Any student that does not have their results uploaded by Jan. 4 will not be allowed to attend school on Jan. 5, D.C. Public School Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said at a Dec. 29 press briefing. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that the state is increasing the availability of at-home COVID-19 tests so K-12 public school students can be tested as they return to school from winter break. Earlier this month, Californias public health department distributed approximately 2 million tests to schools, providing one to two rapid tests for every student. A man cycles past a sign for Tencent, the parent company of Chinese social media giant WeChat, outside the Tencent headquarters in Beijing on Aug. 7, 2020. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images) China Expands Domination Over Companies Commentary Western finance experts used to recognize two categories of Chinese companies: state-owned enterprises and privately held (including publicly traded) enterprises. That distinction is increasingly passe. Soon all Chinese companiesno matter their legal and financial ownershipcould effectively become state-controlled. Reuters recently reported that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is expanding its use of so-called golden shares. Golden shares are a nominal financial ownership stake in a private company, say 1 percent, sold to a CCP state-owned organization. The organization purchasing the stake could be a local or provincial government organization or a state-owned investment group. Despite such small outlays, golden shares grant the CCP a seat on the board and veto rights over key business decisions. With a golden share, the CCP has de facto control over companies. We can argue over the practical difficulties of managing so many private companies, but make no mistake, the CCP will have the final say over all business matters if it so chooses. The Party may or may not care to meddle in daily operations, but would have the final say if it wishes to invoke it. This changes the calculus once again for U.S. investors owning Chinese stocks. Weve argued that investors must scrutinize their Chinese stocks with a different lens than U.S. stocksif they choose to own Chinese stocks at alland this latest governance overreach pushes Chinese stocks further into speculative territory. Golden shares were first reported after ByteDance (TikToks Chinese parent company) disclosed that it had sold such a stake to a CCP-affiliated entitymore than 1 1/2 years after the fact. Reuters reported that Chinese trucking technology platform company Full Truck Alliance Co. recently sold a golden share to China Internet Investment Fund, which is backed by the regimes internet regular. Ride-hailing firm DiDi and music streaming service Ximalaya are both reportedly negotiating the sale of golden share stakes to state-owned entities. Thus far, just a few firms have sold or are reportedly selling golden share stakes. All appear to be technology firms managing tons of user data. We can infer that its only a matter of time before all data-rich tech firms receive phone calls from the CCP about selling golden shares. Looking beyond tech, all consumer-facing companies are potential agencies of the CCP. Its theoretical scope is limited only by the CCPs imagination, its ability to execute, and available resources. In my last column, I suggested that the entire Chinese private sector is potentially at the disposal of the CCP in a time of need, though execution could be hampered by practical logistics and bureaucratic inefficiency. Now holding golden shares in every conceivable Chinese private enterprise suddenly solves many of these challenges. Lets explore a recent manifestation of how this could play out. Tech conglomerate Tencent Holdings was recently forced to sell a 15 percent stake in e-commerce giant JD.com. While Tencent claimed that the sale was voluntary and Wall Street analysts twisted themselves into a knot writing that it was somehow a good move for investors, this was a Beijing directive. Tencent holds minority stakes in a variety of successful Chinese technology startups, including Meituan, Pinduoduo, and Kuaishou, among others. Will it be compelled to sell its other stakes? Time will tell. We dont know if Tencent has issued golden shares, but what transpired is similar. The CCPs goal is to box in tech giants to limit their power and influence and reduce their inter-dependencies. If companies become too powerful and independent, they become less deferential to the Party and harder to rein in (e.g. Alibaba and Jack Ma). But Tencent management and shareholders should be livid. Ownership in other startups is a hallmark of Tencents success, and its participation in other fast-growing firms is leverage for future growth. In other words, its good business. The golden share will instead handcuff companies, who no longer work to further their own interests or the interests of their shareholders. The mantra of maximizing shareholder value no longer applies. Going forward, Chinese companies will maximize the interests of the Party, its apparatuses, and so-called national security. Real shareholders will be relegated to silent partners. Its always been this way to an extent, but the CCPs intentions are now clear as day. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A U.S.-made Perry-class frigate takes part in the Han Kuang drill at sea near eastern Hualien city, Taiwan, on Sept. 17, 2014. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) China Vows No Mercy If Self-Ruled Taiwan Breaks Red Line Beijing vows to take drastic measures if Taiwan makes a formal declaration for independence, suggesting tensions between the two would spike to a higher level next year. Any Beijing-deemed separatist attempt must be reined in, claimed Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the mainland Chinese government agency Taiwan Affairs Office during the Dec. 29 regular press briefing. Without naming Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Ma mentioned her Democratic Progressive Party. The current ruling Party views Taiwan as a de facto nation called the Republic of China, although without a formal declaration for independence. If separatist forces in Taiwan seeking independence provoke, exert force or even break through any red line, we will have to take drastic measures, Ma warned. Although Taiwan vowed to defend its freedom at all costs against threats from its giant neighbor Chinait did not seek provocationsthe president said previously. It hopes for a peaceful, stable, predictable, and mutually beneficial coexistence with its neighbors, Tsai addressed the annual Yushan Forum in Taipei in October. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen addresses soldiers amid the COVID-19 pandemic during her visit to a military base in Tainan, southern Taiwan, on April 9, 2020. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) China has claimed for decades the democratic island as its own to be seized one day. Yet the relationships between the two have been deteriorating since 2016 as Tsai won the presidential election. Beijing in the past two years has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure to assert its sovereignty claim, fuelling anger in Taipei and concern in Washington. In a statement issued the same day, Taiwans top China-policy maker, the Mainland Affairs Council, urged Beijing to seriously reflect on its work towards Taiwan and make correct judgments on the situation. Lee Cheng-hsiu, a senior assistant research fellow at Taiwans National Policy Foundation, said in a previous interview: Once Taiwan announces its an independent country, the Chinese regime will use force against Taiwan at all cost. Taiwan has emerged as a key factor in strained relations between China and the United States, the islands most important international backer and arms supplier despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. China deemed the island as the most sensitive issue in its ties with the United States. Two months ago, Tsai confirms to the outside for the first time the presence of U.S. troops training soldiers on the island. Ma said provocation by pro-independence forces and external intervention could grow sharper and more intense in the coming months. Collusion with foreign forces against China, as he called, would also hit rock bottom. Next year, the Taiwan Strait situation will become more complex and severe, he said on Dec. 29. Beijing will be fully capable of mounting a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025, the Taiwanese defense minister warned in October, after nearly 150 warplanes fly into the islands air defense zone in four consecutive days. Since January 2021, Taiwan has seen a surging number of over 940 air forays sent by Beijing to the zonecompared with about 380 sorties the prior yearaccording to Taiwanese semi-official Central News Agency, citing a government report. Reuters contributed to this report. Two farmers unload corn at a state grain reserves depot in Yushu in Jilin Province, China on Dec. 19, 2008. (China Photos/Getty Images) Chinas Hoarding of Food Grains Is Contributing to Rising Global Food Prices, Experts Say China has had a bountiful grain harvest this year, according to reports from Beijing, but data from various official sources show that grain imports have reached a new high, and Chinas grain reserves are now greater than 50 percent of global grain reserves. If thats accurate, some experts predict that Chinas practice of stockpiling grains will further push up international food prices. Latest data from Chinas General Administration of Customs has revealed that from January to November this year, the countrys grain imports exceeded 150 million tons, an increase of 20 percent over the same period last year, of which cereals doubled, corn tripled, and rice also nearly doubled. This means that grain imports during the first 11 months of 2021 amounted to 23 percent of the officially claimed production of 650 million tons of grain this year. According to the latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, China is stockpiling more than half of the worlds total stocks of major grains such as corn, rice, and wheat. Moreover, the proportion of these major grain reserves in China has increased by about 20 percent in the past 10 years, indicating that the Chinese regime has been continuously hoarding large amounts of grains. The agriculture department estimates that by the first half of next year, Chinas grain stocks will comprise 69 percent of global grain stocks, with corn stock accounting for 60 percent, rice 60 percent, and wheat 51 percent. Chinas National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration director Qin Yuyun stated in November that Chinas total grain stocks are at a historic high, with wheat stocks able to meet the consumption demand of the entire Chinese population for one and a half years. Chinese farmers store wheat after harvesting in Zouping, Shandong Province in northeast China on June 13, 2012. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) Chinas population is less than 20 percent of the worlds population, which is out of proportion with its food stocks. Many experts have expressed concern that this situation will push up global food prices and cause food shortages in other regions. Akio Shibata, the director of Japans Natural Resource Research Institute, recently said that Chinas large reserves of grain have contributed to increases in global food prices. Hoarding by China is one reason for rising prices, said Shibata reported Nikkei. The latest food price index from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that global food prices rose by about 30 percent year-over-year in November. State-run China Central Television (CCTV) touted on Dec. 19 that despite the frequent occurrence of floods and other natural disasters in China this year, as well as large fluctuations in international food prices, there has still been a sufficient supply in Chinas grain market between January and November, and the rise of Chinas grain prices has been steady and moderate. Previously, on Dec. 8, Zeng Yande, the director of Development and Planning under the Ministry of Agriculture, said China has had bumper grain crops in recent years, but Chinas grain demands will continue to grow for at least the next three decades. Bountiful Harvest Is Just Propaganda Zhang Litian, a current affairs commentator with over 20 years of experience in Chinas grain industry, told The Epoch Times that Chinas record-setting grain imports have already proven that the regimes claims of bumper harvests are false. The quantity of food imports data from customs, cannot be falsified, Zhang said. According to Zhang, the relevant information from multiple sources reflects that Chinas grain demand is real and that the regime is indeed increasing its grain reserves. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) believes that food security is fundamental to the regimes security, Zhang said. The CCP began to hoard food as early as the Mao Zedong era, he said. Prepare for war and prepare for famine, was a slogan during Maos time, and today, it still has the same purpose. Large food imports make up for the gap in domestic food production to meet Chinas domestic demand. At the same time, the regime feels under attack from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and other countries that are also the main sources of Chinas food imports. The CCP is worried that if these countries unite [against the CCP], Chinas food security will be threatened, Zhang said. A combine harvester harvests wheat on a field in Baoding, Hebei Province, China on June 17, 2018. (Reuters) Disrupting International Market The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has predicted that by 2025, China may have a grain deficit of about 130 million tons. This is 20 percent of the 650 million tons of annual grain production currently claimed by the regime and is exactly the amount of Chinas grain imports last year. As early as 1994, American scholar Lester Brown and the USDA jointly published a research report titled Who Will Feed China? where Brown pointed out that Chinas high-speed industrialization would destroy its natural resources and turn land into desert. As Chinas population increases, the country would need to import a large amount of food to feed more than one billion people, which would trigger a rise in global food prices and disrupt the global food market. Back then, the CCP spent much effort refuting and attacking Brown. The regimes top mouthpieces, Peoples Daily and Xinhua News Agency, both claimed that he created a China Threat theory. But in 1998, the CCPs high-level officials acquiesced with Browns statement, but they never openly admitted the existence of food shortage issues in China. In early 2004, Brown again published an article saying that in the five-year period from 1998 and 2003, China experienced reduced grain production in four years. The CCP had to import a large amount of grain, leading to an increase in international grain prices. While grain production is dropping, demand is climbing, driven up by the addition of 11 million people per year and by fast-rising incomes. As people in China earn more, they are moving up the food chain, eating more grain-fed livestock products such as pork, poultry, eggs, and, to a lesser degree, beef and milk, Brown said in his article. Back then, Brown predicted that China would soon need massive importsup to 50 million tons per yearfrom the world food market. This means that the surplus world grain production capacity and cheap food of the last half-century may soon be history, Brown wrote. Jennifer Bateman Follow Jennifer Bateman is a news writer focused on China. COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Fail the Jacobson Test Commentary Americans are a freedom-loving lot. It is our founding ethos and we have defended it across the world on numerous occasions. At the same time, we have a strong tradition of social altruism and dedication to the common good, especially in times of crisis. Now that the Covid-19 pandemic has been with us for close to two years and vaccines for almost one, we have learned that the vaccines work to a degree and that they have both known serious risks and theorized potential risks. Over the last few months, Americans have been increasingly facing demands that they be vaccinated or revaccinatedfrom governments, schools, employers, shopkeepers, even relatives. These demands include legally enforceable mandates that coerce Americans to choose between compliance with vaccination demands and their livelihoods, attending school, travel, and partaking in manifold occasions of civic and religious celebration. Some Americans feel that these demands are appropriate, whereas others see them as classic examples of government overreachas infringements of their constitutional and natural rights. We are facing, in other words, questions about how best to integrate our perennial commitment to freedom with our equally long-standing concern for public health, in this time of crisis. Anti-mandate contentions based on rights-claims pure and simple do not engage the most important issues presented by government vaccine mandates. Nor do they deal with the tension between freedom and civic responsibility. Based on the scientific knowledge and medical experience acquired over the last two years, it is time for a significant reconsideration of how best to integrate freedom with the genuine requirements of public health in service of the common good. During the pandemic, the courts have rightly relied upon a century-old precedent of the Supreme Court in mandate cases, but they have gravely misunderstood and misapplied that precedent to uphold draconian and unjustified Covid-19 vaccine mandates. Much that we have to say about these courts was presaged by three U.S. Supreme Court Justices on Oct. 29, 2021. Arguing (unsuccessfully; they were in the minority) that the high Court should take up the case of a mandate challenge from Maine, Justices Gorsuch, Thomas, and Alito maintained that, although eleven months earlier the Court said that stemming the spread of Covid-19 qualified as a compelling interest, this interest cannot qualify as such forever. Why not? Precisely because (these Justices wrote) there are now three widely distributed vaccines. Eleven months earlier there were none. At that time, the country had comparably few treatments for those suffering with the disease. Today we have additional treatments and more appear near. We would add especially that it has now become obvious that eliminationist strategies, in which the overriding public health goal is zero infections, are neither possible nor constructive. We must learn to live with Covid-19 as we have learned to live with other ineradicable, perennial airborne respiratory germs, such as those which cause the common cold and the flu. Justices Gorsuch, Thomas and Alito wrote: If human nature and history teach us anything, it is that civil liberties face grave risks when governments proclaim indefinite states of emergency. They said: At some great height, after all, almost any state action might be said to touch on public health and safety and measuring a highly particularized and individual interest in the exercise of a civil right directly against these rarified values inevitably makes the individual interest appear less significant. It is time to bring our legal thinking about Covid-19 vaccine mandates down to earth. At times of national emergency, governments overriding goal must be to protect the population while removing the cause of the state of emergency. This means that certain laws, regulations, and policies may be temporarily suspended to accomplish these tasks. For example, if the army needs your car to transport soldiers to the front line, so be it. In particular, during the 1902 smallpox epidemic, the U.S. Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905) ruled that the State of Massachusetts could compel residents to obtain free vaccination or revaccination against the infection, or suffer a penalty of $5 (about $150 today) for noncompliance. In authoring the majority opinion in Jacobson, Justice John Marshall Harlan argued (1) that individual liberty does not allow people to act regardless of harm that could be caused to others; (2) that the vaccination mandate was not shown to be arbitrary or oppressive; (3) that vaccination was reasonably required for public safety; and (4) that the defendants view that the smallpox vaccine was not safe or effective constituted a tiny minority medical opinion. By 1905, smallpox vaccination had been in common use for almost a century, and populations, legislatures and courts had been essentially unanimous in accepting it as appropriate and effective to prevent smallpox both in individuals and in outbreaks. In the Cleveland smallpox epidemic of 1902-4, there were 1,394 recorded cases and 252 deaths, a case fatality risk of 18 percent; thus a clear public safety rationale for preventing the infection. The Court in Jacobson used a host of expressions to describe its four-part scrutiny of the Cambridge, Massachusetts vaccine mandate in that case. Among these expressions are: whether the requirement was arbitrary and not justified by the necessity of the case; whether the mandate went far beyond what was reasonable required for the safety of public; whether it was a reasonable regulation, as the safety of the general public may demand; and whether it has a real and substantial relation to the public health. The Jacobson Court never said that it used a rational basis test; indeed, that lowest-level of judicial scrutiny was not then a term of art that courts used. And that test surely does not describe in substance what the Court in 1905 did. Courts during the Covid-19 pandemic have nonetheless regularly applied rational basis review to vaccine mandates, citing Jacobson as authority for doing so! To cite just one of several possible examples, Judge Frank Easterbrook, writing for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in throwing out a lawsuit by Indiana University students against that institutions vaccine mandate, said: [g]iven Jacobson v. Massachusetts, there cant be a constitutional problem with vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The main reason for that conclusion was his claim that the Jacobson court used the weakest standard of judicial analysis of government action. Easterbrook invoked the rational-basis standard used in Jacobson. But the Jacobson Court carefully scrutinized the medico-scientific understanding of the smallpox epidemic and the vaccines then in use, much more so than has occurred in Covid-19 vaccine mandate litigation today. The Supreme Court in Jacobson repeatedly invoked the common good of the polity as the principle of sound constitutional thinking about the public health emergency of the day. Just sothen and now. The Court did not, however, equate the common good with a reflexive preference for some collective interest over each persons rights, or with automatic deference to the latest asserted findings of the science. Likewise, it is imperative that courts today follow Jacobson and critically examine and weigh the asserted scientific bases for vaccine mandates. Over the last year, much of the public discourse about vaccines, their efficacy and their hazards of adverse reactions has revolved around statements made by the CDC, FDA and other governmental agencies and personnel. These agencies are tasked with studying, reporting on and approving drugs, medical devices, and vaccines in the context of various diseases and conditions, including population outbreaks in the United States and elsewhere in the world. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become evident that these agencies have not uniformly reflected objective verifiable science but have had repeated instances of numerous conflicts of interest in review panel members having explicit or hidden ties to pharma and vaccine companies. These problems and other apparently illogical or contradictory public statements made by these government agencies have eroded public trust in the agencies substantially. In this context, for the government to assert that its constitutional obligations (as described in Jacobson, for example) are satisfied only because a government agency says so would be self-serving and wholly inadequate. Such reasoning would not satisfy the burden of proof; rather, the government would need to demonstrate the relevant, full, non-cherry-picked scientific evidence to make the case. Now lets consider the four criteria upon which Jacobson relied in deciding that the smallpox vaccine mandate in 1905 passed constitutional muster, and use them to evaluate todays Covid-19 vaccine mandates. (1) Individual liberty does not allow people to act regardless of harm that could be caused to others. Of course. But this criterion as stated is vague in the range of its possible implications. For example, people are naturally professionally and economically competitive. One person succeeds at anothers failure. Such harms can be serious, but this cannot possibly be a type of harm envisioned by Justice Harlan. What seems apparent is that this criterion is addressing the compelling interest in limiting people from acting to spread the infection. In Constitutional law a compelling interest is a necessary or crucial action rather than a preferential one; for example, saving the lives of large numbers of people at risk. In fact, the federal government has already set a de facto threshold for this level. Annually, approximately 500,000 Americans die from tobacco-related diseases. Yet, the federal government has never acted to curtail tobacco use in any meaningful way. This implies that 500,000 deaths per year is not large enough to trigger a compelling government interest. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, which classes of people would be at high mortality risk from the infection was uncertain. After six months, it was well-established that there is a huge Covid-19 mortality difference between people over age 70 and people under age 30. Thus, it seems that any truly compelling interest can only apply to high-risk individuals, who are definable and comprise a small minority of the general population. Furthermore, the lives of such individuals can often be protected by known existing and available pharmacologic and monoclonal antibody interventions (see criterion (3) below), which means that there may be a less-than-compelling interest for universal vaccination even among them. Finally, the required government interest is required to be shown to support a vaccine mandate, not the free availability of vaccines. Since most individuals at high risk of bad Covid-19 outcomes presumably would rationally choose to obtain vaccinations, the additional numbers of saved lives attributable to the mandate, over and above the lives saved under general vaccine availability in the same population, is very likely not large enough to satisfy the large numbers needed to show that an indiscriminate mandate serves a compelling interest in public health. Additionally, we know now, and both Drs. Anthony Fauci and Rochelle Walensky have stated publicly, that fully vaccinated individuals can become infected and transmit the virus to others. A number of such outbreaks have occurred in diverse locales. Thus, there is no apparent compelling interest in mandating vaccination for low-risk individuals specifically in an attempt to reduce infection transmission to high-risk peoplejust as there is no compelling interest in mandating vaccination to reduce infection transmission to low-risk people. Just to be clear, government compelling interest inheres in prevention of serious outcomes such as hospitalization and mortality. But we assert that that there is no such compelling interest in Covid-19 case occurrence. The overwhelming majority of cases recover. Prevention of Covid-19 cases is at most a desirable policy goal and not a compelling interest. As has become increasingly apparent, natural immunity following Covid-19 infection is stronger in repelling subsequent viral outbreaks than vaccine-based immunity. (Thus, prevention of Covid-19 case occurrence per se is actually counterproductive in ending the pandemic.) While the Supreme Court has opined that [s]temming the spread of Covid-19 is unquestionably a compelling interest in Roman Catholic Diocese v. Cuomo, that decision was rendered early in the pandemic, before the long-term weakness of vaccine-based immunity was understood. With what is known now, reasoning about compelling Interest for vaccine mandates no longer applies. (2) The vaccination mandate is not shown to be arbitrary or oppressive. Covid-19 vaccine mandates imposed by the federal government and some state governments require vaccination by all adults except those requesting medical exemptions or religious exemptions. Criteria promulgated by the CDC for medical exemptions however are extremely limited, essentially involving only severe life-threatening allergic reactions as demonstrated from taking the first vaccination of the two-dose mRNA series. Religious exemption requests appear to have met variously capricious responses by vaccine mandate reviewers, and some states have prohibited religious exemptions altogether, in violation of (as Justices Gorsuch, Thomas, and Alito argued and as we would maintain) constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. The one quite irrational consideration of all vaccination mandates to date is that the mandates ignore people who have had Covid-19 and thus have natural immunity. There are now more than 130 studies demonstrating the strength, durability and wide spectrum of natural immunity particularly versus vaccine immunity. Whether people with natural immunity would have even stronger immunity if they also undergo vaccination is irrelevant, because their natural immunity is more than sufficient and long-lasting to satisfy the goal of vaccine mandates. Some arguments have been put forward asserting that antibody levels may be higher in vaccinated people than people recovered from Covid-19, but antibody levels per se do not translate into degree of immunity. Antibody levels in vaccinated people decline appreciably starting at four months post-vaccination, whereas antibody levels in Covid-19 recovered stay roughly constant during those months. Other assertions have been that asymptomatic or mild Covid-19 infections may not produce strong natural immunity; however, these claims have been shown to be scientifically unfounded. Empirical population studies on reinfection/breakthrough infection demonstrate that natural immunity is as strong or stronger than vaccine immunity. Finally, natural immunity can be documented by having ever had a positive Covid-19 PCR, antibody or T cell test, regardless of current status of those tests. Similarly, Covid-19 vaccine mandates for children are unwarranted because children almost entirely get infected from their parents or other adults in the household, and infrequently transmit the infection to their classmates, teachers or uninfected household adults. Normal healthy children do not die from Covid-19, and the 33 children aged 511 years estimated by the CDC to have died from Covid-19 between Oct. 3, 2020 and Oct. 2, 2021 all had chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity, being immunocompromised (e.g., after cancer treatment) that put them at high risk, and even these numbers are much lower than childhood deaths from traffic and pedestrian accidents, or even being hit by lightning. Covid-19 in children is almost entirely an asymptomatic or mild disease typified by fever and tiredness and resolves on its own in 2-3 days of rest. Thus, vaccine mandates for children are unwarranted. In sum, a policy requiring vaccination of people who are either already immune or of no consequence either for their own health or for spreading the infection is arbitrary. It is oppressive in inflicting a medical procedure on people who do not need it for themselves or for others. Such a policy would even fail the rational basis test which so many courts have applied perfunctorily. (3) Vaccination is reasonably required for public safety. Vaccination in theory prevents personal infection and disease, as well as transmission of infection to others. The governments interest is almost entirely in the latter. We now know that the Covid-19 vaccines in the real world dont prevent transmission all that well. Further, public safety is enhanced by use of medications for early outpatient treatment that safely allow increase in population natural immunity. An extensive body of studies has accumulated over the last 18 months showing that various approved but off-label medications dramatically reduce risks of Covid-19 hospitalization and mortality when started in ambulatory patients within the first five days or so of symptom onset. Meta-analyses of hospitalization and mortality risks calculated by the first author are shown in the figures on the next page for two drugs, hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. Additional thorough discussion of standards of evidence of randomized and nonrandomized drug trials, as well as on a number of small trials that failed in the adequacy of their study designs and executions, is posted here. These analyses show that numerous drugs and monoclonal antibodies are available to treat ambulatory patients with Covid-19 successfully, making vaccination a choice for dealing with the pandemic, but not a necessity. As stated earlier, sole reliance on FDA or CDC opinions on these medications, without demonstration of full, objective, and unbiased data underlying those opinions, would be inadequate for standards of proof. The evidence however is overwhelming that treatment recipes used by doctors actually treating Covid-19 outpatients work very well and thus provide alternatives to vaccination for preventing hospitalization and mortality. (4) The vaccine has a long popular, medical, and legal history of being regarded as safe and effective. This criterion decisively distinguishes Jacobson and the smallpox vaccine mandate from what is happening today. Jacobson did not accept dissenting testimony about vaccine safety or efficacy because the vaccine at that time had been a staple in society for almost 100 years. The genetic Covid-19 vaccines have no such information, have every indication that they are orders of magnitude more harmful, and even the FDA still classifies all three in use in the United States as experimental, which means that their EUA designations have only required showing that they may convey some benefit and need not be harm-free, i.e., have not been established as safe and effective, let alone known as such for decades or longer. Jacobson established criteria of Safety and Efficacy that must be shown beyond all doubt, that embody the provably safe and effective use of the vaccine for decades. The Covid-19 vaccines come nowhere near close to that standard. The mandatory smallpox vaccine of 190204 had been in use for nearly a century and a gigantic amount of information was available and known about its short- and long-term safety and efficacy, and it was widely accepted across all segments of society based on that body of information. In contrast, the Covid-19 genetic vaccines included in the proposed federal mandate have essentially zero long-term history and the slimmest of information about safety and efficacy. According to the VAERS database, to date some 19,000 deaths have been associated with the Covid-19 vaccines, of which more than one-third occurred within three days of vaccination. In this one year of Covid-19 vaccination, this number is more than double the number of deaths from all other vaccines over more than 30 years combined in the VAERS data. It is also more than 150 times the mortality risk of smallpox vaccination, 0.8 per million vaccines (Aragon et al., 2003). The VAERS database also identifies more than 200,000 serious or life-threatening non-death events to date, and this number is almost certainly at least 10-fold undercounted because of the work, difficulty, impediments and lack of general knowledge involved in filing adverse event reports in the VAERS system. Many of these adverse events portend lifelong serious disabilities. But two million serious or life-threatening events is well more than the damage that would have been caused by even untreated Covid-19 occurrence in the same 200 million vaccinated Americans, especially given that two-thirds of them have strong natural immunity from having had asymptomatic or symptomatic Covid-19. These numbers indicate that these severe events caused by the vaccines very likely outnumber serious Covid-19 outcomes that would have occurred in the same individuals had they not been vaccinated. As well, those numbers would be dramatically lower with general availability of the suppressed but effective treatment medications for early ambulatory patient use. With regard to efficacy, the three U.S. Covid-19 vaccines showed great promise in their original randomized trials results. However, as these vaccines have been rolled out in hundreds of millions of doses to the general public in the real world, their performance has differed from what was originally described. Over time, vaccine efficacies in reducing risks of Covid-19 infection and mortality have declined appreciably, over 4-6 months for infection and 6-8 months for mortality. Many jurisdictions have begun to consider requirements for periodic booster doses, which is a frank admission that the touted original vaccination programs have not been sufficiently effective. At a population level, large-scale vaccination rollout has reduced waves of infection. Over time though, as the vaccines have lost effectiveness, the waves have begun to recur. This has been seen dramatically in the UK and Netherlands over the last five months. In an analysis of Covid-19 case data from 68 countries and 2,947 U.S. counties, it was observed that the magnitude of case occurrence is unrelated to the level of population vaccination (Subramanian and Kumar, 2021). Thus, if vaccination were to be the only method of combating the pandemic, it appears that vaccinations repeated indefinitely at 6-month intervals would be required, and even that may not be all that successful in reducing spread substantially. There are no vaccination programs for other general diseases in the United States that require such a high frequency of compliance. Even influenza, which has a substantial annual mortality, has an annual revaccination frequency, is only perhaps 50 percent effective over the flu season, is not mandated. The Jacobson case set a model of how the U.S. government and its subdivisions would be empowered to protect the public while at the same time minimizing limitations of activities and infringements of rights. Further, it relied solely on a moderate economic penalty for noncompliance. The smallpox pandemic in 1902-04 had an estimated case fatality risk of 18 percent, whereas the case fatality risk of Covid-19 is less than 1 percent. This massive difference should have given hesitancy to the draconian purported control measures that have been instituted across the country. A careful reading of Jacobson shows that it is not just an automatic consideration allowing the government to do what it wants when a pandemic emergency has been officially declared. In a pandemic, courts look to Jacobson for precedent as an apparent direct fit, but even so must evaluate the evidence for satisfying all of the Jacobson criteria. As we have shown, Covid-19 vaccine mandates do not satisfy any of the required criteria in Jacobson, let alone all of them. The question to be addressed then is why a pandemic infection with approximately 1/20th the natural mortality risk of the previous smallpox pandemic would be subject to the grievous penalties of loss of employment, loss of medical care, loss of necessary activities of daily life, and mandate of vaccines that unlike in the previous pandemic have no long-term safety data. Given that none of the Jacobson criteria have been met, the infringements and demands of the government and its public health agencies have not been justified according to law. This is the argument that must be made as to why the proposed vaccine mandate is an unwarranted overreach inconsistent with established public health policy and law. From the Brownstone Institute Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Harvey Risch Follow Harvey Risch is professor of epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale School of Public Health and Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Risch received his M.D. degree from the University of California San Diego and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. After serving as a postdoctoral fellow in epidemiology at the University of Washington, Dr. Risch was a faculty member in epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Toronto before coming to Yale. Democratic Governor Rejects Mask Mandate, Says Policy Is Not Curbing the Spike The governor of Connecticut said that he will not reinstate a mask mandate, citing data suggesting that it is not curbing the spike in COVID-19 cases elsewhere. Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, told reporters this week that COVID-19 cases have surged in New York City in recent days despite a statewide mask mandate that was issued by the governor several weeks ago. Mask mandates are not curbing the spike down in New York City, which is probably ground zero, Lamont told a reporter in response to a question about whether he would consider such a regulation. If I think about things, I certainly think about nursing homes and other congregate settings where I think the booster shot is probably the number one priority, to make sure everybody that can be boosted is boosted there. That would be my next priority, Lamont added. On Dec. 10, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that masks will need to be required to be worn in all indoor places unless businesses or venues ask patrons or employees to show proof theyre vaccinated. However, she later backtracked and said that counties have the option not to opt into the mandate, as some New York county executives criticized her directive and vowed that they wouldnt enforce it. My health department has critical things to do that are more important than enforcing this, and I think small businesses have been through enough already, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, a Republican, told news outlets. God forbid the governor directs the state police to go out and enforce it. Hochuls office on Dec. 20 confirmed New York state will not send inspectors to businesses to see if theyre enforcing the mandate. Enforcement will be done by local health departments, Hochul spokesperson Hazel Crampton-Hays told news outlets at the time. Governor Hochul made $65 million available today for counties enforcement needs, including personnel costs associated with spot checks and other enforcement. We are all in this together as we fight this winter surge. In a briefing earlier this week, Lamont announced his state would distribute about 3 million at-home COVID-19 rapid tests and 6 million N95 masks to deal with an increase in COVID-19 cases. Distribution of the items is scheduled to start Thursday, Lamont said. That means in terms of some of our hardest-hit populations, some of our congregate settings, some of our homeless shelters make sure those fast-acting tests are there so we can make sure that you know that youre safe and if youre not safe, how to make sure we keep you quarantined and keep everyone around you safe, Lamont remarked. Do You Trust Your Doctor Anymore? Commentary Do you trust your doctor anymore? Honestly? I dont mean Dr. Anthony Fauci. How can anybody trust him, with all the prevarications, constant shifts in policy and deceptions, not to mention hiding American taxpayer support for gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other aspects of the doctors dark past revealed in great detail in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s book? Im talking about your own personal doctor, the man or woman who has been your friend and trusted counselor for years, maybe decades. How do you feel about that person? Has it changed? What many are perceiving as a growing mistrust of physicians is one, among many, of the tragic fallouts of the pandemic. How that happened isnt that difficult to trace. But first, I must briefly interrupt this column to say something related that has now reached a critical level of importance: Get off Twitter if you are still on it. That the social media company banned Dr. Robert S. Malone, one of the key developers of the mRNA vaccines and a leading figure in the discussion of the pandemic, is an example of censorship straight out of the Goebbels playbook, with ramifications back to the treatment of Galileo. No one who considers him or herself a supporter of the First Amendment should countenance this cancellation or participate in this for one second. Get off Twitter already. No excuses. Now, back to the subject at hand. I wasnt talking about all doctors, obviously. Many are brave, and not just the well-known signers of the Great Barrington Declaration and other eminent physicians interviewed here at The Epoch Times, but quite a few local doctors as well, including some who practice something known as functional medicine. But the great masses of doctors have melted under the pressure of the government, following the party line on the pandemic. If you mention hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin or some other therapeutic or even, in some cases, the apparent superiority of natural immunity, they either dont hear you or respond condescendingly, then point to the necessity of the vaccine. At that moment, they are thinking of themselves, of their families, their incomes, their medical licenses, their relationship to their hospital or clinic, medical systems entirely dependent on cooperation, financially and legally, with the ever-changing diktats of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. Understandable, perhaps, but these doctors are, bluntly, acting cowardly and therefore earning our distrust. They probably know this and feel trapped, but that doesnt excuse their behavior. Their occupation has been elevated almost beyond all others. They should act accordingly. In particular, they should remember the obvious, what they were first taught: Hippocratess First, do no harm. Theres a direct line from the ancient Greek to the vaccines. We dont know the extent to which they do no harm, but its looking worse. Malonethat poor, banned fellowargued that only those over 65 should consider it, because only at that advanced age do the benefits outweigh the risks. And yet our government is recommending the vaccination of 5-year-olds. Is your doctor going along with this? Its hard to justify considering the absolutely minimal COVID-19 risk to children. No one knows what the future will bring from this, but auguries are not good. We already know that masking these same children is causing all sorts of developmental deficits. They will haunt our society for years to come. Meanwhile, many have seen the present from the inside and dont want to talk. Among those who are talking are, interestingly, those lower down the medical totem pole than doctorsnurses. If you havent already, you can find extraordinary video testimonials on what is happening inside our hospitals on Gateway Pundit. Its not fun, but I urge you to do so. Sorry to be so depressing. Pointing out our alienation from our doctorsmy father was oneis something I never dreamed I would be doing. But there is a good side. Since government intervention in our health care has been so extreme for the past two years, we have, in essence, been living under a form of socialized medicine. (We have for a long time actually, but it has been taken to a new level.) We now have had a chance to evaluate this system, as they say, up close and personal. I am willing to guess that most of us paying attention have come to the same conclusion about socialized medicine (maybe we did a long time ago, but its been ratified by the pandemic): It stinks! Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Police officers stand guard outside the fire damaged entrance to Old Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 30, 2021. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) Fire Breaks Out at Australias Old Parliament House Amid Protests A fire has broken out on the steps of Australias Old Parliament House in Canberra, forcing staff to evacuate the building. The incident occurred as protestors carrying Aboriginal flags were gathering outside the building and were heard chanting let it burn. Around 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, emergency services responded to the blaze. Theres a lot of police with flags all waving and screaming, a lot of fire trucks, chef Adrian Richardson told 3AW radio. I saw the balcony above the front steps bursting into flames. Video footage on social media shows smoke billowing from the front of the building and police cordoning off protestors. It is the second time the building has been set on fire, with the first incident on Dec. 21. Protestors were also seen engaging in altercations with media personnel. The blaze has reportedly been extinguished. Michael McCormack, called the chanting of the protestors disgraceful. An outrageous attack on our democracy, our history, our sovereignty. This modern penchant for tearing down our past serves no purpose. Repercussions ought to be swift and severe, he wrote on Twitter. Old Parliament House is now the home of the Museum of Australian Democracy. More details to come. Students salute as a national flag is raised during a ceremony on the first day of the new school year at an elementary school on September 1, 2021 in Beijing, China. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) First US-listed Chinese Education Group to Make Massive Lay Offs to Meet Chinas Education Restrictions Tal Education Group (NYSE: TAL), the first U.S.-listed Chinese technology education company, will shut down its subject-based off-campus training business and make massive layoffs to comply with Beijings double reduction policy by the end of this year. Tal Education Group is expected to lay off about 16,000 people and retain only 4,000 to start the non-profit subject education volunteer model, teachers at the companys Hangzhou school district told Fortune China on Dec. 24. The Chinese training giant announced that its major business, which is focused on out-of-school training for K-9 subjects covering primary and middle school, will end on December 31, 2021, Reuters reported on Nov. 13. Zhang Bangxin, the founder and CEO of Tal Education Group, said at the companys Dec. 22 online meeting, we already knew the results The conference, which might have been a farewell to those who have to leave, was attended by about 20,000 teachers, according to Chinese tech media Sycaijing. Early on July 27, a few days after the Chinese authorities imposed the double reduction policy, reducing the burden of homework and off-campus training for compulsory education students, Zhang said at a management meeting that there will definitely be layoffs as businesses that are not in demand will be shut down. Affected by Chinas new education restrictions, most of the training and education companys stocks have plummeted. Tal Education Groups official site showed its share plunged to about $4 in late July, from the recent 52-week high point of $90.96, and stayed depressed to Dec. 23 at $4.08. According to Hurun 100 Rich List released in October, Zhangs fortune shrank heavily to 5.7 billion yuan ($910 million) from 95 billion yuan ($15.2 billion) in 2020, a 94 percent drop, ranking drops to 1,274th from 42nd. And founders of other Chinese private education giants including New Oriental and GSX Techedu: Yu Minhongs fortune shrank by $3 billion, and Chen Xiangdongs dropped by $11.84 billion. Tal Education Group had been expanding its business to 129 cities in 2021. In October 2010, Xueersi, the former name of Tal Education Group, was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange, being the first Chinese primary and secondary education institution to go public in the United States. To meet the regimes requirements, Tal Education Group will move to a live streaming service, teaching research, and AI education and technology, According to Jwview, a government sponsored financial media, on Dec. 21. Bringing world-class glassmaking back to County Tyrone Its 1970. In a woodworking class in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, 11-year-old Jim Regan is eagerly surveying a block of wood in readiness for carving a rabbit. Although enthusiastic, Regan thinks: What good will this do me? Little did young Regan realize then that the skills he learned in carving that rabbit he would use every day in his 35-year career as a glass cutter for Tyrone Crystal. Master glass cutter Jim Regan cuts a glass bowl at the Tyrone Crafted Glass factory in Coalisland near Dungannon, Northern Ireland. Regan is one of many former Tyrone Crystal artisans who volunteer their time to teach others glass-cutting skills. (Courtesy of Tyrone Crafted Glass) Regans glass-cutting career was cut short in 2010 when Tyrone Crystal closed, he said by telephone. But now he and several former Tyrone Crystal glass artisans are all volunteers at Tyrone Crafted Glass, a UK community interest company, or CIC, thats helping to revive glass cutting and glassmaking in the Dungannon area. Tyrone Crafted Glass chairman Gary Currie and his wife, Ciara, who is a former Tyrone Crystal tour guide, are two of the leading forces behind the revival of glassmaking in County Tyrone. Currie has always been passionate about glassmaking. Even though hed never worked in the factory, he grew up in its presence, he said by telephone. When the factory closed, he decided to rent a workshop space to teach himself glassblowing and he met former Tyrone Crystal glassblowers who taught him, too. In time, his workshop became a bit of a hub for glassblowing when he began teaching classes, even though the workshop was off the beaten track. Tyrone Crafted Glass was founded in January 2020, when six of the glassmaking artisans and enthusiasts decided to apply for funding to preserve the local glassmaking tradition. (LR) Glass cutters Paul McBride and Jim Regan with Tyrone Crystals glass-blowing instructor Gert Elstner and Tyrone Crafted Glass director Gary Currie at the Tyrone Crafted Glass workshop. (Courtesy of Tyrone Crafted Glass) For Regan, the chance to cut glass again was more than just an opportunity to practice his craft. It was a chance to reconnect with old friends, make new ones and, perhaps most importantly, to pass on the glass-cutting skills that he was once taught. Master glass cutter Jim Regan marks where each cut needs to be made on a wine glass. (Courtesy of Tyrone Crafted Glass) Tyrone Crafted Glass currently focuses on glass cutting, but in the near future it aims to also create handblown glass and pass on that tradition too. (Courtesy of Tyrone Crafted Glass) The Local Glassmaking Heritage All kinds of glassware were once made at the Tyrone Crystal factory in Dungannon: wine glasses and tumblers, lampshades and chandeliers, and even commemorative glass and specially commissioned pieces. The company became world-renowned. John Waynes son commissioned a crystal replica of his dads revolver, and Bette Davis was said to have even owned some Tyrone Crystal, Regan said. Regan joined Tyrone Crystal in 1975, when the company had a young workforcein age and skill. A Catholic priest, Father Austin Eustace, had founded the company just four years earlier, in 1971. He specifically chose to start a glass factorya labor-intensive industryto create jobs in the area, which was experiencing crippling unemployment. Although glassmaking had been in the area back in the late 18th century, Father Eustace had to look farther afield to find some master glass artisans to train his fledgling factory workers. Austrian glass-blowing instructor Gert Elstner and German glass cutter Hans Gross ended up training the apprentices. The two had been hiking around England when they saw a newspaper ad asking for master craftsmen to teach their trade. They decided to go to Dungannon for a couple of weeks. Those weeks stretched to years. Elstner was involved in the factory until it closed, and he still lives in the area. From Apprenticing to Receiving Astonishing Commissions For the first six months of Regans five-year glass-cutting apprenticeship, he concentrated solely on cutting a star on the bottom of glasses. Each cut had to be made twice: first on a rough stonecutter and then on a fine stonecutter. After hed perfected the star design, he spent the next six months mastering glass cutting on the side of the glasses. And so the apprenticeship continued, progressing gradually, step by step until he made more intricate and larger cuts. Around 1980, Tyrone Crystal introduced a diamond cutting machine to the workshop, which streamlined the cutting process. Glass-cutting apprenticeships were reduced from five to three years as the new machines meant that the glass no longer needed to be cut on two different machines. Besides the standard glassware of wine glasses, tumblers, and lighting, Regan also made special commissions. Recently, he showed Cait Finnegan, the daughter of his former woodworking teacher, Val McCaul, photographs of his crystal commissions. A member of the Vintage Rolls-Royce Club of Northern Ireland commissioned Tyrone Crystal to make an 18-inch replica of the Rolls-Royce Ghost as a prize for the person who traveled the farthest in the classic car. Regan had to scale the piece up from the six-inch model provided. When the customer collected the finished piece, he was so delighted that he decided to keep it for himself. Finnegan, too, was in awe of the replica. She was even more surprised when she heard how Regan had learned to create such pieces. He told her about the rabbit hed made in her fathers woodworking class. And he explained how the techniques hed learned making that rabbit so many years ago became the basic foundation for his glass-cutting commissions. Reviving the Centuries-Old Glassmaking Tradition In a corner of the Tyrone Crafted Glass factory is a small museum dedicated to the local glassmaking heritage. On display are donated Tyrone Crystal pieces and memorabilia, along with McCauls woodworking tools and some wooden glass molds that he made for the Tyrone Crystal factory in its early years. A small corner of the Tyrone Crafted Glass workshop is a dedicated museum space, where visitors can learn about the local glassmaking heritage. (Courtesy of Tyrone Crafted Glass) Visitors to Tyrone Crafted Glass can have a glass-cutting experience where they can cut a simple pattern into a tumbler. In addition, theres also been a three-month apprenticeship for aspiring young glass cutters, which the company plans to expand. In the near future, there will be glass-blowing classes and school visits in the factory. Former Tyrone Crystal glass cutter Paul McBride supervises a glass-cutting experience at Tyrone Crafted Glass, where visitors cut a simple pattern into a tumbler. (Courtesy of Tyrone Crafted Glass) Ultimately, Currie and his team want to preserve these glassmaking skills for the younger generation. With most glass-cutting apprenticeships taking up to five years to complete, on a full-time basis, he said it is crucial that apprenticeships start as soon as possible. Tyrone Crafted Glass artisans cut each object by hand, resulting in unique heirloom pieces. (Courtesy of Tyrone Crafted Glass) He warned that with most of the Tyrone Crystal glass artisans at or nearing retirement, finding the right master glass artisans over the next 10 years could be problematic. Its a very, very difficult trade to learn to cut glass. It takes you many, many hours of practice. I would hope after the first four to five years with Tyrone Crafted Glass that we will then have a number of glass cutters who will qualify, and they will be as good as the master glass cutters who are teaching them. Thats our aim, he said. Tyrone Crafted Glass ships its glass products worldwide. To find out more, visit Facebook.com/TyroneCraftedGlass The wreckage of the Italian submarine Jantina that was sunk during World War II by the British submarine HMS Torbay, in the Aegean Sea, Greece, on Nov. 3, 2021. (Kostas Thoctarides/Handout via Reuters) Greek Divers Discover Italian World War Two Submarine Wreck ATHENSGreek divers have discovered the wreckage of an Italian submarine 80 years after it was sunk by the Allied Forces in the Aegean Sea during World War Two. The Jantina, which had sailed from the Greek island of Leros with 48 sailors on board, sank on July 5, 1941, after being hit by torpedoes fired by British submarine HMS Torbay. She was discovered last month by Kostas Thoctarides, one of Greeces best-known divers, and his team, south of the island of Mykonos at a depth of 103 meters using a remotely operated underwater vehicle, the ROV Super Achilles, which carried out a detailed visual inspection of the wreckage. Naval history is like a puzzle, and this is part of that puzzle, Thoctarides, a maritime expert, told Reuters. The confrontation of two submarines is a rare naval event. Jantinas identity was verified using records from Italys Naval History Office, Thoctarides said. She is the fourth submarine located and identified by Thoctarides. By Karolina Tagaris A police tape is seen in this file photo. (Simaah/Pixabay) Heavily Armed California Man Arrested in Iowa Had Hit List Including Biden, Fauci: Officials Authorities in Iowa arrested a California man who was allegedly carrying a rifle and a hit list that included President Joe Biden and White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci. Kuachua Brillion Xiong, from Merced, California, was taken into custody after he allegedly told police that he was on his way to the White House to kill persons in power, court records show (pdf). Xiong was pulled over for driving aggressively near Council Bluffs, Iowa, when officials allegedly discovered weapons and ammunition in his car. In Xiongs vehicle, police officers found a rifle, ammunition, medical kits, armor, and a grappling hook, according to the records. Xiong believes that he is the only person remaining who can free the United States of evil and it is necessary for him to kill those in positions of power, Secret Service agent Justin Larson wrote in an affidavit. Xiong stated that he has no intention of returning to California to see his family because he plans on dying, the affidavit also said, adding that he would do whatever it takes to get to Washington D.C. A scooplet: Law enforcement have arrested a California man, Kuachua Xiong for threats against former presidents. He was arrested w/ an AR-15, ammo, body armor, a hit list including President Obama/Clinton, Dr Fauci & haphazard plan to attack the White House. Also, a tiktok angle pic.twitter.com/8iFmWksb45 Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) December 29, 2021 It is at this time Xiong began assembling the equipment needed to carry out his plan to kill those in power: an assault rifle, assault rifle magazines, ammunition, body armor, medical supplies, dark clothing, grappling hook, food, and cash, the records said. During the course of the interview, Xiong allowed investigators access to his personal cellular phone to corroborate his statements. Investigators further alleged that Xiongs hit list also included Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and several former presidents. The records also said that Xiong was planning to use the grappling hook to climb over the White House perimeter wall in what he described as a weak spot. Earlier this week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen H. Locher ordered Xiong to remain in custody ahead of a detention hearing Thursday, records say, according to the Sacramento Bee. Xiong is currently being held in Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs. Its not clear if Xiong has an attorney. The Queen Mary is berthed between in the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif., on July 11, 2020. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Highly Vaccinated Luxury Cruise Ship Wont Return to New York Amid COVID-19 Concerns: Spokesperson A luxury cruise ship with more than 1,000 on board wont come back to New York City amid COVID-19 concerns. The Queen Mary 2, the flagship of Cunard Line, is currently anchored outside Barbados and is slated to stay there until Jan. 2, the company told news outlets. As a precautionary measure Queen Mary 2 will take on additional manning in essential roles in Barbados prior to the sail back to the UK, the firm said in a statement to The Epoch Times on Thursday, adding that it will not head back to New York City due to the current international travel situation relating to COVID-19. The trip started out well. The entire ship was tested on our fourth day out of the Brooklyn Red Hook port. As far as we could tell there were five or six cabins affected, retired architect Sandy Weinberg Benjamin, who is on board the vessel, told Reuters. According to Cunard Lines website, all guests on the cruise ship must provide proof of an approved USA vaccination program and will have to show a card showing they have had a full course of an FDA-approved vaccine. Queen Mary 2, the only ocean liner from Southampton to New York, left the British port city on Dec. 13 and will sail back to the United Kingdom from Barbados to ensure it reaches Southampton on Jan. 10 as planned, the spokesperson said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed it is monitoring 88 cruise ships for COVID-19, although it did not specify how many cases have been reported, according to data published this week. Those cruise ships are either being investigated or are under observation, classified under the CDCs yellow level, the agency said. Yellow status means the ship has met the threshold for CDC investigation, which includes one of the following criteria such as at or above the investigation threshold for crew COVID-19 cases, at or above the investigation threshold for passenger COVID-19 cases, or a state or local health department notified CDC of passenger COVID-19 cases occurring within five days of disembarkation, the agency said. Four other ships are classified as orange, meaning that a vessel has reported cases of COVID-19 but is below the threshold for CDC investigation, according to the CDC. Currently, no cruise ships are classified under red, which means it is at or above the CDC investigation threshold for passenger and crew COVID-19 cases and would require additional public health precautions. In recent weeks, several cruise ships have reported COVID-19 outbreaks despite widespread requirements that all eligible passengers and crew having to show proof of vaccination before embarking on the trip. Over the past weekend, Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Freedom told outlets it has been forced to alter its stops in the south Caribbean after several individuals onboard tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. This is a vaccinated cruise, and all guests were also tested before embarkation, Carnival Cruise Lines said on Dec. 24. Unfortunately, Bonaire and Aruba authorities did not permit the ship to call in those ports, but we have confirmed a visit to Amber Cove, [Dominican Republic] today. The Epoch Times has contacted Cunard Line for comment. Reuters contributed to this report. People walk past the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) sign at its building on the Financial Street in Beijing, on July 9, 2021. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters) How Chinas New Offshore Listing Rules Will Work HONG KONGTwo Chinese regulators announced draft rules for Chinese firms offshore listings over the past week, providing some clarity on how they plan to scrutinize capital market activities amid a broader regulatory crackdown. New Rules for Offshore Listing The China Securities and Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on Dec. 24 proposed tightening rules governing Chinese companies listing abroad, which it said would improve oversight. The new rules will target companies incorporated offshore using a structure known as Variable Interest Entities (VIE). Previously, the regulator would only examine firms incorporated in China and wanting to do an offshore listing. Under the proposed rules, an offshore IPO applicant will have to submit materials including its prospectus and opinions from industry regulators, if applicable, to the CSRC within three workdays after it submits offshore application documents or makes the first overseas announcement of the planned deal. The CSRC will make a decision on whether the candidate can go ahead with their offshore listing plan or needs clearance from other relevant regulatory bodies within 20 working days if adequate materials are submitted. International banks that underwrite a Chinese firms offshore listing will also be required to register with the securities regulator under the new rules. Chinas state planner the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) separately said on Monday Chinese companies in sectors off-limits to foreign direct investment, such as internet news and publishing, will require clearances from regulators before they can list their shares outside the mainland. More to Come CSRC has given market participants until Jan. 23 to send their feedback on the draft rules. Another Chinese regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), published draft rules on a cybersecurity review of certain companies seeking offshore listings in mid-November. The CAC completed its consultation by Dec. 13 and is expected to publish final rules soon. Offshore Listing Regime To Be Clarified Both the CSRC and NDRC guidelines are draft rules. There are some expectations that the final rules will be announced by the middle of 2022. There is no clarity on whether there will be a single point of regulatory contact for offshore IPO-bound companies. Also, a State Council statement last week said it will set up a coordinated regulatory board among different government bodies to vet offshore listing plans, but it is unclear how the board will look, how it will work, or which department will have the authority to lead the decision-making process. CSRC said the rules will not apply retroactively but it remains unclear whether companies that have filed for listings but havent been listed will fall under the new rules, law firm JunHe said in a Dec. 25 note. It is also unclear which and how many regulators opinions a company might need before submitting their CSRC filings, or under what conditions a company should seek opinions from those regulators, the law firm said. The draft rules also did not state clearly whether Hong Kong is considered an offshore listing venue, although bankers and lawyers are expecting Hong Kong to be put under the offshore listing regime. Potential Impact on Chinese Companies Offshore Listing China-based law firm Han Kun said in a note that regulators at the listing venue will likely view CSRC clearance as a condition for the approval of the offshore listing, which may affect the timing of listings. Bankers have said the new rules will provide transparency to listing prospects and will incentivize them to turn to public markets, especially firms in the technology and media sectors that were at the center of a regulatory crackdown this year. By Kane Wu and Xie Yu How the Collapse of the Soviet Union Taught the CCP to Fight the US | Talking Points With David Zhang No one wants to be No. 2, or as the Chinese saying goes: two tigers cannot live on the same mountain. In a life or death situation, can China and the United States co-exist? We focus on the United States Cold War example of fighting against communism and the USSR. The 30th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union just passed. How is the Chinese Communist Party learning about mistakes to avoid in their new fight against the United States? And how can the United States respond to the evolving threat from China? I am joined by Gregory Copley, long-time security and economic adviser to governments and an expert on China, to discuss the topic. Rapper Ice Cube attends Daylight Beach Club at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 6, 2017. (David Becker/Getty Images for Daylight Beach Club) Ice Cube Claims Friday Costar Chris Tucker Turned Down Role in Sequel Due to Religious Reasons Ice Cube has claimed his Friday costar Chris Tucker turned down $12 million to reprise his role in the sequel due to religious reasons. The actor, whose real name is OShea Jackson, and comedian Tucker, starred in the 1995 cult comedy which proved to be an instant hit with viewers. The movie spawned two sequels: 2000s Next Friday and 2002s Friday After Next. Ice Cube, who starred in and was a producer on the movies, took to Twitter on Wednesday where he responded to a fan who wrote, I thought I heard Chris Tucker quit over money. We were ready to pay Chris Tucker $1012m to do Next Friday but he turned us down for religious reasons. He didnt want to cuss or smoke weed on camera anymore, Ice Cube responded. The Epoch Times has contacted a representative for Chris Tucker for comment. Ice Cube made the comments after he was accused of shortchanging his Friday co-stars, including Chris Tucker, by Friday actor Fazion Love who played the character Big Worm in the movie. In a recent interview with Comedy Hype, the American actor, 53, said he turned down the sequel after being paid just $2,500 for the original film but noted that it wasnt about the money then. They wanted to give me double scale. So scale was $2,500, right? So double scale was $5,000, Love said. The day after I said No, I got a call to do a film for Warner Brothers called [The] Replacements, and they paid me $100,000. So I aint crazy, Love said. Ice Cube quickly took to Twitter to respond to Loves comment, stating, I didnt rob no [expletive] body. The 1995 Friday movie cost $2.3m to make. Shot it in 20 days. Fazion worked 1 day, maybe 2. All the actors got paid scale to do the movie. They couldve simple said No but they didnt. So miss me with that [expletive]. Tucker, who is a Christian, revealed in an interview with All Urban Central last month that he had turned down a role in the second Friday installment because he did not wish to use the psychoactive drug marijuana. Back then, I gotta tell you, one of the reasons why I didnt do the second one was because of the weed, Tucker said. Because I said, man, that movie became a phenomenon. I dont want everybody smoking weedand I never really told people this because I kind of forgot about it, but it was one of the reasons why I didnt do it. Because I said, I dont wanna represent everybody smoking weed.' And thats one of the reasons why I said nah. I didnt wanna keep doing that character. It probably was good for me because it kept me moving to the next phase and next movies, Tucker added. In July, Senate Democrats introduced draft legislation that would legalize marijuana in the United States. Currently, 37 states, as well as the District of Columbia, allow certain legal access to marijuana. Some only let medical users legally buy the drug, which critics have said can negatively affect a persons health, including causing short-term memory problems. Such negative effects are particularly profound in youth. Rep. Tom Tiffany: Federal Government Is Facilitating a Human Trafficking Operation, One of the Largest in the World | Crossroads (The Epoch Times) Illegal Immigration Is On Steroids in Bidens America: Rep. Tom Tiffany Illegal immigration has been on steroids in the United States ever since President Joe Biden entered office on Jan. 20 and rolled back many of former President Donald Trumps immigration restrictions, says Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.). You look at whats happened since January 20, when President Biden one of the first things he did was get rid of Remain in Mexico, started catch and release, and stopped border construction, Tiffany told EpochTVs Crossroads program. Biden, who campaigned in part on rescinding his predecessors immigration orders, not only halted construction of the wall at the border, but ended the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols, which forced many asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their claims were heard. Whats happenedwere going to have over 2 million people that come into our country illegally this year, the congressman said. Its very clear that the United States government, at the behest of the Biden administration, is facilitating [human trafficking] as a result of that signal they sent to the rest of the world. Illegal Immigration is on steroids here in America, the lawmaker said. November saw a record-high number of arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border. Some 173,620 arrests were made last month, according to Customs and Border Protection, marking the highest for the month of November in the nations history. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Biden administration rolled back a number of key Trump-era policies shortly after taking office, including halting construction of the border wall, ending the Remain in Mexico program, and curtailing the use of pandemic powers to allow all illegal immigrant children who arrive without a responsible adult to stay in the United States. Those changes triggered the largest wave of illegal immigration the United States has ever seen, according to some experts. Under Biden, the United States has already set records for the most illegal immigrant apprehensions in a fiscal year and in a calendar year. Tiffany said the Biden administrations catch and release immigration policy is partially to blame for the number of illegal border crossings at the southern border. Under catch and release, people are just able to come into the country, and then they can go wherever they want to. And theyre being told that just be sure to show up for your asylum hearingwhos showing up for their asylum hearing, especially when the United States government is not enforcing that? So there are no protections in place. Going through the process of getting a visa, of getting legal citizenship, none of them are having to do that, the lawmaker said. The lawmaker accused the Biden administration of being complicit in facilitating human trafficking on an unprecedented scale through its immigration policies. They [the federal government] know that people die in these mass migrations, they know people, especially women are sexually assaulted, they know the misery that goes with thisand its completely unnecessary, yet they let it go on, said Tiffany. Thats why I say that our United States government is complicit. The Biden administration turned the key on January 20. This would not be happening if Remain in Mexico stayed in place, the border wall continued to be built, there was no catch and releasethese things would not have happened. He added, Its a terribly unfortunate thing. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Isabel van Brugen Reporter Follow Isabel van Brugen is an award-winning journalist and currently a news reporter at The Epoch Times. She holds a master's in newspaper journalism from City, University of London. Inmate Dies After Altercation in Cell in San Diego Jail SAN DIEGOA San Diego County inmate died after being attacked in a jail cell, authorities said Dec. 30. Deputies allegedly found inmate John Roman Medina, 18, assaulting inmate Dominique James McCoy, 38, in a cell at the San Diego Central Jail at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department. McCoy was unresponsive, Lt. Thomas Seiver said. Deputies and medical staff immediately performed lifesaving measures until relieved by fire department personnel. McCoy was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. As a result of the investigation, Homicide detectives determined Medina physically assaulted McCoy, which caused his death, Seiver said. The Medical Examiners Office will schedule McCoys autopsy to determine the official cause and manner of McCoys death. Medina was re-booked with the additional charge of suspicion of murder. McCoy was booked into jail by the San Diego Police Department on Dec. 23 on suspicion of transporting/selling a controlled substance and possession of narcotics. Medina was booked into jail on Sunday by the Chula Vista police on suspicion of child cruelty, assault with a deadly weapon, and cruelty to animals. No other information was released. This photo released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Dec. 30, 2021 shows the launching of Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Iranian Defense Ministry via AP) Iran Claims It Launched Rocket Into Space Amid Talks to Revive 2015 Nuclear Deal The Iranian regime announced it has launched a rocket into space carrying three research devices, the countrys state television reported on Thursday. Ahmad Hosseini, an Iranian defense ministry spokesman, said the satellite-bearing rocket named Simorgh, or Phoenix, had launched the three cargoes at an altitude of 292 miles (470 km) and at a speed of 7,350 meters (4.5 miles) per second. The intended research objectives of this launch were achieved, Hosseini said, in comments broadcast on state television. This was done as a preliminary launch we will have an operational launch soon, the spokesman added, without further clarifying whether the devices had successfully entered Earths orbit. This image taken from footage aired by Iranian state television shows a rocket that Iran announced it launched on Dec. 30, 2021. (Iranian state television via AP) This image taken from footage aired by Iranian state television shows a rocket that Iran announced it launched on Dec. 30, 2021. (Iranian state television via AP) Previous launches conducted by the Islamic regime have drawn rebukes from the United States. Last year, the regime successfully launched its first-ever military satellite into orbit, drawing sharp criticism from Washington. The U.S. State Department, Space Force, and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, has also suffered several failed satellite launches over the past year. According to satellite imagery obtained by The Associated Press earlier this month, Iran appeared to be preparing for a space launch. The preparation came amid the continuation of talks with world powers in Austria set to revive Irans tattered 2015 nuclear deal. The images showed preparations at the spaceport in the desert plains of Irans rural Semnan province, some 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of Tehran. In this satellite photo by Planet Labs Inc., a support vehicle stands parked alongside a massive white gantry that typically houses a rocket on the launch pad as activity is seen at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Semnan province, Iran, on Dec. 11, 2021. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP) A new round of negotiations began in the capital of Austria on Dec. 27 as Iran demanded world powers to allow it to resume selling crude oil. The eighth round of talks was convened when the Iranian negotiator came back after leaving to consult with the regimes leaders. Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, wants Western nations to remove sanctions first before moving forward on the nuclear deal. According to the Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015, Iran agreed to dismantle its nuclear program and allow international inspectors access to nuclear sites in the country. Iran signed the JCPOA with China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. President Trump in 2018 withdrew the United States from the pact, citing failure from the Iranian leadership to uphold critical requirements as it bolstered military prowess. In 2017, the Islamic regime announced a 150 percent increase in its military budget and Trump criticized it for funding terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Moreover, Israeli intelligence had uncovered secret documents that revealed Iran had never stopped developing nuclear weapons. Trumps sanctions had a severe effect on the Iranian economy, leading to popular uprisings against the regime and international oil companies canceling deals with Tehran. Crude exports dropped from almost 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to as low as 200,000 bpd. President Joe Biden has claimed that he will return to the JCPOA agreement, signed during the Obama-era, as long as Iran keeps up its end of the deal. Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report. From NTD News The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side after running aground in the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, on Jan. 14, 2012. (Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo) Italy Court Awards Costa Concordia Passenger Over $100,000 ROMEAn Italian court has ordered Costa Crociere cruise line to pay 92,700 euros ($105,000) to a passenger who was aboard the Costa Concordia when it crashed and capsized off Tuscany in 2012, in one of the few civil lawsuits to have reached a verdict against the company. The Genoa court recognized that passenger Ernesto Carusotti suffered post-traumatic stress as a result of the disaster, which killed 32 people, according to the Codacons consumer group which represented him. Costa, which is part of the U.S.-based Carnival Corp., declined to comment Wednesday. In a statement to The Associated Press, Costa said it reserved the right to respond through the most appropriate channels. Some 4,200 passengers and crew were aboard the Concordia when it slammed into a reef Jan. 13, 2012, off Tuscanys Giglio island. The captain, Francesco Schettino, is serving a 16-year prison sentence after he was convicted of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning the vessel. Prosecutors say Schettino intentionally brought the ship too close to shore in a stunt, and then abandoned the listing liner while passengers and crew were still aboard. During Schettinos trial, Costa told the Florence court it had paid out 84 million euros in compensation to passengers, crew and relatives of the 32 dead, according to Italian media reports at the time. But a small percentage of people refused the compensation package and pursued lawsuits. According to Codacons, Genoa Judge Paolo Gibelli ruled that Costa Crociere was liable not only for the shipwreck itself but for the traumatic experience that Carusotti suffered. It ordered Costa pay Carusotti 77,000 euros in damages plus 15,692 euros in legal fees. In a statement, Codacons said the award was a very important victory since it showed the total incongruity of Costas compensation package to most of the victims. The capsized Concordia was eventual righted from the reef and then floated to the mainland where it was turned into scrap. Gamaliel Garcia (R) with friends at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at San Diego Civic Theatre, in San Diego, on Dec. 29, 2021. (Jane Yang/The Epoch Times) SAN DIEGO, Calif.Where there are difficulties, there is also hope if one looks for it. That is what Gamaliel Garcia, a minister, is taking away from seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts. Garcia said that a strong impression he got from the performance was The message of overcoming adversity and difficult times of persecution. New York-based Shen Yun tells stories of people overcoming adversity through dance and music, with the story of Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted for their beliefs in China as one of the most powerful pieces in the performance. Throughout the performance, the values of tradition are also emphasized. I think its very important because we very easily in modern society forget about traditions. And the emphasis thats done to bring the knowledge of what those traditions are very good. I thought it was very positive, Garcia said. It did take me by surprise but it was very positive in the sense of understanding the whole concept of traditional, the divinity, and the importance of that divine nature that is brought in through tradition, he elaborated. Garcia added that he sees hope in Shen Yun. Its a message of hope for all cultures in any particular situation, he said. Because of the negative things that are going on in society, and how were beaten down, I think a message of hope really helped people in whatever circumstances, whether in a persecution or a pandemic, its that hope of knowing there is something better if we just connect to it. Donna Miller and Pauletta Staley at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at San Diego Civic Theater, on Dec. 29, 2021. (Sophia Fang/The Epoch Times) Another audience member who was struck by the portrayal of the persecution of Falun Gong was Donna Miller who attended the performance with her friend Pauletta Staley. So really the most powerful piece to me was the harvesting of the organs, Miller said. Im just weeping. Its so horrendous. And Ive been following this. And this is why were boycotting the Olympics. And Im so happy were boycotting the Olympics in Beijing. And Im just sorry that communism has taken over China because this is so sad to have lost this culture. Falun Gong is an ancient practice that can significantly improve the minds and bodies of those who practice it. Were reading up on their values. The values are amazing, Staley said. Miller was able to recall what the core principles of Falun Gong were, Truth, compassion, and forbearance, she said. Staley commented that she could tell that the performers in Shen Yun were very genuine in what they were giving to the audience. Everything comes from the heart, to the heart out, and you could see it in the dance. Its stunning and very concise. The choreography is amazing, she said. Miller expressed her gratitude for Shen Yuns dedication to continue to spread beauty during the pandemic. Theres not one person that doesnt love beauty, music [and] talent. So youre speaking that into our culture, and we need it, especially in the time of this pandemic, and all this socialist ideology thats happening in our whole world, in America and everything, so Im just blessed that were here, she said. Reporting by Jane Yang, Sophia Fang, and Maria Han. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. A nurse fills a syringe with Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Pasadena, Calif., in a file photograph. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) Johnson & Johnson Booster Protects Against Hospitalization From Omicron: Studies A booster dose of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine performed well in terms of protecting against hospitalization in people who contracted COVID-19 in South Africa, according to a study published Thursday. A second study indicated that people who initially received Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine and got a Johnson & Johnson (J&J) booster saw a 41-fold increase in neutralizing antibody responses and a jump in T-cells within weeks. The first study analyzed over 69,000 vaccinated health care workers, pegged effectiveness against hospitalization at 63 percent zero to 13 days after the boost. That figure climbed to 85 percent one to two months post-boost. The study did not include an assessment of effectiveness past that time frame. We provide the first evidence of the effectiveness of a homologous Ad26.COV.2 vaccine boost given 6-9 months after the initial single vaccination series during a period of omicron variant circulation, authors wrote in the preprint study. They received funding from South Africas government and other entities, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the other study, researchers with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said a J&J booster dramatically increased protection against both infection and hospitalization among those who initially got a Pfizer jab. They analyzed responses among 65 people, including 41 who got the Pfizer-J&J series. Our analysis shows that a booster shot of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generated a robust increase in both neutralizing antibodies and T-cells to Omicron, Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at the medical center, said in a statement. The funding sources for the second study have not been disclosed. J&J promoted the results. This adds to our growing body of evidence which shows that the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine remains strong and stable over time, including against circulating variants such as Omicron and Delta, Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of Janssen Research and Development, said in a statement. Janssen is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. J&Js shot is one of three authorized for use in the United States, but health officials recently recommended against the vaccine unless people are unwilling or unable to get the other two vaccines. The effectiveness of the single-shot vaccine was originally designated as 100 percent effective against hospitalization 28 days after administration, but real-world data showed that protection decreased as time went on, dropping to 65 percent over the summer. The waning effectiveness prompted regulators to authorize a booster dose. Boosters Against Omicron While J&Js booster appears to perform well for at least two months against Omicron, boosters of other COVID-19 vaccines have had mixed results against the new variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Pfizer-BioNTech scientists, for instance, said earlier this month that a study found their vaccine performed 25 times worse against Omicron than the wild type CCP virus. While a booster restored the lost protection, the study only went one month after boosters were administered. Other studies looking at longer periods of time indicate protection from boosters began waning after several weeks. People in the United Kingdom, officials there said recently (pdf), saw effectiveness against symptomatic disease go down to as low as 35 percent 10 weeks after a boost. Researchers in Denmark and Norway published similar results this month. Israeli scientists, meanwhile, said in a study released Wednesday that an analysis of infections in the country indicated a rapid waning of Pfizers booster in reducing infectiousness, possibly affecting community-level spread of the virus. At the same time, T-cells generated from vaccination or prior infection are holding up well against Omicron, according to two other studies. U.S. health authorities say data so far suggests boosters provide protection against Omicron and continue to encourage people who havent gotten a vaccine to get one and those who have to get a booster. With Omicron, clearly there is a degree of immune evasion, particularly against infection and to some degree against hospitalization, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Bidens top medical adviser, told reporters on Wednesday. However, importantly, and the bottom line message here, is that boosters bring back up that degree of protection to a level that is approximating what it was before. So, boosters are critical in getting our approach to Omicron to be optimal, he added. Los Angeles to Enforce Encampment Bans in Koreatown Los Angeles Council District 13 is preparing to clear large homeless encampments in parts of Koreatown. On Dec. 23, Councilman Mitch OFarrells office put up flyers around the neighborhood warning encampment residents of a notice of major cleaning on Dec. 28 followed by a full encampment clearing on Jan. 5. Los Angeles Sanitation began cleaning up one of Koreatowns largest encampments at Shatto Park on Dec. 28. A sign enforcing the encampment ban in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Earlier this year, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and the city council passed Ordinance 41.18, which prohibits encampments in public areas. However, enforcement of the ban in a district requires a motion to be introduced by a district councilmember and approved by the council. OFarrells motion to enforce the encampment ban in Shatto Parkas well as eight other parks, recreation centers, and schoolswas approved Nov. 2. Before the motions approval, many Koreatown residents expressed support for the enforcement, saying they felt unsafe in their neighborhoods due to an increase in crime. Resident Karen LaCroix, who participates in the Las Palmas Senior Center, said in a written comment (pdf) to the city council on Oct. 27 that she cant safely walk to the center due to large tents in her way. I cannot use the sidewalk because the encampment prevents me from walking safely to Las Palmas, LaCroix said. I have to walk in the street to go around the encampment and it is unsafe for me. Another resident, who gave her name as Denise, said the area has suffered break-ins of buildings and cars due to the encampments on Shatto, Westmoreland, and 4th Street. Our mailman even got assaulted, she said. I no longer feel safe going on a run or enjoying walks with my dog like I did just a couple years ago. A woman walks down a sidewalk passing a homeless encampment in Venice, Calif., on Nov. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) However, the motion was also met with some pushback from residents who say moving encampments out of the area wont help the homeless in the long term. Maggie Lange, a resident of Koreatown who shops near Shatto Park, voiced her opposition to the encampment ban in a written comment to the city council on Oct. 27. Designating this area as an enforcement zone under 41.18 will not help residents of the encampment into housing that respects human dignity, Lange said. There is simply insufficient publicly available housing in the city of Los Angeles at this time. Lange went on to remark that the result of the Echo Park displacement several months ago reflects her concern that only a small number of people displaced from the park ended up in supportive permanent housing. A homeless encampment in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) In addition, Koreatown will no longer be under OFarrells CD13 after Jan. 1 due to redistricting. After the New Year, Koreatown will be united under CD10; however, CD10 is currently without leadership as former Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was suspended in October on federal charges of bribery and fraud. This may lead to oversight when it comes to housing displaced homeless people after the Jan. 5 cleanup. For this reason, some neighborhood activists criticized OFarrells decision to enforce the encampment ban now. Neighborhood activist group K-Town for All also criticized the timing of the enforcement, saying it is poorly timed due to a spike in COVID-19 cases across the state. In addition, the group said, shelter capacity is limited due to pandemic safety distancing protocols. In the coming year, however, Koreatown will see more available temporary and permanent housing for unhoused Angelenos. Last month, Bridge Housing filed its project application with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. The building is expected to be six stories and 500,000 square feet, with 93 studio apartments and two managers units, according to a project description. About half of the units are to be reserved for permanent supportive homeless housing, and the other half for low-income tenants. Councilman Mitch OFarrells office didnt respond to a request for comment by press time. LA Woman Fatally Attacked by 4 Family Dogs EAST VALINDA, Calif.A woman was attacked and killed by her four dogs in the backyard of her home in the East Valinda area of the San Gabriel Valley, authorities said Dec. 29. The attack occurred about 5 p.m. Tuesday on Elizondo Street, according to Sgt. V. Munshi of the Industry Sheriffs Station. The woman, whom the coroner said was in her 20s, was in the yard with her male child, Munshi said. Both were bitten and taken to a hospital, where the woman was pronounced dead. She reportedly suffered major injuries to her head and one arm. The boy was treated for minor injuries. Los Angeles County Department of Animal Control officers took custody of the dogs, whose breeds are still unknown, Munshi said. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported the woman forgot her key, and no one was inside the home in the 18000 block of Elizondo Street. Lincoln, the American Founding, and the Moral Foundations of a Free Society Commentary Abraham Lincoln believed that the success of American self-government required the right ideas and the right institutions. He thought that the right ideas were found in the Declaration of Independencespecifically, human equality, individual rights, government by consent of the governed, and the right of revolution. A corollary to these bedrock principles was the right to rise, which Lincoln described as the duty to improve ones condition. These ideas of the Declaration were so fundamental that Lincoln referred to the principles of Jefferson as the definitions and axioms of free society and the father of all moral principle in the American people. The right political ideas required the right political institutions to make them a reality. Lincoln believed that the chief institutions were the federal constitution, which had formed a more perfect union between the states that had secured their independence from Great Britain, and strict adherence to the rule of law. The Constitution, however, contained compromises with slaverythe wrong institution for a people intending to be free. The citizens of the American states thought that maintaining their union was essential to preserving their independence, and therefore accommodated an institution that antedated American independence. As Lincoln put it, We had slaves among us, we could not get our Constitution unless we permitted them to remain in slavery. He concluded that we could not secure the good we did secure if we grasped for more. Lincoln thought prudence, not hypocrisy, explained why the founding generation did not free its slaves. That said, Lincoln thought that the viability of the American experiment required putting slavery on the course of ultimate extinction. Given that six of the original thirteen states abolished slavery in the early decades of the republic, Lincoln discerned an antislavery impulse in the formative years of the United States. The Declarations principles were working their way through the individual states. Moreover, Congress acted to prevent the flow of slaves into the United States while also banning the introduction of slavery into the Northwest Territory. As Lincoln saw it, Having thus prevented its extension and cut off the supply, the Fathers of the Republic believed Slavery must soon disappear. Only when the American people became divided over the future of slavery in their midst did Lincoln fear for the survival of what he considered the last best, hope of earth. He devoted his political career to persuading Americans that the truths of the Declaration provided the surest foundation for the long-term enjoyment of their rights, which required the eventual, and he hoped peaceful, abolition of slavery under the Constitution. But the battle for public opinion would be long and difficult. Lincolns chief rival, Democratic Sen. Stephen A. Douglas of the state of Illinois, also claimed the mantle of the Founders for his policies. Douglas championed what he called popular sovereignty, a policy of congressional non-interference with slavery in the territories and states. I go for maintaining the confederation of the sovereign States under the Constitution, as our fathers made it, Douglas pronounced, leaving each State at liberty to manage its own affairs and own internal institutions. Illinois had decided not to enslave blacks but did not permit them to vote. Douglas was proud of his states decision but equally supportive of other states in their exclusive right to regulate the actions of what he called inferior races, whether it meant allowing black people to vote up North or enslaving them down South. He thought that his approach played well on either side of the Mason-Dixon line, and would be the ticket to retaining his Senate seat in his campaign against Lincoln in 1858, and especially when they campaigned before a national audience for the presidency in 1860. In reply, Lincoln charted a course for the American people that avoided not only the moral neutrality (and white supremacy) of Douglass popular sovereignty, but also the moral absolutism of abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison. The abolitionist editor of The Liberator, Garrison called for immediate, mass emancipation with inflammatory rhetoric that targeted the apathy of white northerners. I have need to be all on fire, he explained, for I have mountains of ice about me to melt. In addition to condemning southern slaveholders, he harangued northern citizens, whom he claimed were enabling southern slaveholding by upholding a constitution that compromised with slavery. He put the point plainly on the masthead of his newspaper, which declared, No Union with Slaveholders. He deplored the Constitution, with its requirement that fugitive slaves be returned to their legal masters. The crime of oppression is national, he intoned, the south is only the agent in this guilty traffic. One Fourth of July, he even burned a copy of the Constitution, punctuating the moment with the cry, So perish all compromises with tyranny. The novel showed many aspects of the inhumanity of slavery. An Illustration of a slave auction from Uncle Toms Cabin. From an 1852 editiion published by John. P. Jewett, Boston. (Public Domain) Extracts from Garrisons writings show his disdain for popular consent as a necessary means of securing political justice. In 1832, Garrison called the Constitution the most bloody and heaven-daring arrangement ever made by men and an unblushing and monstrous coalition to do evil that good might come. In 1838, he helped establish a Non-Resistance Society, which proclaimed, We cannot acknowledge allegiance to any human government. In 1845, he said the American Union was conceived in sin, and brought forth in iniquity. In his most infamous formulation, Garrison called the Constitution a covenant with death, an agreement with hell, a refuge of lies, and concluded that it was a mighty obstacle in the way of universal freedom and equality. Clearly, Garrison was no constitutionalist! Beholden only to his conscience before God, he gave short shrift to the consent of the governed that makes government legitimate, and, in Americas case, brought the Union, the United States, into existence. Garrison preached equality for all but at the expense of government by consent. Douglas enshrined majority rule but at the expense of human equality. Lincoln believed that justice required both. As much as any abolitionist, Lincoln believed in human equality, once stating that the equality of man principle which actuated our forefathers in the establishment of the government is right; and that slavery, being directly opposed to this, is morally wrong. For Lincoln, the central idea of his political thought and action was the equality principle found in the Declaration of Independence, a principle he believed included blacks as well as whites. In 1858, he formulated a kind of political Golden Rule to express the fundamental implication of the Declarations equality principle: As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. Lincoln believed that whites needed to find security for their own rights in something more fundamental than race; according to the Declaration, it was founded upon ones humanity. Understood as the nations first emancipation proclamation, the Declaration of Independence appealed to the laws of nature and of natures God in its attempt to justify liberation from British rule. This appeal to nature, and subsequent reference to human equality and individual rights endowed by a Creator, indicated a basis for self-government that broke with tradition and the divine right of kings while still appealing to a Creator God, and natural justice. Lincoln was also committed to government by consent, as manifested in the Constitution, and in obedience to the rule of law. He believed that no man is good enough to govern another man, without that others consent, and called it the leading principlethe sheet anchor of American republicanism. Consent became a practical concern for Lincoln after his election to the presidency. Between his election and inauguration, citizens of seven slaveholding states decided that a Republican president would not protect their interests; they therefore claimed the right to secede from the United States. In response, Lincoln explained the necessity of accepting election outcomesthe concrete expression of consentregardless of who won or lost. To thrive, republics required good losers as well as good winners. Lincoln highlighted an instructive example of obedience to the law as he traveled to the White House for his inauguration. On Feb. 21, 1861, the New Jersey State Senate hosted a reception for the president-elect, though a majority of the attendees were Democrats who had voted for Lincolns Illinois rival, Stephen Douglas, for president. (New Jersey allowed its seven electoral votes for president to be divided among the leading candidates, with four Republican electors voting for Lincoln and the three Democratic electors choosing Douglas.) With the threat of additional states seceding, Lincoln stopped at New Jerseys state capitol to deliver brief remarks, which he concluded by calling attention to the polite reception that the New Jersey Senate had given him, without distinction of party. He valued this nonpartisan respect from men who, regardless of their votes, accepted the election of a Republican president. Lincoln remarked, I learn that this body is composed of a majority of gentlemen who, in the exercise of their best judgment in the choice of a Chief Magistrate, did not think I was the man. Nevertheless, they received him as the constitutional President of the United Statesas citizens of the United States, to meet the man who, for the time being, is the representative man of the nation, united by a purpose to perpetuate the Union and liberties of the people. Self-government could not last without self-control on the part of the citizenry, which, at minimum, required obedience to duly elected officials. Government by consent of the governed requires that political dissent be expressed in civil and constitutional ways, not violent or unconstitutional ones. The New Jersey senators demonstrated how to be good losers. Lincoln would spend his presidency explaining how he intended to be a good winner. Lincoln understood more deeply than any American since the Founding that Americas political development centered on the belief that might does not dictate right. For Lincoln, matters of right and wrong were not the mere product of majority vote, but derived from moral standards that reached across time and transcended nations. He believed that the American Founders declared their independence by appealing to these standards of right. By the 1850s, when the slavery question threatened to dissolve the American union, Lincoln thought that a return to the Founders approach could best resolve the controversy. In December 1860, after his election as the first Republican president, Lincoln received a letter from Alexander H. Stephens, a former Whig ally but soon to become vice president of the Confederate States of America. Stephens himself had argued against secession in a speech to his home state of Georgia. After South Carolina seceded following Lincolns election, Stephens wrote to Lincoln asking for a public statement to help calm fears in the southern slaveholding states. I would have you understand me as being not a personal enemy, but as one who would have you do what you can to save our common country. Alluding to Proverbs 25:11, Stephens then added: A word fitly spoken by you now would indeed be like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Though Lincoln was no conventional believer, he knew his Bible as well as any frontier preacher and caught the reference. He mulled over the metaphor of apples of gold in pictures (or settings) of silverand jotted a note to himself about the connection between the Declaration of Independence and the constitutional union of the American states. A copy of the U.S. Constitution is seen in Washington on Dec. 17, 2019. (Andrew Harnik/Pool/Getty Images) As the nation entered into a secession winter, Stephens thought that citizens would welcome a message from the president-elect before he took office in March. Lincoln disagreed. What Americans needed was not new words from the incoming president, but old words from the nations founding. Though he revered the Constitution and the Union, Lincoln understood them as means to a higher end: namely, the protection of individual rights. In his note, he called this Liberty to all. In his note to self, Lincoln described the principle of human equality, found in the Declaration of Independence, as follows: The assertion of that principle, at that time, was the word, fitly spoken which has proved an apple of gold to us. The Union, and the Constitution, are the picture of silver, subsequently framed around it. The picture was made, not to conceal, or destroy the apple; but to adorn, and preserve it. The picture was made for the applenot the apple for the picture. Lincoln thought this old way of thinking about humanity, the equality of all human beings, would be better than any new way, whether proposed by him or anyone else. To lose sight of the goal of Liberty to all would turn self-government into mere majority rule, thereby allowing numerical might to determine which individuals had rights deserving of governments protection. If this were to happen, Lincoln once remarked, he would prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving libertyto Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy. By the time of the 1860 presidential campaign, he saw two ways of interpreting the Constitution that were undermining the Spirit of 76 as he understood it. On the one hand, southern slaveholders threatened to disrupt the American union on behalf of a new way of thinking about the human racerejecting human equality in favor of white supremacy and even seeing in slavery a positive good. On the other hand, a less obvious threat, and therefore more insidious, was the effort by Stephen Douglas to apply local popular sovereignty to the question of slavery in the federal territories. Agreeing with Chief Justice Roger B. Taneys ruling in the 1857 Dred Scott case, Douglas argued that Congress did not have authority over slavery in the territories. He believed that the national crisis over slavery could be lessened if the expansion of black slavery were removed from Congresss purview and left for local white settlers to decide. Lincoln thought that Douglass professed indifference regarding the expansion of slaverya position Lincoln referred to as the dont care policy because it taught white Americans not to care about black slaverywould actually result in the spread of slavery and its eventual legality in every state. Douglass version of popular sovereignty taught Americans that as long as white people voted on the issue, majority rule could determine whether slavery was right or wrong. And so the greatest threat to the viability of self-government in the 1850s was not southern white slave-owners but northern white citizens: namely, the temptation not to care what happened to blacks in the federal territories. The battle over slavery in those territories would be determined not simply in those territories but also in the free states, where the battle over slavery was supposedly already won. Lincoln insisted that what happened to black people in those territories was precisely an issue in which all Americans had a stake. He believed that both constitutional principle and practice enabled Congress to determine slaverys future in the territories. In the face of these defective alternatives, Lincoln concluded his private note with the exhortation that Americans should act, that neither picture, or apple, shall ever be blurred, or bruised or broken. By connecting the principle of human equality to the mechanisms of the Constitution and American union, Lincoln showed the necessity of political might to promote the common good, and not just the self-interest of the many. In the end, to enjoy the exercise of what Americans possess in common required a measure of restraint. Lincoln was a consistent defender of acting within limits. He reminded the American people of their fundamental expression of that self-limitationthe Constitution. This explains why Lincoln did not rush to emancipate slaves during the Civil War. He had to turn a humanitarian end into a constitutional means in order to justify it to the American people. His distinction between personal wish and official duty was required under a government by consent. The government could do no more than the citizens had delegated to it. President Abraham Lincoln visits soldiers encamped at the Civil War battlefield of Antietam in Maryland on Oct. 1, 1862. (Rischgitz/Getty Images) That said, Lincoln also noted that having a written constitution, while necessary for freedom, was not sufficient. This is why he rejected secession, which he deemed the essence of anarchy, for he saw in it a rejection of constitutionalism. He believed that right ruling required right thinking and right acting. To operate under a constitution without a proper understanding of the principles that informed that constitution could lead to the crude majoritarianism of Douglass popular sovereignty, or the nationalization of slavery envisioned by Alexander Stephens. In Lincolns mind, this would be a picture or apple blurred or bruisedand if the nation were unable to recover a common understanding of why the American union existed, both picture and apple could be broken. Lincolns rhetoric, the most eloquent of all American presidents, would be unrecognizable without its expression of the core principles of the American Founding. His chief claims to historical importance, saving the union of American states and emancipating slaves, owe their success to his reclaiming these founding ideals as the lodestar of American political progress. Lincoln saw them as the moral foundations and political aspirations of a free society, and he enlisted them as a beacon during the most trying time in the nations history. Time and again, as slavery threatened to split the nation, Lincoln returned to the words of the Declaration of Independence. There, he hoped that Americans would find clarity about the true principles of self-government, and thus common ground for promoting a common future. To keep Lincoln relevant, our task should not be to remake him in our image but to render an accurate portrait of him in his age. He spoke with sufficient transcendence not only to enable Americans of his time to surmount their difficulties but also to teach subsequent generations how to address the abiding questions that confront a free people. Lincoln belongs to the ages as a teacher of profound lessons regarding the nature of the American regimeand how Americans from generation to generation can preserve and perpetuate our free system of government. Lincoln became a statesman by reaching back to the American Founding and making the case that what the Founders achieved was the best, most prudent means of securing the safety and happiness of a free people. Accepting that understanding was the precondition of moving forward to what Lincoln called a new birth of freedom for the United States. From RealClearWire Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Two days after an explosion killed suspected terrorist Emad Al Swealmeen and injured his taxi driver, forensic officers were seen at the scene outside Liverpool Women's Hospital on Nov. 16, 2021. (Peter Byrne/PA) Liverpool Bomber Was Practicing Muslim Despite Reported Conversion to Christianity: UK Coroner The terrorist attacker who died in the Remembrance Sunday bomb blast in Liverpool had remained a follower of Islam despite his reported conversion to Christianity, a British coroner said on Thursday. Emad Al Swealmeen, 32, died in the blast in a taxi outside Liverpool Womens Hospital shortly before 11 a.m. on Nov. 14. The taxi driver, David Perry, managed to escape after the blast. At the inquest at Liverpool and Wirral Coroners Court, senior coroner Andre Rebello said that Al Swealmeen died from an explosion and subsequent fire caused by an improvised explosive device which he had carried into the taxi. It is found he manufactured the improvised explosive device, designed to project shrapnel, with murderous intent, said Rebello, adding, It remains unclear as to whether he intended the device to detonate when it did. The inquest heard that Iraq-born Al Swealmeen arrived in the UK legally in May 2014 with a Jordanian passport and UK visa. He falsely claimed to be of Syrian heritage in asylum applications, which were rejected. Al Swealmeen has been referred to as a Christian convert in some UK media reports, as he was baptised at Liverpool Cathedral in 2015 and confirmed in 2017. But according to Rebello, the coroner, When premises were searched both a Holy Koran and prayer mat were present and it was fairly evident that he carried out the religious duties of someone who is a follower of Islam, notwithstanding the reported conversion to Christianity. Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Meeks, the senior investigating officer in the case, agreed that the conversion could have been intended to strengthen his asylum claim because he would claim hed be liable to persecution on return to Syria or Iraq. Al Swealmeen lived at accommodation provided by the Home Office, but since April had rented a self-contained flat in Rutland Avenue, where he paid the rent monthly in cash, the coroners court was told. The inquest heard the flat was used as a bomb-making factory, and financial investigations showed Al Swealmeen had been purchasing materials likely to be used in the manufacture of improvised firearms or home-made explosives, including 2,000 ball bearings. A few days after the blast, Home Secretary Priti Patel said Al Swealmeen had been able to stay in the UK by exploiting the countrys dysfunctional immigration system. Patel, who was on a visit to Washington, D.C., said the UKs asylum system was a complete merry-go-round with a whole industry devoted to defending the rights of individuals intent on causing harm. PA contributed to this report. A Roman mosaic dating back to Emperor Caligula had somehow, reportedly, found its way into an art dealers Park Avenue apartment, where for the last 45 years it held up cups of coffee for her and her guests. For decades, Helen Fiorattiso the story goesowned the opulent, colored-stone piece after it went missing from a Nemi museum in Italy. Roman architect Dario Del Bufalo, 63, who specializes in the study of ancient stone queries, had only a photo from the 1950s depicting the mosaic to publish in his book on porphyry. But he explained how an unlikely encounter at a Bulgari store on Fifth Avenue led to the mosaics rediscovery. (Courtesy of Dario Del Bufalo) In 2015, Del Bufalo was lecturing and signing copies of his book at the luxury jewelry store when he overheard a woman commenting on the aforementioned photo while flipping through his book. A couple of guys and an old lady came by and started moving the pages, Del Bufalo told The Epoch Times. At one point, they said, Oh, look! This is your mosaic. And the lady said, Yes, thats my mosaic. Seizing the opportunity, he caught up with one of the fellas who divulged that the womans name is Helen, that for decades shed been using the ancient Roman floor piece as a coffee table in her apartment, and her building was 555 Park Avenue. Given the mosaics prime importance in the Museum of the Roman Ships in Nemi, Del Bufalo, accompanied by a lawyer from the DAs office on behalf of the Italian government, paid the art dealer and gallery owner a visit in hopes of retrieving the lost artifact. The problem was that she had no documents, no information, no nothing, Del Bufalo explained. The attorney said, Okay, do you have a receipt, do you have an invoice? She said, No, I dont have it. (Courtesy of Dario Del Bufalo) Shed bought the mosaic from an Italian noble family in the 1960s, the New York Times reported in 2017, then handed it off to her Italian ambassador friend who, handling logistics, smuggled it to New York on her behalf. Hearing this, the district attorney was very, very, mad, Del Bufalo said, and threatened to have her arrested. Thusly was the mosaic-turned-coffee table confiscated. And in March 2021 (stains removed), it was unveiled in Nemi. Some 2,000 years ago, the colored marble piece had once decorated one of two enormous luxury flatbed barges commissioned by Emperor Caligula as venues for his extravagantly decadent parties on Lake Nemi. Despite conflicting accounts and looming questions, historians have named Caligula (great-great-grandson of Julius Caser) an unpredictable tyranteven deranged. His life and reign were also short-lived; in A.D. 41, just four years crowned, he was assassinated at age 28. His barges of debauchery were massive in size, spanning 230 feet wide by 240 feet long. Upon sinking, they carried with them artifactsincluding marble columns, lead pipe for running water, and colorful mosaics with psychedelic patternsto a watery grave beneath Lake Nemi, only to be dredged up some 1,900 years later. (Courtesy of Dario Del Bufalo) In the 1930s, the Caligula-obsessed Mussolini drained the lake to extract the remains and housed them in the lakeside museum, established in 1939, which was later burned following the retreat of the Nazis, whod used it as a bomb shelter. Yet, unmarred by fire, the mosaic is believed to have vanished before then. As for Helen and her lost refreshment furnishing, Del Bufalo said he felt bad confiscating it but scoffs that it might be priceless, as some have claimed. He estimates a value in the neighborhood of $300,000400,000 and denies that someone offered her $1 million for the mosaic. He nevertheless added, I was so sorry for her that it happened because of my book, and he offered to give her an exact replica in recompense. She didnt reply, he told the Newspaper. She didnt want it, she didnt want to talk. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Man Hospitalized After Tiger Bites His Arm at Florida Zoo: Officials A man who worked at the Naples Zoo in Florida was hospitalized with serious injuries on Wednesday when a tiger bit his arm after he entered a restricted area and reached into the animals enclosure, officials said. A sheriffs deputy was forced to shoot the critically endangered Malayan tiger on Wednesday evening after the man, who is in his 20s, was bitten by the animal, the Collier County Sheriffs Office said in a Facebook post. Preliminary information indicates that the man was either petting or feeding the animal, both of which are unauthorized and dangerous activities, the office said. Initial reports indicate that the tiger grabbed the mans arm and pulled it into the enclosure after the the man traversed an initial fence barrier and put his arm through the fencing of the tiger enclosure. The man, a member of a a third-party cleaning service contracted by the zoo, was seriously injured and was transported to an area hospital by Collier County EMS as a trauma alert, the sheriffs office said, noting that the cleaning company is responsible for cleaning restrooms and the gift shop, not animal enclosures. Lee Memorial Hospital Emergency Department confirmed to ABC News that it had received a patient via medical helicopter from Naples with injuries consistent with a tiger attack. Naples Zoo said that the 8-year-old tiger named Eko, which it had acquired in December 2019 from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, died after being shot. The zoo on its website says it will be closed on Thursday, Dec. 30 and will reopen on Friday, Dec. 31. Malayan tigers are classified as a critically endangered species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Natures Red List of Threatened Species. The World Wildlife Fund says there are currently fewer than 200 of the animals in the wild, and that development, agricultural expansion, and hunting are to blame for the decline in loss of habitat. Eko is a great ambassador for his species. When guests see him, we hope they fall in love and want to learn how they can do their part to save his cousins in the wild, Naples Zoo says on its website. Its website says the tigers are native to the forests and mangrove swamps in Malaysia and face threats such as habitat loss, poaching for their bones and skin, depletion of their prey, and tiger-human conflict. The Epoch Times has contacted Naples Zoo for additional comment. The Mississippi flows south along the edge of Memphis, but musicians traveled north out of the Mississippi Delta and the South, arriving there in the 20th century. The birthplace of rock n soul and the careers of such legends as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and B.B. King, Memphis has always been a music lovers mecca. The tradition continues and each night all along the famous Beale Street, live music spills out the open doors of various clubs, bars, and restaurants. On a long weekend, you can make your home in the heart of downtown. The AAA Four-Diamond Peabody Hotel is an institution in Memphis and should be at the top of your list. Elegant, early 20th-century interiors feel like the bygone days, and the staff will show you the meaning of southern hospitality. Here you are within walking distance of Beale Street but far enough off the path to grant a quiet nights sleep. The sunset views of the city and the river from the rooftop terrace should not be missed. Beale Street. (Mobilus In Mobili/CC BY-SA 2.0) Friends on Beale Street. (Alex Shansky/Memphis Tourism) Memphis Sounds and Sorrows Head to the Memphis Rock n Soul Museum to get your groove on. From the music of the sharecroppers through the recordings of the 1970s and beyond, the self-guided audio tour takes you through seven galleries filled with instruments, memorabilia, and historical exhibits. Youre already on Beale Street, so stop for lunch at the original B.B. Kings Blues Club for gumbo or poboy sandwiches. Be sure to come back at night for some live music. Also, purchase a combo ticket for admission to the equally unmissable Memphis Music Hall of Fame, a five-minute walk from here, where youll find some slightly lesser-known acts as well as the big names that made the citys reputation. Memphis was named after the ancient capital of Egypt, and though there was never a pharaoh here, there was definitely royalty. No trip to Memphis is complete without a visit to Graceland. A tour of the estate takes you back in time to when Elvis (and shag carpeting) was king. Hordes of fans now decades after his death still flock to see the mansion, his car collection (yes, that Cadillac is pink), his private planes, and much more. Where you go next might depend on your style of music: Sun Studio, where Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded their first hits, or the Stax Museum of American Soul Music on the original site of Stax Records Studio. This is where Otis Redding, the Staple Sisters, and Isaac Hayes began the journey to legend. The Sun Studio. (Ciara Johnson/Memphis Tourism) One of Memphiss most tragic moments was the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. On April 4, 1968, the day after he had given his famous I have been to the mountaintop speech, King was shot and killed outside the door of his room at the Lorraine Motel. Now the National Civil Rights Museum, the former motel preserves the site of Kings untimely death while chronicling the civil rights movement. Drinking and Dining Before dinner, get back to The Peabody for an afternoon drink at the lobby bar and wait to see the famous Peabody Duck March. Every day at 5 p.m., after lounging in the lobby fountain all day, the resident ducks walk (waddle?) a red carpet to the elevator that whisks them up to their penthouse for the evening. The crowd is large; come early for a good perch. A trolley in downtown Memphis, Tenn. (Connor Ryan/Memphis Tourism) The Four Way. (Alex Shansky/Memphis Tourism) The Memphis skyline and the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. (Jack Kenner/Memphis Tourism) Ride the trolley to the classy Orpheum Theatre for a concert or a Broadway show if you like, but you wont need tickets for Beale Street. Several blocks of clubs, bars, and restaurants await you and the music flows right into the streets. You dont have to be a night owl; live bands will get you shaking from the early evening to the wee hours. Many clubs charge no cover so you can bar hop along to the next tune that tickles your fancy. Street musicians and other buskers abound, and the laid-back atmosphere is perfect for a postprandial promenade. Memphiss reputation as the pork barbecue capital of the world is well deserved. Roll up your sleeves for lunch at Charlie Vergoss Rendezvous. Fans of the subterranean restaurants dry-rub ribs have them shipped throughout the country via FedEx. For the gourmand, make a reservation at The Peabody Hotels Chez Philippe. French Asian cuisine is served in the hotels elegant dining room and is sure to inspire raves. But you cant leave Memphis without a solid meal of soul food: The Four Way Soul Food Restaurant is a good bet. The eatery has been a hit since its founding in 1946 and its notable patron list includes Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Tina Turner, and that guy from Graceland. Fried green tomatoes, catfish, chicken and chicken-fried steak, and chitterlings. Finish up with some cobbler or sweet potato pie. Then find your way back to Beale Street to dance some of those calories off. Screenshot of Dr. Scott Jensen, who is being investigated by the MN Board of Medical Practice for the 5th time for COVID-19-related comments. (facebook.com/DrScottJensen/screenshot by The Epoch Times) MN Board of Medical Practice Requesting Files of Patients Prescribed Ivermectin: Doctor A Minnesota family physician who is being investigated for the fifth time in the past 17 months by the state medical board for statements related to COVID-19, says the board is now requesting to see medical records of his patients who were prescribed ivermectin. Dr. Scott Jensen received a notification from the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice two days before Christmas informing him of their request for the records. And last night, when I got home after shopping with the grandchildren, I have this letter from the board of medical practice, Jensen said in a video on Dec. 24. He added that the board said, In your response, you indicated that youve prescribed ivermectin to some of your patients for treatment of COVID-19. Pursuant to the boards investigation of this matter, please provide the following records copies of medical records for the most recent three to five patients to whom youve prescribed ivermectin to treat COVID-19. The board cited Subdivision 3 of the Minnesota Physician Accountability Act that allows it to have access to hospital and medical records of a patient treated by the physician under review if the patient signs a written consent permitting such access. If no consent form has been signed, the hospital or physician shall first delete data in the record which identifies the patient before providing it to the board. Ruth Martinez, executive director at the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, told The Epoch Times via email that the board routinely requests patient records to develop factual findings during investigations, adding that the doctors are required to fully cooperate with a Board investigation. Martinez also said that the Board has subpoena authority to obtain records, when necessary. A screenshot of all ivermectin clinical trials conducted as of Dec. 29, 2021. (c19ivermectin.com /screenshot by The Epoch Times) Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug with antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties, has been tested in about 137 clinical trials globally with positive results, so some doctors are prescribing it off-label to prevent COVID-19 or as an early treatment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that ivermectin is not authorized or approved by FDA for prevention or treatment of COVID-19. Federal health authorities say that large randomized controlled trials (RCT) are needed to assess whether ivermectin is effective and safe in treating COVID-19. Two government-backed RCTs are currently being conducted to address this issue, with one in the United States and the other in the UK. The board is looking into various allegations made against Jensen, some of which are similar to those made in the first four prior investigations that have all been dismissed: spreading misinformation, not being vaccinated, inappropriately recommending against children wearing masks in school, politicizing public health, claiming the existence of data that masks dont do the job, comparing COVID-19 vaccines to chemotherapy treatments, informing his followers that hospitals and doctors are falsifying death certificates, promoting ivermectin for COVID-19, and promoting the benefits of natural immunity. Jensen, who has recovered from COVID-19, said in a WCCO Radio interview in March 2021 that he would not get the COVID-19 vaccine since he continued to have antibodies and the science would not indicate that I should be vaccinated. However, the CDC says that people five and older are recommended to get vaccinated regardless of whether theyve recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus. Political Attack Jensen claimed that the board was being abused by those with a political agenda in investigating him for the fifth time regarding his public statements on COVID-19 rather than specific problems with the health care services provided to his patients. Jensen, a Republican, is a former state senator who is running for the Governor of Minnesota. Ive seen no clear evidence that you [the board] are being asked to adjudicate a situation whereby patient health care services provided by me have been problematic, Jensen said. Collectively, you and I are being abused by those with a political agenda. Who would weaponize your agency for purposes outside the realm of your mission? People and organizations may submit complaints to the board, who then remain anonymous from the accused health care practitioner. Martinez said that the board could not confirm whether it may be conducting a complaint investigation [against Jensen] as complaint and investigative data are classified as nonpublic pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. Jensen was first investigated by the board in early July 2020, after speaking out about the CDCs guideline (pdf) on how to fill out COVID-19 death certificates, which allowed physicians to state a death to be a presumed COVID-19 death, even if testing was not conducted to confirm it. Two allegations were made against him: spreading misinformation about the completion of death certificates on a news program on April 7, 2020, and providing reckless advice in comparing COVID-19 with the flu. In a Facebook post on July 28, 2020, Jensen said that the board of medical practice had completed its review of both sides and were dropping the complaints without taking further action against his license. Yet, the board would continue to investigate complaints against Jensen two more times before the end of the first year of the pandemic for statements related to COVID-19. A complaint was made to the board for the fourth time because Jensen had submitted an affidavit requesting a temporary restraining order before the vaccines were rolled out to adolescents aged 12 to 15 years, he wrote on Twitter on Aug. 8, 2021. In an attempt to prevent the expansion of the emergency authorized COVID-19 vaccines to children under 16 years old, several doctors and parents had filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in May 2021. Similar to the results of the first investigation, the board dismissed the complaints against Jensen in each of the three following investigations. As confirmed by the boards public record for Jensen, no corrective or disciplinary actions have been taken on his medical license. The corporate logo of financial firm Morgan Stanley is pictured on a building in San Diego, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2013. (Mike Blake/Reuters) Morgan Stanley to Boost Stake in China Brokerage to 94 Percent HONG KONGMorgan Stanley is set to increase its stake in its brokerage joint venture in China by 4.06 percent to 94 percent, an exchange filing showed on Wednesday, putting it on track to take full ownership of the business. The U.S. bank will inject 698 million yuan (about $110 million) to boost the registered capital of the unit, a venture formed by Morgan Stanley and China Fortune Securities Co. in 2011, to 1.71 billion yuan (about $268.3 million), according to an exchange filing by China Fortune. The Shanghai-based state-owned company said on Wednesday that it had decided to sit out the capital injection, which effectively allows its ownership to dilute to 5.94 percent from the previous 10 percent. The change requires the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and other government authorities. When asked, Morgan Stanley declined to comment. The Wall Street bank acquired 39 percent of the joint venture from China Fortune in July, taking its ownership to 90 percent. It rebranded the unit as Morgan Stanley Securities China Co. Ltd. Global banks and asset managers have been boosting their stakes in their Chinese joint ventures since China first permitted foreign-majority ownership in some financial businesses in 2019. Eight international banks have become the majority shareholders of their brokerage joint ventures in China. By Selena Li Netherlands Announces Plan to Give People up to 6 Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Hugo de Jonge, the Netherlands health minister, said the country could be preparing to order another three COVID-19 booster shotsmeaning that a total of up to six doses of vaccines may be administered in the coming years. De Jonge told members of Parliament that the countrys cabinet is assuming there will be two extra COVID-19 vaccine doses for 2022 and another for 2023. The cabinet is therefore opting to be on the safe side, de Jonge said, reported local media. About 35 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine have already been ordered for 2022 and 2023, his office said. About 10.5 million Moderna doses, 840,000 doses of Novax, and 10,000 doses of Valnevaif it is approved by the European Union drug regulator for usehave also been ordered for next year and the following year. Certainly because only half of a regular vaccine is needed for a booster dose of Moderna, we now have sufficient vaccines for the current booster campaign and there is ample basis for possible extra booster rounds in the second quarter and the autumn of 2022 and in 2023, de Jonge wrote in a letter to Parliament, according to a translation. The Dutch Cabinet is aiming for the highest possible vaccination rate with the latest purchases, the health minister said. Over 70 percent of the countrys population is fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. So far, boosters for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are being administered across the Netherlands. With de Jonges suggestion, it means that six total doses could be given by the end of 2022. About 3 million booster shots have been used in the Netherlands. According to public statements, the governments goal is to give adults access to booster shots before Feb. 1 Earlier this month, the Netherlands returned to lockdown mode in a bid to curb COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, including a new nationwide order that was introduced by the Dutch government. Several studies and some U.S. officials have suggested the Omicron variantwhile highly contagiouspresents less severe disease than the Delta variant. The hospitalization rate in the United States is also comparatively lower now than during previous COVID-19 surges, said Centers for Disease Control Director Rochelle Walensky on Wednesday. Nonetheless, Dutch schools, universities, and all non-essential stores, bars, and restaurants in the Netherlands will be closed until Jan. 14, officials said at the time. Residents only will be permitted two visitors except for Christmas and New Years, when four will be allowed. The lockdown orders and vaccine mandates sparked significant protests earlier this month, with thousands of people taking to the streets. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The Associated Press contributed to this report. New York Citys Mayor-Elect to Keep Private Employer Vaccine Mandate in Place The next mayor of New York City said Thursday hes not going to roll back a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private workers. We are going to keep that in place, Mayor-elect Eric Adams, a Democrat, told reporters during a press conference. Adams had previously resisted committing to maintaining all of the mandates Mayor Bill de Blasios administration has imposed. The private worker mandate, announced on Dec. 6 and detailed on Dec. 15, requires companies to secure proof of vaccination from workers. The mandate went into effect on Dec. 27. It applies to approximately 184,000 workers in the city of some 8.8 million people. Previous rules mandated vaccination for municipal workers and health care workers. De Blasio told reporters when announcing the latest mandate that it was meant to be a preemptive strike to really do something bold to stop the further growth of COVID and the dangers its causing to all of us. But the mandate drew pushback from some, including the Partnership for New York City, which represents a slew of major businesses that have offices in the city. No lawsuits have appeared to have been filed yet against the mandate, which is similar to requirements laid out on a federal level by President Joe Bidens administration. That mandate has been challenged in court and could ultimately be blocked; it also allows workers to remain unvaccinated if they get tested for COVID-19 on at least a weekly basis. Adams said his team spoke with business leaders in the city to let them know that the mandate would remain in place. As we continue to look at the evolution of this virus, there will be moments when we can change some of the mandates, Adams said. I would love to get to the day when we wont have children wearing masks in schools, when we wont have families are needing [sic] to sit in a restaurant or visit other locations with the vaccine cards. Were going to make those adjustments based on what the science tells us, when we can remove some of the mandates, and they may come in time, if a new variant comes, when we have to increase mandates. And so right now we want to maintain what was put in place for the business community, that was put in place on the 27th. Were going to continue that and if theres a moment when we can change or alter that were going to do so based on the science, he added. Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi, who is staying on board for the first few months of the new administration, said the focus will be on making businesses comply with the mandate, not on punishing them. We know businesses share our goals of keeping their staff and their clients safe and their doors open, he said. Chokshi also revealed that Adams tasked his team with studying whether to make booster shots part of the mandates, as the effectiveness of the vaccines in preventing infection has plunged during the current Omicron variant-driven wave. Employees work at the Northvolt facility in Vasteras, Sweden, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Helena Soderpalm/Reuters) Northvolt Assembles First Homegrown Lithium-Ion Battery Cell for Electric Vehicles at Swedish Gigafactory Swedish battery developer and manufacturer Northvolt has assembled the first homegrown lithium-ion battery cell for electric vehicles at a Skelleftea gigafactory, the company announced on Wednesday. In a statement, the company said the battery marks a new chapter in European industrial history, as the cell is the first to have been fully designed, developed, and assembled at a gigafactory by a homegrown European battery company. The term gigafactory is a combination of the word factory and giga, a unit of measurement representing billions. Coined by Tesla founder Elon Musk, the word refers to the large-scale manufacturing facilities that produce batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). Northvolt has been working on assembling the battery since the gigafactory was announced in 2017. The battery cell came off the production line at the factory on Tuesday, Northvolt said, adding that commissioning and upscaling of the factory will continue through into 2022. It also expects to deliver the lithium-ion battery cells to customers through next year, noting that production capacity at Northvolt Ett will increase toward 60 GWh per year to fulfill over $30 billion worth of contracts Northvolt secured from key customers. Those customers include BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars, and Polestar, the company said. To these customers in the automotive, industrial and energy storage sectors, Northvolt Ett will deliver cells of varying formats with commercial deliveries beginning in 2022, Northvolt said. Today is a great milestone for Northvolt which the team has worked very hard to achieve. Of course, this first cell is only the beginning. Over the course of the coming years, we look forward to Northvolt Ett expanding its production capacity greatly to enable the European transition to clean energy, Peter Carlsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Northvolt, said. Currently, the majority of the worlds electric car batteries are produced in the United States and Asia, with China forecasted to produce around 13 million battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) by 2023. That figure is more than any other nation worldwide and exceeds the anticipated production levels of other large markets in the United States, Germany, and Japan. But amid soaring demand last year, plans were announced to build 24 gigafactories for lithium-ion battery cell production in Europe with more than 600 GWh total annual production capacity. Northvolt founder Carlsson was previously Global head of sourcing and supply chain at electric car company Tesla Motors, the worlds largest EV maker. Tesla, founded by Elon Musk, has gigafactories in California, Nevada, and Shanghai, and is currently building a plant in Berlin-Brandenburg. The latest plant is expected to manufacture hundreds of thousands of Model Y vehicles and millions of battery cells, as per Tesla. Backed by Volkswagen, Scania, the European Commission, and Spotify founder Daniel Ek, Northvolt has raised billions in funding. Volkswagen took a 20 percent stake in the Swedish battery company and invested $620 million into Northvolt earlier this year. In June 2019, Volkswagen had already invested $1 billion in Northvolt. NYPD officers respond to the scene of a shooting that left multiple people injured in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City on April 6, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) NYC Homicides on Track for Deadliest Year in Decade There were 479 people murdered in New York City so far in 2021, the most since 2011 and part of a violent upsurge plaguing the city since last year. Along with the murder count, shootings have been the highest since 2003 and felony assaults the highest since 2001, according to data from the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Meanwhile, arrests dropped by nearly a third this year by the end of September compared to the same period in 2019. In 2020, arrests were even lower, NYPD data show. Shootings started to surge last year in May coinciding with protests and rioting in the city after the killing of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis. Last year ended with more than 1,850 people getting shot in the city, more than double from the year before. This year, there have already been 1,857 people shot by Dec. 26, a slight uptick from 2020 at the same point. Some experts have pointed to the 2020 bail reform, anti-police sentiment, and the criminalization of some police takedown techniques as factors exacerbating the rise in violence. The state implemented a reform last year that banned judges from requiring cash bail for most nonviolent and some lower-level violent crimes, allowing criminals to quickly get back on the street after an arrest. Last year, the city outlawed officers from using a knee on a suspects back or chest as a restraint technique during an arrest. That takes off the table some martial arts techniques, such as from Brazilian jiu-jitsu, used by police to safely subdue resisting subjects, some police officers and experts have pointed out. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, courts stopped hearing cases for some time and then resumed remotely, facing a backlog of cases. All staff and judges only returned to work in person in May. That has meant that criminals out on bail have rarely faced conviction and imprisonment. Prosecutors were also more likely to drop charges against suspects last year than the previous year, the New York Post reported. The much-publicized plan of outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio last year to cut $1 billion from the NYPD budget materialized only in part. The city ended up spending $317 million less on the department in fiscal 2021 than the year before, but for 2022 adopted an increase of $465 million, according to the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC), a fiscal thinktank. Much of the planned budget cut stemmed from an expectation the NYPD would reduce overtime expenses by more than two thirds from the year before, which was unrealistic, CBC noted last year. The department did manage to reduce overtime expenditures by more than 43 percent. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during an event in New York City in a file photograph. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) NYC Times Square New Years Show Will Go On Despite Virus Surge: Mayor The New Years show at Times Square in New York City will take place despite a surge in COVID-19 cases, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. The event has been scaled back to about 15,000 people, about a quarter of the original plan, but will not be cancelled, according to the Democrat. We want to show that were moving forward and we want to show the world that New York City is fighting our way through this really important to not give up in the face of this, de Blasio said on NBCs Today show. The event revolves around a series of musical performances and the ball drop, or the lowering of a giant silver ball, in one of the citys busiest sectors. An annual tradition since 1907, the event was curtailed last year, with only so-called essential workers and their families allowed to attend. America, and New York, have in recent weeks recorded a jump in COVID-19 cases, driven by the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus that causes COVID-19. Though the heightened caseload has not translated into many hospitalizations or deaths, a number of U.S. cities, including Atlanta and San Francisco, have axed New Years events, citing the surge. De Blasio is determined to keep the New York celebration intact. He said he relied on guidance from his health care team and noted that attendees must not only present proof of COVID-19 vaccination, but wear masks and stay socially distanced. Workers install Waterford Crystal triangles on the Times Square New Years Eve Ball on the roof of One Times Square in Manhattan, N.Y., in a file photograph. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters) We got to send a message to the world: New York City is open, he said, adding later, that the way to deal with COVID is not shutdowns, its even more in terms of vaccinationdoubling down on vaccination. New York City has imposed some of the strictest requirements in the nation during the pandemic, including a slew of vaccine mandates that require those as young as 5 to show theyve gotten a vaccine before entering establishments like restaurants. But vaccines do little to protect against Omicron infection, early studies show, although they do hold up well against severe disease, especially in the weeks following a booster dose. De Blasio is set to leave office on Friday. His successor is Eric Adams, a Democrat who has been the president of the borough of Brooklyn. Adams plans to take his oath of office in Times Square early Saturday. I am deeply humbled to officially take the oath of office at this iconic occasion, and to participate in the transfer of leadership that is a cornerstone of our democracy, he said in a statement. Orange County Emergency Shelter Opens Ahead of Inclement Weather SANTA ANA, Calif.In preparation for heavy rain and cold weather, the Orange County Cold Weather Emergency Shelter in Santa Ana will open its doors to adults over 18-years-old beginning Thursday, Dec. 30, for 24 hours. According to the AccuWeather forecast, Santa Ana will see a high of 59 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of 44 degrees, with a flood warning on city streets and poor drainage areas. Located at the Santa Ana Armory on East Warner Avenue and Main Street, the shelter provides 400 beds per night for the homeless and offers a warm meal and accessible restrooms. It is mandatory for participants to board a shuttle bus at one of the two designated pick-up locations as walk-ins will not be permitted into the shelter. The first bus will leave at 5:30 p.m. from Flower Street and Civic Center Drive. The second bus will leave at 6:30 p.m. from Walnut Street near 1st Street, across from the Social Services Agency. The emergency shelter requires participants to wear a mask indoors and practice physical distancing as part of the COVID-19 protocols. Additionally, weapons, drugs, or alcohol will not be permitted in or around the shelter. For more details, contact the Cold Weather Emergency Shelter site at 213-220-5636. Rebel News Says Mortgage Denied Based on Organizations Opinions Conservative Canadian media outlet Rebel News says the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) refused a mortgage application from the organization because of its positions. Im embarrassed. I was turned down for a mortgage last week by the Royal Bank, Rebel News founder Ezra Levant said in a Dec. 29 online video. Im almost 50 years old. Ive been a Royal Bank customer for 22 years. Whats wrong with me? Except I wasnt rejected because Im a failure. Levant says he was looking to secure a commercial mortgage of over $2 million from a local RBC branch to purchase an office building in Calgary. The local mortgage team approved it, saying it was a very strong applicationwe have good cash flow, no debt, and I gave the bank a personal guarantee, Levant told The Epoch Times. In fact, the local branch offered us the mortgage plus a line of credit. But then we were told the Toronto head office vetoed the deal. The video shows an email with certain parts redacted where details of a mortgage are being discussed, and Levant is potentially offered a larger loan and a line of credit. The domain of the sender is shown to be from @rbc.com, and the senders signature shows the senders department to be the Commercial Financial Services of RBC. The video also contains a recording of what Levant identifies as his interaction with an unidentified RBC employee who was handling his file locally. So if you had your way, this thing would be a green light. But youre just waiting on the political guys? Levant asked the unidentified person. If I had my way, yeah, definitely, the person responded. Its just about the nature of the business altogether, he said. Ill be blunt with you, the bank has been trying to pry away from certain clients where theyre kind of out there in the media and very strong, opinionated, you know, which is your business in a way. So were just clearing some internal hurdles to make sure that the bank is okay to kind of onboard you as a client internally. The video appears to capture separate conversations, one where the unidentified person explains why the head office needs to review the application and another where he apologizes for the outcome. Unfortunately, my hands are tied as well. I tried defending it. We went back and forth. But that was their decision, the person said. I believe this is China-style social credit, where your ability to participate in public lifesuch as having a bank accountis now being used as an authoritarian tool to punish people with dissenting political opinions, says Levant. If they can ban Rebel News from getting a mortgage, they can ban anyoneperhaps even home mortgages. The Epoch Times reached out to RBC multiple times for comment but didnt hear back. Rebel News is now pivoting to a crowdfunding campaign to purchase the building, where donations of increasing amounts could get ones name on a brick, a plaque, or a cornerstone of the building. Rebel News was recently involved in another controversy when one of its reporters was roughed up by the RCMPs Prime Minister Protection Detail in Toronto in mid-December. The outlet says its suing the officers involved, the RCMP, and the federal government. Senate Republicans Move to Cancel Bidens Health Care Worker Vaccine Mandate Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Roger Marshall of Kansas are leading a group of GOP colleagues that includes Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in an effort to put the Senate on record opposing President Joe Bidens vaccine mandate for health care workers. Bidens sweeping vaccine mandates punish essential workers who put their lives on the line to serve their communities, Blackburn said in a statement issued Dec. 30. Tennessees healthcare workers should not be fired from showing up to work and providing lifesaving care. This resolution will stop the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from firing the nurses, doctors, and medical professionals that care for the elderly, poor, and most vulnerable. The legislative vehicle for the move is the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that provides a process under which a resolution of disapproval of a newly issued executive branch regulation must be approved by majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The president can then sign the resolution, which kills the regulation, or veto it, which allows the regulation to take effect unless Congress overrides the veto. The CRA was approved by Republican congressional majorities in 1996 and was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton. The process has been successfully used to stop controversial regulations 20 times since its passage, including three times in the present Congress, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Blackburn said the anti-health care worker vaccine mandate resolution has 32 Senate co-sponsors, which means that its a privileged vehicle that must be brought to the Senate floor for a vote within a few weeks. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) and other Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are pushing the resolution in the lower chamber. The House version of the resolution has 162 co-sponsors, also all Republicans, and also is a privileged vehicle that must be brought to the floor for an up-or-down vote. The Biden Administrations CMS vaccine mandate is a slap in the face to the hard-working men and women who never took a day off in the frontline fight of the COVID-19 battle. These heroes of the pandemic are being fired for choosing not to take the COVID vaccine, despite many of them having immunity through natural infection, Marshall said in the statement. As a physician, Im confident the vaccine has saved lives; however, whether to receive it is a personal choice between individuals and their doctornot mandated via executive actions. With this CRA, we are continuing to do everything in our power to fight for those who ran to the sound of the battlefor these are the true heroes of the pandemic and deserve our best fight and utmost respect. McConnell said in the statement: I have consistently urged everyone to receive their safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible. I am pro-vaccination. But the federal government should not have the power to dictate individual medical decisions or place additional burdens on our healthcare system by placing mandates on these heroes. Biden has issued vaccine mandates covering health care workers, federal civil service employees, employees of federal contractors, and all private companies with 100 or more employees. All of the mandates are currently being challenged in federal court and three of the cases were recently consolidated and accepted for review by the Supreme Court. The high court will hear oral arguments on the issue on Jan. 7 and has previously blocked challenges to three state-level vaccine mandates. In the meantime, federal mandates in 25 states covered by three lower federal courts are suspended, pending the Supreme Court decision, but are still in effect in 25 other states under the jurisdiction of other lower federal district and appeals courts. Duncan said in September when he first announced the House effort against the Biden mandates that he feared the regulation would complicate an already difficult staffing situation for hospitals and other health care providers. Im concerned that if the Biden Administration moves forward with this rule, the resulting staff shortages could actually cost lives instead of saving them. The American people need to know whether the Biden Administration has even considered the potential ramifications for their action of imposing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and how they plan to respond, Duncan said. A White House spokesman didnt respond to The Epoch Times request for comment by press time. An agent from the Spanish National Police seizes a pallet with COVID-19 antigen tests after an inspection appears police to believe the tests fail to comply with specific protocols set by the government. (Courtesy of Spanish National Police) Spanish Police Seize 300,000 COVID-19 Antigen Tests Suspected of Illegal Sale The Spanish National Police seized some 300,000 unauthorized COVID-19 antigen tests in several industrial buildings near the nations capital, authorities said on Thursday. As reported by the national police, an investigation started on Dec. 28 after agents learned about the possible distribution of antigen tests that did not comply with specific protocols set by the Spanish Ministry of Health. In less than 24 hours, agents managed to locate and block the distribution of the merchandise, Spanish police said in a Dec. 30 statement. The merchandise was found in a well-known industrial estate in the municipality of Fuenlabrada, a suburb in southern Madrid. Agents carried out an investigation in order to inspect these products corresponding to four companies located in five warehouses, the department wrote in the statement. In total, around a million tests were analyzed, of which about 300,000 were intervened due to deficiencies in the documentary procedures or because they lacked authorization for distribution, it explained. The Spanish National Police inspected a total of one million packaged COVID-19 antigen tests in five warehouses near Madrid, Spain. (Courtesy of Spanish National Police) An agent from the Spanish National Police seizes a pallet with COVID-19 antigen tests after an inspection appears police to believe the tests fail to comply with specific protocols set by the government. (Courtesy of Spanish National Police) Authorities did not immediately name the companies, though they did say administrative files were opened to look into whether the companies could have committed a criminal act. The police acted to ensure the tests dont give false information to users trying to find out if they are positive for COVID-19, the national police press office for Madrid told CNN. Enrique Ruiz Escudero, a Spanish politician who serves as Madrids minister of health, congratulated the actions of the agents, stating that it is good news, and recalled that false items have been seized previously when there was a high demand for masks or antibody tests, Elo Mundo reported. The move also comes amid shortages of home-use antigen tests as CCP virus cases are on the rise again in Spainreportedly spurred by the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the disease COVID-19. Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Wednesday that in order to increase supply and meet demands, the government has authorized six companies that make professional-use antigen tests to send them to pharmaciesfor sale to the public. From NTD News Workers in protective suits stand at an entrance to a university's residential area under lockdown, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, on Dec. 20, 2021. (China Daily via Reuters) Starvation, Lockdown in China Chinas draconian social distancing gets worse due to Omicron Commentary Beijings COVID-19 strategyknown as COVID Zerois getting increasingly draconian and arbitrary as the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates to become exponentially more transmissible. The measures include mass testing, surveillance, quarantines, driving, flight, and border controls, disinfectant trucks, and aggressive contact tracing. Reports of starving residents in lockdown are coming from Xian city, while buffer zones with increased restrictions are announced around the country in border regions. On Dec. 28, the regime restricted entry into Beijing for anyone who had visited a border county over the previous two weeks, including from counties with no cases. In Jingxi, on the border with Vietnam, four COVID rule-breakers, who allegedly transported illegal migrants, were reportedly marched through the city on Dec. 28 holding their own photos in a walk of shame. In a video, the four wear white hazmat suits and are flanked by two police officers each. Following and surrounding the suspects are dozens of police in black, some wearing riot gear. The COVID Zero strategy, for all its social and political faults, might have worked against the less-transmissible Alpha and Beta variants, if Beijings self-reporting is to be believed. But the more contagious Delta variant is straining the system, and Omicron, which spreads 70 times more quickly, will likely destroy it. Globally, COVID cases increased 11 percent in just one week in late December, according to the World Health Organization. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must choose: maintain its strict lockdowns, or rapidly immunize its population with more effective Western mRNA vaccines. Lockdowns are likely to fail against Omicron, and mRNA immunizations will take time. Ending lockdowns before mRNA vaccinations could allow Omicron to sweep through the population with the risk of millions of deaths. Theres no good solution for the hostages that China calls its citizens. COVID Zero is already causing some reports of starvation in Xian, where The Sun reported that residents are locked down until their mass test results come back negative. Some lack the ability to shop and are using social media to beg neighbors for food. China has stockpiled 1.5 years worth of grain and bean reserves from international markets, which could help it extend lockdowns. But Chinas sudden purchases are causing famines in other parts of the world. China currently has 18 percent of the worlds population, but 69 percent of the worlds maize reserves. Even so, residents in Xian have noted that Chinas grain reserves arent reaching their bowls. While the latest variant, Omicron, is as much as 25 percent less likely than Delta to cause hospitalization for those with vaccines or prior infection, according to a British study, that drops to 11 percent for those without protection. Tragically, Chinese vaccines are relatively ineffective, including against Omicron. While China licensed the more effective Western vaccines that use mRNA technology, Beijing has yet to approve them for domestic use, waylaid by what would appear to be technological nationalism and misplaced pride, according to Howard W. French, writing in the World Politics Review. French noted that Beijings stringent policies have had the extra benefit [for the CCP] of increasing political control, a permanent aim of the countrys authoritarian system. Chinas political reaction to Omicron is likely to get much stronger as the variant evades controls and expands rapidly in the population. On Dec. 21, a Delta flight turned back over new cleaning rules imposed by Shanghai. The rules, apparently announced mid-flight from Seattle, require significantly more ground time, and are without a grandfather clause. The new procedures are not operationally viable, according to the airline, and also redundant, according to reports. Xian, with a population of 13 million, is locked down and has undergone mass testing five times. Residents arent allowed to drive, and all domestic flights are banned. Yet the city still identifies approximately 150 infections per day, up from a few dozen in early December. These are extraordinarily low numbers relative to the spread outside China. But almost none are the more transmissible Omicron variant, which apparently has yet to take hold in the country. If Xians lockdown isnt enough to stop the Delta variant from its slow burn, it will do even less against Omicron. The human costs of Beijings failed strategies against COVID are global and mounting, from the early coverup to the ineffective vaccines, lockdown strategy, and grain hoards that are causing famines internationally. The CCP must put its pride aside and rapidly vaccinate Chinas population with the most effective mRNA vaccines. Lacking such a plan, it seems that the tough measures seen in Xian and Jingxi will only expand, with draconian effect on what freedoms Chinese citizens have left, and a rising risk of starvation in China and the worlds developing countries. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A medical worker is taking a swab sample from a resident to be tested for COVID-19 in Xi'an city, Shaanxi Province, China, on Dec. 25, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Starving Xian Residents Cry Out for Help on Day 8 of Strict City Lockdown Xian, the ancient capital in China for centuries, began a much stricter containment measure since the Wuhan lockdown two years ago. The most sweeping measure entered its eighth day as of Dec. 30, affecting 13 million residents who were restricted from going for groceries, when online ordering and delivery services were also gone. The starving residents sought online help, while police were caught on video arresting residents trying to get food. In the latest official report on Dec. 29, a total of 1,117 infections have been confirmed since Dec. 9 when the first case was identified in Xian, according to Xian Release. Netizens Cry Out for Help On Dec. 29, a post read, Fresh produce is out of stock. Posts from the starving Xian local residents were popular on Chinese social media, Weibo: We want food, seriously, theres none available online; we cant go out, the building has been sealed for 10 days; even instant noodles are gone. Hungry. The rice was never delivered, for a week. Really sick of steamed buns and noodles. But, they are nearly gone too. The shop was closed in the community so suddenly. Theres no rice, flour, or even salt. I have not had food for two days. In the live streaming of a local pandemic press conference on Dec. 29, residents asked to arrange local fresh produce supply, and places to shop, but the spokesperson was only reading out the manuscript, and responded to none of the requests. Shortly, the online comments were cut off. Earlier on Dec. 27, the Xian official released a list of 12 supermarkets and food companies participating in community group buying. A netizen responded, I joined eight chat groups, trying to order online, but its already past midnight, still none is available. There are people saying they have received supplies from the government. But, am I not in Xian? Is Xian in a pandemic or in famine? A Wuhan Playback? On the 29th, the city rolled out city-wide nucleic acid screening; permits to leave home for shopping were issued only with a negative test result being confirmed. Residents should stay home and avoid gathering. In fact, local residents revealed online that the groceries once every two days were already canceled on the 27th, people were banned from going out. To investigate the seriousness of local lockdowns, the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times contacted several residents in Xian. Pseudonyms were used for the security of the interviewees. Ms. Tian explained that a temporary epidemic shed was built at the gate of the community. Her neighbor was blocked from going out for groceries. She said, Online ordering has stopped for more than five days. Mr. Ma is also concerned about medicine for his diabetes, the doctor wants me to get fresh veggies, but all I have in stock is a little bit of rice. What can I do? He complained about the containment measure, Xian is a big city with tens of millions of people. The lockdown would affect peoples livelihood, what about people giving birth, getting sick, the elderly, and the deaths? What can people do about it? He said this confinement at home has stopped all activities. Theres no public transportation, and theres no one on the street. Anyone going out without a permit is subject to a collective quarantine. His relative working at a local hospital told him that outpatient service was stopped. I am afraid that the most stringent state of war would not have been as serious as this, he said. Ma explained that many local residents tried to leave Xian when the city imposed the lockdown, and some were intercepted. It would be worse for those who have left earlier. They would experience an even worse scenario when they are out of town, he said, referring to how Wuhan natives were bullied and arrested when they were outside Wuhan during the peak of the Wuhan outbreak. Ms. Wang said that confirmed cases were reported in every district. The epidemic was serious and the lockdown was imposed in all districts; theres no sign when the lockdown will be lifted. She said, Theres no fresh produce, and you cant go to work. Its very stressful. A lot of them are man-made troubles. A resident rides a motorbike across an empty track in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China on Feb. 7, 2020. Starting from Jan. 23, 2020, Wuhan was placed under strict lockdown for 76 days. (Getty Images) Mr. Li, a resident of suburb Xian explained, Those who came back from Xian City are all kept isolated. He said that local residents were subject to nucleic acid tests every two days, and people were banned from leaving home. The Differential Treatment On Dec. 27, Xian raised a notch on the containment measure: Ban from leaving home and gathering; those who break the rules such as refusing a nucleic acid test, collective isolation, or on-site restriction, could face 10 days detention and a fine of 500 yuan ($78). Some communities even close elevator service without further notice. The city officially confirmed local police to conduct strict surveillance of people on the streets, impose heavy fines on people arrested and their work units, whose relevant correspondents are subject to criminal charges. An online video showing a person caught by police with his shopping cart was refuted by the police. The police claimed theres no arrest, but the person was persuaded to return to the hotel. Among the many posts asking for food, theres news that Xian received 100,000 catties of cabbage (132,000 lbs), and 10 million supply aids. But netizens responded, We didnt get the so-called charity veggies. It was quickly realized that the charity supplies went to governmental workers residential areas. A post revealed the address where the supplies were delivered to. Netizens wrote, Xian governmental public relations have done their job well, and The leaders must be protected from the hardship; their families must be spared from starving. The Epoch Times tried the local hotline for the food supply issue. The operator responded that there were concerns expressed by local residents and relevant departments have been notified. As for the arrest that took place, there was no relevant information reported. The operator also indicated that theres no information on when to lift the ban from leaving home. T Cells Generated From Vaccination or Prior COVID-19 Infection Protect Against Omicron Variant: Studies Two new studies released this week have suggested that the T cell response generated by vaccination or from previous COVID-19 infection may provide sufficient protection against the Omicron variant of the virus. T cells are a type of white blood cell that is an essential part of the adaptive immune system. They work to eliminate infected cells and also play a vital role in modulating the severity of COVID-19, also known as SARS-CoV-2, in individuals. The first study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, was conducted by researchers across the United States and South Africa, where Omicron was first discovered last month. The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has multiple Spike (S) protein mutations that contribute to escape from the neutralizing antibody responses, and reducing vaccine protection from infection, researchers noted. The extent to which other components of the adaptive response such as T cells may still target Omicron and contribute to protection from severe outcomes is unknown. In the study, scientists assessed the ability of T cells to react to Omicron in individuals who were vaccinated with either the Johnson & Johnson or BioNTech, Pfizer vaccine, and in unvaccinated patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Researchers compared the results to the T cell responses in patients who had been infected in prior waves of the Delta and Beta variants. We found that 7080 percent of the CD4 and CD8 T-cell response to [Omicrons] spike was maintained across study groups, researchers said. Furthermore, scientists said that the magnitude of Omicron cross-reactive T cells was similar to that of the Beta and Delta variants, despite Omicron harboring considerably more mutations. Additionally, patients infected with Omicron showed comparable T cell responses to ancestral spike, nucleocapsid and membrane proteins to those found in patients hospitalized in previous waves dominated by the ancestral, Beta or Delta variants, scientists said. These results demonstrate that despite Omicrons extensive mutations and reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies, the majority of T cell response, induced by vaccination or natural infection, cross-recognises the variant. Well-preserved T cell immunity to Omicron is likely to contribute to protection from severe COVID-19, supporting early clinical observations from South Africa, researchers said. The second study (pdf) was conducted by researchers at the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, and the Department of Internal Medicine and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR) among others. The study has also not yet been peer-reviewed. Researchers wanted to find out if the T cell responses induced by the Moderna, BioNTech, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and the Novavax vaccine cross-recognize COVID-19 variants. The Moderna coronavirus vaccine was administered in Orange, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2020. (John Fredicks/The Epoch Times) A health care worker in Israel prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in a file photo. (Ahmad Ghababli/AFP via Getty Images) They examined a group of 96 adult individuals vaccinated with different shots. Scientists studied samples from four different points in time: 2 weeks after the first dose of vaccination, 2 weeks after the second dose of vaccination, 3.5 months, and 56 months after the last vaccination dose was given, to determine the longevity of T cell cross-recognition of the different COVID-19 variants. Preservation of at least 83 percent and 85 percent for CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses was found, respectively, regardless of vaccine platform or variants analyzed, researchers said. Our data demonstrate that the vast majority of T cell epitopes are fully conserved, not only in the early variants previously analyzed but also in newer variants, suggesting that the continued evolution of variants has not been associated with increased escape from T cell responses at the population level, researchers said. The data provide reason for optimism, as most vaccine-elicited T cell responses remain capable of recognizing all known Sars-Cov-2 variants, scientists said. Nevertheless, the data also underline the need for continued surveillance and the potential danger posed by continued variant evolution that could result in further reduction of T cell responses. Pfizer and BioNTech said earlier this month that three doses of their vaccine neutralize the Omicron variant, while two doses show significantly reduced neutralization titers. The findings come as the World Health Organization on Wednesday said that the number of COVID-19 cases recorded worldwide increased by 11 percent last week compared with the previous week. The health agency said in its weekly epidemiological report released late Tuesday that there were nearly 4.99 million newly reported cases around the world from Dec. 2026, according to The Associated Press. The overall risk related to the new variant Omicron remains very high, a WHO statement said, citing consistent evidence that it has a growth advantage over the Delta variant, which remains dominant in parts of the world. However, officials noted a decline in the number of Omicron cases in South Africa, and that early data from that country, the UK, and Denmark suggest a reduced risk of hospitalization with the new variant. A Tesla logo is seen at the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 7, 2019. (Aly Song/Reuters) Tesla Recalls Over 475,000 Electric Vehicles Tesla announced on Dec. 30, that it had agreed to recall 134,951 Model S and Model X vehicles over the safety of its touchscreen displays, which could elevate the risk of a crash after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sought the recall last month. The carmaker said in a separate notice to the auto safety regulator on Dec. 29 that it will recall 356,309 Model 3 vehicles made between 2017 and 2020, as the rear-view camera cable harnesses could be damaged from opening and closing the trunk, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying. The two safety issues may increase the chances of an accident and Tesla said that it will inspect the recalled cars and make any needed repairs at no cost to owners. In total, over 475,000 Teslas are facing a recall. NHTSA declared on Dec 23, that Tesla owners should not be able to play video games on a touchscreen while their vehicles are moving. The touchscreen feature, which is called Passenger Play, can act as a serious distraction for the driver, according to the agency. Tesla voluntarily agreed to send a software update so the Passenger Play function would be disabled when the cars are in operation. The announcement came a day after the agency released a Dec. 22 press statement saying that it would open an investigation into concerns about the touchscreen. Tesla announced that the recall will begin March 30. The NHTSA had sought a recall of 158,000 vehicles with the touchscreen issue, but Tesla said that todays recall does not include certain vehicles with upgraded processors built after March 2018. Other automakers such as Mercedes-Benz have issued numerous recalls for similar safety issues stemming from defective touchscreens. Previously, the NHTSA had ordered an earlier recall on Jan. 27 regarding the touchscreens, after it concluded the 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles posed a safety issue. The regulator said that the touchscreen also posed significant safety issues, including the loss of rearview or backup camera images, exterior turn-signal lighting, and windshield defogging and defrosting systems that may decrease the drivers visibility in inclement weather. Tesla promptly complied by recalling roughly 135,000 vehicles in the interest of bringing administrative closure to the investigation and to ensure the best ownership experience for our customers, said the company in a press release. The automaker said that 88 percent of U.S. Tesla owners had already received online updates to some features that may be lost due to touchscreen display failures. There had been complaints which about Teslas earlier policy requiring owners to pay to replace unit failures once warranties expire. Teslas new policy will now replace defective parts at no cost and reimburse customers who had already paid for the repair of parts due to lifetime wear. The auto regulator announced in August that it has opened a separate investigation into 765,000 vehicles over Teslas Autopilot system, after a series of collisions with parked emergency vehicles. People line up to be tested for COVID-19 in Xi'an, in China's northern Shaanxi Province on Dec. 21, 2021. The detection of more than 40 new cases raised concerns of wider transmission ahead of a busy travel season. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) The CCP Weaponizes COVID-19 Against the Chinese People Commentary The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials on Dec. 27 placed the city of Xian under tight lockdown restrictions to suppress a new wave of COVID-19 outbreak in Shaanxi Province. Or did they? The CCP has been escalating lockdowns of its citizens throughout the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) over the past year, imposing punitive levels of testing and constraint of movement of people, citing nominal infection rates among the citizens. But there is no scrutiny or plausibility of any CCP statistics of infections, hospitalization, or deaths, just as there is no capability to verify any statistics issued by the Chinese regime. By the end of 2021, an exhausted mainland Chinese populace no longer even bothered to question, even if it had the avenues to do so, the CCPs insistence that it was attempting to protect the public health. In reality, the increasingly tight constraint on human movement and the narrowing of commercial activity within mainland China, due to the COVID-19 crisis, merely serves the CCPs program, underway for more than a year, to bring society back firmly under the Partys control. To do so, Chinese leader Xi Jinping needed to halt the flight of capital from China, and end the power of private sector cash to create independence from the Partys control. Xi has seen the effectiveness in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand by which rule by decree has brought about social obedience when coupled with the ruling powers insistence that the curtailment of basic rights was being undertaken to protect society. This overturning of fundamental freedoms and basic rights has taken root firmly throughout Western democratic societies, with little public ability to question the science or urgency of governmental diktat and the overturning of democracy. Why, then, would it not work on the Chinese mainland? There, the CCP has an urgent need to remodel the PRC economy back to a Maoist framework in which the private sectorunleashed after Mao Zedongs death by then-CCP leader Deng Xiaopingwould again be suppressed in favor of total state control. Xi needs to manage and explain the decline in the PRC economy since he took office in 2012 in a way that does not reflect blame on him or the Party. He must do it in a way that does not lead to challenges to his bid for reelection to an unprecedented third term as General Secretary of the Party at its October 2022 Congress. Chinese Communist Partys head Xi Jinping, bottom center, arrives for the closing meeting of the National Peoples Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, on March 15, 2019. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) In all this, his goal is to keep the bubble of earlier economic boasts credible: that the PRC economy was growing; that its rise to world leadership was inevitable; and so on, when major indicators demonstrate the reverse. China cannot feed itself; it has massive water shortages and health problems; it has run low on foreign exchange reserves; its domestic marketplace is in deep recession with massive and growing unemployment; and its foreign markets are declining. Even more urgently, to keep credibility alive until the coming Party Congress, Xi needs to present the forthcoming Beijing Winter Olympics (Feb. 4-20, 2022) as a prestige event, albeit knowing that it must be an economic and structural failure that can be blamed on COVID-19. It must be, for the sake of Xis political survival, a further event to show that the world was paying tribute to Beijing and, by default, the CCP. It has become clear that COVID-19which proved to be the perfect tool after it was weaponized by the CCP in 2020 to paralyze and polarize the United States electorate to stymie what would otherwise have probably reelected Donald Trump, the CCPs arch-enemycould equally well be weaponized to suppress opposition to Xis retransformation of the PRC. And this has indeed become the major focus and weapon of the CCP at home. The question is at what point did Beijing decide to weaponize the CCP virus for the purpose of domestic control, and even to reduce domestic population levels? Was it before, during, or after the timeclearly before January 2020it undertook that campaign to roll out the virus as a means of disrupting Western, and particularly the U.S., economy? What has evolved has been a two-pronged CCP COVID-19 strategy: one for the domestic audience; the other for foreign audiences. They are equally important to Xi, but must be handled with different approaches. It is of paramount importance to the CCP that both audiences must never see the virus as the deliberate product of CCP-controlled laboratories. Any hint of that could bring about a backlashriots in the streets and possible mutiny within the Peoples Liberation Armyamong the Chinese population against the Party. And any hint of such accusations in the international community, implying the complicity of Beijing in creating the CCP virus as a weaponsuch as the demands for an independent investigation made by the Australian governmentwould be equally damaging to Chinas global standing and could filter back to the mainland Chinese audience. Thus, much of Chinas slide into economic decline and reinforced totalitarianism can be safely blamed by the Party on the virus. The ability of the United States and its allies to push back against the PRC is minimized because many societies around the world are undergoing their own preoccupation with the overthrow of democracy in the name of public health. The global mass psychosis of fear created by the CCP virus has certainly leveled the global strategic playing field to an extent unseen for decades, if ever. And maintaining constant surges of fear disguises a changing environment. When we awaken, the Chinese people will have lost their hope of freedom and prosperity. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Editor of Stand News, Patrick Lam (second from left) is arrested by police officers in Hong Kong on Dec. 29, 2021. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo) The Death of Truth and Freedom in Hong Kong Commentary Right now, across the world, there is a war on truth. The war comes in many forms. More often than not, it comes in the form of misinformation and disinformation campaigns. To paraphrase U.S. Senator Hiram Warren Johnson, truth is the first casualty of war. Across China, the war on truth has been occurring for decades. However, the effects of this particular war have not been evenly distributedsome regions, and some people, have been hit harder than others. If in doubt, let me point you in the direction of Hong Kong, a place where truth is dying the most painful of deaths. In the summer of 2020, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) introduced a draconian new law, ostensibly designed to make Hong Kong more secure. In reality, the new law only served to make the city less free, by making it easier for Beijing to punish pro-democracy protesters. The law, which essentially dealt a killer blow to Hong Kongs autonomy, was introduced to crack down on acts of subversionfor example, the undermining of the power and authority of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Xi Jinpingand terrorism, as well as collusion with foreign or outside forces. Of course, as many readers already know, the CCP plays loose and fast with definitions. In the eyes of those in Beijing, anyone who strays from the Xi-approved gospel is guilty of subversion. The new law was announced by Carrie Lam, the fourth and current chief executive of Hong Kong. Although Lam vehemently denies that she is a puppet of Beijing, its very difficult to view her in any other light. Thats especially true if you happen to be a member of the press dedicated to exposing the hypocrisy and capriciousness of the CCP. Puppet on a String Reporters Without Borders, an international non-profit and non-governmental organization dedicated to safeguarding the right to freedom of information, has labeled Lam a predator of press freedom. Lam, were told, has proved to be the puppet of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Since 2017, when she rose to power (or however much power is granted to her by Beijing) she has openly supported Xis predatory policies towards the media. In the summer of 2021, Lams support culminated in the closure of Apple Daily, the citys largest pro-democracy paper. Jimmy Lai, the papers founder, along with six of his employees, were charged with conspiracy to produce and distribute seditious material. Courageous is a word that should be reserved for truly heroic individuals, and Lai, 74, is most definitely courageous. In 2019, when anti-CCP sentiment in the city was at its fiercest, Lai was there, on the streets, actively encouraging people to fight back against Beijing. For this and other crimes, Lai was given a 20-month jail sentence. However, on Dec. 28, prosecutors brought fresh charges against Lai and the aforementioned six employees. According to the South China Morning Post, the new charges allege that the defendants conspired to print, publish, sell, offer for sale, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications. With these new, trumped-up charges, Lai may very well spend the rest of his life behind barsall because he had the audacity to speak the truth. Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is led into a police van as he heads to court to be charged under the Beijing-imposed draconian new national security law, on Dec. 12, 2020. (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images) Ever since Lais arrest, Lam has been a vocal critic of the much-loved tycoon. Because of this, on the Reporters Without Borders website, the predator sits alongside others enemies of press freedom, including Xi Jinping; North Korean leader Kim Jong-un; Russian President Vladimir Putin, a man who has overseen the murder of at least 21 journalists; Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a man who allegedly greenlit the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi; and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, no friend of the press. In Hong Kong, Lam has played a pivotal role in consigning truth to the trash bin of history. The final nail in the citys coffin came on Dec. 29, when Stand News, the pro-democracy media outlet, officially shut down. Like Apple Daily, Stand News was dedicated to delivering the truthunvarnished and unfiltered. As Reuters reported, police officers raided its premises and froze its assets and arrested senior staff on suspected seditious publication offenses. In the words of the author Sakshi Kharbanda: There is no better tool than the press to catechize the government. Bullies attack, censor, jail, and murder journalists because dissentious truth threatens their survival and loosens their grip on power. Today, the word diversity has negative connotations. However, for democracyand ultimately truthto prevail, a diversity of viewpoints is necessary. No one should have a monopoly on truth. Not Carrie Lam. Not Xi Jinping. Not anyone. As Kharbanda noted, tyrannical regimes look to cocoon their people from diverse viewpoints, instead giving them an alternative version of the truth (the states version)otherwise known as propaganda and lies. This is how the distortion of truth leads to the death of truth. It starts with a threat, and ends with a thump. Its victims are people like Jimmy Lai. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Patient samples are transferred by scientists into plates before entering the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) process for COVID-19 testing at the Glasgow Lighthouse coronavirus testing facility, in Glasgow, UK, in an undated file photo. (Jane Barlow/PA) UK Police Call for Information After Protesters Disrupted COVID-19 Test Centre UK police have appealed to the public for information after a COVID-19 test and trace centre in Milton Keynes was disrupted by a group of protesters on Wednesday. One man was filmed throwing two traffic cones at the entrance of a marquee set up to administer tests, which seems empty at the time, before tearing and knocking over a sign. Footage also shows one woman posing for the camera in a pre-fab container used to store test kits, smiling and holding a banner that reads Reclaim NHS, END JAB Tyranny NOW, before cheerfully picking up test kits, putting them in a plastic container from the room, taking the container out, and throwing them in a bin nearby. No staff was in the room at the time of filming. Protesters marching past the test centre shouted Shame on you, Vaccine murderers, Genocide at car park marshalls at the site. The three-hour rally and march, live-streamed under the title of Milton Keynes Freedom Rally, was led by Piers Corbynbrother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbynand Jeff Wyatt, a former UKIP candidate for the European Parliament. Before the march, Wyatt told protesters they were going to walk past a vaccination centre that had been visited by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the same morning, but its unclear from the footage if the crowd has done so. Speakers at the rally spoke against things such as the governments COVID-19 vaccine push, cashless society, the New World Order, and The Great Reset, while hundreds of protesters carried placards ranging from No forced vaccs, Freedom over fear, to Experimental COVID vaccines kill. Shortly before the protest ended, Wyatt thanked the police for their discreet style of policing on the day, before inviting the crowd for a drink afterward. Protesters have also marched through the Midsummer Place shopping centre without incidents and disrupted a Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime at the Milton Keynes Theatre. Handout photo courtesy of Alfie Drake anti-vaccine protesters in Milton Keynes Theatre in Milton Keynes, England, on Dec. 30, 2021. (Alfie Drake via PA) According to the theatres Twitter account, protesters forced their way into the foyer during the matinee performance. Although we respect the right to choose whether to have a vaccination, we rebuke the actions taken that saw our staff and patrons frightened and assaulted, the statement reads. A video uploaded online shows the crowd shouting arrest the Hancockreferring to former Health Secretary Matt Hancockwith a caption reading Milton Keynes Theatre is cashless and requires covid pass. Matthew Barber, Police & Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, said it was appalling to see the protest escalate into something much uglier. He added that he had spoken to Thames Valley Police (TVP) officers to discuss the police response on Wednesday evening, and said that criminal offences will be investigated and appropriate action taken, he said. All of the events of today will be reviewed to help plan for future protest events and ensure that colleagues in the NHS can continue their fantastic work in delivering the vaccine roll out, he said. TVP said that no arrests had been made, but that they had footage of the incident. Thames Valley Police is aware of an anti-vaccination protest that took place in central Milton Keynes this afternoon, a spokesperson said. Where criminal offences have been disclosed, we will take swift action and bring offenders to justice. The spokesperson also asked anyone with information to get in contact. Ministers have also hit out after the incident on Thursday. Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was kept updated on TVPs investigation. And it is completely unacceptable that conspiracy theorists are intimidating and harassing those administering tests or delivering the life-saving vaccine programme, Patel wrote on Twitter. The police have my full support to take swift action where necessary. Health Secretary Sajid Javid called the protesters Corbyns mob and said hes appalled by their vile behaviour. I was appalled to see Piers Corbyn and his mob threaten NHS test and trace staff who are working so hard to keep people safe, Javid wrote on Twitter, adding: This kind of vile behaviour is unacceptable. UK Scrambles to Secure Supplies of COVID-19 Tests Amid Surging Demand The UK government is scrambling to secure supplies of COVID-19 tests to meet a surge in demand. The demand for testing has increased sharply as the government tries to slow the spread of the new Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. During a visit to a vaccination centre on Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to get tested before New Years Eve festivities. But at times on Wednesday, there were no PCR or lateral flow tests available to order online. Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said people are often unable to find COVID-19 tests in chemists because of patchy and inconsistent supplies. In a letter to lawmakers, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Thursday that the supply of lateral flow devices (LFD)a self-test for COVID-19was being tripled in January and February to 300 million per month. To respond to anticipated demand over the coming few weeks we are buying hundreds of millions more LFD tests, bringing new products on board, and accelerating their deployment to the public, he said. But in light of the huge demand for LFDs seen over the last three weeks, we expect to need to constrain the system at certain points over the next two weeks to manage supply over the course of each day, with new tranches of supply released regularly throughout each day. Previously, ministers and officials had insisted they had sufficient stocks of COVID-19 tests but the problems were in delivering them to peoples homes or pharmacies. But in his conversation with senior Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale on Wednesday, Javid said there were global supply issues and there isnt a quick fix. Gale told the PA news agency: We are now facing the situation where Number 10 is saying go and get tested and the Department of Health is saying we havent got the tests, we cant do it. He said Javid is busting a gut to get supplies, but were competing with a global market. Wes Streeting, the opposition Labour partys shadow health secretary, said: People are trying to do the right thing, follow the governments own advice, and test themselves regularly, but are prevented by the Conservative governments incompetence. The UK Health Security Agency said on Wednesday that eight million lateral flow test kits would be made available to pharmacies by New Years Eve. A spokesman said: We are delivering record numbers of lateral flow tests to pharmacies across the country, with almost eight million test kits being made available to pharmacies between today and New Years Eve. PA contributed to this report. People wait in long lines in Manhattan to get tested for COVID-19 in New York City on Dec. 22, 2021. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) US COVID-19 Cases Hit Record High, Hospitalizations and Deaths Remain Comparatively Low: CDC New COVID-19 cases in the United States have soared to their highest level on record, as the Omicron coronavirus variant is estimated to have taken over the viruss Delta variant as the most prevalent strain contributing to new COVID-19 infections. The United States is seeing over 265,000 new COVID-19 infections per day on average, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University, surpassing a prior record of 250,000 daily cases set in mid-January. The latest wave of infections is largely being fueled by the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the strain accounts for 58.6 percent of all strains actively circulating in the United States as of Dec. 25, up from 22.5 percent for the week ending on Dec. 18. CDC officials have said they dont yet have estimates of how many hospitalizations or deaths out of the total are due to the high transmissible Omicron variant. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Wednesday told reporters that while some data from other countries showed less severe disease with the Omicron variant, it was too early to gauge the impact across the United States, particularly given its uneven vaccination rates. The rapid increase in cases we are seeing across the country is, in large part, a reflection of the exceptionally transmissible Omicron variant, she said. In a few short weeks, Omicron has rapidly increased across the country and we expect will continue to circulate in the coming weeks. Walensky noted that while the seven-day daily average of positive cases is up 60 percent over the previous week, the hospitalization rate for the same period is up only 14 percent, to about 9,000 per day. Deaths were down about 7 percent to 1,100 per day, she said. While our cases have substantially increased from last week, hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively low right now, she said. Domestic flights in the United States have taken a hit due to staffing issues amid rising COVID-19 cases, with flight cancellations continuing to cause holiday travel chaos nationwide. By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, more than 900 flights within, into, or out of the United States were canceled. The CDC also said it was monitoring 86 cruise ships that have reported COVID-19 cases. The agency meanwhile issued new guidance this week to cut its recommended isolation time for infected Americans in halffrom 10 days to five if they are asymptomatic. We are standing on the shoulders now of two years of science, Walenksy told NPR on Tuesday of the new rules, explaining that the vast majority of transmission occurs around two days prior to the onset of symptoms and three days after. So in that five day window is really when that transmission is happening. Walensky acknowledged that although transmission can occur after the fifth day of isolation, the CDC made the decision to reduce its recommended isolation time for infected Americans because it anticipates a really large number of cases due to the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. We also want to make sure that we keep the critical functions of society open and operating. We started to see challenges with that, with airline flights and other areas, the CDC director explained. Reuters contributed to this report. Editor of "Stand News" Patrick Lam, second from left, is arrested by police officers in Hong Kong on Dec. 29, 2021. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo) US Officials, Rights Groups Rebuke Hong Kongs Silencing of Another Independent Media 'If you just won't report, I don't think that is a problem,' HK official tells journalists The shuttering of yet another independent media in Hong Kong is raising alarm among world officials and rights groups, who urged the international community to help safeguard what little freedom is left in the once vibrant city. Over 200 national security officers on Dec. 29 raided the offices of prominent pro-democracy outlet Stand News, arresting six of its current and former executives, and accusing them of engaging in the conspiracy to publish seditious publications. Within hours, the outlet announced it would shut down and delete its website and social media pages. All staff members were dismissed. In a statement on Wednesdaywritten in white characters against a dark backgroundStand News said it has been committed to protecting the citys human rights and democracy, and thanked readers for their seven years of support. The swift closure of the outlet, just half a year after that of Apple Daily under a similar fashion, drew anger and condemnation from those watching from outside. Another independent news outlet in Hong Kong has fallen, wrote Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in a Wednesday tweet. This is how Communist China treats those who love freedomit silences dissenters while destroying democracy, forcing people to live in fear. The U.N. Human Rights Office said it was alarmed by the continued crackdown on civic space in the former British colony. We are witnessing an extremely rapid closing of the civic space and outlets for Hong Kongs civil society to speak and express themselves freely, the office told Reuters in a statement. A seventh person linked to Stand News, a former Apple Daily editor married to the arrested former Stand News editor, was also arrested on Wednesday. Police seized assets worth HK$61 million ($7.82 million), by far the largest amount of assets frozen in Hong Kongs national security probes, Steve Li, the head of the Hong Kong polices national security department told reporters. Over 30 boxes of journalistic materials were carried out of the Stand News office. Workers carry some containers outside the office of Stand News in Hong Kong, on Dec. 29, 2021. (Sung Pilung/The Epoch Times) Li accused Stand News of publishing fake news and inflammatory content since last July, including some that described the disappearance of pro-democracy protesters or their claims of sexual assault while in police custody. The outlet has used its platform to incite hatred toward Hong Kong and central governments, he said without mentioning specific articles. We are not targeting reporters, we are not targeting the media. We just targeted national security law, the offenses. If you just wont report, I dont think that is a problem, he said in English in a Wednesday press briefing. John Lee, the citys chief secretary, warned reporters that their media work wont shield them if their acts are deemed to endanger national security. Professional media workers should recognize that these are the bad apples who are abusing their position simply by wearing a false coat of media worker, he said in a separate press conference. The day before the police raid, Hong Kong prosecutors filed a new seditious publications charge against Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily who is currently in prison under national security charges. Steven Butler, Asia program coordinator for New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom watchdog, said that the Hong Kong authorities actions against Lai and Stand News on Tuesday marked an all-out assault on independent media. Hong Kongs once-vibrant media scene is being crushed as China exerts greater control over the former colony, and the people of Hong Kong are deprived of essential critical voices, he said in a statement. China has remained the worlds worst jailer of journalists for the third year in a row, the committee said in December. It noted that the year 2021 was the first time journalists in Hong Kong were imprisoned for their work. Ronson Chan, deputy assignment editor of Hong Kong outlet Stand News, speaks to reporters outside the outlets office in Hong Kong, on Dec. 29. 2021. (Sung Pilung/The Epoch Times) Ronson Chan, deputy assignment editor and chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was released on Wednesday around noontime. He respected the companys decision to close down, he told reporters outside the Stand News office. Its a very sad day today, he said, telling other fellow journalists to hold on until the end. The Hong Kong bureau of The Epoch Times contributed to this report. US Regulators Clear New Rapid COVID-19 Test Amid Widespread Shortages The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week authorized a new, quick at-home COVID-19 test produced by Siemens Healthineers, as Americans grapple with a widespread shortage of testing options amid a record spike in COVID-19 cases. The rapid antigen test is meant for individuals 14 or older to self-collect specimens. It can be used for younger persons if adults collect samples. Results come back in just 15 minutes, according to the company, and its 86.5 percent accurate in detecting positive cases. Siemens Healthineers is proud to bring this high-quality test, already used and trusted by families, medical professionals, businesses and governments in many parts of the world, to the United States under FDA Emergency Use Authorization, Christoph Pedain, head of point of care diagnostics for Siemens, said in a statement. Lines at testing sites across the nation have swelled in recent weeks as the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus became dominant. The variant evades antibodies from both prior infection and vaccines better than the Delta variant, though protection against hospitalization holds up well, early studies show. People have found it difficult in some areas to find at-home tests, and those ordered online arent being shipped until mid-January. Amazon even limited orders because of the jump in demand, as did CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. The Biden administration hopes the clearance of the Siemens test and another one from SD Biosensor that it just authorized will help ease the test shortages. Increasing Americans access to easy-to-use, reliable COVID tests is a top priority for the Biden Administration, and we are using all resources at our disposal to make more tests available and ramp up supply, Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. Adding two new authorized tests will give Americans more options for testing at home, which helps keep people safe and provides peace of mind. The Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the FDA, in October announced it was utilizing $70 million from a congressional package to help bring more at-home tests onto the market. The effort includes specialists from key agencies working together to analyze tests, speeding the authorization process. President Joe Biden also last week announced the government would purchase 500 million at-home tests that would then be provided to Americans at no charge. The shipment of those tests is expected to start next month. What Evergrandes Default Means, and Doesnt Commentary Earlier this month, Fitch Ratings made official what the markets already knew: Chinas Evergrande Group and two of its subsidiaries were downgraded to restricted default. This followed the grace period expiring on Dec. 6 for some $1.24 billion in overdue interest payments on two chunks of U.S. dollar-denominated debt originally due back on Nov. 6. By and large, this event passed with hardly a mention, let alone any real concern. After all, Chinas regulators and central government for the last few months have acknowledged that they would engineer a marketized default (their term, not mine) of Evergrande. A likely long, tedious process was already underway before Fitch became the first of the major credit reporters/watchdogs to announce its anticlimactic decree. Whether global markets should be essentially ignoring Evergrandes unwindingand that of the broader, bloated Chinese market and financial structure to bootis another matter. No major economy on the planet has so abused debt to engineer its frenetic growth in the last two decades than has China. Its reckless blowing of asset bubbles, obscene overconsumption of raw materials and associated over-construction are well beyond what happened in the United States back in the early aughts (20002009) leading to the mortgage and housing busts back then. Indeed, Ive commented more than once that the monetary activity in China and the skyscrapers of debt as a result would make even that mad monetary scientist for the agesAlan Greenspanblush. In short, few are banking on a collapse in Chinaand believe instead that the country will muddle through, if not emerge even stronger, for a few key reasons: Faith in Chinas own modern dear leader. Chinas leader Xi Jinping has set himself up as pretty much a new emperor in all but name. Even many detractors concede that, as such, a part of his consolidation of absolute rule will be to see that a major bust does not occur. Move over, Pollyannas! Chinas apparent resolve to belatedly unwind this asset bubble correctly. Unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Banks for whom pretty much everyone is too big to fail these days, the early actions of Chinese regulators show that a lot of pain is going to be spread around: bail-ins for some investors, haircuts for others. In addition, in some cases, payment in kind is being enforced: rather than cash, some investors in all this bloated real estate are ending up with fractional ownership of the real estate itself. Regulators are aggressively seeking to keep broad markets and the broader banking system propped up. While this balancing act is fraught with risk, the Peoples Bank of China has recently eased monetary policy twice within a weeks time. So here againblind faith as with the other central banks to this point or notmarkets generally cannot fathom that a bust could happen in China. My own base case is that the Pollyannas are proven correct. China will not have a sudden, epic bust (though the possibility will always exist.) With tools and resolve far greater than, in this case, the U.S. Fed, Chinas government and the PBoC, the Powers that Be in the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) will keep things plodding along. But the least that can be expected to come from all this is something the markets have not factored in, given their faith in central bankers of all kinds. And that is (and this will come as no secret to those who have actually listened to Xi), China has embarked on a long, willful, and calculated retrenching. A much more subdued and relatively less bubbly China will be forgedout of economic necessity and in furtherance of Xis stated intention to consolidate what has been accomplished in its recent capitalist phase as he takes the country back toward Maos ideal. This will all have implications for commodity markets specifically and overall financial markets generally in 2022. In the days ahead, Ill be addressing this all piece-by-piece. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. WESTPORT Bridgewater Associates is launching a fellowship program aimed at diversifying its future talent pool by offering an introduction to financial services and networking opportunities to first-year college students from groups underrepresented in the industry. The Westport-based firms Rising Fellows initiative focuses on students of color, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Bridgewater, the worlds largest hedge fund, plans to draw participants from a range of universities including historically Black colleges and universities and work with diversity-focused recruiting partners such as Out for Undergrad, BLK Capital Management and Prep for Prep. As we continue to explore ways to make our industry more diverse and accessible, the Rising Fellows Program will help launch new relationships and start encouraging future stars as early as their first year of college, Alan Bowser, Bridgewaters chief diversity officer and co-head of the Americas region, said in a written statement. By leveraging our unique network of clients in tandem with DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion]-focused organizations and universities, we believe Rising Fellows will be a driving force in helping us accomplish that objective. Rising Fellows will comprise sessions held remotely on weekday evenings from Feb. 14 to March 4. It aims to provide students an introduction to financial services, help them build skills to understand investing and the global economy and allow them to apply their lessons through projects guided by Bridgewaters investment professionals. In addition to forming relationships with Bridgewater employees, the fellows will each earn a $2,500 stipend for their time in the program and be able to forge connections with the firms clients, according to the firm. Graduates will be considered for future opportunities at Bridgewater, while their resumes and projects will also be packaged and shared with clients and alumni for access to a wider range of potential roles, according to the firm. After completing the program, subsequent opportunities for fellows will include invitations to a number of Bridgewater events and speakers series. In addition, the firm said it will host bespoke sessions led by executives to give advice on career-related topics. Bridgewater also said fellows will be eligible to participate in their sophomore year in the firms immersion program, so that they could gain even more exposure to its business. Diversity of thought, background and identity are incredibly important to the work we do, however, as an industry we often look to solve the DEI issue in the post-grad talent pool as opposed to educating students about our industry when they are just charting their college paths, Robyn Shepherd, Bridgewaters head of corporate engagement, said in a written statement. We are looking to change this by not only committing to giving participants robust exposure to the industry early in their college careers but also maintaining engagement with these emerging professionals. Applications are due by Jan. 3, with further information for applicants available at www.bridgewater.com/risingfellowsprogram. In Bridgewaters current workforce, 36 percent are women and 27 percent identify as members of minority groups including 3.5 percent who are Black/African American, 7 percent who are Hispanic or Latinx, 15 percent who are Asian and 1.5 percent who are members of other minority groups, according to data on the firms website. In total, 54 percent of the firms personnel is either a woman or member of a minority group. In the past few years, 40 percent to 50 percent of all offers to those coming out of Bridgewaters internship program have gone to women and 20 to 30 percent have gone to those in minority groups. Bridgewater ranks No. 1 among hedge funds in the amount of assets under management. It manages about $150 billion in assets for institutional investors, including public and corporate pension funds, university endowments, charitable foundations, supranational agencies, foreign governments and central banks. pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott NEW YORK (AP) With Wednesday's guilty verdict in the sex-trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, here's a look at what the once high-flying Jeffrey Epstein confidante was accused of and what's next for her: WHO WERE GHISLAINE MAXWELLS ACCUSERS? The prosecution hinged on the accusations of four women Annie Farmer and the pseudonymous Jane, Kate and Carolyn who say they were teenagers when Maxwell and Epstein sexually exploited them in the 1990s and early 2000s. ON WHAT CHARGES WAS GHISLAINE MAXWELL CONVICTED? The trial focused on six counts: 1. conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts 2. enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts 3. conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity 4. transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity 5. sex trafficking conspiracy 6. sex trafficking of a minor She was convicted on all charges except the second count, despite her lawyers' assertions she was just a patsy. WHY WAS SHE ACQUITTED ON ONE COUNT? Without public statements from the jurors, who have yet to come forward, it's impossible to say for sure. But the second count, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, was perhaps the most ambiguous of the charges levied. Maxwell was accused of having enticed Jane to New York City, arranging flights and offering gifts, knowing that Epstein would abuse her. During deliberations, the jury seemed to be hung up on this count, asking for the definition of enticement" in a note. HOW EXACTLY DO YOU PRONOUNCE GHISLAINE? Hard g, silent s. Think ghee, like the clarified butter. If it helps, the cover of the New York Post run by Rupert Murdoch, a rival of Maxwell's late media baron father the day after the verdict: GHILTY! HOW MUCH PRISON TIME DOES GHISLAINE MAXWELL FACE? The most serious count on which the 60-year-old was convicted carries up to 40 years in prison. The count on which she acquitted was fairly minor, carrying a five-year maximum. SO WHAT'S NEXT FOR GHISLAINE MAXWELL? She needs to be sentenced, but a date has yet to be set. A family statement the night of the verdict said an appeal had already been started. And she faces another trial, on two counts of perjury that were spun off from her indictment. WHY IS GHISLAINE MAXWELL CHARGED WITH PERJURY? Those counts are based on her answers during 2016 depositions in a since-settled lawsuit brought by accuser Virginia Giuffre. She's accused of lying by saying I dont know what youre talking about in response to a question about whether Epstein had a scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages. She's also accused of lying by saying she didn't recall whether there were sex toys or devices at Epstein's Florida home and by saying she wasn't aware Epstein was having sex with anyone but her. Her lawyers argued those depositions shouldn't be used at the criminal trial because of a court-approved agreement her answers would stay confidential. WHAT WAS GHISLAINE MAXWELL UP TO BEFORE HER ARREST? Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 almost a year after Epstein killed himself in jail while awaiting trial. After Epstein's death, she withdrew from public activities like running an oceans charity. Her whereabouts became a subject of public speculation. Was that her eating a burger and reading a book on CIA operatives in Southern California? Was she living in Britain or Paris or maybe even Massachusetts? Prosecutors say she went into hiding in New Hampshire where she was eventually arrested in a million-dollar home where she kept her cellphone wrapped in foil. SO HAS GHISLAINE MAXWELL BEEN IN JAIL THIS WHOLE TIME? Yes, despite multiple requests for bail, Maxwell was deemed a flight risk and has spent well over a year lodged in a federal lockup in Brooklyn. Her attorneys and family have lambasted jail conditions as punitive and inhospitable to Maxwells ability to mount a proper defense. Her attorney asked immediately after the conviction was announced that Maxwell be given a COVID-19 booster shot because infection rates in her jail were rising dramatically. Once she's sentenced, she will be moved to a federal prison. HOW LONG DID THE TRIAL TAKE? A month. Testimony started Nov. 29; we had a verdict Dec. 29. The whole trial was initially projected to last six weeks, but the witness lists for both sides were dramatically truncated without explanation. The jury took five full days to decide the case. WHY DIDN'T GHISLAINE MAXWELL TESTIFY? She told the judge not without some defiance that she had no need to testify, as the prosecution had failed to adequately prove their case. The tactic didn't work out for her, but it's not an unusual one: High-profile defendants rarely put themselves on the stand, as it opens them up to a lot more scrutiny. WHAT EXACTLY WAS GHISLAINE MAXWELL'S RELATIONSHIP WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN? They were romantically involved, but at some point the timeline is unclear she says she transitioned to being more of an employee, running his household (Epstein had homes all over the place: Palm Beach, Florida; New Mexico; Manhattan; a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands; Paris). Prosecutors introduced records showing Epstein had paid Maxwell more than $20 million through the years and accused her of functioning as Epstein's madam, procuring underage girls to satisfy him sexually. HOW IS PRINCE ANDREW INVOLVED IN ALL OF THIS? He's not. Not exactly, at least, but Maxwell's conviction isn't good news for the embattled British royal. Giuffre is suing Andrew, saying he sexually abused her when she was 17. She says Maxwell facilitated her meetings with Andrew, who has denied the account. These accusations were left out of this trial, though Andrew's name did come up in testimony: a pilot of Epstein's private jet, dubbed the Lolita Express by the news media, testified he had flown Andrew and an accuser confirmed she told the FBI she had flown with the prince, as well. WHO IS GHISLAINE MAXWELL'S HUSBAND? A mystery man! She was living with him when she was arrested in New Hampshire, but court documents have not made his name public. He did support her bail attempts, but was never spotted at the trial. She had transferred most of her assets to him, but has also told officials they're in the process of divorcing. IS ANYONE ON GHISLAINE MAXWELL'S SIDE? Her family is sticking by her. Her sister Isabel attended each day of proceedings, often joined by other siblings, and her family issued a strong statement of support for their sister after the verdict. Ghislaine is notably the baby of the family and said to have been the favorite of her father, Robert Maxwell, who died falling off a yacht named for her. HOW HAS GHISLAINE MAXWELL BEEN SPENDING HER TIME IN JAIL? According to a website set up by her family, Maxwell has been working through a pile of books. Her reading list runs the gamut of criminal-justice related books like the award-winning Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson to Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department Justice by Sidney Powell, a conspiracy theorist and former lawyer for President Donald Trump. She's also been making her way through Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials fantasy series and popular book club fiction pick Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman. ___ Associated Press reporters Larry Neumeister and Tom Hays contributed reporting. For more Maxwell coverage, visit our hub online. NORWALK Less than a third of the citys youngest eligible children have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, almost two months after the lower-dosage shot was approved for the age group. Norwalk reported on Friday that 28.34% of residents 5 to 11 years old had received the initial dose. In approximately the same time frame, residents ages 12 to 15 had an initial vaccine rate of 48.79%, according to the latest city data. Norwalk is a little lower than the state average for the 5-11 year old vaccination rate (32.1%), but we have the highest vaccine rate for this age group among the big cities in Connecticut, said Josh Morgan, director of communications for the city. Its not an easy apples-to-apples comparison looking at the vaccine data since the age groupings have evolved over time. The youngest age group became eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave their approval on Nov. 2. Children ages 12 to 15 became eligible on May 12. Parents reported in early November that they were having trouble finding appointments to get their children vaccinated. Norwalk Public Schools has tried to help, partnering with Griffin Health to hold vaccine clinics at the schools after school hours. Specific reporting for the 12-15 age group started in late June. In mid-August, the state group this data with the vaccine rates for 16- and 17-year-old children. As of Dec. 24, the Norwalk residents ages 12 to 17 had an initial vaccine rate of 88.91%. Getting more people vaccinated will help keep kids in the classroom and extracurricular activities running smoothly, Morgan said. Prior to winter break, Norwalk Public Schools announced it had no plans to return to remote learning. The district reported 16 schools with COVID cases to the state Department of Public Health in the week prior to Dec. 23, including six cases at West Rocks Middle School. The district plans to continue following state guidance, requiring students to attend school in person. Gov. Ned Lamont also said this month that he had no plans to send Connecticut schools back to remote learning despite the increase in cases. Most of the families bringing their children to Norwalk Community Health Center are saying yes to the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, according to Jill Goldberg, clinical director of pediatrics, and Dr. Djana Harp, chief medical officer. Fewer than a third have refused to have their child vaccinated. According to Goldberg, the pediatrics department has received requests from other practices to send their 5- to 11-year-old patients to the health center for the COVID-19 vaccine. Weekly vaccine clinics on Mondays have been fully booked, and slots for special Saturday clinics for the 5-11 age group have also filled quickly. The city is making every making every effort to have clinics available for the young age group while reminding families that the vaccine is free, safe, and effective, Morgan said. If families have questions or concerns, we encourage them to speak with their health care provider. Currently, the only vaccine brand available for anyone under the age of 18 is Pfizer-BioNTech. emily.morgan@hearstmediact.com Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media DARIEN Thursdays expected distribution of state-provided COVID-19 test kits has been canceled due to a delay in shipment, First Selectman Monica McNally said. In a Wednesday message, she said the town received notice earlier this afternoon from the governors office that the 2,700 kits coming to Darien had not yet arrived to the state. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Leaders of Florida's university system on Wednesday urged students and workers on campus to wear masks, get vaccinated with a booster shot and get tested for COVID-19 when needed when they return to campus next month. Everyone on Florida's 12 public university campuses must stay vigilant since it is clear the pandemic is not over," said Syd Kitson, chair of the Florida Board of Governors, and Marshall Criser, chancellor of the state university system, in an open letter to students, faculty and staff. SIBIU, Romania (AP) As the fast-spreading coronavirus variant omicron rages through Western Europe, officials and experts in low-vaccinated Eastern Europe anticipate a post-holiday explosion of COVID-19 cases in much of the region. Many countries in Eastern Europe only recently emerged from infection waves that put a catastrophic strain on health care systems, and at times have tallied some of the highest pandemic death rates globally. Now, with omicron already confirmed across the region and the winter holidays bringing more community gatherings and international travel, public health officials are predicting a sharp virus surge in the coming weeks. Adriana Pistol, director of Romania's National Center for Surveillance and Control of Communicable Diseases, warned Wednesday that the country could see a peak of 25,000 new daily cases during the expected next wave. Romania is the European Unions second-least vaccinated member nation. Noting that roughly 60% of Romania's people over age 65 or living with chronic diseases remain unvaccinated, Pistol said: Even if the omicron strain does not have the same level of severity(,) ... the health system will be overloaded anyway and reach levels recorded this year in October. Romania saw huge lines at borders before Christmas as hundreds of thousands of citizens flocked home, many from the West. The government started requiring travelers to complete passenger locator forms as of Dec. 20 to help track infections, but Pistol said many have failed to fill them out. Only 40% of Romania's population of around 19 million has been fully inoculated against COVID-19. Although booster doses are considered necessary to provide adequate protection against omicron, Pistol noted that three-quarters of the country's fully jabbed individuals have yet to receive an additional shot. Romania's underfunded public health system teetered on the brink of collapse a few months ago, during the country's last explosion of virus cases. Hospital morgues ran out of space for bodies, and some patients were transferred abroad for treatment because COVID-19 intensive care units were filled to capacity. Exhausted medical personnel watched with dread as countries with high vaccination rates such as France, Italy and the U.K. reported record cases as omicron spread in recent days. Its very clear that the fifth wave will probably hit us in January, Dragos Zaharia, a primary care doctor at the Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumology in Bucharest, said. We just hope that there will be fewer deaths, fewer severe cases, and fewer hospital admissions." Neighboring Bulgaria is the EU's least-vaccinated member, with just 32% of adults having received a full vaccine. It, too, suffered a deadly fall outbreak, but its vaccine rollout has continued at a sluggish pace. Government data shows that only 255,000 booster jabs have been administered in the country of 7 million people. Epidemiologists predict that wave five will hit Bulgaria at the end of January and probably harder in February, Mariya Sharkova, a public health law specialist based in Plovdiv, told The Associated Press. Holidays will bring omicron to Bulgaria and probably will have a negative impact on the spread of COVID-19. In the Balkans region of Europe, Bosnia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Croatia have all confirmed omicron cases but so far not tightened restrictions to control the variant's spread. Serbian authorities decided this week to allow planned outdoor concerts to go ahead on New Years Eve. Experts opposed the move and called for requiring COVID-19 status passes for 24 hours due to omicron concerns. We are aware that a significant number of our nationals will return home from the European Union for holidays, as well as...foreign guests visiting our ski resorts, said Goran Cerkez, the assistant health minister in the larger of Bosnias two highly autonomous regions. But we hope that we will weather what is ahead of us. The Czech Republic, which has a population of 10.7 million, is among the European countries hardest hit by the pandemic and is currently registering around 6,000 new cases a day. The country's Health Ministry on Wednesday estimated the omicron variant currently accounts for about 10% of all new cases and by Jan. 10 could be 25%. Some experts are cautioning against taking comfort from preliminary studies that suggest the omicron variant causes milder cases of COVID-19. Mircea Iliescu, a Romanian doctor in human evolutionary genetics at the University of Cambridge, says that even if that is the case, Romania still has a lot of people susceptible to hospitalization. We can only assume that many cases being transmitted now are omicron, since its transmitting so fast compared to delta," he said. "If other countries are now getting towards it being the majority strain, we should be getting there in a couple of weeks. Despite concerns over the variant, Romanian authorities eased some internal restrictions in early December and are allowing businesses to stay open all night on New Years Eve. Andrei Otelea, 31, who lives in the U.K. and is unvaccinated against COVID-19, arrived with his young family at Sibiu International Airport in central Romania on Tuesday, returning home for the first time since the pandemic started. We are a little bit scared (of visiting grandparents), but were going to go and keep our distance for the moment," Otelea said. ___ Associated Press writers through the region contributed to this report. ___ Follow all AP stories on the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) South Dakota lawmakers on Wednesday subpoenaed law enforcement officials and crash investigation documents as they weigh whether the state's attorney general should be impeached for his conduct in a fatal car crash. After meeting behind closed doors in executive session for two days, a House committee tasked with recommending whether Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg should face impeachment charges unanimously approved the subpoenas in a brief public session Tuesday. The committee made of seven Republicans and two Democrats indicated it will reconvene in January to hear from those who investigated the crash. House Speaker Spencer Gosch, a Republican, said that as the committee sifted through the crash investigation file, questions arose and we issued subpoenas to get our questions answered. The attorney general, a Republican elected to his first term in 2018, pleaded no contest in August to a pair of misdemeanors in the crash that killed Joseph Boever. The 55-year-old man was walking along a rural stretch of highway in September 2020 when Ravnsborg struck him with his car. Ravnsborg first reported the crash as a collision with an animal. He has insisted that he did not realize he had killed a man until he returned to the scene the next day and discovered Boevers body. The committee subpoenaed Secretary of Public Safety Craig Price, who oversaw the investigation, two agents from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which assisted in the investigation, a crash reconstruction expert, and a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper. They also subpoenaed crash investigation documents, including from the Hyde County State's Attorney, which brought charges against Ravnsborg. A spokesman for Ravnsborg did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gov. Kristi Noem, a fellow Republican, has called for Ravnsborg to resign, and Price, her cabinet secretary, has said he believes the attorney general should have faced a charge of manslaughter. The governor gave Gosch a copy of the crash investigation, which lawmakers reviewed during their private meeting. But Gosch said the committee was also subpoenaing the documents to make sure they received a complete record of the investigation. We spent a good, two long days going through a very big file and we are by no means all the way through that, said Rep. Jamie Smith, a Democrat who has previously called for Ravnsborg's ouster. He said the committee wanted to be as transparent as possible" in its investigation but decided to initially meet in private because the crash investigation file contains personal information that does need to be redacted. Lawmakers planned to meet in executive session on Jan. 17 to discuss what material should be redacted from the crash investigation, but Gosch said he planned for the testimony from law enforcement officials to happen in a public hearing. If the investigative committee recommends impeachment charges be brought against Ravnsborg and a majority of the House were to approve the charges, Ravnsborg would then face a trial in the Senate. It would take a two-thirds majority of the Senate to convict and remove him from office. I dont anticipate this being a quick process, Smith said. This is a ton of information to go through. Year after year, several thousand women in the U.S. carry an unintended pregnancy to term and then offer the baby for adoption. It's a choice commended by many foes of abortion. Yet despite a huge demand for babies from Americans yearning to adopt, perhaps 40 times more women opt for an abortion, and a large majority of those who proceed to give birth make the choice to keep the child. The reason, say people familiar with unintended pregnancies, is that even in those circumstances, a powerful bond is likely to form between the mother-to-be and the developing baby and to vastly complicate any decision to put the newborn up for adoption. That idea is well known to doctors, clinic operators and other abortion-rights advocates, who say recent comments from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and other abortion opponents perpetuate a misleading narrative that adoption can negate the need for abortions. Its ridiculous to say its no problem to eliminate abortion just place the kids for adoption, said Elizabeth Bartholet, a law professor at Harvard University and an outspoken advocate of adoption. Its not going to be an emotion-free nonevent. Theres going to be bonding and connection, and a sense that its an unnatural act to give your child away. Discussion of adoption as an alternative to abortion intensified this month when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks. If the high court's conservative majority upholds the law, it could lead to the demise of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a nationwide right to abortion, and enable conservative states to impose sweeping bans. During the arguments, Barrett, an adoptive mother, said women who give birth due to lack of access to abortion could avoid being forced into parenthood by leaving the baby at a safe location, without fear of criminal consequences, so the infant could be adopted. Its just not the reality, said Ashley Brink, manager of a clinic operated by the abortion-rights group Trust Women in Wichita, Kansas. Its undermining peoples decisions and choices and ability to control their lives and their futures. Bartholet described the justices comments as breathtakingly thoughtless by failing to acknowledge the deep emotional bonds that many women have with their babies even when they result from an unwanted pregnancy. Those bonds can grow more powerful immediately after birth, said Grace Howard, who has worked as a doula assisting women in childbirth and women seeking abortions. Your bodys like, Bond! Bond, damn it! said Howard, an assistant professor in justice studies at San Jose State University. The U.S. government tracks how many children are adopted out of foster care and from foreign countries, but there are no official, comprehensive figures on private adoptions of infants. Nonetheless, its clear that only a small fraction of women carry unwanted pregnancies to term and then place the baby for adoption. In 2014, there were an estimated 18,000 private infant adoptions nationwide, according to the National Council for Adoption, a private organization serving adoption agencies and other parties. That same year, there were 926,190 abortions in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute, a prominent source of abortion-related statistics. The adoption council is working on a new estimate of infant adoptions for 2019 and 2020. Its acting CEO, Ryan Hanlon, predicted the number would be similar to the 2014 estimate. Hanlon says theres a huge gap between the number of U.S. infants available for adoption and the hundreds of thousands of Americans single adults and couples who want to adopt. There are dozens waiting with each agency for every child they place, Hanlon said. Kelsey Wright chose adoption twice. She became pregnant in high school and, at 18, gave birth to a son in 2011. Feeling unprepared for parenting, she placed the baby for adoption with a family she knew. Six years later, as a subsequent relationship was breaking up, she again became pregnant. And again, she chose to continue with the pregnancy and place her second son with the same family that adopted his brother. Initially, I was thinking, How do I get out of this? and abortion comes to mind, but I dont think that lasted more than 24 hours, Wright said. From a Christian background. I just couldnt do that there was no way I could terminate their life because of what I did. Now 29, Wright lives in the Houston suburbs and got married last year. She and her husband have a 4-month-old daughter. She stays in touch with her sons, visiting occasionally even though their family moved to New Mexico. I dont have any regrets, Wright said. It took time to heal, but I wouldnt change it for anything. Im so grateful adoption was an option. Some women who opted for abortion in response to an unintended pregnancy say the decision was difficult yet theyre also grateful they had a choice. Among them is U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, who says she received a back-alley abortion in Mexico after a teenage pregnancy. Lee said adoption is an alternative to parenting, not to pregnancy. The fight for abortion rights is not about our individual stances on abortion or adoption it is about every persons right to make decisions about their personal health, she said. Your choices about your body, health, and family are nobodys business but your own. Many abortion-rights advocates are wary of some aspects of private adoption, viewing it as part of the agenda of anti-abortion activists. Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Pro-Choice Missouri, said the anti-abortion pregnancy centers that proliferate in many states are part of that system. The role of crisis pregnancy centers is to trick people, coerce them out of making the right decision for themselves so that they choose to give up choose to carry a pregnancy and then give up a baby to be adopted, Schwarz said. Jeanneane Maxon of the Charlotte Lozier Institute former general counsel for a network of pregnancy centers denies that theres systemic coercion. Most women who visit the centers, and then carry a pregnancy to term, choose to raise the baby themselves, she said. Its often a challenge for staff members to even discuss adoption, Maxon said. Some women will say, I dont want to hear about it, she said. My hope is that we can overcome the stigma that adoption is abandoning a child. Its not its about finding a child a loving home. In the past, unwed pregnant women in some communities were shunned, or pressured to place their babies for adoption. But even in conservative religious denominations, attitudes have evolved for example, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Southern Baptist Conventions public policy arms have initiatives aimed at helping unwed moms obtain health care, financial support and other services. Some pregnant women were afraid to come to the church for help they thought they were going to be judged, said Kat Talalas, assistant director for pro-life communications for the bishops' conference. Our goal is walk with them as sisters, she said of a recent initiative, Walking with Moms in Need. Were showing them a positive vision of motherhood. ___ On Twitter, follow David Crary at https://twitter.com/CraryAP and John Hanna on at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content. EDWARDSVILLE A Cottage Hills man was charged Monday with possession of methamphetamine and burglary tools by one police agency and burglary by another agency. Quinton W. Harrison, 35, of Cottage Hills, was charged Dec. 27 with burglary, a Class 2 felony; unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony; and unlawful possession of burglary tools, a Class 4 felony. The burglary charge was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. The other charges were by the East Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on Dec. 23 Harrison allegedly entered a storage unit in Cottage Hills to commit theft. In a separate charge he allegedly was found to have less than five grams of methamphetamine and pliers, a crescent wrench, screwdrivers, a flashlight and gloves suitable for use in breaking into a storage unit to commit theft. Bail was set at $50,000 for the burglary, and $50,000 for the drug and possession of burglary tools charges. Other felony charges filed Dec. 28 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include: Justin L. Lard, 31, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated possession 0f a stolen motor vehicle, a Class 1 felony; criminal damage to property, a Class 3 felony; and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony. The charges were presented by the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force. According to court documents, on Dec. 27 Lard allegedly was found to have a stolen 2022 GMC Canyon valued in excess of $25,000\. He also allegedly caused in excess of $10,000 damage to the vehicle and attempted to flee a Venice police officer, disobeying two or more traffic control devices. Bail was set at $75,000. Michelle L. Jackson, 40, of Alton, was charged with two counts of offenses relating to motor vehicles, both Class 2 felonies, and two counts of criminal damage to property, both Class 4 felonies. The charges were presented by the East Alton Police Department. On Dec. 10 and Dec. 19 Jackson allegedly had a stolen 2020 Jeep Gladiator and, on both occasions, caused damage in excess of $500 to the vehicle. Bail was set at $75,000. Brittany M. Armbruster, 25, of Granite City, was charged with burglary, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On Dec. 18 Armbruster allegedly entered a 2004 Chevrolet van in Granite City to commit theft. Bail was set at $15,000. Alison R. Copeland, 39, of Godfrey, was charged with retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On Dec. 23 Copeland allegedly took merchandise valued in excess of $300 from the Godfrey Walmart. Bail was set at $25,000. Tuan D. Steward, 30, of Alton, was charged with criminal trespass to land, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. On Dec. 26 Steward allegedly entered a residence in the 2100 block of State Street, Alton, without the residents permission, knowing that resident was there. Bail was set at $15,000. MEXICO CITY (AP) A shooting attack in north-central Mexico killed eight people at two homes including a baby boy, authorities said Wednesday. They said the assailants apparently targeted four men who were at one home, killing them and a woman. Local media said the house on the outskirts of the city of Silao may have been used by drug addicts. Another man wounded in the attack on the home late Tuesday died of his wound Wednesday. Guanajuato state prosecutors said three other people were wounded and were in serious condition at local hospitals. At a nearby house, police found a 16-year-old girl and a 16-month-old boy dead of gunshot wounds. It was unclear if they also were targeted or had simply been hit by stray bullets from the first shooting, officials said. The killings shocked people in Guanajuato, the state with the highest number of homicides in Mexico. What happened today in Silao hurts us deeply and as the government of Guanajuato, we will continue to work together to give no quarter to those cowards who take other peoples' lives, Libia Garcia, the state interior secretary, wrote in her Twitter account. Justice will be done for the victims. EDITORS NOTE: The Intelligencer requests briefs be submitted at least 10 days prior to the desired publication date. Due to the volume of community-submitted briefs, the content may be published within 10 days of submission. Holidays and weather forecasts may impact some events. The Intelligencer cannot guarantee that submission will be published. Blood Drive 1-7 p.m. at the Edwardsville Moose Lodge 1561, 7371 Marine Road (Rt. 143). Contact 1-800-733-2767 or visit RedCrossBlood.org and choose Moose Lodge 1561 to schedule an appointment. NAMI Meeting 7-8:30 p.m via Zoom. The National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwestern Illinois (NAMI SWI) family support meetings may also be in person. To receive the link for a Zoom meeting or address for an in-person meeting contact Pat Rudloff, silverlining6@charter.net. Chicken Dinner Every Thursday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two or four pieces of chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit. 618-656-9774 Tuesday, Jan. 4 Edwardsville City Council 7 p.m. at Edwardsville Council Chambers. 118 Hillsboro Ave, Edwardsville. Edwardsville Board of Fire & Police Commissioners 5 p.m. at Edwardsville City Hall. Storytime 1 10 a.m. at Glen Carbon Library in the Youth Room. Planned for Pre-K to Kindergarten. Sing songs, take-home crafts and interact with staff during storytimes. Masks are required for everyone over 24 months old. To attend, tokens will be given 30 minutes before event starts. Storytime 2 10:30 a.m. at Glen Carbon Library in the Youth Room. Planned for Pre-K to Kindergarten. Sing songs, take-home crafts and interact with staff during storytimes. Masks are required for everyone over 24 months old. To attend, tokens will be given 30 minutes before event starts. Cribbage Club 6 p.m. at Camelot Bowling Alley, 801 Beltline Rd., Collinsville. Beginners welcome, free to attend. Contact Phil (618) 288-7910 or Susan at (618)978-1664 for more information. Pasta Dinner Every Tuesday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. Edwardsville. Pasta of the week served with salad. 618-656-9774 Wednesday, Jan. 5 G.L.E.N. Committee Meeting 7-8 p.m. at Glen Carbon Village Hall Council Chambers. 151 North Main Street, Glen Carbon. Edwardsville Recreation, Arts, & Special Events Board 5 p.m. at the Governor Edwards Conference Room. City of Edwardsville. Edwardsville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee 5 p.m. at Edwardsville Council Chambers. 118 Hillsboro Ave, Edwardsville. Thursday, Jan. 6 NAMI Meeting 7-8:30 p.m via Zoom. The National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwestern Illinois (NAMI SWI) family support meetings may also be in person. To receive the link for a Zoom meeting or address for an in-person meeting contact Pat Rudloff, silverlining6@charter.net. Chicken Dinner Every Thursday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two or four pieces of chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit. 618-656-9774 Friday, Jan. 7 Fish Fry Every Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two pieces of cod or one catfish filet and sides. 618-656-9774 Fish Fry 4:30-8 p.m. at the Edwardsville Moose, 7371 Marine Road, Edwardsville. Dine-in and carryout options. 618-656-5051 Tuesday, Jan. 11 River Kayaker Adventures with Perry Whitaker 7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. at the Old Bakery Beer Company, Alton. 400 Landmarks Blvd. Sierra Club Piasa Palisades Group Speakers Series. Perry Whitaker is the Missouri state director for the American Canoe Association and a Missouri Master Naturalist, and expert on the confluence of the Missouri River near St. Louis, to the confluence of the Ohio River at Cairo, IL, referred to as the Middle Mississippi. Come early around 6 p.m. for dinner and meet the speaker. Masks are required in the restaurant except while eating/drinking. A ZOOM registration option is available via https://www.sierraclub.org/illinois/piasa-palisades. Contact Chris Krusa on 410-490-5024. Cribbage Club 6 p.m. at Camelot Bowling Alley, 801 Beltline Rd., Collinsville. Beginners welcome, free to attend. Contact Phil (618) 288-7910 or Susan at (618)978-1664 for more information. American Legion Post 199 meeting 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Post 199 at 58 S. State Rt. 157. All legion members are encouraged to attend the meetings. Non-member visitors are welcome. Pasta Dinner Every Tuesday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. Edwardsville. Pasta of the week served with salad. 618-656-9774 Thursday, Jan. 13 NAMI Meeting 7-8:30 p.m via Zoom. The National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwestern Illinois (NAMI SWI) family support meetings may also be in person. To receive the link for a Zoom meeting or address for an in-person meeting contact Pat Rudloff, silverlining6@charter.net. Chicken Dinner Every Thursday 4-8 p.m. Dine-in or Carryout at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199, 58 S. State Rt. 157, Edwardsville. Two or four pieces of chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit. 618-656-9774 Ongoing Events Al-Anon For information call 618-463-2429. For more information, visit SIAFG.org and District-18.org. Donations for Metro East Humane Society The Edwardsville Library Friends will be taking donations through December for the Metro East Humane Society. Items needed include: pet toys, treats, fleece blankets, 30-55 gallon trash bags, pens, post-its, printer paper, laundry detergent, cat beds and dog leads. Donations are much appreciated, and can be dropped off at the library. Winter Reading Challenge Begins Dec. 1 - Jan. 31 at the Edwardsville Public Library. Read books, earn badges and be entered into prize drawings on Beanstack. This challenge is for all ages, 0-109. To register visit www.edwardsvillelibrary.org. Wilfredo Lee/AP LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) The Publix grocery store chain will start offering paid parental leave to employees who are new parents, company officials announced Wednesday. Eligible full-time and part-time workers will be able to take off the time during the first year of the birth or adoption of a child, starting with the new year, the Florida-based company said. Courtesy of Village of Glen Carbon GLEN CARBON Elected as mayor in April after spending several years as a board member, Bob Marcus took over the helm of Glen Carbon in April, replacing Robert Jackstadt, who declined to run again. Marcus sat down with an Intelligencer reporter earlier this month to discuss his initial several months in office and he looked ahead at next years aims and goals. I think things have gone very well, he said. The transition was interesting, coming in as a new mayor after 16 years of Major Jackstadt doing a great job. I had big shoes to fill and I think the transition has gone well. Our first major hire that we accomplished was our public works director, Scott Slemer. He has been a very strong director and department head and hes fit in very well. He is doing really good things with the department. Second, he said the budgets tax rate for 2022, which is flat, is another point. That was one of my campaign promises, to keep the budget flat or low in the village, he said. The villages first post-COVID celebration was Glen Fest, back in October. That was a resounding success, he said. I didnt think it would be that big and that well-attended but we had a ton of people and everyone had a great time. He added that village officials received fantastic feedback from the event. He admitted that the mayors seat has had a learning curve, dealing with different issues on a mayoral level versus a trustee level. Since April, one of the hurdles was the boil order last month, he said. The entire village was under a water boil order for almost an entire week. That was an unfortunate but necessary precaution that we followed the Illinois Environmental Protection Agencys (IEPA) standards. Those tests that they have are strict and theyre 24-hour tests, which is why it took the four-to-five-day to pass it. He thinks the village came out of the incident better, knowing and making changes to the way the village processes water from Illinois-American Water (IAW) to ensure the nitrification will not happen again. As for next year, it will start off with personnel changes as Finance Director Scott Borrors last day is Dec. 29. His chief accountant, Chiyo Palen, will start Jan. 1 as the interim finance director while the village advertises for a new person to fill the post. Another change is that the village seeks to hire its first communications manager or communications director. We just finished the job description and add for that so once the budget passes on Dec. 14, that position will go out shortly thereafter, he said. There are 3.5 other positions the village will seek to fill, two more police officers, a parks laborer and a custodian, the village expands. I remember learning in junior high English class that I loved learning about things such as idioms, and terms such as onomatopoeia. The teacher said Idiomatic expressions (cliches) werent to be taken literally, such as hit the nail on the head. With onomatopoeia the word represented the sound swoosh, or they threw him in the klink (the sound of jail door slamming shut). But it was cliches and idioms that I loved the most. Here are some examples of my favorites. I know, cliches are a no for serious writers, but I still like them. Dont take any wooden nickels-This goes back to the 1933 Century of Progress fair in Chicago. For mementos they gave out wooden nickels as commemorative coins. Paint the town red- Most likely owes its origin to one legendary night of drunkenness. A certain marquis and his pranksters threw red paint on buildings. He later compensated the owners for the damages, but their drunken escapade is likely the reason that paint the town red became shorthand for a wild night out. Red paint, from iron oxide, was the cheapest to make. That is why most barns in earlier times were usually red. Get on a soapbox- The soapbox that people mount when they get on a soapbox was one of those big crates that used to hold shipments of soap in the late 1800s. Would-be motivators of crowds used them to stand on as makeshift podiums to make proclamations, speeches, or sales pitches. The soap box then became a metaphor for spontaneous speech making or getting on a roll about a favorite topic. Tomfoolery- It was the term for a foolish person as long ago as the Middle Ages. Much in the way the names in the expression Tom, Dick, and Harry are used to mean some generic guys. Tom fool was the generic fool, with the added implication that he was a particularly absurd one. Thus, the word tomfoolery suggested an incidence of foolishness that went a bit beyond mere foolery. Go bananas- This expression is slang, and the origin is a bit harder to pin down. It became popular in the 1950s, around the same time as go ape, so there may have been some association between apes, bananas, and crazy behavior. Also, banana is just a funny-sounding word. In the 1920s people said, banana oil! to mean nonsense! Run of the mill- If something is run of the mill, its average, ordinary, nothing special. But what does it have to do with milling? It most likely originally referred to a run from a textile mill. Its the stuff thats just been manufactured, before its been decorated or embellished. There were related phrases like run of the mine, for chunks of coal that hadnt been sorted by size yet, and run of the kiln, for bricks as they came out without being sorted for quality yet. Read the riot act- When you read someone the riot act you give a stern warning, but what is it that you would you have been reading? The Riot Act was a British law passed in 1714 to prevent riots. It went into effect only when read aloud by an official. If too many people were gathering and looking ready for trouble, an officer would let them know that if they didnt disperse, they would face punishment. Hands down- Comes from horse racing, where, if youre way ahead of everyone else, you can relax your grip on the reins and let your hands down. When you win hands down, you win easily. The silver lining- This is the optimistic part of what might otherwise be gloomy. The expression can be traced back directly to a line from Milton about a dark cloud revealing a silver lining, or halo of bright sun behind the gloom. The idea became part of literature and part of the culture, giving us the proverb every cloud has a silver lining in the mid-1800s. Have your work cut out- This expression comes from tailoring. To do a big sewing job, all the pieces of fabric are cut out before they get sewn together. It seems like if your work has been cut for you, it should make job easier, but we dont use the expression that way. The image is more that your task is well defined and ready to be tackled, but all the difficult parts are yours to get to. Cat got your tongue?- The earliest use of the phrase cat got you tongue? is found in an American magazine in 1881, where it is described as a taunt used by children. It stems from the medieval fear of witches and their familiars, black cats. "Through the grapevine"- A grapevine is a system of twisty tendrils going from cluster to cluster. The communication grapevine was first mentioned in the 1850s, the telegraph era. Where the telegraph was a straight line of communication from one person to anther, the "grapevine telegraph" was a message passed from person to person, with some likely twists along the way. In the nick of time- At the last moment, as in the police arrived in the nick of time, or He arrived just in time for dinner. The first term began life as in the nick and dates from the 1500s, when nick meant the critical moment (a meaning now obsolete). In a jiffy as in Jiffy Lube: The expression in a jiffy was in use as early as 1780. It is a colloquial English expression for in a short amount of time. Most likely, the idiom comes from British thieves' slang for lightning, hence very fast. Get out on the wrong side of the bed- The generally accepted origin of the phrases gets up on the wrong side of the bed and wake up on the wrong side of the bed is ancient Rome, where superstition was rampant. The story says that Romans always exited the bed on the right side in order to start the day in contact with positive forces. The Lagos State Area Unit of the Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria (MSSNLagos) has commiserated with its national body over the death of former National President, Prof Huseini Abdulkareem. Abdulkareem was announced dead on Sunday and has since been buried in Lagos, according to Islamic rites. In his condolence message on Thursday, the Amir (President) of MSSNLagos, Mallam Miftaudeen Thanni, described Abdulkareem's demise as a big loss to the entire Muslim community and youths. He also commiserated with the entire AbdulKareem family, praying that Allah will give them the fortitude to bear the loss. According to him, the impact, contribution, and solid foundation laid by the late Prof Hussein Abdulkareem remain the pillars that sustain society to date. "He will be greatly missed as a father, mentor, and selfless leader of MSSN family because of his contribution to both society and academic field. He is a credible mentor and fatherly figure worthy of emulation. We commiserate with our MSSN National body ably led by Mallam Shehu Abubakar, on Professor's demise," Thanni said. Thanni prayed to Allah to accept the return of the late former National president and accept his contributions to the growth of Islam in the country. The students' leader who would on Tuesday, December 28, 2021, declare open the 111th edition of the Annual December Islamic Vacation Course with the theme, "The real world order", also urged leaders and members of the society to pray for the departed soul of the late professor as they participate in the week-long vacation course ending January 2, 2022. SIGNED: Miftahudeen Thanni, Amir (President), Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit. 08173291878 I and I am not a prophet. Very far from it. But I and I apply Jah Jesus Christus teachings as far as I humanly can, given my own personal failings and gross imperfections, to make logical deductions. Once Nigeria's ill-fated President Muhammadu Buhari was declared President-elect, I believe sometime in March or April of 2015, and was visited by a selfish Consortium of Fulani elders led by former Inspector-General of Police, late Ibrahim Coomassie, the man completely derailed from his electoral promises, epitomized by "I belong to nobody, yet I belong to everybody." Not that he needed much prompting anyway, given that malicious wickedness, insensitive parochialism, and outrageous nepotism, are hard-wired into his DNA. From that moment before his inauguration, and for the next one year, I and I sensing the ghastly trajectory the Buhari Maladministration had embarked upon, publicly advised him to do course-correction. All to no avail. In April 2016, exactly 11 months after his inauguration, I and I gave up on this regime, having seen enough to conclude that it was bound for failure. I and I present to you the exact moment when words failed I, and I realized the Buhari Maladministration was already doomed. It was first published in April 2016. Today five and a half years later, Northern youths, the parochial President Muhammadu Buhari's preferred and privileged constituency, are earnestly pleading with him to simply restore the country to the state of insecurity under his immediate past predecessor, having given up on his promises to curb universal insecurity in Nigeria within the 17 months left of his catastrophic tenure. I am sorry to disappoint Nigerians, but going by all I and I have seen, it will be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the Buhari Administration to provide security for Nigerians, even at the grossly diminished and diminutive levels of the much maligned Goodluck Jonathan Administration. In a future piece, Jah Jesus Christus Willing, I and I shall demonstrate why it is impossible for the Buhari Maladministration to provide security for all. In the interim however, the paraphrased words of a Tory Member of Parliament in an interview granted to the BBC come to mind. Prime Minister fails, Prime Minister leaves office he said referring to U.K. Prime Boris Johnson. We are giving him up to the summer of 2022 to shape up. In Nigeria, President fails, President is not only re-elected, but he is harbored in office till the end of his tenure in 2023, 17 months away, at the expense of more Nigerian lives to be lost under his watch, in the interim. I and I told Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari was doomed to failure in April 2016. Enjoy this read, 'When Words Fail, first published in this medium on April 27, 2016, and reprinted in full below. When Words Fail Every political administration in Nigeria has a tipping point beyond which, nothing it does matters any more it must fail. I think the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration crossed that point this last weekend of April 23rd 24th, 2016. From the very moment when by several accounts, 500 or so Fulani Herdsmen who belong to the same ethnicity as President Muhammadu Buhari amassed together and sacked several communities in Enugu State without a whimper of resistance by the Buhari Administration, this Administration lost all its legitimacy before God and man. Evidently under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari, perhaps anywhere between 2,500 to 5,000 or even more innocent Nigerian citizens may have needlessly lost their lives to terrorist genocidal actions unrelated to Boko Haram activities nationwide since May 29 2015. That such weekly carnages could be orchestrated by President Buharis kinsmen or State agents right under the noses of the State Security apparatus presided over by President Buhari himself implies one of two things (a) Either the State security architecture which has the President as the National Chief Security Officer is grossly incompetent or (b) The State security apparatus is an active conniver and possible participant in the unrelenting series of violent bloodbaths which Nigeria has witnessed since the emergence of this Administration. And so the most charitable comment that can be made of the Buhari Administration is that it is grossly incompetent and that it has totally failed in its primary duty of securing the nation. Otherwise the only other reasonable conclusion that can be drawn is that President Buhari is a prime candidate for arraignment before the International Criminal Court at The Hague either for looking the other way or for orchestrating and supervising acts of genocide against the people of Nigeria who he was elected to protect without discrimination. When many patriots including this writer chastised and castigated the previous Administration of President Goodluck Jonathan for its tolerance of corruption and maladministration, little did we know that worse was yet to come? Yet by all measures the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration is an outright downgrade of the hapless Goodluck Jonathan Administration. Placed side by side, Goodluck Jonathan towers far above Muhammadu Buhari in the area of statesmanship.That this should be so is a sad testimony of the ever-dwindling quality of leadership in Nigeria. Within one year in office, President Buhari Administration has presided over easily the most retrogressive administration ever known in the history of Nigeria. This is an alarming performance coming from a political party the All Progressives Congress (APC) which claims to be progressive. This retrogressive All Persons for Cattle (APC) government has been so bad that I am unaware of one single redeeming feature about it. Regarding the stewardship of the national economy its scorecard after one year in office is F for fail. Regarding national integration its scorecard is F for fail. Regarding basic administration, its score card is F for fail. Regarding foreign policy, its score card is an Almajirist F for fail. In what would have otherwise been its only achievement which is in the area of arresting bribery and corruption, its scorecard is a weak C for mere pass owing to its selective agendas and vindictive vendettas. The Buhari Administration has only excelled in things that border on negativity. When it comes to parochialism of agenda and nepotism in governance, it scores an A. When it comes to intimidating and subverting the institutions of the State such as the Federal Executive Council, the National Assembly, the Judiciary, the State Security apparatus etc. for selfish gain it scores an A. When it comes to looking outward at Saudi Arabia and China etc. instead of looking inward at Aba, at Onitsha, at Lagos, at Warri, at Port Harcourt, at Kano etc. for economic resuscitation it scores an A. When it comes to single-handedly enlisting Nigeria in sectarian religious organizations it also scores an A. Even regarding the herdsmens terrorist activities, there is a strong suspicion that the Buhari Administration is benevolently supporting the genocidal actions of Fulani Herdsmen across the country as a way of stampeding the various states into ceding grazing reserves to Fulani herdsmen in exchange for peace. Regarding this matter, the readers attention is drawn to this writers fictional piece titled Ali Banza and the Forty Herdsmen which was published in Facebook last week shortly before the events of last weekend. Even as we mourn and bury the dead victims of this administrations latest failure of leadership, it bears reiterating that no state in the middle belt or southern parts of Nigeria can afford to make the mistake of ceding 1 square inch of its territory to these rampaging and expansionist herdsmen in the name of grazing reserve. There are ample lessons from history to suggest that appeasement of dictators and terrorists never pays - it only serves to postpone the evil day. As this writer has pointed out in several recent write-ups including the aforementioned Ali Banza and the forty herdsmen the solution to the herdsmen crisis is the banning of all movement of live cattle on foot, the establishment of private ranches and the creation of rentable, non-residential livestock markets owned and operated by local governments across the nation.While livestock may stay overnight in these livestock markets until they are sold, their owner-herdsmen may find rented accommodation in the neighboring villages like all other Nigerians do. Even though many Nigerians are rightly aggrieved and some may be tempted to seek revenge, it bears reiterating that vengeance belongs solely to God who sees everything and knows all mens hearts and rewards each man according to his own works. In the face of the herdsmen aggression, the absolute minimum duty we owe as Nigerians to the memories of the deceased victims of Fulani herdsmen terrorism in Nigeria is to affirm collectively that we shall never cede even one square inch of our tribal territories to those rampaging murderers and their expansionist sponsors in the fraudulent spirit of One Nigeria under Feudalists. Even when words fail us to express our revulsion and horror at the diminutive trajectory our nation is taking under the present Administration, we should not succumb to the temptation of bringing ourselves down to the level of these savages and terrorists through retaliation. Instead we must pray ceaselessly to God to grant this nation a truly responsible, unifying, God-fearing, non-parochial and competent Leader come 2019- for right now Nigeria is leaderless and rudderless. At the same time we must push our state legislatures to ban the movement of cattle by foot in our local territories and urge our local governments to create non-residential livestock markets for the use of all Nigerians without discrimination. It is not rocket science. How many innocent Nigerian lives must we lose before we wake up to our right senses and do what is necessary as federating units of Nigeria? Help us O God to help ourselves. Anthony Chuka Konwea, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, MNSE, FNIStructE, MNICE. Today Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 4F. Winds light and variable. Tonight Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 4F. Winds light and variable. Tomorrow Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 41F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Commentary: After 2021 tumult, heres what it will take to protect American democracy EDWARDSVILLE A South Roxana man faces multiple felony sex assault and kidnapping charges after a Dec. 26 incident. Robert E. Lee, 40, of South Roxana, was charged Wednesday with aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping, both Class X felonies; two counts of criminal sexual assault, both Class 1 felonies; kidnapping, a Class 2 felony; and unlawful restraint, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the South Roxana Police Department. According to court documents and information from the police department, between Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 Lee allegedly secretly confined a 42-year-old woman and sexually assaulted her. South Roxana Police Chief Bob Coles said an investigation into the incident led to multiple search warrants being executed in the 900 block of Biltmore, and Lee was taken into custody at his residence. The investigation was conducted with help from the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Unit and the Hartford Police Department. Bail for Lee was set at $500,000. The police department was able to provide a quick turnaround in this case due to the dedication of my officers and the time spent on this case away from their families over the holiday season, Coles said in a released statement. I wanted to thank Alison Foley with the Madison County States Attorneys Office for her support and guidance. Coles also praised hospital emergency room staff and counselors. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim of this traumatic incident, he said. BRUSSELS (AP) Belgium reversed some of its COVID-19 restrictions Wednesday, allowing for the reopening of cinemas, theaters and concert halls. The move was a victory for the culture sector, which said it was being unfairly targeted by the rules. The Belgian government and regional authorities had come under increasing pressure to undo last week's decision on closures, which weren't even backed by scientific experts. It highlighted the widening fault line between authorities trying to keep the pandemic at bay with on-the-spot decisions and a public increasingly frustrated by limits on their personal freedoms. We heeded the call of the cultural sector, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said. There was rejoicing in movie theaters. We are thrilled that we resisted and in the end we won what we had started, said Peggy Fol, director of the Vendome Cinema in uptown Brussels. We were disgusted that they hit on culture like that. The authorities unexpectedly decided last week to close theaters and concert halls to contain the surging omicron variant. But late Tuesday, the judicial Council of State ruled the measures weren't proportionate, and questioned why going to cultural sector performance venues was particularly dangerous for public health. The ruling came after a protest of thousands from the theater sector on Sunday and a legal appeal to the Council of State. Even if the decision of the court concerned the theater halls only, the government extended it to movie theaters too. Now, they will be able to open to a maximum of 200 people depending on the size of the room. Wearing face masks and having a COVID-19 pass will be mandatory. ___ Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic WOOD RIVER Madison County will unofficially end 2021 with 285 COVID-19 related deaths for the year. Information from the Madison County Health Department noted one additional case Thursday, a man in his 70s. The death brings the December total to 32 in Madison County. It is the third highest monthly figure this year for the county, following January with 77 and March with 49. The county has recorded 650 COVID-19 related deaths since March 2020, according to the MCHD. On Thursday, the MCHD reported 603 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. Of those, 109 involved patients younger than 20. There were 99 news cases in Granite City, 98 in Edwardsville, 77 in Alton and 44 in Collinsville. There also were 32 new cases reported in Highland, 30 in Godfrey, 27 in Troy, 25 in Glen Carbon, 24 in Bethalto, 21 in East Alton and 20 in Wood River. On Thursday, the three-day positivity rate was 22.65 percent in Madison County. That compares with just 1.73 percent six weeks ago, on Nov. 13. Thursdays seven-day positivity rate was 17.02 percent and the 10-day rate was 15.11 percent. The MCHD has reported a total of 47,825 cases and 627,340 tests to date as of Thursday. On Wednesday there were 76 COVID patients in Madison County hospitals, 14 on ventilators. Macoupin County, to date, has recorded 150 COVID-19 related deaths and 8.853 cases. Greene County has recorded 65 deaths and 2,413 cases. Jersey County has recorded 55 deaths and 4,037 cases. The Calhoun County Health Department has recorded six COVID-19 related death and 907 cases. Statewide, the Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday reported 128,246 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, including an increase of 386 deaths, since Dec. 23. To date the IDPH has reported 2,149,548 cases, including 27,821 deaths. On Wednesday night there were 5,689 people in Illinois hospitals with COVID-19. Of those, 1,010 were intensive care unit patients and 565 were on ventilators. Of Illinois total population, 72% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 64% is fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Booster shot data was not released. As of Thursday, 54.55 percent of Madison County was fully vaccinated. Also, 56,422 residents had received booster shots. Other fully vaccinated county rates included Monroe at 57.3 percent, Clinton at 52.8 percent, St. Clair at 52.81 percent, Jersey at 50.73 percent, Macoupin at 50.45 percent, Montgomery at 47.33 percent, Bond at 44.17 percent, Calhoun at 39.32 percent and Greene at 37.41 percent. Madison County has extended COVID-19 vaccinations to kids 5-11 years old at its office, 101 E. Edwardsville Road in Wood River. Vaccinations for all ages are by appointment only; people can visit www.madisonchd.org and click the green Appointments for Vaccines are Open button, or call 618-692-8954 x 2. The CDC has a vaccine finder that lets people select which vaccine they are looking for and provides the locations that currently have it. For details visit www.vaccines.gov, call 800-232-0233 or text your ZIP code to 438829. Also on Friday, the IDPH announced it is adopting the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) recommendation to reduce the number of days for isolation and quarantine for the general public. The CDC has updated its recommendation to decrease isolation for people who test positive from 10 days to 5 days if they do not have symptoms (may include fever, chills, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, body aches, loss of taste and/or smell) but must continue to mask for 5 days after isolation ends. These recommendations apply to all individuals, including those who are unvaccinated or are not boosted even though they are eligible. The CDC also recommended reducing quarantine from 10 days to 5 days for those who are close contacts to a COVID-19 case and have no symptoms, but individuals should continue to mask for 5 days after quarantine ends. Individuals who have received two doses of either Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson, as well as their booster do not need to quarantine after close contact with a case, but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure. Additionally, individuals who have not yet reached the 6-month mark to receive a booster for Modern or Pfizer-BioNTech, or two months for Johnson & Johnson, do not need to quarantine after close contact with a case, but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure. State officials said schools should continue to follow the IDPH COVID-19 School Guidance for children who have received the primary vaccination series and are not eligible for booster doses after 6 months. IDPH has already adopted CDCs updated guidance for health care personnel issued last week. Health care personnel and other specific groups and setting should continue to follow their respective guidance. For people who have had close contact to a case, public health officials recommend testing at day 5 after exposure. If a person develops symptoms, they should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not caused by COVID-19. New Years Eve and Day are traditionally a time for merriment and optimism even during wartime. The Civil War Monitor published a letter written on New Years Eve of 1862 by Captain William Thompson Lusk, who served in the 79th New York Infantry. This unit was known as the Highlanders since so many of its men had their ancestral roots in Scotland. The New York Caledonian Club and St. Andrews Society of the State of New York played an influential role in the creation of the 79th. In his classic 1912 work Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Clement Miles observed, In Scotland, the most Protestant region of Europe, the country in which Puritanism abolished altogether the celebration of Christmas, New Years Day is a great occasion. The Scottish-Americans serving in the 79th New York Infantry refused to allow the Civil War to impede a cherished tradition. I am not troubled for the moment, Lusk wrote to his sister from a camp near Falmouth, VA, either with the goadings of disappointed ambition, the peculiarities of Scotchmen, the inclemency of the weather...In a word, I am determined to be good-humored in bidding farewell to the old year. He assured her that The Highlanders mean to celebrate the New Year, as the accompanying card will show. Turkeys, hams, tongue, bread and butter and a bowl of punch will be furnished to visitors, and we hope they may be many. Civil War or not, Lusk told his sister, If we dont have a good time, then Ill hang my sword on a willow tree. Music played a critical role in army life during the Civil War. In Brass Bands of the Civil War, Jari Villanueva wrote, Militia bands were very highly valued by the local militias as they participated in musters, ceremonies and parades and were useful in recruiting soldiers. As state and local militias were mustered into service they naturally brought along their bands. War Department General Order Number 48, issued on July 31, 1861 provided for two field musicians buglers or players of fifes and drums for each company of soldiers as well as a band of 16 to 24 musicians for each regiment. Thousands of musicians enlisted in the Union army. Boys as young as 12 were allowed to enlist as musicians. The South had fewer brass instruments and trained musicians than the North, but the Confederate army had some bands. On the eve of New Years Eve in 1862 just a day before Lusk wrote that letter to his sister two armies faced off near Murphysboro, Tennessee. The night was cold and wet. To lift the spirits of the Union men, one of the regimental bands played Hail Columbia. Just over 100 yards away, the Confederates heard this Union music. Soon, Rebel musicians began playing Dixie. The Union band then performed Yankee Doodle Dandy. A Rebel band responded with My Old Kentucky Home, which was not an entirely appropriate choice since Kentucky, while a slave state, had remained in the Union. Then, something akin to a miracle occurred. As described by Samuel Seay of the First Tennesse Infantry, At every pause on our side, far away could be heard the military bands of the other. Finally one of them struck up Home Sweet Home. As if by common consent, all others airs ceased, and the bands of both armies as far as the ear could could reach, joined in the refrain. Both Union and Rebel soldiers began singing such poignant lyrics as To thee, Ill return overburdened with care/The hearts dearest solace will smile on me there/No more from that cottage again will I roam/Be it ever so humble, theres no place like home. The Battle of Stones River began the next day and ended on Jan. 2 with a Union victory, although the North suffered greater casualties: 12,906 to the Souths 11,739. For many Yanks and Rebs, participating in that impromptu songfest was as close as they ever got to returning home. The Telegraph JEFFERSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS Two unidentified Grafton residents were killed when their vehicle struck the rear of a tractor-trailer in Jefferson County, Illinois. The incident occurred at about 2:32 p.m. Wednesday. The victims were identified as a 73-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman. Their names have not been released pending notification of next of kin. EDWARDSVILLE A Granite City man is facing weapons and drug charges after a Dec. 26 incident. Travis A. Stiles, 33, of Granite City, was charged Dec. 27 with armed violence, an enhanced Class X felony; and unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony. According to court documents, on Dec. 26 Stiles allegedly was found to have less than five grams of methamphetamine and a Springfield Armory XD .45 caliber handgun. The armed violence charge stems from the possession of a weapon while committing the drug-related felony. Bail was set at $250,000. Other felony charges filed Dec. 27 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office includes: Austin D. Crummitt, 20, of Granite City, was charged with aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On Dec. 26 Crummitt allegedly struck another person with a deadly weapon, a long wooden stick with screws, injuring the victim. Bail was set at $30,000. Donnie W. Cathey Jr., 36, of Granite City, was charged Dec. 28 with unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On Dec. 27 Cathey allegedly was found to have a pair of nunchucks. It was noted he has a prior conviction for aggravated unlawful use of weapons out of Madison County in 2018, making him ineligible to possess weapons. Bail was set at $15,000. Kimberly M. Ditzler, 37, of Maryville, was charged Dec. 27 with aggravated assault to a peace officer and criminal damage to property over $500, both Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On Dec. 26 Ditzler allegedly kicked at a Madison County sheriffs deputy and damaged the kitchen of another person, causing in excess of $500 damage. Bail was set at $25,000. Gabriel D. Deeringer, 20, listed as homeless out of Collinsville, was charged Dec. 28 with criminal damage to property over $500, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On Dec. 27 Deeringer allegedly damaged a windshield and television belonging to another person, causing in excess of $500 damage. Bail was set at $20,000. ALTON Madison County Board Member Michael "Doc" Holliday Sr., D-Alton, has been elected president of the Illinois Association of County Board Members and Commissioners (IACBM). Holliday was selected by a unanimous vote. I am deeply honored and blessed to become president of the IACBM, Holliday said. I want to thank my fellow board members for having faith in me to lead this great organization. It is a privilege to represent the dedicated county board members of the great State of Illinois." Holliday was elected to Madison County Board District 8 in 1998. He currently chairs the board's Health Committee and also serves on its Information Systems, Personnel and Finance Committees. He will serve a two-year term as IACBM president. President Holliday is well respected by county officials around the state, said Kelly Murray, Executive Director of the IACBM. He has a unique ability to bring people together and a strong commitment to make government more efficient, effective and inclusive. The people of Illinois and the associations members will be well served by Docs leadership. Holliday pledged to continue the work and traditions set by his IACBM predecessors while connecting with county board members throughout Illinois and encouraging a new generation of leaders. I am passionate about Illinois county officials continuing to work in a non-partisan way to provide effective governance for all of the citizens that we are a servant to, he said. It is a responsibility that I do not take lightly and I pledge to represent IACBM to the best of my ability. Holliday graduated from Alton High School in 1961 and, upon graduation, joined the Navy, finishing his tour of duty in January 1965. After returning to Alton, he was hired at Olin Corp. where he worked for 39 years, becoming the first Black machinist. Currently a deacon at Good News Baptist Church in St. Louis, he and his wife, Priscilla, have been married for more than 40 years and have two children. He is a past president of the Illinois Association of Boards of Health, a member of the National Association of Boards of Health and a member of the National Organization of Black County Officials representing a coalition of black elected and appointed officials within county government for all 50 states. He also is a past vice president of the NAACP and a member of the Illinois Department of Public Health Association, the National Association of County Officials, National Association of Public Health, Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Alton, 100 Black Men of Alton Inc., American Legion Post 354, the Otter Creek Historical Society and Behavioral Health Inc. (Board President) He is joined on the IACBM executive team by First Vice President James Soeldner of McLean County; Second Vice President Richard Quijas Brunk of Rock Island County; Third Vice President Jim Marlo of Williamson County; Secretary Myrna Molina, of Kane County; Treasurer Donald Little of Jersey County; and Past President L. Scott Schwerer of McDonough County. ROSEWOOD HEIGHTS Rosewood Heights Fire Chief Tim Bunt has announced that he will be stepping down from the position at the end of the year after serving in the position for the past 15 years. According to Bunt, he was inspired to join the fire protection district from his father Don Bunt Sr. who joined the department more than 54 years ago. I left my third-grade class at Rosewood grade school because I saw Dad go by," he told The Telegraph in 2017. "I asked my teacher if I could leave class to go to the bathroom. Next thing you know, I was running down the sidewalk going to a fire." Bunt officially joined the Rosewood Heights department at age 18. In addition, Bunt was also the fire chief at Wieland Products (formerly Olin Brass) in East Alton. "Ever since I was a little one, I've been involved in the department way before I got in it," Bunt said. Bunt said that the best part of being chief has been working with his team of firefighters. "I couldn't have asked for a better team of firefighters," Bunt said. "They've always supported me, and it was really an honor." Bunt, who turned 60 this year, said that being chief of two departments was "pretty taxing." "I figured it was time to step down while things were going good, and pass it on," he said. While Bunt is stepping down as chief, he plans to continue on as a volunteer firefighter. His fellow firefighter Corey Williams will take the reins as chief in Rosewood Heights. "I lived here all my life and I plan on staying and helping out as much as I can," Bunt said. To the Editor, You reported a few less congressional seats now from redistricting but it is so minor. People leaving Illinois and other Democrat states because of runaway crime and taxes is somewhat encouraging; but not enough country wide. The Washington Establishment's self-indulgence protects their share of $5 trillion plus government taxes collected. Otherwise therein lies the only hope of draining some of the Deep Swamps' 3 million bureaucrats and Lobbyists feeding at the same trough with Congressmen. Unbelievably there is no accurate count of the size of government agencies. We pay Congressmen to write laws and they delegate to the hundreds of quasi-judicial agencies Congress created who write regulations costing hundreds of billions of dollars. Congress does this to avoid naming Congressmen for intruding into our lives. In the least any regulation costing $100 million demands Congressmen be on record with their vote of approval recorded. Strangely there is no official count of how many agencies and bureaucrats exist. Some govt reports only 174 departments, agencies and sub-agencies. Others report 440 with some 3 million employees. There is no accurate count because Congress creates sub-agencies who sub-contract work. A 2016 report said 88,899 laws or regulations have passed. The IRS Code is 10 million words in length prosecuted by 74,454 employees. Biden now wants to give them another $80 billion to scrutinize every bank account for all $600 transactions to tax. The only possible way to reduce government size is to cut budgets. That can be done. Otherwise, Unions prevent firing or layoffs. If budgets are reduced there is no alternative but to reduce staff. Departments cannot spend more than their budget. Then put every department on zero based budgets. Every year the complete budget must be justified. Now all agencies start the fiscal year with last year budget justifying only the increase. Is this likely? Not very. Republicans have had no stomach to change this craziness either. The only possibility seems if we citizens petition for a constitutional amendment that federal and state budgets cannot operate in deficit. That too seems unlikely so we will face higher and higher taxes instead. Bureaucracy works to perpetuate itself not for efficiency---which in govt is an oxymoron. In the late 1500s England formed the Coast Watchers who sat on the Cliffs-of-Dover watching out to sea for an expected Spanish Armada invasion. That same year both Navies met at sea and the Armada was destroyed. The Coast Watchers were disbanded in like 2007. So, what the Hell did they do for 500 years? Ron Jones Alton Scranton, PA (18503) Today Mostly cloudy with snow showers around in the morning. High near 30F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 50%.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low 14F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. ANNE DRAGO, Stonington, Girls Basketball, Senior; Drago was named to the all-tournament team at the WCCU Holiday Basketball Tournament. In two games, she scored 38 points and had eight rebounds. DANTE WILK, Westerly, Boys Basketball, Senior; Wilk was named MVP of the WCCU Holiday Basketball Tournament after the Bulldogs beat Chariho in the title game. Wilk had a combined 35 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and eight steals in two tournament victories. TYLER LABELLE, Chariho, Boys Basketball, Junior; LaBelle scored 41 points in two games to earn all-tournament honors at the WCCU Holiday Basketball Tournament. LaBelle had 22 in a win against South Kingstown and 19 in a loss to Westerly. ADDIE HAUPTMANN, Wheeler, Girls Basketball, Senior; Hauptmann scored 32 points in two games in the Montville Christmas Tournament. She also had 20 rebounds, seven assists and eight steals. Vote View Results Overseas and private equity buyers of British firms will face formidable new obstacles from January when the UK National Security and Investment Act comes into force. This follows a record-breaking year for buyouts with the value of deals involving UK companies hitting 470billion. The laws robust powers are designed to stop companies critical to national and economic security falling into unsafe hands. Takeover frenzy: The UK National Security and Investment Act will come into force in January The current free-for-all has seen swathes of the countrys infrastructure such as water companies, ports and airports fall into foreign hands, weakening the command and control of vital services. HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) DIY investing platform and stocks and shares Isa As seriously, there has been a dramatic loss of intellectual property, patents and vital technologies much of it the result of work done in the nations great research universities. The powers become effective on January 4 and there already are indications that Boris Johnsons government intends to use them forcefully. The speed with which it warned French-Israeli telecoms entrepreneur Patrick Drahi against taking creeping control of BT, after lifting his stake to 18 per cent this month, was a shot across the bows. The terms of the intervention were intriguing. Officials warned against anything which might interfere with the Levelling Up agenda through investment in digital infrastructure. BT has pledged to spend 12billion bringing super-fast fibre to 20m homes. The plan has become ever more critical with the rapid rise of hybrid working during the pandemic. The Government finds itself on the horns of a dilemma. It came to office preaching a global Britain agenda. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in her previous role as international trade secretary, stuck with the task concluding a rapid fire series of trade agreements including with Japan and Australia. The imperative to boost trade with the rest of the world has been exacerbated by Covid and Brexit. Exports to the EU were down by 13 per cent, or 18billion, in the first ten months of 2021 compared to 2019. It would be worrying if the NSI Act was to be seen overseas as eroding Britains commitment to an open, free market economy which welcomes inward investment. But as the buyouts and bids gathered momentum last year there has been greater determination in Downing Street to act against the predators. Seemingly done deals such as the takeover of aerospace and engineering firm Meggitt have been halted by referral to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The proposed 40billion takeover of Softbank-owned Arm Holdings by American rival semi-conductor rival Nvidia also has gone to the CMA. Opinion has moved a long way from when Theresa Mays government saw the Softbank bid for Arm as a vote of confidence in Britain. The then Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom infamously refused to step in to protect aerospace pioneer Cobham. The company was hurriedly dismantled and sold off by private equity buyer Advent. The assault on UK assets by foreign and financial buyers is largely blamed on the discount of UK equity markets to those overseas. This has led to bidders paying what appear to be large premiums irresistible to big battalion investors and compliant boards. The NSI Act will complicate matters for shareholders and executives looking for quick gains. Law firm Brown Rudnick, which specialises in mergers and acquisitions issues, notes that the powers granted to ministers by NSI are sweeping in their breadth and exceed those deployed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. Among other things the new law grants powers to look at domestic takeovers. It could, for instance, been deployed to probe the hostile takeover of aerospace and automotive group GKN by Melrose in 2018. What concerns Brown Rudnick partner Mark Dorff is the lack of precision in government guidance about how and when government might intervene. There are questions as to whether the authorities could intervene to block future share purchases. That would prevent Drahi from taking partial control of BT. It is unclear whether such purchases could be unwound retrospectively. Takeovers in Britain famously have been governed through the common sense rulings of City referee the Takeover Panel. In future battles, the law could become far more intrusive. Belatedly, the UK has put sand in the wheels of the bid pantechnicon. Investment bankers who worked on takeovers of British businesses raked in a fees bonanza this year. Firms from Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs to London-based financier Robey Warshaw which employs former chancellor George Osborne earned 4.5billion for their work, according to analysis by data firm Refinitiv. UK banks alone scooped 2.7billion, the most since Refinitivs records began in 2000. Cashing in: Firms from Goldman Sachs to London-based Robey Warshaw - which employs former Chancellor George Osborne (pictured) - have earned 4.5bn from buyout deals Morrisons forked out 47.9million for financial and corporate broking advice during its takeover. Its buyers, US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice, paid 42million. Bankers are now set to trouser their fattest bonus cheques since before the financial crisis. Luke Hildyard, of the High Pay Centre, said: This is hardly a golden economic era, so very high bankers pay awards only serve to strengthen the idea that the financial services industry does little to benefit wider society. The bumper fees came amid a bidding frenzy for British firms, as private equity buyers and overseas predators looked to snap up pandemic-struck companies on the cheap. More than 4,400 UK firms were bought last year the highest number on record. Former Labour leader Ed Miliband voiced concern about what was dubbed a pandemic plundering of British plc, while Lord Heseltine, former deputy prime minister under John Major, said private equity firms and their advisers were marauders looking for a quick profit. Britain's tax collector has been urged to spend more on finding fraudsters. HM Revenue and Customs is set to spend just 155million over the next two years on clawing back the estimated 5.8billion lost through the Covid support schemes it administered. The Department for Work and Pensions, in contrast, has been handed 510million to tackle the Covid-related rise in benefits fraud, estimated at 3.4billion. HM Revenue & Customs is set to spend just 155m over the next two years on clawing back the estimated 5.8bn lost to fraudsters through the Covid support schemes it administered The vast disparity was blasted by research charity Taxwatch. Executive director George Turner said: 'I can see no possible justification why the Treasury is putting vastly more resources into tackling benefits fraud, when the amount of money lost to tax fraud is significantly higher. 'Billions of pounds was stolen from the Treasury during the pandemic given that these fraudsters were taking advantage whilst so many people were suffering, this was a particularly heinous crime. 'HMRC now needs to be given the resources to go after these people.' The department administered the furlough, Self-Employed Income Support and Eat Out to Help Out schemes which cost 99billion. It estimates 5.8billion was lost through fraud and erroneous payments. But Jim Harra, boss of HMRC, has said the taxman will struggle to recoup even half of that. HMRC was granted 100million by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in March for a 'Taxpayer Protection Taskforce' to hunt down the money. In the Autumn Budget, Sunak said that would be increased by 55million next year. The DWP, however, has been handed 510million over the next three years to tackle the 3.4billion rise in Covid-related benefits fraud on top of the 103million it secured for fraud and error at the Spending Review. Yet it is understood that HMRC officials are not pushing for more money because they do not believe increased funding would necessarily result in more success. Sources claimed that a large chunk of suspected Covid tax fraud only involved very small sums, which would not be cost-effective to chase up. A HMRC spokesman said: 'Our taskforce has already opened more than 26,000 civil inquiries and a number of criminal investigations, as well as making thirteen arrests for suspected fraud. More work will follow.' Precious metals miner Fresnillo was underground after a new milling plant at one of its projects was hit by delays. Shares in the FTSE 100 digger sank 2.4 per cent, or 21p, to 872p following news the plant at the Juanicipio gold and silver mine in Mexico, in which it owns a 56 per cent stake, had not yet received permission to be connected to the national power grid. The countrys state-owned electricity operator said the hold up was due to a shortage of workers caused by Covid-19. Slump: Shares in Fresnillo sank 2.4% following news the plant at the Juanicipio gold and silver mine in Mexico, in which it owns a 56% stake. Pictured is the firm's Minera Saucito site As a result, the timeline for the plant has been pushed back by six months. To mitigate the damage caused by the delay, the company is planning to use any spare capacity at its Minera Fresnillo and Minera Saucito projects to process any material mined from Juanicipio, which will be used to supplement its cash flow until the plant is up and running. While frustrating for all concerned, we recognise this situation is beyond the control of all parties, said Fresnillo boss Octavio Alvidrez. Fresnillos shares were also weighed down by a dip in gold prices, which fell nearly 0.9 per cent as fading concerns over the Omicron variant dampened demand for safer assets. Silver prices also dropped by 1.5 per cent. Stock Watch - James Fisher & Sons Shares in James Fisher & Sons bobbed higher after it settled a dispute over funds from a suspended gas project in Mozambique. The group, which provides marine engineering services, has received all outstanding cash owed to it from the project, which will be used to cut down on debts. The settlement will also cover some of its costs into next year should the project not restart in the short term. Shares surged 28.7 per cent, or 87.25p, to 391.75p. The FTSE 100 was up 0.7 per cent, or 48.59 points, to 7420.69 the highest since the pandemic struck while the FTSE 250 bounced 1.1 per cent, or 246.84 points, to 23,517.27. Optimism has been boosted over the festive season by a steady stream of reports that Omicron may result in lower numbers of patients ending up in hospital. Boris Johnsons plans not to introduce any new restrictions before New Years Eve also raised hopes that there will be no harsh lockdown in January. The optimism lifted retailers, with Next up 2.1 per cent, or 166p, to 8110p, Primark owner AB Foods climbed 1.3 per cent, or 24p, to 2014p, and home furnishings seller Dunelm jumped 2 per cent, or 27p, to 1399p. Pubs and bar stocks also got a boost. JD Wetherspoon added 0.4 per cent, or 3.5p, to reach 933p, while Revolution Bars flowed 3.4 per cent, or 0.75p, higher to 23p. Some in the sector were less fortunate, with Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group falling 1.7 per cent, or 1.6p, to 92.9p after data emerged that sales at pubs, bars and restaurants on Christmas Day were 60 per cent lower than in 2019. Lockdown measures and travel restrictions in other countries also held back some travel stocks, with British Airways owner IAG down 2.2 per cent, or 3.18p, at 143.46p while easyJet fell 2.3 per cent, or 12.8p, to 550.2p and package holiday outfit TUI descended 6.2 per cent, or 15.2p, to 232.3p. The slump followed data that showed international flights to and from the UK plunged by 71 per cent in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels. Cruise ship outfit Carnival was also underwater, plunging 4.6 per cent, or 67p, to 1395.4p as it warned that one of its vessels, the Queen Mary 2, will skip a scheduled stop in New York due to concerns over the Omicron variant. Meanwhile, pharma giant AstraZeneca was looking healthy, rising 0.6 per cent, or 45p, to 8656p, after it closed a multi-million-pound deal with Californian biotech firm Ionis Pharmaceuticals. The companies will jointly develop and sell eplontersen, a drug designed to treat TTR amyloidosis, a rare disease that stops organs from working effectively. Mid-cap oil rig owner Diversified Energy also added 2.7 per cent, or 2.8p, to reach 106.4p after it sold a section of undeveloped land in Texas, netting around 26.7million in cash. The funds will be used to reduce the companys borrowing. Anglo American faces a major legal battle over claims that one of its mines in Zambia poisoned 100,000 people including babies, pregnant women and children. In the latest scandal to rock a top mining company, a class action lawsuit has been filed against the FTSE 100 group in South Africa. But boss Mark Cutifani has slammed the case as 'opportunistic and completely misdirected' and the company insists it was never responsible for the site. Pollution from the plant at Kabwe (pictured) has left a deadly legacy on the streets as locals and visitors protect themselves A lead mine in the Zambian town of Kabwe is alleged to have been under the control of Anglo's South African arm from the 1920s until 1974, when it was nationalised. The site, previously known as Broken Hill, was worked between 1904 and 1994. For decades, rocks were dug up and crushed to extract lead but in the process particles of the deadly metal swept over the town, seeping into the ground, homes and bodies. South African law firm Mbuyisa Moleele Attorneys and London group Leigh Day have launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of more than 100,000 children and mothers in Kabwe. It is still being reviewed and has not yet been brought to trial, though industry sources say it is likely. The firms say Anglo had a key role in managing the mine at a time when the worst of the environmental destruction was wreaked. They claim Anglo knew it was causing health issues but did not do enough to stop the damage. Around 75 per cent of Kabwe's population are thought to have significant levels of lead in their blood The lawsuit aims to set up a long-term programme to test blood lead levels, and for Anglo to shoulder the clean-up costs. Richard Meeran, partner and head of the international department at Leigh Day, said: 'An environmental and public health crisis of the magnitude of Kabwe's would be considered a corporate scandal if it occurred in the UK or US. 'It also serves as a stark illustration of what happened in the past when large multinational mining companies were effectively given free rein to exploit the resources and people in southern Africa, with tragic human consequences.' Studies of the area, which has a population of 230,000, show it has concentrations of lead up to 150 times higher than safe limits. South African law firm Mbuyisa Moleele Attorneys and London group Leigh Day have launched a class action lawsuit Campaigners from groups including Amnesty International claim it is the world's 'most toxic lead mine'. Kabwe was included in an eight-year World Bank scheme to clean up Zambian mines, and as part of this the Bank's representative showed local officials the Julia Roberts film Erin Brockovich, about a class action lawsuit against a water company. Lead poisoning can ruin the nervous system and damage organs including the heart, kidneys and brain. Children are especially vulnerable, and it is associated with higher rates of miscarriage. Around 75 per cent of Kabwe's population are thought to have significant levels of lead in their blood. Anglo wholly rejects the lawsuit's claims, saying it was 'far from being the majority owner' of Kabwe and that after it was nationalised it was the country's state-owned mining firm that was responsible for its closure. Long-time chief executive Cutifani has previously said that the claim is 'opportunistic and misdirected'. He steps down as Anglo boss in April to be replaced by strategy director Duncan Wanblad, who will steer the company through the legal battle if it goes to trial. In a responding affidavit to the case filed by Anglo in August, it blames the Zambian state mining group, ZCCM, and the Zambian government for the problems at the site. The law firms are due to file another response in February, and a decision on a trial will be made within the coming months. A source close to the company said Leigh Day's claims were 'extremely selective in nature' and that there was clear evidence that operating standards deteriorated at the mine when ZCCM took over, which is probably when most of the pollution occurred. In a statement, the company said that it had 'every sympathy for the people of Kabwe and their plight'. But it added: 'Between 1925 to 1974, Anglo American South Africa held a shareholding in the company that operated the mine. 'Anglo American provided certain services to the mine, but at no stage owned or operated the mine.' The battle comes as big mining companies' social responsibility has been thrust under the spotlight after Rio Tinto blew up two 46,000-year-old Aboriginal caves in Australia last year to extend an iron ore mine. The disaster sparked investor outcry, a boardroom clear- out and an Australian parliamentary inquiry. Another of Anglo's peers, BHP, has for years been paying compensation and trying to repair its reputation after a waste dam at an iron ore mine in Brazil burst in 2015, killing 19. Sixty is the most popular target age for those who want to retire early, according to new research. The state pension age currently stands at 66, but of those who plan to retire before then, a quarter plan to do so when they reach 60 according to insurer Aviva. And one in five said they planned to retire even younger, at 55. This is the age at which most people are able to access their private pension savings. Golden years: A quarter of would-be early retirees say they want to leave work at age 60 Both of these minimum ages are set to increase, with the state pension age moving up to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and the private pension age to 57 in 2028. Asked for their reasons, nearly one in three people surveyed by Aviva said they wanted to 'enjoy more freedom, while still being physically fit and well enough'. More than a quarter said they had decided to retire early primarily because they were financially secure enough to do so in other words, they could afford not to work. But the figures also suggested that today's early retirees may not be as financially secure as they first thought. Among those who took early retirement, Aviva found that 17 per cent had returned to work, and a further 15 per cent saw themselves doing so in the near future. How much is the state pension? The basic state pension is payable to men born before 6 April 1951, and to women born before 6 April 1953. Until 10 April 2022, the maximum amount payable is 137.60 a week. After that, it will increase by 4.25 to 141.85 per week. The new state pension is payable to men born on or after 6 April 1951, and to women born on or after 6 April 1953. The maximum amount payable is 179.60 a week until 10 April 2022, when this will rise by 5.55 to 185.15 per week. Of these, nearly a quarter said they returned to work because they had experienced financial issues though slightly more said it was because they 'wanted a new sense of purpose'. Meanwhile, a similar number said they 'missed the company and social interactions with colleagues' (26 per cent). Nearly half of all early retirees said their finances worsened as a result, while, only 22 per cent felt they had benefitted financially. Women were also more likely than men to have felt a negative financial impact from retiring early. Fifty per cent said they had, versus 44 per cent of men,. Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, warned that those wanting to give up work early needed to plan their finances carefully to avoid a forced return. 'It's important to learn from the lesson that, while happiness soars in retirement, many people find their finances take the strain when they retire early,' he said. 'Money worries are one of the biggest factors resulting in people returning to work. 'If you aspire to retire early, it's vital you plan your finances to be sustainable for the long-term.' How can people afford to retire early? Aviva also asked people who had retired early about how they were able to afford it. One in three identified having a defined benefit (final salary) pension among the main measures that enabled them to take retirement into their own hands. This suggests that younger generations may find it harder to retire early, as the majority of the private sector workforce now saves into defined contribution pension schemes. However, there are other steps people can take to make an early retirement possible. Planning ahead: Paying off the mortgage and saving little and often have helped people retire early, with just under a third saying they had done each of these Paying off the mortgage was identified as the second most common stepping stone to retiring early, with 30 per cent saying they had done this, while almost three in ten early retirees (29 per cent) said saving 'little and often' was one of their main strategies. Nearly one in five (19 per cent) said they also saved extra whenever they received a pay rise or a bonus during their working life. McQueen added: 'The turbulent times we're living through have given many people pause for thought to consider their work-life balance and think more seriously about what makes them happy. Poll What age do you plan to retire? 55 to 59 60 to 64 65 to 69 70 or over What age do you plan to retire? 55 to 59 192 votes 60 to 64 216 votes 65 to 69 76 votes 70 or over 23 votes Now share your opinion 'Our findings suggest the dream of an early retirement is very much alive and kicking, but there are many factors to consider along the way and the current uncertainty about the future does not make this an easy decision. 'The experiences of people who've already reached early retirement show that small savings habits, which add up over time, are every bit as important as big gestures such as putting aside any year-end bonus.' For those who decide to keep working after they reach state pension age, there are several benefits. They no longer need to pay National Insurance Contributions, which means they keep more of their pay packet. And if they do delay taking their pension they may be eligible for more money by the time they eventually retire. When the time does come to take your pension, there are several options. Retirees can choose to cash in their pots in full, or take out chunks of money and leave the rest of the pot invested to provide them with an income. They can also use the money to buy an annuity. This is where you pay an insurance company either a monthly premium or a lump sum. They then invest the money, and provide the holder with a monthly income for a fixed period or for the rest of their life. The European Union is ready to impose further sanctions on Myanmar after a new escalation of violence by the army and is also urging an international arms embargo on the country, its top diplomat said on Thursday. More than 30 people, including women and children, were killed and their bodies burnt in a village in Myanmars conflict-torn Kayah state last week by the army, humanitarian agencies said. The Myanmar military said it had shot and killed an unspecified number of terrorists with weapons from the opposition armed forces in the village after they did not stop for a military check. In view of the escalating violence in Myanmar, increased international preventive action is required, including an arms embargo, the EUs High Representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, said in a statement. The EU also stands ready to impose further sanctions against the military regime, he added. Since a military coup in February, the EU has imposed targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military, its leaders and entities. EU financial assistance to the government was halted and assistance that could be seen as legitimising the military government was frozen. The appalling act of violence perpetrated by the military regime in Kayah State on 24 December, killing and burning more than 35 people, including women and children, as well as humanitarian workers, underscores the urgent need to hold those responsible accountable, Borrell said. The Save the Children aid group said that two of its staff were killed in the attack in Kayah last week. SOURCE: REUTERS SARATOGA SPRINGS When Ashley Campbell sent Maurice Karenzo, a teacher friend of hers in the Republic of Burundi, stationery for his students, she didnt expect what happened next. The Coral and Blue Paper Co. founder figured it was just a kind gesture to a friend, but later learned from Karenzo who she met through a global faith network online that something really amazing had unfolded as a result. The kids are starting to write thank-you notes and tell stories in their letters and do artwork. And we've never had this before, she said Karenzo told her. Karenzos students in the east-central African country were taken by the simple, elementary-lined stationery because blank paper and art supplies are hard to come by for them. They viewed it as a novelty, Campbell said, something she was completely unaware of. The students immense gratitude and positive response motivated Campbell and Karenzo to partner up and do more. They started a mission to bring art supplies and paper to all of Burundi through her company. Today, a year later, the two friends have provided Burundi villages with loads of stationery and supplies, including writing instruments, clothes and more. Since the initial allocation, Karenzo was able to recruit four more teachers to help distribute materials to areas far from the school. Campbell raises money locally in the Capital Region for her counterparts in Burundi to buy provisions within the country every couple of months. St. Pauls Lutheran Church, Campbells church, organized efforts to support the Burundi mission. Brenda Streed, the churchs missions team leader, works within the community to spread the word about Coral and Blues global work and raise contributions for it. The church recently raised about $1,900 to send over for Christmas. It's a way for us in a very small way to just help those who are less fortunate, Streed said. Campbell initially bought the supplies here in the U.S. and shipped them out, but realized it was less expensive and more beneficial to purchase or print what was needed in Burundi to support its economy. And for whatever reason, the virus hasnt caused severe supply chain disruptions there as it has domestically, Campbell noted, which has helped the operation run smoothly. It's been like something I've never seen before. It's been beautiful and amazing, Campbell said. Karenzo sends Campbell newsletters with photos and notes about how students are putting the goods they receive to use. Children use the stationery to draw pictures and write thank-you notes. Several have used the cards to tell their parents how grateful they are for all they have. Others have used the paper as a therapeutic tool to deal with trauma stemming from a series of wars and instability in the region. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Several have written down the stories of their experiences and later read them aloud to one another, which has helped them cope, according to Campbell. She can recall a couple of instances when children wrote about their aspirations to become doctors and help others hurt by war. Without many formal schools and several outdoor classrooms, you can see how the children will sit on rocks or lean on the ground to draw and write, she noted. They don't take those things for granted there. They really appreciate them. They put them to good use; the teachers do everything that they can to make sure that the kids are taken care of, Campbell said. In his latest letter, Karenzo said the effort reached about 116 families and 812 children, giving them clothes, shoes and sweets during December. "Students have received with joy the supplies because they are in critical life of poverty caused by civil war passed in this country. They love people who help them because they don't usually expect it," Karenzo wrote to the Times Union in an email. "Supplies show them that there is someone who thinks and takes care of them." Campbell acknowledged there are people closer to home and all over that need help. While she understands that, she said the need in Burundi is what fell into her lap. It feels like the world is just not that big, she said. I realized just how small the world actually is and how much we can impact people in another country by something as small as sending a gift, and then how easy it is actually to help people in other countries. 3 1 of 3 Will Waldron/Albany Times Union Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Global Foundries Show More Show Less 3 of 3 MALTA - Employees at GlobalFoundries' Fab 8 computer chip factory in Saratoga County donated $30,000 two local charities as part of the company's GlobalGives Holiday Gift Campaign. The two nonprofits are the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and Saratoga Bridges, which serves adults and children with developmental disabilities. Fab 8 employs 3,000 people and is in the planning process to build a second factory, Fab 8.2. DENVER (AP) A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks. The writings are part of the investigation into what led Lyndon James McLeod to carry out the shootings, which took place in less than an hour Monday at several locations around the metro area, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said Wednesday. McLeod, 47, knew most of the people he shot through business or personal relationships, police have said. Four of the people who were shot were attacked at tattoo shops. In addition to those killed, two other people were wounded, including a police officer who shot and killed McLeod after being hit. In the first novel, written under a pen name of Roman McClay, a character named Lyndon stalks a poker party held by a character named Michael Swinyard and gains access to a building near Cheesman Park by posing as a police officer. He then fatally shoots everyone at the party and robs them before fleeing with his dog in a van. In Monday's attack, Michael Swinyard, 67, was fatally shot at a home near Denvers Cheesman Park, police said. In his second novel, which also features a character named Lyndon, McClay names Alicia Cardenas as a victim. The book also mentions the tattoo shop she owned, Sol Tribe. Alicia Cardenas, a 44-year-old tattoo artist, was among his first victims in Monday's rampage. She was killed at her tattoo shop, along with another woman, Alyssa Gunn, 35. A man who was also wounded there is expected to survive, police said. He was identified by friends and customers as Gunns husband, James Maldonado, a piercer there. That shop is less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from a tattoo shop that McLeod was listed as the lease holder for between 2014 and 2016. Cardenas later took it over before moving the shop to its current spot, city records show. McLeod was not licensed to work as a tattoo artist or operate a tattoo business himself in Denver according to city records, a spokesperson for Denvers licensing agency, Eric Escudero, said Wednesday. Cardenas, whose daughter is 12 years old, described herself as a proud Indigenous artist who also painted murals. Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said during a news conference Tuesday that McLeod was on the radar of law enforcement and had been investigated in both 2020 and 2021. He declined to say what McLeod was investigated for but said charges were not filed against him. Matt Clark, commander of the Denver Police Departments Major Crimes Division, said McLeod knew most of the people he targeted but not the last person he shot a clerk in a hotel in Lakewood's Belmar shopping area. However, McLeod had had some dealings with the hotel, Clark said. The hotel clerk, 28-year-old Sarah Steck, died of her injuries Tuesday. Steck graduated this year from Metropolitan State University with a bachelors degree of fine art in communication design. She was known among her co-workers at the hotel for her infectious laugh and love of kittens, art and music, The Denver Post reported. Soon after the shooting at Cardenas' shop, McLeod forced his way into a residence that is also home to a business. City records show it is licensed as a tattoo shop. He pursued the occupants through the building and fired shots, but no one was injured, Clark said. Then he shot and killed Swinyard near Cheesman Park, Clark said. Later, Denver police chased the vehicle believed to have been involved in the shootings, and an officer exchanged gunfire with McLeod, Clark said. McLeod was able to get away, fleeing into Lakewood, after gunfire disabled the officer's cruiser, he said. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Just before 6 p.m., the Lakewood Police Department received a report of shots fired at the Lucky 13 tattoo shop. Danny Scofield, 38, was killed there, Lakewood police spokesperson John Romero said. Scofield was a father of three, according to a site raising money for his family. When officers spotted the car suspected of being involved in the shooting at the Belmar shopping area where shops line sidewalks in a modern version of a downtown McLeod opened fire and officers shot back, Romero said. He ran away and allegedly threatened some people in a restaurant with a gun before going to the Hyatt House hotel, where he spoke briefly with Steck, before shooting her, he said. About a minute later, Lakewood police officer Ashley Ferris saw McLeod and ordered him to drop his weapon. She was shot in the abdomen but fired back and killed the gunman. Ferris underwent surgery Monday night and is expected to make a full recovery. I can't overemphasize enough the heroic actions of our Lakewood police agent," Romero said during a news conference Tuesday. "In the face of being shot, in the face of danger, she was able to not only save others from this terrible tragedy but also neutralize the threat. ___ Associated Press writer Mead Gruver contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to change the spelling of Danny Scofield's last name. ALBANY New Yorkers have grown used to falling populations in much of upstate, its struggling old industrial centers surrounded by increasingly fallow farmland. But that decades-old story was often counterbalanced by continuing growth downstate, where waves of immigrants more than compensated for the outflow of born-and-bred New Yorkers and helped keep the region vibrant. New and startling census numbers released last week tell a different story. While the census didn't release local or county-level statistics, the state's dramatic, worst-in-the-nation population decline suggests New York City and its surroundings have experienced an exodus more typical of what we've come to expect from, say, the Binghamton or Utica areas. The state's population fell 319,020 in the 12 months before last July 1, the census estimates, a 1.6 percent fall. According to E.J. McMahon of Albany's Empire Center for Public Policy, that's the biggest single-year decrease in New Yorks history. That's obviously alarming, and it should unnerve Capitol policymakers. But since upstate's distressing population trends have largely been met by yawns in Albany for decades, I wouldn't expect anything different now. Population decline represents failure, and failure is something incumbent politicians especially are loath to admit. Of course, the new census numbers weren't measuring a typical year. They were for a pandemic period in which New York City, in particular, was an extremely difficult place to live the crowds that were once part of its appeal suddenly turned into a threat, the coronavirus lockdowns especially intolerable in a city of tiny but insanely expensive apartments. It is possible, then, that the new data will prove to be an aberration, or even inaccurate. The census has surprised us before: The 2020 decennial count showed that the state's population had grown somewhat despite prior estimates suggesting otherwise. For the good of New York, let's hope the latest estimate is also off. But even if so, it remains the case that many parts of the state have been exporting residents at a disturbing pace for decades, resulting in shrinking populations in places without New York City's appeal to newcomers. Thirty-nine upstate counties lost population from 2010 to 2020, the census says, and the consequences are both obvious and depressing. Dead Main Streets and shopping districts. Families weakened by distance. Homes in disrepair. That rot isn't happening everywhere. The Capital Region is a noteworthy exception, with Saratoga County leading all of upstate in population growth. But even here, most of us know friends, family members or neighbors who have voted with their moving trucks, and we have heard the reasons behind their decisions. Yes, weather is part of it, and yet there are cold-weather states Idaho, Minnesota and New Hampshire among them with robust population growth. Taxes are a more significant reason, I think. Should it surprise anyone that the state with the highest tax burden leads the nation in population outflow? It's just a fact that New York's tax levy makes it difficult for many retirees, young families and businesses to thrive, and there isn't the corresponding sense that all those taxes bring services that make life easier than in states where residents are taxed less. We don't get what we pay for, in other words. And so, New York had the largest numeric and percentage population decline of any state during the measured year, according to the new census numbers. New York's population also fell below 20 million people, to 19.8 million. Will lawmakers care? Well, state Sen. Jim Tedisco, the Glenville Republican, and Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, a Democrat from Rotterdam, in 2020 launched an effort that aimed to survey current and former New Yorkers about why so many leave, with policy discussions and recommendations to follow. The pandemic stalled the effort, but Tedisco told me he intends to revive it, especially in light of the newly released numbers. "The only business that's doing well right now is U-Haul," Tedisco said. "That's not a good sign." Still, I would be shocked if the population outflow becomes a topic of significant statewide discussion or if many lawmakers show that they are bothered by the new census findings. (Gov. Kathy Hochul's office did not respond to a request for comment.) Tackling population decline would mean asking hard, thoughtful policy questions. It's easier to pretend that nothing is wrong. Still, if lawmakers care about New York, shouldn't they also care that so much of the state is withering away? cchurchill@timesunion.com 518-454-5442 @chris_churchill Who doesnt like an unexpected match? This one is between a famous Maine restaurant that celebrates and sources nearly everything local from the seafood it cooks to its massive floral displays and a Hudson Valley design store thats about 360 miles away from New England chef Erin French. For these two women restaurant chef-owner French and Joan Osofsky, owner and founder of Hammertown the partnership is proving to be a perfect creative pairing, local or not. When COVID-19 struck in March 2020, French decided to expand her restaurant, the Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine one of the countrys toughest dinner reservations to get, and the subject of a series on Discovery+ and build three private dining cabins on the grounds to accommodate small groups of diners. To furnish them, she turned not to a Maine or Boston-based design store. She called Osofsky, who owns two Hudson Valley Hammertown locations in Pine Plains and Rhinebeck, and third location in Great Barrington, Massachusetts all more than five hours away from Freedom, Maine. Later, when French converted the cabins into overnight guest sleeping quarters, she again worked with Hammertown to create a rustic, contemporary look. Why French chose Hammertown rather than shop at a store closer to home or online goes beyond aesthetics, though both French and Osofsky say they share similar stylistic tastes. It also reflects a friendship based on respect, mentorship and just plain affection. Building a village of support from women @meredithbrockington via @thelostkitchen The two first met in an upscale kitchen equipment store in Belfast, Maine, called The Good Table where French worked at the time. Owner Vicki Tarbell is Osofskys best friend from college, and Osofsky would visit the shop a few times a year. Her appearances made a lasting impression on French. You could tell immediately she had this impeccable style, French says of Osofsky. She lit up the room. French began cooking in her fathers diner as a kid and in 2010 began organizing weekly Secret Suppers in a former bank building in Belfast. The buzz around these dinners spread, and soon French had a long waiting list for reservations. One night she invited Tarbell, who asked if she could bring Osofsky. So began a beautiful friendship. Her food is off the charts, Osofsky says. She uses amazing, fresh ingredients, and looks for a different twist. I never ate oysters until I went there. French bought the entire bank building in 2011 and opened the first Lost Kitchen restaurant with her then-husband Todd French, a boatbuilder. The public reception to the restaurant was effusive, but privately Erin French was struggling. Her 2021 memoir, Finding Freedom: A Cooks Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch, documents her time in rehab for an addiction to prescription drugs and the end of her marriage and restaurant. After her world collapsed, thats when we became close, Osofsky says. She would be the first to say that she has a village, people who were there for her during hard times that she doesnt forget. French remembers Osofsky cheering her on as she dusted off the ashes of her former life. Shes someone who believed in me, who said, This girl is going places, says French. She was very supportive, even in the darkest moments. A week after returning to Maine, still in a fragile state, French traveled to New York and cooked dinner at the James Beard Foundation, the celebrated culinary arts organization. She then started her cooking comeback in a converted Airstream camper that became her traveling kitchen. In 2014, she leased a restored 1834 gristmill in Freedom and opened the second Lost Kitchen with a nearly all-female staff, with the one exception being a male dishwasher. Support for the Lost Kitchen 2.0 has been overwhelming, with more than 20,000 people submitting postcards every year to be entered into a lottery to score a coveted reservation at the restaurant during its six-month operating season, usually from May to October. Frenchs rise continues. In 2017, she published the cookbook, The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life in Freedom, Maine, and in 2021, the Lost Kitchen was the subject of two seasons on Discovery+, which will also air on the Magnolia Network Jan. 6. The restaurants website has expanded to sell home accessories and other items handmade by women. Her personal life has turned around as well. She now shares custody of her son with his father, and she married Michael Dutton, a media executive in 2018. Dutton serves as executive producer of Frenchs television show. Downtime is the best time Make the most of your Hudson Valley weekend, every week with our newsletter. Personal splurge leads to Hammertown partnership In February 2019, French decided to spoil herself and buy from Hammertown a wooden dining room table and chairs for her own home. During the pandemic, these items, made by Belgian manufacturer Ethnicraft, ended up in one of the cabins, along with two other sets she purchased from Osofsky. In an Instagram photo French shared of the table and chairs in the dining pod, she calls out the source: table and chairs by our friends @hammertownbarn because you keep asking. In 2021, the cabins were remodeled as sleeping spaces. French liked the Ethnicraft line for their bedroom furniture, too, and worked with Osofsky and her daughter Dana to pick out the beds and nightstands. (The Lost Restaurant will be opening 2022 reservations for the cabins in January.) Joan and Dana have my taste, says French. They came up with mood boards and fabrics. The mutual admiration society continues. French calls Osofsky a wonderful mentor. Shes a self-made businesswoman who has been inspirational to me, she says. I can call her anytime for advice. To have someone who has been through divorce and started a business from scratch what she does spoke to me. Osofsky says everything French works on is from the heart. She knows her vision and she sticks by it, she says. On the Hammertown website, theres a quote by French: Hammertown makes me feel like Im home. I want to curl up and live there. And at the bottom of Hammertowns About Us page, French appears in an uncaptioned photo smiling and cooking, moving into the future with a little help from her friends. Multiple counties set single-day records for coronavirus cases on Wednesday as more than 1,800 Capital Region residents tested positive for the virus. The reported cases came before an expected post-holiday peak and roughly a week after the state shipped thousands of at-home test kits and masks to counties for distribution. Last year, most counties in the region saw their cases peak some time in the two weeks after Jan. 1. New coronavirus case report numbers were are follows: 490 in Saratoga County, 471 in Albany County, 334 in Schenectady County, 204 in Rensselaer County, 130 in Warren County and 88 in Columbia County. These were the highest single-day totals in each of those six counties since the pandemic began, according to state and local data. Greene and Washington counties both saw their cases rise, with 66 and 96 new cases, respectively, but those numbers were below their single-day records. The Capital Region's seven-day average percentage of positive test results is now 10.43 percent, up from 10 percent on Tuesday. Gov. Kathy Hochul cautioned residents to remain vigilant going into the new year. "We have the tools and we know what works mask up, get vaccinated, get boosted, and exercise caution in large gatherings, especially this weekend," she said. But officials said that while case numbers are high, hospitalizations have not yet made a similar leap. Nearly three out of four sequenced cases in the state are now due to the omicron variant, which public health officials believe causes milder symptoms of the virus especially in healthy, vaccinated people. We know vaccinations and boosters are doing their jobs in preventing many serious illnesses and hospitalizations caused by the virus, and the initial evidence is showing that the omicron variant is comparatively less dangerous than delta," County Executive Dan McCoy said. Albany County saw eight more residents hospitalized, for a total of 58 residents. Of those, seven are in intensive care. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The countys death toll also increased by one to 470. The victim was a woman in her 60s. In Warren County, 13 residents are hospitalized, with four in critical condition. Three of those four are unvaccinated and 10 out of the 13 patients hospitalized are unvaccinated, according to the county. Warren County also had a high number of breakthrough cases, as 62 of the 130 positive cases were among the vaccinated. The county's data shows that the overwhelming majority of breakthrough cases are asymptomatic or mild cases. According to state data, Rensselaer County had three more coronavirus deaths and Saratoga County had one additional death. MAYFIELD A family proposing a controversial 300-lot RV park on Great Sacandaga Lake in Mayfield was awarded $200,000 in Round 11 of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the $196 million in awards to 488 projects across the state on Dec. 14. Lane Winney, owner of the property on the dead-end Woods Hollow Road, did not know about the $200,000 when the Adirondack Explorer contacted him after the announcement. He said his daughter, Kalei Winney, had applied to several grant programs. I hope its ours, Lane Winney said. A spokesperson for Empire State Development confirmed that the Market New York funding was a reimbursement grant to Kalei Winney, the daughter of Lane Winney and Jamie Winney. Located in Fulton County, the project is listed under Mohawk Valley awards, and part of the project site is within the Adirondack Park. The grant may be applied toward construction, supplies and engineering expenses. Lane and Kalei Winney did not return the Explorers follow-up requests for comment. The RV park is in its early stages and subject to site approval from the town of Mayfields planning board. The project includes more than 200 sites for RVs. The remaining lots are for a mixture of glamping, tents and primitive camping. The Winneys also plan boat docks, a boat launch, a picnic area and space for an amphitheater. The Regional Economic Development Council description said the campground will increase tourism to the Mohawk Valley. This project will provide a safe and affordable getaway for families who want to reconnect with the outdoors while creating lasting memories. The Winneys still need permit approvals from several state agencies, including the Adirondack Park Agency, state Department of Environmental Conservation and Hudson River-Black River Regulating District. Neighbors around the property are against the proposal and expressed concerns about an RV parks impact on the environment and quality of life. Some neighbors were alarmed that Lane Winney had felled trees without permits. Winney told the Explorer there is a mine on the property and the logging was part of reclamation work. The planning board had scheduled two public hearings. One slated for November was canceled because the town did not publish the meeting notice in time, officials said. The hearing was rescheduled to Dec. 15, but that, too, was canceled. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Carmel Greco, the towns attorney, said the town called off the most recent meeting because it needed to notify property owners within 500 feet of the proposed project site by certified mail. The town had sent notices via ordinary mail, he said. Mayfield and Fulton County planning officials plan to reschedule the hearing for Jan. 19 when the planning board next meets. Sean Geraghty, planning consultant for the Fulton County planning department, said he was unaware that the Winneys were awarded or had applied for the state funds. This story was initially published by Adirondack Explorer, a nonprofit newsgathering organization reporting on environmental policy and other issues affecting the state forest preserve. Nearly every week for the last year, we've given you a little peek inside the Times Union newsroom via The Eagle podcast. From the greasy details of a local cooking oil-based crime syndicate to a play-by-play of the chain of events that thrust the Times Union into the national spotlight and led to the resignation of a governor, we've brought you a sound-rich, behind-the-scenes look at our reporting. Here are seven of the most popular episodes from the 2021 season: Episode 29: Cuomo Collapsing When New York State Attorney General Letitia James released her long-awaited bombshell report in early August concluding that then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women, the Times Union Editor Casey Seiler and Capitol Bureau Managing Editor Brendan Lyons found audio and transcripts of their calls with the governor's top aides from earlier in the year were included as evidence in the report. On this episode, Seiler and Lyons go through what happened, and what the report portended at the time for the embattled Cuomo. Episode 34: Life After News A remarkable number of local TV news personalities left the industry this year. On this episode, Kristi Gustafson Barlette spoke to Paulina Bucka, who left Newschannel 13 this year after just four months on the job, about why so many local broadcast journalists are calling it quits and what's next for her. Episode 46: Get Back to Let It Be In 1969, filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg filmed more than 50 hours of footage of the Beatles as they wrote their final iconic album, Let it Be. From the first rehearsals to the impromptu rooftop concert that turned out to be their last performance, the intimate clips captured the final days before the Fab Four split. Today, those recordings are featured in The Beatles: Get Back, a new Disney+ docu-series about those last days by Lord of the Rings trilogy director Peter Jackson. On this episode, Seiler chats with Lindsey-Hogg, now a Hudson resident in his 80s, about his film, the new series, and what it was like working with the Beatles. Episode 16: A Long Week It began with a clash between social justice protesters and police in Albany's South End that resulted in damage to a police station, the use of pepper spray and injury to a protester. At midweek, the conviction of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin brought cautious optimism to activists around the region. But by week's end, tensions once again flared as police forced protesters out of the encampment they had occupied for six days. Revisit this emotional week in this episode. This episode contains explicit language and descriptions of events that may be upsetting to listeners. Please listen with care. Episode 30: Executive Assistant #1 Three days before former Gov. Cuomo announced his resignation, the Times Union and CBS News published an exclusive interview with one of the women who accused him of sexual harassment. Brittany Commisso, who was identified as "Executive Assistant #1" in the attorney general's report, alleged that Cuomo groped her in late 2020 in his private office at the Executive Mansion. On this episode, we hear from Commisso herself, as well as Lyons, Capitol Bureau editor, who broke the story of her allegations in April. Episode 22: A City Divided In June, we published a series of reports on how the historic practice of redlining, which splintered New York's capital city along racial lines, continues to impact the region's Black community. On this episode, reporters Massarah Mikati and Eduardo Medina discuss their investigation of how it locked in pervasive segregation and economic inequities that persist today. Episode 35: 20 Years Later This past September marked 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. On this episode, Times Union columnist Paul Grondahl recounts his experience covering the aftermath of the attacks from Ground Zero, reporter Shayla Colon interviews her father about the tragic death of her mother in the South Tower collapse, and Capital Region residents who either lost loved ones in the attacks or who had helped with the search and rescue afterward reflect on what the anniversary means to them. The situations described in this episode may be upsetting to some. Please listen with care. The Eagle will return in next week to kick off a brand new season. Stay tuned for an interview with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, a deep-dive into our reporting on dam safety in New York and a guide to pronouncing the names of upstate towns and cities like a local. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) The number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has reached a pandemic record high in Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday as he ordered additional members of the state National Guard into hospitals to help with the surge. The state also saw another record number of new coronavirus cases. In response, the Ohio Hospital Association and the Ohio Children's Hospital Association asked school officials statewide to consider mandatory mask wearing as cases continue to spike. Please help us by requiring students to wear masks when they return to school, the groups said. But at least one major district Cleveland city schools announced it was returning to remote learning for a week starting Monday. In Cincinnati, Mayor John Cranley declared a state of emergency on Wednesday because of staffing shortages within the fire department. The move will allow the city to order overtime for firefighters and cancel vacations to ensure public safety, Cranley said. Ohio had 5,356 people in the hospital with the coronavirus Wednesday, the highest since the pandemic began in March 2020, accounting for more than one of every five hospital beds. That's also the highest per-capita hospitalization rate in the country, said Robert Wylie, chief medical operations officer at the Cleveland Clinic. More than nine of every 10 people hospitalized with COVID-19 since June have been unvaccinated, DeWine said. If youre vaccinated, the chances of you ending up in the hospital are pretty darn slim, the governor said. Even as the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations spike, facilities are struggling with staffing levels. The Cleveland Clinic had more than 2,700 staff members out with the coronavirus on Wednesday, also a pandemic record, Wylie said. DeWine is ordering the deployment of 1,250 members of the Ohio National Guard to help hospitals. That's on top of the more than 1,000 members of the Guard that DeWine called up earlier this month. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. A total of 20,320 new coronavirus cases were reported Wednesday. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Ohio has risen over the past two weeks from 7,592.86 new cases per day on Dec. 13 to 12,525.57 new cases per day on Dec. 27, according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. The number of positive tests is likely higher because of the widespread distribution of free, in-home testing kits whose results aren't being reported, said DeWine. But dealing with underreported case numbers is not as important as people having the ability to be tested quickly, he said. ___ Associated Press writer John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this report. ALBANY Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced plans for a $240 million increase in funding for schools serving children with disabilities in her upcoming 2022-2023 executive budget. Hochul also signed a package of legislation to increase resources and support for students with disabilities, their families and social services providers. "This historic investment in schools serving students with disabilities, along with four bills I am signing into law, will make a huge difference in the lives of students, families and schools in every corner of New York," Hochul said. "Throughout my time in office, I've made it a priority to listen to the disability community and provide the resources and support they need to thrive. People with disabilities have my commitment: as your governor, I'll always stand by your side and fight for you." Following the 4 percent cost-of-living adjustment approved for the 2021-2022 school year tuition rates, the state Division of the Budget will authorize an additional cost-of-living adjustment of 11 percent for the 2022-2023 school year a total increase of more than 15 percent over two years. The adjustment would increase preschool and school-age special education providers' annual funding by more than $240 million, with the state ultimately reimbursing school districts and counties for roughly 60 percent of the cost. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Bills signed Thursday to support students with disabilities include one that establishes that the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board. Hochul also signed legislation that ensures the timely appointment of an impartial hearing officer to address due process complaints for students with disabilities, a bill that makes standards for issuing behavior analyst licenses in New York consistent with other states and legislation that provides funding to early intervention education for toddlers with disabilities. The Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board will deliver a report on autism detection, education, and mapping. This report will evaluate and review factors on the causes of autism in children as well as assist health care providers and educators with ways to better help those diagnosed with autism, state officials said. ALBANY The states eviction moratorium, first enacted in 2020, is set to expire next month. Although landlords will finally be able to see movement on eviction cases, there are still steps tenants can take to protect themselves from losing their residences. State laws that include the Tenant Safe Harbor Act, a permanent legal defense, and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) can allow someone to petition a court to prevent the eviction of individuals that experienced financial hardship during the pandemic and provide them rent relief. Only judges can authorize eviction proceedings to commence, meaning that tenants will not immediately be forced out of their residences. Those that applied for ERAP before the portal closed in November are entitled to wait for a final decision on their application before being evicted. Unless the portal reopens, tenants can no longer apply. Earlier this month, The Legal Aid Society sued the state seeking to reopen the application process. Its an easy thing for them to do, Edward Josephson, an attorney with Legal Services NYC, wrote in a post on The Legal Aid Society's website. Denying New Yorkers the ability to apply for desperately needed rent relief during the pandemic is cruel and will only exacerbate the public health and economic crisis. Advocates urge tenants being threatened by landlords to vacate their properties to refrain from self-evicting. If your landlord is demanding that you leave your apartment and you have nowhere to go, you should stay, said Cea Weaver, a campaign coordinator with Housing Justice For All. Theres potential for tenants to obtain remedies in court that may not be made available to them while dealing one-on-one with a landlord. Still, theres no guarantee that renters will be allowed to remain in their residences. The stats Approximately 225,448 eviction cases are active across the state, with 200,000 resulting from non-payment, according to a system that tracks that data managed by the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition. Before the pandemic, the number of eviction cases was just over 150,000. Hundreds of eviction cases have been filed in the Capital Region since March 2020, tracker data stated. There have been 989 processed in Albany, 747 in Troy and 893 in Schenectady. The cities of Cohoes and Watervliet also had at least 100 filings. Advocates worry that not enough has been done to educate the public about their options, especially the existence of ERAP program. Some anticipate a wave of evictions as a result. Another option might be an influx of federal funding for rent relief, but its not certain that monies will be made available. A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul declined to say whether the governor is considering extending the moratorium. "Housing issues both immediate and systemic will be a major priority for Gov. Hochul heading into the 2022 legislative session," said Jim Urso, a spokesman for the governor, citing the significant state and federal funds that have been devoted to rent relief. "We look forward to partnering with the legislature, advocacy groups, and local governmental leaders to address both short and long term housing issues." Homeowner protections On Tuesday, the state announced a new program for people at risk of foreclosures, default or displacement due to the pandemic. The New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund will begin accepting applications on Jan. 3 and processing them on a first-come, first-served basis. According to the programs website, the state is expecting more applications than the program can fund. Therefore, homeowners are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Submitting an application does not guarantee an applicant will receive financial assistance. The state Office of Court Administration and the homeowner assistance fund did not immediately respond to requests for data on the number of pending foreclosures in New York. Those that qualify for the program include individuals behind on their mortgage, in default on a reverse mortgage, or in arrears on water or other utility bills. Others qualify if they have delinquent property tax bills, monthly maintenance chargers to coops or condos, chattel loans, installment contracts or home purchase loans or lot rent. Homeowners can receive financial support to resolve delinquent housing payments, access to a call center, case managers who can help them with mortgage relief and referrals to professional counselors or legal services. Landlords For property owners, the end of the moratorium means that the courts will be able to resume eviction proceedings. Landlords should be doing everything they can now to make sure their cases are placed on the court calendar early in the new year, said Deborah Pusatere, president of the New York Capital Region Apartment Association. That means filing or distributing all necessary forms, such as the COVID-19 hardship form, the service provider form and a landlord attestation affidavit form. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Key documents landlords need to commence an eviction: Landlords can contact their local courthouse for more information about necessary documents that need to be served. Five-day and 14-day notices need to be given to tenants before a landlord can submit a case. Property owners cant file in court until after the 14-day period has expired. If a property owner has tried to serve a tenant in person at least three times, a notice can be sent through certified mail. In addition, tenants need to be notified between 10 and 17 days of a court proceeding. The average timeframe to get someone removed from a property is three months, Pusatere said. If the appropriate steps arent taken, a judge may dismiss the case. A property owner would then need to start the process over again. Needing help Multiple non-profits statewide are standing by, ready to assist anyone struggling as the eviction moratorium expires. Tenants in New York City seeking help should contact The Legal Aid Society or the Met Council on Housing. The Rights of Tenants Hotline is free and open to city renters, and can be reached at 212-979-0611. Closer to the Albany, organizations like United Tenants of Albany, Law Services of Western New York and Legal Services of the Hudson Valley can offer legal advice. Landlords in Albany needing help can reach out to the New York Capital Region Apartment Association. ALBANY Jose L. Nieves, chair of New York's ethics commission, issued a searing statement late Wednesday assailing the "unauthorized and improper releases of information by someone associated" with the panel, as well as unnamed sources that he said have unfairly cast the commission as unwilling to investigate top lawmakers. "These targeted leaks, in addition to allegations made against our professional staff, are nothing more than a coordinated attempt to undermine and discredit the commission and its staff," Nieves wrote. "I feel I must speak up on behalf of the commission staff after seeing them painted in a negative and inaccurate light." The chairman's statement followed a Times Union story published Monday that reported Sanford Berland, the commission's executive director, had declined to sign a letter that the commission agreed should be sent to the attorney general's office. The letter challenged the attorney general's finding that the commission had not followed the law when it voted recently to have former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo surrender $5.1 million that he had received for publishing a book about his handling of the pandemic. Nieves on Wednesday signed an edited version of that letter, which was supported by 12 of the commission's 13 members, after the text had undergone minor changes. The letter took issue with the attorney general's assertion that the order by the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics was invalid. The commissioners contend that under state Executive Law they have "exclusive jurisdiction in authorizing an outside activity involving the head of a state agency or a statewide elected official" and that authority is not set aside by the statutes cited by the attorney general's office. Nieves, apparently referring to the Times Union's receipt of the draft letter, suggested the leak amounted to the "unauthorized release of confidential information and communications." But the letter, even in draft form, is a record that normally would be subject to release under the state's Freedom of Information Law if JCOPE were subject to that law, but it is exempt. Still, it's not clear that the letter is "confidential" because it's not related to an active ethics investigation. "For better or worse, the laws enacted by the Legislature prohibit me or staff from detailing the extensive and far-ranging enforcement work we are doing to carry out our statutory mandate," Nieves wrote, defending the embattled panel. "While this prevents us from answering would-be critics who should and do know better, the fact is that the accusations of inaction on our part are utterly false. The daily work of JCOPE is done despite the complicated personal and political dynamics that seem to have unfortunately arisen from incredible unnamed sources." The internal strife within the ethics commission follows years of criticism by many lawmakers and some commissioners about its alleged unwillingness to pursue meaningful investigations of top government officials, including Cuomo. Gov. Kathy Hochul has suggested the panel needs to be disbanded and replaced by an ethics body whose members are not appointed by the governor or other top lawmakers. Regarding Cuomo's book deal, 12 of the commission's members have taken the position that since the former governor's staff had assisted with producing the memoir which Cuomo's counsel had said would not happen when they sought permission for him to engage in the outside work the approval given last year should be rescinded. Their recent order also directs Cuomo to turn over his contract proceeds to the attorney general's office. But that effort has led to a debate between the commission and the attorney general's office about the legal mechanics that must be undertaken in order to rescind the approval, including how they would compel Cuomo to give up the money. Commissioner Gary Lavine, who has for years openly criticized what he said is the ethics panel's lack of transparency, fired back at Nieves in his own statement Thursday. Lavine noted that for four decades the state's Court of Appeals New York's highest court "has held there is a presumption of openness and exceptions to openness are to be strictly construed." "From the inception of the commission, the Cuomo cohort has exerted itself to maintain a veil of secrecy akin to the medieval Star Chamber," he said, referring to the secretive English court created in the 15th Century to hear legal complaints against powerful individuals. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "The Star Chamber served the monarch not justice," Lavine continued. "JCOPE will meet the same fate as the Star Chamber. Mr. Nieves' censorious defense of secrecy is the last gasp from the JCOPE 'Star Chamber' before it is abolished by Gov. Hochul and the Legislature." The commission is supposed to be comprised of 14 members. The Senate majority leader and Assembly speaker each appoint three members, while the minority leaders in those chambers each appoint one. Six are appointed by the governor, who also selects the chair. Critics of JCOPE have alleged that some of Cuomo's appointees on the panel have shielded his administration. Larry Schimmel, a general counsel for Attorney General Letitia James, said in a two-page letter earlier this month to Berland, the commission's executive director, that the panel's referral on Cuomo's book deal needed to be made after a "substantial basis investigation report" had been completed and detailed any violations of state Public Officers Law. Those findings also need to specify the sums of money attributable to any penalties and the details of disgorgement, he wrote. Berland was appointed as the ethics commission's top staff member in April, and came under fire from state lawmakers in August during a legislative hearing examining the state's lackluster internal investigative structures. Richard Azzopardi, Cuomo's spokesman, has disputed that state workers improperly assisted the governor in publishing the book. "The people who volunteered to work on the book were people mentioned in the book and therefore they were involved to make sure the representations concerning them were accurate," he said. "Staff who volunteered took time off, evidencing that they were volunteering and not on state time." Cuomo's book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, also has been the focus of an investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn. That investigation was examining whether Cuomo's administration had deliberately manipulated the number of nursing home deaths in New York last year in order to elevate the governor's public persona as his handling of the pandemic drew a national audience at a time when the book was being prepared. The attorney general's office is also looking into the circumstances of the book's production. Socialite Ghislaine Maxwell will appeal against her conviction for luring young girls for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest, her brother has said. The 60-year-old, who was labelled dangerous by the prosecution, faces the rest of her life in jail for helping to entice vulnerable teenagers to Epsteins various properties for him to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004. The full indictment against Maxwell listed six charges, including conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts and conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Maxwell was also accused of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor. On Wednesday, she showed little emotion as she was convicted on five of the six counts after a three-week trial in New York. STATEMENT FROM THE MAXWELL FAMILY"We believe firmly in our sister's innocence we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated." RealGhislaine (@RealGhislaine) December 30, 2021 In a statement Maxwells brother Kevin said: We believe firmly in our sisters innocence we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated. Lisa Bloom, who represents a number of Ghislaine Maxwells and Jeffrey Epsteins accusers, said she does not see any chance of Maxwells legal team successfully appealing against the verdict. The prosecutions case focused on the evidence of four women who said they were abused by Maxwell and Epstein. Three gave evidence using first names or pseudonyms. Jane is a television actress; Kate a former model from the UK and Carolyn a mother and recovering drug addict. The fourth was Annie Farmer who used her real name. Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein (US Department of Justice/PA) Maxwells trial heard how she summoned 14-year-old Jane to an orgy, groped Carolyn at the age of 14 and laid a schoolgirl outfit out for Kate before a sexualised massage with Epstein because she thought it would be fun. The defendant also asked Ms Farmer to undress for a massage and left her frozen after rubbing her breasts. The court in the Southern District of New York heard Maxwell imposed a culture of silence by design at Epsteins properties, where staff were told to see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing. A journalist questions defence lawyer Laura Menninger (right) as she leaves the federal courthouse in New York (AP) While the horrific abuse was going on, the jury was told how the defendant lived a life of luxury with the prosecution describing the trafficking as a means to support her lifestyle. With the fortune he made from his financial dealings, Epstein and Maxwell lived a life of luxury jetting around the world and living at the millionaires many properties around the world while bragging about being friends with high-profile figures, including former US president Donald Trump. Maxwells friends also included royalty. She had known the Duke of York since her days at university and introduced Andrew to Epstein. Maxwell was found not guilty of enticing a minor to engage in illegal sex acts which alleged the defendant coerced Jane, to travel from Florida to Manhattan so that Epstein could have sex with her. The court heard how Maxwell flew on Epsteins private planes to his properties where the abuse would happen including a ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, his house in Palm Beach, Florida, his townhouse in New York and his private island called Little Saint James. The trial also heard how she told Carolyn that she had a great body for Epstein and his friends. Jurors also heard how Carolyn had been introduced to Epstein and Maxwell through Duke of York accuser Virginia Roberts, also known as Virginia Giuffre, and that she had been in the same room while Epstein and Ms Roberts had sex. Kate said she had a schoolgirl outfit laid out for her by Maxwell before a sexualised massage with Epstein. Ms Farmer told jurors she was left frozen when the socialite asked her to undress for a massage and rubbed her breasts. Maxwell flew with Epstein on his private planes to his various properties where girls would be abused (US Department of Justice) Maxwells defence counsel had attempted to distance her from Epstein, but a series of photographs issued in evidence showed the close relationship the pair had, including one which appeared to show Maxwell and Epstein relaxing at a log cabin on the Queens Balmoral estate Reacting to the verdict, Ms Farmers sister Maria Farmer said both of them were sobbing with joy. Ms Roberts said she had lived with the horrors of Maxwells abuse and commended the four women who testified during the trial. She added: I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be. Maxwell lived a life of luxury with Epstein while the abuse was taking place (US Department of Justice) Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. The death was ruled a suicide. Maxwell, who has been held in a US jail since her arrest in July last year, will be sentenced on a date yet to be confirmed. The maximum prison terms for each charge range from five to 40 years. She still faces trial on two counts of perjury. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Those bullets have to land somewhere and so we don't feel bad about offering follow-up blogging on a dangerous trend that threatens locals on amateur night. Here's the money line and another reason to discourage the practice . . . Last New Years Eve, KCPDs gun detection system, ShotSpotter, recorded more than 1600 rounds of gunfire from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. overnight. That resulted in hundreds of phone calls to the police, which tied up resources. While a full complement of officers will work the holiday to protect Kansas City, KCPD asks that you call 9-1-1 if you see someone shoot their firearm into the air. What the (ShotSpotter) system doesnt tell us that the public can is whos responsible, what car they got into, and what house they came from, said Sgt. Jake Becchina. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . . Celebratory New Year's Eve Gunfire Endangers Residents KCPD, along with Mayor Quinton Lucas, is asking residents not to celebrate New Year's Eve by shooting firearms into the air. Kansas Citians have died and been injured by this random gunfire. "When you shoot your gun in the air, you don't get to decide where that round goes," said Sgt. Developing . . . Bike lanes have become increasingly unpopular because they're blighting otherwise beautiful streets with traffic cone clutter. In fact . . . BIKE LANE D-BAGS SEEMINGLY WANT TO TURN KANSAS CITY STREETS INTO A DANGEROUS OBSTACLE COURSE!!! Those who REALLY understand what's going on know that it's all a sketchy scheme hatched by a small cadre of "urban planners" who are connected to a few organization that earn city funding for building these monstrosities. Now . . . The urban core wants out. And so Council Lady Melissa Robinson has launched clever legislation to given neighborhoods veto power against sketchy bike schemes championed by council dude Eric Bunch. Sadly, there's a bit of push back from people who mistakenly think that riding a bicycle and impeding traffic is the next, great civil rights struggle. Here's a recent summary of the fight that we covered earlier this year with fewer words . . . That ordinance, which Councilwoman Melissa Robinson introduced in late October, has ignited a citywide conversation that encompasses much more than bike lanes. Now, its about the quality of the citys streets and sidewalks, about the neighborhoods that are prioritized for improvements and the ones left behind, about equity and whose voices are heard. Wrong. The strength of Council Lady Robinson's legislation is that it offers AUTONOMY TO NEIGHBORHOODS AGAINST BAD CITY HALL PLANNING. Hint . . . Not everything is about equity. In fact, council is often at their best when they momentarily step away from culture war theater. But I digress . . . Here's a significant FAIL that shouldn't be forgotten . . . The bike lane crew destroyed Armour Blvd and actually sparked more traffic threats to residents. Now, locals are starting to understand that most of these creeps are only padding their resume with a lame attempt to turn KC into Portland that hasn't worked so far. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . . Kansas City's most prolific activist shares the FIRST WORD of his latest effort here on TKC. Take a peek at an effort that seeks voter approval rather than imposing gerrymandered schemes . . . Activist Clay Chastain readies new petition drive to rescue Kansas City in case federal court rules in City's favor Decades of liberal policies and taxpayer-funded glitz have dominated and destroyed Kansas City. Our City is dying at the hands of far left sophomoric leaders who have not only ruined it, but also have no plan to rescue it. Americans must rise up and save our nation's cities from the liberal mismanagement, rising crime, hopelessness and depopulation that now engulf them. Reinserting conservative policies and values, coupled with implementing new innovative plans to jump start our cities, will assure their survival and future prosperity. For Kansas City to revive itself, it must first reinvent itself with a plan that brings relief from...on-going violent crime, population loss, rising transportation costs and decaying quality of life. Activist Clay Chastain has such a plan the City has refused to present to voters. The fate of that petition proposal is now in federal court. If the City wins on a bogus technicality, Chastain is prepared to hit the streets again with a new City Hall-proof petition timed to go on the 2022 midterm ballot and be a winner for the people of Kansas City. The new petition proposal constitutes...(1) Establishing a "Citywide All-Electric Transit System" (quick, quiet and clean electric buses and light rail) to replace the City's outdated, unpopular and environmentally-unfriendly fossil fuel-powered bus system, (2) Integrating into Union Station's reuse a new Multi-Modal Regional Transportation Center connecting regional buses to Kansas City's new All-Electric Transit System, (3) Connecting the new modernized transit system to the City's downtown streetcar system, (4) Transforming Penn Valley Park from a forlorn, dangerous and underutilized urban space into a premier open green space free from vehicular traffic, (5) Creating a Citywide (auto-free) "Greenway" network (separated lanes for electric transit, bicycle / scooter and pedestrian use only) to safely move about our City. This plan is big enough and good enough to turn the tide, catch national attention, capture federal infrastructure matching funds, ignite our City's economy and cast Kansas City a new image as America's foremost Green City of the Midwest. Kansas City Activist, Clay Chastain ################## Developing . . . A picture showing the new Tucson in India has got everyone excited but this new model might not be for the Indian market at all. Having said that, the next-generation Tucson with a much sharper design and will likely go on sale in India in 2022. A recent picture of all-new Hyundai Tucson units getting transported without any camouflage in India got many excited. However, these cars are most likely not for the Indian market at all. While many reported that the all-new Hyundai Tucsons arrival is around the corner and few others claimed that these cars are going to the Hyundai showrooms. However, that is not what is happening. What is the all-new Tucson SUV doing in India then? These units were probably in transit. Since India is a major transportation hub, neighbouring countries like Bhutan and even Nepal use Indian ports for importing products including cars. These cars are most likely heading to Bhutan where the taxes on imported vehicles are very low and you will find most high-end cars driving around in the country that are not available in India. Many countries use Indian ports for the transportation of products. Seen here are some Toyota MPVs that arent sold in India In the past, many such vehicles in transit were caught and similar rumours surfaced. We have spotted cars like Toyota Rush and old Hilux in similar transit trucks. So when will Tucson come to India? Read all about the new Tucson and its arrival in India by SWIPING UP! Hyundai is yet to officially announce the arrival of the all-new Tucson to the Indian market. However, it is likely to arrive in India later this year. Tucson is a premium offering in the Indian market and will be priced similar to the Alcazar. However, it is a five-seater and looks very different from the seven-seater. The Tucson will compete with the likes of Jeep Compass when it eventually comes officially to the Indian market. All-upcoming Tucson will feature an all new design language inside-out It is likely to arrive sometime in the middle of 2022 The all-new Tucson comes with an all-new exterior design with sharp edges all over. The crossover also gets new engine options in the international markets. But the Indian-spec Tucson is likely to get powered by the same engine options that are available with the current model. Augustine Tours the Rwanda-based tour operator says tailor-made tours to Africa deliver a travel experience that goes beyond the Rwanda gorilla trekking tour and Tanzanias great migration safari. (TRAVPR.COM) RWANDA - December 29th, 2021 - Augustine Tours has announced that tailor-made tours to East Africa have remained the most sought-after packages in 2021. The year 2020 has indeed been a tough time for all businesses, and particularly the tourism industry. As 2021 is coming to an end, Augustine Tours discusses how the tailor-made tours packages have helped the company survive the Covid-19 turmoil. Augustin Ndikuriyo, the director of Augustine Tours said that before the pandemic, they had different types of inquiries from our customers. Joining a ready-made tour itinerary was easy as there were no worldwide health concerns. The fixed departure group tours and itineraries couldnt be changed, the schedule was shared with their customers in advance so that they may prepare themselves for the adventure. After the pandemic, they have seen an increase in tailor-made tours requests. All the tours they sold in 2020 and 2021 were 100% tailor-made private tours. According to the company website, they have developed a new booking form allowing their customers to inquire about a tailor-made tour in less than two minutes. The tailor-made tour request form( https://augustinetours.com/tailor-made-tour-request/) aims to give a chance to customers a series of tour activities they can choose from. The tailor-made tour itinerary is designed based on the customer's travel needs and wishes. Augustine Tours highlights that the Africa travel experience goes beyond the Rwanda gorilla trekking tour and Tanzanias great migration safari experience. The tailor-made tours work for both solo travelers, families, and couples considering a trip to Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, DR Congo, Tanzania, and Kenya. The tour requests are always free. Augustine Tours is a trusted travel company that consistently delivers value-driven, memorable tailor-made tours and safaris in East Africa. Its professional customer service and fair pricing keep visitors experiencing the best of the region. Rwanda-based tour operator says the Africa travel experience goes beyond the Rwanda gorilla trekking tour and Tanzanias great migration safari experience. ### And there is news of another collaboration...this time the Air Guard working with the Prison Ukraine ends 2021 with the highest GDP expressed in dollars in its history almost $200 billion. "Economic growth and rise of income amid the COVID-19 crisis have become a particularly important task this year, and we see significant progress in this direction. We end 2021 with all time high dollar GDP almost $ 200 billion," Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said at the Cabinets meeting on December 29, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. He noted that the average salary exceeded $ 550 for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine, having grown by more than 19% over the year. As reported, Ukraine's GDP in the second quarter of 2021 increased by 5.7% compared to the second quarter of 2020. Ukraine's nominal GDP in 2020 amounted to UAH 4.19 trillion, down 4% compared to 2019. In 2020, Ukraine's nominal GDP per capita amounted to UAH 100,470. ol Russian President Vladimir Putin's goal is to split Ukraine into several parts. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, expressed the opinion in an interview with Current Time, Ukrinform reports. "After Putin seized Crimea, he needs to fixate this situation. In order to fixate this situation, he wants our country to cease to exist within its modern borders. This is his No.1 task, through internal destabilization, to ensure that the country disintegrates into two or three parts. This is what Putin wants," said Danilov. According to the NSDC secretary, should Putin fail to achieve this through meddling, "then, as an option, weapons can be used, but were prepared for that." Read also: On chemical weapons and distinctive smell of Russian disinformation The secretary of the National Security and Defense Council noted that the Army accounts for 261,000 active servicemen, while the total number of citizens operating in the security and defense sector nears a million. In addition, there is a civil society sector, which is millions of Ukrainians, that will also defend the country. "Do we need help now? Yes, we do. And we are turning to our partners for this help. Are we getting this help? Yes, were getting it. Is it sufficient? We would like it to be much larger. But if should there be no such help, we will have enough understanding of how to repel the aggressor," Danilov emphasized. He noted that Ukraine periodically receives assistance from the United States and other governments, but in case of escalation, Kyiv will need much more, so all partners have promised that they will deliver immediately. "We would like this assistance to be provided as early as today. But there is a situation: 'Let's not provoke Putin.' But he doesnt even need to be provoked. He can make up anything, himself," Danilov said. According to Danilov, the internal situation in Russia is extremely complicated, and to retain control, the authorities need an external foe. In the Soviet Union, it was the United States, the so-called West, which was constantly used to intimidate people. After 1991, first, it was Transnistria ... then Georgia in 2008, now it's us. "Our country has never attacked Russia. Its the Russians who are constantly at war, because if they are not, the very existence of the Russian Federation may become very, very difficult," he said. Danilov stressed that the current situation is a result of the Muslim world putting pressure on Russia. "Various processes may be taking place there. Im more than sure that we will soon see a free Ichkeria (Chechnya - ed.)," said the NSDC secretary. im The United Kingdom and other NATO members will respond strongly to a further Russian military incursion into Ukraine by imposing coordinated sanctions that will seriously damage Russia's interests and economy. According to Ukrinform, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wrote this in an article for the European Pravda news site. She recalled that the United Kingdom and Ukraine will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on December 31. Truss said that relations between the two countries have never been stronger than they are now. Britain and its allies are on the side of Ukraine amid Russia's unprovoked and unexplained troop build-up in Ukraine and along its borders, she said. Truss noted that the United Kingdom does not accept Russia's campaign to undermine its democratic neighbors. She said she told the Russian authorities that they must immediately stop their destabilizing actions, respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and negotiate seriously. Truss vowed to continue to put pressure on Russia in an attempt to reduce tensions and stop its aggressive behavior. She also noted that Britain had taken advantage of the G7 presidency and worked through NATO channels to urge Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine in line with its international commitments. Truss said the United Kingdom and other NATO members have made it clear that any further military invasion of Ukraine will be an extraordinary strategic mistake. She said they would respond strongly to any such move, including by imposing coordinated sanctions that will seriously damage Russia's interests and economy. Truss said the UK and other NATO members were closely monitoring Russia's efforts to create a pretext for the conflict by making false accusations against Ukraine or NATO of provocations that have nothing to do with reality. Finally, she said that the United Kingdom and Ukraine would continue to stand side by side with unwavering belief in freedom and democracy. op Estonian President Alar Karis plans to visit Ukraine in early 2022. According to Ukrinform, the presidential press service reported this after his meeting with Estonian diplomat Matti Maasikas, who serves as head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine. "Despite the ongoing hostilities in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainians have remained pro-reform, continuing their efforts to integrate with the European Union. It is a country where democratic values are valued and Estonia supports Ukraine's aspirations towards the European Union and the right of Ukrainians to decide which unions they want to be part of," Karis said at the meeting. Photo: president.ee He stated that Estonia highly values the activities of the European Union in Ukraine and will continue to assist the Ukrainians both bilaterally and through various EU initiatives. It was also stated at the meeting that Russia's possible military action in the region poses a threat to the security of the whole of Europe, not only that of Ukraine, and that the world community's continued support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty is important. First photo: Priit Murk/ERR op A phone call President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to have with U.S. President Joseph Biden following the latters call with Russias Vladimir Putin would be a logical continuation of the existing format of talks between the two countries. Thats according to Serhiy Nykyforov, Press Secretary for the President of Ukraine, who offered a comment to Ukrinform. "Last time, before the Biden-Putin call, Secretary of State (Antony - ed.) Blinken called the Ukrainian President to assure that there would be no words or decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine. After the conversation, President Biden called President Zelensky, spoke about the content and assured him of U.S. support for territorial integrity and Ukraine's sovereignty. The same thing is happening now. Yesterday there was a conversation between President Zelensky and Secretary of State Blinken as they talked including about today's future conversation between Biden and Putin, and then a logical step will be a phone call between Biden and Zelensky," Nykyforov said. The spokesman for the Ukrainian head of state did not rule out that the talks would take place in the near future, as media reported referring to White House sources while noting that neither the time, nor the format, nor the very fact of the upcoming talks between Ukrainian and U.S. presidents could now be fully confirmed. As Ukrinform reported, earlier during a telephone briefing, a senior U.S. administration official announced that the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents would speak on the phone in the near future to discuss, inter alia, the situation of Russian threats, as well as a dialogue with Russia in different formats. According to the White House, the presidents of the United States and Russia will discuss by phone on Thursday, December 30, "a number of topics, including the expected diplomatic talks with Russia. Earlier, the U.S. Secretary of State had a call with the president of Ukraine to confirm at the highest level Washington's position on the unwavering support for the Ukrainian nation. On December 9, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and U.S. leader Joe Biden had a 90-minute c conversation. The key issue of the talks was the security situation around Ukraine. Photo: White House im German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbok shares the view that the task now is to prevent further escalation around Ukraine. At the same time, she avoids questions about the possibility of supplying Kyiv with defense weapons. The latter is implied from an interview with dpa, the text of which is posted on the website of Germanys Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrinform reports. The correspondent asked whether Baerbock believes supplying arms for Ukraines self-defense was possible, as suggested by Robert Habeck, co-chair of the Greens (Baerbock is another co-chair of the party), who visited Ukraine in May 2021. The minister responded as follows: "Both the G7 states and the European Union have made it very clear that further military escalation at the Ukrainian border and, above all, a breach of international law and the violation of Ukraines sovereignty would have massive political and economic consequences for Russia. If we set out all our options for action, then we have a long list. However, our priority now is to prevent further escalation. That can only be achieved through diplomacy in the Normandy format as well as through the NATO-Russia Council and within the framework of the OSCE." To the clarifying question, whether she rejects the idea of arms supplies of any kind to Ukraine, Baerbock said: "Further military escalation wouldnt bring Ukraine greater security.." In fact, the minister avoided answering questions about Germany's attitude to possible supplies of defense weapons to Ukraine. At the same time, the top diplomat underscored that the previous federal government together with the U.S. authorities made it clear that "energy should not be used as a weapon and that doing so would have serious consequences." She noted that the last few years had shown the geostrategic role of Nord Stream 2, including in light of the different perceptions in Europe. The last German Government therefore conceded that this pipeline also raises security issues, the minister said, noting that the project is currently undergoing a legal review by the Federal Network Agency. Baerbock disagreed with an assertion that she and Chancellor Olaf Scholz disagreed on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, saying they simply described the state of affairs in different ways. She also stressed that the strength of German foreign policy lies in the close coordination between the Chancellor's Office and the Foreign Ministry, as well as with the Ministries of Economy and Interior and other institutions, which ultimately speak with one voice, despite possible differences. Baerbock also confirmed plans to meet with Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov in the near future, noting that in the current very tense situation, it is important for her to cultivate close contacts with the Russian side. Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who visited Ukraine earlier this year as co-chair of the Greens, said that Ukraine, which is suffering from Russian aggression, deserves Germany's protection. Over this remark, he came under a barrage of criticism, including from fellow party members. Later, the party leadership explained that Habeck implied assistance in demining, supply of vehicles for battlefield evacuation, and so on. Earlier, Bild reported that Germany had been applying NATO mechanisms since May 2021 to block other Allies from supplying Ukraine with weapons for self-defense. Photo: dpa im Over past two years, 35 Ukrainian-language audio guides have been created in 25 countries. Next year, the launch of at least two dozen more is expected. Moreover, a project to promote Ukrainian literature in the world will begin in 2022, Ukraines First Lady Olena Zelenska posted on Facebook. "No matter how far you travel from Africa to the United States, no matter what attractions you visit the Roman Colosseum, the French Versailles, Vienna's Albertina now you can be sure that you can take a tour in Ukrainian. Our language is now officially represented at 35 cultural centers in 25 countries around the world this is a very important result of cultural diplomacy for 2020 and 2021," the First Lady noted. According to her, Ukrainian-language audio guides were launched at museums and monuments in Italy, France, Austria, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Armenia, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Turkey, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Georgia, USA, Kenya, Republic of North Macedonia, Spain, Czech Republic, Rwanda. The President's wife added that the project of creating Ukrainian-language audio guides began for her during a regular bus tour, which offered a rare opportunity at that time to choose the Ukrainian language. Zelenska also informed that the launch of at least two dozen new Ukrainian-language audio guides abroad was planned for next year. In addition, the First Lady announced a project to promote Ukrainian literature. The next ambitious project of cultural diplomacy is the promotion of Ukrainian literature. Original works and high-quality translations should appear on the shelves of national libraries and shops, in educational institutions of different countries, the First Lady stressed. As reported, President's wife Olena Zelenska said at the conference of Ukrainian ambassadors on December 21 that the number of Ukrainian books on the shelves of bookstores around the world should grow and called on diplomats to join in promoting them. ol BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Dec, 2021 ) :China on Thursday demanded that the US soldiers involved in a drone attack on Kabul that killed Afghan civilians in August must be held accountable and punished. "China urges the US to launch a thorough investigation into the deaths of Afghan civilians in a drone attack this August, punish the perpetrators, and do justice to the Afghan people," Senior Col. Tan Kefei, spokesman for China's Ministry of Defense, told a news conference. Pentagon had ruled out any punishment to US soldiers involved in the drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, that triggered global condemnation. The drone hit was one of the last strikes when the US military was still in the war-torn country before it pulled out along with all foreign forces in August. "The Chinese side always holds that all combat approaches and means, including armed drones, must comply with relevant rules of the international humanitarian law, especially on the strict distinction between innocent civilians and combat personnel," Tan said, according to a statement by the Chinese Defense Ministry. "The so-called Summit for Democracy led by the US has come to an end recently, but those innocent Afghan victims and their families still haven't seen any justice done from the US after several months. That is a blatant stomp on the rules of international humanitarian law, and a great irony on the so-called 'democracy' and 'human rights' touted by the US itself," Tan added. The summit was convened by US President Joe Biden early this month to re-emphasize the need to uphold democratic behavior by respective countries. Russia and China were not invited while Pakistan did not attend despite the invitation. Tan urged the international community to take "joint actions to investigate those warmongers and hold them accountable for deliberately sabotaging international rule of law and slaughtering innocent civilians without any scruple." BEIJING, Dec. 30 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Dec, 2021 ) --:China's total imports and exports of goods are expected to reach 6 trillion U.S. Dollars in 2021, the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday. The estimated figure sees an over 20 percent growth from a year earlier, said Vice Minister Ren Hongbin at a press conference. The year-on-year growth amounted to approximately 1. 3 trillion dollars, equivalent to the combined growth volume of the past 10 years, Ren said. Trade relations between China and emerging markets are getting closer, with exports to such markets accounting for 49.5 percent of the country's total exports in the first 11 months, Ren said while speaking of the new trends in China's foreign trade. In the January-November period, private Chinese companies' exports took up 58 percent of the whole, lifting the total growth rate of exports by 20 percentage points, according to the vice minister. (@FahadShabbir) Sydney, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Dec, 2021 ) :Australia's former parliament building caught fire during an Aboriginal rights protest Thursday, officials said, causing limited damage. The blaze occurred when police broke up a traditional smoking ceremony by a small number of activists at the building's entrance. The Canberra building was home to the country's Federal parliament from 1927 to 1988 and now houses the Museum of Australian Democracy. The museum said in a statement that it is "closed until further notice while we address fire damage caused by protesters today." There was no immediate news about the extent of the damage, but images showed flames and smoke coming from wooden double-doors at the building's entrance. The vast majority of the edifice remained untouched, and the blaze was said to have been quickly extinguished. Activist Albert Hartnett said in a Facebook post that police had used pepper spray to break up the demonstration, which he alleged had caused the roof of a portico to catch fire. The National Heritage Register-listed building has been the scene of a series of protests by an "Aboriginal Tent Embassy" in recent weeks. Past protests included lighting a fire by the building's doors. Government member of parliament David Littleproud denounced the damage. "No matter your race, your religion, your belief in this country, no one has the right to damage property demonstrating, particularly a symbol of our democracy which hundreds of thousands of Australians died defending," he said. (@ChaudhryMAli88) New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Dec, 2021 ) :The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday condemned last week's massacre in Myanmar of more than 30 people, including two Save the Children staff, that was blamed on junta troops. The killings took place on Christmas Eve in eastern Kayah state, where pro-democracy rebels have been fighting the military, which took over the government from the democratically elected administration in February. In a statement released Wednesday evening, Security Council members "stressed the need to ensure accountability for this act." They also called "for the immediate cessation of all violence and emphasized the importance of respect for human rights and of ensuring safety of civilians." The statement said "at least 35 people," including four children and two staff of Save the Children charity, were killed in the attack. The Security Council also "stressed the need for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need, and for the full protection, safety and security of humanitarian and medical personnel." Anti-junta fighters say they have found more than 30 burnt bodies, including women and children, on a highway in Kayah state following the attack. Two Save the Children employees have been missing and the rights group confirmed Tuesday that they were among the dead. Myanmar has been in chaos since the February coup, with more than 1,300 people killed in a crackdown by security forces, according to a local monitoring group. Self-proclaimed "People's Defense Forces" have sprung up across the country to fight the junta, and drawn the military into a bloody stalemate of clashes and reprisals. In the aftermath of the attack, Washington renewed calls for an arms embargo on the junta. Western nations have long restricted weapons to Myanmar's military, which even during the pre-coup democratic transition faced allegations of crimes against humanity for a bloody campaign against the Rohingya minority. The UN General Assembly voted in June to prevent arms shipments into Myanmar, but the measure was symbolic as it was not taken up by the more powerful Security Council. China and Russia, which hold veto power on the Security Council -- as well as neighboring India -- are the major arms providers to Myanmar. Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said the federal government would bear all of the financial burden of Reko Diq for the progress and prosperity of Balochistan and the people of province ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Dec, 2021 ) :Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said the Federal government would bear all of the financial burden of Reko Diq for the progress and prosperity of Balochistan and the people of province. In a tweet, the prime minister said that the step was part of his government's vision for the development of smaller provinces. "In line with my govt's vision for uplift of smaller provinces, I have decided our fed govt will bear all the financial burden for Reko Diq & it's development on behalf of Govt of Balochistan. This will help usher in an era of prosperity for the people & province of Balochistan," he posted on his twitter handle. (@FahadShabbir) MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2021) US law enforcement agents arrested an armed man in Iowa who plotted to kill US President Joe Biden and former American President Barack Obama, as well as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, NBC broadcaster reported on Thursday. NBC cited authorities as saying that Kuachua Brillion Xiong, a 25-year-old supermarket worker in California, was arrested last Thursday and taken into custody. Law enforcement officers found an AR-15 rifle, ammunition, loaded magazines, body armor and first-aid kits in his car. The suspect is known to have left his home on December 18 with the intention of going directly to the White House to attempt assassination of "people in power. " Xiong told investigators that he had compiled "his own list" of" evil people he planned to kill. In addition to Biden, Obama and Zuckerberg, the list also included the name of White House Chief Medical Adviser Anthony Fauci. The suspect added that if released from custody he would immediately head to the White House and would do whatever he can to execute his plan. Xiong stated that he had no intention of returning to California because he meant to die while fighting "evil demons in the White House," NBC reported. According to the media, authorities have charged Xiong with threatening a former US president. (@ChaudhryMAli88) US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss over the telephone on Thursday about an array of strategic and security dialogues, a senior Biden administration official said WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th December, 2021) US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss over the telephone on Thursday about an array of strategic and security dialogues, a senior Biden administration official said. "Tomorrow, President Biden will speak with President Putin by telephone at the request of the Russian side... The two presidents will discuss the upcoming dialogue with Russia on a range of security and strategic issues, and those include bilateral talks through the Strategic Stability Dialogue as well as the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE Permanent Council meeting, all of which will take place the week of January 10," the official said on Wednesday. The United States and its allies and partners are prepared to discuss the concerns laid out by Russia, and will communicate concerns of their own and expect Moscow to be prepared to discuss them as well, the official also said. It will take a high level of engagement to find a path towards de-escalation, so Biden will listen closely to what Putin has to say and share comments of his own, the official added. (@FahadShabbir) Sultana Begum who lives in cramped two-room hut nestled within a slum on the outskirts of Kolkata, surviving on a meager pension. NEW DEHLI: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Dec 30th, 2021) A poor Indian woman who claims she is heir to the dynasty that built the Taj Mahal has demanded ownership of an imposing palace once home to the Mughal emperors. Sultana Begum lives in a cramped two-room hut nestled within a slum on the outskirts of Kolkata, surviving on a meager pension. Among her modest possessions are records of her marriage to Mirza Mohammad Bedar Bakht, purported to be the great-grandson of India's last Mughal ruler. His death in 1980 left her struggling to survive, and she has spent the past decade petitioning authorities to recognise her royal status and compensate her accordingly. Credit goes to AFP for unveiling such great story. Can you imagine that the descendant of the emperors who built Taj Mahal now lives in desperate poverty? the 68-year-old asked the reporter. Begum has lodged a court case seeking recognition that she is the rightful owner of the imposing 17th-century Red Fort, a sprawling and pockmarked castle in New Delhi that was once the seat of Mughal power. I hope the government will definitely give me justice, she said. When something belongs to someone, it should be returned. Her case, supported by sympathetic campaigners, rests on her claim that her late husband's lineage can be traced to Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last emperor to reign. By the time of Zafar's coronation in 1837, the Mughal empire had shrunk to the capital's boundaries, after the conquest of India by the commercial venture of British merchants known as the East India Company. A massive rebellion two decades later now hailed as India's first war of independence saw mutinous soldiers declare the now frail 82-year-old as the leader of their insurrection. The emperor, who preferred penning poetry to waging war, knew the chaotic uprising was doomed and was a reluctant leader. British forces surrounded Delhi within a month and ruthlessly crushed the revolt, executing all 10 of Zafar's surviving sons despite the royal family's surrender. Zafar himself was exiled to neighbouring Myanmar, travelling under guard in a bullock cart, and died penniless in captivity five years later. Independence symbol Many of the Red Fort's buildings were demolished in the years after the uprising and the complex fell into disrepair before colonial authorities ordered its renovation at the turn of the 20th century. It has since become a potent symbol of freedom from British rule. India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the national flag from the fort's main gate to mark the first day of independence in August 1947, a solemn ritual now repeated annually by his successors. Begum's court case hinges on the argument that India's government are the illegal occupants of the property, which she says should have been passed down to her. The Delhi High Court rejected her petition last week as a gross waste of time but did not rule on whether her claim to imperial ancestry was legitimate. Instead, the court said her legal team had failed to justify why a similar case had not been brought by Zafar's descendants in the 150 years since his exile. Her lawyer Vivek More said the case would continue. She has decided to file a plea before a higher bench of the court challenging the order, he told AFP by phone. 'Justice will happen' Begum has endured a precarious life, even before she was widowed and forced to move into the slum she now calls home. Her husband who she married in 1965 when she was just 14 was 32 years her senior and earned some money as a soothsayer, but was unable to provide for their family. Poverty, fear and lack of resources pushed him to the brink, she added. Begum lives with one of her grandchildren in a small shack, sharing a kitchen with neighbours and washing at a communal tap down the street. For some years she ran a small tea shop near her home but it was demolished to allow the widening of a road, and she now survives on a pension of 6,000 rupees ($80) per month. But she has not given up hope that authorities will recognise her as the rightful beneficiary of India's imperial legacy, and of the Red Fort. I hope that today, tomorrow or in 10 years, I will get what I'm entitled to, she said. God willing, I will get it back... I'm certain justice will happen. At least four people were killed on Thursday when heavily armed fighters from the Al-Shabaab jihadist group raided a town near Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said Mogadishu, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Dec, 2021 ) :At least four people were killed on Thursday when heavily armed fighters from the Al-Shabaab jihadist group raided a town near Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said. The attack came with the troubled country in the grip of an escalating political crisis pitting the president against the prime minister. The attackers, armed with machine guns and RPG rocket-launchers, raided the town of Balcad, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Mogadishu, police and witnesses said. Four people, including two members of the security forces, were killed and eight others wounded, police officer Abdullahi Mohamed told AFP by phone. The militants targeted government security checkpoints in the early morning raid "to terrorise the public", said Mohamed. "The situation returned to normal now and the government forces are in full control," he added. Witnesses said the Al-Qaeda linked jihadists managed to enter some parts of the town, which lies along a road north of the capital linking Mogadishu to rest of the country, before they were repelled. "There was heavy fighting but the fighters later pulled back and the situation is quiet now," said one resident, Hussein Abdikarin. Another witness, Shamso Ali, said they were woken by heavy blasts and the sound of machine gun fire as the militants entered the town. "We were shocked to see this happening but thanks to God, we remained at safety inside our houses until the fighting was over," he said. Al-Shabaab issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. - Delayed elections - President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble are locked in a festering feud over long-delayed elections in the Horn of Africa nation. The president, better known as Farmajo, this week announced he was suspending the premier, who in turn accused him of an "attempted coup". Indirect elections for the lower house of parliament were supposed to have been completed this month but only a fraction of the 275 seats have been filled. Relations between the pair have long been frosty, with the latest developments raising fresh fears among international partners that the government could be distracted from its fight to quash the jihadist insurgency. The international community including the United States has voiced alarm about the crisis, with Washington calling for the rivals to refrain from "escalatory actions and statements". Al-Shabaab has been waging a violent campaign against the country's fragile government since 2007 but was driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 after an offensive by an African Union force. But the insurgents retain control of vast rural areas of Somalia, from which they frequently launch deadly attacks in the capital and elsewhere against civilian, military and government targets. The extremists last month claimed a deadly car bombing near a school in Mogadishu that killed eight people and injured a number of students. The militants also claimed two attacks in September that together killed 17 people. (@FahadShabbir) Kalicharan Maharaj was arrested in central Madhya Pradesh state on Thursday for allegedly promoting hatred between religious groups in a speech earlier this week, the Press Trust of India news agency cited police officer Prashant Agrawal as saying. NEW DEHLI: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Dec 30th, 2021) Indian police on Thursday arrested a Hindu religious leader for allegedly making a derogatory speech against Indias independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and praising his assassin. Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu extremist during a prayer meeting in the Indian capital in 1948 because he was considered sympathetic toward Muslims during the partition of the Indian subcontinent by British colonialists in 1947 into India and Pakistan. Kalicharan Maharaj was arrested in central Madhya Pradesh state on Thursday for allegedly promoting hatred between religious groups in a speech earlier this week, the Press Trust of India news agency cited police officer Prashant Agrawal as saying. According to media reports, Maharaj said Gandhi destroyed the country ... salutations to Nathuram Godse, who killed him. He will be formally charged in court after the police complete an investigation. If convicted, he can be jailed for up to five years. Attacks by Hindu hard-liners against Muslims and other minorities have intensified after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, and won a landslide reelection in 2019. The opposition is also demanding the arrest of several saffron-robed Hindu religious leaders for making highly provocative speeches against Muslims at a closed-door religious parliament, known as Dharam Sansad, earlier this month in the northern holy city of Haridwar. They called on Hindus to arm themselves for a genocide against Muslims, according to a police complaint. Police in Uttarakhand state, which is ruled by Modis nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, said they were questioning suspects. No arrests have been made. Muslims comprise nearly 14 per cent of Indias 1.4 billion people. Australian police are investigating the arson of the central entrance to the country's old parliament building in Canberra during protests against COVID-19 restrictions, media reported on Thursday MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2021) Australian police are investigating the arson of the central entrance to the country's old parliament building in Canberra during protests against COVID-19 restrictions, media reported on Thursday. This is the second arson within a week, which this time almost completely damaged the entrance, 9News reported. The protest was initially peaceful but later escalated, forcing the police to use pepper spray. "It then got a little bit out of hand and then when ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Police went to respond it was greatly exacerbated," Linda Champion, Commander from Australian Capital Territory Police said to the broadcaster. The fire continued for 15 minutes with protesters outside yelling "let it burn." It caused significant damage to the front facade of the building seen in images posted to social media. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was "disgusted and appalled" because the Australian symbol of democracy was set on fire. (@FahadShabbir) MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2021) Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has expressed hope that Iran will abandon what he described as a destabilizing regional policy. "Iran is a neighboring country for the Kingdom (Saudi Arabia) and we hope that it will change its policy and negative behavior in the region, and will switch for dialogue and cooperation. We are very concerned over the policy of the Iranian regime aimed at undermining security and stability in the region," the king told Majlis ash-Shura on late Wednesday, as quoted by the SPA news agency. The king also voiced concern over the Iranian refusal to cooperate with the international community on its nuclear program as well as over the development of ballistic missiles by Tehran. Saudi Arabia's relations with Iran remain strained over Riyadh's concerns over the Iranian military buildup as well as Tehran's support for Shia movements in other countries, especially the Houthi rebels in Yemen. (@FahadShabbir) Sudanese security forces stepped up surveillance of Khartoum's streets on Thursday and sealed the capital from its suburbs, as opponents of the military government prepared to hold fresh protests Khartoum, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Dec, 2021 ) :Sudanese security forces stepped up surveillance of Khartoum's streets on Thursday and sealed the capital from its suburbs, as opponents of the military government prepared to hold fresh protests. Pro-democracy activists have kept up a campaign of street demonstrations against the army's October 25 coup despite a crackdown that has seen at least 48 people die in protest-related violence, according to the independent Doctors' Committee. Army, police and paramilitary patrols criss-crossed Khartoum's streets, while shipping containers blocked the Nile bridges that connect the capital with its northern suburbs and its twin city Omdurman. The bridges were blocked off for the last protests on December 26, when tens of thousands took to the streets. But for Thursday's planned protests, new surveillance cameras had been installed on the major thoroughfares along which demonstrators were due to march. The US embassy appealed for restraint from the government, which had been counting on a controversial November partnership deal with civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to calm public anger. "The US embassy reiterates its support for peaceful expression of democratic aspiration, and the need to respect and protect individuals exercising free speech," a statement said. "We call for extreme discretion in use of force and urge authorities to refrain from employing arbitrary detention." Activists have condemned sexual attacks during December 19 protests, in which the UN said at least 13 women and girls were raped. Hamdok had been held under effective house arrest for weeks before being reinstated under the November deal, which promised elections for July 2023. But the deal was widely criticised as a gift to the military that gave a cloak of legitimacy to its coup. Sudan still has no functioning government, a prerequisite for the resumption of international aid cut in response to the coup. A "tsunami" of Omicron and Delta Covid-19 cases will pile pressure on health systems already being stretched to their limits, the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday Geneva, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Dec, 2021 ) :A "tsunami" of Omicron and Delta Covid-19 cases will pile pressure on health systems already being stretched to their limits, the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday. The WHO said the Delta and Omicron variants of concern were "twin threats" that were driving new case numbers to record highs, leading to spikes in hospitalisations and deaths. The WHO said new global cases had risen by 11 percent last week, while the United States and France both registered record daily case numbers on Wednesday. "I am highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference. "This is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers, and health systems on the brink of collapse." He said the pressure on health systems was not only due to new coronavirus patients, but also large numbers of health workers falling ill with Covid. - 'Moral shame' - The WHO reflected on the fight against Covid-19 in 2021 and hoped that next year would see an end to the acute stage of the pandemic -- but warned that it would rest on greater vaccine equity. The WHO wanted 40 percent of the population in every country fully vaccinated by the end of the year and has a target of 70 percent coverage by the middle of 2022. Tedros announced that 92 of the WHO's 194 member states were going to miss the 40 percent target. "This is due to a combination of limited supply going to low-income countries for most of the year and then subsequent vaccines arriving close to expiry and without key parts like the syringes," he said. "It's not only a moral shame, it cost lives and provided the virus with opportunities to circulate unchecked and mutate. In the year ahead, I call for leaders of government and industry to walk the talk on vaccine equity. "While 2021 has been hard, I ask everyone to make a New Year's resolution to get behind the campaign to vaccinate 70 percent by the middle of 2022." - Misinformation and populism - Tedros slammed the attitude of richer countries accusing them of hogging the weapons to combat Covid-19 -- and leaving the back door open for the virus. "Populism, narrow nationalism and hoarding of health tools, including masks, therapeutics, diagnostics and vaccines, by a small number of countries, undermined equity, and created the ideal conditions for the emergence of new variants," he said. Meanwhile disinformation had been a constant distraction in 2021, hampering efforts to beat the pandemic. "In the huge waves of cases currently seen in Europe and in many countries around the world, misinformation which has driven vaccine hesitancy is now translating to the unvaccinated disproportionally dying," he said. Tedros lamented that while there were 1.8 million recorded deaths in 2020, there were 3.5 million in 2021 -- and the true number would be much higher. Vietnam suffered a challenging 2021, as it was hit hard by the pandemic, resulting in stringent lockdowns and affecting economic growth. Sustained pressure from COVID-19 outbreaks and supply chain disruption are likely to continue to have an impact into 2022. Nevertheless, with Vietnam slowly reopening, foreign investors maintain an optimistic outlook, with GDP projected at 6.5 percent in 2022. Vietnam Briefing examines some significant events that occurred this year and how they are likely to shape Vietnams business environment in 2022. Vietnams 2021 was by far one of the most challenging years to date. While Vietnam was lauded globally for controlling the pandemic in 2020, the Delta variant proved overwhelming resulting in strict lockdowns, interrupted production, and disrupted supply chains. While most western countries suffered an excruciating 2020, Vietnams 2021 was harsh with the pandemic hitting Vietnams GDP hard. In Q3 2021, Vietnam recorded its first-ever negative GDP, since 2000 affecting businesses and its people significantly. Nevertheless, Vietnam still expects a positive GDP and as the government switches to a living with the pandemic strategy, further economic gains can be expected. While most banks and international institutions have revised their forecast for Vietnams GDP downward, they still maintain strong business sentiment followed by positive GDP growth in the foreseeable future. For 2022, Vietnams government has forecast GDP growth of 6 to 6.5 percent. As we wrap up 2021, we look at significant events that occurred in 2020, that are further likely to shape Vietnams business environment in 2022. COVID-19 and supply chains The fourth wave of the pandemic had a significant effect on businesses and people like. Most of the country was ordered into a strict lockdown where people were only allowed to go out for emergencies. Businesses and factories that wanted to operate had to implement a 3-on-site work model where employees eat, sleep and work on-site, or one road-two destinations model, where employees stay in dormitories or hotels and are transported in company vehicles to the worksite and back. Businesses had significant difficulties arranging this on short notice, which also added to increased costs as they had to find accommodation and provide food on site. This resulted in several factories shutting down. Even with this model, several employees were infected with COVID-19 resulting in the closure of factories. Due to such factory closures, several international businesses, such as Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, and Everlane were significantly affected. Apparel company Everland said it faced four to eight weeks of delays, while Nike cited 10 weeks of lost production. This came at a time when western markets such as the US and Europe faced increased demand for products during the busy holiday season. The strict movement restrictions amplified the situation with increased testing of truck drivers, goods stuck at ports, factories, and warehouses. Further businesses have stated that even with the reopening, it may take another five to six months to ease such supply chain issues. Nevertheless, things seem to be looking up. Nike is confident that the resumption of factories will boost the companys recovery. In addition, Vietnam has been ramping up its vaccination. From being less than 3 percent fully vaccinated in July 2021 to now more than 69 percent of its population fully vaccinated, it is on par, if not exceeding with countries like the US. While the Omicron variant will prove challenging, Vietnams economy seems resilient and is likely to weather the storm. However, the situation is not unique to Vietnam, businesses will need to evolve, diversify and look to reduce costs to ensure that their supply chains are resilient. And while supply chain is an issue, ports in the US and other localities are also overburdened with containers unable to get to their destinations. Businesses need to look at other locations depending on the type of industry and raw materials to ensure contingency plans remain in place. With a vaccine supply improving and global air travel steadily resuming, businesses should take the opportunity to ensure a reliable supply chain with fool-proof plans in place for the future. Free trade agreements and the RCEP Vietnams free trade agreements (FTAs) are another pull factor that investors can bank on. Vietnam has used its participation in FTAs as an instrument to ensure increased economic power and financial security. This will ensure that Vietnams economic development will continue to shift away from exporting low-tech manufacturing products and primary goods to more complex hi-tech goods like electronics, machinery, vehicles, and medical devices. The implementation of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA) last year is an example of this. The upcoming Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will officially come into force on January 1, 2022. The RCEP will reduce tariffs and set trade rules and help link supply chains, particularly as governments grapple with COVID-19 effects. The FTA is expected to cover all aspects of business including trade, services, e-commerce, telecommunications, and copyright. Tariffs are expected to be reduced within 20 years. The RCEP covers a market of 2.3 billion people and US$26.2 trillion in global output. This accounts for about 30 percent of the population worldwide and over a quarter of world exports. Documents from the World Bank forecast that countries part of the RCEP will see GDP increase by 1.5 percent. Economists note that the deal could add almost US$200 billion to the global economy by 2030. As Vietnam moves to become a high-tech manufacturer, the RCEP can help local firms increase exports and attract high-quality goods for its consumers. In addition, with the demand for Vietnams exports like agriculture and fisheries products, Vietnam is set to benefit. Mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are likely to continue to play a key role in Vietnams economy in 2022. While in 2020 M&A activities were disrupted due to the pandemic, in the first nine months of 2021, M&A deals with total disclosed value have already totaled US$3 billion. Domestic firms have led the M&A market recently with Masan Group and Vingroup acquiring businesses in hi-tech and retail industries. The top three sectors by most deals for M&A activity were industrials and chemicals, consumer goods, and real estate in 2021. Nevertheless, investors are cautious to cater to pandemic-related risks. The government has also eased some requirements in the investment and enterprise laws to facilitate M&A deals. As Vietnam hopes to recover its economy, further robust M&A activity can be expected in 2022. Government support packages Due to the pandemic, the government unveiled several support packages for businesses and individuals to help spur the economy. Businesses should prepare for 2022, using these government measures to improve cash flow. For example, Vietnam issued Resolution 406 which included a 30 percent corporate income tax (CIT) cut. The CIT reduction applied to all businesses that had revenue of less than VND 200 billion (US$8.8 million) in 2021. This means all businesses including SMEs are eligible regardless of the number of employees and the actual financial loss due to the pandemic. Further support measures were issued in the form of land rent reductions, social insurance, unemployment insurance benefits, and one-time payments. Foreign employee work permits After tightening requirements on foreign employees as per Decree 152 which was issued earlier in the year, the government issued Resolution 105 easing requirements of issuing and renewing work permits. Mainly, as per the resolution, the education degree does not have to be related to the job position in Vietnam, and that the work experience in Vietnam can be counted rather than the work experience from the home country. In addition, the notarization of passports has been removed, rather just a copy of the passport is sufficient. The recent updates show that the government is listening to business entities after they voice concerns over Decree 152 requirements. The easing of requirements should help businesses and employees enter Vietnam for job opportunities along with the easing of entry procedures from next year. Tourism Vietnams tourism industry and jobs related to the industry have suffered significantly due to COVID-19. Before the pandemic, in 2019, Vietnam welcomed 18 million tourists, an all-time high. Compared this to 2020, where, in the first 11 months of the year, only 140,100 tourists arrived, down 96.3 percent year on year. Even this figure is due to the government allowing a pilot program allowing international tourists at designated tourist destinations. Nevertheless, the government is also developing a roadmap to fully open up to international visitors by June 2022. The plan has already begun to be implemented with fully vaccinated international tourists arriving to Phu Quoc, Hoi An, and Nha Trang on packaged tours. From 2022 the government plans to allow international arrivals that are fully vaccinated to self-quarantine at home or their places of accommodation as long as they test negative. This could all change, however, due to the new Omicron variant, but the government remains keen to reopen tourism. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has proposed that the Prime Minister consider restoring visa exemption for tourists who stay in Vietnam for less than 15 days. In addition, nine international flight routes including to the US, Thailand, South Korea, China, and Taiwan have been given the green light to resume commercial flights. Heading into 2022 2021 brought significant challenges for many businesses in Vietnam who had to deal with local market developments along with concerns plaguing global supply chains exacerbated by the pandemic. Several issues that Vietnam faced in 2021 are likely to continue into 2022. Nevertheless, a more targeted and focused development in key areas of the economy will present more opportunities for growth, particularly, in areas that help prop up Vietnams bottom line of economic stability and peoples livelihoods. Vietnams economic restricting plan for the 2021-2025 period, approved by the National Assembly, focuses on the digital economy, hi-tech industries, developing the urban economy, strengthening regional connectivity, strengthening the role of key economic zones, and restructuring to achieve a green and sustainable economy among others. Given the dynamic business climate, understanding Vietnams policies and development goals will be necessary to make timely adjustments to business development strategies and avoid compliance risks. While Vietnam has suffered, its economy is on course to record positive growth in 2022. For the next year, Vietnam remains a strong candidate for investment from ASEAN and beyond. Given its investor-friendly policies, relative economic and political stability, cost efficiency, and consumer demand prospects, Vietnam is likely to continue gaining from supply chains restructuring in Asia in addition to attracting a new range of investors in terms of geography and sectors. President Joe Biden recently signed into law Americas defense spending blueprint for next year called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The act contains a provision that asks Washington to allow Taiwan to participate in next years Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) for the first-ever time. RIMPAC is the worlds largest naval exercise. Section 126 of the NDAA deals with Taiwan. Citing the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act that allows the United States to supply Taiwan with weapons to defend itself against any attack by Beijing, the NDAA states that Washington should continue aiding Taiwan in boosting its self-defense capabilities. Taiwans participation in the RIMPAC will boost Americas efforts to support Taiwan as the island faces an increasingly coercive and aggressive behavior from the Chinese communist regime. RIMPAC involvement is a political statement as much as a professional opportunity. The invitation, should it take place, marks Taiwan as a friend and partner of the United States [The NDAA language is] a strong politico-strategic statement that has its roots in Chinas escalating aggression against Taiwan [and other nations in the Indo-Pacific region], Carl Schuster, former director of operations at the US Pacific Commands Joint Intelligence Center,told CNN. Schuster added that Taiwans participation in RIMPAC will send a strong political signal to Beijing about the potential cost it will suffer should the regime choose the route of military aggression. The 2022 RIMPAC exercises are scheduled to take place during the summer. 20 nations, 48 military units, and 25,000 personnel are expected to take part in the event. RIMPAC has been held every two years since 1974. Hosted by the U.S. Navys Indo-Pacific Command, China has participated in the exercises two times in 2014 and 2016. In an interview with Radio Free Asia, retired U.S. Marine colonel Grant Newsham, who was in Taiwan in 2019 to research the defense system of the island, said that Taiwan attending RIMPAC will be important politically. It will be a sign of support to Taipei from the United States and other nations. If the Americans do not help Taiwans armed forces break out of over 40 years of isolation and give them the opportunity to train with somebody, Taiwans defense capabilities will not improve as they need to improve, Newsham said. Richard Bitzinger, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore, expects Beijing to react strongly to Taiwans RIMPAC invitation. Though it will stoke tensions with Beijing, Bitzinger doesnt see the incident eventually leading to a clash. In its latest threat assessment, Taiwans Defense Ministry stated that Beijing will face difficulties in attempting a full invasion. In a report to the islands lawmakers, the ministry pointed out that Chinas transport capacity at present is limited due to which Beijing will not be able to land all its forces at Taiwanese shores in one go. As such, Beijing will have to rely on non-standard roll-on, roll-off ships. Such ships will require port facilities. In addition, Beijing will also need transport aircraft, which necessitates access to airports. Since the Taiwanese military will strongly defend its airports and ports, Beijing will have a difficult time landing its troops and military assets on the island. The nations military has the advantage of the Taiwan Strait being a natural moat and can use joint intercept operations, cutting off the Communist militarys supplies, severely reducing the combat effectiveness and endurance of the landing forces, the report said. COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations so far are comparatively low as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday as cases in the United States reached a record high. "In a few short weeks, omicron has rapidly increased across the country, and we expect will continue to circulate in the coming weeks. While cases have substantially increased from last week, hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively low right now," she said, referring to overall cases. The current seven-day daily average of cases is up 60% over the previous week to about 240,400 per day, she said. The average daily hospitalization rate for the same period is up 14% to about 9,000 per day and deaths are down about 7% at 1,100 per day, Walensky told reporters at a White House briefing. The average number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States set a new record on Wednesday. Early data from the U.S. and elsewhere suggests omicron will have a lower hospitalization-to-case ratio than the delta variant, top U.S. infectious disease Anthony Fauci said at the briefing, and COVID-19 vaccine boosters will be critical in tackling it. "All indications point to a lesser severity of omicron versus delta," he said. Both Fauci and Walensky said that data on deaths and hospitalizations tend to lag case data by two weeks. Fauci said it was possible a second booster shot might be needed, but that it was not possible to know without first determining the durability of the protection offered by an initial booster, for which there is currently no data. "Right now, we don't have that information, he said. It is conceivable that in the future we might need an additional shot but right now we are hoping that we will get a greater degree of durability of protection from that booster shot." Fauci also estimated the omicron surge would peak by the end of January. "I would imagine given the size of our country, and the diversity of vaccination versus not vaccination, that it's likely to be more than a couple of weeks, probably by the end of January," he said on CNBC. On the question of testing, Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said the government expects a contract for 500 million antigen tests, promised by President Joe Biden, to help address the surge in cases to be complete late next week. "The Department of Defense and HHS are executing (this) on an accelerated timeline," he said. Disease experts have questioned recent CDC guidance rules that cut in half the isolation period for asymptomatic coronavirus, saying they lack safeguards that could result in even more infections as the United States faces a record surge in cases. "Unvaccinated people take much longer to clear the virus and not be infectious," said Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. "Some people clear the virus in a day; others take a week or more." Walensky said the decision was based on research showing that up to 90% of COVID-19 transmission occurred within five days of infection. She said the agency balanced that with evidence that only a small minority of people with COVID-19 have been willing to isolate for a full 10 days so far during the pandemic. "We, at CDC, are working to provide updated recommendations, using science to ease the burden of lengthy isolation and quarantine recommendations. However, these recommendations will only work if people follow them." What began as a conflict between the Ethiopian Federal government and a local military in late 2020, exploded into a civil war in 2021 that has forced two million people to flee their homes and left hundreds of thousands of people in famine-like conditions. The war continues expanding, with displacements, ethnic killings and mass rape in the increasingly devastated region. By the beginning of 2021, the war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, then more than a month old, had forced tens of thousands of people to flee across the border to Sudan. Refugees reported ethnic massacres, sexual assaults and mass arrests. In the months that followed, the humanitarian crisis deepened. More than a million people were displaced inside Ethiopia and aid workers warned of looming famine. The few hospitals not damaged or destroyed in the region were packed with war wounded, including children who had been stabbed, shot, or become victims of newly laid landmines. Eleven-year-old Goitom lost one leg now suffers from infection and nightmares. Goitoms father, Gebreyohannes Ataklti, says his son was taking the goats to graze [and then he stepped on a landmine.] Goitom is too weak to speak. The war broke out in the Tigray region in late 2020 between the federal government and local Tigrayan forces. It quickly expanded to include other regional forces allied on both sides and Eritrean forces fighting with the government. Both sides have been accused of massacres, torture and other atrocities. Federal Ethiopian and Eritrean forces have been also accused of systematic mass rape. Hundreds of women and girls have come forward, and aid workers say many, many more have not. Mihira Redae is a case worker for sexual assault victims in Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekelle, Tigrays regional capital. She says many women who are raped by soldiers are often afraid to come forward, and many others have no access to health care. A national election in June re-established the authority of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, who then had control of the Tigray Region. About a week later, Tigrayan forces re-captured the region and the war escalated, now engulfing many areas beyond Tigray. Abiy has vowed to crush his enemies. On December 17, the United Nations voted to investigate abuses by both sides of the conflict, including the reported mass detention of as many as 7,000 people allegedly sympathetic to Tigrayan interests, among them nine U.N. workers. In the battered Tigrayan countryside, many say they have seen so much tragedy, they no longer fear arrest. Haftom Gidey, a resident of the war-torn town of Hawsen, says he no longer fears war or arrest. He has seen too much already. Mass graves litter the countryside as massacres continue here and in neighboring regions. Refugees are still fleeing to Sudan and many areas are cut off from humanitarian aid. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in famine-like conditions and the U.N. now says at least two million people in three Ethiopian states have fled their homes. In a move that mirrors its national security clampdown in Hong Kong, Beijing is inserting itself more directly into the security affairs of Macao in spite of long-standing assurances the former Portuguese colony would enjoy a high degree of autonomy. A December 3 report published by the official Xinhua news service said the director of the liaison office in the city, a mainland official appointed by Beijing, will also serve as an adviser to the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Macao Special Administrative Region. . Fu Ziying, the current liaison office director, will be in charge of supervising, guiding, coordinating and supporting the Macao SAR in safeguarding national security, the notice said using the abbreviation for special administrative region. The committee will also have three new national security technical advisers, the report said. Macao Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng, the head of its government, according to Xinhua, proposed such appointments, as the city is on track to revise its national security law for the first time since its implementation in 2009. The citys national security law criminalizes treason, secession, sedition, subversion, theft of state secrets, foreign political bodies activities in the city, and their establishment of ties with local bodies. Offenders are subject to up to 25 years imprisonment. Macao has long been seen as a tamer city by Beijing than neighboring Hong Kong, with only three pro-democracy candidates out of the 33 members of the Legislative Assembly. Both cities operate under the one country, two systems framework in which they have been promised a high level of autonomy. The major civil power in Macao comes from the pro-Beijing camp, so there was not much opposition to the passing of the national security law, said Ng Kuok Cheong, a leading opposition figure in Macao who was disqualified from participating in Septembers elections to the Assembly. The government cited new situations and challenges in its safeguarding of national security as the reason for the intended change in a statement. This aligns with Hos 2022 policy address that promises to consolidate the foundation for patriots governing Macao and enhance relevant laws and institutional safeguards in support of this principle. This follows the first patriots only legislative election in September that saw the government disqualify three dozen pro-democracy candidates two months prior to the vote, on the grounds of not upholding the Basic Law or not pledging allegiance to Macao. The election witnessed a record-low turnout rate since Macaos 1999 handover to China, and a record high rate of blank votes. Macao is a former Portuguese colony. The handover occurred two years after Britain returned control of Hong Kong to China. Allowing only patriots to run in the election is the central governments way to control Macaos public power through political categorization, Ng said, referring to the government in Beijing. Macaos secretary for security, Wong Sio Chak, pointed to Hong Kongs 2020 national security law as an important reference point for Macao. The Hong Kong law was a response to the largest pro-democracy movement in that citys history. More than 100 people, including opposition politicians and students, have been arrested under that law. The Macao law has a broader range of offenses than does the Hong Kong law, which was drafted after the 2019 movement. Macaos government considered the new law in Hong Kong a success, citing a speech by the liaison office chief in Hong Kong, Xia Baolong, that the measure had produced great effect in Hong Kong, having had profound significance and leading the city back to a stable status after chaotic disorder.' The proposed amendments to Macaos national security law will likely include further restrictions to online activities as the experience in Hong Kong has shown that acts committed online without violence can jeopardize national security, a the local Macao News quoted Wong as saying. Macao might see fewer arrests than Hong Kong under the national security law, according to political commentator Sonny Lo. If Macaos political threat to the center [Beijing] is much less than Hong Kongs, there might not be arrest in Macao, unless someone violates the national security law, Lo told VOA by email. The civil society in Macao is quieter as most people here were born in the mainland and many are immigrants a proportion larger than that in Hong Kong. Lo also said that the appointment of committee members is important and a way to protect the economic national security of China. Separately, China is exerting its influence over the casino business in Macao, the worlds largest gambling hub, described as the Las Vegas" of China. Casino gambling is illegal in mainland China. Beijing, he said, perceives the mainlanders gambling as siphoning mainland financial coffers, especially if they were cadres and officials. "The law will safeguard the centres national security interests, including political, economic and developmental interests, Lo said. A few days after Beijings announcement on appointing advisers, Macao arrested the citys leading casino junket operator, Alvin Chau, after Chinese President Xi Jinping said illegal cross-border gambling undermines the countrys economic security, social security and national image. This is part of Beijings reasoning behind strengthening the national security law, as Chinas state-owned Global Times cited senior Hong Kong and Macao affairs adviser Chen Duanhong saying that the external forces involved in Macaos gambling industry are complex. Politically, Ng also expected mass arrests similar to those in Hong Kong to happen in Macao only in the case of extreme deterioration of the political situation. The Biden administration on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court whether it needed to continue to implement a Trump-era policy that has forced tens of thousands of migrants to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their U.S. asylum cases. Democratic President Joe Biden attempted to scrap his Republican predecessor's policy often referred to as "Remain in Mexico" soon after taking office in January. But after Texas and Missouri sued, a federal judge ruled it had to be reinstated, and an appeals court earlier this month agreed. Under the 2019 policy put in place by former President Donald Trump, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), migrants seeking asylum must wait weeks and sometimes years in Mexico for a U.S. court date instead of being allowed to await their hearings in the United States. Biden decried the policy on the campaign trail and immigration advocates have said migrants stuck in dangerous border cities have faced kidnappings and other dangers. After a federal court ruled he had to reinstate MPP, the Biden administration reissued a memo terminating it in the hopes it would overcome the legal challenges. But the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was not convinced by the new memo, saying in its ruling on December 13 that "simply by typing out a new Word document and posting it on the internet" was not sufficient. Biden's Justice Department asked the Supreme Court whether it must continue implementing the policy and whether the appeals court erred in concluding the new memo had no legal effect. Human rights groups are calling on U.S. President Joe Biden to appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights, a position that has been vacant since January 2017. The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 directs the U.S. president to name a person for the role, subject to Senate confirmation. The position, however, remains unfilled, even though Biden has elevated the issue of human rights globally. His predecessor, Donald Trump, downplayed the issue of North Korea's human rights violations after his first Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June 2018. VOA's Korean Service has asked the State Department about the appointment several times, including earlier this month. "I don't have any administrative announcement or updates at this time, a State Department spokesperson said via email. We remain concerned about the human rights situation in the DPRK and the United States is committed to placing human rights at the center of our foreign policy." North Korea is officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, said, "For an administration that claims to care greatly about promoting human rights and democracy in the world," it is critical that it "immediately act to nominate a person well versed in human rights issues in North Korea to take on this important position." The Biden administration should also prioritize the appointment of a U.S. ambassador to South Korea, a position that also remains vacant, said Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. "A strong alliance and bilateral relationship with South Korea is the prerequisite of success on all fronts, including North Korean human rights," Scarlatoiu said. "It is past time for action from the Biden administration to match their words of wanting to support human rights," said U.S. Representative Young Kim, a California Republican. "I cannot see Kim Jong Un as well as our allies like South Korea and Japan taking our word seriously" when the "vital" human rights position remains unfilled. US actions so far On international Human Rights Day, December 10, the Biden administration placed its first sanctions designations on North Korea-related entities and individuals for rights violations. Also this month, Biden hosted a virtual Summit for Democracy to promote the values of liberal democracy, including human rights, among allies and partners. The Biden administration made a series of statements this year promising to fill the rights position while expressing concern about North Korea's human rights abuses. In February, the State Department said the position would be filled as part of Biden's North Korea policy review. The administration announced that review had been completed in April, but it did not mention any nomination or appointment. In March, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the House Foreign Affairs Committee he felt "strongly" about the need to appoint a rights envoy. Blinken repeated the administration's determination to fill the position to the committee in June. Roberta Cohen, who was the deputy assistant secretary of state for human rights during the Carter administration, said "there's no doubt" that the administration will fill the position. "But the whole process of nominating and confirming ambassadors and envoys and officials within the government that require confirmation this has been very slow," she said. Cohen isnt the only one who suspects a bureaucratic backlog. "The real problem is the delay in the Senate in terms of reacting, responding and approving nominees that have been made by the Biden administration for a number of ambassadorial appointments," said Robert King, who served as the special envoy for North Korean human rights issues under the Obama administration. While simple bureaucratic neglect may play a role, there is no disguising the fact that this delay shows a lack of political priority being given to North Korean human rights issues, added Robertson of Human Rights Watch. At the same time, Scarlatoiu of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea said, the delay is reasonable as the Biden administration has been dealing with multiple other priorities and emergencies. Pressure on North Korea Some experts think appointing a human rights envoy for North Korea will add pressure on North Korea as the Biden administration remains open to talks with the regime, which have been deadlocked since October 2019. "Naming a human rights envoy would signify a return to a much-needed toughening of policy from the post-Singapore summit relaxation during the Trump administration," said Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean studies at the Center for the National Interest, said, "I do think team Biden realizes a North Korean human rights special envoy, while a good idea, could provide [North Korea] an excuse to lash out." Sungwon Baik contributed to this report. The work of journalists is becoming more dangerous, with record numbers detained for their coverage, and dozens killed each year. As of December, more than 290 journalists were in prison for their work and at least 24 had been killed, according to the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The group's data reflect an increasingly dangerous environment for the media. As executive director of CPJ, Joel Simon has seen how journalists have changed the world while becoming a target for repressive forces. In an interview with VOA last month, Simon talked about the increased risks to global media. "The mere act of doing journalism especially accountability journalism, journalism that threatens people in power is inherently dangerous," he said. After nearly 25 years at CPJ 15 as executive director Simon will leave his position on December 31, but says he remains committed to defending press freedom. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Question: How has press freedom around the world changed during your tenure as CPJ's executive director? Joel Simon: When I started at CPJ in 1997, it was a period of profound optimism, about democracy, about human rights, about press freedom. After all, journalists played a critical role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Reporting in Latin America helped lead to the collapse of military governments in that region. There was a sense that independent journalism could really change the world, and I think that maybe it did. But then there's been this terrific backlash. Repressive governments, autocratic governments all over the world understand that, particularly because of technology. And in the information age, those who control the narrative control power. Journalists help shape public perception. They help shape narratives. So, they're in conflict with governments around the world both repressive governments that use violence and legal action, but also in democracies. More and more, people are living under governments that are partly free and are living in an environment in which press freedom has deteriorated, in which their ability to access information and independent media and hold governments accountable is more limited. That's the moment we find ourselves in now. And I do think that the pendulum will swing someday. It always does. But we have to recognize this moment in history. The environment for independent journalism has changed everywhere, including in the United States. The challenges are greater. That period of profound optimism that existed when I started this job 25 years ago unfortunately, that's no longer the case. Q: What remedies should exist to protect and support journalists? Simon: There needs to be a recognition that these are long-term trends and that the reasons that they're occurring are complex. There simply are no short-term solutions. The one thing we can certainly do that's really critical is the United States has to be in a position to assert global leadership. And it isn't currently. I think that U.S. leadership really matters on these issues. When (former) President (Donald) Trump started using the term "fake news" and calling journalists "enemies of the people," we saw autocratic governments around the world adopt that same rhetoric and use it to suppress independent journalism. When we saw the (George W.) Bush administration adopt the rhetoric of the war on terror, we saw governments crack down on the media under the guise of suppressing terrorism. In the Biden administration, what happened in Afghanistan really undermined U.S. credibility. Journalists who built a vibrant media community in that country came under tremendous threat with the collapse of the regime, and the U.S. government did not step up to protect them. Those journalists were disappointed. Journalists around the world saw what happened, and I think that has further damaged U.S. credibility. Q: Are there any particular cases that really resonate with you? Simon: This job as executive director of CPJ, it's a job where you get to know heartbreak and loss. I have lost so many friends. I've lost journalists who come into my office, some of them have won (CPJ's) International Press Freedom Award. And they won it because they're so courageous, they're fearless. But that fearlessness means sometimes that they don't understand and identify and respond to the threats against them. I'm going to talk about one friend of mine Javier Valdez Cardenas, in Mexico. He was honored with an International Press Freedom Award for his courageous coverage. Several years after he received the award, he was receiving threats. We had conversations with him. We wanted to evacuate him. He said he couldn't leave. He said he had to stay and continue to cover the story. He was killed (in May 2017). And that was so tragic, because it was really ultimately avoidable. We understood why he wouldn't leave, but we were heartbroken. All we can do is fight for justice. That's always a difficult fight. But some of the people who carried out that crime are in prison today, and we'll continue to fight for justice in his case and so many others around the world. Q: What kinds of coverage can lead to attacks on the media? Simon: When you see journalists killed, they tend to report on organized crime. Daphne Caruana Galizia, the blogger who was murdered in Malta (in 2017), had exposed the web of official protection in Malta. Or if you look at some of the journalists who've been murdered in Russia, or in Mexico, or Jan Kuciak (in Slovakia in 2018). They were all reporting on the intersection of organized crime and government protection that facilitates and allows those criminal networks to operate. When journalists expose that network, they threaten the bottom line. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, that can get you killed. Q: What inspires you to continue? Simon: What inspires me is I really think there is nothing more essential in the way that humans connect with one another (than) sharing information. And journalism is absolutely essential to that. So, I am profoundly optimistic that that need will remain, and that people will continue to fight to get access to the information that they need to make sense of their lives. And support the journalists who do that work. Where I'm less optimistic is that those kinds of efforts threaten entrenched power structures, including authoritarian states. And they're becoming more and more adept at managing and controlling and retaining their ability to set the narrative. We must keep fighting, because press freedom is the battle of the information age, and we must prevail. My optimism stems not from examining the current reality, but from a recognition of what's at stake. I believe that many people around the world recognize that they ultimately support independent journalism. They ultimately recognize the value of what journalists do. And they're ultimately willing to fight for it. When the coronavirus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, North Korea locked its borders faster and harder than virtually any other country. For North Korea, it was a matter of necessity; the countrys fragile health care system is unable to cope with a major disease outbreak. But nearly two years after North Korea severed almost every land, sea, and air link with the rest of the world, it still appears to have few tools other than lockdowns to fight the pandemic. North Korea has refused offers of COVID-19 vaccines from other countries and the United Nations-backed COVAX vaccine distribution initiative. According to the World Health Organization, it is one of only two countries yet to begin vaccination campaigns (the other is Eritrea). Instead, North Korea has not only sealed its borders, but also imposed severe domestic travel restrictions. While most analysts doubt North Koreas claim to have completely kept out COVID-19, they acknowledge that the early lockdown likely prevented pandemic deaths. It works, lets face it. North Korea is able to seal its borders very tightly and control movement. And we know these viruses cannot infect others when they cant move, says Kee Park, a North Korea healthcare expert who works at the Massachusetts-based Harvard Medical School. But as North Korea enters year three of its lockdown, signs of economic stress are emerging. Basic food supplies, already often lacking in many parts of North Korea, are now too expensive for poorer classes to afford. Outside humanitarian aid, which plays a key role in North Koreas economy, has been cut back. While the situation may not be as dire as the countrys 1990s famine, the economy has taken a major hit, says Lee Sang Yong, chief editor of the Daily NK, a Seoul-based publication that maintains sources inside North Korea. Ordinary people now eat only two meals per day instead of three. And the ratio of rice to corn they consume is 3 to 7 instead of 7 to 3. Its clear the economic situation is getting worse, Lee says. Many analysts say the situation is unsustainable. But North Korea is no stranger to defying analysts predictions. We are not sure how long they can continue and endure these kinds of difficulties, concedes Park Won Gon, a professor at Seouls Ewha University. Many people, especially so-called experts on the North Korean economy, are saying next year, probably in the first halfwill be the deadline. There are signs that North Korea is trying to open its border to trade with China, its main economic lifeline. Satellite photos show North Korea is building several decontamination centers, presumably to facilitate imports. But any wider opening with China may be tricky, since both countries are embracing a zero COVID approach, says Park. For now, North Korea shows no signs of attempting to live with the virus. If it were to take that approach, it would likely need to accept vaccines. As VOA reported in July, North Korea is worried about the efficacy and side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine that COVAX has allocated for the country. It is also concerned about the presence of foreign aid workers that would help facilitate a vaccine campaign. If not vaccines, North Korea could attempt to acquire COVID-19 treatment pills, which some observers say could be particularly useful in countries that do not have access to enough vaccines. But in a pandemic likely seen as a threat to his rule, Kim may instead feel the need to simply assert more control, which means the lockdown may continue. Its not just for their people's well being, says Park. This is also a very daunting challenge to their own authority, to the Kim Jong Un regime. Thats why they dont even partially open their border. Four Malian soldiers were killed and around a dozen others were wounded when they were attacked in the west of the county, the army said Thursday. Mali's Armed Forces said the attack occurred late Tuesday in a region of the country where jihadists have attacked soldiers in the past. An army "unit in the Nara region was the target of a sophisticated attack combining IED [Improvised Explosive Devices] and heavy weapons," the army said in a statement. It said the army suffered at least "four dead and a dozen seriously wounded," but did not say who carried out the attack. On Wednesday evening, a brigade in Niena in the far south of the country was attacked, but without any casualties, the army said. In the center of the country, a mortar attack targeted the Hombori camp also on Wednesday evening, but there was no material damage. Mali is the epicenter of a jihadist insurgency that began in the north of the country in 2012 and spread three years later to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso. Thousands of people across the region have died and around two million have been displaced by the conflict. Despite the presence of French and U.N. troops, the conflict spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. France intervened in 2013 and now has roughly 5,000 troops in the region, but plans to lower that number to 2,500-3,000 by 2023. The spiral of violence has continued despite the coup that brought the military to power in Bamako in 2020. Libyan journalist Abdelhafid al-Mogassbi, who was kidnapped five weeks ago by unknown gunmen in the country's second city Benghazi, said Thursday he has been released. Mogassbi, who was seized on November 22 from the offices of his newspaper Al-Hayat, told AFP he was freed on Wednesday and was in "good" health, but gave no details of his detention or release. According to the government media authority, unknown assailants had entered the Al-Hayat offices "threatening" employees and seized Mogassbi. They refused to show identification or an arrest warrant or to explain their action, said the Benghazi branch of the authority, which shares offices with Al-Hayat. Libya has been ravaged by violence and insecurity ever since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. Media professionals paid a heavy price in the revolt as well as the chaos that has followed, with several Libyan and foreign journalists attacked or kidnapped. Libya is ranked 165 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. A conference in Mali charged with recommending a timetable for democratic elections following a military coup said on Thursday that polls scheduled for February should be delayed by six months to five years in part because of security issues. Mali's transitional government initially agreed to hold elections in February 2022, 18 months after an army faction led by Colonel Assimi Goita overthrew President Boubacar Ibrahim Keita. But it has made little progress, blaming disorganization and Islamist violence in the north and central parts of the country. ECOWAS, West Africa's main political and economic bloc, has imposed sanctions on the coup leaders and had promised more if Mali did not produce a plan for February elections by Friday. The government has said it will take the recommendations of the National Refoundation Conference and decide on a new election calendar by the end of January. A prolonged transition back to democracy could isolate Mali from its neighbors and from former colonial power France, which has thousands of soldiers deployed there against insurgents linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State. It could also undermine democracy in West and Central Africa, where military coup leaders in Chad and Guinea are also under pressure to organize elections and give up power. The proposed election timetable comes at a delicate time politically. France is reducing its military presence in the north, and Russia has sent private military contractors to train Malian troops, a move Western powers worry is the beginning of a wider Russian deployment. Hundreds of mourners queued Thursday to pay their respects to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose body lies in state at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town where the anti-apartheid hero preached against racial injustice. Tutu, a Nobel Peace prize winner widely revered across racial and cultural divides for his moral rectitude and principled fight against white minority rule, died Sunday at the age of 90. His death represents a huge loss for South Africa, where many called him as "Tata" - father. Since Sunday, church bells have been rung every day in his honor and tributes and prayers have poured in from around the world. Tutu will lie in state at the cathedral Thursday and Friday, ahead of a requiem Mass funeral service Saturday where President Cyril Ramaphosa was expected to deliver the main eulogy. "I am basically just here to pay my respects," said Randall Ortel, a medical doctor and one of the first members of the public in line to enter the church. "He is definitely one of my role models and I want to emulate what he has done in his life," he said. Amanda Mbikwana said she had arrived as early as 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) with her mother and nephews. "We have known Tata's work, he has stood up for us and we are here today in a free country to give him the honor, to celebrate his life and to support [his wife] Mama Leah and the family," said Mbikwana, a human resources manager. Voice of reason Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 in recognition of his non-violent opposition to white minority rule. A decade later, he witnessed the end of that regime and chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help unearth state-sponsored atrocities during that era. "He was always the voice of the voiceless and always the voice of reason," said fellow anti-apartheid activist Chris Nissen, as he waited in line outside the cathedral. Tutu's simple pine coffin with rope handles, adorned with a single bunch of white carnations, was carried into St. George's, which provided a safe haven for anti-apartheid activists during the repressive white-minority rule. Emotional family members met the coffin outside the entrance, where six black-robed clergy acting as pall bearers carried the closed coffin inside to an inner sanctuary amid a cloud of incense from the Anglican thurible. Tutu, who requested the cheapest coffin and did not want any lavish funeral expense, will be cremated and his remains interred behind the cathedral pulpit he often used to preach against racial injustice. In Johannesburg, a memorial service was held at St. Mary's Cathedral, where Tutu was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1961 and where he later served as the first Black Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg in 1985. An interfaith prayer service also was held in Pretoria. Pakistan has begun dispatching thousands of metric tons of wheat to Afghanistan as relief assistance, saying the humanitarian and economic situation in the neighboring country requires the urgent attention of the international community. Islamabad has pledged about $28 million worth of humanitarian aid to Kabul, including 50,000 metric tons of wheat, winter shelter and emergency medical supplies. While scores of trucks have transported food and medical supplies to Afghanistan in recent weeks, a Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement said Thursday the first consignment of 1,800 metric tons of wheat was handed over to Afghan authorities at the northwestern Torkham border crossing between the countries. It is critical that the world community upscale its efforts to reach out to the Afghan people on an urgent basis to help address the humanitarian crisis and stabilize the economic situation, the statement emphasized. Pakistani leaders maintain that worsening humanitarian and economic conditions could force Afghans to take shelter in neighboring countries and the world at large unless urgent aid arrives in Afghanistan. Pakistan already hosts about 3 million Afghan refugees, as well as economic migrants, and it has refused to accept a new influx of refugees citing its own economic difficulties. The United Nations estimates nearly 23 million people, about 55% of the population in Afghanistan, face extreme levels of hunger, and nearly 9 million of them are at risk of famine in the wake of years of war and international sanctions. The humanitarian situation has deteriorated following the Taliban military takeover of the country and the withdrawal of the U.S.-led coalition in August. The development prompted Washington to immediately suspend its cash flow to the Afghan economy, which mostly depended on foreign financial assistance over the past 20 years. The Biden administration also has seized Afghanistans roughly $9.5 billion worth of assets and imposed financial sanctions on the Taliban, plunging the economy into unprecedented upheaval and making it difficult for people to get enough to eat. The Taliban have been seeking global legitimacy for their interim government in Kabul and release of the frozen funds. Pakistan, which is known for its close contacts with the Islamist group, has been urging the United States and other nations to engage with the new rulers in Afghanistan to prevent the looming humanitarian and economic disaster there. The U.S. Treasury Department acted last week to ease sanctions against Kabul, saying it would issue licenses to ensure some international aid could flow to Afghanistan, as long as it did not reach Taliban leaders sanctioned by Washington. The licenses also would allow Afghans living abroad to send money to their families. A bomb exploded in southwestern Pakistan late Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring 15 others. Police said the explosive device was planted in a vehicle parked outside a college in central Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, and triggered by a timer. In a statement released to the media, the provincial health department confirmed the casualties. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Baluchistan routinely experiences militant attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians. The violence is often claimed by separatist Baluch militant groups or the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which officials say orchestrates anti-state activities out of neighboring Afghanistan. Thousands of Pakistanis, including security forces, have been killed in TTP-claimed suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks over the past years. Pakistan recently engaged the militant outfit in peace talks with the help of Afghanistans ruling Taliban, leading to a 30-day cease-fire. The TTP, however, refused to extend the truce after it expired in early December, accusing Pakistani authorities of breaching terms of the deal. Since then, the group has resumed attacks on Pakistani troops and police forces, particularly in tribal districts next to the Afghan border. Gazprom, Russias giant state-owned energy company, is slated to finalize an agreement in 2022 for a second huge natural gas pipeline running from Siberia to China, marking yet another stage in what energy analysts and Western diplomats say is a fast-evolving gas pivot to Asia by Moscow. They see the pivot as a geopolitical project and one that could mean trouble for Europe. Known as Power of Siberia 2, the mega-pipeline traversing Mongolia will be able to deliver 50 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to China annually. It was given the go-ahead in March by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and when finished it will complement another massive pipeline, Power of Siberia 1, that transports gas from Russias Chayandinskoye field to northern China. Power of Siberia 2 will supply gas from Siberias Yamal Peninsula, the source of the gas exported to Europe. Western officials worry that the project could have serious geopolitical implications for energy-hungry European nations before they embark in earnest on a long transition to renewables and away from fossil fuels. For months Western leaders and officials have been accusing Russia of worsening an energy crunch thats hit Europe this year and threatens to deepen during the northern hemisphere winter. Gazprom has shrugged off urgent European requests for more natural gas. In the past few weeks Gazprom has at times even reduced exports, say industry monitors. The energy giant maintains it has been meeting the volumes of gas it agreed to in contracts, but Gazprom has been accused by the International Energy Agency and European lawmakers of deliberately not doing enough to boost supplies to Europe as the continent struggles with unprecedented price hikes and the increasing risk of power rationing and plant stoppages. The new Sino-Russian energy project, which Putin discussed with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, during a December 18 video conference, will give Moscow even more leverage when price bargaining with Europe and boost China as an alternative market for gas, according to Filip Medunic, an analyst with the European Council on Foreign Relations. Russia remains Europes main gas supplier, but Europeans urgently need to understand the changes it is currently making to its energy transport infrastructureas these changes could leave Europe even more at Moscows mercy, he outlined in a study earlier this year. Speaking after his conference call with Xi Jinping, the Russian president told reporters that the pipeline's route, length and other parameters have been agreed to, and a feasibility study will be completed in the next several weeks. The Kremlin has been eager to expand its energy market in China, which will need more gas in coming years to substitute for an eventual phasing down of coal, according to Vita Spivak, an energy analyst at Control Risks, a global consulting firm. Spivak told a discussion forum earlier this month that Kremlin officials are anxious to exploit the opportunity especially considering there is a good working relationship between the two capitals. The Power of Siberia 2 pipeline has been championed by Putin, she said. McKinsey, the strategic management consulting firm, estimates Chinese demand for gas will double by 2035. That will be a godsend for Russia. European governments are already setting out plans on how to transform their energy marketshow they will generate, import and distribute energy and shift to renewables and, in some cases, nuclear power. Russia needs to diversify into Asia to prolong its profits from its vast natural gas resources as Europe slowly weans itself off Gazprom supplies. But Europe will remain dependent on Russian gas in the near future and Moscow has been busy re-ordering its complex network of pipelines, shaping them for wider economic and political purposes, say energy and national security analysts. Currently it supplies Europe through several pipelinesNord Stream I, TurkStream and another from Yamal that terminates in Germany after transiting Belarus and Poland. And it has just completed the controversial Nord Stream 2 underwater pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, circumventing older land routes through Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 has yet to receive final approval by German authorities. Washington has long warned of the risk of Nord Stream 2 making the EU in the short term even more dependent for its energy needs on Russia and potentially vulnerable to economic coercion by the Kremlin. The planned Power of Siberia 2 pipeline will be able to pump into China around the same amount that Nord Stream 2 would be able to transport to Europe, giving the Kremlin more options about who gets the gas and at what price. A senior European diplomat told VOA that Gazproms refusal to come up with additional supplies during the current energy crunch already demonstrates Russias questionable motives about how ready it is to use the energy market for purely political purposes. He added, As it diversifies to China, it will give the Kremlin more opportunities to turn off and on supplies to Europe but reduce considerably any financial risks for Russia. Fighters from Somalia's al-Shabab militant group attacked a town north of the capital, Mogadishu, on Thursday, killing at least seven people as they battled government security forces, a resident and police said. The attack happened amid a political dispute between Somalias president and prime minister which its international partners worry has distracted the government from the fight against the insurgents. Police and residents in Balad, 30 km (18 miles) north of Mogadishu, said fighters from the al-Qaida-linked group attacked and overran government forces guarding a bridge at a town entrance early in the morning. "We were in a mosque praying when a heavy exchange of gunfire took place at the bridge. Al-Shabab thus captured the town, overrunning the soldiers at the bridge," Hassan Nur, a shopkeeper in Balad, an agricultural town that links Somalia's Middle Shabelle region to Lower Shabelle, told Reuters by telephone. "There were few police forces in the town. (The police) were missing. When the firing started people ran into their houses. I counted five dead soldiers and two civilian women," he said. Police captain Farah Ali said the fighters stayed briefly in the town after the attack but then left. "Al-Shabab did not come to our station but captured the entire town in the fighting and left without patrolling," he told Reuters. "I understand there are about eight people dead including soldiers." Al-Shabab aims to topple the government and impose a strict version of Islamic law. It often carries out bomb attacks on government targets but also on civilians. It also targets African Union peacekeeping troops. Somalia, which has had only limited central government since 1991, is trying to reconstruct itself with the help of the United Nations. The United Nations and various countries have urged its prime minister, Mohammed Hussein Roble, and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to settle their dispute, which has raised fears of conflict. The president on Monday tried to suspend the prime minister's powers for suspected corruption. The prime minister described the move as a coup attempt and he asked all security forces to take orders from his office, not the president. Sudanese security forces shot and killed four protesters on Thursday during demonstrations by tens of thousands who defied a security lockdown and severed communications to rally against military rule, medics said. For more than two months, pro-democracy activists have kept up a campaign of street demonstrations against a military takeover in October. A crackdown on the protests has now seen at least 52 people killed, according to the independent Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. On Thursday, security forces fired live bullets, killing four protesters in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital, Khartoum, and wounded dozens, the committee said. "We call on doctors to come to the Arbain hospital in Omdurman because the putschists are using live rounds against protesters and preventing ambulances from reaching them," it added. Its plea was posted on social media accounts of Sudanese living abroad as authorities had severed domestic and international phone lines. Web monitoring group NetBlocks said mobile internet services were also cut. Communications were restored by evening when the demonstrators had dispersed. The U.S. Embassy, which had called for restraint in the use of force, condemned the killing of protesters and also deplored "the violent attacks by Sudan's security services on media outlets and journalists." U.N. Special Representative Volker Perthes called for "credible investigations into these violations." Despite the risks, protesters chanted "no to military rule" during rallies in several parts of Sudan demanding a transition to a civilian government. 'Revolution continues' They came within a few hundred meters of the presidential palace, the headquarters of top General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who seized power on October 25. Troops, police and paramilitary units launched multiple tear gas canisters into the crowd. "The revolution continues," protesters shouted, beating drums and waving flags. "No to military rule" and "Soldiers back to the barracks," they chanted in Khartoum and Omdurman. Security forces deployed in strength across the capital, using shipping containers to block the Nile bridges that connect the capital with Omdurman and other suburbs. The authorities also installed new surveillance cameras on major thoroughfares for Thursday's protests. Witnesses reported similar anti-coup protests in Wad Madani, south of the capital, and the cities of Kassala and Port Sudan in the east. Saudi television Al-Arabiya said several of its journalists had been wounded in an attack by security forces on its Khartoum office Another Saudi channel, ASharq, also reported that security personnel prevented its reporters from covering the anti-military rallies. Burhan, who held civilian leader Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok effectively under house arrest for weeks, reinstated him on November 21 under a deal promising elections for July 2023. Protesters said the deal had simply given a cloak of legitimacy to the generals, whom they accuse of trying to reproduce the former regime of autocratic President Omar al-Bashir, toppled in 2019 following mass protests. "Signing with the military was a mistake from the start," one protester said, accusing the generals of being "Bashir's men." Sexual attacks The Nile bridges were also blocked for previous protests on December 25, when tens of thousands also rallied. About 235 people were injured during those demonstrations, according to the Doctors Committee, and tear gas was fired at demonstrators. Activists have condemned sexual attacks during December 19 protests, in which the U.N. said at least 13 women and girls were victims of rape or gang-rape. The European Union and the United States issued a joint statement condemning the use of sexual violence "as a weapon to drive women away from demonstrations and silence their voices." Sudan still has no functioning government, a prerequisite for the resumption of international aid cut in response to the coup. More than 14 million people, a third of Sudan's population, will need humanitarian aid next year, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the highest level for a decade. Show more Show less Go inside efforts to slow and maybe reverse the effects of climate change along the worlds shorelines. A NASA scientist explains the seismic impact of melting ice caps and see how concrete makers are trying to lighten their carbon load, on The Inside Story: Our Changing Climate. Airdate December 30, 2021. Writers and poets have condemned the arrest of award-winning Ugandan author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, who is being held without charge for alleged offensive communication. Security forces arrested him earlier this week after Rukirabashaija criticized the government. President of the Poets Association Uganda Ronald Sekajja says Rukirabashaijas arrest aims to reinforce fear among writers. Unknown Ugandan forces arrested the award-winning author Tuesday after he published comments critical of President Yoweri Musevenis son. Sekajja told VOA that Rukirabashaijas arrest shows that the government allows little space for criticism. If anyone thinks it comes up as abuse or as insult, then charges need to be placed and they take him to face the law. I think our biggest concern as the writing community is the manner in which he is arrested and no charges are placed and hes been in detention, Sekajja said. Rukirabashaijas lawyer Eron Kiiza says the author is being held at a hidden interrogation facility in Kampala. They are claiming he made some offensive communication. They are not giving us details of those. So, they are charging him with offensive communication. Of course, we know him and the first son have had some exchange on Twitter, Kiiza said. Rukirabashaija on Twitter called Musevenis son, Lt. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, obese, drunk, bad-tempered, and a rotting corpse of a future president. Kainerugaba is seen as a possible successor to his long-ruling father in Ugandas 2026 election. Rukirabashaija, a 2021 PEN Prize winner for international writer of courage, posted about his arrest Tuesday on Facebook. Men with guns are breaking my door, he wrote. They say they are policemen but are not in uniform. Ive locked myself inside. Kainerugaba seemed to take credit for the arrest. He posted on Twitter, "I want the arrest of Kakwenza Rukira (Rukirabashaija) to be a lesson to all those who think they can abuse me on social media and walk away scot free." Makerere University professor and writer Stella Nyanzi says the authors arrest shows Musevenis son is just as intolerant of critics as his parents. The face of the enemy has changed. It is the first time that the first son is engaging in this sort of brutal arrest that we have known his father and mother to make on writers. It's not an accident that Kakwenza writes as he does. It is of worry to be isolated, she said. Nyanzi herself was jailed in 2019 for writing sexually explicit criticism of Ugandas first lady Janet Museveni. PEN International on Twitter condemned what it called Rukirabashaijas violent, unlawful arrest, calling for his immediate release and expressing grave concern about his safety. Ugandan security forces in 2020 detained and tortured Rukirabashaija, he said, for his book The Greedy Barbarian, which describes high level corruption in a fictional country. He was arrested a second time after he wrote the book Banana Republic, which detailed his alleged torture at the hands of military intelligence. Ugandas police spokesperson declined to comment on Rukirabashaijas latest arrest, saying he was too busy to take calls. The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday condemned last week's massacre in Myanmar of more than 30 people that was blamed on junta troops. The killings took place on Christmas Eve in eastern Kayah state. Pro-democracy rebels there have been fighting the military, which took over the government from the democratically elected administration in February. In a statement released Wednesday evening, Security Council members "stressed the need to ensure accountability for this act." They also called for the immediate cessation of all violence and emphasized the importance of respect for human rights and of ensuring safety of civilians. The statement said "at least 35 people" were killed in the attack, including four children and two members of the Save the Children charity staff. The Security Council also "stressed the need for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need, and for the full protection, safety and security of humanitarian and medical personnel." Anti-junta fighters say they found more than 30 burned bodies, including those of women and children, on a highway in Kayah state following the attack. The two Save the Children employees had been missing, and the rights group confirmed Tuesday that they were among the dead. Myanmar has been in chaos since the February coup, with more than 1,300 people killed in a crackdown by security forces, according to a local monitoring group. Self-proclaimed People's Defense Forces have sprung up across the country to fight the junta and have drawn the military into a bloody stalemate of clashes and reprisals. In the aftermath of the attack, Washington renewed calls for an arms embargo on the junta. Western nations have long restricted weapons to Myanmar's military, which faced allegations of crimes against humanity even during the pre-coup democratic transition for a bloody campaign against the Rohingya minority. The General Assembly voted in June to prevent arms shipments into Myanmar, but the measure was symbolic as it was not taken up by the more powerful Security Council. China and Russia, which hold veto power on the Security Council, and neighboring India are the major arms providers to Myanmar. The top infectious disease expert in the United States is urging Americans to avoid taking part in mass New Years Eve celebrations as the nation continues to set record-breaking levels of daily new coronavirus infections driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. The U.S. posted 489,267 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys Coronavirus Resource Center, just two days after recording a new single-day record of 512,553. The U.S. is now averaging more than 265,000 new coronavirus cases per day, breaking the previous mark of 250,000 daily new infections set in January. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said Wednesday he strongly recommends that people cancel plans to attend large holiday parties with 30, 40, 50 people this year, and instead spend the time with small gatherings of friends or relatives who are vaccinated and have received a booster shot. In an interview Wednesday on financial cable network CNBC, Fauci also predicted the current omicron-driven surge may hit its peak in the U.S. by the end of January. Health experts say despite omicrons fast-moving spread around the world since it was first detected in South Africa last month, it appears to cause less severe illnesses than other versions of the coronavirus. However a World Health Organization official warned this week it is still too early to tell how omicron will affect older, more vulnerable people. Meanwhile, a new study out of South Africa suggests a booster shot of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine provides strong protection against the omicron variant. Researchers at the South African Medical Research Council say the booster shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was given to about 69,000 health care workers between November 15 and December 20. The results show the effectiveness at preventing hospitalization rose from 63% shortly after it was administered to 84% 14 days later, and 85% within one to two months. Also, a separate study involving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States suggests the vaccine provides a 41-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies when used as a booster shot for people who received the two-dose Pfizer vaccine. Doctors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston also told CNN the Johnson & Johnson booster produces a five-fold increase in so-called T cells, an arm of the human immune system that kills virus-infected cells and keeps them from replicating and spreading. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) says it only registered 2,000 new voters this year amid concerns that some constituencies may be merged in several provinces. According to the privately-owned NewsDay newspaper, a ZEC official told a virtual youth meeting on Wednesday, organized by the state-controlled electoral body, that first-time voters are not registering to vote in national polls. The newspaper quoted commissioner Jasper Mangwana as saying, Imagine ZEC offices have been open even though we have been in COVID-19 and had scaled down our numbers, but we only registered 2,000 new voters this year out of our 63 district and 10 provincial offices in the country. He said they have launched a campaign on social media platforms in an attempt to get first time voters and others. ZEC has already rolled out a voter registration blitz which is expected to run for 35 days. The commission shelved plans to conduct a voter registration campaign a month ago claiming that the Registrar Generals office was failing to produce identify documents for people intending to register as voters. The ruling party and opposition MDC Alliance are targeting to register at least 11 million voters ahead of the 2023 harmonized elections. Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. Photo: Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images A federal jury on Wednesday found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of operating a sex-trafficking ring with her late boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein, capping a decades-long effort to bring the two to justice for victimizing dozens of girls as young as 14. She was convicted on five of six charges, after a two-and-a-half-week trial in a Manhattan federal courthouse. Maxwell now faces a second trial on two perjury charges. The 60-year-old potentially faces decades in prison. Before they were outed as sexual predators, Maxwell and Epstein were fixtures of high society on both sides of the Atlantic. She was a British socialite, and he lived the life of a billionaire complete with a private island, private jets, and personal assistants who cleaned his sex toys without any obvious source of income. They variously jet-setted with Bill Clinton, dined with Bill Gates, partied with Donald Trump before he was president, and palled around with the Duke of York, Prince Andrew. The couples little black books, introduced as evidence at trial, were directories of the most influential people on the planet. Behind the glitz was a dark secret. They used their wealth and privilege to shelter themselves from retribution for abusing teenage girls for years. An initial police investigation into Epstein more than a decade ago in Palm Beach ended in a sweetheart non-prosecution deal negotiated by Epsteins high-powered attorneys with the top federal prosecutor in Miami, Alexander Acosta, who was later forced to resign as Trumps Labor secretary after a Miami Herald series exposed the circumstances surrounding the agreement. Even after Epstein emerged from a lenient state jail term as a registered sex offender, his elite friends helped prop him up, appearing to turn the other way regarding his sexual relationships with teenage girls. Epstein organized a science event with Stephen Hawking, attended a tech dinner with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. He hosted a dinner party at his Manhattan mansion attended by Katie Couric, George Stephanopoulos, and Prince Andrew who has been accused of sexually abusing one of Epsteins victims, though he denies the allegations. It wasnt until the Miami Herald highlighted Epsteins alleged misdeeds in 2018 that Manhattan federal prosecutors turned their sights to him and subsequently to Maxwell. She was indicted in July 2020, roughly one year after Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal charges of the sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy. Maxwells lawyers argued in court that the criminal case against her was merely a desperate effort by prosecutors to compensate for the loss of their prime target. She is a scapegoat for a man who behaved badly, her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim told the jury in opening remarks. She is a target, a bulls-eye of anger for women who were or otherwise believed they were victimized by Epstein. But prosecutors and witnesses told a very different story, recalling exploitation, grooming, and sexual abuse all at the hands of Maxwell herself. In the words of prosecutor Lara Pomerantz, Maxwell preyed on vulnerable young girls, manipulated them, and served them up to be sexually abused. Maxwell was the lady of the house, Pomerantz said, and she and Epstein were partners in crime. The jury heard testimony from four alleged victims, three of whom testified using pseudonyms or only their first names. All recalled meeting Epstein and Maxwell as young teenagers, at times when their families were stretched financially or had a single or sick parent. Maxwell, an older, educated, and stylish woman with a clipped British accent connoting sophistication, would befriend them, prosecutors said, coaxing them into situations where Epstein could prey on them. With her help, prosecutors alleged, he sexually abused them, rewarding them afterward with handfuls of cash, and eventually convinced many of them to recruit others in order to earn even more money. Jane recalled visiting Epsteins Palm Beach estate beginning when she was 14. Epstein and Maxwell bought her gifts and took her shopping, on one occasion to Victorias Secret, where they bought her white cotton briefs. Janes family was living in their friends pool house at the time because Janes father had recently died and they were homeless, and Epstein began giving her cash. One day, when Jane was still 14, Epstein took her by the hand, led her into a room, pulled down his pants and masturbated onto her, she said. I was frozen in fear, Jane told the jury. Shortly after that attack, she said, Epstein and Maxwell took Jane to a bedroom in the house, took off their clothes and instructed her to remove her top. Then they fondled each other. During every subsequent visit to his home, Jane testified, she was instructed to give Epstein a massage that included touching his penis, and he often touched her, sometimes using a sex toy on her. She said Maxwell also sometimes participated and would touch her breasts. Whenever she would be summoned to see Epstein, Jane said, she would feel my heart sink into my stomach. Several of the charges against Maxwell concerned interstate travel, and Jane testified that Epstein and Maxwell brought her on his private planes to his homes in New York City and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and that Epstein, sometimes with Maxwell present, would sexually abuse her at those locations, too. Prosecutors repeatedly made the point that Epstein used his extreme wealth to keep vulnerable girls coming back to him. In Janes case, Epstein eventually paid for her tuition at a private high school for performing-arts students and picked up the tab for a New York City apartment for her mother. Another witness, who went by Kate, testified that Maxwell said her boyfriend could help her with her aspiring music career and convinced her to go to his house to give him a massage, which turned into the first of many sexual encounters. On another occasion, Maxwell gave Kate a schoolgirl outfit to wear for Epstein, and she was gifted a small black Prada handbag. Kate first met Maxwell and Epstein in Britain when she was 17; because she was over the age of consent, the judge said her testimony could be used only to corroborate patterns in Maxwell and Epsteins behavior. After Maxwells lawyers suggested that Kate had memory lapses owing to drug use, she told the jury that her memories regarding Epstein and Maxwell were clear because she was terrified and frozen. I remember what happened when I was 17 with Ghislaine and Jeffrey because those events come back to me all the time, Kate said. I have nightmares about them. But perhaps the most devastating testimony came from a victim who testified under her first name, Carolyn. Unlike Jane, who became a successful soap-opera actress, or Kate, who ended up modeling in Europe, Carolyn testified that she eventually worked for an escort service and as a stripper. Her mother was an alcoholic and drug addict, and Carolyn said she began visiting Epsteins Palm Beach mansion at age 14 to make money. During the years she visited Epsteins home, he would often send a Town Car to pick her up because she was too young to drive herself. Carolyn told the jury that she gave Epstein massages that often escalated into sexual encounters and that twice another girl entered the massage room while she was there and Epstein had intercourse with the girl while she performed oral sex on Carolyn. She also testified that Maxwell entered the massage room while she was setting up one day and Maxwell felt my boobs and my hips and my buttocks and said that I had a great body for Mr. Epstein and his friends. Carolyn was 14 at the time. During rigorous questioning from defense counsel suggesting Maxwell played little role in her abuse, Carolyn said: The only thing Ms. Maxwell was involved in was fondling and touching my breasts and my buttocks, and for that, my soul is broken and so is my heart. Beyond victims, several of Epsteins former employees testified. Prosecutors suggested that Maxwell was motivated in part by her desire for Epstein to support her lifestyle after the death of her father, the British media baron Robert Maxwell. One of Epsteins pilots told the jury that when he first met Maxwell, she lived in a large apartment at 59th Street and Columbus Circle. After her father died in 1991, she moved to a significantly smaller apartment, the pilot recalled. Eventually, though, during the years she became closer and closer with Epstein, she abandoned the smaller apartment for a spacious townhouse on the Upper East Side, not far from Epsteins mansion. Prosecutors introduced evidence showing that between 1999 and 2007, Epstein gave Maxwell about $30 million, what prosecutors said was effectively compensation for her work procuring girls for Epstein. You know exactly what that money was for, assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe told jurors. The prosecution had its share of hiccups, however. Though prosecutors had planned to call one of Janes brothers as a witness, they discovered that hours after Jane testified, she called her brother and told him about a document she had been asked about on the stand. She also described the defense attorney who cross-examined her using an expletive that rhymes with front, as one of Maxwells attorneys told the judge. Prosecutors ended up dropping Janes brother as a witness. Maxwells attorneys sought to demonstrate that witness testimony was the product of, in the words of attorney Laura Menninger, erroneous memories, manipulation and money, citing in particular a victim-compensation fund that awarded millions to those abused by Epstein, including the witnesses who testified at Maxwells trial. The defense called a handful of witnesses for its own case, but none offered testimony that did much to defuse the accounts of the victims. One defense witness, Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who specializes in studying false memory, appeared to have made a career out of testifying on behalf of defendants, even having written a book titled Witness for the Defense. She said she was billing Maxwell $600 an hour to testify. Another defense witness, a former beauty queen and doctor named Eva Dubin, who dated Epstein for seven or eight years in the 1980s, testified that she never witnessed Epstein express interest in young girls. But in addition to saying seemingly little that could exonerate Maxwell, Dubin admitted that she had problems with her memory due to what she termed as medical issues. In the end, Maxwells attorneys proclaimed both her ignorance Everyone knew that Jeffrey was keeping secrets from Ghislaine, except Ghislaine, Menninger told jurors in her closing arguments and her innocence, saying she shouldnt be punished for her relationship with Epstein. Shes being tried here for being with Jeffrey Epstein, said Menninger. And maybe that was the biggest mistake of her life, but it was not a crime. But prosecutors spoke directly to the notion that Maxwell was a bystander or an unwitting participant. The evidence at this trial showed you that Ghislaine Maxwell made her own choices. She committed crimes hand-in-hand with Jeffrey Epstein. She was a grown woman who knew exactly what she was doing, Moe told jurors. And now shes sitting here in this courtroom being held accountable for breaking the law. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Katy Perry If you thought Katy Perrys performance antics peaked at Left Shark, well, her Las Vegas residency is coming at you like a dark horse. Perrys Play premiered at Resorts World Las Vegas on Wednesday, and if you werent there to witness it yourself, dont worry in this case, what happened in Vegas didnt stay in Vegas. Perry lactated beer into a Corona bottle in front of a giant mask. There were penis-mushroom dancers. A walking shit came out of a toilet to duet California Gurls. Perry debuted her new Alesso collab, When Im Gone, and her 2019 song Never Really Over separately even though theyre nearly the same song. She covered Whitney Houstons Greatest Love of All. And while there werent sharks, there were horses, snails, and frogs. Perry has 15 more shows of Play through March including a New Years Eve show that will factor into CNNs New Years Eve Live. Find more of what the Katy Kats get for waking up in Vegas below. Perry performing Never Really Over er, When Im Gone. Move over Snoop Dogg, Perrys found a new California Gurls collaborator. Bon Appetit and its two meanings. I found the greatest love of all Inside of me she getting emotional singing KATY PERRY PLAY pic.twitter.com/ZNaVnBTMom Mah PerryClown (@perryclown2) December 30, 2021 The Greatest Love of All just maybe not the greatest Houston cover? Call her an E.T. in Vegas. And of course, a Vegas-ified Waking Up in Vegas. Photo: Disney+ Disney parks fans got a nice little Easter egg in chapter one of The Book of Boba Fett. While visiting a casino, Robert Rodriguezs camera cut to RX-24, a.k.a. R-3X, a.k.a. Rex, a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman in space. Working as a dealer droid, Rex was still recognizable from his Star Tours tenure. Voiced by Paul Reubens, Rex was your guide through the simulator ride. Rex helped passengers of his Starspeeder 3000 blow up the Death Star every five minutes or so in Anaheim, Orlando, and Tokyo. Rex was shitcanned, however, when the ride got revamped to include prequel and sequel material. After that, RX droids made appearances in Star Wars Rebels, the much-beloved sequel series to Star Wars: The Clone Wars. And now hes a space blackjack dealer! With a cute little green gambling visor, bless him. If you want to meet Rex, hes currently working as a DJ in Ogas Cantina in both Star Wars lands. DJ R-3X can now be seen in Galaxys Edges in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. R-3X does a short set of space music (heavy on the Jizz?) while guests enjoy face-numbing cocktails. You can even buy your own R-3X to take home. But you will probably have to teach him to gamble. After all, hes still getting used to his programming. To The Eagle: As a recent writer adroitly pointed out, youre not likely to read about American Communist activities in the local paper. Theyre simply not exciting enough. Youd have to subscribe to the Peoples World newspaper which informs the 5000 members of the American Communist Party. Connecticuts World Peoples Committee is a branch of our domestic Communist party and they met recently to present the Amistad Award to four dedicated labor organizers for their tireless efforts to advance worker rights, equality, and social justice. Joelle Fishman, chair of the Connecticut Communist Party USA, exhorted These are revolutionary times. They are not times to give in and give up. They are good trouble times. We refuse to go back to the way things were. Be active in your union. Organize a union if you dont have one. Be active in community organizations. Yes, Democratic senator Blumenthal was seen at the festivities and was pilloried for socializing with the Reds. After all, anything associated with the commies and socialism is pure poison, such as workers rights, social justice, voting rights, national healthcare, law enforcement reform, womens reproductive rights and public health vaccination efforts. As our writer complained, the list just goes on. The Amistad awards were not issued to celebrate any Communist attempt to throttle our democratic freedoms or overthrow our countrys elected government. That sort of subversion is now the province of the American Republican Party and its relentless efforts to replace facts with falsity, suppress access to the polls and intimidate the electorate with threats of armed violence. Lady, youre looking in the wrong direction. The assassins stalking liberal democracy are not lurking at the gates of our republic- they are already embedded in your neighborhood. Our famous enemy, Communism, has been replaced by the new and present danger of fascist Republicanism. JB Bouchard Puget Island Skamokawa News WHITE CHRISTMAS--For all those folks who were wishing for a white Christmas, it certainly looked like you got your wish! I had hoped we'd just get a couple of inches but Sunday's snowfall was quite impressive, that's for sure! The heavy snow brought branches and trees down and caused some power bumps and even power outages. Then there were the clumps of heavy snow/ice which fell from the trees and caused some windshields to break, so the snow caused some extra hazards to watch for that some hadn't thought about. By Monday morning we had accumulated even more snow and I was definitely hearing the snaps and cracks of multiple trees around my area as they gave way to all the extra weight from the snow freezing solid overnight. As I look at my temperature gauge, we are a balmy 22; time for more coffee! DIFFERENT DEPTHS--Around here you'll find that a half mile one way or another can make a huge difference in snow depths, so while some were enjoying a dusting, others had a manageable 4 to 5 inches, while others were buried in the stuff! My friends on top of Beaver Creek said they had 16 inches of snow by early Sunday afternoon! For those who are new around here, Beaver Creek Road is usually our alternate route to get to Longview but with that much snow, I'd say that's not a great option right now! Even taking the ferry and going on the Oregon side had its hazards as there are some steep hills that way. GRAUPEL ANYONE?--Did you happen to get any little round white "beads" at your house during all this snow? They almost look like little, tiny styrofoam balls and it's not hail, or sleet which are more clear looking, but really, really round white balls, and if you did, well, that stuff is called "graupel." Technically, this is a snowflake that collects supercooled water droplets on its surface and gives us these little white pellets. WERE YOU PREPARED?--Once again, this weather system has given us a little reminder that mother nature rules and we are at her mercy, so how did you make out with all your winter preparations this week? Temperatures were forecast to go down in the teens this past week. I hope you had all those outside faucets wrapped and hoses put away, etc. How about your food supply? Did you have enough things on hand so that you could stay home and not have to risk going out on the snowy roadways to get something? What about your animals? Did they have food and water and shelter so that they didn't have to suffer needlessly? I hope so. At any rate, with this being just the beginning of winter, I hope everyone managed to get by okay and if not, you learned a little lesson and can plan ahead for the next round of miserable weather which is surely bound to come our way. I just hope it isn't too soon! THANKS--This past Sunday there were multiple outages around our area, and out here in West Valley we had a couple of short ones and quite a few "blinks" but we got lucky for a change and didn't have a long outage thankfully. However, some folks lost power in East Valley and others lost power East of Cathlamet and even West of it while Hull Creek was without as well, and so we know the PUD crews were working real hard to get everybody back up and going as soon as they could, so a big shout out to the county PUD crew, as working in these conditions is certainly no fun and certainly interrupted their holiday plans! SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Dec. 30-Jan. 5 are Duncan Cruickshank, Charlene Montgomery, Mary Gustafson, Scott McClain, Jessica Moore, Jerrod Johnson, Robbie Kerstetter, Brooke Luthi, Olaf Thomason, Jaxon Hoven, Andy Lea, Bob Stewart, Terry Cleveland, Tony Danker, Ron Wika, John Hoven, Aubree Thomason, Greg Bain, Trynity Mendez, Jim Blain, Ron Pedersen, Nathan Holtz and Nancy Summerill. Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Mark Helms, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Johnson, Bob and Linda Roseberry and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bigler. May all of your special days bring you good times and lasting memories. FRIDAY NIGHT--New Year's Eve falls on a Friday this year, so weather permitting, I'm guessing there will be lots of folks wanting to get out there and help bring in the new year. Let's continue with our "support local" theme and enjoy a night out on the town and a fun time bringing in the new year. JANUARY CRAB FEED--The VFW Deep River Post will host their annual Crab and Oyster Feed at the Rosburg Hall/Community Center. Be sure to get your tickets now so that you don't miss it. This will take place on January 29 and you can purchase tickets from Danny Eaton on Puget Island or in the west end, contact Ken Elliott. WELL WISHES--I know there are several folks who have been under the weather lately and several of them have been classmates of mine, and while not naming names, I do wish all of them the very best in their recoveries from their various issues. I've also got some out of state family members dealing with Covid and of course, I truly hope they aren't dealing with any serious issues from it and wish them a speedy recovery. SHOEBOXES--The "Shoeboxes of Joy" were certainly a big hit and the group that started that whole idea are already planning ahead for next year. They have quite the wish list going so if you're one who likes to plan ahead and shop during the year when you see a special, now would be a great time to check out their list and maybe tuck away a few things to donate next year. If you don't want to store things that take up room, then maybe you could stash some cash so you can donate that when the time comes. Anyway, here's a few things on their wish list for their shoesboxes in 2022: 150 mini stockings, 150 nail care kits, 50 mens hats and gloves, 50 womens hats and gloves, 50 unisex hats and gloves, shoeboxes, wrapping paper, ribbon and tape. A couple of their bigger wishes are that they'd like a public place to store donations, and then be able to assemble them at that same spot from the first part of November through December; and they'd also like to have some of those heavy duty metal Costco shelving units to hold them all on. OUT OF THE PAST--The last two days of 1951 were very cold and clear but it made all the snow sparkle and shine and was truly beautiful. A picture in the Longview Daily News showed a lone swan swimming in Lake Sacajawea surrounded by the snow covered banks and it was quite a serene picture. The kids in the area were busy building snowmen, snow forts and even snow sculptures in the area so it was an exciting time for the children as the year came to an end. For Ralph and Elsie Everest, the last day of the year meant they saw another year of marriage, so they headed to Millie's restaurant on Main Street in Cathlamet to enjoy a wonderful dinner to celebrate their 38 years together. For other folks in the area, it was time to head to the Norse Hall on Puget Island as it was time to dance at the "Firemans' Ball" and everyone had a marvelous time ringing in the New Year! This according to my Grandma Elsie's diary. SHORT COLUMN--Due to the fact that I keep getting "power bumps," which shuts down my computer and I have to totally reboot, besides losing part of what I just wrote, I will be turning my column in early. My apologies for leaving out some things this time, and here's hoping we have better weather next week so we aren't dealing with heavy snow laden branches and all the other inconveniences that this snowfall has brought us. We wish you a very Happy New Year 2022! Rome fireworks ban - which carries fines of up to 500 - is expected to be widely ignored as usual. Rome has banned the use of firecrackers, bangers, rockets and other explosive material from 31 December 2021 until midnight on 6 January 2022. Those who fail to comply with the order, signed by the city's mayor Roberto Gualtieri, risk fines of up to 500 in addition to having their fireworks confiscated. Calling on Romans to "celebrate the new year safely", Gualtieri said the ban is to "protect the safety of adults and especially minors, who are often victims of accidents, to avoid frightening animals and polluting the environment." Ho firmato lordinanza che vieta i botti di #Capodanno a #Roma. Tuteliamo cosi lincolumita degli adulti e soprattutto dei minori, spesso vittime di incidenti, evitiamo di terrorizzare gli animali e di inquinare l'ambiente. Festeggiamo il nuovo anno in sicurezza. Roberto Gualtieri (@gualtierieurope) December 30, 2021 The last-minute ban, welcomed by animal rights activists, was announced after most people have stocked up on fireworks and will likely be ignored as in previous years. Last New Year's Eve a central Rome street was left covered with dead starlings after the explosions of "botti" just after midnight, making news headlines around the world. The birds, apparently disorientated and startled by the fireworks, died after flying into windows and electricity cables on Via Cavour. A similar New Year ban on botti and petardi fireworks will also be in place in Milan. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that every year several thousand animals and birds die in Italy as a result of fireworks at 'capodanno', reports newspaper Corriere della Sera. The majority of these are living in urban settings, especially birds, but there are also dogs, cats and other pets which die from heart attacks or from being hit by cars after running onto roads terrorised. To end the pandemic, we need to build up our collective immunity. Its unclear how long protection against reinfection lasts for people whove recovered from a coronavirus infection or how long the immunity provided by Covid vaccines will last, especially in the face of new viral variants. While the earliest coronavirus antibody tests indicated whether someone had any protection against the virus, more recent versions actually quantify the level of antibodies -- and, used repeatedly, can show if levels are dropping. That could help determine who needs to receive a booster shot of a vaccine at some point. For scientists and policy makers, antibody tests are also a powerful tool to understand how widely the virus has spread in a region, which can shine light on which public health measures have worked and which havent. And for individuals who never tested positive for the virus but think they may have had it, these tests provide a way to look back to see if they may have some protection -- even if they havent been vaccinated. Governments, consumer internet behemoths, large banks and fintech firms will compete fiercely next year to bring our cashless future a little closer with Asia at the epicenter of innovation. In China, where authorities are increasingly uneasy with the domestic private sectors control on citizens data, the state will seek to reassert its might: The Beijing Winter Olympics will be the perfect opportunity for the central bank to show off its brand-new digital money, the e-CNY. In India, Meta Platforms Inc.s WhatsApp will fight a pitched battle against Walmart Inc.s PhonePe and Alphabet Inc.s Google Pay, for a chunk of the countrys fast-growing market for mobile app-based payments. Even tiny, landlocked Bhutan will experiment with paperless cash. Yet the Federal Communications Commission studied precisely this risk for years before approving the deployment. Some 40 other countries have authorized the use of 5G in the C-band, without a single report of harmful interference. Moreover, the U.S. deployment includes a guard band or empty space between wireless and airplane frequencies of 220 megahertz, which is up to twice as large as in comparable countries such as Japan. Six former heads of the FCC said in a recent letter that the FAAs position threatens to derail the reasoned conclusions reached by the FCC after years of technical analysis and study. Faced with these escalations, the Biden administration has tried to walk a tightrope on Iran. On the one hand, it has continued to hold out hope for diplomacy even though Irans diplomats in Vienna will no longer meet with the U.S. envoy. The U.S. has also relaxed enforcement of some sanctions, leading to an increase in Iranian oil exports, but has not unilaterally lifted them. And early in his administration, Biden ordered a missile strike on Iranian-backed militia bases in response to an attack. Russia demanded that NATO withdraw its forces to positions they occupied in 1997 as it set out sweeping proposals for a massive Western pullback in two draft security treaties presented to the U.S. government. Russia and all NATO states that were members in May 1997, before the first eastern European countries were invited to join the alliance, shouldnt deploy military forces and weaponry on the territory of any of the other states in Europe that were not already in place on that date, according to one of the treaties published Dec. 17 by the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. The U.S. must also pledge to bar entry to NATO for ex-Soviet states such as Ukraine and Georgia and refuse to make use of their military infrastructure or develop bilateral defense ties with them, according to the second treaty. On Dec. 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country isnt presenting the U.S. with any ultimatums, but also wont accept endless talks on its demands for legally binding pledges. In truth, Adamss message was more nuanced. He rejected claims that he supports solitary confinement, which has fallen out of favor in recent years. He characterized his policy as punitive segregation: isolating inmates proved to be dangerous both to corrections staff and other prisoners. You cant have a jail system where someone assaults a staffer, slashes an inmate, and then say, Its all right, Im going to give you an iPad and just hug you and say, Dont do it again, he declared. Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos (Lifetime Movie at 8) A dramatization of the real disappearance of a Connecticut mother of five on May 24, 2019, who vanished after dropping her kids off at school and whose husband claims she staged her own disappearance in the vein of Gone Girl. Your best defense against covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is to be fully vaccinated. One year ago, vaccines were mostly available to only health-care workers. For months in early 2021, most of us had to anxiously wait our turns to get a jab or two. As this new year dawns, vaccines are now widely available free to anyone over age 5. Booster shots are also available to most adults, and early data indicates these shots will provide greater protection against the omicron variant and will reduce the likelihood of serious illness or death. We start the new year with four wines from France: A great value in chardonnay leads the way, followed by a stellar sauvignon blanc from the Loire Valley and a savory beaujolais that may have you thinking of your favorite Paris brasserie. A riesling from Alsace helps us transition to the Pacific Northwest, where a new label from the Willamette Valley is boosting Oregons claim to be in the ranks of world-class champions of riesling. Omicron. The variant is new, but the coronavirus is no longer novel. Its serial. More than 819,000 Americans are dead, but owing to vaccines and an attitude of partial surrender we now have the luxury of half measures. Some schools are closed but not all. Some Broadway shows are closing but not all. Many flights are canceled but not all. New Hampshire has it worse than Kentucky, but just wait. Were surfing into January on waves of delta and omicron, toward the terminus of the Greek alphabet and the beginning of Year 3 of the pandemic. Were deep into the Wikipedia entry for Lexapro as we queue for hours, in the cold, for a swab. The Dec. 22 editorial Doing Chinas dirty work showed how social media influencers can be exploited to spread Chinese propaganda. But lets not pretend it ends there. Practically every major media outlet is guilty of using the same tricks to play on the trust of their viewers and push their agenda forward. They are constantly trying to draw people in and create divisions between people for their own selfish reasons. Baltimore States Attorney Marilyn Mosby (D) is wrong; Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is right. Their feud, as highlighted in the Dec. 22 Metro article Baltimores Mosby ramps up Hogan feud, accusing him of dog-whistling, exemplifies the national debate over prosecutors who have decided not to prosecute certain crimes in their discretion. A prosecutor is sworn to prosecute the guilty and protect the innocent. They are not to decide which crimes should be prosecuted. That is a function of the legislature, elected representatives of the people, to decide what conduct is criminal. Prosecutors certainly have the authority to decide what cases to plea-bargain, to bring to trial and to recommend sentences, but not to decide what criminal statutes should not be enforced. But even if the Supreme Court intervenes and sides with Mr. Trump, the records should be produced anyway for the same reason the sacred attorney-client privilege cannot be used by an attorney or a client to shield information communicated by a client to an attorney to commit or cover up a crime or fraud. Likewise, information communicated to, from or by the executive to commit or cover up a crime or fraud cannot be shielded. And, so far, federal prosecutors have charged more than 700 people for their role in this deadly attack, and more than 150 have pleaded guilty. The Mexican government said that so far, 50 of the 56 migrants killed when a people smugglers semi-trailer truck rolled over on a highway have been identified. A total of 25 have been returned to their homelands, with another five expected to be returned soon, it said. His determination to chart his own course has made him quite possibly the greatest to ever play tennis. It's also led to his detainment in an immigration hotel outside Melbourne over vaccine rules. It was not clear when the launch happened or what devices the carrier brought with it. Iran aired footage of the blastoff against the backdrop of negotiations in Vienna to restore Tehrans tattered nuclear deal with world powers. An eighth round had been underway this week and is to resume after New Years holidays. Israel was among the first countries to roll out Pfizers coronavirus vaccine a year ago and began rolling out boosters last summer. But it still saw a wave of infections blamed on the delta variant, and officials have warned of another driven by the fast-spreading omicron. Police said in a statement that two of the slain suspected militants were Pakistani nationals but offered no evidence. It said three of the dead, including a Pakistani, were involved in an attack on a police bus in the outskirts of the regions main city of Srinagar on Dec. 13 in which three police officers were killed and 11 others wounded. Mukesh Ambani, Asias richest man, wants to expedite the leadership transition at his company Reliance Industries, and sees his $US217 billion ($299 billion) empire scaling new heights under his three children. The retail-to-refining conglomerate is now in the process of effecting a momentous leadership transition from seniors belonging to my generation to the next generation of young leaders, Ambani said in a virtual speech this week to a Reliance Industries employees event. I would like this process to be accelerated. Mukesh Ambani, pictured here with his wife Nita and mother Kokilaben. Credit:Bloomberg Ambani, valued at about $US91 billion by Bloomberg Billionaires Index, didnt give details of how this transition is being planned, but the billionaire is said to be considering several succession plans including one that shares elements with that of Walmarts Walton family. He wants to avert a succession warfare that has torn apart many wealthy clans, including his own in the past. The transition at Reliance will mark one of the biggest transfers of wealth in recent times. Yes, I felt a big sense of responsibility collaborating with someone who is such an undeniable cultural icon, says the 50-year-old who, although he didnt grow up in the 60s, was a huge fan of its music and was totally aware of Dylan as a child. But it felt sort of surreal, almost as though it couldnt really be happening, so in a sense that helped. It also helped that he is very musical. Id always loved music. I played music and I am a huge music fan. So that side of it was natural, and when they said, You can use any song and do what you want, I thought, Oh, Ill probably be able to try something now, because I could just enjoy the music as well as put the thing together. I was very surprised to hear this was going to be a musical, says Mary Ann McSweeney, who plays bass in the show. I was never a fan of Bob Dylan. But I am now. Its about his lyrics and the meaning they bring, especially in these times. Despite its Depression-era setting, as the London Telegraph pointed out in a 2018 review, Girl from the North Country manages to feel both part of a particular moment in American history and of today. This feeling is even more pronounced post-2020 when, following the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd (according to CBS News, just two of the 164 known cases of black people killed by US police in the first eight months of 2020), the entire world erupted in protests at the kinds of civil rights abuses that Dylan has been singing about since the 60s. Pre-2020, from my perspective of being a white, middle-aged, middle-class man, I wouldnt have felt that there were issues in our midst, says McPherson. But then, the show was closed [in March 2020] because of COVID and, of course, everything that was happening in America before we reconvened had a huge impact on our production. Everybody started to talk about this stuff in a different way. This is real. Its happening. It hasnt gone away. And the conversation became as it did everywhere very alive in our group. The Sydney cast of Girl from the North Country. Credit:Pierre Toussaint As a result of the greater awareness resulting from the Black Lives Matter movement, the production (along with most of Broadway) held Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) workshops. And, to everyones credit, everybody was very keen to explore how we all felt and to listen, including one particularly moving session where we all sat together and spoke about things wed never spoken about, says McPherson. Because the thing about this show is, it touches on a lot of things that human beings struggle with and, as a practitioner, you can become almost inured to things and you dont stop to think, Well, what is this doing to everybody? The plays albeit brief reference to the real-life lynching, watched by 5000 in Duluth in 1920, of three African American circus workers, Elmer Jackson, Elias Clayton and Isaac McGhie (which McPherson troubles to name), is a case in point. When I decided to set it in Duluth, I didnt know anything about Duluth and just finding out about it, I was Oh my God! I also realised that Bob Dylan refers to it in Desolation Row where he says theyre selling postcards of the hanging, and they did. When I realised that, I thought we cant set the story here and not have it. I mean you could nearly make the play just about that. But the African American actors we had in the American production didnt know about it at all. And it became a journey of discovery for them. It was pretty heavy. Loading But, although Girl from the North Country acknowledges civil rights issues, this is not a play about civil rights, although it embodies them to an extent, in the multi-racial casting of the play a fabulous subversion of real life 1930s Duluth which, once you settle into the suspension of disbelief, is exhilarating. Its reminiscent of the alternate reality in the Netflix romp, Bridgerton, where Regency-era kings and queens, dukes and ladies (and, perhaps more to the point, actors in non-peripheral roles) are black as well as white. Originally, the racial dynamic was that it was a white family whose daughter had this friendship with a guy in the boarding house who was black. But when we were casting in London, the Old Vic asked if Id be open to seeing everybody for every part regardless of colour and I said yes, says McPherson. Then we saw [Ugandan actress] Sheila Atim for the role of Marianne, and she was just so great I said Well, we just need to cast her! And it was like, how? And I thought [she could be a foundling that] someone left in the guest house in a bag. So it changed the story. It made it better. Stronger. Atim won a Laurence Olivier Award for the role. I will always try to wrap the work around the best talent, because what you want is the best talent on stage, says McPherson, who is looking forward to the Australian production, which will star Lisa McCune, Callum Francis, Elizabeth Hay, Peter Kowitz and Zahra Newman. This production will be different. Because this cast is different [and] I like to very quickly lean into what the particular performers are doing and get inspired by who they are, he says. Youd be nuts to doggedly stick to some idea that you had if theyre going to do something more interesting. Its a very open way of working. The process of doing Girl from the North Country was a bit like writing a song in the sense that often youre not even sure until the thing is finished what you were doing. Youre not tied to any particular thing that youre trying to do. You just do it and then you go Oh look at that! he says. The first Sydney Festival show for 2022, Girl from the North Country features Lisa McCune. Credit:Composite And its also a bit like how Bob Dylan songs work. Theyre sort of, What are they about? He just leaves it up to you. In that way they are a great gift because they allow so much space, so every single person in the audience can probably see a little different picture in their head, and its all valid, says McPherson, who listened to 40 of Dylans albums to prepare. Simon Hale, the plays orchestrator, arranger and musical supervisor, agrees. [Its] different to a musical, where the lyrics are directly related to the narrative or characterisation. As a result, the music comes at the audience from a different angle and in a more abstract way. The plays title, for example (from the song, Girl from the North Country, which is heard only briefly from out in the kitchen), feels like an unsung theme song, evoking the vastness of the American landscape and the transience of its people. Snippets and fragments of songs run into each other or are heard in the background, seeming to offer glimpses into the plays subconscious. Its certainly what Conor planned, says Hale. The over-arching voice of Bob is always there as a powerful emotional presence. A scene from the Broadway production of Girl from the North Country. Credit:Manuel Harlan. It permeates the whole play. Nick takes care of his dementia-addled wife, Elizabeth, while also having an affair with Mrs Nielsen. Early in the second season of the locally produced comedy-drama Bump, teen parents Olympia Oly Chalmers-Davis (Nathalie Morris) and Santiago Santi Hernandez (Carlos Sanson jnr) companionably tag-team the care of their baby Jacinda through a school day. They congratulate each other that theyre nailing this as they juggle the feeding and nappy-changing responsibilities with their timetables. Its a happy exchange, although anyone who watched the vibrant, astute and addictive first season will be aware that the serene sense of accomplishment is unlikely to last. Domestic life, love and parenting are not destined to be seamless and the bumps, and how theyre negotiated, form the warmly beating heart of the production. Angus Sampson with his on-screen partner Claudia Karvan in Bump. Credit:John Platt Events continually intrude to disrupt the characters best-laid plans. And with the shock arrival of Baby J in the first episode, the co-creators, journalist and fledgling TV writer Kelsey Munro and producer and star Claudia Karvan, loudly signalled that life involves all manner of upheavals. One of the shows many pleasures is the variety of ways in which its affectionately rendered characters surprise us with their responses. Angus Sampson, who plays Olys dad, Dom, describes the arrival of Baby J as the series inciting event. From there, its blossomed into a multi-layered tale of the young couple, their families and a high-school community. Avoiding the cliches, its brought a fresh eye to familiar territory. NSW will abandon mandatory PCR testing for vaccinated international travellers arriving in Sydney in favour of rapid antigen tests as part of a significant shift from state-administered testing. Premier Dominic Perrottet confirmed the move after a meeting of national cabinet on Thursday, saying it would take pressure off a stressed COVID-19 testing regime that has led to long queues and ballooning wait times for results. Well move to a rapid antigen test there that will relieve substantial pressure on the system because weve got around 5000 people flying into Sydney every day, he told 2GB radio. It was not immediately clear whether Victoria would do the same. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Wednesday. Credit:James Brickwood Mr Perrottet also confirmed the isolation period for confirmed COVID-19 cases and close contacts would be reduced to seven days, and that a close contact would be more tightly defined, largely household contacts of a confirmed case. Data breaches at Australias premier criminal intelligence agency have risen by more than 50 per cent in a year, with employees sending documents to the wrong email addresses, sharing passwords and accidentally mishandling classified information. The increase in breaches has prompted the federal Opposition to call on security agencies to be more transparent in reporting security incidents after many reduced their reporting of breaches in recent years. Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission CEO Michael Phelan said reporting breaches without any context can be problematic. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission recorded 87 breaches in 2021-21, compared to 53 in 2019-20, but they were not disclosed in the agencys annual reports. Over a third of the incidents at the commission were considered medium or high security risk. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Washington: The year 2021 will probably go down in the annals of space history as a turning point, a moment when ordinary citizens started leaving Earth regularly. Multiple crews lifted off on several spacecraft, and for a moment this month, there were a record 19 people in the weightless environment of space eight of them were private citizens. But for all the achievements of 2021 which include a rover landing on Mars, a small drone called Ingenuity flying in that planets thin atmosphere and the launch of the James Webb Space telescope, the most powerful space telescope ever 2022 could hold just as much promise, if not more. NASAs James Webb Space Telescope was released about 1400 kilometres above the Earth after a 27-minute hypersonic ride. Credit:NASA If 2021 was the year of the private space tourist, 2022 could be marked by the first steps towards a return to the moon, as NASA and the growing space industry seek to maintain the momentum that has been building over the past several years in what has amounted to a renaissance of exploration. A pair of massive rockets, both more powerful than the Saturn V that flew the Apollo astronauts to the moon, are getting ready to fly in 2022. Those launches would mark the first significant steps in NASAs Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2025 and create a campaign that would allow a permanent presence on and around the moon. After years of development, and billions of dollars spent, NASA is finally gearing up to launch its Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule, which are designed to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since Apollo. The first mission, known as Artemis I, is scheduled for March or April and would send Orion, without any crew on board, to orbit around the moon. If all goes well, it would be followed by Artemis II, in May 2024, which would again send Orion to orbit the moon, but this time with astronauts on board. NASA hopes a crew would be able to land on the moon by 2025, but that would depend on the success of previous flight tests and SpaceXs ability to get its Starship spacecraft up and running. Advertisement One of SpaceXs Starship during a test in Texas in March. Credit:AP Over the past year, Elon Musks SpaceX has been moving feverishly towards the first orbital launch of Starship, the vehicle that won a $US3 billion ($.1 billion) NASA contract this year to rendezvous with the Orion and transport NASAs astronauts to the lunar surface. Musk has said the company could attempt a launch in early 2022. Unlike the SLS, which would ditch its massive booster stage into the ocean after launch, Starship is designed to be fully reusable. After putting the Starship spacecraft into orbit, the Super Heavy booster would fly back to its launchpad where it would be caught by a pair of arms extended like chopsticks. Earlier this year, the company attempted suborbital hops, where the spacecraft launched to an altitude of about 9 kilometres, belly flopped back to Earth horizontally, then righted itself and refired its engines before touching down. Several of the landing attempts ended in fireballs. But in May, the company pulled off a successful landing, fuelling Musks hope that the rocket could be used to transport people and cargo across the solar system. SpaceX's Starship explodes as it lands. The overarching goal of Starship is to be able to transport enough tonnage to the moon and Mars, he said in an interview with The Washington Post earlier this year. And to have a self-sustaining base on the moon and ultimately a self-sustaining city on Mars. Advertisement Ahead of an astronaut landing, NASA is planning to send science missions to the lunar surface. Those missions would also be carried out by contractors, hired by the space agency to deliver science experiments and technology demonstrations that NASA says would help the agency study Earths nearest neighbour and prepare for human landing missions. The first would be by Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based company that is aiming to deliver science experiments in early 2022 and again later in the year. That second mission, to the south pole of the moon, would have a drill that would probe the lunar regolith for ice. Astrobotic, based in Pittsburgh, is also planning to deliver payloads to the lunar surface under the NASA contract. One of Rocket Labs rockets. Credit:Rocket Lab Rocket Lab is also scheduled to launch a small satellite to the moon to serve as a precursor for human missions by testing the orbit for the space station, known as Gateway, that NASA hopes to send to the moon. Rocket Lab, which launches from its site in New Zealand, hopes to have its first launch from the United States in 2022 from the pad it uses at NASAs facility on Wallops Island, on Virginias Eastern Shore. It also plans to attempt to recover a booster next year. But unlike SpaceX, which flies the first stages of its rockets back to landing sites on the ground or ships at sea, Rocket Lab intends to catch its relatively small booster under a parachute with a helicopter. 2022 should also see the debut of a number of new rockets, including the United Launch Alliances Vulcan rocket, which would be used by the Pentagon to launch national security satellites. Relativity Space, which uses a 3D printer to manufacture its rockets, plans to first launch of its Terran 1 vehicle from Cape Canaveral in the coming months as well. Boeing also is looking to get back on track. 2021 was supposed to be the year it finally completed a test flight of its Starliner spacecraft, which is being designed to ferry NASAs astronauts to and from the International Space Station. But once again it ran into trouble. At the end of 2019, the spacecraft suffered software problems, forcing the aviation behemoth to cut the test flight short. The spacecraft finally returned to the launchpad mid-year, but never got off the ground. Advertisement In this long exposure photo, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner crew capsule lifts off on an orbital flight test to the International Space Station at Cape Canaveral Air Force station in Florida. Credit:AP This time, the company said the issue was hardware: 13 valves in the service module got stuck, forcing it to bring the spacecraft back into its manufacturing facility. It recently announced it would have to swap out the service module. Its now looking to attempt to launch again sometime in May. If that goes well, a launch with astronauts on board would follow. The space station could see another new vehicle visit in 2022: Sierra Spaces Dream Chaser, a spaceplane that looks like a miniature version of the space shuttle. The company has been developing the winged vehicle for years with the hopes of one day flying astronauts. But for now, it has a contract from NASA to use it to deliver cargo and supplies to the space station. And it recently announced it received a $US1.4 billion investment that it said would help accelerate the program. SpaceXs Dragon spacecraft, which delivered two crews of astronauts to the space station in 2021, is slated to continue flying crews there in 2022. It also would fly at least one mission, chartered by Axiom Space, in which private astronauts who are paying $US55 million apiece would spend a little more than a week on the station. Jeff Bezos Blue Origin, which flew three trips to the edge of space in 2021, plans to fly six or more suborbital flights in 2022. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) And Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic is hoping to complete its test campaign and start offering commercial service on its suborbital spaceplane for paying space tourists. From left: Oliver Daemen, Jeff Bezos, Wally Funk and Bezos brother Mark in front of the New Shepard rocket in Texas, flew to the edge of space. Credit:AP While those flights go just past the edge of space to a few dozen miles high, NASAs scientists and engineers will be focused on a far more distant destination, a million miles from Earth. There, the James Webb Space Telescope would begin to unfurl itself in delicate manoeuvres after it was launched on Christmas Day on an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket. NASA says there are 344 potential single-point failures and if anything goes wrong there is no way to send a repair crew. Advertisement The witnesses During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epsteins homes a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case. Loading A housekeeper testified he was expected to be blind, deaf and dumb about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favourite child of a media mogul. Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries Britains Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump who flew on Epsteins private jets. Jurors saw physical evidence such as a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a black book that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading massages. There were bank records showing he had transferred $US30.7 million ($42.3 million) to Maxwell, his longtime companion, one-time girlfriend, later employee. But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimised by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages. Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mother recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Annie Farmer, a psychologist who chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years. They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwells behaviour: she used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfil their dreams. Loading They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal. After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if shed had fun and told her: You are such a good girl. Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epsteins Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $US100 bills, which prosecutors described as a pyramid of abuse. Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at his Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. I was frozen in fear, she told the jury, adding that assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse. Maxwells lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward. I was scared, she said, choking back tears. I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didnt want anybody to know any of this about me. Christine Maxwell, left, Isabel Maxwell, center, and Kevin Maxwell, siblings of Ghislaine Maxwell, leave the courthouse after the verdict was read out. Credit:AP The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epsteins New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her. The defence Maxwell, 60, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers. Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify. The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, one of Maxwells lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasised to the jury. But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwells legal team questioned whether the accusers memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epsteins estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a University of California Irvine professor who has testified as a memory expert for defence lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. She said memory could be contaminated by suggestions made by an interviewer, particularly law enforcement or the media. Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured here with Jeffrey Epstein at the Queens Balmoral cabin in 1999, recruited and encouraged teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, her then-boyfriend. Credit:US District Attorneys Office Maxwells family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where shes been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defence. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury. The response Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein victim not involved in the Maxwell trial, said she would remember this day always. I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be. Giuffres lawsuit against Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, will be heard next year in a Californian court. Giuffre maintains she was sexually exploited by the Duke after she was sent to him by Epstein. The Dukes lawyers have argued she cannot bring the case as she now lives in Perth, Western Australia. Papers from a case Giuffre settled with Epstein in 2009 will be unsealed in the new year. Wellington: The chart-topping international DJ who tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 while in the Auckland community says, I cannot put into words how extremely sorry I am to everyone who will be impacted. Dimension, aka Robert Etheridge, a UK electronic artist, flew to New Zealand on December 16, and completed seven days in hotel quarantine, to be followed by three days of home isolation. The musician returned three negative tests before testing positive on December 27 the result of a test taken on day nine, which fell on December 25. Robert Etheridge, who performs as DJ Dimension, said on Instagram that he had no symptoms before his positive diagnosis. Credit:Facebook/Dimension On December 26 and 27 he visited several locations in Auckland, including central city nightclub Impala. Throughout the last year, Westport and Weston has been home to many big stories from the fallout to the pandemic to making local history. In the same vein, residents of both towns witnessed shocking and devastating news and have battled through unimaginable adversity. Here are the top 10 stories from 2021: Jennifer Tooker and Andrea Moore win election Republican candidates Jennifer Tooker and Andrea Moore defeated Democrats Jonathan Steinberg and Candice Savin, as well as Libertarian candidates TJ Elgin and Louis DOnofrio in the Novemeber election. Tooker and Moore ran on a platform of dealing with the pandemic fallout, local government control, addressing affordable housing, finding a solution to traffic and making Westport more resilient overall. Controversy erupted over who the third selectman should be after Steinberg declined to take the seat following the election. Elgin argued he was the rightful candidate based on the town charter and state statute since he was the only other first selectman candidate. He filed a lawsuit against the town, claiming his right to the seat, but it was ultimately withdrawn. The Democratic Town Committee believed that as the defeated party with the next highest number of votes, they get to fill the spot. The town attorney said Elgin was not entitled to that seat and since Steinberg declined the seat, the town was dealing with a vacancy, which meant Tooker and Moore had to fill the position with a member of the same party as Steinberg. After in-fighting amongst the DTC, the group unamiously endorsed Savin for the third seat and on Nov. 23, Westport made local history making it the first time all three of Westports selectmen seats are filled by women. Mother, daughter homicide-suicide stuns community Around mid-June, Westport was home to a shocking tragedy, when police responded to a Lyndale Park home after a report of a unresponsive female. The police found the bodies of a woman and 7-year-old girl in the house. The two victims were identified as 46-year-old Tracy Do and her daughter, Layla Malon. According to Dr. James Gill, the states chief medical examiner, Do died by suicide. Gill said Layla Malon died from drowning, and ruled her death a homicide. Layla Malons death marked Westports first homicide in nearly 10 years. According to FBI data, the last two homicides in Westport prior to that occurred in 1996 and 1991. Coleytown Middle School reopens There was a particular buzz at Coleytown Middle School this August as students were welcomed back to their first full year in the building after it was closed for mold issues in 2018. It reopened in January after a $32 million remediation project, however, August was the first time in a while that Coleytown students began the school year in their own building. CMS staff and students spent the past two years sharing space at Bedford Middle School, which was a situation made even more challenging during due to the pandemic on top of the teachers and students constantly having to switch classes. Coleytown was treated to a makeover with all new tiles in the hallways, windows replaced throughout the school and a new HVAC system was installed. The library also had a huge overhaul with flexible furniture and new books and the atrium was completely cleaned. Affordable housing project settled after 18 years An 18-year saga over a contentious affordable housing project in the Saugatuck neighborhood was finally settled after the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a settlement between the town and Summit Saugatuck LLC in May. Commissioners and Town Attorney Ira Bloom said the settlement came about because they were worried they would lose the lawsuit in court and this was the way to gain some local control over the project, including scaling it back and adding protections. A key part of the agreement is it let the town keep its moratorium against proposals filed under the 8-30g state statute, which allows developers to circumvent local zoning laws if a certain percentage of the development has affordable housing. That law was a main point of contention raised throughout the process because commissioners said it was the only reason this development is being built in this spot. They said the project went against Westports zoning and raised concerns about traffic and the size with more than 150 units slated for the neighborhood, largely made up of single-family homes. The proposal originally called for 187 units, but the commission brought the figure down to 157 during negotiations, eliminating one of the five proposed buildings and requiring some of the units to have three bedrooms to better serve families Westport rejects police commission review board The Representative Town Meeting rejected an ordinance that would create a civilian review board to help investigate complaints against police officers in September. The ordinance, which had been in the works for more than two years, was defeated 32-1, with one abstention. Most RTM members said they were in favor of having greater oversight on the police department, but there were too many issues with the ordinance as it was written. Under the proposal, the police would have handled the majority of investigations into complaints, while the review board would conduct the interviews and take the sworn testimony of the complainant, the accused police officer and their respective witnesses. The town currently has a civilian review panel, which was created in 2020 following protests for further police accountability after the murder of George Floyd. Panel members are picked by the first selectman. The lead petitioner on the proposed ordinance was Jason Stiber, who made headlines back in 2018 when he was given a ticket for distracted driving. The officer claimed Stiber was on his phone. Stiber said he was eating a hash brown, a claim which was later resolved in court in his favor. Stiber had criticized the panel, saying its powers are limited and there are potential conflicts. Weston man calls for police change after he says he was racially profiled Walter Simpson, a Black Weston resident, called for changes within the police department and commission, as well as throughout the community this May, after he said he was racially profiled. Simpson said he experienced unnecessary aggressive behavior from a responding officer and proposed adding community engagement training, a civilian police review panel to oversee complaints and a false alarm ordinance that would penalize people for making false 911 reports. He said all of these are directly connected to address his experience so it doesnt happen again and for the safety of all Black people in town. The incident happened in November 2019. Simpson was at his mailbox at the end of their road where he waited everyday for his children to get off the school bus. This particular day he arrived there before the rest of the parents on the street. While he was checking his mail, a white woman called 911 and reported a suspicious man. A police officer arrived while Simpson was waiting for his daughter and confronted him, questioning if Simpson lived there. He said for him, the officers hand was a little too close to his gun and only backed down once one of Simpsons white neighbors intervened and addressed Simpson by name. More than 50 people spoke during a commission meeting, which lasted about 3 1/2 hours. It had to be rescheduled because so many people wanted to join the meeting after a letter to the editor describing Simpsons experience and asking people to come out and support him, exceeding the commissions usual 100-person Zoom cap. Dozens of residents who spoke at the meeting expressed frustration at how it took 17 months for this incident to come to light, with some calling for the commissioners to resign and for the police chief to be fired. Westport returns to in-person, experience busing issues Westport schools returned to full in-person learning this year after going remote and then hybrid due to the pandemic. One challenge has been bus driver shortages that have created issues with reliable and consistent transportation. What started off as concerns about drop off times at the elementary level gradually evolved to impact all schools. Dattco, Westports transportation provider, lost nine drivers, a dispatcher and the operations supervisor at the beginning of the school year, Superintendent Thomas Scarice said. This caused several problems in the district and ultimately led to Dattco reallocating staff from other locations to assign more people to Westport. The school district then reduced the number of bus routes from 57 to 51, requiring six fewer drivers. Scarice said condensing the routes helped get most of the buses back on time and, despite some struggles remaining, hes been encouraged by the progression. In November, Scarice said 14 drivers are currently in the queue to come to Westport. The district will consider returning to the original routes once theres a full roster of drivers, but that is not expected to happen for months. A group of Westport Parents emerge opposing CRT A group of 37 anonymous parents, Westport Parents 06880, formed in June and launched a website to raise awareness to what it claims was an increasing focus on racism in the towns schools and community. We are united to keep our schools focused on academic achievement, the group states on its website. We reject political activism and moralizing intrusions into the classroom. Then First Selectman Jim Marpe said that while the group used the address for Westport Town Hall as its mailing address, it has nothing to do with the official operations of the town and is not physically based in Town Hall, adding it was unclear if it was even based in Westport despite the name. The site pointed to Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarices strategic plan, which asserted that institutional and systemic racism are a significant problem in Westport, and that an Equity Audit was necessary to determine the level of racism as well as to propose remedial measures going forward. Harold Bailey Jr., chair of TEAM Westport, called the group and its website an invitation to cultural toxicity. Amazon possibly replacing former Barnes and Noble building The possibility of an Amazon Fresh coming to Westport came up at a public meeting this fall that discussed an unnamed grocery store replacing the former Barnes & Noble location at 1076 Post Road East. Christopher McLean, an engineer from Langan CT, gave a presentation about the traffic study at the proposed redevlopment locations, however, he did not confirm whether it would be an Amazon Fresh. He did say the applicant is aiming to open the store in 2022. Art Schoeller, president of the Greens Farms Association, said its kind of the worst kept secret that its Amazon. Within the last year, Amazon Fresh stores have been rumored to be coming to several different Connecticut locations. Weston first selectman resigning for health issues First Selectman Christopher Spaulding resigned this year before his term ended, citing health concerns. Then Second Selectwoman Samantha Nestor assumed his duties beginning Aug. 2. Spaulding announced his resignation during an emotional, virtual Board of Selectmen meeting this summer. He didnt elaborate on his issues, except to say Im good. Everythings stable, but I need to keep it that way. Prior to the announcement of his resignation, Spaulding, a Democrat, said he would not seek a third term because he wished to spend more time with his family. He said he regretted not being able to finish out his term, but had faith in Nestor and other town officials to carry on in his stead. Nestor was officially elected to the job by Weston residents, beating Republican candidate Kirby Brendsel. Honorable mention: Weston Market closing Peters Weston Market closed this January after years of declining revenue, a monthslong eviction process and dealing with the fallout of the pandemic. The Weston market operated in town for nearly 50 years and became sort of a right of passage for the family owned business. It was also located in a plaza with several other businesses, essentially the only area to eat or shop in town. Owner Jim Magee,posted on the markets Facebook page in January that they were saddened to announce that the business would be closing its doors permanently at the end of the month. However, he also mentioned that retailers, especially small businesses, have been struggling for the last 15 years and theirs is no exception. serenity.bishop@hearstmediact.com WESTPORT Fire Chief Robert Yost is retiring after 34 years with the town. First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker announced Thursday that she accepted Yosts retirement letter, effective Jan. 1. He will be replaced by Deputy Chief Michael Kronick. It has been an honor to serve the town of Westport for the last 34 years, and a privilege to work with the finest firefighters and coworkers in the state, Yost said. I look forward to enjoying a new chapter in my life and I will always hold the Westport Fire Department near and dear to my heart. Yost, who lives in Milford with his wife Tina, started his career in 1986 as a part-time firefighter for the Mansfield Volunteer Fire Co. while attending the University of Connecticut. He eventually took a full-time position there after briefly working for Xerox. He became a Westport firefighter soon after in 1988. He served as Westports first emergency medical service instructor before becoming a paramedic in 1995. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2006 and was the fire department leader of the joint Fire and Police Dive Rescue Team. Yost was promoted to assistant chief in 2009 before being named assistant chief training officer in 2011. He was appointed to the position of fire chief and emergency management director in February 2017. The town of Westport and its residents have been very fortunate to be the beneficiaries of Robs expertise and dedication throughout his 34 years, Tooker said. As fire chief, Rob has assured that our firefighters are appropriately recruited, trained, and equipped to serve in their roles of preventing and fighting fires and providing rescue services. She added that his attention to Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement regulations and opportunities has helped many residents get federal assistance to repair or replace their storm-damaged properties. As the emergency management director, Rob has been on the front lines in protecting all our residents, Tooker said. On Robs watch, Westport has weathered some particularly devastating storms and tense situations. Yost comes from a family of firefighters, and keeps a family photo on his desk of his grandfather, who was a Norwalk firefighter, sitting atop a firetruck. Yosts father served as fire chief in Norwalk for two decades. Yost has received numerous accolades during his career in Westport, including three Edmund Duffy Unit Citations, a John Gallagher Award for an Unusual Act of Valor, and a Certificate of Exemplary Police Action. He is also a member of the National Ski Patrol, the Connecticut Interstate Wildfire Crew, and the Connecticut West Incident Management Team. On behalf of the residents of Westport, his fellow employees, and his firefighting colleagues, I am grateful for Robs longstanding, exemplary and dedicated service, Tooker said. I wish him all the best in his retirement. She added that the department and town will remain in capable hands. Kronick joined the Westport Fire Department in 1998 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2009. He became deputy chief in 2017. He also serves on the Connecticut Incident Management Team and was instrumental in forming the Fairfield County Strike Team and Task Force system. He is a member of the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew and has been on several national wildfire deployments out west. Kronick graduated from Fairfield High School in 1991 and has a bachelors of science from the University of Connecticut and a masters in fire science from the University of New Haven. He lives in Stratford with his fiance Beth and his two sons, 2-year-old Sullivan and 3-week-old Anderson. Hes received the Edmund Duffy Unit Citation, the Chief Shippey and the Argenio awards for service to the department. Mike has the proven ability and expertise to seamlessly and effectively take over the role as chief, Tooker said. Like Chief Yost, Mike has a breadth of knowledge, skill and understanding that will ensure that the current high standards of safety and efficiency will be maintained in the Westport Fire Department. Reading, PA (19601) Today Snow tapers to flurries around sunrise, then some clearing as skies become partly sunny; breezy and cold with wind chills well below freezing.. Tonight Becoming clear, breezy, and very cold. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Snow tapers to flurries around sunrise, then some clearing as skies become partly sunny; breezy and cold with wind chills well below freezing.. Tonight Becoming clear, breezy, and very cold. Innovation Specialist - Office of Innovation, Stockholm Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Childrens Fund Country: Sweden City: Stockholm Office: UNICEF in Stockholm, Sweden Grade: P-3 Closing date: Friday, 14 January 2022 Re-advertisement: Innovation Specialist (DPG), P-3, Temporary Appointment, Office of Innovation, Stockholm, Sweden, 364 days Job no: 547282 Position type: Temporary Appointment Location: Sweden Division/Equivalent: Field Results Group School/Unit: Office of Global Innovation Department/Office: Ventures, OOI Sweden Categories: Innovation UNICEF works in some of the worlds toughest places, to reach the worlds most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. And we never give up. For every child, innovate The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to childrens rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a societys most disadvantaged citizens addressing inequity not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations. The Office of Innovation currently co-hosts the Secretariat for the Digital Public Goods Alliance, established in follow-up to the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation. DPGs are defined as open source software, open data, open AI models, open standards and open content. In its report, the Panel recommends as 1B "that a broad, multi-stakeholder alliance, involving the UN, create a platform for sharing digital public goods, engaging talent and pooling data sets, in a manner that respects privacy, in areas related to attaining the SDGs". Norway, Sierra Leone, UNICEF and iSPIRT, the four initial champions are working to implement this recommendation. As one of the four co-champions, UNICEF is leading the Alliances engagement on select strategic areas. How can you make a difference? Under the leadership of the Programme Funding Manager, the Innovation Specialist (DPG) will support country-level pathfinding activities and the coordination of technical assistance. This includes working closely with country offices in pathfinding countries to implement the agreed work plans, identifying support needs and facilitating access to resources to meet those needs. This role also coordinates the development of key resources for pathfinding countries and other stakeholders, working with vendors and consultants as well as ensuring that resources and toolkits are tested and meet the defined needs. This role will provide other ongoing support to the Programme Funding Manager in the implementation of DPG-related activities, as required. Overall, this position is responsible for: Supporting implementation of pathfinding activities in close collaboration with country offices Documenting and sharing lessons learned from pathfinding activities Oversee and coordinate the development of toolkits and resources for technical assistance on DPGs Provide ongoing support to the DPG team as needed Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks: Supporting implementation of pathfinding activities in close collaboration with country offices Act as focal point for any UNICEF-led pathfinding activities and keep relevant ISG members and UNICEF divisions and offices updated and consulted as needed Develop and keep updated concept noes and work plan for each country Develop and use systems to track progress Conduct regular check-ins, identify bottlenecks and challenges Facilitate access to technical assistance from UNICEF teams, DPG chairs and partners and collaborators Ensure activities and budget allocations occur in timely manner and in line with donor requirements Supporting DPG-related advocacy, communications, and resource mobilization Leverage country pathfinding pilots and collaborations therein to raise awareness about DPGs Advocate for alignment with the DPG standard within the public and private sectors in UNICEF Programme Countries Support sourcing of DPGs in sectors of high demand such as learning, financial inclusion and digital health Support UNICEF Country Offices to engage partners to support DPG-related crowdsourcing and community engagement initiatives, as well as participate in the relevant global discussion fora. Generate insights to support the development of the communication narrative on DPGs and support the development of relevant communication material and content Documenting and sharing lessons learned from pathfinding activities Facilitate regular opportunities for experience sharing and exchanges between countries at UNICEF and government partner level Provide regular updates on progress in pathfinding activities Support CO teams to document and share on communication channels key learnings and milestones, on monthly basis Summarise lessons learned from pathfinding activities to inform global approach c2huQtf Dh7qKS Provide recommendations for allocation of resources and any pivots in approach Oversee and coordinate the development of toolkits and resources for technical assistance on DPGs, including but not limited to the DPG Accelerator guide, the Operational toolkit and the private investment cases Coordinate selection and management of vendors and consultants contracted Develop scopes of work and ensure that ongoing tools development aligns with needs Coordinate input, consultation and user testing with internal and external stakeholders Provide ongoing support to the DPG team as needed On needs basis, provide operational support related to consultant recruitments and selection, contract management and other collaboration agreements Fulfill other support needs as requested by Supervisor To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have... An advanced university degree (Masters or higher) in technology, social sciences, development sciences, public relations, business administration and management or related field *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree. Five years progressively responsible professional work experience, some of which should be in an international setting. Experience in facilitating engagements with UNICEF Country Offices and UNICEF Divisions, including experience working with UNICEF at country level Experience in managing projects and partnerships focused on open source frontier technology required Knowledge of open licensing and digital public goods required Experience in coordinating activities within and across teams, including project teams for specific initiatives and use of current project management and tracking platforms and tools Demonstrated experience in developing and negotiating partnership and entrepreneurial strategies Proven experience in translating and clearly presenting complex ideas from various fields into unified, clear messages, including for successful partnership development Strong writing and communication skills and the aptitude to handle competing messages and priorities with multiple audiences. Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. For every Child, you demonstrate... UNICEFs values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. The UNICEF competencies required for this post are... Drives to achieve results for impact (II) Works collaboratively with others (II) Builds and maintains partnerships (II) Thinks and acts strategically (II) Innovates and embraces change (II) To view our competency framework, please visit here. Click here to learn more about UNICEFs values and competencies. UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. Remarks: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. NOTE: "This position is being re-advertised. Previous applicants need not reapply as their original application will be duly considered". Advertised: Dec 23 2021 W. Europe Standard Time Application close: Jan 14 2022 W. Europe Standard Time Link to the organizations job offer: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1640376415781 My most vivid memory of 2021 took place on March 1, after taking that first step into Qilak, the majestic main exhibition space at Qaumajuq, and looking up. My most vivid memory of 2021 took place on March 1, after taking that first step into Qilak, the majestic main exhibition space at Qaumajuq, and looking up. It was a bright and lit moment in a dark and dreary year. Qilak is quite a sight, and theres nothing like it in Winnipeg and in fact, few like it anywhere. The official opening of Qaumajuq, the Winnipeg Art Gallerys new home for Inuit art and its vast collection of sculptures, prints, tapestries and textiles, was a few weeks away, but the gallery granted some journalists an early look-see at Winnipegs latest architectural addition and tourist draw. It took about one second to realize Qilak, as well as the rest of Qaumajuqs 185,000 square feet of galleries, meeting rooms and art studios, is far grander than any of the artist renderings of Michael Maltzans design that were released prior to construction beginning in 2018. Qilak means "sky" in Inuktitut, and like the vistas on a sunny day on the Prairies or in the North, the exhibition space seems to stretch to forever. When it is sunny outside, rays enter through giant skylights, making indoor lighting almost unnecessary. When a cloud obscures the sun a few moments later, the room gets a different tone of light, offering a different perspective on the same piece of art. The Winnipeg Art Gallery opened Qaumajuq in March 2021 with an exhibition bringing together more than 90 Inuit artists working across the Arctic and the urban south. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files) Qaumajuq means "it is bright, it is lit" in Inuktitut, but all that natural light is more than a name it is Qaumajuqs identity, its brand. Natural light is rarely seen in art galleries; in fact, artificial lighting is finely regulated at famous museums, not just to protect artworks sensitive to light, but to present them in the finest way possible. Qilak can also be viewed downwards from the top floor, and even the biggest of the multimedia installations ones in a shipping container are dwarfed by the gallerys vastness, not unlike the endless stretches of tundra across the Arctic. The final touches on Inua, the inaugural exhibition at Qilak, werent complete yet during the visit. The audio portion of some installations wasnt ready and the signs that identify the works titles and the artists names werent there either. It was a blessing in disguise. When folks visit an art gallery, journalists included, we spend too much time learning who created the work and what the art is all about and not enough absorbing the piece. According to artists Ive met, when they go to exhibitions, they rarely look at the descriptions, instead focusing on the art itself, getting their impressions of it and honing in on its finer details. Its a resolution all gallery visitors should strive for in the new year. And there was so much art to look at and absorb. A three-storey tapestry that includes a poem uses Qilaks vertical space so rarely offered to artists. One large installation shows how Inuit try to preserve their traditional ways, while another focuses on an mans battle to reclaim his lost Inuit heritage and the right to be called by the name his mother gave him, instead of the one belonging to the family who adopted him and brought him south. Beyond those attention-getters, though, are small, intricate works that are as fascinating as the paintings and sculptures by Renaissance masters. Donat Anawak, Woman with Lice on Face was part of INUA, the inaugural exhibition of Qaumajuq, the Inuit art centre. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files) Fifty years ago, Princess Margaret came to Winnipeg for the official opening of the WAGs original building. Thousands of Winnipeggers made their way to Memorial Boulevard for the event some to see the Queens sister and some to see Gustavo DaRozas innovative, triangular building that became an instant landmark. If it hadnt taken place in the middle of a pandemic, Qaumajuqs opening might well have attracted a new generation of the Royal Family to Winnipeg to cut the ribbon on the new gallery. But 2021 is a different time, so it was fitting that the VIPs who blessed the building and the art that it stores were Indigenous elders from northern and southern Canada, relatives of artists whose work calls Qaumajuq home and descendants of those who signed treaties with the Crown over a century ago, including Treaty 1, where Winnipeg and the WAG are located today. While Qaumajuq has been described in publications around the world as an addition to the WAG, it really is a conjoined twin. While walking between old building and new, the transition is almost seamless. The WAG is a darker building, built with different materials and different intentions, but wander southward and Qaumajuqs brightness invites you over to check it out once again. As the years wear on, one will not live without the other. Without the WAG and its decades-long commitment to Inuit art, there would be no Qaumajuq and no gleaming new piece to the citys architectural puzzle. Without Qaumajuq, and the WAG would be like every other big-city art gallery in Canada or around the world: seeking an audience while striving for relevance in changing times. Alan.Small@winnipegfreepress.com Twitter: @AlanDSmall If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. TORONTO - Canadian business and labour groups are at odds over preferred isolation times for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 A man displays his COVID-19 rapid test kit after receiving it at a pharmacy in Montreal, Monday, December 20, 2021. Canadian business and labour groups are at odds over the preferred isolation times for people who have tested positive for COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes TORONTO - Canadian business and labour groups are at odds over preferred isolation times for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 The question has renewed urgency after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommended on Monday that Americans with COVID-19 should isolate for five days rather than 10 if they're not showing symptoms. Ontario's top doctor postponed a news conference Tuesday so the province can review isolation guidelines, while Quebec has already relaxed its isolation guidelines for healthcare workers who have tested positive. It would be welcome news if provinces were to follow a similar policy as the CDC, said Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses president Dan Kelly, because the labour shortage is a "massive" issue for small and medium businesses. "The more that we can safely limit the amount of time we have to take people out of the workforce, the better." The CDC decision has been criticized as responding too much to business interests, as some such as Delta Airline's chief executive asked specifically for the reduced isolation period, but Kelly said he hasn't seen any Canadian provinces prioritizing the economy over public health during this pandemic. The reduced isolation time is part of a need to think more long-term about the virus, Kelly said. "At a certain point Canadians have a difficult choice to make. Were going to have to figure out how to live with it, live with whatever form of COVID is there, keep society open, or were going to have to just continue to shower buckets and buckets of money at shuttered businesses." Some labour groups, however, have come out strongly against moves that potentially endanger worker health. In Alberta, where Premier Jason Kenney has said he can't rule out the possibility of having to modify self-isolation rules for health care workers similar to what Quebec has done, labour advocates say even just the mention of potentially reduced insolation periods is causing anxiety among workers. "There is absolutely no medical or scientific evidence suggesting that it would be either right or proper to reduce the isolation period for workers from 10 days to five days," said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan. "That was a number that was pulled out of the air in response to concerns from employers it has nothing to do with whats actually good for workers from a public health perspective." McGowan said talk of changing isolation rules is coming at the same time that Alberta's PCR testing system is overrun, and residents are being asked to rely on at-home rapid test kits if possible. This is problematic, McGowan said, because any workers who do get sick due to exposure to a COVID-positive colleague won't have access to the positive PCR test result they need in order to access workers' compensation or federal COVID-19 sickness benefits. "It all just shows that the government is thinking of employers first and workers last," he said. Unifor national president Jerry Dias said in a statement that now is the wrong time for the change in policy. "Shortening isolation periods and limiting testing requirements, as proposed by U.S. officials, is like playing with fire. Encouraging infected workers back to work, even when they might still be contagious, is a gamble on workers lives." The head of the country's largest private-sector union said that public health policy shouldn't be used to resolve the deep-rooted crisis in the job market. Paul Meinema, president of Canada's United Food and Commercial Workers union, said in a statement that while he encourages people to follow public health guidelines, worker safety should come first. "The needs, priorities and health and safety of frontline workers must be at the centre of any policy decisions about isolation times or any other COVID-related responses," he said in a statement. He said that either way, it is crucial workers are paid for whatever time they are required to isolate. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Rafael Gomez, director of the Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources at the University of Toronto, said that it's important provinces emphasize that this is a long-term problem and put in place measures that people can tolerate over years. Gomez said loosening some isolation restrictions is likely prudent. Vaccination rates are already high, and officials need to think of the wider health of the population beyond just COVID-19 numbers, said Gomez. "It might very well be a good idea to have five days instead of 10 days for people who arent symptomatic, who have critical roles in the economy, who have jobs to do, earnings to actually keep their own households afloat. "This is all very important, all very consistent with an overall public health guideline." With files from Amanda Stephenson in Calgary This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2021. MIAMI (AP) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people on Thursday not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of onboard outbreaks fueled by the omicron variant. FILE - Cruise ships float at PortMiami, on April 7, 2020, in Miami. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now warning people not to cruise regardless of their vaccination status because of an increase in cases fueled by the omicron variant detected in ships. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) MIAMI (AP) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people on Thursday not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of onboard outbreaks fueled by the omicron variant. The CDC said it has more than 90 cruise ships under investigation or observation as a result of COVID-19 cases. The agency did not disclose the number of infections. The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads easily between people in close quarters on board ships, and the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if people are fully vaccinated and have received a booster, the CDC said. The Cruise Lines International Association said it was disappointed with the new recommendations, saying the industry was singled out despite the fact it follows stricter health protocols than other travel sectors. The decision is particularly perplexing considering that cases identified on cruise ships consistently make up a very slim minority of the total population onboard, a statement said. The majority of those cases are asymptomatic or mild in nature, posing little to no burden on medical resources onboard or onshore. In March 2020, as the coronavirus took hold in the U.S., the CDC put a halt to all cruises for what turned out to be 15 months. Last June, it allowed ships to resume sailing under new strict new conditions. In August, as the delta variant surged, the agency warned people who are at risk of severe illness despite being vaccinated not to go on cruises. The CDC on Thursday also recommended that passengers get tested and quarantine for five days after docking, regardless of their vaccination status and even if they have no symptoms. Omicron has sent cases skyrocketing to unprecedented levels across the U.S., including Florida, the hub of the nations cruise industry. The state set another record this week for new daily cases, with more than 58,000 recorded Wednesday. U.S. cruise lines have not announced any plans to halt trips, though vessels have been denied entry at some foreign ports. Carnival Corp.'s spokesman Roger Frizzell said in an email after the CDC recommendation that the company had no planned changes. Our enhanced health and safety protocols have proven to be effective time and time again over the past year, he said. Before the CDC announcement, Royal Caribbean Group said in a statement that omicron is leading to passenger cancelations and changes to itineraries, but it is causing significantly less severe symptoms than earlier variants. The company said that since cruising restarted in U.S. waters last spring, 1.1 million guests had traveled with its cruise lines and 1,745 people had tested positive for COVID-19, or about 0.16%. It said that 41 people required hospitalization, and that no passengers hit with omicron had been taken to the hospital. We dont like to see even one case, but our experience is a fraction of the comparable statistics of virtually any other comparable location or industry. Few businesses are subject to such intense scrutiny, regulation and disclosure requirements by so many authorities, said Richard Fain, CEO of Royal Caribbean. Most cruise lines require adult passengers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19. Ships are allowed to relax measures such as mask use if at least 95% of passengers and 95% of crew are fully vaccinated. Iris Krysty, 76, of Hamburg, New Jersey, and her husband are supposed to leave on a 10-day Caribbean cruise Jan. 19. This latest CDC warning leaves travelers like them in an unfair bind, she said. Krysty was told Thursday they can only get a refund if they test positive before the trip. So, they will go to avoid losing thousands of dollars a decision their daughter and son-in-law are not happy with. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. I know theyre upset about us going but thats a lot of money for us to lose, Krysty said. As far as we know, were going and hope well be OK." Janine Calfo, 55, of Salt Lake City, put off a four-day Carnival cruise from Long Beach, California, to Ensenada, Mexico, earlier this month when she got a breakthrough case of COVID-19 three days before departure. She rebooked the cruise for February and is still set on going. This is my own personal opinion, but it looks like the omicron is going to be a quick burn, said Calfo, who is asthmatic and plans to get the booster in a couple of weeks. My cruise is over 40 days away." She added, though: "I think I will plan on getting travel insurance this time. ___ Associated Press writer Terry Tang in San Jose, California, contributed to this report. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The U.S. government has approved California's overhaul of the nation's largest insurance program for low-income and disabled residents, officials said Wednesday, a decision that among other things allows Medicaid money to be spent on housing-related services as the most populous state struggles with homelessness and a lack of affordable housing. FILE - A homeless person sleeps outside the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center hospital entrance in Los Angeles, late Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. The U.S. government has approved California's overhaul of the nation's largest insurance program for low-income and disabled residents, officials said Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, a decision that among other things allows Medicaid money to be spent on housing-related services as the most populous state struggles with homelessness and a lack of affordable housing. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The U.S. government has approved California's overhaul of the nation's largest insurance program for low-income and disabled residents, officials said Wednesday, a decision that among other things allows Medicaid money to be spent on housing-related services as the most populous state struggles with homelessness and a lack of affordable housing. CalAIM California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal intends a more comprehensive approach that improves the "entire continuum of care across the program that California calls Medi-Cal, according to the California Department of Health Care Services. Starting with the new year Saturday, California will among other things expand what had been a limited whole person care pilot program" to eligible Medi-Cal members statewide. Were making Medi-Cal, which provides health care to one-third of all Californians, the most comprehensive, robust such program in the entire country, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. Aside from covering one of every three Californians, Medi-Cal covers more than half of school-age children, half of births in California, and more than two of every three patient days in long-term care facilities, officials said. The goal of the new approach is to prioritize prevention and address underlying societal conditions, particularly in populations that have had fewer health care services and faced structural racism in health care, said California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. Californias Medicaid program offers government-funded insurance to people 50 and over and 25 and younger regardless of their immigration status. California has the nation's largest Medicaid program. Medi-Cal benefits will not change. But what are known as enhanced care management services can now include a care coordinator under Medi-Cal managed care plans. The coordinator can help Medi-Cal members find doctors, schedule appointments and set up medical transportation. The coordinator can also help members understand their medications, secure mental health services, and locate and apply for community-based services such as housing subsidies or food assistance. The goal here is to extend supports and services beyond hospitals and health care settings directly into communities that need it most, said Tina Rivera, interim director of Sonoma Countys Health Services Department. The state is shifting four programs Medi-Cal Managed Care, Dental Managed Care, Specialty Mental Health Services, and Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System into one coordinating authority. Officials said that is intended to simplify and align the programs while standardizing benefits and enrollment. Medicaid services will now for the first time formally include substance abuse treatment, including short-term residential treatment when needed. The program also expands certain dental benefits statewide, including efforts to spot risk factors for dental decay in children and provide silver diamine fluoride for kids and other high-risk populations. The state promises under the new system to better coordinate programs under one managed care plan for older residents who are eligible for both Medi-Cal and Medicare. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The federal approvals also renew a statewide funding pool for care provided to Californias remaining uninsured residents, such as those served by public hospitals. Those 21 public health care systems include just 6% of California's hospitals, but they said they provide 40% of hospital care to the remaining uninsured and 35% of hospital care to Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Erica Murray, president and CEO of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, said that funding pool "gives public health systems flexibilities to deliver the right care in the right setting to the uninsured. The new approvals also restore coverage of chiropractic services for Indian Health Service and tribal facilities, coverage that had been eliminated in 2009. California expects approval from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services early next year to expand services for adults and youth involved in the criminal justice system before they are released from incarceration, so they continue receiving those services in the community. Another pending waiver would allow Medi-Cal reimbursement for some traditional healers and natural helpers for Native Americans and Alaska Natives. WASHINGTON (AP) Federal health officials on Thursday pressed nursing home workers to get their booster shots amid a spike in COVID-19 cases among staffers and a concerning lag in booster vaccination for residents and staff. FILE - Marvin Marcus, 79, a resident at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, receives a COVID-19 booster shot in New York, Sept. 27, 2021. Federal health officials call on nursing homes to redouble efforts to administer COVID-19 booster shots to residents and staff amid sharply rising cases among staff and lagging rates of booster vaccination. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) WASHINGTON (AP) Federal health officials on Thursday pressed nursing home workers to get their booster shots amid a spike in COVID-19 cases among staffers and a concerning lag in booster vaccination for residents and staff. The omicron variant "is lightning fast, and we can't afford another COVID-19 surge in nursing homes," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a livestreamed appeal to the industry. You know that. I know that. Higher numbers of COVID cases would likely once again have a devastating impact on our loved ones ... and we know we just have to work doubly hard to keep them safe." Nursing homes are a testing ground for President Joe Bidens assertion that the United States is much better prepared to handle a surging virus than it was last winter. Although residents are a tiny proportion of the population, they represent a disproportionate share of Americans who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year the advent of vaccines brought the virus under control in nursing homes and allowed them to reopen to visitors. But that return to normalcy could be in jeopardy as omicron pushes COVID-19 cases to new highs for the nation. Cases among nursing home staffers jumped to 10,353 for the week ending Dec. 27, a rise of nearly 80% from the previous week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Staff deaths increased to 58, tripling from the previous week. Among residents, who are more heavily vaccinated, cases went up slightly and the data showed no increase in deaths. With medical experts advising that a booster shot is critical to defend against omicron, Becerra said only 57% of nursing home residents and 25% of staff and have gotten boosters. That's clearly behind a booster rate of nearly 66% among people age 65 or older and about 45% for adults of all ages, according to statistics from the White House. FILE - Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra arrives to testify before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing, Sept. 30, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Federal health officials call on nursing homes to redouble efforts to administer COVID-19 booster shots to residents and staff amid sharply rising cases among staff and lagging rates of booster vaccination. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP, File) We've got to change that, Becerra said. The administration is urging some 1,400 federally funded community health centers across the land to partner with local nursing homes in a renewed vaccination campaign. Nursing home workers were supposed to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 under an earlier order issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which required staff at health care facilities that receive government money to get their shots. That directive got ensnared in litigation and the Supreme Court has set a special session next week to hear arguments on it, along with the much broader Biden administration vaccine mandate for workers at larger companies of all kinds. Together the orders would affect about 100 million employees. Once again nursing homes are really the ground zero, said Harvard health policy professor David Grabowski, who has tracked the impact of the pandemic on residents and staff. How well we do in combating this virus can often be discerned by just looking at the nursing homes. Grabowski said the Biden administration is right to raise the alarm now. We see this time and time again: When staff (infection) rates go up, resident rates go up, he explained. Staffers unwittingly bring in the virus from surrounding communities, a common trigger for nursing home outbreaks. Vaccines enabled nursing homes to weather the delta variant surge earlier this year, and timely booster shots should go a long way toward blocking omicron. The more vaccines and boosters we have, the more lives we are going to save over the course of the winter, Grabowski said. But some states are already seeing trouble. COVID-19 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes have almost doubled in the past week, and officials say that indicates the state is probably heading into another major surge of virus cases and hospitalizations. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. There were 63 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes Monday, about twice the number reported last week, state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers wrote in a midweek memo to Mississippi hospitals and health care providers. Along with other data, that points to very rapid growth of COVID-19 infection and transmission...we have now entered our 5th wave of COVID-19 in the state, Byers wrote. One of the major nursing home industry groups is backing the administration's push on boosters. The American Health Care Association said in a statement it's asking members to "double down on their efforts to get as many residents and staff fully vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible. ___ Associated Press writer Leah Willingham in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report. When Sam Stevenson pictures the future of work, she envisions a flexible workspace and hours. When Sam Stevenson pictures the future of work, she envisions a flexible workspace and hours. The 24-year-old is among the majority of generation Z and millennial Canadians, according to a new survey by polling firm Leger. Leger A quarter of workers under age 40 say they want to leave their current job in the next year more than in previous years. "I really value my family time, and I really value being able to support my partner if he needs help," Stevenson said. "Instead of having to work my life around my job, (Id like to) work my job within my life." The poll, which surveyed 3,015 Canadians between the ages of 15 and 39, found 57 per cent of respondents sought a flexible schedule in their career. Stevenson graduated from Red River College Polytechnics Creative Communications program in 2020. Since then, shes worked at two different companies one remotely, one in office. Its led her to believe a balance is best. "A lot of people in this age group are saying that the 40-hour, five-day work week is becoming outdated," she said. "It may be something that has to change." Leger Another benefit young people find attractive is the option of working from home. There were a range of responses about what flexibility could look like, according to Allison Watson, a senior research director with Leger. Some might work during the day with breaks in between and finish in the evening. "There were even some that were like, Lets take away the eight-hour day completely. Say I have my 37.5 hours I need to work in a week, and Ill make those hours up wherever Im going to make them up," Watson said. Being clear on how much flexibility a company can provide may be necessary when recruiting future hires, as some industries dont lend themselves to such schedules, Watson said. Legers survey conducted from Oct. 19 through Nov. 10 found 25 per cent of young workers said they want to leave their job within a year. Its higher than previous years due to widespread labour shortages, according to the published results. Sixty-six per cent of respondents said they thought theyd find a new employer easily; 64 per cent answered they thought their employer is more dependent on them than they are on the employer. "Canadian youth workers are really seeing and kind of grabbing onto that shift of power," Watson said. "They really feel that theyre in the position now that theyre of more value to an employer than an employer is to them." Julie Guard, a professor of history and labour studies at the University of Manitoba, interpreted the results differently. "I dont think that young people have really got much opportunity to negotiate with their employers," she said. "If they could negotiate better with their employers, they wouldnt be leaving their jobs." Uprooting and job hunting is inconvenient and goes against the ideal of starting with a company young and climbing the organizations hierarchical ladder, Guard said. "(If) theyre not going to get loyalty from their employer, they dont want to give loyalty back," she said, adding she thinks young workers see employment "almost entirely in transactional terms." During the pandemic, grocery store clerks and restaurant staff have been deemed front-line workers despite largely being paid minimum wage. Some must work several jobs to pay bills, Guard said. "While our employers bemoan the fact that young people seem to have too much sense of entitlement, I think we should actually have more sense of entitlement," she said, adding living wage, job security and flexibility are necessary for people. Stevenson switched her communications job because she wanted a challenge and a pivot from fully remote work. A good wage is also important, she said. "If I cant afford to keep a roof over my head and feed the people and the pets in my household, and put clothes on my back, then why am I working?" she said. A good salary was the most sought-after benefit from respondents with 75 per cent saying its enticing followed by job security and benefits at 64 per cent. Job satisfaction has been decreasing since the 1970s, according to Guard. It wasnt on respondents radar in the survey, she noted only 10 per cent gave import to seeking a company whose values align with their own. However, workers want to make positive change, according to Legers Watson. "They want to know theyre making a difference within whatever job theyre in," Watson said, adding its beneficial for businesses to inform employees of how theyre helping support causes through their work. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Thirty-six per cent of respondents said they sought a healthy and supportive work environment. "They want to be challenged, they want to grow, they want to know that theres an opportunity for them to advance in an organization," Watson said. Fifty-seven per cent of Legers respondents said their employer pays them what theyre worth. Fifty-eight per cent said theyd consider pursuing a career with their current employer, and 75 per cent said they liked their jobs. Fifty-five per cent of respondents said they dont believe their personal finances will improve next year. The survey results dont have a margin of error because it was an online study, according to Watson. gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com NEW YORK (AP) Drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals contributed to the opioid crisis, a suburban New York jury ruled Thursday in one of few verdicts so far among thousands of lawsuits nationwide over the painkillers. FILE - Trucks drive in front of Teva Pharmaceutical Logistic Center in the town of Shoam, Israel, Oct. 16, 2013. A jury held Teva Pharmaceuticals responsible, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, for contributing to the opioid crisis, delivering a verdict in a sweeping lawsuit filed by New York state, the state attorney general said. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty, File) NEW YORK (AP) Drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals contributed to the opioid crisis, a suburban New York jury ruled Thursday in one of few verdicts so far among thousands of lawsuits nationwide over the painkillers. A separate trial will follow to determine what Teva will have to pay in the case, in which New York state and two Long Island counties took on a swath of drug companies. In Thursday's verdict, a Suffolk County jury found the drug company played a role in what is legally termed a public nuisance but had lethal consequences an opioid use epidemic linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. in the past two decades. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and others misled the American people about the true dangers of opioids," James, a Democrat, said in a news release. Today, we took a significant step in righting the wrongs this country has collectively experienced over the last two decades. Israel-based Teva, which makes medications using the powerful opioid fentanyl, said it strongly disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal. The plaintiffs presented no evidence of medically unnecessary prescriptions, suspicious or diverted orders, no evidence of oversupply" by Teva and didn't show that Teva's marketing caused harm to New Yorkers, the company said in a statement. It is also arguing for a mistrial, based on various issues. The price of Tevas U.S.-listed stock fell after the verdict was announced, ending down 6.3% at $7.90. Around the country, state and local governments, Native American tribes, unions, school districts and others have sued the drug industry over the painkillers. New York's lawsuit, filed in 2019, targeted several opioid producers and distributors, companies that buy medications in bulk and sell them to pharmacies. The suit accused drug companies of breaching their legal duties to profiteer from the plague they knew would be unleashed. The state and counties said that drug manufacturers collaborated to mislead people and downplay the serious risks of opioid addiction, and that drug distributors skirted systems meant to limit orders for painkillers. Teva is known for making generic drugs, but the lawsuit focused on Actiq and Fentora, two brand-name fentanyl drugs approved for some cancer patients. Teva repeatedly promoted them more broadly for other types of pain, in a deceptive and dangerous marketing strategy, the lawsuit said. They try to say theyre selling legal products. The only problem is: Theyre selling them illegally, lawyer Hunter Shkolnik, who represented Nassau County, said at a virtual news conference Thursday. The jury saw that what theyre doing is wrong. Teva said Thursday it continues to focus on increasing access to essential medicines to patients and believes a national settlement of opioid issues is in patients' best interest. New York said the conduct of the various opioid companies named in the suit cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in addiction treatment bills and other expenses. Lawyers for the counties suggested the Teva could be held liable for tens of billions of dollars, or more, in damages. The numbers are staggering, what it has cost our communities and what it will continue to cost our communities" in emergency services for overdose victims, drug rehabilitation programs and more, Suffolk County's lawyer, Jayne Conroy, said at the virtual news conference. Teva was the sole manufacturing defendant left in the suit after others settled, most recently Allergan Finance LLC in December. The various settlements have netted New York up to $1.5 billion. The trial started months ago. The jury began deliberating Dec. 14, taking some days off for Christmas. Elsewhere, only a few opioid cases have gone to verdicts to date, with no clear consensus on outcomes. An Oklahoma judge ruled against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson in 2019, but the states supreme court overturned that decision in November. A week earlier, a California judge in ruled in favor of drugmakers including Teva. Then, late last month, a federal jury in Cleveland sided with two Ohio county governments that had claims against pharmacy chains. Some observers thought the California and Oklahoma rulings doomed the idea of using state public nuisance laws to pursue opioid suits, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who is following the litigation nationwide. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. But now were really seeing that thats not true, at least in some places, Tobias said. He suggested Thursday's ruling could reinvigorate such suits. A trial has been completed but a judge has not yet ruled in a West Virginia case, and a trial is ongoing in Washington state. Thousands of other cases are in the process of heading to trial. There have also been settlements. Some of the biggest industry names such as distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson and drugmakers Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals have reached nationwide settlements with a cumulative value potentially well over $30 billion. Most of the money is being directed to fight the epidemic. But most of those deals have not been finalized, and there has been one very big reversal. In mid-December, a federal judge rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharmas sweeping deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids. ___ This story has been corrected to show that a jury, not a judge, decided the case in Cleveland. Associated Press writer Deepti Hajela contributed to this report. DENVER (AP) A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks. A bouquet of flowers is placed outside the door of a tattoo parlor along South Broadway Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 in Denver, one of the scenes of a shooting spree that left five people deadincluding the suspected shooter Monday eveningand left three more people wounded. The spree spread from the core of Denver to the western suburb of Lakewood where the suspect was shot and killed by police near a busy intersection in a bustling shopping district. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) DENVER (AP) A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks. The writings are part of the investigation into what led Lyndon James McLeod to carry out the shootings, which took place in less than an hour Monday at several locations around the metro area, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said Wednesday. McLeod, 47, knew most of the people he shot through business or personal relationships, police have said. Four of the people who were shot were attacked at tattoo shops. In addition to those killed, two other people were wounded, including a police officer who shot and killed McLeod after being hit. In the first novel, written under a pen name of Roman McClay, a character named Lyndon stalks a poker party held by a character named Michael Swinyard and gains access to a building near Cheesman Park by posing as a police officer. He then fatally shoots everyone at the party and robs them before fleeing with his dog in a van. In Monday's attack, Michael Swinyard, 67, was fatally shot at a home near Denvers Cheesman Park, police said. A customer walks away from the closed entrance to an Xfinity store Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 in Lakewood, Colo., one of the scenes in a shooting spree that left five people deadincluding the suspected shooter Monday eveningand left three more people wounded. The spree spread from the core of Denver to the western suburb of Lakewood where the suspect was shot and killed by police near a busy intersection in a bustling shopping district. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) In his second novel, which also features a character named Lyndon, McClay names Alicia Cardenas as a victim. The book also mentions the tattoo shop she owned, Sol Tribe. Alicia Cardenas, a 44-year-old tattoo artist, was among his first victims in Monday's rampage. She was killed at her tattoo shop, along with another woman, Alyssa Gunn, 35. A man who was also wounded there is expected to survive, police said. He was identified by friends and customers as Gunns husband, James Maldonado, a piercer there. That shop is less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from a tattoo shop that McLeod was listed as the lease holder for between 2014 and 2016. Cardenas later took it over before moving the shop to its current spot, city records show. A sign in the window of an Xfinity store advises customers of a closure Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, in Lakewood, Colo., near one of the scenes of a shooting spree that left several people deadincluding the suspected shooter Monday eveningand left a few more people wounded. The spree spread from the core of Denver to the western suburb of Lakewood where the suspect was shot and killed by police near a busy intersection in a bustling shopping district. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) McLeod was not licensed to work as a tattoo artist or operate a tattoo business himself in Denver according to city records, a spokesperson for Denvers licensing agency, Eric Escudero, said Wednesday. Cardenas, whose daughter is 12 years old, described herself as a proud Indigenous artist who also painted murals. Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said during a news conference Tuesday that McLeod was on the radar of law enforcement and had been investigated in both 2020 and 2021. He declined to say what McLeod was investigated for but said charges were not filed against him. A Honda Civic parked along Alaska Drive has a bullet hole through the hood and a flat, left-front tire Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 in Lakewood, Colo., as it sits near one of the scenes of a shooting spree that left five people deadincluding the suspected shooter Monday eveningand left three more people wounded. The spree spread from the core of Denver to the western suburb of Lakewood where the suspect was shot and killed by police near a busy intersection in a bustling shopping district. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Matt Clark, commander of the Denver Police Departments Major Crimes Division, said McLeod knew most of the people he targeted but not the last person he shot a clerk in a hotel in Lakewood's Belmar shopping area. However, McLeod had had some dealings with the hotel, Clark said. The hotel clerk, 28-year-old Sarah Steck, died of her injuries Tuesday. Steck graduated this year from Metropolitan State University with a bachelors degree of fine art in communication design. She was known among her co-workers at the hotel for her infectious laugh and love of kittens, art and music, The Denver Post reported. Two people sit at a table in a Jamba Juice store Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 in Lakewood, Colo., near one of the scenes of a shooting spree that left five people deadincluding the suspected shooter Monday eveningand left three more people wounded. The spree spread from the core of Denver to the western suburb of Lakewood where the suspect was shot and killed by police near a busy intersection in a bustling shopping district. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Soon after the shooting at Cardenas' shop, McLeod forced his way into a residence that is also home to a business. City records show it is licensed as a tattoo shop. He pursued the occupants through the building and fired shots, but no one was injured, Clark said. Then he shot and killed Swinyard near Cheesman Park, Clark said. Later, Denver police chased the vehicle believed to have been involved in the shootings, and an officer exchanged gunfire with McLeod, Clark said. McLeod was able to get away, fleeing into Lakewood, after gunfire disabled the officer's cruiser, he said. Just before 6 p.m., the Lakewood Police Department received a report of shots fired at the Lucky 13 tattoo shop. Danny Scofield, 38, was killed there, Lakewood police spokesperson John Romero said. Mourners gather outside the door of a tattoo parlor along South Broadway Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, in Denver, one of the scenes of a shooting spree that left multiple people deadincluding the suspected shooter Monday eveningand a few more people wounded. The spree spread from the core of Denver to the western suburb of Lakewood where the suspect was shot and killed by police near a busy intersection in a bustling shopping district. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Scofield was a father of three, according to a site raising money for his family. When officers spotted the car suspected of being involved in the shooting at the Belmar shopping area where shops line sidewalks in a modern version of a downtown McLeod opened fire and officers shot back, Romero said. He ran away and allegedly threatened some people in a restaurant with a gun before going to the Hyatt House hotel, where he spoke briefly with Steck, before shooting her, he said. About a minute later, Lakewood police officer Ashley Ferris saw McLeod and ordered him to drop his weapon. She was shot in the abdomen but fired back and killed the gunman. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Ferris underwent surgery Monday night and is expected to make a full recovery. I can't overemphasize enough the heroic actions of our Lakewood police agent," Romero said during a news conference Tuesday. "In the face of being shot, in the face of danger, she was able to not only save others from this terrible tragedy but also neutralize the threat. ___ Associated Press writer Mead Gruver contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to change the spelling of Danny Scofield's last name. CALGARY - WestJet Airlines Ltd. is dealing with so many employees out sick with the Omicron variant that it is being forced to cut 15 per cent of its scheduled flights through to the end of January. A WestJet Airlines aircraft taxis to a gate after arriving at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on January 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck CALGARY - WestJet Airlines Ltd. is dealing with so many employees out sick with the Omicron variant that it is being forced to cut 15 per cent of its scheduled flights through to the end of January. WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell confirmed via email that the airline has seen a 35 per cent rise in active COVID-19 cases among staff in recent days, with 181 employees currently testing positive for virus. In a statement Thursday, WestJet's interim chief executive Harry Taylor said the airline has seen a significant increase in delays and cancellations impacting its business over the past 72 hours. "We could not have anticipated the rapid and unpredictable impact of the Omicron variant on our people and operations, coupled with prolonged frigid temperatures across Western Canada and global staffing shortages," Taylor said. "Despite all contingency planning, in addition to hiring back thousands of WestJetters to safely support peak operations, we find ourselves no longer able to predictably resource our planned schedule due to Omicron impact." As a result of the staff shortages, WestJet will remove about 15 per cent of flights from its schedule through Jan. 31. Prior to the cuts, which will be implemented over the next few days, the airline has been operating 450 flights per day. The move is a "last resort," Taylor said, but reflects the reality of the service level WestJet can now "realistically deliver." "It is the best option to ensure the availability of our frontline staff and third-party service providers, while minimizing the impact on our guests," he said. WestJet said it will notify all customers with affected flights. For any WestJet-initiated cancellation or schedule change, where the schedule change was greater than 90 minutes or one or more stops were added, guests are eligible for a refund. The announcement comes as more than 850 flights were cancelled in the U.S. on Wednesday, according to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware. There were nearly 1,300 cancellations for flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. Tuesday, and about 1,500 on Monday. Both Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said the nationwide spike in cases this week has affected flight crews and left carriers short-staffed. In Canada as of mid-afternoon Thursday, WestJet had cancelled 74 of its 466 scheduled flights for the day, according to data provided by Cirium, an airline data company. Air Canada had cancelled 76 of its 905 scheduled Thursday flights, according to Cirium, while Porter Airlines had cancelled none and Flair Airlines had cancelled four. Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah said in an email that the carrier is experiencing "limited disruptions," most of which are due to adverse weather across the country. "While overall we have the crews to operate our flights, some of aviations third-party service and support providers have experienced operational constraints, which together with the difficult winter conditions, have affected the current schedule," Mah said. She added that Air Canada continues to evaluate and adjust its route network for 2022 in response to the trajectory of the pandemic, government-imposed travel restrictions and quarantines, regulatory requirements and overall demand. A spokesman for Flair Airlines said the Edmonton-based low-cost-carrier currently has a small number of crew with confirmed cases of COVID-19, though he said this hasn't affected the airline's ability to staff and operate flights. "Our recent cancellations have been largely weather-related and not related to staffing shortages due to the Omicron variant," said Matthew Kunz, Flair's vice-president of business transformation and operations. Porter Airlines spokesman Brad Cicero said that airline's flights have operated "generally well" over the last week. He said the limited cancellations that have occurred are due largely to weather and aircraft maintenance, though a small number have been related to "staffing." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Air Transat said earlier in the week it had not cancelled any flights due to Omicron. The federal government requires both Canadian airline employees and passengers departing from Canadian airports to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. On Thursday, WestJet said additional measures from federal and provincial governments are "urgently needed" to minimize further disruption to the aviation sector. The airline is calling for Canada to follow the guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control which recommended on Monday that Americans with COVID-19 should isolate for five days rather than 10 if they're not showing symptoms. Several provinces have already relaxed their isolation rules this week, but WestJet wants a uniform standard across the country. WestJet also wants to see a removal of the self-isolation requirement for asymptomatic close contacts. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2021. TORONTO - George Weston Limited says the previously announced $370-million sale of its Weston Foods ambient bakery business to Hearthside Food Solutions, LLC has closed. A George Weston Ltd. image is shown at the company's annual general meeting in Toronto on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. George Weston Limited says the previously announced $370-million sale of its Weston Foods ambient bakery business to Hearthside Food Solutions, LLC has closed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO - George Weston Limited says the previously announced $370-million sale of its Weston Foods ambient bakery business to Hearthside Food Solutions, LLC has closed. Weston announced in November it would sell its ambient business, which provides retail and food service customers in Canada and the U.S. with cookies, crackers, cones and wafers. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The buyer, Hearthside Food Solutions, is based in Illinois and is a contract manufacturer and producer of baked foods, snacks, and nutrition bars. In October, Weston reached a deal to sell its fresh and frozen bakery businesses to affiliated entities of FGF Brands Inc. for aggregate cash consideration of $1.2 billion. Together with the sale of the fresh and frozen business, the sale of the ambient business represents the disposition of George Weston's entire bakery business, for an aggregate value of $1.57 billion. The company has said it will focus on its retail and real estate businesses instead. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2021. Companies in this story: (TSX:WN) OTTAWA - Todd Doherty still remembers the despair he felt when he learned one of his closest friends took his own life at age 14. Conservative MP Todd Doherty rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 10, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA - Todd Doherty still remembers the despair he felt when he learned one of his closest friends took his own life at age 14. The day it happened, Doherty and a group of friends had gone swimming and were laughing and joking on their way home. All seemed perfectly normal until the next day, when his friend didnt come to school. Almost four decades on, Doherty torments himself about whether he could have done something to stop his friend from killing himself. He was one of my best friends," the B.C. Conservative member of Parliament told The Canadian Press. "I live that day over and over again. Yet the tragedy also inspired Doherty to try to help others, which is why he spearheaded a push in the House of Commons last December to establish a three-digit national suicide prevention hotline: 988. Doherty's motion to take immediate action to establish the suicide prevention hotline was approved in the Commons in December 2020, with unanimous support among MPs, each of whom Doherty had contacted personally. But more than a year later, the crisis hotline has still not been activated. That has prompted questions and concerns, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on Canadians' mental health. We need to do whatever we can to protect the well-being of Canadians and save lives," Doherty said. Doherty and others had hoped the hotline would be up and running by the end of 2021. Instead, it is the subject of consultations being led by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The CRTC launched the consultations in June "to hear from Canadians on whether a national three-digit number for mental health crisis and suicide prevention service should be established, and how to do so," spokeswoman Isabella Maestri said in a statement. "The information received from Canadians and other interested parties will help the commission better understand the challenges and solutions, advantages, and costs associated with implementing a three-digit number for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services." The current round of consultations will end on Jan. 31, she added, though participants will have until mid-March to submit responses. That doesn't sit well with Conservative MP Mike Lake, who recently raised questions in the House of Commons about why it was taking so long to establish the hotline. One would have thought at this time of year it would have been introduced. It shouldnt take this long, the Alberta MP said in an interview. A suicide prevention hotline should be a priority. There are a million reasons to expedite this. Statistics Canada says 11 people die by suicide each day, and that there are around 4,000 deaths by suicide per year. Suicide rates are consistently higher among Indigenous people in Canada, particularly young people. From 2011 to 2016, the suicide rate was three times higher than among the non-Indigenous population, according to Statistics Canada. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Mental Health Minister Carolyn Bennett's office in a statement said the Liberal government remains committed to funding a national three-digit crisis line for mental health and suicide prevention. But while Bennett's office said they "understand the urgency of implementing this crisis line," it said the issue currently rests with the CRTC. The Canadian Suicide Prevention Service already operates an 11-digit suicide helpline, but Dr. Allison Crawford, the service's chief medical officer, said a three-digit dialing code would be far easier to remember. With this new number, more people will be able to get support from trained responders, which could reduce the burden on services that provide other kinds of mental health-related support, she said. For every person who commits suicide, there are an estimated 20 to 25 attempts, the Prevention Service said. An average of 275 people attempt suicide in Canada every day. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29. 2021. OTTAWA - The governor general says Canadians can be hopeful as they ring in the new year, despite the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor General Mary Simon speaks during the Presentation of Canadian Honours at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.The governor general said Canadians can be hopeful as they ring in the new year, despite the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA - The governor general says Canadians can be hopeful as they ring in the new year, despite the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. In her first New Year's message since becoming vice-regal in July, Mary Simon says Canadians have shown resilience, compassion and adaptability despite a difficult year. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. In the message released in English, French and Inuktitut Simon says Canadians have inspired her to continue to work and find better ways to help communities thrive. She references a concept known in Inuktitut as "ajuinnata," meaning not only commitment but putting that commitment into action. The governor general says together, Canadians are combating the pandemic, tackling climate change, and "walking the path of reconciliation." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2021. --- This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship. In what is being described as an historic settlement, the Federal Court of Canada and Manitobas Court of Queens Bench have jointly approved an $8-billion agreement to bring safe drinking water to First Nations and compensate community members who have lived without it for years. In what is being described as an "historic settlement," the Federal Court of Canada and Manitobas Court of Queens Bench have jointly approved an $8-billion agreement to bring safe drinking water to First Nations and compensate community members who have lived without it for years. The "long overdue" agreement "represents what many hope will be a turning point for Canada and First Nations," Manitoba Queens Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal said in a written decision. Tataskweyak Cree Nation (Manitoba), Curve Lake First Nation (Ontario) and Neskantaga First Nation (Ontario) filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government in 2019. "Although the parties reached the settlement in just under two years, the courts acknowledge that Indigenous communities have been advocating for decades to ensure future generations access to safe water," Joyal said. The settlement agreement applies to residents of Canadas First Nations and First Nations that have been subject to long-term drinking water advisories of one year or longer, beginning in 1995. The agreement includes at least $6 billion to bring safe drinking water to reserves over the next nine years, and $1.5 billion in compensation for individual community members who have been deprived of clean drinking water. A further $400 million has been earmarked for the creation of a First Nation Economic and Cultural Restoration Fund. Affidavits filed by community members in support of the class action described the link between poor drinking water, mental health and youth suicide. Others said the lack of clean drinking water forced them to move from their home communities, further entrenching a history of displacement among Indigenous peoples. "Now that I live in Winnipeg, I can drink the water that comes out of my tap, just like other Canadians," Roderick Richard Spence said in an affidavit excerpt included in Joyals decision. "But I have lost a piece of who I am. It seems like an awful trade to have to make. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I certainly hope that my grandchildren get better treatment. I dream for this, pray for this, cry for this." At Curve Lake, 15 kilometres outside of Peterborough, a water treatment plant constructed 40 years ago and intended to be a temporary fix provides inadequately disinfected water for 56 of the communitys 550 homes, with the balance remaining unserviced. In an affidavit, community member Shawn Williams compared efforts to secure a new water treatment plant to being on a "hamster wheel," with the First Nation "constantly running , working to provide proposals, obtain necessary studies, seeking funding, only to be in the exact position decades later." In a news release, the federal government said it is "firmly committed to improving reliable access to safe drinking water in First Nations communities. "The government of Canada will continue to work with all First nations to address water concerns," the news release said. "Together, we will develop sustainable, long-term solutions so that future generations do not have to worry about the safety of their drinking water." dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca Manitoba officials have given conflicting information on what to do if you get sick or have an exposure to COVID-19. Manitoba officials have given conflicting information on what to do if you get sick or have an exposure to COVID-19. Heres a summary of the rules from staff at test sites, the latest instruction manual for public-health nurses and a recent statement from Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitobas chief public health officer. I did a rapid test and it came back negative. What do I do now? Those who get rapid tests from a government testing site are told to do three tests, one day apart. If all three tests come back negative, you can leave isolation if you had symptoms but no known COVID-19 exposure, and those symptoms have cleared. Officials have told some people with negative results that they can leave isolation as soon as their symptoms clear, while others have been told to wait for 24 hours with no symptoms. But if you have a known exposure to COVID-19, youre supposed to stick with the 10 days of isolation from the date you encountered the infected individual, even if your rapid tests came back negative. I did a rapid test and it came back positive. What do I do now? Youre supposed to get a PCR polymerase chain reaction lab test, if you can manage to get an appointment. But Roussin says that if youre healthy and under age 40, you can probably stay home and inform your contacts that you likely have COVID-19. For fully vaccinated people, isolation periods have been shortened to five days from 10 since the date of a test, if the individual is not showing symptoms. If an individual's symptoms are improving and they do not have a fever, they may stop quarantine after five days since either the date their symptoms started appearing or the date of their test, whichever is later. For people who are not fully vaccinated, isolation will be required for 10 days after the date of their test if their symptoms are improving and they do not have a fever. Household close contacts who are exempt from self-isolation are asked to be cautious while a case is isolated and avoid any non-essential visits to high-risk settings or non-essential contact with individuals at high-risk for severe disease. But if you need a proof of COVID-19 in order to take time off work, its off to the test site. Dress warm and bring a snack. Most sites require an appointment for a PCR test, so check online before heading out and you might not get an appointment until after your isolation period has cleared. Some Free Press readers are still waiting for a result seven days after being tested. Do I tell public health about my rapid test result? No, the Manitoba government is not tracking this data, unlike some other jurisdictions. There is one exception, in the instruction manual for nurses: when someone takes a rapid test on the spot at a testing site, the nurses could register that result as a presumptive case, but that probably wont show up in the daily case counts. How will public health tell me about my PCR test result? If you have a Manitoba health card, you should be able to access the result through the online Shared Health portal, or by waiting for a phone call. Roussin said Wednesday that in some areas, one-third of people arent picking up the phone, and that this is a significant change from previous months. That could be due to people not answering calls from unknown numbers. Some, but not all, cell phones will display the caller as "Public Health." Manitoba does not issue text messages about results, unlike some other jurisdictions. What if my online result says the PCR test result is "cancelled"? Central Services Minister Reg Helwer said Thursday this is a data bug; the sample is actually being transferred between labs, but has not been cancelled. Does my family have to isolate at home? Household contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 who are double-vaccinated and dont have symptoms dont have to isolate. Thats a long-standing policy still in effect as of the start of this week; Manitoba officials have said they are considering having everyone isolate. The nurses manual advises people to wear a mask and keep a distance from an infected person. It also says public-health officers can opt to require vaccinated contacts to self-isolate in higher-risk scenarios. "This may include outbreak settings where a higher number of breakthrough infections have been observed, particularly in a setting with individuals at higher risk for severe outcomes," such as First Nation reserves. That might include sending people to government-provided isolation sites if they cant avoid contact with high-risk groups. Some workplaces, businesses and institutions have stricter rules that forbid employees and patrons from entering if they have a known contact with COVID-19. If contacts are not vaccinated, they all have to isolate until the test result arrives, even if that person is not symptomatic. Should contacts get a test? Officially, the nurses manual advises that "testing is recommended for fully immunized close contacts once between 5 to 7 days after exposure," but its clear Manitoba labs cannot handle that demand. Is contact tracing happening? Not as of Dec. 20. Manitobans are being asked to inform everyone theyve come in contact with during their period of communicability, which is defined as 48 hours before symptoms emerged. That also means that contacts arent being registered into the governments health database, meaning Manitoba is no longer tracking how many contacts each positive case has reported. "Public health will still assist with contact management in settings at higher risk of transmission or severe outcomes, which includes schools/daycares, health and community care facilities, congregate settings without occupational health/COVID-19 response (e.g. shelters, assisted living), and current outbreak settings," reads the latest version of the nurses manual. The COVID Alert App is still functional, but works only if you get a PCR test, at which point you have to ask nurses for a code to activate the notification. Some have reported long delays in reaching nurses. Will Manitoba drop its isolation timeline? We dont know yet. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped its isolation timeline from 10 days to five. The agency said that is because Omicron-variant symptoms generally emerge sooner than other strains of COVID-19 as do high viral loads, making rapid tests more useful than with the original COVID-19 strain. Still, the move has been controversial among infectious-disease experts. Manitoba is considering whether to follow suit. Roussin explained the factors hes weighing: Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "The shorter that period, we have the benefit of people getting out of isolation sooner, maybe more likely to go get tested (and) certainly alleviate some of the strain on some sectors by doing that," he said. "The risk is we have still some people (who) will be infectious after that period." I have COVID-19; what if my symptoms get worse? Manitoba suspended active monitoring as of Dec. 20, meaning a call centre will no longer check in with people who have COVID-19 and are isolating at home. Exceptions might be made for certain vulnerable groups. Its up to you to call Health Links (204-788-8200 or 1-888-315-9257) if your symptoms worsen; they can advise whether you need to go to the hospital. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca In the brief time he spent with Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bishop Geoffrey Woodcroft took home a message of peace that continues to inspire him 17 years later. In the brief time he spent with Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bishop Geoffrey Woodcroft took home a message of peace that continues to inspire him 17 years later. He was in awe as Tutu attended Sunday mass at St. Pauls Anglican Church in Fort Garry during the South African anti-apartheid fighters trip to Winnipeg in 2004. Former mayor Glen Murray greets Desmond Tutu at the Governor Generals Canadian Leadership Conference at the Fairmont Hotel in May of 2004. (Mike Aporius / Winnipeg Free Press files) In an interview with the Free Press earlier this week, Woodcroft, 60, reflected on that once-in-a-lifetime encounter after Tutu, 90, died Sunday at a care home in Cape Town. "I felt I was in the presence of something really awesome and in the presence of greatness," said Woodcroft, then a parish priest and now bishop of the Diocese of Ruperts Land. A flood of memories and an overwhelming sense of appreciation came to him after Tutus trust announced his death. "At first, (I felt) a glancing blow of sadness for a really decent person dying and then a flood of gratitude," said Woodcroft. "What part of this guys life can we use to make a better world? "His example gives us great hope in directions forward and bringing peace and justice to the world." Tutus funeral will be Saturday at St. Georges Cathedral in Cape Town, where he campaigned for racial justice and equal rights. Alongside his longtime friend Nelson Mandela, he was a giant in the movement against apartheid in South Africa. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his use of non-violent activism. As the Anglican cleric brought his lessons and message of peace to Winnipeg, he made an unannounced visit to St. Pauls. It was arranged after congregation members read a Free Press article about the archbishops upcoming trip. Woodcroft inquired about inviting Tutu to the church and, after discussions with the archbishops personal secretary, St. Pauls welcomed him the following Sunday. Officials decided to keep the visit a secret to all but a handful of people. "It would cause a fervour and too many people in a small place," said Woodcroft. He was filled with excitement as he watched Tutu climb out of a car and make his way to the church. "He just smiled and said, Im grateful to be here," said Woodcroft. "Im thinking, Shouldnt it be me saying that?" Inside, Woodcroft suggested the archbishop take a seat in the centre of the sanctuary. Tutu politely declined and insisted they sit together during the service. The archbishop agreed to deliver words of greetings to the congregation and spoke for more than 15 minutes at a time when the world was focused on the war on terror in the Middle East after the Sept. 11 attacks. Tutu mentioned then-U.S. president George W. Bush, then-British prime minister Tony Blair, 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden and former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in his address. "It was a message of hopeful peace," said Woodcroft. "The pinnacle moment for us was him saying, For all people, and, This means you, George, Tony, Osama and Saddam. "He said, This peace is for leaders and those who are oppressed." Following mass, Tutu spent time greeting parishioners one at a time and showed a clear desire to connect with people, said Woodcroft. Officials from the diocese and St. Pauls then took Tutu and his secretary for lunch, where they spent time speaking privately. As they parted ways, Tutu offered a message that has never left Woodcroft. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "He gave us a blessing and it was not only that we continue, but we excel in striving for justice and peace among all people," the bishop said. "His blessing was actually a call." Woodcroft believes Tutu and Mandelas truth and reconciliation process likely had an indirect influence on Canadas. "They eradicated or fought against apartheid and had a whole country move against apartheid, which is very much what we are desiring and needing to do," he said. "Desmond Tutu was one who never gave up bringing that message to light. "You cant afford to be complicit. You have to be fighting tyranny and thats what God calls the church to do to fight for the oppressed." chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching Manitobas police watchdog has cleared police of any wrongdoing after a misread licence plate triggered a high-speed collision that killed a Winnipeg mother and her infant son. Manitobas police watchdog has cleared police of any wrongdoing after a misread licence plate triggered a high-speed collision that killed a Winnipeg mother and her infant son. Thirty-year-old Jennifer Dethmers died Sept. 26, 2020, after the Dodge Caravan she was traveling in was struck by a pickup truck fleeing from police. Her nine-month-old son Anthony was seriously injured and died a month later in hospital. Jennifer Dethmers is shown in a handout photo. Dethmers, who died in a tragic collision that also sent her baby to hospital, is being remembered as an amazing new mother who contributed to the community and lived to love. (HO-Jessica Bird / The Canadian Press files) The driver of the truck, 43-year-old Armand Chartrand, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal negligence causing death and three counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and was sentenced earlier this month to eight years in prison. According to a report released Wednesday by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, officers in an unmarked police cruiser misread the licence plate on Chartrands pickup truck and, believing it was unregistered, activated their emergency lights and siren in an effort to pull him over. According to police, Chartrand at first appeared to be looking for a place to pull over before he sped away, blew through three stops signs and collided with Dethmers van at the intersection of Boyd Avenue and Andrews Street. A police collision-reconstruction expert estimated Chartrand was driving 112 km/h at the time of the collision, more than twice the posted speed limit. Officers told investigators they abandoned efforts to stop Chartrands vehicle and deactivated their siren and lights after seeing him speed through the first two stop signs. According to GPS data, police drove no faster than 62.8 km/h prior to the collision. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Family and friends attend a vigil for Jennifer Dethmers on Boyd in Winnipeg on Sept. 29. Dethmers died when her vehicle was struck by a vehicle attempting to evade police at the intersection of Boyd and Andrews. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press files) According to the report, Chartrand told investigators he fled because his passenger was afraid of being found in breach of a court order if they were pulled over. The manner of driving of the police vehicle, the speed of travel and the increasing distance between it and the pickup truck prior to collision are factors that support the contention that no pursuit was underway, investigation unit civilian director Zane Tessler wrote in the report. The decision to evade police by accelerating and driving at significantly high rates of speed was the sole decision of the driver of the pickup truck. The driver of the pickup truck is solely responsible for deaths and injuries that resulted. At the time of the crash, Chartrand had been legally prohibited from driving for more than 25 years. At a sentencing hearing last fall, court heard it was Chartrand who feared being arrested if he was pulled over, not his passenger. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca Amid an insatiable demand for COVID-19 testing, the Manitoba government said Thursday it was doing what it could to increase access, but released no further plans. Amid an insatiable demand for COVID-19 testing, the Manitoba government said Thursday it was doing what it could to increase access, but released no further plans. Central Services Minister Reg Helwer said Manitobas capacity for collecting the nasal swabs is not the problem. Thats despite some Winnipeggers driving to other communities for PCR tests, leading to higher demand at test sites in Selkirk, for example, rather than endure hours-long drive-thru lineups or even longer waits for test appointments in the city. Helwer said Thursday he was aware of long queues at testing locations in Winnipeg but he maintained Manitoba has enough swabbing capacity. He said the province is working with labs on the possibility of opening more testing sites, but said the bigger issue is finding more labs to process tests so people get timely results. We are rapidly setting up capacity as we speak. This is something weve been working on for a long time. Were putting in more capacity, were putting in rapid tests. There is an insatiable demand for tests and rapid tests throughout the world right now. Were not alone in this, and were watching what other people did and setting up capacity as quickly as we can, Helwer told reporters Thursday morning. The province is now working with two private labs to help clear the backlog, but details of those contracts have not been released. A provincial spokesperson said some tests are being processed outside the province. The province has not yet provided updated figures on on the current state of the PCR-test backlog. A government spokesperson said about 4,000 swab tests can be conducted in Manitoba per day at current surge capacity levels. The province expects that capacity to go up to around 5,600 tests a day when it brings in new resources within days. Earlier this week, officials estimated 11,500 tests had piled up for processing. The provincial spokesperson said the average turnaround time for results is within two days, but Manitobans have reported waiting longer. For now, Winnipeggers with symptoms of COVID-19 can pick up a rapid antigen test at a testing site, and the rapid tests are being distributed to all testing sites in the province, Helwer said. He didnt share details on plans to increase access to rapid tests, saying only an announcement is expected very quickly. The government has been working with the chamber of commerce to distribute the bulk of rapid tests to Manitoba businesses, and will give them to students in kindergarten through Grade 6 who are returning to school after winter break, but it hasnt said how it plans to distribute kits elsewhere. Manitoba is expecting supply of rapid tests to come from the federal government in January, and has already tried ordering directly from manufacturers, but its a scarce resource, Helwer said. When more rapid tests do arrive, the minister indicated the government still wants to focus on making them available to people who have COVID-19 symptoms, unlike the approach taken in some other provinces where rapid tests are widely available. He suggested some provinces are looking at how Manitoba is rolling out rapid tests as governments share information. We want to make sure that the people that are being tested are the people that have symptoms. If theyre being handed out at retail (stores), theyre being handed out to anybody that will pick one up, they may or may not have symptoms. Hopefully if theyre at a retail (store), they dont have symptoms, Helwer said. He reiterated that Manitobans who are sick should stay home and quarantine, but emphasized that Manitoba has capacity for people to get tested. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Our swabbing capacity is there, people are doing that, he said. I thank the individuals that are working at those testing sites. It is a tough road, and were dealing with people that have a lot of angst, so were working through this as best we can, and we ask the public for patience. Well get those tests done. Some Manitobans awaiting COVID-19 results have checked online only to see that their test has been marked cancelled. Helwer said it was an unfortunate use of wording. It means the swab will be sent to another lab for processing because the initial lab hit capacity, he said. The test is not cancelled, he said. Its just moved to another lab for processing. katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com Manitoba is using $8.4 million in new federal funding to add or expand COVID-19 safe isolation sites for people unable to quarantine in their own home. Manitoba is using $8.4 million in new federal funding to add or expand COVID-19 safe isolation sites for people unable to quarantine in their own home. The province already has 14 voluntary isolation sites in places such as Winnipeg, Brandon, Selkirk, Thompson, The Pas and Flin Flon. On Thursday, Health Minister Audrey Gordon said the province had not yet made a decision on where any new sites would be located. The federal cash will help Manitobans who cannot isolate in a residence due to barriers such as overcrowding or high costs after becoming infected with COVID-19 or being a close contact of someone carrying the virus. There will be a particular focus on helping vulnerable people who are on low incomes and/or living in dense neighbourhoods or communities in rural or northern parts of Manitoba. Canadians living in crowded homes face an increased risk of contracting and spreading coronavirus, Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux told reporters during a news conference held over Zoom. "For some Canadians, physical distancing is not possible," said Lamoureux, who made the Ottawa funding announcement on behalf of federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. "We know that COVID spreads easily in households." Safe isolation sites can help to reduce the spread of the virus, said the Winnipeg North MP, who was expecting the money to flow to Manitoba "virtually immediately." The province had already set up its alternative isolation accommodation (AIA) program, which has used hotels as some of the 14 existing locations. In November 2020, the province announced a new 138-room site to primarily serve Winnipegs homeless population. It will be up to the provincial government and civil servants to decide whether to use some of the new cash for street outreach, said Lamoureux. The exact locations of the isolation sites have not been made public in an effort to protect the privacy of those using them. Gordon, who spoke alongside Lamoureux during the Zoom call, said AIA sites allow those isolating to protect their families as they rest and recover in a safe space. The sites offer meals, wellness checks and health-care support to people who may not have other another option to self-isolate, she said. "These spaces are an important part of our overall response to COVID-19," said Gordon. "Isolating is hard. Many people have made many sacrifices to both use and staff these sites." Speaking at a separate briefing, Shared Health chief nursing officer Lanette Siragusa said Manitoba was one of the first provinces to introduce AIAs to help people who were not able to isolate safely. "Weve shared our strategies and techniques with other provinces and weve also expanded throughout the province there are isolation centres all over," she said. "The funding is to support the ongoing work for the populations that require it. Were very grateful for that infusion of support." People who may be eligible to stay at an AIA are referred to an intake process after they test positive for the virus or are deemed a close contact of someone who is infected. Participation is voluntary. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Referrals are made by public health or occupational health officials. More than 10,000 people have used AIA sites since the first one opened April 4, 2020, the province said. The $8.4 million for Manitoba is part of more than $100 million in federal funding for isolation sites. Money has gone to programs in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia. with files from Danielle Da Silva chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching Ten days after the federal government promised to send up to eight critical-care nurses to work at Manitobas strained hospitals, just five are on duty. Ten days after the federal government promised to send up to eight critical-care nurses to work at Manitobas strained hospitals, just five are on duty. Canadian Red Cross communications manager Jason Small said since Dec. 20, five nurses have been deployed to Manitoba. We can confirm that five Red Cross medical personnel are currently deployed in Winnipeg, as of today, with additional Red Cross support expected to arrive in the coming days, Small wrote in a statement to the Free Press. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. At the request of the Manitoba government and thanks to funding from Public Safety Canada, up to eight Red Cross medical personnel will augment or relieve existing hospital staff working in Winnipeg. Health Minister Audrey Gordon and Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler, minister responsible for the Emergency Measures Organization, had sent a request to Ottawa on the weekend of Dec. 11 for between 15 and 30 critical care nurses to be deployed to Manitoba for a six-week period. On Dec. 18, the federal government confirmed up to eight nurses would be sent. The first nurses arrived on Dec. 20 and the current deployment will end on Jan. 17, though it could be extended. All Red Cross nurses are working at the Health Sciences Centre. staff I know its been hard resetting our sails over the last couple of weeks as we have been battered by the depressing news of yet another variant of COVID-19. Manitoba is breaking single-day records for new infections thanks to Omicron, and some health officials are now begging for a circuit-breaker shutdown of at least two weeks to get ahead of this pandemic across the country. Opinion I know its been hard resetting our sails over the last couple of weeks as we have been battered by the depressing news of yet another variant of COVID-19. Manitoba is breaking single-day records for new infections thanks to Omicron, and some health officials are now begging for a circuit-breaker shutdown of at least two weeks to get ahead of this pandemic across the country. Personally, I was supposed to start the Eakin Visiting Fellowship in Canadian Studies at McGill University in January. Now, I wont be visiting. Instead, I will be carrying out this prestigious engagement remotely from my home office in Winnipeg, teaching students via Zoom. Its been more than just a bit disappointing. But are media and health officials being too negative in the way theyre talking about this outbreak? Could there be more nuance in the way this variant is discussed? Thats the tough question I got asked by a smart professional the other day and perhaps shes right. Maybe we could be a bit more optimistic. First, I think its important to understand that theres a need to be aware of just how virulent Omicron is right now and its the role of public health officials to advise people through media about the need to continue to maintain pandemic health measures. Wear masks, dont attend large gatherings, stay home if youre showing symptoms and, most importantly, get vaccinated and get your booster shot. Even though it appears Omicron may not be as deadly as the Delta variant, there is still uncertainty. There still needs to be vigilance in the next few weeks to ensure that the number of people requiring health-care services dont overwhelm our hospital systems. This includes the need for testing and vaccinations. Now is not the time for public health officials to take their foot off the gas in terms of warnings. A circuit-breaker shutdown of 10 days to two weeks, during which most people are asked to stay home from work, has been touted as an ideal way to cut the infection rates and prevent an increase in hospitalizations. But in terms of long-term messaging, isnt it time for a more hopeful tone? Perhaps so. There are certainly signs that COVID-19 is starting to near the end, moving from a pandemic to an endemic disease. Heres why. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. As the number of vaccinations increase, the number of people hospitalized decreases. If you look at the number of people currently in intensive care and in hospital in Manitoba due to COVID-19 in December of this year, compared to last year when vaccines were not yet available, the differences are remarkable. The cases are cut in half and those who are admitted are largely those who have not been vaccinated. The science is clear: vaccinations decrease the number of severe cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Vaccinations for children five to 11 are also being approved and thats another good-news scenario for breaking this cycle. Theres also good news ahead in terms of a COVID-19 pill thats being tested. An oral, at-home treatment as a booster will definitely take the heat off health-care officials currently working day and night ensuring that people are not only vaccinated, but also getting the booster shots they desperately need. All signs point to the fact that COVID-19 will likely become similar to the flu another endemic disease with variants that will mean people will be exposed to the virus in the winter with fewer cases in the summer. And that will mean yearly shots, like our yearly flu shots, as a prevention. So perhaps as we are set to ring in 2022, we can honestly say that this will be the last time the pandemic has altered our plans and were finally seeing the beginning of the end. It may be easier to hang on just a bit longer, if we know that at some point it will all be over. After all, were Manitobans. Every year, we deal with snow, blizzards, minus-30 temperatures and icy roads. We keep hanging in there because we know eventually the leaves are going to come back to the trees and the ice will come off the rivers and well be back into our two weeks of summer. Like winter, this pandemic will also end at some point. Shannon Sampert is a Winnipeg-based political scientist and the former politics and perspectives editor of the Winnipeg Free Press. If there was a turning point for Brian Pallister during his time as Manitoba premier, it was probably around the third week of June. If there was a turning point for Brian Pallister during his time as Manitoba premier, it was probably around the third week of June. His Progressive Conservative government was in the throes of a political firestorm after ignoring pleas from doctors and infectious disease experts to impose strict public health measures to slow the spread of the fast-moving Delta variant. The failure to act proved deadly: Manitoba hospitals were overwhelmed with hundreds of COVID-19 patients, forcing health officials to send 57 to other provinces for treatment. The pandemic death toll swelled by 172 in May and June. Combined with a growing number of unpopular political decisions (including the proposed elimination of elected school boards), Pallisters popularity hit rock bottom. A Winnipeg Free Press/Probe Research poll released June 18 showed the Progressive Conservative party had the support of only 29 per cent of Manitobans its weakest showing since the party won government with 53 per cent of the vote in 2016. Premier Brian Pallisters popularity hit rock bottom with a June poll showing the Progressive Conservative party had the support of only 29 per cent of Manitobans. Pallister resigned less than two months later. MIKAELAMACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES "I think Brian Pallister realized that he had lost the support of Manitobans, including the loss of support within the PC party in Manitoba, and most importantly of all, the loss of support within the party caucus," said Eric Stefanson, a former Tory finance minister in the 1990s who was part of Pallisters transition team in 2016. "This is all the result of his leadership style and the type of government he was running, combined with several wrong decisions that hed made over the last period of time." Less than two months after the release of the June poll, Pallister announced his resignation. Stefanson, who also served as the chair of Premier Heather Stefansons transition team and worked on her leadership campaign, said Pallisters autocratic leadership style caught up with him. The former premier often made decisions unilaterally without consulting caucus and cabinet, said Stefanson. "When that starts to happen, it becomes easier to make poor decisions," he said. Longtime PC party strategist Barbara Biggar said as the pandemic worsened, Pallisters mood swings and erratic behaviour intensified, causing his approval rating to plummet. "He was often too strident, he was too emotional, he was too bombastic, he was too ideological," said Biggar. "At a time when Manitobans desperately needed a steady hand at the wheel, we had a premier who was often overcharged with emotions positive and negative." Gord Mackintosh, a former NDP cabinet minister who teaches political science at the University of Winnipeg, said it wasnt just the pandemic that did Pallister in. He said the former premier instituted a "ruinous health care reorganization" and alienated Indigenous groups, organized labour and educators, long before the pandemic. "He fought almost every sectoral interest in the province until every Manitoban felt fought," said Mackintosh. "He was at least wise enough to know that a comeback wasnt unattainable before the next election in 2023." Heather Stefanson was the first to enter the race to replace Pallister. Many were shocked when, on the day of her announcement, more than three-quarters of the Tory caucus supported her leadership bid a sign the Tuxedo MLA was likely drumming up support behind the scenes well before Pallister resigned. "Im convinced there was a very strong, quiet organizational effort ongoing," said Mackintosh. Biggar, who was a member of Stefansons senior campaign team, said caucus members rallied around the former deputy premier because they saw leadership qualities in her that Pallister lacked, including her willingness to listen and consult. Biggar said Tory MLAs saw evidence of that during caucus and cabinet meetings, adding Stefanson didnt shy away from confronting Pallister when she disagreed with him. "Most people didnt have the guts to stand up and make their voices heard. She did," said Biggar. "Im told by any number of people that when issues came up that she disagreed with, she very quietly around cabinet tables (and) caucus tables made her views clearly known." Heather Stefanson, with family members, speaks after winning the leadership race to replace Pallister. JOHNWOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES A week after Stefanson announced her leadership bid, former Conservative MP Shelly Glover entered the race. It was the start of a lengthy and dramatic showdown that wound up in the courts. Glover ran largely on an anti-Pallister platform, criticizing the former premier for his health care reforms and accusing him of ignoring the priorities of Manitobans. She also attacked the PC party, claiming party officials tried to discourage candidates from entering the race. But it was her opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and suggestions there were alternatives to immunization that caused the greatest stir in the party. Critics accused her of courting the anti-vaccine vote and signing up thousands of Manitobans who would otherwise have no connection to the party. Biggar said the PC party and government were nearly hijacked by anti-vaxxers. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Ill get hate calls for saying this but she had ballot boxes all through the Bible Belt in southern Manitoba," said Biggar. "She knew how to play to that audience, and she did, and they flocked to her." Mackintosh said it was more nuanced than that. Glover also appealed to grassroots Tories and anti-establishment party members, he said. Unlike Stefanson, the former Winnipeg Police Service officer had no ties to Pallister and was free to openly criticize him. Still, the anti-vaccine factor played a significant role, he said. "She made key statements at times that, although somewhat cryptic, were code words to the anti-vaxxers that she could be a champion for their cause," said Mackintosh. Glovers campaign was effective: she won 49 per cent of the vote to Stefansons 51 per cent. But she refused to concede, alleging without evidence that ballots had been tampered with. Glover claimed she had more votes than her opponent and challenged the results in court. However, Court of Queens Bench Justice James Edmond found there was no evidence to support Glovers claim. Whatever "irregularities" may have existed in how ballots were counted did not alter the outcome of the vote, he ruled. Meanwhile, it was a historic year in politics for Manitoba. On Nov. 2, Heather Stefanson was sworn in as Manitobas 24th premier, the first female premier in the provinces history. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca Ongoing, persistent problems with keeping northern Manitoba health-care facilities properly staffed have forced two hospital closures in the region. "Ongoing, persistent" problems with keeping northern Manitoba health-care facilities properly staffed have forced two hospital closures in the region. Gillam Hospital and Leaf Rapids Health Centre are both shut down until January. Residents of both communities are being told to call 911 if they need health care in the meantime, drawing on resources in Thompson and Lynn Lake. "No one wants to close a health centre, even for a few days. We understand the apprehension some community members feel. Our goal is to implement our plan to meet the health needs of citizens served by the Gillam Hospital during this period of closure. Every effort is being made to open earlier," the Northern Health authority stated in a notice to the community. Niki Ashton, member of Parliament for ChurchillKeewatinook Aski, called on the federal government to bring in military support as a result of the closures, which she described as "shocking decision" in light of rising COVID-19 case counts. "I am calling on Indigenous Services Canada to immediately work with the province of Manitoba and take whatever measures necessary, including engaging the Canadian Armed Forces to provide emergency medical services in Gillam and Leaf Rapids at this time," Ashton wrote in a letter Wednesday to Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Leaf Rapids Health Centre (roughly 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg) closed Dec. 27, and is expected to be shuttered for two weeks, until Jan. 10. Gillam Hospital (some 750 km northeast of Winnipeg) closed Dec. 28, and is expected to reopen at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 5. As health-care services across the province begin to feel the strain of the rapidly spreading Omicron COVID-19 variant, Manitobas chief provincial public health officer was asked to address those closures during a virtual news conference Wednesday. Dr. Brent Roussin deferred specific questions, saying he didnt have details. He did, however, speak about the general chronic shortages of hospital staff, saying the issue is compounded by two main causes. "Increasing demands on the health-care system, for various reasons, but most notably because of Omicron part of those increased cases include health-care workers. And so that puts extra strain on the staffing," Roussin said. "It is why weve put in more measures. Its why were asking Manitobans to do what they can to reduce their contacts. Its why were pleading with Manitobans to get vaccinated as soon as they become eligible for another dose." katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Medical staff have been stealing some of Manitobas limited supply of COVID-19 rapid tests, while businesses have been using taxpayer-purchased kits for personal use. Medical staff have been stealing some of Manitobas limited supply of COVID-19 rapid tests, while businesses have been using taxpayer-purchased kits for personal use. Opposition parties blame the provinces botched rollout, with antigen tests much harder to find in Manitoba than neighbouring provinces. Grace Hospital estimates that approximately 75 rapid tests were stolen from the hospitals staff testing room, beginning on Dec. 20, wrote Winnipeg Regional Health Authority spokesman Paul Turenne. In an email to Grace staff obtained by the Free Press, the hospitals privacy manager notes rapid tests have been getting stolen at an alarming rate and should only be used for staff who havent provided a proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The health authority said the thefts did not have an impact on staff testing, and didnt say whether anyone had been disciplined. As of Dec. 23, the tests were moved into human resources and security offices to cut back on the risk of theft. One source not authorized to speak with media told the Free Press rapid test theft is rampant in multiple Winnipeg health-care venues. Meanwhile, a handful of local business owners and staff of public institutions have posted to social media about using rapid tests for personal Christmas gatherings. Businesses can access these tests through a provincial partnership with the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, in which the companies only pay for shipping from the governments materials distribution agency. The website for ordering the kits does not mention any prohibition on personal use, though one form from the province suggests the tests are only for unvaccinated staff. The chamber site says the tests are available to all Winnipeg businesses, though the organization has said in interviews any business in Manitoba can use them prompting one Twitter user to joke about opening a bogus business to order tests and distribute them to the public. In any case, the province said it would follow-up on the misuse of tests. The theft of any property, especially in a health-care setting, is a serious breach of trust. Similarly, the allegations of misuse of rapid testing kits provided to the private sector will be reviewed with the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and corrective action taken, a spokeswoman for the Central Services department wrote. The province has faith that the vast majority of Manitobans, including health-care workers and people in the private sector are honest and trustworthy and would condemn any misuse of rapid test kits. Both the Manitoba NDP and Liberals said people wouldnt be stealing or misusing rapid tests if the province had made them more available. This is really about the (Tory) governments absolute failure to equitably provide rapid tests to the public, said NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara, arguing a mix of incompetence and ideology is putting vulnerable people at the most risk. The Opposition MLA noted Saskatchewan residents have been able to pick up rapid tests, for free, at spaces such as libraries as of a month ago. Its really a feast or famine circumstance that is inexcusable. Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said the PCs need to stop chalking up the issue to supply chain problems, given other provinces have made kits available sooner. Thats an evasion of responsibility, he said. Lamont was aghast to see Health Minister Audrey Gordon helping to assemble rapid test kits Tuesday, saying Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler, who oversees the Emergency Measures Organization, should be handling such matters so Gordon can focus on the hospital crisis. Lamont noted, however, Schuler wont encourage people to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, a Winnipeg grocer recently sold packages of rapid tests for $25 to $40 each (he had acquired the tests separately, and not from the chamber program). Its a s- show; theres no other way of describing it, Lamont said. Gordons office referred queries to Central Services. The department said it has formed a working group to consider expanding the criteria of who qualifies for rapid test kits. The province is continuously examining options to increase distribution, including the potential to use libraries and other public facilities, while ensuring limited supplies are effectively used, a spokeswoman wrote. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. She said workers in health-care and vulnerable settings remain the priority for rapid tests. The widespread distribution of rapid testing kits to people without symptoms may not be the best use of supply, given that a negative result for asymptomatic people is of limited value. That didnt convince Lamont, who argues it was short-sighted to let health-care workers opt for antigen tests instead of requiring them to get vaccinated. We were burning through rapid tests instead of having a vaccine mandate, and now were caught short. with files from Danielle Da Silva dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca With the highly infectious Omicron variant raging out of control, Manitobas top doctor defended current public health restrictions, as reported COVID-19 case counts soared to another pandemic high. With the highly infectious Omicron variant raging out of control, Manitobas top doctor defended current public health restrictions, as reported COVID-19 case counts soared to another pandemic high. The province added 947 new infections Wednesday as the five-day test positivity rate grew to 24.2 per cent across Manitoba. The record-setting single-day increase in new cases was said to be an under-count due to a backlog of more than 11,500 tests that needed to be processed. Chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin stood by new orders that came into effect Tuesday, which reduced capacity for most public gatherings to 250 people or 50 per cent of the venue capacity, whichever was lower, and prohibited liquor sales past 10 p.m. Intensive care physicians and critics have called for public health to order an even greater reduction in interactions between Manitobans to spare hospitals, with some describing the current strategy as taking a gamble Omicron will not spark a significant increase in admissions. Roussin disputed that characterization during a noon-hour news conference Wednesday, adding the majority of Manitobans have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and current restrictions are in line with other provinces. I am tired, you are tired; we are all tired of hearing about the importance of vaccination, and hearing about this virus, but this is one proven, effective thing that we can do. Dr. Joss Reimer We wouldnt gamble with Manitobans health, the doctor said. When we use terms like circuit breakers they sound less severe than a lockdown but again, in two weeks time, Omicron is still going to be here, he continued. So we have to be prepared that when we say lock things down or a circuit breaker, that two weeks from now or three weeks from now were still dealing with this variant. However, Roussin said he would not speak harshly against a potential lockdown, due to the rapidly evolving situation posed by Omicron. So its certainly possible that we need to take further measures. But right now, weve put these measures in place and were going to have to continue to follow things. Meanwhile, the provincial physicians advocate association called on Manitobans to take personal action and to further cut back on their contacts. The governments pandemic restrictions really are a minimum, and we are asking Manitobans to go even further to help slow the spread and reduce the risks, Doctors Manitoba president Kristjan Thompson said in a statement. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES New Years is coming, and we need to do whatever we can to decrease the amount of contacts we have during these next number of weeks, Manitoba chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said. Thompson, who is an emergency department doctor at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, said his colleagues are more worried than ever about the health system being overrun, as Omicron threatens to cause health-care providers to fall ill. Our hospitals were already being stretched before Omicron arrived, and if it continues to spread as fast as we are seeing, our ICUs could be overwhelmed within days or weeks, Thompson said. Thats why we are asking Manitobans to help slow the spread of the virus, so we can spread out the impact on the health system. The physicians association appealed to Manitobans to reduce contacts, decrease time spent in indoor public places, stay home when ill, and work from home when possible. Roussin also implored Manitobans to keep their social circle small as New Years Eve approaches. There certainly is a role for public health restrictions. Theyre certainly necessary, but not sufficient, Roussin said. We need Manitobans on board with what were doing here: decreasing your contacts (and) isolating when you have symptoms. At this time, he said, no move has been made toward changing plans for the return to school after the winter break, which is set for Jan. 10. We may have to pivot but right now, theres no decision made on that. Officials also announced six more COVID-19 deaths, reported Tuesday and Wednesday: four of them were Winnipeggers, between the ages of 40 and 80; two were from Southern Health, with one in their 50s and one in their 80s. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. There were 183 Manitobans being treated in hospital for COVID-19 (an increase of 19 patients), including 29 in intensive care. New outbreaks were also declared at Northern Spirit Manor personal care home in Thompson, and Actionmarguerite St. Boniface care home and Fred Douglas Lodge in Winnipeg. Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for the COVID-19 vaccine task force, urged Manitobans to push through the exhaustion. I am tired, you are tired; we are all tired of hearing about the importance of vaccination, and hearing about this virus, but this is one proven, effective thing that we can do. That we do have control over along with following all the public health guidance, she said. with files from Dylan Robertson danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca NEW YORK (AP) The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. In this courtroom sketch, Judge Alison Nathan, far left, speaks to the jury, right, about the new deliberations schedule and the courts concern regarding the recent COVID-19 outbreak during the Ghislaine Maxwell sexual abuse trial, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) NEW YORK (AP) The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epsteins palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epsteins teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse. As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. Afterward, she could be seen pouring herself water as one of her attorneys patted her back. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings faithfully in attendance each day of the trial as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another. Isabel Maxwell arrives at the federal courthouse where Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial for sex trafficking, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in New York. Ghislaine Maxwell is charged with recruiting teenage girls to be sexually assaulted by financier Jeffrey Epstein. Her lawyers say she was made a scapegoat after Epstein killed himself. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) One of her victims, Annie Farmer, said she was grateful the jury recognized Maxwell's pattern of predatory behavior. She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom, she said in a prepared statement. I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law. Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams praised the victims who testified against Maxwell after experiencing what he called one of the worst crimes imaginable. I want to commend the bravery of the girls now grown women who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and todays result, possible, he said in a statement. No sentencing date was set. In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell, center, sits in the courtroom during a discussion about a note from the jury, during her sex trafficking trial, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams) The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019. Her brother, Kevin Maxwell, said the family believes she will be vindicated on appeal. We firmly believe in our sister's innocence, he said in a written statement. During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epsteins homes a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case. A housekeeper testified he was expected to be blind, deaf and dumb about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul. Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries Britains Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump who flew on Epsteins private jets. FILE - Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of late British publisher Robert Maxwell, reads a statement expressing her family's gratitude to Spanish authorities after recovery of his body, Nov. 7, 1991. On Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, Maxwell was convicted of helping American financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard, File) Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a black book that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading massages. There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion onetime girlfriend, later employee. But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages. Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Farmer, who chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years. They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwells behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams. Christine Maxwell, left, Isabel Maxwell, center, and Kevin Maxwell, siblings of Ghislaine Maxwell, leave the courthouse after a verdict in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if shed had fun and told her: You are such a good girl. Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epsteins Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as a pyramid of abuse. Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at the Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. Kevin Maxwell, left, and Christine Maxwell, right, arrive at the federal courthouse where Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial for sex trafficking, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in New York. The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) I was frozen in fear, she told the jury, adding that the assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse. Maxwells lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward. I was scared, she said, choking back tears. I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didnt want anybody to know any of this about me. The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epsteins New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers. Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify. The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, one of Maxwells lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwells legal team questioned whether the accusers memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epsteins estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Maxwells family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where shes been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense. Before Maxwell was taken from the courtroom, Sternheim asked that arrangements be made to give her a coronavirus booster shot, saying infection rates were rising dramatically at the lockup. The recent surge threatened to derail the trial itself as U.S. District Court Judge Alison J. Nathan prodded jurors to work quickly to avoid the potential of a mistrial caused by sickened jurors. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury. Lawsuits loom, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months. Following the Maxwell verdict, Giuffre released a statement through her lawyers, saying, I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. ___ AP journalist Ted Shaffrey in New York contributed to this report. A Winona State University student is ready to take her medical skills to treat individuals in Costa Rica, but first she is asking for the local communitys help in getting her there. Kati Stoltman, a mom of three girls and an emergency medical technician at Winona Health, is looking to take the medical trip to gain experience as she works her way through higher education to become a physician assistant. I think it is just really going to help me. Its gonna get me that hands-on experience. And its going to really open my eyes to another culture. Ive lived in Minnesota my whole life, so I havent seen a whole lot of different cultures and itd be really great to just be able to understand more than just Minnesota, Stoltman said. While in Costa Rica, Stoltman will work in a rural city to help provide services such as parasite treatment, treatment for injuries, check-ups, immunizations and more. She said, Its kind of giving whatever that community needs to them. Travelers will be allowed one day of recreation while in the country. Initially, when Stoltman, who will be a senior in the spring and will graduate from the pre-PA program in the fall, decided she wanted to take a medical trip, she didnt have a particular place in mind. But, when the opportunity came up for students to take the trip to Costa Rica, she knew she wanted to go. To help raise money for the trip, Vida Volunteer the organization facilitating Stoltmans journey recommended that she could hold a shoe collection drive. Stoltman liked the idea more than just asking for money. Community members will have the chance to bring their gently used or new shoes to Central Lutheran Church on Jan. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. All donated shoes will then be redistributed throughout the Funds2Orgs network of microenterprise partners in developing nations, Stoltman wrote in an initial press release about the fundraiser. Funds2Orgs helps impoverished people start, maintain and grow businesses in countries such as Haiti, Honduras and other nations in Central America and Africa. Proceeds from the shoe sales are used to feed, clothe, and house their families. One budding entrepreneur in Haiti even earned enough to send to her son to law school. Stoltman will earn funds from Funds2Orgs, as they will purchase the shoes she collects from her. She said the fundraiser helps keep shoes out of a landfill, and its providing funding for this trip thats going to help underserved countries, in this case Costa Rica. So its a small thing that (people) can do to help in a really big way. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Other strategies and methods of reaching those who need help, and the services required to meet those needs, are detailed in an attached exhibit. The fact that a piece of the litigation has been settled means that a significant amount of money will be flowing into the county, said Nass. The board will have to determine where that money will go. Will it be Health and Human Services? The initial thought is that would be a good place as they operate an opioid treatment center right now. That center will need to be continued once the grants that currently fund it are exhausted, but the board must decide. MILAN (AP) Italys culture minister on Thursday welcomed the return of 201 prized antiquities valued at over 10 million euros ($11 million) that had been located in prestigious U.S. museums and galleries after being illegally trafficked in recent decades. They were among thousands of antiquities seized from traffickers or returned to Italy this year in major operations that also targeted trafficking rings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. Of the 201 works returned by U.S. officials earlier this month, 161 have been repatriated to Italy while 40 are on exhibit at the Italian Consulate General in New York through March 2022. These artworks will not end up, as has happened many times in the past, all in one big museum, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini told a press conference. Instead, they will be returned to the places where they were stolen for display in museums there. This too is a great homecoming operation that will add value to our extraordinary country as a vast museum. They are artworks of absolute importance that will attract people to those places and territories, Franceschini said. Citizens expect our representatives to give great care to the taxpayer dollar. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos allocated $676,000 for investigation of the 2020 Presidential Election directed by former State Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. Speaker Vos has announced the investigations to carry over to 2022 and incur even greater expense. The Heritage Foundation has determined the 2020 elections in Wisconsin were among the countrys best for security and integrity based on the Foundations best practices recommendations. The Associated Press reports that of the 6 million votes cast in Wisconsin, 31 were referred for possible voter fraud in 6 of Wisconsins 72 counties. Prosecutors have refused to file charges in 26 of these 31 cases. Proceeding as though fraud occurred undermines the publics perception that elections are fairly conducted and it is an insult to our election clerks. When is it time for Assemblyman Tony Kurtz and State Senator Howard Marklein to advise Speaker Vos this costly charade is enough? Leon Radant, Mauston A 1-mile area of Dodge County was evacuated on Wednesday after a car crash damaged a natural gas pipe and caused "a significant leak of natural gas," the Dodge County Sheriff's Office said. The gas leak prompted natural gas and electricity shut-offs for Juneau, about 1 mile south of the incident, said Sheriff Dale Schmidt. Electricity was quickly restored, though natural gas connections could be shut off overnight. A traffic crash about 2:30 p.m. on Highway 26 near the Dodge County Airport damaged an above-ground natural gas pipe and caused the leak, Schmidt said. An initial warming shelter was at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 950 Washington St. in Horicon. But a second warming shelter for residents without heat because of the gas being shut off was established at Horicon High School, 841 Grey St., and was to be open throughout the night, Schmidt said. Sheriffs Office staff and the Red Cross were at the high school to assist residents, who were advised to bring sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. Lawsuits mounting The lawsuit is one of three filed by American Oversight seeking records related to the GOP-ordered probe into how last years election was conducted. Vos has allocated $676,000 in taxpayer money for the one-party investigation, which is focused on some of the procedures voters and clerks relied on in casting and processing ballots. Vos has said the investigation is now expected to carry over into next year and could cost more, though he has not said when the review might be finished or what additional expenses might accrue. Arkansas native John Burley moved to Rome to start a new life, but after leaving his family behind he suffered a stroke and most recently was hospitalized with pneumonia. Not knowing how long his stay in the hospital would be, John was forced to surrender his dog Boomer to the Rome Animal Shelter. Heartbroken, John called on Registered Nurse Jennifer Smith for help. Jennifer assists John at the Grand Adult Daycare Program where he receives services. Jennifer didnt give it a second thought and immediately adopted Boomer. "Just because I knew the love he has for this dog, and I just couldnt bear the thought of separating the two. I just couldntand John was sick," she said. Now John gets to see Boomer during his recovery, and considers himself one lucky dog. "Thank you because you saved me my dog," he said. Boomer not only keeps us Johns spirits, but makes the rounds at the Grands Adult Daycare Program. "You know not only does John get to see him, but everyone here gets to see him, and it puts a smile on everybodys face, and everybody just loves Boomer. Hes a hit here. He really is," said Smith. John is only at the Grand for short-term rehabilitation. His plan is to get better and go home. Whether thats in Rome or in Arkansas has yet to be determined, but hes planning on keeping Boomer with him no matter where he goes. LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - A local Lafayette homeowner's garage was burned to the ground in a fire near Loeb Stadium earlier this morning. It caused road closures on Main Street, and investigators are still searching for what started it. First there was a boom, then flames. At around 6:30am, the Lafayette Fire Department received a call about a burning building. A neighbor who refused to come on camera fearing retaliation, recounted the the story of what they witnessed this morning. Smoke began coming through their windows. They were about to flee the scene when they heard the sound of at least two fire trucks come through to control the blaze. With more than ten firefighters on the scene, they were able to tame the flame. "The point of origin in this case right now is right here in the center," said Todd Budd, the Captain of Fire Investigations for the Lafayette Fire Department. Although we don't know the cause of that boom, a passerby can easily see a number of charred spray cans sprinkled along the grass. "The owner occupant stated that somebody called it in that somebody had stopped by his house, knocked on the door, woke him up, got him up and said, 'hey, come out' and sure enough it's on fire," Budd said. The homeowner whose garage was burned says he thinks it was arson. He said he has reason to believe so because the source of the fire came from the east side of the building where there is no electric wiring. The homeowner's kitchen cabinets, lawn maintenance equipment, and a variety of other personal items were destroyed. Investigators still can't say for sure what caused the fire. News 18 will continue to provide updates both on air and online as we work to find out more. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WLFI) - Governor Eric Holcomb is addressing comments made by Attorney General Todd Rokita. Rokita appeared on CBS affiliate WSBT in South Bend to say last week where he discussed COVID-19 vaccinations and numbers. As we previously reported, Rokita is suing the federal Government to halt President Joe Biden's workplace COVID-19 vaccination requirements. The lawsuits are targeting policies for federal contractors, health care workers, and the Biden Administrations broad rule for any company with at least 100 employees having to be vaccinated. However, Rokita is now claiming something the Governor doesn't agree with. This is what he had to say. "I don't believe any numbers anymore. And I'm sorry about that, but they're political here. This has been politicized since day one. I think we have to focus on whether or not people are dying anymore. And in fact, as the Omicron variant is a much milder variant, you mentioned it." Governor Eric Holcomb said he stunned and blind sided by the comments Rokita made. He said the comments hit home and that it is serious when a Government entity is accused of inflating numbers. Holcomb had this to say to Rokita if he has questions about the numbers that are currently being reported: "If there is a shred of evidence he or other need to take that to the inspector general at the state of Indiana. There is not when it comes to the state department of health. I've already confessed that if we make an error we own it we admit it and we fix it." Holcomb added that anyone who is spreading misinformation is attempting to fan flames of confusion which he said it not what we need right now. He said he hasn't spoke with the Attorney General about the comments and that he doesn't plan to. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WLFI) - The Current Hospital Census in the state of Indiana is the highest it has been in 5 years. That's according to Chief Medical Officer for the Indiana State Department of Health Dr. Lindsey Weaver. That information was released today during a press conference at the state capitol. Jeff the Indiana State Department of Health said there are 1,500 more patients hospitalized during this surge of COVID-19 then there were last year. 80 percent of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. While there are new treatments for COVID-19 available, ISDH said you shouldn't count on getting one of those treatments if you are hospitalized with COVID. Just over 54 percent of eligible Hoosiers are vaccinated. That number is low compared to other states in the country. Dr. Weaver said several of the therapeutics and treatments for COVID-19 are in short supply. Merk's antiviral medication is only available to people 18 years of age and older and at a severe risk of becoming very ill from COVID-19. It isn't recommended for people who are pregnant. On top of that, Indiana was only allocated 4,880 courses of the treatment. Dr. Weaver said to not rely on immunity from getting COVID-19, or these new treatments. "All of these treatments due require a medical provider to write a prescription and they are going to be in extremely limited supply. While it is encouraging to see science continue to developed to meet the challenges that COVID throws our way there is just simply not enough medicine to go around right now," said Weaver. Dr. Weaver said as Omicron becomes the more dominate strain in Indiana Regeneron and Eli Lillys monoclonal antibody treatments will no longer be able to be used as they are not effective in treating the Omicron variant. Dr. Weaver quoted data of of South Africa that shows if you have had two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine it is only 35 percent effective against the Omicron variant. However, getting a booster doses increases the effectiveness to 75 percent. That's why state health officials are urging people to get the booster shot if they haven't already. ATTICA, Ind. (WLFI) Indiana State Police arrested Brandon Crockett, 42, of West Lebanon this evening after serving warrants for methamphetamine and a parole violation. He was taken out of a home at 106 North Sixth Street just before 8:00 p.m. on Dec. 29. Police arrived on scene at 4:00 p.m. and immediately surrounded the home, according to a press release. Three subjects came out, while Crockett barricaded himself inside. Over the next four hours, Police attempted to persuade Crockett to leave the home. After over an hour of asking him to come out, SWAT squads began to use force by breaking down the front door, side windows and tearing a hole in the south wall. Crockett peacefully surrendered shortly after gas was used inside the home. Crockett is now in Fountain County Jail. The other three subjects were released from the scene. Indiana State Police was assisted by Indiana State Police SWAT, EOD, Negotiators, Fountain County Sheriff's Department, Attica Police Department, and Attica Fire Department. One of the four functioning toilets that are currently working in the holding cells inside Woonsocket Police headquarters Tuesday. Seven out of eleven cell toilets are no longer working due to plumbing issues and will be repaired in the coming weeks. Weather Alert ...VERY COLD TONIGHT... ...BLACK ICE LIKELY OVER MUCH OF THE REGION... As we clear out tonight, temperatures will drop to lows in the single digits most areas to just above 10 degrees toward the Missouri Bootheel. Combined with north, northwest winds 5 to 10 mph, minimum wind chill temperatures should range from 5 above zero to around 10 below zero, making for a very cold start to the day Friday. In addition, the very cold temperatures will cause moisture on area roadways to freeze up into black ice, resulting in very slick and hazardous driving conditions. The slick conditions will continue well beyond daybreak Friday morning, as temperatures rise very slowly. Be extremely cautious if you must travel tonight or Friday morning. Council reviewing how councillors are kept in the loop during emergency situations Wrexham Council are reviewing and improving the protocols around their emergency responses, including looking at communication with councillors during emergency events. As we reported historically (via Damning verdict on council response to New Broughton floods set for debate complete lack of engagement and assistance in the first critical four hours and Council sending sandbags after floods like sending a lifeboat to the Titanic after its already sunk ) communication issues were a common theme in complaints over the local council response to Storm Christoph. As we reported, initial calls were handled by the Councils out of hours call-line (run by Delta) and then by officers from Housing. The farcical response was documented in Cllr Nigel Williams account of the evening, At approximately 19:00 I was told someone from out of hours had arrived and wanted to speak with me, the man I met was from our out of hours service, I asked him what the plans were and he said he usually just secured empty properties, did not know what to do and he would call for help. At this point an officer from WCBC Housing also came, but sat in her car making calls unsure what to do. The report added that the regional emergency planning unit (NWCREPS) were not initially notified by the emergency services about the incident. They were made aware by Streetscene and Housing crews telephone their Duty Officer from the scene. There appears to be some disquiet on what has exactly been learnt during the lessons learned exercise following Storm Christoph, with Cllr Dana Davies raising the issue of communication and planning during a members questions section of this months Full Council meeting. Councillor Dana Davies asked, It is widely accepted that extreme weather events are becoming more prevalent as a result of climate change. InWrexham County we have recently seen the impact on residents of severe flooding, infrastructure damage caused by fallen trees, damage to property and the disruption of utility supplies Across the UK there has been considerable scrutiny of the increase in damage caused by storms and the response by emergency services and local authorities. Local elected members are often the first point of contact in their areas. How do Wrexham County Borough Council under their emergency action response procedure make sure elected members in affected areas are included the rollout of information, to enable them to keep their communities informed. I would welcome sight of Wrexham Councils emergency action response procedure and how it is implemented and managed. After recent events it is a question that has been put to me and I would request this emergency procedure be shared with all elected members before next full council. Cllr Davies noted that councillors had been given some information ahead of the meeting but said it did not answer the fundamental concerns raised in this question. Cllr David A Bithell responded as Lead Member for the Environment, I know that officers have circulated the updated emergency response protocol to elected members again in the last day or so. Included in the protocol is details of the emergency management, response and team information and process. This includes for the provision of communication and information. In the event of a declared emergency the councils emergency management team of senior responsible officers will stand up the various constituent groups to ensure we cover response, welfare, communications etc effectively with partner organisations. I am also aware that officers have undertaken additional work on improving the protocol for bad weather response actions. Whilst a situation may not be a declared emergency, a dedicated team of officers with the detailed local and technical experience has stood up to assist the Response Team. This specifically includes information sharing, and effective communication. I am aware that this operated through the recent Storm Barra. Assisting with highlighting communications related to fallen trees, road traffic collisions and further damage to power supplies. Work on the protocol continues and updated briefings are proposed for the homes and environment scrutiny committee together with a review of our overarching flood risk management policy early in the new year. So I think to answer your question, Councillor Davies is that there has been lots of work being carried out on the protocol which has been circulated to elected members, the work does continue. I know after speaking to Darren Williams, weve got a dedicated team now, which is additional to what weve had previously to support emergency situations. And that basically continues, were continuing to develop our flood risk management plan that is scheduled to go to the scrutiny committee and the executive board in due course. Cll Davies welcomed the response, adding she looked forward to the outcome of the review, specifically around the communication with elected members during an emergency. Generous shoppers Wrexham thanked for donating thousands of meals to charity this Christmas Generous Tesco shoppers in North Wales have been thanked after donating over 23,000 meals-worth of food to help charities feed people during Christmas and the winter months. 3,779 of those meals were donated by shoppers across Wrexham. It forms part of nearly 90,000 meals-worth of food donated across Wales, and 1.5million meals-worth donated across the wider UK. The donations will help foodbanks in the Trussell Trusts network provide emergency parcels and help FareShare supply thousands of frontline charities. Tesco has once again topped up all customer donations with a 20 per cent cash donation to the two charities, to support them in their work feeding people in communities across the UK. During the twice-yearly Tesco Food Collection, which ran in all Tesco stores in the UK from November 18th to 20th customers were asked to donate long-life food to support FareShare and the Trussell Trust. Stores across the UK reported that customers had given the highest volume of food donations to support local charities since the start of the pandemic, providing 1.57m meals during the campaign. Sarah Germain, CEO at FareShare Cymru, said shoppers donations would make a huge difference to the frontline charities they supplied. The Food Collection is so important to FareShare Cymru because donations of long-life items means we are able to complement the fresh food that we receive year round from Tesco with staples like rice, tinned vegetables and tea and coffee, she said. Thank you to every single Tesco customer in North Wales that donated to the food collection this year your generous donations will help us to continue supporting local charities and community groups that are helping to feed people in need this winter. Claire de Silva, head of community at Tesco thanked all those who took part: At this time more than ever, we are hugely grateful for the support of all our customers in North Wales who have donated in store for making this the biggest collection of long-life food in our stores since the start of the pandemic. We know this will make a really significant difference to local people this winter. Young people urged to come forward for Covid booster by North Wales health official A North Wales health official has issued a plea for young people to come forward for their Covid booster jab. The call has been made as there are still around 100,000 mostly younger people in the region who have yet to have their third vaccine. More than 360,000 booster jabs have been administered in the area to date, providing extra protection for 72 per cent of the eligible population. However, despite what has been described as a hugely encouraging uptake, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Boards executive medical director has called for more people to step forward as the Omicron variant causes Covid cases in Wales to rise. In an update on the regions booster roll out, Dr Nick Lyons said: There are four very important reasons people should come forward for their Covid-19 vaccine without delay. Getting your first, second and booster jab and following the latest public health advice is the best way to avoid a return to further restrictions on our everyday lives protecting the local economy, your freedoms, education and jobs Research shows that getting vaccinated significantly reduces your risk of catching or spreading Covid-19 and becoming seriously ill with the virus. The Covid-19 vaccine will also protect you from the debilitating long-term effects of long Covid which can last for months Please dont be complacent at news that Omicron is a milder form of the virus. Because it is far more transmissible than the Alpha or Delta variants, it will find those who are unvaccinated or have suppressed immune systems with potentially serious consequences Even a small rise in Covid-19 admissions, coupled with the high rates of Omicron related staff sickness we are forecasting, could seriously impact on our ability to provide planned and emergency care in the coming weeks. Please play your part in slowing the spread by getting your Covid-19 vaccine. Remember it can take up to two weeks for your body to build immunity following your Covid-19 vaccine. We are facing the prospect of a huge wave of Omicron cases by mid-January, so I urge you to come forward as soon as you possibly can. We have thousands of appointments available between now and the end of the year. You can now walk in to any Covid-19 vaccination centre in North Wales to get your first, second or booster vaccine. However, the health board has advised booking online will help avoid a lengthy queue. To book online you can visit the health boards Covid-19 online booking service or click here for details of walk in clinics. A woman holds a 3 month old baby as migrants and refugees from different African nationalities wait for assistance on an overcrowded rubber boat, as aid workers of the Spanish NGO Open Arms approach them (AP Photo/Bruno Thevenin) In the week before Christmas, close to 300 refugees drowned in several boat accidents in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 200 people died off the Libyan coast and dozens more perished in the Aegean Sea. According to official data, at least 1,887 people have drowned in the Mediterranean this year while seeking asylum. Most recently, the bodies of 28 people were found near the western Libyan port city of Al-Khums. The advanced state of decomposition of the bodies suggests that the shipwreck occurred several days ago, a Libyan security official said. According to the Libyan Red Crescent, two women and a baby were among the bodies found. Only three people have been rescued, while more deaths are feared. On December 17, 102 refugees drowned when their wooden boat capsized near the port city of Surman, west of Tripoli, International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokeswoman Safa Msehli confirmed. Another 61 bodies were found by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard aboard a vessel off the coast not far from the town of Sabratha, according to IOM coordinator Flavio di Giacomo via Twitter. At the same time as these tragic boat accidents have occurred, ships belonging to private aid organizations have rescued more than 1,200 refugees from distress in this maritime area. Some of them are still waiting to enter an Italian port. While the Sea-Watch 4, with 216 rescued refugees on board, and the Geo Barents, with nearly 560 refugees, have been given permission to enter the ports of Pozzallo and Augusta in Sicily, the Ocean Viking, with 114 survivors, has yet to be assigned a port. The Sea-Watch 3, which rescued 446 people from distress at sea in five missions over the Christmas period, also urgently needs a berth to bring people ashore and provide them with supplies. Many people aboard these private sea rescue vessels are dehydrated and have burns from the mixture of salt water and gasoline that often builds up in the crowded inflatable boats used for the dangerous crossing. This year, at least 1,534 refugees have drowned on the central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy alone, 50 percent more than a year earlier. In addition, according to IOM data, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard has intercepted some 31,500 refugees at sea and returned them to Libyanearly three times more than in 2020, when only 11,900 refugees were forced back to Libya. Dozens of refugees drowned in the Aegean last week. They were on small boats leaving from Turkey and had probably been trying to reach Italys east coast. Wednesday last week, a boat with up to 50 refugees sank near the island of Folegandros. According to the Greek Ministry of Shipping, survivors reported that the boat had filled up with water and sunk within minutes after an engine failure. Only 13 refugees were able to save themselves on a rubber dinghy attached to the vessel. During the subsequent rescue operation, only the bodies of three refugees were recovered; no other survivors were found. Greek Coast Guard spokesman Nikos Kokkalas said the chances of finding more survivors were extremely slim: We fear that most of them simply did not manage to leave the sinking boat in time and were dragged down with it. The 13 survivors who had fled from Iraq, Syria and Egypt included four adolescents and one woman. Just a day later, at least 27 refugees died in two other shipwrecks in Greek waters. A boat with more than 100 refugees on board ran onto a reef near the rocky island of Andikythira. Eleven people could only be recovered dead from the sea. Among the 90 survivors who managed to save themselves on the tiny island were 27 children and 11 women. And just a few hours later, a sailboat capsized off the Cyclades island of Paros with around 90 refugees on board. The Greek Coast Guard recovered 16 bodies from the sea and managed to rescue 63 refugees. Greek Shipping Minister Giannis Plakiotakis blamed the smugglers who organized the crossings for these tragic shipwrecks. According to Plakiotakis, they are indifferent to human life and they pile dozens of people without life jackets in ships that do not meet the most basic safety standards. Without question, the smugglers are extremely unscrupulous, but the responsibility for the more than 20,000 refugees who have drowned in the Mediterranean since 2014 lies with the European Union and its murderous refugee policies. Fortress Europe, with its ruthless measures taken against refugees, is the basis for the smugglers business model, and it drives the desperate refugees to take ever more dangerous and longer routes. All three of the ships that capsized in Greek waters were traveling along a rather unusual route. Until now, most refugees had headed for the eastern Aegean islands such as Lesbos, Samos or Leros, leaving Turkey in small inflatable boats. But since the Greek government has implemented the EUs dirty refugee deal with Turkey ever more rigorously, mercilessly deporting refugees without hearing their asylum claims or forcing refugee inflatable boats back toward Turkey in illegal pushback operations, the number of refugees arriving here has plummeted. The militarization of the Greek land and sea border is forcing refugees to switch to other routes. This greatly increases the risk of not surviving the crossing. The islands of Folegandros, Paros and Antikythera, off which the recent tragic shipwrecks occurred, lie north of Crete on a route that leads to the Italian coast. This course has already brought 11,000 refugees to Italy this year. However, there is no official information on how many refugees have lost their lives in the process. The spokeswoman for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Athens, Stella Nanou, said the recent shipwrecks made clear that people continue to risk their lives by making desperate journeys in search of safety. If there were legal and safe routes, these refugees would have a choice. For now, however, Nanou added, these people are faced with the insoluble dilemma of either risking their lives in their places of origin or embarking on the perilous journey. And the EU continues to close itself off. Most recently, during the refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, it has eroded the right of asylum to such an extent that it effectively no longer exists. Contrary to the Geneva Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Commission has allowed EU border states to detain asylum seekers, concentrate them in camps, and conduct an abbreviated asylum procedure there without legal guarantees. At the same time, accommodation standards and care for refugees are being undermined, deportations facilitated, and illegal pushbacks enabled. As in the pandemic, mass deaths in the Mediterranean are the result of deliberate policies being taken over the mounting piles of corpses. Sea rescue missions have been largely halted by European countries bordering the Mediterranean. Desperate refugees who find themselves in distress at sea and request help are often referred to the EU-trained and highly equipped Libyan Coast Guard. This is essentially comprised of militias led by warlords and is notorious for its serious human rights crimes. Disgust, alarm and fury is mounting among health professionals and throughout the population as Australias federal and state governments, both Liberal-National and Labor Party, rush to dismantle essential COVID-19 safety measures as the pandemic spirals to levels that far surpass anything experienced before in this country. Prime Minister Scott Morrison called an emergency meeting of the bipartisan National Cabinet of federal, state and territory leaders today, supposedly to respond to the catastrophe. Far from taking steps to avert the disaster, the meeting moved to further slash testing, tracing and isolation measures, in particular to ensure that workers are kept on the job, even if infected. It is now obvious that the more disastrous the pandemic becomesdue to the past failures of these same governments and their global counterpartsthe faster they move to scrap basic protections against mass infections, hospitalisations and deaths, in order to satisfy the profit demands of big business. Inner-west Sydney COVID-19 testing station [Photo: WSWS Media] Although the rapidly rising record numbers of infections are not yet at the calamitous levels seen across the United States and Europe, they are heading in the same direction, as is the criminally irresponsible response of the political establishment. Having just exceeded 10,000 daily new infections for the first time during the Christmas long weekend, Australia today already officially recorded more than 20,000, despite sharp drops in testing. That rapid doubling underscores the exponential surge underway, with the highly-transmissible Omicron mutation combining with the previous deadly Delta variant. This, and the reaction of governments, has come as a particular shock in Australia, previously held up as an exceptional pandemic success story. The countrys first COVID-19 wave peaked at about 450 daily cases in March 2020, the second wave at just over 740 in JulyAugust 2020, and the third (Delta) wave at around 2,700 this October. In each previous surge, confronted by working class opposition, governments introduced limited lockdowns that, while inadequate, did stem the outbreaks. Since October, however, the ruling elite has effectively adopted the homicidal herd immunity policy of compelling people to live with the contagion. At present, New South Wales (NSW), the most populous state, remains the epicentre of the disaster, with 12,226 new cases confirmed today. Hospitalisations, which jumped by 121 overnight to 746, have more than doubled in a week. Neighbouring Victoria is catching up, leaping to 5,137 infections and 13 deaths. Cases are soaring above 2,000 daily in Queensland and over 1,300 in South Australia, which had each largely suppressed the virus until their governments joined the wholesale lifting of safety restrictions this month. These figures badly under-estimate the true level of infection. Health experts have taken to social media to warn that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Immunologist Professor Alan Baxter tweeted today: NSW COVID test positivity hits 12.6 percent. A catastrophe. That rate, which doubled in a day, indicates a dangerously high level of undetected infections. That is not least because the testing system has broken down. Thousands of increasingly outraged infected or exposed people are spending hours, even days, in massive lines trying to get tested, and then waiting up to five days to receive the results. Epidemiologists are predicting that the crisis will see new cases soaring to between 100,000 and 200,000 per day throughout January and February, unless dramatic action is taken. Doctors are warning that this sheer volume will overwhelm the public hospitals, regardless of the unproven official claims that Omicron is milder than Delta. From the terrible outcomes already experienced in South Africa and the US, Omicron is known to be more serious for children, who under the age of 11 all remain unvaccinated, as well as deadly for elderly and health-compromised people. Cases are soaring among children aged 0 to 9. Since December 1st, 10,118 have been infected, making a total of more than 42,000 since the start of the pandemic. Aged care infections are also rising. They reached 1,202 in residential and home care programs today, up by about 400 in a week, making more deaths likely. Three of yesterdays recorded deaths were elderly people who were double or triple vaccinated. Such is the immense concern among health workers and the public that Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid used Twitter to criticise the proposed redefinition of a close contact to cover only household members, thus specifically excluding workplace and social exposures. Isolating less people means faster spread, Khorshid warned. Redefining close contacts will simply accelerate the outbreak. Omicron doesnt care if you are a family member, a co-worker, a drinker in the pub or breathing the same air in a lift. This fear and disaffection is widespread among medical experts and health workers. Interviewed last night, a specialist at a major Sydney hospital told the WSWS: The health system will probably be overwhelmed by mid to late January, unless something changes Theres going to be misery and suffering and death that is totally unnecessary. The policies our governments are taking will cause further death, much, much further death. None of this would be possible without the total collaboration of the trade unions. They are stepping up their efforts to suppress resistance and opposition throughout the working class, including among frontline health workers, just as the union apparatuses have done from the outset of the pandemic in March 2020. This criminal role is epitomised by Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes. He welcomed the decision by the NSW Liberal-National government of Premier Dominic Perrottet to set a national lead by slashing the isolation time for health workers from two weeks to seven days, provided they return a negative PCR test. This means the union will help force health workers back into hospitals and other public health facilities while still potentially infectious, endangering the lives of patients, co-workers, as well as themselves. As for the Australian Council of Trade Unions, it is running a petition to urge the Morrison government to provide free rapid antigen test (RAT) kits. It is stepping up this campaign, which it has been conducting in partnership with employer groups since October. The aim is to use the tests as a means of keeping workplaces open, knowing that RAT kits are less reliable than PCR tests in providing early detection of infections. Hand in glove with the unions, Labor and Coalition state and territory governments alike are collaborating with the Morrison government to switch testing from the severely understaffed, under-resourced and overrun PCR facilities to self-administered RATs. That turn is part of a broader move to shift all responsibility for the pandemic onto individuals. Every day makes clearer the contempt and indifference of the corporate and political establishment for the health and lives of ordinary people, especially those in working class areas, such as Sydneys western suburbs and the Newcastle region, which are the hardest hit. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard yesterday accused the worried well of clogging up testing queues. This provoked furious social media responses, and even corporate media reports, from ill and worried people who had lined up for hours, or slept overnight in cars, often without success, in attempts to get PCR tests in order to protect themselves and their loved ones. The official contempt flows directly from the requirements of the wealthy elite, which is ever-more blatantly demanding that even the most elementary public health precautions must give way to the interests of private profit. Jessica Wilson, a policy director at the Business Council of Australia, which represents the biggest companies operating in the country, typified the orders coming from the corporate boardrooms. She said that to continue the nations economic recovery it needed to tear down remnants of fortress Australia and stay the course on reopening. That meant using every tool we can to keep businesses operating, borders open and supply chains working, including using rapid antigen testing. To defend themselves, their households and communities, workers need to take matters into their own hands and form rank-and-file safety committees, completely independent of the unions, in workplaces, schools, public health facilities and neighbourhoods. Elimination of COVID-19 is essential and achievable, but that requires a worldwide movement of the working class, informed by the best medical and scientific advice. The World Socialist Web Site has launched the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic to expose the official lies and misinformation and outline an opposed program to protect human health and lives, not the profits of the corporate elite. The Inquest is gathering testimony from scientists and workers in all sectors to expose the conditions in workplaces, which are central sites for the transmission of COVID-19. On December 23, Michigans Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, signed House Bill 4924 into law, allowing any school district employee in the state to serve as a substitute teacher from now until the end of this school year in June, 2022. Though her press release is titled Gov. Whitmer Signs Bill to Address Substitute Teacher Shortage, in fact the law does not address any of the issues driving away waves of teachers and substitute teachersabove all the dangers of the still-raging pandemic. Instead, it simply provides a legal mechanism to keep children in schools without them. Whitmer wrote in a signing statement, Everything we have learned in the last year and a half demonstrates that our kids need to be in school, in person, every school day, an astonishing claim given that over 800,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19 and K-12 schools have been Michigans worst source of community spread. Detroit school buses (Flickr/ohnPickenPhoto) By allowing schools to operate without teachers, the law explodes the argument, championed by both big business parties and American Federation of Teachers union President Randi Weingarten, that the huge number of COVID-19 outbreaks recorded at schools must be weighed against learning loss experienced by children who attend class virtually. Teachers, students and parents must be warned: with the extremely contagious and vaccine-evading Omicron variant projected to infect 3 billion people globally in the next three months, including 140 million Americans, once again overwhelming hospitals and health systems, the ruling class is preparing to keep schools in person no matter what. The Michigan law is completely in line with the policy of the Biden administration, which is to allow COVID-19 to spread indefinitely. Other recent maneuvers by institutions across the US which will fuel the spread of the virus include the sudden move by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after intense lobbying by the airline industry, to reduce quarantine time to five days; the ending of New York Citys policy of quarantining entire exposed classrooms in September; and the continuation of in-person schooling in Chicago even though cases have already reached the artificially high bar set by the unions and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. And while there is still no vaccine for those age five and under, Omicron has been shown to be particularly harmful to children. In Gauteng Province, South Africa, where the variant first emerged, there was a huge increase in child hospitalizations, especially for those five and under. New York City has seen child hospitalizations quadruple in the month of December. On December 28, 544 children with COVID-19 were admitted to hospitals across the US, shattering the previous record set the day before, 421. Throughout the pandemic, teacher opposition to the pandemic played a role in causing some Michigan school districts to go virtual or to close temporarily in the face of COVID-19 surges. In Detroit, teachers in the states largest district initially forced the district to remain virtual for the entire 2020-2021 school year (although it was constantly chipped away and finally upended). Nearby Grosse Pointe North High School was shut down by a wildcat teacher sickout in April of this year. Throughout November, several districts or individual schools across the state went virtual or cancelled classes due to teacher and staffing shortages, including Grand Rapids Public Schools, Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools, and Waterford Mott High School. Other districts extended Thanksgiving Break as daily new cases in Michigan reached above 10,000. Earlier this month, teachers and support staff at The School at Marygrove (TSM), a public school in Detroit, conducted a sickout to demand improved safety measures after the Oxford school shootings, and virtual-only classes to protect educators, students and their families from COVID-19. With Michigans new law, schools could be prevented from going virtual even in the face of educators opposition, so long as districts can pressure a sufficient number of bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers to cover the infected classrooms. The law provides that if these workers normally make less than the wage of a substitute teacher, they will be paid the higher rate for accepting the role for the day. While stating that an individual who declines employment or assignment as a substitute teacher must not be terminated from his or her existing employment or assignment and must not be subject to retaliation solely for declining the employment or assignment, school and local authorities will no doubt resort to such threats to find replacements. One Michigan teacher told the WSWS, Our bus drivers and cafeteria staff may be wonderful people, but they should not be teaching. I bet you wouldn't feel too confident with a random passenger or stewardess flying a plane. You can expect trouble in the flight Imagine who will be desperate enough to get on the plane.' On social media other teachers are expressing support for collective action by all educators to shut the schools and protect lives. Responding the CDCs decision to reduce quarantining guidelines, one Detroit teacher wrote, Im done with Biden and Whitmer too. We talked about Trump so bad but sadly our administration, locally and nationally, are doing the same thing. It was Delta Airlines who requested these new rules about shorter isolation time. Another wrote, So, the response to an even more infectious and contagious variant is to REDUCE quarantine as to not disrupt work. Does anyone see the similarities to slavery here? Another worker replied by calling for strike action. The ruling elite and both political parties are oblivious to the needs of children. They only want to keep schools open as a child-minding service so working-class parents can continue to be exploited for profits. Michigans auto plants in particular, themselves cesspools of COVID-19 transmission, are desperate for workers, with shifts frequently unable to start because of the shortage of workers. The new law resembles other measures taken across the US to paper-over staffing and teacher shortages amid the pandemic. Northwest School District, near St. Louis, Missouri, recently hired 20 of its own high school students part-time to cover nine positions in maintenance, food service, and before-and-after-care, in some cases paying them less than the states minimum wage. In October, the national guard was called in because of a bus driver shortage in Massachusetts. As COVID-19 infection numbers surge throughout Australia, state, territory and federal governments continue to dismantle testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine measures. While officials peddle the unsubstantiated claim that the Omicron variant is mild, hospital admissions are rising rapidly in New South Wales (NSW), where the strain is dominant. In that state, there are almost 71,000 active COVID cases, an increase of 44,000 in the past week. Of the 97,201 test results reported today, 12.58 percent were positive, up from yesterdays record high of 7.1 percent. Currently, 746 people are hospitalised for COVID in NSW, more than double in a week, with 63 in intensive care units (ICUs) and 24 requiring ventilation. Nurses protesting outside Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (Source: NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Facebook) The World Socialist Web Site yesterday interviewed a Sydney-based medical specialist about the situation confronted by hospital workers and the reality of treating severe COVID-19. WSWS: What does the rapidly increasing number of daily COVID cases in NSW mean for the hospital system? Specialist: About 5 percent of everyone who is diagnosed with COVID will require hospitalisation, according to NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant. More than 10,000 people were diagnosed today, so that means in excess of 500 people will be hospitalised in two weeks time. Its a very simple equation. I hope desperately that there are enough hospital beds, but the mathematics tells me that there wont be. The health system will probably be overwhelmed by mid to late January, unless something changes. We have another 21 COVID admissions at my hospital today. The hospitalisation rate is doubling every five days at the moment and that will narrow as time goes on. Case numbers are doubling every three days and there is a lag of about two weeks between infections and hospitalisation. The numbers you are seeing reported in the press are a fraction of the real numbers. The disease is much more prevalent. Thousands of people are going to die of this virus in the next three to five months. Theres going to be misery and suffering and death that is totally unnecessary. The policies our governments are taking will cause further death, much, much further death. Add to that the unknown effects of long COVID, and the terrible things pneumonitis does to a person. It gives you pulmonary fibrosis that reduces your activity and reduces your ability to move and to function. WSWS: Despite the mounting disaster, the NSW government led by Premier Dominic Perrottet, in line with all other Australian governments, has not only refused to implement a lockdown, but has torn down contact tracing, and halved the isolation period for health workers exposed to COVID to one week. What do you think of these policies? Specialist: Lockdowns have become verboten because economic turnover is so much more important to governments than peoples lives. Mandatory masking and density limits should never have been lifted in the first place. The contact tracing system in NSW has been disbanded. It is all based on self-reporting. [Reduced period of isolation of health workers] is simply a function of the fact that, if we continued with the previous rules, there would be no health workers around. The problem is that so many health workers, particularly nurses, have been furloughed that there wouldnt be any way to actually run the hospitals. Its a function of the governments own incompetence in allowing the infection rate to get so high. Potentially, these health care workers will now be making everyone else in the hospital sick. I just think its madness. Ive been in the health system for more than 35 years, and I think its the stupidest idea Ive ever heard. WSWS: We know that the vast majority of COVID patients are not reflected in the official hospitalisation numbers. As of last Monday, 8,536 people in NSW were being cared for outside of a hospital setting. NSW Health stated yesterday that most people can manage COVID-19 at home. How does that fit with your experience of treating this disease? Specialist: Hospital in the Home has been dissolved. Now, people are told to manage their COVID at home, alone. Weve already seen cases where people have died at homeyoung, fit people, who were previously asymptomatic. [When we treat severe COVID in the hospital], were running infusions of noradrenaline, adrenaline and vasopressin to try and support blood pressure. Were running huge doses of oxygen, both down the trachea and into an oxygenating machine on the side of the bed. Weve got devices that try and support the kidneys while theyre failing. Weve got devices that keep you asleep and anaesthetised because the things were doing to you are so incredibly horrific that you dont want to remember them. And theyre saying manage this at home. If youre really serious about managing it, you need an intensive care unit. Septic shock cannot ever be managed at home, unless your intention is to let someone die. You need incredible concentrations of very powerful and dangerous drugs running through a drip line that is so big, the only place we can run it is directly into your heart, because thats the only place the blood is dilute enough to make these drugs effective and safe. Im not saying that all COVID patients managed at home will die, of course. Im saying that an unreasonable proportion will, and that load will fall unfairly on the poorest sectors of society. The disparity between the wealthy and the poor manifests in terms of rates of infection and survival outcomes for people with COVID. You see people in western Sydney postcodes doing so much worse in terms of COVID outcomes. Eastern suburbs hospitals are not overwhelmed, western suburbs hospitals are. WSWS: What would you say to the claims that Omicron is mild? Specialist: Omicron has been touted as a less virulent variantmore contagious, but less virulent. That might be partly true, but mostly what were seeing is an attenuation of symptoms as a result of vaccines, not of virulence. The unvaccinated are particularly vulnerable at this time. To my mind, a life is still a life, regardless of your vaccination status. You see in the press all the time, someone died of COVID, but also had significant underlying health problems. Well, significant underlying health problems includes things like autism. Its entirely irrelevant to the virus, and what is offensive to me is the idea that we can slot these people into a different category and say theyre less worthy of care because of their neural atypia. Death by COVID is a terrible thing. Ive seen a lot of it in this hospital. Watching someone die screaming for breath. The last thing you can do as a doctor or a nurse, when you can no longer ventilate them, you can no longer treat them, is just hold their hand while theyre desperately gasping for breath. The school year in Australia ended this month amid a surge in COVID school infections and clusters. In the two most populous states, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, the 10-week term 4 saw the most serious outbreaks. There were more than 920 school closures or partial closures in Victoria and more than 550 in New South Wales. Despite these alarming figures, and with the education sector surpassing pandemic infections in any other workplaces, both the state and federal governments backed by the teacher trade unions continued to claim that schools were safe. As governments nationally adopted the policy of living with the virus and lifted basic health restrictions, many schools suffered clusters of COVID-19 infection. This was particularly severe in primary schools, with children under 12 years old unvaccinated. Nevertheless, Liberal-National and Labor Party governments alike, with the support of the Australian Education Union and the NSW Teachers Federation, insisted that schools remain open throughout term 4 and proceed with end-of-year activities, such as graduation ceremonies, concerts and school camps, resulting in further infections. The governments aim was to provide a facade of supposed normality, aiming to disguise the reality of infections spreading through schools. In addition to keeping staff and parents in the dark about growing clusters, some school administrations threatened education staff demanding they remain silent about infections. On December 18, the Age newspaper in Melbourne reported that students in two primary schools were in isolation on the eve of Christmas after attending a camp in South Gippsland that later became Victorias biggest single active COVID-19 outbreak. Already by then there were 47 cases of COVID-19 linked to the camp, with a further 54 connected to children from two Melbourne primary schoolsBrunswick North West and Armadale. Other school camp outbreaks have since been reported. Similar outbreaks have occurred in NSW, with incidences posted on teachers Facebook pages. At Ponds High School, 15 teachers and 75 students were infected after a school formal. One of the largest clusters during term 4 was at Morwell Park Primary School. Morwell is a working-class community in the La Trobe Valley, 150 kilometres east of Melbourne. At the beginning of October, Premier Daniel Andrewss Labor government began lifting lockdown restrictions and reopening schools across the state, despite record infections in Melbourne. Morwell Park Primary School (Source: Morwell Park Primary School website) Within days, infections began spreading into regional towns such as Morwell. In just 48 hours, 15 people in the community tested positive, with one of the first infections detected at Morwell Park Primary in the first week of the term. The infections continued throughout the term, peaking at 80 in a school population of 400. The Committee for Public Education (CFPE), whose members have been independently gathering and publishing daily updates of school infections and clusters, received the following comments from two parents. A Morwell Park parent, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that both her children suffer from a rare health condition. As a result, her children have only attended one day of school since the end of term 3. I am so concerned that with their conditions, the positive cases and their lack of vaccination have put them at extreme risk, she said. Despite her childrens serious health conditions, obtaining exemptions not to attend school proved problematic. I have found it difficult getting a doctor locally to take up my concerns. The transient nature of doctors into and out of town has been difficult. I eventually got my children into surgery at [Melbournes] Royal Childrens Hospital, where they have now had an improved outcome, but remain at severe risk. While no exemption was granted, the school principal, understanding the childrens health issues, accepted a medical letter and allowed the children to access schooling online. This remained problematic, however, as teachers had to juggle their classes as well as provide work for her children. She added: Since the start of term 4, there have been infected kids showing signs of COVID-19 for the whole morning in my daughters grade 1 class, but they were left in the school until lunchtime. The school hasnt informed me of close-contact status There have been cases in prep to grade 5, but grade 6 students were still required to attend. The school isnt communicating how many parents are not sending their children to school. I feel isolated due to making the decision not to send my kids to school. All the while, cases are continuing to grow, but Im told everything is fine! I think we should stay shut. Wouldnt it be better to get on top of this virus? I really am quite concerned about this new variant now. Everything has opened up and were told everything is OK, but its not! Ive been told Im playing with my childrens mental health. I dont want to keep them at home, its not something I want to do, but we cant just simply fix someone who gets COVID. There is the possibility of Long COVID! The huge rise in cases is alarming and I am stressed the government has announced there will be no more lockdowns. People are thinking it is going to disappear, but it is not. Look at what is happening overseas. I want a six-month lockdown to go into the red to get on top of it and come out in a positive way. The opportunity to relate her concerns to the CFPE has been great. She explained: Ive been told Im over-reacting, so Im grateful to have the opportunity to explain this predicament and be finally listened to. Thank you. Another parent, from Castlemaine, a regional town north of Melbourne, pointed to a growing school cluster in her community, just one of many school outbreaks undisclosed by the state governments Department of Education and Health and Human Services (DHHS) throughout the term. Her message, sent at the end of term 4, stated: Our schools now evolving into a major cluster. Estimated 20+ and growing. Interestingly zero acknowledgement in even local media. Not yet listed under DHHS clusters even though >10 cases confirmed yesterday. EVERY student and staff now have to isolate and undergo PCR. Multiple local testing clinics have closed due to exceeding capacity. We received correspondence from school saying it wont be listed as closed officially due to happening on last day of term. The DHHS yet again concealing transmission and letting it silently spread. Absolutely disgusting. The school is doing its best to support and notify everyone involved. This is the Department of Education failing rather than the school. I am so devastated to the extent to which weve been abandoned by the Victorian government. To take forward the fight to expose the official coverups and disastrous government responses to the pandemic, participants in an online public meeting called by the CFPE this month unanimously voted for a resolution endorsing the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. Symphony of the Seas (Darthvadrouw/Wikimedia Commons) The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has ripped through existing mitigation measures on cruise ships around the world, creating widespread anxiety among the industrys customers and workforce. Beginning last week, a sharp increase in outbreaks has occurred on dozens of ships across the globe. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently marked over 80 vessels as yellow in its color coding system, indicating that [r]eported cases of COVID-19 have met the threshold for CDC investigation on each of such ships. The CDCs color roster only includes vessels which are currently sailing in or plan to sail in US waters. There are likely dozens more ships around the world which are experiencing similar outbreaks. While ship operators under the CDCs guidance are not required to document how many infections there are on board, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) Symphony of the Seas, the biggest cruise ship in the world, has reported an outbreak of 48 among approximately 6,000 occupants. There have been widespread disruptions to the itineraries of a large and growing number of ships due to onboard COVID-19 infection. Such ships have included Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) Freedom, RCCLs Symphony, Odyssey and Allure of the Seas, Holland America Lines (HAL) MS Zuiderdam and MS Konigsdam, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) Epic and Breakaway, as well as Cunards the Queen Mary and the Queen Victoria. Port governments including those of Mexico, Aruba, Bonaire and Colombia have denied entry to passengers on ships which have high levels of infection, and several vessels have opted to make changes to their routes, citing concerns of COVID-19 and related restrictions. The health agency of Puerto Rico announced on December 26 that it would require all visitors from cruise ships to present a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of entry. In response, nearly a dozen calls to dock in the port of San Juan have been cancelled by the Royal Caribbean International (RCI), the umbrella corporation of several major cruise lines. The company has issued a warning to its customers of the possibility of further port cancellations and onboard activity disruptions due to Omicron. In response to the recent surge on cruise ships, US Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut called for a complete shutdown of the industry. Our warnings have proved sadly prescient & continuously compelling. Time for CDC & cruise lines to protect consumers & again pause docking their ships. Cruises are repeating recent history as petri dishes of COVID infection, Blumenthal posted on Twitter. In the past week, several cruise ship passengers have taken to news outlets and social media to denounce conditions on board, with many citing a lack of accurate reporting to guests and crew. I feel like I just spent my past week at a superspreader event, one passenger who had recently disembarked the Carnival Freedom tweeted. Since this summer, the global cruising industry has ramped up its testing, onboard quarantining, vaccination and masking protocols across the board since its resumption of operations after the 15-month, worldwide shutdown began in March, 2020. These safety measures, as important as they are, have largely been used as a pretext to recklessly and criminally reopen the multibillion-dollar industry without respect to the risk that it poses to the physical and mental health and safety of its customers and crew. The cruise industry has responded to the recent surge in outbreaks with reassurances of the efficiency of their existing health procedures, as well as the announcement of limited and inconsistent measures to contain the spread of the virus onboard. The Washington Post published an article Tuesday which backed plans by the industry to continue to operate while shipboard coronavirus cases explode around the world. The article, entitled Covid is spreading on cruises again. This time they plan to keep sailing, repeating hollow claims by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) spokeswoman Bari Golin-Blaugrund that infections on ships represented only a minority of the total number of passengers currently sailing. The publication downplayed the risks of Omicron on ships, citing the fact that many of the detected cases have been asymptomatic. During the initial months of the pandemic, cruise ships were the scene of what former HAL President Orlando Ashford called a humanitarian crisis involving hundreds of thousands of cruise guests and staff. In 2020, there were over 3,000 infections and 77 COVID-19 deaths on cruise ships. After passengers were evacuated, approximately 200,000 employees remained stranded on vessels around the world, most having been stricken from their company payrolls, and with no idea of when they would be able to return to their families. Over a dozen additional non-COVID-19 related deaths among crews occurred during this period which were widely suspected to have been suicides. To put into perspective the scope of the current crisis on cruise ships, there have been 1,300 COVID-19 infections reported on cruise ships since June 2021, a period in which the entire industry has only been operating at a fraction of its original capacity. In concert with the approach taken by the entire American ruling class, cruise companies and the CDC are acting on the principle of do nothing until it is too late and sacrificing lives and public health in pursuit of private profit. The recent disruptions of cruise ships are a confirmation of the recklessness of the drive to force open the industry in the midst of a global pandemic. An anonymous submission by a crew member on board MSC Divina to Crew-Center.com, a cruise crew-run news source, reported that there were nearly 80 positive cases for crew and guests. The employee continued, why [is] the CDC still giving the right for the ship to sail away with the positive guests[?] We will be denied for sure in many ports. The management is hiding all these positive guests from all the other guests. Why no action is being taken? We have to stay with all these positive guests for 11 days even if they are isolated [while on the ship]. For crew, there is no shore leave, the guests can go independently in every port they want [while] they are bringing the virus [back] onboard. The WSWS urges cruise passengers and crews to form onboard rank-and-file safety committees to take action to safely halt the operation of ships and provide financial compensation for all workers and families affected. Such committees, built in every section of the working class around the world, will be the basis for the saving of lives by pursuing a strategy which will eliminate COVID-19 and finally end the pandemic, in opposition to the criminal policies of the ruling elites everywhere to force the population to live with coronavirus. At least five people are dead and two injured after a fascist gunman went on what police described as an hour-long killing spree that began in Denver, Colorado, this past Monday evening. Denver Chief of Police Paul Pazen revealed Tuesday night that the shooter was 47-year-old neo-Nazi Lyndon McLeod and that he had been previously investigated by law enforcement in 2020 and 2021. According to police accounts, McLeod began his deadly rampage shortly after 5 p.m. at the Sol Tribe Tattoo parlor, where he shot three people, killing two women and injuring one man. Over the next hour McLeod is believed to have fired his M4 military-style assault rifle at eight different locations in the Denver area before engaging in a shootout with police that left him dead sometime after 6 p.m. McLeod foreshadowed his crimes in series of books/fascist manifestos he wrote in 2018-2020 under the name Roman McClay. In the books, titled Sanction I-III, McLeod directly named two of persons he murdered Monday: Alicia Cardenas, 44, and Michael Swinyard, 67. Despite a history of issuing violent death threats, McLeod was allowed to amass military-grade weaponry and crisscross downtown Denver for an hour before being killed by police. Cover of Sanction I novel featuring same heraldic symbol used by Nazi SS units during World War II. (Screenshot from Amazon.com and Wikipedia) Cardenas was the owner of the Sol Tribe Tattoo shop where she and 35-year-old Alyssa Gunn were shot and killed. After murdering the unarmed women, police claim McLeod forced his way inside a nearby home, which was also a business, where he chased the occupants while opening fire. However, no one was injured. McLeod then broke into Swinyards home and killed him. Shortly after McLeod murdered Swinyard, police claim they engaged in a shootout with McLeod, who managed to escape in a black van. Just before 6 p.m., Lakewood police received a report of a shooting at Lucy 13 tattoo shop, where McLeods fourth victim, 38-year-old Danny Schofield, was killed. McLeod engaged in another shootout with police shortly afterward, escaping on foot to a nearby Hyatt House hotel where he briefly spoke to hotel clerk, 28-year-old Sarah Steck. Police claim Steck was unknown to McLeod before he shot and killed her, although reports indicate he had had a problem with the hotel. There is no doubt that McLeods rampage was premeditated. Throughout his novels, the main protagonist, who shares his name, fantasizes about shooting communists and murdering leftists as they slept. In the first book, a character named Lyndon MacLeod dons police gear and kills a character named Michael Swinyard at his apartment located on Williams Street. On Wednesday, the Denver Post reported that police believe McLeod killed Swinyard inside his home at One Cheesman Place, an apartment building in the 1200 block of Williams Street. The Post noted that a property manager told residents in an email that McLeod wore tactical gear, a police logo and a badge when he entered the building. In his second book, McLeod named Cardenas as a murder victim, describing in detail an attack on a tattoo parlor perpetrated by a Lyndon MacLeod, who ends up murdering 46 people throughout the novels while railing against diversity, globalization, weak men and unchaste women. McLeod frequently promoted his fascist filth on social media, quoting from it while replying to far-right commentators/political operatives he followed on Twitter such as Mark Cernovich, Jack Posobiec and Andy Ngo. In a 2019 Twitter post, Posobiec, a neo-Nazi and avid Trump supporter, asked his followers if he should read McLeods Sanction . The cover of the book, which was still being sold on Amazon as of Wednesday morning, features animal skulls, bullets and Nordic runes and esoteric symbols used by the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS). The most prominent symbol on the cover of Sanction I is the Wolfsangel or wolf hook, which the Nazi party adopted in the 1920s and was widely used by SS units throughout World War II. On the back cover of the book, McLeod describes himself as 96% Norse-Scot 4% Neanderthal. In a June 3, 2020, Twitter post, McLeod, posting under his pen name @mcclay_roman, shared a quotation from his book and another from Donald Trump in which the latter warned governors that they need to dominate anti-police violence protesters in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. In words that bear a striking resemblance to Trumps speech outside the White House on January 6, 2021, McLeod wrote that our side is going to have to get tough & mean or we will lose. War is here. Its physical. It aint online. McLeod added Trumps quotation to his tweet, which read: You have to dominate. If you dont dominate you are wasting your time. Theyre going to run over you. Youre going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate. Denver Chief of Police Pazen confirmed that McLeod had been previously investigated by police in mid-2020 and 2021 and that he was on the radar of law enforcement. Police have refused to explain the nature of the previous investigations. However, social media postings indicate McLeod threatened to murder another far-right associates wife and children, prompting a visit from the FBI. Posting under an alternate account @JackThree6 on June 16, 2020, McLeod uploaded a photo of himself shaking hands with an FBI agent following the visit. While police carefully manage the flow of information in an attempt to cover up their inability to prevent a known violent fascist from carrying out a mass killing, Los Angeles-based cybersecurity expert and antifascist Chad Loder uncovered evidence that McLeod was arrested by the Denver Sheriff Department in 2012 on two charges of menacing with a deadly weapon. Despite being the 21st most populous state in the US, Colorado has been home to a disproportionate amount of mass shootings, with Mondays massacre being at least the seventh mass shooting since 1993, the fifth most in the country. A mass shooting is defined as an event where four or more people are killed, and after Mondays killings, some 48 people had been killed in mass shootings in Colorado since 1993, including the Columbine shooting in Littleton in 1999 and this years King Soopers shooting in Boulder that left 10 people dead. So far this year, the Gun Violence Archive, using the same parameters as above, has tracked 687 mass shootings in the US, or just under two a day. As of this writing, 44,488 people have been killed by guns this year, with another 40,109 injured. Nakita Williams On Sunday, December 19, police shot and killed Nakita Williams, 33, in Detroit, Michigan. She allegedly brandished a weaponlater determined to be an airsoft gunat customers and employees at a Sunoco gas station on the citys east side during an apparent mental health crisis. Four Detroit police officers arrived at the gas station after receiving multiple 911 calls and opened fire on Williams, who succumbed to her wounds on the way to the hospital. Williams left behind four children to grieve just a week before the Christmas holidays. They been crying all day. Im trying to make them understand, but thats something youll never get over, Eddie Dobbs, the father of her children told ClickOnDetroit. According to Detroit Police Chief James White, an independent investigation is being conducted by the Michigan State Police. DPD has released stills from body cam footage but not the entire video itself. As one of the customers was coming up to the store, she encountered that customer, pointed a gun at that customer, (and) that customer turned and walks away. She exits the store, White explained. At that precise moment, officers encountered her. She turns and aims the weapon at the officer. The officers engaged her, he continued. White said the officers fired shots, hit the suspect, and then kicked the weapon away from herupon which they discovered the weapon was just an airsoft gun. The chief says Williams never fired the airsoft gun but had threatened people for at least seven minutes. The 911 call came in around 6:02 p.m. and police showed up and confronted her around 6:09 p.m. This is someones sister, perhaps someones mother, certainly someones daughter. So, this is a tragic day. Here we are, and now we look at our policies, our practices and ensure that they were followed. But from what I can see, she was pointing a weapon and the officers engaged her. Thats just a tragic situation we had to engage in, White said, feigning sympathy to tamp down popular outrage while excusing the killing. In the United States, police deploy lethal force against the working class on a regular basis, killing over 1,000 individuals each year with near full impunity. Police have killed at least 1,051 people in 2021 alone according to Mapping Police Violence. There were only 12 days in 2021 where a police killing was not recorded in the United States. Between 2013 and 2021, officers from the Detroit Police Department have killed 23 people, including 19-year-old Michael Adams III, who was shot and killed by undercover cops in August 2021. Despite the largest protest wave against police violence in US history following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 police killings have continued unabated and funding for departments across the country has only increased. This includes efforts to hire even more police officers by easing requirements. Already, an applicant must only meet the following standards to be considered for a position as a Detroit police officer: be 18 years old, a US citizen, have a high school graduation or GED, 20/20 eyesight (or 20/20 vision corrected), a valid Michigan drivers license and a clean driving record, and have no felony convictions on your record (even if expunged). Accepted candidates must attend basic training at the Detroit Metropolitan Police Academy after passing the screening process. A minimum of 19 weeks of classes is required for basic training. Therefore, it takes roughly 4-5 months to become a police officer while in Detroit it takes longer, 11-22 months, clocking in 1,800 hours, to become a licensed barber. The total police spending in Detroits 2022 budget is $341 million while the health department budget is $42.8 million, and its housing department budget is $69.9 million. The focus of the ruling class is not on allocating necessary resources to mitigate and eliminate the spread of COVID-19 but to ensure the working class stays in their place including by suppressing protests and strikes with a well funded police force. A COVID-19 patient under Ecmo (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) remain unconscious, at Bichat Hospital, AP-HP, in Paris, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly) The working class faces the urgent need to mobilize to impose health policies to stop an unprecedented tidal wave of COVID-19 cases sweeping over Europe. Capitalist governments are proceeding with open contempt for human life. Even as the Omicron variant pushes infections past record levels and threatens to swamp hospitals, they are adopting minimal restrictions and pressing to limit quarantine periods for those sick with or exposed to the virus. Yesterday, France recorded 208,099 new COVID-19 cases, Britain 183,037, Spain 100,760, Italy 98,030, Greece 28,828, and Portugal 26,867. These are all record numbers, that have, moreover, doubled in just the last two to three days. Other countries posting record numbers are Denmark, with 22,023, Ireland 16,428, and Switzerland at 16,760 Wednesday. In Germany, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said new infections are massively under-reported, and are two or three times higher than the 40,042 cases reported Wednesdayitself a 45 percent increase over Tuesday. Official statistics with over 830,000 new infections in Europe yesterday are gross underestimates: testing capacity has been reached in several countries, which can no longer track the contagion. The test positivity rate is above 10 percent in Germany, Norway, Spain and the Netherlands, and above 5 percent in the UK, France, Italy, Turkey and Denmark. According to the WHO, a test positivity rate of over 5 percent means the virus is infecting far more people than are being diagnosed. On Wednesday, walk-in PCR tests were unavailable in England and Northern Ireland, UK pharmacies reported shortages of lateral flow tests, and the Republic of Irelands positivity rate was 45.22 percent. In Indias deadly Delta wave, as hospitals collapsed, this rate peaked at 22.3 percent. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned: Im highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible [and] circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases. He added that this will place immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems on the brink of collapse. Operating with open contempt for human life, European governments are abandoning any pretence of limiting the spread of the virus. Only the shutdown of nonessential production and in-person schooling can stop the massive surge in illness now underway and limit the resulting surge in deaths. Yet they are rejecting such measures out of hand and loosening quarantine restrictions, so as to keep enough workers on the job even as massive numbers of them fall ill. Yesterday, French Health Minister Olivier Veran told the National Assembly that France faces an Omicron tidal wave. Currently, 2 percent of the French people have COVID-19 and, according to Veran, 10 percent have recently been exposed. Nonetheless, though he admitted that hospital admissions have risen 49 percent in just one week, he claimed there is no longer any correlation with the increase in circulation of the virus, implying that France might be spared an increase in serious cases and deaths even if COVID-19 infections mount. Speaking yesterday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez all but admitted that his decision not to take action against the virus reflected his prioritizing corporate profits over human life, saying that it reflected the need to balance public health, mental health and economic growth. After allowing Christmas celebrations to proceed normally, another round of super-spreader events for New Years celebrations are being encouraged. In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said there will be no new restrictions before the new year. Nor have additional federal restrictions been put in place in Spain or France for celebrations on December 31. In Italy, public events have been cancelled, but an unlimited number of people are permitted to meet privately. So far, Omicron infections have been disproportionately concentrated in younger adults. The inter-generational mixing of the holiday period will allow the variant to move to older generations, among whom it will cause far more severe disease and death. European governments attempts to lull workers to sleep on the severity of the crisis are exposed by the crisis in Britain, where the Omicron surge began earlier than elsewhere in Europe, Yesterday, 10,462 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, the most since March 1. In London, the epicentre of the Omicron surge, this figure is 3,310, up 63 percent week-on-week. Sixty percent of Omicron admissions are among twice- or triple-vaccinated patients. UK authorities have told hospitals to make emergency preparations for record hospitalizations from Omicrons super-surge, included converting hospital canteens and car parks into field hospitals. Already one in 10 UK National Health Service (NHS) staff are isolating. In the last week, 512 children have been hospitalized for COVID-19, a 52 percent increase and a pandemic record. Nonetheless, throughout Europe, governments are planning a full resumption of nonessential production after the holidays, and the full reopening of schools and universities on January 3. With schools acting as vectors of contagion, this will accelerate infections, hospitalizations, Long COVID cases, and COVID-19 deaths among children, who are mostly unvaccinated. To be able to keep children at school, workers at work and profits flowing to the banks, European governments are implementing measures that will actually increase infection rates. Authorities across Europe are following the lead of the US Centers for Disease Controls decision to cut the isolation periods of infected individuals from 10 to five days. In Spain, on Wednesday the national government lowered isolation time from 10 to seven days for vaccinated individuals. Similar measures are being considered in France, Italy and Greece, while the UK already reduced isolation from 10 to seven days for the double vaccinated on December 22. These measures are flagrantly unscientific. As the pandemic began, the WHO recommended 14 days of isolation after COVID-19 infection to ensure the virus is not passed on. The CDC adopted the five-day isolation rule in response to demands from airline and other corporate executives as staff shortages due to disease cut into holiday profit-making. Looking enviously over the Atlantic, European capitalists are determined to impose the same deadly measures on workers in Europe. Workers must be warned. After nearly 1.5 million people have died in Europe from the pandemic, there is no question that the ruling class is willing to pursue reckless policies that will cost millions of lives. Indeed, at the very beginning of the pandemic, even as German intelligence warned that letting the virus spread unhindered in Germany would cost over 1 million lives, Johnson suggested, perhaps you could take it on the chin, take it all in one go and allow the disease, as it were, to move through the population. This was only prevented by an independent mobilization of workers which began in Italy in the first days of March 2020, and quickly spread throughout Europe and to the US. The resulting lockdowns stopped transmission, but cut into corporate and billionaire profits. The ruling elite vowed to never permit any such incursion again, no matter what the death toll. Today, only the independent mobilization of millions of workers can impose a scientific policy necessary to combat the virus. The ability of a scientific policy to eliminate the virus has been shown in China, where lockdowns, contact tracing and isolation of infected people eliminated transmission of the virus inside Chinas borders. In 2021, just two people have died of COVID-19 in China, a country with a population of 1.4 billion. Workers and youth cannot be left exposed to mass death. Rank-and-file safety committees must be formed in workplaces, schools, and neighbourhoods to demand the shutdown of nonessential production and the implementation of scientific policies to eliminate the virus. During a period of lockdown, workers and their families must be supported with a full income, paid for by impounding the wealth of the financial aristocracy. People walk along a boulevard in Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) The Morenoite Workers Revolutionary Current (CRT) is desperately trying to cover its tracks as Spain records its highest daily cases of COVID-19 infections throughout the entire pandemic. For nearly two years, this petty-bourgeois group has insisted that scientific public health measures were impermissible because they violated fundamental rights. Schools had to be reopened even when safety could not be guaranteed, it insisted, and youth had to pour back into nightclubs and bars because Youth have the right to enjoy themselves. At key points in the pandemic, as when Spains Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government lifted its limited restrictions in April this year, the CRT downplayed the pandemic. It reacted with silence to the reactionary ruling in August of Spains Constitutional Court that COVID-19 lockdown measures imposed in spring 2020 were unconstitutional. At the end of summer, it again called for in-person education in universities. Throughout the pandemic, CRT has worked to suppress left-wing opposition to the PSOE-Podemos government as it prioritised corporate profits over human lives. The CRTs pseudo-democratic rhetoric combined left demagogy with tacit support for the banks programme of reopening schools, workplaces and encouraging youth to get infected. Like the union bureaucracy and Podemos, it is politically implicated in policies that have spread the coronavirus, costing over 110,000 lives in Spain and nearly 1.5 million across Europe. As daily infections soar past 100,000 in Spain and nearly 1 million in Europe, CRT leader Santiago Lupe penned a piece titled Omicron and the sixth wave are not a biblical plague, there are people responsible in Izquierda Diario. It agitates against scientific public health policies to eliminate the spread of the virus, while covering up the CRTs own responsibility in the disaster. Lupe writes: All this is not the product of an evil or a biblical plague that has happened, against which nothing can be done, as the central and regional governments have sold us, or those of the rest of the EU governments, since March 2020. Almost two years after the appearance of Covid-19, excuses such as it could not be foreseen are an insult that only seeks to cover up this enormous social crime. After having apparently indicted the PSOE-Podemos government for its policies that have led to disaster, Lupe then attacks it not from the left, for failing to protect health and lives, but from the right, for having carried out policies that hurt corporate profits. Predictably, Lupe presents this, like the neo-fascist right, as a defence of individual freedom. He writes: Their answer today is the same as other times. Both measures already announced by the Catalan government and those leaked to be discussed tomorrow at the Conference of Presidents. New restrictions, measures without proven impactlike outdoor mask mandatesand, significantly, new limitations on fundamental rights such as those represented by the COVID-19 passport or calls for new curfews. With these restrictions, the state reinforces its coercive, Bonapartist mechanisms, even though many of these measures have no proven effect to limit contagion. The following day, at the Conference of Presidents, the PSOE-Podemos governments only measure was to reimpose mask mandates throughout Spain. This will have little impact given that most infections occur indoors. The regions refused to implement any lockdowns; at most they have implemented ineffective night-time curfews. The WSWS has explained that lockdowns are necessary, even when they impose significant temporary restrictions on individuals. They are a key tool to preserve human lives, and their efficacy has been proven in countries which have pursued an elimination strategy against the virus, like China. The closure of nonessential workplaces and turning to remote learning in schools for two months could quickly bring viral transmission under control and eliminate COVID-19. The CRT is criminally complicit in the policy of the European Union (EU) and the PSOE-Podemos government. Waging a protracted propaganda campaign against measures to control the spread of the virus, in all fundamentals they are aligned with the demands of the far-right Vox party, which has consistently agitated against even the mildest restrictions. The CRTs position is not an accident. It reflects the material class interests upon which the CRT is based. Speaking for well-off layers of the upper-middle class and union bureaucrats, whose posts and lifestyles depend on the upward movement of stock markets and the exploitation of workers, CRT aims to keep profits flowing into the coffers of the banks, whatever the cost in lives. To cover up CRTs alignment with the PSOE-Podemos government, Lupe blames the spread of the virus purely on the governments failure to invest in the public health care and schools. He claims the current catastrophe could have been averted had the government implemented a reinforcement of primary care satisfying the demands of workers, direct hiring of administrative and contact trackers to offload these tasks from the health workers. The PSOE-Podemos governments social policies were, indeed, entirely reactionary. However, the simple hiring of more staff would not halt the pandemic. That requires stopping transmission of the virus, i.e., physical distancing followed by contact tracing and isolation of infected individuals. However, Lupe and the CRT reject this policy. Instead, he keeps covering the CRTs reactionary pandemic policy by issuing unserious calls for more public spending, adding: The school year began with the dismissal of the already minimal reinforcement of personnel in schools and institutes. With insufficient facilities, ratios of up to 30 and 35 students per classroom and limited teaching staff, who is surprised that schools have become one of the main vectors of contagion? Wasnt it foreseeable that this would be the case when the entire primary school had not even received a first dose of the vaccine until just a few days ago? Indeed, the disaster was foreseeable. However, this only underscores the reactionary and cynical role of the CRT, because the CRT foresaw the disaster and defended sending youth and teachers into unsafe schools anyway. While the WSWS opposed school and university reopenings, calling for building rank-and-file workplace safety committees to fight for the closure of schools and nonessential production, the CRT and Izquierda Diariodefended reopening schools, even admitting that teachers and students safety cannot be guaranteed. This year, they called for in-person education in universities. Not once has the CRT called for school closure, though it admits disasters were foreseeable. To cover up the CRTs nakedly reactionary role with more empty demagogy, Lupe concludes by denouncing the pharmaceutical industry, writing: Without the lifting of patents and without the intervention of pharmaceutical companies and laboratories to put all their capacity to the manufacture and massive distribution of vaccines across the world, the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on the lives and health of millions threaten to continue and last for a time that no one dares quantify. By calling for vaccination but denouncing lockdowns or distancing policies, the CRT is aligning itself with the vaccine-only strategy pursued by the EU and the US government. Mass vaccination and strengthening public health care systems are clearly vital. However, they represent only one component of the collective effort needed to eradicate the virus. Even if patents were eliminated and a global vaccine rollout carried out, hundreds of thousands would still die unless this was accompanied by other measures like masking, lockdowns and mass testing. As the WSWS noted in its perspective last Friday, Claims that the vaccinated face little danger to their health are entirely unsubstantiated. There is substantial evidence that even the completion of the two-shot regimen is ineffective against infection, with those infected suffering from Long COVID at comparable rates to those who are unvaccinated. In the face of a rapidly spreading virus, it is nothing less than criminal to limit actions to a long and drawn-out campaign for vaccinations that will do little to stop viral transmission in the days and weeks ahead. CRT stands exposed for what it is: a tool of Podemos to contain growing opposition among workers and youth to the governments policies and dissipate it into harmless channels. Its reactionary role is a warning that the working class cannot rely on any faction of the union bureaucracy or the political establishment. Against a disastrous surge of the virus now underway, the working class must take matters into their own hands. The WSWS calls for the formation of rank-and-file safety committees in workplaces, schools, public health facilities and neighbourhoods, to impose safe conditions of work and, amid the current surge, build a movement in the working class to impose a scientific policy to eliminate the coronavirus. This requires a conscious and fundamental break with the petty-bourgeois politics of the CRT and Izquierda Diario. According to a New York Times analysis of Mapping Police Violences database on fatal police encounters, US police have killed 1,646 people since George Floyds murder in May of last year. Moreover, with at least 1,051 deaths recorded in 2021 alone, police continue to kill about three people per day on average. Portland police confront May Day protesters at the ICE facility on Saturday May 1, 2021 in Portland, Ore. From Portland to Salem, May Day demonstrators were seen hitting the streets to make their voices heard. (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein) In addition to a second year of the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed more than 400,000 people, American workers have been forced to endure another year of terror at the hands of police. Some statistics and prominent cases for the year are as follows: On March 29, 2021, Chicago police shot and killed Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Hispanic boy, in a working-class neighborhood. Officers chased Toledo down an alleyway before he was shot once in the chest while attempting to surrender to police. According to Mapping Police Violence, Chicago police killed five other people this year. According to the Los Angeles Times, LAPD officers shot at least 37 people in 2021, killing 17 of them. LAPD officers killed two men on Christmas Day, and another man on Christmas Eve. On December 23, a Los Angeles police officer recklessly fired an assault weapon in a crowded clothing store, striking and killing 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta while she hid with her mother in a fitting room. Pasquotank County Sheriff deputies shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr. in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on April 21, 2021. Brown, a 42-year-old father of seven, was killed in his driveway as deputies attempted to serve him an arrest warrant for drug-related charges. Officers ambushed Brown and shot him in the back of the head as he attempted to drive away. North Carolinas district attorney declined to file charges against the officers involved. North Carolina police have killed 21 people this year. The Idaho Press reported an increase in police-involved shootings in Idaho in 2021 compared to last year. Idaho police killed 12 people this year, more than double the five recorded incidents in 2020. Boise police shot Zachary Snow, 26, after his mother called police to tell them Snow was struggling and suicidal. He was shot after threatening to jump off a building. The three states with the highest number of police killings in 2021 are California (140), Texas (93) and Georgia (50.) Because violent encounters with police officers are so common, Mapping Police Violence reports there have only been 12 days in 2021 where US police did not kill someone. Recent high-profile cases involving former officers convicted of murder chargesincluding Derick Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, Jason Meade for the shooting of Casey Goodson Jr. and Kim Potter for shooting Daunte Wrightcould give the impression that police are being held accountable for their crimes, but the numbers show the American ruling class continues to preside over a ruthless police regime. According to Philip M. Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University, despite 2021s increase in murder or manslaughter charges against officers, the overwhelming majority of officers involved in fatal encounters never face charges, much less convictions. In fact, less than 2 percent of officers involved in the more than 1,000 killings each year are charged with murder. Stinson told the Times 21 officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter for an on-duty shooting this year although five of the officers charged are facing charges for the same incident. While it is an increase from the 16 officers charged last year, it remains a minute fraction of police involved in deadly incidents. After the eruption of mass multi-racial protests against police violence triggered by Floyds murder in May 2020, the Democratic Party and pseudo-left have worked to redirect popular opposition to police violence into the divisive dead-end of racialist identity politics while promoting illusions that the police can be reformed. However, the experience of the last year shows just the opposite. The much-hyped George Floyd Justice and Policing Act, a collection of tepid reforms, was dropped by the Democrats after it failed to secure enough support to overcome a Republican filibuster in the Senate. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has given his backing to the funneling of pandemic relief funds to the police. Biden announced in June that states and localities could use any portion of the $350 million allotted to them through the American Rescue Plan to fund their police departments. The deadly force police regularly employ against the population is an inevitable result of a society riven with inequality and social contradictions. The victims of the police are of every race, ethnicity and genderpredominantly poor and working class. As the crisis of capitalism intensifies, the ruling class will increasingly rely on its special bodies of armed men to repress any form of social discontent or any working-class movement that threatens its privileges. After five days of deliberation, a jury in a New York City federal court found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty late Wednesday on five of six counts connected with the child sex-trafficking operations of the deceased billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell, the 60-year-old daughter of British media mogul Robert Maxwell, was sitting at the corner of the defense table when the jurors entered the courtroom shortly after 5 p.m. and presented their decision to Judge Alison Nathan of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The judge read the verdict aloud: guilty of conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking of minors. Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 [Photo Credit: US Justice Department] The defendant was acquitted of the charge two of enticing a minor to travel across state lines to engage in an illegal sexual act. Counts one, three and five carry maximum sentences of five years each, count four a maximum of 10 years and count sixsex trafficking of minorsa maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Judge Nathan has not yet determined a sentencing date. Maxwell pleaded not guilty to all charges after she was arrested and jailed in July 2020, 11 months after her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell under suspicious circumstances on August 10, 2019. Epsteinwho had pleaded guilty to procuring for prostitution a girl below the age of 18 in 2008had been arrested and charged a month before his death with sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors. It was widely known within ruling-class circles for more than 20 years that the wealthy investment advisor Jeffrey Epstein was hosting social gatherings at his residences in New York City; Palm Beach, Florida; Paris; New Mexico and his private island in the Caribbean that included sex with underage girls. These events included all-expenses paid travel on Epsteins private jet and attracted the participation of dozens of high-profile bourgeois figures such as former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US Senator George Mitchell and Prince Andrew, all of whom have denied participating in the sexual abuse of minors. While the four-week trial and conviction of Maxwell is being reported as a reckoning by the criminal justice system with the monstrous abuse of underage girls by Jeffrey Epstein and his elite social circle, it has not revealed the full extent of the participation of others within the US and around the world in his sex ring. Clearly, the jury accepted as truthful the testimony of the prosecution witnessessome of whom testified under assumed names to avoid being publicly identifiedwho were as young as 14 years old when that they were befriended and groomed for sexual liaisons with Jeffrey Epstein and others by Maxwell in the early- to mid-1990s. As was articulated by prosecutor Alison Moe during closing arguments: Ms. Maxwell was a sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing. She manipulated her victims and groomed them for sexual abuse. The verdict was also a repudiation of Maxwells claims that she was being unfairly blamed for Epsteins crimes and that the testimony of the abuse victims was inconsistent and unreliable. The jury did not accept the defense claim that accusers were motivated by the opportunity to collect money from Maxwell and Epsteins estate. Maxwells personal wealth is estimated at $20 million, and the Jeffrey Epstein Victim Fund has paid out more than $120 million to more than 135 individuals to date. It is also clear that the corporate media has deliberately muted its coverage and shown little to no interest in exploring important new facts that have emerged from the trial. For example, the 118 pages of flight logs between 1991 and 2006 that were entered into evidence during the trial show far more about who was traveling and how often they traveled with Epstein than has been previously revealed. Although prosecutors had attempted to redact some of the information contained on these handwritten records, Judge Nathan insisted a less redacted version be published. According to analysis published by the Miami Herald, Trump flew with Epstein six more times between Palm Beach and New York City than had been previously known. The records show that Bill Clinton flew with Epstein 26 times, 15 more than instances had been previously known. These facts have been barely reported or referred to in media coverage of the trial. To some extent, the wealthy and powerful associates of the couple are heaving, at least temporarily, a sigh of relief that the trial of Maxwell has ended with a conviction. From their standpoint, the less new information that is published and discussed about the activities of Epstein and his cohort of elites the better. The fact remains that Epstein and Maxwell were the leaders of a worldwide sex ring that had many participants who believe they can avoid prosecution and that the full extent of their collaboration in criminal abuse of young girls will never be known publicly. It is a widely held view that Epstein did not commit suicide in his jail cell in 2019, as determined by the New York medical examiner, but was murdered to ensure that he could never reveal details of the participation of his friends in high places in the sex trafficking operation. While the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell has pushed the door open ever so slightly on the depraved activities of the rich and famous within capitalist society, much more remains to be revealed and many more are yet to be exposed and held accountable. The Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced it is withdrawing most of its Emergency Temporary Standards regarding workplace COVID-19 protections for hundreds of thousands of health care workers. The federal agency took the little publicized action Monday evening, one week after it allowed the six-month emergency temporary standard, or ETS, to expire without establishing permanent standards to replace them. In a brief statement on its website, the agency wrote, OSHA announces today that it intends to continue to work expeditiously to issue a final standard that will protect healthcare workers from COVID-19 hazards. However, given that OSHA anticipates a final rule cannot be completed in a timeframe approaching the one contemplated by the OSH Act, OSHA also announces today that it is withdrawing the non-recordkeeping portions of the healthcare ETS The expired standards were originally applied on June 21, 2021, at health care settings where COVID-19 patients were treated. While OSHA never aggressively enforced the rules, they nevertheless required employers with more than 10 employees to develop and implement written plans for workplace protections. Sign of Fox Run of Findlay. (thisisfindlay.com) This included requirements for facemasks and PPE, HVAC systems, health screening and medical management, protections while using aerosol-generating procedures on persons with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, physical distancing, workstation barriers and cleaning and disinfection protocols. Other requirements included paid leave for vaccinations and vaccination recovery, protections against management retaliation for reporting violations of COVID-19 protections, employee COVID-19 logs and reporting work-related COVID-19 fatalities and in-patient hospitalizations. OSHA claims it will continue to enforce recordkeeping provisions requiring COVID-19 logs and case reports, since they were established under separate provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). In reality, employers already flout such provisions and regularly conceal information about the outbreaks and deaths from workers. While OSHA claims it is preparing permanent standards, the decision by the Biden administrations health and safety agency essentially gives the giant health care companies a free hand to continue endangering the health and lives of frontline health care workers, who are already being worked beyond the breaking point in chronically understaffed and underequipped hospitals and long-term care facilities. In its statement, OSHA lamely adds that it strongly encourages all healthcare employers to continue to implement the ETSs requirements in order to protect employees from a hazard that too often causes death or serious physical harm to employees. The dropping of the safety standards was only reported by Bloomberg Law and a few health care industry and legal publications. It was also reported by a coalition of unions, including National Nurses United (NNU), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which had petitioned OSHA to set a permanent standard. The federal agency ignored the appeal and gave no public response. The move follows last weeks decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce the quarantine time for those infected by COVID-19 or exposed to an infected person from 10 days to five. The Biden administration took this action, which has been widely denounced by scientists and workers, after the airline industry lobbied the CDC for the reduction to force infected workers back on the job as soon as possible. Prior to that, on December 23, the CDC issued new guidelines for the health care industry which reduced the quarantine period to seven days with a negative test, and that isolation time can be cut further if there are staffing shortages. It added, Healthcare workers who have received all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses, including a booster, do not need to quarantine at home following high-risk exposures. As of December 22, 4,702 health care workers have died of COVID-19, including 476 registered nurses, according to NNU tracking data. To date, more than 1 million US health care workers have been infected, including 14,696 in the last month alone. On Wednesday it was reported that 30 percent of New York Citys 4,400 emergency medical services (EMS) staff were out sick. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services there have been 696,711 confirmed COVID-19 cases among nursing home and assisted living center staffs and 2,184 deaths since the pandemic began. The human toll in these facilities themselves is horrific, with 744,526 confirmed cases and 141,595 deaths. Facing the explosive anger of health care workers, the NNU and other unions felt compelled to issue a statement denouncing OSHAs decision. Nurses applauded the Biden administration when OSHA issued an emergency temporary Covid standard (ETS) in June of 2021, NNU President Zenei Triunfo-Cortez said. And now we are dumbfounded and enraged that OSHA is rescinding those protections at the same time that the CDC is weakening isolation guidelines to seven days for health care workers and even less time if there are staffing shortages. OSHAs assertion that it intends to work expeditiously to issue a final standard that will protect health care workers from COVID-19 hazards is welcome but wholly insufficient until such a standard is actually promulgated and has the force of law, Triunfo-Cortez continued. The Department of Labor has had more than six months to make this happen, and yet the administration will be leaving nurses and other health care workers defenseless if the ETS is rescinded. Despite President Bidens promises that he would protect nurses, we can see in his administrations actions this week that those were just empty words. Far from conducting a serious fight to protect the lives of health care workers, the unions have blocked a unified struggle by workers against the corporations and the Biden administration. Strikes by nurses and other health care workers in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, West Virginia and other states have been sold out. In November, a coalition of unions shut down a planned strike by 32,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in California, Oregon and Washington state with a last-minute deal which sanctioned continued understaffing and helped management to pressure workers to come in even if they are sick. Opposition is growing against these conditions. Earlier this month, overworked nursing home workers in Findlay, Ohio, walked out in opposition to understaffing and terrible working conditions. The state of Ohio responded by deploying National Guardsmen to the facility. Nurse Ajaih Insley at Fox Run of Findlay Assisted Living told WTVG, It got to a point where us nurses were working anywhere from 18-21 hours, and we would reach out to management and the only response we would get was, Oh boy, that sucks and Oh boy, I hate that. They would go hours at a time without staff, five or six hours with no nurse. So even my father-in-law was a resident there, and he wasnt getting his medication. And diabetics who were there who werent getting insulin because there was no nurse, and there was nobody there in case there was an emergency, Insley said. The exhaustion meant the nurses were in no state of mind to be giving out meds but leaving the shift meant major consequences. So, on Monday, December 20, she said the nurses felt they had no other choice and walked out, WTVG reported. To organize a collective struggle to protect healthcare workers lives, we urge workers to follow the lead of the Kaiser Workers Rank-and-File Committee and join the growing national and international network of rank-and-file committees. We also urge healthcare workers to contact the WSWS to report on conditions in your workplaces. We will honor all requests for anonymity. The location in Izmir where three Syrian workers were burned to death while sleeping Last week, human rights associations reported that three Syrian refugees were burned to death in their sleep, in a horrific murder in Izmir, Turkey, on November 16. This barbaric act is the product of the decade-long NATO war in Syria and the reactionary atmosphere incited by the Turkish ruling class against millions of Syrian refugees who have fled the war to Turkey. Shockingly, the fact that this was a murder was covered up for over a month and came to light after one of the families contacted the Refugee Media Association (Multeci Medyas). Only afterwards was an investigation initiated to establish the circumstances of the fire. The attacker, Kemal Korukmaz, boasted to police of having carried out the attack after his arrest, telling them that he worked for Turkeys Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism (JITEM) agency. Deysem Siti, the head of the Refugee Media Association, told daily Evrensel: One of the families reached me three days ago. They said the incident was a homicide, adding, They also said that the police had not given them information. We followed up to learn about the incident Although it was said that there was a fire from the stove at first, a camera recording showed that there was an attack. 21-year-old Ahmed Al-Ali, 23-year-old Mamoun Al-Nabhan and 17-year-old Mohammed Al-Bish were reportedly working uninsured at the Birlik Beton cement factory in the Urla district and were trying to live on a wage below the hunger line. Korkumaz came to the three workers room at night, doused them in fuel and burned them to death. Al-Ali and Al-Bish died two days later, while Al-Nabhan has lost his life after a painful week in the hospital. Other details point to a planned massacre. According to human rights associations joint statement, Korkumaz told another worker, That place will burn, and those Syrians will die today. Korukmaz was caught after stabbing two Turkish citizens ten days after the murder. In his statement, Korukmaz confessed to the murders and claimed he was working for JITEM, according to the daily Evrensel which had access to his confession. JITEM was infamous for a large number of unsolved civilian murders in the Kurdish region during the Turkish states war on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The state denied its existence for decades before Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit admitted JITEMs activities in the aftermath of the 1996 Susurluk scandal. In his statement, Korukmaz said that while he was doing his compulsory military service in the 2000s, he was asked by one of his commanders to join JITEM. He accepted and participated in many operations. Korukmaz said that one day he found a note on his car saying start your duty, and a few days later he found a second note saying continue your duty. Claiming that he took action with the third note stating Start the cleansing, Korukmaz said: I understood this note as cleanse Turkey of Syrians. Korukmazs account raises the issue of state complicity in murders of immigrants and refugees across the NATO alliance. In Germany, where the state-infiltrated, neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU) murdered at least 10 immigrants in Turkey, a neo-Nazi network planning to murder Syrian and Middle Eastern refugees, and including an individual identified as Franco A., came to light in 2017. In the Izmir killing, a statement by Mamoun Al-Nabhans brother, Ahmet Nabhan, shows that Turkish authorities deliberately concealed the murder. Ahmet Nabhan said, We came to Turkey 5 years ago. My brother was 23 years old. While they were sleeping in the factory where they worked, he [Korukmaz] poured diesel or gasoline and then burned them. My brother remained in the hospital for a week after the incident and then died. Others of his friends died a day later. We did not tell anyone at the time because the police asked us not to tell anyone I do not know why the Turkish sides did not inform the press. The killer was buying stones from the same factory as us. The Association of Lawyers for Freedom stated that the massacre, despite taking place on November 16, 2021, was concealed by pressure on families. It added, It is clear that this massacre is directly related to the refugee policy of the state, and discourses that serve the purpose of deepening racism against refugees. Meanwhile, a report is awaited on whether Korukmaz, who was arrested and sent to prison, is mentally stable. Regardless of the direction of the report on Korukmazs mental health, however, the responsibility of the political establishment in this attack does not disappear. A rotten deal between the EU, Turkey and Greece in March 2016 established Greece as the EUs jailer of refugees and obliged President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government to ensure that refugees from war zones in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan do not make their way to Europe. Moreover, Ankara aims to use refugees as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with the NATO powers. It also oversees an estimated 3.6 million refugees in Turkey, who are exploited without insurance and with wages below even the legal minimum wage. The bourgeois opposition, led by the Kemalist Republican Peoples Party (CHP) and the far-right Good Party, is leading an anti-refugee campaign. They are fueling anti-refugee chauvinism, boasting that if they come to power they will send the refugees back where they came from. Amid an economic and social crisis that has deepened with the COVID-19 pandemic, the aim of this campaign, carried out by the entire political establishment, is to divide the working class and divert growing class tensions into reactionary attacks on the most exploited layers of workers. The developments have confirmed the warnings made by the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS). At the end of July, we wrote, This xenophobic lynch-mob atmosphere, especially incited by pro-bourgeois opposition parties and media, paves the way for fascistic attacks not only against refugees but against the entire working class. Only a few days after this warning, a far-right mob of hundreds of people took to the streets in Ankara, chanting anti-Syrian slogans. They threw stones at the homes of Syrian refugees while some shops were also ransacked, and some cars burnt. A video released by a paramilitary fascist group named Ataman Brotherhood on Tuesday indicates that the far-right danger is growing. In the video of this racist group, they are seen chasing and beating an Afghan refugee in Istanbul. The group, which broadcasts videos of the armed militia, has a flag similar to the fascistic Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Members of the group make hand-signs of the far-right Grey Wolves organization. These developments are a serious warning. The working class and youth must come to the defense of refugees, as a decisive part of defending the entire working class against state-backed, far-right violence. SSO fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during training [Credit: Wikipedia/ArmyInform] As part of its ongoing campaign to militarize its population and prepare for war against Russia, on December 17 the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense vastly expanded the conscription of women between the ages of 18 to 60. There are already 31,000 women serving in the Ukrainian armed forces and women in select professions were previously subject to wartime conscription. The updated law expands the list of professions subject to conscription for women between the ages of 18 to 60 to include doctors, librarians, journalists, and more who are now required to register for potential military service. Even pregnant women and mothers of small children will now be conscripted. Speaking to the American military website Coffee or Die magazine, Oleksandra Ustinova, a Ukrainian parliament member and representative of the center-right Holos Party, called the measure logical, timely, and sensible. This sends a powerful signal to Moscow that Ukrainians are ready to resist. Although we strive for introduction of the contract army, in the current situation, the decision to educate as many people as possible to hold arms and to be ready to serve seems a good one, Ustinova said. While the countrys major political parties have fully supported the effort, the Ukrainian population has been less receptive to the revised measure. Demonstrating the widespread rejection of the governments attempts to militarize the civilian population for a war against a nuclear-armed Russia, an official petition addressed to President Volodymyr Zelensky to cancel the measure has already reached over 36,000 signatures in a matter of days. The threshold for the president to review the petition is 25,000 signatures. On the heels of the announced changes in conscription, the New York Times published a glowing and uncritical story, titled Training Civilians, Ukraine Nurtures a Resistance in Waiting, on the Ukrainian government's attempts to convince the population they must prepare to fight and die against Russia. The author, Andrew E. Kramer, fails to mention the role of the countrys far-right paramilitary groups such as the Azov Battalion and Right Sector in leading such volunteer efforts. In an attempt to whitewash their neo-Nazi background, the New York Times just referred to them as volunteer brigades. Kramer speaks glowingly of their efforts and cites a dubious opinion poll as proof for some support for the effort. According to Kramer, the poll showed 24 percent of Ukrainians saying they would resist with a weapon in hand if Russia invaded. Among men, 39 percent said they would resist with weapons. Ukrainians have taken to posting selfies on social media holding rifles. In reality, since the ongoing civil war first began in 2014 in Eastern Ukraine, tens of thousands of Ukrainian men have purposely evaded conscription. While the Ukrainian army has been careful not to release military evasion statistics in subsequently years, at the height of the initial fighting in 2014, 85,792 of those summoned for conscription didnt appear for mobilization. In the western provinces of Ukraine, which are typically depicted as the most nationalistic and patriotic by the western media, 9,969 were proven to be illegally avoiding military service. In 2015, ten months after the start of the civil war, Roman, a draft evader from the western city of L'viv told Foreign Policy, I am against every war, but especially this war, because its meaningless. I think this conflict was created artificially. The Ukrainian mass media helped this along by spreading this patriotic hysteria. Rather than being met with an influx of willing conscripts, the Ukrainian army instead began the war in 2014 with just 6,000 combat-ready soldiers. In its ongoing civil war against pro-Russian separatists, Kiev has primarily relied on far-right and neo-Nazi paramilitary groups such as the Azov Battalion. These far-right groups have also been incorporated into the countrys newly created National Guard and are instrumental in carrying out the propagandized militarization of Ukrainian society by leading military classes, fund drives, and right-wing childrens summer camps. Today, Ukraine reports having approximately 255,000 active military personnel with 900,000 reservists. If the mass evasion of 2014 repeats itself, it is doubtful Kiev could rely on its reservists to actually report for mobilization. In comparison, Russia has over one million active duty personnel and has already positioned over 120,000 troops close to the Ukrainian and Belarusian borders in reaction to NATO military activities in Ukraine and the Black Sea. This week, Moscow announced that more than 10,000 troops had finished military drills near the Ukrainian border and are returning to their permanent bases. The Russian oligarchy is desperate for an agreement with Western imperialism, with President Vladimir Putin recently pleading with NATO to give something, at least something. Since the 2014 western-backed coup that removed the pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych from power with the deployment of right-wing thugs, the United States has given Ukraine $2.5 billion in military assistance. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has spent the last year publicly begging for NATO membership, such a step is considered a red line for Russia due to the disadvantageous military position they would quickly be placed in. According to Putin, If this infrastructure moves furtherif US and NATO missile systems appear in Ukrainethen their approach time to Moscow will be reduced to seven or ten minutes. Talks between the NATO powers and Russia are now reportedly being planned for early January. As noted by the WSWS, Western imperialism meanwhile is primarily concerned with following a policy recently expressed by the statement made by Democratic Senator Chris Murphy that Ukraine can become the next Afghanistan for Russia if it chooses to move further. There is little evidence that the vast majority of the Ukrainian working class is eager at all to go to war, but the danger of such a military conflict is very real. To stop the drive to war, the resistance of the working class to war must be politically mobilized. This requires the building of an international revolutionary socialist leadership that is determined to put an end to the root cause of war, the capitalist system. In remarks made Wednesday morning on MSNBC and repeated in a similar form on four other morning interview programs, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), dismissed the significance of the skyrocketing number of children being infected with COVID-19 and hospitalized. Asked about the dangers from the Omicron variant to children, she said, Yeah, really important question. So, we are seeing higher numbers of children in the hospitals. Of course, this is a common time of year for children to be admitted in the hospitals. And some of the things were seeing in the trends is theyre not heading to the ICU more often, that we can tell. Many of them are actually coming in for another reason. But they happen to be tested when they come in and theyre found incidentally to have COVID. And third, and really importantly, most of those children are not yet vaccinated. So, the message here is get your children vaccinated. These deceptive remarks were made as Omicron runs wild, and the Biden administration washes its hands of the catastrophe. The US daily average number of cases has climbed to 267,305, and new infections have reached a single-day high of 380,751. Admissions for COVID-19 are rapidly rising, with close to 75,000 now hospitalized for complications of their illnesses. Jonathan Pagliarulo, 11, gets tested for COVID-19, after vaccinated family members tested positive for the virus, Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, in North Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) Meanwhile, beleaguered health care systems are facing a repeated onslaught of patients. Atop these grim statistics closing the year, COVID-19 cases are fast approaching 55 million, and more than 844,000 have died, including more than 1,000 children. The most obvious contradiction in Walenskys statement stems from the fact that she acknowledges that the uncontrolled spread of Omicron has produced a significant increase in pediatric hospitalizations and that children also have much lower vaccination rates than any other age group. After conceding these objective facts, she then inserts a false corollary by suggesting that hospital admissions for all causes are seasonally high at this time of year, and due to diligence on the part of health care systems to test patients for COVID-19, more pediatric cases are being detected. Last year, when the winter wave was ripping through communities, and COVID-19 vaccines were just being introduced, a massive wave of hospitalizations followed infections in every age category, including children. At the same time, former President Trump continued with his usual ignorant claims that far too much testing was occurring. There is a revealing parallel to Walenskys remarks. In fact, during every surge of infections, there has been a surge in hospitalizations and death in every age category, including children. This is an established objective observation with SARS-CoV-2 infections and congruent with developing events in real time with Omicron. It is a dangerous pathogen that demands the mobilization of broad-based public health measures to protect and save lives. Yet, once more, children are facing the brunt of the COVID-19 tsunami while Walensky hides behind a carefully worded rationale. Figure 1 Trends in Confirmed COVID-19 Admissions by Age group and region. Source CDC Community Profile report Her attempt to deflect the cause of hospitalization to other reasons is not supported by any evidence on her part and highlights her reckless characterization of the situation and the complete disregard of the Biden administration for the safety and welfare of these innocent victims of the ruling elites herd immunity policy. The Community Profile Report published on December 28, 2021, slide 29, published by the CDC, demonstrates that recent hospitalizations have been climbing for every age group over the previous week as a byproduct of a massive surge in community transmission. Specifically, for pediatric and young adult patients, the rates of hospitalizations have been the highest across almost every region in the country precisely because they are unvaccinated and have been attending schools and universities. These connections were exhaustively reviewed by principled scientists for many months and have received general acceptance by the community at large. Since the beginning of December, when the first case of Omicron was detected in the US, pediatric cases have steadily been accelerating upwards from 132,000 infections the week ending December 2, 2021, to 199,000 the week ending December 23, 2021, a 51 percent rise in cases. The most significant jump was seen before Christmas weekend, and hospitalizations are now keeping pace with this trend. The surge of new pediatric hospitalizations for the last two weeks in December is consistent with the surge of new admissions reported in mid-August, when the numbers of new pediatric COVID-19 cases were at a similar stage during the Delta wave. As expected, hospitalizations spiked in early September, lagging COVID-19 cases by several weeks. Additionally, in the Northeast, where the rise in infections among children is most dramatic, pediatric hospitalizations have jumped five-fold in New York City and doubled in Washington D.C. this month. Both these regions are facing an explosion of daily new cases. For example, the seven-day average of daily infections in New York has jumped from 7,000 on December 1 to over 38,500, while D.C. now has the highest per capita rate of COVID-19 infections across the country. The implication is clear that when infections rise, so will hospitalizations, a point that Dr. Walensky is attempting to dismiss. Figure 2 Weekly pediatric COVID deaths as reported by the American Academy of Pediatrics A recent NBC News analysis of the Department of Health and Human Services data found that the average number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 rose from a low of 1,270 after the Thanksgiving break to 1,933 after the Christmas break, up 52 percent. It has since increased to 2,100 in just the last three days. The states that have contributed the most to the rise in pediatric casesFlorida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Ohioare also the states that the surge in infections has been most intense. Dr. Buddy Creech, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, told NBC, We saw similar things happen when the Delta variant came along. We had taken for granted that children were relatively under-affected by COVID, and we saw an uptick in the number of children infected and therefore admitted to the hospital with complications. Corresponding with the rise and fall in hospitalizations, the ebb and flow of pediatric COVID-19 deaths have also been consistent with surges of COVID-19 infections among children. Figure 2, based on data provided in the weekly report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), deaths peaked in February 2021 after the last winter surge. Then at the end of summer, pediatric cases and hospitalizations surged again, with deaths peaking at the end of September and October. And with the current surge, deaths are climbing once more. Of the 721 AAP reported deaths among children during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 500 took place after Joe Biden was sworn in as president. Half of all pediatric COVID-19 deaths occurred in just the last five months, primarily due to a return to in-class instruction that paved the way to a massive surge in infections. Dr. Stanley Spinner, chief medical officer at Texas Childrens Pediatrics & Urgent Care in Houston, speaking with CNN said, I think we are going to see more numbers now than we have ever seen. Cases are continuing to rise between Christmas gatherings, and were going to continue to see more numbers this week from that. On average, there have been 305 children with COVID-19 in hospitals each day this week. This figure is 11 percent shy of the peaks at the end of August and early September, when 342 children were admitted on average. The current surge in admissions will surpass even this figure. Dr. Spinner continued, Now were going to have New Years on top of that this coming weekend, with more people getting togethermore exposures and then those numbers will continue to climb. Notably, Dr. Walenskys comments were also aimed at ameliorating concerns raised by school districts and universities to return to remote learning, considering the explosive rise in cases and the highly contagious nature of the Omicron variant. District superintendent Kenneth Hamilton in Mount Vernon, a New York suburb, told the Guardian, I have been very reluctant to close schools, but given the current trends in COVID cases, it would be risky not to do so. The district is planning to remain virtual until at least January 18. All students at Prince Georges County, Maryland, one of the largest school districts in the US, have switched back to virtual learning. Monica Goldson, chief executive for the school system, given the jump in infection rates, said, Educators must be able to deliver in-person instruction and other activities in conditions that prioritize their own health, as well as the well-being of the school community. The increased positivity rates have significantly challenged the ability to do so, causing anxiety among many school communities and disruption to the school day. More than 300 schools in Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York will remain closed after the winter break. Dan Domenech, the School Superintendents Association executive director, told Newsweek, This is the third school year affected by this pandemic. Just when we thought this past Octoberwhen we had about 98 percent of kids back in schools in personthat things were moving in the right direction, here we are right back where we were last year. This characterization is correct, but the blame for this crisis rests directly on the policies adopted by the public health leadership that takes its marching orders from Wall Street executives. Dr. Walenskys comments only serve to dismiss the dangers posed by the coronavirus to children in order to assure school districts across the country that it is safe to remain open. This in turn means their parents can remain at work. Her remarks on children, just as much as the new CDC guidelines reducing isolation and quarantine, have the same purpose: to ensure the working class will continue producing profits for regardless of the status of their health or that of their children. For sneakerheads, 2021 was the year of collaborations, the Dunk Low and the return of avant-garde designs. The most notable sneaker drops of the last 12 months relied heavily on storytelling, premium fabrications and even customizable elements. Looking ahead to 2022, footwear enthusiasts can expect a few of 2021s burgeoning trends to continue to grow. Read on for five sneaker trends well be watching for in the new year. While you are here, we've rounded up the top 15 women's sneakers of 2021. Vintage-Inspired Shoes Sneaker Trends Women 2022 Vintage Transparency Faux Fur Patent Leather Platforms Nike Bape adidas 2021 saw more than its fair share of vintage-inspired kicks. From distressed fabrics to yellowed soles, the worn-in look inspired a Nike Dunk Low, adidas NMD_R1 and an Air Force 1 Mid Sculpt among other models. The aged aesthetic most notably appeared on Virgil Abloh's OFF-WHITE x Air Jordan 2, which features a "crumbled" midsole. Unexpected Materials Sneaker Trends Women 2022 Vintage Transparency Faux Fur Patent Leather Platforms Nike Bape adidas From faux fur Air Force 1s to crushed velvet Dunk Lows, sneaker brands are looking beyond typical leather construction. Expect to see the needle being pushed even further in 2022, with releases following in the footsteps of the bejeweled Swarovski AF1 and the cork-infused UNION LOS ANGELES x Nike Cortez. Transparency Sneaker Trends Women 2022 Vintage Transparency Faux Fur Patent Leather Platforms Nike Bape adidas Transparent fabrications took over 2021, taking center stage on the CLOT x sacai x Nike LD Waffle, Supremes Nike Air Max 96 and adidas see-through Superstar. We expect to see this trend continue into 2022, appearing on lifestyle and retro models alike. Platform Soles Sneaker Trends Women 2022 Vintage Transparency Faux Fur Patent Leather Platforms Nike Bape adidas If releases like the Nike Dunk Rebel and the Jordan LV8D are any indication, we can expect larger than life soles to be one of 2022s biggest sneaker trends. Blurring the line between style and sport, these sky-high kicks are the perfect accompaniment to fashion from the early aughts. Patent Leather Sneaker Trends Women 2022 Vintage Transparency Faux Fur Patent Leather Platforms Nike Bape adidas Glossy leather covered the Air Jordan 1 Bred Patent, Hajime Sorayama x BAPEs metallic silver SK8 STA and the AJ1 Bubblegum. Judging by the popularity of the aforementioned models, luxe iterations of classic sneakers are almost certainly dropping in 2022. Air Force 2nd Lt. McKayla Russell, center, laughs with fellow commissioned officers Sunday after their ceremony at BMG Aviation at the Monroe County Airport. See a gallery of photos from the event at HeraldTimesOnline.com. (Rich Janzaruk / Herald-Times) Saturday, McKayla Russell graduated from Indiana University with a degree in political science. Sunday, she became the last of the four daughters in her family to formally enter the United States military. McKayla followed in the footsteps of her older sisters Zoe, Emma and Abigail as she was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force in a ceremony with fellow members of the IU ROTC program. Ive been pretty much waiting for this day forever, McKayla said about her commissioning. Its kind of surreal its all here. The daughters of Roger and Susie Russell, of Martinsville, have each entered the military, despite no longstanding tradition of such service on either side of the family. Zoe, the eldest, virtually attended the ceremony. She is stationed in Djibouti, working in public relations for the Air Force. Susie said one day, the Navy sent a flier to their home addressed to one of the girls. That stirred Zoes interest in the military, even though she was ready to attend college at IU. Changing paths, Zoe enlisted in the Air Force in 2014. Years later, twins Emma and Abigail attended IU in Bloomington and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, respectively. Inspired by a cousin who enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, Emma knew she wanted to be a part of the corps as well, where she is now an artillery officer. Having a now-or-never feeling about participating in the military herself, Abigail commissioned to the U.S. Navy, where she is a surface warfare officer as well as an electrical officer on her ship. Now, following her eldest sister, McKayla will be a force support officer in the Air Force. They always say every branch has a certain type of personality that goes best with it, hence why all of us are in different branches, McKayla said. Without brothers or much military history in their family, the sisters consider themselves breaking stereotypes of what it means to be tough. The Russell sisters described themselves as girly-girls, which they said often makes people surprised when the sisters say they are a part of the U.S. military. Story continues In ROTC, McKayla said some were shocked to learn she was commissioning into the military, but she finds it empowering that fewer women have joined the force. Emma added coming from a smaller town creates a sense of physical independence and helped prepare them for the military. From working excavation with their father to learning to chop firewood, Emma said small-town life inspired them to do masculine work. I think that inspired us to do kind of manly roles but still be feminine, she said. The military is a great avenue because its physical, its challenging and we can still be who we are regardless of our background. Emma also noted her job in combat arms wouldnt have been possible before 2015, when Congress ordered the military to authorize women in Marine Corps combat duties. Cultural changes in society have pushed different branches to be more welcoming of women, they added. Abigail said her physical tests are different than the mens on her ship, but otherwise the experience feels equal to her male counterparts. If youre not a good sailor, its not because of your gender or age. Its because youre just lazy, Abigail said. McKayla knew she wanted to participate in ROTC while in college to have the experience of being a college student while also working toward a military career. The Air Force paid for her to attend IU the past four years, which she said made her college experience all the more meaningful. Though there isnt a military history in the immediate family, McKayla considers her sisters and father attending different IU campuses its own legacy. It gave me the opportunity to be a normal college student, go out, have fun, but at the same time work toward that military career. Finding that balance at the same time, there are some things you cant do because of the military. ... There is a big IU pride within our family. Lots of us have been through it, and thats meaningful to all of us, McKayla said. 2nd Lt. McKayla Russell, right, gets and gives her first salute as an officer from her sister Zoe Russel, stationed with the Air Force, Sunday during the Air Force ROTC commissioning ceremony at BMG Aviation at the Monroe County Airport. (Rich Janzaruk / Herald-Times) Air Force 2nd Lt. McKayla Russell, right, hugs her sister Emma Ruckstuhl, a Marine, after the Air Force ROTC commissioning ceremony Sunday. (Rich Janzaruk / Herald-Times) Susie Russell records the oath of office taken by 2nd Lt. McKayla Russell Sunday during the Air Force ROTC commissioning ceremony at the Monroe County Airport. (Rich Janzaruk / Herald-Times) 2nd Lt. McKayla Russell, center, takes her oath of office Sunday from two of her sisters, Abigail Russell, left and member of the U.S. Navy, and Marine Emma Ruckstuhl, right, during the Air Force ROTC commissioning ceremony at the Monroe County Airport. (Rich Janzaruk / Herald-Times) 2nd Lt. McKayla Russell, center, gets her pins put on by her mother, Susie Russell, Sunday after her father, Roger Russell, right, put them on her other shoulder during the Air Force ROTC commissioning ceremony. (Rich Janzaruk / Herald-Times) 2nd Lt. McKayla Russell smiles and listens during the Air Force ROTC commissioning ceremony Sunday at the Monroe County Airport. (Rich Janzaruk / Herald-Times) 2nd Lt. McKayla Russell wipes away tears after speaking with Ret. Lt Col Russell Callaway after the Air Force ROTC commissioning ceremony Sunday at the Monroe County Airport. (Rich Janzaruk / Herald-Times) This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Youngest of four daughters to enter the military commissions day after graduation A 24-year-old Allendale, S.C., man was found dead Thursday morning in east Augustas Riverchase neighborhood off Lovers Lane. Dezmon Malik Forester was pronounced dead at 10:15 a.m. on the 100 block of Tybee Court with at least one stab wound, Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen said in a statement. An autopsy has been scheduled at the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur, he said. This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: 24-year-old SC man found stabbed, dead in east Augusta GA neighborhood National Guard member Vegerano drives a school bus around the base with a safety trainer in Reading, MA on Sept. 15, 2021. Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images From Minnesota to New York, governors have activated the National Guard to ease labor shortages. In Massachusetts, over 200 troops were deployed to drive school buses. Here's how and why the National Guard is being used to fill essential worker roles. School districts across the nation struggled to hire enough bus drivers this year. A national driver shortage persists due to a variety of factors, including low wages, COVID-19, a lack of funding, and increased demand for workers with commercial driver's licenses. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Source: Insider In September, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker activated 250 National Guard members to drive school buses, citing local staffing shortages. Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Source: Insider The New York National Guard was similarly activated to combat labor shortages in nursing homes this December. Nearly 75% of nursing homes reported an overall "worsening situation with their workforce" this year. National Guard soldiers help to sign up people for their vaccination appointment at the York College coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination site in Queens. John Moore/Getty Images Source: Insider The 120 Guard members activated to work in New York nursing homes are certified medics whose civilian jobs "do not involve work in the healthcare field," Eric Durr, the New York National Guard's Director of Public Affairs, said. Anna Kern One of the primary concerns about using National Guard troops to combat labor shortages is that it removes members from their civilian jobs, potentially creating tangential employment gaps. Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers assisted the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) in setting up the Oregon Medical Station (OMS), an alternate site for 250 patients currently in nursing home care. Sgt. 1st Class Zachary Holden/U.S. Army National Guard via Getty Images Source: CNBC The recent activation is part of the New York National Guard's COVID-19 mission that began in March 2020. A total of 983 personnel have helped create vaccination sites, logistics facilities, and put together testing kits throughout the state. New York Governor Kathy Hochul REUTERS/Cindy Schultz According to US Code Title 32, federally funded National Guard personnel can conduct missions at the direction of the state's governor. However, not all governors have agreed to send troops on labor-related missions. Troops from the Oklahoma National Guard provided security to the US Capitol after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Tech. Sgt. Rebecca Imwalle/US Air National Guard Source: Ed Week Some worry that funneling military personnel into the workforce will prevent economic corrections for the working class, such as increased wages and improved benefits. Story continues Photo of a help wanted sign along Middle Country Road in Selden on July 20, 2021. Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM/Getty Images Source: Tribune of the People (Opinion) The White House even considered deploying the National Guard to work at shipping ports during the supply-chain crisis, but said the move is unlikely. Touring the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Thomas Pallini/Insider Source: CNN Business National Guard members have helped administer COVID-19 vaccines across the country. Oregon, California, Maine, New Hampshire, and Minnesota have all activated the Guard for pandemic-related missions this year. An employee receives a COVID-19 vaccine from a National Guard soldier at a pop-up vaccination stand at the Vermont Creamery in Websterville, Vermont on June 29, 2021. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images Source: CNBC Since March of last year, 4,000 Ohio military personnel were activated for 70 state missions, including supporting vaccination centers, distributing food at local food banks, and processing unemployment claims. Ohio National Guard members at the state capitol. Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images Source: Ohio National Guard From the pandemic and labor crisis to protests and natural disasters, the National Guard has stayed busy combatting "domestic emergencies" over the past two years. "The scope and duration of the missions have been unprecedented," Ohio Adjutant General John Harris Jr., said in a statement. National Guard and state police guard the Minnesota statehouse Sunday, May 31, 2020, in St Paul, Minn. AP Photo/Julio Cortez Source: Ohio National Guard Read the original article on Business Insider The number of cougars spotted in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has risen over the years. But barriers to the big cats' eastern migration have so far kept them from establishing reproducing populations here. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed 11 sightings of cougars in the U.P. so far this year, slightly down from the high of 15 sightings last year, the most since the state began looking in 2008. Multiple sightings were likely of the same few western U.P. cats, said Cody Norton, large carnivore specialist for the DNR based in Marquette. A May 13, 2021 trail camera photo captures a cougar in eastern Dickinson County, in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula. All told, 75 cougar sightings have occurred since 2008. "The numbers have definitely been going up," Norton said. Once a native species in Michigan, cougars were hunted to extinction as the state was settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Now wildlife managers are monitoring the first inroads of the big cats back into the Great Lakes State and while not assisting a potential repopulation here, are allowing nature to take its course. Modern technology is aiding cougar identification, Norton said. Not long ago, a person seeing a potential track would have to call a DNR official to come examine it, and hope wind or rain didn't wash it away first. Now, a person carries a camera with them on their smartphone, and can take a photo of the track in the moment, he said. And photos from motion-triggered trail cameras make up the majority of confirmed cougar sightings. "We're definitely getting a lot better at being able to confirm these, and document them when they happen," Norton said. A study published earlier this year authored by Mariella Gantchoff, ecologist at the State University of New York Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, examined the quality and connectivity of suitable habitat for cougars in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. It found "high regional connectivity in a generally west-east direction" significant because that's the direction from which stable, reproducing populations of cougars are found in the Black Hills region of Wyoming, Nebraska and North and South Dakota. Story continues To date, researchers have only confirmed lone male cougars in Michigan. That includes the recovery of two poached cougar carcasses and DNA samples that staff were able to take in the wild, said Norton, who worked with Gantchoff on her study. The poached cougars were related genetically to a population in South Dakota, Norton said. "As of right now, we've never been able to document a female, or kittens, or any sort of reproduction" in Michigan, he said. Young male cougars often leave groups when they are out-competed. "In general, it's a lot harder to get a mate when there's a bigger, badder male in the area," Norton said. But females don't typically disperse as far or as often as males. "That's kind of a limiting factor," he said. "Is a female going to make its way over here, where a population could actually get established? Or are we just going to continue to see these lone males out looking for a female and never having any luck?" And those lonely male cats are known to make a major effort to find a mate. One radio-collared, male cougar out of South Dakota in 2010 was tracked moving through Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The radio collar ultimately stopped providing a signal, but the cougar is presumed to have moved into Ontario eastward, then down into Connecticut, where it was hit by a car and killed about 2,000 miles of travel from its original home. Habitat conducive to cougars includes rugged terrain with hills and elevation changes, as well as densely forested areas with tree falls. "Cougars are ambush predators," Norton said. "If you have blow-downs, if you have a lot of thick cover areas and elevation where they can ambush and attack a deer or whatever prey source, they are going to generally do better there." Connectivity of their range is also important. "For them to move between these high-quality patches of habitat, if you have too many roadways or other physical barriers, that's going to make it hard for them to move around," Norton said. Though cougars are associated with mountains, they were actually the most widely distributed land mammal in the Americas prior to European colonization, Norton said found throughout North America, including deserts and areas of Florida (the famous Florida panthers are a type of cougar), Central America and South America, he said. A November 20, 2019 trail cam spots a cougar sniffing around a deer hunter's bait pile in Ontonagon County in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. "They are super-adaptable," he said. Given cougars' adaptability, and the suitability of the habitat in Michigan, why aren't greater numbers of cougars being seen here? The answer likely lies in the Midwest's "bread basket," Norton said. Areas west of the Dakotas are "all agriculture," he said. "That might be OK habitat when corn is up, when those crops aren't harvested. But in the winter, when those get harvested, it's a pretty open, flat-as-a-pancake landscape. "In western and southwestern Minnesota, where we don't have forested areas, where it's more of that agriculture, you can see those (cougar) sightings show up right along river corridors. They are using river corridors as an area to travel and try to keep moving. And some of them head east and end up in Michigan." Norton said there's a hope that research similar to Gantchoff's study will be done in North and South Dakota, to better understand cougar movements and limitations from the easternmost sustained population of the cats in the U.S. Of the 75 confirmed cougar sightings in Michigan, 74 have occurred in the Upper Peninsula. Only one confirmed cougar sighting has happened in the Lower Peninsula, in Clinton County's Bath Township, about 20 miles northeast of Lansing, in 2017, where a resident photographed the big cat as it crossed a road. That one still puzzles wildlife managers. "We don't have genetic material or anything from that animal to verify it's a wild animal versus maybe a captive that could have escaped temporarily," Norton said. While cougars have a route of suitable habitat eastward through Minnesota and Wisconsin into the Upper Peninsula, for a cat to make it into the Lower Peninsula would require either crossing miles of frozen Great Lakes ice from the U.P., or coming around the barriers of Lake Michigan and heavily populated areas around Chicago and northern Indiana. "For it to not show up anywhere else, coming to that location or leaving that location ... you would sure think it would be spotted; other people would get pictures; we'd get flooded with other reports, given how many people live in that area," Norton said. "It leaves us kind of scratching our heads for how that cat got there." The DNR has no management plan for cougars like it does for wolves or other species with more abundant populations in the state. But cougars are an endangered species in Michigan, and thus protected, he said. "There are no plans to pick any up, bring them here and help them get established," Norton said with a chuckle. "But if a female did show up, or if we did see reproduction, we would not try to deter that from happening. We would allow natural recolonization to happen." Though the prospects of a potentially deadly apex predator lurking in Michigan's woods might be disconcerting to some, conflicts between humans and cougars are exceedingly rare, and typically only occur in high-density cougar populations in the west, Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain states, Norton said. "If we had a population, they do occasionally have conflicts with people as well as livestock. So that would be something we'd have to be mindful about and monitoring, and trying to give good information to the public. But it's extremely, extremely rare and probably not too much cause for concern." Anyone who spots a cougar is asked to report it at michigan.gov/cougars. "Of the 11 sightings this year, 10 came from the public; one from DNR staff," Norton said. "The public is our way of monitoring when these animals show up. It's a huge help for us." Contact Keith Matheny: 313-222-5021 or kmatheny@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cougar sightings in Michigan are males: Why there's no repopulation Starbucks Reports Sharp Increase In Quarterly Profits Justin Sullivan/Getty Starbucks is the latest coffee chain to jump on the boba craze. The coffee shop chain is currently testing out two drinks made with "coffee popping pearls" small balls of Starbucks coffee that pop like the tapioca pearls found in the Taiwanese bubble tea beverages. A representative for the company confirms to PEOPLE that the brand is "conducting a limited test with coffee pearls at two Starbucks stores for a limited time this winter." The "Coffee Popping Pearls" are being tested in a cold-brew based beverage sweetened with brown sugar a drink they've dubbed "In the Dark" and in an iced chai tea latte version. One keen shopper in Palm Desert, California spotted the drinks at their local Starbucks store, sharing a TikTok of the offering on their page @kirbyssister. The other location testing out the drinks is in Bellevue, Washington. Both grande sizes are selling for $5.25 and $5.45 respectively, according to the TikTok user. RELATED: Taylor Swift Officially Teams with Starbucks, Making It Swift for Fans to Order 'Taylor's Latte' RELATED: We Tried Starbucks' New Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte As for the taste, the TikToker said that the pearls were "really small and awkward to drink," and tasted "oddly salty-sweet." It's not confirmed yet if the drinks will be rolling out to a national audience. "Starbucks continues to transform the way we drive innovation for the future of the company. One of the ways we do this is by focusing on elevating the Starbucks experience through testing and expanding our cold beverage menu," the brand spokesperson tells PEOPLE. "Testing is a way of life at Starbucks, and we continue to introduce new drinks and food to menus globally while innovating across key platforms like espresso, cold brew, refreshment, food and more," the representative adds. "We look forward to learning more, but do not have additional information to share on future availability of these products in our stores, or whether we will expand the test to additional stores or markets." Story continues RELATED: Dunkin' Is Testing Bubble Teas at Some Locations Just in Time for Summer Popping Bubbles Dunkin Dunkin Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Invented in Taiwan in the 1980s, bubble tea has become widely popular in the United States, with bubble tea stores opening up nationwide. Last July, Dunkin' tested Popping Bubble Iced Tea at select locations in Massachusetts, pairing a classic iced green tea paired with strawberry popping bubbles. The popping bubbles in the iced tea "burst in your mouth for an explosion of strawberry sweetness with each sip," Dunkin' said at the time. Bubble Tea has also appeared on the menu at Sonic in the past as well. A content moderator is suing TikTok and its parent company, alleging that she suffers from psychological trauma because they failed to implement safety measures that are standard in the industry. The woman, Candie Frazier, a contractor employed with another company, Telus International, reviews offensive TikTok posts, which are flagged by users and modified or deleted if moderators like Frazier determine that they violate the companys terms of use. Her attorney, Steve Williams, said Frazier views horrific stuff nonstop. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The suit says she is exposed to posts that include child sexual abuse, rape, torture, bestiality, beheadings, suicide, and murder. She is also subjected to conspiracy theories, distortions of historical facts and political disinformation, the suit says. The suit says Frazier suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of constant and unmitigated exposure to highly toxic and extremely disturbing images at the workplace. It alleges that TikTok did not warn Frazier that viewing such posts can have a significant negative mental health impact on content moderators. A Telus International job description for a content moderator, which is available online, does say the posts may include graphic, violent, explicit, political, profane and otherwise disturbing content. The job description lists sound coping, emotion regulation, and stress-management skills as a requirement. It is not clear whether the job description was available when Frazier applied for the job. A spokesperson for Telus International, which is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, said the company has "a robust resiliency and mental health program in place to support all our team members, as well as a comprehensive benefits program for access to personal health and well-being services." Story continues The spokesperson said team members can elevate questions and concerns about any aspect of their job through several internal channels. Frazier "has never previously raised these concerns about her work environment and her allegations are entirely inconsistent with our policies and practices," the spokesperson added in a statement. The suit alleges that content moderators working for TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, are at greater risk of suffering from PTSD because the companies have failed to implement workplace safety measures. The claim is to say: I want to do my job. I just want to do my job with proper protections, Williams said. Just like any other hazardous work. While he acknowledged that the safety measures are not required by legislation, the lawsuit says there are industry-recognized standards. Protocols that other companies and nonprofit groups follow include limiting content moderators shifts to four hours. Frazier works for 12 hours, with two 15-minute breaks and an hour for lunch, the suit says. The Technology Coalition, of which ByteDance is a member, also recommends that content moderators are provided with counseling and are allowed to opt out of viewing child sexual abuse imagery. The coalition which also includes Facebook, YouTube, Snap Inc. and Google says companies must support those employees who are the front line of this battle, according to the suit. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also encourages companies to mitigate the effects of disturbing images that employees are subjected to by displaying them in black and white, blurring parts of videos, showing videos in smaller resolutions and muting videos, the suit says. ByteDance and TikTok have further failed to implement the standards suggested by the Technology Coalition, despite being a member, it says. A spokesperson said that TikTok does not comment on pending litigation but that we strive to promote a caring working environment for our employees and contractors. Our Safety team partners with third party firms on the critical work of helping to protect the TikTok platform and community, and we continue to expand on a range of wellness services so that moderators feel supported mentally and emotionally, the spokesperson wrote in a statement. The spokesperson shared a page outlining TikToks efforts to ensure user safety. With the potential for severe storms ongoing throughout Wednesday night, the city of Tuscaloosa opened five storm shelters across the city. As of 7:40 p.m. the following shelters were made available: Tuscaloosa Magnet School, 315 McFarland Blvd. E. Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy, 2800 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. University Place Elementary, 2000 First Ave. Alberta School of Performing Arts, 2700 University Blvd. E.; and McDonald Hughes Community Center, 3101 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. This move came less than an hour before the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for Tuscaloosa, Bibb and Hale counties. Issued at about 8:30 p.m., this warning was to remain in effect until 9:15 p.m. It ultimately was canceled early, at 9:07 p.m., and the NWS released Walker, Fayette, and Lamar counties from the tornado watch approximately six minutes later. 958 PM CST: The Tornado Watches have now been consolidated with the following (see attached image) counties now in the new Tornado Watch until 4 AM CST. #alwx pic.twitter.com/jNv4Rc6l0e NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) December 30, 2021 Previously, the National Weather Service had added Tuscaloosa County to an ongoing tornado watch that remained in effect until it was canceled just before 10 p.m. The NWS also issued a tornado warning for three other West Alabama counties -- Fayette, Lamar, Marion -- through 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. These alerts then transitioned a severe thunderstorm watches for Walker and Winston counties through 7:45 p.m. and Greene, Pickens and Sumter counties until 8:15 p.m. "We currently have several Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in effect along the eastward moving line of storms," the NWS said. "Primary threats with these storms are winds to 60 mph and nickel to locally quarter sized hail." Story continues For the tornado watch, Tuscaloosa County joined Sumter, Pickens, Greene and Hale in now coming under the alert that was issued just before 4 p.m. Wednesday. "Storms are moving into northwest Alabama early this evening," the Birmingham office of the NWS said via Twitter. "Storms may intensify quickly as they move east so remain weather aware." West Alabama is bracing for potential severe weather from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning. Just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, the National Weather service issued a tornado watch effective until 10 p.m. for Etowah, Blount, Cherokee, Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Walker, and Winston counties. Tuscaloosa and the additional four West Alabama counties were added at about 6 p.m. We have added a few counties in western Alabama to the existing Tornado Watch. The watch remains in effect until 10 PM CST. pic.twitter.com/TqMy33IhGj NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) December 30, 2021 A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms or tornadoes in an area. Straight-line winds of up to 60 miles per hour and isolated tornadoes are possible, said Jason Holmes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Birmingham. North and west Alabama will see the best possibility for severe weather, with a line from Anniston to Clanton to Selma under a "slight" risk. The area south and east from about Alexander City to Montgomery is under a "marginal" risk, which is a notch lower in risk. Power: Check power outages near you with heavy storms expected through Alabama ahead of New Year's Updated severe weather outlook today from SPC. Window for severe storms begins around noon, running through tonight. Storms could produce strong winds and a few tornadoes; be sure you can hear warnings if they are needed! pic.twitter.com/AmJTpiGp8n James Spann (@spann) December 29, 2021 Shelter information: Alabama on guard: Severe weather possible Wednesday afternoon, evening More: What James Spann said about possible severe weather, tornados in Alabama this week Stay abreast of the latest storm coverage by following the radar. Track storm's path: Weather radar The radar below shows where the current storm system is over Tuscaloosa. (Refresh the page for the latest radar loop.) Active watches and warnings For example: The NWS of Mobile issued a tornado warning for the following counties until xx p.m.: county 1, 2, 3, etc. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa forecast: Track severe weather, warnings in Alabama Ventura County's COVID-19 infection rate more than doubled in eight days and is expected to continue climbing in a surge driven by the omicron variant. Infections rate rose from an average of 12.3 a day per 100,000 people on Dec. 20 to 31.1 a day on Tuesday, according to state Department of Public Health data. The measurement is calculated on a seven-day lag and the rising flood of new cases 2,491 over five days suggests the real-time infection rate may be higher. Health officials said the surge reflects the emergence of the fast-spreading omicron, now believed to be the dominant form of COVID-19 across the county and state. For local stories that matter, subscribe today. "We saw omicron coming and we know its here in big numbers," said Dr. Robert Levin, the county's health officer. "We know its here probably between 60 and 95 percent in our county and its incredibly transmissible." The new state data shows 11% of the people who tested for COVID-19 in the county over 7 days came up positive, compared with 3.8% as of Dec. 20. The data also shows that California is the first state in the nation to record more than 5 million coronavirus infections. The state's first coronavirus case was confirmed nearly two years ago on Jan. 25, 2020. More: Omicron surge accelerates in Ventura County; health officials recommend holiday precautions Though omicron appears to cause less severe illness than the delta variant, local health officials worry its wildfire-like spread could flood hospitals with patients. Admissions rose over the long Christmas weekend but dipped on Tuesday with 82 COVID patients receiving care across the county, compared with 94 a day earlier. On Wednesday, the number of hospitalized patients rose to 92, including 18 people in intensive care units, according to county data. Some 1,052 new infections had been confirmed since Monday. Four new deaths were reported. Dr. Rick Rutherford, an emergency room physician at Ventura County Medical Center, said many of the patients have mild symptoms. Others have no signs of illness but come up positive in tests routinely given before surgery. Story continues Many hospitals are already full with patients diagnosed with a variety of illnesses. They have to hold patients longer in emergency rooms because beds aren't available, said Steve Carroll, administrator for the Ventura County Emergency Medical Services Agency. The rising spread of COVID-19 infections also means health care workers could be exposed, creating issues for hospitals already scrambling to find enough nurses. "Our most pressing concern is staffing," said Gary Wilde, CEO of Community Memorial Health System in Ventura. "There could be a rise in sick calls from our staff over the next few weeks." Levin predicted the omicron wave will continue to climb at an alarming rate but may also be relatively short-lived. More:Many Ventura County parents put coronavirus shots on hold for their kids "I dont see it as lasting a couple of months. I see it as lasting three or four or five weeks," he said. "You're going to see a narrow sharp peak if our experience is like elsewhere in the world." No lockdown restrictions are expected. Levin encouraged people to get tested immediately before attending New Year's Eve celebrations and to keep gatherings small and, if possible, outside. He urged people to get vaccinated and boosted and to wear surgical masks. Finding home test kits at pharmacies is a challenge everywhere. Levin acknowledged more are needed in the county, blaming the shortage on manufacturing production problems. "We do our best to be at the front of the line," he said. "We ask for everything we can get from the state." The state offers 14 no-cost testing sites in Ventura County. Testing is also conducted by private groups, pharmacies and medical offices. For more information, go to venturacountyrecovers.org/coronavirus-testing or call 888-634-1123. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255. SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: To see more stories like this, subscribe here. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Omicron surge expected to keep growing in Ventura County Israel has approved a fourth vaccine dose for people most vulnerable to COVID-19, becoming the first country to do so as it braces for a wave of infections fueled by the omicron variant Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Reducing food waste is in societys common interest, Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy said. Around one-third of food produced for human consumption is wasted globally, with some 90 million tonnes of food in the European Union and 600,000 tonnes in Hungary ending up in landfill each year, the agriculture ministry cited Nagy as saying. The minister noted that the EU this year had allowed the donation of unsold food to the needy. This regulation, he said, increased the amount of food that could be saved and therefore required the development of food redistribution systems. Nagy noted that this was the aim of a law passed in Hungary earlier this month requiring retailers to save food by offering it to the needy within 48 hours of its sell-by date. The law, he said, was aimed both at preventing food waste and distributing unsold food to those in need through charity organisations. Under the amendment to the law regulating supermarkets, grocery chains will have the option of donating the food to a new state-owned nonprofit, the Food Rescue Centre, or directly to charity organisations. They will also be required to draw up a plan to reduce their food waste and appoint a manager in charge of saving food. 2021 Ag Hall of Fame is held It was a beautiful day at the Wessels Living History Farm as two couples were honored and inducted into the York Area Ag Hall of Fame Gary and Nancy Eberle from the Bradshaw area and the late Fredrick and Arlene Scheele who lived in the Waco area. The Eberles were joined with their family in accepting the plaque noting their achievements in the field of agriculture. The Scheeles family members Fred and Kristi Scheele, along with their family accepted the plaque and were honored for the longevity of their family farm. York County woman named Organic Farmer of the Year Amy Bruch of Cyclone Farms, which is located in rural York County, was named the national 2021 Organic Farmer of the Year by the Organic trade Association. This is the most prestigious award an organic farmer can achieve and it had never been won by a woman or anyone from the Midwest. New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is chairing a pre-budget consultation meeting with finance ministers of states and union territories (UTs). The meeting is taking place at Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital.Several chief ministers who hold finance portfolios are also attending the meeting. Chief ministers who are present at the meeting include Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha is also attending the meeting. Live TV #mute New Delhi: Ahead of the GST Council meeting, several states on Thursday flagged higher tax rate on textile products from January 1 and demanded that the rate hike be put on hold. In the pre-budget meeting chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, states like Gujarat, West Bengal, Delhi, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu said that they are not in favour of a hike in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate on textiles to 12 per cent, from 5 per cent currently, with effect from January 1, 2022. The 46th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Sitharaman and comprising state FMs, is scheduled on December 31, with a single agenda to consider Gujarat's demand of putting the rate hike "decision on hold", as also representations received from trade in this regard. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the move to raise GST on textiles from 5 per cent to 12 per cent is not people friendly and this should be withdrawn. If a common man buy clothes of Rs 1,000, he has to pay GST of Rs 120. "Delhi is not in favour of this," said Sisodia, who is also the Delhi Finance Minister. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P Thiaga Rajan said, "It is one point agenda (for tomorrow's Council meet). It is an agenda that many states have raised. In the agenda item it says that it was raised by Gujarat but I know that many states raised it. .. It should be stalled (move to raise GST rate on textile)". Rajasthan Education Minister Subhash Garg said the Friday's GST Council meeting is likely to be on rate hike on footwear and textiles and Rajasthan does believe that rate hike on textiles should be rolled back especially when countries like Bangladesh are giving us stiff competition in such sector. The Council in its previous meeting on September 17 had decided to correct the inverted duty structure in footwear and textile sectors. With effect from January 1, 2022, all footwear, irrespective of prices, will attract GST at 12 per cent, and all textile products, except cotton, including readymade garments will have 12 per cent GST. West Bengal's former finance minister and current advisor to state Chief Minister Amit Mitra had earlier urged the Centre to roll back a proposed hike in textile from 5 per cent to 12 per cent saying this would lead to closure of around 1 lakh textile units and 15 lakh job losses. Telangana Industries Minister KT Rama Rao too had made a case for withdrawal of its proposed plan to increase GST rates. Also Read: Swiggy, Zomato orders to cost more from Jan 1; check by how much your food orders could get expensive Industry too has opposed the rise in tax from 5 per cent, citing higher compliance cost especially for the unorganised sector and MSMEs besides making poor man's clothing expensive. Also Read: Edible oil prices dropping consistently; better mustard seed crop to soften rates: Food Secretary Live TV #mute New Delhi: Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has found himself in a middle of a controversy after a clip from his interview with journalist Karan Thapar went viral on social media. The 'A Wednesday' actor made a statement calling Mughals refugees which irked many netizens. The actor was explaining to Karan that the Mughals had contributed much to the country that has been forgotten by people. He then went on to term them as 'refugees'. In the short clip, the actor said, "The so-called atrocities of the Mughals are being highlighted all the time. We forget that the Mughals are people who have contributed to the country. They are people who have left lasting monuments in the country, who have left the tradition of dancing, music, painting, literature. Mughals came here to make this their homeland. You can call them refugees if you like." Take a look at the video: Mughals came here to settle. They Contributed to India's Culture, Music and Left lasting Legacies. You can call them refugees: #naseeruddinshah to Karan Thapar #2DaysToBirthMonth #FitBharat pic.twitter.com/vncc9m8qij Dr. Priyanshi Mishra (@Priyanshi135) December 30, 2021 Many Twitter users were unhappy with Naseeruddin's statements and presented counterarguments to them. Others trolled the actor and left sarcastic remarks in reply. Are you aware of India history if not then please add it in National School of Drama syllabus and kindly dont add any more drama to it. sidharth shukla (@sidharthshukla4) December 30, 2021 Apart from akbar(that too is sometimes questionable) all the mughal kings have contributed to misery of native indian (mostly non muslims) babur came from kabul and belongs to tashkent...both these points prove that they definitely are not indians...refugee things can be debated Raman Sharma (@RamanSh10379845) December 30, 2021 A conqueror cannot be refugee ....nasir ..is dealing with omicron.. shaks (@shaks72) December 30, 2021 Earlier, in September, Naseeruddin made headlines when he spoke against a section of Muslims in India who were celebrating the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. On the work front, Naseeruddin Shah made his Bollywood debut with a small role in the film Aman in 1967. It starred Rajendra Kumar and Saira Banu. His first major hit was the 1983 film Masoom opposite Shabana Azmi. The actor has also starred in international films such as Monsoon Wedding in 2001 and a Hollywood adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003. He is married to actress Ratna Pathak. They tied the knot in 1982 in a court ceremony. Live TV December 29: Managing Director of Ekta Contech Private Limited, Mr. Prince Shrivastava, outlined his idea of providing Ranchi, his hometown, with the gift of Green buildings last week. The project is expected to uplift the quality of life without exploiting the natural resources and the increased involvement of common people in real-estate investments in the coming years. Green buildings will bring the new real-estate revolution and, Ranchi holds the potential to anchor the change, said Prince. A 2018 report claimed that the demand for green buildings would increase globally by 2021, in which The percentage of respondents doing the majority of their projects green in India is expected to nearly double by 2021, from 28% to 55%. The construction of Green buildings is a step towards sustainability. They will incorporate environmental considerations in every phase of their development. The benefits will be not only for nature but also for the people investing in real estate as it promotes lower development and operating costs with increased comfort and healthier quality of life. Prince, 29, talked about his journey towards understanding the new approach which can upgrade the lifestyle of people living in his town. He explained the sufferings of people haunt him in his dreams. The company created by Mr. Satish Shrivastava and Mrs. Reena Shrivastava has served the people of Ranchi for the last forty years. They sowed the seeds of apartment culture in Ranchi and the seed of empathy and selflessness into their child's mind. Growing up, Prince was interested in law initially and then directed his concerns towards his parents business. His law career helped a lot. He was not the best player when he joined the company, but his consistent efforts and the motivating words of his father kept him grounded. All the money we are losing today because of your business decisions is nothing but the fees we would have paid for your learning in any certification or course, said Mr. Satish on the initial failures of his new mate. Later, the same cub became the lion king of the concrete jungle, which concerns the livelihood of every section of society. His goal is to cause a transition from what people see as a money-driven business to an asset-building chain for the commoners. The fact that people are paying so much for so little worries him deeply. My kids will grow in this same place, calling it their home, if I am not satisfied with the quality-compromise I have to deal with even after paying a huge sum of money, how can I expect that people buying my product will be satisfied with the result? I want people to trust my work because I trust the results, Prince said. Studying the market for the last 4-5 years, he tried to paint a clear picture of how one section of the society is making a profit from the loss of the other. He said that many families have lived for generations in rented houses because even after saving enough money, they cannot afford the land and construction cost of new homes. The new ideology promises to bring the necessary balance required as the company has planned to provide 10% of the profit towards building homes for deserving individuals free of cost. The family has been into charity work for many years, Princes mother is truly an admiring figure. She has been running a school for underprivileged kids for the last 15 years as selfless service. Her nursery school would admit 4-5 students every year for ensuring their necessary education. Dr. AsthaBaul Shrivastava, his wife, helps out students with education funds or people lacking resources to build something vital for their life. During the covid outbreak, the family helped more than 2000 people with food, medicines, masks, sanitisers, and many more things. All the charity work takes place under the roof of Kaushalya Devi Memorial Foundation, established by Prince in his beloved grandmothers name. To sum up, the well-being of people and the environment is the objective of his new projects. Prince, along with his team, is working with a mindset that many people lack. The goal is to provide the best product at an affordable rate... I do not want to earn a profit. I want people to ask for transparency from their builders. I want people to be a part of the revolution. As soon as this happens, people will have money for other investments. The taxes paid by them will contribute to the collective growth of the capital. We can have better educational institutes, hospitals, and every necessary public service. On the other hand, our environment has been exploited a lot because of over-construction and deforestation. We no more enjoy the brilliant climate of Ranchi as we used to ten years ago. Climate change is real and sustainable buildings tend to solve this problem. I want a balance, and that will be revolutionary, Prince explained. He plans to use his knowledge and technology as the tools to bring the change. Apart from this, he discussed the importance of quality education and the lack of it in the current scenario. From his experience, he suggests that youth should educate themselves without doubting their potential. The internet is full of information and, one must disintegrate the right ones for their use. The mistakes of the past can only be rectified by the people of the present for a promising future. His one piece of advice to the youngsters is to eliminate distractions and focus on growing their intellect and connections. In this way, individuals can contribute a lot towards the betterment of society as a whole. "Dont wait for inspirations but get into the competition and beat the best ones. They will feel more than merry to lose, creating a win-win situation for everyone, Prince concluded. To know more, visit: http://www.ektacontech.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/ekta-contech-private-limited (Brand Desk Content) New Delhi: About 38% of the total samples sent and analysed for genome sequencing at various laboratories in Delhi in the last seven days have been detected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, PTI reported quoting official sources. According to the documents shared by the official, out of the 468 samples analysed for genome sequencing during December 21- to 28, 38% came out to be Omicron variant while 31% was the Delta variant of coronavirus and the rest constituted other variants. These samples were analysed at labs at NCDC, ILBS and LNJP Hospital, the sources said. A senior official in the South-East district administration said that out of 14 Omicron cases, seven did not have any travel history The official as per PTI also said that the new variant has been "spreading in the community. This comes as Delhi becomes the state with the highest number of Omicron cases in the country with over 258 cases. Srinagar: Six Jaish-e-Mohammad militants, including a foreign national, were killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in the Anantnag and Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Thursday (December 30, 2021) morning. Six JeM terrorists killed in South Kashmir in last 12 hours, two among them Pakistani terrorists, said Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir. The police also said that one M4, two AK rifles and ammunition were recovered from twin encounters. New Delhi: With Assembly polls in five key states just months away, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, has once again flown abroad on Wednesday morning on "a personal visit", the party said. "Rahul Gandhi is on a brief personal visit. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its media friends should not spread rumours unnecessarily," Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala told ANI. Rahul Gandhi is on a brief personal visit. BJP and its media friends should not spread rumors unnecessarily: Congress leader Randeep Surjewala to ANI on reports of Rahul Gandhi traveling abroad (file photo) pic.twitter.com/qVYpnMnuEu ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2021 This comes just days after Gandhi went on a trip abroad ahead of the winter session of Parliament for a whole month. The former Amethi came back just a day before the commencement of the session returned a day before the commencement of the session. Earlier, the ruling party leaders questioned Rahul Gandhis frequent mysterious personal visits, which led to Congress releasing a statement asking the opponents not to spread rumours. "Rahul Gandhi is on a brief personal visit. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its media friends should not spread rumours unnecessarily," Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala told ANI. Three of the four mega metro cities of India - Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata - reported alarming jump in daily Coronavirus cases today. While Delhi and Mumbai saw a rise of 40 per cent, cases in Kolkata doubled in 24 hours. The scary rise in India's mega cities comes at a time of rising cases of Omicron - the latest, more transmissible variant of concern. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said this morning that Omicron has been found in 54 per cent of the latest samples. Here are 10 points on rise in Covid cases in Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. 1) The numbers: Mumbai reported 3,671 new cases, a daily rise of 46 per cent; Delhi reported 1,313 Covid cases, 42 per cent rise; Kolkata saw 1,090 case, 101 per cent rise. 2) Kolkata, ban on flights: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that COVID-19 cases in Kolkata were rising as "it was a transit point for people travelling on trains and flights." The state later banned flights from Uttarakhand. 3) Delhi, four figures crossed after 7 months: The national capital crossed the mark of 1,000 daily cases after a month. The city reported 1,313 cases to be exact. Last such rise had come on May 26, the national capital had reported 1,491 cases with a positivity rate of 1.93 per cent and 130 deaths. 4) Mumbai, 5-fold increase in a week: The financial capital has seen a five-fold increase in cases in a week. Last Friday, the city had seen 'only' 683 cases. The number shot up to 3,671 today. 5) Deaths: One aspect that gives some relief is that no new death was recorded in any of the three cities. On contrary, when the cases were on rise during the second wave, all the three cities had seen multiple deaths on days they reported similar number of cases. 6) Overall cases go above 10,000: India reported more than 10,000 daily new Covid cases after 33 days. Health Ministry and ICMR, in a presser, said that there is a need for heightened vigil in view of sharp increase in cases. 7) States of concerns: Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat have been marked as states/UTs of concern on basis of weekly COVID-19 cases and positivity 8) Study on immunity: A study has found durability of immunity post COVID-19 infection persists for about nine months, the centre said. 9) A warning: Use of masks before and after vaccination is a must and mass gatherings should be avoided. The treatment guidelines for the earlier and the currently circulating strains of coronavirus remain the same. Home isolation remains an important pillar. 10) Country's vaccination status: India's 90% adult population has been administered the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 63.5% of the population are now fully vaccinated. Live TV New Delhi: The West Bengal government on Thursday (December 30) decided to suspend all direct flights temporarily from the United Kingdom to Kolkata with effect from January 3 amid Omicron scare. The step has been taken amid an alarming rise in Omicron cases globally. From January 3, 2022, all passengers coming from non at-risk countries to West Bengal will have to mandatorily undergo COVID-19 testing on arrival at their cost. Passengers will be required to pre-book the test before boarding, the government order said. Earlier today, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that COVID-19 cases in Kolkata were rising as it was a transit point for people travelling on trains and flights. "Most omicron cases are being detected among people coming on flights from the UK. It's a fact that the omicron carriers are coming via international flights. The Centre must decide on imposing restrictions on flights from countries where omicron cases are high, PTI quoted her as saying. West Bengal on Wednesday had recorded 1,089 new infections out of which Kolkata reported 540 new cases, a sharp rise. "COVID-19 cases in Kolkata are rising because it's the transit point for people travelling on trains and flights. I will request everyone to follow COVID guidelines and wear masks," the West Bengal CM urged. (With agency inputs) Live TV COVID cases continued to surge in India, with the country reporting more than 10,000 cases after November 26. India on Thursday (December 30) morning reported 13,154 new coronavirus cases, recorded in the past 24 hours. This is 43% higher than Wednesdays count of 9,195 cases. The health ministry and ICMR addressed the media and updated them on the virus, and made some important points. Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, said, "There are 961 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus in India, out of which 320 patients have recovered." Here are the 10 points: - India reported more than 10,000 daily new Covid cases after 33 days, there is a need for heightened vigil in view of sharp increase in cases - Eight districts are reporting over 10% COVID-19 weekly positivity; 14 districts reporting positivity between 5-10% - Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat emerging as states/UTs of concern on basis of weekly COVID-19 cases and positivity - Precautionary dose of COVID-19 vaccine is primarily to mitigate severity of infection, hospitalisation, death - The government will send SMS to the eligible elderly population to remind them for taking the precautionary dose that starts from January 10 - Durability of immunity post COVID-19 infection persists for about nine months - Evidence shows Omicron variant has a growth advantage over Delta with a doubling time of 2-3 days (Govt quoting WHO) - India's R naught value, which indicates the spread of COVID-19, is 1.22. So cases are increasing, not shrinking. - Use of masks before and after vaccination is a must and mass gatherings should be avoided. The treatment guidelines for the earlier and the currently circulating strains of coronavirus remain the same. Home isolation remains an important pillar. - 90% of India's adult population has been administered the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 63.5% of the population are now fully vaccinated. New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal took part in a 'Vijay Yatra' in Chandigarh on Thursday (December 30, 2021) after AAP's victory in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections. The new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) bagged 14 out of 35 seats in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) polls and called it 'trailer' for the Punjab elections 2022. To celebrate the win, Arvind Kejriwal lead a 'Victory March' in Chandigarh today. New Delhi: A cold wave swept Delhi on Thursday (December 30, 2021) as people in the city gear up to ring in a chilly New Year with the weather department predicting similar conditions till January 3. The minimum temperature at the Safdarjung Observatory considered the official marker for the national capital, dropped sharply to 3.4 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal. On Wednesday it was 8.4 degrees Celsius. The automatic weather stations at Delhi's Ayanagar and Narela on Thursday recorded a minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius and 3.2 degrees Celsius, respectively. In the plains, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius. A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and is 4.5 notches less than normal. Delhi had experienced cold wave conditions on December 20 and 21 when the minimum temperature settled at 3.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest this season so far, and 4 degrees Celsius. Thereafter, two back-to-back western disturbances and the resultant slowing down of cold northwesterly winds and cloudy conditions gradually pushed the minimum temperature up to 9.8 degrees Celsius. Clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation and radiate it back downward, warming the ground. The IMD has predicted cold wave to severe cold wave conditions in northwest India till January 3. A "severe" cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to two degrees Celsius or the departure from normal is more than 6.4 degrees Celsius. The weather department predicted the minimum temperature will start increasing from January 4 under the influence of an active western disturbance which is very likely to cause fairly widespread rainfall and snowfall over Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh between January 4 and 7. It will also lead to "light to moderate scattered to fairly widespread" rainfall over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh Delhi, north Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh between January 5 to January 7. Live TV New Delhi: India witnessed a tremendous jump in daily COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which has triggered the question - 'Will this lead to a third wave?' Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Thursday (December 30) warned about the imminent threat of the third COVID-19 wave amid a surge in daily infections. Sudhir Chaudhary also warned against attending big gatherings on New Year, that can get you in contact with coronavirus. In India, new COVID-19 cases increased by 40 per cent in the last 24 hours. For the first time in 34 days, more than 10,000 people were found infected in a single day. Nearly 7,000 new COVID-19 cases were found in India on December 25, and four days later, on December 29, this number climbed over 13,000. These figures indicate that there can be an explosion of coronavirus infections in the coming days. The number of new patients has already risen by 86 per cent in Delhi and 82 per cent in Mumbai, the two cities that also account for the highest number of Omicron infections in the country. Therefore, it is likely that the highly transmissible Omicron variant is driving these daily cases. India registered its first Omicron case on December 2, and after 28 days, the number of Omicron-infected patients has reached 961. The actual figures may be higher, as Omicron cases can only be detected after genome sequencing. It seems, from these figures, that the third wave of coronavirus is not far away. The Cambridge tracker which provided apt information about the second wave in India has predicted that the third wave has already hit the country. However, the tracker says that the third wave will not be very long and will be over by January end or the first week of February. According to IIT Kanpur, India will see the peak of the third wave in the first week of February, during which a maximum of 1-2 lakh cases will be logged every day. However, IIT Kanpur also estimates that the third wave will last for one to one-and-a-half months unlike the deadly second wave that lasted for 3-4 months. Live TV Lucknow: Newly-appointed Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Durga Shankar Mishra assumed charge here on Thursday and said he would work diligently to take various schemes of the government to people. Mishra, a 1984-batch IAS officer who was due to retire on December 31, was given the important responsibility ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Mishra, who was the Union housing and urban affairs secretary, was repatriated to his parent cadre Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday as the Yogi Adityanath government proposed to appoint him as the new chief secretary, barely two days before his retirement. He took over from Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, a 1985-batch IAS officer who is due to retire in February 2023. Mishra has been given a one-year extension in service. Talking to reporters after assuming office, Mishra said he would work diligently to take various schemes of the government to people. "This responsibility is a chance to serve all the people of my state," he said. Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Adityanath for giving him the responsibility, Mishra said he has witnessed the unprecedented change that has taken place in the country in the last seven years. He said in 2017, when Adityanath took over as the chief minister, Uttar Pradesh was lagging behind in the work related to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs but the situation has improved a lot now. Live TV New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of 23 development projects in poll-bound Uttarakhand's Haldwani on Thursday (December 30). The projects will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 17,500 crore. Saying that no previous government has spent as much money on Uttarakhand projects as this "double-engine government", PM Modi said that the government is focused on making this decade belong to Uttarakhand. He added that the people of the state have the capability to make this happen. New Delhi: As COVID-19 cases are again on the rise in India, the Centre on Thursday (December 30) recommended eight states and union territories to take several measures to curb the spread. In a letter to health secretaries of Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan advised these states/UTs registering high coronavirus and Omicron cases to enhance COVID-19 testing, strengthen hospital-level preparedness, increase pace and coverage of vaccination, ANI reported. These states/UTs have been instructed to enhance the testing in a focused manner with maintaining the ratio between RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen Test (RAT). Proactive contact tracing and isolation and quarantine of the contacts of positive cases, their testing and follow-up should be followed by these states, the ministry said. They have also been asked to ramp up vaccination against COVID-19 and enforce coronavirus protocols. Meanwhile, India witnessed a massive spike in daily COVID-19 cases with 13,154 new infections in the last 24 hours, as per the Ministry of Health on Thursday. The Omicron caseload surged to 961, out of which 320 have recovered. 22 states have detected the cases of the new COVID-19 variant so far. With 268 fatalities in the last 24 hours, the death toll climbed to 4,80,860. (With agency inputs) Live TV Srinagar: National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Thursday (December 30) demanded a judicial inquiry into the Hyderpora encounter and called the Jammu and Kashmir Police special investigation team (SIT) report a cover-up. Farooq slammed J&K Police and said they are trying to save themselves. Senior Abdullah alleged, Police report is false, police have done this to save themselves. There is no doubt that police have killed them and I think there should be a judicial inquiry into that. He advised police not to work like this which hurts public sentiments And Police should not do those acts which hurt peoples hearts. Abdullahs statement came after SIT chairman, DIG central Kashmir said that statements from the political leaders create provocation, rumour, fear and alarm among the general masses or particular section of society. This kind of approach is against the rule of law and may attract appropriate penal provisions as envisaged under law. Reacting to the Delimitation commission proposal, Abdullah said As the Delimitation commission is concerned we have made our draft and we will give it to the commission, when it will come you all will come to know what our opinion is. Live TV Indore: A 30-year-old woman, who had been vaccinated four times against COVID-19 tested positive for coronavirus, at the Indore airport following which she was prevented from boarding a Dubai-bound flight, officials said on Wednesday. "A woman of around 30 years of age, who has been already vaccinated four times in different countries, tested COVID19 positive at the airport and was admitted to a hospital. She was asymptomatic and tested negative a day before," said Dr Bhure Singh Setia, Indore Chief Medical and Health Officer (CHMO). The woman had arrived in Indore 12 days ago and while returning to Dubai, she was found infected with COVID-19 at the airport. As per the standard practice, rapid RT-PCR tests are conducted following which she was stopped from boarding the flight and was sent to the hospital for treatment. Setia further said that the woman had taken four doses of the vaccine between January and August. Live TV New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that after fulfilling Bharatiya Janata Party`s poll promise on Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya, work has begun in Mathura and Vrindavan as well. Addressing a public rally in Uttar Pradesh`s Farrukhabad on Wednesday, Yogi Adityanath said, "We had promised to launch Ram Mandir work in Ayodhya. And now Kashi Vishwanath Dham is also being constructed. How can Mathura-Vrindavan be left out? Work has started there as well." We had promised to launch Ram Mandir work in Ayodhya...and now Kashi Vishwanath Dham is also being constructed. How can Mathura-Vrindavan be left? Work has started there as well: Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath at a public rally in Farrukhabad, yesterday pic.twitter.com/haIqn0Tqok ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) December 30, 2021 "Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had done the Bhoomi Pujan of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on August 5, 2020. Besides, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor earlier this month, a megaproject expecting to boost tourism in Varanasi." The UP Chief Minister also took a veiled dig on the Samajwadi Party (SP) over businessman Peeyush Jain`s arrest and said that the recovery of a huge stash of cash and gold bricks has exposed how the previous governments had concealed the money that belongs to the poor. The Chief Minister said, "Now the people would know where the money, which was originally to be used for the development of the state, was being misused," adding "The recovery of a huge stash of cash and gold bricks three days ago exposes the black deeds of previous governments and shows how they concealed the money that belongs to the poor." CM Yogi said, "Now, this money will be used to accelerate the pace of development to make the state number one." Yogi Adityanath further accused Congress of filing false cases against Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu leaders and nurturing terrorists. He said, "You must have seen Maharashtra ATS statement...you must have seen how at that time they used to put false cases on workers and leaders of BJP, RSS, Hindu leaders," adding "You must have seen this in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, Congress should apologise to the people of this country for what they did." "When Congress was in power they used to inspire and nature terrorists, now when they are in opposition they protest against the work done for the development of people of this country," Yogi added. UP Chief Minister`s comment comes a day after the 15th witness in 2008 Malegaon blast case turned hostile. The witness told the court today that ATS forced him to falsely take Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and five RSS members` names. Notably, the Assembly election in the state is scheduled for next year. Rebel BSP MLA booked or speech against Modi, Yogi BJP leaders in Hapur have lodged a complaint with police, demanding action against local MLA Aslam Chaudhary, who allegedly used foul language against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. An FIR has been registered against Chaudhary under IPC section 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity). Somvir Singh, Station House officer (SHO) City Kotwali, Hapur, said that the matter is being investigated. Chaudhary, who is a BSP MLA from Dhaulana constituency, had later switched over to the Samajwadi Party (SP). Mumbai: A fresh political row erupted after Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen for an NCP-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government in Maharashtra after the October 2019 Assembly polls threw up a fractured verdict. Pawar referred to his meeting with the PM on November 20, 2019, at the release of a coffee table book, "Ashtavadhani" launched by The Indian Express Group`s `Loksatta` Marathi daily, and released by Bharat Force MD Baba Kalyani, as part of the NCP supremo`s 81st birthday celebrations. At that time, Pawar had confirmed how Modi wanted NCP-BJP to "work together" and even offered a central Cabinet berth to his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule. "There was a discussion about an alliance... I had told the PM right in his office that it was not possible... I would not like to keep them in the dark," Pawar recalled the incident. Meghalaya: A member of banned militant outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has surrendered before BSF in Meghalaya on Thursday. (December 30) The militant, identified as Junel Tongper surrendered himself before Sh Inderjit Singh Rana, IG BSF Meghalaya Frontier at Border Outpost Umkiang. The surrendered cadre was deployed as an HNCL area commander in East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya and he belongs to the village- Lumphyllut, PS- Umkiang, EJHs. Tongper joined the outfit in the year 2010 and after training, he was actively working for the outfit. He was apprehended by Meghalaya police in 2015, but was later released on bail and absconded after which, he re-joined the outfit in November 2020. The surrendered militant said that he was a victim of the militancy group and was misled by HNCL just like other underprivileged youth. Taking advantage of his simplicity, innocence and economic situation, the HNLC lured Junel Tongper to join the outfit, and thereafter, exploited him for their unlawful activity and malafide intention. BSF Meghalaya is attempting to assist such misguided youths to quit the outfits and come back to the brain stream. BSF has also started initiatives for skill development and vocational training and remunerative amount post surrender. In the case of Junel Tongper, BSF was continuously in touch with him for the last 1 year. The restless and intense efforts of BSF bore the fruits and finally, Junel Tongper was motivated to join the mainstream. Its a huge blow to the militancy in Meghalaya and more such misguided youths will join the mainstream in times to come. The family members of the cadre expressed their gratitude towards BSF on the homecoming of Junel Tongper. Bengaluru: Divide among the pro-Kannada organisations is likely to make the statewide bandh called by them on Friday (December 31), demanding a complete ban on the activities of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES), impactless. Also businesses, establishments and transport organisations have decided not participate in the bandh. Several organisations under the leadership of Vatal Nagaraj, the leader of the Kannada Okkuta, had last week called for a day-long state wide bandh on December 31, demanding a complete ban on the activities of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi in the state over its repeated involvement in "anti-Karnataka and anti-Kannada activities". The demand follows the recent incidents of burning of the Kannada flag in Maharashtra's Kolhapur and defacement of the statue of historical icon Sangolli Rayanna in Belagavi, allegedly by MES activists. The MES, a Marathi outfit, has been campaigning for long to merge Marathi speaking regions in Belagavi with Maharashtra. However, several organisations like the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association, Auto, schools and college associations, shopping malls association and several other commercial establishments have offered only moral support and said they will not participate in the bandh and will function as usual. Business establishments have cited New Year brisk business for not physically supporting the bandh call. Now, even those who were supporting Vatal Nagaraj in his call for bandh, like Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Praveen Shetty faction among others, have made a u-turn and have requested him to call off the bandh, and efforts are on to convince him. Nagaraj earlier in the day campaigned in different parts of the city urging people to support the bandh. "Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi has to be banned....Demanding this, Kannada Okkuta has called for a complete Karnataka bandh from 6AM to 6PM tomorrow, several pro-Kannada organisations have supported the bandh call, it is a matter of Kanndigas pride. I appeal to everyone to participate," he said. Praveen Shetty, who met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, said he has requested the CM to ensure the safety of Kannadigas in Maharashtra and to ban MES. Stating that the CM listed actions taken by his government by booking sedition cases against miscreants involved in the incidents and sought withdrawal of the bandh, he said, "we will discuss with Vatal Nagaraj and take a decision." Chief Minister Bommai also appealed to Vatal Nagaraj to call off the bandh in the interest of the people and the economy that is recovering from COVID. He said the government has already acted on most of the demands and will stand for Kannada cause. Bommai had yesterday said the government had already taken action against "anti-Kannada forces" and was examining the demand for banning MES legally. Live TV Bengaluru: Mindful about its impact amid divide within and lack of support, pro-Kannada organisations on Thursday (December 30) withdrew the Karnataka bandh, called by them on December 31, demanding a complete ban on the activities of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) which has been campaigning for long to merge Marathi speaking regions in Belagavi with Maharashtra. Leaders of several Kannada outfits under the leadership of Vatal Nagaraj, the leader of the Kannada Okkuta, met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai this evening, ahead of withdrawing the bandh. The organisations will however be staging a protest rally demanding MES ban at the city's town hall at 10:30 AM on Friday. A similar protest was held by the Karnataka Rakshna Vedike today. "Heeding the request of the Chief Minister and several of our pro-Kannada leaders, I have conceded. There will be no bandh tomorrow, we have withdrawn the bandh, but we may hold some protests," Nagaraj told reporters after meeting with the CM. "The CM has assured that his government will do everything possible honestly in accordance with law to ban MES and requested us to withdraw the bandh. Also earlier in the day leaders of several organisations put pressure on me to postpone the bandh citing the inconvenience it may cause to the people and business ahead of New Year," he said. Chief Minister Bommai said he has discussed all issues with Nagaraj and others and every one is on one page to protect the interest of Kannada, Kannadigas and Karnataka, and thanked the organisations for withdrawing the bandh call. To a question on their demand for banning MES, he said, "all those things have been discussed, I have already stated publicly that the government is examining it legally. I have brought the same to their notice." However, another prominent leader of Kannada Okkuta, Sa Ra Govindu clarified that only tomorrow's bandh has been called off, and that they will call for a meeting and decide further action, in case their demand for banning MES is not met in the days to come. "We have not set any deadline to the CM, he has sought time to talk to experts, so we have postponed the bandh to another day, we will decide our future course, by calling a meeting of all Kannada organisations," he added. Another leader hinted that they may wait and call for bandh on January 22, if their demands are not met by then. Pro-Kannada organisations had last week called for a day-long state wide bandh on December 31, demanding a complete ban on the activities of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi in the state over its repeated involvement in "anti-Karnataka and anti-Kannada activities". The demand follows the recent incidents of burning of the Kannada flag in Maharashtra's Kolhapur and defacement of the statue of historical icon Sangolli Rayanna in Belagavi, allegedly by MES activists. The MES, a Marathi outfit, has been campaigning for long to merge Marathi speaking regions in Belagavi with Maharashtra. However, several organisations like the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association, Auto, schools and college associations, shopping malls association and several other commercial establishments had offered only moral support and said they will not participate in the bandh and will function as usual. Business establishments had cited New Year brisk business for not physically supporting the bandh call. At the last moment today, even those who were supporting Nagaraj in his call for bandh, like Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Praveen Shetty faction among others, made a u-turn and requested him to call off the bandh. Live TV Maharashtra Minister Balasaheb Thorat has been tested positive for COVID-19.The Congress leader took to Twitter to inform of being infected by the virus. "I have tested positive for COVID-19. I am asymptomatic and taking treatment on the advice of a doctor. I appeal to all those you have come in my contact to get themselves tested. I urge everyone to wear a mask and follow all COVID-19 protocols," Thorat tweeted. Meanwhile, as many as 198 new cases of COVID-19`s Omicron variant were reported today in Maharashtra. The total number of Omicron cases in Maharashtra has mounted to 450.Of the 198 patients reported by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), 30 are international travellers, according to the bulletin.Maharashtra has reported 5,368 fresh COVID-19 cases, a jump of 1,468 over yesterday`s numbers, in the last 24 hours. The active cases in the state now stan at 18,217. Live TV New Delhi: The registration process for Maharashtra NEET 2021 counselling will begin on Thursday (December 30). The process is being conducted by the State Common Entrance Test Cell, which has released information for the students who want to apply for counselling. Aspirants with a valid NEET score can register and apply for NEET 2021 counselling on cetcell.mahacet.org. Heres a step-by-step guide to register for Maharashtra NEET 2021 counselling. Candidates must visit the official website of Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test Cell cetcell.mahacet.org Go to the home page and click Go on the 'NEET UG 2021' tab. Now Click on 'Registration' and read all the instructions carefully. After this, click on the direct link - Maharashtra NEET Counselling 2021 registration. Fill in the required details and upload the required documents. (For the purpose, keep the Admit Card of NEET 2021, Copy of NEET online application form, NEET marks sheet, Candidate's Nationality certificate, HSC (Class 12) marks sheet and certificate, SSC (Class 10) certificate for age proof, Aadhar Card of the candidate, Domicile certificate and medical fitness certificate, handy.) Pay the application fee and click on submit. At last, take a printout of the submitted application form for future reference. Maharashtra NEET 2021 counselling will be conducted for MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, BUMS, BPTh, BOTh, BASLP, B(P&O), and BSc (Nursing) courses. Live TV Media Trendz's Founder Rohit Kumar has recently been honoured with "Bihar Vibhuti Samman" at the Bihar Entrepreneurship Conclave 2021. The event, which was held at NDMC Convention Centre New Delhi, was organized by Let's Inspire Bihar. The young entrepreneur received the award from Senior IPS Officer and Special Secretary, Home Department, Government of Bihar Mr. Vikas Vaibhav who is the chief patron & the brain behind Let's Inspire Bihar. On the occasion Mr. Vikas Vaibhav said The conclave aimed to connect such committed individuals, who have on a voluntary basis opted to contribute towards future building on any of the core themes. The inspiration emanating from Bihar's magnificent heritage, which since the most ancient times had made its mark felt in the then-contemporary world, is the main driving force behind the initiative Supreme Court Lawyer & President of the Bar Council Mr. Vikas Singh, Delhi University Prof. Dr Sangeet Ragi, Senior Journalist Pramila Dixit & Convenor of Delhi NCR Chapter of Lets Inspire Bihar Mr Alok Ranjan were among the dignitaries present at the occasion. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Rohit who hails from Patna has been working closely with the start-ups to help them to stay relevant in the marketplace amidst a global economic crisis through his marketing venture Media Trendz. It was born out of the need for an able media and advertising agency that can assist budding businesses during their initial stage of branding and growth. Their key offerings include Communication Strategy, Media Planning & Buying services, Branding & Identity Designing, Integrated Marketing Communications, Advertising Campaign management, and Digital / Social Media Solutions. The media and advertising firm also cover everything from web development to app development to e-commerce development to digital marketing to brand creation. Currently, they are also planning to conduct online conferences to share tips and tricks of running a successful business in the post-covid19 reality. My relationship with the media and communication industry is long and something that I have always cherished. It has helped me throughout my entrepreneurial journey with Media Trendz. My only tip for aspiring entrepreneurs will be to embrace hard work and patience if you want to emerge as an accomplished businessman. Nothing comes overnight and success is no exception. Success only comes to those who work with passion, dedication and patience, shares Rohit after winning the award. As a former journalist, Rohit has always been well-aware of the crucial role that media and advertising play in the branding efforts of a company. During his tenure as a Media Consultant at the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, he has worked closely in several marketing projects broadening his exposure in the world of media, communications and marketing. Today, his company Media Trendz is working across 22 cities and clients from various industries including Real Estate, Healthcare, Educational Institutions, Hospitality, and Public Figures amongst others. Under his guidance, Media Trendz is designing high-value PR, marketing, and branding campaigns for its clients and hoping to continue the same. (Brand Desk Content) New Delhi: As Mumbai saw a significant jump in daily COVID-19 cases, the city Mayor Kishori Pednekar said on Thursday (December 30) that the new coronavirus wave could be worse than the earlier two waves. Mumbai reported 3,671 fresh COVID-19 cases, as per official data on Thursday. Out of these new infections, Dharavi recorded 20 cases, the highest since May 18. Around 371 people recovered, while the active cases reached 11,360 in Maharashtras capital. On Wednesday, in a huge spike, Mumbai had logged 2,510 COVID-19 cases. Mumbai reports 3,671 fresh COVID cases and 371 recoveries today, taking active cases to 11,360 Out of the total cases in the city, Dharavi has recorded 20 cases, the highest since May 18 pic.twitter.com/ivJfUSDuZF ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2021 Speaking to reporters, the Mumbai Mayor said the new wave could be more terrible, and hence Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was issuing alerts to the states. Earlier variants of the coronavirus infected mostly adults, but the latest variant is also infecting children. Hence it is necessary to be careful, Pednekar was quoted as saying by PTI. She asked people to follow COVID-19-appropriate behavior and said she will also avoid weddings and other gatherings till the Omicron crisis subsides. Earlier today, the Mumbai police imposed Section 144 till January 7, 2022, amid rising COVID-19 cases. According to the new orders, parties in any closed or open space including restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs, resorts and clubs will be prohibited from December 30 to January 7 in the city. The step has been taken to discourage large gatherings, parties during the New Year celebrations. An emergency meeting of the Maharashtra COVID-19 Task Force which was chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was held on Thursday in which the preparedness was reviewed. Meanwhile, the Centre said six states including Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka and Gujarat are emerging as states/UTs of concern on basis of weekly COVID-19 cases and positivity. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: Noida and Ghaziabad, which were two of the worst pandemic affected states of Uttar Pradesh during the first and the second virus waves, has said that it is better prepared with more numbers of COVID beds for a potential Omicron surge, TOI reported. As the Omicron infections continue to rise at a rapid pace in the country, states are constantly being advised to keep the health infrastructure ready for exigencies. Noida chief medical officer Sunil Sharma told TOI that the strategy is to increase the bed capacity based on the rise in COVID cases. During the second wave, Noida had about 3,000 hospital beds, which could be increased to 4,500 this time. There are arrangements of about 450 pediatric beds too, TOI quoted officials as saying. About Ghaziabad, which has also reported its first Omicron cases in the past weeks, is ready with a contingency plan, TOI reported. Mumbai: Mumbai police on Thursday (December 30) imposed Section 144 in Mumbai till January 7, 2022, amid rapidly rising Omicron cases of the coronavirus. The curb is being implemented to restrict heavy footfall of people and large gatherings, parties during the New Year celebrations. "The order shall come into the force, in the areas under the control of Commissioner of Police, Greater Mumbai from 00:00 Hrs of 30th December 2021 and will remain in force till 24:00 Hrs of 7th January 2022, unless withdrawn earlier," the order reads. Any person contravening this order shall be punishable under section 188 of Indian Penal Code 1860 in addition to the penal provision under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 and National Disaster Management Act 2005 and other legal provisions as applicable, the order further reads. Under the fresh orders, parties in any closed or open space including restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs, resorts and clubs will be prohibited from December 30 to January 7. Singapore: Experts in Singapore, where 170 new Omicron cases were reported on Wednesday (December 30, 2021), have warned that the new and supposedly more contagious variant is likely to replace Delta over the coming weeks to months. While Delta is still the most common variant in all continents except Africa, Omicron is spreading very quickly, said Dr Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, executive director of the state-owned Agency for Science, Technology and Research Bioinformatics Institute here. Of the genome submissions sent to the Munich-headquartered Gisaid, a data science initiative that provides the shared genome platform for Covid, the Omicron strain has comprised between 7 per cent and 27 per cent of new submissions over the past month, up until Tuesday. The figures refer to all continents except Africa. "From current data, it looks like Delta will go down over time relative to Omicron," The Straits Times said quoting Dr Maurer-Stroh, who is part of the global team that maintains Gisaid. The new variant was first detected in South Africa on November 11, and then in Botswana and Hong Kong, before it rippled across more than 110 countries, as at last weekend. Omicron is already dominant in Australia, India, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, noted Professor Dale Fisher, a senior consultant at the National University Hospital's Division of Infectious Diseases. "We are seeing a global transition from Delta to Omicron because with a greater transmissibility, the virus is fitter and has a reproductive advantage," noted Prof Fisher. New Delhi: In view of the rising threat of a new Omicron wave in the country, several states have imposed curbs to restrict virus spread in the festive season. From night curfews to ban on gatherings, states are gearing up to make prevent mass transmission during New Year Celebrations. Meanwhile, amid all the measures, some cities have mandated either a negative COVID-19 report or vaccination for entry into public places. Here is a list of cities you cannot enter without a negative COIVID test or vaccination certificate this New Year. Dehradun Dehradun, which is considered to be a popular destination amid travellers especially during the festive season, on Wednesday has banned the entry of visitors without a negative RT-PCR report. Uttarakhand: Dehradun administration mandates negative COVID certificate not older than 72 hours for entry into the district#Omicron ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2021 As per the latest advisory, the report should not be older than 72 hours. Hyderabad The Hyderabad administration on Wednesday also announced that only fully-vaccinated individuals will be allowed to participate in the New Year celebrations at hotels and other venues in Hyderabad. The organisers and management have to ensure that nobody is permitted without the production of either an electronic or physical certificate of both doses of vaccination, the advisory says. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Haldwani in Uttarakhand on Thursday (December 30, 2021) to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over Rs 17,500 crore. According to a release issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), among the 23 projects, the foundation stone will be laid for 17 projects worth over Rs 14,100 crore. The release also said that these projects cover a wide array of sectors/areas across the state including irrigation, road, housing, health infrastructure, industry, sanitation, drinking water supply. Todays programme will witness the inauguration of six projects including multiple road widening projects, a hydropower project in Pithoragarh and projects to improve the sewerage network in Nainital. The cumulative cost of the projects being inaugurated is over Rs 3,400 crore. As per the release, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project to be built at a cost of about Rs 5,750 crore. Notably, this project was first conceived in 1976 and was lying pending for many years. PM Modi's vision to prioritise long-pending projects is the force behind the project`s foundation stone being laid. The PMO said that this project of national importance will enable irrigation of about 34,000 hectare of additional land, produce 300 MW hydropower and supply drinking water to the six states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. The inauguration and foundation stone laying of multiple road sector projects worth about Rs 8700 crore would be done in the region in line with the Prime Minister's vision to improve connectivity at far-flung places of the country. The projects whose foundation stones would be laid include four laning of 85 kilometre Moradabad-Kashipur Road to be built at a cost of over Rs 4000 crore; two laning of 22 Kilometre stretch of Gadarpur-Dineshpur-Madkota-Haldwani road (SH-5) and 18 kilometre stretch of Kiccha to Pantnagar (SH-44); construction of 8 kilometre long Khatima bypass in Udham Singh Nagar; construction of four lane National Highway (NH109D) being built at a cost of over 175 crore. Further, foundation stones of multiple road projects all across the state under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna would also be laid by the Prime Minister. The projects include laying of 133 rural roads with a total length of 1157 kilometres at a cost of more than Rs 625 crore and the construction of 151 bridges at a cost of about Rs 450 crores. The road projects being inaugurated by the Prime Minister include a project of 99 kilometre road widening from Nagina to Kashipur (NH-74) built at the cost of over Rs 2500 Crore and projects to widen road at three stretches in the strategic Tanakpur-Pithoragarh road (NH 125) built under all-weather road project at the cost of over 780 crore. The three stretches are from Chyurani to Ancholi (32 kilometre), from Bilkhet to Champawat (29 kilometre) and from Tilon to Chyurani (28 kilometre). In an endeavour to expand the medical infrastructure of the state and provide world-class medical facilities to the people in all parts of the country, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of AIIMS Rishikesh satellite centre in Udham Singh Nagar district and Jagjivan Ram Government Medical College at Pithoragarh. These two hospitals are being built at a cost of about Rs 500 crores and Rs 450 crore respectively. The improved medical infrastructure will not only help the people of the Kumaon and Terai regions but also the bordering areas of Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the construction of about 2400 homes for the economically weaker section in the cities of Sitarganj and Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district. These homes will be built at a cumulative cost of more than Rs 170 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban). PMO said that to improve the tap water supply in the rural areas of the state, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of 73 water supply schemes across 13 districts of the state under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The schemes will cumulatively cost around Rs 1250 crore and will benefit more than 1.3 lakh rural households of the state. Further, to ensure a regular supply of quality water in urban areas of Haridwar and Nainital, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of water supply schemes for these two cities. The schemes will provide about 14500 connections in Haridwar and more than 2400 connections in Haldwani, benefiting about one lakh population of Haridwar and about 12,000 population of Haldwani. PMO also said that the foundation stone of a 41 acre Aroma Park at Kashipur and a 40-acre Plastic Industrial Park at Sitarganj will be laid in the state today in line with the Prime Minister`s vision to create new avenues for tapping the inherent potential of a region. The two projects will be developed by State Infrastructure & Industrial Development Corporation Uttarakhand Limited (SIIDCUL) at a cumulative cost of about Rs 100 crore. The Aroma Park will make use of Uttarakhand`s immense potential for floriculture growth because of its unique geographical conditions. The Plastic Industrial Park will be a step to establish the state`s industrial prowess and create employment opportunities for the people. New Delhi: Hindu sage Kalicharan Maharaj has been arrested by the Chhattisgarh police on Thursday (December 30) for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, reported ANI. The religious leader, who has been taken in custody with others was arrested in Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho. The saint allegedly made controversial statements against Mahatma Gandhi and praised his assassinator Nathu Ram Godse during an event 'Dharm Sansad' on Sunday in Raipur. #WATCH Raipur Police arrests Kalicharan Maharaj from Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho for alleged inflammatory speech derogating Mahatma Gandhi (Video source: Police) pic.twitter.com/xP8oaQaR7G ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2021 On the complaint of former Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Pramod Dubey, the police registered the FIR under section 505(2), 294 IPC in the Tikrapara Police station. Later, the Raipur police have also taken the owner of the house, in Chhatarpur district where Kalicharan Maharaj was lodged. Madhya Pradesh Police takes into custody the owner of the home-stay in Chhatarpur district where Kalicharan Maharaj was lodged. Kalicharan Maharaj was arrested by Chhattisgarh Police from Khajuraho today morning for his alleged derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi. pic.twitter.com/ZvZjybc4im ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2021 Madhya Pradesh Police takes into custody the owner of the home-stay in Chhatarpur district where Kalicharan Maharaj was lodged. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government objected to Kalicharan Maharaj's arrest alleging that the Chhattisgarh police violated protocol in the matter leading to a duel between both the states. Chhattisgarh's Congress govt has violated the interstate protocols by arresting Kalicharan Maharaj without informing Madhya Pradesh police. MP DGP instructed to speak to Chhattisgarh DGP to register objection on the procedure of arrest and seek clarification, said MP government. Subsequently, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel responded to governments allegation and said, that no rules have been violated and arrest made by Chhattisgarh police as per procedures. Narottam Mishra (Madhya Pradesh Home Minister) should tell whether he is happy or sad about the arrest of the person who derogated Mahatma Gandhi? the Congress leader added. The event in question was organised at Rawanbhata in which Sant Kalicharan Maharaj is alleged to have used derogatory words for Mahatma Gandhi and justified Nathuram Godse, who killed Gandhi. A similar incident was reported to have taken place in Haridwar during an event held from December 17 to 20. The video clippings were circulated on social media, which said that "Hindus should arm themselves like those seen in Myanmar, every Hindu must pick up weapons and conduct a `Safayi Abhiyan`." The three-day event was organised by Yati Narasimhanand, a controversial religious leader who has been accused in the past of inciting violence. New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday (December 30) said strict action will be taken against Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj who has been accused of making derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi. The Chhattisgarh Police, which arrested Kalicharan earlier today from Madhya Pradesh, has charged the Hindu saint with sedition. "Kalicharan Maharaj has been arrested and charged with sedition. During the investigation, on the basis of evidence, sections 153 A (1) (A), 153 B (1) (A), 295 A, 505 (1) (B) have also been included," ANI quoted Chhattisgarh Police as saying. Slamming BJP for not condemning' Kalicharans statement, Baghel said, The BJP never condemned Kalicharan's statement. But questions are being raised about his arrest. Further, he asked, How could it have been known earlier in Dharam Sansad that someone would speak about Mahatma ji like this? When we got to know, we took action. As per IANS, Kalicharan at the Dharam Sansad had said, "Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi destroyed the country. Salutations to Nathuram Godse, who killed him." The Chhattisgarh CM also questioned the presence of BJP leader Raman Singh at the Dharam Sansad or religious meeting held in Raipur a few days back. Meanwhile, Kalicharan's arrest has led to political barbs between BJP and Congress. The Hindu saint was arrested by a team of Chhattisgarh police from Madhya Pradesh`s Khajuraho this morning and taken to Raipur. Senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra has not raised objection to the arrest by Chhattisgarh police and accused the Congress-led Chhattisgarh government of "breaching inter-state protocol." (With agency inputs) Live TV Jaipur: Paediatrician Kafeel Khan, who was dismissed last month over the death of children at Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College and Hospital, on Thursday said he is ready to campaign for any party that can defeat the BJP in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Khan, who was here to launch his book about the 2017 hospital tragedy, also made it clear that he will not contest the elections due early next year. His book is titled 'The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor's Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis'. According to Khan, the book talks about the 2017 incident in detail and gives the version of the family members of those who died at the hospital due to oxygen shortage. Speaking to reporters, Khan said, "I am not going to contest the (Uttar Pradesh Assembly) elections, but I will campaign for any political party that can defeat (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath and the BJP." "I was dismissed from service despite the high court staying my second suspension. By terminating me ahead of the elections, Yogi Adityanath himself wants to create an issue. Yogi Adityanath is not good enough to be the chief minister," he said, adding that he will challenge his dismissal. Khan claimed it is a coincidence that his book is being released ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls. He exuded confidence that the book will have an impact on the state elections. He claimed more than 5,000 copies of his book have been sold in the last 15 days. He also said he is planning to set up a hospital in Rajasthan that will provide free treatment to children and that he will seek land for it from the state government. Khan hit the headlines in 2017 after 70 children died at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Hospital in Gorakhpur due to the shortage of oxygen. Initially, he was hailed as a saviour for arranging emergency oxygen cylinders but later faced action along with nine other doctors and staff members of the hospital. Khan alleged that an institutional failure had led to the deaths of the children. He was sacked by the Uttar Pradesh government last month after being found guilty in a probe into the circumstances that led to the deaths of children in the hospital. Live TV New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Harish Rawat said that the Uttarakhand Congress screening committee discussed candidates for all 70 assembly seats and the final decision on the list of candidates will be tentatively taken by January 4. After the screening committee meeting here on Wednesday, Harish Rawat told reporters, "It was the first meeting. More meetings will follow. Had a detailed discussion on all 70 seats, merits of candidature. A final decision will be sent to CEC possibly on January 4. The date is not confirmed though." Delhi | It was the 1st meeting, more meetings to follow; had detailed discussion on all 70 seats, merits of candidature. Final discussion with the CEC possibly on 4th (Jan). Date not confirmed though: Congress' Harish Rawat after Uttarakhand Screening Committee meeting at 15 GRG pic.twitter.com/ird9bZnJ1C ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2021 Harish Rawat further said the party`s candidates are in a position to win the majority of the seats in the upcoming Assembly polls, which are due in Uttarakhand in 2022. Congress may not apply 'one family, one ticket' formula in Uttarakhand Even as the Punjab Congress screening committee has decided to follow the `one family, one ticket` formula for assembly polls in the state, the party leaders in Uttarakhand may not be keen on such a formula for the state. The party leaders are of the view that the winnability of a candidate will be the biggest factor in the ticket distribution for the Assembly polls in the state. According to reports, many senior Congress leaders in Uttrakhand are demanding party tickets for their family members. Former state Chief Minister Harish Rawat is demanding party tickets for his son and daughter while Pritam Singh, who is Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, is seeking a ticket for his son, an ANI report said citing Congress sources. Uttrakhand Congress state chief Ganesh Godiyal said that no discussion has been done on the issue of tickets of family members of party leaders. "It is my belief that if two persons from a family are in public life if they are popular then it can be decided. Every state has its own criteria and party will discuss and a common decision will be followed," he is further quoted as saying by ANI report. Avinash Pandey heads the AICC screening committee for Uttarakhand which also includes Devendra Yadav, Ganesh Godiyal, Harish Rawat, Rajesh Dharmani and Pritam Singh. Harish Chaudhary, who is AICC in charge of Punjab, reportedly said that the screening committee has decided that tickets will be given to only one member from a family in the state. Regarding the assembly election in Punjab, Sunil Jakhar, Chairman of the campaign committee of Punjab Congress on Wednesday said that the winnability of a candidate will be the biggest factor in the ticket distribution for the Assembly polls in the state. The former Punjab Congress president also said that other important factors will be to make sure that only one person from one family gets a ticket to contest elections. "The most important factor for the distribution of tickets is the winnability of a candidate. Another important factor will be that only one person from one family gets a ticket to contest the election," Jakhar said after the Screening Committee meeting. New Delhi: WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan on Wednesday (December 29, 2021), while emphasising that the Omicron variant is infecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated people worldwide, said that it appears that vaccines are still proving to be effective because even though the numbers are going up exponentially in many countries, the severity of the disease has not surged to a new level. "As expected, T cell immunity holding up better against #Omicron. This will protect us against severe disease. Please get vaccinated if you have not," said Swaminathan in a tweet on Wednesday. It may be noted that either vaccines or prior infections with COVID-19 trigger human T cell response. As expected, T cell immunity holding up better against #Omicron. This will protect us against severe disease. Please get vaccinated if you haven't! https://t.co/PK2gmVHIGG Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) December 29, 2021 Swaminathan also explained the factors concerning the same at a virtual press briefing of WHO on Wednesday. She said that vaccine effectiveness varies a little bit between vaccines though the majority of all of the WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines actually have very high rates of protection against severe disease and death at least till the delta variant. #WATCH Omicron infection numbers are high - occurring in both vaccinated& unvaccinated.But it appears that vaccines proving to be protective. The need for critical care doesn't seem to be going up. It's a good sign: WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan(29.12) (Source: Reuters) pic.twitter.com/GqHC3McnIU ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2021 WHO Chief Scientist also stated that there are biological factors also that decide a vaccine's effectiveness. "It includes age, underlying illnesses and we know and proved it with all the variants that the older you are the more the underlying illnesses and co-morbidities the more vulnerable you are to get the disease," she said. Referring to the third factor which decides the effectiveness of the vaccine, Swaminathan said, "It is the time since vaccination and the waning of the immunity and we know that there is some amount of meaning but again there is more waning for infection against infectious and that is why we are seeing a lot of breakthrough infections now especially with Omicron because Omicron does have the capacity to overcome pre-existing immunity, and needs higher levels anti-bodies and protection." Additionally, Swaminathan pointed that now the evidence on Omicron is just emerging and it would still be premature to conclude definitely but all of the lab studies are pointing towards a reduction in neutralisation capacity and also what it is clinically seen that people who have been vaccinated, people who have had prior infections are still getting breakthrough infections with Omicron. "That is why the numbers that we are seeing around the world today are extremely high because these infections are occurring in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. However, it appears that vaccines are proving to be still protective because even though the numbers are going up exponentially in many countries, the severity of the disease has not surged to a new level," she added. Swaminathan, while stressing that hospitalisations and even within hospitalised people the need for ventilation, the need for critical care that does not seem to be going up proportionately, said that this is a good sign and it is telling us that previous immunity is either due to vaccines or in some cases due to natural infection by the virus is providing some protection against the severe disease. New Delhi: There have been extensive deliberations on whether the precautionary (third) dose of Covid vaccine for healthcare and frontline workers and citizens above 60 years with comorbidities should be the same as the first two doses and a decision is expected soon, the government said on Thursday. Addressing a press conference, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said the government will issue clear cut recommendations on this before January 10, when administering of the precautionary dose to healthcare and frontline workers and those above 60 years with comorbidities will begin. "We are having an extensive debate (on which vaccine to be given as a precautionary dose). We've had a series of meetings in NTAGI (National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) yesterday, the day before and today. "We are deciding what is the population that will require this vaccine which includes frontline workers, healthcare workers and 60 plus with comorbidities. What are new vaccines available and which vaccine can be given in terms of safety and in terms of efficacy," Bhargava said. "So, we are analysing all the data that is available in terms of which vaccine can be given...Whether it is going to be the same one or it is going to be different one. Before January 10 we will have to clear cut recommendations on the same. The drug controller and the NTAGI are meeting and that decision will be taken," he said. According to the 'Guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination of children between 15-18 years and precaution dose to healthcare and frontline workers and 60 years + population with comorbidities' issued by health ministry, prioritisation and sequencing of the "precaution dose" for them would be based on completion of nine months from the date of administration of second dose, which is 39 weeks. They will be able to access vaccination for the precaution dose through their existing Co-WIN account, the guidelines which will come into effect from January 3 stated. Eligibility for the precaution dose will be based on the date of administration of the second dose as recorded in the Co-WIN system, which will send an SMS for availing the precaution dose when it becomes due, the guidelines stated. Live TV New Delhi: 2021 proved to be one of the best years for Indias stock market, as investors made quick money in sectors such as real estate, IT, energy and chemicals, among others. For the next year, brokerage firms HDFC Securities and ICICI Direct have shared their top picks for the next year. Heres the list of top 10 stocks to buy, according to brokerage houses: 1. Aditya Birla Capital HDFC Securities is bullish on Aditya Birla Capital, the holding company of all the financial services businesses of the Aditya Birla group. The stock is among the top 10 stocks to buy in 2022, according to the brokerage firm. "It continues its credible makeover journey to drive consolidated return ratios closer to franchise potential over the next three years," Aditya Birla Capital said. 2. GAIL Natural gas transmission company GAIL is also on HDFC Securities list of top stocks to buy in 2022. The company is currently planning to expand in petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and renewables to supplement growth in its core business of natural gas marketing and transportation. 3. Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Another Aditya Birla group firm Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail is expected to jump to about Rs 360 from the current price of about Rs 261.90 in the coming months, according to ICICI Direct. 4. United Spirits ICICI Direct is bullish on United Spirits, the company marketing several liquor brands in the country. The brokerage firm has set a target price of Rs 1080 on United Spirits shares. This means that investors buying shares now could see a gain of about 22%. 5. Hindustan Zinc Hindustan Zinc, one of the worlds largest and Indias only integrated manufacturers of zinc-lead and silver, finds itself in HDFC Securities list of top stock to buy in 2022. The company is also the worlds second-largest zinc-lead miner. 6. ABB According to ICICI Direct Research, ABB could provide a 25% return to investors in the coming months. This may be the reason why you could consider injecting ABB into your portfolio. 7. Ipca Labs Ipca Labs is another stock in HDFC Securities list of top 10 stocks to invest in 2022. The brokerage house is positive on the back of strong volume growth in domestic formulation across products, cost-competitive and consistent quality in active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) segments. 8. HCL Technologies HCL Technologies is one of the leading technology firms in the country. According to ICICI Direct, the stock could jump to Rs 1485 in the coming weeks. This could lead to a gain of about 15% to 20% to investors. 9. Mahindra and Mahindra HDFC Securities is bullish on Mahindra and Mahindra, the third largest passenger vehicle manufacturer in India, for 2022. "M&M is targeting a 10 times increase in the agricultural implements segment to drive growth in the medium term (by 2027)," the brokerage firm said. Also Read: SBI to acquire about 10% stake in India International Clearing Corporation 10. ICICI Bank According to Choice Broking, ICICI Bank could provide a 22.3% return to investors in the coming months, according to a report by Financial Express. The brokerage firm is reportedly bullish on the lenders strong performance in Q2 FY22. Also Read: CMS Info Systems to list on Dec 31: Check latest GMP, expected listing price Live TV #mute Emirates Airline was operating flight EK231 Boeing 777 (registration A6-EQI) between Dubai and Washington DC on December 20. The EK231 left Dubai regularly at 2:35 am for Washington DC. Despite accelerating to takeoff on runway 30R, the jet failed to become airborne until it reached the end of the runway's safety area. Transponder data indicate A6-EQI remained on the runway before accelerating to 216 knots at least 14,400 feet (4,400 meters) past the runway threshold and approximately 90 meters short of the localizer antennas. On departure, the aircraft sustained some damage, according to the Aviation Herald. When the aircraft gained some altitude, the crew proceeded to Washington DC. There, the aircraft was inspected for any cracks and damages to the wings, flaps, and landing gear. A return flight was operated from Washington DC to Dubai, where the Boeing 777 was temporarily grounded. Unconfirmed reports also claim that four crew members lost their jobs due to the incident. A crew alert was also issued to Emirates' pilots and according to the crew alert, the autopilot was configured incorrectly. Crews are reminded there are no FCOM (flight crew operating manual) normal procedure requirements to change the MCP (mode control panel) after landing or shutdown, the alert reads. Also read: Jet Airways aims to resume domestic operations Boeing 777 pilots appear to have forgotten to set the autopilot to an altitude of 4,000 feet, the altitude for the initial climb. Rather than raising the altitude, they left it at zero feet (likely because the jet had previously landed in Dubai). Consequently, A6-EQI's flight director did not indicate a rotation during takeoff, instead indicating maintaining altitude as the aircraft barreled down runway 30R in Dubai. The crew alert also added, There have been times when the MCP altitude window has been set to the airport elevation which may cause issues on the subsequent departure. The FCOM 4.10.2. states that the AFDS (Autopilot Flight Director System) will engage in ALT when the first flight director switch is turned on if the MCP selected altitude is within 20 feet of the displayed barometric altitude. Crews shall not set airport elevation on the MCP after landing or shutdown. As a result of the near catastrophe, many experienced pilots have said that they prefer to hand fly on takeoff rather than immediately switch to autopilot and the pre-departure checklist should have detected the 0 feet setting in the control panel in at least two instances. A6-EQI has returned to service after spending several days on the ground in Dubai. New Delhi: The calendar year 2021 is going to end in just a day i.e, 31 December. Before the end of the calander year, you must complete a lot of tasks that have a direct impact on your finances. Here is a list of 4 major financial works you must complete before end of December 2021. PF Account Nominee If you have a Provident Fund account, then you must not ignore this deadline. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has made it necessary for all PF account holders to designate a nominee. The deadline for adding the nominee is December 31, 2021. Failure to add a nominee to your PF account by the necessary date can result in a variety of problems, including the loss of benefits such as insurance money and pension. Importantly, PF account holders can add the nominee online, as we describe here. ITR Filing Deadline The government had in September extended the deadline till December 31 for filing of income tax returns by individuals for the financial year 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic and technical glitches in the IT portal. Earlier, the deadline was extended to September 30, 2021. Usually, the last date for filing the ITR (Income Tax Returns) for the individual taxpayers is July 31. Submission of Life Certificate for pensioners The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension has extended the deadline of submission of Life Certificate to December 31 from the previous deadline of November 30, 2021. It must be noted that that every Central Government Retired Employee is required to submit life certificate in the month of November for continuation of his/her pension. Hence, in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in various states and keeping in view of the vulnerability of elderly population to Corona Virus, the ministry has now been decided to extend the existing timeline for submission of Life Certificate for all age group of pensioners from 30/11/2021 onwards. Now, all Central Government pensioners may submit Life Certificate till 31st December, 2021. EPFO's Aadhaar and UAN deadline The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has extended deadline for Aadhaar linking of UAN till December 31, 2021 for Establishments in NORTH EAST and certain class of establishments. Issuing a circular, the EPFO said, "...after allowing sufficient time of almost four years for Aadhaar seeding, EPFO issued instructions dated 01.06.2021 cited above mandating that UANs is to be Aadhaar seeded for receipt of contributions through ECR. However, considering the challenges faced by the employers & employees in expeditious seeding of Aadhaar in UANs particularly in view of corrections required in Aadhaar data of employees in aftermath of second wave of Pandemic, the EPFO with prior approval of the Central Government extended the time for mandatory seeding of Aadhaar in UAN for filing ECR up to 01.09.2021 which was communicated vide reference cited 2 above." Live TV #mute New Delhi: Even as several PF Subscribers continue to face glitches on EPF Portal, retirement fund body EPFO has now extended the deadline for filing of e-nomination from December 31. EPFO Tweeted: EPFO had previously said that the name of the nominee mentioned in the latest PF nomination will be treated as final, whereas after fresh nomination by the account holder, the earlier nomination will be treated as cancelled, says the EPFO. Seveveral users have been complaining regarding error in e-nomination filing. Your portal is absolutely not working, it's pathetic . Either you improve on your infrastructure or privatize the entire system. Anirban Das Majumder (@dmanirban) December 29, 2021 But how to do it when the site only says " An Unexpected Error Occurred " Yogesh Shrestha (@YogeshS74302625) December 30, 2021 But epfo and uan epfo site is down from last week. Whenever trying to complete this activity Always getting "This site can't be reached". So how to update details while site is remain down for all the time. AmMmU (@ammy19_me) December 30, 2021 Before posting this, once you have to clarify about ur website, whether it's working properly or improper???? Bcoz, last 1 week EPFO portal hasn't been working.... Vijay Betageri (@vijubasu) December 29, 2021 Dear @socialepfo kindly extend the date or update your server, I am unable to sign in from last 4 days... Srikant Pandit (@sripandit1) December 30, 2021 Trying to e-verify the nomination, the page either gets hung-up or shows an error message, spent 5 hours since yesterday but no success. This is ridiculous handling of the website. Aditya Kulkarni (@AdityaKulkarni3) December 30, 2021 The website is slow to load, frequent "object error", "service unavailable", after filling nomination issues with submit. The district & branch name resets when we click save and it reloads asking to upload photo...(1/n) Parameswaran (@paramOneness) December 30, 2021 Strength is in acknowledging we have a problem. So much of time waste. Now site is completely not reachable. Tony Tank (@DesiGemHunter) December 29, 2021 Yes it's working in morning 4 o'clock right now I updated. I think it's not responding in day due to seever overloads. Sanatani Hindu (@Onkar150582) December 30, 2021 Meanwhile, we advise that you keep trying the process of e-nomination on EPFO website. You can follow the below mentioned steps to do so. Here is the online process on how you can file e-nomination for your member account by sitting at home. 1.Visit EPFO website https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/index.php and click on the SERVICE option 2. Click on For Employees section. After being redirected, you will have to click on the Member UAN / Online Service option. 3. Now, login with the your UAN ID and password. 4. Now go to the MANAGE tab in the drop down menu and select E-Nomination. 5. Now select YES option and update the family declaration. 6. Click on Add Family Details and select Nomination Details from which you can declare the total amount to be shared. 6. Now click on Save EPF nomination. 7. On the next page, click on e-sign option. 7. You will receive an OTP on your mobile number which is linked to your Aadhar card 8. Once you furnish the OTP and click on SUBMIT button, your nomination process will be completed. New Delhi. The account holder of the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) provided with several financial benefits along with universal access to banking services. The PM Jan Dhan Yojana Bank Account holders get the following Benefits One basic savings bank account is opened for unbanked person. There is no requirement to maintain any minimum balance in PMJDY accounts. Interest is earned on the deposit in PMJDY accounts. Rupay Debit card is provided to PMJDY account holder. Accident Insurance Cover of Rs 1 lakh (enhanced to Rs 2 lakh to new PMJDY accounts opened after 28.8.2018) is available with RuPay card issued to the PMJDY account holders. General Insurance Cover of Rs 30,000. An overdraft (OD) facility up to Rs 10,000 to eligible account holders is available. PMJDY accounts are eligible for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Bank (MUDRA) scheme. It is to be noted that the benefits upto Rs 1.3 lakh can be availed only if the account is linked with Aadhaar card. The government has made it mandatory to link the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana bank account to your Aadhaar card under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. How to link Aadhaar with PM Jan Dhan Yojana Bank Account? There are four ways using which you can link your Aadhaar with PM Jan Dhan Yojana Bank Account by going to the bank physically, by using SMS facility and by going to your ATM. Important Documents required for linking Aadhaar with Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana Bank Account Aadhaar number ATM Card Aadhaar registered mobile number to receive the OTP and send SMS Bank passbook The PMJDY was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address on August 15, 2014, and was simultaneously launched on August 28, 2014, to foster financial inclusion. This national mission was launched to ensure people have access to financial services, namely, banking, remittance, credit, insurance, pension in an affordable manner. Live TV #mute New Delhi: After several weeks of speculations in the media, the government has officially confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 10th instalment of financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on 01 January, 2022. PM Modi will enable the transfer of an amount of more than Rs. 20,000 crore to more than 10 crore beneficiary farmer families at 12:30 PM via video conferencing. (Also read: Aadhaar linking a must to get Rs 6,000 annual benefit? Know here) Under the PM-KISAN scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6000 per year is provided to the eligible beneficiary farmer families, payable in three equal 4-monthly installments of Rs 2000 each. The fund is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. In this scheme, Samman Rashi of over Rs. 1.6 lakh crore has been transferred to farmer families so far. During the programme, Prime Minister will also release equity grant of more than Rs. 14 crore to about 351 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), which will benefit more than 1.24 lakh farmers. Prime Minister will interact with FPOs during the event and will also address the nation. Union Agriculture Minister will also be present on the occasion. Here is how to check your name via PM Kisan website using the direct link Log on to pmkisan.gov.in website On the right hand side, you will see Farmers Corner Click Farmers Corner Now from the option, click Beneficiary Status You will have to furnish a few details like your Aadhaar number, bank account and your mobile number to see your status After you complete the above procedure, you will find your name if it is there in the list How to check your name in PM KISAN via mobile App To check your name via Mobile App, you will have to first download PM Kisan Mobile App. Once you have downloaded the App, you will have access to all the details. Is PM-KISAN Scheme for only Small and Marginal Farmers' families? ln the beginning when the PM-KISAN Scheme was launched (February, 2019), its benefits were admissible only to Small & marginal Farmers' families, with combined landholding upto 2 hectare. The Scheme was later on revised in June 2019 and extended to all farmer families irrespective of the size of their landholdings Who are excluded from the PM-KISAN Scheme? Those excluded from the PM-KISAN include institutional land holders, farmer families holding constitutional posts, serving or retired officers and employees of State or Central government as well as Public Sector Undertakings and Government Autonomous bodies. Professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers as well as retired pensioners with a monthly pension of over Rs 10,000 and those who paid income tax in the last assessment year are also not eligible for the benefits. Live TV #mute Mumbai: South star Rashmika Mandanna on Thursday completed five years in the film industry and expressed her gratitude for the love and support from fans and well-wishers. The 25-year-old actor, who works primarily in Kannada and Telugu films -- made her acting debut in 2016 with the Kannada movie 'Kirik Party'. She is best known for her performances in movies such as 'Geetha Govindam', 'Devadas', 'Yajamana', and 'Dear Comrade', among others. Mandanna, who is basking in the success of her Telugu movie 'Pushpa: The Rise', shared a lengthy note on Instagram expressing her excitement. "It's been 5 years of me in the film industry.. Like woahhhh how did that happen.. Guys..," she wrote, alongside a picture of her. Penning down the lessons learnt, the actor said it is important to value each moment, stay happy and be grateful for the opportunities. "Time is flying by too fast make memories each day. How to be truly genuinely happy from the bottom of the heart, I am happy. I've realised nothing in life is easy got to always always keep fighting for what you want, be alert be on your toes be grounded be grateful but always keep fighting (sic)", she said. Always be open to learn and unlearn many things, Mandanna added. "Don't carry emotional baggages, physical baggages mental baggages.. Let go! Learn to let go." The actor also said one must give time and importance to things that they love the most in life -- be it career, love, family or time for oneself. She also pointed out that it is imperative to eat, sleep better, workout harder, smile bigger and love more openly. "People don't owe you anything so you don't have to do favours to anyone, you can and you should think of yourself first. And many more.. I'll keep. Going on and on... I'll speak of all of this one day but for now... These," she said. On the work front, Mandanna is set to make her Bollywood debut with the spy-thriller 'Mission Majnu' also starring Sidharth Malhotra and will also be seen in another Hindi movie 'Goodbye' alongside megastar Amitabh Bachchan.